Petersfield

“ You will leave Petersfield by the eastern road, and turn by that lane on the right which makes for the Downs, reaching their summit upon Harting Hill. There is no proper track, but it is open going round the northern edge of Beacon Hill and so onwards, always keeping to the escarpment, and passing to the southern side of the summit of Linch Down. ”

“ For other memories of Gibbon we must wait until we reach his ancestral acres of Buriton, near Petersfield, and meanwhile, we have come to the hill-brow, where the new route and the old meet, and the Portsmouth Road definitely begins.
There are many other memories at Putney; too many, in fact, to linger over, if we wish to come betimes to the dockyard town that is our destination. ”

“ The village of Selbourne lies in a somewhat secluded part of Hampshire, about equally distant from the towns of Alton, Petersfield, and Alresford; but is easily approached by the South-Western Railway, either from Alton, or else from the little station of Liss, whence a pleasant walk of some five miles through shady lanes will bring you under the shadow of the Hanger, with an excellent appetite for luncheon or dinner at the Queen’s Arms, a country inn which can boast of good cheer, the best of eggs, milk, and butter, and a civil and honest host. ”

“ For the rest, the “Dolphin” is a singularly dull and unromantic-looking house, painted a leaden hue. Within, it is all long dark corridors and unexpected corners. Commercials frequent it; although inquiries have not yet discovered what commercial gentlemen sell at Petersfield. Sportsmen come here too, and [Pg 283] tourists of the pedestrian variety. In the old days, of the period between the coaching era and the present time, the “Dolphin” was very much neglected ”

“ The autumn fair now held on the 6th of October is for both business and pleasure. The market, which dates from before 1373, formerly held on Saturday, is now held on alternate Wednesdays. In the 16th century Petersfield had important cloth and leather manufactures. ”

“ Up early, and bated at Petersfield, in the room which the King lay in lately at his being there. Here very merry, and played us and our wives at bowls. Then we set forth again, and so to Portsmouth, seeming to me to be a very pleasant and strong place; and we lay at the Red Lyon, where Haselrigge and Scott and Walton did hold their councill, when they were here, against Lambert and the Committee of Safety. Several officers of the Yard came to see us to-night, and merry we were, but troubled to have no better lodgings.
2nd. Up, and Mr. Creed and I to walk round the town upon the walls. ”

“ Cobbett on one of his rides stayed at Petersfield, and put up at this old house. “We got,” says he, “good stabling at the ‘Dolphin’ for our horses. The waiters and people at inns look so hard at us to see us so liberal as to horse-feed, fire, candle, beds, and room, while we are so very very sparing in the article of drink! They seem to pity our taste!”
The memory of old times dies hard, and they still tell you here of the wonderful goat that was used to take his pleasure in following the up-coaches from here to Godalming, returning day by day to sleep in the straw of the “Dolphin” stables. ”

“ Up early, and to Petersfield, and there dined well; and thence got a countryman to guide us by Havant, to avoid going through the Forest; but he carried us much out of the way, and upon our coming we sent away an express to Sir W. Batten to stop his coming, which I did project to make good my oath, that my wife should come if any of our wives came, which my Lady Batten did intend to do with her husband. The Doctor and I lay together at Wiard's, the chyrurgeon's, in Portsmouth, his wife a very pretty woman. We lay very well and merrily ”

“ John Maddocks, who appreciated his work, and henceforward not only purchased many of his canvases himself (see Sale Cat. of Maddocks' collection, 30 April 1910) but made him known in Bradford and the north of England, where he established a lasting and profitable connection. From 1877 onwards he painted a good deal, first at Thorpacre near Loughborough, Leicestershire, and subsequently at South Halting, Petersfield, Sussex, where his subject pictures included 'Christening Sunday' (R.A. 1887) , now in the Manchester Corporation Art Gallery; the landscape 'The Lost Cap' (McCulloch collection) ”

