Corbin

“ They seemed to hold him to account; they begged, they demanded of him not to break the spell, and, in response, the hot blood in the veins of the musician surged back, his pride flared up again, his eyes turned on Corbin's like those of a dog to his master's. Under their spell the music soared, trembling, paused and soared again, thrilling those who heard it with its grief and tenderness.
Edouard's heart leaped with triumph. “The man knows,” he whispered to the violin; “he understands us. He knows.” ”

“ Before Corbin entered Harvard Miss Warriner and he had belonged to the same dancing-class. Later she had danced with him at four class-days, and many times between. When he graduated, she had gone abroad with her mother, and he had joined the Somerset Club, and played polo at Pride's Crossing, and talked vaguely of becoming a lawyer, and of re-entering Harvard by the door of the Law School, chiefly, it was supposed, that he might have another year of the football team. He was very young in spirit, very big and athletic, very rich, and without a care or serious thought. ”

“ Trenholm took the pains to relock the door from [Pg 253] the inside and to hang his handkerchief securely over the door knob, thereby obstructing Corbin’s view of the interior of the room. The caretaker had watched the sheriff from a respectful distance and, on seeing him enter and close the door, he had stolen down the hall and, first poking out the key in the lock with a slender steel instrument, he applied his eye to the keyhole, and saw nothing. With a grunt indicative of acute disappointment, Corbin slipped up to his living quarters in pursuit of his helpmate, Martha. ”

“ Three years after the marriage, when John Corbin left to fight in the Revolutionary War as an artilleryman, Margaret Corbin accompanied him to war to support the Revolutionary Army. (3) Margaret Corbin supported the Revolutionary Army by caring for injured and sick soldiers as well as by cooking and cleaning. During battle, she also helped her husband load the cannon he was responsible for manning. (4) On November 16, 1776, John Corbin was manning a cannon during the Battle of Fort Washington on Manhattan Island, New York, when he was killed. ”

“ Letty thought it was very bad manners.
“At Corbin Hall,” she thought bitterly, “a stranger would have been overwhelmed with kind attentions”; but apparently at Newport a stranger had no rights that a cottager was bound to respect.
“The fact is, Miss Cornwell,” said the man, in the studied, low voice of the “smart set,” “I’ve been nearly run off my legs this week by Sir Archy Corbin. He’s the greatest fellow for doing things I ever saw in my life. And he positively gives a man no rest at all. We’ve always been good friends, but I shall have to ‘cut him’ if this thing keeps up.” ”

“ They called on Corbin and overwhelmed him with denunciations. As Fisk told the story, Corbin “was on one side of the table weeping and wailing, and I was gnashing my teeth.” In vain they despatched Corbin [Pg 445] to Washington to plead with Grant to suspend the order to sell. The President cut him short with the remark that that subject was closed. Corbin returned to New York and did not even see his fellow conspirators when he got back. As Fisk characterized the situation, “Matters took such a turn that it was no use; it was each man drag out his own corpse.” ”

“ A great part of Farebrother’s enjoyment of his Corbin Hall friends consisted in their simplicity and the number of hearty laughs they afforded him.
“I declare, Miss Corbin,” he exclaimed, after indulging himself in a masculine ha-ha, “it’s a great thing to know a place where one can get a new sensation. It can always be had in Virginia. You are certainly the simplest people about some things and the shrewdest about others I ever saw.”
“Thank you,” answered Letty, smiling, “but, please, as I am not quite a woman of the world yet—tell me what is the matter with Madame de Fonblanque?” ”

“ The war has made of no effect several clauses of my last Will and Testament dated as aforesaid, in that my darling boy John—God rest his noble spirit!—is no more, and in that the books left in token of esteem and affection to my two well-beloved son-sin-law, William A. Maury and Spottswood Welford Corbin, have been lost or mutilated, or otherwise rendered of no avail as such tokens. ”

