LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2216, 2 April 1881, Page 3

LITERATURE.

THE MYBTBET OF Loud brackenbury: A HOVEL, BY AMELIA B. EDWABDO, Author of “Barbara’s History,” “Debenhatn’s Vow,” &c. ( Continued .) He found a post bag full of letters awaiting him when ho got back to Old Court. j.'nly three days at home, and yet the whole world seemed to know of his return. Here were circulars from Singleton, Birmingham, Brewo, and Manchester tradesmen; notices of subscriptions One to all kinds of charitable Institutions, local museums, libiaries, schools, and the like ; begging letters from persons in want of bells, porches, organs, and general repairs; and Christmas bills without number. Having heard from Winifred by the morning mail, Lancelot knew that he was guilty of an act of weakness when he turned over this pile of m'scellaneous matter in search of a possible second letter No snch second letter, however, was there to be found ; the only grains of corn in the midst of all this chaff being a business note from Mr Marrablos, and an official envelope addressed in the somewhat studied handwriting of his friend, Mr Horace Cochrane, Leaving the rest to be glanced through after dinner, Lancelot put these two in hie pocket, and read them in his dressing-room, ihe lawyer’s communication was brief enough, and related to an appointment for the following day. Cochrane’s letter was long, written with evident care, and ran as follows: " Wax and Wafer Department, “ Downing St., January —, 18 — “ My Dear Brackvnbcrt—“A piece of news which in a manner concerns yon, and which may very materially concern me, has just come to my knowledge. Sir Grimsby Tarnbnl], for reasons connected, as I understand, with some great engineering project in British Gniana. is abont to accept the Chiltern Hundreds. The Brackenbury Iron Company will consequently loose Its chairman, and Singleton its M.P. ‘ Now, my dear Braokenbury, I know that your political opinions are not very “ prononces” ; and that Sir Grimsby, being a Liberal, was understood to be indebted to your tolerance for his seat, two years ago. Still, I think I am right in assuming that where the representation of your own borongh is concerned, you would prefer that a Conservative candidate should be returned ; and if I were that Conservative candidate, I venture also to believe that your regard for myself would lead yon to give me something more than a merely nominal support. •It may perhaps surprise you that, being only a Government official with limited private means, I should think of entering public means. But, in truth, it is not that I seek to achieve greatness ; but that I find greatness if not actually thrust upon me, at all events suggested to me by my superiors in office. In a private conversation the other day with the chief of my department, 1 was Informed that Lord Glendiunlng was especially anxious just now to strengthen the hands of the Government in any direction where an ’opening might occur; and that Mr Bazalgette had singled me ont as or eof the ‘ rising men ’ who would be likely to render the sort of service which is needed in the House. Then this morning came the news that Singleton would shortly be vacated; and I thought I conld not do better than write to you at once. “ I need not say how pleased I shall be, if you approve of the idea, or how anxiously I await your reply, “ Ever, my dear Brackenbury, “ Yours faithfully and truly, “Horace Cochrane. “ To the Lord Braokenbury.” To his let'er, Lancelot replied In six lines : “Old Court, Jan, —, 18—. “My Dear Cochrane, “ Becanse Sir Grimsby Turnbull was Chairman of the Iron Company, and because my brother h«d promised to back him if ever the opportunity should arise, I did not oppose bis election. But lam glad to hear he is going. “Come down to Old Court whenever it suits yon, and I will put you through. “ Yours ever, L RAC KEN BURY. ” Chapter LIL LANCELOT’S LETTER. The new Lord of Brackenbury soon discovered that he had under estimated rather than over-estimated the amount of work awaiting his return. It may readily be conceived how dry, disagreeable, and fatiguing much of that work could not fail to be. Perpetual consultations with Mr Marrables; frequent jonrneyings to and fro between Brackenbury, Singleton, Stoke, and Leek ; questions of drainage, of repairs, of manorial rights and privileges; difficulties with the Iron Company, difficulties, with the tenant farmers, and difficulties with the “ dark folk ” and the game-keepers. These, and a hundred and one similar anxieties and worries, consumed his days and well nigh exhausted his patience. Then in the evenings there were letters to be read and answered, drafts of deeds to be revised; plans and estimates to be considered, and the like; to say nothing of a long correspondence with the Bishop of the diocese in regard to the new church and living, or of the time and trouble necessarily devoted to the buildings for the colony on the moor.