“ The population was 690,097 in 1891 and 797,634 in 1901. The area of the administrative county of Southampton is 958,742 acres, and that of the administrative county of the Isle of Wight 94,068 acres. The county is divided for parliamentary purposes into the following divisions: Northern or Basingstoke, Western or Andover, Eastern or Petersfield, Southern or Fareham, New Forest, and Isle of Wight, each returning one member. It also includes the parliamentary boroughs of Portsmouth and Southampton, each returning two members, and of Christchurch and Winchester, each returning one. ”

“ For the first time in the memory of man, Peterson became imbued with a combative spirit. He knocked the man down, and kicked him until a crowd gathered and dragged him off. The fact that a prison cell circumscribed the freedom of his move- ments shortly after the affray with the stranger did not disturb the sullen equanimity of Peter- son’s mind, and when Henry Fogle, the wiliest lawyer on the western frontier, entered his apartment, he took no more notice of him than if it had been his jailer bearing his evening meal. ”

“ Why that girl is fit to be a sailor's wife! When we get her off safely I intend to have her as the figure-head of the Storm King."
"I am afraid that would be a very unhealthy position—she might catch a bad cold," replied Master Raymond.
"Oh, of course I mean in wood, painted white with red cheeks," said Captain Tolley. "It brings good luck to have a fine woman for a figure-head—pleases old Nep, you know."
"But we must get her off first," rejoined Master Raymond. "Now to keep out of that hateful jail, she has given her word to Keeper Arnold not to escape. You know she cannot break her word." ”

“ Mr. Herman says that Arab could be ridden easier by a lady than by a gentleman; I suppose it’s because, like all well-born cavaliers, he is chivalrous to the weaker sex.”
“Pray,” said the Major, smiling, and turning to Mrs. Warren, “who is the Mr. Herman that your niece has mentioned thus twice in the space of five minutes? I suppose,” he continued, glancing at Kate, “I dare not ask herself.”
“Mr. Herman?” replied the aunt, slowly. “O! that’s the old farmer who was such a friend of my late brother. An excellent man, Major Gordon, though not blessed with many of this world’s goods.” ”

“ Little Bill happens to be a great crony of Peterson’s outfit, though why he doesn’t work for the Box S instead of for father I never could tell you. He isn’t so awfully popular with our boys. Most of our riders are pretty good fellows, as you would discover for yourself if there wasn’t this grudge against the forest reserve which keeps you seeing their most disagreeable traits.
“One thing I wanted to tell you, ranger man, is that Peterson and his bunch are going to ‘get’ you, on account of that fight. ”

“ Mr. Atwood met them at the porch. “I beg pardon,” he said. “I hope you have found it comfortable here, and shall be glad to have you stay till Mr. Peters’ family comes.”
At this moment wheels were heard. Mr. Sylvester had arrived, with an open wagon, to take the Peterkins to the “Old Farm.”
Martha was waiting within the door, and said to Elizabeth Eliza, “Beg pardon, miss, for thinking you was one of the inmates, and putting you in that room. We thought it so kind of Mrs. Peters to take you off every day with the other gentlemen, that looked so wandering.” ”

“ The man obeyed the command, only pausing an instant on the threshold, to direct one of his dull, cowed glances at the wife who thus imperatively ban- ished him from his own house—such a glance as “dumb, driven cattle” turn toward their taskmasters.
And so Roger Peterson, the chosen favorite of misfortune, joined the “rush” fer Frazer River, neither hoping for prospective wealth, nor fearing disappointment, and without a single regret at leaving a wife and family behind him. ”

“ Adjoining Petersham is the little village of Ham, the history of which, though it is not mentioned in Doomsday Book, can be traced back to before the Conquest, its manor having been given by King Athelstan to his chief alderman, Wulgar. Until quite recently a mere hamlet of scattered cottages, Ham is now growing into a populous suburb, but it still owes its chief distinction to its association with the celebrated Ham House, which is, however, really in Petersham parish, and represents the home of the Saxon thane Wulgar. ”

