Louth

“ There were times when the longing to whisper it became almost irresistible; but she knew that her husband would never forgive her if she were to breathe the slightest hint of it to anyone. Weakly good-natured, and somewhat of a time-server, as the Rev. Louth Sudlow might be in some things, no man could be more rigid than he on a point of honour, or have a more genuine contempt for the mean and ungenerous motives which prompt the actions of so many people. ”

“ Many of the hills are finely wooded, and towards the sea the scenery, in the more elevated districts, is strikingly picturesque. With the exception of the promontory of Clogher Head, which rises abruptly to a height of 180 ft., the coast is for the most part low and sandy. The narrow and picturesque Carlingford Lough is navigable beyond the limits of the county, and Carlingford and Greenore are well-known watering-places on the county Louth shore. The Bay of Dundalk stretches to the town of that name and affords convenient shelter. ”

“ The chieftain of the district was conquered by John de Courcy in 1183, and Louth or Uriel was among the shires generally considered to have been created by King John, and peopled by English settlers. Until the time of Elizabeth it was included in the province of Ulster. County Louth is rich in antiquarian remains. There are ancient buildings of all dates, and spears, swords, axes of bronze, ornaments of gold, and other relics have been discovered in quantities. Among Druidical remains is the fine cromlech of Ballymascanlan, between Dundalk and Greenore. ”

“ Louth, became blind early in life, and was well known as a musician and poet. He was a friend of Carolan [q. v.] He wrote a poem of 210 stanzas on the battle of Aughrim and the death of Sorley MacDonnell, 'San Eachdhruim an air staid na comhnaidh' ('In Aughrim of the slaughter there dwells') . ”

“ The Sun-god is a great traveller: thus Lug, for example, arrives from a distance to help the Tuatha Dé Danaan, and Conall Cernach has to be sought for in foreign lands. [156] Like them, Cúchulainn travels too. Moreover, there was a remarkable difference of race, to be noticed later, between him and the other heroes of the Ultonian cycle. On the other hand, he had the charge of a special district consisting of the Plain of Murthemne, which, roughly speaking, meant the level portion of the modern county of Louth. ”

“ The fact was that, while on his way down from London that afternoon, the man of all others whom he was desirous of seeing, and who for the past week or more had never been out of his thoughts for long at a time, had recognised him as the train drew up at a roadside station, and having thereupon joined him in his compartment, had, by so doing, afforded him the opportunity to seek which had been the main object of his journey. The person in question was the Rev. Louth Sudlow, vicar of St. ”

“ Miss Louther was an object of general sympathy, after her brave lover's fall; and some of the periodicals of the day contain beautiful verses, addressed to her, appropriate to the occasion. This lady's name is not mentioned in any of Wolfe's letters in my possession ”

“ There is a big old-fashioned garden at the back of Loudwater House to which we sometimes limit our constitutional; but more frequently we make our way into the meadows which skirt one shore of the river and extend for miles, where the air is the purest imaginable. Well, on the third morning, as I was getting ready to go out, young Mrs. Melray came to me. 'I should so much like to go out now and then with you and Freddy, Miss Sudlow, if you will kindly allow me to accompany you,' she said. 'Since my husband's death my life has necessarily been a very quiet one. ”

“ Sleuth was dressed for going out. He was wearing his long Inverness cloak, and his queer old high hat lay on the table, ready for him to put on.
“You’re never going out this afternoon, sir?” she asked falteringly. “Why, the fog’s awful; you can’t see a yard ahead of you!”
Unknown to herself, Mrs. Bunting’s voice had risen almost to a scream. She moved back, still holding the tray, and stood between the door and her lodger, as if she meant to bar his way—to erect between Mr. Sleuth and the dark, foggy world outside a living barrier. ”

“ As it pleased God, Lohot vanquished him; but Lohot had a marvellous custom: when he had slain a man, he slept upon him. A knight of King Arthur's court, that is called Kay the Seneschal, was come peradventure into this forest of Logres. He heard the Giant roar when Lohot dealt him the mortal blow. Thither came he as fist as he might, and found the King's son sleeping upon Logrin. He drew his sword and therewith cut off Lohot's head, and took the head and the body and set them in a coffin of stone. After that he hacked his shield to pieces with his sword, that he should not be recognised ”

