Althorp

“ On 7 July Althorp spoke in defence of Littleton, and cleared him from the charge of having duped O'Connell; but when the opposition threatened to move for correspondence between the Irish and the home government, he tendered his resignation to Lord Grey. As he was indispensable to the ministry, Lord Grey resigned too, on 9 July. Grey's place was taken by Lord Melbourne. But on 11 July two hundred and six liberal members sent Althorp an address deprecating his retirement. ”

“ Lord Althorp said that the motion was made without any suggestion on the part of ministers. For himself, unless he felt a reasonable hope that a measure equally efficient would be brought forward and carried, he would not remain in office a single hour. The opponents of reform had gained a great triumph, and might rejoice in their success ”

“ He moved for a committee on the state of Ireland in 1824, and the ministry conceded an inquiry, but in a limited form. It was to Lord Althorp that Lord John Russell, when defeated in his contest for Huntingdonshire in 1826, entrusted in the new parliament the bribery bill which he had introduced in the last session of the old one. To the idea of a coalition of the whigs with Canning, whom he distrusted, Althorp was at first openly hostile. ”

“ The threat of an opposition to his return for Northamptonshire after the dissolution (January 1833) made Althorp seriously entertain a proposal to stand for the Tower Hamlets, to avoid the extravagant outlay of the county election. At the same time he urged Lord Grey to permit him to retire from public life altogether, but was prevailed upon not to resign, and was ultimately returned unopposed for Northamptonshire. Nevertheless political life became increasingly distasteful to him; the state of Ireland and the tone of the debates upon it in the session of 1833 alike depressed him. ”

“ The Government was dissolved and the King desired the Duke to form a new one. All this was immediately known, and first it was asked, ‘What is the quarrel between Huskisson and Herries which broke up the old Cabinet?’ The friends of each put about a story, one of which appeared in the ‘Times,’ the other in the ‘Morning Chronicle.’ The question was Lord Althorp’s appointment as chairman of the Finance Committee. Huskisson’s story is this:—In November Tierney went to Goderich and proposed Althorp as a good man to be in the chair of that Committee. ”

“ It would not suit Lord Brandolin to lead the blameless life of Lord Althorp. It would not suit him even to pretend to lead it. I doubt if he could even look the part, if he tried. The English are a peculiar people; they always mix public and private life together. Lord Beaconsfield remarked to me once——"
And Mr. Wootton tells a story of Disraeli, a very good story, only he has taken it out of the journals of the Président des Brosses and fathered it on to Disraeli. ”

“ He was a moderate man, who never failed to do justice to his opponent’s case, and his influence was not merely [82] in the Commons; it made itself felt to good purpose in the Court, as well as in the country. He was a man of chivalrous instincts and unchallenged probity. It was one of his political opponents, Sir Henry Hardinge, who exclaimed, ‘Althorp carried the bill. His fine temper did it!’
Lord John Russell, like his colleagues, was fully alive to the gravity of the crisis. ”

“ I liked Miss Althorpe so much and agreed with her so thoroughly in her opinion of this man, that it was a real pleasure to me to hear her speak so unreservedly.
"We are not a foolish couple," she went on, warming with the charm of her topic till she looked beautiful in the half light thrown upon her by the shaded lamp. "We are interested in people and things, and get half our delight from the perfect congeniality of our natures. ”

“ Miss Althorpe, not understanding my hesitation, and only half comprehending my errand, gave me a doubtful look but retreated to the spot I had mentioned, and whether it was the rustle of her silk dress or whether the dream of the girl we were watching had reached its climax, a momentary stir took place in the outstretched form before me, and next moment she was flinging up her hands with a cry.
"O how can I touch her! She is dead, and I have never touched a dead body." ”

“ Everybody carries a Marengo, a Childe Harold, and a Sonnambula in his blood; the only difficulty is to get them out.”
“Pray, Mr. Nivernois,” said Mrs. Althorpe, with a certain look of a high bred woman, not unmixed with something of comic, “What is it you have under your arm.”
“Portable bliss,—the potentiality of a happiness beyond the dreams of one who is not a lover,—ecstasy in a roll,—perfect delight on canvass;” and he opened the picture and held it up.
Mrs. Althorpe made a sign to Mrs. Stanhope to be silent.
“Do you know whose portrait it is?” said Mrs. Althorpe. ”

