Stockwell

“ Wherever a civilised people dwell, there must be trade; and, consequently, Stockwell hath its various artisans, who ply, each in his vocation, to supply the wants of others; and, moreover, it hath its inn, or public house, a place of no small importance, having for its sign a swinging creaking board, whereon is emblazoned the effigy of a roaring, red, and rampant Lion. ”

“ Spiller is credited with ‘performing all his parts excellently well in an unfashionable theatre, and to thin audiences.’ He had remarkable skill in transforming himself into whatever character he represented, and one night, as Stockwell in the ‘Artful Husband,’ is said to have completely deceived his special patron the Duke of Argyll, who, taking him for a new hand, recommended him to Rich as deserving encouragement. ”

“ To cut a long story short, on the very day that Cullingworth was able to resume his work I started off for Stockwell, taking with me only a bag, for it was merely a prospecting expedition, and I intended to return for my luggage if I saw reason for hope. Alas! there was not the faintest. The sight of the place would have damped the most sanguine man that ever lived. It is one of those picturesque little English towns with a history and little else. A Roman trench and a Norman keep are its principal products. ”

“ I will do as the others say.”
“I like the idea,” added Stockwell. “It is the only safe thing we can do. If we go back to Christiansand, we shall be too late for the ship. If we wait for a steamer to Christiania, she will be gone when we get there.”
“How much will it cost to go to Christiania in this way?” inquired Wilde, who did not feel quite sure that his funds would stand such a drain.
“Here are the prices in the post-house,” said Ole, as he led the way to a partition on which the posting was put up. “For one mile, one mark six skillings.”
“We know all about it now,” laughed Rodman. ”

“ Byron, Don Juan, vi. 27 (1824) .
Neck or Nothing, a farce by Garrick (1766) . Mr. Stockwell promises to give his daughter in marriage to the son of Sir Harry Harlowe, of Dorsetshire, with a dot of £10,000; but it so happens that the young man is privately married. The two servants of Mr. Belford and Sir Harry Harlowe try to get possession of the money, by passing off Martin (Belford’s servant) as Sir Harry’s son; but it so happens that Belford is in love with Miss Stockwell, and hearing of the plot through Jenny, the young lady’s-maid, arrests the two servants as vagabonds. ”

“ Then an amnesty was published on the occasion of the marriage; the gates of the fortress of Zwingenberg opened, and the former courtiers resumed their respective posts.
The reviving fortunes of the Grand Duke were a sure guarantee of their fidelity.
[Pg 53]
THE OLD GENTLEMAN’S TEETOTUM. [MAGA. August 1829.] At the foot of the long range of the Mendip hills, standeth a village, which, for obvious reasons, we shall conceal the precise locality of, by bestowing thereon the appellation of Stockwell. It lieth in a nook, or indentation, of the mountain ”

“ And I 'ad missed two or three boundary 'its, all along o' this "fare," as 'e floundered and hollered.
"You ain't no sportsman!" That finished 'im proper, for 'e was a deacon, it seemed, out by Stockwell;
And didn't know Ladas from lucky Sir Visto, or Shrewsbury's "cut" from the "drive" of young Brockwell.
Well, I do get cricket-cracks for my fares. How the crowd gathers round with their eyes all a-glisten!
And 'ow big I feel; and lor! wot a temptation to look through the trap for a squint or a listen. ”

“ The captain of the steamer would not stop, after he had picked us up; at least, I don’t know anything about it; but Ole said he wouldn’t stop.”
“He could not stop,” protested the waif, vehemently. “He had only just time enough to reach Frederiksværn in season for the other steamer. If he lost her, he would be turned off. He wouldn’t stop for love or money.”
“No matter, for that; here we are, and what are we going to do? It’s no use to cry for spilled milk,” continued Stockwell. “The ship will go to Christiania, [Pg 153] and won’t come near this place. Mr. ”

