Blackton

“ Blackton's. That it consisted of a singularly cold-blooded murder is beside the point: all artists are a little peculiar. And if fool men write fool letters they must expect to suffer small annoyances of that sort. After all, reflected Mr. Blackton with commendable thoughtfulness, the world would endure Mr. Lewisham's departure with almost callous fortitude. ”

“ There was not one Scheidstrun, but two Scheidstruns and he had assaulted the wrong one. Of Mr. Edward Blackton he had never heard, but there was only one man living who could have suggested that unmistakable trick with his hand—the man he knew as Carl Peterson. Somehow or other, he had found out this mannerism of his and had deliberately used it to bluff Drummond, even as he had deliberately double-crossed the Metropolitan Diamond Syndicate. ”

“ There isn't one, I tell you: they're perfect stones—and that's why we've come to you.”
Blackton laid the box on the table, and renewed the contemplation of his cigar.
“At the moment,” he remarked, “the connection is a little obscure. However, pray continue. I assume that you have interviewed the professor again.”
“The very next morning,” said Sir Raymond. “I went around, ostensibly to return his metal bowl, and then again I put the whole matter before him. I pointed out to him that if this discovery of his was made known it would involve thousands of people in utter ruin. ”

“ In others, however, the entries were far more human. After the name would be recorded certain details, frequently of a most scurrilous description. And these details had one object and one object only—to assist in parting the victim from his money.
Not that Mr. Edward Blackton was a common blackmailer—far from it. Blackmailing pure and simple was a form of amusement which revolted his feelings as an artist. But to make use of certain privately gained information about a man when dealing with him was a different matter altogether. ”

“ Blackton waved his hand in dismissal.
“Approximate resemblance, I said,” he remarked curtly. “You will receive full instructions later. Go.”
HE lay back in his chair as the door closed behind the man, and pulled thoughtfully at his cigar. A merciful fact, he reflected, that it is not a police offense for a man to run away from his wife. In fact, if Mrs. Lewisham was anything like Mr. Lewisham it could hardly be regarded as an Offense at all by any disinterested person, but rather as an example of praiseworthy discretion. ”

“ Sir Raymond paused and lit a cigarette.
“You may perhaps think, Mr. Blackton, that I have been unnecessarily verbose over details that are unimportant,” he continued after a moment. “But my object has been to try to show you the type of man Professor Goodman is.”
“You have succeeded admirably, Sir Raymond,” said Blackton quietly.
{fqm|“}GOOD. Then I will go on more quickly. We took his retort home, and we cut out the clinker. No one touched it except ourselves. We chipped off the outside seals, and we came to the diamond. ”

“ Information obtained first-hand, or from absolutely certain resources, was entered in red: items not quite so reliable in black. And under Sir Raymond Blantyre's name the entry was in red.
Blantyre, Raymond. Born, 1858. Vice President Metropolitan Diamond Syndicate. Married daughter of John Perkins—wool merchant in London. Knighted, 1904. Something shady about him in South Africa—probably I. D. E. Races a lot. Wife a snob. Living up to the limit of his income. 5.13.
MR. BLACKTON laid the book on his knee and looked thoughtfully over the lake. ”

“ Fairburn was annoyed when he heard of the incident.
"I don't like it, George," he said. "There's no reason why there should be bad blood between Blackett's men and mine; but if they are going to make disturbances like this I shall have to take serious steps, and the coolness between Blackett and me will become an open enmity. 'As much as lieth in you,' says the Apostle, 'live peaceably with all men;' but there's a limit, and if Mr. Blackett can't keep his men in order, it will come to a fight between us." ”

“ Half the pleasure of the mouth is in the nose beforehand. But stay, almost I forgot my business, in the hurry which thy tongue hath spread through my lately despairing belly. Hungry I am, and sore of body, from my heels right upward, and sorest in front of my doublet, yet may I not rest nor bite barley-bread, until I have seen and touched John Ridd. God grant that he be not far away; I must eat my saddle, if it be so.'
'Have no fear, good sir,' I answered; 'you have seen and touched John Ridd. ”

