Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (buy e reader .TXT) 📕

Primroses! And The Grey,  Drifting Cumuli With Gaps Of Blue,  And The

Cinnamon And Purple Woods,  Broken With Yellowish Poplars And Pale

Willows,  With Red Farms,  And Yellow Gorse Lighted Up By The Sun!!! The

Oaks Just Beginning To Break Out In Yellowish Tufts,  [_Sketch._] I

Can't Tell You What Lovely Sketches I Passed Between Aldershot And

Redhill!

On To Brighton I Took Charge Of A Small Boy Being Sent By A Fond

Mother To School. When I Mention That He Was Nine Years Old,--And

Informed Me--That He Had Got "A Jolly Book," Which Proved To Be _A

School For Fathers_,  That His Own School Wasn't _Much Of A One_,  And

He Was Going To Leave,  And Ate Hard-Boiled Eggs And Crystallized

Oranges By The Way--You Will See How This Generation Waxes Apace!!

_Ecclesfield_. May 27,  1872.

... The Weather Is Very Nice Now. I Stayed Till The End Of The Litany

In Church Yesterday,  And Then Slipped Out By The Organ Door And Sat

With Mother. I Sat On The Boy's School Side Of The Chancel,  Where A

Little Lad Near Me Was Singing _Alto_ (Not A "Second" Of Thirds!)

Strong And Steady As A Thrush In A Hedge!! The Music Went Very Well.

The Country Looks Lovely,  _But For The Smoke_. If It Had But Our Blue

Distance It Would Be Grand. But The

                  "Wreathed Smoke Afar

    That O'er The Town Like Mist Upraised

    Hung,  Hiding Sun And Star,"

Gets Worse Every Year! And When I Think Of Our Lovely Blue And Grey

Folds Of Distance,  And Bright Skies,  And Tints,  I Feel Quite

_Ruskinish_ Towards Mills And Manufactories.

To C.T. Gatty.

_X Lines,  South Camp,  Aldershot._

August 10,  1873.

My Very Dear Old Charlie,

Don't You Suppose Your Sister Is Forgetting You. Two Causes Have

Delayed Your Drawings.

1. I Have Been Working--Oh _So_ Hard! It Was Because Mr. Bell

Announced That He Wanted A "Volume," And That For The Xmas Market One

Must Begin At Once In July!

Such Is Competition!

He Had An Idea That Something Which Had Not Appeared In Any Magazine

Would Be More Successful Than Reprints. _So_ I Have Written "Lob

Lie-By-The-Fire,  Or The Luck Of Lingborough," And You Will Recognize

Your _Cockie_ In It! I Have Taken No End Of Pains With It,  And It Has

Been A Matter Of Seven Or Eight Hours A Day Lately. I Mean The Last

Few Days. Rather Too Much. It Knocked Me Off My Sleep,  And Reduced "My

Poor Back" To The Consistency Of Pith. But I Am Picking Up,  Partly By

Such Gross Material Aid As _Bottled Stout_ Affords! And Any Amount Of

Fresh Air Blowing In Full Draughts Over My Bed At Night!!

2. I _Have_ Been At Work For You,  But I Get So Horribly Dissatisfied

With My Things. No; I Must Do Some Real Steady _Work_ At It. One Can't

Jump With A Little "Nice Feeling" And Plenty Of Theories Into What Can

Give Any Lasting Pleasure To Oneself Or Any One Else. I Will Send You

Shortly (I Hope) A Copy Of One Of Sir Hope Grant's Chinnerys,  And

Perhaps A Wee Thing Of Ecclesfield. The Worst Of Drawing Is,  It Wants

Mind As Well As Hands. One Can't Go At It _Jaded_ From Head Work,  As

One Could "Sew A Long White Seam" Or Any Mechanical Thing!...

When D---- Was With Me,  We Went To A _Fete_ In The North Camp Gardens,

And I Was Talking To Lady Grant About The Chinnerys,  And The "Happy

Thought" Struck Her To Introduce Me To A Mr. Walkinshaw. They Live

Somewhere In This Country,  And Mrs. Walkinshaw Came Up Afterwards To

Ask If She Might Call On Me,  As They Have A Chinnery Collection

(Gathered In China),  And Mr. Walkinshaw Would Show Them To Me!... Itheyencil. Send Over To The Rectory The First Thing In The Morning. And,

Hedges--"

At This Moment A Slight Noise Was Heard Within The Room Like The Sound Of

An Extinguisher Falling; As,  In Fact,  It Was. Lord Hartledon Turned

Towards It.

"Who Is There,  Hedges?"

"I--It's No One In Particular,  Sir--My Lord."

