Belgrave

“ Nicholas opened the door, and Belgrave sprang into the carriage. Amanda attempted to burst open the door at the opposite side; but he caught her to his bosom, and the horses set off at full speed. Colonel Belgrave’s valet had been secreted by Mrs. Jane the preceding night in the house, that he might be able to give his master intelligence of all that passed within it, in consequence of his being discovered in the closet. On hearing the family were gone to the Marquis’s villa, Belgrave believed he could easily prevail on the domestics to deliver up Amanda to him. ”

“ Belgrave, as though they expected her to reply; but she made no sign.
"You don't answer, ladies," added the captain.
"We are waiting for Mrs. Belgrave to speak," said Mrs. Woolridge.
"I beg you will excuse me," said that lady, laughing. "I do not know why I am expected to voice the sentiments of the party."
"Because, like the wife of the President of the United States at home, you are the first lady on board," returned the wife of the magnate of the Fifth Avenue. "Your son is the owner of the Guardian-Mother, and you are the mother for whom the ship is named." ”

“ The country is no more left as it was originally created, than Belgrave Square remains its pristine swamp. The forest has been felled, the marsh drained, the enclosures planted, and the field ploughed. All these, begging Mr. Cowper’s pardon, are the works of man’s hands; and so is the town—the one is not more artificial than the other. ”

“ May the restoration of liberty be productive of every happiness! Your prison gates, I rejoice to repeat, are open. May the friendship which commenced within these walls be lasting as our lives!” To dwell longer on this subject is unnecessary. The transported family were conveyed to Mrs. Connel’s, where he had been the preceding night to order everything for their reception. He then inquired about Sipthorpe, or rather Belgrave, whom he meant to upbraid for his cruel designs against Miss Rushbrook; but Belgrave, as soon as his plan was settled about Amanda, had quitted Mrs. Connel’s. ”

“ Decidedly, that Belgrave is insupportable.
Fle. He quitted me, swearing that he would find out who sent it, if he searched every flower-shop in London.
Con. And he is not a man to be imposed upon—at least, that’s his monomania. I was very curious to know who sent this bouquet, and he charged himself with satisfying my curiosity. I fear he will have only his trouble for his pains.
Fle. Why are you so anxious to know?
Con. Because in the present day the man who sends a bouquet anonymously, and does not inform you what it cost, is a rare specimen of the genus homo worth knowing. ”

“ To declare at once his real character, must betray her to him; and though she might banish him from the house, yet, unsupported as she was by her friends or kindred—unable to procure the protection of Rushbrook, in his present situation, however willing he might be to extend it—she trembled to think of the dangers to which, by thus discovering, she might expose herself—dangers which the deep treachery and daring effrontery of Belgrave would, in all probability, prevent her escaping. ”

“ But fear of the Plague led travellers to take a side road by Belgrave as a preferable alternative, as by so doing they could pass by the old town, bounded by its four walls, without actually entering it on their way to the South or North. ”

“ Robert de Legh made proof of age on the 3rd March, 1382–3. On the 13th May following he had livery of his father’s lands, and on the 18th June he had also, as heir of his mother, livery of what pertained to her as one of the heirs of Alina, daughter of [298] Robert Daa, whose lands were then in the king’s hands. In 1385, or thereabouts, he married Isabel, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas de Belgrave, Knight, who brought him the manor of Belgrave, with several other estates in Cheshire and Flintshire. ”

“ The judge made himself exceedingly agreeable to Mrs. Belgrave, and gave her a great deal of information in regard to Spain; but the principal subject of conversation was her son, who was "muy ricos," and his mother gave him an epitome of the life of the young millionaire, including the recovery of the missing million which had made him so rich.
The commander asked him if any suspicions were attached to the Salihé as concerned in any smuggling ventures. He could only learn that the officers of the customs kept a close watch upon her. Gray said he had engaged her to tow out the Golondrina ”