“ As the first notes of La Lettre d'Amour brought a pause of silence in the restaurant, Corbin, who was talking at the moment, interrupted himself abruptly, and turned in his chair.
All through the evening he had been conscious of the near presence of the young musician. He had not forgotten how, on the night before, his own feelings had been interpreted in La Lettre d'Amour, and for some time he had been debating in his mind as to whether he would request Edouard to play the air again, or let the evening pass without again submitting himself to so supreme an assault upon his feelings. ”

“ Corbin, who would have been sought after as a chaperone, and who would have stood up in her cart when he played polo and shouted at him across the field to “ride him off.”
Miss Warriner, on the contrary, was much older than he in everything but years, and was conscious of the fact. She was a serious, self-centred young person, and satisfied with her own thoughts, unless her companion gave her better ones. She concerned herself with the character and ideas of her friends. If a young man lacked ideas, the fact that he possessed wealth and good manners could not save him. ”

“ But what Jack really liked to do was to ride, shoot and fish. He liked the militia training and the celebrations that went with it. He was young, gay and a bachelor.
Henry Corbin had been born in Warwickshire, England, about 1629. His family was of high standing among the English gentry. Henry came to Virginia during the Cavalier emigration and took up an estate on the Potomac near Matholic. His home was named Pecatone for an Indian chief of the region, according to tradition. Pecatone was one of the great manors of Westmoreland. It was built of brick with a terrace and stone steps in front. ”

“ Nevertheless, when the luncheon was over and the party separated, Miss Maywood and Miss Corbin parted with cordial sentiments of mutual disesteem. Scarcely were the two sisters alone at the hotel, before Miss Maywood burst forth with, “Well, Gladys, I suppose you see what the typical American girl is! Did you [68] ever hear anything equal to Miss Corbin’s language to Mr. Romaine and Sir Archy? Actually rating them! And then the next moment plying them with the most outrageous flattery.”
“And yet, Ethel, she seemed to please them,” answered Mrs. Chessingham, doubtfully. ”

“ Sir Archibald Corbin was in the lead, escorting two tall, handsome, blonde young women. They were evidently sisters and evidently English. They had smooth, abundant light hair, knotted low under their turban hats, and their complexions were deliciously fresh. Although the day was warm, and Letty found her sheer white frock none too cool, and every other woman in sight had on a thin light gown, [49] these two handsome English women wore dark, tight-fitting tweed frocks, and spotless linen collars. ”

“ Ethel Maywood only felt that general regret at parting with him that she always felt at seeing the last of an eligible man—but the presence of Mr. Romaine and Sir Archy Corbin was more than enough to console her. ”

“ Sir Archy, stalking along toward Shrewsbury, smarting under his disappointment—for he really admired Letty, and had fully meant to offer her the chance of becoming Lady Corbin—yet felt a sort of secret relief. Letty was the soul of bright purity, but as Sir Archy philosophically argued, no matter how right people’s characters may be, if their ideas are radically wrong, it sooner or later affects their characters. ”

“ Romaine, with much suavity, rising and going.
When he was out of the door Mrs. Chessingham spoke up promptly: “What a story! I don’t believe a word of it.”
“Of course it isn’t true,” complained Ethel, “but that is the worst of Americans—you never can tell when they are joking and when they aren’t. As for Miss Corbin, I simply can’t understand her at all. However, this move of Mr. Romaine’s settles one thing. Miss Corbin will be Mrs. Romaine, mark my words.”
“Reggie says that there is positively nothing in it; that Mr. Romaine likes her, and is amused by her. She is amusing.” ”

“ CORBIE or CORBINGTON, RALPH (1598–1644) , jesuit, son of Gerard Corbie [q. v.] , was born on 25 March 1598, near Dublin, his parents having been compelled to retire to Ireland from the county of Durham in order to escape persecution at home (Oliver, Jesuit Collections, p. 74) . At the age of five he was taken to England by his parents, and he spent his childhood in the bishopric of Durham or in Lancashire. Afterwards he studied in the English college at St. Omer, at Seville, and at Valladolid, where he was ordained priest. He entered the Society of Jesus at Watten in 1626. ”