“ To Stockmar, whose son, Baron Ernest Stockmar, was appointed Treasurer to the Princess Royal on her marriage, he wrote:
“Throughout all this agitated, serious and very trying time, the good child has behaved quite admirably, and to the mingled admiration and surprise of every one. She was so natural, so childlike, so dignified and firm in her whole bearing and demeanour, that one might well believe in a higher inspiration. I shall not forget that your son has proved himself in all ways extremely useful, and takes and holds his ground, which, among the Berliners, is no easy matter.” ”

“ His wisdom and great political sagacity spoke for themselves in the extracts from the published documents, but the finer qualities [Pg 58] were not brought out which endeared him to his friends. His son had not, perhaps, had so many opportunities as his English friends for judging the Baron, for a large part of Stockmar's life had been spent away from his home in Coburg, first in attendance on Prince Leopold (King of the Belgians) , and afterwards in long visits at the English Court. ”

“ Phil, coloring a little. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to feed any visitors. The money uncle left with Mr. Welford to keep this castle in running order has about given out——”
“Oh, pshaw!” said Chap, interrupting, “there’s always plenty of flour and butter and eggs and vegetables on a place like this; and if we want butcher’s meat and groceries, mother can send them over from our house, and call them my rations.”
“Uncle wouldn’t like that,” said Phil, “and we never run up any bills with the people in town.”
“At any rate,” said Chap, “if one fellow can get along here, two can. ”

“ Then says he, 'Where's your master?' and I told him how you was away. 'Isn't there any man at all about?' says he. 'No,' says I. 'Then,' says he, 'if there's nobody else to stop it, I must do it myself.' An' he took off his coat. 'No,' says I, 'you keep back, sir. If there's anybody to plunge into that erena, the blood be mine;' an' I put my hand, without thinkin', ag'in his black shirt-bosom, to hold him back; but he didn't notice, bein' so excited. ”

“ Stockmar, owing to whose intervention with the Tories this happy result had been brought about, now felt himself at liberty to take a holiday with his family in Coburg; but his solicitude, poured out in innumerable letters, still watched over his pupil from afar. "Dear Prince," he wrote, "I am satisfied with the news you have sent me. Mistakes, misunderstandings, obstructions, which come in vexatious opposition to one's views, are always to be taken for just what they are—namely, natural phenomena of life, which represent one of its sides, and that the shady one. ”

“ She bitterly hated that French boy. True, she had not intended he should be killed when she gave Phil the gun at the time of the quarrel, and she had good reasons for knowing that nothing of the kind would occur, but she wanted to frighten Emile, and was rejoiced to think how thoroughly she had succeeded. It would be a dreadful thing, she thought, for this estate to pass into the hands of those French people. If she had the money, she would gladly pay the interest on the mortgage, or whatever was necessary to save the property, and would have been certain it would be paid back to her. ”

“ Stockdale, a man in every way different from him already pourtrayed. Tall and muscular of frame, commanding in aspect, and powerful in understanding, but irritable of temper, Mr. Stockdale resented with vivacity the rapid inroads which a shallow but impetuous torrent of new fangled doctrines was daily making upon all the solid bulwarks of ancient authority. He was a person of strong intellect and great erudition ”

“ She sat, and she sat; she waited, and she waited; and at last she wept, but very quietly. Her father did not come; Ben Greenway was not there; and even that Charter boy had gone. A man came aft to her; a mild-faced, elderly man, with further offers of refreshment and an invitation to go below out of the night air. But she would have nothing; and as she sadly waited and gently wept, it began to grow truly dark. Presently, as she sat, one arm leaning on the rail, she heard a voice close to her ear, and she gave a great start.
"It is only Dickory," whispered the voice. ”

“ Neither more nor less than to run away to sea, to anywhere; but, before finally vanishing, to have a week, a fortnight, a month in London at the very finest hotels, with heaps to eat and drink and theatres every night.
“You see,” explained Stokesley eagerly, warmed up now by the narration of his idea, “we’re sick of this place. It’s so dull. You must feel that yourself, Stocky, even with your beastly football. Nothing ever happens, and it’s ages before we go to Rugby. You’d much better come too. Of course, you’re a bit young, but they’ll probably want a cabin-boy on the ship ”

