Huntingdon

“ Huntingdon smiled ironically.
“I do not think you will refuse, Erle. You are too much a gentleman to treat a woman badly. All the world is saying you and Miss Selby are engaged. You can hardly allow a girl to be talked about.”
“But if I prefer another?” stammered Erle.
“Tut, tut, boy, you will soon get over your fancy,” returned Mr. Huntingdon, impatiently. “Most young men have half a dozen flirtations before they settle down. I suppose I need not tell you that I strictly prohibit any visits to Mrs. Trafford for the future. ”

“ The remains of the castle of Huntingdon, though reduced to banks, ditches, and a mound, nevertheless show how spacious and how strong must have been this chief seat of the broad earldom of Countess Judith and her descendants the kings of Scotland, earls also of Huntingdon. The Danes were encamped here in 921, and the burh which had been ruined was restored by Eadward in the same year. The ditches were fed from the Ouse, which expanded before the castle as a broad marsh, now a fertile meadow. ”

“ Consequently, great was my impatience till the day of the dinner came, and the great orator arrived; but though he again talked most pleasantly, and on law subjects too, not one single allusion did he make to the Huntingdon cause. In vain did I try to take courage, and remind him of his promise; I was not then a married woman, and fancied it would be presuming to do so; but, when I heard his carriage announced, and saw him about to depart, made valiant by despair, I exclaimed “Oh! Mr. Erskine, you have not fulfilled your promise! you have not told us the particulars of the Huntingdon cause!” ”

“ The old man’s appearance now attracted every one’s attention. He had drawn himself up to his full height, and had turned so as to confront Mr Huntingdon, who was sitting with his sister by his side on a garden bench facing the house. His snow-white hair gave him ordinarily a venerable appearance, and this was now increased by the look of intense earnestness which glowed in his every feature. His back was to Amos, who, noticing that the old man was evidently about to speak under the pressure of some unusual excitement, half rose to his feet, but too late to stop old Harry’s purpose. ”

“ Huntingdon had grown harder and more tyrannical as the years passed on. Neither of the young men ventured to oppose his iron will. He was fond of his grandson, proud of his good looks and aristocratic air, and not disposed to quarrel with him because he was a little wild. “Young men would be young men,” was a favorite saying of his; he had used it before in the case of Lord Ronald Gower.
But his nephew, Erle, was really dearer to the old man’s heart. But then every one liked Erle Huntingdon, he was so sweet-tempered and full of life, so honest and frank, and so thoroughly unselfish. ”

“ Most gladly did he acquiesce in the plans proposed by his sister as to the day and manner of his wife’s return, promising that he would duly restrain himself at the first meeting, and that he would endeavour to erase, by his future consideration and attention to her every wish, any painful scar that might remain from harshness or unkindness in times past. Miss Huntingdon was most deeply thankful that her path had been thus smoothed by the wise and tender hand that guides all the footsteps of the trusting people of God ”

“ Mr Huntingdon, of course, never alluded to the past, and took great delight in his grandchildren, who were left pretty much to the care and training of an excellent servant whom Amos had chosen for them by his father’s desire, and also to the loving and wise instructions of Miss Huntingdon; for their mother professed that she had not yet recovered health and energy sufficient to enable her to look after them herself. Amos saw this with regret, and wished that his sister could take a right view of her duty in the matter. ”

“ So his younger brother Walter got the praise, and was looked upon as the hero of the adventure.
Chapter Two. Under a cloud.
Mr Huntingdon was a country gentleman of good fortune and popular manners, warm in his temper, hasty in his speech, upright in his transactions, and liberal in his dealings. No man could make a better speech, when he had those to address who substantially agreed with him; while in ordinary conversation he generally succeeded in silencing an opponent, though, perhaps, more by the vehemence of his utterances than by the cogency of his reasonings. ”

“ Some shrugged their shoulders, some smiled, others looked annoyed. Mrs Morse and her daughter exchanged looks of bewilderment behind Amos’s back. Walter, with feelings of mingled shame and vexation, glanced at the bright face of his aunt, whose eyes swam with grateful tears. Then he glanced down: her hands were crossed; yes, he knew that it would be so. And how felt Mr Huntingdon? To the surprise of all, and of none more than Amos himself, he exclaimed, “That’s right, Amos; you’ve spoken out like a man, and I believe you are right.” ”

