Burford

“ These people do not even know that I exist. And if you really need somebody to talk to their wives and be gracious and all that, why can't Mrs. Burford do it better than I? She is right on the ground, anyway."
"Yes, she's right on the ground. And so is Thomas Tucker's newest tooth. The poor little skeezicks howled half the night, Burford says. He has stopped yelling just now, but he won't let his mother out of his sight for one minute. Mrs. Burford is pretty much worn to a frazzle. But I don't want to pester you, Marian." There was a worried note in Rod's voice now. ”

“ John and Robert Burford, and went to live first at Cheam, in Surrey, and afterwards in the neighbourhood of Bristol. He died on 19 July 1856 at Belton, near Bristol. In his works, his writing, his conversation, and his dress, the most remarkable characteristics were neatness and precision. ”

“ The Barony of Burford came into the Cornewall family before he ninth of Edward II. with the coheiress of Mortimer, and continued with the descendants till the death of Francis, Baron of Burford, in 1726. The present family is sprung from a younger line, seated at Berrington in the county of Hereford, in the fifteenth century, and which estate was sold in the eighteenth. ”

“ We've been counting the hours till we should dare to go to call on Miss Northerner, haven't we, kiddies? This is my son, Edward Fairfax Burford, Junior, Miss Hallowell. Three years old, three feet square, and weighs forty-one pounds. Isn't he rather gorgeous—if he does belong to me! And this is Thomas Tucker Burford. Eighteen 63 months old, twenty-six pounds, and the disposition of an angel, as long as he gets his own way. ”

“ Burford,’ said Mary, smiling.
‘That she is a very refined, rather exclusive and domestic lady, devoted to her little girl, and extremely kind to the poor. Indeed, so is Miss Morton, but she prefers the London poor, and is altogether rather flighty, and what Hailes calls an unconventional young lady. There was a very nice lady with her, Mrs. Bury, the daughter of a brother of the late Lord, a widow, and very kind and friendly. ”

“ The oldest racing club in England, it still flourishes, and will in future hold its meetings near Salisbury.
In 1695 King William III. came to Burford in order to influence the votes in the forthcoming parliamentary election. Macaulay tells us that two of the famous saddles were presented to this monarch, and remarks that one of the Burford saddlers was the best in Europe. ”

“ BURFORD, ROBERT (1791–1861) , panorama painter, was born in 1791. In 1812 he first exhibited at the Royal Academy ‘A View of Westminster Hall.’ In conjunction with H. A. Barker [q. v.] he opened a panorama on the site of the present Strand Theatre, and then removed it to Leicester Square, where for many years it formed one of the chief attractions oi London. Burford exhibited there a succession of panoramic views of the chief places of interest in Europe, all of which he visited himself in order to obtain accurate drawings. Mr. ”

“ Thus, by the gradual addition of chapel after chapel, the plan of these magnificent churches, some of the finest productions of English art, grew until, as at Burford or Holy Trinity, Coventry, it lost all likeness to its original state, and seems at first sight to be a collection of buildings heaped together without much method. It would be interesting to trace the growth of churches like St Mary Redcliffe or Ludlow, as we have traced that of Cirencester and Burford. ”

“ Of the Burford picture (see vol. i. pp. 301-2 and Pl. 76) he says:
“This picture was formerly in the possession of a branch of the More family, who resided at Gobions, or Gubbins, not far from Barnet, in Hertfordshire, for whom 336I have no doubt it was painted, and probably by Zuccaro, as it bears the date 1593—some of the figures are copied from one of the pictures already alluded to (most likely from that at Barnborough) ; these are Sir John More, Knt., Sir Thomas More, Knt., John More, Margaret Roper, Cecilia Heron, Elizabeth Dancey, and Anne Cresacre. ”

“ Such a man deserved to be set down on every possible opportunity.
True to the arrangement he had made with himself on the previous evening, Burrell immediately after breakfast next morning set out for Burford Street. On reaching No. 16 he ascended the steps and entered the grimy passage, [Pg 234] and inquired from a man he found there where the landlord was to be discovered. In reply the individual he interrogated went to the head of a flight of stairs that descended like an abyss into the regions below, and shouted something in German. ”

