LI E> RAR.Y 
 
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 or ILLINOIS 
 
 Q 66 tw 
 
 V.I
 
 Return this book on or before the 
 Latest Date stamped below. 
 
 University of Illinois Library 
 
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 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 A NOYEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. GORE. 
 
 " Nous ne pr^tendons qu'^ une chose ; c'est a peindre avee fid^ite les 
 moeurs de notre temps dans un certain monde. Si le tableau est triste, nous 
 esperons de la justice de nos lecteurs qu'ils voudront bien ue pas s'en prendre 
 exclusivement 4 nous."— Foudras. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LOJ^DON : 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 1857. 
 
 [TherigM of Translation is reserved.]
 
 J. Billing, Printer/ 103, Hatton Garden, Londor, and Guildford, Surrey.
 
 4 
 
 
 
 THE mo AEISTOCEACIES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Tm sure I don't know what ever we're to 
 do with him !" murmured Mrs. Barneson, the 
 wife of a thriving apothecary in the cathedral 
 and garrison town of W. ; glancing wistfully 
 at an uncouth, well-grown lad of eighteen, 
 who sat refreshing himself with tea, and some- 
 thing more substantial than toast, in a remote 
 corner of her roomy parlour, while two little 
 girls in pinafores watched, with hungry faces, 
 the progress of his meal. 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. 
 
 " The best thing to be done with him, just 
 now, is to let him eat Jiis supper in peace, and 
 go to bed after his journey," rejoined one of 
 the elder daughters, engaged with their mother 
 at the evening table in homely needle-work — 
 mending or making. 
 
 " His father might be angry at missing sight 
 of him ; and Barneson won't be home these 
 two hours. He has got to stop at Stoke on 
 his way back." 
 
 Too intent upon his supper to be discon- 
 certed by their observations, Mark Barneson 
 munched on in silence. He felt himself a 
 stranger at home. Adopted in early child- 
 hood by his mother's brother, a wealthy north- 
 country farmer, by whom he had been educated 
 at a commercial school at York, his brother 
 and sisters were as yet scarcely known to him ; 
 and though the Barneson family had out- 
 thrived the difficulties which, at the time, 
 suggested the adoption, they had learned with 
 dismay, at the recent decease of Mark Holden,
 
 THE T'SVO AHISTOCRACIES. 3 
 
 that his nephew succeeded only to his bless- 
 ing, and a legacy of five hundred pounds. 
 The bulk of his property was bequeathed to 
 his widow. 
 
 So bitter indeed was the disappointment of 
 Mrs. Barneson at finding herself and her off- 
 spring overlooked by her childless brother, 
 who, till his marriage a few years before, had 
 treated them as his heirs, that her sisterly 
 mourning was exhibited in hems far too 
 narrow, and crape much too scanty, to satisfy 
 the severe decorum of a cathedral town. 
 
 No less ofi'ensive, however, in the censorious 
 eyes of W., was the haste with which the 
 widowed Mrs. Holden signified to the family 
 that steps must be taken for the removal of 
 their son. In consequence of his uncle's 
 marriage, he had been left overlong at school ; 
 — a superannuated head-boy, whose mathe- 
 matical proficiency had put more than one be- 
 puzzled usher to the blush ; and it was really 
 time for his parents to decide on his future 
 career. b 2
 
 4 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. 
 
 Tn place of the jolly Christmas holidays 
 heretofore enjoyed by Mark amidst the good 
 cheer and good fellowship of a Yorkshire 
 farm, he consequently found himself the un- 
 welcome inmate of a frugal, formal household ; 
 an object of supercilious patronage to his 
 elder sisters ; who, accustomed to the spruce- 
 ness and jauntiness of military costume, had 
 little indulgence for his ill-cut suit of second 
 cloth, his lanky locks, and dreary aspect. 
 
 '' How^ different from poor dear Edward !" 
 w^hispered Maria Barneson, when at length the 
 uncouth lad departed to his attic. 
 
 " Hardly fair to compare them," rejoined 
 Anne, the second sister; "think how differ- 
 ently they have been brought up. Ned has 
 enjoyed a thousand advantages. Ned is a 
 Wintonian, a gentleman, a soldier ; poor Mark, 
 a bumpkin, reared among bumpkins. Mark 
 has never associated with any thing above 
 bagmen or boors." 
 
 '' Hush, my dear Nancy, hush !" cried her
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 5 
 
 mother, scuffling off the younger children to 
 bed. " You should be cautious in talking 
 about such things before those little chatter- 
 boxes. Who knows but they may be repeat- 
 ing your remarks before Captain Knowles and 
 the officers !" 
 
 " Whether they do or not, mamma," ob- 
 served Maria, " Capt. Knowles cannot remain 
 blind to the fact that Mark has not been 
 brought up among gentlemen's sons, and is 
 quite unpresentable." 
 
 A sentence of condemnation to which Mrs. 
 Barneson responded by so heavy a sigh, as to 
 elicit a most indecorous burst of laughter from 
 Chrissy, her third daughter, who had hitherto 
 stitched silently on. She w^as instantly re- 
 minded that the family mourning was still too 
 deep for any such hilarious indulgence. 
 
 "You were all laughing at poor Mark's 
 towy hair and errand-boy's cap," she retorted. 
 " May I not feel equally amused at your feel- 
 ing so ashamed of your own flesh and blood ?
 
 6 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Maria is already wondering how we are to 
 suppress him, to-morrow, when Captain 
 Knowles drops in to luncheon." 
 
 Her sister attempted an indignant denial — 
 but Chrissy persisted. 
 
 '' Even mamma admitted, just now, before 
 the poor fellow was out of hearing, that she 
 did not know what to do with him." 
 
 " That, my dear, regarded the future pros- 
 pects of your brother," replied Mrs. Barneson 
 sententiously. " Till lately, we looked on Mark 
 as provided for. Till lately, we expected he 
 would succeed your uncle in his farm, and 
 therefore felt at liberty to allow your brother 
 Ned to follow the bent of his inclinations and 
 enter the army." 
 
 " I'm afraid the bent of his inclinations 
 waited for nobody's sanction," rejoined Chris- 
 tina. "Who was half so surprised as my 
 father, when Ned showed him the letter from 
 the Horse Guards, promising him a com- 
 mission ?"
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 7 
 
 " At all events," observed her eldest sister, 
 " the belief of having but one son on his hands, 
 reconciled him to Edward's choice of a pro- 
 fession. And now, with five daughters at 
 home, to have Mark thrown back upon him 
 for a maintenance, is a heavy trial T* 
 
 " Poor Mark ! He would, perhaps, have 
 done better to catch the fever that carried off 
 my uncle," replied Chrissy, who was apt to 
 blurt out truths to w^hich nobody liked to listen. 
 But her straightforwardness kept her elder 
 sisters in check ; and next morning, when 
 Mark, more sheepish -looking than ever, joined 
 the meagre family-breakfast, Anne and Maria 
 did their best to cheer him into sociability, 
 and put him in conceit w^ith weak tea and 
 stale bread-and-butter. 
 
 But their hollow civilities did not reach his 
 heart, any more than their scanty diet satisfied 
 his digestion. Mark had been reared in an 
 atmosphere of love and plenty. He was a bird 
 of another nest ; and fine feathers and fine
 
 8 THE TWO ARISTOCUACIES. 
 
 notes did not content him. Though his uncle 
 had been beguiled by a specious woman with 
 a handsome face, out of the power of fulfilling 
 his generous intentions towards his nephew, he 
 had cherished the lad tenderly to the last. The 
 Barnesons did not survey with fonder partiality 
 their handsome hopeful of the epaulet, than 
 the honest farmer his ungainly adopted. 
 
 The criticisms to which he was now sub- 
 jected, were consequently a surprise. His faults 
 of dialect had already passed into a family by- 
 word, and his clumsy movements seemed to 
 excruciate the dainty Maria. When, accord- 
 ing to Chrissy's prediction. Captain Knowles 
 did " drop in to luncheon," a very intelligible 
 hint from his sisters admonished him that, till 
 their visitor was gone, it might be as well to 
 make himself scarce. 
 
 Day after day did the poor fellow, chilly and 
 hungry, wander up and down the dreary 
 cloisters, or hang about the cathedral, wonder- 
 ing how long he was to remain a burthen to
 
 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. 9 
 
 himself and others ; while his father, who had 
 signified to him on the day following his arrival, 
 that he must prepare to work for his bread, 
 appeared too much absorbed in his own busi- 
 ness to decide, or signify, in what trade or 
 calHng the bread was to be worked for. 
 
 On his former visit to W. with his uncle, 
 previous to Mark Holden's marriage, they had 
 been welcomed as rich bachelor uncles and 
 their proteges are apt to be. But now, he 
 dared not open his lips in dread of the irony 
 of Maria and Helen and " the officers ;" who 
 questioned him concerning the manners and 
 customs of his uncle's house, as though address- 
 ing a newly-caught bush-ranger, and affected 
 surprise at hearing that his Yorkshire school- 
 fellows were neither tattooed nor decorated 
 with noserings. 
 
 Before the close of the week, he was 
 thoroughly miserable, and ran some risk of 
 abhorring the garrison of W. in general, and 
 Captain Knowles in particular ; nay, of regard-
 
 10 THE TWO AEISTOCHACIES. 
 
 ing with somewhat less than fraternal affection 
 the gallant ensign his brother, who appeared 
 to have absorbed the affections of his family ; 
 when, one morning, as he was shirking off, 
 as usual, to avoid being hinted out of his 
 mother's parlour before the blaze of red coats 
 and gold lace became visible above the horizon, 
 he found himself plucked by the sleeve, just as 
 he reached the sullen shadow of the cloisters. 
 
 " I have been trying to overtake you these 
 ten minutes, my dear Mark," panted his sister 
 Christina, taking resolute hold of his arm. — 
 " Why have you never asked me to walk with 
 you?'' 
 
 "Because I did not care to be snubbed. 
 I'm but a plain country lad, Chrissy : not fit 
 company, I dare say, for my sisters and their 
 gay captains ; but — " 
 
 *' Are you sure," interrupted Chrissy, " that 
 the gay captains are fit company for your 
 sisters ? — And do you remember, Mark, how 
 much happier and merrier we all were when
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 11 
 
 we lived in the poky house in the Watergate, 
 last time you were here ?" 
 
 " I remember that you then laughed at 
 other things besides me. And though my 
 father did not keep his carriage, or my mother 
 give dinners and tea-parties, there were not 
 half so many shabby shifts in the house/' 
 
 " How can we be otherwise than shabby 
 with seven children to provide for, and^my 
 poor mother bent upon keeping up appear- 
 ances, in hopes to forward Maria's settlement 
 in life ? My uncle's will has been a sad blow 
 to her. She was always telling Captain 
 Knowles of her rich brother in Yorkshire." 
 
 Mark was no longer hstening — Mark had 
 become cogitative. 
 
 " What you have been telling me, Chrissy," 
 said he, after some minutes' reflection, " ex- 
 plains the proposal made to me this morning 
 by my father. He wants to bind me to his 
 business, and invest my uncle's legacy in the 
 concern. When I come of age, he promises 
 to take me into partnership."
 
 12 THE TWO AHISTOCKACIES. 
 
 " Have you accepted?" 
 
 "Refused, point blank.*' 
 
 " You are perhaps, like my sisters, ashamed 
 of my father's calling ?" 
 
 " Not ashamed of it, but disgusted with it. 
 Medicine is called a noble science ; to me it is 
 a nauseous profession. I was surprised to find 
 him so vexed at my refusal ; but I understand 
 it v^ll now. It was my money, not my ser- 
 vices, he wanted. And the money, poor old 
 fellow, he shall have." 
 
 " To squander in entertainments to Captain 
 Knowles, and gay dresses for Maria and 
 Anne ? Take care what you're about, Mark. 
 That legacy comprises your whole fortune. 
 Those five hundred pounds are what the cat was 
 to Whittington, and may make a man of you 
 at last." 
 
 *' If by man you mean Lord Mayor, 
 Chrissy, I would almost as soon be a country 
 apothecary !" — 
 
 " You have grown proud, since you became 
 rich.''
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 13 
 
 " Rich r— 
 
 " At all events, the richest of your father's 
 children/' 
 
 " You seem almost to grudge me my legacy. 
 But I can tell you one thing ; — that, if wanted 
 for the use of the family, Fd sooner throw it 
 up at once, and enlist as a cabin-boy, than 
 idle about at home, an object of ill-will to 
 everybody, which I never was before in my 
 born days," added poor Mark, with something 
 of a choking in his throat. 
 
 " Not exactly everybody, — You overlook a 
 certain sister Chrissy, who cried her eyes out 
 when her playmate was carried off into York- 
 shire, fourteen years ago ; and is ready to cry 
 them out a second time, at seeing him with- 
 out pluck to stand his ground and fight his 
 own battles." 
 
 " What would you have me do ?" 
 
 " Certainly not shirk out of the way of 
 Captain Knowles ; who is to be our brother- 
 in-law, if ever his family can be brought to
 
 14 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 consent to his marriage with Maria, and my 
 father manage to scrape together two or three 
 thousand pounds to start them in hfe — two 
 things very unhkely to come to pass." 
 
 *' Then why is he always in our house ?'* 
 
 " Till a month ago, they were in hopes of 
 assistance from my uncle ; and have hardly 
 recovered the shock of their disappointment. 
 Then, Anne is all but engaged to a brother 
 officer of Ned's, with scarcely better prospects 
 than those of Captain Knowles. But he is a 
 good fellow : — more in earnest, and better 
 qualified to rough it." 
 
 Mark heaved a desponding sigh. Three 
 soldiers of fortune in one family formed a some- 
 what large allotment. 
 
 " But, at this critical moment of your affairs, 
 Mark, why not consult your friends?" per- 
 sisted Chrissy, grieved by his want of spirits, 
 and a little angry at his want of spirit. 
 
 " Friends ? — when even my sisters are 
 ashamed of me !"
 
 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 15 
 
 "I forget the name of the school-fellow 
 with whom you spent the holidays at Birming- 
 ham, two winters ago — " 
 
 " Zack Lambert ?" 
 
 " Of whom you then appeared so fond. 
 Why not write to him, and ask his advice ?" 
 
 Mark Barneson stopped short in his rapid 
 trot, and pressed tightly, and as if thankfully, 
 the arm of his companion. 
 
 " You're right, Chrissy. The Lamberts are 
 my friends. I must be a dolt to have over- 
 looked them : kind, conscientious people — the 
 best counsellors in the world. I used to be a 
 great favourite with old Matthew Lambert. 
 I'll write to Zack this very day." 
 
 " And who is old Matthew Lambert ?" 
 
 " A forge-master in a considerable way of 
 business ; — proprietor of the famous Brack- 
 nell Works. — Zack is about to enter the 
 firm." 
 
 The active-minded Christina took care that 
 her brother's resolution should not relax, till the
 
 16 THE TWO AEISTOCBACIES. 
 
 letter was written and posted ; and the result 
 was, an invitation to the young pariah to spend 
 a week or two with his friends the Lamberts. 
 '' It would be better to talk matters over before 
 they gave an opinion." 
 
 No difficulty arose at W. The Barnesons 
 evidently thought he could not go too soon, or 
 stay too long at the Bracknell Works. If so 
 fortunate as to pick up another generous uncle 
 on the road, it would be a great reUef to the 
 family.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Poor Mark Barneson seemed born to dis- 
 appointment. When exiled from Ryecroft 
 Farm by the death of his uncle, his heart 
 was comforted by the prospect of reunion 
 with the family from which he had been so 
 long alienated. But he was soon undeceived. 
 His warm affections were checked by sudden 
 frost. 
 
 Again, when a :nonitor among the inky 
 desks and rickety benches of the old school- 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 18 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 room at York, he had looked forward to a 
 breezy, out- door, wholesome country life, to 
 compensate for the excess of Euclid and Al- 
 gebra with which he was crammed. His 
 uncle was such a cheery companion, such 
 a pleasant taskmaster : and the free range 
 of Ryecroft Farm, so congenial to his feel- 
 ings ! 
 
 But in place of these recreations, he had 
 now to seek employment in a manufacturing 
 town, where, at that season of the year, the 
 gas was lighted at three in the afternoon ; and 
 the hue of the sky at all hours of the day, was 
 of a pale chocolate. 
 
 By his friend Zack, he was received with 
 open arms. Independent of schoolday chum- 
 ship, Zack Lambert cherished a lively recollec- 
 tion of certain happy summer holidays spent 
 at Ryecroft, previous to the marriage of its 
 master ; which constituted his sole experience 
 of the country, — the real country, — the coun- 
 try of woods and cornfields, ponies and fishing-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 19 
 
 rods ; and he seemed to love his old playmate 
 the more on learning that he was banished 
 from this Garden of Eden. 
 
 For young Lambert, like most only sons, 
 detested his father's calling quite as cordially 
 as did Mark Barneson. The stifling atmos- 
 phere, the perpetual clatter, the narrow horizon, 
 of the Bracknell Works, were an abomination 
 to him. Above all, he hated the confinement 
 of business life ; and like Mark, would willingly 
 have adopted the vagrant existence of a cabin 
 boy. Bold, boisterous, and selfish, he wanted 
 to go a pace of his own. 
 
 A newly-awakened suspicion of the short- 
 comings of his son, rendered old Matthew cir- 
 cumspect in complying with Zack's earnest 
 entreaties that he would find employment in 
 his establishment for Mark Barneson ; whose 
 want of experience and want of capital were 
 certainly no recommendations. 
 
 His small fortune had been placed at the 
 disposal of his father. But the worthy 
 
 c 2
 
 20 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 iron-founder liked the young stork none the 
 worse for his filial piety ; and on recalling 
 to mind the high character for steadiness and 
 abilities borne at York by his son's young 
 friend, he finally consented to receive him 
 in his counting-house, as clerk. 
 
 *' And so, my boy, we're about to run in 
 harness together. Your pen 's to come to the 
 scratch, next week, for the behoof of Lambert 
 and Co!" cried Zack, slapping his friend 
 heartily on the back. '* You're too good a 
 penman, you know, to be wasted on the anvil 
 and bellows. Not looking, I hope, for a prime 
 minister's salary ? For the first year or two, 
 Lambert and Co. never vouchsafe a stuyver to 
 their clerks beyond thirty pounds. But you're 
 to be one of the family, Mark, if you can put 
 up with our homely fare." 
 
 Young Barneson signified his grateful ac- 
 ceptance, and all was speedily arranged. No 
 need to return home and encounter anew the 
 careworn face of his father, or the supercilious
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 21 
 
 scrutiny of his sisters. He proposed to fall to 
 business at once. 
 
 " To tell you the truth, old chap," said Zack, 
 when he saw him thus earnest, '* I suspect 
 that one of the governor's chief motives for 
 adopting you as an inmate, is to secure a safe 
 companion for his scapegrace son. Though 
 IVe two years the advantage of you, in age, 
 Mark, you're ten years steadier ; and he seems 
 to hope that you'll pull me up, now and 
 then, when you see me going too fast. As 
 if I had not bullying enough in the family 
 already !" 
 
 The '* bullying" was, as Mark Barneson 
 soon discovered, of a very mild order. The 
 Lamberts were dissenters, — grave and rigid in 
 their habits, — anything but violent. The 
 children were reared in peace and quietness. 
 The mother was a home-staying, self-deny- 
 ing woman ; the father, a just man. It 
 was the very household for a young man 
 suddenly thrown on his own resources, and
 
 28 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 aspiring to create for himself, by his own 
 industry, an honourable independence. 
 
 Before six months were over his head, — 
 before Maria's engagement had progressed a 
 step towards delivering his mother's parlour 
 from the lounging of listless Captains, — the 
 routine of a sedentary life brought its usual 
 results. Young Barneson was becoming almost 
 fond of the occupation in which his regularity 
 and inteUigence procured him frequent com- 
 mendation. 
 
 When Christmas came round again, he had 
 become a decided favourite with old Matthew. 
 Not, however, because the purpose of his adop- 
 tion into the family was answered ; for Zack, 
 apparently of opinion that the steadiness of 
 his friend, in some degree exonerated him 
 from attention to business, grew wilder and 
 more pleasure-loving than ever ; and even his 
 mild mother occasionally raised her voice in 
 reprehension. But the new clerk remained 
 punctual as clockwork ; though forced to resign
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 23 
 
 to his friend Zack many and many an hour, 
 he would fain have devoted to study. The dis- 
 advantages arising to his half-educated old 
 master from his inferiority in mathematical 
 science to his own foreman, warned him to 
 master those practical and technical difficulties 
 which the ignorance of the elder Lambert, 
 and carelessness of his son, too often pro- 
 nounced to be unsurmountable. 
 
 Already, a remote hope of working his way 
 into the firm, by supplying funds from the 
 head instead of the pocket, glimmered in the 
 distance. 
 
 It was consequently a real grievance when, 
 on summer evenings, installed with his books 
 and diagrams, — books, the purchase of his 
 earnings, and problems worked out in many a 
 morning twilight stolen from his rest,^ — his 
 quiet little attic, his ark of refuge, was invaded 
 by Zack ; — elated and noisy ; — sometimes 
 insisting on dragging him from his work for a 
 saunter along dusty roads, to some skittle-
 
 24 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 ground or pigeon-match ; or, in unfavourable 
 weather, to Usten to flighty anecdotes of his 
 mode of " dodging the governor," or of his 
 sprees of the preceding night. 
 
 To be patient with him, to bear with him 
 so as to retain over his mind some shadow of 
 the influence which was now fast waning, was, 
 however, a tribute due to the liberahty of the 
 Lamberts. His salary was already doubled. 
 His place at the hearth-side was that of an 
 adopted son ; nor, from the hour he entered 
 the house, had a harsh word or forbidding 
 look wounded his feelings. Whatever might 
 be the press of business, no undue burthen 
 was laid upon his shoulders. Whatever the 
 household disorders created by the folly or in- 
 temperance of Zack, the stranger within their 
 gates was never made to smart. Was it 
 much to sacrifice in return those treasured 
 minutes, which, though due to recreation, he 
 chose to connect with the business of the 
 day?
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 25 
 
 It was, however, a struggle. For as months 
 and years passed on, and his advancement as 
 a clerk proved as moderate as every thing 
 connected with the sober-sided house of 
 Lambert and Co., he became grievously aware 
 how essential might be his future aid to the 
 support of his family. His capacities and 
 industry would be taxed to the utmost. He 
 could not afford to squander a single moment 
 of his leisure. 
 
 Nor was this all. The confidences of Zack 
 Lambert were becoming such as he could not 
 listen to without confederacy in evil. His 
 restraining influence was gone. His habits of 
 life rendered him only an object of pity and 
 ridicule to the incipient gent., who found at the 
 bilHard-tables of some commercial inn, com- 
 panions more congenial than his prosy friend. 
 It was only when his purse ran too low for 
 such resorts, or he had but half recovered the 
 excesses of the preceding night, that he deigned 
 to seat himself on poor Barneson's table, and
 
 26 THE TWO AHISTOCEACIES. 
 
 commit ravages on what he called Professor 
 Mark's pot-hooks and hangers, nearly as de- 
 structive as those of Sir Isaac Newton's lap- 
 dog on the labours of the great philosopher. 
 
 One cheerless evening, late in the autumn 
 of Mark Barneson's fourth year of clerkhood, 
 young Lambert burst into the little attic, where 
 a single long -snuffed candle scarcely enabled 
 Mark to decipher his ill-printed school-books ; 
 his face flushed, his voice husky. He came 
 not, as formerly, to apostrophise the zealous 
 student as " you confounded old sap !" — or to 
 endeavour to beguile him to some oyster-club 
 or dancing saloon. It would have suited him 
 as little as it had formerly suited poor Mark's 
 fastidious sisters, to be seen in his company. 
 His object was to coax or bully him out of a 
 further loan. For out of a certain fund of a 
 hundred and twenty pounds, economized from 
 his salary, more than two-thirds had already 
 passed into young Lambert's possession. 
 
 But this time, Mark was inflexible.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 27 
 
 " I can do nothing further for you, Zack," 
 said he. " You must remember that when I 
 handed you that five-pound note, last week, I 
 told you the rest was bespoken." 
 
 ** Yes, yes, — bespoken ! — The cant word of 
 every lender to every borrower.'' 
 
 " But I am not a lender, and use no cant 
 words ; least of all, Zack, to yowy 
 
 " I'd rather have the slightest of flimsies, 
 than the grandest of professions," cried young 
 Lambert, hoarsely and coarsely. " Come 
 Mark, there's a good fellow, down with the 
 stumpy !" 
 
 Barneson unlocked the drawer of the wri- 
 ting-table, where his money was deposited, 
 and gave ocular demonstration to his com- 
 panion that his purse contained only a few 
 shilhngs. 
 
 Induced by the movement to anticipate 
 acquiescence in his demand, Zack Lambert 
 uttered a cry of disappointment, followed by 
 an indignant oath.
 
 28 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 "" Why, what the deuce can you have done 
 with the money ?" cried he ; *' you're too much 
 of a miser to have sjpent it." 
 
 " I have lent it to a person who has 
 stronger claims upon me than yourself." 
 
 " I should be curious to see him, Mark 
 Barneson. Why, but for me, not a shilling of 
 this hoard would ever have come into your 
 grip. But for me, you'd have remained a 
 half- starved apothecary's boy at W. for the 
 remainder of your days." 
 
 Pale with disgust at this ungenerous taunt, 
 the poor clerk restrained his resentment ; for 
 he saw that the excited young man had 
 scarcely the command of his reason. 
 
 " If after what you have said you were 
 worth talking to," said he, " I might perhaps 
 shame you by stating that it is one of the 
 children of the apothecary at W. who has 
 obtained those few poor pounds. Had you 
 fulfilled your promise, Zack, to repay what 
 you owe me the last time you received your
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 29 
 
 allowance, I should have been better able to 
 do my duty by my poor sister." 
 
 Zack Lambert really humiliated, began to 
 stammer excuses. He wanted to embrace his 
 injured friend. He was almost in tears. But 
 Mark, though he extended his hand in for- 
 giveness, was not to be won to cordiality by 
 these maudlin demonstrations. 
 
 " Go to bed, Zack," said he. " Go to bed ! 
 You are in no state to be seen. To-morrow, 
 we will talk about your affairs." 
 
 Roused to fresh anger by these remon- 
 strances, young Lambert flung out of the room 
 and stumbled down the narrow stairs ; while 
 Mark, with an aching head and heart, resumed 
 his task. He had lost his boyhood's friend. 
 He saw it, — he knew it ; — but it was through 
 no fault of his. The only doubt upon his 
 mind that did not bear reference to his 
 problems, was whether he did strict justice to 
 Lambert and Co., by screening from the 
 father's knowledge the misdoings of his son.
 
 30 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 He worked late that night— later than 
 usual — for the vexation of spirit under whi'ch 
 he was suffering " murdered sleep.'' His 
 candle having burnt out, was replaced by one 
 from his self-furnished store ; and so chilly 
 was the night, that he was forced to sit 
 muffled in an over-coat, the picture of self- 
 denying, comfortless perseverance. 
 
 The first of the small hours had been an- 
 nounced by the jarring gateway-clock of the 
 Bracknell Works, and he was just beginning 
 to put aside his papers for the night, when a 
 step became audible ascending the stairs which 
 led only to his room. Believing it to be that 
 of Zack, returned from his orgies, he hastened 
 to bolt his door for the exclusion of the un- 
 timely visitor. 
 
 A low tap, and the voice of Mrs. Lambert 
 requesting admittance, undeceived him. But 
 he could scarcely have been more amazed had 
 the ghost of Sir Isaac, or of Euclid himself, 
 preferred the request. With his master's
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 31 
 
 wife, though nearly three years her inmate, 
 he had not exchanged ten times as many 
 words. Mrs. Lambert was a demure, taciturn 
 woman ; who, though she provided steaming 
 jugs of linseed tea for his catarrhs, and sanc- 
 tioned by a frigid smile the annual presenta- 
 tion to him of comforters and muffatees 
 knitted by her young daughters, Rhoda and 
 Lettice, seemed at other moments scarcely 
 conscious of his presence in the house. When, 
 having hastily opened the door for her admit- 
 tance, he beheld her shivering in her night- 
 dress, candle in hand, she might indeed have 
 been a ghost, for any vestige of colour in her 
 countenance. 
 
 " Is anything amiss ? — Is Mr. Lambert ill ?" 
 — was his first hurried exclamation. 
 
 " Mr. Lambert is asleep and well," she re- 
 plied, cautiously closing the door, however, 
 before she spoke even in a whisper, lest she 
 should alarm the house. " But my son, Mark 
 Barneson, — my son. — where is he ?'' —
 
 32 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 " In bed and asleep, also, Ma'am, I trust,'' 
 he answered, hesitating as he recalled to mind 
 the circumstances under which they had 
 parted. 
 
 ** I am come from his room- — and it is 
 empty,'' said she, sinking into the chair from 
 which Mark had risen to admit her. " I am 
 told it is often so, — nightly so : and that you 
 know it, — that you abet it, — that you share 
 and foster his profligacy." 
 
 At any other moment, Mark would have in- 
 dignantly defended himself. But the blanched 
 lips and fixed eyes of the poor mother, showed 
 her to be so intensely agitated, that he thought 
 only of reheving her anxiety. 
 
 " Zack is apt to keep late hours," he was 
 beginning. 
 
 " Speak honestly, Mark Barneson, or say 
 nothing," said she, interrupting him. " He is 
 in the habit of absenting himself for nights 
 and nights together from his father's roof; 
 and you, his confederate, admit him before the
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 33 
 
 house is astir. What would my husband say, 
 
 were he to know all this ?'* 
 
 " If reported to him, Mr. Lambert would 
 
 disbelieve it, till it was proved ; for he is just 
 
 and impartial." 
 
 " And / am partial, Mark. For till I just 
 
 now certified to myself the absence of my son, 
 
 I gave no credit to the tale. But now that I 
 find you here, waiting up through the watches 
 of the night, to assist his misconduct — " 
 
 Young Barneson lost no time in placing 
 before her eyes the sheet of paper covered with 
 diagrams, on which the ink was scarcely dry. 
 
 " This is the occupation, ma'am, which keeps 
 me from my rest," said he. " I should be 
 misemploying the time which belongs to Mr. 
 Lambert, were any portion of the day devoted 
 to studies which may, nevertheless, at some 
 future period, be made available to the firm. 
 With respect to his son, though my influence 
 over him is gone, I cannot tax my conscience 
 with having ever employed it for an unworthy 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 purpose. His comings and goings are alto- 
 gether independent of me. Had he asked my 
 aid in the manner you suppose, I should have 
 refused it." 
 
 " Thank God !" exclaimed Mrs. Lambert 
 fervently. " I can't afford, Mark, to think ill of 
 both of you.'' And tears which she evidently 
 strove to repress, rolled dov^^n her cheeks. 
 
 Fain would the sympathising Mark have 
 consoled her distress. But what comfort 
 could he conscientiously bestow ? 
 
 "You must help me, though you would not 
 help Imiy' said she, after a pause. " The 
 person from whom I received my warning, 
 will, if this mischief goes on, certainly apprise 
 his father ; and Matthew Lambert would be 
 without pity. Matthew Lambert, who has led 
 a good and righteous life, and who has a strong 
 sense of parental authority, may perhaps turn 
 the offender at once out of the house." 
 
 " I have remonstrated with Zack too often, 
 ma'am, to have the least hope that my word
 
 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 35 
 
 will prevail with him," replied Mark. " But 
 a mother's voice — a tender mother's voice — 
 might do much. Speak to him yourself. 
 Place before him the ruinous nature of the 
 course he is pursuing." 
 
 " But I know not what course he is pur- 
 suing — " faltered the unhappy mother. And 
 Mark instantly perceived that he w-as going 
 too far. 
 
 " The irregularity of your son's hours 
 proves that he keeps bad company," said he, 
 when again appealed to. " He is in debt — 
 he is intemperate. Perhaps a timely admo- 
 nition — " 
 
 "Too late — too late !" — murmured Mrs. 
 Lambert. " There is but one chance for him 
 — to be removed out of reach of the bad con- 
 nections he has formed. He must leave home 
 for a time. But to manage that, I must con- 
 sult his father ; and I dare not, — no, I dare 
 not." 
 
 Mark Barneson longed to tell the unhappy 
 
 D 2
 
 3d THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 mother that half the evils in this world arise 
 \from deficiency of moral courage. But she 
 was too miserable to be argued with. All he 
 could do was to persuade her to retire quietly 
 to rest, lest her husband, perceiving her absence, 
 should have his attention called to that of his 
 son. He promised to confer with her on the 
 morrow, concerning the further means to be 
 adopted. 
 
 But on the morrow, alas ! his attention was 
 fated to be engrossed by grievances of a more 
 personal nature.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 From the period of Mark Barneson's disin- 
 heritance by his uncle, and self-exile from W., 
 the affairs of the family had been progressing, 
 as foretold by Chrissy, from bad to worse. 
 The regiment of Captain Knowles having been 
 ordered to India, his marriage with Maria was 
 hastily patched up. And though the family 
 of the gallant captain could not be brought to 
 consider an allowance to the bride of one 
 hundred per annum by any means a sufficient
 
 38 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 motive for sanctioning the wedding with their 
 presence, it was a concession hard to accom- 
 pUsh for the heavily-burthened apothecary. 
 
 His wife and daughters managed, however, 
 to convince old Barneson that the honour of 
 his family was at stake; and when, some 
 months afterwards, a similar demand was made 
 upon him in behalf of Anne and her lieutenant, 
 though he candidly admitted the impossibility 
 of doing for her more than half he had done 
 for her sister, the additional fifty pounds a 
 year was secured by the mortgage of his house 
 and business. 
 
 But even with his family reduced to three 
 daughters, and rigid economy, Barneson found 
 it difficult to get on. If nothing succeeds like 
 success, nothing impoverishes like poverty. 
 The moment it was discovered that after the 
 establishment in life of her two beauties, Mrs. 
 Barneson prudently reduced her household, 
 and ceased to give luncheons, it became equally 
 apparent that " Barneson was getting in years,"
 
 THE TAVO ARISTOCRACIES. 89 
 
 — that "Barneson's memory was failing," — that 
 "Barneson was a mere old w^oman." His 
 patients deserted him for a young doctor 
 who had fewer hairs on his chin than the poor 
 old apothecary on his bald head ; but who 
 exhibited his name and diplomatic titles 
 ostentatiously emblazoned on the brass plate 
 of a well-varnished street-door, instead of 
 painted in white capitals over a shop-windovr. 
 But '' it was old Barneson's own fault. Why 
 had he not brought up one of his sons to 
 succeed him in his business w^hen he became 
 too infirm to carry it on ; instead of thrusting 
 one hopeful into the army, and allowing that 
 clumsy boy, of whom his Yorkshire relations 
 could make nothing, to become a Brummagem 
 nailer ?" 
 
 It was Christina who bore the brunt of all 
 these evils ; who watched the face of her father 
 grow thinner and more careworn ; and felt the 
 temper of her weak mother become sourer and 
 sourer. But conscious that she was the main-
 
 40 THE TWO ARISTOCBACIES. 
 
 stay of the house, she undertook the work of 
 the missing servants, and the education of the 
 younger girls; corresponded cheerfully with 
 her grumbling and disappointed sisters ; endea- 
 voured to undeceive the unauthorised preten- 
 sions of her soldier-brother ; and to keep 
 up the spirits of the laborious one, whom 
 she regarded as the future guardian of the 
 family. 
 
 It was to Mark that, with much compunc- 
 tion and many tears, she applied for a trifling 
 assistance towards the household expenses 
 which it was her function to regulate ; and by 
 thus emptying his reduced treasury, exposed 
 him to the savage reproaches of Zack Lambert. 
 And it was to him alone, she at length reluc- 
 tantly confided her suspicions that her father, 
 so far from being able to continue the allow- 
 ance of two hundred and fifty pounds a-year 
 due to his three elder children, was himself on 
 the verge of bankruptcy. 
 
 ^' You were too proud to come here, dear
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 41 
 
 brother, for Maria's or Nancy's wedding," she 
 wrote. " But though you shunned the house 
 of feasting, the house of mourning has sacred 
 claims. Mr. Lambert will not refuse you a 
 week's holiday. Come as speedily as you can, 
 and assist our poor father with your advice. 
 He is breaking fast. My mother does 
 nothing but fret and worry him. With your 
 assistance, he might perhaps dispose of his 
 business, which is rapidly falling off. At 
 all events, your presence would be a support 
 to us all/' 
 
 To his power of affording material pecuniary 
 assistance by the appropriation of his uncle's 
 legacy to the family necessities, Chrissy made 
 no allusion, because that question had been set 
 at rest by Mr. Holden's widow, (now re-mar- 
 ried to the attorney by whom his will was 
 drawn up,) who declined to pay him a shilHng 
 before the attainment of his majority ; or, long 
 ago, the whole would have been sacrificed, 
 Christina only asked for what he could certainly
 
 4i THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 afford, his counsel and kindness ; and no 
 sooner had he perused the letter, than with 
 trembling hands, he flung a few clothes into 
 a small valise, and prepared for departure. 
 Of his master's consent, he was assured. His 
 books were in perfect order. A junior clerk, 
 his coadjutor, could efficiently supply his 
 place. 
 
 But as he proceeded from the counting- 
 house towards the foundry, where, at that 
 hour, Mr. Lambert was sure to be found, it 
 suddenly occurred to him that he was penniless. 
 His half-year's salary, paid the preceding week, 
 had been already forwarded to Chrissy ; and 
 unless Zack were prepared to re-imburse his 
 advances, which, after the scene of the pre- 
 ceding night seemed impossible, he lacked even 
 the means of reaching W. 
 
 And alas ! he now remembered, what the 
 startling news conveyed by Christina's letter 
 had for a moment driven from his mind, that 
 young Lambert, exceeding his usual irregu-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 43 
 
 larity, had not yet returned home. The early 
 post had surprised poor Mark still anxiously 
 watching for his arrival. 
 
 But his need was imminent. He must not, 
 from overstrained delicacy towards the Lam- 
 berts, neglect his duty towards his own family. 
 Presenting himself, therefore, to the unhappy 
 mother of Zack with as little ceremony as she 
 had used towards himself the preceding night, 
 he briefly confided to her his distress, and 
 entreated her assistance. 
 
 Over-harassed and over- wearied, Mrs. 
 Lambert could not at once realise the urgency 
 of the case. All she seemed to understand 
 was, that Zack was still absent ; about to 
 incur disgrace with his father, — perhaps in 
 jeopardy, perhaps ill, perhaps in danger. It 
 was only by placing his sister's letter in her 
 hand, and thus violating what he regarded as 
 a sacred family confidence, that he could bring 
 her to understand his position ; that his earn- 
 ings were in the hands of her son ; that he must
 
 44 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 have funds to hasten to W. and protect the 
 interests of his ruined father. 
 
 The already pale face of Mrs. Lambert 
 became ghastly as she listened. Every shilling 
 at her command had been gradually ex- 
 torted from her by her prodigal son ; till, like 
 Mark himself, she was destitute. To procure 
 the money requisite, she must either become 
 herself a borrower, or reveal all to her husband. 
 From Mark, situated as he was, she could 
 ask no indulgence. 
 
 While she stood, pained and irresolute, the 
 offending cause of her embarrassment burst 
 into the room : his face haggard, his eyes 
 seared with intemperance and exasperation. 
 An unlucky encounter with his father had ex- 
 posed him to such humiliating reproofs in 
 presence of several workmen belonging to the 
 establishment, above all, of Alick Terrier, the 
 Glasgow foreman, by whom, after many 
 threatenings, he had been denounced to his 
 parents, that he was in no mood for expostula-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 45 
 
 tion. Even Mrs. Lambert was awed by the 
 ferocious expression of his countenance. 
 
 To find Mark Barneson in his mother's 
 room, — according to the habits of the house as 
 inaccessible to one of her husband's clerks as 
 the queen's chamber, — roused his suspicions 
 that he was the subject of their conference. 
 The open letter which Mrs. Lambert held in 
 her hand, bore, he doubted not, reference 
 to him or to his conduct. Snatching it 
 from her without apology, he hastily cast 
 his eyes over the contents. But as he read, 
 the angry man became sober, — calm, — self- 
 condemned. The truth rushed into his mind. 
 Mark Barneson, attired for a journey, was 
 there to beg for the means of reaching his 
 afflicted home, — to beg for his own,' — the hard- 
 earned pittance of which he, the idler, the 
 spendthrift, the drunkard, had deprived his 
 generous friend. 
 
 Not a word did he utter, not a glance did 
 he direct towards those who, a moment before,
 
 46 THE TWO AEISTOCEACIES. 
 
 had been the objects of his vindictive scowl. 
 But, stalking through the open door, he went 
 his way into the foundry-yard, where he had 
 recently quitted his father all but resolved 
 never to look upon his face again. There, 
 yet stood old Lambert; his brows bent, his 
 arms crossed behind his back ; but his heart 
 yearning with the compunctions of one who 
 has deservedly chastised a favourite dog, whom 
 he longs to caress in compensation. With 
 Chrissy Barneson's letter half crushed in his 
 hand, Zack boldly accosted him. 
 
 "Father," said he, regardless that Alick 
 Eerrier stood sneeringly regarding him, — " you 
 reprimanded me just now, and I answered you 
 insolently. You told me I was vicious and 
 worthless ; and that if I continued in my evil 
 ways, you would cast me out to starve. Forget 
 what I said in vindication of myself. You 
 were right, and I was wrong. I deserve to be 
 cast out, — I deserve to starve. Punish me as 
 you see fit, I won't complain. But do me this
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 47 
 
 justice. Pay Mark Barneson eighty pounds 
 which I borrowed from him in such wise that 
 it was all but theft. Pay it to him out of 
 hand, that he may not lose an hour in hurry- 
 ing to the relief of his distressed family; 
 and ril work my fingers to the bone, father, 
 till I repay you, pound for pound, what you've 
 advanced for my credit, and to save my heart 
 from breaking." 
 
 Right glad was the old man thus fervently 
 apostrophised, to bend his head over the letter 
 which Zack had by this time placed in his 
 hands, so as to conceal the tears that were 
 gathering under his spectacles; and having 
 mastered, qr seemed to master the contents, 
 he turned suddenly round, and desired Ferrier 
 to send young Barneson to him in the counting- 
 house. He considered perhaps that his son 
 did not deserve the gratification of witnessing 
 the accomplishment of his prayer. 
 
 Young Lambert was still standing absorbed 
 in thought on the same spot, when ten minutes
 
 48 THE TWO ARISTOCHACIES. 
 
 afterwards, Mark, with his valise on his 
 shoulder, touched him on the arm. 
 
 " Come with me to the coach -office, my dear 
 Zack,'' said he. " Your father wants you to 
 see me off." And haggard and exhausted as 
 he was, the penitent young man complied, with 
 the docility of a child. 
 
 "You have made my fortune,'^ resumed 
 Mark cheerfully, as they proceeded together 
 along the crowded causeway. " Mr. Lambert 
 has not only reimbursed your debt, but most 
 generously presented me with a hundred pound- 
 note, towards relieving the difficulties of my 
 poor father." 
 
 " Not a farthing too much, old fellow," 
 replied his friend, " to requite your zeal and 
 services to the firm. I wish it were five 
 hundred instead of one. 
 
 Had time and place been favourable, Mark 
 might have endeavoured to convince him that 
 this sudden effusion of liberality on the part of 
 the old man, was a thank-offering to one who
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 49 
 
 had been the accidental cause of bringing him 
 to a better understanding with his son. 
 
