Vellenaux A Novel, Edmund William Edmund William [reading a book .TXT] 📗

And In a Straightforward,  Manner,

Telling Tom The Great Love And Admiration He Felt For Miss Barton,  Whom

He Had Frequently Met In devonshire As Well As In London,  And That He

Had Vanity Enough To Believe That His Love Was Reciprocated,  And

Declared His Intention On Julia'S Arrival To Decide The Affair By Making

Her An Offer Of His Hand And Heart,  And Finished By Requesting Tom To

Forward His Views To The Best Of His Ability.

 

To This Tom Readily Assented. "The Sly Little Puss," He Continued,  "Not

To Mention A Word Of It Even To Me. But I Suppose It Is Not Considered

By The Fair Sex Quite The Thing To Speak To Any One On So Delicate A

Subject Until After The Gentleman Has Popped The Question." Shortly

After,  He Took His Departure For His Chambers At Lincoln'S Inn,  And It

Was Noticed That Doctor Ashburnham And Mr. Tom Barton Were Seen More

Frequently Together Than Had Hitherto Been The Case.

 

Miss Barton Arrived,  As Had Been Expected By Her Relatives In Harley

Street,  And The Physician From Cavendish Square Called There Every Day,

Although There Was No Illness Or Epidemic In The House,  Save That Known

As The Heart Disease,  And So Earnestly Did The Doctor Press His Suit

That Julia Must Have Been Hard-Hearted Indeed To Have Refused To Add To

His Happiness By Encumbering Him With A Wife,  And Ere She Returned To

Devonshire,  It Was Finally Settled That The Wedding Was To Take Place At

The End Of The Following Month,  And A Very Dashing Affair It Proved. The

Lawn Sleeves At Saint George'S,  Hanover Square,  Were Called Into

Requisition On The Occasion. There Was A Great Display Of White Corded

Silk,  Lace Orange Blossoms,  Muslins And Wreaths Of White Roses. Gunter,

Of Berkly Square,  Was Called Upon To Supply A Wedding Breakfast,  Which

Was Partaken Of At The Cotterells',  And After Some Champagne Had Been

Drank,  And The Speeches Usual On The Occasion Made,  The Happy Pair

Started On Their Wedding Tour Through The South Of England,  Calling,  Of

Course,  At The Willows On Their Way. After Visiting Scotland They

Returned To London,  And Settled Comfortably Down To The Humdrum Of

Every Day Life In The Doctor'S Handsome Establishment In cavendish

Square,  Which Had Been Re-Decorated And Furnished For Them During Their

Absence.

 

Not Many Months Elapsed Before The Happiness Of Our Young Friends Was

Somewhat Over-Shadowed By The Death Of The Worthy Old Couple At The

Willows,  Who Expired Within Two Months Of Each Other. Mr. Barton Died Of

Old Age,  And His Wife From Influenza,  Caught While Attending Church To

Hear The Funeral Sermon.

 

Horace Barton Not Being Expected In england For Some Time,  The Willows

Was Let On A Short Lease,  And Emily Came Up To London To Reside With Her

Aunt In Harley Street,  Occasionally Spending Several Weeks With Her

Sister,  Mrs. Ashburnham.

 

Our Young Lawyer Was Slowly But Surely Increasing His Practice. He Had

Used All His Powers Of Persuasion To Induce Kate To Allow Him To Lead

Her To The Altar On The Same Day That His Sister Was Married,  But In

Vain,  For That Young Lady Declared That She Would Rather Take A Second

Class Character In The Interesting Tableau This Time,  With The View Of

Being Better Able To Sustain The Role Of The Principal Actress In a

Similar Pageant At Some Future Time. With This Decision Tom Had To

Remain Satisfied For The Present And Attend To Business. But In The

Course Of Time Circumstances Transpired Which Prevented Him From

Attaining Any Eminence As A Lawyer. A Distant Relative Of Mr.

Cotterell'S And Godmother To Kate,  Departed This Life,  Leaving Her

Godchild The Very Comfortable Sum Of Six Hundred Per Annum,  Secured In

The Four Per Cents.,  And After Wearing Mourning For A Suitable Period,

Kate Took The Initiative By Announcing To Tom,  Very Much To His Surprise

And Delight,  That She Was Both Ready And Willing To Become His Wife On

The Following Conditions,  Which Were,  That He Should Give Up Practising

Law,  Take A Snug Cottage In devonshire,  And Turn His Attention To

Haymaking,  Shooting,  &C,  And Retire From London Life Altogether,  For She

Said That In The Country They Could Live Very Comfortably On Six Hundred

A Year And Be Thought Somebodies,  But They Could Scarcely Exist In

London On That Sum And Then Be Thought Nobodies.

