CHAPTER II. THE YOUNG HEIR.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 277, 30 June 1888, Page 9

CHAPTER 11. THE YOUNG HEIR.

The Earles, of Earlescouvt, were one of the oldest families in England. The ' Barony of Eyrie' is mentioned in the early reigns of the Tudor kings. They never appeared to have taken any great part either in politics or warfare. The annals of the family told of simple, virtuous lives ; they contained too some few romantic incidents. Some of the older barons had been brave soldiers ; and there were stories of hair-breadth escapes and great exploits. Two or three had taken to politics, and had Suffered through their eagerness and zeal ; but, as a rule, the barona of Earle had been pimple, kindly gentlemen, contented, to live at home upon their own estate, satisfied with the duties they found there, careful in the alliancss they contracted, aaid equally careful in the bringing-up and establishment of their children Ono and all they had been zealous cultivators of the lino arts. Earlescourt wa^ almost overcrowded with pictures, statues, and works of aa't. Son succeeded father, inheriting with title and estato the same kindly. simple disposition, and the same tastes, until Rupert Eatae. nineteenth baron,

with whom our story opens, became Lord Earle. Simplicity and kindness were not his characteristics. He was proud, ambitious, and inflexible ; he longed tor the time when the Earles should become famous, when their name should be one of weight in council. In early life his ambitious desires seemed about to be realized. He was but twenty when he succeeded his father and was an only child, clever, keen, and ambitious. In his twenty -first year he married Lady Helena Brooklyn, the daughter of one of the proudest peers in Britain. There lay before him a fair and useful life. His wife was an elegant, accomplished woman, who knew the world and its ways — who had, from her earliest childhood, been accustomed to the highest and best society. Lord Earle often told her, laughingly, that she would have made an excellent embassadress — her manners were so bland and gracious : she had the rare gift of appearing interested in eveiy oneandeveiyfching. With such a wife at the head of his establishment, Lord Earle hoped for great, things. He looked to a prosperous career as a statesman : no honoms seemed to him too high, no ambition too great. But a hard fate b>y before him. He made one brilliant and successful speech in parliament — a Bpeech never forgotten by those who heard it, for its astonishing eloquence, its keen wit, its bitter satire. Never again did his voice rouse alike friend and foe. He was seized with a sudden and dangerous illness which brought him to the brink of the grave. After a long and desperate struggle with the ' grim enemy,' he slowly recovered, bub all nopo of public life was over for him. The doctors said he might live to be a hale old man if he took proper precautions ; he must live quietly, avoid all excitement, and never dream again of politics. To Lord Earle this seemed like a sentence of exile or death. His wife tried her utmost to comfort and console him, but for some years ! he lived only to repine at his lot. Lady Helena devoted herself to him. Earlescourt become fcho centre and home of famous hospitality ; men of letters, artist?, and men of note visited there, and I in time Lord Earle became reconciled to his fate. All his hopes and ambition were now centred in hi.s only son, Ronald, a fine, noble boy, like his father in every respect save one. He had the same clear cut" Saxon face, with clear, honest eyes and proud lips, the same fail hair and stately carriage ; but in one respect they differed. Lord Earle was (inn and inflexible ; no one ever thought of appealing against his decision or trying to change his resolution. If 'my I lord ' had spoken, the matter was settled. ' Even Lady Helena knew that any attempt : to influence him was vain. Ronald, on the contrary, could be stubborn, but not firm. He was more easily influenced ; appeal to the better part of his nature, to his affection or sense of duty, was seldom made in vain. No other children gladdened Lord Earle's heart, and all his hopes were centered in his son. For the second time in Ma life great hopes and ambition rose within him. What he had not achieved his son would do ; fche honour he could no longer seek might one day be his son's. There was something almost pitiful in the love of the stern, disappointed man for his child. He longed for the time when Ronald would be of age to commence his public career. Ho planned for his son as he had never planned for himself. Time passed on, and the heir of Earlescourt went to Oxford, as his father had done before him. Then came the second bitter disappointment of Lord Earle's life. He himself was a Tory of the old school ; Liberal principles were an abomination to him ; he hated and detested everything connected with Liberalism. It Mas a great shock to him when Ronald returned from oollege a ' full-fledged Liberal.' With his usual keenness he saw that all discussion was useless. 1 Let the Liberal fever wear itself qjit,' said one of his friends ; ' you will find, Lord Earle, that all young men favour it. Conservatism is the result of age and experience. By the time your spn takes a posiI tion i 1 tho world, he will have passed through many stapes of Liberalism.' Lord Earle dovoutly believed it. When I the first shock of hi.s disappointment was over, Ronald's political /eal began to amuse i him.' He liked to pec the boy earnest in [ everything. Re smiled when Konald, in his clear young voice, read out the speeches of fche chief of his party. He smiled when