What With The Butler's Bewilderment On The Sudden Change Of Masters,  And

What With His Consciousness Of The Presence Of His Visitor,  He Was

Unusually Confused. Lord Hartledon Noticed It. It Instantly Occurred To

Him That One Of The Ladies,  Or Perhaps One Of The Women-Servants,  Had

Been Admitted To The Room; And He Did Not Consider It A Proper Sight For

Any Of Them.

"Who Is It?" He Demanded,  Somewhat Peremptorily.

So Hedges Had To Confess What Had Taken Place,  And That He Had Allowed

The Man To Enter.

"Pike! Why,  What Can He Want?" Exclaimed Lord Hartledon In Surprise. And

He Turned To The Room.

The Moment The Butler Left Him Alone Mr. Pike's First Proceeding Had Been

To Cover His Head Again With His Wide-Awake,  Which He Had Evidently

Removed With Reluctance,  And Might Have Refused To Remove At All Had It

Been Consistent With Policy; His Second Was To Snatch Up The Candle,  Bend

Over The Dead Face,  And Examine It Minutely Both With Eye And Hand.

"There _Is_ A Wound,  Then,  And It's True What They Are Saying. I Thought

It Might Have Been Gossip," He Muttered,  As He Pushed The Soft Dark Hair

From The Temple. "Any More Suspicious Marks?" He Resumed,  Taking A Rapid

View Of The Hands And Head. "No; Nothing But What He'd Be Likely To Get

In The Water: But--I'll Swear _That_ Might Have Been The Blow Of A Human

Hand. 'Twould Stun,  If It Wouldn't Kill; And Then,  Held Under The

Water--"

At This Moment Mr. Pike And His Comments Were Interrupted,  And He Drew

Back From The Table On Which The Body Was Lying; But Not Before Lord

Hartledon Had Seen Him Touching The Face Of The Dead.

"What Are You Doing?" Came The Stern Demand.

"I Wasn't Harming Him," Was The Answer; And Mr. Pike Seemed To Have

Suddenly Returned To His Roughness. "It's A Nasty Accident To Have

Happened; And I Don't Like _This_."

He Pointed To The Temple As He Spoke. Lord Hartledon's Usually

Good-Natured Brow--At Present A Brow Of Deep Sorrow--Contracted

With Displeasure.

"It Is An Awful Accident," He Replied. "But I Asked What You Were Doing

Here?"

"I Thought I'd Like To Look Upon Him,  Sir; And The Butler Let Me In. I

Wish I'd Been A Bit Nearer The Place At The Time: I'd Have Saved Him,  Or

Got Drowned Myself. Not Much Fear Of That,  Though. I'm A Rat For The

Water. Was That Done Fairly?" Pointing Again To The Temple.

"What Do You Mean?" Exclaimed Val.

"Well--It Might Be,  Or It Might Not. One Who Has Led The Roving Life I

Have,  And Been In All Sorts Of Scenes,  Bred In The Slums Of London Too,

Looks On The Suspicious Side Of These Things. And There Mostly Is One In

All Of 'Em."

Val Was Moved To Anger. "How Dare You Hint At So Infamous A Suspicion,

Pike? If--"

"No Offence,  My Lord," Interrupted Pike--"And It's My Lord That You Are

Now. Thoughts May Be Free In This Room; But I Am Not Going To Spread

Suspicion Outside. I Say,  Though That _Might_ Have Been An Accident,  It

Might Have Been Done By An Enemy."

"Did You Do It?" Retorted Lord Hartledon In His Displeasure.

Pike Gave A Short Laugh.

"I Did Not. I Had No Cause To Harm Him. What I'm Thinking Was,  Whether

Anybody Else Had. He Was Mistaken For Another Yesterday," Continued Pike,

Dropping His Voice. "Some Men In His Lordship's Place Might Have Showed

Fight Then: Even Blows."

Percival Made No Immediate Rejoinder. He Was Gazing At Pike Just As

Fixedly As The Latter Gazed At Him. Did The Man Wish To Insinuate That

The Unwelcome Visitor Had Again Mistaken The One Brother For The Other,

And The Result Had Been A Struggle Between Them,  Ending In This? The Idea

Rushed Into His Mind,  And A Dark Flush Overspread His Face.

"You Have No Grounds For Thinking That Man--You Know Who I Mean--Attacked

My Brother A Second Time?"

"No,  I Have No Grounds For It," Shortly Answered Pike.

"He Was Near To The Spot At The Time; I Saw Him There," Continued Lord

Hartledon,  Speaking Apparently To Himself; Whilst The Flush,  Painfully

Red And Dark,  Was Increasing Rather Than Diminishing.

"I Know You Did," Returned Pike.

The Tone Grated On Lord Hartledon's Ear. It Implied That The Man Might

Become Familiar,  If Not Checked; And,  With All His Good-Natured

Affability,  He Was Not One To Permit It; Besides,  His Position Was

Changed,  And He Could Not Help Feeling That It Was. "Necessity Makes Us

Acquainted With Strange Bedfellows," Says The Very True Proverb; And What

Might Have Been Borne Yesterday Would Not Be Borne To-Day.

