Old Chester

“ Smith's victoria rumbled past, paused until the iron gates of his driveway swung open, then rumbled on to his big, handsome house. He was one of the new Smiths, having lived in Old Chester hardly twenty years; when he came he brought his bride with him—a Norton, she was, from New England. A nice enough woman, I suppose, but not a Pennsylvanian. ”

“ We should not have been "poor things!" This was very confusing to Old Chester youth until we grew older and understood. Then, instead of being puzzled, we shrunk a little and stayed close to our mothers, listening to Miss Harriet's stories of Miss Annie with strange interest and repulsion, or staring furtively at the little old woman, who laughed often and had a way of running about like a girl, and of smoothing back her gray hair from her temples with a fluttering gesture, and of putting up her lip and crying when she was angry or frightened or when she saw anything being hurt. ”

“ But it was quite astonishing how soon the bustle of sitting down to supper, the cheerful faces and the fragrant steam that rose from the plump pullet as Chester thrust his fork into its bosom, seemed to soften down and carry off all their superfluous dignity. Before the little needle-merchant knew it, he found himself quite interested in the old man at his elbow, for after the ladies, Chester had helped the artist first, and on his plate was a choice morsel of the chicken's liver which made the little merchant's mouth water. ”

“ Mary’s Church, a most interesting edifice, worthy of the tourist’s examination.
Opposite St. Olave’s Church, before mentioned, is an old house, formerly occupied by the Gamul family, which possesses great interest from the fact of its having given protection to Charles I. during the siege of Chester by the Parliamentary forces. There is some very curious painted panel work and beautiful carving in the interior, which render it well worthy of inspection. A little higher up is an antiquated building called “The Falcon Inn,” a fine specimen of the old timber houses of Chester. ”

“ A month or two afterward Johnny threw a stone at the victoria and involuntarily Mr. Smith glanced in the direction from which [28] it came. But, of course, human nature being like story books, he did finally notice his grandson. At intervals he spoke to Miss Lydia, and when Johnny was six years old he even stopped one day long enough to give the child a quarter. Mr. Smith had aged very much after his daughter's marriage—and no wonder, Old Chester said, for he must be lonely in that big house, and Mary never coming to see him! Such behavior on the part of a daughter puzzled Old Chester. ”

“ Paul’s Church.—The Spital and George Marsh.—Roman Altar.—St. John Street, and Mechanics’ Institution.—Roman Catholic Convent.—St. John’s Church and Ruins.—Jacob’s Well, and the Anchorite’s Cell.—The Groves and the Dee.
What a strange old place this Chester of ours is! As we retrace our steps under the Northgate and the Walls, we seem as if roaming through a city of the middle ages; so oddly does everything around us arrest our attention, and “excite our passing wonder.” ”

“ The first effect of colour left on my eyes the impression of sunset-red, warm as copper beeches. The place seemed to be lit with fading firelight, and I wondered at the soft glow everywhere, until I realized that the big buildings—the Cathedral, the great houses and the old city wall—were all made of rosy sandstone.
You can't imagine how a large town which has lived as long as Chester has, and gone on growing, could have contrived to remain so satisfyingly beautiful, or keep such an air of old-time completeness. ”

“ Intensely cold as the night was, Chester could not resist that exquisite sense of the beautiful, which objects so novel and picturesque were sure to excite in his imaginative mind. There was something so purely ideal in those massive branches, stripped of leaves and laden down with crystalline spray, while the wind swayed them heavily about, and the moonlight flooded them through and through, that even a duller man than Chester must have paused to admire. ”

“ He nodded. "It would be impossible; people must never suspect—" He stopped through sheer shame at the thought of all the years he had hidden behind this small, scared-looking woman, who had had no place to hide from a ridiculous but pursuing suspicion.
When he got back to Philadelphia and told his wife about the boy, he said, "Some of those old cats in Old Chester actually thought he was—her own child."
"What!"
"Fools. But, Mary, she never betrayed us—that little old woman! She never told the truth." ”