 But there was no time for further parley. 
 Mark was just in time to clamber to the roof 
 of an overladen day-coach, resembhng in form 
 and altitude a respectable haystack. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 50 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 So many changes and zig-zags awaited him 
 on his cross road, that only at daybreak the 
 following day did Mark Barneson, and the 
 morning mail, make their appearance at the 
 gates of W. An early frost rendered the sky 
 as clear as crystal ; and how different looked 
 those cold, square, silent cathedral towers 
 from the reeking chimneys he had left behind ! 
 The engines and hammers of Birmingham had 
 been stamping and clattering for hours ; — its
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 51 
 
 furnaces a-glow, — its factory windows radi- 
 ant with gas. But at W. nothing was astir 
 but the rooks circUng round the calm, grey 
 towers ; a few collegians with their satchels, 
 and a few maids-of-all-work with their brooms. 
 
 Much as — thanks to prospective and retro- 
 spective grievances, — he dishked the place, 
 Mark could not but regard with reverence the 
 solemn, historical aspect of the venerable city. 
 
 Having hurried at a rapid pace from the 
 coach-office to his father's door, the tranquil- 
 lity around him struck him less favourably. 
 From the closed shutters, it appeared as though 
 some one lay dead in the house. And such 
 might almost have been the case ; so heavily 
 afflicted was the poor old apothecary, and so 
 deep the distress of his family. 
 
 Misfortunes had pressed rapidly upon them. 
 On the very day that Christina's letter was 
 despatched, an execution had been put into 
 the house ; and for so small a sum, that it 
 was supposed to be at the private instigation 
 
 E 2 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLIMOIS
 
 52 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 of the brass-plated doctor. But even he, how- 
 ever envious, jealous, or designing, would 
 scarcely have prompted the measure, could he 
 have surmised that, though the claim was, 
 within a few hours, paid off, grief and morti- 
 fication would so work upon the impaired con- 
 stitution of Barneson, that, in the course of 
 the night, a paralytic seizure reduced him to 
 the brink of the grave. 
 
 No further hope of pecuniary relief by dis- 
 posing of his business ! It had ceased to 
 exist. The old man was henceforward to be a 
 cipher. His days were numbered ; and but 
 for the opportune arrival of his son, very 
 wretched would they have been, both to him- 
 self and to those who surrounded his dying 
 bed. 
 
 It was in vain that Mark endeavoured to 
 soothe the peevish outcries in which his child- 
 ishness sought relief, by assuring him that the 
 bailiffs had left the house, that he had brought 
 the means of relieving the immediate necessi-
 
 THE TWO ABISTOCRACIES. 53 
 
 ties of the family, and that, within a week's 
 time, the attainment of his majority would 
 compel his uncle's executrix to disburse the 
 long-coveted sum that was to place them at ease. 
 The disabled intellect of the sufferer could not 
 be brought to reason. He could not even be 
 made to understand that the young stranger 
 who addressed him so tenderly and tended 
 him so kindly, was his son Mark. 
 
 "I had but two sons that I remember," 
 muttered he, with a fatuous smile. " One of 
 them my daughters drove away from W. : the 
 other, I murdered !" 
 
 To explain to her startled brother the origin 
 of this strange delusion, was the task of Chris- 
 tina. On perceiving his bankruptcy to be 
 inevitable, the old man had uttered a frantic 
 prayer that his beloved son Ned might fall 
 honourably in action, rather than survive to 
 witness the ruin and disgrace of his family. 
 And, after his attack, the idea that his prayer 
 had been granted, had taken possession of his
 
 54 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 mind. It was in vain they assured him that 
 his son was safe; that no despatches had 
 arrived ; and when, ten days after his death, 
 the gazette of the battle of Toulouse actually 
 contained in its list of killed and wounded the 
 name of Ensign Edward Barneson, the shud- 
 dering marvel-mongers of W. chose to ascribe 
 to a supernatural warning the ravings of his 
 paralytic father. 
 
 The anguish, both mental and bodily, of the 
 poor sufferer, served at least to reconcile his 
 family to his release ; and Christina and 
 Mark, as they piously drew the last covering 
 over his wasted face, were unable to echo the 
 laijientations of the widow. 
 
 That nothing, or next to nothing, remained 
 for her maintenance, was no surprise, either to 
 her children or their fellow-towns people. It had 
 long been predicted; and every ill-natured com- 
 ment had been so thoroughly exhausted, that, 
 for a change, people became compassionate, 
 when it was discovered that, though the assets
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 55 
 
 of Mr. Barneson's estate amounted to little, 
 his liabilities were scarcely more considerable ; 
 and that, hke a witty roue, whose sayings have 
 become proverbial, he had "muddled away 
 his income in paying his debts." The defunct 
 defaulter thenceforward became established as 
 "poor Barneson," and re-established as an 
 honest man. 
 
 His wife, the real origin of his difficulties, 
 was the only person who considered herself 
 aggrieved by his insolvency. But hers was 
 not a grateful nature. For when, on the day 
 of the funeral, her contemned son informed 
 her that he was about to invest Mr. Holden's 
 legacy in an annuity on her life, which, with 
 thirty pounds a-year allowed her from his 
 salary, would form a small provision for the 
 remnant of her life, she indignantly resented 
 his desire that the trifle remaining after the 
 sale of his father's goods and the liquidation 
 of his debts, should be allotted to his helpless 
 sisters.
 
 56 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 "Mark had no affection for her," she said. 
 " He had been spoiled at Ryecroft Farm. He 
 had never felt towards her like any other of 
 her children." 
 
 Not satisfied, in short, with the real evils of 
 her lot, she chose to become a victim ; and 
 by dint of pitying herself, contrived to enlist 
 a host of sympathisers. Like all Cathedral 
 towns, W. abounds in idle, kindly people, 
 who delight in busy benevolence and the 
 monstering of nothings. The Widow Bar- 
 neson soon became one of the " shorn lambs " 
 of its amiable gossips ; and very universal 
 was their cry of exultation when an oppor- 
 tune vacancy enabled them to offer her the 
 matronship of St. Margaret's College, — one 
 of the numerous charitable institutions of the 
 ancient city : — an office which had always been 
 held by decayed gentlewomen, as conferring a 
 liberal salary, a comfortable residence, and 
 duties of the lightest and simplest kind. A 
 quieter or more creditable home could not
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 57 
 
 have been secured to the widow and orphans 
 of " poor Barneson !" 
 
 Relieved from all anxiety on their account, 
 Mark ventured, for the first time, to acquaint 
 her with Christina's desire and determination 
 to adopt the profession of governess : — at first, 
 of course, in a humble degree ; for in what 
 are called accomplishments, she was sadly de- 
 ficient. 
 
 Again, Mrs. Barneson resented. Again, she 
 was ill used. If deserted by Christina, who 
 was to undertake the education of her younger 
 girls ? 
 
 " The annuity proposed by Mark," she said, 
 " fell naturally to her share, because purchased 
 with her late brother's money. But she would 
 rather renounce the increase to her income, 
 prospectively tendered by Chrissy, than that it 
 should be earned through disgracing her mar- 
 ried sisters by slaving as a governess." 
 
 To render her a reasonable being, would 
 have been a far harder task for Mark than to
 
 58 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 wind up his father's affairs. It was afflicting 
 to see how much deeper was her sorrow for 
 the loss of the son in whom her pride and 
 vanity were centred, than for that of the hus- 
 band of her youth, her faithful, submissive 
 partner for thirty struggling years ; and when, 
 his duties fully accomplished, and his ungra- 
 cious parent settled in her new abode, poor 
 Mark took his departure from W. to re- 
 sume his life of labour at Birmingham, sore 
 was his heart at leaving poor Chrissy to 
 be the victim of her mother's peevish repin- 
 ings. On arriving at the factory, (so much 
 more his home than any roof, save that of 
 Ryecroft Farm, which had ever covered his 
 head,) he found that the long leave of absence 
 so liberally accorded him, had brought forth 
 good fruit. Zack had made it a point of ho- 
 nour to adhere closely to business while the 
 prop of the firm was away. Not a fault was to 
 be found with him. Not a cloud had dark- 
 ened the horizon of Lambert and Co. ; by
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 59 
 
 whom the sad-faced clerk, in his mourning 
 suit, was affectionately welcomed. 
 
 The gazette had apprised the Lamberts of 
 Ned Barneson's untimely end. But they chose 
 to hear in minute detail the prospects of the 
 surviving family. All that Mark had under- 
 gone, they spared him. All he purposed to 
 undergo, they applauded. And when he an- 
 nounced the intentions of his sister to seek a 
 situation as governess, and her capability to 
 impart the elements of a plain English educa- 
 tion, he was promptly reminded how long Mrs. 
 Lambert had been in want of such an assistant. 
 
 " I only wish,'*' said the old man, kindly, 
 " that you'd written from W. to apprise us, 
 and brought her home with you at once." 
 
 It was settled, however, that, at the close of 
 the Christmas hohdays, Christina was to be 
 among them. A cheering prospect for Mark ; 
 whose spirits were greatly depressed by the 
 scenes he had witnessed, and the burthens he 
 had adopted. With him, Chrissy would be
 
 CO THE TWO AHISTOCEACIES. 
 
 safe. With Chrissy, he should be happy. He 
 could have wished that their tent had been 
 set up in a more healthful and pleasant spot. 
 The young girl might perhaps pine in that 
 noxious atmosphere and stagnant household, 
 after her airy, dignified, native city, — the 
 anthems of its old cathedral, — the breezes of 
 its wholesome downs. But his affection, and 
 the kindness of the Lamberts, would reconcile 
 her to the sacrifice. The path of duty that 
 lay before the brother and sister might have 
 been appointed in a far more briary land.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. Gl 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The generous dealing of Matthew Lambert 
 seemed likely to reap a plenteous harvest. By 
 the opening of the Continent consequent on 
 the pacification of Europe, the business of the 
 firm was doubled, and the engines of Lam- 
 bert and Co. soon acquired a world-wide 
 reputation. In spite of the opposition of 
 Eerrier, the counsels of Mark Barneson assumed 
 a preponderating influence, not only in the 
 adjustment of their pecuniary aff'airs, but in
 
 62 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the adoption of every improvement produced 
 by the development of mechanical science. 
 Matthew Lambert was a prudent, practical 
 man. But there were discoveries undreamed 
 of in the philosophy of his earlier days, which 
 Mark, a careful reader as well as ready reckoner, 
 earnestly and successfully pressed upon his 
 attention. Before Waterloo was fought, the 
 premises of the Bracknell Works were con- 
 siderably augmented, and their furnaces recon- 
 structed. Lambert and Co. were already 
 cited among the first civil engineers in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 On the other hand, the private affairs of the 
 young clerk kept pace with those of his em- 
 ployers. His mother wrote more cheerfully. 
 Her married daughters, who at first appeared 
 to resent their father's ruin as an injury done 
 to themselves, were becoming resigned to their 
 disappointment. They even grew affectionate 
 towards herself, on finding that she made no 
 appeal to their generosity, and that their
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 63 
 
 uncouth brother had undertaken to be care- 
 keeper to the family. 
 
 Christina, too, had been singularly success- 
 ful in attaching the hearts of the little knitters 
 of comforters. Reared in habits of seclusion, 
 and accustomed only to the reserved man- 
 ners of their parents and kinsfolk, the frank 
 deportment of their young governess ex- 
 ercised a peculiar charm over Lettice and 
 Rhoda. 
 
 All, in short, would have been peace and 
 comfort, if perfect happiness were for this 
 world. But Mark, though rejoicing that a 
 radical change appeared to have been wrought 
 in the nature of Zack Lambert, — that he was 
 becoming as sober and homestaying as he 
 had once been wild and prodigal, — was not 
 at ease respecting the origin of this sudden 
 reformation. His mind misgave him that if 
 the family meals and family fireside appeared 
 less wearisome than of old, it was only because 
 the intelligent countenance of Christina, in
 
 64 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 attendance on her pupils, imparted brightness 
 to the dreary spot. 
 
 More than one motive rendered the conjec- 
 ture unsatisfactory. The Lamberts were dis- 
 senters ; and Matthew was an elder of his 
 church. As his wife undertook the religious 
 tuition of their daughters, it was immaterial 
 that their governess should belong to the 
 estabhshed church ; but he was not the man 
 to sanction the marriage of his only son out 
 of the pale of his own. 
 
 This was not all. Though the habits of 
 Zack were changed, his nature was unaltered ; 
 and it was not to a libertine at heart, — a brute, 
 when under the influence of intemperance, — 
 that Mark was disposed to confide the happiness 
 of his sister. That her affections might be 
 touched by the attentions of one who, though 
 prepossessing in his exterior, was in nature 
 coarse and unlettered, he entertained no 
 fear. In their Sunday walks to church and 
 back to the Works — the only oppor-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 65 
 
 tunity the brother and sister enjoyed of being 
 alone together, — he ascertained that Christina's 
 thoughts were still absorbed by the precarious 
 fortunes of her family. If she ever looked 
 beyond her present life of anxious exertions, it 
 was to a quiet country home where she and 
 Mark, having earned a moderate independence, 
 might live together, as old bachelor and old 
 maid ; with flocks, and flowers, and books, and 
 time and place at their disposal ; all that the 
 din and smoke of Birmingham, or the cold gen- 
 tilities of W., were likely to enhance. 
 
 During the first half-year of Christina 
 Barneson's sojourn with the Lamberts, her 
 deep mourning and depression of spirits pre- 
 vented her noticing the dulness of their inte- 
 rior. The Lamberts lived comfortably — almost 
 luxuriously ; but not a stranger was ever 
 entertained within their gates. Their notion 
 of the duties of society consisted in exchang- 
 ing occasional visits with a few distant relations, 
 Uke themselves, engaged in trade and belong- 
 
 voL. I. r
 
 66 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 ing to their sect, by which, public entertain- 
 ments were accounted sinful. 
 
 But in time, youth and nature resumed their 
 sway ; and after a twelvemonth's round of work, 
 study, and religious exercises, Chrissy was less 
 amazed at young Lambert's frequent absence. 
 His absence or presence, indeed, was alike a 
 source of vexation. The only wrangles she 
 had ever heard in the house, arose from his 
 dissensions with his parents ; and when he was 
 away, her attention was often distracted from 
 the books with which, after the little girls 
 T^ere in bed, she endeavoured to complete her 
 imperfect education, by the lamentations of 
 Mrs. Lambert over the backslidings of Zack. 
 
 Great, therefore, was her surprise, when, 
 one evening, Mrs. Lambert imparted to her 
 confidentially over her knitting, a project 
 suggested by Ferrier, which she trusted would 
 break off the injurious companionships of her 
 son. As the bearing of heavy burthens is said 
 to invigorate the human frame, his father
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 67 
 
 hoped that, by increasing his responsibilities, 
 he might be able to strengthen his character. 
 
 Christina looked up from her volume with 
 some curiosity, as to- the mode in which the 
 miracle was to be accomplished. 
 
 " You have probably heard from your 
 brother," continued Mrs. Lambert, '* that the 
 engines ordered by the great sugar-refiner at 
 Havre-de- Grace, which have compelled us to 
 employ ever since spring so many extra hands, 
 are at last ready for delivery. Ferrier was 
 to have accompanied them, and to remain in 
 France as overseer of the works. But he has 
 suggested that Zack has sufficient experience 
 for the job ; or, if not, that Pierce and Drever, 
 and one or two other hands, might assist him. 
 In short, he is of opinion the change might be 
 beneficial to my son. A few months' absence 
 would give a new turn to his thoughts." 
 
 " A new turn, perhaps ; but every change 
 is not beneficial," observed Chrissy returning 
 to her book. That it would probably be a 
 
 F 2
 
 68 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 change from bad to worse, was tacitly im- 
 plied. 
 
 " Have you any grounds for objecting to 
 the plan ?" inquired Mrs. Lambert, drily. 
 
 '* Objecting, ma'am ?'' repeated Chrissy sur- 
 prised, " when I have neither influence nor in- 
 terest in the question ? I cannot help think- 
 ing, however," she added, evading all allusion 
 to the moral side of the dilemma, " that know- 
 ing nothing of the French language, your son 
 would make a less efficient representative of 
 the firm than some person better qualified — " 
 
 " Your brother, perhaps ?" 
 
 " My brother," replied Chrissy, unguardedly ; 
 " who, though he may not speak French 
 fluently, understands and writes it to per- 
 fection." 
 
 Mrs. Lambert laid down her knitting for a 
 moment, and gazed wonderingly at her com- 
 panion. What was passing in her mind, 
 however, was not pourtrayed in her inexpressive 
 countenance. She was thinking " if it be as
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 69 
 
 Alick Ferrier supposes, if this young girl is 
 really bent upon entangling Zack in a foolish 
 marriage and advancing the interests of her 
 brother, she would never thus expose her 
 plans." 
 
 Her notion was confirmed, when, a moment 
 afterwards, and without the slightest embar- 
 rassment, Christina added — " Besides, I very 
 much doubt, ma'am, if your son would consent 
 to the arrangement. He is so averse to 
 foreigners, and so prejudiced against foreign 
 parts !" — 
 
 " I should hardly imagine, however,*' said 
 Mrs. Lambert, coldly, " that Zack would 
 venture to oppose the will of his father. He 
 may be wild, Miss Barneson ; but whatever 
 you may fancy to the contrary, he knows his 
 duty." 
 
 Christina had often heard her assert the 
 reverse. But it was not her business to convict 
 her patroness of inconsistency; and Mr. Lambert 
 made his appearance at supper-time in a mood
 
 70 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 SO serene, that it was plain his project had 
 experienced no opposition. But he was un- 
 accompanied by his son ; and the meal would 
 have passed in silence, but for a few inquiries 
 on the part of Mark Barneson concerning the 
 period fixed for Ferrier's departure, and the 
 mode of shipping the ponderous machinery, 
 which required three powerful teams for its 
 transportation. It struck him that his old 
 master's replies were cold and constrained. 
 No sooner had Mrs. Lambert withdrawn for 
 the night, than the mystery w^as expounded. 
 The plans devised by Ferrier for Zack's ex- 
 patriation, were unfolded as a settled arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 Mark was both startled and distressed. He 
 had been designedly kept in the dark. Eerrier 
 was too sure of his opposition to risk the pre- 
 mature development of his scheme. He did 
 not, however, expostulate ; for his advice was 
 not asked. 
 
 " If my son starts a week hence/' observed
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 71 
 
 the old man, " he will be in time to meet the 
 brig we have engaged at Southampton. In 
 that space, he will have learned from Terrier 
 and yourself all that is necessary — eh, Mark ?'' 
 added he, after a pause, perceiving that he 
 obtained no answer, 
 
 *' Certainly not. Sir, — nor in thrice the time. 
 You do not ask my opinion on other points of 
 the question ; or I should take the liberty of 
 adding that, whether as regards your son 
 or yourself, nothing could be more inju- 
 dicious." 
 
 "If I have not asked your opinion you 
 might have spared giving it," said Matthew 
 Lambert, morosely. " I have my motives for 
 removing that thoughtless young fellow from 
 Birmingham ; as you have perhaps yours for 
 wishing to keep him here." 
 
 " Motives ?" reiterated Mark, not a little 
 hurt by a tone and manner so unusual. " What 
 motives can I possibly have. Sir, but such as 
 I am willing to explain ? — namely, that your
 
 72 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 son is totally unacquainted with the working 
 department of your business, addicted to ex- 
 pensive pleasures, and that, if deputed by 
 yourself to represent the firm of Lambert and 
 Co. in a foreign country, you render yourself 
 responsible for whatever Habilities he may 
 incur." 
 
 " That is my look out. Entanglements may 
 result from his remaining at home, much harder 
 to throw off than the loss of a few hundreds of 
 pounds.'' 
 
 '' The hundreds, Sir, might be thousands." 
 
 "In short, Mark Barneson, it suits you that 
 he should bide in Birmingham !" 
 
 " It does indeed, Sir." 
 
 " In order that, from sheer idleness and 
 weariness, he may be hood-winked into a mar- 
 riage with your sister !" — 
 
 Mark started to his feet. 
 
 " You find I am better informed than you 
 fancied," added the old man, — who had 
 been gradually working himself into a state
 
 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. 73 
 
 of exasperation, prompted in the first in- 
 stance by the treacherous suggestions of AHck 
 Ferrier. 
 
 " Let us sleep upon it, Mr. Lambert!" rephed 
 Mark, having succeeded in repressing the first 
 indignant rejoinder that rose to his hps. *' If 
 I answered you to-night, I might forget the 
 respect due to one to whom I and mine are 
 under such heavy obhgations." 
 
 "That pretence won't serve you, Mark 
 Barneson,*' cried the angry old man. "Eva- 
 sion won't do. You know as well as /do, noiOy 
 and as every soul in the Bracknell Works has 
 known for months, that you and your sister 
 have been playing into each other's hands 
 to " 
 
 " Stop, Sir — 1 beg of you to stop !" cried 
 Mark, panting for breath. " You have been 
 imposed upon ; and when undeceived, your 
 kind heart will sufier for having insulted two 
 persons so helpless and friendless as Chrissy 
 and myself.'*
 
 74 THE TWO AUISTOCEACIES. 
 
 Matthew Lambert could not repress an im- 
 patient gesture, 
 
 " Is your son in the house ?" inquired Mark, 
 his temper again warming. " Let me go in 
 search of him." 
 
 " In order to sow seeds of discord between 
 us, and dispose him against accepting the duty 
 I have imposed upon him?" — 
 
 " No, Mr. Lambert ; — in order that he may 
 vindicate two friends unjustly aspersed. With 
 all his faults, Zack has a generous nature ; 
 and would tell the truth, however injurious to 
 himself." 
 
 " And what, young man, is your version of 
 the truth ?" demanded Lambert, a little moved 
 by the warmth exhibited by his usually re- 
 served clerk. 
 
 " Simply that my sister has already, more 
 than once, rejected your son's proposal to 
 make her his wife." 
 
 " Christina Barneson refuse to — No, no !" 
 cried old Lambert, interrupting himself, " that
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 75 
 
 would be too good a joke — That — But Perrier 
 warned me you would say as much, or more." 
 
 "With Alick Terrier's insinuations, sir, I 
 have nothing to do. I refer you expHcitly to 
 your son. Had not this mortifying dispute 
 occurred between us, I should have announced 
 to you, this very night, my sister's desire to 
 resign her employment in your family. Not 
 alone," added Mark, " because it is harassing 
 to her to be placed in such a false position ; 
 but because Terrier himself, instead of ac- 
 cepting as final the refusal she gave him 
 last winter to marry him, molests her with 
 letters, and is perpetually intercepting her 
 walks with her pupils. But for her attach- 
 ment to your daughters, and her gratitude to 
 Mrs. Lambert, Christina would have retired, 
 months ago, from the house." 
 
 " I have your solemn word, Mark Barneson, 
 in attestation of all this ?" — 
 
 " If you doubt me, sir, apply to Zack. Or 
 send for my sister, who is probably still up.'*
 
 76 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 " No, Barneson," replied the old man, in 
 an enfeebled voice, apparently overcome by all 
 he had been hearing. " Let us do even as 
 you proposed. Let us sleep upon it. To- 
 morrow, I must have further explanations with 
 Ferrier— with yourself —with my son." 
 
 It was probably with his wife that the old 
 man took counsel, before ' he again confronted 
 his subordinate. For, in woman, faith is more 
 instinctive than in the rougher sex ; and Mrs. 
 Lambert had from the first beheved in Mark 
 and his sister, whom she reverenced as '^ chil- 
 dren of light.'' 
 
 A-S soon as the ringing of the dinner-bell 
 cleared the yard and the counting-house for a 
 time, the head of the firm of Lambert and 
 Co. despatched a messenger for Barneson ; 
 and, for the first time since their greeting 
 on his return from W., offered him his 
 hand. 
 
 " I ask your pardon, young man,'* said he. 
 *'I spoke hastily last night, — worse than hastily,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 77 
 
 — unadvisedly and uncharitably. I ask your 
 pardon, Mark. Let us be friends again." 
 
 " We have never ceased to be so, sir. To- 
 wards you^ I could never feel otherwise than 
 respectfully and gratefully," replied Mark, more 
 deeply moved than he cared to show. " You 
 have, I trust, satisfied yourself that I asserted 
 only the truth. But far rather than hear you 
 say so, would I learn that you had renounced 
 your intentions concerning your son's visit to 
 Havre. Let Christina's remaining here be no 
 obstacle or object. I pledge myself for her 
 immediate departure." 
 
 " That observation, Mark, is scarcely grate- 
 ful or respectful," replied old Matthew, " con- 
 sidering that you know how dearly your sister 
 is loved by my wife and girls. But, on that 
 point, be easy. I have thought the matter 
 over. I have talked it over with my wife ; and 
 his mother and I have come to a determina- 
 tion that if, on his return from France, our 
 son should persist in his liking, and have made
 
 78 THE TWO AUISTOCUACIES. 
 
 proof there of as much steadiness as could 
 warrant our establishing him in life, Christina 
 shall become our daughter-in-law/' 
 
 At this startling announcement, the coun- 
 tenance of Mark became more clouded than it 
 had been at any moment of their stormy dis- 
 cussion of the preceding night. The duty of 
 candidly stating what he knew would inflict 
 pain and mortification on his benefactor, was 
 not, however, to be evaded. 
 
 " It would be unpardonable to deceive you, 
 sir," said he ; *' but the marriage you gene- 
 rously propose is impossible. Under no cir- 
 cumstances would Chrissy be happy as the 
 wife of your son. Such is her opinion — such 
 is mine." 
 
 *'Is she discontented, then, among us?" 
 demanded the old man, — but more in sorrow 
 than in anger. " I fancied she was attached 
 to the family !" 
 
 " And so she is. She loves her master and 
 mistress ; she loves her pupils ; she is per-
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCKACIES. 79 
 
 fectly happy here ; but to fulfil the duties of 
 a governess is a very diflPerent thing from un- 
 dertaking those of a wife. In the first place, 
 she belongs to the Church of England" — 
 
 "The prospect of a happy home would 
 perhaps determine her to conform to our 
 belief." 
 
 " You cannot in your heart desire it, Mr. 
 Lambert," said Mark, gravely. " You would 
 despise her if worldly considerations influenced 
 her religious opinions.'* 
 
 " She is attached, perhaps, to Alick Ferrier ? 
 My wife tells me" — 
 
 " That he has asked her to be his wife, and 
 that she has more than once declined the 
 offer." 
 
 " She might do worse than marry him," 
 rejoined Matthew Lambert, fractiously. " Fer- 
 rier is steady and pains- taking. He has laid 
 by money : he is getting on. I have a sin- 
 cere regard for Ferrier." 
 
 So had not Mark. But, conscious that he
 
 30 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 had already opposed and thwarted his master 
 more than comported with their relative posi- 
 tion, he deferred to a future time the expla- 
 nation of his sister's objections. But on rais- 
 ing his eyes from the ground, after listening 
 respectfully to the manifesto of his commander- 
 in-chief, he perceived that Zack had been an 
 unobserved auditor of the latter portion of 
 their conference. 
 
 "I have been seeking you all over the 
 place, Sir," said he, addressing his father, in a 
 hurried, agitated manner. " I am anxious to 
 tell you that, on reflection, I am ready to obey 
 your orders. I am prepared to start for South- 
 ampton. I will do my best, my very best, 
 as supervisor of the works at Havre de 
 Grace."
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 81 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 The weeks that followed his departure, 
 though summer was in its prime, — and during 
 the summer season the Lamberts refreshed 
 themselves for the year, not after the usual 
 Great-British custom of rushing to the sea- 
 side, but by nesting themselves in a farm-house 
 which they had rented for some years past, on 
 the Dudley road, — passed far from pleasantly to 
 Mark and his sister; They were evidently out 
 of favour. Constraint and dissatisfaction pre- 
 vailed between them and their employers. 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 That Ferrier was in a great measure the 
 cause of the misunderstanding, they nothing 
 doubted. But of him, at Whortle Hill, Chris- 
 tina saw no more ; and young Barneson was too 
 fvell aware of his ability and experience in his 
 vocation, to seek a quarrel on personal grounds. 
 The indispensable intercourse of business was 
 formally kept up between them. It would 
 be Alick Terrier's own fault if he provoked 
 further hostilities. 
 
 Of the absent son, no mention was made at 
 Whortle Hill. Even at the Works, nothing 
 transpired ; except that the arrival of the 
 machinery and men had been duly notified to 
 the firm of Lambert and Co., by that of 
 Questier et Compagnie, and that Bill Drever, 
 one of the hands who accompanied the con- 
 signment, had written home to his wife a 
 flourishing account of the notice their monster 
 engine had excited in the docks ; as well as of 
 the cheapness and cheerfulness of life in the 
 French Liverpool.
 
 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. S3 
 
 " So much the better !'* said Mark, when the 
 good news was communicated to him. But at 
 heart, he remained anxious. 
 
 Letters bearing the Havre post-mark, con- 
 stantly appeared in the box of the Bracknell 
 Works. But though mostly in Zack's hand- 
 writing, not one was addressed to his father 
 or mother. Alick Ferrier was the favoured 
 correspondent. 
 
 It was this undutiful silence, perhaps, which 
 indisposed them towards Christina ; whom 
 they regarded as the cause of dissension be- 
 tween them and their son, and of his temporary 
 exile. But their reserve only caused her to 
 fall back with warmer sympathy on the affection 
 of her pupils, two hopeful girls, who fully re- 
 paid her care. 
 
 In a different guise and degree however. 
 Lettice, now in her thirteenth year, was dull 
 and slow, almost to deficiency. But she was 
 fondly attached to her instructress ; and paci- 
 fied Christina's* rebukes by a silent caress, 
 
 G 2
 
 84 THE TWO AHISTOCRACrES. 
 
 or admitted her faults by a tearful blush ; 
 while Rhoda, handsome, briUiant, spirited, but 
 in manner abrupt, and in temper untameable, 
 stimulated by her rapid acquirements the 
 utmost industry of her teacher. 
 
 On the Sunday visits of Mark to Whortle 
 Hill, he was sometimes inclined to accuse poor 
 Chrissy of over-interest in their progress, and 
 exaggerated admiration of the beautiful features 
 of R-hoda, and sweet countenance of Lettice. 
 She seemed to think more of the Lambert 
 children than of her two poor sisters at W. 
 But even when, as they were sauntering to- 
 gether through the meadows one gorgeous 
 July evening, he let fall some hint of his family 
 jealousy, she was too wise to vindicate herself. 
 It would but have vexed him the more to learn 
 that she refrained from communicating to him 
 the letters of her mother and sisters, because 
 they consisted chiefly of unreasonable grumb- 
 lings or appeals to her purse; or that the 
 strong resemblance of Rhoda T^mbert to that
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 83 
 
 absent brother, who, for her sake, was eating 
 the bitter bread of banishment, had no small 
 share in her predilection. 
 
 " But since you are so anxious about your 
 friend," said she, when, as they crossed the 
 dewy meadows on their return to Whortle Hill, 
 Mark still continued to harp upon certain 
 mysterious hints he had received from Eerrier, 
 touching the proceedings of the absent Zack, 
 " why not write to him yourself ? — Why not 
 wTite to him at once ?" — 
 
 " Do you suppose I have waited thus long ? 
 I wrote to him a month ago. — I have written 
 thrice since. — Not a word in reply !" 
 
 " Yet you parted on friendly terms ?" 
 
 " As friendly as could be expected, under the 
 circumstances. He shook hands warmly with 
 me when I bad him goodbye; but refused 
 his father's offer that I should accompany him 
 to Southampton and see him off. He pre- 
 ferred the company of Terrier." 
 
 " Naturally, just then. He knew that
 
 86 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 you had advised me against becoming his 
 wife." 
 
 " As any other brother of right principles 
 would have done. But Zack is not of an 
 unforgiving temper. I wish he were safe back 
 again, Chris sy, — I wish he were safe back 
 again ! Before I leave you to-night, couldn't 
 you ask Mrs. Lambert whether she has any 
 tidings of her son ? A word or two from her 
 would be a great relief to nly mind^" 
 
 Christina shook her head. She could not 
 venture on such tender ground. The silence 
 maintained towards her on the subject was 
 too pointed. It was only by restricting her- 
 self to the exact duties of her place in the 
 family, that she could hope to keep on good 
 terms with the Lamberts. In time, she trusted 
 to win them back to their former kindness. 
 
 But though unwilhng to risk a direct in- 
 quiry, she could not help watching the coun- 
 tenance of Mrs. Lambert for indications of 
 anxiety, or discomfort. She fancied that her
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 87 
 
 deportment, usually cold and sedate, evinced 
 symptoms of agitation whenever the post came 
 in. If foreign letters were expected, they 
 certainly never made their appearance ; and 
 Lettice's frequent inquiry, at meal-times, of — 
 " when brother Zack was coming home again?" 
 were checked or reproved rather than an- 
 swered. 
 
 Summer weaned. A rainy autumn set in. 
 The Lamberts migrated, as usual, from their 
 cheerful grange to the noisy, sooty, smoky 
 Works ; and Christina did not find her 
 dreary, higli-walled quarters at the Foundry 
 improved by the gloomy countenance of old 
 Lambert, or the anxious looks of her brother. 
 
 A few days after their return, it was sud- 
 denly announced that Mr. Lambert was about 
 to visit Havre, in order to supervise the com- 
 pletion of the works at Questier's Sugar Re- 
 finery, and negociate their balance of accounts. 
 Nothing very startling in such a proceeding ; 
 except to those sufficiently acquainted with
 
 88 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the business of the firm to be aware of the 
 far more important contracts in progress at 
 the Bracknell Works, and old Matthew's utter 
 ignorance of the language and habits of the 
 country he was about to visit. Though he 
 said not a syllable to Barneson touching the 
 motives or probable duration of his expedition 
 to France, the solemnity of his manner when 
 depositing in his hands a considerable credit, 
 and instructing him to undertake, during his 
 absence, the entire charge of the Works and 
 the family, filled the young man with conster- 
 nation. 
 
 Instead of feeling grateful for the confidence 
 reposed in him, Mark Barneson longed to fall 
 on the neck of his old master, and exclaim — 
 " Trust me less, or trust me more ! — Why are 
 you leaving us ? — What has happened ? — Is 
 the Prodigal we love already feeding swine in 
 a land of strangers ?" — 
 
 He did, however, only what is usually done 
 by civilised beings under similar circumstances:
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 89 
 
 bowed stiffly, coughed down the choking in 
 his throat, and held his peace. It was not for 
 an indigent clerk to pry into the mysteries of 
 his master's house. 
 
 Shortly after the old gentleman's departure, 
 however, it came incidentally to his knowledge 
 that he had been himself instrumental in the 
 movement. A poor woman, the wife of Bill 
 Drever, one of the absent w^orkmen, had ap- 
 pealed to his assistance to obtain an interview 
 with the head of the firm ; and finding that 
 she had been harshly expelled from the yard 
 by order of Ferrier, and concluding from her 
 distressed appearance that her object was to 
 obtain an advance of her husband's wages, 
 or some other pecuniary concession, he had 
 afforded her access to Mr. Lambert ; to whom 
 she had tidings to convey which curdled the 
 very blood in his veins. The ragged, crumpled, 
 ill-written, ill-spelt letter from her husband, 
 w^hich she placed in his hand, satisfied old Mat- 
 thew that nothing but his immediate presence
 
 DO THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 could rescue from destruction, perhaps from 
 death, his profligate but still dearly-loved son. 
 
 Even to his wife, however, he confided only 
 half his terrors. But though he tried to look 
 and speak cheerfully when, at parting, he be- 
 stowed his blessing on her and his children, 
 the old man's heart was heavy as lead. All 
 seemed desolate before him, — all hopeless. For 
 many a long year, he had not absented himself 
 from his family ; and it was like tearing him- 
 self up by the roots to leave home. All would 
 go wrong during his absence. As regarded 
 the main object of his journey, he was pro- 
 bably already too late for his intervention to 
 be available. 
 
 By the time he reached the first halting- 
 place of his journey, however, the usual effects 
 of travel in company with strangers, began to 
 influence his mind. When forced to reply to 
 promiscuous questioning and confront the stare 
 of unsympathising faces, his brow became less 
 clouded, and his tongue was loosed. Frost
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 91 
 
 had set in. The weather was sharp and sunny ; 
 and his fellow-travellers chanced to be cheery 
 and communicative. The old man, whose 
 views of Hfe were cramped by the urgent 
 nature of his business and the routine of his 
 uneventful fireside, was almost bewildered by 
 the topics of national interest which he heard 
 argued, and the eagerness of his companions 
 concerning men, things, and discoveries, hither- 
 to undreamed of in his philosophy. The 
 world he lived in, and the times he lived in, 
 seemed suddenly to expand before him. He 
 grew almost cheerful, as he listened in wonder- 
 ing silence to the discussion of Church and 
 State, Commerce and Agriculture, handled 
 with a degree of off-hand recklessness and 
 vehement assertion, unknown to his drowsy 
 chimney-corner. 
 
 The Havre packet was not to sail till the 
 following day, at noon ; and, in the interim, 
 the clear atmosphere of the airy, busy town of 
 Southampton, did its part in lightening his
 
 92 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 depression. As yet untransformed by the 
 magic of steam-locomotion by sea and land 
 into a commercial port, Hampton was still the 
 venerable rural capital of Sir Bevois ; as proud 
 of its noble Avenue, and picturesque Bar, as 
 now of its Docks or Pier ; and by the time 
 the careworn iron-master descended the land- 
 ing stairs to the deck of the good sailing 
 packet, the Curlew, about to convey him to 
 the " pleasaunte lande of Fraunce," his face 
 and feelings were unconsciously revived by the 
 sea breezes which, for more years than he 
 could remember, had not braced his frame. 
 
 The highly-cultivated shores of the South- 
 ampton Water presented many a pleasant 
 landscape. The wind was in their favour ; 
 and as they reached the Solent, the white sea- 
 birds came circling round their sails, dotting 
 the blue and pellucid waves that sparkled 
 gaily in the sunshine. So bright, so auspicious 
 was the scene, that joy entered into his heart. 
 It could not be as, the preceding day, he had
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 93 
 
 dreaded. The young man, his son, was yet 
 alive. The young man his son, was not so 
 utter a castaway as he had been denounced by 
 Bill Drever in that officious letter to his 
 wife ! — 
 
 The Ancient Mariner, when the dead alba- 
 tross fell from his neck, could scarcely have 
 felt more relieved than poor old Matthew, 
 when his heart opened to that dawning hope : 
 the returning Dove was not more welcome 
 to the Ark ! —
 
 94 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The waves were lapping vigorously against 
 the quay on which Matthew Lambert landed, 
 the following morning, under the guidance of 
 the commissionnaire to whose care he had been 
 thoughtfully consigned by the captain of the 
 Curlew. Dazzled by the sunshine, puzzled by 
 the clamour of a strange tongue and innumer- 
 able voices, harassed by the screaming of 
 parrots and barking of dogs, which at Havre 
 beset more shrilly than in most foreign ports
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 95 
 
 the stranger in the land, he might not otherwise 
 have found his way to the shabby inn called 
 the American Hotel ; w^here only, in those 
 days, what w^as called the " Anglis tongue" 
 was spoken. 
 
 Dizzy from the influence of his voyage, and 
 the noise of the touters and porters through 
 whom he had struggled, he was at first unable 
 to recall the object of his finding himself in 
 that strange room, — bright with looking- 
 glasses, coloured prints, the wood-fire flaming 
 on its hearth, and the sunshine glaring through 
 its windows ; and the smiling chattering 
 chambermaid in her high- crowned Norman 
 cap, and assiduous waiter in his white apron 
 and gold earrings, still further perplexed him 
 with their tenders of service. But ten minutes 
 of rest and refreshment having restored him to 
 his accustomed sedateness and self-mastery, he 
 was ready to start when the vehicle bespoken 
 by Louis, his mulatto henchman, (whose 
 polyglot accomplishments produced a strange
 
 96 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 confusion of tongues,) jkngled to the door, to 
 transport him to the " Raffinerie de Monsieur 
 Questier r an establishment, he was informed 
 by hostess, waiter, chambermaid, and the 
 dingy commissionnaire, as well known in 
 Havre as the Prefecture or the Mairie. 
 
 Even when, with Louis mounted on the box 
 beside the ragged coachman, he jogged along 
 through the crowded streets, the happy pre- 
 sentiments of his heart did not desert him. 
 Things could not be so bad as the Drevers 
 had described them. In that prosperous 
 cheerful city, evil could not await him. At 
 all events, he was there to provide a remedy : 
 with money, to reUeve difficulties j with cle- 
 mency, to forgive them ; with kindliness, to 
 comfort sickness; with counsel, to subdue 
 remorse. His son should accompany him 
 back to England; should be no longer tied 
 down to so tedious a routine of business, or 
 so unsocial a home. Zack had, perhaps, been 
 driven to vulgar excesses by the strict bounds
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCHACIES. 97 
 
 of his compulsory duties. A little sunshine 
 admitted into his path would soften his nature, 
 and brighten his intellects. Matthew Lambert 
 was prepared to be both liberal and forgiving. 
 His own heart and mind were, in fact, un- 
 wittingly expanding. 
 
 Arrived at the Bqffinerie, he could not but 
 admire the cleanliness and order of the court- 
 yard, which, detached from the Fahrique, con- 
 tained the dwelling-house of the MM. Ques- 
 tier. Under other circumstances, his first 
 impulse would have been to visit the Works, 
 and ascertain whether his own share in their 
 improvements had been executed to his satis- 
 faction. All he now desired was to obtain 
 the address of his son, to whom his letters 
 had been always addressed " to the care of 
 Questier et Cie." 
 
 On despatching the inquiry into the house, 
 accompanied by the card of Lambert and Co., 
 he was immediately requested to accord to 
 Monsieur Questier the favour of an interview ; 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 THE TWO ARISTOCHACIES. 
 
 and not a little trying to his feelings was the 
 delay produced by his compliance. 
 
 The gaudy saloon into which he was ushered, 
 enriched with gay hangings of yellow silk 
 and flowered musKn, fragrant with hyacinths, 
 and including in its luxurious furniture a fine 
 piano by Erard, jarred as completely against 
 his notions of the mode of life appropriate 
 to the manufacturing class, as against the 
 yearnings of paternal anxiety. Harassed and 
 peevish, he paced the Aubusson carpet, 
 the beauty of whose texture and colours was 
 lost upon him ; unconsciously reviling the 
 vanities so little in accordance with his own 
 vexation of spirit. 
 
 It was some consolation when at length the 
 door unclosed to admit his host, to find in 
 Monsieur Questier a grave, middle-aged man ; 
 the saddened expression of whose face was 
 completely in unison with his feelings. After 
 a civil greeting, and the exchange of a phrase 
 or two, which served to prove to each
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 99 
 
 that they should need an interpreter, the 
 commissionnaire was summoned. But the few 
 minutes that intervened, sufficed to throw a 
 damp upon the sanguine hopes of poor Lam- 
 bert. A certain stern solemnity in the coun- 
 tenance of the old Frenchman, implied that 
 bad news awaited him. 
 
 " He is dead, — my poor son is no more ! 
 Ask him. Don't palter with me ; make him 
 tell you at once !" faltered he, clutching the 
 arm of the astonished Louis, the moment he 
 entered the room. 
 
 But though, long before the answer was 
 translated to him, the negative gesture of 
 Questier had satisfied the agonised father 
 that his apprehensions were premature, the 
 information transmitted to him was not of 
 an alleviative nature. 
 
 " The young man is still alive, though in 
 a condition all but hopeless," said Monsieur 
 Questier, with deep concern. "It is his un- 
 fortunate adversary who is dead." And so
 
 100 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 startled was the commissionnaire on finding 
 his respectable-looking employer to be the 
 parent of a ruffian whose misdeeds were 
 affording matter of consternation to the whole 
 city of Havre, that he had scarcely presence 
 of mind to support to a seat the horror- 
 stricken old father of Zack Lambert. 
 
