Part 2 (1/2)
”This was a very affecting scene Mr Launcelot took his father's hand and kissed it, while the tears ran down his cheeks; and Sir Everhard e, 'My dear boy! God be praised for having given you such a feeling heart' My father himself was moved, thof a practitioner of the law, and consequently used to distresses--He declared, that he had given no directions to distrain; and that the bailiff must have done it by his own authority--'If that be the case,' said the young squire, 'let the inhuemmen, all the children were ih run distracted with joy The old knight, being of a humane teenerosity He was not angry at his spending his s of the people For you must know, he not onlycouples that caled in every rustic diversion, and bore away the prize in every contest He excelled every swain of that district in feats of strength and activity; in leaping, running, wrestling, cricket, cudgel-playing, and pitching the bar; and was confessed to be, out of sight, the best dancer at all wakes and holidays Happy was the country-girl who could engage the young squire as her partner! To be sure, it was a coht for to see as how the buxo like the rose, in their best apparel dight, their white hose, and clean short diowns of printed cotton; their top-knots and stomachers, bedizened with bunches of ribbons of various colours, green, pink, and yellow; to see thearlands, and assembled on Mayday, to dance before Squire Launcelot, as he e Then all the young peasants made their appearance with cockades, suited to the fancies of their several sweethearts, and boughs of flowering hawthorn The children sported about like flocks of frisking la under the sunny bank of soarments, stood at their doors to receive their benefactor, and poured forth blessings on him as he passed The children welcos of praise, and the young men, with the pipe and tabor, marched before him to the May-pole, which was bedecked with flowers and blooan A plentiful dinner, with oceans of good liquor, was bespoke at the White Hart The whole village was regaled at the squire's expense; and both the day and the night was spent in mirth and pleasure
”Lord help you! he could not rest if he thought there was an aching heart in the whole parish Every paltry cottage was in a little ti, colass casearden behind, well stored with greens, roots, and salads In a word, the poor's rate was reduced to a e was revived in Yorkshi+re But, as I told you before, the old knight could not bear to see his only son so wholly attached to these lowly pleasures, while he industriously shunned all opportunities of appearing in that superior sphere to which he was designed by nature and by fortune He imputed his conduct tothe properest expedient to wean his affections from such low-born pursuits My father counselled hientleman up to London, to be entered as a student in the Temple, and recommended him to the superintendence of soe him insensibly in such amusements and connexions, as would soon lift his ideas above the humble objects on which they had been hitherto employed
”This advice appeared so salutary, that it was folloithout the least hesitation The young squire himself was perfectly well satisfied with the proposal; and in a few days he set out for the great city But there was not a dry eye in the parish at his departure, although he prevailed upon his father to pay in his absence all the pensions he had granted to those who could not live on the fruit of their own industry In what manner he spent his time in London, it is none of my business to inquire; thof I know pretty hat kind of lives are led by geed to Serjeants' Inn, and was perhaps as good a wit and a critic as any Templar of them all Nay, as for that matter, thof I despise vanity, I can aver with a safe conscience, that I had once the honour to belong to the society called the Town We were all of us attorney's clerks, ges at an ale-house in Butcher Rohere we regulated the diversions of the theatre
”But to return froression Sir Everhard Greaves did not seem to be very well pleased with the conduct of his son at London He got notice of soularities and scrapes into which he had fallen; and the squire seldom wrote to his father, except to draw upon hihteen entleman lost all patience
