John Pym

“ A journal reported how some at Oxford drank "a health to his Majesty, by whom we live and move and have our being; and to the confusion of Pym, his God, and his Gospel." Whether the report be an exaggeration of fact, or, as we would hope, a pure fiction, certainly Pym was an object of intense dislike to the Royalists, and his death removed a formidable antagonist. ”

“ Among the younger men we may notice Sir Benjamin Rudyerd, the future Lord Chief Justice Bramston, and the man who in the coming stormy times was for a period more prominent than them all, the statesman Pym. It will be seen in a note at p. 104, that the publication of this volume has given an opportunity for the settlement of the question, whether Pym had what may be termed a regular legal education, which his biographers have left in doubt. The Middle Temple has clearly the high honour of reckoning him upon their roll. ”

“ No traces of Pym's speech are found in Rushworth, Nalson, or Parliamentary Debates. It is not mentioned in Forster's Life of the Great Statesmen, or in Sanford's Illustrations. The extract I have given is from A Just Vindication of the questioned part of the reading of Edward Bagshawe, Esq., 1660, p. 2-4. The tract states that Pym's speech was delivered when the petition was read and debated in the House. Hanbury's Memorials, ii. 141. ”

“ They were bought at Bishop Wilberforce's sale, who was the Cardinal's brother-in-law, and contain the autograph of William Wilberforce, the bishop's eldest brother. Upon the same shelf will be found a copy of "Parochial Sermons" by John Henry Newman, Vicar of St. Mary the Virgin's, [Pg 114] Oxford. This volume formerly belonged to Bishop Stanley, and came from the library of his celebrated son, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, sometime Dean of Westminster.
A good book might be written by one who is duly qualified on "the Poets who are not read." ”

“ Our dear friend, Mr. Anstey Guthrie, having firmly and most wisely declined the early train and any consequent worm, one very chilly morn, as the early risers were starting for the station, appeared at his chamber window awfully arrayed in white, and muttering with the fervour of another John Bradford, "There goes Anstey Guthrie—but for the grace of God," plunged back into his rapidly cooling couch, "and left the world to darkness and to us."
[Pg 53] Chat No. 6.
"It's idle to repine, I know ”

“ We greatly value it, if only as the cause of a lasting friendship it started with the artist.
His own portrait by Vernet, in pen and ink, now graces our little gallery; [Pg 72] it is a back view, taken amidst his books, and a most characteristic and excellent likeness of this accomplished and versatile gentleman. [1]
One of our guest-chambers is solemnly dedicated to the honour and glory of "Mr. Punch," and on its walls hang some original oil sketches by John Leech, drawings by Charles Keene, Mr. Harry Furniss, Randolph Caldecote, Mr. Bernard Partridge, Mr. Anstey Guthrie, and Mr. Du Maurier ”

“ The remedy for present evils, therefore, was the acknowledgment by the king of ‘ancient and due liberties,’ implying thereby that it was not by the establishment of an arbitrary power in the king for the redress of grievances. In estimating Pym's mental position it is well to compare this utterance with that which he gave in 1621 on the recusancy laws. In both of them appears the philosophising statesman rather than the political philosopher. Pym starts with a recommendation which he deems practically advisable, and strives to reconcile it with general considerations. ”

“ That portion having been favourably received, a volume containing the complete narrative was issued with the signature of Edgar Poe.
Arthur Gordon Pym was born at Nantucket, where he attended the Bedford School until he was sixteen years old. Having left that school for Mr. Ronald’s, he formed a friendship with one Augustus Barnard, the son of a ship’s captain. This youth, who was eighteen, had already accompanied his father on a whaling expedition in the southern seas, and his yarns concerning that maritime adventure fired the imagination of Arthur Pym. ”

“ There were no injuries. It was a case of concussion of the brain. The groom was having his slight wounds dressed in the out-patients’ department; and Hugh learned from him that his master, whom he appeared to hold greatly in awe, was Sir Roderick Pym, one of the partners in the well-known banking firm of Pym, Clithero and Pym. He had a town house in a West-end square, and a country house in Surrey, where he mostly lived. ”

“ Henry Pym was a little taken aback, but he did not show it. The cool brain that had manufactured the income of a millionaire was fully alert now, not so much because he did not wish to be taken unawares, but because Carew interested him beyond most men, and he wanted to try and grasp the working of his mind. ”