 " Could I have guessed that he was so 
 unprepared for the disclosure," whispered 
 Questier to the commissionnaire, " I should 
 have been more cautious. But immediately 
 after the fatal conflict, I wrote to England; and, 
 having subsequently received a warning from 
 one of Mr. Lambert's English workmen that my 
 letter might possibly fail to reach his hands, 
 I despatched the man himself, via Dieppe, to 
 Birmingham, to bear the sad tidings to his 
 family. Our own packet had unluckily sailed 
 on the very day of that disastrous event." 
 
 But when duly interpreted to him, Mat- 
 thew Lambert lent no ear to these explana- 
 tions. The past was nothing; the present
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 101 
 
 everything. His son, albeit a homicide, albeit, 
 perhaps, an assassin, still lived. " Where was 
 his son ?" 
 
 The question was readily, though far from 
 satisfactorily answered. 
 
 " In the hands of Criminal Justice. In a 
 public hospital." 
 
 ■Aproces verbal, drawn up by the Prociiretir 
 du Hoi a few hours after the catastrophe, in 
 the low tavern where the fatal conflict had 
 taken place, decreed the arrest of the sur- 
 vivor, and his removal to a place of security ; 
 and, still insensible, Zack Lambert was con- 
 veyed to the infirmary of the pubHc prison, 
 with the life-blood of a fellow-creature scarce- 
 ly dry upon his hands. He and the loose 
 companion with whom, under the excitement 
 of drink, he had engaged in fight, had each 
 defended himself according to the impulse 
 of national habit ; the one with the power 
 and brutahty of a prize-fighter, the other 
 stabbing him in return. — One was dead ;
 
 102 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the other, dying. But it behoved the Author- 
 ities of Justice to hold the survivor, so long 
 as life remained, a hostage for his crime. 
 
 " Let me go to him — I must see my son — " 
 said Lambert, rising with difficulty from his 
 seat, as soon as the sad history was fully un- 
 folded. 
 
 " That will not be so easy," was Monsieur 
 Questier's reply. " We shall have to un- 
 dergo a variety of forms, before such an in- 
 terview can be accomplished. The prisoner 
 is en rechsion. An order from the mayor, 
 countersigned by the Procureur du Boi, must 
 in the first instance be obtained. I have the 
 honour to be well known to both, and will 
 readily accompany you to make the declara- 
 tions indispensable to such an indulgence. 
 But alas ! my dear sir, at this hour of the 
 day, the Procureur du Boi is in attendance at 
 the Palais de Justice, and Monsieur le Maire 
 presiding in the Chamber of Commerce." 
 
 "The poor gentleman entreats. Monsieur
 
 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 103 
 
 Questier, that you will at least make the 
 attempt," interposed Louis, after having 
 Englished the explanation. But finding 
 that the wealthy member of the Town council 
 of Havre, better versed than the comrnis- 
 sionnaire in the difficulties and etiquettes of 
 the case, still demurred, old Lambert tottering 
 towards him, upraised his clasped hands and 
 tearful eyes, with such a gesture of despairing 
 supplication, that further hesitation was im- 
 possible. They were speedily on their way 
 to the Palais de Justice ;• and Louis, who, from 
 his position on the box, was unable to perceive 
 how utterly the old Englishman was stupified 
 by his grief, trusted, as they crossed a draw- 
 bridge where a band of chained gaUriens, 
 in their parti-coloured dress of yellow and 
 black, were working at the reparation of the 
 bastions, that their miserable plight had not 
 attracted the notice of the unfortunate man, 
 whose son might shortly find himself similarly 
 degraded ; unless, indeed, condemned to the
 
 104 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 still more ignominious penalty of the guil- 
 lotine. 
 
 Near the portico of the Palais de Justice, 
 Monsieur Questier quitted the fiacre, to pro- 
 ceed on his errand ; leaving Lambert under the 
 charge of Louis, to await his return. But to 
 wait, what a measure of patience was required 1 
 The day, a short December day, was wearing 
 on; and from bright and bracing, had become 
 gloomy as the nipping air of a winter evening 
 could render it. The heartbroken father sat 
 shuddering with cold; — blind to what was 
 passing around him, — deaf to all but the still 
 small voice within, the cry of nature in his 
 heart. How different from the sanguine man 
 who had stepped that morning on shore, from 
 the deck of the Curlew ! — 
 
 The occasional whisper of Louis, as he in- 
 truded his head into the carriage, to ascertain 
 whether the poor old gentleman had not lapsed 
 into insensibility, of " Don't fret, sir, don't fret ; 
 M. Questier will soon be coming back," ceased
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 105 
 
 to affect him. He seemed resigned to remain 
 shivering there till doomsday : without move- 
 ment, — without sensation, — without hope ! — 
 
 At length, just as the gathering darkness 
 rendered his approach imperceptible, Monsieur 
 Questier verified the promises of the mulatto, 
 by hurrying into the coach, the driver of which 
 he had previously directed to drive to the 
 chateau, or prison; volubly explaining to his 
 passive companion, as they drove along, that, 
 with much pains, he had accomplished his 
 mission ; had seen and conquered the " con- 
 stituted authorities, — Procureur du Boi, Maire^ 
 Juge cV Instruction' Criminelle, — everybody — 
 everybody.'* And though his warmly accented 
 language was wholly unintelligible to the be- 
 wildered stranger, the papers he held in his 
 hand spoke for themselves ; printed forms, 
 filled up, signed, countersigned, stamped, and 
 restamped, after the fashion of official mandates. 
 — The " open Sesame " was obtained. 
 
 At the iron-knobbed low-browed door, whose
 
 106 THE TWO AEISTOCUACIES. 
 
 wicket was flanked with sentry boxes, the 
 soldiers belonging to which were tramping 
 backwards and forwards, their steps ringing 
 on the frozen stones, to prevent their being 
 frozen to their posts, the order of admit- 
 tance was referred to the Gardien, through 
 a small grating. Again, a delay of nearly a 
 quarter of an hour, that it might be forwarded 
 for the visd of the Commandant ; and the worthy 
 sugar-refiner, unapt in his punctual routine 
 of business to meet with such obstructions, 
 and who was not only hungry and cold, but, in 
 his capacity of a hon bourgeois and unimpeach- 
 able citizen, a little scandalised by his errand 
 and out of sorts with his protege^ began to 
 manifest signs of impatience. 
 
 But they were speedily suppressed. A sob, 
 which in the darkness broke from the corner 
 of the carriage, — a sob which, had daylight 
 still prevailed, the distressed father would 
 probably have found fortitude to suppress, 
 —renewed the Christian sympathies of his
 
 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 107 
 
 companion. Though so fortunate as to 
 possess only daughters, " charming, good, 
 dutiful daughters,*' he could understand what 
 must be the torture of sorrowing over a dying 
 son, — even though the inmate of a prison. 
 
 Another moment, and they were admitted, 
 side by side, into the precincts of that gloomy 
 fortress ; and, after traversing a corridor, 
 lighted at intervals by dimly-burning lamps, 
 found themselves in a small chamber, or office, 
 where they were required to sign their names, 
 and certify their age, condition, and place of 
 abode ; all the trivialities which, in a moment 
 of grief or suspense, appear so bitterly 
 vexatious. 
 
 But even after explaining with difficulty to 
 the inexperienced foreigner what was required 
 of him, a new obstacle arose. Access to the 
 prisoner Number 34 of the accident ward, was 
 denied by the Injlrmier de service. " Number 
 34 had that morning undergone an operation ; 
 and the Bmir in attendance on him, had it in
 
 108 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 charge from the visiting surgeons, that he 
 should be left undisturbed till their return. 
 Number 34 must neither speak, nor be 
 spoken to." 
 
 " But this gentleman does not want him to 
 speak," pleaded Questier, earnestly. " This 
 gentleman is his father ; arrived from England 
 for the sole purpose of beholding him before 
 he dies !— " 
 
 " The more reason, sir, that an interview 
 so agitating to the sick man, should be avoided. 
 We are responsible for the life of Number 34 
 to the justice of the country, and he is in a 
 most critical state." 
 
 " Yet you would deny to his grey-headed 
 parent the consolation of seeing him for the 
 last time ! — " 
 
 " Our orders sir, are imperative. We have 
 only to obey." 
 
 " All that now remains for us then," cried 
 Monsieur Questier, shrugging his shoulders, 
 and evidently much chagrined, "is to apply
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 109 
 
 for the intervention and authority of the 
 EngHsh Consul. We must end where we 
 ought to have begun." 
 
 Matthew Lambert, who had been gazing 
 in dumb stupor upon the interlocutors, now 
 began to understand from their movements 
 and countenances that his object was defeated. 
 But, deeply impressed with the opinion enter- 
 tained by most English people of his class, 
 that, in France, gold is a passe-partout, no 
 sooner had Questier turned his back on the 
 Injirmiery and taken a step or two towards the 
 door, than the conscientious guardian of the 
 sick found a heavy handful of coin slipped 
 into his palm. Not a word was exchanged ; 
 but the money spoke as eloquently to the 
 official as the printed papers had done to poor 
 old Matthew. 
 
 " Stay a bit, Sir, you are too hasty," cried 
 the Injirmier^ addressing Questier, who in- 
 stantly retraced his steps. " We want no 
 English Consul here. If you and this old
 
 110 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 gentleman undertake to be quiet and amen- 
 able, I will see what can be done with the 
 Sodur Infirmierey 
 
 Beckoning them to follow, he unlocked a 
 door leading up a stone staircase lighted at 
 every landing by a hazy lantern, to an iron 
 door ; over which stood a figure of the Virgin 
 with a lamp burning before it. Having 
 touched a bell-pull, the door unclosed; but 
 a dingy serge curtain still impeded their 
 view. No sooner was it withdrawn, than 
 the heavy, stifling vapours within, in con- 
 trast with the bitter winter atmosphere they 
 had been confronting, almost overpowered 
 them. 
 
 A long narrow ward or dormitory, floored 
 with brick, having a score or so of curtainless 
 iron beds on either side, and a stove in 
 the centre, was before them ; — noisome, 
 with lamp smoke, and disturbed by moans 
 and imprecations. Involuntarily, poor Lam- 
 bert clung to the arm of his companion, who
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. HI 
 
 was unable to repress an exclamation of dis- 
 gust. 
 
 " Number 34 is nearly at the end of the 
 ward, gentlemen," said the Injirmier, who 
 had now assumed a far more civil tone and 
 demeanour; — "the bed near which Sceur 
 AngeHque is seated. With your leave I will 
 conduct you to her, and explain your wishes." 
 
 At sight of the solemn figure of the Sister 
 of Charity, enrobed in black, motionless and 
 watchful, with her meagre hands folded in 
 prayer, Questier felt instantly reassured ; 
 for he knew, as who in France does not, the 
 vigilance and tenderness of such a nurse. 
 But it was otherwise with Matthew Lambert. 
 His narrow experience regarded her only as a 
 Nun. He was perhaps about to find in the son 
 of his hopes, the son of his heart, the son, alas ! 
 of his humiliation, — not alone a dying felon, an 
 assassin, a jail-bird, — but, what was almost as 
 abhorrent to him,-T-a Papist ! — 
 
 No bitterness, however, was in his soul.
 
 112 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 when, on beholding the haggard, unshorn face 
 and colourless hands, which none but a parent's 
 eye could have recognized as those of his 
 handsome son, Matthew Lambert sank down 
 on his knees beside the bed, and stifled in the 
 coverlet his bursting emotion. 
 
 To the Sceur who had arisen from her seat 
 to greet the untimely visitors, Monsieur Ques- 
 tier expressed, in a compassionate whisper, 
 his fears that this trying interview might be 
 injurious to her patient. But in reply, she 
 gently shook her head. 
 
 " Pray for his soul /" — said she. ** His hours 
 are numbered. — He has already entered into 
 his agony. — He has been insensible since noon. 
 The Sieur Raymond, our house surgeon, in- 
 formed me it was next to impossible he should 
 be still alive at the evening visit." 
 
 " And at what time, ma bonne Soeur, will he 
 be here ?" 
 
 " Not these two hours." 
 
 " In that case, I must leave this poor old
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 113 
 
 English gentleman with you, till my return 
 to meet him," said Questier, looking at his 
 watch. And he spoke with so much self- 
 possession, and had so completely the air of a 
 wealthy bourgeois, that though both the visit 
 and its extension were contrary to prison rule, 
 Sceur Angelique argued from his being there 
 at an hour so unusual, that he and his com- 
 panion were privileged persons. 
 
 She allowed him, therefore, to depart un- 
 questioned ; and resumed her post of obser- 
 vation within view of the bed labelled No. 
 34, without intruding on the grief of the 
 kneeling man. That he did kneel, — that 
 heretic though he might be, he was evidently 
 commending the dying deUnquent to the 
 mercy of God, — was a suflficient passport to 
 her good opinion. 
 
 Summoned away, shortly afterwards, by her 
 colleague, Sceur Claire, to assist in turning in 
 his bed a paralytic patient at the further 
 extremity of the ward, she found, on returning 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 to her seat, the old stranger still on his knees, 
 with his face hidden on the nerveless hands of 
 her patient. But it struck her experienced 
 ear, that something more than the moan of 
 pain to which it was accustomed, escaped the 
 scarcely moving lips of the dying man. The 
 words, if words they were, belonged to a 
 strange tongue, — a tongue which she could 
 not interpret. But they bespoke con- 
 sciousness, or partial consciousness. That 
 inner life, which the probe of the surgeons 
 and restoratives of the injirmier had failed to 
 stimulate, had responded to the voice of 
 nature. With his eyes still closed, as in death, 
 young Lambert recognised his father's pre- 
 sence. The old man's touch, — the old man's 
 prayer, — the old man's sob of anguish, — had 
 recalled his parting soul ! — 
 
 Stealing gently to the bedside, Soeur An- 
 gdhque would fain have smoothed the pillow 
 of her patient, and endeavoured to improve 
 his position. But the father motioned her
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 115 
 
 back. Henceforward, his own care would 
 suffice. A kiss of reconciliation, imprinted by 
 his grieving lips on the damp brow of the 
 sufferer, would do more for the solace of poor 
 Zack, than the ministry of the most skilful of 
 nurses, or a bed of down. 
 
 I 2
 
 116 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 At a later hour, when Monsieur Raymond 
 and his assistant went their rounds previous 
 to the closing of the infirmary for the night, 
 great was their amazement at linding Number 
 34, not only alive, and sensible, but resting 
 his forlorn head on the shoulder of a grave 
 elderly man ; whose care for him, and tones in 
 addressing him, were tender as those of a 
 w^oman. 
 
 They might, perhaps, have expressed some 
 displeasure at the infringement of their "orders
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 117 
 
 and so great a breach of prison-discipline, but 
 that, at the moment, Questier and the Injlrmier 
 made their appearance ; having procured in the 
 interim an entree de faveur from the Com- 
 mandant, to enable Matthew Lambert to pass 
 the night beside the dying criminal. The 
 plea preferred by Questier, that parental 
 influence might possibly obtain from him 
 the confession so desirable for the ends of 
 justice, had overcome the opposition of the 
 authorities. 
 
 While the wounds of the patient were 
 examined and dressed, his father was forced 
 to cede his place to the Infirmier, Happily ; 
 for exhausted by fatigue and abstinence, his 
 strength would scarcely have sufficed him to 
 witness the tortures of poor Zack. Questier 
 had thoughtfully brought with him a supply 
 of bread and wine, the only articles of food 
 admitted into the Infirmary. But Matthew 
 could as easily have wrenched the iron door 
 from its staples, as swallowed either. His heart
 
 118 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 fluttered within him; his knees bent under 
 him. But, alas ! for weakness, or wants Hke 
 his, there is no restorative save the strength 
 that is from above. 
 
 Few as were the words exchanged between 
 him and his unfortunate son, they had sufficed 
 to prove that the consciousness of the patient 
 was only partially restored. Young Lambert 
 knew neither where he was, nor why. His 
 father's presence seemed to comfort, without 
 surprising him. He felt that he was dying ; 
 but the fatal quarrel and its results, were 
 obliterated from his disordered brain. That 
 his untimely death was in some way or other 
 the result of vice and folly, was, however, his 
 vague conclusion. 
 
 " I knew it would end so," he faltered, in 
 broken accents, which none but a parent's ear 
 could have interpreted. " I knew it — I kncAv 
 it. — Mark Barneson warned me how it would 
 end. — But no matter. — My poor father for- 
 gives me. — I felt his tears just now dropping
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 119 
 
 ^n my hand, — the first I ever knew him shed, 
 dear, good old man ! — And so, I shall die 
 happy, — happier than I deserve." 
 
 It was just after these words, feebly uttered 
 and at long intervals, had cut to the very soul 
 of Matthew Lambert, that he was forced to 
 surrender his place beside his son's pillow, for 
 a time, to the surgeons and Soeur Angelique. 
 But, though excluded from a view of their 
 operations, the faint cries that burst from the 
 lips of his son, were almost as hard to bear as 
 would have been the sight of his anguish. 
 When, at the conclusion of their task. Monsieur 
 Raymond advanced towards Questier, with 
 whom he was shghtly acquainted, to ofibr him 
 a brief explanation of the condition of the 
 prisoner, though not a syllable he uttered was 
 intelligible to Lambert, the contracted anxious 
 brow of the surgeon fully explained his evil 
 auguries. 
 
 His opinion of the case was, in fact, little 
 changed since morning. One of nature's
 
 120 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 miracles had partially restored the faculties 
 of Number 34. But his danger was still 
 imminent. An inward formation, attributable 
 to the point of the knife with which he had 
 been stabbed having broken in the wound, 
 and remaining in the lungs, threatened sudden 
 suffocation. " He must remain perfectly un- 
 molested, but carefully watched. On any 
 change of countenance, his shoulders must be 
 raised. His parched lips might be occasion- 
 ally moistened, but not even liquid food 
 administered." 
 
 Soeur Angelique listened and promised, 
 Matthew Lambert listened and despaired. 
 It mattered not that the decree of the physician 
 was uttered in a strange tongue. An instinct 
 surer than the teaching of science, assured 
 him that the morrow's sun would dawn in 
 vain for poor Zack ! 
 
 Among strangers, — among Papists ! — In the 
 infirmary of a gaol, and with bloodguiltiness 
 on his young soul! — That boy, over whose
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 121 
 
 cradle his hopes had been so fond, — his prayers 
 60 fervent. — 
 
 As much as could be told him was ex- 
 plained. To Soeur Angehque was entrusted 
 the care of the prisoner; to the old man, 
 who by the mercy of the Commandant was 
 permitted to assist her, his consolation. On 
 quitting the bedside, Questier wrung his hand 
 with earnest pity. But Matthew felt it not ; 
 Matthew heard and saw nothing that was pass- 
 ing around him. The questions abruptly ad- 
 dressed to other " numbers" by Monsieur Ray- 
 mond, as he proceeded leisurely up the salle, 
 and felt a pulse or two, or held a light to the 
 face of more than one unquiet sleeper, did not 
 molest Matthew. He kept murmuring in- 
 quiries into the ear of Zack, whether his 
 pain had abated — whether he thought he 
 could rest ? — 
 
 ^* For ever and ever, father !" was the 
 slowly murmured response. ** Pray to God 
 for me, that my end may be peaceful. — Pray,
 
 122 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 
 
 father ! — I dare not — I seem to have forgotten 
 the words." 
 
 Thus adjured, the old man, in faint but 
 unfaltering accents, recited what might have 
 been the outpouring of a contrite heart, on the 
 approach of death ; humble, yet reliant. 
 
 But his whispers, low as they were, dis- 
 turbed the vigils of Sceur Angehque, who, 
 with her clasped hands concealed mider her 
 folded cuffs, was herself engaged in those 
 silent orisons which fill up the interstices of 
 the busy life of a Sister of Charity. With 
 hushing words and an interdictory gesture, 
 she approached the refractory foreigner. 
 
 But at such a moment, the interdiction of 
 Pope or Patriarch would not have availed. 
 Her foreign figure and dialect, however, ap- 
 peared to startle the bewildered prisoner. 
 
 " Where are we, father ?" said he. " I 
 thought we were at home — I hoped we were 
 at home. — Where are we ?" — 
 
 The poor old man hesitated to answer,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 123 
 
 "France" or "Havre." He was afraid of 
 arousing to too keen a sense of his degrada- 
 tion, the unfortunate being in whose frame 
 the pulse of Hfe was fluttering. 
 
 " Yes, I remember now !" resumed Zack, 
 after a painful pause. " Home and mother and 
 sisters, I shall never see again. Poor mother, 
 poor sisters ! — Don't tell them how I died, 
 father. — Let it all be forgotten. No one need 
 ever name my name again." 
 
 His father endeavoured to silence him ; to 
 lead his thoughts from present pain and pre- 
 sent humihation, to future responsibility. He 
 wanted to say " Believe and be saved !" — He 
 wanted to convince the sinner's wavering mind 
 that, at the eleventh hour, repentance stands in 
 lieu of righteousness. 
 
 But his lips were sealed. Either his own 
 convictions were infirm, or he lacked the 
 habit of preaching, to the guilty, the doctrine 
 so easily unfolded to the innocent. More 
 likely still, the impeded respiration and beat-
 
 124 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 ing pulses of parental anguish — how different 
 from the salaried self-possession of the chap- 
 lain or ordinary, — suspended his utterance ; 
 for nothing was audible of his exhortation, 
 but — '' My son, my son !" — 
 
 '* You will go back alone to our poor old 
 country," murmured Zack, in return, fondly 
 inclining his cheek towards the venerable head 
 that lay sobbing on his pillow ; ^' and you 
 must tell Mark Barneson, father, how sadly 
 his warning came to pass. My old chum^ 
 Mark ! — What a friend he always was to me ! 
 How well he wished us all !■ — Mark must fill 
 my place, father. Let him be a son to you ; 
 and let poor Chrissy be to you as a daughter. 
 — Let their home be always at Bracknell. 
 Promise me — promise me !" 
 
 At such a moment, what would not Mat- 
 thew Lambert have promised I — 
 
 " Thank you, good, kind old father !" said 
 the dying man, his voice growing fainter and 
 fainter, " I feel as if, while the Barnesons
 
 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 125 
 
 remain part of the family, I should be still, 
 still among you. — Oh ! father, give, give me 
 your hand !" — 
 
 The old man started up. — -The change of 
 countenance foretold by the surgeon, was 
 taking place. First, a suffocating gasp, — then 
 a fearful haemorrhage burst from the convulsed 
 lips of his son. 
 
 Help was speedily afforded, but help was 
 vain. The infirmier, summoned by Soeur 
 Angelique, applied with ready skill the reme- 
 dies suggested by Monsieur Raymond. But 
 the surgeon's gloomy prognostics were speedily 
 fulfilled. That turbulent spirit was at rest. 
 
 It was to the agonised old father, rather 
 than to the released prisoner, that their care 
 was now directed. Number 34 was a blank ; 
 a thing that had been, — a thing to be re- 
 moved as soon as possible. — But to the mfir- 
 mier, who had tasted of his liberality, Matthew 
 Lambert was still an object of interest. 
 
 " It seems cruel, poor old gentleman ! to
 
 12G THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 try to bring him to himself," said he, address- 
 ing Soeur Angelique, who had loosened the 
 old man's cravat, and was bathing his temples 
 with vinegar as he lay in a death-like swoon. 
 '* Let us trust to nature, ma chere ^ceur. Let 
 us leave him to come round." 
 
 But Soeur Angelique, fearing that her own 
 rest, or, as she stated the case, fearing that the 
 other " beds" in the Salle might be disturbed 
 by the outcry of grief likely to follow return- 
 ing consciousness, suggested that the be- 
 reaved father could not be too speedily re- 
 moved. 
 
 But where, and how ? — 
 
 " It wants five hours to morning," remon- 
 strated the mfirmier. " Till then, the wicket 
 cannot be opened, except by order of the 
 Commandants 
 
 The good sister, however, persisted that, 
 between them, the insensible old stranger 
 might be conveyed into a miserable bed-room 
 adjoining the ward, appropriated to the use of
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 127 
 
 the infirmiers. And thither he was accordingly 
 transported. 
 
 Upon the pallet on which they laid him, the 
 gradations from faintness to stupor, and finally 
 to the heavy sleep of utter exhaustion, were 
 noted only by the eye which watcheth over 
 all. Soeur Angelique and the infirmier, ac- 
 customed to deal with all mental disturbance 
 as a physical ailment, had administered a 
 powerful opiate in the draught of water he 
 asked for ; and the poor old man slept and 
 slept, till many hours after sunrise. 
 
 When at length roused to consciousness, 
 the humane Questier was seated wistfully by 
 his bedside, and Louis in attendance. 
 
 "You are to return no more, sir, to the 
 hotel," said the latter, soothingly. " Monsieur 
 Questier here begs me to tell you that your 
 effects have been removed to his house. There, 
 you can remain in quiet, till your return to 
 England/' 
 
 For some minutes, Matthew Lambert re-
 
 128 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 mained gazing on them in silence, as if all were 
 a dream. Happy for him could the illusion 
 have been prolonged ! But, by degrees, came 
 the grievous consciousness of past events ; — 
 the horrors of the preceding night, — the sor- 
 rows of the preceding day. 
 
 " No, no, — I cannot quit my poor son," 
 muttered he, with quivering lips. " I must 
 remain till the last with my poor, poor Zack." 
 
 " We have already received notice from the 
 authorities, my dear sir, to quit the prison," 
 was Questier's reply. " We have no further 
 business here. Our presence was sanctioned 
 only by private favour." 
 
 " But they will not surely drive me away 
 from the body of my unfortunate boy ? Who 
 but his father is to superintend his burial ? — 
 I want to take him with me to England. — I 
 want him to rest among his own people !" — > 
 
 An interchange of compassionate glances 
 between Questier and his interpreter implied 
 that a full explanation was inevitable. But how
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 129 
 
 was this sorrowing father to be told that the 
 body of his son was forfeited to the law ; that, 
 for the advantage of what are termed ''the 
 interests of science/' it had already been re- 
 moved to the Theatre (TAnatomie ; and that 
 after being dealt with by the surgeons, the 
 mutilated remains must be interred within the 
 precincts of the prison ? — No officiating priest 
 — no consecrated ground, for the spiller of 
 blood !— 
 
 But, to their surprise, Lambert listened 
 submissively to all these details. The hand 
 of God had humbled him to the dust. The 
 law of the land was not to be resisted. With- 
 out a word of remonstrance, he rose and fol- 
 lowed them. Installed under Questier's roof, 
 he suffered himself to be conducted to the 
 tranquil room assigned him. He asked only 
 to be alone. He wanted to reflect — he wanted 
 to pray — he wanted to weep ! 
 
 Poor miserable, helpless, heart-broken man ! 
 But for those prayers — those tears — how ut- 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 THE TWO AmSTOCRACIHS. 
 
 terly forlorn !— That he was sustained by them, 
 even to consolation, was evident when, in the 
 dusk of the evening, he announced to his kind 
 host his intention of sailing for England in 
 the packet of the following day. 
 
 " It was necessary," he said, ^' that he should 
 be at home again ; necessary that he should 
 be the first to communicate to his family the 
 calamity which had befallen them," 
 
 For a time, the worthy man who had played 
 towards him in all pity and sincerity the part 
 of the good Samaritan, would fain have dis* 
 suaded him. But he was forced to give way, 
 The mourner listened with wonder to the as^. 
 sertion that rest and quiet would restore him j 
 ' — Jdmy who would fain have wandered on and 
 on, to the ends of the earth ! — - 
 
 He consented only that the attentive com^ 
 missiofinaire should place him and his efiects 
 on board the packet ; and Monsieur Questier 
 undertake the arrangement of his pecuniary 
 affairs. At some future time, he would ac-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 131 
 
 knowledge and repay his many obligations. — 
 All he desired was to be gone. 
 
 Scarcely two days had elapsed since poor 
 Lambert quitted the deck of the Curlew, in 
 which he now^ re-embarked ; and the events of 
 those terrible eight and forty hours had 
 effaced from his mind all trace of his preceding 
 life. So absorbed was he in his griefs, that 
 he did not peixeive what an intense object of 
 interest he had become to all on board ; or 
 how completely versed were the Enghsh gos- 
 sips in the sad details of his story. He felt 
 no fatigue — he shrank from no observation. 
 His mind's eye was intent upon a narrow bed 
 with a miserable prison-rug enwrapping a dead 
 body ; and the sad fireside where it became his 
 duty to break to the tenderest of mothers the 
 loss of her favourite child. 
 
 This last misery, however, was spared him. 
 Some portion of the fatal truth had been al- 
 ready communicated by Drever ; and w^hen at 
 length the bereaved father arrived at Birming- 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 ham, so gloomy was his demeanour, and so 
 shaken his frame, that no one dared to utter a 
 word of interrogation. 
 
 Mrs. Lambert, indeed, ventured to ask a 
 single question in elucidation of the hints let 
 fall by Drever. But even her faltering voice 
 and blanched face obtained only a curt and 
 forbidding answer. 
 
 " It was the last wish of our poor lost boy," 
 he replied, assuming a firmness belied by his 
 quivering features, " that his faults and frailties 
 should pass from among us, even as he has 
 passed. Let his name, wife, be forgotten, 
 except in our prayers to God. If by the 
 mercy of the Almighty we should meet him 
 again, it will be where sins are forgiven, and 
 tears wiped from all faces. — Henceforward, 
 let us speak of him no more."
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 133 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Such were the mournful antecedents which 
 originated the adoption of Mark Barneson 
 into the great house of Lambert and Co. 
 
 Not that, at the period in question, they 
 had accomplished a fifth part of the almost 
 national importance to which five-and-thirty 
 years of scarcely interrupted Peace, and the 
 adaptation of Steam-power to so many 
 branches of commercial enterprise, have since 
 elevated the firm. But they were even then
 
 134 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 rising into eminence ; and when the long sick- 
 ness of old Lambert threw the direction of his 
 business completely into the hands of the 
 junior partner, every day tended to extend 
 their reputation and increase their traffic. 
 Even the envious and hard-headed foreman, 
 Alick Ferrier, was forced to admit that the zeal 
 and abilities of Barneson had done wonders 
 for the advancement of the Bracknell Works. 
 
 Matthew Lambert had, consequently, some 
 pretext for altogether withdrawing his heed 
 from the things of this world. Though he 
 chose to attribute to a heavy cold caught on 
 his inclement passage home from Prance, the 
 sudden break-up of his constitution, his de- 
 cHne was readily attributed by the very small 
 circle that interested itself in his comings 
 and goings, to the untimely end of his unfor- 
 tunate son. He never mentioned his name. 
 The worst was never known in Birmingham. 
 Zack Lambert was understood to have lost his 
 life in a drunken fray with some French pro-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIIiS. 185 
 
 fligates ; a sufficient explanation of the pro- 
 found and lasting affliction of one so pious as 
 Matthew Lambert the Elder. From the first, 
 his kinsfolk and acquaintance predicted that 
 he would never recover the blow. 
 
 Mr. Brathwaite, the eminent local surgeon 
 by whom he was attended, had warned him to 
 put his house in order. 
 
 Still, when at length his death-bell tolled, 
 it came as a surprise. Everything since the 
 dreadful event had been so progressive in the 
 Secluded household of the Lamberts, that no 
 one was prepared for the one great change. 
 Even those who witnessed the slow uncom- 
 plaining decline of the poor old man were 
 startled. 
 
 Matthew Lambert alone was prepared. 
 When he brought back his broken heart and 
 broken health into the bosom of his family ; he 
 had intended to enter into full explanation with 
 him whom poor Zack designated in his last mo- 
 ments as his " dear old chum;" and express
 
 136 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. ' 
 
 both to Mark and Christina, his son's and his 
 own desire, that they should become as children 
 of his own. But the day never dawned that was 
 to afford strength and courage for such trying 
 words. Once or twice, on Sabbath evenings, 
 when the family circle was collected, he made 
 up his mind to speak. But to such a propo- 
 sition as he had to make, more, much more 
 must be added. They, or his poor wife, might 
 question him in return. The whole dreadful 
 truth might be wrung out of him. And at 
 the bare thought of such a recapitulation, 
 cold dews burst from his brow, and his 
 breath seemed choking in his throat. Lest 
 his old age should shame itself by the weak- 
 ness of tears, in presence of the wife and 
 daughters before whom he had ever main- 
 tained so much dignity of manly self-posses- 
 sion, the gray-headed man would arise and 
 repair to his own chamber ; in order that, un- 
 watched, he might lift up his voice and weep. 
 He bore his affliction with the same proud
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 137 
 
 reserve which has actuated prelates and ab- 
 dicated sovereigns in wearing their hair shirts, 
 or acupointed cinctures. 
 
 But his feebleness soon increased so rapidly 
 that he no longer relied upon himself. All he 
 would fain have said, therefore, he committed 
 to paper. His last will, formally drawn up 
 by a lawyer, bequeathed in three equal parts to 
 Mark Barneson and his daughters, his whole 
 property in the Bracknell Works a life 
 annuity of one thousand per annum being 
 first paid to his widow. Legacies of some 
 amount were bequeathed to Christina and 
 Alick Ferrier, and even to Drever and his 
 wife. But no other portion of capital was to 
 be abstracted from the business, during the 
 life-time of either of the girls. 
 
 Mrs. Lambert and Mark were appointed 
 co-executors of the will ; and to the marriage 
 of Rhoda or Lettice, the consent of both was 
 to be indispensable. The bequest made to 
 them, was otherwise to be null and void.
 
 139 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 "I do not wish tny girls to match above 
 their own station in Hfe/' ran the tenour of 
 the will " An honest man will make the best 
 husband. Above all^ should it meet the future 
 inclinations of my much-esteemed young 
 friend, Mark Barneson, to make either of them 
 his wife, my utmost desires would be accom- 
 plished* There was a time when I regarded 
 the difference of religious opinions between us, 
 as an obstacle. But for this bigoted prejudice, 
 I have heavily atoned ; and should my 
 daughters, on attaining maturity, incline to 
 the Church of England, so be it,— provided 
 that to the creed of their free choice they 
 piously adhere. 
 
 "Till Christina Barneson shall acquire a 
 home of her own, let her remain a daugliter 
 to my wife, a sister to my girls. Under her 
 guidance they will grow up good and prudent 
 women; and God's blessing be upon them 
 ^11.'' 
 
 To the testamentary dispositions of the old
 
 tHE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 139 
 
 ironmaster, there was no one to demur. A 
 few relatives disappointed of legacies, com- 
 plained that he had given an undue preference 
 to strangers. But even these were forced to 
 admit that he could not have committed the 
 charge of his family, or of the Bracknell 
 Works, to abler or more equitable hands than 
 those of his " much-esteemed young friend, 
 Mark Barneson.'* Even the bequest to his 
 foreman was pardoned by those who knew 
 how to appreciate the services of Ahck Eerrier 
 to the firm. 
 
 But almost before the Foundry-gate closed 
 upon the funeral train of Matthew Lambert, 
 they ceased to interest themselves in the 
 question. A manufacturing town is too busy 
 and too practical, for gossip or conjecture. A 
 failure to-day— a new speculation to-morrow, 
 — sweep away those deleterious cobwebs, which 
 in less active communities, are apt to over-run 
 both fact and argument. 
 
 In the little world contained within the
 
 140 THE TWO ARISTOCHACIES. 
 
 Works, the change in their administration 
 excited small notice. For a year past, the 
 ascendancy of Barneson had been tacitly 
 recognised ; and whether he worked to advance 
 the interests of his infirm senior partner, or of 
 his youthful wards, signified little to the 
 Hands, provided their weekly wages were duly 
 forthcoming. They saw that the firm 
 prospered, — that the foreman was active and 
 vigilant. What passed in the gloomy parlour 
 whose blinds were always closed, or how fared 
 the bereaved family, whose mourning garments 
 were seldom espied, unless on their way to 
 chapel, was no affair of theirs. 
 
 Even with the man thus singularly advanced 
 from indigence to wealth, use soon became 
 second nature. Routine gradually accom- 
 plished its work. The new partner in the 
 firm of Lambert and Co, filled little more 
 space in the world, or in his own conceit, 
 than Barneson the clerk. His time was even
 
 THE TWO AUISTOCUACIES. 141 
 
 less his own, because his duties were more 
 imperative. 
 
 That noble sonnet of Wordsworth, (which 
 most women know by heart, and men would 
 do well to study,) 
 
 The world is too rauch with us. Early and late, i 
 Getting or spending, we lay waste our powers, 
 
 was never more fully exemplified than in the 
 case of him, who, seven years before, had wept 
 at quitting the hawthorn-hedges and glassy 
 pools of Ryecroft Farm ; and was now content 
 with the stamping of levers and whirring of 
 wheels ; and discovered poetry in the roar of 
 the furnace, and the black eddies of its 
 smoke. 
 
 Rhoda and Lettice were too young for com- 
 panionship, — their mother was too cold and 
 self-contained, — and with his sister, he seldom 
 held converse apart. Since the untimely end 
 of young Lambert, Christina had become 
 reserved towards him. She secretly accused 
 him of want of sensibility. She made no
 
 14,3 TSE TWO AUISTOCRAOIE^. 
 
 allowance for the influence of his early 
 estrangement from family affections, or the 
 peremptory nature of his duties, 
 
 Mark was in the habit of snatching up his 
 hat for a hasty exit after meal-times ; already 
 feeling in his pocket for letters to be attended 
 to. As with other men of business, the ties 
 of domestic life were beginning to be sub- 
 sidiary to the magic symbols L. S. D, If, in 
 his clerkhood, unmitigated industry was the 
 portion of one who had a needy family to 
 provide for, how much more on the part of 
 one trusted and endowed as he had been by 
 the munificence of his late master ? — For the 
 future prosperity of the firm of Lambert and 
 Co., he felt answerable to the dead ; — to the 
 old man who had provided for him as for a 
 son,— to poor Zack, who had loved him as a 
 brother. 
 
 One pleasant Sabbath afternoon in May, 
 Bome eight months after his accession of autho- 
 rity, Mark Barneson was about to retire, as
 
 THE TWO AKISTOCEACIES, 143 
 
 usual, to his ownroom,— (no longer, however, 
 the desolate attic)— after escorting home the 
 family from chapel ; when his sister, still wear- 
 ing her bonnet and shawl, stood betwixt him 
 and the door. They were alone; for Mrs, 
 Lambert kept up the pious custom of her lato 
 husband, of bestowing Sunday iostructions on 
 her daughters, 
 
 ^^ Are we never again to enjoy a walk 
 together?" inquired Christina. "Have you 
 become too grand, Mark, for an occasional 
 holiday?" 
 
 Her brother smiled. '' I hope not. But 
 just now, dear Chrissy, I am terribly busy. I 
 have three letters to answer by to-night's post." 
 
 '^ And the bag does not close till eight ! 
 Can't you afford me half-an-hour in tha 
 interim ?" 
 
 " Half-an-hour will scarcely take us within 
 sight of the daisies ; and the streets are too 
 crowded for a pleasant walk." 
 
 " Then let us have our talk out here," said
 
 144 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES: 
 
 his sister, seating herself so resolutely that he 
 was forced to follow her example. 
 
 " I did not know, my dear girl, you wanted 
 to speak to me," he kindly observed. " Had 
 you said so at first, Chrissy, my business should 
 have given place to yours." 
 
 ** Business, I have none — at least none that 
 you would call so. I wish only to inquire 
 whether we are to spend the summer in Bir- 
 mingham ?" 
 
 " But the summer is not yet here." 
 
 Christina replied, by pointing to the strip 
 of dim blue sky, scantily visible between 
 the dark moreen curtains of that dreary par- 
 lour. 
 
 " It is at hand. — Last year we were kept 
 prisoners here by the long illness of poor 
 Mr. Lambert. — There is nothing to detain us 
 
 DOW." 
 
 " Has Mrs. Lambert expressed any inclina- 
 tion to remove to the country ?" 
 
 " When does she express an inclination of
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 145 
 
 any kind ? — I sometimes doubt whether she 
 ever feels one." 
 
 " It would be a sad effort to her to quit the 
 house where she closed her husband's eyes, 
 and saw the last of poor Zack !" observed 
 Mark. 
 
 " The more reason that we should prompt 
 her to make it. Mrs. Lambert seldom thinks 
 for herself ; and situated as we are toAvards her, 
 we should think for her. She requires country 
 air; and so do Rhoda and Lettice." 
 
 ■ ' Two healthier girls, I never saw !" 
 
 "But does it never occur to you that their 
 spirits may be clouded, and their minds 
 straitened, by the dull indoor life they are 
 leading?" 
 
 " In the country, they would lose the ad- 
 vantage of masters, Chrissy; and you ad- 
 mit that you are not equal to their sole 
 tuition." 
 
 *' Tar from it. But what are mere superfi- 
 cial accomphshments, acquired in a sunless, 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 smoky, schoolroom, compared with all that is 
 to be learned in the free range of a country 
 life ; the joyousness, the iinconstraint, and all 
 the sympathies and aspects of rural nature." 
 
 An involuntary smile played on the counte- 
 nance of Mark. 
 
 It was the first time he had ever noticed 
 in his sister a particle of enthusiasm. 
 
 " As a practical man, Mark, you naturally 
 despise my theories," she rejoined, calmly and 
 unabashed. " But remember that the nature 
 of these dear pupils of mine, regards your 
 happiness even more than my own. One or 
 other of them is to be your wife." 
 
 " At some distant period, perhaps. But 
 why talk of it now ? — They are still so young." 
 
 " Rhoda is nearly sixteen.'' 
 
 " Sixteen, in years. — In intellect, a mere 
 child." 
 
 "And how is she ever to be otherwise, if 
 debarred from all social intercourse, all oppor- 
 tunity of observation, all wholesome pursuits
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 147 
 
 and recreations ? — Believe me it is a duty you 
 owe your wards, destined as they are to opu- 
 lence, to brighten the gloom of their lives, and 
 prepare them for becoming intelligent com- 
 panions and happy wives and mothers." 
 
 For a moment, Mark Barneson, still intent 
 upon the business-letters from which his sister's 
 lecture was detaining him, felt that she was 
 exercising somewhat extensively her privi- 
 lege of governesship. But the energy of her 
 assertions startled him. His eye, usually unob- 
 servant in such matters, was struck by the 
 change w^hich the last two years had effected in 
 her own countenance. The bloom and elasticity 
 of youth were gone. Her face looked careworn, 
 almost haggard. — How was this ? — She who 
 had endured with so much fortitude the mis- 
 fortunes of her family and her own indigence, 
 had the troubles of comparative strangers 
 weighed so heavily on her mind as to imprint 
 wrinkles on her brow, and sour her very 
 nature ? — 
 
 L 2
 
 148 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 He had taken too little interest of late in 
 poor Christina's health and happiness. Per- 
 haps it was her own cause she was pleading, in 
 these aspirations after country air. 
 
 " Nothing would be easier," said he, care- 
 fully avoiding any avowal of his conjectures, 
 *' than to hire some summer residence within 
 reach of Birmingham, where I might often be 
 with you. But will Mrs. Lambert agree to 
 this ? — A creature of habit, she will not be 
 happy in a strange place." 
 
 "She will be hajj])!/ nowhere. But if we 
 satisfy her that the change is good and expe- 
 dient for her daughters, she will not oppose 
 it." 
 
