Bridlington

“ But about this time there was one connected with the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary Magdalene of Bridgnorth, whose name would cast a lustre on any church in any age; and it is pleasant to turn from these indecent scenes of ambitious strife among ecclesiastics, to contemplate a character so truly exalted as his. The individual, to whom I refer, was one whose influence on the Church and State was very considerable in his day, having been twice entrusted with the Great Seal of England, both in the reign of Edward III. and Richard II ”

“ On Wednesday next, Harry, thou shalt set forward; On Thursday, we ourselves will march: Our meeting is Bridgnorth: and, Harry, you Shall march through Glostershire; by which account Our business valued, some twelve days hence Our general forces at Bridgnorth shall meet.”
If our dramatist had any warrant for this representation, of which I have no doubt, the town of Bridgnorth must have witnessed on this occasion a fine military muster, and have had the privilege of [Pg 111] receiving into its Castle one who has been ranked among the greatest of England’s heroes—Henry, Prince of Wales. ”

“ After the origin of the name, the next thing to consider is the first foundation of Bridgnorth. There is no doubt that this is very ancient, probably as ancient as the age of Alfred the Great. The Saxon chroniclers inform us that Ethelfleda, the daughter of Alfred, who inherited the magnanimity which has made her father’s name so illustrious in the page of history, aided her brother Edward in resisting the incursions of the Danes; and for this purpose erected several forts and castles in different parts of the country, and among these one at Bridgnorth. ”

“ With an unflinching hand he tore aside the curtain from those dens of infamy and ignorance which the citizens of Bridford were willing to ignore, or to speak of with a deprecating shrug, and an admission that Bridford was a very bad place. It had never occurred to anybody that it was his business to make the place better. No modern Peter the Hermit had arisen to call for a crusade against ignorance and vice. The Bridfordians were too hotly bent upon money-making to have time to spare for crusades of any kind. ”

“ Brigit sat down by him and took off her gloves.
"Victor—why have things—been as they have been of late?"
"You know why."
"Because the father in you is stronger than the lover?"
"I have never been your lover," he retorted harshly, hurling the words at her as if they had been an accusation.
She winced. "I am speaking English. Well—was it your loyalty to Théo that—that changed you?"
"I have been loyal, have I not? Juste ciel!" Rising, he walked about the great room, his hands clasped behind him. "My conduct was magnificent, was it not? Don't quibble with words, Brigit. ”

“ The historical notices of Bridgnorth which I have thus brought before the reader, will not, I hope, be considered wholly devoid of interest, at least not by those who are locally connected with the place. They are scanty indeed, but sufficient to shew them that the town, in which it is their lot to live, not only is one whose foundation is of very ancient date, and the Borough belonging to it one of the earliest [Pg 98] in the kingdom, subsequent to the Norman Conquest, but that it has been at times the theatre of events of some importance in history ”

“ It stood outside the town, east of the road which led from Saint John’s Hospital to Quatford. Its founders were, probably, the community of the Borough of Bridgnorth, and such an establishment may be considered as one of the sanitary measures which they adopted for the benefit of the town. Many of the large towns in England had establishments of this nature in the thirteenth century; and there is evidence to prove, that the Leper House of Saint James, in Bridgnorth, was founded previously to 1224 ”

“ The Deanery of Bridgnorth at this time was held by Peter de Rivallis, of whom (although his course reflected no honor on his sacred calling) it may be well to take a passing notice, inasmuch as his name stands [Pg 58] connected, not only with the early history of Bridgnorth, as being Dean of the Peculiar, but with some of the important events in the reign of Henry III. Peter de Rivallis was born at Poictou, and through the influence of his uncle, the Bishop of Winchester, was introduced into the English court, and was made Treasurer of the Chamber in the King’s Household. ”