“ The wonder is that in these days of appreciation of beautiful architecture nobody has restored it back into a habitable mansion. That such ruins as this or Kirby Hall or Burford Priory should remain to drop to pieces, seems a positive sin. A couple of miles to the west of Barsham is Great Snoring, whose turreted parsonage is also rich in early-Tudor moulded brickwork, as is also the case at Thorpland Hall to the south. ”

“ George Meredith, who then lived at Burford Bridge, beneath the Downs he has described so lovingly,—“springy turf bordered on a long line, clear as a racecourse, by golden gorse covers, and leftward over the{108} gorse the dark ridge of the fir and heath country ran companionably to the south-west, the valley between, with undulations of wood and meadow sunned or shaded, clumps, mounds, promontories, away to broad spaces of tillage banked by wooded hills, and dimmer beyond, and farther the faintest shadowiness of heights, as a veil to the illimitable.” ”

“ By Burford at all events is our best way up to the top of that Cockney paradise, Box Hill. Lucky are the citizens with such a scene within reach of their picnic excursions, and luckiest those sound enough in wind and limb to make the straight ascent from the hotel up the steep chalk slope, reached also by a zigzag road from Juniper Hall. The face towards Dorking is covered by an enclosure of rich wood, open to any one taking refreshment at the Swiss Cottage just within its gate. ”

“ BURFORD, THOMAS (fl. 1740–1765) , mezzotint engraver, was born about 1710, and is said to have died in London in 1770. His prints, however, range from 1741 to 1765. He was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, and scraped some plates of landscapes and hunting, but was best known as an engraver of portraits. Mr. John Chaloner Smith, in his ‘Catalogue of British Mezzotinto Portraits,’ describes twenty plates by him, in addition to a set of twelve three-quarter length portraits of ladies in ovals representing the months, published in 1745 ”

“ Bridgwater, Som., St Mary Magdalene’s, 96 Bridlington, Yorks., priory church, 17 Bristol, St Mary Redcliffe, 48, 49, 66, 95, 96, 126 Brixworth, Northants., 4, 53, 54, 55, 56 Bunbury, Cheshire, 28 Burford, Oxon., 35, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 88, 97, 102 Burgh-next-Aylsham, Norfolk, 78 Burneston, Yorks., 84, 85, 129 Burnsall, Yorks., 30 Burton Lazars, Leices., 92 Caistor, Lincs., 58 Cambridge, Clare college, 38 ”

“ He guessed that it would be a noiseless weapon, perhaps a knife, and a feeling of wonder stole over him, wonder of how it would feel as the knife sheathed itself in his heart.
No feeling of fear, not a scrap; he would welcome it. It would end the pain. And then he prayed. ”

“ Masters uttered these words so fiercely that—in no way relieved—Dick said:
"Does it? Well then, Prince, old fellow, if you're so anxious about my future as all that, I'll relieve your anxiety. I can truthfully tell you that I have never set eyes on a girl yet that I should be at all likely to marry. Wine's been my trouble, not women."
Once more the black blood surged up; a curtain seemed to come up before Masters' eyes; a thick misty curtain blotting things out. But he knew he must keep his temper in hand; exhibit only calmness. He would gain more that way: for the child's sake—for her sake. ”

“ In the ears of one man—William Masters by name, binder-together-of-sensational-incidents in-book-form by profession—such grumbles tingled pleasantly. Because the usual October Wivernsea weather is mild and bright and rainless. Being a non-gregarious man, the place shaped before his eyes as a land flowing with milk and honey. ”

“ The more rigorously we silence the opposing counsel—the evidence of our own hearts—the more we pride ourselves on our impartiality, our exemplary Roman-fatherly administration of justice. We are apt to ignore any talk of a Court of Appeal; arrogate to ourselves supreme wisdom. ”