“ If I allow this woman to play the part, she’ll ruin the piece.
Enter BELGRAVE, C.
Bel. Good morning. Do you take me for a man that can be easily imposed on? No; can’t humbug me!
Fle. What do you mean? (coldly) I’m delighted to see you.
Bel. This explains the promptitude with which I was admitted.
Fle. (satirically) By-the-bye, you have come most opportunely. I have to thank you for persuading me to confide an important [Pg 7] character to Miss Constance Belmour—that was a grand idea of yours. ”

“ The several adventures in which some or all of the young men had been engaged, especially Louis Belgrave, who had really become a man all at once, as it were, when his troubles with his rascally step-father began, had contributed to the kind of development the commander had in mind. The trip to Tangier had assured him that the boys were competent to handle the Maud skilfully and with a fair measure of science.
Captain Ringgold was absolutely proud of his success in reforming the life and manners of Scott Fencelowe, and he had talked with Uncle Moses and Dr. ”

“ The Duke of Omnium was, as we have said, a bachelor. Not the less on that account did he on certain rare gala days entertain the beauty of the county at his magnificent rural seat, or the female fashion of London in Belgrave-square; but on this occasion the dinner at Gatherum Castle—for such was the name of his mansion—was to be confined to the lords of the creation. It was to be one of those days on which he collected round his board all the notables of the county, in order that his popularity might not wane, or the established glory of his hospitable house become dim. ”

“ Chapter One. “If we could get hold of one of these mines between us, we would show them how to work it, I guess. We wouldn’t fool around the camp trying to float a company and let a lot of local men into the thing. We’d go straight home and give the British public a turn. Couldn’t you fancy yourself as the South African millionnaire chairman of the Great Diamond Mining Company, with a house in Belgrave Square, a country house with a blessed big park round it, the favourite for the Derby in training at Newmarket, and the best of everything that money could buy, eh, Timson?” ”

“ Cadogan Place is the one slight bond that joins two great extremes; it is the connecting link between the aristocratic pavements of Belgrave Square, and the barbarism of Chelsea. ”

“ Mr Smythe, however, felt anything but at his ease. The situation was a very strange one, for if he shouted out “Murder!” he would be heard by his neighbours on both sides, who were only separated from him by a few feet of open space and a few inches of tin wall. One of them was a young diamond-buyer, with a taste for comic singing, who had just returned from a trip home, and was entertaining his friends with the cream of the melody of the London music-halls, and as he stood shivering with fear, with the revolver held up to his head, Smythe could hear the chorus of one of the songs of the day. ”

“ Waco, Texas, ——l8——
"HON. BERNARD BELGRAVE, M.C., "Come to Waco at once. If you fail to come you will make the mistake of your life. Come.
"BELTON PIEDMONT." "Yes, I'll go," shouted Bernard, "anywhere, for anything." He seemed to feel grateful for something to divert his thoughts and call him away from the scene where his hopes had died. He sent Viola's family a note truthfully stating that he was unequal to the task of attending Viola's funeral, and that for his part she was not dead and never should be. The parents had read Bernard's letter left by Viola and knew the whole story. ”

“ Few if any towns three times the size of Kimberley could produce such a choice selection of scoundrels as the guests at the ‘Red Bar,’ and Jews and Gentiles alike bore on their faces a hunted, a bird-of-prey look which denoted that they were at enmity with the honest portion of society. The most conspicuous figure in the place was that of a tall dark man, whose face might have been called a handsome one were it not for his sinister expression, exaggerated by a scar which reached from his mouth to his eye, and seemed to stand out all the more as the drink which he was taking flushed his face. ”

“ Belgravegate is first mentioned in the published Records of the Borough in the year 1305, when a rent was granted from a messuage outside the East Gate in "Bellgravegate," lying between Richard Norman's land and "the lane which leads to the Earl of Leicester's bakehouse." Belgravegate does not seem to have been within the Bishop's Fee, as Churchgate and Humberstonegate were. The tenants there, in 1322, under the leadership of Richard of Belgrave, certainly made an attempt "to draw the street which is called Belgravegate to the county for making contributions and tallages." ”