”At this period Squire Darnel chanced to die, leaving an only daughter, a uardianshi+p of her uncle Anthony, whose brutal character all the world knows The breath was no sooner out of his brother's body, than he resolved, if possible, to succeed hih of Ashenton Now you h had been for many years a bone of contention between the fath the difference was compromised by the interposition of friends, on condition that Sir Everhard and Squire Darnel should alternately represent the place in parliareed to this compromise for their mutual convenience; but they were never heartily reconciled Their political principles did not tally; and their wives looked upon each other as rivals in fortune and nificence So that there was no intercourse between thehbourhood On the contrary, in all disputes, they constantly headed the opposite parties Sir Everhard understanding that Anthony Darnel had begun to canvass, and was putting every iron in the fire, in violation and contempt of the pactum familiae before ht on a severe fit of the gout; by which he was disabled fro personal attention to his own interest My father, indeed, eence and address, and spared neither th he drank himself into a consumption, which was the death of hireat difference between a steward and a principal Mr Darnel attended in propria persona, flattered and caressed the women, feasted the electors, hired mobs, made processions, and scattered about his money in such a manner, that our friends durst hardly show their heads in public
”At this very crisis, our young squire, to whom his father had written an account of the transaction, arrived unexpectedly at Greavesbury Hall, and had a long private conference with Sir Everhard The news of his return spread like wildfire through all that part of the country Bonfires werein several towns and steeples; and next ate, withsquire, and accoh of Ashenton He set out on foot with his retinue, and entered one end of the town just as Mr Darnel's mob had come in at the other Both arrived about the sa first into the balcony of the town-house,speech to the people in favour of his own pretensions, not without solanced at Sir Everhard, his competitor
”We did not much mind the acclamations of his party, which we knew had been hired for the purpose; but ere in some pain for Mr Greaves, who had not been used to speak in public He took his turn, however, in the balcony, and, uncovering his head, bowed all round with the reen frock, triold, and his own dark hair flowed about his ears in natural curls, while his face was overspread with a blush, that ilow of youth to a deeper cri When heand clapping of hands as you e in King Lear, or King Richard, or any other top character But how agreeably e disappointed, when our young gentleraced a Pitt, an Egmont, or a Murray! while he spoke, all was hushed in admiration and attention; you could have alround It would have charmed you to hear hat randfather had done to the corporation; hat eloquence he expatiated upon the sha between the two families; and hat keen and spirited strokes of satire he retorted the sarcasue, than there was such a burst of applause, as seemed to rend the very sky Our music ins, and, as every el, broken heads would have ensued, had not Mr Darnel and his party thought proper to retreat with uncommon despatch He never offered to make another public entrance, as he saw the torrent ran so violently against him; but sat doith his loss, and withdrew his opposition, though at bottom extremely mortified and incensed Sir Everhard was unanimously elected, and appeared to be the happiestfrom his victory over this competitor, he was now fully satisfied that his son, instead of disgracing, would do honour to his family It would have moved a heart of stone, to see hat a tender transport of paternal joy he received his dear Launcelot, after having heard of his deportave a ball to the ladies, and displayed as ance and politeness, as if he had been bred at the court of Versailles
”This joyous season was of short duration In a little time all the happiness of the family was overcast by a sad incident, which hath left such an unfortunate ientleman, as, I am afraid, will never be effaced Mr Darnel's niece and ward, the great heiress, whose name is Aurelia, was the most celebrated beauty of the whole country; if I said the whole kingdom, or indeed all Europe, perhaps I should barely do her justice I don't pretend to be a liemmen; nor does it become me to delineate such excellence; but surely I may presume to repeat fro can express, Or youthful poets fancy when they love?
”At that tiht be about seventeen, tall and fair, and so exquisitely shaped--you may talk of your Venus de Medicis, your Dianas, your Nymphs, and Galateas; but if Praxiteles, and Roubilliac, and Wilton, were to lay their heads together, in order to make a complete pattern of beauty, they would hardly reach her model of perfection--As for co the lily with the rose, and bring in a parcel of similes of cowslips, carnations, pinks, and daisies-- There's Dolly, now, has got a very good complexion--Indeed, she's the very picture of health and innocence--you are, indeed, nis--Miss Darnel is all anity! Then the softness and expression of her fine blue eyes; her pouting lips of coral hue; her neck, that rises like a tower of polished alabaster between two nify talking; if e'er a one of you was tolady alone, in the midst of a heath or common, or any unfrequented place, he would down on his knees, and think he kneeled before so
I'll tell you el in beauty, but a saint in goodness, and an hermit in humility;--so void of all pride and affectation; so soft, and sweet, and affable, and humane! Lord! I could tell such instances of her charity!