“ Peel was prepared to support the conservative section of the government, and deprecated in strong terms "all manœuvring, all coquetting with radicals" in order to snatch a temporary party triumph. [119]
Ward's resolution was introduced on May 27, 1834, and seconded by Grote, but Althorp, instead of replying, announced the receipt of sudden news so important that he induced the house to adjourn the debate. This news was the resignation of Stanley, Graham, Richmond, and Ripon, whose views on appropriation, as afterwards appeared, were shared by Lansdowne and Spring Rice. ”

“ Was this the talk of a frivolous woman caught unawares in the meshes of a fearful crime? If so, she was a more accomplished actress than we had been led to expect even from her own words to her disgusted husband.
"You look like one accustomed to tell the truth," proceeded Miss Althorpe. "Do you not think you have made some mistake, Miss Butterworth?" she asked, approaching me with an ingenuous smile. ”

“ I had just arrived at what I considered a sensible conclusion, when Miss Althorpe, leaning towards me, said with a whole-souled impetuosity for which I could not but admire her:
"The girl is very nervous, she looks and acts like a person who has had some frightful shock. Don't alarm her, Miss Butterworth, and don't accuse her of anything wrong too suddenly. Perhaps she is innocent, and perhaps if she is not innocent, she has been driven into evil by very great temptations. ”

“ Recognizing, therefore, that open measures would not do with this woman, I changed my manner at once, and responding to Miss Althorpe, with a gracious smile, remarked with an air of sudden conviction:
"Perhaps I have made some mistake. Miss Oliver's words sound very ingenuous, and I am disposed, if you are, to take her at her word. It is so easy to draw false conclusions in this world." And I put back the pin-cushion into my pocket with an air of being through with the matter, which seemed to impose upon the young woman, for she smiled faintly, showing a row of splendid teeth as she did so. ”

“ If I had, I should not pass by you, Miss Althorpe, for another."
There were tears in her voice, and I had to remember the victim just laid away in Woodlawn, not to bestow much more compassion on this woman than she rightfully deserved. She had a magnetic voice and a magnetic presence, but that was no reason why I should forget what she had done.
"No one asks for your confidence," I protested, "though it might not hurt you to accept a friend whenever you can get one. ”

“ His answer showed a strange mixture of hesitation and bravado.
"Not much, ma'am; only Miss Althorpe is afraid you may not be pleased. Miss Oliver is gone, ma'am; she ran away while Crescenze was out of the room."
[Pg 266]
XXVII. FOUND.
I gave a low cry and rushed down the steps.
"Don't go!" I called out to the driver. "I shall want you in ten minutes." And hurrying back, I ran up-stairs in a condition of mind such as I have no reason to be proud of. Happily Mr. Gryce was not there to see me.
"Gone? Miss Oliver gone?" I cried to the maid whom I found trembling in a corner of the hall. ”

“ I didn't like that; and when I got to them, a young gentleman said, pointing to me, "Here is a lad that shall swim you for what you like." One of them said, "Is he that Ellerthorpe of Hessle?" "No matter who he is," replied the young man, "I'll back him for a sovereign," when one of the young gentlemen [Pg 38] called out, "It is Jack Ellerthorpe, I won't have aught to do with him, for he can go as fast feet foremost as I can with my hands foremost, he's a first-rate swimmer." ”

“ These skins will bring in a mine of wealth against the winter season. To-morrow is Altdorf fair and I shall go thither to sell them."
"Hurrah!" shouted Philip. "Is Altdorf fair to-morrow? Oh, my faith,
I had forgotten it. Well, I shall go thither, and have some fun."
"And I mean to go too, cousin Philip," said Henric.
"Not so fast, young men," cried Tell. "Altdorf fair will be full of soldiers and turbulent people, and is not a proper place for rash boys and children." ”

“ But however tardily it may appear to some, ultimately, eternal justice will assert itself. John Ellerthorpe never required, never expected any public recognition of his services. The only praise sought by him was—
'What nothing earthly gives or can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy.'
in being the means of saving so many lives from premature death by drowning. Never let it be said the days of chivalry were over in England while we have such a nobleman as a Lord Beauclerc [3] of [Pg 111] Scarborough, and a commoner called Ellerthorpe at Hull. ”