"Let Me Understand You," He Said,  And There Was A Stern Decision In His

Tone And Manner That Surprised Pike. "Have You Any Reason Whatever To

Suspect That Man Of Having Injured,  Or Attempted To Injure My Brother?"

"_I_'Ve Not," Answered Pike. "I Never Saw Him Nearer To The Mill

Yesterday Than He Was When He Looked At Us. I Don't Think He Went Nearer.

My Lord,  If I Knew Anything Against The Man,  I'd Tell It Out,  And Be

Glad. I Hate The Whole Tribe. _He_ Wouldn't Make The Mistake Again,"

Added Pike,  Half-Contemptuously. "He Knew Which Was His Lordship Fast

Enough To-Day,  And Which Wasn't."

"Then What Did You Mean By Insinuating That The Blow On The Temple Was

The Result Of Violence?"

"I Didn't Say It Was: I Said It Might Have Been. I Don't Know A Thing,  As

Connected With This Business,  Against A Mortal Soul. It's True,  My Lord."

"Perhaps,  Then,  You Will Leave This Room," Said Lord Hartledon.

"I'm Going. And Many Thanks To Your Lordship For Not Having Turned Me

From It Before,  And For Letting Me Have My Say. Thanks To _You_,  Sir," He

Added,  As He Went Out Of The Room And Passed Hedges,  Who Was Waiting In

The Hall.

Hedges Closed The Door After Him,  And Turned To Receive A Reprimand From

His New Master.

"Before You Admit Such Men As That Into The Most Sacred Chamber The House

At Present Contains,  You Will Ask My Permission,  Hedges."

Hedges Attempted To Excuse Himself. "He Was So Very Earnest,  My Lord; He

Declared To Me He Had A Good Motive In Wanting To Come In. At These

Times,  When One's Heart Is Almost Broken With A Sudden Blow,  One Is Apt

To Be Soft And Yielding. What With That Feeling Upon Me,  And What With

The Fright He Gave Me--"

"What Fright Did He Give You?" Interrupted Val.

"Well,  My Lord,  He--He Asked Me Whether His Lordship Had Come Fairly By

His Death."

"How Dare You Repeat The Insinuation?" Broke Forth Lord Hartledon,  With

More Temper Than Hedges Had Ever Seen Him Display. "The Very Idea Is

Absurd; It Is Wicked; It Is Unpardonable. My Brother Had Not An Enemy In

The World. Take Care Not To Repeat It Again. Do You Hear?"

He Turned Away From The Astonished Man,  Went Into The Room He Had Called

Sacred,  And Closed The Door. Hedges Wondered Whether The Hitherto

Sweet-Tempered,  Easy-Mannered Younger Brother Had Changed His Nature

With His Inheritance.

As The Days Went On,  Few,  If Any,  Further Particulars Were Elicited As To

The Cause Of Accident. That The Unfortunate Lord Hartledon Had Become

Partly,  If Not Wholly,  Disabled,  So As To Be Incapable Of Managing Even

The Little Skiff,  Had Been Drifted By The Current Towards The Mills,  And

There Upset,  Was Assumed By All To Have Been The True History Of The

Case. There Appeared No Reason To Doubt That It Was So. The Inquest Was

Held On The Thursday.

And On That Same Morning The New Lord Hartledon Received A Proof Of The

Kindness Of His Brother. A Letter Arrived From Messrs. Kedge And Reck,

Addressed To Edward Earl Of Hartledon. By It Percival Found--There Was No

One Else To Open It Now--That His Brother Had Written To Them Early On

The Tuesday Morning,  Taking The Debt Upon Himself; And They Now Wrote To

Say They Accepted His Responsibility,  And Had Withdrawn The Officer From

Calne. Alas! Val Elster Could Have Dismissed Him Himself Now.

He Sat With Bent Head And Drooping Eyelids. None,  Save Himself,  Knew How

Bitter Were The Feelings Within Him,  Or The Remorse That Was His Portion

For Having Behaved Unkindly To His Brother Within The Last Few Hours Of

Life. He Had Rebelled At His State Of Debt Becoming Known To Dr. Ashton;

He Had Feared To Lose Anne: It Seemed To Him Now,  That He Would Live

Under The Doctor's Displeasure For Ever,  Would Never See Anne Again,

Could He Recall His Brother. Oh,  These Unavailing Regrets! Will They Rise

Up To Face Us At The Last Day?

With A Suppressed Ejaculation That Was Like A Cry Of Pain,  As If He Would

Throw From Him These Reflections And Could Not,  Lord Hartledon Drew A

Sheet Of Paper Before Him And Wrote A Note To