”Sure enough, she and Sir Launcelot were formed by nature for each other
Howsoever, the cruel hand of fortune hath intervened, and severed them for ever Every soul that knew theether, and extinguish, in their happy union, the mutual animosity of the two fahbourhood Nothing was heard but the praises of Miss Aurelia Darnel and Mr Launcelot Greaves; and no doubt the parties were prepossessed, by this applause, in favour of each other At length, Mr
Greaves went one Sunday to her parish church; but, though the greater part of the congregation watched their looks, they could not perceive that she took the least notice of him; or that he seemed to be struck with her appearance He afterwards had an opportunity of seeing her,the races; but this opportunity was productive of no good effect, because he had that sarudge, you know, geht Mr Darnel came on purpose to show his resents, and, in the course of the dispute, Mr Darnel called hiunpowder, told hih to chastise hiht it would not interrupt the diversion In all probability they would have coentle further passed, but abundance of foul language on the part of Mr
Anthony, and a repeated defiance to single co a lo, retired fro danced at the asseood te any words with Mr
Darnel, as also present But in the hbour betirove of trees on the north side of the tohen they were suddenly overtaken by half a dozen gentlemen, who had watched their n, which could not now take effect They gave up their pistols, and a reconciliation was patched up by the pressing remonstrances of their common friends; but Mr Darnel's hatred still rankled at bottom, and soon broke out in the sequel About three months after this transaction, his niece Aurelia, with herbeen to visit a lady in the chariot, the horses being young, and not used to the traces, were startled at the braying of a jackass on the cohtning The coachman was thrown from the box, and the ladies screamed piteously for help Mr
Greaves chanced to be a-horseback on the other side of an enclosure, when he heard their shrieks; and riding up the hedge, knew the chariot, and saw their disaster The horses were then running full speed in such a direction, as to drive headlong over a precipice into a stone quarry, where they and the chariot, and the ladies, e lady, in the flower of her age, just plunging into eternity; when he saw the lovely Aurelia on the brink of being precipitated aled and tore asunder; when he perceived, that, before he could ride round by the gate, the tragedy would be finished The fence was so thick and high, flanked with a broad ditch on the outside, that he could not hope to clear it, although he was mounted on Scipio, bred out of Miss Cowslip, the sire Muley, and his grandsire the famous Arabian Mustapha--Scipio was bred by uineas for hi squire--indeed, I have heard my poor father say”----
By this tieous, that he exclaimed in a furious tone, ”D--n your father, and his horse, and his colt into the bargain!”
Toreat expedition Captain Croas so choked with passion that he could utter nothing but disjointed sentences He rose fro his nephew by the collar, cried, ”Odd's heartlikins! sirrah, I have a goodtackle, you landlubber!-- can't you steer without all this tacking hither and thither, and the Lord knohither?--'Noint ive thee a rope's end for thy supper if it wan't”----
Dolly had conceived a sneaking kindness for the young lawyer, and thinking hihly handled, flew to his relief She twisted her hand in Crowe's neckcloth without cereer--who kears a vig vor thy voolish tantrums?”
While Crowe looked black in the face, and ran the risk of strangulation under the gripe of this A, coat, and waistcoat, advanced in an elegant attitude of manual offence towards the ridiron from the chis in expectation of battle But as the reader th of this chapter, we must postpone to the next opportunity the incidents that succeeded this denunciation of war
CHAPTER FOUR
IN WHICH IT APPEARS THAT THE KNIGHT, WHEN HEARTILY SET IN FOR SLEEPING, WAS NOT EASILY DISTURBED
In all probability the kitchen of the Black Lion, froood fellowshi+p, would have been converted into a scene or stage of sanguinary dispute, had not Pallas, or Discretion, interposed in the person of Mr Fillet, and, with the assistance of the ostler, disarmed the combatants, not only of their arms, but also of their resentment