“ In theory, Old Chester was religiously democratic; it plumed itself upon its Christian humility, and every Sunday it publicly acknowledged that Old Chesterians were like the rest of humanity to the extent of being miserable sinners. But, all the same, that Mary Gordon should marry a "person" of that sort—
"Dear me!" said Old Chester.
However, travelling-men may be worthy; they need not necessarily use perfumery or put pomade upon their shiny, curly, black hair. But Mr. Algernon Keen was obviously not worthy, and he was saturated with perfumery, and his black, curly hair was sleek with oil. ”

“ A curly-headed youngster, who would have been angelically beautiful if he had been washed and his native blood pumped from him, threw mud at the Reverend Smith Boyd, out of a mere artistic desire to reduce him to harmony with his surroundings. A mouthing old woman, with hands clawed like a parrot’s, begged him for alms, and he was ashamed of himself that he gave it to her with such shrinking. ”

“ Chester looked up, and a smile illuminated his face. Always willing to look on the bright side of human nature, his generous heart smote him for having perhaps judged too harshly. The little hand which he was chafing began to warm with life; this relieved him of the terrible excitement which the moment before had rendered his words, if just, more than imprudent.
"Thank you, sir, she is better," he said, with an expression of frank gratitude beaming over every feature, "I think she will live now, so we will only trouble you a few minutes longer." ”

“ Passing under the Bridgegate, by the Dee Mills and Old p. 78Bridge, we might, if we chose, wander forth into Handbridge, were there anything in that suburb deserving our especial notice. As it is, however, we will make good our return to The Cross, and pursue, in the next chapter, our peregrinations through the Streets of “rare old Chester!”
The view here engraved affords a capital idea of the old timber houses still glorifying the city; while we gain, at the same time, such a prospect of the Bridge Gate as is not to be obtained from any other point. ”

“ Chester heard the laughter and chat as the young officers and their convoy of matrons and maids came tripping homeward after midnight. He was a crusty old bachelor, to use his own description, and rarely ventured into these scenes of social gayety, and, besides, he was officer of the day, and it was a theory he was fond of expounding to juniors that when on guard no soldier should permit himself to be drawn from the scene of his duties. ”

“ Northumbres destroyed this cyte but Elfleda Lady of Mercia bylded it again and made it mouch more."
This is what was written of Chester, more than six hundred years ago, by one Ranulph Higden, a Chester Abbey monk,—him who wrote those old miracle plays, except for which we very like had never had such a thing as a play at all, and William Shakspeare had turned out no better than many another Stratford man.
All good Americans who reach England go to Chester. They go to see the cathedral, and to buy old Queen Anne furniture. ”

“ Her recoil as he handed her one of the gold pieces made him give her a keen look; but all she said was: "Oh no! I wouldn't [22] touch it!" Then she seemed to get herself together: "I don't need it, thank you, sir," she said.
When she went away Doctor Lavendar, looking after her, thrust out his lower lip. "Lydia not 'need' an eagle?" he said. "How long since?" And after a while he added, "Now, what on earth—?"
Old Chester, too, said, "What on earth—?" when, in December, Miss Lydia turned the key in her front door and, with her carpetbag and bandbox, took the morning stage for Mercer. ”

“ There was a press of people along the rail which caused Lucy's shoulders to snuggle closely to his side. Chester was silent.
"Yes;" she went on, "there's dear old Ireland. You see, this is my second visit, and it's like coming home. You go on to Liverpool, I understand."
"I have a ticket to Liverpool," he said; "but I suppose they would let me off at Queenstown, wouldn't they?"
"Why, certainly—how fast we are nearing land. I'll have to go down now and awaken father. We haven't much time to get ready." ”

“ Tell me why you belong to Market Square Church.”
“Because it’s so respectable,” he twinkled down at her. “When an old sinner has lost every other claim to respectability, he has himself put on the vestry.”
He dropped behind on their way to the door, to surreptitiously slip something, which looked like money, to the man with the roughly hewn countenance, and as he stood talking, the Reverend Smith Boyd came in, not quite breathlessly, but as if he had hurried.
“I knew you were here,” he said, taking Gail’s slender hand in his own; then his eyes turned cold. ”