“ Somehow or other, Peterson had heard of the discovery—perhaps he had been employed by Sir Raymond Blantyre himself. He had found out that the notes of the process were to be handed to Scheidstrun, and with his usual consummate daring had decided to impersonate the German. And the woman he had seen arriving the night before was Irma.
HIS thoughts were chaotic; only the one great thing stuck out. The man in front of him was Peterson—he knew it. And with one wild hoot of utter joy he leaped upon him.
“My little Carl,” he murmured ecstatically, “the pitcher has come to the well once too often.” ”

“ Tinny, audible squawks came from the phone and Peterson held it away from his ear.
"Yes, I know all about it," he said. "Yes ... yes ... yes. I know you've had a time with the papers. Yes, I heard the radio. Yes, John, I know it sounds pretty ridiculous. What? Get up to the ranch and find out. Where do you think I'm calling from?"
The squawking rattled the receiver and Peterson winced.
"Look, commissioner," he broke in, "I can't put a stop to those stories. What? I said I can't put a stop to the stories for one reason. They're true." ”

“ I exclaimed. "For God's sake stir yourself. We should be half way to Petersham by now. There has been foul play here. Mr. Sorrell's life may be in danger, if not already sacrificed. Rouse yourself, sir, I beg."
He looked at me wonderingly, shook his head, and murmured something about my being upon the wrong tack altogether. He then braced himself to face the situation, and prepared to accompany me to Petersham. Upon the way to Waterloo, we wired for a detective from Scotland Yard to follow us, and in less than another hour were driving from Richmond to Oak Lodge. ”

“ My father saw the time when a good cow was worth as much as a fifty-acre farm, but land is continually rising in value."
"I shall look farther south before deciding," said Raymond. "I am told the land is better there; besides there are too many witches here," and he smiled.
"We have been up to see my brother Thomas," continued Joseph Putnam. "He always has had the reputation of being a sober-headed man, but he is all off his balance now."
"What does Mistress Putnam say?" asked Dulcibel.
"Oh, she is at the bottom of all his craziness, she and that elfish daughter. ”

“ And with such a sharpener to the vision, the precocious child would be able to see even more wonderful things than any she had already testified to.
The favorable wind came at length, and with it an exceedingly propitious night; there being a moon just large enough to enable them to see their way, with not enough light to disclose anything sharply. Master Raymond had planned all along to take Dulcibel's horse also with them; and if he could ride the animal, it would obviate the necessity of taking another horse also, and being plagued what to do with it when they arrived at the prison. ”

“ The day dragged on very drearily and slowly to Master Raymond. The waiting for the hour of action is so irksome, that even the approach of danger is a relief. But patience will at last weary out the slowest hours; and punctually at six o'clock, the young man stood again at the door of the Governor's mansion.
Lady Mary evidently was expecting him—for he was shown in at once. She looked up wearily as he entered. "I can do nothing to-day," she said. ”

“ William Perry Peters, of the town of Muscatel, Whose fate is full of meaning, if correctly understood— Admonition to the haughty, consolation to the good. It happened in the hot snap which we recently incurred, When 'twas warm enough to carbonize the feathers of a bird, And men exclaimed: "By Hunky!" who were bad enough to swear, And pious persons supervised their adjectives with care. Mr. Peters was a pedagogue of honor and repute, His learning comprehensive, multifarious, minute. ”

“ At the same time something of the nature of the diabolical plot conceived by Peterson was beginning to take a definite shape in his mind, though many of the most important links were still missing. And with this knowledge had come the realisation that he was no longer a free agent. The thing had ceased to be a mere sporting gamble with himself and a few other chosen spirits matched against a gang of criminals; it had become—if his surmise was correct—a national affair. England herself—her very existence—was threatened by one of the vilest plots ever dreamed of in the brain of man. ”

“ Peterson has been the president of Franconia since its incorporation. In 1869 he married Miss Ingur Johnson, daughter of Eric Johnson, a pioneer of St. Peter, Minnesota, and is the father of two children, Axel, a promising son, who died in February, [Pg 321] 1885, at fourteen years of age, and Maria, now a student in the Ladies' Seminary at Faribault, who is developing marked ability as a pencil artist. Mr. Peterson owns one of the finest houses in the valley, romantically situated, which is supplied with pure spring water. It is a pride to the village and attracts general attention. ”