“ Huntingdon arrived at Wingfield on the 19th, and assisted Shrewsbury in conveying the Queen of Scots, for greater safety, to Tutbury, which he garrisoned with five hundred men. On 22 Sept. 1569 Elizabeth sent instructions to Huntingdon to supersede Shrewsbury, the ground of the ‘direction so sudden and strange’ being ascribed to ‘the said Earls infirmities and request for help, and to the Queens fear of some escape’ (Cal. Hatfield MSS. i. 422; Haynes, p. 526) . ”

“ Earl of Huntingdon, and generously congratulated him upon prospects, which seemed to have interfered with and overclouded those which he had himself entertained.
"But think not," said the Soldan, "thou noble youth, that the Prince of Scotland is more welcome to Saladin, than was Kenneth to the solitary Ilderim when they met in the desert, or the distressed Ethiop to the Hakim Adonbec. A brave and generous disposition like thine hath a value independent of condition and birth, as the cool draught which I here proffer thee, is as delicious from an earthen vessel as from a goblet of gold." ”

“ When Amos Huntingdon had reached his mother’s retreat and told his errand, he confided to the good physician under whose charge Mrs Huntingdon was placed his great purpose, and the hope that it might now be accomplished, since his sister had returned to her home. The kind-hearted friend at once entered into his plans, and gave him every encouragement to hope that he would meet with good success. But care and judgment and tact must be used, lest, in endeavouring to bring back the mind to its old balance, anything should be done which might rather throw it further out. ”

“ Such were the words which suddenly broke the stillness of a dark October night, and roused up the household of Mr Walter Huntingdon, a country gentleman living on his own estate in Derbyshire. The voice was the coachman’s, and came apparently from somewhere near the drive-gate, which was about a couple of hundred yards from the front door of the house. The evening had been dark and stormy; and it was in a lull of the tempest that the ominous sounds of distress reached the ears of the inmates of Flixworth Manor.
In a few moments all was bustle and excitement—lights flashing; feet hurrying ”

“ On 4 July 1479 he gave up the earldom of Pembroke in exchange for the earldom of Huntingdon at the request of the king, who desired to bestow it on his son Edward. He was captain of the army in France, June to September 1475; was appointed justice of South Wales on 15 Nov. 1483, and acted as commissioner of array in Wales, Monmouth, and Herefordshire. He died in 1491. On 28 Feb. 1484 he covenanted to marry Catherine, daughter of Richard III; but the princess died before the time appointed for the marriage, and Huntingdon married Mary, fifth daughter of Richard, earl Rivers. ”

“ At the end of November 1688 Huntingdon attempted, it is said, to poison the Earl of Bath at Plymouth and seize upon the citadel for James II. He was imprisoned for a time with all the officers of his regiment save Captain Viscount Hatton and excepted from the Act of Indemnity in July 1689 (ib. i. 480, 554; Hatton Correspondence, ii. 117) . Huntingdon was one of the managers of the conference with the commons in February 1689. ”

“ It was so with Mrs Huntingdon. She had found the only true rest, and so was daily making progress in strength both of body and mind. And her thorough establishment in this improvement in physical and mental health was helped forward by the presence of her grandchildren, whom Miss Huntingdon had brought with her to the cottage. Their coming carried her back in thought to the days when her own children were as young, and bridged over the gulf of sorrow which had come in between ”

“ So neglect Mexico and Alaska for a little while, tomorrow, will you, Huntingdon?"
Enoch's laughter was a little grim, but with a quick leap of his heart, he answered. "A man can but obey the Commander in Chief, I suppose!"
As the door swung to behind him, the President said to the Secretary of
State, "Huntingdon is working too hard, I'm afraid. Does he ever play?"
"Horseback riding and golf. But he's a woman hater. At least, if not a hater, an avoider!" ”

