Part 14 (2/2)
The person he was uest was Jaet Payn to dine But there were difficulties in the way Payn disliked dining out at any time, and he had, as I have alreadydress, which, he declared, killed more men than drink Besides, when he did dine out, he wished to s, and for this reason he objected to dinner parties at which ladies were present All this I explained to Houghton ”Not wear evening dress? Well, you and he can coown” ”And the cigars?” I said ”Oh, well, of course he can smoke if he wishes” ”And ladies?” I continued ”That's aard,” said the dear old gentleman, ”for this is my sister's house She must be here But don't tell hiotiations with Payn were successful, and on the appointed evening, a Sunday, he and I set forth in a hansom for Rutland Gardens I reh spirits, inforhter Alice to Mr Buckle, the young editor of the _Times_
It was a very s Sir Frederick Pollock; but the talk was certainly as good as any I had ever listened to When Lady Galway left the rooars, for Payn, I saas already iarette, which would by no ar-case with me, and this part of the dinner treaty was carried out in its entirety I still re They were hton were at their best, and Sir Frederick Pollock, when the opportunity occurred, gave us pleasant recollections of the past I was only too glad to be a listener We sat long over our cigars, and it was not until the evening was far advanced that we rejoined Lady Galway ”Now,” said she, e appeared in the drawing-roo ever since I left you, but there were three distinct bursts of laughter that were louder than any others, and I insist upon being told the stories which you seemed to enjoy sofull well the difficulty of re-warhton came to the rescue ”My dear” he said, ”it is quite impossible that you should be told those stories They were not stories for ladies” The recording angel, I am sure, blotted out our host's departure from the truth for the sake of thehis stories
I have dwelt upon this dinner because, though I little knew it then, it was enerous friend Curiously enough, Lord Houghton's last words to ht had reference to a lady e both had a slight acquaintance When I next saw that lady, the open grave in which Lord Houghton's coffin had just been placed yawned between us Of that memorable dinner party in December, 1884, I, alas! a the following spring and summer, but was unable to meet him on any of the occasions on which he asked ht he died at Vichy Like many another man, I felt that in hiinning of 1884 I visited Tangier, and spent a month in that curious place, so near to Europe in point of distance and so reier had at one time a reputation as the Alsatia of Europe and the United States I do not knohether it still deserves this fame, but when I was there there were not a few sojourners in the place who, for reasons of their own, had abandoned civilisation in favour of a country in which law is but a terier I met with an unpleasant experience The steamer which was to convey ht, the _Lion d'Or_ It was not so big as a Thames penny steaoods which a nu back froers besidese started, and the trip, which should have been accoht I have been out in worse weather, but never in a worse vessel, and le ind and waves ers and I really believed that our end had co craft, and it was instantly ripped into shreds by the wind
We shi+pped heavy seas, and were undoubtedly very near foundering
Most fortunately, I and the other Englished RA, had taken the precaution to provide ourselves with food, and it ell that the provision was a liberal one, for the two poor ladies, one of as a young invalid, had not so much as a biscuit between them Of course we shared our rations, and were thus saved fro our day of peril It was dark e entered Tangier Bay, but all round us was a sea of foareat difficulty brought out to the side of the steamer, and ere bidden to jump into it at once At the risk of broken li it, and then, to e on board, erous to remain at anchor in the bay When ere half-way to the shore the barge suddenly filled ater and sank beneath us, fortunately in so shallow a sea that there was no danger of drowning My walking-stick, which was a very necessary adjunct, as I still suffered from my accident on Marston Moor, ashed out of ers, and ere borne safely through the surf to the beach, where we arrived, dazed, breathless, and drenched to the skin
My travelling experiences in Tunis and Turkey had prepared me for the rush which wasin Arabic, and eagerly clai us as their spoil But the ladies had never been out of England before, and were naturally terrified by the wild scene, following as it did upon their narrow escape fro to an hotel in the town, and I escorted them to it Then I set out on ates and the Soko I was in a sorry plight when I arrived there, but nothing could exceed the kindness of lishmen in the house They placed their wardrobes atthey could to e did not turn up for nearly a week, but happily I had my money andafter my arrival I called upon the ladies who had shared my experiences on the previous day, and found, happily, that they had not suffered froain; but ten years afterwards, when I was sitting in entleht to see reat surprise he burst into tears as he took my hand When he had recovered his coer of the two ladies, and he thanked me, in what I could not but think unnecessarily warhter His emotion was explained by the fact that she had but recently died
A the company at Bruzeaud's Hotel there was a certain Captain W, a retired naval officer, as so in Morocco, had the highest opinion of its enorland, or some other European Poould seize and develop it He had inal theories He believed, for example, that Gibraltar was a source of weakness rather than of strength to the British Empire, and he had written a pae it with Spain for Ceuta I must confess that his idea seerand, and lish Minister would dare to talk of surrendering it, no e All the sa when he spoke of the Rock as a ”nificent impostor”
One day there caett, MP” He was aa couple of days to spare at Gibraltar, had run across the Straits to learn all about Morocco in the space of four-and-twenty hours In the s-room after dinner he aired his opinions with all the confidence begotten of his Parlia, he declared, about colonisation, and whose governraceful failure He lauded the noble character of the Arabs, and declared that Morocco needed no improvement, and, consequently, called for no interference on the part of any European Power Captain W, who had very strong opinions as to the corruption of the Moorish Government, listened for some time in silence to opinions which were eave way, and he addressed the astonished MP in the folloords: ”You think you know everything about Morocco, sir, although you only landed on its soil this , however, that you evidently don't know, and that is, that if I chose to spend a couple of dollars I could have your throat cut before to-; and you've talked such nonsense, sir, that I don't knohether that wouldn't be the best thing for ett, MP, collapse more completely than did this unfortunate speci in urbanity, was not without very considerable provocation