“ It is about time you and I had a turn of luck, but it never comes to honest men in this cursed country. Well, may we get out of it somehow or the other before the next New Year’s Day; may you find a ‘big un,’ on which you can go home,” he said, when their glasses were filled.
“Who can tell? luck is a queerish thing,” Charlie said, as he emptied his glass.
“So it is—not that I know very much about it, for it has not troubled me much. Well, good-bye,” said Jack Heathcote, as he left the canteen and jumped on his horse, which was tied up outside. ”

“ It was about the finest stone he had ever seen, he thought.
“What luck—what queer luck,” he said to himself, as he looked at the dead man and then at the diamond. “It was just like luck giving poor old David a turn like that. Poor old fellow! he has never wanted more than a few pounds, and has often enough been without them; and just before his death he had come across this splendid prize.” No wonder the old man had looked rather queer that afternoon before, when he had come round to Charlie’s claims and asked him to come over the river to the canteen, and have a drink with him ”

“ Johnstone thought to himself, as he took off his hat and shook hands with Miss Gray. After they had talked for some time about the few subjects for conversation that their life at Gordon afforded—the health of McFlucker the storekeeper’s wife, the date of the return of the magistrate at Gordon, who was away on leave, and the fact that the river was rising—Miss Gray turned the conversation to the subject that had interested them both.
“Who are those men working at the court-house,—the white men I mean?” she asked, as Johnstone thought, with considerable interest. ”

“ He did not say anything about the big diamond, though he produced the two little ones, and asked Jack as he was going into the camp to report the death, and give them up to the authorities.
“All right; I will tell ’em about it, and give these up to the magistrate. They ain’t worth much; but poor old David hadn’t much better luck than you and I,” said Jack. “Come, cheer up, old fellow; after all the old man hadn’t much to live for, and you did your level best to save him. Let’s have a split, and drink good luck to the New Year. ”

“ No man’s dead broke till his neck’s broke; and as for sponging on me, one never loses anything by doing a good turn to one of your sort who has good grit. You’re looking pretty bad though—dysentery do you say? Well, you’d better watch it; come up to my place and I’ll put you straight,” he said.
It was not, perhaps, a very wise thing to do, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I was very little more than a beggar, besides I liked Jim Dormer’s cheery, free-and-easy manner. It was pleasant to meet a man who seemed to think something of one although one was unsuccessful and dead broke. ”

“ I say that prospecting trip cost me dear, and so you will say when you have heard my story. I must tell it, though it’s not the sort of tale most men would pan out to two strangers; but I must speak out, for I have done nothing but think over this for eight years, and feel that I should be easier in my mind for making a clean breast of it to some one or the other before I die. Prospecting! well, I’ve done about as much of prospecting as any man. They called me the Demon Prospector in Australia and New Zealand, and well they might, for I have found three payable gold-fields in my time. ”

“ There was one peculiarity in their manners, which somewhat amazed Mr Moss. They had a curious way of bursting into laughter about nothing at all, as far as he could see. They did not show any envy, but to a man were full of a generous wish to drink with the fortunate finder. Their estimate of the value of the diamond was somewhat vague. One said fifty thou, another laughed at the idea of fifty thousand buying it, and seemed to have quite a contempt for such a paltry sum of money; though he would have had to have searched a long time in the pockets of his trousers before he could find sixpence. ”

“ The circumstance turned out to be rather an unfortunate one for Mr Sixpence.
“You blasted nigger! I’ll stop that game,” Jack said, as he felt some blood running down his cheek, and his hand went to his pocket. He fired without taking particular aim, but the Kaffir’s hands went up, and he fell on his back. “Well, it’s not your night out, my boy; there is a dead run of luck against you. First of all you must tumble over me as you come out of the mine, and it’s long odds against that; then I have a revolver on me, and then when I do shoot I put a bullet through your brain instead of missing. ”