Volume Ii Part 17 (2/2)
”He said little, but felt it deeply; all were sorry for him, for he was a great favourite.
”Shortly after his pretty little cottage was sold, and with his effects Lenox vanished mysteriously no one knew whither.
”I went abroad, and was away many years, and, therefore, had no means of finding out where he had betaken himself to, or what he was doing.
”After more than twenty years' absence I returned to the old land; I had been satiated with sport of all kinds in different parts of the globe, and did not feel inclined to give the high prices asked for shootings.
”My wife was somewhat delicate, and required a mild climate, so I took 'the galloper,' ran down to Plymouth, and from thence to Cornwall, determined, if I could, to buy a place there. I roamed about the country looking at different estates, and at last hit on a beautiful spot, with a nice house on it, convenient to the rail, and not too far from a good country town or schools.
”One day during my peregrinations with the agent who had the selling of the property, I came on one of the most lovely little cottages I ever saw, placed on a slope, well sheltered from the winds, myrtles and fuchsias growing luxuriously and abundantly about, with its jessamine and honeysuckle covered porch, thatched roof, well-kept grounds, gardens, and brawling stream at the end of the lawn. I thought it one of the most fairy-looking little spots I had ever seen.
”'Whose cottage is that?' I asked. 'It is not on this property, is it?'
”'Oh, no, sir, just off this land; it belongs to Mr Lenox.'
”'Lenox,' I breathlessly asked, 'Horace Lenox'?
”'That's it, sir--one of the nicest gentlemen in these parts, and a rare sportsman: it is not his own property, only hired on long lease, but he has done a deal to it; three thousand acres of good mixed shooting and capital fis.h.i.+ng, with that cottage, is not dear at fifty pounds a year, is it, sir?'
”'I should think not, indeed. Mr Lenox is one of my oldest friends. I must go and call on him,' which I did.
”I was told, on asking at the door, that he was out fis.h.i.+ng, but would be home to dinner at six o'clock.
”'Give him this card,' I said to the respectable old servant who had answered the ring, 'and tell him, I shall be here at six to dine with him. Is he married?'
”'Oh dear no, sir, master is a single gentleman. I don't think he cares much about the women folk,' she added, in her quaint Cornish way.
”The time hung heavily on my hands that day, so impatient was I to see my dear, valued old friend, and half past five saw me walking up the well-kept walk towards his house.
”As I approached, a figure issued from the porch, surrounded by four or five beautiful setters.
”A fine, handsome-looking man of three or four and forty advanced towards me, but quite grey; there was no mistaking, though, his honest, beaming, well-known face.
”'Frederick, old fellow,' said he, grasping me by the hand, 'this is indeed kind of you; hundreds of times have I wondered what had become of you, and if you were still in the land of the living.'
”'And I the same, Lenox; by mere chance have I found you out. I inquired at all the old haunts when I returned to England, and could never learn where you were.'
”'Then you are the gentleman, I suppose, that has been looking at the estate next to me, with a view to purchase?'
”'Just so, Horace, _ecce h.o.m.o_.'
”'You could not do better, old fellow; I will put you in the way. I know every inch of the ground--rare shooting--but come in, and I will tell you all about it after dinner. Margaret, my servant, is in the devil's own way, for it is rarely I ever have any one to dine with me.'
”The inside of the cottage was just as pretty as the outside; his dining-room was a study for a sportsman: guns, rods, sporting pictures, &c., here hung all round the walls in endless profusion; it was the very essence of comfort and taste.
”'Now, Horace,' said I, as I threw myself into one of the comfortable arm-chairs beside the open window, and he into another, 'tell me all that has happened since we last met.'
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