Corbet

“ Corbet. He once or twice insinuated that he did not think it was well to talk so familiarly as Ellinor did with a servant—one out of a completely different class—such as Dixon. Ellinor did not easily take hints; every one had spoken plain out to her hitherto; so Mr. Corbet had to say his meaning plain out at last. Then, for the first time, he saw her angry; but she was too young, too childish, to have words at will to express her feelings; she only could say broken beginnings of sentences, such as “What a shame! Good, dear Dixon, who is as loyal and true and kind as any nobleman. ”

“ Corbet died in July 1662, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and was buried in the parish church at Market Drayton. He married Anne, daughter of Sir George Mainwaring, knt., of Ightfield, Shropshire, by whom he had ten sons and ten daughters. She was known as the ‘good Lady Corbet,’ and survived her husband twenty years, dying on 29 Oct. ”

“ When he had gone,
“You wish, sir,” said Corbet, “to have a note delivered to Miss Gourlay?”
“I do, and will give you twenty pounds if you deliver it.”
“Hand me the money quietly,” replied Corbet, “and the note also. I shall then give you a friend's advice.”
The stranger immediately placed both the money and the note in his hands; when Corbet, having put them in his pocket, said, “I will deliver the note, sir; but go to my father, and ask him to prevent this marriage; and, above all things, to direct you how to act. If any man can serve you in the business, he can.” ”

“ By that time she’d be fit to carry taters, and Corbet might make a little money out of her. But it would cost a good bit to do all that, and so I dar say Corbet’ll sail her as she stands,—if he sails her at all. Arter all, he might as well, bein as she’s jest as good now as ever she was. She never was much; but then she’s been lucky, and did well enough for Corbet. It would be kind of onnateral to see him aboard of any other craft than this here.”
“Boys,” said Bart, “something ought to be done in honor of this great occasion ”

“ The long-wished-for wind had at last come, and they were freed from their long and irksome imprisonment. In an instant they all rushed to hoist the sails. As they hoisted them they felt the gentle air on their faces, and they saw the sails swelling at its touch. Soon all sail was hoisted, and Captain Corbet, with an exultant smile, stood once more at the helm, and the Antelope began to move through the waters. ”

“ Mr. Ness never had a more satisfactory pupil; one whom he could treat more as an intellectual equal.
Mr. Corbet, as Ralph was always called in Hamley, was resolute in his cultivation of himself, even exceeding what his tutor demanded of him. He was greedy of information in the hours not devoted to absolute study. Mr. Ness enjoyed giving information, but most of all he liked the hard tough arguments on all metaphysical and ethical questions in which Mr. Corbet delighted to engage him. They lived together on terms of happy equality, having thus much in common. ”

“ All this time the wind had gone on increasing in violence, and the sea had risen more and more. For himself and for the Antelope Captain Corbet did not care; but the lowery sky and the stormy sea seemed terrible to him, for they spoke to him of the lost boys, and told a tale of horror. ”

“ THE DEATH OF HIS OWNE FATHER.
Vincent Corbet, farther knowne
By Poynters name, then by his owne,
Here lyes ingaged till the day
Of raising bones, and quickning clay.
Nor wonder, reader, that he hath
Two surnames in his epitaph;
For this one did comprehend
All that two familyes could lend:
And if to know more arts then any
Could multiply one into many,
Here a colony lyes, then,
Both of qualityes and men. ”

“ It’s jest so. I wasn’t nigh the schewner. It was the babby. Him it was. I was a nussin of him, an a feedin of him, an a singin an a hummin to him. An I knowed nothin more about that thar stone wall than the man in the mune.”
And all these words of Captain Corbet, together with the simple statements of the boys, combined to strengthen the convictions of the villagers that the poor captain was a deeply injured man.
Now, of all these circumstances which tended to establish Captain Corbet’s perfect freedom from all possible blame, Mr. Long was not neglectful of a single one. ”

“ What wonder, then, that the very mention of that word was enough to excite them all in an instant, and to turn their minds from good-natured contempt to eager and irrepressible curiosity?
“I’m no fool,” said Captain Corbet, impressively—“I know what I’m a doin. I got this mineral rod last year, and went round everywhar over the hull country. It didn’t come natral, at fust, but I kep on. You see I had a motive. It wan’t myself. It wan’t Mrs. Corbet. It was the babby! He’s a growin, and I’m a declinin; an afore he grows to be a man, whar’ll I be? I want to have somethin to leave him. ”