 

If Our Young Lawyer Had Any Scruples On The Score Of Giving Up His

Profession And Thereby Losing All Chance Of Ever Attaining To The

Dignity Of Lord Chancellor,  He Certainly Kept Them To Himself,  For He

Had No Wish To Run Counter To The Inclination Of Kate,  Or He Might Find

Himself In The Position Of The Dog In The Fable,  Who Had Thrown Away The

Substance To Endeavour To Grasp The Shadow. Tom,  In Reality,  Had Never

Liked A London Life,  And Had A Constant Hankering After Field Sports,

Shooting And Fishing; And Now He Believed He Could Indulge In These To

The Top Of His Bent. They Could Live Very Comfortably On Their Joint

Income,  For He Had Received A Certain Sum On The Death Of His Parents,

And Likewise Made Something During The Past Few Years By His Profession,

Which He Had Increased By Placing It Out At Interest. Moreover,  He Knew

Exactly Where To Find A House And Grounds That Would Suit Them; The Very

One That Kate Had So Admired During Their Strolls Around Vellenaux. It

Was Picturesquely Situated In a Shady Dell,  Through Which Ran A Flowing

Brook Which Deepened And Widened As It Flowed On Towards The Sea,  And

Was The Favourite Resort Of The Angler And Amateur Fisherman--About An

Equal Distance From The Willows And The Rectory,  And But A Short Walk

From The Woods And Park Of Vellenaux. There Were Horace'S Grounds To

Shoot Over,  And Although Sir Ralph Coleman Was Not A Neighbour Best

Suited To His Taste,  Yet He Felt Certain That He Would Not Object To His

Occasionally Using His Preserves,  Or Bagging A Few Brace Of Birds On His

Turnip Fields. All This,  Together With A Pretty Little Loving Wife For A

Companion,  Was,  To Tom'S Notion,  Something Worth Living For,  And A

Position He Would Not Exchange For All The Gaieties Of London Life With

A Seat On The Woolsack Into The Bargain.

 

Again No. 54 Harley Street Was Thrown Into A State Of Bustle And

Confusion. Millinery Girls,  With Innumerable Band Boxes,  And Oddly

Shaped Parcels Were Continually Arriving. In The Drawing Room There Was

Assembled Daily A Sort Of Joint High Commission,  Consisting Of A Bevy Of

Pretty Maidens With One Or Two Handsome Matrons,  Who Were Engaged In

Deciding On The Colour,  Material,  And Cut Of Certain Wearables

Appertaining To The Wedding Trousseau Of Miss Cotterell. There Were

Continual Visits Made To The Fashionable Emporiums Of Silk,  Lace &C.,  In

Oxford And Regent Streets,  And Other Parts Of The Metropolis. The

Wedding Day At Length Arrived. A Considerable Distance Up Harley Street

Was Lined With Carriages Of Various Descriptions,  The Coachmen And

Footmen Of Which Appeared In Holiday Costume And Wearing White Satin

Favors,  And There Was Quite An Excitement In The Immediate Vicinity To

Witness The Arrival And Departure Of The Wedding Party To And From

Church. Kate Cotterell,  Attended By Her Six Bridesmaids All Looking Very

Lovely In Toilettes Befitting The Occasion,  Created Quite A Sensation

Among The Spectators As They Stepped From No. 54 Into The Carriages That

Were To Convey Them To Hanover Square.

 

After A Very _Recherche_ Breakfast,  Served In Gunter'S Best Style,  In

The Handsome Drawing Room Of The Cotterells',  In Harley Street,  Tom And

His Fair Bride Took Their Departure _En Route_ For The Continent. They

Were To Make A Tour Of Several Months Through France,  Germany And

Switzerland,  Likewise Enjoy Several Weeks On The Banks Of The Beautiful

Rhine.

 

Mr. Cotterell Undertook To Arrange Matters Concerning The Purchase Of

The Cottage So Much Admired,  Which He Intended To Present To His

Daughter As A Marriage Gift,  And Aunt Sarah,  Emily,  And Mrs. Ashburnham

Took Upon Themselves The Responsibility Of Furnishing The Said Cottage,

And Otherwise Rendering It In every Way Suitable For The Reception Of

The Happy Couple,  And Thus Enable Them To Commence Housekeeping

Immediately On Their Return To England.