In the early su my editorshi+p at Leeds, to take a holiday whilst Parlia It had always previously beenthe session of Parlia seemed to be in a state of profound calm, so far as the political world was concerned General Gordon was dead, but the Ministry had survived his loss It had even survived the ignominious collapse of the attempt to ”break the power of the Mahdi at Khartouues were in progress behind the scenes But now that Mr
Forster was off the scene Mr Cha conclusions with Mr Gladstone hi those doctrines of an extreme and Socialistic Radicalis based on the policy of Jack Cade But time was needed for the successful development of the new politicalin a very huht it, in consequence, a favourable opportunity for carrying out a long-cherished intention of visiting the Land of the Midnight Sun
Accordingly, at the beginning of June I went over to Bergen in a Wilson steamer from Hull The vessel was croith sal to Norway for the su I was much amused by the extreme clannishness of these persons They absolutely refused to exchange a ith anybody as not going to Norway for purposes of sport Those of us who, likethere either for health or to see the country were regarded by the sal people as intruders, whose presence on the scene was to be actively and rudely resented I have travelled much inthe ridiculous and offensive behaviour of the English snob when he finds hin parts; but I do not think that I ever saw snobbish vulgarity carried further than it was by the salmon-fishers on this Wilson steareater desire for their coen, I speedily transhi+ppedabout to start for the first visit of the season to the North Cape The accoh soood cabin, and soon lishman was on board We steamed slowly up the coast as far as Trondhje the fine scenery, as our vessel touched at al a day at Trondhjeers were chiefly Norwegians, reat annual fair was about to be held In the saloonFrench the North Cape, and an Austrian, attached to the Court at Vienna, who, for some inscrutable reason, was fired with the same ambition We made a very cheery company, and I was able to cast off all editorial cares in the society of these people, to wholish politics were of no account The weather, after leaving Trondhjehtful It was the month of June, but it rained incessantly, except when it snowed It was bitterly cold, and heavy
The Austrian and I bore the discomforts of the situation as philosophically as we could We smoked always, and we read and played bezique alternately, but our mercurial French friends were less happy, and on the third day of this detestable weather, on entering the little s in tears, and bewailing the fact that they were not at hohed soup between us which lasted for several days
Once, indeed, as I find noted inFrenchmen revived It was at one of the stations at which we called We saw a large group of people, including several young wo that looked half-church, half-schoolhouse The Parisians insisted that they had assembled in our honour; for, as a ed in a desperate and ly, as we approached the wharf, they brought out their pocket handkerchiefs, and, waving therin, not the slightest notice was taken of them They redoubled their efforts to attract attention, but neither man nor wo, and drily informed the Frenchmen that the object of their demonstrations was a funeral party!
I hadthis little trip, and feel strongly tempted to inflict uponthe voyage But nowadays everybody has been to the North Cape, and we have all seen the ht sun I think I saw it, and the wonderful scenery of the Lofoten Islands, in o-boat, under far more favourable auspices than reat tourist steamers, surrounded by all the luxuries that are now supplied to the passengers on the large Atlantic and Mediterranean liners Certainly, one saw so of the people, as well as of the country, when travelling in this modest fashi+on; and I still have the ians and of the glorious fiords and mountains of the Far North But that which entitles this trip of mine to a special place in these reminiscences of a journalist is the fact that it cut land at the very
I had left Hull on the 2nd of June, and after parting frole Englishlish news, until I found myself at Tromsoe, within the Arctic circle, on June 17th The captain ofon at home, drew my attention to the fact that a steam collier froested that I should go on board and get the latest newspapers
Accordingly, I went off in one of the shi+p's boats to the grimy collier
It was eleven p brilliantly For some time I hailed the vessel in vain, but at last a black-faced man as h a port and asked what I wanted I told him that I had coo and see,” he said, in a strong Glasgow dialect, and presently he returned with a copy of the _Glasgow Mail_ of June 3rd, and threw it down toof a later date, and after thanking hi to ht occurred to me, and I said, ”Have you heard any news later than this?” holding up the newspaper He considered for a moment, then shook his head reflectively, and said, ”Na, I've heard naething later” So again I started on oneto ot to tell ye that they've kicked oot that blasted auld deevil, Gladstone” ”What!” I exclaimed, in incredulous horror
”Kicked out Mr Gladstone! What do you mean?” ”I ood job, too”
I fairly gasped for breath as I heard the astonishi+ng news Here was I, the editor of an English daily newspaper, away up in the Arctic circle, separated by days of travel fro news, and I suddenly heard this startling piece of intelligence I could not credit it, and eagerly asked for further particulars But the old tar could telland reaffir his conviction that Mr Gladstone's loss of office was the best thing that could have happened to the country And this was the end of the great Ministry of 1880, for the formation of which I had worked so hard, and which I had so constantly and ardently supported withHalfdan_to the captain told hiland at once He heard my news and sympathised with my dile to Trondhje to his shi+p I went ashore, and made further inquiries, only to have the captain's stateo on to the North Cape, bitterly conscious of the fact that I ought to have been at my post at Leeds But a man in a hurry is always the victi for it but to possess erly I looked for further news! It was not, however, until several days later that, on returning to Tro north, and saw an unlishman on the deck, whom I immediately accosted with a request for inforned on the 12th of June, and that Lord Salisbury on the next day had been hastily summoned by the Queen to Balmoral and had accepted office
From Trondhje the first steamer for Hull, which to me seemed to make haste slowly, returned to reat political revolution had suddenly occurred, and that the Tories were once more in power