“ The listener could not see, but he knew her actions to be expostulating.
"Ah, it's so; it's so.... I know; I'm sober now. When I come out of it I lie thinking, thinking, thinking. Realize then what a foul beast I have made of myself. When I think how I have behaved to you—to you, my staunch, devoted, dear old pal, the one soul who has stuck to me through thick and thin, I hate myself, I hate myself; and I wonder you don't hate me too."
"You know I love you, Dick. You know that no soul in the whole world loves you as I do." ”

“ Strange that, by the bedside of the panting child, with Life and Death fighting for possession of the fragile little form, her ears ever straining to catch the sound of that softer breathing which she knew would signal Life's victory—strange, that with fear and hope surging in her bosom, even while her gentle hand restrained her dear one's restless tossing to and fro and cooled the burning forehead and feverish, clinging little fingers; strange that there should seem no wrong, nothing incongruous in the thought of an almost stranger—of William Masters. ”

“ The features were the most beautiful and womanly ones he had ever seen. Just as sweet a face as a woman with golden hair—that peculiar tint of gold which the sun ever seems anxious to search amongst—and forget-me-not eyes, can possess at the age of three-and twenty. ”

“ If I die now shall I go right straight to heaven, Prince Charlie?"
The woman kneeling by the bedside turned away her head. The trembling hand found her throat and helped to stifle the sob bursting there. Life and death were fighting for conquest. Contemplation of the battle is ever sad; sadder because the watchers can do nought to turn the tide of victory. Time was arbiter; yet the little one was speaking as if the Grim One's victory were assured.
There was a little quaver, just a little huskiness, in Masters' voice, as he said:
"Don't talk of dying, Gracie." ”

“ The axe of common sense may be laid to the root of the tree; may cut it down root and branch. Still one small remaining tendril, hidden from the sight, will work its way into the heart; spread and grow until in its magnitude it overshadows every other thought. Such is love.
Masters reached the steps which led up from the sands to the seat. Standing at their base, he looked away in the direction of the sea. It was easy to mark the spot where Gracie had worked so hard with spade and pail. ”

“ She smiled. Encouraged by it, he continued, in the same strain:
"You are always alone, yet you create the impression that you are happy. You don't seem to sigh for bands of music, to hanker after a crowded promenade. You find existence possible without a shoal of people to help you pass your time."
Her smile broadened into a laugh. This time at herself—at his description of her; she asked:
"And those—shall I call them unusual?—characteristics in a woman interest you?"
"Amazingly!"
"Why?"
She put the question with a little nervousness, bred of that eagerness of his. ”

“ Seton-Carr was not a woman to despise details of that kind.
She had laughed once at a cynic's belief [pg 299] that, if you cannot make sure of retaining a man's love, you can, by securing the services of a good cook, make sure of his respect. Despite her laughter she was not without faith in the proverb that the road to a man's heart lies through his stomach.
The last time Prince Charlie had dined at Ivy Cottage he had not enjoyed himself; she remembered why with a little flush of shame. There was determination that he should do so this time. And she rather thought she would enjoy herself too ”

“ With all the other men she had known, on whom she had exerted the power of her fascination, her woman's ways and wiles had seemed fair and fitting. They were but part of the game, and understood by both sides of it. The men had been men of the world—her world—armed and armoured against her coquetry and charm. ”

“ Seton-Carr could only fit as a confirmation of her friend Amy's letter.
Pride and a readily aroused temper usually battle together with conspicuous success. Mabel worked herself up to such a pitch of excitement that she positively cried. To think that this man—she knew in her heart of hearts that she loved him—should have the effrontery to talk of her so! ”

“ Curiosity and the desire, the necessity, to either set at rest or confirm his fears outweighed everything. Any certainty is better than suspense; we always say so and feel it so—until that certainty is known. ”

“ Mabel was playing a part: playing it well; wore her mask with success. Her laugh rang out merrily at each of Chantrelle's jokes. But just as full as her face and voice were of mirth, so was her heart full of ache and pain.
Mrs. Seton-Carr would have given worlds just then to be able to rise from her table; she needed so greatly to go to her room for a good cry. But a Lucifer-like pride upheld her. Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone. ”