“ When a lad I loved nothing better than a visit in vacation to ‘Betsey’s Pride.’ The oldest son of this house was my chum at the University, and also a kinsman, though remote. We will call him, for dramatic purposes, Llewellyn Chester. Chester was always a handsome, easy-going, free-handed fellow, brought up to consider himself the master of abundant means. His people gave him the best education of the times, and in due course sent him to travel abroad, attended only by the ‘boy,’ who in old Virginian fashion had been told off at a very tender age from among the slaves to wait on him. ”

“ Eaton Hall no longer impressed his imagination; even the architecture of Chester roused but a sleepy interest; he felt no sensation whatever in the atmosphere of the British peerage, but mainly an habitual dislike to most of the people who frequented their country houses; he had become English to the point of sharing their petty social divisions, their dislikes and prejudices against each other; he took England no longer with the awe of American youth, but with the habit of an old and rather worn suit of clothes. ”

“ Rensford, with a happy smile on his lips, and a tear of thankfulness in his eye. "God be praised for that!"
"But the souls of most men begin to wither the day they enter the world," remarked Chester, bitterly. "Perhaps, in your sphere of action, you have avoided the cares of life,—the turmoil and jar of the noisy, selfish world."
"Heaven has been merciful to me," said the old man, softly. "Yet my years have been years of labor; and of sorrow I have seen no little. Persecution has not always kept aloof from my door."
"Oh, few men have had so much to go through!" ”

“ The most trying grade given in the road-book is one in twenty-five, and all conditions are favorable for record time—in absence of police traps. Four miles out of Chester we passed Rowton Station, lying adjacent to Rowton Moor, where King Charles, standing on the tower of Chester Wall which bears his name, saw his army defeated by the Parliamentarians. We made a late start from Chester, but reached Shrewsbury in time to visit many parts of the town after dinner. We found it indeed a delightful old place, rich in historic traditions, and the center of a country full of interesting places. ”

“ I insinuated, with a glance at the bowed back by his side. Chester snorted at me. “His eyes are right enough—don’t you worry. He ain’t a puppy.” “Oh, dear, no!” I said. “Come along, Captain Robinson,” he shouted, with a sort of bullying deference under the rim of the old man’s hat; the Holy Terror gave a submissive little jump. The ghost of a steamer was waiting for them, Fortune on that fair isle! They made a curious pair of Argonauts. Chester strode on leisurely, well set up, portly, and of conquering mien ”

“ You’d never guess with whom she’s driving! Edward E. Allison! He’s the richest bachelor in New York!”
Mrs. Helen Davies turned to her anxious sister with a sparkle in her black eyes.
“It’s all right, Grace,” and then she turned eagerly to the phone. “Did he come in?”
“They were in too big a rush,” jabbered Lucile excitedly. “He doesn’t look old at all. Arly and I watched them drive away. They seemed to be great chums. Gail got him at Uncle Jim’s vestry. Doesn’t she look stunning in red!”
“Where is she?” interrupted Mrs. Sargent, holding her thumb.
“Out driving,” reported sister Helen. ”

“ XLII MÉLANIE
"I suppose," Chester said, breaking another silence, "you and that mother, and your father, have sat in the flowery sunshine of this old plaza together----"
"A thousan' time'," the ironworker replied, mused a bit, and added: "My frien', you are a so patient listener as I never see. Biccause I know you are all that time waiting for a differen' story. And now--I shall tell you that?"
"Yes, however it hits me I've got to know it."
"Well, after that, a year and half, I am born. I grow up. I 'ave brother' and sizter'. ”

“ Chester's invitation, and in this his tall wife reluctantly concurred, though a black silk dress and a gay cap fluttering with straw-colored ribbons, revealed very plainly that her own inclinations had pointed the other way.
The Chesters were pleasant people, and she felt that it would be rather tantalizing to sit down stairs alone all the evening, while they enjoyed themselves heart and soul above.
When aristocracy is a matter of opinion, not of power, every man of course feels compelled to guard his claim to position with peculiar watchfulness ”