LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 851, 16 March 1877, Page 3

LITERATURE.

RECONCILIATION.

Chapter I,

Mrs Hemans has sung of the ' stately homes of England,' and the English nobility have reason to be proud of them. Some countieare especially rich in them, and they give the tourist and the foreign visitor a vivid idea of the wealth of this ' isle set in the silver sea,' when the latter visit such places as Stowe, Chatswortb, and Eaton Hall. The county of Middlesex is not so famous as some other counties for its picturesque beauty, but it can boast of many piincely seats, rendered all the more attractive and valuable by the fact that easy access is to be obtained to the metropolis, and the pleasure of town and country life can be in some measure combined. At a few miles distant from Hyde Park Corner is situated one of those famous seats, called Carlton Park, where the bloom of the limes in the month of May sheds its fragrance on the passer by. The River Thames winds round this estate, and from three sides of the mansion the pleasure boats may be traced in summer time, giving animation and life to the views to be obtained from the windows. To describe the mansion in detail would be beyond my present purpose. Suffice it to say that the library extended the whole length of one side of the building, and the reception rooms were ou a scale of almost pri' cely grandeur. In the blue drawing room were Sir Robert and Lady Carlton, and from the gesticulations of Sir Robert it may be inferred that something more than usual waa going on. • I care not for protestations, Lady Carlton,' said Sir Robert, ' you have ruined my happiness, and we must part.' ' You have never found me guilty of falsehood, Robert,' said Lady Carlton; ' I can only deny the charge. Foolish I may have been, but I cannot own to being guilty of the crime you have imputed to me.'

'For family reasons, madam, I shall not expose you, but you can go —go, and never show yourself at Carlton Park again.' Lady Carlton threw herself at the feet of her husband, but Sir Robert Carlton walked away, and slammed the door behind him. Lady Carlton remained in a kneeling posture and burst into a flood of tears.

' Oh, that I had never left Upland Park for this wretched home,' she exclaimed, getting up at last from the ground, and sitting down at a table, with her face partly hidden by her hands. ' How foolish to leave a happy home to be united to a man who has nothing in common with me. I cannot consent to return to it with a suspicion on me. What shall Ido ?'

In this way she sat musing for a long time, and at last resolved to make a final appeal to her husband, and with that view she went to his study, and knocked at the door.

' Who is there ?' exclaimed Sir Robert. 'Your wife.'

'No longer wife of mine. I have no wife.'

' Oh, Sir Robert —or may I call you Robert?—do not deal so harshly with me. Think of our dear children.

' You should have thought of them before you disgraced yourself.' ' I have not disgraced myself, sir. You disgrace yourself by charging me with that which is false.' ' Go away, woman.' ' I go. Time will prove my perfect innocence, and I now leave Carlton Park perhaps for ever.' Chapter 11. Lady Carlton was a woman of refinement and education, and was one of those rare beings to whose beauty of person was united a cultivated mind. Her youth had been spent at Upland Park and in France, where she was partly educated. She was a perfect mistress of several languages, aud was a skilful artist in colors. The literature of both England and France was familiar to her, and she was a minor poet of no mean excellence, as well as a novelist of that order of writers who help to fill our shelves with ephemeral books. Her more than mediocre gifts, united to much personal beauty, had led her into society where she had become an established favorite; and although she had a fund of.strong common sense, her mind had become somewhat warped by the too lavish praises which had been bestowed upon her.

After she had left Sir Robert's study door she went to her boudoir, packed up a few trinkets and some valuable jewellery, which had formed part of her wedding presents, and went forth from the house to the nearest railway station, where she took the train for London.

As she proceeded on her journey she made up her mind as to what course she should pursue. She had sometimes received money from the publishers for her novels, and she thought that she might obtain a living by means of her pen. She had produced several songs, which had received some commendation. With her stock of jewellery, and the money she received from the efforts of her pen, she felt that she could not come to want, and by the end of her journey she was in a more tranquil state of mind than when she set out. On her arrival in London she set out at once in order to obtain a lodging, and for that purpose she proceeded to Soho, where a gloomy but apparently respectable house arrested her attention with the word 'Lodgings.' She hesitated for a moment, then knocked at the door, which was opened by an angular woman about forty years of age, witli a ruby face and curls. Lady Carlton introduced herself to the mistress of the house as a poor authoress iL search of employment, and JVJrs Angle, the landlady, gave a scrutinising glance at Lady Carlton's dress, which was the same as that in which she had left Carlton Park.