“ Mrs. Brigstock, at this, looked into her eyes more deeply and yearningly than she had supposed Mrs. Brigstock could look: it was the flicker of a mild, muddled willingness to give her a chance. Owen, however, quickly spoiled everything, "Nothing is more probable than that Mrs. Brigstock is doing what you say; but there's no one in the world to whom you owe an explanation. I may owe somebody one—I dare say I do. But not you—no!"
"But what if there's one that it's no difficulty at all for me to give?" Fleda inquired. ”

“ Aldate’s in the afternoon, Freddy, who professes a great indifference to the charms of his fair cousins, announced his intention of walking with Blitherington, so that Reggie and I were allotted to Maisie and Muriel.
We had only been waiting about ten minutes when the trio hove in sight, Blitherington in a splendid flannel suit—he certainly does know how to dress—and the [131] girls in exceedingly light fluffy chiffons, which always win my heart. ”

“ HENRY BRIGHTMAN'S offices were in Essex Street, Strand, near the Temple. He rented the whole house: a capital house, towards the bottom of the street on the left-hand side as you go down. His father, who had been head and chief of the firm, had lived in it. But old Mr. Brightman was dead, and his son, now sole master, lived over the water on the Surrey side, in a style his father would never have dreamt of. It was a firm of repute and consideration; and few legal firms, if any, in London were better regarded. ”

“ There is no doubt that it was something considerable—sufficient to give an impulse to the industry of the inhabitants—to enable them to restore their ruined Church, College, and Almshouses—to efface in a great measure the damages of war, and to make Bridgnorth again a habitable town. ”

“ Who speake in the behalf of ourselves, our minister, and whole towne.”
The want of a Town Hall seems to have been much felt by the Burgesses of Bridgnorth—the former one, which stood outside the North Gate, having been pulled down during the Civil Wars; but the erection of a new one, with new materials, was more than they could possibly [Pg 191] accomplish, in the impoverished state in which they had been left. They therefore applied to Lady Bartue of Wenlock, and petitioned that she would grant them the materials of an old barn which were about to be sold, for the sum of £40 or £50 ”

“ There on the banks you will find the footpath of the many who have passed that way. They sat at those front windows, sewing, reading, often writing their letters on blotting pads upon their laps, scarcely conscious that the little filtering stream of life in Bridnorth drew them there. For had they been questioned on these matters, one and all, severally or together they would have laughed, saying that for the greater half of the year there was no life in Bridnorth to pass by, and certainly none that concerned them. ”

“ There was no great excitement that night, and as Muriel complained of being tired, the ladies retired early, while Blitherington kindly organized a poker party in my rooms after the Union debate, and carried off thirty shillings from our united funds. With the exception of one and twopence this had all disappeared by the following morning, for while I was in Freddy’s digs at about sherry-and-bitter time, Blitherington came in to ask if he might put half-a-dozen collars and a silk handkerchief down to his account at Sampson’s. ”

“ When Brigit came into the King’s presence, the King said to her, ‘Since it is thy father’s wealth that thou takest, much more if I buy thee, wilt thou take of my wealth and my cattle, and give them to the poor.’ Said Brigit, ‘The Son of the Virgin knoweth if I had thy might with all Leinster and with all thy wealth, I would give them to the Lord of the Elements.’ Said the King to Duffy, ‘Thou art not fit on either hand to bargain for this maiden, for her merit is higher before God than before men.’ And he gave Duffy for her an ivory-hilted sword. ”

“ Lady Brigit shrank fastidiously into her corner. Another thing to bore her. She was of those women who always hate their fellow-travellers and resent their existence. And this man was too big, there was too much fur on his coat, too much scent on his handkerchief. "Salut demeure chaste et pure," he began singing, suddenly, apparently quite unconscious of his companion's presence. "Salut demeure——" It was a high baritone voice, sweet and round, and his r's were like Théo Joyselle's. Brigit smiled. Dear Théo! Her mother could be as nasty as she liked, but they would be happy in spite of her. ”