“ Even Blackstone, a man who perhaps has written the most clear and certainly a most beautiful exposition of a difficult subject, who in all things, whether simple or intricate, has shown judgment and learning, seems, in spite of his great veneration for so high an authority, to lean to the opinion of the injustice of this passage. ”

“ This here island is a place where you've got to sleep with one eye open, an' the moment you sees a nigger lookin' crooked at you put a lead pill in him—that is, if he's a stranger from somewheres. An' the more you shoots the better you'll get on with your own nigs; they likes you more and treats you better.”
With a weary gesture, Blackett rose from his seat. “Thank you, Hutton, for your advice. If I thought a nigger meant to send an arrow or a spear through me I'd try to get the drop on him first. ”

“ These two lads were both sons of colliery owners, and both pupils of the ancient school of St. Peter of York, the most notable foundation north of the Humber. But there the likeness ended. Matthew Blackett's father was a rich man and descended from generations of rich men. He owned a large colliery and employed many men and not a few ships. He was, moreover, a county magnate, and held his head high on Tyneside. In politics he was a strong supporter of the Tory party, and had never been easy under the rule of Dutch William. ”

“ It is easy to imagine that the man 26 who did not hesitate to criticise the “Black Dwarf” would not be overawed by the two mild gentlemen in charge of his pet scheme. William Blackwood’s ideal had indeed been to startle the world with a periodical which in modern terms we would call a “live wire”. And now with the magazine actually under way, it is not likely that a man of his stamp would sit by unperturbed, and watch one insignificant number after another greet an unresponsive public. ”

“ Blackett laughed. “Easy, 'Rita, easy! You'll frighten her so that she'll clear out from us. Let her take her mat over there in the corner. Give the poor devil a chance. She's terrified of old Hutton, so sneaked in here to hide. She's only a wild bushy”—and he looked compassionately at the almost nude figure of the girl that his wife had bought from a bush town for a musket—because she wanted “something to worry,” he used jokingly to say. ”

“ The only criticism which could be directly applied to the theory of Blackstone would consist in inquiring whether the circumstances which make up his picture of a primitive society are more or less probable than other incidents which could be imagined with equal readiness. ”

“ William by this time had raised up her head, and felt her pulse, and perceiving that it still beat, though very languidly, was persuaded that if they could get immediate assistance she might be saved; he therefore said, "Rise, John, and let us lose no time in reaching Langholm; there is need for the greatest exertion; Marion may yet be saved, if we can only manage to carry her to Mr. Armstrong's. Do you take the lantern, and I will carry her in my arms; I am stronger than you, and not quite so nervous: so move, and remember, her life may depend upon a very few minutes' delay." ”

“ One needs a fearful lot in London----'
'But there's no sun in London to melt it,' objected Monkey instantly.
'There's fog though, and it gets lost in fog like ink in blotting- paper. There's never enough to go round. I've got to collect an awful lot before I go back.'
'That'll take more than a week,' she said triumphantly.
They fastened themselves closer against him, like limpets on a rock.
'I told you there was lots to do here,' whispered Monkey again. 'You'll never get it done in a week.'
'And how will you take it back?' asked Jimbo in the same breath. ”

“ Orders were being booked faster than the modest staff of the colliery could execute them. Best of all, Fairburn had secured several important contracts with London merchants; this, too, against the competition of the great Blackett pit.
"The truth is," the elder explained, "Mr. Blackett is too big a man, and too easy-going to attend to his business as he should. But I suppose he's rich enough and can afford to be a trifle slack."
"Whereas my dad has energy and to spare," George put in with a smile, "and by that energy is taking the business out of the hands of the bigger man. ”