“ I have not come to this philosophy without deep experience. On one occasion after Hall, I was flown with such insolence against college restrictions that the cheval-de-frise above the back gate seemed an affront to a freeborn American. Though the porter's gate was still open, it was imperatively necessary to scale that roller of iron spikes. I was no sooner astride of it than a mob of townspeople gathered without, and among them a palsied beggar, who bellowed out that he would hextricate me for 'arf a crown, sir. I have seldom been in a less gratifying position ”

“ The breadth of our plantations and the value of our staples will be of small advantage if the others may have the mastery in our own waters." "Although he argued so wisely and so well, the heads of the Government were unfriendly to Maury, and would not adopt his suggestions. But by this time the whole South was burning with military ardour. Every man was buckling on his sword, and among the rest Maury's two eldest sons, Richard, aged twenty, and John, aged eighteen, volunteered. ”

“ Maury's arrival in England—Meeting with his family—The Maury testimonial—Instructing French officers in defensive sea-mining at Paris—Maury's Electrical Torpedo School—Defence of Wurtemberg by electrical mines—Maury's memorandum on the use of electrical torpedoes—Writing class-books on geography—Visits to Nottingham and to Wrottesley Hall—Arrival of his daughter, Mrs. Corbin—Maury's love for his grandchild—He joins the Church and is confirmed with his children—Made LL.D. at Cambridge—Accepts appointment as Professor at the Virginia Military Institute—Returns to America—Occupations at Richmond. ”

“ There had always been a jealousy between the army and navy, and there was particular jealousy because of the prominence of Maury, in being so constantly noticed by the eminent and titled men of the Old World. Some articles (not emanating from Meade—he was too good and too noble a nature to do such things) called in question the necessity of Maury's doing anything of the kind, as Captain Meade had provided for a full working of all observations needed, to begin with the opening of navigation, and to extend all over the lakes. ”

“ Their brother immediately agreed with their conclusion, and, after telling the story to the whole mess, demanded that Johns should be treated as a thief and "sent to coventry," being no fit associate for young gentlemen. In vain did the poor young man tell his story; no one believed him but Maury, who did not think the evidence sufficient to convict, and who therefore refused to treat him with scorn and contempt, as all the rest did, stood by him, and, as he himself often said, was his only comfort in that long cruise. ”

“ Two magnificent jets went up; and when the two gentlemen heard the report of a barrel of powder, and saw the water pagodas rising up some hundred feet in the air, they were convinced. The next day $50,000 were placed at the service of Commander Maury (for he now held this rank in the Navy of the Confederate States) for mining the James River.
Still powder was scarce, wire scarcer, and of gutta-percha and india-rubber there was absolutely none, except such as might be collected by calling upon the patriotic women of that noble old State for their india-rubber over-shoes ”

“ We shall no doubt gain much; I am full of hope myself. . . . I believe the balance-sheet will be much in our favour.
Maury was left at Havana without a country or a home, and far from friends with whom he could consult. He had always felt great regard and esteem for the Archduke Maximilian, and when that excellent but unfortunate prince undertook to attempt the regeneration of Mexico, Maury had written to him, expressing his warmest wishes for the success of the undertaking. Maximilian was now at Mexico as Emperor. Maury resolved to offer his services ”

“ I sometimes lament the natural turn of these last for poetry and music. If Nannie attempts a new song, before she can play it, "Stewart," a lad of ten or twelve years of age, has caught the air, and pumps water or saws wood to the tune of "Flow gently, Sweet Afton," or whatever else happens to be the favourite air with us all for the time being.
Tell Mat I have applied for service on crutches.
Soon after his return to Fredericksburg, it was urged by the National Intelligencer (Washington paper) Maury should be made Secretary of the Navy. ”

“ Of Maury's private character it is scarcely possible to speak in terms of too high eulogy. His unimpeachable integrity and strict sense of honour shed a halo of content over his whole life. He tried, through life, never to do anything of which his conscience disapproved, and he studied, even in minutest matters, exactitude and moderation. His general knowledge was very extensive, and in his own special science he excelled all other men. ”