“ Corbet, knowing well why he had thus formally prefaced his entrance into the room with a—
“Can I have a few minutes’ conversation with you, Mr. Wilkins?”
“Certainly, my dear fellow. Sit down. Will you have a cigar?”
“No! I never smoke.” Mr. Corbet despised all these kinds of indulgences, and put a little severity into his refusal, but quite unintentionally; for though he was thankful he was not as other men, he was not at all the person to trouble himself unnecessarily with their reformation.
“I want to speak to you about Ellinor. ”

“ Octavius Gilchrist republished all Corbet's printed poems, and added several from Ashmolean and Harleian MSS., together with the funeral oration on Prince Henry from an Ashmolean MS. and a complete memoir. Alexander Chalmers reprinted Gilchrist's volume in his collection of the poets. In ‘Notes and Queries’ (3rd ser. ii. 494–5) is a version of Corbet's poem on the Christ Church bell—‘Great Tom’—printed from an Ashmolean MS., which is far longer than any other printed version. Some verses before Richard Vaughan's ‘Waterworks’ (1610) , subscribed Robert Corbett, are attributed to the bishop. ”

“ He learned that the sails, could not be obtained, and also that they had recommended him to go to Miramichi for them. By this he understood the reason why Captain Corbet was going to that place.
Now, Ferguson had taken a great fancy to the boys; but the opinion which he had formed of Captain Corbet and the Antelope was of a very different kind. That opinion he had been at no pains to conceal. He had, in fact, expressed it freely and frequently. He had called Captain Corbet an “old woman,” and the Antelope “a tub.” ”

“ Corbet came down to see her. He always slept on these occasions at Mr. Ness’s; but he was at Ford Bank the greater part of the one day between two nights that he allowed himself for the length of his visits. And even these short peeps were not frequently taken. He was working hard at law: fagging at it tooth and nail; arranging his whole life so as best to promote the ends of his ambition; feeling a delight in surpassing and mastering his fellows—those who started in the race at the same time. He read Ellinor’s letters over and over again ”

“ CORBET, Sir JOHN (1594–1662) , patriot, was the eldest son of Richard Corbet, by his wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Bromley, lord chancellor of England, and grandson of Reginald Corbet [q. v.] , one of the justices of the queen's bench in the reign of Elizabeth. He was baptised at Stoke-upon-Terne, Shropshire, on 20 May 1594 (parish register) . He was created a baronet on 19 Sept. 1627 (Patent Roll, 3 Chas. I, pt. xxxvi. No. 2) . Blakeway states that Corbet ‘was one of those five illustrious patriots, worthy of the eternal gratitude of their country, who opposed the forced loan’ in 1627. ”

“ As we passed a great Venice glass, I remember being struck with the difference in our looks, for I was ever a true Corbet, with the great dark eyes, level black brows, and crisp hair of my race—a regular black Corby, as poor Randall used to call me.
The twins led me up the staircase and into a room furnished with blue, where were two little beds and a truckle for a servant. Out of this opened a large light closet, where I found my mails. As soon as we were alone, the girls found their tongues.
"We are glad you have come to live with us!" ”

“ So darkness came upon them, and night; and the darkness of this night was intensified, by the thick fog, so that it became a darkness which might be felt.
“Ef we want to save the boys,” said Captain Corbet at last to Mr. Long, who stood dejectedly near him, “my opinion is, that we’d better keep afloat ourselves; but at the rate we’re goin’, it’s my opinion that before long we’ll be high and dry. And we may thank our blessed stars if we light on a mud flat, and don’t get dashed to small bits on Blomidon. ”

“ Here, on three sides, the forest encircled them; below them was the deep, dark gully; and the shadows of the forest were so heavy, that nothing could be distinguished at a distance. Captain Corbet, usually talkative, was now silent and pensive, and uttered an occasional sigh. As for Solomon, he did not say one word. The whole party stood for a moment in silence, looking into the cellar.
“Come, boys,” said Bart, at length, “hurry up. The first thing we’ve got to do is to make the arrangements. We must arrange the lamps.” ”