 Mark Barneson had no other plea to urge. 
 A peevish complaint escaped his hps, however, 
 at his utter want of leisure to seek a fitting 
 abode for his wards ; and the task was conse- 
 quently undertaken by his sister. Anything 
 to escape from a spot so replete with painful 
 reminiscences as Bracknell foundry. There,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 149 
 
 the dead still sat beside her at the board, — 
 still watched her from the hearth-side. Though 
 the promptings of a pure mind had caused 
 her to shrink from becoming the wife of a 
 libertine, the death of poor Zack and the deep 
 affliction of his parents, had suggested many 
 a self-reproach. She knew that she might 
 have saved him. She felt that she might have 
 reformed him. His fervent, disinterested at- 
 tachment ought to have bespoken her grati- 
 tude. All that was good in him she now 
 remembered : all that was repellent, she had 
 forgotten. It was because of her strong re- 
 semblance to her late brother that, of the two 
 girls, Rhoda was her favourite. 
 
 So earnest, in fact, was her desire to break 
 through a thousand associations connecting his 
 memory with the old homestead at Bracknell 
 Works, that, within a few weeks of Christina's 
 first suggestion to her brother, the family was 
 settled in a cheerful abode, called Arden 
 Manor, — where they were roused from their
 
 150 THE TWO AUISTOCKACIES. 
 
 morning sleep by the pure light of day, and 
 the whistling of the blackbirds, instead 
 of the vulgar - clamour of a manufacturing 
 town.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 151 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 But that the influence of Christina Barne- 
 son was paramount with Mrs. Lambert, she 
 might perhaps have rebelled against the selec- 
 tion of a residence situated at more than twenty 
 miles' distance from the tall chimneys of 
 what she still called her home. But Miss 
 Barneson had been careful to supply an ob- 
 stacle to over-frequent visits, irksome to her 
 brother and disadvantageous to his wards; 
 as well as to render impossible those of Fer-
 
 152 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 rier ; against whom, though his intimacy with 
 Mark was daily increasing, she cherished all 
 her former repugnance. 
 
 Once established at Arden, however, the 
 meek-spirited old lady readily took root. Her 
 new abode was a commodious old grange, on 
 the outskirts of a populous village ; but divi- 
 ded from it by extensive gardens, laid out in 
 old-fashioned labyrinths, interspersed with 
 fish-ponds shaded by crooked-legged quince- 
 trees, and fed by a brawling stream which 
 produced the finest cray-fish in the country. 
 
 Under coops of wirework on the lawn, a 
 few gold and silver pheasants pecked and 
 pined away their days ; while in the orchard 
 hobbled a lame raven, said to be nearly as old 
 as the Manor-house — certainly older than the 
 gray-headed gardener, no longer capable of 
 harder work than the leisurely interpretation 
 of the Latin inscription on the weather-worn 
 sun-dial. 
 
 But what a new and pleasant world to
 
 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 153 
 
 Rhoda and Lettice ! Hovr early they rose, 
 to wander through those labyrinths of phyl- 
 lirea and alaternus ; and how late they lingered 
 in the dusk, watching the swallows as they 
 lightly skimmed the fishponds, or the ephe- 
 mera hovering among the reeds. Their spirits, 
 long depressed by the stillness of a sorrow- 
 stricken home, revived in the sunshine ; and 
 the hues of health gradually appeared on 
 their cheeks. 
 
 Though but a year's difference of age ex- 
 isted between the sisters, there was a world- 
 wide disparity in disposition. Reckless, 
 and passionate, Rhoda Lambert, both in 
 features and temper resembled her unfor- 
 tunate brother ; while Lettice was docile as 
 a lamb, and fair as an angel. 
 
 But her face as seen once, was seen for ever ; 
 — unvarying, unimpressive, and devoid of 
 intellectual distinction. 
 
 For some time after undertaking the tuition 
 of the sisters, Christina had persuaded herself
 
 154 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 that the dulness of the younger arose from 
 neglect, and endeavoured to raise her to a 
 higher level. But her efforts tended only to 
 perplex and harass the gentle girl ; who could 
 scarcely be made to understand that two and 
 two made four, or that Paris was not the 
 capital of Germany. By degrees, Lettice 
 was left to her needle-work beside the infirm 
 mother on whom she waited with watchful and 
 untiring devotion ; while her better endowed 
 sister plunged fearlessly into the mysteries of 
 algebra, or played at cat's-cradle with the 
 problems of Euclid. 
 
 " Luckily, her deficiencies will pass unno- 
 ticed," mused Christina, when endeavouring to 
 reconcile herself to her failure. " With beauty 
 and fortune such as hers, Lettice will make 
 her way in the world. But how fortunate for 
 Mark that he has an alternative! — Had she been 
 an only child, what a wife for an active-minded 
 man ! — Whereas Rhoda possesses not only first 
 rate abilities, but is full of energy and ambition."
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 155 
 
 At present, however, the quaUfications of 
 either sister appeared to make Uttle impression 
 on their guardian. His rare visits to the 
 Manor House were devoted to the discussion 
 of business with his co- executrix ; and he 
 noticed the girls almost as unconcernedly as 
 the tame pheasants in their aviary, or the lame 
 raven in the orchard. 
 
 Their increasing stature or amended bearing 
 rarely elicited a remark. The announcement 
 of a new patent, or recent bankruptcy, were 
 facts far more interesting : and his deferential 
 reference to the opinions of Ferrier on all 
 possible subjects, exhausted the patience of 
 his sister. She felt that Mark was degene- 
 rating ; that he was becoming a mere trades- 
 man ; and half repented that, by consulting 
 his own inclination and the interests of the 
 girls, she had abandoned him to the society 
 and influence of a man susceptible only of 
 mercenary view^s. 
 
 " I do believe,'' she exclaimed one day in
 
 156 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 a fit of indignation, when he refused to dine 
 and sleep at Arden, on the plea of a business- 
 appointment with Perrier, at the new gas- 
 works ; " I do believe, Mark, that the greatest 
 enjoyment of your life is to sit side by side 
 with that Ready Ueokoner, casting up accounts 
 together and telling over piles of gold, like 
 the two Misers of Quintin Matsys !" 
 
 But though this accusation, and remarks 
 still bitterer and more cross-grained, escaped 
 the lips of Miss Barneson, she did not 
 relax in her endeavours to perfect' in Khoda 
 Lambert all that could enhance her value as 
 a wife to her thrifty brother. She endea- 
 voured to repress her petulant temper, and 
 render her active, prudent, hardy, healthful ; 
 and though almost alarmed, at times, by 
 the wilfulness and obduracy of her pupil, 
 looked forward to see her soften under the 
 influence of the domestic affections, into a holy 
 matron, — guardian angel of the house of 
 Lambert and Co.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 157 
 
 It was rather to gratify his sister, however, 
 than from any personal interest in her pro- 
 gress, that Mark, in his occasional visits, half- 
 interrogated, half-rallied his elder ward con- 
 cerning those wondrous mathematical triumphs 
 which, according to Chrissy, were to throw 
 Sir Isaac Newton into the shade. 
 
 " If," thought Mark, as he journeyed back 
 to Birmingham, surprised to find her profi- 
 ciencies far greater than he had prepared 
 himself to expect, " Terrier should, as he pro- 
 bably will, propose to make Rhoda his v>dfe, 
 this peculiar turn of her mind may prove 
 highly advantageous to us all/' 
 
 The clause of preference accorded to him- 
 self by the will of his late patron, appeared 
 to have escaped his memory.
 
 158 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES, 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 New settlers in an English country village; 
 are apt to be assailed either by a gust of 
 favour, or a current of idle scandal. The 
 wind of public opinion, whether from the bleak 
 East or emollient West, bloweth where it 
 listeth. When there is nothing evil to be 
 asserted concerning the strangers, a spiteful 
 or supercilious tone is sometimes assumed, in 
 which their very merits may be so discussed 
 as to tend to their disparagement.
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCHACIES. 159 
 
 Arden, like other places, had its sediles ! 
 There was a Sir Arscott Littlecote at Arden 
 Hall, and an Archdeacon Bilston at the Rec- 
 tory, whose famiUes had never chosen to visit 
 the sickly old spinster to whom the Manor 
 House belonged, because her mother had 
 been a divorcee, and she was reputed illegiti- 
 mate ; and after a struggle of nearly twenty 
 years with their stiffneckedness. Miss Mauds- 
 ley had been hunted away to Bath, in quest 
 of social intercourse. The prospect of soli- 
 tary old maidenhood had banished her from the 
 pencilled pheasants and halting raven. 
 
 Against the Widow Lambert, her handsome 
 girls, and grave-looking governess, they had at 
 first nothing to insinuate. The house agent 
 could certify only their opulence. But when 
 it appeared that Mrs. Lambert had brought no 
 introduction to the neighbourhood, and made 
 no attempt to repair the deficiency, the Hall 
 and Rectory interchanged notes of interro- 
 gation and a contemptuous whisper of '' nou-
 
 160 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 veaux richest' In obscure people, wealth is 
 an impertinence. The Hall buttoned up its 
 mouth as if afraid to pronounce the word 
 " Brummagem ;" the Rectory shrugged its 
 shoulders w^hile uttering the terrible anathema 
 ''dissenters !" — The fiat went forth. — The Lam- 
 berts were not to be visited. — In their case, 
 the gust blew East by East, with twelve degrees 
 of frost. 
 
 Had either Hall or Rectory been aware 
 that the personalty of the late Matthew Lam- 
 bert, — neither esquire, nor even gentleman, — 
 but simply Matthew Lambert, — was sworn to 
 for probate duty as under £130,000, which, 
 in the language of Doctor's Commons, implies 
 £150,000 — they would probably have con- 
 ceded a point or two in favour of his heiresses ; 
 for both Hall and Rectory had prodigal sons 
 and indigent nephews to provide for. But 
 they knew as little of the estate of the rich 
 iron-founder, as of his testamentary letter and 
 its bequests ; and as there was nothing in the
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 161 
 
 bombazine dresses of the two girls, — the one 
 so pretty, the other so handsome, — to announce 
 their golden prospects, the new people were 
 set down as " unconsidered trifles." 
 
 The phrase I quote, is 
 As much as saying " they're heneath your notice." 
 
 When it was perceived in Arden that the 
 only visitors to the Manor House were an ill- 
 dressed young man, in deep mourning of 
 clerkly cut, evidently a relation of the family, 
 and an over-dressed one, somewhat older, who 
 probably purposed to become so, but who 
 made his appearance at rare intervals and was 
 not always admitted, it was decided that the 
 Hall and Rectory had gained nothing by its 
 transfer from Miss Maudsley to the Lamberts. 
 
 In almost all counties whose blue skies are 
 blurred by the chimneys of factories and 
 forges, and whose mother-earth is corrupted 
 by the scoriae of furnaces, there exists a per- 
 manent feud between the landed gentry and 
 the huge monster called Trade, which heaves, 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 bellows, and vomits fire in the midst of them, 
 as, of old, the Dragon of Wantley : not 
 deigning to remember that whereas the Dragon, 
 exterminated by More of More Hall, devoured 
 houses and steeples, the modern monster 
 creates them, swallowing only the produce of 
 their dirty acres, — accepting their lean kine as 
 beef, and their rancid sheep as Southdowns. 
 — And though the consumption of a manu- 
 facturing town doubles the value of his estate, 
 the accent of a Warwickshire squire in enun- 
 ciating the name of Birmingham, {]te does not 
 call it Brummagem, lest the familiar word 
 should be interpreted into acquaintanceship !) 
 or a lord of Lancashire the words Manchester 
 or Liverpool, conveys a lesson to linguists. 
 
 " I have a place near Manchester. Of 
 course I never reside there ; — that would be 
 impossible. But luckily, it is easy to let," 
 — was a common form of parlance in the 
 days we have been describing. The 
 Progress movement had not yet commenced
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 163 
 
 which is gradually converting our industrial 
 northern cities into minor capitals. Move- 
 ment of any kind was, in fact, considered in 
 those times, all but revolutionary. The business 
 of Birmingham was to make nails, teaboards, 
 and door-handles, — arms, when war was 
 brisk, — steam-engines, when it could find a 
 purchaser : — but to hold its tongue. — Man- 
 chester was bound to supply us with servants' 
 sheeting and fast-coloured calicoes. Liverpool 
 was our Cheap John, or general merchant, 
 exporting our damaged goods, and supplying 
 us in return with raw material. — But " Ne 
 sutor ultra crepidam.'' Out of business hours, 
 we were not on bowing terms with those Great 
 Unwashed. Once a year, the political lion of 
 the day went down and roared them a speech ; 
 not, however, addressed to their ears, but calcu- 
 lated to be transmitted, through the press, to the 
 uttermost ends of the earth as a party mani- 
 festo, which would cause the whole official 
 atmosphere to vibrate. But for the ensuing 
 
 m2
 
 164 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 eleven months and twenty-nine days, the manu- 
 facturing or commercial city became only a 
 word on a map ; a name in the Gazetteer, or the 
 city article. Its millions might find their way 
 into the public coffers : its hundreds of 
 thousands of living souls were, like Viola's 
 history — " a blank, my lord 1" 
 
 The byeword " Brummagem" was reserved 
 to typify to ears polite everything that was 
 vulgar or counterfeit ; while that of " flue," 
 conveyed, in ^Derbyshire or Lancashire, all the 
 scorn included in the stigma of " clod," as ap- 
 plied by the exclusives of club windows in St. 
 James's Street, to some great landowner, the 
 parliamentary representative of a wilderness of 
 clay — or mud. 
 
 For England was still unliberalised. It had 
 not yet discovered that science was endowing 
 its midland and north-western capitalists with 
 other gifts besides spinning-jennies and power- 
 looms ; or that modern Art receives its richest 
 guerdon from hands outstretched, on Saturday
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 165 
 
 nights, to distribute thousands of pounds among 
 laborious hundreds of their fellow-creatures. 
 Mechanics' Institutes, Athenaeums, Reading 
 Societies, were still in their rickety infancy. 
 Even fantastic Fashion had yet to learn that 
 the choicest productions of her pet uphol- 
 sterers, silk-mercers, and makers-up of 
 
 Black, white, and grey, with all their trumpery, 
 
 are despatched from the aulic metropolis to 
 the leading trade-marts of the land. 
 
 Sir Arscott Littlecote had consequently some 
 pretext for the grimace with which he eschewed 
 all mention of the nail-making city, of whose 
 manners and customs he knew about as much 
 as of those of Pekin. Whenever his Bir- 
 mingham man-of-business put in an occasional 
 appearance at the Hall, for the signature 
 of leases or mortgage of land. Sir Arscott was 
 sure to order the library windows set open 
 after his departure, for the purpose of extra 
 ventilation ; and when this same Mr. Girdle- 
 stone (for Girdlestone, Wrench, and Co.) hesi-
 
 166 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 tatingly suggested to his fastidious employer 
 that the new tenant of the Manor House was 
 widow of Matthew Lambert, the patentee of 
 the draining engine by which his waste lands 
 at Arden Moss had been converted into the 
 finest pastures on his estate, Sir Arscott, a 
 little astonished at his attorney's unwonted 
 presumption, silenced him at once by observ- 
 ing that he knew and wished to know nothing 
 concerning the Birmingham tradespeople ; that 
 to live within five-and-twenty miles of their 
 smoke and vulgarity, was enough ! 
 
 It was some compensation, though Sir 
 Arscott was blind to the fact, that he was 
 born at a period when a baronet of 1611, 
 with an estate of ten thousand a year, more 
 especially if a county member and tolerably 
 reputable in private life, was privileged to 
 talk as much nonsense as he pleased in his 
 own dining-room, and speak as much in the 
 House of Commons, without risk of being 
 coughed down. Just as, in our days, Baronets
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 167 
 
 and Police Magistrates are, by prescriptive 
 right and the diction of the Press, qualified 
 as " worthy," for some preceding centuries 
 the country-baronet class of the community 
 furnished to the country its finest specimens 
 of Bores : dull, consequential, and ignorant. 
 Sir Arscott might be more accurate in his 
 distribution of the letter H than the mechanics 
 or mechanicians of the manufacturing city he 
 despised. But not a nailer of them all ever 
 uttered in the course of his lifetime such " an 
 infinite deal of nothing," as the " worthy ba- 
 ronet" of Arden Hall managed to whip up into 
 plausible froth, within limit of a single day. 
 
 For five-and-twenty years after the attain- 
 ment of his majority, Sir Arscott Littlecote had 
 been a model Baronet ; having married the 
 daughter of an Earl, the lord lieutenant of his 
 County ; a young lady, homely of feature, but 
 admirably brought up ; pompous and foolish as 
 himself, and equally devoted to the shows and 
 seemings of life. Together, they progressed
 
 168 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 every spring to their "family mansion" in 
 Bruton Street, for levees, drawing-rooms, and an 
 annual concert, where their extensive visiting 
 list was made to pass muster arrayed in sem- 
 piternal family diamonds and the fashions of 
 the preceding season ; and together, they re- 
 turned to Arden Hall, at the commencement 
 of grouse-shooting, to parade their renovated 
 arrogance before their country neighbours. 
 
 But alas ! just as the only son which had 
 graced their sympathetic union attained years 
 of discretion, Lady Catherine, like the wife of 
 Sir Balaam, " catched a cold and died." All 
 that remained of her, to mortal ken, was an 
 ample marble tablet surmounting the family 
 pew ; commemorating in turgid phrase her 
 high descent and lofty virtues ; and surmounted 
 by a couple of weeping swollen-faced cherubim, 
 designed perhaps to attest to the world, to the 
 end of time, the influenza which had laid Lady 
 Catherine Littlecote in the vault below. 
 
 The loss of this congenial partner gave rise
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 169 
 
 to the grand error of Sir Arscott's life. Con- 
 vinced that a baronetcy becomes only half a 
 distinction when singly represented, he chose 
 to secure another Lady Littlecote to do the 
 honours of the family diamonds ; and under 
 some singular aberration of intellect, selected 
 a wife who had nothing to recommend her but 
 youth, beauty, and gentleness ; in the belief, 
 perhaps, that a girl so amenable to the au- 
 thority of her parents as to be lectured into 
 becoming the wife of a man treble her 
 age, and notoriously disagreeable, would be 
 easily dragooned. And so it proved. To the 
 new Lady Littlecote, her husband's word was 
 law. The daughter of a Curate in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Arden, she had been brought up 
 to regard Sir Arscott as secondary in con- 
 sequence only to the Sovereign of the realm ; 
 — a Solon on the Bench, — a saint in the family 
 pew, where she was fated to be a martyr. 
 
 But though submissive as a spaniel, the 
 bride was not quite so teachable. During
 
 170 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Lady Littlecote's first and only season in Lon- 
 don, her artlessness so grievously committed 
 Sir Arscott in the sight of his order, that he 
 not only let on lease his mansion in Bruton 
 Street, but resigned to his son Rupert his seat 
 in the House of Commons. The family dia- 
 monds were consigned to the safe-keeping of 
 the family banker ; and the lovely Lady Little- 
 cote, too rustic for the patience of the starched 
 maiden sisters of his late wife, Lady Lucy and 
 Lady Leonora Bellasis, to the safe-keeping of 
 x\rden Hall. 
 
 She did not repine. Other jewels were 
 shortly afterwards vouchsafed her. Three little 
 girls, of whom in successive years she became 
 the mother, occupied her time and thoughts. 
 In the intervals of nursing the rheumatic gout 
 of Sir Arscott, she became a cheerful, active 
 woman, the companion and playmate of her 
 three happy children. 
 
 Such a pleasant quartette to look upon ": — 
 the young mother, almost as light of heart and
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 171 
 
 tender of nature as the crowing baby ! But alas ! 
 a gloomy shadow was destined to overcloud 
 the days of that soft-hearted being, and render 
 serious that girlish brow. Just as her little 
 girls were progressing from the nursery to the 
 schoolroom, two of her treasures were snatched 
 from her by malignant scarlet fever ; and she 
 was left with only her second girl, Httle Helen, 
 who thenceforward became so precious a posses- 
 sion, that there was almost as much pain as 
 pleasure in the tenure. Lady Littlecote could 
 scarcely bear to trust her out of her sight ; and 
 the fits of rheumatic gout which chained her 
 for four months out of every twelve to the 
 couch of a peevish valetudinarian, became all 
 the more tedious, that Sir Arscott, during his 
 illnesses, condemned his little daughter to close 
 imprisonment in the schoolroom, as he would 
 have mittimused a vagrant to the mill. 
 
 At the best of times, poor Helen's life was 
 that of a squirrel in a cage ; a gilded cage, 
 but not the less irksome to the poor squirrel.
 
 172 THE TWO AEISTOCKACIES. 
 
 Her walks with her governess were limited to 
 the park and gardens of Arden Hall. From 
 her childhood, she had no playmates, — no com- 
 panions ; — only the memory of the pretty little 
 sisters who had vanished ; and the sad-faced 
 mother, who could scarcely look at her without 
 tears. — The village afforded nothing of suffi- 
 cient degree for a game of romps with the 
 young lady of the Hall. 
 
 Even her brother Rupert when, during the 
 parliamentary recess, he occasionally visited 
 the Hall albeit unused to the melting mood 
 in favour of anybody whose grievances could 
 not be expanded into a petition, or made the 
 subject of a motion, expressed some pity 
 for the isolation of his little sister. 
 
 " Helen is growing up singularly pretty, 
 sir," said he to his father, perhaps to cut short 
 a political catechism to which he was annually 
 subjected at the close of the session ; " the 
 image of that beautiful Lady Althea Littlecote, 
 whose picture by Kneller hangs in the library.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. 173 
 
 But her face wants expression. It has none 
 of the piquancy of Lady Althea, — none of the 
 sprightliness of girlhood, — She Kves too much 
 with grown-up people." 
 
 And as Sir Arscott, though he never per- 
 mitted his low-born spouse to trouble him 
 with her opinions, was apt to entertain the 
 suggestions of the young gentleman having 
 genuine Littlecote blood in his veins, it might 
 have been expected that, thus enhghtened, he 
 would become less harsh in interdicting all 
 intercourse between his family and the new 
 comers at the Manor. 
 
 For one day, when Miss Barneson and her 
 pupils were profiting by a public road that 
 intersected the Arden estate, to enjoy the 
 beautiful park-scenery so new to Rhoda and 
 Lettice, — the nobly- timbered glades, the flow- 
 ing river, the stately oaks, under whose 
 shade were picturesquely grouped the dappled 
 deer, of which Sir Arscott was so proud — all 
 the charms, in short, of an English landscape
 
 174 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 of the most ornate description, — a little terrier, 
 by whom they were usually accompanied in 
 their walks, unluckily startled and put to 
 flight the herd ; exposing its owners to the 
 objurgation of one of the keepers, who happened 
 to be within view of the disturbance. 
 
 "All dogs trespassing in this park are 
 ordered to be shot," he informed them, in 
 language none the more gracious for being 
 uttered by the privileged mouth-piece of a 
 magistrate. And as the man had a gun on 
 his shoulder, and not a grain of pity in his 
 countenance, Lettice, considering poor Grypp 
 as sentenced to immediate execution, burst 
 into a passion of tears as she supplicated for 
 the life of her favourite. When lo ! a gentle 
 voice poured oil on the stormy waves of the 
 keeper's indignation. Helen Littlecote and 
 her governess, Mrs. Marsden, who happened 
 to be sketching within view of the sudden 
 flight of the deer, kindly interfered in behalf 
 of the offenders ; and Grypp, on his return
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 175 
 
 from bis inopportune chase, was consigned in 
 safety to the arms of his anxious mistress. 
 The keeper still protested that it was as much 
 as his place was worth to " spare the mis- 
 chievous cur." But having exacted an assurance 
 that the offender should never again set paw 
 on the turf of Arden Park, he condescended to 
 be appeased. 
 
 The story of Grypp's delinquency, and of 
 the two interesting girls in deep mourning to 
 whom he belonged, was duly recounted to 
 Lady Littlecote by her daughter and Mrs. 
 Marsden, on their return home ; and as she 
 remarked only in return that it would be as 
 well to abstain from mentioning the circum- 
 stance to Sir Arscott, who was confined to the 
 house by indisposition, and was never more 
 incensed than by hearing of any molestation 
 to his deer, the governess took it for granted 
 that her ladyship had no fault to find with 
 the acquaintance thus accidentally made. 
 
 Several times, afterwards, they met in their
 
 176 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 
 
 walks; and always with an interchange of 
 courtesy. The quiet lady-like demeanour of 
 Miss Barneson and her pupils, was ^vell 
 calculated to secure the favour of a sensible 
 woman like Mrs. Marsden ; who had often 
 coveted for her young charge companionship 
 suitable to her age. 
 
 Fortunately, — or perhaps unfortunately, — 
 Sir Arscott's fit of the gout proved more than 
 usually obstinate ; so that, for some weeks, the 
 attention of Lady Littlecote was wholly en- 
 grossed by his variations of health and temper. 
 The sky of Helen's daily life was conse- 
 quently sunless ; and to make up to her for 
 the loss of her mother's endearments, Mrs. 
 Marsden often directed their walks to that 
 portion of the park frequented by the family 
 at the Manor. 
 
 By the time the churlish baronet regained 
 his normal state of health and disagreeable- 
 ness, something almost amounting to intimacy 
 had arisen between the girls and their pre-
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 177 
 
 ceptresses. The spirits of the young people 
 were vivified by the new impulse thus 
 imparted to their lives ; and many an advan- 
 tageous glimpse into the mysteries of female 
 education, was imparted by the maturer teacher 
 to the less experienced Christina. 
 
 Direful was the wrath of Sir Arscott, how- 
 ever, when, early in his convalescence, the new 
 acquaintanceship came to light. An ukase of 
 severe prohibition was instantly issued ; Mrs. 
 Marsden threatened with dismissal on the 
 recurrence of such an oversight; and Lady 
 Littlecote bitterly upbraided for not having 
 exercised a more rigorous jurisdiction. 
 
 " There was no knowing where the mischief 
 of such a friendship might end ! Low people, 
 like these Birmingham manufacturers, had 
 doubtless boasted all over the neighbourhood 
 of being countenanced by the Littlecotes of 
 Arden Hall. They would probably make it 
 a pretext for pushing their acquaintance into 
 spheres equally unfit for their participation. 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 THE TWO AHISTOCBACIES. 
 
 He should take every opportunity to make 
 known his opinion of these upstart Lamberts. 
 Nobody should accuse Jiim of having served 
 as a stepping-stone to adventurers." 
 
 To prevent his insulting the unpretending 
 widow who took so little thought of the pomps 
 and vanities of life, by a letter to this effect, 
 Lady Littlecote pledged herself to see his wishes 
 accomplished ; undertaking that no further 
 communication should pass between Helen 
 and the Lamberts. But, unwilling to mortify 
 those whom she had heard so kindly spoken 
 of, she contented herself with instructing 
 Mrs. Marsden that, henceforward, their walks 
 must be confined within the precincts of the 
 pleasure-grounds. There, the innocent of- 
 fenders would not venture to intrude. There, 
 Miss Littlecote of Arden Hall might enjoy 
 the summer sunshine without danger of en- 
 croachment. 
 
 The governess, as was her duty, obeyed. 
 Two years' domestication at Arden Hall had
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 179 
 
 accustomed her to the tyraanies of Sir Arscott, 
 as well as to the wifelike patience with which 
 his lady submitted to his caprices. 
 
 Poor Helen must perforce resume her list- 
 lessness of other days ; — again yearning after 
 her lost sisters, — again incurring the danger 
 of egotism and unchristian pride. 
 
 Perhaps, — for Mrs. Marsden was a desultory 
 reader, — she might recal to mind the exclusive 
 Heaven especially set apart by Emanuel Swe- 
 denborg, in the House of many mansions, for 
 the souls of Englishmen, as essential to their 
 notions of isolated beatitude. But neither 
 Helen nor her instructress was seen again 
 in the park ; and vainly did Rhoda and Let- 
 tice look out for their coming, and Christina 
 pine after the pleasant and profitable talk of 
 Mrs. Marsden. She probably guessed the 
 truth; for no entreaties of her pupils could 
 induce her to write or send to the Hall, to 
 ascertain that indisposition was not the cause 
 of Miss Littlecote's non-appearance.
 
 180 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 
 
 By judicious management, she gradually 
 accustomed the girls to take their daily exer* 
 cise elsewhere ; and by Miss Barneson, no 
 fears were entertained for the health of either 
 of the companions who had so strangely cast 
 them off; for every week, Helen and Mrs. 
 Marsden made their appearance in the family 
 pew presided over by the weeping cherubim, 
 as blooming as ever. It was only Lady 
 Littlecote who looked paler and paler, — sadder 
 and sadder: — perhaps, because of the lost 
 darlings lying in the vault under her feet ; 
 perhaps because she saw her remaining 
 daughter condemned to perpetual estrange- 
 ment from the charities and affections of life.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 181 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 By this premature ending of a pleasant 
 friendship, Christina was deeply mortified. 
 She did not, however, disquiet herself in 
 vain. It sufficed her to see her promising 
 pupils progress daily, in grace and stature ; 
 profiting in every way by the unconstraint of 
 country life. 
 
 Still, however, when side by side they 
 roamed across the breezy common or shady 
 lane, Rhoda and Lettice listened or looked
 
 182 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 wistfully for the wheels of the Arden Hall 
 pony carriage, or the light figure of Helen 
 Littlecote in the distance hastening to meet 
 them ; and to have some object to be de- 
 sired, is one of the best incentives to the 
 human mind; rendering hopeful its gloomy 
 days, and pleasanter its brightest. But 
 instead of saying to herself, "Happy girls! 
 wdio have no heavier cross to bear than the 
 frustration of a short-lived childish friend- 
 ship," Chrissy, after the fashion of those 
 " intrusted with the tuition of youth," fancied 
 it behoved her to " improve the occasion," by 
 those occasional sermons, under which, when 
 suffering under domestic calamity, or even the 
 more trivial whips and stings which attack 
 only the epidermis of sensitive human nature, 
 the weak-minded are made to writhe by the 
 strong ; and occasionally, the strong by the 
 weak, when set in authority over them. 
 
 One day, when Rhoda Lambert, after seem- 
 ing to listen to a little governessy lecture on
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. 183 
 
 the properties of the teazel-plant which bristled 
 the adjacent hedge, and its application to 
 manufacturing purposes, replied — " but, after 
 all, don't you think it Hkely, dear Chrissy, 
 that the Littlecote family may have left the 
 Hall for London, or the sea side, or perhaps, 
 to go abroad?" — Miss Barneson suddenly 
 resolved to set the vexed question at rest. 
 
 Distinctions of class are hard to expound to 
 those who live in utter seclusion from society ; 
 especially to girls, whose notions of patrician 
 and plebeian are chiefly derived from the well- 
 thumbed volumes of their Roman History. 
 But, being a little exasperated, Miss Barneson 
 addressed her pupils in such very plain En- 
 glish, — telling them it was time they should 
 understand that their rank in life did not 
 entitle them to become the intimate friends 
 of a baronet's daughter ; and that Sir Arscott 
 Littlecote had interfered to forbid it, — that 
 comprehension came at once. 
 
 "Mrs. Lambert would not hke you to walk
 
 184 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 and play with Mary Barnet, the laundress's 
 daughter," said she. " The family at the 
 Hall entertain the same repugnance to their 
 inferiors." 
 
 " But Mary Barnet can neither read nor 
 write, and is rude and vulgar," pleaded Rhoda, 
 with flashing eyes and shortened respiration, 
 rendering her likeness to poor Zack more than 
 usually remarkable. 
 
 " Her deficiencies are apparent to us, — 
 because we appreciate education, and prize 
 good manners. Sir Arscott Littlecote, who 
 cares for birth and descent as we do for 
 intellectual refinement, is of opinion that a 
 manufacturer's children, a tradesman's grand- 
 daughters, are unworthy to associate with 
 those whose ancestors have enjoyed five hundred 
 years of social distinction." 
 
 Receiving no answer from either of her 
 startled companions, the governess proceeded to 
 a somewhat didactic discussion of the compara- 
 tive claims of Trade and Aristocracy, in a realm
 
 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 185 
 
 still retaining its feudal institutions; better 
 adapted to a prize essay or Athenaeum lecture, 
 than to the tender ears of sixteen. At the 
 close, she found that Lettice hung heavily 
 ipon her arm; while Rhoda was proceeding 
 with impetuous steps and burning cheeks, 
 some paces in advance of them. But she was 
 mistaken in supposing that the mind of either 
 was edified by her homily. The only words 
 which had struck root, she had incidentally, 
 almost unintentionally, let fall : thoughtlessly 
 observing, by way of corollary to her the- 
 ories, " and your poor father was clearly of 
 the same opinion. Mr. Lambert had no am- 
 bition that you should aspire beyond your 
 natural sphere ; or he would not have ex- 
 pressed in his will so strong a desire that one 
 or other of you should become the wife of my 
 brother." 
 
 A few scattered grains of rice afforded future 
 harvests to Robinson Crusoe on his desert 
 island. A few grains of strychnine will ex-
 
 1S6 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. ^ 
 
 terminate a household. And those few careless 
 words of Christina Barneson, decided the future 
 fate of Rhoda and Lettice. All that, at the 
 time, became apparent, was the languid but 
 affectionate pressure of the younger girl who 
 hung upon her arm, and the proud bearing of 
 the elder, as she firmly trod the causeway. 
 But the current of their thoughts had irre- 
 trievably changed its course. 
 
 Hitherto, Mark Barneson had been to them 
 as a kind of uncle or godfather, who brought 
 them birth-day or new-year's gifts, — colour- 
 boxes, — work-boxes, — entertaining books. 
 Whether he were young or old, ordinary or 
 handsome, had never crossed their minds. 
 He was the friend of their lost brother, — the 
 representative of their dead father, — the bro- 
 ther of their good Chrissy. It would have 
 appeared a sort of sacrilege, had any one ven- 
 tured to criticise him in person, word, or 
 deed. He was the Providence of the house. 
 His arrival was a signal for general joy.
 
 THE TAYO ARISTOCHACIES. 187 
 
 Their poor mother became cheerful, — the ser- 
 vants active, — Christina indulgent. Mark was 
 all in all. 
 
 But now, he had become far more than all 
 this. He was the hero of their romance. 
 One or other of them would be his wife. Did 
 this depend on Ids choice or their own ? Was 
 his election already made, or had their mother 
 decided it ? Neither of them breathed to the 
 other one s^dlable denoting that Chrissy's 
 announcement had reached her ear. But each 
 pondered over it, — how earnestly — how w^on- 
 deriugly, — in her heart. 
 
 Instead of the headlong haste with which, 
 heretofore, on the announcement of Barne- 
 son's unexpected arrival at the Manor, they 
 had hurried from their schoolroom to greet 
 him, they now hung back ; and when sum- 
 moned by their mother, tarried to adjust 
 their dress, or smooth their hair ; greeting 
 him at last with a shy consciousness which 
 betrayed in their troubled glances and
 
 188 THE TWO ARISTOCHACIES. 
 
 heightened colour, the stir of their young 
 hearts. 
 
 Unaware, on the other hand, that the cir- 
 cumstance, which it had been decided was 
 to be kept secret till the maturity of the girls, 
 and on which, at present, he never allowed 
 himself to dwell, had prematurely transpired, 
 Mark attributed to his sister's sense of deco- 
 rum, their altered demeanour. They were no 
 longer children. They were on the confines 
 of womanhood. It was natural — it was fitting 
 — that they should become more reserved. 
 
 At the period of their instalment at the 
 Manor house, which M^as engaged for a term 
 of years, Mrs. Lambert had proposed that 
 they should spend their winters in Birming- 
 ham. But as Christmas drew near, she inti- 
 mated a desire to remain in the country. She 
 assigned no motive for her change of plans. 
 But to Christina's observant eye, it was evident 
 that Rhoda Lambert, who, by her more ener- 
 getic character, and perhaps from her strong
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. ] 89 
 
 resemblance to the lost and lamented son, 
 was obtaining great influence over her mother, 
 had instio;ated the determination. 
 
 The only surprise it occasioned in the family 
 was the fact that it met with no opposition 
 from Mark. Instead of expressing regret 
 that he was to lose their society and pass a 
 soHtary winter, he candidly signified his ap- 
 proval of Mrs. Lambert's preference of a 
 country life. 
 
 "Their absence from Bracknell Works," 
 he added, " would enable him to rebuild, or 
 remodel the old dweUing-house, no longer 
 proportioned to the extent of the property. 
 When the business-premises were completed 
 by the late Mr. Lambert, and the new engine- 
 houses erected, he had deferred for a time the 
 construction of a family residence suitable to 
 his increased income. The plans then furnished 
 were still in his hands." 
 
 The girls listened with embarrassed coun- 
 tenances; convinced that his object was to
 
 190 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 create a pleasant home for his future wife ; 
 while Mrs. Lambert and Christina secretly 
 congratulated themselves that of the old house, 
 so full of grievous associations, not a brick 
 would be left upon the other. 
 
 When, shortly afterwards, the w^ork of de- 
 molition commenced, the additional occupa- 
 tion and anxiety thus entailed upon Mark, 
 afforded a sufficient excuse for the brevity of 
 his letters and rarity of his visits. "The 
 builders required constant overlooking." When 
 he did come, it was usually to consult Mrs, 
 Lambert concerning some change in the in- 
 ternal arrangements of the new house. But 
 as he invariably expressed a wish that her 
 daughters should take part in the family 
 council, each felt convinced that her taste and 
 inclinations were consulted in every alteration. 
 To one sister, this idea gave pain ; to the 
 other, pleasure ; to both, perplexity. Through- 
 out those long winter months, though not a 
 syllable was exchanged on the subject, the
 
 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. 191 
 
 edifice slowly rising at the Bracknell Works, 
 with its stone staircase and airy, well-pro- 
 portioned rooms, was to each a castle in the 
 air. 
 
 Early in the spring, in consequence of a 
 holiday accorded to Miss Barneson, that she 
 might visit W., to be present at the w^edding 
 of her only surviving younger sister, they 
 were left alone with their mother. But even 
 then, neither of them found courage to eluci- 
 date her future prospects. 
 
 But the mystery observed on the subject 
 was detrimental to both. Poor Lettice be- 
 came duller and sadder for the misgivings of 
 her mind; w^hile Rhoda, naturally arrogant, 
 could scarcely repress her indignation at the 
 idea of being left to the refusal of her father's 
 former clerk. She had never before thought 
 of him in so ungenerous a light. Till she 
 entered her sixteenth year, he had been her 
 " dear Mark Barneson." But it now recurred 
 to her mind, only too often, that the head of
 
 192 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the house of Lambert and Co. would, but for 
 her father's generous predilection, have re- 
 mained a pauper : — the same pauper, who, 
 during her brother's lifetime, wore a thread- 
 bare coat and inhabited a servant's attic. 
 
 The tradesman's daughter, in short, tho- 
 roughly despised the tradesman's son. We 
 attribute the sin of pride too exclusively to 
 the rich and great. Some of the poorest and 
 humblest born of God's creatures, are the 
 proudest. Highlanders, even when half- 
 starved, are innately haughty ; and an Irish 
 beggar is sometimes as scornful as an Emperor. 
 Rhoda Lambert was as thoroughly embued 
 with contempt for a condition of life which 
 in her own case provoked that of Sir Arscott 
 Littlecote, as though born to ermine and 
 purple. 
 
 When Christina returned from W., and 
 alluded exultingly to the good fortune of 
 her portionless sister in becoming the wife of 
 a retired linendraper, Rhoda had no patience
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 193 
 
 with her mother's interest in the details of the 
 new menage; their pleasant villa at Bishop- 
 stoke, and the " neat sociable" that was to 
 enable them to visit, almost daily, the poor old 
 lady at St. Margaret's College, which, in 
 spite of the solicitations of her son on his 
 accession of fortune, she had resolutely re- 
 fused to quit. 
 
 As little could the proud girl support the 
 delight with which Lettice welcomed the 
 announcement that occasionally reached them 
 from Mark, of the increasing business of the 
 firm of Lambert and Co : the new contracts 
 proposed to them, the new patents they ob- 
 tained. Just as some people rejoice to see the 
 name they love recorded with honour in the 
 annals of the world, — in the great letters of the 
 public journals, — in the court circular, or some 
 popular review, — did Lettice Lambert triumph 
 in knowing that those of Lambert and Co. 
 were current in the markets of St. Petersburg, 
 New York, Calcutta, Rio Janeiro ; engraven 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Oil engines which wrought the fortune of 
 hundreds, and patent implements which Hght- 
 ened the labours of thousands. She gloried 
 in hearing of a district reclaimed from the sea, 
 or a province restored to health per aid of 
 their draining engines. Such was her pride : 
 as harmless, at all events, as that of Sir 
 Arscott Littlecote in his illegible parchments 
 and monumental brasses. 
 
 It was no sordid motive that influenced her 
 feelings. The Lambert girls, reared in seclu- 
 sion, understood little of the value and in- 
 fluence of riches. Their only sample of the life 
 of the luxurious classes, consisted in a glimpse 
 of Arden Hall — of the interior of which they 
 knew scarcely more than of the pyramids ; — 
 and the wealth of the Littlecotes appeared to 
 them as much the result of immutable inheri- 
 tance, as the right divine of the throne. To 
 acquire similar possessions by industry or 
 adroit investment, they would have held as 
 fabulous an enterprise as that of the Titans.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 195 
 
 All Lettice desired, in short, was, that the 
 name her father had created, should be placed 
 at the head of its class. 
 
 But while she sat and listened, 
 
 silent as a nun 
 Breathless with adoration, 
 
 while Mark read aloud to his co-executrix 
 the complimentary letters which had accom- 
 panied across the Atlantic certain remittances 
 of bills of exchange from Boston and New 
 Orleans ; or recounted to her some advanta- 
 geous bargain he had made in the mineral 
 market, his elder ward, though seemingly en- 
 grossed in counting the stitches of her tapestry 
 or drawing threads in her strip of muslin, was 
 noting with disgust the provincial dialect of 
 her guardian. Mark had never quite got rid 
 of the accent acquired at Ryecroft Farm \ 
 though he spoke plain strong English, homely 
 but thoroughly to the purpose, his misplaced 
 aspirations jarred against an ear which the 
 harmonious language of Mrs. Marsden and 
 
 o 2
 
 196 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the pure enunciation of Helen, had rendered 
 fastidious. In former days she had found no 
 fault with the " 'oliday " procured for her by 
 Mark. But she could scarcely refrain from 
 shrugging her shoulders when he talked about 
 the new " 'ouse/' the completion of which oc- 
 cupied all the attention he could spare from 
 the important works in progress at the Foun- 
 dry. When finished, six months were allotted 
 for the drying and seasoning of the new struc- 
 ture before it could be furnished, for habitation ; 
 so that, for a year to come, the estabUshment 
 at Arden was to remain on its usual footing. 
 
 All were content. Christina was, as she 
 fancied, engaged in completing lier work ; — 
 the furnishing and polishing of the two young 
 minds, in which she had unwittingly sowed 
 tares as well as wheat ; while Mrs. Lambert* 
 who had recovered sufficient strength to 
 saunter out daily in fine weather and make 
 acquaintance with all the rheumatics and 
 raggednesses of the village, was beginning to
 
 THE TWO ARSTOCRACIES. 197 
 
 feel far more at home at Arden than she had 
 ever been in the stony, bustling ways of her 
 native town. There is a small- ware benevo- 
 lence in which elderly country-ladies are apt 
 to deal, with as much satisfaction as London 
 ladies in the busy idleness of shopping : the 
 former turning over the wants, ailments, and 
 scruples of the poor, as the latter the ribbons 
 and laces of reluctant haberdashers ; and after 
 administering weak broth and weak counsel, 
 blankets and reproofs, returning home to their 
 easy chairs, rich dishes, and forced fruit, with 
 the flattering unction laid to their souls of 
 having progressed a furlong on the road to 
 Heaven. 
 