“ When I came to the door of the room, being myself in shadow, I beheld two bad men trying vainly to break open the pewter box, and the third with a pistol-muzzle laid to the night-cap of his lordship. With foul face and yet fouler words, this man was demanding the key of the box, which the other men could by no means open, neither drag it from the chain.
'I tell you,' said this aged Earl, beginning to understand at last what these rogues were up for; 'I will give no key to you. It all belongs to my boy, Alan. No one else shall have a farthing.'
'Then you may count your moments, lord. ”

“ There are such creatures, who disgrace both the soul and the shape of man, who are mere shreds and patches of debauchery—sweepings from the shops of the tailor, the milliner, and the hair-dresser—who live upon the plunder obtained under false pretences from the industrious—who giggle, ogle, pat a snuff-box, or affect to nod in a church, to be thought sceptics or fine gentlemen. One of such was young Norton; and he was sent down to Scotland to destroy the only proof which Henry Blackett, in the event of his being pardoned, could bring forward in support of his legitimacy. ”

“ But hence arose another difficulty; for the men of Devon said they would march when Somerset had taken the field; and the sons of Somerset replied that indeed they were quite ready, but what were their cousins of Devonshire doing? And so it came to pass that the King's Commissioner returned without any army whatever; but with promise of two hundred men when the roads should be more passable. And meanwhile, what were we to do, abandoned as we were to the mercies of the Doones, with only our own hands to help us? ”

“ When she saw Blackett she asked him what he thought about it.
"Why hasn't the Captain come with him? It's all moonshine his staying on the Sea-mew to see [90] to repairs in the engine room. Mac's quite good enough for that job," she said.
"It's none of your business, anyway," said Brant; "and as for McTavish, you're prejudiced in his favor—I shouldn't wonder if you aren't Sarah McTavish some day."
"Nonsense, Brant! I've had one dose of married life; I don't want to try it again," she said.
"Give the poor man a chance; he's only one thing against him," said the trainer. ”

“ But from Exmoor to Barnstaple, and from Lynton to Tiverton, he reigns supreme—and naturally, for this was his homeland, which, through all its length and breadth, he knew with an intimacy,{xii} and loved with a devotion, and portrayed with a skill, that will surely never again be the portion of any child of Devon.
Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on June 7, 1825, at Longworth, in Berkshire—a circumstance which raises the delicate and important question whether, after all, he can be justly claimed as a Devonshire man. ”

“ As we pass out by the Porte de Brest, we meet a Breton propriétaire and his wife in a cart, whom we must not take for peasants because of the black stuff gown and white cap of the bright-faced woman, and the broad-brimmed hat and blouse of the man.
We drive through a straggling suburb of houses, where the peasants stare at us from their dark dwellings; we stop at wayside inns—unnecessarily, it would seem—and are surrounded by beggars of all ages and sizes. ”

“ It was indeed good to be alive again. It was wonderful! The next moment he was trembling from head to foot, and his body broke out in a sweat. He was not to be alive for long. Even if he reached Blackthorn Farm and delivered his message he would have to give himself up and go back to prison. Back to that living grave!
He had told poor 303 that escape was absolutely impossible. Even if a man got outside Dartmoor and reached Tavistock or Exeter or Plymouth he was certain to be detected and brought back. His father would never hide him or help him—he knew that. ”

“ Although there was nothing sufficiently sensational in these 'Scenes' to arrest the attention of that great [Pg 96] public which must be roused by something new and startling, literary judges were not slow to discern the powerful realism with which the author had drawn these uncompromising studies from life. After the appearance of 'Amos Barton,' Mr. Blackwood wrote to the anonymous author: "It is a long time since I have read anything so fresh, so humorous, and so touching. The style is capital, conveying so much in so few words." ”

“ Then, turning to the chairman of the great assemblage, Blackana attracted his attention, and at once the attention of all the spectral monsters of the place.
“Here,” commenced he, “is a piece of mortal flesh, fresh from the surface. I have been forced, by some strange power, to conduct this mortal man through these nether levels until he has seen the workings of our underground plans and schemes. He must never see the light of day, lest the world above may know the true inwardness and source of such laws as are called cursed, and rise in hosts against our surface operations.” ”