“ This was quite sufficient; for, as Corbet was known to be more deeply in his confidence than any other man living, he was instantly admitted.
“Well, Corbet,” said his master, “I hope there is nothing wrong.”
“Sir Thomas,” replied the other, “you have a right to be a happy and a thankful man this morning; and although I cannot mention the joyful intelligence with which I am commissioned, without grief and shame for the conduct of a near relation of my own, yet I feel this to be the happiest day of my life.”
“What the deuce!” exclaimed the baronet, starting to his feet—“how is this? ”

“ Richard Corbet, successively bishop of Oxford and Norwich, was born at the village of [vii] Ewell in Surrey, in the year 1582: he was the only son of Bennet, or Benedicta, and Vincent Corbet, who, from causes which I have not discovered, assumed the name of Poynter. His father, a man of some eminence for his skill in gardening, and who is celebrated by Ben Jonson in an elegy [1] alike [viii] honourable to the subject, the poet, and the friend, for his many amiable virtues, resided [ix] at Whitton, a hamlet in the parish of Twickenham, where the poet passed his declining days. ”

“ It was with words to this effect that Bart broke in upon the musings of Captain Corbet.
The captain listened to his remarks, and, though he was evidently struck by them, still there arose in his mind certain scruples, which under the circumstances were very natural.
“O, no! no, no!” said he; “railly, now, you mustn’t try to persuade me.”
“Why not?”
“O, it would never do!”
“Do? Yes, it would.”
“O, I couldn’t bring myself to leave youns! Who could tell what might happen!”
“Nonsense! Are we babies? Can’t we take care of ourselves? Of course we can! ”

“ All of us are accustomed to take care of ourselves; and besides, if you wanted a responsible guardian for us, what better one could be found than Captain Corbet?"
The doctor and Mr. Long both shook their heads. Evidently neither of them attached any great importance to Captain Corbet's guardianship.
"Did you tell your father how you were going?" asked the doctor, after a few further words with Mr. Long.
"O, yes, sir; and he told me I might go. What's more, he promised to charter a schooner for me to cruise about with Phil and Pat after I arrived home." ”

“ The servant obeyed, and an elderly countryman entered the room. He advanced with an humble bow to Sir Henry, and, in simple language, informed him, he rented the principal part of the Cornwall estate, belonging to Lady Corbet; who was then at the old Mansion-house, confined by a fractured arm; and as the surgeon who attended her, apprehended she was in danger, he thought it requisite to acquaint Sir Henry; more especially as Lady Corbet, who, he acknowledged, was sometimes delirious, had once expressed a wish to see him and a gentleman of the name of Talton. ”

“ In it they had cruised over Minas Basin, they had visited the Five Islands, they had landed at Pratt’s Cove: in it they had drifted over the wide seas, they had run ashore, they had encountered perils without number; in it they had known joy and sorrow, plenty and famine, hope and despair; and this was the end—to see the dear old tub upset on the wrong side, and lying buried in Mud Creek before their eyes, awaiting its inevitable fate.
“O, Captain Corbet!” cried Bart, who hurried up first to the figure on the stone wall. “O, Captain Corbet! Can nothing be done to save her?” ”

“ Nonsense! Think of your baby. Postpone it! And you pretend to be a father!”
Captain Corbet drew a long sigh.
“I feel,” said he, “rayther uncomfortable here;” and he pressed his hand against his manly bosom.
“Never mind,” said Bart. “Come; try the mineral rod.”
Captain Corbet took the rod, and tried to balance it on his finger; but his hand trembled so that it at once fell to the ground.
The boys gave a cry of delight. He had been standing, as before, in the middle of the cellar, and the rod fell in the former place.
“Not a bit of doubt about it!” cried Phil. “There it goes again! ”

“ Captain Corbet shook his head mildly.
“’Tain’t possible,” said he, “no how. Fust an foremost, the spread of canvas on the schewner ain’t over an above sufficient to fetch her along, and on this here ship it wouldn’t be a succumstance. Why, this here ship is a thousand tonner, an more too. Besides,” added the venerable captain, with mild suggestiveness, “the canvas of the Antelope might be stronger.”
This was a statement the truth of which was at once felt and acknowledged by all the boys.
“Wal,” said Captain Corbet, “there ain’t no use doin things up in a hurry—not a mite. ”