Arundel

“ CHAPTER II.—SHOWING HOW LEWIS LOSES HIS TEMPER, AND LEAVES HIS HOME. “Has the post come in yet, Rose?” inquired Mrs. Arundel, as she made her appearance in the breakfast-room the following morning.
“No, mamma; it is late to-day, I think.”
“It is always late when I particularly expect a letter; that old creature Richards the postman has a spite against me, I am certain, because I once said in his hearing that he looked like an owl—the imbecile!”
“Oh, mamma! he’s a charming old man, with his venerable white hair.” ”

“ Now I cannot say why, but in spite of its seduction, which is full of splendour, of its noble history and great buildings, I have never been able to love Arundel. One is there always I feel too much in the shadow of that mighty Castle which for the most part is not old at all, too much in the power of that great new church that surely was never built by English hands, which has altogether blotted out the older sanctuary, and which, Catholic though it be, has never won my affection. ”

“ Laura, what are you laughing at?”
“Ask Mr. Leicester,” returned Miss Peyton, breathless with laughter.
“Charles, what is it all about?”
“Ask Arundel,” was the reply; “he is the proper person to explain.”
“Mr. Arundel, you must tell me!”
“Really, I must beg you to excuse me,” began Lewis. “Miss Peyton—that is—Mr. Leicester—in fact, it is utterly impossible for me to tell you. Come, Walter, you’ve rested quite long enough, you’ll catch cold sitting still, after making yourself so hot;” and as he spoke he took his pupil’s arm and hastily quitted the tent. ”

“ Arundel—she kept on forgetting that he wasn’t Mr. Arundel—was already, his arm through Rose’s, going off with her, probably to the greater seclusion of the lower garden. No doubt they had a great deal to say to each other; something had gone wrong between them, and had suddenly been put right. San Salvatore, Lotty would say, San Salvatore working its spell of happiness. She could quite believe in its spell. Even she was happier there than she had been for ages and ages. The only person who would go empty away would be Mr. Briggs. ”

“ It was out of no friendship, they sent you to be murdered by them Taranteens, nor will they fire a culverin at your return."
"Out with thy news, at once," cried the impatient Arundel, "nor stand there hanging fire, like a musket when the priming is wet. What hast to tell?"
"Ill news, Master Arundel, folk say can travel a mile, while good is putting on his boots; but you seem not to be contented with its haste. Nay," added Philip, noticing that the Knight began to show impatience, "an' you will have it. It is little less than treason, I fear, they are charging against Sir Christopher. ”

“ Arundel,” began General Grant. “From a mistaken policy your future pupil has been indulged in every caprice of his weak intellect, till the slightest opposition to his wishes irritates him beyond all control that has yet been exercised over him; but as his only attendants are an old female domestic who was his nurse, and her son, a lad younger than Sir Walter himself, whom he has been foolishly permitted to look upon in the light of a companion, this is not so much to be wondered at.” ”

“ Arundel, who was assisting to attire the bride—“mine are very strong, let me try”—and suiting the action to the word, she, Curtius-like, endeavoured to close the yawning gulf, but in vain.
“Ah non! c’est impossible—you shall only hurt your hands too motch, chère Madame Hirondelle,” resumed Mademoiselle—“permit me to ring zie bell, we shall make approach le maître d’hôtel, vot you call zie coachman of zie chambaire, who shall have much of force, et ce sera un fait accompli.” ”

“ Seeing the General’s eyes fixed on him inquiringly, he rose, and putting his hand to his side, drew a deep breath as he exclaimed—
“One of those sharp stitches, as they call them—nothing worse. You know I am subject to them; it’s want of exercise producing indigestion. I tell you what,” he continued, “I’ve rather a curiosity to witness Mr. Arundel’s prowess, and see what sport this poacher will afford. Man-hunting, in the literal feræ naturæ sense of the term, will be a new excitement.”
“We’ll all go,” exclaimed the General, springing up with the alertness of a young man. ”

“ But at the sight of Captain Arundel nearly all the rosy colour disappeared from the country-woman's plump cheeks, and she stared aghast at the unlooked-for visitor, almost ready to believe that, if anything so substantial as a pony and gig could belong to the spiritual world, it was the phantom only of the soldier that she looked upon. ”