 Poor Mrs. Lambert not only accomplished, 
 but thoroughly enjoyed her mission. She 
 gave liberally and listened patiently ; and not 
 a sprained ankle or convulsed infant in the 
 village, escaped her kindly intervention. Even 
 had she been aware how gracelessly her 
 beneficence was received, and how far more
 
 198 THE TWO ARISTOCHACIES. 
 
 prized was the dole of sixpence from Arden 
 Hall, than the halfcrowns of the " Brummagem 
 folk," it would not have ruffled her temper, or 
 impeded her mercies. 
 
 But it was otherwise with her elder daughter. 
 When the scornful epithet, unluckily over- 
 heard, was warningly repeated to her by Miss 
 Barneson, Rhoda Lambert vowed a vow in 
 her heart of hearts, not only that she would 
 never again bestow a doit on such ingrates ; 
 but that to the city to which even an obscure 
 village held itself superior, she would return 
 no more. Rather sit like the banished Peri 
 at the gates of Paradise, — rather wander away 
 her young days within view of the dehcious 
 glades of Arden Park, with the EHzabethan 
 chimneys of the Hall rising imperiously above 
 its ancient oaks, — than live among tradesmen 
 and manufacturers, amidst the smoke, uproar, 
 evil savours, and vexatious contentions of the 
 Bracknell Works. 
 
 Sufficient was the annoyance of hearing
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 199 
 
 tidings of these tKings, when Barneson, and 
 occasionally even Ferrier, (who was supposed 
 to be working his way to a share in the firm 
 of Lambert and Co.,) arrived at the Manor 
 House for a Sunday visit. Whenever it was 
 possible, she pleaded indisposition as a pretext 
 for avoiding their company. When forced to 
 endure it, she sat storing up disgusts and 
 harsh determinations for her future guidance.
 
 200 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The aversion, apparently, was not mu- 
 tual. 
 
 " Black eyes or blue ?" inquired Terrier 
 jocosely, one evening, of Mark, as they were 
 driving back to Birmingham, after a summer 
 day spent with the family at Arden, " It is 
 almost time you made up your mind between 
 them, to enable the future Mrs. Barneson to 
 select the paper and curtains for the new 
 drawing-room !"
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 201 
 
 With perfect candour did Mark assure his 
 companion that he troubled himself as little 
 about black eyes or blue, as about the choice 
 of drawing-room carpets. The 180-horse 
 power engine, about to be despatched to 
 Odessa, occupied all his thoughts. 
 
 " Tell that to the Marines," cried Terrier, 
 who had been indulging in an extra glass of 
 sherry. *' At all events, pretty little Lettice 
 evidently fancies that her handsome sister is 
 the object of your preference." 
 
 " You have no right to interpret the innocent 
 words and looks of a mere child," interrupted 
 Barneson. " To me, both are like sisters, — 
 almost like daughters." 
 
 " Then the sooner you modify your views, 
 the better,'* retorted Terrier. "To deal 
 frankly with you, Barneson, however undecided 
 may be your mind, I have made up mine that 
 whichever of those two girls you reject, shall 
 become the wife of a certain Alexander 
 Ferrier."
 
 202 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 " Yours ?'' — reiterated Mark, with an air of 
 such utter amazement, as was almost insulting. 
 
 "Mine. — And why not? — Though by her 
 father's will no part of his capital is to be 
 withdrawn from the business during the life- 
 time of his daughters, I shall be quite content 
 with Rhoda and a third of the profits. Up- 
 wards of four thousand, last year ! With my 
 wife's income of fifteen hundred, my own 
 salary, and the trifle allowed me by my uncle, 
 we might snap our fingers at half the swells in 
 Birmingham." 
 
 " It was not money I was thinking of — *' 
 
 " Of what else, then ?" 
 
 " Miss Lambert sets no mean value on her- 
 self. I have sometimes fancied she aspired 
 to--" 
 
 " To what ? — M^ connections are fifty-fold 
 better than hers. The Terriers stand some- 
 what higher at Glasgow, you'll find, than these 
 Lamberts in Birmingham. I doubt indeed 
 whether my uncle, Terrier of Craigie, would
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 203 
 
 consent to receive into the family a girl whose 
 brother died in jail, and so escaped the 
 gallows." 
 
 Mark Barneson felt the blood rush to his 
 face. Till that moment, he was unaware that 
 the sad end of the unfortunate Zack had 
 transpired. 
 
 " I shall do my best, however," resumed 
 Terrier, "to make him overlook that little blot 
 in the Lambert scutcheon ; and, when I have 
 succeeded, I trust, Mark, I shall meet with no 
 obstruction from you in making my court to 
 the young lady ?" 
 
 " If you are so fortunate as to be approved 
 by either of them, and Mrs. Lambert should 
 make no objection, none will be raised by 
 w^," replied Mark, coldly. He was thoroughly 
 taken by surprise. It had scarcely occurred 
 to him that Ferrier would cherish so merce- 
 nary a project. For mercenary it was. His 
 intention to marry either sister, after Mark 
 had exercised his privilege of choice, proved
 
 204 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 
 
 an utter absence of preference. Unobservant 
 as he "was, Mark had always attributed the 
 interest evinced by Ferrier in the sayings 
 and doings of Arden Manor, to a Hngering 
 affection for Christina. Ferrier had never pro- 
 fessed any change of sentiments ; nor was a 
 brother's partial eye likely to discover that the 
 woman of thirty had a poor chance against the 
 blooming faces of her pupils ; or that Chrissy 
 was growing quizzical, methodical, old-maidish; 
 that early trouble had withered her features, 
 and embittered her heart, while school-room 
 habits imparted a repellent stiffness to her de- 
 portment. To Mark, she was still the dear 
 Chrissy of his boyhood ; and he felt as much 
 vexed on his sister's account, as on his own. 
 Nor was he pleased at hearing his wards 
 called " Rhoda," and " Lettice," by a man 
 like Ferrier. 
 
 " In short, Mark,'* resumed the object of 
 his indignant cogitations, after an embarrassed 
 pause, — '^I have your sanction to apply to
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 205 
 
 Mrs. Lambert for leave to pay my addresses 
 to her eldest daughter ?" 
 
 "I told you before, Ferrier," rejoined Bar- 
 neson peevishly, " that I consider them both 
 too young for the momentous question of 
 matrimony. Wait at least till September, the 
 birthday of the younger sister. — Then, you 
 can acquaint their mother with your views. 
 Whatever Miss Lambert may decide, will meet 
 with no obstacle from me." 
 
 They accomplished the remainder of their 
 short journey in silence, and not in particularly 
 good conceit with each other : — Ferrier, con- 
 vinced that Barneson was secretly opposed to 
 his projects ; Barneson, suspecting that Ferrier 
 had been simply endeavouring to sound the 
 choice of his heart. 
 
 Next morning, he began to examine the 
 arrangements of the new house with a degree 
 of interest they had not heretofore excited in 
 his mind. But whether it were a vision of 
 Miss Lambert's striking face and fine figure
 
 206 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 that floated before liis mind's eye as presiding 
 in the handsome dining-room : or whether the 
 sweet countenance of Lettice haunted him in 
 the sunny upper-room which the builder 
 had pointed out as an excellent nursery, who 
 can say? — Certain it is, that at the close of 
 his investigations, he had resolved to com- 
 municate to Mrs. Lambert the projects of the 
 future partner in the firm of Lambert and Co., 
 in order to obtain some insight into the views 
 of the family. Whether to write or speak on 
 a subject so delicate, was the only point that 
 remained to decide. 
 
 He was still revolving the question, though 
 apparently engaged in the contemplation of a 
 very business-looking folio, covered with figures 
 and diagrams, that lay on the desk before him 
 in the private counting-house to which he had 
 retired to take counsel with himself, when a 
 loud tap at the door distracted his attention. 
 — "A letter by express!" — a very unusual 
 occurrence at the foundry.
 
 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 207 
 
 Let us hope that the tremiilousness of his 
 hand, when outstretched to receive the missive, 
 regarded the health and safety of his poor old 
 mother at W. — But the anxiety depicted in 
 his face as he perused it, certainly reached no 
 further than the village of Arden ! Thither, 
 as clearly as Mrs. Lambert's feeble hand- 
 writing and prolix style availed to expound 
 her wishes, he was immediately to despatch 
 Mr. Brathwaite, the eminent surgeon who 
 had attended the last moments of her hus- 
 band. — " A terrible accident had occm'red, 
 almost at the moment of his departure 
 the preceding night. Her daughter," she 
 did not at first mention loliicli, " had expe- 
 rienced a fall which was supposed to have 
 produced only a few contusions and a sprained 
 ankle ; for Mr. Royd, the Arden apothecary, 
 had assured them that a week's confinement to 
 a sofa would be the worst result. But during 
 the night, considerable swelling of the hip had 
 arisen, attended with much fever, and it was
 
 208 THE TWO AUISTOCUACIES. 
 
 clear that there was dislocation, if not fracture. 
 Royd requested further advice. 
 
 " Mr. Brathwaite must not delay a moment 
 more than is necessary, after this reaches you," 
 was added by way of postscript to the letter, in 
 the clear though crabbed handwriting of Chris- 
 tina. " Poor pretty little Lettice is suffering 
 terribly. Royd has put her to much unneces- 
 sary tortiu-e. If possible, see him ofiF.'' 
 
 " Poor pretty little Lettice !" — Yes — from 
 the moment of opening the letter, he had sur- 
 mised it. And, had he been still in doubt con- 
 cerning the nature of his sentiments towards 
 his two wards, the throbbing of his heart and 
 mistiness of his sight, as he snatched up his 
 hat to rush out in search of the Brodie of 
 Birmingham, would have enlightened him on 
 the subject. "See Mr. Brathwaite off?"— 
 As if he would lose sight of him till he entered 
 the sick room ! — 
 
 So effectually, in fact, did Barneson exert 
 himself in the discharge of his commission,
 
 THE TWO ABISTOCRACIES. 209 
 
 that, within three hours, the smoking posters 
 that conveyed them together to Arden Manor, 
 drew up before the porch where, only the pre- 
 ceding night, Christina and Mrs. Lambert had 
 bad him farewell. 
 
 The intelHgence afforded by the servants 
 was far from cheering. "Miss Lettice was 
 worse. Miss Lettice had fainted twice from 
 excess of pain."- — Long indeed appeared the 
 hour to j\Iark, during which Brathwaite was 
 examining his patient ; and when at length he 
 quitted her, it was only for a consultation with 
 Royd, from which non-professionals were 
 excluded. Mark did, however, contrive to 
 gather from a passing word that the case was 
 a serious one; dislocation, aggravated by a 
 simple fracture, which it had been necessary 
 immediately to reduce. 
 
 "I am now at your service to return to 
 Birmingham, Mr. Barneson," said Brathwaite, 
 after a quarter of an hour's conference with 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 210 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the local sawbones, to whom he issued his 
 final instructions. 
 
 " But surely you will not leave the house, 
 sir, without seeing Miss Lambert again?'' 
 rejoined Mark, indignant at the cheerfulness 
 with which the two doctors took leave of each 
 other, and the air of superiority with which 
 Brathwaite was rubbing his hands. 
 
 *' I have nothing further to do here, my 
 dear sir. A sedative has been administered ; 
 and the young lady must not be disturbed. 
 A few hours rest is the only thing to be of 
 service just now." Then, perceiving that 
 Mark looked bewildered and harassed, he 
 quietly rang and ordered the chaise. 
 
 Barneson would have given worlds for 
 courage to bid him return alone. To leave 
 the spot where "poor pretty little Lettice" 
 was lying maimed and suffering, — perhaps, — 
 so little was he skilled in chirurgery,— perhaps 
 in danger, — was a hard trial. But there w^as 
 no pretext for remaining. Brathwaite had
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 211 
 
 announced that the quieter the house, the 
 better for the patient. " He would himsel 
 return on the morrow, if the family judged it 
 necessary ; but he assured Mrs. Lambert that 
 now the bone was set, her daughter would 
 do equally well under the care of Royd." 
 
 The utmost Mark could do, in mitigation of 
 his anxiety, was to obtain a few minutes' inter- 
 view with his sister. But Christina, worn 
 with her night's watching, was for once 
 nervous and in tears. He could only extort 
 from her that Lettice had suffered sadly, but 
 with the utmost fortitude. The origin of the 
 accident seemed difficult to explain. The 
 poor girl said she had missed her footing in 
 jumping from a high staircase window-seat, to 
 which no one knew why she had mounted. 
 She had been found insensible at the foot of 
 the stairs. It was not till some time after- 
 wards they discovered that she was unable to 
 stand. 
 
 " I will write by this evening's post to let 
 
 p 2
 
 212 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 you know how she is going on," said Chrissy, 
 who, wanted on all sides, had no leisure to 
 bestow upon his interrogations. " Should any 
 unfavourable change occur, it will be better to 
 apprise Mr. Brathwaite.'* 
 
 How much of the value of a phrase depends 
 upon time and place ! — Mark recollected well 
 that during Mr. Lambert's last illness, an 
 " unfavourable change" was used as a term of 
 courtesy to indicate increased danger; and, 
 finally, the approach of death. — Perhaps they 
 had not told him the worst ! — 
 
 But that those who are feehng strongly, 
 seldom argue clearly, he must have been satis- 
 fied, on his journey home, by the surgeon's 
 repeated re-assurances, that Lettice was in no 
 sort of danger. A new source of anxiety was 
 opened, however, before they parted. — 
 
 " A sweet little creature !" said Brathwaite, 
 after circumstantially discussing the state of 
 his patient. " One can hardly understand so 
 dry and rough a fellow as pld Lambert being
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 213 
 
 father to such a child, — a primrose at the foot 
 of an oak tree. The elder girl is strikingly 
 handsome, but harsh as a crab. This unfortu- 
 nate child is as soft as swan's down." 
 
 The word " unfortunate" again jarred upon 
 the ear of Lettice's guardian ! — 
 
 " But you said just now, Mr, Brathwaite, 
 that you entertained no fears concerning her 
 ultimate recovery ?" 
 
 "None, — none whatever. The contusion 
 on the head is slight, — of no manner of con- 
 sequence. But — " He paused, as if afraid of 
 committing himself. 
 
 " B\it--what F—Bnt what ?' 
 
 " You are the young lady's guardian, I 
 believe. — You were one of the executors, if I 
 recollect rightly, appointed by old Lambert's 
 will ?" 
 
 Bameson, too much agitated to speak, 
 nodded assent. 
 
 " In that case, I need have no scruple in 
 acquainting you that his daughter runs con-
 
 214 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 siderable risk of being lame for life. That 
 Arden fellow, Royd, who, as regards operations, 
 is scarcely qualified for a vet., took upon him- 
 self some hours before our arrival to set the 
 limb. I trust I may not have been too late to 
 remedy the evil. But it is more than probable 
 that the injured leg will ultimately be shorter 
 than the other. Impossible to say at present. 
 Impossible to be certain for some weeks to 
 come." 
 
 This prognostication, dire as it was, was 
 better than danger. All Mark Barneson cared 
 for, in the first flurry of his fears, was to be cer- 
 tified that she would live, — that she would be 
 free from pain. — Poor pretty little Lettice, 
 — who had never cherished an unkindly thought 
 or feeling since she was born ; — Lettice, the 
 perpetual sunshine of the house 1 — 
 
 Still, could anyone have penetrated his feel- 
 ings when, in the course of the sleepless night 
 that followed, he suddenly took it into his head 
 to revisit the new house, and wander through
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 215 
 
 the rooms he had that morning examined in 
 so different a mood, it might have appeared 
 that the idea of that young and fair-faced crea- 
 ture visiting the nursery on a crutch, or limp- 
 ing with pain and difficulty through the spacious 
 hall, was a grievous check upon his visions of 
 domestic happiness. 
 
 A few days afterwards, when Brathwaite, 
 by previous agreement, accompanied him on a 
 second visit to the Manor House, though in 
 the interim a daily bulletin from Royd and 
 letter from Chrissy, had announced that all 
 was proceeding favourably, the change in 
 Barneson's appearance was too remarkable 
 to escape the experienced eye of the 
 surgeon. 
 
 " What the deuce is the matter with you, 
 my good friend ?" cried he, as soon as he had 
 taken his seat in the chaise. " Have you too 
 been tumbling down stairs, and breaking your 
 head, or heart ? — You look like a ghost. — Let 
 me feel your pulse. Irritable and feverish !
 
 216 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Anything amiss among the nailers ? — I'm sure 
 that sharp-faced foreman of yours, who stopped 
 me just now to inquire my opinion of Miss 
 Lambert's case, — (Farrier, Terrier, — what's his 
 name ?) — don't look as if he went in fear of 
 Basinghall Street !"— 
 
 Poor Mark endeavoured to laugh off the 
 charge. But a sickly smile was all he could 
 muster. Good news, however, awaited him at 
 Arden. Lettice was proceeding as well as 
 possible. The anxieties of the family were at 
 end. 
 
 For to them, nothing had been communi- 
 cated of the contingent mischief. They saw 
 that sweet face smiling again, though its bloom 
 was for a time extinguished ; and Mrs. Lam- 
 bert returned thanks to God, and Christina 
 resumed her rigid rationality. Alone, of the 
 elated household, Rhoda exhibited Httle emo- 
 tion. Perhaps because that of Mark was so 
 much too visibly betrayed. 
 
 After this second visit, he had no pretext
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 217 
 
 for an early return ; for the delicacies he 
 was careful to procure for the invalid, were 
 readily forwarded. At the close of ten 
 days, however, he could no longer control his 
 impatience. A few personal inquiries of 
 Christina or Miss Lambert, might set his 
 mind at ease concerning the terrible surmises 
 of Brathwaite. — At all events, he would 
 endeavoiu" to procure a private interview with 
 Dr. Royd, and ascertain the worst. 
 
 It struck him, — it might be fancy, — that 
 on more than one occasion, Ferrier contrived 
 to impede his purposed visit, by making per- 
 emptory business-appointments in his name ; 
 or accelerating important works or castings, 
 at which it was essential he should preside. 
 At last, however, came the long- anticipated 
 vacant afternoon ; and on this occasion, he 
 took care not to start from home, lest, like 
 John Gilpin of immortal renown, his day's 
 pleasure should be marred by the arrival of 
 customers. It is not quite impossible that he
 
 218 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 might be allowed a glimpse of " poor, pretty 
 little Lettice;" in which anticipation, how 
 pleasant to his eyes were the gleams of Sep- 
 tember sunshine that barred or flecked the 
 broad green pastures as he drove along ; — how 
 freshly blew the pure air upon his cheek, after 
 the smoky sulphureous exhalations of the 
 city he had left behind 1 
 
 In the little cosy book-room overlooking the 
 garden whose parterres were radiant with 
 china-asters and salvias, into which he was 
 ushered, he found Rhoda Lambert seated be- 
 fore the writing table. Elinging down her 
 pen at the announcement of his name, she 
 turned a flushed and angry face towards the 
 intruder. 
 
 " Yes ! — Better, much better. — Progressing 
 charmingly. — I know what it is you are come 
 to ask," cried she, forestalling his questions. — 
 " I was writing to you, Mr. Barneson. Not 
 to tell you that ; but to inquire whether it is 
 really under sanction of your authority that
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 219 
 
 my late father's foreman has taken the Uberty 
 to make me an offer of his hand ?" 
 
 " Terrier has broken his promise, then ? 
 — Eerrier has written to you ?" said he, taking 
 the seat to which she somewhat haughtily 
 pointed. 
 
 " It is at least satisfactory to find that you 
 did not authorise him to molest me at such a 
 time, — in the midst of our family anxieties ! 
 But even if better-timed, his addresses are, 
 in my estimation, little better than an insult. 
 A man nearly double my age, without one 
 grace of mind or person to recommend him ; 
 — a man who scarcely knows me by sight — 
 who scarcely knows me by name, — and pro- 
 poses the match on the same mercenary terms 
 he would drive a bargain in pig-iron ! — *' 
 
 She paused — apparently for want of breath; 
 for a minute afterwards she added, — and so 
 pointedly that it appeared as if she were in- 
 cluding Mark himself in her admonition, — 
 " I will thank you, Mr. Barneson, to acquaint
 
 220 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 this person that, with my own will, I will 
 never again set foot in Birmingham : — that I 
 would rather enjoy my freedom in the poorest 
 cottage in Arden, than live in Bracknell Works 
 the prison-life which has been the lot of my 
 mother. He tells me — (I thank him at least 
 for that information) that, on coming of age 
 my sister and myself will each be entitled to 
 a provision of more than fifteen hundred 
 a-year. With such prospects, neither Lettice 
 nor I need sacrifice the enjoyments and refine- 
 ments of life, for the honour of remaining at- 
 tached to the firm of Lambert and Co." 
 
 But for her inclusion of the name of Let- 
 tice in her harangue, the scornful beauty 
 might have proceeded, without provoking either 
 anger or reply. 
 
 " Ferrier has done wrong, Miss Lambert," 
 said he, " to address you without the know- 
 ledge of your mother, your natural guardian ; 
 and at a moment when your mind is agitated 
 by family distress. — But that his situation in
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 221 
 
 life debars him from offering you his hand, 
 I do not admit. His abilities, which are first- 
 rate, his industry and energy, which are re- 
 markable, have already laid the foundations of 
 his fortune, in a line of business to which your 
 parents did not hold themselves superior — " 
 
 An impatient gesture from his ward stimu- 
 lated his courage to speak on. 
 
 " And that your father, to whom you are 
 indebted for the wealth of which you speak 
 so boastfully, had no desire that it should 
 inspire his daughters with the ambition to 
 shine in a sphere higher than his own, was 
 evinced in the generous desire expressed in 
 his last moments, that one or other of them 
 should become my wife." 
 
 Again, the displeasure of Rhoda was but 
 too visibly demonstrated. 
 
 " Mr. Lambert had an honest pride in his 
 condition of life. He fancied it the happiest 
 and safest ; — the foundation of domestic virtue, 
 the path to a better life. On what experience
 
 222 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 you have grounded a different opinion, I will 
 not inquire." 
 
 " You need not, — for I do not admit your 
 personal interest in the matter," interrupted 
 Rhoda, with increasing irritation. " My 
 mother is, as you justly observe, my natural 
 guardian. It belongs to her to reprove me 
 when my sentiments are unbecoming, or my 
 morals faulty. You, Mr. Barneson, are in- 
 trusted with the care of the pecuniary interests 
 of the family. I am indebted to your sister 
 for my education, — the scanty education, pur- 
 porting to qualify me for a tradesman's wife ! 
 But I look to myself for the rest. I am now 
 old enough to think, act, study, on my own 
 account. My mother will take care that I do 
 nothing unbecoming the class of whose duties 
 you think so highly. The only motive of my 
 explaining all this — forced out of my heart, as 
 it has been by Mr. Terrier's letter, — is, that 
 you may spare me the annoyance of replying 
 to him. As my father's representative, I will
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 223 
 
 thank you to let him know how completely 
 he misapprehends my tastes and his own 
 attractions." 
 
 She rose as if about to loave the room. 
 But Barneson chose to be heard. 
 
 " Such a message it would be useless for me 
 to convey/' said he, firmly. " Ferrier would 
 never beheve that it was authorised by yourself. 
 A few lines from Mrs. Lambert, or fi'om your 
 own hand, would be conclusive." 
 
 " My mother is too much shaken by her 
 attention on poor Lettice, to be troubled with 
 my affairs ; nor would she at any time express 
 herself as strongly as I could wish. Were I 
 to write myself, it would be in such terms that 
 you would scarcely like to be the bearer of my 
 letter. Perhaps, after all, silence is the best 
 reply." 
 
 ** Not unless you wish him to appear here 
 in person, and exact one." 
 
 " I am not afraid," rejoined the young lady, 
 looking him resolutely in the face. " Into
 
 224 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 this house, Mr. Perrier shall never obtain an 
 entrance. He has no right to intrude upon 
 us. My mother shall never submit to " 
 
 " Do what you will on your own account. 
 But leave Mrs. Lambert to the suggestions of 
 her womanly nature and Christian spirit," in- 
 terrupted Mark, sternly. " Terrier is not a 
 man to be insulted. Terrier is not a man to 
 be trifled with. He would be a dangerous 
 enemy. He is a pillar of strength to your 
 worldly interests " 
 
 " For once let us overlook mercenary cal- 
 culations," rejoined the haughty girl. " For 
 once, let Lambert and Co. be forgotten. — 
 What have I otherwise to fear from Mr. 
 Ferrier?"— 
 
 It was not for Mark to appal her by describ- 
 ing the vindictive character of the man, or the 
 nature of the family secrets in his keeping. 
 Luckily, perhaps, for both, Christina made her 
 appearance, with an intimation from Mrs. Lam- 
 bert that she would be happy to see her guest
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 225 
 
 in the dressing-room to which the invaUd had 
 been that morning removed ; a notice which 
 instantly put to flight all the anxieties, all the 
 resentments of her brother. 
 
 The flushed cheeks of Rhoda, and the agi- 
 tated air of Mark, when her entrance inter- 
 rupted their interview, had not, however, es- 
 caped her. Mark had probably been tempted 
 into a premature elucidation of Miss Lambert's 
 sentiments towards him. But what had been 
 the result ? — Unfavourable, she feared ; if the 
 knitted brows of the only too congenial sister 
 of poor Zack, or the crest-fallen looks of her 
 brother, were to be trusted as indications. 
 
 But she had no time for surmises. Already, 
 Mark was hurrying up the stairs that led to 
 the presence of " poor pretty little Lettice." 
 
 It w^as like emerging from a gloomy chamber 
 closed during a thunder storm, into the open 
 sunshine of a fragrant lawn, to escape from 
 the forbidding face of Rhoda Lambert to the 
 gentle presence of her sister. 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Thinner and paler was the invalid than his 
 worst anticipations had foreseen ; but she 
 held out her wasted hand so kindly, and her 
 deep blue eyes, contrasted with the white 
 pillows which supported her, looked so like 
 gentian-flowers on snow, that, in the eyes of 
 her guardian, she appeared more than beautiful. 
 It was well that he had to stoop over her as 
 he pressed in his rough swarthy palm the 
 hand whose fragility so appalled him ; or 
 even the purblind Mrs. Lambert must 
 have noticed the heavy tears falling from his 
 eyes. 
 
 His utmost self-government was taxed to re- 
 strain himself from falling on his knees beside 
 her, and explaining all he had suffered on her 
 account, and all he was venturing to hope 
 from her recovery. Not that he feared to 
 render his uncouthness and fervour a matter 
 of derision to his child-love. He had too much 
 faith in the sweetness of her nature. But 
 he dreaded to agitate her still feeble frame,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 227 
 
 or ruffle by emotion that soft and placid coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 On recovering some degree of self-possession, 
 Mark found himself undergoing Mrs. Lam- 
 bert's prolix recital of her hopes and fears 
 by since their last interview ; — accompanied 
 lamentations that poor dear little Lettice 
 should have been so severely punished for her 
 thoughtlessness in climbing up to the window- 
 seat of the South landing, to witness his and 
 Mr. Ferrier's departure. "You could not 
 have reached the end of the lane/' observed 
 the fidive old lady, " when the accident 
 occurred.'' 
 
 A faint streak of bloom tinged the cheeks of 
 Lettice while entreating her mother to recur 
 no more to that unlucky evening. " Let us 
 all forget it," she said. " Let us talk of some- 
 thing pleasanter to Mark." 
 
 As if anything could be pleasanter than to be 
 called " Mark" by that feeble voice, so shortly 
 after Rhoda had haughtily apostrophised him 
 
 ^ 2
 
 228 THE TWO AMSTOCEACIES. 
 
 as *' Mr. Barneson." — As if any possible public 
 or private news could vie in Ms estimation 
 with the intelHgence of the origin of the acci- 
 dent unwittingly communicated by Mrs. 
 Lambert !— ^
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 229 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The convalescence of poor Lettice was slow, 
 but sure. The possibility of eventual lame- 
 ness was known only to Mark. But though 
 the point could not be decided till the patient 
 recovered strength to touch the ground, the 
 surgeon's apprehensions grew stronger and 
 stronger as the limb became more firmly knit. 
 
 To Brathwaite, it was incomprehensible why 
 the young guardian, in whom it was easy to 
 see the young lover and foresee a future
 
 230 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 
 
 husband, should be so averse to a premature 
 avowal of his fears. Staid and practical, like 
 most professional men, he was not likely to 
 surmise that Barneson wished to afford to the 
 suffering girl the satisfaction of bestowing her 
 heart and hand without the drawback of know- 
 ing that she was to be an infirm and aihng 
 wife ; and with so much delicacy did he even- 
 tually time his proposals, that he was accepted, 
 and Lettice had admitted that every hope and 
 wish of her heart was fulfilled in their engage- 
 ment, before it was disclosed to her, or her 
 family, that, henceforward, she would be unable 
 to walk without assistance or the use of a 
 crutch. 
 
 To the poor girl herself, the blow was con- 
 sequently hghtened. Lame or active, she 
 knew that to her dear guardian she was an 
 object of adoration ; and that she was about to 
 pass a peaceful happy hfe under his care. And 
 though Mrs. Lambert, accustomed to look 
 upon wives, in the abstract, as active, useful
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 231 
 
 household assistants, conscientiously suggested 
 that her intended son-in-law, if desirous to 
 rescind his trothplight, ought to be released 
 from his engagement, Lettice listened only 
 with a smile. Before Mark uttered a syllable 
 in reply, she knew that he had from the first 
 foreseen her misfortune ; and that, even had it 
 come upon him unawares, he would have re- 
 garded her infirmity only as an additional claim 
 to his protection. Who would watch so tenderly 
 over ** poor pretty little Lettice" as one who 
 had known and loved her from her earliest 
 childhood, and understood all her ways and 
 wishes ? — 
 
 If anything, meanwhile, could have increased 
 the disgust with which Rhoda contemplated 
 the alliance, it would have been the almost 
 grateful satisfaction expressed by her mother. 
 Mrs. Lambert, who seemed to think that her 
 sole-remaining duty on earth was to conform 
 strictly to every former wish of the husband 
 who was no longer at hand to advise and
 
 232 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 guide, was overjoyed that a man so well prin- 
 cipled as Barneson was to assume his place. In 
 Mark, she recognised prudence personified, — 
 prudence, the favourite cardinal virtue of the 
 middle classes. With Mark, she had no reserves, 
 — no mistrusts. In boyhood, he had been the 
 chum of poor Zack ; in manhood, the elected 
 friend of poor Zack's father ; and thankful was 
 she to providence for decreeing that on one so 
 exemplary, she was to depend for the happiness 
 of her afflicted child. Not all the bitternesses 
 her elder daughter had to urge against him, 
 availed in the smallest degree to warp the 
 mother's better judgment. She could not be 
 persuaded even to defer her sanction to the 
 event. As soon as the new house was fur- 
 nished, and poor Lettice's strength equal to the 
 removal, the marriage was to be solemnised. 
 
 Rhoda, meanwhile, proved as good, or 
 rather as bad, as her word. Though the infir- 
 mity of her sister in some degree mitigated the 
 case, she was as bent as ever on rescuing her
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 233 
 
 from a position in life which she regarded with 
 abhorrence. 
 
 '' You fancy you Uke this man, dear Lettice," 
 she pleaded with intemperate earnestness, as 
 soon as her sister was well enough to be 
 drawn through the shrubberies, in the luxu- 
 rious little garden-chair provided for her by 
 Mark ; stationed in which, under a spreading 
 oak-tree overlooking the flowerbeds, she could 
 enjoy the fragrance of the garden. " But 
 whom else have you seen ? — With whom can 
 you compare him — except that mercenary 
 drudge, that vulgar Eerrier, or Mr. Hanson 
 our drawing-master? Wait a little, dear 
 sister — only wait a little and see something 
 of the world, — before you pledge yourself for 
 life." 
 
 " Whom could I ever know so well, or who 
 would ever be half so kind and patient with 
 me as Mark ?" rejoined the gentler sister. " I 
 cannot recollect the time when he was not one 
 of the family. Instead of going to a new
 
 234 THE TWO AllISTOCRACIES. 
 
 home and roughing it among strangers, I shall 
 live always, — always, — among my old friends, 
 and all that has been famihar to me from a 
 child." 
 
 '* And have you so poor a spirit as to con- 
 tent yourself with this ? — Have you no desires 
 beyond that humdrum mode of life, — those 
 dreary walks, — that noisy, vulgar yard, with its 
 reek of oil and gas, — that utter absence of all 
 the pleasures of life ?" — 
 
 " I have known nothing better, and I have 
 been always happy. We seem to belong to 
 Birmingham. Our family is respected there. 
 And what pleasure am I likely to find else- 
 where, greater than that of a peaceful fireside, 
 with dear Mark to share it with me ?" 
 
 " Bear Mark ! A man without refinement 
 or ambition, — a man to whom money-making 
 is the one sole object in life ! — Business — 
 nothing but business !" 
 
 "My father expressly desired that the 
 Bracknell Works should be carried on. One
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 235 
 
 or other of us, therefore, must marry a man 
 capable of conducting them." 
 
 " By no means. My father left it optional 
 with ourselves. Our fortunes are embarked 
 in the Foundry. But marry as we may, the 
 Bracknell firm must pay us two-thirds of their 
 profits. While living with my mother, this is 
 opulence. In any class of life, it would be 
 accounted a liberal dowry." 
 
 " So much the better,'' was Lettice's prompt 
 reply. " It will enable Mark to finish the new 
 house according to his wishes." 
 
 " The new house — the new house !" — cried 
 Rhoda impatiently. " With such a sky over 
 its roof, — such an atmosphere around it, — 
 what matter furniture or decoration ? And to 
 abide there for life,— no change — no prospect ! 
 Lettice, — darling Lettice, — think better of it. 
 You seem almost to fancy that Mark Barneson, 
 the creature of my father's bounties, conde- 
 scends in taking you for a wife !" 
 
 " It is certainly generous on his part to
 
 236 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 overlook the certainty of my being a trouble- 
 some companion." 
 
 " But it is by no means certain. I some- 
 times suspect that he and Brathwaite between 
 them, planned the alarm, only to scare you 
 into the marriage ; — perhaps, at the suggestion 
 of Christina/' 
 
 "Planned it? — You have forgotten, then, 
 the high opinion entertained by my father of 
 Mr. Brathwaite? As to Mark, a truer 
 hearted, a more candid person does not exist, 
 Chrissy, too, may have her faults. She is, 
 perhaps, a little arbitrary. But she would 
 not stoop to a falsehood, to gain a king- 
 dom.'' 
 
 " Falsehood or no falsehood, let it be put 
 thoroughly to the test. Why not consult 
 the most eminent London surgeons ? Some 
 more efficient remedy might be suggested 
 than has occurred to these provincial prac- 
 titioners.'' 
 
 " If I thought so, for the sake of poor Mark,
 
 THE TWO AUISTOCUACIES. 237 
 
 I would indeed make the trial," rejoined 
 Lettice, gravely. " But I am convinced that 
 everything has been done for me that science 
 could effect. — If it be the will of God that I 
 am to be lame, I am resigned. Every mis- 
 fortune has its compensations. — My husband 
 will perhaps love me the better for knowing 
 me to be so dependent on his mercy." 
 
 There was clearly no help for it ! — Rhoda 
 was forced to admit that the spirit of her 
 sister had been drilled into such slavish 
 subservience, that redemption was hopeless. 
 — Bracknell Foundry must be her home; Mark 
 Barneson her hero ! — 
 
 It was no small comfort to her to learn, as 
 the autumn waned and the preliminaries of the 
 new household were adjusted, that Christina 
 was to become the permanent inmate of the 
 young couple. Her domestication in the house 
 would spare a world of trouble to the still 
 delicate bride ; and her departm-e from the 
 Manor House, spare a world of annoyance to
 
 238 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the aspiring Rhocla; who, of an age to be 
 freed from her control, felt that, once alone 
 with her mother, she should obtain complete 
 ascendancy in the house. Nor could she 
 forgive Christina for having predestined her to 
 be the wife of her brother — (the governess's 
 brother !) — educating her with the exclusive 
 view to becoming a Birmingham tradeswoman, 
 — to cast accounts, — reckon wages, — and cal- 
 culate the rise and fall of the iron-market ! 
 
 Rhoda flattered herself she was born to 
 nobler things. 
 
 It almost consoled the haughty girl for 
 hearing poor dear little Lettice hailed on her 
 wedding-day as " Mrs. Barneson," and seeing 
 her set off on her bridal tour to the Isle of 
 Wight, in company with a man to whom the 
 graces and garnish of life appeared frivolous 
 and vexatious, to know that her sister-in-law 
 was already preparing for her reception at the 
 Bracknell Works ; and that a new era was about 
 to commence in the annals of Arden. Who
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 239 
 
 could say, but that the man she had herself 
 rejected in terms so defiant, — the presumptuous 
 Terrier, — might re-transfer his allegiance to 
 Miss Barneson, and thus complete their domes- 
 tic circle, and the prosperity of the firm ! — The 
 proud eye of Rhoda sparkled as she reflected 
 how admirably Christina was qualified for such 
 a destiny : and what ample exercise her govern- 
 mental faculties would find in legislating for 
 the wives and families of the workmen. 
 
 Her own first object, meanwhile, was to 
 prepare for a higher sphere of action. 
 
 In another year, as soon as her mother was 
 in some degree emancipated from former tram- 
 mels, she hoped to induce her to travel ;— to 
 visit that wondrous metropolis of which, ever 
 since her intimacy with Helen Littlecote, she 
 had been dreaming, as of fairy land. 
 
 Now that the yoke of the Barnesons was 
 broken, and the tyranny of Christina overpast, 
 every thing was to be hoped for ; and, under 
 the excitement of such expectations, she set
 
 240 THE TWO AUISTOCUACIES. 
 
 about a labour of self- culture, undreamed of 
 in Christina's homely schoolroom, with its 
 slates and Tutor's Assistants, — its Simson and 
 Keightley. — Her homely parent, surprised 
 to perceive that she found in her books and 
 easel a sufficient substitute for her sister's 
 society, had no fault to find with occupations 
 so harmless. 
 
 At first, the conquest "of personal Indepen- 
 dence sufficed her. A little later, her influence 
 over the feeble mind of her mother, was exer- 
 cised, with the aid of Dr. Royd, and much 
 talk about the injurious consequences of sul- 
 phureous exhalations to persons suffering from 
 bronchial irritability, to persuade the inert 
 old lady to defer, till spring, her promised visit 
 to the new house. Before April, some auspi- 
 cious accident might intervene, to second Miss 
 Lambert's determination never again to set 
 foot in Birmingham. 
 
 It was fortunate meanwhile for herself, and 
 satisfactory to her sedentary parent, that the
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 241 
 
 park and pleasure-grounds of Arden Hall had 
 become once more accessible. The family was 
 gone abroad, — the establishment broken up. 
 A short time previous to Lettice's accident, 
 the Littlecotes had proceeded to Vichy, at the 
 instigation of one of those fashionable gout- 
 doctors, who put forward, every London season, 
 some new specific, just as the nurseryman 
 produces his new annuals, or the mercer his 
 novelties in brocade; and who, when the 
 nostrum fails, offer the waters of Vichy or 
 Homburg, to their deluded patient, as a plau- 
 sible houqiiet d' adieu. 
 
 It was whispered, however, by Dr. Royd 
 and others of the gossips of Arden, that health 
 was only a secondary consideration in the mi- 
 gration of the family ; and when, instead of 
 returning in October, according to their origi- 
 nal announcement, the steward received orders 
 to dismiss more than, half the servants, as the 
 family was to pass the winter in Italy, no one 
 felt surprised. Some people insisted that the 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 completion of Miss Littlecote's education was 
 the object of their visit. Some hinted 
 that Sir Arscott, like other great personages 
 and potentates, disliked, now that he was 
 growing infirm, to be forced into a view, every 
 Sabbath day, of the marble cherubim flutter- 
 ing over the family vault, and, on all other 
 days of the week, of the taper spire reminding 
 him of its whereabout. But not a few be- 
 lieved in a grievous rumour that the heir- 
 apparent had been anticipating the family 
 revenues by heavy losses on the turf, and 
 certain profligate extravagances, not incom- 
 patible with the dignity of his house. 
 
 Whatever the origin of their prolonged ab- 
 sence, gone they were ; and though Mrs. Lam- 
 bert discovered that the list of her poor pen- 
 sioners was doubled by their departure, it was 
 a satisfactory counterbalance that her com- 
 panionless girl should be able to extend her 
 walks in a spot so secure and so pleasant as 
 Sir Arscott's domain.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 243 
 
 Arden Hall was a charming old place, — 
 quaint but dignified,— to which the Manor 
 House, with its gables and evergreens might 
 have appropriately served as lodge. How 
 often, when her interest was excited by some 
 historical anecdote connected with the spot 
 related by Mrs. Marsden, or the passing allu- 
 sions of Helen to the Western Gallery or 
 green velvet boudoir of Lady Althea Little- 
 cote, had Rhoda Lambert longed for a glimpse 
 of the scenes connected with those aristocratic 
 associations! — Now that they were emanci- 
 pated for a time from the rule which almost 
 vulgarised their grandeur, — now that the 
 solemn silence of the place was broken only 
 by the cawing of the rooks, — now that gaudy 
 flunkeys no longer desecrated the echoing hall 
 of ancient oak which seemed to demand beef- 
 eaters and their halberds to guard the door, 
 she experienced double gratification in visiting 
 the forbidden spot. — For the siege was raised. 
 A trifling gratuity to the homely upper-house-
 
 244 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 maid, or Caleb Stevens the superannuated 
 head-gardener, enabled all Arden to pry into 
 the mysteries of the place. How much more 
 the liberal offering of the rich young lady 
 from the Manor House ; who, having crossed 
 their palms with gold, was solicited, rather 
 than permitted, to come often and stay as long 
 as she liked. 
 
 She did come often. She delighted in 
 noting the variations of light and shade pro- 
 duced by different hours of the day and 
 changes of atmosphere, on the galleries with 
 their family pictures, and the saloon with its 
 coved ceihng and antique furniture. Many a 
 clever sketch did these picturesque interiors 
 suggest to her pencil ; many a wild conjecture 
 to her mind : — partly as connected with Helen 
 ■ — partly with herself. Arden Hall was a 
 practical lesson : a tangible illustration of the 
 difference between middle-class life with its 
 meagre, colourless, penurious tameness ; and 
 the many-hued, luxurious profusion of a more
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 245 
 
 polished class. It was as a Gothic Cathedral 
 with its groinings, stained windows, and 
 pealing organ, compared with the cold and 
 simple meeting-house where her childhood's 
 devotions had been offered up. 
 
 In the grounds, the secluded, old-fashioned 
 pleasaunce encirling the Northern front, at- 
 tracted her more than the pretty modern 
 flower-garden created by Lady Littlecote. 
 But the year was yet young. The out-door 
 world had not donned its choicest attire ; and 
 one of the favourite haunts of Rhoda Lam- 
 bert was the fruit-garden, whose walls were 
 flushed with the early bloom of peach and 
 nectarine trees ; while in the midst, a quin- 
 cunx of cherry, pear, and plum trees, exhibited 
 their snow-white blossoms, like beauties at 
 a bridal. There, the bees were already astir ; 
 — there, the chaffinches were piping up their 
 merry notes as if in anticipation of a feast : 
 — there, secure from interruption, came Rhoda 
 morning after morning, sauntering, book
 
 246 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 in hand, along the smooth gravel- walk that 
 skirtedthe southern wall; — soothed by the 
 hum of the bees that formed a drowsy accom- 
 paniment to the poetry she was committing to 
 memory. 
 