“ At that time Althea was barely nineteen, and I a little past sixteen; we had no brother nor other sister.
We were then at Milthorpe; and thither our father was brought to be buried. That was a black time for us. Though lately we had been kept apart from our father, we loved him dearly, and we knew of no other friend and protector. And when the funeral was over we could not tell which way to turn; for we found our father's land must needs pass to the next male heir, Mr. John Dacre, our distant cousin. ”

“ If the voice of such a man is to be disregarded, then it may truly be said that our good old town has fallen far below the exalted position it occupied when it produced its Wilberforce and its Marvel.'
For upwards of forty years Mr. Ellerthorpe was known as a fearless swimmer and diver, and during that period he saved no fewer than forty lives by his daring intrepidity. In his boyhood, he, to use his own expression, 'felt quite at home in the water,' and betook himself to it as natively and instinctively as the swan to the water or the lark to the sky. ”

“ Pilot Office, Hull, Aug. 8, 1861.
Sir,—Having made an engagement for Friday evening before I knew of your meeting, I cannot possibly attend.
Had one of our townsmen returned from India or the Crimea, after destroying half as many lives as Mr. Ellerthorpe has been instrumental in saving, he would have been considered a 'hero,' and rewarded accordingly. Surely it is more blessed to save than to destroy. Should the object of the meeting be to raise a fund for acknowledging Mr. Ellerthorpe's gallantry, I shall gladly contribute my mite. I am, Sir, yours obediently,
Mr. John Symons. ”

“ Go on and prosper, my good fellow, and may God bless you; and rest assured if I again come near where you are, I shall come and see you.' It must have been a pleasing sight to have seen these two men, of brave hearts and noble deeds, grasp hands in recognition of each others services.
Towards the close of the year 1835 the following statement appeared in the Hull newspapers:—
'We understand some gentlemen are interesting themselves in favour of Ellerthorpe by representing his repeated exertions in the cause of humanity, and sending the particular cases to the Royal Humane Society. ”

“ I also saw him rescue John Eaby. In the great and terrible struggle which took place in the water, Mr. Ellerthorpe bore up with the greatest coolness imaginable, although at a great risk of losing his life.—William Turner.'
Thirty-first.—JOHN ELLERTHORPE. (1846.)
He was my son, and first-born child. Mr. G. Lee, the gentleman who first gave me employment in connection with the Hull Dock Company, had engaged me to teach his son the art of swimming. We went to the Stone Ferry Baths, for that purpose, and wishful that my own sons should learn this invaluable art, I took John with us. ”

“ Dear Sir,—I received your letter this morning, respecting John Ellerthorpe, a man well known for many years past, and greatly esteemed by the people of Hull, on account of his great daring, and humane and gallant conduct in saving such a large number of human lives from drowning. ”

“ Ellerthorpe, you cannot live long unless I could take out your present heart and give you a new one.' 'Ah,' said he, with the utmost composure, 'that you cannot do.' Often after a night of restlessness and suffering he would say to his dear wife:—'Well, I have lived another night,' to which she would reply, 'O yes, and I hope you will live many more yet.' 'No,' he would say, 'I shall not live many more ”

“ Ellerthorpe on his recent narrow escape, and likewise to open a subscription for presenting him with a testimonial. The meeting was a crowded one, but principally composed of working men. I was not in the least disheartened by this; for long before I had got through the list of persons saved by John Ellerthorpe, the large county-court room rang with cheer after cheer pealing forth ever and anon. ”

“ I have not denied myself. Now, who are you, and why do you know so much about me?"
"Nor will I deny myself, either," he said, a quiet smile dwelling upon his face. "I am William Wildfoot, captain of rangers in the American army."
"What! are you the man who has been incessantly buzzing like a wasp around the British?" I cried.
"I have done my humble best," he said, modestly; "I even chased you and your friend Lieutenant Marcel into Philadelphia. For which I must crave your forgiveness. Your uniforms deceived me; but since then we have become better acquainted with each other." ”