tbe young man, eager to bring theory into practice, fraternised with the tenant farmers, and vHted families from whom his father shrank in aristocratic dread. There was little doubt that in those days Ronald Earle believed himself called to a great mission. He dreamed of the time when the barriers of caste would be thrown down, when men would have equal rights and privileges, when the aristocracy of intellect and virtue would take precedence of noble birth, when wealth would be more equally distributed, and the days when one man perished of hunger while another revelled in luxury should cease to be. His dreams were neither exactly Liberal nor Radical ; they were simply Utopian. Even then, when he was most zealous, had anyone proposed to him that he should inaugurate the new state of things, and be the first to divide his fortune, the futility of his theories would have struck him more plainly. Mingling in good society, the influence of clever men and beautiful women would, Lord Earle, believed, convert his son in time. He did not oppose him, knowing that all opposition Mould but increase his zeal. It was a bitter disappointment to him, but he bore it bravely, for he never ceased to hope. A new trouble was dawning for Lord Earle, one far more serious than the Utopian dreams of his son ; of all his sorrows it was the keenest and longest felt. Ronald fell in love, and was bent on marrying a simple rustic beauty, the lodge-keeper's daughter. Earlescourt was one of the fairest spots in fair and tranquil England. It stood' in the deep green heart of the land, in the midst of one of the bonny, fertile midland counties. The Hall was surrounded by a large park, where the deer browsed under the stately spreading tiees, where there were flowery dells and knolls that would charm an artist ; a wide brook, almost broad and deep enough to be called a river, rippled through it. Earlescourb was noted for its trees ; a grand old cedar stood in the middle of the park, the shivering aspen, the graceful elm, the majestic oak, the tall, flowering chestnut were all seen to greatest perfection there. Art had done much, Nature more, to beautify the home of the Earles. Charming pleasure gardens were laid out with unrivalled skill ; the broad deep lake was half hidden by the drooping willows bending over it, and the white water-lilies that lay on its tranquil breast. The Hall itself was a picturesque, gray old building, with turrets covered with ivy, and square towers of modern build : there were deep oriel windows, stately old rooms that told of the ancient race, and cheerful modern apartments replete with modem comfort. One of the' great beauties of Earlescourt was the broad terrace that ranalong one side of the house ; the view from it was unequalled for quiet loveliness The lake shone in the distance from between the trees ; the perfume from the hawthorn hedges filled the air, the fountains rippled merrily in the sunshine, and the flowers bloomed in sweet summer beauty. Lord Earle loved his beautiful home ; he spared no expense in improvements, and the time came when Earlescourt was known ac a model estate. One thing he did ol which he repented until the nour of his doath. On the western side of the park he built a new lodge, and installed there Stephen Thorne and his wife, little dreaming as he did so that the first link in what was to be a fatal tragedy was forged. Ronald was nineteen, and Lord Earl© thought, his son's college career ended, he should travel for 'two or three years. He could not go with him, but he hoped that survtillanct would not be needed, that his boy would be wise enough and manly enough to take his first steps in life alone. At college he won the highest honours ; great things were prophesied for Ronald Earle. They might have been accomplished but for the unfortunate event that darkened Earlc?court with a cloud of shame and sorrow. Lord and Lady, Earle had gone to pay a visit to an old friend, Sir Hugh Charteris, of Greenoke. ' Thinking Ronald would not reach home "until the third week in June, they accepted Sir Hugh's invitation, and promised to spend the first two weeks in June with him. But Ronald altered his plans ; tbe visit he war 9 making did not prove to be a very pleasant one, and ne returned to Eavle&eourb two days after Lord and Lady Earle had left it. His father wrote immediately, pressing lidm to join the party at (s»'CcnoUe. lie declined, saying that after \\\s hard study of Uie few last months be longed foi quiet rr^tt . . „ #

X owing tlul every attention would be jai 1 to h'.* son's eomfort> Lord Etivlo thought but little of the lnaitew In after >ear.- ,he bittvrly regretted that he hai not in-i ted upon his ?on\ going to Grocnoko, So h happened that Konald Earle, his col loj^ fcnreci endeJ> his future lying like a lO^rhS \i rallied dream before lrm, had 1 \r\> v eck? to spond alone at E irlescourt. Tho, first, day vas plcasmfc onough, Ronald wont to see the horses, inspected tho kcnneU, gladdened the gamckoopors hoart with his keen appreciation of good sport, 1 owe! on the lake, play od a solitary gamo at Wliiwds. dined in j^veat sUite, read threo c-l'u^ei* of v Mill on Liberalism,' four of a sensational novel* and fell asleep satislied \u h that do^ but ra her ab a loss to know what ho should do on tho next. 14 was a bcanl'fulJuno day, no cloud was in the smiling heavons, the sun shone bright, and Xa'ure looked so fair aud temptiixg that it >vas impossible to remain in doors. Out in tho gardens the summer nnr seemed to thrill with tho song of tho b-iirdK Butterflies spread their bright wfe^g* aTid coquetted with the fragrant blossoms; busy Inunming bees buried ttaeTQgelves in the cups of the lily, and the crimson heart of tlie ro?e. K'Uiald wandered through the gardens, iha ■d<eli<ea.te golden laburnum blossoms fell at his feet, and he sat down beneath a large acacia, The sun was warm, and Ronald thought a dish of strawberries Avould be very acceptable- Ho debated within himself foi sometime whether he should return to the house and order them, or walk down to the fruit garden and gather them for hhnself. What impulse was it that sent him on that fair June morning, when all Nature stng; of love and happiness, to the spit where ho met his fate ?