 One day, when thus absorbed by her 
 reveries and studies, a shadow suddenly fell 
 on the volume upon which her eyes were 
 intent ; and on raising them, she was accosted 
 by a man who roughly inquired whether 
 " Stevens the gardener was about the place ?'* 
 He spoke irreverently : for Rhoda, 'far more 
 proud than vain, was at all times careless in 
 her' dress, and the intruder probably mistook 
 her for a servant of the house ; and the 
 haughty tone of her reply probably surprised 
 him as much as his unceremonious manner 
 and address displeased herself. When he 
 had passed on his way, however, her mistrust 
 of the intruder was sufficiently excited to 
 induce her to turn her head and ascertain 
 whether he were really engaged in seeking
 
 THE TTVO AEISTOCUACIES. 247 
 
 Caleb Stevens, or whether he were a chance 
 intruder. 
 
 The latter surmise proved correct. At the 
 distance of twenty yards, he had stopped short, 
 and was leisurely surveying her ; nor, when 
 detected in the act, was he daunted into re- 
 suming his walk. Yet there was nothing to 
 authorise such cool, self-possession. The 
 intruder in those privileged latitudes was 
 evidently some young farmer or workman, 
 come on business to the Hall ; wlio, like her- 
 self, had assumed the freedom of the place to 
 enjoy the bright blossom of the fruit-trees, 
 and the hum of the bees. 
 
 On resuming their walk, they soon lost 
 sight of each other : nor was there anything 
 in the outward man of the stranger to distract 
 the attention of the romantic Rhoda from the 
 vivid stanzas with which she was storing her 
 mind. 
 
 The day did not pass without an unravel- 
 ment of the mystery. The whole village of
 
 248 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Arden was in a tumult of gossip. On return- 
 ing from her daily round of charitable visits to 
 distribute flannel, physic, tracts, advice, and 
 other items of domestic consumption, which 
 slie regarded as the necessaries of life, Mrs. 
 Lambert brought back intelligence that " Mr. 
 Littlecote had unexpectedly arrived to spend 
 a week at Arden Hall." 
 
 A sad interruption to Rhoda's enjoyments ; 
 for to return there during his sojourn, was of 
 course impossible. She even deeply regretted 
 her morning's visit ; for the man who had so 
 insolently accosted her, was doubtless one of 
 Mr. Littlecote's servants, and might possibly 
 report to his master her intrusion into the 
 forbidden precincts. 
 
 It was some compensation for the sacrifice, 
 to listen to the absm^d motives assigned by 
 the Ardenites for his sudden apparition. Some 
 said he was come to enjoy a little country-air 
 during the Easter recess ; others declared that 
 the Hall was about to be let, and that Mr.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. 249 
 
 Littlecote was deputed to arrange the pre- 
 liminaries. But those who had previously 
 heard of a great fall of timber on the property 
 planned for the following Autumn, inferred 
 that Mr. Littlecote was desirous to overlook 
 the marking of the trees, and see that the 
 woods were not outrageously combed by the 
 land-steward. 
 
 To refrain from all curiosity concerning the 
 new-comer, would have been difficult to a 
 country girl of nineteen, like Rhoda, to whom 
 a baronet's only son, with the letters M.P. 
 attached to his name, represented a species of 
 prince. Helen had always spoken with the 
 utmost deference of her half-brother. What 
 Rupert said or thought, seemed to give the 
 law at the Hall. But, even in the London 
 papers, Rhoda had often seen mention of his 
 name, — the only name familiar to her in those 
 calendars of fashion, — as presenting petitions 
 in the House, accompanying deputations, 
 attending Speaker's levees, or parKamentary
 
 250 THE TWO APvISTOCHACIES. 
 
 dinners or court fetes, or presenting some 
 yeomanry cornet at the levee. In her esti- 
 mation, Mr. Littlecote, M.P., was quite a 
 public character. She almost wished she had 
 not given so ungracious an answer to his 
 groom. 
 
 To Miss Lambert, the Easter week of that 
 recess, appeared to include fourteen days 
 instead of seven ; for so lovely was the April 
 weather, that she deeply felt her privation of 
 the free range of Arden Park. The shrubberies 
 and pastures of the Manor, bright as they 
 were with Spring flowers, and gay as looked 
 the old gables where drooping masses of the 
 lilac Wistaria hung down to intermingle with 
 the rich deep foliage and vivid scarlet bloom 
 of the pyrus japonicus trained against the 
 basement, became tedious and circumscribed^ 
 now that she fancied herself a prisoner. 
 
 But at last, at last, she was released. A 
 travelling phaeton, with post horses, rattled 
 past the gates of the Manor House from Arden,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 251 
 
 towards the London road ; containing a gentle- 
 man arrayed in the extreme of fashion, with an 
 attendant in livery. The volumes of dust 
 raised by their transit, prevented the young 
 lady (who was watching them from the iden- 
 tical staircase-window in which originated 
 the disastrous accident of her sister,) from 
 discerning whether the baronet's son were 
 dark or fair, or by any means deserving the 
 curiosity she had wasted upon him. But he 
 had left her in possession of the field. Arden 
 Hall was once more her own ; and she 
 hastened to take possession. 
 
 He had been gone long enough to change 
 horses at his first stage, when she lifted the 
 latch of the iron gate leading to the pleasure 
 grounds ; determined — though not without 
 compunction — to repair at once to her 
 favourite haunt; where she might possibly 
 meet old Caleb Stevens, and elicit a word or 
 two of information respecting his young 
 master.
 
 252 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 But alas ! on reaching the spot, what a 
 type did it present of the transitory nature of 
 human enjoyments ! Not a blossom remained 
 on the trees, except here and there a few sere 
 and withered petals, which the first breath of 
 wind would bring down to the level of those 
 already Uttering the ground. In place of 
 that brilliant peach-bloom, only a dim dull 
 wall, overstraggled with leafless branches ! 
 — The lapse of a w^eek had denuded it of 
 nature's bright brocade. — No more bees, — no 
 more birds. — At that noonday hour, the very 
 chaffinches were mute. 
 
 She had reached the end of the gravel-walk 
 in no great charity with the individual whose 
 coming had deprived her of so many delight- 
 ful days, when the door leading through the 
 garden-wall to the forcing-houses, suddenly 
 opened ; and in burst the gladsome sunshine, 
 placing in relief the figures of old Caleb 
 Stevens, hat in hand, with his snow-white 
 hair gleaming like silver in the sun ; deferen-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 253 
 
 tially escorting a well-dressed young man, to 
 whom, the moment he caught sight of Rhoda, 
 he began to apologise for her presence. 
 
 " He hoped no offence to his honour. But 
 during the absence of the family, the young 
 lady from the Manor-House was allowed a 
 walk, now and then, in the grounds. If not 
 agreeable to his honour, she should never come 
 there again." 
 
 Mr. Littlecote scarcely allowed him to con- 
 clude, before his own hat was raised ; and ad- 
 vancing with eager courtesy towards Rhoda, 
 he attempted in his turn to excuse the apology 
 of the gardener. 
 
 " He trusted Miss Lambert would pursue 
 her walks in the Arden pleasure-grounds 
 whenever it suited her convenience. Nothing 
 would give him greater pleasure than to sup- 
 pose they afforded her the sKghtest enjoy- 
 ment.'' 
 
 What would not Rhoda have given for self- 
 - possession to thank this easy well-spoken indi-
 
 254 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 vidiial as his politeness deserved 1 But words 
 came not at her call. Unused to society of any 
 kind, and addressed for the first time by a 
 well-bred man, she found herself stammering 
 stupid explanations of her conviction that he 
 had left Arden, or that she should not have 
 intruded. — " She had seen a traveUing-car- 
 riage pass the village, some hours before, and 
 fancied he was gone." 
 
 Rupert Littlecote replied by a cheerful 
 laugh. 
 
 " You must not expect me to be flattered 
 at learning that you mistook my friend 
 Gresham for myself," said he. " Had you 
 viewed him more leisurely, I trust you would 
 have seen that he has the advantage of me by 
 twenty years, as well as by a remarkable well- 
 made wig and set of teeth. However, I must 
 not resent the mistake; since the last time I had 
 the pleasure of meeting you here, / was blind 
 enough to fancy I was accosting the lodge- 
 keeper's daughter !" —
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 255 
 
 An intimation not likely to re-assure poor 
 Rhoda Lambert. She remembered well how 
 morosely she had replied to the man in a 
 tweed jacket and cap, who now, in broadcloth 
 and beaver, wore so different an aspect. She 
 only wished that this over-civil M.P., whose 
 affability depressed her to the dust, would 
 resume his business with old Stevens, and 
 leave her leisure to escape. 
 
 Such, however, was not his intention. Dis- 
 missing the gardener by a potential nod, he 
 proceeded quietly by her side, till they 
 emerged from the gardens through the spring 
 gate leading into the park. A week at Arden, 
 with only his friend Gresham of the artificial 
 hair and teeth, for company, probably inclined 
 him for small talk ; for he not only held open 
 the gate for Miss Lambert, with the manifest 
 intention of escorting her further, but by the 
 time they had been walking and talking to- 
 gether for the twenty minutes requisite to 
 reach the lodge, made a formal request that
 
 256 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 she would permit him to accompany her home, 
 in order to be presented to Mrs. Lambert. 
 
 " I seldom visit Arden when my father is 
 here," said he. " Our hours, habits, and views 
 are so wholly at variance, that we are sadly in 
 each other's way. To make this world plea- 
 sant, Miss Lambert, one should avoid unsatis- 
 factory collisions. Now that the family is in 
 Italy, however, I am free to enjoy my own 
 home, in my own way. I brought down 
 Gresham, the other day, for a week's rook- 
 shooting during the holidays ; and as our 
 sport has not been first-rate, you must not be 
 angry at my endeavouring to repay myself for 
 my disappointment by the acquaintance of 
 some charming neighbours." 
 
 Very earnestly did Rhoda hope that, on 
 their arrival at the door of the Manor House, 
 the charming neighbour called Mrs. Lambert 
 might be absent. The young M.P. was too 
 great a man to be welcomed as their familiar 
 guest. But he gave her no opportunity of
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 257 
 
 inquiring. Stepping courteously forward, he 
 turned the handle and held open the door for 
 her admittance; — doing the honours of her 
 house to her as coolly as he had already done 
 those of his own ! — 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 258 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 If the inexperienced Rhoda had felt sur- 
 prised at the metamorphosis effected in Rupert 
 Littlecote by a change of costume, he was 
 scarcely less amazed at finding the shy girl 
 who, as an intruder at Arden Hall, had appeared 
 foolish and awkward, expand at home into a 
 companionable being. 
 
 Her secret wishes were fulfilled. Her 
 mother was absent, in the village, engaged 
 as usual in the distribution of advice, physic,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. 259 
 
 and flannel ; and there was no drawback on the 
 cheerfulness of the pleasant little book- room 
 whose Elisabethan window over-looked a 
 flower garden bright with early flowers and 
 fragrant with budding sweet-briar. 
 
 Impressed as Mr. Littlecote had been, at 
 their first chance-encounter, by the beauty of 
 Miss Lambert's features and dignity of her 
 air, her total want of address had subsequently 
 disenchanted him ; and he was wholly unpre- 
 pared for the refinement perceptible in her 
 home and surroundings. Nor did it at the 
 moment occur to him that the wainscot of 
 carved cedar and the few specimens of choice 
 old Sevres which ornamented the room, were 
 evidences of the good taste of poor Miss 
 Maudsley, rather than that of her tenants. 
 
 The half-finished painting on the easel, 
 however, and the few well-chosen modern 
 books scattered about, were Rhoda's own. Not 
 the slightest vulgarity was perceptible : — no 
 showy display, — no symptoms of the nailer's 
 
 s 2
 
 260 THE TWO APvISTOCEACIES. 
 
 daughter or reminiscence of Brummagem. 
 When, after half-an-hour of lively talk, — criti- 
 cisms upon authors new and old, and states- 
 men, past, present, and to come, — in the course 
 of which Rhoda evinced extensive reading and 
 her visitor considerable knowledge of men and 
 things, Mrs. Lambert eventually made her 
 appearance, in her grave gentle manners and 
 puritanical simplicity of dress, there was 
 nothing to deteriorate the favourable impres- 
 sions previously imbibed. The old lady was 
 neither fussy nor servile, and gave herself little 
 trouble to entertain him. He was there of 
 his own accord ; and if Arden Hall chose to 
 come to the Manor House, the Manor House 
 must be accepted with all its imperfections. 
 
 When at length the conversation flagged so 
 manifestly that the unbidden guest was forced 
 to take his departure, he avowed so much 
 predilection for the place, and hngered with 
 such undisguised partiality, that it was 
 impossible not to express a hope of seeing him
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 261 
 
 there again on his return, at some future period, 
 to Arden. 
 
 "But I have still many more days to remain 
 here, my dear Madam," was Mr, Littlecote's 
 ready rejoinder. " Though the rookery has 
 disappointed me, the visit has not. I trust 
 therefore that I may be at once admitted to the 
 privileges of near neighbourship. Tradition 
 asserts that the Manor House was formerly 
 the family residence of the Littlecotes : alien- 
 ated from the estate, two centuries ago, by the 
 marriage of a daughter with some Maudsley. 
 It would be some compensation for the loss of 
 the place to find myself an object of tolerance 
 to its inmates." 
 
 The grave old lady, somewhat puzzled by his 
 dictionary words, did not withhold either her 
 hand or her consent : and though, after his 
 departure, she expressed some regret at the 
 visit, on the well-worn plea that unequal 
 acquaintanceships never prosper, that her late 
 husband wholly disapproved them, and that
 
 262 THE TWO AEISTOCRACIES. 
 
 •^ 
 
 Christina Barneson entertained a highly un- 
 favourable opinion of the whole family at the 
 Hall, she soon dropped the subject : — far 
 more interested in the rheumatics of the Arden 
 almshouses than in the quahties of the ancient 
 tree of the Littlecotes, root or branch. 
 
 For once, Rhoda listened without rejoinder. 
 A new world seemed opening before her. A 
 veil was suddenly withdrawn from her mind, 
 as, on a mountain side, the morning mists 
 dispersing, disclose a fair landscape stretching 
 far into the distance, — farmy fields and 
 spreading parlss, — towers, turrets, and vil- 
 lage spires, — What a chance — what a lucky 
 chance, — that the pastime of rook-shooting 
 should have brought this accomplished cavalier 
 to Arden, a fortnight before her mother's visit 
 to the Barnesons ! — For though she held to 
 her resolution never to set forth again in the 
 Bracknell Works, intending on the eve of the 
 journey to affect illness or some other disable- 
 ment, so that Mrs. Lambett might keep her
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 263 
 
 engagement alone, it would have been impossi- 
 ble, under such circumstances, to receive Mr. 
 Littlecote at the Manor. 
 
 As it was, though his return to his par- 
 liamentary duties was fixed for the follow- 
 ing week, she had many pleasant days before 
 her. He had promised her, from his father's 
 library, several illustrated works which she had 
 expressed a wish to see. He had promised 
 her flowers from the conservatory — ^plants from 
 the gardens. And though inexperienced in the 
 ways of flirtation, Rhoda did not doubt that 
 he would be the personal bearer of some por- 
 tion of these acceptable tributes. 
 
 But when, the following morning, imme- 
 diately after breakfast, he looked in at the 
 open window of the book-room, as if he had 
 been time immemorial a daily visitor. Miss 
 Lambert was a little startled. She expressed 
 no surprise, however. They were soon en- 
 gaged in looking over the plates of Monstrelet ; 
 and as he had entered the house unannounced,
 
 264 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 the old lady was not disturbed from the devo- 
 tional exercises which, at that early hour, 
 detained her in her own room. 
 
 It is said that in certain districts of the 
 East, when the nightingales arrive, the roses 
 burst spontaneously into bloom. The coming 
 of Rupert Littlecote to Arden, certainly 
 brought sunshine and flowers. The London 
 newspapers asserted that never had there been 
 so fine an Easter; and the recluses of the 
 Manor House seemed inclined to 
 
 drink at every pore 
 The spirit of the season. 
 
 An evening or two after Mr. Littlecote's 
 first visit, the nightingales really sang in the 
 shrubberies ; and what more natural than 
 that the solitary inmate of the Hall should 
 saunter down to the village to call Miss Lam- 
 bert's attention to the fact ; and having en- 
 ticed her to the lawn, to enjoy, what is 
 always as welcome an -incident in rural life,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCKACIES. 265 
 
 as the appearance of the first violet, — entreat 
 the old lady to regale them with a cup of tea 
 as an antidote to the evil consequences of the 
 night air? — Any request connected with 
 health or diet, sufficed to conciliate her good- 
 will ; and so ably did the clever London tacti- 
 tian adapt his conversation to her limited 
 faculties, that when she took up her candle to 
 retire that night, after his departure, she 
 observed with the utmost naivete to her 
 daughter, — " a very agreeable, modest young 
 gentleman, Rhoda. Tm sure no one would 
 take him for a parhament man !" 
 
 What Rhoda took him for, she did not 
 trouble her head to inquire. In her estima- 
 tion, the Baronet's son, and Matthew Lam- 
 bert's daughter, stood as wide apart as Ten- 
 terden steeple and Goodwin Sands. When 
 Mr. Littlecote returned to his duties in the 
 House of Commons, they would probably 
 hear as little of him as they now did of his 
 sister ; and Rhoda would accompany her to
 
 266 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Birmingham, and, instead of reading picture- 
 books and painting landscapes, busy herself 
 in hemstitching caps and frocks for the Httle 
 nephew or niece, which, at the close of the 
 summer, was to add a new generation to the 
 family. 
 
 So little did she dream of what was 
 passing in the ambitious mind of her daily 
 companion ! — If, just then, the names of 
 Birmingham or Barneson accidentally crossed 
 it, they served only to provoke a shudder of 
 disgust. Bhoda could not be blind to the 
 fact that she was an object of intense admira- 
 tion to her new acquaintance at Arden Hall. 
 He could scarcely tear himself from her side ; 
 he could hardly restrain the avowal of his 
 passion. Such an ascendancy, obtained, for 
 the first time, over no matter what species 
 of adorer, is a gratifying triumph. But 
 when, as in the present instance, the victim 
 realises every quality and qualification dreamed 
 of by the utmost desires of his enslaver, it
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 267 
 
 is not in human nature to remain unmoved. 
 Handsome, brilliant, gracious, high-born, 
 wealthy, a fairy godmother could not have 
 provided a more attractive suitor ! — 
 
 That he was not yet a declared one, only 
 tended to enhance the endeavours of Rhoda 
 to complete his conquest. All the haughti- 
 ness of her nature had subsided. The an- 
 xieties that kept her pillow sleepless and her 
 meals untouched, had so softened her deport- 
 ment and veiled her eyes, that she was no 
 longer the same person who had indited that 
 bitter letter to Ferrier, and flung in the teeth 
 of her guardian such cruel taunts. 
 
 Still, though Rupert Littlecote refrained 
 from any positive offer of his hand, and 
 though when he was away, she sometimes 
 fancied that, after all, family pride would ob- 
 tain the victory, no sooner were they toge- 
 ther again, than her sex's self-confidence was 
 renewed. He was probably waiting for a decent 
 length of acquaintance to elapse before he
 
 268 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 made his proposals. He had perhaps thought 
 it necessary to precede them by an apphcation 
 for his father's consent. 
 
 One afternoon, a couple of days before the 
 one fixed for his return to town, he made 
 his appearance with a brow so contracted and 
 an air so desponding, that Rhoda could 
 scarcely refrain from inquiring whether he 
 had bad news from Italy. She felt persuaded 
 that an adverse answer had arrived from Sir 
 Arscott. — In this conviction, a rash im- 
 pulse instigated her to assert her own dig- 
 nity. 
 
 " You are going back to town, Mr. Little- 
 cote," said she ; *' and among the gifted and 
 valued friends of whom you have boasted to 
 me, will soon forget such homely person- 
 ages as my mother and myself. We are 
 little more than shopkeepers, and i/ou scarcely 
 less than noble. But what I wish you fully 
 to understand is, that we are aware of the 
 distinction, without assigning to it undue
 
 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 269 
 
 value ; — so don't be afraid that we shall be 
 affronted to find you, if ever we meet again, 
 holding your head so high as to overlook 
 us. — The conduct of your family has already 
 prepared me for such proceedings." 
 
 The countenance of her visitor instantly 
 resumed its graciousness : — a little tempered, 
 however, by the pensive air suitable to the eve 
 of a separation. 
 
 *' Once for all, dear Miss Lambert," said he, 
 (" and would it were permitted to me to say 
 dear Rhoda !) I must ask you totally and 
 absolutely to disconnect me and my father- 
 Sir Arscott is a man of yesterday. / am a 
 man of to-morrow. He belongs to a race 
 happily becoming extinct, — I, to an order 
 hardly yet developed. — Providence (Providence 
 be praised,) keeps up an even balance in 
 replenishing the earth. The dodo is gone. 
 The mastodon and megatherium exist no 
 longer. But admire how many strange 
 animals are daily discovered, — how many
 
 270 THE TWO ARISTOCIIACIES. 
 
 new plants added to our gardens ! Tor the 
 lost Pleiad, a new planet is discovered 
 quarterly. And believe me that, when Sir 
 Arscott Littlecote is gathered to his fore- 
 fathers, you will see in Sir Rupert, the legi- 
 timate inheritor of his houses and lands, his 
 plate and pictures ; but not of his errors and 
 prejudices. — Les Baronnets se suivent, et ne se 
 ressemhlent pas." 
 
 His fair antagonist seemed willing to take 
 his future visits upon trust. — But she would 
 gladly have dispensed with such farfetched 
 illustrations as the dodo, or the whole fossil 
 creation certified by Cuvier, for a straight- 
 forward assurance of his affection. — " Be my 
 wife," was a simple phrase worth a thousand 
 similes ! — 
 
 She was not, however, fated to hear it. — 
 He was embarrassed, sorrowful, absent. Every 
 now and then, he uttered some peevish excla- 
 mation concerning the peremptory nature of 
 his parliamentary duties ; entreated her to
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 271 
 
 deal with the library and garden of Arden 
 Hall as with her own ; heaved a most plebeian 
 sigh, wrung her hand at parting, — and dis- 
 appeared ! — 
 
 Next day, when one of the under- garden- 
 ers brought from the Hall, with Mr. Little- 
 cote's comphments, a basket of forced straw- 
 berries and the gratuitous information that 
 his young master started for London at day- 
 break, the old lady candidly congratulated 
 her daughter on his departure, " His visits 
 were becoming a sad interruption," said 
 she, "though, Tm sure, my dear, you bore 
 with him very good-naturedly. I suppose 
 you understood him better than I did ; for I 
 scarcely ever knew whether he was in jest or 
 earnest." 
 
 Nor Rhoda either ! — But her heart was too 
 sore to make the avowal. 
 
 "And now weVe got rid of him," re- 
 sumed Mrs. Lambert,, "we shall have leisure
 
 272 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 to make all our little arrangements for tlie 
 visit to poor little Lettice. — I have pro- 
 mised, my dear, to be with her by the first of 
 May."
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Very joyfully was that promised visit an- 
 ticipated at the Bracknell Works; where, 
 cloudless as the brightest summer day, had 
 passed the first winter of wedlock. The trans- 
 formation of the dreary old house into what 
 the partial eyes of poor pretty little Lettice 
 regarded as a palace, was scarcely less miracu- 
 lous than the metamorphosis of the grave, 
 undemonstrative Mark into an idolising 
 husband. 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 Even the household duties which sometimes 
 convert the white robes of an inexperienced 
 bride into sackcloth, and scatter ashes over 
 her orange-blossoms, were spared to Mrs. 
 Barneson. Christina, released from the cares 
 of tuition, desired no better than to invest 
 her governmental faculties in the questorship 
 of the new house; amply rewarded by the 
 sight of the sweet face of her sister-in-law, 
 enjoying and conferring perfect happiness. 
 Gentle, smiling, acquiescent, — with nothing 
 sage to propound, — nothing brilliant to re- 
 mark, — but noiseless and grateful as spring 
 rain upon the turf. Never for a moment did 
 she regret that the handsome Rhoda had 
 not been preferred. — In his choice of a wife, 
 as in all else, Mark had made proof of solidity 
 of judgment. She even trembled when the 
 time for Mrs. Lambert*s visit drew near, lest 
 the presence of her imperial sister should 
 throw a shade over the happiness of the 
 young wife.
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 275 
 
 Great, therefore, was her satisfaction, when, 
 on the arrival of the old lady, it appeared that 
 the pretty room which Lettice had taken such 
 pains to adorn for her sister, was to remain 
 untenanted. Mrs. Lambert was too truthful 
 to repeat, as valid, the pretext of indisposition 
 alleged by her recalcitrant daughter. In 
 answer to the anxious inquiries of the Bar- 
 nesons, she simply replied that "it did not 
 suit Rhoda just then to leave home;" and 
 Lettice was too well acquainted with the wil- 
 fulness of her sister to be surprised, and too 
 fond of her to be resentful. After her vehe- 
 ment opposition to the marriage, it was not 
 to be expected that she should at once unbend. 
 — Another time. — They must wait ! — 
 
 It was happiness enough, meanwhile, to 
 hold between her own the withered hand of 
 her kind old mother. The new possessions, 
 — evidences of Barneson's thoughtful affec- 
 tion, — and her preparations for the expected 
 babe, were duly passed in review. Mrs. Lam- 
 
 T 2
 
 276 THE TWO AHISTOCRACIES. 
 
 bert, though personally devoid of all taste for 
 society, was gratified to learn that several 
 families whom she formerly regarded as the 
 grandees of Birmingham, had sought the ac- 
 quaintance of the young representatives of 
 Lambert and Co. ; — and though the lameness 
 of the young bride was accepted as an excuse 
 for declining all invitations, many were looking 
 kindly forward to a future period, when the 
 obstacle might be removed. 
 
 Great changes, great improvements, were 
 proceeding on every side : why not that 
 among the rest? — Even Mrs. Lambert con- 
 fessed that, under the government of the new 
 firm, the Bracknell Works no longer resembled 
 the murky region in which she had so long 
 vegetated. The lofty chimnies of the new 
 engine-houses carried oE the smoke by which 
 the inert Matthew had submitted to be stifled. 
 The blackened brick walls and clock- tower of 
 the yard, when whitened with cement, af- 
 forded reflected light. Above all, beyond the
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 277 
 
 plate-glass windows of the new drawing-room 
 was a small conservatory, which enabled the 
 poor little stay-at-home wife to enjoy through- 
 out the winter the fragrance of spring ; and 
 throughout the year, in sooty Birmingham, 
 blossoms as sweet and brilliant as those of 
 Arden Manor. 
 
 As regarded the modern furniture, the 
 old lady surveyed with wistful eyes the sub- 
 stitution of simple maplewood for the heavy 
 dark mahogany, now appropriately reserved 
 for coffins, which in her youth was prized as 
 a valuable investment, and allowed to render 
 still gloomier our sufficiently gloomy apart- 
 ments. But the gay chintzes, which reminded 
 her of her flower-garden at Arden, reconciled 
 her to all ; and, after enjoying several nights' 
 rest in an airy French bed, she almost forgot 
 her allegiance to the stuffy four-post catafalques 
 of her earlier days. 
 
 The better charm of the establishment was, 
 perhaps, lost upon her: — the charm arising
 
 278 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 from cheerful faces, and the amended intelli- 
 gence and conciliating deportment acquired 
 by Mark Barneson. It was not happy love, 
 alone, that had wrought the miracle. A more 
 extended intercourse with the world, not only 
 in the interchange of business but with per- 
 sons of higher cultivation, good citizens and 
 good patriots, — who, in the interests of their 
 city — their county — their country, — welcomed 
 cordially into their company the enterprising 
 manager of the firm of Lambert and Co., — had 
 profited both his mind and manner. During 
 the absence of the Lamberts at Arden Manor, 
 he had formed many valuable friendships. 
 
 But that Christina's thoughts were, just then, 
 fully engrossed by the coming event, she might 
 have recalled to mind while she sat listen- 
 ing, in a luxurious, well-lighted room, to her 
 brother's voice, as he read aloud to his mother, 
 wife, and sister, at their work, some amusing 
 book or the news of the evening-paper, — a 
 certain Mark Barneson, uncouth, ill- clothed,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. '279 
 
 ill-mannered, with misery painted in his face, 
 — expelled from Ryecroft Farm, and a stranger 
 under the roof of his parents. She saw in 
 him, however, only the happiest of men. It 
 is in books alone that people pause, in the 
 midst of peace and prosperity, to philosophise 
 and analyse ; or, perhaps, enhance their enjoy- 
 ment by a paraphrase on those memorable 
 lines of Dante, (quoted till their edge is worn 
 off) concerning the aggravating memory of 
 past happiness, in moments of misery. 
 
 At Arden Manor the sky was less serene. 
 Though on her mother's departure without 
 raising half the difficulties she expected, Rhoda 
 congratulated herself on obtaining a month's 
 command of her time, she soon found that 
 time is scarcely worth commanding, when its 
 wings are clogged with care. Read she could 
 not, — paint she could not, — work she could 
 not, — so utterly restless was her spirit. Her 
 sole solace was to wander, hour after hour, 
 through the shrubberies, beside the brawhng
 
 280 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 brook or fishponds chequered with water-lilies ; 
 taking no heed of their beauty or the progress 
 of the spring, but recalling with that minute 
 interest of which girls in their teens are alone 
 susceptible, every word and look with which 
 the absent Eupert had embellished that httle 
 domain. 
 
 That he would return no more, she was 
 painfully convinced. It was the story of 
 Helen over again ; the dictates of family pride 
 overcoming all impulses of personal affection. 
 But in the present instance, the act of aban- 
 donment was voluntary. Her sister was a 
 powerless girl, the brother an independent 
 man : a reflection that served to embitter her 
 mortification. 
 
 Oh ! how her soul abhorred the word 
 ''trade," and the name of the Bracknell 
 Works ! — *' The Commercial World," — from 
 which little shop-keeping England derives so 
 much of her prosperity, — an orb which, held in 
 the right hand of Britannia, enables her to
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 281 
 
 clutch with her left the riches and territories 
 of every feebler neighbour, — was to Rhoda 
 Lambert the epitome of all that is debasing. 
 Rather would she have been the portionless 
 daughter of the unworthiest peer of the 
 realm, an " Honourable Rhoda" anything, 
 than co-heiress of honest old Matthew Lam- 
 bert's trade-bought wealth. But for those 
 detestable chimnies of Bracknell, — but for 
 that vulgar counting-house, — she should have 
 become the wife of Rupert, — the future lady of 
 Arden, — a star in the world of fashion — an 
 ornament to the court. — Newspapers would 
 have delighted to describe " the beautiful 
 Lady Littlecote," — artists to immortalise her, 
 — poets to embalm her name in their dedi- 
 cations. 
 
 A paltry ambition, perhaps ; but the craving 
 after Stars and Garters, Red Ribands or 
 Blue, a strawberry leaf or pearl the more 
 in a coronet, or precedence over John Mar- 
 quis of This, or Thomas Earl of That, at a
 
 282 THE TWO ABISTOCUACIES. 
 
 coronation or dining-room door, is not much 
 nobler. 
 
 The letters she received from Birmingham 
 were few and constrained. Still fondly at- 
 tached to her, every member of the family at 
 Bracknell felt that too intimate a picture of 
 their happiness would be galling to the proud 
 Rhoda, who stood aloof from them. But even 
 the rare communications she received were 
 frequently put aside for hours, ere she broke 
 the seal. Ill news would reach her quicker 
 than the post. For good news, — such news 
 as they could send, — she was not impatient. 
 
 She had no other correspondents. It was 
 one of her many quarrels with her position in 
 life, that it left her without sympathj^ with 
 those of her own degree, yet unable to obtain 
 the sympathies of a higher class. 
 
 To find on her drawing-table one morning 
 a voluminous packet was, indeed, a surprise. 
 A greater still — for it was in the tell-tale days 
 of franks — to find " Free. — R. Littlecote,"
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCBACIES. 283 
 
 inscribed on the cover, surmounted by the 
 words " London, May the Eighteenth ;" 
 sealed, too, with a coat of arms bearing the 
 well-known supporters that figured in decayed 
 stone on the gateposts of Arden Hall ! 
 
 Rhoda Lambert was not a swooner of swoons. 
 Her physical frame was as hard as her moral 
 nature ; and even startled as she was, she drew 
 her favourite chair to her favourite window, in 
 order to enjoy with epicurean luxury the peru- 
 sal of a letter so satisfying to all the false 
 appetites of her hungry pride. 
 
 That it contained a declaration of Rupert's 
 attachment, who could doubt ! — Since the days 
 of Richardson's heroes, no one indites eight 
 pages of small talk ; nor, since those of Horace 
 Walpole, even four, to commemorate the witti- 
 cisms overheard at White's the preceding day. 
 Mr. Littlecote could only write so lengthily to 
 extenuate and explain his seeming inconsis^ 
 tency ; or to make a yet stronger appeal to her 
 heart.
 
 284 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 But, for the extent of the avowals that now 
 met her eye, she was indeed unprepared 1 
 
 "She could not but have perceived," he 
 wrote, " by his unconcealed distress in bidding 
 her farewell, the influence she had attained 
 over his heart. Had he been a free agent 
 instead of son to the most arbitrary of men, 
 he should, at that moment, at once have soli- 
 cited her hand. 
 
 " If you knew my father," he continued, 
 '' you would be aware that family pride is his 
 monster-faihng. — To that Moloch, would he 
 cheerfully sacrifice either of his children ; and 
 to seek the sanction of Sir Arscott to my 
 marriage with an angel, if unendowed with a 
 pedigree calculated to do honour to the ancient 
 peerage of Arden to which he is likely to estab- 
 lish his claim, would be to court insult and 
 prohibition. 
 
 " But we have now been parted for a month, 
 dearest Rhoda, and my courage proves unequal 
 to a longer separation. After revolving in my
 
 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 2S5 
 
 mind, therefore, every expedient by which the 
 obstacles of the case may be obviated, I have 
 hit on one which, though you may not con- 
 descend to afford it your sanction, entitles me 
 at least to make the avowal of my attachment. 
 
 *' If, as I humbly trust, the feeling be recipro- 
 cal, let us marry at once, and trust to Sir 
 Arscott's philosophy to pardon that which is 
 irrevocable. But if my family be not con- 
 sulted, we must, of course, dispense with the 
 sanction of your own. 
 
 " I admit that the step is an extreme one ; 
 but in a worldly point of view, we have little 
 to fear. On attaining my majority, I came into 
 the enjoyment of the Bella&is property, derived 
 from my mother, the late Lady Catherine 
 Littlecote, producing about two thousand 
 a-year ; and • my father's family estates are 
 strictly entailed, subject to a dowry for every 
 succeeding Lady Littlecote. Without disre- 
 spectfully speculating on the decease of Sir 
 Arscott, his advanced age affords a guarantee
 
 286 THE TWO ARISTOCEACIES. 
 
 that, however bitter his enmity, it does not 
 threaten a very serious prolongation of poverty. 
 Of the personal affection of my sister Helen, 
 you are already certain ; and my stepmother, 
 Lady Littlecote, is far too amiable a woman 
 not to participate in the predilections of her 
 daughter. In short, sooner or later, dearest, 
 you are sure to become, what you ought at 
 once to be, the idol of their hearts, as of my 
 own. 
 
 " What I venture to propose, therefore, is, 
 that if you deign to confirm my hopes of hav- 
 ing obtained some place in your regard, you 
 will consent to a marriage — not clandestine — 
 but without reference to the opinion of our 
 respective famihes. That you are alone at the 
 Manor, I am aware ; and give me credit, 
 Rhoda, for not having profited by the know- 
 ledge, and hastened to Arden for a ghmpse of 
 you, before your sanction was fully obtained. 
 One word, and I am with you. For such a 
 marriage as I am able to propose, no prepara-
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 287 
 
 tions are needful. — Wedding-clothes can be 
 as readily procured for Mrs. Littlecote as for 
 Miss Lambert ; and it will be my pride and 
 delight to lavish on my bride all which it is 
 customary to offer to a fiancee. As you are 
 a minor, and wanting the consent of your legal 
 guardians, a special licence is indispensable. 
 But, so authorised, we may be united in the 
 private Chapel at Arden Hall, by a cousin of 
 my own, Mr. Littlecote, the rector of Mat- 
 tingley ; an excellent fellow, who would accom- 
 pany me from London for the purpose. In 
 the eyes of the world, such an arrangement 
 would afford some sanction to our stolen 
 match. 
 
 " But, dearest Rlioda, the project I presume 
 to suggest, admits of no hesitation. Your 
 family will shortly return from Birmingham ; 
 — mine, from Italy. We must take advantage 
 of their absence. In a few days, I am able, 
 by pairing off, to release myself for a week or 
 two, from my parliamentary duties. You have
 
 288 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 
 
 but to say " come !" in order to command, now 
 and for ever, the unalterable devotion of 
 " Your fondly attached 
 
 "R. L." 
 
 Considering the vehement indignation with 
 which the proud Rhoda had repudiated the 
 practicality of Alick Terrier's proposals, it would 
 not have been surprising had she slightly 
 objected to the circumstantial nature of Mr. 
 hittlecoie* s j?lan de campa^ne. But she saw 
 no fault, in his letter. It said all she could 
 desire,— far more than she had expected. But 
 alas ! amidst the struggle of feelings it served 
 to rouse in her heart, gratified love had a 
 moderate share. The moment she was assured 
 of Rupert Littlecote's affection, it subsided 
 into a stepping-stone to what she regarded as 
 high ambitions. 
 
 For an hour, or more, she remained motion- 
 less in the old oak-chair, gazing out unconsci- 
 ously from the EHzabethan window ; but
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 289 
 
 with visions floating before her eyes, which, 
 unsubstantial as they were, excluded every 
 object before her. It was only for a few short 
 minutes she entertained a doubt whether 
 she ought not to hesitate in acceptance ; 
 — whether to be thus curtly [wooed, thus 
 speedily won, did not compromise her dig- 
 nity. The dangers that might arise from 
 delay were, a far greater evil. — As regarded 
 a sense of duty, from the moment she 
 learned to despise her mother as a trades- 
 man's daughter, filial piety had been extinct 
 in her heart ; and as regarded the disgrace of 
 a furtive wedding, to escape the presence of 
 Lambert and Co. as represented by Mark 
 Barneson and his family, was a sufficient com- 
 pensation. She should miss the sweet face of 
 her sister, smiling or weeping by her side. 
 But the absence of the others would stand in 
 lieu of a benediction. At length she rose ; 
 and, though alone, placed herself majestically 
 at the writing-table — her best pen in hand — 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 her choicest satin-paper before her ; and 
 slowly indited an epistle, rivalling that of 
 Rupert in length, but full of involved 
 sentences and equivocal sentiments ; vibrating 
 between the sublime and the ridiculous : — a 
 young lady's letter, in short, with all its worst 
 imperfections. 
 
 When it had been carefully revised, folded, 
 and placed apart for the postbag, Rhoda, 
 feverish from excitement and the labour of 
 composition, hastened out into the air. 
 Since the day of despatching her insolent 
 refusal to Alick Terrier, she had not ex- 
 perienced a similar agitation of heart or 
 mind. 
 
 But after wandering for a time beside the 
 old fishponds and through the shrubberies, her 
 exulting mood felt that these circumscribed 
 limits no longer sufficed her; and with a 
 sudden impulse of impatience, she hurried off 
 to gladden her eyes with a sight of the spread- 
 ing glades of Arden Park. Her own — or soon
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 291 
 
 to become her own ! — Instead of fishponds, 
 the artificial lake ; — instead of shrubberies, the 
 wild forest-scenes of Arden Chase. 
 
 How beautiful they looked — that day I soft- 
 ened by their spring verdure, and reflecting 
 the dappled blue of a May-day sky. — The 
 cuckoo was calling from the woods. — The 
 crickets were chirping in the grass. — All was 
 life and spirits ; astir and hopeful, like the 
 throbbing pulses of her expanding heart. 
 
 At her next visit, poor Grypp might be her 
 companion. At her next visit, Rupert him- 
 self — But it was too much joy to contem- 
 plate ! — 
 
 On her return home, she hastened to re- 
 peruse her letter before consigning it to the 
 post. But the contact of nature had touched 
 her heart, or, at all events, ennobled her 
 mind. 
 
 The taper she had lighted for the purpose 
 of seaUng her epistle, served to consume 
 the fragments into which she tore the con- 
 
 u 2
 
 292 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 demned pages. For all her previous rigma- 
 role, she substituted, according to Rupert 
 Littlecote's suggestion, the simple word — 
 '' Come !"
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Within ten days, the destinies of Rhoda, — 
 no longer Lambert, but Littlecote, — were ac- 
 complished ; and, as none but principals were 
 in the secret, without let or hindrance. 
 
 Neither bride nor bridegroom was of a dis- 
 position to be confidential with servants. 
 In Mr. Littlecote's arrival at the Hall, accom- 
 panied as before by his friend Gresham, and 
 met the following day by a clerical cousin, who, 
 ■vhen a brother Oxonian, had been a frequent
 
 294 THE TWO ARISTOCUACIES. 
 
 guest at Arden, there was nothing to excite 
 remark ; and on his signifying somewhat 
 harshly to the old housemaid, his desire that 
 the chapel should be cleared from its cobwebs 
 and set in order, she decided that Mr. Thomas 
 Littlecote, who had taken orders since he was 
 last their inmate, was about to assemble the 
 scanty household, — poor deaf old Caleb Stevens 
 and all, — for family prayers. 
 
 When Miss Lambert, on the other hand, 
 desired her attendant to pack up her ward- 
 robe and dressing-box, for a journey, the young 
 lady was supposed to be about to rejoin her 
 family; and as the white dress and bonnet 
 prepared for her sister's wedding had never 
 since seen the light, it was easy, on the event- 
 ful morning, to make a suitable appearance. 
 
 Not the slightest suspicion had been excited. 
 Not the most vigilant gossip in Arden was on 
 the watch. Royd and Archdeacon Bilston 
 were going their daily rounds as unconsciously 
 as Brabantio when Desdemona was stolen from
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 295 
 
 him by the Moor : — Uttle surmising that a 
 travelUng-carriage had carried off from the 
 Manor House the beautiful plebeian to whom 
 Bob Gresham was about to officiate as father ; 
 w^hile the Reverend Thomas Littlecote and his 
 parish clerk, who had accompanied him in guise 
 of servant, performed the marriage ceremony 
 that united her to the future master of Arden 
 Hall; 
 
 It was literally by the newspapers that the 
 following wonderful intelligence was first cir- 
 culated in the village : — 
 
 " On Saturday last, by special licence, at 
 Arden Hall, by the Reverend Thomas Little- 
 cote, rector of Mattingley, Rupert Littlecote, 
 Esq., M.P., only son of Sir Arscott Littlecote, 
 Bart, of Arden Hall, Warwickshire, and Al- 
 lonby Priory in the county of Sussex, to 
 Miss Lambert, of Arden Manor." 
 
 To the world at large, nothing could ap- 
 pear more respectable. An alliance between 
 near neighbours, solemnised by a near relative.
 
 296 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 in the Stammschloss of the ancient house of 
 Littlecote, could not but be according to the 
 Rubric. 
 
 Rhoda herself could scarcely believe her eyes, 
 when she perused the paragraph ; and in the 
 triumph of knowing what sensations of won- 
 der and envy this high alliance must excite in 
 the vulgar mind of Birmingham, her conscience 
 grew blind and deaf to the grief and injury 
 inflicted on her mother and sister, whom a 
 short note, despatched on the morning of the 
 event, had alone prepared for its public an- 
 nouncement. 
 
 Perhaps she foresaw and cared not for — or 
 perhaps she foresaw and cared for more than 
 she would have liked to own, — the bitter tears 
 shed by Lettice on being cautiously apprised 
 of her sister's unfeminine conduct ; and the 
 silent, dignified grief of her venerable mother. 
 For it was only on her knees before God that 
 poor Mrs. Lambert avowed her humiliation. 
 Regarding the sin of filial impiety as a crime
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 297 
 
 rather than a fault, she prayed that her 
 undutiful child might be forgiven. But she 
 prayed also for pardon for herself; — from the 
 Almighty, for having so carelessly overlooked 
 the religious training of Rhoda ; — from 
 her dead husband, that she had not exer- 
 cised a more vigilant guardianship over her 
 conduct. 
 