“ Lady Kingsmead burst into tears and hurried from the room, but Brigit wrote a telegram, as dictated by the old doctor who had brought the boy into the world, to a famous physician in London, and a groom was sent galloping to the station to send it.
"Who is this person he always takes me for?" asked the doctor, polishing his glasses. "This morning he insisted on my—on my playing for him. I have never played anything except the cornet, when I was a young man. I—it very nearly upset me, Lady Brigit. I love Tommy."
Brigit flushed. "Wanted you to play the violin?" she returned. ”

“ Brigstock's expression of a wish to carry him off: Fleda could see that the instinct at the bottom of this was that of standing by her, of seeming not to abandon her. But abruptly, all his soreness working within him, it had struck him that he should abandon her still more if he should leave her to be dealt with by her other visitor. "You must allow me to say, you know, Mrs. Brigstock, that I don't think you should come down on Miss Vetch about anything. It's very good of her to take the smallest interest in us and our horrid little squabble. ”

“ The Bishops on leaving the court immediately repaired to Whitehall Chapel, to return thanks to God for their deliverance, and other churches were thronged by multitudes who assembled in them for the same purpose. “The bells rung from every tower, every house was illuminated, and bonfires were kindled in every [Pg 202] street.” The joy was not confined to London, it was propagated throughout the kingdom, and felt in the remotest villages. Bridgnorth, as we have seen, fully shared in it. ”

“ But even in its present rude and decayed condition, a certain degree of interest attaches to it, as being one of the few surviving relics of our old town; which interest is further enhanced, from its [Pg 185] having been, about an hundred years ago, the birth place of one, whose literary attainments may be supposed to reflect no little honor on Bridgnorth.
It remains for us to consider how the town recovered from the state of almost total ruin in which it had been left, and was made habitable [Pg 186] again. ”

“ Lady Bridget now perceived behind the stockman a black boy on a young colt, leading a sturdy flea-bitten grey, laden with a pack bag on either side. He jumped off as lightly as Moongarr Bill and hitched his horses also to the veranda posts. Except that he was black as a coal, save for the whites of his eyes and his gleaming teeth, he seemed a grotesque understudy of the stockman—moleskins, not too clean and rubbed and frayed in places, fastened up with a strap; faded Crimean shirt exposing a wealed and tattooed breast; old felt hat—not a cabbage tree—with a pipe stuck in its greasy band ”

“ AUSTIN. I'm asking you to be loyal to Blackton for another day.
JACK. Were you loyal when you transferred me?
AUSTIN. Yes: loyal to Blackton's very existence. Don't play your best this afternoon. That's all I ask.
JACK. I always play my best.
EDMUND. Are you never out of form, Mr. Metherell?
JACK. I play at the top of whatever form I'm in.
EDMUND. Couldn't you make it convenient to be in particularly bad form to-day? After your long journey to and from Birchester yesterday, a tired feeling's only natural.
JACK. I'm feeling very fit. Do you know you're asking me to sell a match? ”

“ EDMUND. You've a good opinion of yourself, I notice, Mr. Metherell.
JACK. Blackton Rovers without me aren't a team at all. They're certain to be beaten.
AUSTIN. You say that as if you don't mind if they are.
JACK. I belong to Birchester now, Mr. Whitworth.
AUSTIN. Come, Metherell, you've belonged to Birchester for half a day. You belonged to Blackton for five years. This match can make no difference to Birchester. They're half way up the list. It's critical for Blackton. You've played all these years for Blackton and you've thought Blackton all your life. ”

“ A crowd had packed themselves before the stall. As we reached it Blister appeared in the doorway.
"Get back! Get back!" he ordered, and pointing to the panting mare: "Don't you think she's earned a right to breath?"
The crowd fell away, except one rather shabby little old man.
"No one living," said he, "appreciates what she has done moh than myself, suh, but I desiah to lay ma hand on a real race mayah once moh befoh I die!"
Blister's face softened.
"Come on in, Mr. Sanford," he invited. "Why you win the derby once, didn't you?" ”