“ Very soon they separated, Lot and his family, with his servants and cattle, going down into the Jordan valley, while Abram journeyed south over the mountains until he came to Hebron.
What did Lot really choose? Not simply pasture lands for his flocks. He chose selfishness and greed, for he took the best for himself when he knew his uncle had the right to it. He chose wicked people to be his neighbors and friends, for there were cities in the valley. Listen to what the Bible says about the people in a city near which Lot pitched his tents. ”

“ Pauline blushed: "You too. Sir, were kindness itself," rejoined she: "think not I am insensible to your favours; but I am a bankrupt even in thanks. Alas! fate destines us to incur continually obligations which we can never repay."
"A grateful heart is more than words," said her father; "and in that, my child, I know you will never be deficient; but to whom are we indebted for such kindness?"
"I am the King of Ireland," said Roderick, smiling; "surnamed the devil's favourite here in Spain."
"Is it possible?" cried M. de Maliet; "do I, indeed, see the illustrious Roderick?" ”

“ A being so fierce and stern as he is, will perhaps not even condescend to listen to a woman's prayer, and he will spurn me from him."
"Impossible!" cried the prince; "though, I own, I wish we could do without him."
Whilst the principals were thus employed, the cottager's wife was endeavouring to learn from Hans who and what they were. "That poor lady seemed dreadfully tired," said she. 'When she came, she looked just like a drooping daffadowndilly; when the gentleman lifted her from her horse—oh! it was quite moving to see her!"
"Ja!" said Hans. ”

“ Lothaw bowed graciously to the gentleman, who, except that he seemed better dressed than most Englishmen, showed no other signs of inferiority and plebeian extraction.
"We have met before," said Lothaw to the lady as she leaned on his arm, while they visited his stables, the University, and other places of interest in Oxford. "Pray tell me, what is this new religion of yours?"
"It is Woman Suffrage, Free Love, Mutual Affinity, and Communism. Embrace it and me." ”

“ Lothaw hardly recognized those wasted Hellenic outlines as he entered the dimly lighted room of the dying woman. She was already a classic ruin,—as wrecked and yet as perfect as the Parthenon. He grasped her hand silently.
"Open-air speaking twice a week, and saleratus bread in the rural districts, have brought me to this," she said feebly; "but it is well. The cause progresses. The tyrant man succumbs." ”

“ Lot, the nephew of Abraham, receives in his house two angels disguised as pilgrims; the inhabitants of Sodom entertain impure desires of these angels; Lot, who had two daughters promised in marriage, offers to abandon them to the people instead of the two strangers. These young women must have been strangely familiar with evil ways, since the first thing they do after the destruction of their town by a rain of fire, and after their mother has been changed into a pillar of salt, is to intoxicate their father on two consecutive nights, in order to sleep with him in succession. ”

“ The man touched his hat respectfully, and said, “My Mary Ann.”
“‘My Mary Ann!’” Lothaw’s heart beat rapidly. Who was this mysterious foreigner? He had heard from Lady Coriander of a certain Popish plot; but could he connect Mr. Camperdown with it?
The spectacle of two hundred men at arms, who advanced to meet him at the gates of The Mural Inclosure, drove all else from the still youthful and impressible mind of Lothaw. Immediately behind them, on the steps of the baronial halls, were ranged his retainers, led by the chief cook and bottle-washer and head crumb-remover. ”

“ She was listening—listening for the sounds which would betoken that the lodger was coming downstairs.
At last she heard the cautious, stuffless tread of his rubber-soled shoes shuffling along the hall. But Bunting only woke to the fact when the front door shut to.
"That’s never Mr. Sleuth going out?" He turned on his wife, startled. "Why, the poor gentleman’ll come to harm—that he will! One has to be wide awake on an evening like this. I hope he hasn’t taken any of his money out with him."
"’Tisn’t the first time Mr. Sleuth’s been out in a fog," said Mrs. Bunting sombrely. ”

