Part 13 (1/2)

Neefit, the breeches-s, the daughter's lover, as not only lover, but also one of the candidates at Percycross as well But the s of the young gentleood Ralph the heir has not much life about him; while Ralph who is not the heir, but is intended to be the real hero, has none The sa ladies,--of whom one, she as meant to be the chief, has passed utterly out ofa trace of remembrance behind

I also left in the hands of the editor of _The Fortnightly_, ready for production on the 1st of July following, a story called _The Eustace Diamonds_ In that I think that my friend's dictum was disproved There is not ood

The character of Lucy Morris is pretty; and her love is as genuine and as well told as that of Lucy Robarts or Lily Dale

But _The Eustace Diamonds_ achieved the success which it certainly did attain, not as a love-story, but as a record of a cunning little wo, there cah in themselves, but pleasant to the reader As I wrote the book, the idea constantly presented itself to me that Lizzie Eustace was but a second Becky Sharpe; but in planning the character I had not thought of this, and I believe that Lizzie would have been just as she is though Becky Sharpe had never been described The plot of the diah it produced itself without any forethought I had no idea of setting thieves after the bauble till I had got my heroine to bed in the inn at Carlisle; nor of the disappointment of the thieves, till Lizzie had been wakened in thewith the news that her door had been broken open All these things, and ed before with infinite labour, preparing things present so that they should fit in with things to co everything as it coone before At any rate, the book was a success, and did much to repair the injury which I felt had come to my reputation in the novel-market by the works of the last few years I doubt whether I had written anything so successful as _The Eustace Diaton_ I had written as much better,--as, for instance, _Phineas Finn_ and _Nina Balatka_; but that is by nobox, the manuscript of _Phineas Redux_, a novel of which I have already spoken, and which I subsequently sold to the proprietors of the _Graphic_ newspaper The editor of that paper greatly disliked the title, assuring entleman's surname,--and was dissatisfied withso The introduction of a Latin word, or of a word frolish novel is undoubtedly in bad taste; but after turning the matter much over in my own mind, I could find no other suitable na box, another novel, called _An Eye for an Eye_, which then had been some time written, and of which, as it has not even yet been published, I will not further speak It will probably be published so forward, I can see no room for it, at any rate, for the next two years

If therefore the Great Britain, in which we sailed for Melbourne, had gone to the bottom, I had so provided that there would be new novels ready to come out under my name for some years to come This consideration, however, did not keepjourneys, I have always succeeded in getting a desk put up in my cabin, and this was done ready for o to work the day after we left Liverpool This I did; and before I reached Melbourne I had finished a story called _Lady Anna_ Every word of this ritten at sea, during the two e, and was done day by day--with the interht weeks, at the rate of 66 pages of e of250 words Every as counted I have seen work come back to an author from the press with terrible deficiencies as to the aes have perhaps been wanted for a number, and the printers with all their art could not stretch theup must be very dreadful I have sometimes been ridiculed for the methodical details of my business But by these contrivances I have been preserved from many troubles; and I have saved others hom I have worked--editors, publishers, and printers--from much trouble also

A month or two after htly_, following _The Eustace Diah rank and great wealth, though in her youth she enjoyed none of the privileges of wealth or rank, ood to her, and who noble lover is provided for her, and all the char with nice people are thrown in her way, in order that she ive up the tailor And the char that she is bound by her troth to the ,--and she marries the tailor It wasso, and to carrywith me in my sympathy with her But everybody found fault withher to the tailor What would they have said if I had allowed her to jilt the tailor andlord? How much louder, then, would have been the censure! The book was read, and I was satisfied If I had not toldin favour of the young lord The horror which was expressed to irl to the tailor, was the strongest testimony I could receive of the merits of the story

I went to Australia chiefly in order that Ihis sheep, and remained with hi rieve to say that several thousands of pounds which I had squeezed out of the pockets of perhaps too liberal publishers have been lost on the venture But I rejoice to say that this has been in no way due to any fault of his I never knew a man ith more persistent honesty at his trade than he has done

I had, however, the further intentions of writing a book about the entire group of Australasian Colonies; and in order that I ht be enabled to do that with sufficient infor my head-quarters at Melbourne, I went to Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, then to the very little known territory of Western Australia, and then, last of all, to New Zealand I was absent in all eighteenmuch of the political, social, and material condition of these countries I wrote ht it back with land all but completed in December, 1872