Meanwhile bia gun mated, hta colors dried In their tubes, all hope of contributing to the ‘’Salon” was given up, and ‘‘Divine Philosophy ” not only went to the wall, but remained with her face towards it, un turned, nnlooked at, almost forgotten. For art the new Lord of Braokenbury had now no leisure; for society and for sport no inclination. In vain his neighbors invited him to dinners, shooting parties, and hunt breakfasts ; in vain was he pressed to become a steward at the County ball, and to accept the vice-president’s chair at the annual Conservative dinner. To one and all he returned the same courteous but decided negative. ‘ What these good people do not understand, ’ he wrote about this time, iu one of his many letters to Miss Savage, ‘ 1s that I am in truth not only much too busy for entertainments of the kind, but that I very strongly feel it my duty to hold myself aloof just now from gaieties and public meetings. For, in assuming my dearest Cuthbert’s name and place, I virtually, and for the first time, accept the fact of his disappearance in proof of his decease, and It seems to mo that, so accepting it, I am almost as much bound to observe the usages of mourning as if I had just received authen tic intelligence of his death. Anyhow, I take It that, if even I were not so overwhelmed with business cares, the present is not a time for feasting and making merry. ‘ I have been obliged to go to Brackenbury Court several times of late ; and there everything reminds me of him painfully. Last week the shutters were unclosed, and the groundfioor rooms thrown open for the fir.-.t time these four years. I went over them with Mrs Jennings, and decided on a thorough renovation of the drawing-room and ball room suites. I also fixed upon a charming little boudoir for you, and made up my mind as to the rooms wo will ourselves occupy. It was very sad going into the library, and finding everything just as he had lett it. In his desk lay the vtry pen he had last used, with the ink dry on it ; and between the sheets of his blotting-book I found a paper covered with jottings for his journey—names of hotels at which he meant to put up, and the dates at which letters should be posted iu Fugland to catch the Thursday boats from Marseilles These memoranda were designed, no doubt, for your instruction and mine, ‘ I knew he was exceedingly methodical but I was scarcely prepared to find his papers in such wonderful order. The drawers of his writing table were foil of packets of letters —yours, mine, my father’s, and a few from my beloved mother —all tied u;>, docketed, and dated. There is nothing in this world so sad, to my thinking, as old

etters ; but what a climax of mournfulnoas s reached when, like some of these, they

are from the dead to the dead ! I have, ol

course, preserved those written by my parents. Yonra are put aside, to be returned to you or destroyed, as you may My own—some of them in roundhand, written when I was quite a little chap, others from school at Lausanne, and so on up to the beginning of last year—l at once consigned to the fire. I was greatly affected to find that the dear fellow had kept, as I verily believe, every scrawl I ever sent him.’ Writing soon after, in a somewhat lighter strain, he said :

‘ I live in a whirl of work, and thank my stars daily that it has graciously pleased Her Majesty again to prorogue the Houses ; so giving me time to push through some of my business before rushing up to town. It seems that I am doomed to move the Address to the Throne ; this being a duty, generally imposed by way of compliment upon a peer who takes his seat for the first time. I would faia have evaded the honor ; but an old friend of my father’s the Duke of Saxmundham, who seems to have taken upon himself to plry Mentor to my Telemaohns, will have it so; and I can’t escape the ordeal.’

Then, about a fortnight later, came some account of his dehut.

* I got back last night from London, having been a good boy, and done all that was required of me. The old Duke patted me on the back, and said that I had acquitted myself very well indeed ; but for my own part, I believed that I delivered my half-dozen sentences about as badly as possible. And no wonder, for not only was I horribly nervous, but I was at the same time keenly alive to the absurdity of my position. Imagine having to entreat the Bouse to extend to me that indulgence which it invariably accords to noble lords on similar occasions. Imagine standing up and calling one’s self a “noble lord 1” I never felt so like a fool in my life, nor, I suspect, looked so much like one either.’