“ Amethyst returned; "but I assure you, upon the honor of a gentleman, that I have taken nothing."
"Enough, my Lord," said Mr. Amethyst, with a low bow; "we never search the aristocracy."
CHAPTER VIII. As Lothaw left Mr. Amethyst's, he ran against General Camperdown. "How is Mary Ann?" he asked hurriedly.
"I regret to state that she is dying," said the General, with a grave voice, as he removed his cigar from his lips, and lifted his hat to Lothaw.
"Dying!" said Lothaw, incredulously. ”

“ The duke had always been warmly attached to Edmund, and his voice actually trembled with agitation as he exclaimed:—
"Well, my old friend, you see your brave boy is determined to keep us alive still. Our blood would stagnate in our veins, if he did not give us a fillip now and then to rouse us. But what does the young rogue say of himself? I hope he's not wounded?"
"He never mentions himself," replied Sir Ambrose, tears glistening in his eyes, as he pressed the hand of his friend warmly in his own; "Edmund loves his country too devotedly to think of either peril or reward in her service." ”

“ Sleuth's own business out could be on this cold, bitter night.
"Cold?" the lodger repeated. "I can't say that I find it cold, Mr. Bunting. When the snow falls the air always becomes milder."
"Yes, sir; but to-night there's such a sharp east wind. Why, it freezes the very marrow in one's bones!"
Bunting noticed that Mr. Sleuth kept his distance in a rather strange way: he walked at the edge of the pavement, leaving the rest of it, on the wall side, to his landlord.
"I lost my way," he said abruptly. "I've been over Primrose Hill to see a friend of mine, and then, coming back, I lost my way." ”

“ Long moments for the relay of that message, and then Loketh spoke into the micro-disk of the analyzer, slowly, with pauses, as if trying to make sure Ross understood every word.
"To give bread into the hands of one you have taken in battle, makes him your man—not as a slave to labor, but as one who draws sword at your bidding. When I took your bread I accepted you as cup-lord. Between such there is no betrayal, for how may a man betray his lord? I, Loketh, am now a sword in your hands, a man in your service. ”

“ The Duke of Cornwall was quite astonished, and even indignant, at what he termed the inconsistency of his friend. "How can you be so weak as still to regret the loss of that peevish boy?" said he, as, on the second morning after Edric's departure, he entered the library of Sir Ambrose, attended by his confessor, Father Murphy. "Depend upon it, it is bad policy; for patience robs care of its bitterest sting, as this holy father says. You often preach that doctrine to me, don't you, Father Murphy?" ”

“ He pleads for Sodom, and that, in spite of its utter worthlessness. But there are not in all of Sodom twenty righteous men to be found. Lot's family even, merely scoff at him, and refuse to believe his warning. It is most suggestive in this connection, that "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow." (Gen. 19:29.) Lot's best asset in his life was not his real estate in Sodom, but his godly uncle far from that wicked city. Just so the best asset that any modern city has, is not its stocks and bonds, or real estate, but the truly godly people who live in its midst. ”

“ Two days later he presented himself at Plusham.
"The young ladies are in the garden," said the Duchess. "Don't you want to go and pick a rose?" she added with a gracious smile, and the nearest approach to a wink that was consistent with her patrician bearing and aquiline nose.
Lothaw went and presently returned with the blushing Coriander upon his arm.
"Bless you, my children," said the Duchess. Then, turning to Lothaw, she said: "You have simply fulfilled and accepted your inevitable destiny. It was morally impossible for you to marry out of this family. ”

“ There’s a lot of rough people about——" Perhaps there was an undercurrent of warning, of painful pleading, in her toneless voice which penetrated in some way to the brain of the lodger, for Mr. Sleuth looked up, and an uneasy, watchful look came into his luminous grey eyes.
"I’m sorry to hear that, Mrs. Bunting. But I think I’ll take your advice. That is, I will stay quietly at home. I am never at a loss to know what to do with myself so long as I can study the Book of Books." ”