It was a better book than that which I had written eleven years before on the Aood as that on the West Indies in 1859 As regards the inforiven, there was much more to be said about Australia than the West Indies Very much more is said,--and very much more may be learned from the latter than from the former book I am sure that any one ill take the trouble to read the book on Australia, will learn much from it But the West Indian volume was readable I am not sure that either of the other works are, in the proper sense of that word When I go back to the with me;--and if so with me, how must it be with others who have none of that love which a father feels even for his ill-favoured offspring Of all the needs a book has the chief need is that it be readable

Feeling that these volu, I was surprised to find that they had an extensive sale There were, I think, 2000 copies circulated of the first expensive edition; and then the book was divided into four little voluain had a considerable circulation

That some facts were stated inaccurately, I do not doubt; that many opinions were crude, I am quite sure; that I had failed to understand much which I attempted to explain, is possible But with all these faults the book was a thoroughly honest book, and was the result of unflagging labour for a period of fifteen months I spared , and no trouble in listening I thoroughly imbued my mind with the subject, and wrote with the si trustworthy inforh there be inaccuracies,--those inaccuracies to which work quickly done ive much valuable information

I came ho Utah and Brighareat intia to hi so without an introduction, and excusing h the territory without seeing a man of whom I had heard some to enter, and inquired whether I were not a miner When I told him that I was not a miner, he asked uess you're a ain assured him that I was not ”Then how do you earn your bread?” I told hi books ”I'm sure you're a miner,” said he Then he turned upon his heel, went back into the house, and closed the door I was properly punished, as I was vain enough to conceive that he would have heard ot home in December, 1872, and in spite of any resolutionas I came back No real resolutions had in truth been made, for out of a stud of four horses I kept three, two of which were absolutely idle through the two summers and winter of ht another, and settledfrom London three days a week At first I went back to Essex,that to be inconvenient, I took hton Buzzard, and became one of that numerous herd of sportsmen who rode with the ”Baron”

and Mr Selby Lowndes In those days Baron Meyer was alive, and the riding with his hounds was very good I did not care sothe winters of 1873, 1874, and 1875, I had , always trying to resolve that I would give it up But still I bought fresh horses, and, as I did not give it up, I hunted more than ever Three times a week the cab has been at my door in London very punctually, and not unfrequently before seven in theIn order to secure this attendance, the man has always been invited to have his breakfast in the hall I have gone to the Great Eastern Railway,--ah! so often with the fear that frost would make all my exertions useless, and so often too with that result! And then, from one station or another station, have travelled on wheels at least a dozen miles After the day's sport, the saht This has been work for a young man and a rich man, but I have done it as an old man and comparatively a poor man Now at last, in April, 1876, I do think thataway my old horses, and anybody is welcoula de nobis anni praedantur euntes; Eripuere jocos, venerem, convivia, ludu toll as they one, And now, it seeton's translation, but it seems to me to be a little flat

”Years as they roll cut all our pleasures short; Our pleasant mirth, our loves, our wine, our sport

And then they stretch their power, and crush at last Even the power of singing of the past”

I think that I may say with truth that I rode hard to my end

”Vixi puellis nuper idoneus, Et loria; Nunc arma defunctumque bello Barbiton hic paries habebit”

”I've lived about the covert side, I've ridden straight, and ridden fast; Now breeches, boots, and scarlet pride Are but mementoes of the past”

CHAPTER XX

_THE WAY WE LIVE NOW_ AND _THE PRIME MINISTER_--CONCLUSION

In what I have said at the end of the last chapter about , I have been carried a little in advance of the date at which I had arrived We returned from Australia in the winter of 1872, and early in 1873 I took a house in Montagu Square,--in which I hope to live and hope to die Our first work in settling there was to place upon new shelves the books which I had collected round reat, entailed also the labour of a new catalogue As all who use libraries know, a catalogue is nothing unless it show the spot on which every book is to be found,--inforive as to itself Only those who have done it kno great is the labour ofa few thousand volumes At the present moment I own about 5000 volumes, and they are dearer to , or than the wine in the cellar, which is very apt to go, and upon which I also pride ot into its place, and an a novel, to the writing of which I was instigated by what I conceived to be the coe Whether the world does or does not becoo on, is a question which probably has disturbed the an to think That men have become less cruel, less violent, less selfish, less brutal, there can be no doubt;--but have they beco from day to day in honesty, be considered to be in a state of progress? We know the opinion on this subject of our philosopher Mr Carlyle If he be right, we are all going straight away to darkness and the dogs But then we do not put very much faith in Mr Carlyle,--nor in Mr Ruskin and his other followers The loudness and extravagance of their la of teeth which coone altogether shoddy-wards, are so contrary to the convictions of men who cannot but see how comfort has been increased, how health has been ieneral effect of their teaching is the opposite of what they have intended It is regarded siroorse frorand result of increased intelligence is a tendency to deterioration