 Mark, meanwhile, stood utterly aghast. 
 Long as he had prepared himself for mischief 
 to arise from the impetuous temper of his 
 sister-in-law, he had not supposed it possible 
 •she would thus boldly outrage the affections of 
 her family, or the decencies of life. 
 
 From Christina, to whom alone he opened 
 his heart, he could extract no opinion concern- 
 ing the origin or prospects of Mrs. Littlecote's 
 precipitate marriage. 
 
 " She cares not for us'' replied his sister, 
 drily. ''Why should we care for her- F 
 Henceforward let us think only of Lettice." 
 
 She would not even allow him to revile the
 
 298 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 ingratitude of Rhoda towards her kind old 
 mother. 
 
 " Judge not that ye be not judged, my 
 dear Mark," said she. " We are all to blame 
 in this. It is we who laid the foundations of 
 her vanity and self-confidence, by exaggerated 
 admiration. — Let us talk of her no more.'' 
 
 Had Mrs. Littlecote been aware that her 
 conduct was thus cavalierly discussed, it 
 would have been a matter of indifference to 
 her. For the young bride, the glass of life 
 was running golden sands. To be an object 
 of intense affection to a man so handsome, 
 so high-born, so high-bred as Rupert, was in 
 itself sunshine. But her lot comprised even 
 more than this. Splendid tokens of matri- 
 monial allegiance were hourly laid at her feet. 
 The gorgeous gifts of the bridegroom, though 
 announced as trifles, " promising more here- 
 after,'' were to Rhoda's inexperienced eye, as 
 the crown jewels ; and at Mr. Littlecote's 
 desire, the dressing - box given her by
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACiES. 299 
 
 Mark on his marriage, was put aside to make 
 way for a showy toy, fitted up with gold and 
 turquoises, which converted her toilet-table 
 into a shrine. A. constant succession of rich 
 gifts seemed to render every day a birth-day. 
 It vexed her that she could not as honestly 
 applaud her dear Rupert's taste in friends, 
 as in jewellery. She liked as little the cyni- 
 cal tone of Bob Gresham, as the saccharine 
 subservience of his reverend cousin. Both 
 Avere evidently his creatures. On her 
 venturing some slight criticism on the per- 
 petual acquiescence of the latter, Rupert 
 Littlecote admitted that, even at Christchurch, 
 the rector of Mattingley had acquired the 
 name of " Fleecy -^ a cognomen to which 
 his flaxen curls, colourless eyes, and softly 
 bleated affirmatives, certainly entitled him. 
 The supercihousness of Gresham on the 
 contrary, was only too impertinently manifest. 
 The spirit of mockery which, in Rupert him- 
 self, provoked the mistrust of poor Mrs. Lam-
 
 300 THE TWO AUISTOCRACIES. 
 
 bert, was a thousand fold exaggerated in his 
 Jidus Achates; a dry-rubbed man of the 
 world ; whose age was a favourite problem 
 at the Clubs, and whose origin, like his age, 
 was an unknown quantity. Though perpe- 
 tually smiling, to make the most perhaps of 
 his costly minerals, Bob Gresham never 
 laughed beyond his lips. His eyes remained 
 grave, even angry, and his throat as dry as 
 sawdust, while his lips opened mechanically 
 to display those pearly treasures and to utter 
 epigrams. — Tall, gaunt, ungraceful, he gave 
 away poor Rhoda at the altar with an inquiring 
 smile and sinister elevation of the eyebrows, 
 as if wondering what farce was to follow this 
 very sentimental comedy. 
 
 But on liim^ Rhoda was not yet sufficiently 
 at ease with her husband, to descant ; for he 
 had evidently unlimited influence with Mr. 
 Littlecote. It was Bob Gresham who had 
 engaged for them the gem of a house in 
 Curzon Street, in which they were installed
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 301 
 
 on their arrival from Mattingley Rectory. It 
 was Bob Gresham who had selected the fault- 
 less carriage and horses, in readiness for them 
 the day after their arrival. It was Bob Gres- 
 ham who had collected their small, but well- 
 arranged establishment; who had disposed 
 of his friend Littlecote's apartments in the 
 Albany ; who had secured a pair, and a park- 
 hack for him ; and above all, who had circulated 
 a report in the clubs and coteries, (to whose 
 verdict the heir of Arden Hall was abjectly 
 submitted,) that the heiress whom "his friend 
 Litt," had carried off by a coujp de main, was 
 a beautiful creature, the image of Grisi in 
 her girlhood. 
 
 To declare war against such a champion, 
 was not to be thought of; and Rhoda ac- 
 cordingly kept to herself her dishke of the 
 Maire du Palais of her new home, — Not 
 that, at present, she was likely to profit by the 
 golden opinions he was bespeaking for her. 
 Either because the jealous bridegroom wished
 
 302 THE TWO AUISrOCRACIES. 
 
 for a time to enjoy her undivided smiles, or 
 forewarned by his father's mistake in prema- 
 turely producing in the London world the 
 rustic mother of his sister Helen, he per- 
 suaded his bride that, during the short re- 
 mainder of the season, they had better seclude 
 themselves from society. — Till she had been 
 presented at Court by some member of his 
 family, and till he had effected a reconcilia- 
 tion with Sir Arscott, they could not remain 
 too quiet. 
 
 She desired no better. The glare and 
 novelty of London Hfe, even in its least bril- 
 liant form, sufficed for her enjoyment. Her 
 morning's drive, the shops, the exhibitions, 
 and occasionally the play or opera visited in 
 the most unostentatious manner, were events to 
 Rhoda. Bob Gresham, with one or two other 
 fashionable friends of her husband, was their 
 frequent dinner guest, from whose frivolous 
 small talk, she gathered many a hint for 
 her future guidance ; grew familiar with names
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 303 
 
 —cognizant of customs ; and seldom or ever 
 committed herself by want of tact. With 
 many a lesson to learn in the etiquettes of 
 society, her aptitude suppHed the place of ex- 
 perience. 
 
 The only drawback on her happiness was 
 that, though some weeks had elapsed since 
 her marriage and the parliamentary session 
 was drawing to a close, no letter arrived 
 from Sir Arscott. Her husband had duly 
 notified to his father the step he had taken ; 
 for which, at the age of six-and-thirty, paternal 
 sanction was not absolutely indispensable. 
 But even if this formal intimation had failed 
 to reach the family, the newspapers must have 
 forestalled it. If the old man refrained from 
 writing, it was because he was irretrievably 
 ofi'ended, or that he was on his road home. 
 
 Rhoda, as has been before noticed, had no 
 correspondents. Her mother and sister wrote 
 once, in reply to the brief announcement of 
 her marriage; fondly and forgivingly; but in
 
 304 THE TWO AKISTOCRACIES. 
 
 terms that plainly denoted their acceptance of 
 her voluntary estrangement. They seemed 
 willing to understand that, between the lady 
 of Arden Hall and the " people at the Brack- 
 nell Works," sympathy was impossible. The 
 account between them was closed. Neither of 
 them wrote again. 
 
 But as time wore on, Mrs. Littlecote, still 
 solitary amid the crowded haunts of the 
 great metropolis, grew anxious for tidings of 
 her family. She wanted to hear of their 
 health ; of the hopes and prospects of poor 
 pretty little Lettice. Too proud to address 
 them a second time till she w^as able to an- 
 nounce a reconciliation and good understand- 
 ing between Rupert and his father, she waited 
 and waited, in hopes of a letter. 
 
 In July, was annually made up the half- 
 yearly balance of the accounts of Lambert 
 and Co. Then, at latest, she must receive 
 some communication from Barneson ; for which 
 she was the more anxious, that her husband,
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 805 
 
 with singular delicacy, had never yet alluded 
 to her pecuniary prospects. 
 
 Every afternoon, on returning from her drive 
 — the object of which, was on most days to 
 deposit her dear Rupert at the House of 
 Commons, — her first glance on entering the 
 house was towards the hall-table, on which 
 were deposited the letters arrived during her 
 absence. Every morning, when those of the 
 early post were brought into the breakfast- 
 room, she watched anxiously for one bearing 
 a foreign post-mark. 
 
 For one addressed to herself, she had ceased 
 to hope ; and this consciousness of isolation ren- 
 dered her almost jealous of the extent of her 
 husband's correspondence. Five, ten, twenty 
 letters sometimes awaited him ; and had 
 Rhoda been better versed in the ways of 
 London, she would have known from the form 
 and pressure of these letters, few of which 
 were delivered per post, that their origin was 
 far from satisfactory: — wafered, ill-looking 
 
 VOL, I.
 
 306 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 missives, — superscribed in clerkly handwriting. 
 Since none of them, however, bore tokens of a 
 lady's hand, she was content. The coarser, 
 the commoner their aspect, the better for her 
 peace. Mr. Littlecote's explanation that most 
 of them were addressed to the Member rather 
 than the man, reconciled her to being so 
 thoroughly in the minority. 
 
 It was on one of the brightest evenings of 
 an unusually bright summer, that, having 
 accompanied Rupert as usual, after an early 
 dinner, to the House, she drove back through 
 the parks to Curzon Street, full of pleasant 
 thoughts and anticipations. For on their way- 
 to Westminster, it had been agreed between 
 the happy couple, that, should no letter of 
 forgiveness arrive from Sir Arscott, authorising 
 their departure for Arden Hall at the close of 
 the session, they would enjoy together an 
 autumnal tour on the Continent. In a week 
 or two, Rupert would be his own master. 
 They might then repair to Switzerland or the
 
 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 307 
 
 Rhine, visiting Paris by the way. — How de- 
 lightful a prospect ! — the realization to Rhoda 
 of how many a day-dream. 
 
 When, on reaching Curzon Street, she per- 
 ceived a solitary letter deposited in the hall, 
 a letter brought probably by the latest post, 
 for once, she almost hoped that it might not 
 be inscribed " Inghilterra.''^ The suspense 
 which sanctioned her wanderings with Rupert 
 in the land of mountain and flood, was no 
 longer irksome. 
 
 The evening was closing in ; and as the 
 imperfect light did not enable her to decipher 
 the address of the letter, she took it with her to 
 the drawing-room, and hastily lighted a taper. 
 
 No, — not from Italy; — but bearing, to 
 her great surprise, the post-mark of " Bir- 
 mingham ;" and addressed to " Rupert Little- 
 cote, Esq., M.P.," in a handwriting hateful 
 to her eyes. — What, what could place her 
 husband in correspondence with such a man 
 as Ferrier ? — In a moment, it rushed into her 
 
 X 2
 
 308 THE TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 mind that the letter might announce ill-news 
 from home, which no member of the family 
 had courage to communicate. Her sister 
 might be lost to her ; — her mother might be 
 no more. — Mr. Littlecote was perhaps deputed 
 to break to her the terrible intelHgence. 
 
 Without hesitation, she broke the seal ; and, 
 having mastered the contents of the letter, 
 sank, as if paralysed, into a chair. Had 
 her worst presentiments been realised, she 
 could not have been more overwhelmed. 
 -—Poor Rhoda ! Where was her often-boasted 
 strength of mind? — Where were the visions 
 of love and joy, which, ten minutes before, 
 had placed her at the summit of human hap- 
 piness ? — Why had this abhorred intermed^ 
 dler, this wily serpent, been permitted to ren^ 
 der her Garden of Eden, a Paradise Lost ! — 
 
 END OF VOL. r. 
 
 ' J. Billing, Printer, 103, Hatton Garden, London, and Guildford, Surrey.
 
 13. GREAT MARLBOROUGH ST., LONDON. 
 
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 and the early period of the war with revolutionary France. Volumes 3 and 4 take up the 
 tale where volumes 1 and 2 had left it ; and herein we find a connected narrative of the 
 many stirring historical events which occurred between 1800, when Lord Grenville and 
 Talleyrand were in correspondence respecting Bonaparte's proposals for peace, until the 
 return of the King's malady in 1810 and Ihe debates in Parliament relative to the regency. 
 The present collection is more valuable than the last, inasmuch as Lord Grenville, having 
 attained higher dignity and experience, is a more dispassionate observer of passing events. 
 Whoever would desire to read the running comments of so eminent and well informed a 
 man as Lord Grenville upon a decade so interesting as that of 1800—10, would do well to 
 consult these volumes. Lord Grenville was certainly among the most far-sighted men of 
 his time; and to him, from the first, belongs the credit of appreciating truly Napoleon 
 Bonaparte's position and designs. He did so even to a higher degree than Pitt ; and it i3 
 most remarkable how far his predictions have been verified by the event, even when 
 submitted to the sharp test of the judgment of posterity. The principal points on which 
 light is thrown by the present correspondence are, the negociations before and after the 
 Treaty of Amiens until the time of its rupture — the true character of Addington's Adminis- 
 tration, and the relations between 'The Doctor' and Pitt — the formation of the Pitt and 
 Sidmouth Cabinet, when the King's prejudices against Charles Fox were found to be insur- 
 mountable — the Grenville and Fox short Administration — the Duke of Portland's Cabinet — 
 the expedition to Portugal, with its climax at Cintra — the Duke of York's scandal with Mrs. 
 Clarke — Sir John Moore's retreat, with the earlier Spanish campaigns of Sir Arthur Wei- 
 lesley, and, finally, the disastrous Walcheren affair. There is much curious matter inter- 
 posed in the shape o( precis upon the situation of affairs written from time to time by Lord 
 Grenville himself; and perhaps still more curious reports made to the Marquis of Bucking. 
 
 ham by a certain , whose name remains a mystery, but who seems to have been 
 
 tolerably well acquainted with the arcana imperii at the beginning of the century. There 
 is much in these volumes which well deserves perusal. There is a portion of their contents 
 which possesses nearly as high a claim upon oiir instant and careful consideration as the 
 Minutes of the Sebastopol Committee." 
 
 From the Athev^um. — "The present volumes exhibit the same features as the former 
 portion of the series. The general reader is entertained, and the reader for historical 
 purposes is enlightened. Of their value and importance, there cannot be two opinions." 
 
 THE LIVES OF PHILIP HOWARD, EARL OF 
 
 ARUNDEL, AND OF ANNE DACRES, HIS WIFE. Edited from the 
 
 Original MSS. By the DUKE OF NORFOLK, E.M. 1 vol. antique, 
 10s. 6d.
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LAST FOUR 
 
 POPES. By His Eminence CARDINAL WISEMAN. 8 vo. Portraits. (In 
 the Press.) 
 
 EASTERN HOSPITALS AND ENGLISH NURSES; 
 
 The Narrative of Twelve Months' Experience in the Hospitals of Koulali 
 
 and Scutari. By A LADY VOLUNTEER. Third and Cheaper Edition, 
 
 1 vol. post 8vo. with Illustrations, 6s. bound. 
 
 "A production which, not only in the subject-n>atter, but in its treatment, is filled with 
 
 the purest and best evidences of womanly tenderness. What the nurses did for our sick 
 
 and wounded soldiers — how they ministered to their wants and assuaged their sufferings — ■ 
 
 how that composite body of hired attendants, sisters, nuns, and lady volunteers, worked 
 
 together for a common object — how their duties were apportioned — and how, in health or 
 
 illness, their time passed away — are all faithfully and minutely detailed in these volumes. 
 
 • Eastern Hospitals and English Nurses ' will, no doubt, command a good circulation." 
 
 —The Times. 
 
 " The story of the noble deeds done by Miss Nightingale and her devoted sisterhood 
 v/ill never be more effectively told than in the beautiful narrative contained in these 
 volumes." — John Bull. 
 
 " Our readers will find much to interest them in the Lady Volunteer's account of her 
 labours." — Athenceum. 
 
 JOURNAL OF ADVENTURES WITH THE BRITISH 
 
 ARMY, from the Commencement of the War to the Fall of Sebastopol. 
 By GEORGE CAVENDISH TAYLOR, late 95th Regiment. 2 vols, 
 post 8vo., 21s. bound. 
 
 " The evidence these volumes contain is exceedingly valuable. The real state of things 
 is here exhibited "—J«An Bull. 
 
 "There was scarcely an occurrence of any importance that Mr. Taylor was not an eye- 
 witness of. Balaklava, Inkermann, Kertch, the operations in the Sea of Azof, Anapa, the 
 storming of the Malakoflf and the Redan, and the taking possession of Sebastopol — each 
 event is detailed in that concise but clear, professional style which we have not met with 
 before." — United Service Gazette. 
 
 " Mr. Taylor's Journal is valuable for its genuineness, and for the extent of experience 
 embraced in it." — Examiner. 
 
 TURKEY: ITS HISTORY AND PROGRESS; FROMj 
 
 THE JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF SIR JAMES PORTER, 
 Fifteen Years Ambassador at Constantinople, continued to the Present Time, 
 with a Memoir of Sir James Porter, by his Grandson, SIR GEORGE 
 LARPENT, Bart. 2 vols. 8vo., vpith Illustrations. 16s- bound. ; 
 
 "This highly interesting work consists of two parts. The first volume, after a memoir 
 of Sir James Porter, proceeds to give a general description of the Turkish Empire, of its 
 natural and industrial productions, and its commerce, a sketch of its history from the in- 
 vasion of Europe to the reign of Sultan Mahmud II., and an account of the religion and 
 the civil institutions of the Turks, and of their manners and customs, chiefly from the 
 data supplied by the papers of Sir James Porter. In the second volume we are made ac- 
 quainted with Turkey as it is j the religious and civil government of Turkey, its Legislature,' 
 the state of education in the Empire, its finances, its military and naval strength, and the 
 social condition of the Turks, are all in succession brought under review. The work gives a fuller 
 and more life-like picture of the present state ot the Ottoman Empire, than any other work with 
 which we are acquainted." — John Bull.
 
 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 ELIZABETH DE VALOIS, QUEEN OF SPAIN, AND 
 
 THE COURT OF PHILIP II. From numerous unpubUshed sources in 
 
 the Archives of France, Italy, and Spain. By MISS FREER. 2 vols. 
 
 post 8vo. with fine Portraits by Heath, 21s, 
 
 " Such a book as the memoir of Elizabeth de Valois is a literary treasure which will b« 
 
 the more appreciated as its merits obtaia that reputation to which they most justly are 
 
 entitled. Miss Freer has done her utmost to make the facts of Elizabeth's, Don Carlos', and 
 
 Philip XL's careers fully known, as they actually transpired. The pains this intelligent 
 
 lady must have been at to have secured the means for so trustworthy a history, cannot but 
 
 have been very great ; doubtless she will be rewarded by finding this, her last and certainly 
 
 her best publication, as much and as generally appreciated as were her previous memoirs of 
 
 Marguerite d'Angouleme and Jeanne d'Albret, Queens of Navarre."— fic/^s Messenger. 
 
 " This interesting work is a valuable addition to the historical biographies of the present 
 day." — O&sercer. 
 
 "These volumes will well repay perusal. They relate to a period of history extremely 
 important and rich in materials of interest. Miss Freer is an industrious biographer. She 
 got>s to original sources of information, and she gives the reader all the details she can 
 collect."— Pr€««. 
 
 "This book will add to the reputation of its able authoress." — Sun. 
 
 THE LIFE OF MARGUERITE D^ANGOULEME, 
 
 QUEEN of NAVARRE, SISTER of FRANCIS I. From numerous original 
 sources, including MS. Documents in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, and the 
 Archives du Royaume de France, and the Private Correspondence of Queen 
 Marguerite with Francis I, &c. By MISS FREER. Second Edition, 
 Revised, 2 vols, post 8vo,, with fine Portraits, engraved by Heath, 21s. 
 
 "This is a very complete and cleverly-written life of the illustrious sister of Francis I., 
 and it may be said of her that the varied and interesting stores of French history oflFer no 
 theme more worthy of research and study than the career of this great princess, who exer- 
 cised so potent an influence over the politics and manners of the age of which she was 
 herself the brightest ornament. The published and manuscript documents and letters 
 relating to the life of Marguerite of Navarre, and which are indispensable to a correct 
 biography of this queen, are widely dispersed. The author has spared no cost or trouble in 
 endeavouring to obtain all that were likely to elucidate her character and conduct. She has 
 furnished us with a very interesting and graphic sketch of the singular events and the 
 important personages who took part in them during this stormy and remarkable period of 
 French and English history." — Observer. 
 
 " This is a very useful and amusing book. It is a good work, very well done. The 
 authoress is quite equal in power and grace to Miss Strickland. She must have spent great 
 time and labour in collecting the information, which she imparts in an easy and agreeable 
 manner. It is difficult to lay down her book after having once begun it. This is owing 
 partly to the interesting nature of the subject, partly to the skilful manner in which it has 
 been treated. No other life of Marguerite has yet been published, even in France. Indeed, 
 till Louis Philippe ordered the collection and publication of manuscripts relating to the 
 history of France, no such work could be published. It is difficult to conceive how, under 
 any circumstances, it could have been better done." — Standard. 
 
 " There are few names more distinguished than that of Marguerite d'Angoulfime in the 
 range of female biography, and Miss Freer has done well in taking up a subject so copious 
 and attractive. It is altogether an interesting and well-written biography."— LtY. Gaz^ 
 
 THE LIFE OF JEANNE FALBRET, QUEEN OF 
 
 NAVARRE, from numerous original sources, including M.S. Documents in 
 the Bibliotheque Imperiale and the Archives Espagnoles de Simancas. By 
 MISS FREER. 2 vols, with Portraits, 21s. bound.
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF PRISON LIFE; WITH AN EN- 
 
 duiRY INTO Prison Discipline and Secondary Punishments. By 
 GEORGE LAVAL CHESTERTON, Twenty-five Years Governor of the 
 House of Correction at Cold-Bath Fields. Third Edition, Revised. 1 vol. 
 10s. 6d. 
 
 •' Mr. Chesterton has had a rare experience of human frailty. He has lived with the 
 felon, the forger, the lorette, the vagabond, the murderer; has looked into the darkest 
 sepulchres of the heart, without finding reason to despair of mankind. In his belief the 
 worst of men have still some of the angel left. Such a testimony from such a quarter is full 
 of novelty as it is of interest. As a curious bit of human history these volumes are remark- 
 able. They are very real, very simple; dramatic without exaggeration, philosophic without 
 being dull. In dealing with a subject so peculiar as prison life, Mr. Chesterton was wise in 
 making his treatment personal and incidental. General descriptions, however accurate, 
 interest only a few ; but stories of crime, anecdotes of criminals, may attract all readers." 
 — AthencBum. 
 
 "This interesting book is full of such illustrations as the narrative of striking cases 
 affords, and is indeed as well calculated to entertain mere readers for amusement as to 
 instruct and assist those who are studying the great questions of social reform." — Examiner. 
 
 "The very interesting work just published by Capt. Chesterton, entitled ' Revelations 
 of Prison Life." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 THE OLD COURT SUBURB; OR, MEMORIALS OF 
 
 KENSINGTON; Regal, Critical, and Anecdotical. By LEIGH 
 HUNT. Second Edition. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. elegantly bound. 
 
 "A delightful book, of which the charm begins at the the first line on the first page, for 
 full of quaint and pleasant memories is the phrase that is its title—' The Old Court Suburb.* 
 Very full, too, both of quaint and pleasant memories is the line that designates the author. 
 It is the name of the most cheerful of chroniclers, the bestof remembrancers of good things, • 
 the most polfshed and entertaining of educated gossips. ' The Old Court Suburb ' is a work 
 that will be welcome to all readers, and most welcome to those who have a love for the best 
 kinds of reading," — Examiner. 
 
 •' Under the quaint title of 'The Old Court Suburb,' Mr. Leigh Hunt gossips pleasantly, 
 spiritedly, and at large, over all that is of interest in Kensington and its neighbourhood. The 
 subject is happily chosen, for Kensington comprises in it more of antiquarian and literary 
 interest than any other spot in London. It is precisely the kind of book to he pored over by 
 the sea-side or fire-side, where the reader can transport himself, assisted by the poetic fancy 
 of Mr. Hunt, to the company of the wits and beauties of past generations. We very warmly 
 recommend these pleasant volumes to the attention of our readers." — Chronicle. 
 
 "A more agreeable and entertaining book has not been published since Boswell produced 
 his reminiscences of Johnson." — Observer. 
 
 THE LITERATURE AND ROMANCE OF NORTHERN 
 
 EUROPE ; constituting a complete History of the Literature of Sweden, 
 Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. By WILLIAM and MARY HOWITT. 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ELIZABETH DAVIS, A BA- 
 
 LAKLAVA NURSE. 2 vols, post 8vo., with Portraits, 2Is.
 
 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 THE LIFE OF MARIE DE MEDICIS, QUEEN OF 
 
 FRANCE, CoxsoRT of Henry IV., and Regent under Louis XIII. 
 By MISS PARDOE, Author of "Louis XIV, and the Court of France, in 
 the 17th Century," &c. Second Edition. 3 large vols. 8vo. with fine 
 Portraits. 
 
 IVrEMOIRS OF THE BARONESS D'OBERKIRCK, 
 
 Illustrative of the Secret History of the Courts of France, 
 Russia, and GerxMany. Written by HERSELF, and Edited by Her 
 Grandson, the COUNT DE MONTBRISON. 3 vols, post 8vo. 15s. 
 
 The Baroness d'Oberkirch being the intimate friend of the Empress of Russia, 
 wife of Paul I., and the confidential companion of the Duchess of Bourbon, her 
 facilities for obtaining information respecting the most private affairs of the 
 principal Courts of Europe, render her Memoirs unrivalled as a book of interest- 
 ing anecdotes of the royal, noble and other celebrated individuals who flourished 
 on the continent daring the latter part of the last century. Among the royal per- 
 sonages introduced to the reader in this work, are Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, 
 Philip Egalite, and all the Princes of France then living — Peter the Great, the 
 Empress Catherina, the Emperor Paul, and his sons Constantine and Alexander, 
 of Russia — Frederick the Great and Prince Henry of Prussia — the Emperor 
 Joseph 11. of Austria — Gustavus III, of Sweden — Princess Christina of Saxony 
 — Sobieski, and Czartoriski of Poland — and the Princes of Brunswick and 
 Wurtemburg. Among the most remarkable persons are the Princes and 
 Princesses de Lamballe, de Ligne and Galitzin — the Dukes and Duchesses de 
 Choiseul, de Mazariu, de Boufflers, de la Valliere, de Guiche, de Penthievre, and 
 de Polignac — Cardinal de Rohan, Marshals Biron and d'Harcourt, Count de 
 Staremberg, Baroness de Krudener, Madame Geoffrin, Talleyrand, Mirabeau, and 
 Necker — with Count Cagliostrc, Mesmer, Vestris, and Madame Mara ; and the 
 work also includes such literary celebrities as Voltaire, Condorcet, de la Harpe, 
 de Beauraarchais, Rousseau, Lavater, Bernouilli, Raynal, de I'Epee, Huber, 
 Gothe, Wieland, Malesherbes, Marmontel, de Stael and de Genlis ; with some 
 singular disclosures respecting those celebrated Englishwomen, Elizabeth Chud- 
 leigh. Duchess of Kingston, and Lady Craven, Margravine of Anspach. 
 
 PAINTING AND CELEBRATED PAINTERS, AN- 
 
 CIENT and MODERN ; including Historical and Critical Notices of the 
 Schools of Italy, Spain, France, Gennany, and the Netherlands. Edited by 
 LADY JERVIS. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 " This book is designed to give to the general public a popular knowledge of the History 
 of Painting and the characters of Painters, with especial reference to the most prominent 
 among those of their works which are to be seen in English galleries. It is pleasantly written 
 with the intention of serving a useful purpose. It succeeds in its design, and will be of real 
 use to the multitude of picture seers. As a piece of agreeable reading also, it is unex- 
 ceptionable." — Examiner. 
 
 " This useful and well-arranged compendium will be found of value to the amateur, and 
 pleasing as well as instructive to the general reader ; and, to give it still further praise, the 
 collector will find abundance of most useful information, and many an artist will rise from 
 the perusal of the work with a much clearer idea of his art than he had before. We sum up 
 its merits by recommending it as an acceptable handbook to the principal galleries, and a 
 trustworthy guide to a knowledge of the celebrated paintings in England, and that this 
 information is valuable and much required by many tbousauds is a well-proven fact." — 
 Sunda Times.
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT*S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MY EXILE. .BY ALEXANDER HERZEN. 2 Vols. 
 
 post 8vo. 21s. bound. 
 
 " From these admirable memoirs the reader may derive a clear idea of Russian political 
 society. Mr. Herzen's narrative, ably and unaflfectedly written, and undoubtedly authentic, ia 
 indeed superior in Interest to nine-tenths of the existing works on Russia." — Atherueum. 
 
 "The author of these memoirs is one of the most distinguished writers of his nation. 
 A politician and historian, he scarcely reached manhood before the Emperor Nicholas 
 feared and persecuted him as an enemy. He was twice arrested, twice exiled. In this 
 English version of his memoirs, he presents a highly characteristic view of Russian 
 official society, interspersed with sketches of rural life, episodes of picturesque adventures, 
 and fragments of serious speculation. We gain from this narrative of persecution and exile 
 a better idea of the governing system in Russia, than from any previous work. It is rich in 
 curious and authentic detail."— TAe Leader. 
 
 THE MOSLEM AND THE CHRISTIAN; OR, ADVEN- 
 
 TURES IN THE EAST. By SADYK PASHA. Revised with original 
 Notes, by COLONEL LACH SZYRMA, Editor of "Revelations op 
 Siberia." 3 vols, post 8vo. 15s. bound. 
 
 " Sadyk Pasha, the author of this work, is a Pole of noble birth. He is now commander 
 of the Turkish Cossacks, a corps organised by himself. The volumes on the Moslem and 
 the Christian, partly fact and partly fiction, written by him, and translated by Colonel 
 Szyrina, display very well the literary spirit of the soldier. They are full of the adventures 
 and emotions that belong to love and warj they treat of the present time, they introduce 
 many existing people, and have the Danubian principalities for scene of action. Here are 
 sources of popularity which the book fairly claims." — Examiner. 
 
 HOME LIFE IN RUSSIA. REVISED BY COL. LACH 
 
 SZYRMA, Editor of " Revelations of Siberia." 2 vols. postSvo. 12s. ' ' 
 
 "This work gives a very interesting and graphic account of the manners and customs of 
 the Russian people. The most interesting and amusing parts of the work will be found to be 
 those interior scenes in the houses of the wealthy and middle classes of Russia upon which 
 we have but scanty information, although they are some of the most striking and truthful 
 indications of the progress and civilization of a country. As such we recommend them to the 
 study of our readers." — Observer. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF SIBERIA. BY A BANISHED 
 
 LADY. Third and cheaper Edition. 2 vols, post 8vo. 16s. 
 
 " A thoroughly good book. It cannot be read by too many people." — Household Words. 
 
 *' The authoress of these volumes was a lady of quality, who, having incurred the 
 displeasure of the Russian Government for a political offence, was exiled to Siberia. The 
 place of her exile was Berezov, the most northern part of thi.«! northern penal settlement; and 
 in it she spent about two years, not unprofitably, as the reader will find by her interesting 
 work, containing a lively and graphic picture of the country, the people, their manners and 
 customs, &c. The book gives a most important and valuable insight into the economy of 
 what has been hitherto the terra incognita of Russian despotism." — Dailp News. ;-: 
 
 " Since the publication of the famous romance the ' Exiles of Siberia,' we have bacT 
 no account of these desolate lands more attractive than the present work." — Globe.
 
 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 THE JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF 
 
 GENERAL SIR HARRY CALVERT, Bart., G.C.B. and G.C.H., Ad- 
 jutant-Genkral of the forces under H.R.H. the Duke of York 
 comprising the Campaigns in Flanders and Holland in 1793-94; with an 
 Appendix containing His Plans for the Defence of the Country in case of 
 Invasion. Edited by His Son, SIR HARRY YERNEY, Bart. 1 vol. royal 
 8vo., with large maps, 14s. bound. 
 
 " Both tbe journals and letters of Capt. Calvert are full of Interest. Sir Harry 
 Vemey has performed his duties of editor very well. The book is creditable to all parties 
 conceraed in its production."— Ath«n<eum. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF MY MILITARY LIFE. BY 
 
 COLONEL LANDMANN, Late of the Corps of Royal Engineers, 
 Author of "Adventures and Recollections." 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 "Much as has been written of late years about war and Wellington, we know of nothing 
 that contains so striking a picture of the march and the battle as seen by an individual, or so 
 close and homely a sketch of the Great Captain in the outset of the European career of Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley." — Spectator. 
 
 " The deserved popularity with which the previous volumes of Colonel Landmann's 
 adventures were received will be increased by the present portion of these interesting and 
 amusing records of a long life passed in active and arduous service. The Colonel's 
 shrewdness of observation renders his sketches of character highly amusing." — Britannia, 
 
 COLONEL LANDMANN'S ADVENTURES AND Re- 
 collections. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 " Among the anecdotes in this work will be found notices of King George III., the Duke 
 of Kent, Cumberland, Cambridge, Clarence, and Richmond, the Princess Augusta, General 
 Garth, Sir Harry Mildmay, Lord Charles Somerset, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Lord Heath- 
 field, Captain Grose, &c. The volumes abound in interesting matter. The anecdotes are 
 one and all amusing." — Observer, 
 
 ADVENTURES OF THE CONNAUGHT RANGERS. 
 
 Second Series. By WILLIAM G RATTAN, Esa., late Lieutenant 
 CoNNAUGHT Rangers. 2 vols. 21s. bouud. 
 
 " In this second series of the adventures of this famous regiment, the author extends 
 his narrative from the first formation of the gallant 88th up to the occupation of Paris. All 
 the battles, sieges, and skirmishes, in which the regiment took part, are described. The 
 volumes are interwoven with original anecdotes that give a freshness and spirit to the whole. 
 Tbe stories, and the sketches of society and manners, with the anecdotes of the celebrities of 
 the time, are told in an agreeable and unaffected manner. The work bears all the character* 
 i sties of a soldier's straightforward and entertaining narrative."— Swrnfoty Times. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF A RESIDENCE AT NEPAUL. BY 
 
 CAPTAIN THOMAS SMITH, late Assistant Political-Resident at 
 Nepaul. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 " No man could be better qualified to describe Nepaul than Captain Smith ; and his 
 concise, but clear nnri graphic account of its history, its natural productions, its laws and 
 customs, and the character of its warlike inhabitants, is very agreeable and instructive 
 reading. A separate cl-.apter, not the least entertaining in the book, is devoted to anecdotes 
 of the Nepaulese mission, of whom, and of their visit to Europe, many remarkable stories 
 are told."— Post.
 
 10 HURST AND BLaCKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 ART AND NATURE, AT HOME AND ABROAD. BY 
 
 G. W. THORNBURY. Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. bound. 
 
 "This is the best book Mr. Thornbury has written. Being an artist, he writes about 
 art; as a Londoner, with quiclc eyes and a cultivated taste, he writes of London; as an 
 artist who has travelled he tells anecdotes and dwells on scenes of his past life abroad. All 
 this he does in a frank, genuine way." — Examiner. 
 
 "This is a book belonging to the tribe of which Geoffrey Crayon is patriarch. Mr. 
 Thombury's drawing may be less accurate than crayon drawing, but it is richer in colour, 
 and wider and more versatile in the choice of subjects. As a whole, Mr. Thombury's 
 volumes are lively, pictorial, and various." —AthencBum. 
 
 " We have not met with so original a work for many a day as these two volumes by Mr. 
 Thornbury. They have the freedom and freshness of genius. Acute observation is com- 
 bined with great research ; yet the style is so dashing, that the last thing we think of is the 
 variety and the extent of knowledge which these sketches evince. Mr. Thombury's volumes 
 contain matter to please all tastes. He is grave and gay, picturesque and reflective ; and in 
 all moods and on all subjects he is vivacious and amusing." — The Press. 
 
 " Of all Mr. Thombury's contributions to the literature of the day, his Sketches 
 entitled ' Art and Nature ' are the best." — Morning Post. 
 
 CLASSIC AND HISTORIC PORTRAITS. BY JAMES 
 
 BRUCE. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 This -work comprises Biographies of the following Classic and Historic Per- 
 sonages : — Sappho, J^^sop, Pythagoras, Aspasia, Milto, Agesilaus, Socrates, Plato, 
 Alcibiades, Helen of Troy, Alexander the Great, Demetrius Poliorcetes, Scipio 
 Africanus, Sylla, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Germanicus, 
 Caligula, Lollia Paulina, Csesonia, Boadicea, Agrippina, Poppsea, Otho, Commodus, 
 Caracalla, Heliogabalus, Zenobia, Julian the Apostate, Eudocia, Theodora, 
 Charlemagne, Abelard and Heloise, Elizabeth of Hungary, Dante, Robert Bruce, 
 Ignez de Castro, Agnes Sorrel, Jane Shore, Lucrezia Borgia, Anne Bullen, Diana 
 of Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis, Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, 
 Cervantes, Sir Kenelm Digby, John Sobieski, Anne of Austria, Ninon deTEnclos, 
 Mile, de Montpensier, the Duchess of Orleans, Madame de Maintenon, Catherine 
 of Russia, and Madame de Stael. 
 
 "We find in these piquant volumes the liberal outpourings of a ripe scholarship, the 
 results of wide and various reading, given in a style and manner at once pleasant and pictu- 
 resque." — AthencEum, 
 
 SCOTTISH HEROES IN THE DAYS OF WALLACE 
 
 AND BRUCE. By the Rev. A. LOW, A.M. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 "We may say with confidence that it would not be easy to find a more enjoyable and 
 instructive book in the whole range of biographical and historical literature. Never before 
 has full justice been done o the Scotch heroes of the days of Wallace and Bruce, and 
 there is not a southron arrong us who will not read with deep and sympathetic interest 
 this graphic and authentic rarrative of their gallant exploits." — Morning Post.
 
 HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 11 
 
 MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF MAJOR 
 
 GENERAL SIR W. NOTT, G.C.B., Commander of the Army of 
 Caxdahar, and Envoy at the Court of Lucknow. 2 vols. 8vo. 
 with Portrait. 16s. bound. 
 
 " These highly interesting volumes give a valuable contribution to the history of India 
 and an admirable portrait of a most distinguished officer." — John Bull. 
 
 " The volumes form a valuable contribution to the biographical stores of the age. To 
 the young soldier, in particular, they will form a most valuable guide, worthy to be placed 
 by the side of the Despatches of the great Duke of Wellington." — Messenger. 
 
 " We know not a book, after the Wellington Despatches, more deserving of the study of 
 a young officer. It might be made one of the standard manuals of military education." 
 — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " One of the most interesting records of military life that we possess, and a genuine me- 
 morial of one who has achieved a right to be reckoned among England's greatest men."— 
 Daily News. 
 
 MILITARY LIFE IN ALGERIA. BY THE COUNT P. 
 
 DE CASTELLANE. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 " We commend this book as really worth perusal. The volumes make us familiarlj 
 acquainted with the nature of Algerian experience. St. Arnaud, Canrobert, Changamier, 
 Cavaignac, Lamorici^re, are brought prominently before the reader." — Examiner. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ENGLISH SOLDIER IN 
 
 THE UXITED STATES' ARMY. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 •* The novelty characterising these interesting volumes is likely to secure them many 
 readers. The author went through the Mexican campaign with General Scott, and his volumes 
 contain much descriptive matter concerning battles, sieges, and marches on Mexican 
 territory, besides their sketches of the normal chronic condition of the United States' soldier 
 in time of peace." — Daily News. 
 
 CANADA AS IT WAS, IS, AND MAY BE. BY THE 
 
 late LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SIR R.BONNYCASTLE. With an Account 
 of Recent Transactions, by SIR J. E. ALEXANDER, K.L.S., &c. 2 vols., 
 post 8vo. with maps, &c., 12s. 
 
 ATLANTIC AND TRANSATLANTIC SKETCHES. BY 
 
 CAPTAIN MACKINNON, R.N. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 "Captain Mackinnon's sketches of America are of a striking character and permanent 
 value. His volumes convey a just impression of the United States. They are light, ani- 
 mated, and lively, full of racy sketches, pictures of life, anecdotes of society, visits to re- 
 markable men and famous places, sporting episodes, &c., very original and interesting." — 
 Sunday Times. 
 
 SPAIN AS IT IS. BY G. A. HOSKINS, ESQ. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 HISTORY OF CORFU ; AND OF THE REPUBLIC 
 
 OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS. By LIEUT. H. J. W. JERVIS, Royal 
 Artillery. 1 vol. post 8vo. 6s.
 
 12 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 ORIENTAL AND WESTERN SIBERIA. A NAR- 
 
 RATivE OF Seven Years' Explorations and Adventures in Siberia, 
 Mongolia, Daouria, the Kirghis Steppes, Chinese Tartary, and 
 Part of Central Asia. By THOMAS WITLAM ATKINSON. Dedi- 
 cated, by Permission, to His Imperial Majesty, Alexander II., Emperor of 
 All the Russias, &c. Preparing for Publication, in one large volume, 
 royal 8vo., Price £2 2s., elegantly bound. Embellished with numerous 
 beautifully coloured plates, and woodcuts, from drawings by the Author, 
 and a map. 
 
 Extract FROM the " Examiner," October 25, 1856. — "Mr. T. W. Atkinson, an artist 
 of extraordinary merit, in pursuit of the picturesque, has ventured into regions where, 
 probably, no European foot, save his, has ever trodden. Mr. Atkinson's travels embrace 
 Oriental and Western Siberia, Mongolia, Daouria, the Kirghis Steppes, Chinese Tartary, 
 and portions of Central Asia, and occupied him for the space of seven years, time which he 
 has turned to admirable account. It argues no slight devotion to Art, to have undertaken 
 the task of giving to civilised Europe a transcript of what is at once most beautiful and 
 most wonderful in nature, in countries so remote, so difficult of access, and, in many 
 instances, so dangerous to the traveller, whose enterprise led him there. The public may 
 really feel grateful to Mr. Atkinson for thus widely extending our knowledge of this hitherto 
 unknown but most interesting part of the globe." 
 
 Extract from the "Athen^um," October 11, 1856. — "Mr. Atkinson's sketches 
 were made by express permission of the late Emperor of Russia, during seven years' hunting, 
 sketching, and travelling in the plains and mountains of Oriental and Western Siberia, 
 Mongolia, Daouria, the Kirghis Steppes, Chinese Tartary, and Central Asia. Perhaps, no 
 English artist was ever before admitted into this enchanted land of history, or provided with 
 the talisman and amulet of a general passport; and well has Mr. Atkinson availed himself 
 of the privilege. Mr. Atkinson's encampments lead us away into forests, gorges of moun- 
 tains, where the thunder shakes the ground and the lightning strikes, like God's sword-blade, 
 among the trees— where the Tartars cower in their felt hut, and the tea-drinkers grow silent 
 round the red logs. Rivers to swim, torrents to pass, became trifles to this adventurous 
 traveller, who has brought us records of places never, perhaps, before visited j for no 
 Englishman has been there— no Russian traveller has written of them." 
 