“ Ah, good! it is very generous of you to put down your own name for so large a sum to the building fund, besides giving the land. Put me down then for fifty pounds, and an annual subscription of three guineas till the concern is self-supporting.”
“May I look at the list?” asked Miss Huntingdon, when their visitor had expressed his thanks to her brother. Having glanced at it, she also signified her willingness to be a helper in the work, and gave the list to Walter to return to the gentleman. ”

“ My dear, dear nephew, I do earnestly desire to see you grow up into a truly noble man, and I want to be, as far as God permits me, in the place of a mother to you.”
As Miss Huntingdon uttered these words with deep emotion, Walter flung his arms passionately round her, and, sinking on his knees, buried his face in her lap, while tears and sobs, such as he was little accustomed to give vent to, burst from him. ”

“ As was only natural, Huntingdon was strongly adverse to the proposed marriage between Mary Queen of Scots and Norfolk. He held meetings at his house to organise resistance to it, and his energetic measures had considerable influence in frustrating the designs of the northern conspirators in 1569. When rumours arose of a possible northern rebellion, precautions were taken by Elizabeth to prevent the escape of the Queen of Scots. ”

“ But here her niece interrupted her. “O auntie, there can be no possible harm. No one will notice us; there will be thousands of people, and we shall be lost in the crowd. People are never so thoroughly alone as when they are in the middle of a great crowd.”
“And who is to go with you?” asked Mr Huntingdon.
“Oh, of course I don’t expect dear sober old Amos to go, he is quite above such things; but Walter might take me,—wouldn’t you, dear Walter?—Now, may I go, dear father, if Walter takes me? It will be such fun cantering there and back this delightful summer weather.” ”

“ Even in women of the strongest understanding and the deepest and widest culture, there is generally a want of ballast which unfits them for such a responsibility; and Lady Huntingdon was not a lady of a strong understanding, and still less of a deep and wide culture. But she possessed what was better still—a single eye to her Master's glory, a truly humble mind, and genuine piety. ”

“ The young Earl of Huntingdon came of age in 1750, and the Countess gave up Donnington Park to him, removing her household to Ashby, living there with her other children and two of the Ladies Hastings. Towards the close of 1749 Whitefield desired, if possible, with the aid of Lady Huntingdon, to organise the vast numbers who had been greatly blessed by his evangelistic work, into a corporate body, like that which the clear, practical wisdom of John Wesley had created for the societies which looked up to him as leader. ”

“ The ninth Earl of Huntingdon, father of the first Countess of Moira, died in 1746, and was succeeded by his son, brother of the Lady Moira. The tenth earl, however, died without issue in 1789; whereupon the earldom became suspended, and so continued for thirty years, a fact involving matters of very deep interest, but of no importance so far as present purposes are concerned. The tenth Earl of Huntingdon’s heir was his sister, Lady Moira, and upon her descended the ancient baronies of the Huntingdon earldom—namely, Hastings, Hungerford, Botreaux, and Molines. ”

“ There does not appear to be any plan of Huntingdon Castle, that is, of the earthworks known as Castle Hill, which still are seen; and as they are extensive and partly included within a private garden, a mere handsketch is scarcely practicable. The position is a fine one. The Ouse, here deep, broad, and sluggish, in its way from Bedford and Eaton to the Fens, recedes from the higher land to the northward, and makes, between Huntingdon and Godmanchester, a bold curve to the south; thus enclosing a grand circle of meadow about half a mile in diameter, and now used as the racecourse. ”

“ At the same time Gregson made it to be distinctly understood that the sovereign was only to be given to the man, if such should be found, who should beat Walter Huntingdon in all three things,—namely, in shooting, leaping, and running. ”

“ From Chatteris I came back to Huntingdon and once more saw its beautiful meadows, of which I spoke when I went thither in 1823. From Huntingdon, through Stilton, to Stamford (the two last in Lincolnshire) , is a country of rich arable land and grass fields, and of beautiful meadows. The enclosures are very large, the soil red, with a whitish stone below; very much like the soil at and near Ross in Herefordshire, and like that near Coventry and Warwick. Here, as all over this country, everlasting fine sheep. The houses all along here are built of the stone of the country: you seldom see brick. ”