“ Arundel eagerly.
“Letters, indeed!” was the reply, as, with an indignant toss of the head, Rachel, whose temper appeared to have been soaked in vinegar during the night, flung the wished-for missives upon the table. “Letters, indeed! them’s all as you care about, and not a poor gal as slaves and slaves, and gets insulted for her trouble; but I’m come to——”
“You’re come to bring the toast just at the right moment,” said Lewis, who had approached unobserved, “and you’re going down to give Faust his breakfast; and he is quite ready for it, too, poor fellow!” ”

“ To the appealing looks which Arundel from time to time directed to him, the Knight at length replied:
"I know not, Master Arundel, whether we should consider ourselves more fortunate or the contrary, in falling into the hands of these copper-colored cavaliers. We are their prisoners, and, as such, bound to obey their motions; but their presence will guard us from attack, and in that way be a shield; and their treatment in other respects will shame, I doubt not, the conduct of more civilized men in like circumstances." ”

“ He had lived too long and too well. She was sure he couldn’t sing, and wouldn’t want to. He must be at least forty. How many good dinners could not a man have eaten by the time he was forty? And if during that time instead of taking exercise he had sat writing books, he would quite naturally acquire the figure Mr. Arundel had in fact acquired—the figure rather for conversation than adventure.
Scrap, who had become melancholy at the sight of Briggs, became philosophical at the sight of Arundel. Here he was. She couldn’t send him away till after dinner. He must be nourished. ”

“ It was at the moment when the Knight was about to part from the deputy Governor, that the young man came up. He remarked the disturbed countenance of the latter; but that of the former, whatever he felt, betrayed no emotion.
"Young sir," said Dudley, "I have not seen thee for a long time. How continues Master Arundel to like the new world?"
"Indifferently well," replied Arundel. "Of every land, new or old, something favorable may be said."
"I observe thou dost hanker after the flesh pots of Egypt, and art lean in the midst of abundance. ”

“ Arundel.
"It is all I could wish," said Christina. "The front is dull; but the back windows look out on the garden and on the Heath. Oh, such a view! No wonder Nellie praised it up!"
"But then it is almost let?" said Dr. Arundel. "Yes; they will know in a day or two."
"I hate waiting," said Ada, sighing.
"It is hard for everybody," said Walter; "but sometimes it is just the lesson God has for us to learn."
His eyes rested for an instant on Christina, and he felt Nellie's hand slipped into his lovingly.
"I do not know anything much harder," said Dr. Arundel. ”

“ As he concluded, General Grant, whose brow had gradually relaxed during Lewis’s speech, exclaimed with a degree of warmth most unusual to him, “You have behaved like a man of honour, Mr. Arundel, under what I own to have been a very great trial, and I admire and respect you for so completely justifying the favourable opinion I have formed of you; I wish—that is, I could wish if the thing were not impossible—but it is useless to talk in this way—you must, as you wisely perceive, leave Broadhurst immediately. ”

“ Notwithstanding the slighting manner in which he had spoken of Arundel, and the displeasure of Spikeman at the favor which he showed the young man, his conduct toward him remained unchanged. As before, Arundel was frequently at Sir Christopher's place, and often accompanied him on short expeditions, though never on distant excursions, which required several days.
The interest of the young man in the Knight increased daily. ”

“ Arundel told them it would be wise to take up their usual avocations.
"Let us remember your dear mother always, and speak of her to each other whenever we like; but we will also do as she would wish, and that will be to remember we have One higher than even her to please; that we must go about our Father's business."
He kissed them all gravely and lovingly, and then, taking Nellie's hand, led her into his study. ”

“ Wilmot and she were now so breathless that they were forced to give up their heavy burden to George and Maude.
"Oh, hurry on," said Maude, weeping, "and see what can be done, and whether we can pass."
Wilmot looked round. "Come, Mary; come, Miss Arundel; we will all keep together."
He did not slacken his speed for a moment, and Mary, who was holding Nellie's hand, caught his, and so they hurried on. ”