'I am a reduced lady, madam,' said Lady Carlton, noticing the suspicious glances of Mrs Angle, 'lf you'll pay a week in advance, I can let you have a nice furnished room, where you'll be able to be quiet, as tberc is only a Gorman gentleman in the house.'J Lady Carlton agreed to Mrs Angle's conditions, and, the room being satisfactory, the bargain was struck. ' I must now introduce you to Herr Mannheim, who is a very nice gentleman, and wonderfully clever.' Lady Carlton followed Mrs Angle up the next flight of stairs, as she was in no mood to take exception to anything, and Mrs Angle knocked at the door of her German lodger. A man opened the door whose appearance gave Lady Carlton a surprise, but she suppressed, any visible emotion.

Herr Mannheim was about thirty years of age, and of medium height His hair was in a tangled mass on his head, and his coat was buttoned up to his chin, as if he were desirous of hiding the color of his under linen. An old pair of slippers were on his feet, which were destitute of either stocking or sock.

' I have brought an English authoress to see you,' said Mrs Angle, advancing into the room and taking a seat, unasked. Herr Mannheim beckoned Lady Carlton to take a seat, and immediately commenced to pour out a volley of broken English, supplying in German those words which he could not express in English. 'An English authoress! Ah ! vel, I vil say that Englech have no autors if dey have autoressiis. Haben sic read Jean Paul Richer V

Lady Carlton shook her head. ' Nein !' exclaimed Herr Mannheim, ' den you have read noting. English autors— Dickense, Scote, Pulfer Litton—ah, no goot! Shakspere ver goot, but he is petter known in Germany dan in Englich. You have no Fichter, Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Heine, Klopstock—nein!' and then Herr Mannheim laughed immoderately. Lady Carlton forgot her domestic troubles for a moment, and replied, ' Well, sir, our authors are so good that your countrymen honor them with frequent translations.' • Ah!' exclaimed Herr Mannheim, 'my countrymen ver foolish. I translate for the jueipsic booksellers, and I am von of the foolish fellows. Vat do you write, madame ?' ' Novels and poetry,' said Lady Carlton.

'I tought so. Ah ! de ladies can only write novels and pootrai.' ' What do you write, sir ?' ' Vel, I write nothing. I translate.' 'Well,'said Lady Carlton, laughing, 'we are both in the lower rank of literature, and we will not quarrel over our countries' writers,' and she got up and approached the door, followed by Mrs Angle. Herr Mannheim accompanied them to the landing, and shrugged his shoulders as Lady Carlton and Mrs Angle went down stairs. Chapter 111. Lady Carlton struggled on for years in her lodging at Mrs Angle's, and, being a brave woman, she managed to keep her head above water. She never saw her two children, but they both wrote to her, unknown to their father. One day she received a telegram from her son, who was at school in Sussex, to state that he was ill, and that he should like to see her. She hastened down to Rising Dean, where the school was situated, and found that her son was dangerously ill of consumption, and she asked permission of the head master, who was a clergyman, to attend him. Day after day he got worse, and the master decided on sending for Sir Robert, who went down immediately; but when he found Lady Carlton there he declined to enter the room until she had left. Lady Carlton declared that she could not leave the room for Sir Robert or any one else, as she knew that her son would not be long in this world, and they sat by their son's bedside without acknowledging each other's presence. The poor boy gradually became worse, and the doctor said there was not the least hope of his recovery. Sir Robert and Lady Carlton wept at his bedside to the last, and when the final breath went out of his body their highly-wrought and pent up feelings gave way, and they both burst into a flood of tears.

' Oh, Robert!' exclaimed Lady Carlton, ' let us forget the past and be reconciled. Behold the dead body of our first born, over whom we both have fondled, and whose little ways were so dear to us. Believe me to be the same fond wife as ever, faithful to you and to my wedding troth, and that I have never wronged you, as God is my witness.'

Sir liobert looked at her mournfully, then at the dead body of his son, but uttered not a word.

' Still obdurate !' continued Lady Ca T lton; ' I cannot ask forgiveness, for I have done nothing to offend you. I would not over the dead body of our dear child tell a lie,' and she approached her husband and clasped his hand.

Sir Robert attempted to speak, but his sobs prevented him. He did not, however, withdraw his hand, but let it remain passively within hers.

After a few minutes he became calmer, and said, ' Lady Carlton, T fear I have wronged you for many years, for I canuot think that one whom I once loved so dearly would in this solemn moment state an untruth. I have been suspicious, and my nature fed my suspicions. From this moment you are my long lost wife.