 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD, 
 
 Comprising A Winter Passage across the Andes to Chili, with a 
 Visit to the Gold Regions of California and Australia, the South 
 Sea Islands, Java, &c. By F. GERSTAECKER. 3 vols. 31s. 6d. 
 " Starting from Bremen for California, the author of this Narrative proceeded to Rio, 
 and thence to Buenos Ayres; where he exchanged the wild seas for the yet wilder Pampas, 
 and made his way on horseback to Valparaiso across the Cordilleras— a winter passage full of 
 difficulty and danger. From Valparaiso he sailed to California, and visited San Francisco, 
 Sacramento, and the mining districts generally. Thence he steered his course to the South 
 Sea Islands, resting at Honolulu, Tahiti, and other gems of the sea in that quarter, and from 
 thence to Sydney, marching through the Murray Valley, and inspecting the Adelaide district. 
 From Australia he dashed onward to Java, riding through the interior, and taking a general 
 survey of Batavia, with a glance at Japan and the Japanese. An active, intelligent, observant 
 man, the notes he made of his adventures are full of variety and interest. His descriptions of 
 places and persons are lively, and his remarks on natural productions and the phenomena of 
 earth, sea, and sky are always sensible, and made with a view to practical results. Those 
 portions of the Narrative which refer to California and Australia are replete with vivid 
 sketches ; and indeed the whole work abounds with living and picturesque descriptions of 
 Baen, ronanets, and localities."— G/o6e 

 
 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 13 
 
 LAKE NGAMI; OR EXPLORATIONS AND DIS- 
 
 COVERIES DURING FoUR YeARS' WanDERINGS IN THE WiLDS OF 
 
 South-western Africa. By CHARLES JOHN ANDERSSON. 1 vol 
 royal 8vo., with Map and upwards of 50 Illustrations, representing Sport- 
 ing Adventures, Subjects of Natural History, &c. Second Edition, 30s. 
 handsomely bound. 
 
 "This narrative of African explorations and discoveries is one of the most important 
 geographical works that have lately appeared. It contains the account of two journeys 
 made between the years 1850 and 1864, in the first of which the countries of the Damaras 
 and the Ovambo, previously scarcely known in Europe, were explored j and in the second 
 the newly-discovered Lake Ngami was reached by a route that had been deemed imprac- 
 ticable, but which proves to be the shortest and the best. The work contains much scientific 
 and accurate information as to the geology, the scenery, products, and resources of the 
 regions explored, with notices of the religion, manners, and customs of the native tribes. 
 The continual sporting adventures, and other remarkable occurrences, intermingled with 
 the narrative of travel, make the book as interesting to read as a romance, as, indeed, a 
 good book of travels ought always to be. The illustrations by Wolf are admirably designed, 
 and most of them represent scenes as striking as any witnessed by Jules Gerard or Gordon 
 Cumming." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " Mr. Andersson has made no hackneyed excursion up the Nile and back again, but a 
 painful journey, something between a pilgrimage and a wild-beast hunt, which might have 
 tried the patience of a fakir and the pluck of a gladiator. Such narratives are agreeable 
 changes in our day, and take hold of attention like the old travels. Mr. Andersson is a 
 good-natured and cheerful writer; and his book may be read with as much pleasure as 
 profit. For the details of a romantic and laborious journey, — for particulars about the 
 ostrich, the hippopotamus, the lion, and the hyaena,— for curious illustrations of savage 
 life,— for that kind of interest which is awakened by dangers bravely, and by fatigues stoutly 
 borue — readers would do well to consult the book itself. The printers and engravers have 
 done Mr. Andersson justice j and we think the reading public will go and do likewise." — 
 Athenceum. 
 
 " This handsome book is one for everybody to read. As a record of travel, every page is 
 fascinating, while the naturalist and the geographer will be delighted with the new facta it 
 reveals. The sporting adventures of Mr. Andersson, too, are not less wonderful than those 
 of preceding African travellers. The plates are numerous and admirable." — TJie Press. 
 
 THE OXONIAN IN NORWAY; OR, NOTES OF 
 
 Excursions in that Country. By the Rev F. METCALFE, M.A., 
 Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. With Illustrations, bound. 
 
 •"The Oxonian in Norway ' is replete with interest, is written in an animated style 
 and is one of those books which cannot fail to be at the sameiime amusing and instructive 
 Pi£r. Bfetcalfe visited places where an Englishman was a rarity ; and all who take an interest 
 in customs practised by various peoples, will welcome his book for the accounts of Nor- 
 wegian manuers and customs which have not been touched upon before. Numerous inte- 
 resting and exciting anecdotes, in connexion with the author's excursions in pursuit of 
 fishing and shooting, pervade throughout." — Chronicle. 
 
 "Mr. Metcalfe's book is as full of facts and interesting information as it can hold, and 
 Is interlarded with racy anecdotes. Some of these are highly original and entertaining. 
 More than this, it is a truly valuable work, containing a fund of information on the statistics 
 politics, and religion of the countries viiited."— Blackwood's Magazine.
 
 14 HURST AND BLACKETT S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 CHOW-CHOW; BEING SELECTIONS FROM A JOUR- 
 NAL KEPT IN INDIA, EGYPT, AND PALESTINE. By the VIS- 
 COUNTESS FALKLAND. 2 vols. 8vo. With Illustrations. 
 
 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE NEW WORLD; 
 
 OR, DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOOSE HUNTING IN THE PINE 
 FORESTS OF ACADIA. By CAMPBELL HARDY, Royal Artillery. 
 2 vols, post 8vo. with illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 "A spirited record of sporting adventures, very entertaining and well worthy the atten- 
 tion of all sportsmen who desire some fresher field than Europe can afford them. The 
 forests of Nova Scotia abound iu moose, cariboo, bears, wolves, partridge, snipe and wild 
 duck, while the rivers are teeming with salmon and other fish, so that Lieutenant Hardy's 
 sport was of the best kind, and in the details which he has given us there is much to 
 interest and amuse. He is a thorough sportsman, patient, skilful, and active, and relates 
 his adventures with the gusto of a man who enjoys the life." — The Press. 
 
 TRAVELS IN EUROPEAN TURKEY: THROUGH 
 
 Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Roumelia, Albania, and 
 Epirus ; with a Visit to. Greece and the Ionian Isles, and a Home- 
 ward Tour through Hungary and the Sclavonian Provinces of 
 Austria on the Lower Danube. By EDMUND SPENCER, Esa. 
 Author of "Travels in Circassia," etc. Second and Cheaper Edition, in 
 2 vols. 8vo., with Illustrations, and a valuable Map of European Turkey 
 from the most recent Charts in the possession of the Austrian and Turkish 
 Governments, revised by the Author, 18s. 
 
 A TOUR OF INQUIRY THROUGH FRANCE AND 
 
 ITALY, Illustrating their Present Social, Political, and Religious 
 Condition. By EDMUND SPENCER, Esa., Author of "Travels in 
 European Turkey," " Circassia," &c. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 ARCTIC MISCELLANIES, A SOUVENIR OF THE 
 
 LATE POLAR SEARCH. By the OFFICERS and SEAMEN of the 
 EXPEDITION. Dedicated by permission to the Lords of the 
 Admiralty. Second Edition. 1 vol., with Illustrations. 6s. 
 
 " This volume is not tha least interesting or instructive among the records of the kite 
 expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, commanded by Captain Austin," — Times. 
 
 A PILGRIMAGE INTO DAUPHINE. BY THE REV. 
 
 G. M. MUSGRAVE, A.M., Oxon. Author of " A Ramble through Nor- 
 mandy," etc. 2 vols, with Illustrations. 21s. bound. 
 
 •• It would be difficult to find a more agreeable and instructive travelling companion 
 than the author of these volumes. He has sufficient antiquarian, scientific, and artistic 
 knowledge to make him an enlightened observer and reporter, and a quickness of discern- 
 ment which detects the smallest point of interest."— G/o6e.
 
 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 15 
 
 RUSSIA AFTER THE WAR: THE NARRATIVE OF 
 
 A Visit to that Country in 1856. By SELINA BUNBURY. 2 vols, 
 post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 ••We congratulate Miss Bunbury upon having written a very entertaining book— one 
 that has the merit of being readable from the beginning to the end. The author saw all 
 that she could, and has described with much vivacity all she saw. Her book is full of 
 pleasant pictures, commencing with St. Petersburg and its lions, and ending with the 
 coronation. It will find numerous readers." — Daily News. 
 
 " Miss Bunbury's vivacious sketches are not only piquant with meaning as to the state 
 of society in Russia, but have all the charm and freshness of first impressions on an active, 
 thoughtful, and observing mind. We can cordially recommend the work, as presenting a 
 very entertaining and varied panorama of the route taken by this intelligent lady, and, 
 moreover, as conveying the most recent information with regard to the present state and 
 condition of the more important parts of the Czar's vast territories." — Morning Post. 
 
 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN EUROPE; INCLUD- 
 
 iNG Sketches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Aland Islands, 
 Gothland, etc. By SELINA BUNBURY. 2 vols, post 8vo., 21s. 
 
 "All readers of the works of lady-travellers will be glad to know that they are favoured 
 again by Miss Bunbury with an account of l.er experience in Northern Europe, including 
 much of the seat of the late war — Finland, for example, and the Aland Isles. The book 
 is a very welcome contribution to the reading of the season." — Examiner. 
 
 " A very lively and agreeable book of travels, full of sketches of national character and 
 descriptions of scenery given in a pleasing and entertaining style. To all who wish for a 
 gay and varied panorama of northern life and scenery, and for a work full of information and 
 entertainment, we recommend these volumes as among the most lively and generally attrac- 
 tive travels that have lately appeared." — Sun. 
 
 THE WABASH: OR, ADVENTURES OF AN ENG- 
 LISH GENTLEMAN'S FAMILY IN THE INTERIOR OF AMERICA. 
 By J. R. BESTE, Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 " Mr. Beste's book is interesting. In literary merit it is above the majority of books of 
 travel. It deserves consultation from all who may wish to receive a candid, sensible, and 
 fair account of the author's experience." — Athenaum. 
 
 AUSTRALIA AS IT IS: ITS SETTLEMENTS, FARMS, 
 
 AND GOLD FIELDS. By F. LANCELOT, Mineralogical Sur- 
 veyor IN THE Australian Colonies. Second Edition. 2 vols. 12s. 
 " This is an unadorned account of the actual condition in which these colonies are found, 
 by a professional surveyor and mineralogist, who goes over the ground with a careful glance 
 and a remarkable aptitude for seizing on the practical portions of the subject. On the 
 climate, the vegetation, and the agricultural resources of the country, he is copious in the 
 extreme, and to the intending emigrant an invaluable instructor. As a guide to the auriferous 
 regions, as well as the pastoral solitudes of Australia, the work is unsurpassed." — Globe. 
 
 A LADY'S VISIT TO THE GOLD DIGGINGS OF 
 
 AUSTRALIA. By MRS. CLACY. 1 vol. 6s. bound. 
 " The most pithy and entertaining of all the books that have been written on the gold 
 diggings."— LiYerur^ Gazette. 
 
 LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF AUSTRALIAN LIFE. 
 
 By MRS. CLACY. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 "While affording amusement to the general reader, these 'Lights and Shadows of 
 Australian Life,' are full of useful hints to intending emigrants."— LiYerary Gazette.
 
 16 HURST AND BLACKETt's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS. BY ELIOT WAR- 
 
 BURTON. Thirteenth Edition. 1 vol., with 15 Illustrations, 6s. bound. 
 
 " Independently of its value as an original narrative, and its useful and interesting 
 information, this work is remarkable for the colouring power and play of fancy with which 
 its descriptions are enlivened. Among its greatest and most lasting charms is its reverent 
 and serious spirit." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 " A book calculated to prove more practically useful was never penned than the 
 * Crescent and the Cross' — a work which surpasses all others in its homage for the sublime 
 and its love for the beautiful in those famous regions consecrated to everlasting immor- 
 tality in the annals of the prophets — and which no other modern writer has ever depicted 
 with a pencil at once so reverent and picturesque." — Sun. 
 
 " In the mixture of story with anecdote, information and impression, it perhaps sur- 
 passes 'Eothen.' Innumerable passages of force, vivacity, or humour are to be found iu 
 this volume."— Spectator. 
 
 TRAVELS IN PERSIA, GEORGIA, AND KOOR- 
 
 DISTAN, WITH Sketches of the Cossacks and the Caucasus. By 
 Dr. MORITZ WAGNER. 3 vols., post 8vo. 
 •• We have here learning without pedantry, acute and close observation without the 
 tedium of uninteresting details, the reflections of a philosopher intermixed with the pleasant 
 stories and graphic sketches of an accomplished traveller." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " A book which abounds in varied and useful information. We doubt whether anywhere 
 the reader can find a more trustworthy and satisfactory account of the Koords of Persia, or of 
 the Cossacks of the Caucasus, than in these interesting volumes." — Post. 
 
 FOREST LIFE IN CEYLON. BY W. KNIGHTON, M.A. 
 
 Second Edition, 2 vols, post 8vo. 2Is. 
 
 " A very clever and amusing book, by one who has lived as a planter and journalist many 
 years iu Ceylon. The work is filled with interesting accounts of the sports, resources, pro- 
 ductions, scenery, and traditions of the Island. The sporting adventures are narrated in a 
 very spirited manner." — Standard. 
 
 "We have no recollection of a more interesting or instructive work on Ceylon and the 
 Cingalese than that which Mr. Knighton has just given to the world. It displays a great deal of 
 acuteness and sagacity in its observation of men and manners, and contains a vast deal of 
 useful information on topics, historical, political, and commercial, and has the charm of a 
 fluent and graphic style."— Jl/ornmg Post. 
 
 TROPICAL SKETCHES; OR, REMINISCENCES OF 
 
 AN INDIAN JOURNALIST. BY W. KNIGHTON, M.A. 2 vols. 12s. 
 " When Mr. Knighton's pleasant volumes on Ceylon were published, we freely gave his 
 publication the praise which it appears to have well deserved, since another edition has been, 
 called for. Amongst the writersof theday,weknowof none who are morefellcitousin hitting off 
 with an amusing accuracy, the characters he has met with, and his descriptive powers are first- 
 rate. Take his Sketches up and open where you will, every page teems with instruction, 
 combined with lively detail." — Sunday Times. 
 
 FIVE YEARS IN THE WEST INDIES. BY CHARLES 
 
 W. DAY, Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 •' It would be unjust to deny the vigour, brilliancy and varied interest of this work, the 
 abundant stores of anecdote and incident, and the copious detail of local habits and peculiarities 
 in each island visited in succession." — Globe.
 
 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 17 
 
 A PEESONAL NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERY 
 
 OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE with Numerous Incidents of Travel 
 and Adventure during nearly Five Years' Continuous Service in the Arctic 
 Regions while in Search of the Expedition under Sir John FrankUn. By 
 ALEX. ARMSTRONG, M.D., R.N., late Surgeon and Naturalist of H.M.S. 
 * Investigator.' 1 vol. With Map and Plate, 16s. 
 "This book is sure to take a prominent position in every library in which works of 
 discovery and adventure are to be met with. It is a record of the most memorable geo- 
 graphical discovery of the present age. It comes from one who has himself actively 
 participated in all the stirring incidents and exciting scenes it so ably describes, and thus 
 possesses that charm of freshness and interest no mere compiler can ever hope to obtain. 
 The stirring passages of Dr. Armstrong's narrative bear ample evidence of their having 
 been written hy an accomplished and highly-educated man, possessed of quick sensibili- 
 ties, cultivated powers, and a refined mind." — Daily News, 
 
 "As a full and authentic record. Dr. Armstrong's work will be one of the most 
 valuable of the Arctic narratives."— Literary Gazette. 
 
 THE WANDERER IN ARABIA. BY G. T. LOWTH, 
 
 Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. with Illustrations. 21s. bound. 
 
 "An excellent book, pervaded by a healthy enthusiasm, novel and varied in its incidents, 
 picturesque in its descriptions, and running over with human interest." — Sun. 
 
 " Mr. Lowth has shown himself in these volumes to be an intelligent traveller, a keen 
 observer of nature, and an accomplished artist. The general reader will find in his descrip- 
 tions of his wanderings in Arabia, and among the most interesting monuments of old 
 Christian lands, a great deal that cannot fail to interest and amuse him. — Post. 
 
 EIGHTEEN YEARS ON THE GOLD COAST OF 
 
 AFRICA; INCLUDING AX Account of the Native Tribes, and their 
 iNTERCOURFE WITH EUROPEANS. Bv BRODIE CRUICKSHANK, Member 
 OF THE Legislative Council, Cape Coast Castle. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 "This is one of the most interesting works that ever yet came into our hands. It 
 possesses the charm of introducing us to habits and manners of the human family of which 
 before we had no conception. Sirs. Beecher Stowe's work has, indeed, made us all familiar 
 with the degree of intelligence and the disposition of the transplanted African ; but it has 
 been reserved to Mr. Cruickshank to exhibit the children of Ham in their original state, and 
 to prove, as his work proves to demonstration, that, by the extension of a knowledge of the 
 Gospel, and by that only can the African be brought within the pale of civilization. We 
 anxiously desire to direct public attention to a work so valuable. An incidental episode ia 
 the work is an aflfecting narrative of the death of the gifted Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) 
 written a few months after her marriage with Governor Maclean." — Standard. 
 
 THE HOLY PLACES: A NARRATIVE OF TWO 
 
 YEARS' RESIDENCE IN JERUSALEM AND PALESTINE. By 
 HAN.MER L. DUPUIS. With Notes on the Dispersed Canaanite 
 Tribes, by JOSEPH DUPUIS, late British Vice-Consul in Tripoli and 
 Tunis. 2 vols, with Illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 
 EIGHT YEARS IN PALESTINE, SYRIA, AND ASIA 
 
 MINOR. By F. A. NEALE, Esa., Late Attached to the Consular 
 Service in Syria. Second Edition, 2 vols, with Illustrations, 12s. 
 
 KHARTOUM AND THE NILES. BY GEORGE MELLY, 
 
 Escv. Second Edition. 2 vols, with Maps and Illustrations, 12s. bound.
 
 18 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 RULE AND MISRULE OF THE ENGLISH IN 
 
 AMERICA. By the Author of " SAM SLICK." 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 " We conceive this work to be by far the most valuable and important Judge Haliburton 
 has ever written. While teeming with interest, moral and historical, to the general reader, 
 it equally constitutes a philosophical study for the politician and statesman. It will be found 
 to let in a flood of light upon the actual origin, formation, and progress of the republic of 
 the United States." — Naval and Military Gazette. 
 
 SAM SLICK'S NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 24s. bound. 
 
 " Since Sam Slick's first work he has written nothing so fresh, racy, and genuinely 
 humorous as this. Every line of it tells some way or other j instructively, satirically, 
 jocosely, or wittily. Admiration at Sam's mature talents, and laughter at his droll yarns, 
 constantly alternate, as with unhalting avidity we peruse these last volumes of his. They 
 consist of 25 Chapters, each containing a tale, a sketch, or an adventure. In every one of 
 them, the Clockmaker proves himself the fastest time killer a-going." — Observer. 
 
 SAM SLICK'S WISE SAWS AND MODERN 
 
 INSTANCES ; or, What he Said, Did, or Invented. Second Edition. 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 " We do not fear to predict that these delightful volumes will be the most popular, as 
 beyond doubt, they are the best, of all Judge Haliburton's admirable works. The • Wise 
 Saws and Modern Instances' evince powers of imagination and expression far beyond what 
 even his former publications could lead any one to ascribe to the author. We have, it is true 
 long been familiar with his quaint humour and racy narrative, but the volumes before us 
 take a loftier range, and are so rich in fun and good sense, that to offer an extract as a 
 sample would be an injustice to author and reader. It is one of the pleasantest books we 
 ever read, and we earnestly recommend it." — Standard. 
 
 "The humour of Sam Slick is inexhaustible. He is ever and everywhere a welcome 
 visitor ; smiles greet his approach, and wit and wisdom hang upon his tongue. The present 
 is altogether a most edifying production, remarkable alike for its racy humour, its sound 
 philosophy, the felicity of its illustrations, and the delicacy of its satire. We promise our 
 readers a great treat from the perusal of these ' Wise Saws and Modern Instances,' which 
 contain a world of practical wisdom, and a treasury of the richest fun." — Morning Post. 
 
 THE AMERICANS AT HOME; OR, BYEWAYS 
 
 BACKWOODS, AND PRAIRIES. Edited by the Author of "SAM 
 
 SLICK." 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. 6d. 
 " In the picturesque delineation of character, and the felicitous portraiture of national 
 features, no writer of the present day equals Judge Haliburton. ' The Americans at Home ' 
 will not be less popular than any of his previous works." — Post. 
 
 TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR. EDITED BY 
 
 the Author of " SAM SLICK." 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. 6d. 
 
 " No man has done more than the facetious Judge Haliburton, through the mouth of 
 tt>e inimitable ' Sam,' to make the old parent country recognize and appreciate her queer 
 transatlantic progeny. His present collection of comic stories and laughable traits is a 
 budget of fun full of rich specimens of American humour." — Globe.
 
 19 
 
 PEN AND PENCIL PICTURES. BY THOMAS 
 
 HOOD. Second Edition, Revised, with Additions. 1 vol. with numerous 
 Illustrations, by the Author, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 " Few will have seen this book announced without having a wish to welcome it. By his 
 poetry and his prose, Thomas Hood the Second distinctly announces himself to be his 
 father's son. His music has a note here and there from the old household lullabies to 
 which his cradle was rocked. Some of his thoughts have the true family cast. But his 
 song is not wholly the song of a mocking-bird— his sentiment can flow in channels of his 
 own ; and his speculations and his stories have a touch, taste, and flavour which indicate 
 that Thomas Hood's father's son may ripen and rise into one of those original and indi- 
 vidual authors who brighten the times in which they write, and gladden the hearts of those 
 among whom their lot is cast." — Athenceum. 
 
 "We are happy to find that the delightful volume, 'Pen and Pencil Pictures,' has 
 reached a second edition, and that the reception of the younger Thomas Hood, by the 
 public, has been worthy of the name he bears. The work is considerably augmented by 
 passages of increased maturity and vigour, such as will contribute still further to its 
 popularity among the reading classes of the public."— LiYerar?/ Gazette. 
 
 THE DRAMATIC WORKS OF MARY RUSSELL 
 
 MITFORD. Author of " Our Village," " Atherton," &c. 2 vols, post 8vo. 
 with Portrait of the Author and other Illustrations. 21s. 
 " We recommend Miss Mitford's dramas heartily to all by whom they are unknown. A 
 more graceful addition could not be made to any collection of dramatic works." — Blackwood. 
 " Miss Mitford has collected into one chaplet the laurels gathered in her prime of author- 
 ship. Laid by the side of the volume of dramatic works of Joanna Baillie, these 
 volumes suffer no disparagement. This is high praise, and it is well deserved." — Athenaum. 
 
 SONGS OF THE CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEADS, 
 
 JACOBITE BALLADS, &e. By G. W. THORNBURY. 1 vol. with 
 
 numerous Illustrations by H. S. Marks. 10s. 6d. elegantly bound. 
 
 " Mr. Thornbury has produced a volume of songs and ballads worthy to rank with 
 Macaulay's or Aytouu's Lays.'' — Chronicle. 
 
 "Those who love picture, life, and costnme In song will here find what they love." — 
 AthentiBU7)i. 
 
 " This volume will raise Mr. Thornbury's literary reputation higher than it has yet 
 mounted. The vigour of his muse asserts itself in every \u\e."—Literari/ Gazette. 
 
 " The poems show great power, and profound thought and feeling. But, more than all, 
 they display imagination. They glow with all the fire of poetry." — Express. 
 
 THE MONARCHS OF THE MAIN; OR, ADVEN- 
 
 TURES OF THE BUCCANEERS. By G. W. THORNBURY. 3 vols. 15s. 
 •• An unwritten page of the world's history is not to be met with every day. The author 
 of these volumes has discovered one, and has supplied the deficiency. The deeds of alter- 
 nate violence and heroism of the wild adventurers, who soon after the discovery of America, 
 started forth in search of plunder, and sometimes of territorial conquest— now sweeping the 
 main with their piratical vessels— now surprising and sacking some rich and flourishing 
 town— now fortifying themselves in some strong island-hold, where they could bid defiance 
 to a world in arms against them— form the subject of a narrative rich in variety of incident, 
 and replete with striking exhibitions of life and character. To the lover of maritime ad- 
 venture, these pages oflFer a fund of infinite amusement, doubly attractive from the novelty 
 of the theme." — John Dull. 
 
 DARIEN ; OR, THE MERCHANT PRINCE. BY ELIOT 
 
 WARBURTON. Second Edition. 3 vols, post 8vo. 
 "The scheme for the colonizatioti of Darien by Scotchmen, and the opening of a com. 
 munication between the East and West across the Isthmus of Panama, furnishes the founda- 
 tion of this story, which is in all respects worthy of the high reputation which the author of 
 the • Crescent and the Cross' had already made for himself. "—JoAw Bull.
 
 20 HURST AND BLACKETT*S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 FAMILY ROMANCE; OR, DOMESTIC ANNALS OF 
 
 THE ARISTOCRACY. BY SIR BERNARD BURKE, Ulster King of 
 Arms. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Among the many other interesting legends and romantic family histories com- 
 prised in these volumes, will be found the following : — The wonderful narrative 
 of Maria Stella, Lady Newborough, who claimed on such strong evidence to be 
 a Princess of the House of Orleans, and disputed the identity of Louis Philippe — 
 The story of the humble marriage of the beautiful Countess of Strathmore, and 
 the sufferings and fate of her only child — The Leaders of Fashion, from Gramont 
 to D'Orsay — The rise of the celebrated Baron Ward, now Prime Minister at 
 Parma — The curious claim to the Earldom of Crawford — The Strange Vicissitudes 
 of our Great Families, replete with the most romantic details — The story of the 
 Kirkpatricks of Closeburn (the ancestors of the French Empress), and the re- 
 markable tradition associated with them — The Legend of the Lambtons — The 
 verification in our own time of the famous prediction as to the Earls of Mar — 
 Lady Ogilvy's escape — The Beresford and Wynyard ghost stories correctly told — 
 &c. «&c. 
 
 " It were impossible to praise too highly as a work of amusement these two most in- 
 teresting volumes, whether we should have regard to its excellent plan or its not less ex- 
 cellent execution. The volumes are just what ought to be found on every drawing-room table. 
 Here you have nearly fifty captivating romances with the pith of all their interest preserved 
 in undiminished poignancy, and any one may be read in half an hour. It is not the least of 
 their merits that the romances are founded on fact — or what, at least, has been handed down 
 for truth by long tradition — and the romance of reality far exceeds the romance of fiction. 
 Each story is told in the clear, unaffected style with which the author's former works 
 have made the public familiar, while they afford evidence of the value, even to a work of 
 amusement, of that historical and genealogical learning that may justly be expected of the 
 author of * The Peerage.' " — Standard. 
 
 ** The very reading for sea-side or fire-side in our hours of idleness." — AtheiKsum, 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF THE FORUM; OR, NARRA- 
 TIVES, SCENES, AND ANECDOTES FROM COURTS OF JUSTICE. 
 SECOND SERIES. BY PETER BURKE, Esa., of the Inner Temple, 
 Barrister-at-Law. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 PRINCIPAL CONTENTS :— Lord Crichton's Revenge— The Great Douglas 
 Cause — Lord and Lady Kinnaird — Marie Delorme and Her Husband — The 
 Spectral Treasure — Murders in Inns of Court — Matthieson the Forger — Trials 
 that established the Illegality of Slavery — The Lover Highwayman — The 
 Accusing Spirit — The Attorney- General of the Reign of Terror — Eccentric 
 Occurrences in the Law — Adventuresses of Pretended Rank — The Courier of 
 Lyons — General Sarrazin's Bigamy — The Elstree Murder — Count Bocarme and 
 his wife — Professor Webster, &c. 
 
 " We have no hesitation in recommending this, as one of the most interesting works 
 that have been lately given to the public." — Morning Chronicle, 
 
 " The favour with which the first series of this publication was received, has induced 
 Mr. Burke to extend his researches, which he has done with great judgment. The incidents 
 forming the subject of the second series are as extraordinary in every respect, as those which 
 obtained so high a meed of celebrity for the first. Some of the tales could scarcely be believed 
 to be founded in fact, or to be records of events that have startled the world, were there not 
 the incontestable evidence which Mr. Burke has established to prove that they have 
 actually happened." — Messenger,
 
 WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 21 
 
 NOTHING NEW. BY THE AUTHOR OF "JOHN 
 
 HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 2 vols. 21s. 
 
 JOHN HALIFAX, 
 
 Cheaper Edition. 1 voL 
 
 GENTLEMAN. 
 
 lOs. 6d. bound. 
 
 NEW AND 
 
 •*This is a very good and a very interesting novel. It is desipnied to trace the career 
 from boyhood to age of a perfect man — a Christian gentleman, and it abounds in incident 
 koth well and highly wrought. Throughout it is conceived in a high spirit, and written 
 with great ability, better than any former work, we think, of its deservedly successful 
 author." — Examiner. 
 
 "The new and cheaper edition of this interesting work will doubtless meet with great 
 success. John Halifax, the hero of this most beautiful story, is no ordinary hero, and this 
 his history is no ordinary book. It is a full-length portrait of a true gentleman, one of 
 nature's own nobility. It is also the history of a home, and a thoroughly English one. 
 The work abounds in incident, and many of the separate scenes are full of graphic power 
 and true pathos. It is a book that few will read without becoming wiser and better." — 
 Scotsman 
 
 "•John Halifax' is one of the noblest stories among modern works of fiction. The 
 Interest is enthralling, the characters admirably sustained, and the moral excellent."— Press. 
 
 BY MRS 
 
 THE 
 TWO ARISTOCRACIES. 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 GORE, 
 
 A LIFE'S LESSONS. 3 vols. 
 
 "'A Life's Lessons' is told in Mrs. 
 Gore's best style. She showers wit, 
 grace, and learning through the pages 
 with her usual felicity." — Daily News. 
 
 BY MRS. TROLLOPE. 
 
 FASHIONABLE LIFE ; 
 
 Or, PARIS AND LONDON. 3 vols. 
 
 "The book has among its merits the 
 invaluable one of being thoroughly read- 
 able." — Examiner. 
 
 GERTRUDE; 
 
 Or, family pride. 3 vols. 
 " The publication of this work will add 
 to Mrs. Trollope's high reputation as a 
 novelist." — Post. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF MARGARET MAITLAND, 
 LILLIESLEAF. 
 
 Being the Concluding Series op 
 "Passages in the Like of Mrs. Mar- 
 caret Maitland." 
 
 Cheaper Edition, 1 vol. 6«. 
 
 "The concluding series of passages in 
 the • Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland' is, 
 to our thinking, superior to the begin- 
 ning; and this we take to be about the 
 most satisfactory compliment we can pay 
 the authoress. There is a vein of simple 
 good sense and pious feeling running 
 throughout, for which no reader can fail 
 to be the better."— ^^Aenawm. 
 
 "♦ Lilliesleaf ' is a sequel to the charm- 
 ing ' Passages in theLifeof Mrs. Margaret 
 Maitland,' told also by herself in her own 
 quaint way, and full of the same touching 
 grace which won the hearts of so many 
 people, young and old. It is to be said 
 but rarely of a sequel that it possesses so 
 much beauty, and so much susained 
 Interest, as the tale of "Lilliesleaf."— 
 Examiner. 
 
 THE DAYS OP MY LIFE. 
 
 AN autobiography. 3 vols. 
 
 "The author writes with her usual fine 
 capacity for the picturesque, and her in- 
 variable good sense, good feeling, and 
 good taste. No part of the narrative is 
 uninteresting." — Athenaum,. 
 
 "This story is most eloquently written 
 and is extremely attractive." — Press. 
 
 MAGDALEN HEPBURN; 
 
 a story of the SCOTTISH REFORMATION. 
 
 3 vols. 
 "A well prepared and carefully exe- 
 cuted picture of the society and state of 
 manners in Scotland at the dawn of the 
 Reformation."— ilfAen^Mm. 
 
 HARRY MUIR. 
 
 Second Edition. 3 vols. 
 
 ADAM GRAEME, 
 OF MOSSGRAY. 3 vols.
 
 22 
 
 WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 A WOMAN'S STORY. 
 
 By Mrs. S. C. Hall, 3 vols. 
 
 CUTHBERT ST. ELME, M.P.; 
 
 Or, passages IN THE LIFE OF 
 [A POLITICIAN. 3 vols. 
 
 THE ROSE OP ASHURST. 
 
 By the Author of " Emilia Wyndham," 
 3 vols. 
 " This story inevitably pleases, because 
 a clever and right-minded woman seems 
 to have really put her heart into the 
 telling of it. An air of enjoyment in the 
 writing finds its way into the reading." — 
 Examiner, 
 
 MARGUERITE'S LEGACY. 
 
 By Mrs. T. F. Steward. 3 vols. 
 
 " Rarely have we met with a more 
 interesting book than this. The story is 
 of a most thrilling description. The au- 
 thoress writes with much vigour, and from 
 the faithful delineation of her characters, 
 the admirable selection of the incidents, 
 and the graphic description of scenes and 
 events, the reader is enchanted with the 
 work throughout." — Chronicle, 
 
 GOOD IN EVERYTHING. 
 
 By Mrs. Foot. 3 vols. 
 "There is both talent and power in this 
 novel. Mrs. Foot has demonstrated that 
 she is capable of weaving a plot of the 
 most absorbing interest."— iHessewg'er. 
 
 THE SECOND WIFE. 
 
 3 vols. 
 "This book is sure of a favourable re- 
 ception. The plot of the story is carefully 
 constructed and well sustained. The 
 sketches of fashionable life are all excel- 
 lent, showint; intimate knowledge of 
 society and keen perception." — Press. 
 
 ALCAZAR. 
 
 By J. R. Beste, Esq., Author of "Mo- 
 DKRN Society in Rome, &c. 3 vols. 
 "There are novelty of scenery and sub- 
 ject in ' Alcazar,' with plenty of variety 
 and adventure." — Spectator. 
 
 EDGAR BARDON. 
 
 By VV. Knighton, M.A. 3 vols. 
 
 •' The story is in every way worthy of the 
 author's reputation. It is full of exciting 
 Incidents, romantic situations, and 
 graphic descriptions."— Po«^. 
 
 DARK AND FAIR. 
 
 By the Author of " Rockingham." 3 v. 
 
 " The author of ' Rockingham ' has sur- 
 passed himself in ' Dark and Fair.' The 
 characters are distinctly drawn. The 
 story is simple and spiritedly told. The 
 dialogue is smart, natural, full of character. 
 The women are sketched with a decision 
 and delicacy that make them live before 
 you. In shoi-t, ' Dark and Fair ' takes its 
 place among the cleverest novels of the 
 season, and deserves to be popular. It is 
 the cream of light literature, graceful, 
 brilliant, and continuously interesting."— 
 Globe. 
 
 ROSA GREY. 
 
 By the Author of "Anne Dysart. 3 v. 
 
 " The characters are well delineated, 
 the story is lucidly told, and the conver- 
 sations are spirited, and impressed with 
 the individuality of the speakers. Alto- 
 gether the work is a success." — Daily 
 News, 
 
 ISABEL; 
 
 THE YOUNG WIFE, AND THE OLD 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 By J C. Jeaffreson, Author of "Crbvte 
 
 Rise." 3 vols. 
 
 " A clever picture of modern life, written 
 by a man who has seen the world. ' Isa- 
 bel ' is a fresh, healthy, entertaining 
 book," — Leader. 
 
 WILDFLOWER. 
 
 By the Author of "The House of El- 
 wore." 3 vols. 
 " One of the best novels it has lately 
 been our fortune to meet with. The plot 
 is ingenious and novel, and the characters 
 are sketched with a masterly hand." — 
 Press. 
 
 THE GENERAL'S 
 DAUGHTER. 
 
 By Capt. Brook J. Knight. 3 vols. 
 
 " A lively, dashing tale, with broadly- 
 marked characters, and more than the 
 average number of startling incidents." — 
 Lit. Gaz, 
 
 MARRIED FOR LOVE. 
 
 By Author of " Cousin Geoffrey." 3 v. 
 
 " ' Married for Love ' is as full of lively 
 sketches, smart writing, and strongly- 
 drawn character as ' Cousin Geoffrey,' and 
 the story is of a more exciting and moving 
 nature." — Globe. 
 
 THE YOUNG LORD. 
 
 By the Author of " The Discipline of 
 Life," &c. 2 vols. 
 " This new novel by Lady Emily Pon- 
 sonby is interesting as a story, and still 
 more to be commended for the profitable 
 lessons it inculcates." — Lit, Gaz.
 
 WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 23 
 
 RACHEL GRAY. 
 
 By Julia Kavanagh, 
 Author of "Nathalie," &c. 1vol. 
 
 "Rachel Gray is a charming and touch- 
 ing story, narrated with grace and skill. 
 No one can read the story and not feel 
 a good influence from it. The characters 
 are vigorously sketched, and have a life- 
 like reality about them. We heartily re- 
 commend this story, and shall rejoice 
 when Miss Kavanagh will give us an- 
 other equally good." — Athenceum. 
 
 EVELYN MARSTON. 
 
 By the Author of " Ejiilia Wyndham." 
 " The author has made in ' Evelyn 
 Marston ' a considerable advance over her 
 later fictions. She has chosen a new field 
 for the subject of her tale, and conceived 
 her principal actors wiih her pristine 
 skill, as well as executed them with her 
 pristine finish." — Spectator. 
 
 ARTHUR BRANDON. 
 
 2 vols. 
 "'Arthur Brandon' abounds in free, 
 vigorous sketches, both of life and scenery, 
 which are dashed off with a freshness and 
 vitality which the reader will feel to be 
 charming. The pictures of Rome and of 
 artist-life in Rome are especially good." — 
 Athen(Eum. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF ELMORE ; 
 
 a FA.M1LY HISTORY. ^i VOlS. 
 
 "A splendid production. The story, 
 conceived with great skill, is worked out 
 in a succession of powerful portraitures, 
 aud of soul-stirring scenes." — John Bull. 
 
 PERCY BLAKE; 
 
 Or, the young RIFLEMAN. 
 By Capt. Rafter. 3 vols. 
 " A capital novel, of the ' Charles 
 O'Malley ' school, full of dashing adven- 
 ture, with scenes of real history cleverly 
 introduced in the narrative." — Lit. Gaz. 
 
 MODERN SOCIETY 
 IN ROME. 
 
 By J. R. Beste, Esq. 2nd Edition, 3 v. 
 
 "This work is singularly interesting. It 
 contains striking narratives of most of the 
 principal events that occurred from the 
 accession of Pio None to the occupation 
 of Rome by the French, with spirited and 
 truthful sketches of the leading characters 
 of that memorable period." — Lit. Gaz. 
 
 THE LADY OF FASHION. 
 
 By the Author of 
 "The History of a Flirt," &c. 3 vols. 
 "A striking picture of social existence. 
 The story has the merit of originality, and 
 the vigorous descriptions, the brilliant 
 touches, and the life-like portraits im- 
 part lustre to its pages." — Sun. 
 
 MARGARET 
 AND HER BRIDESMAIDS. 
 
 By the Author of " Woman's Devotion." 
 
 "We recommend all who are in search 
 of a fascinating novel to read this work. 
 There are a freshness and an originality 
 about it quite charming, and there is a 
 certain nobleness in the treatment, both 
 of sentiment and incident, which is not 
 often ionnd.'^—AtheneEum. 
 
 THE SORROWS OP 
 GENTILITY. 
 
 By Miss Jevvsbury. 2 vols. 
 "A remarkably good novel." — Examiner. 
 " In a tale extremely simple in idea and 
 perfectly natural in execution. Miss Jews- 
 bury has contrived to exhibit a choice 
 moral with her accustomed grace and 
 power. We advise our readers to send for 
 ' The Sorrows of Gentility." — Athenautn. 
 
 OUR OWN STORY. 
 
 By Seliva Bunbury. 
 Author of " Life in Swkden." 3 vols. 
 
 "A work of unquestionable genius. The 
 story is full of interest."— CAromWe. 
 
 "An exceedingly instructive and im- 
 proving book."— JoA« Bull. 
 
 CONSTANCE HERBERT. 
 
 By Miss Jewsbury. 3 v. 
 
 "'Constance Herbert" is a poem in its 
 beauty and its lofty purpose; a romance 
 in its variety and fascination. The tale 
 is deeply interesting." — Athenceum. 
 
 MR. ARLE. 
 
 2 vols. 
 " ' Mr. Arle ' is a work of a very high 
 order, and we are offering it no light 
 tribute when we say that, in style and 
 conception, it reminds us of the writings 
 of Mrs. Gaskell."— JoA« Bull. 
 
 THE NEXT DOOR 
 NEIGHBOURS. 
 
 By Mrs. Gascoignb. Authorof " Temp- 
 tation, &c. 3 vols. 
 
 " The author has successfully por- 
 trayed the manners of the day in one of 
 the best novels that have lately appeared." 
 —Herald. 
 
 OUT ON THE WORLD. 
 
 By Henry Owgan, L.L.D. 3 vols. 
 
 " The thoughts and observations of Dr. 
 Owgan's 'Out on the World,' are of a 
 fresh and racy kind, and very different 
 from the generality of novels." — Spectator.
 
 THE ARMY AND THE NAVY. 
 
 COLBUEN'S UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE, AND 
 
 NAVAL AND MILITARY JOURNAL. Published on the first of every 
 month, price 3s. 6d. 
 
 This popular periodical, which has now been established a quarter of a century, 
 embraces subjects of such extensive variety and powerful interest as must render 
 it scarcely less acceptable to readers in general than to the members of those pro- 
 fessions for whose use it is more particularly intended. Independently of a suc- 
 cession of Original Papers on innumerable interesting subjects, Personal Nar- 
 ratives, Historical Incidents, Correspondence, etc., each number comprises 
 Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Officers of all branches of service, Reviews of 
 New Publications, either immediately relating to the Army or Navy, or involving 
 subjects of utility or interest to the members of either, full Reports of Trials 
 by Courts Martial, Distribution of the Army and Navy, General Orders, Circulars, 
 Promotions, Appointments, Births, Marriages, Obituary, etc., with all the Naval 
 and Military Intelligence of the month. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 " This is confessedly one of the ablest and most attractive periodicals of which the 
 British press can boast, presenting a wide field of entertainment to the general as well as 
 professional reader. The suggestions for the benefit of the two services are distinguished 
 by vigour of sense, acute and practical observation, an ardent love of discipline, tempered by 
 a high sense of justice, honour, and a tender regard for the welfare and comfort of oursoldiers 
 and seamen." — Globe. 
 
 " At the head of those periodicals which furnish useful and valuable information to 
 their peculiar classes of readers, as well as amusement to the general body of the public, 
 must be placed the ' United Service Magazine, and Naval and Military Journal.' It numbers 
 among its contributors almost all those gallant spirits who have done no less honour 
 to their country by their swords than by their pens, and abounds with the most interesting 
 discussions on naval and military affairs, and stirring narratives of deeds of arms in all 
 parts of the world. Every information of value and interest to both the Services is culled 
 with the greatest diligence from every available source, and the correspondence of various 
 distinguished officers which enrich its pages is a feature of great attraction. In short, the 
 ' United Service Magazine' can be recommended to every reader who possesses that attach- 
 ment to his country which should make him look with the deepest interest on its naval and 
 military resources." — Sun. - 
 
 " This truly national periodical is always full of the most valuable matter for professional 
 men." — Morning Herald. 
 
 " To military and naval men, and to that class of readers who hover on the skirts of the 
 Service, and take a world of pains to inform themselves of all the goings on, the modes and 
 fashions, the movements and adventures connected with ships and barracks, this periodical 
 is indispensable. It is a repertory of facts and criticisms — narratives of past experience, and 
 fictions that are as good as if they were true — tables and returns — new inventions and new 
 books bearing upon the army and navy — correspondence crowded with intelligence — and 
 sundry unclaimed matters that lie in close neighbourhood with the professions, and contribute 
 more or less to the stock of general useful information." — Atlas. 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.