“ And it was at that moment that the mess-sergeant flung open the door of the ante-room and ushered in a tall, fair-haired man who held himself stiffly.
“Mr. Maitland,” he said, standing by the door.
“That's me,” remarked Jim.
“I am Count von Tarnin of the 3rd Regiment of the Prussian Guard. I am here on behalf of Baron Stockmar. Is there any gentleman here who is acting for you, and to whom I can speak? ”

“ So, next day, not only were the placards once more hoisted, but rewards offered for the discovery of the offenders, attended with all the maledictions of the insulted majesty of the law. No notice was taken of this, but the whole of Great Stockington was in a buzz and an agitation. There were posters plastered all over the walls of the town, four times as large as Sir Roger's notices, in this style:—
"Englishmen! your dearest rights are menaced! The Woods of Rockville, your ancient, rightful, and enchanting resorts, are to be closed to you. Stockingtonians! The eyes of the world are upon you. ”

“ How subtle and how dangerous are the snares which fate lays for the wariest of men! Albert, certainly, seemed to be everything that Stockmar could have wished—virtuous, industrious, persevering, intelligent. ”

“ To fit himself for accomplishing all this was the work of time, and the prince had to feel his way cautiously, and to inspire confidence in his ability and tact, no less than in his freedom from personal ambition. In Stockmar's fearless independence and great knowledge of the working of the English constitution, as well as of the forces at work throughout all the continental states, he knew that he should find the best support. To him, therefore, he appealed ‘to sacrifice his time to him for the first year of his life in England.’ Stockmar loved the prince and queen so well ”

“ But it was probably under these influences that Baron Stockmar, always exacting in the best interests of those he loved, fancied—even while he had no hesitation in recording the Prince behaved in his difficult position very well—that a friend had reason to dread in the young man not yet twenty-one, the old defects of dislike to intellectual exertion and indifference to politics. ”

“ When the boys arrived at Hyson Hall the next morning—for Phil thought it better to go home before continuing the search for his uncle—they found great trouble there.
Joel had not returned at all, and Susan, not knowing what had happened to him or the boys, was in sore distress. Phœnix had been obliged to go home at dark, and she had sat up all night. She had determined to send Jenny to the neighbors in the morning, but when day broke she had formed a different plan.
The boys might be ever so far away, looking for Mr. Berkeley, and there ought to be some one there who would attend to things. ”

“ Amidst these stars, the man of whom I now write, shone with peculiar lustre and brightness. He was the son of John Stockton, born in October, 1730, near Princeton, in New Jersey. His great grandfather, of the same name, came from England in 1670, purchased near 7000 acres of land within two miles of Princeton, and, in 1682, effected the first European settlement made in that part of the State. On this estate, the Stockton family continued to reside and prosper, until driven off by the British army under Lord Howe, forming the nucleus to a large circle of the most worthy and valuable citizens. ”

“ Yes; he can draw a bit—in fact, he's not a secretary at all except in name, but the First Lord's private draftsman. Stockton's a whale for details but a dunce at technicalities. What he likes is the thing on paper, as he sees it with his own eyes; so he makes his inspections with Edenborough and a sketch-block, illustrated notes are taken at every turn, and all sorts of impossible improvements worked out in subsequent collaboration. I had that this evening from the boy himself. It will show you what chances he has had of giving things away—or—selling them! ”

“ While walking up and down with his hands in his pockets, and looking in at the front door every time he passed it, in hopes that he might see Mrs Null coming down the stairs, he was greeted with a cheery "good morning," by a voice in the front yard. Turning hastily, he beheld Mrs Keswick, wearing her purple sun-bonnet, but without her umbrella.
"Glad you like to be up betimes, sir," said she. "That's my way, and I find it pays. Nobody works as well, and I don't believe the plants and stock grow as well, while we are asleep." ”

“ While these thoughts were passing through his mind, a lady came out upon the porch, and descended the steps. At the first sight of her through the vines, Lawrence had thought it might be Miss March, and his heart had given a jump. But it was not; it was Mrs Null, and she came over the grass toward him, and stopped in front of his door. "How are you feeling now?" she asked. "Does your foot still hurt you?" ”