“ It was apparently at the same instant of time that the sight of Pym and Peters fell upon an object so awesome that their hearts almost ceased to beat, and then bounded on with throbs that sent the cold blood leaping down their spines and to their scalps in chilling waves that ceased only when their terror reached the numbing stage. There before them, not six feet away, among great cubes of crystal, and vast retorts, and enormous vase-like objects on the floor, stood an aged man. ”

“ And in those fleeting moments the face of a young girl would pass through every stage from youth to extreme age, and then sink down in death. As the aged mystic whispered to Pym, the young man's face turned ghastly, then worked convulsively, then settled into firm resolve. And Peters never again saw on the face of the youth whom he loved with the love of a mother and of a father in one—never again saw the old, careless, boyish smile. Did the old man—shall we call him a man?—did the old man whisper into Pym's ear the secret of eternity? ”

“ Great sale at Christie's, 148. Lytton, Robert, Lord. Poem by, 60. Manning, Cardinal, 109. Manning, Charles John, 109. Mayhew, Horace, 67. Meadows, Kenny. Drawing of, 68. Newgate. Visit to, 34. Northesk, Lord, and Charles II., 101. Parody. An unknown one, 123. Payn, Mr. James. His lay-sermons, 126. Poets who are not read, 115. Poole, John. Letter from, 83. Portland, Duke of, and his books, 42. Portraits of Mrs. Lyne Stephens, 159. Punch. Memorials of, 66. " Portraits of writers to, 66. Reynolds, Sir Joshua. Portrait by, 11. Ruskin, John. Letters from, 137. [Pg 164] Sala, G. A. Letter from, 69. ”

“ What a deal of spoiling nevertheless, a nature that is really good at the bottom of it will stand without permanent damage, is nicely shown in Pip; and the way he reconciles his determination to act very shabbily to his early friends, with a conceited notion that he is setting them a moral example, is part of the shading of a character drawn with extraordinary skill. ”

“ He is not half so bright as we are, to be sure; and, for that reason, he needs us to look after his comfort and happiness. Let us be kind to the old fellow. Why, if Mother Earth had not been very kind to ourselves, we might all have been Giants too."
On all their holidays, the Pygmies had excellent sport with Antæus. He often stretched himself out at full length on the ground, where he looked like the long ridge of a hill; and it was a good hour's walk, no doubt, for a short-legged Pygmy to journey from head to foot of the Giant. ”

“ As the two had hurried along, Peters would continue to murmur against the project: 'What's the use,' he would growl; 'we'll only find the old fellow roasting himself in front of a magic fire of burning snow or ice. He's all right, and we'd better be saving human people.'
"As several raps, increasing from the gentlest to the most vigorous, elicited no response, Pym opened the laboratory door, and with Peters entered. But the old man was nowhere to be seen. Pym hastily returned to the hallway, and discovering a stair leading to a small cellar, he descended. ”

“ Pope. America. Humours of a voyage to, 18. Baxter, Robert. His hospitality, 53. Bedford Town and Schools, 73. Binders and their work, 41. Bradley, A. G. Life of Wolfe, 10. Bright, John. Letter from, 134. Calverley, C. S., 2. Charles II. and Lord Northesk, 101. Christie's. A sale at, 11. Christie's. Lyne Stephens sale, 148. Coleridge, Hartley. Letter from, 129. Combe Bank, 109. Craze, modern. For work, 48. Cunarder. On board a, 18. "Cynical Song of the City," 50. [Pg 162] Dickens. On over-work, 48. ”

“ Foxwold and its early train, 51. French Revolution of 1848, 85. Gainsborough's portrait of Wolfe, 8. Ghost story at Ethie, 104. Gosse, Edmund. Poem by, 61. Grain, R. Corney. Sketch of, 3. " " His charity, 4. " " Letter from, 6. Guthrie, Anstey. Bon-mot of, 52. Hamilton's parodies, 123. Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 59. Humours of an Atlantic voyage, 18. "Jane will return." A true story, 119. Jerrold, Douglas. Drawing of, 68. Laureateship, The, 58. Lehmann, R. C. Poem by, 78. Letter from John Bright, 134. " " Hartley Coleridge, 129. " " Charles II., 101. " " R. Corney Grain, 6. " " ”

