THE "GOIXGS ON" AT BRAMSBY HALL. 289 



the young birds ; a canal was run through thy lawn ; a school was 

 established at thy gate ; another parson, with new-fangled notions 

 about the game-laws and bastardy, assailed thee on the bench ; thy 

 servants became saints ; thy neighbours left off leather breeches ; and 

 I went to London to prosecute my studies at the Temple. What 

 could my uncle do ? Reading he never loved ; and riding, with no 

 where to ride to, was worse than nothing. No longer could he dic- 

 tate to the bench. Foxes game had disappeared. Poachers, the 

 last sport of country gentlemen, had departed with the game. 

 The 'squires (even the unbreeched reformed 'squires) were occupied 

 with politics ; and his daughter Bessy could not drink. My uncle did 

 the worst thing which a man in his condition could do my poor 

 uncle married. I have said nothing of Bessy ; indeed, when I left 

 Bramsby for London there was little to be said of her. She was a 

 fine romping girl of thirteen, with dark hair and eyes, a short face, 

 and glowing cheeks. If I thought of her at all, it was only to re- 

 member her lips and wrapper stained with blackberries ; her laugh 

 more joyous than seemly; her gambols with the groom, or her 

 gallops on an unsaddled donkey. My new aunt I well remembered. 

 Who could have spent a week at Bramsby without remarking her 

 and her pink parasol ! She was the striking feature of the place. 

 Every eye was upon her as she swam into the church on Sundays, 

 when the service was half over ; and every head was turned as she 

 slid with swan-like motion up the aisle, and settled herself with much 

 bustle of silks, directly opposite the 'squire's pew. She was (alas ! 

 for the honor of the family) she was a milliner. How my uncle 

 could so far forget his Tory prejudices as to form such a mis-alliance, 

 I know not ; but " adversity makes a man acquainted with strange 

 bedfellows." 



I heard afterwards that the 'squire had betrayed an incipient pas- 

 sion to the knowing ones for some time. I saw it not, though, 

 perhaps, the little god develops himself in strange symptoms, when 

 he fires the hearts of gentlemen of sixty-five. Her dark eyes I did 

 see, her dark and luscious glances floating in lambent fire ; the lids 

 now gently raised, now slowly drooping to earth " weighed with the 

 fullness of her future joy." These things I saw ; but my uncle was 

 twice her age ; and I 'fore God ! I thought the milliner was in love 

 with myself. 



It had always been understood that I was to marry Bessy, and 

 succeed to the Bramsby estates. Now, however, nothing doubting 

 that the milliner would bring the old man plenty of children, I ap- 

 plied steadily to my profession, in the hope of working out a pro- 

 vision for myself. So earnest were my labours, that for three years 

 I could not spare time to visit Bramsby. A hamper, crammed with 

 farm-yard delicacies (carriage paid), and a letter with the usual com- 

 pliments of the season, arrived annually at the door of my lodgings 

 on old Christmas-day ; but from these I gathered nothing of the pro- 

 ceedings at Bramsby. The fourth edition of Friendship's Offering 

 first made me suspect that something was wrong. The fowls were 

 covered with bristles, the ducks were livid, 'the bones of the turkey 

 " stood staring and looking upon me," the roaster had been killed a 