‘ The Queen read her speech, as she always does read it, very beautifully. Her voice is singularly sweet, and her enunciation perfect. I suppose It will interes-. you to hear that she wore the Koh-i-noor in the front of her dress. I suppose it is very splendid, but to my ignorant eyes it looted no better than a cut glass decanter stopper. The Prince is getting bald, and 1 thought he looked pale and careworn.”

Writing to her three or four times in every week, he, of course, interlarded )is letters with numerous details of his own daily doing? ; with scraps of local news; ard with large quantities of such tender “padding” as befitted the circumstances of the correspondence. Treated summarily, the scant local news of a dozen weeks would barely fill a dozen sentences. He had been over to The Grange, seen her dogs and her pigeons, and distributed the gifts with which she had entrusted him. Bridget was delighted with her workbox, and Joan with her apron ; the former felt her rheumatism this iwinter somewhat more severely than usual. Beubon evidently thought the beer mng too good to drink out of, and was so overwhelmed that ho could not even express his gratitude. The cob had had a swollen hook, and been successfully doctored by a new farrier from Knyperaley. The old folk in the drift-cottages were all well, and desired their duty. Lettice Leigh’s little boy was going to school quite regularly, and making rapid progress. Joan was engaged to George, Miss Brochlehnrst’s groom, who had lately set up for himself as a blacksmith at ilanebridge ; and the largest of the big walnut trees in the meadow fronting The Grange had been blown down one stormy night shortly after Christmas. The same rough weather had torn half the tiles off the roof of the little barn, and damaged one of the beautiful old chimney-stacks at the N.B. corner of the quadrangle. Lancelot had at once despatched his own bnilder to repair the damage, and bad desired that worthy to draw up a list of such repairs as were immediately necessary at the Grange, The parish news was as meagre as the home chronicle. The Bector and Mrs Caldlcott were off to town for a fortnight “on law business,’’ which, according to Mrs Pennefeather, meant to see the Pantomimes. The Pennefeathers themselves were much as usual; the curate's headaches being somewhat less persistent than last year. Miss Pennefeather desired him (Lancelot) to give her love, and to say that “The Ghostly Gat ” bad made such a decided hit that the editor of “Gog and Magog" had actually Invited her to write a serial story, and upon ruch terms as she had never before been offered. For this success she declared she was entirely Winifred’s debtor. Mr Pink and Countess Castelrosso were wintering on the Nile, a d coming home by way or Palmyra and Damascus. It was thought they would be absent for six months. Lady Symes had gone to Torquay, having dispensed her usual Christmas bounties, and sent Mr Caldicott a cheque for £24 for the poor of his parish. Miss Lang trey’s monument, meanwhile, was-now completed according to a design which Winifred had approved. It consisted of an upright foliated cross of grey polished granite, with an enclosed space in the front, the whole surrounded by a Gothic railing. The “spaca” had already been planted with white and pnrple hyacinths. He promised to send a sketch of it as toon as he should have time to go over there again. * Then came the news that Cochrane had arrived at Old Court in the time-honored character of “ the Conservative Candidate.” Not, of course, that there was any other candidate. Such an event as a contested election was unknown in the patriarchal little borough of singleton, where, from time immemorial, the worthy electors had been wont to receive his Lordship’s nominee as unquestioningly as they ate his roast beef and plum pudding at the annual tenants’ dinner. “We canvassed on Tuesday,” wrote Lancelot; “ that is to say we called on half-a-dozen people, invited them to luncheon at ' The Three Feathers,’ and got home an hour before dinner. To-day we elected him; which means that three or four shopkeepers talked bad grammar for half an-honr, and the thiug was done. He seems vastly pleased, and has visions of Governmental loaves and fishes. At all events he can * write himself down an ass ’ —l beg his pardon ; I mean an M. P.” As the spring advanced, his letters became mere and more taken up with the work which was being done on the moor. The ground was marked out within a fortnight of his return from Munich ; and on the last day of January, he himself laid the first stone of the new church. After this, an army of workmen being put on, and the weather continuing exceptionally dry and favorable, the building made rapid progress. By the middle of March, he was able to report that the walls, and roofing-timbers were already up ; also that the foundations of the school-house and vicarage were laid, and that the cottages were ready for the lller. ITo he continued on Tuesday. )