“ Her sobs deepened. The ready tears filled Mrs. Darling's eyes. She wiped them away, and inquired what would be done about bringing up the child. Mrs. Darling was a practical woman, and had never allowed feeling to interfere with business.
"That's the first great care," was the reply of the housekeeper. "Mr. Pym does not know of any one just now that could come in. I suppose it will have to be brought up by hand: and the master, I believe, wishes that it should be. As Mr. Pym says, the boy's so big and strong, that he'd bring himself up almost, if you put him outside the street-door. ”

“ And Pima Jim stood there one minute, bronzed, immovable, grim, and watched his team answer to Trappan's mad lashing.
Then the life-long fighter in him awakened. He hitched at his belt, mechanically, and ran to the heads of the remaining team. He felt that he would rather die in one good, last race with death, than let that red river of destruction creep calmly about him and carry him off. ”

“ Mary sprang up, broad awake. Something was going on downstairs. Voices, low and angry, hasty steps—the house on fire? She was up in an instant, slipped on the blue kimono and over it a heavy cloak, ran down the back stairs just as John Aymer ran down the front. Opening opposite doors quietly, they came upon a strange sight.
In the middle of the kitchen was Pippin, at grips with another man of slighter build than himself; at one side stood a third man, older and heavier than either, watching the two. ”

“ It was not that he was rude or objectionable, but Elsie suddenly felt conscious that Pip's open stare of honest admiration was infinitely less embarrassing than this.
Cullyngham, as a matter of fact, was in a dangerous mood. His was not a pride that took a fall easily, and the fact that he had been compelled to submit to Pip's unconditional ultimatum was goading him to madness. No man is altogether bad, but we are all possessed of our own particular devils, and Cullyngham accommodated more than his fair share of them. ”

“ The first to enter the sick chamber was Mr. Pym, a slight old man of middle height, with a long thin face and small keen eyes. His manner was quiet and self-contained. He accepted a chair from the nurse as calmly as he would had she been one of his clerks and he in his own office. “An emotionless man of business,” was Hugh’s mental comment. “The hero of a scandal? Never!”
Then came Roderick—pale, handsome. He inclined his head haughtily to Hugh, then bent over his uncle. ”

“ And the men? Maybe they were youthful and conventional,—each would probably have cut his own father dead in the street if he had met him wearing a made-up tie,—but Pip knew that they were for the most part clean-run, straight-going people like himself, good fellows, "white" men all. With one exception. And suddenly Pip realised that the exception was sitting on the other side of Elsie.
Cullyngham was smiling and talking. He [Pg 194] always was smiling. He smiled when he made a century. He smiled when he made a blob. He smiled when a rising ball hit him on the knuckles. ”

“ The Gresley Works contained seven hundred men, and it was not likely, Pip thought, that young Gresley, who, though he was seen frequently about the shops, spent most of his time in the drawing-office, would recognise even his most admired friend amid a horde of grimy mechanics.
But for all that they met, as they were bound to do. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Pip's reliability and general smartness soon raised him from the ruck of his mates, and presently his increasing responsibilities began to bring him in contact with those in authority. ”

“ Hunt was the half-breed Dirk Peters, the devoted companion of Arthur Pym, he whom Captain Guy had so long sought for in the United States, and whose presence was probably to furnish us with a fresh reason for pursuing our daring campaign. ”

“ By the time that Pip had reached his twenty-fifth year his name was scarcely less familiar to the man in the street than that of the leading picture-postcard divinity, and considerably more so than that, say, of the President of the Royal Academy. The English are a strange race, and worship strange gods. Pip's admission to the national Pantheon had been secured by the fact of his having been mainly responsible for the sensational dismissal of the Australians, for an infinitesimal score, in the second innings of the third Test Match. ”

“ She had no desire to appear in any scene where Pip was the central figure, so she accepted Cullyngham's pressing invitation to share his tea, and, sinking into a large armchair, prepared to spend an idle half-hour until popular enthusiasm on the cricket-ground should have abated. Pip was unconsciously proving the profound wisdom of the maxim which warns us to beware when all men speak well of us. He was paying the penalty of success. If he had been bowled first ball, or had missed three easy catches, Elsie, being a woman, would probably have melted and been kind to him. ”