“ Rose looked steadily in his face, and saw that what he said was true; therefore, exercising an unusual degree of common sense for a woman, she held her tongue, and let a wilful man have his way.
Reader, would you know the circumstances which had changed Lewis Arundel from a boy to a man? They are soon told. He had loved, foolishly perhaps, but with all the pure and ardent passion, the fond and trusting confidence of youth—he had loved, and been deceived. ”

“ General Grant was doubtless well informed on the subject, but he was always strangely, and as she thought, most unnecessarily reserved; she believed Mr. Arundel had been driven to resign his situation, and she was not at all surprised; she did not know who that could avoid it would reside in a family ordered about like a regiment of dragoons; she dared say Lord Bellefield had some broken-down blackleg ready to recommend as tutor to teach Walter gambling and horse-racing. Would Annie oblige her by looking under the sofa? she thought she saw the shadow of a man’s foot against the chimney-piece ”

“ It is fixed to the thick part of the lance or mace borne by men at arms. The Licentiate Covarrubias, who piques himself on finding etymologies for every kind of word, derives Arandella from Arundel, a city (so he says) of the Kingdom of England." Cobarruvias (1611) gives the above explanation; adding that it also was applied to a kind of smooth collar worn by women, from its resemblance to the other thing. Unless historical proof of this last etymology can be traced, we should suppose that Arundel is, even in this sense, probably a corruption of roundel. ”

“ I wish I knew who all the people were! Dearest Miss Peyton, do not you sympathise? Ah, that tell-tale smile! We girls certainly are sadly curious, though I believe the men are just as bad, only they’re too proud to own it. But really, we must contrive to catch somebody who will tell us who everybody is. There’s that handsome, grave, clever Mr. Arundel: I shall make him a sign to come here—ah! he saw me directly—he is so clever. Mr. Arundel, do tell me, who are all these people?”
“Rather a comprehensive question,” returned Lewis, smiling ”

“ On this genial morning of early May, ventilated by a breath of south-west wind, and warmed by a summer sun, the dining-room windows of Arundel—the agreeable name of Mrs. Hancock's house—were both open, and she was sitting at a writing-table just within, fixing her plans for the day. She always sat here after breakfast until she had seen her cook, sent orders to her chauffeur, and read the smaller paragraphs in the Morning Post. Usually the plans for the day, the marching orders, as she habitually called them, depended completely on the weather. ”

“ Lewis feeling thankful that he had restrained his anger ere it had led him to say words to his mother which he would have regretted deeply afterwards, and amply repaid for any effort it might have cost him by the bright smile and grateful pressure of the hand with which his sister rewarded him. Happy the man whose guardian angel assumes the form of such a sister and friend as Rose Arundel! ”

“ Arundel’s acquaintance lies rather among illustrious foreigners,” observed Miss Peyton demurely. “Were any members of the royal family of Persia present, for instance, his intimate knowledge of the language, manners, and habits of that interesting nation would be invaluable to us.”
“As you are strong, be merciful,” returned Lewis, in a tone of voice only to be heard by the young lady to whom he spoke.
“Dear me! How very delightful! What a thing it is to be so clever!” ”

“ In his will, dated 30 Dec. 1579, and proved 27 Feb. 1579-80, he appointed Lumley his sole executor and residuary legatee (registered in P. C. C. 1, Arundell) . In person Arundel appears to have been of the middle size, well proportioned in limb, 'stronge of bone, furnished with cleane and firme fleshe, voide of fogines and fatnes.' His countenance was regular and expressive, his voice powerful and pleasing ; but the rapidity of his utterance often made his meaning 'somewhat harde to the unskilfull' (MS. Life. ff. 63, 68) . ”

“ Botherfille (a serious schoolmistress, who, for the trifling consideration of £300 per annum, condescended to allow the youthful female aristocracy of the land to sit at her feet and learn from her lips how to regenerate society through the medium of frivolous accomplishments) had failed in curing her of talking nonsense, at which Annie laughed merrily and then tripped off, turning as she passed Lewis to take a last glance at the newly-arranged flowers, and saying, “Now, don’t they look pretty, Mr. Arundel?” ”