 

The Various Events And Proceedings Were Duly Recorded And Forwarded From

Time To Time For The Information Of Horace And Pauline Barton,  In Their

Eastern Home On The Banks Of The Hoogly; And Edith,  Who Still Kept Up A

Correspondence With Kate And Julia,  Received A Full Account,  Descriptive

Of The Wedding Trousseaus And Paraphernalia Incident To Both Ceremonies,

And Followed Up By A Delicate Enquiry As To When She Intended To Return

The Compliment By Favouring Them With The Details Of An Indian Wedding,

Which They Supposed Must Soon Take Place,  And Would,  No Doubt,  Prove A

Gorgeous And Magnificent Affair In True Oriental Style. So Wrote The

Happy Girls To Their Old Friend And Companion In calcutta,  For,

According To Pauline'S Account,  She Had No End Of Suitors Among The

Wealthiest In The Land.

 

To All Those Enquiries Edith'S Usual Reply Was That The Time Was

Somewhat Distant When She Could Indulge In dreams Of Happiness. Her

Position Was Somewhat Changed,  Thus,  Probably,  The Event They So Often

Alluded To Might Never Take Place,  And The Reader Must Remember,  That

Although Edith And Arthur Were,  Beyond Doubt,  Devotedly Attached To Each

Other,  The Word That Would Have Made Them Both Happy Had Not Yet Been

Spoken; There Was No Engagement,  Or In Fact,  Any Advance Towards One,

Yet Both,  In Their Heart Of Hearts,  Realized The Great Love They Felt

For Each Other. But Prudential Motives Had Kept Arthur Silent. Edith

Knew This And Was Content To Wait For The Developments Of The Future. In

The Meantime She Did Not Hesitate To Participate In The Amusements And

Enjoyments Which Offered,  And Which Were Continually Pressed Upon Her By

Her Kind Friends,  The Bartons.

 

 

 

Chapter 9

 

 

The Capital Of Bengal Was A Very Gay City. What With Balls And Public

Breakfasts At The Governor General'S,  Brilliant Assemblages Given By The

Civil Service Granders,  With No End Of Picnics,  Theatricals,  Cricket

Matches And Races Improvised By The Military And Naval Officers,  For The

Especial Benefit (At Least So They Said) Of The Beautiful,  Gay

Butterflies That Condescended To Grace,  With Their Presence,  Such

Assemblages; And Pauline Barton Never Allowed These Occurrences To

Transpire Without Inducing The Beautiful Miss Effingham,  As She Was

Usually Styled,  To Accompany Her,  For Pauline Was,  Indeed,  Very Popular

In Chowringee And Around Its Vicinity,  And Her Bungalow Was A Constant

Lounge For The Gallants Of All Services. Horace Was No Niggard In His

Hospitality,  But Preferred The Ease And Comfort Of His Own Sanctum To

The Gay Rattle That Was Continually Going On In His Pretty Little Wife'S

Drawing Room Or Verandahs. And Arthur Was Again,  For A Fourth Time Since

His Arrival In The Country,  In calcutta. He Had Contrived To Get

Appointed One Of A Committee For The Purchasing Of Troop Horses For His

Regiment And This Would Detain Him At The Presidency For A Couple Of

Months. This Was A Source Of Much Pleasure To Edith,  For Sometimes

Accompanied By Mrs. Barton,  But More Frequently Alone,  Would Arthur And

Edith,  Either Driving Or On Horseback,  Wend Their Way Through The Shaded

Avenues That Crossed The Midan,  Along The Strand By The River Side To

Garden,  Reach And Loiter In The Botanical Gardens; This Being

Considered By The Grandees The Most Fashionable Resort For A Canter In

The Early Morn Or A Pleasant Drive About Sunset.

 

It Never Entered The Head Of Pretty Mrs. Barton That There Could Be Any

Serious Love Making Between Her Friend And The Handsome Lieutenant. She

Knew That They Had Been Brought Up Together From Childhood And Were More

Like Brother And Sister Than Lovers,  And Had Such An Idea Been Suggested

To Her By Any Of Her Friends,  She Would Have Pooh Poohed It As Mere

Moonshine. She Knew That It Was Out Of The Question For A Subaltern To

Enter The Matrimonial Arena; Besides The Brilliant Beauty Of Miss

Effingham Must Command A Suitable