Summerland

“ On the morning of August 6, we broke camp, and taking a mountain road arrived at Summerville on the following Wednesday, and encamped on Addison Hill.
The country about Summerville is beautiful in the extreme. It is slightly undulating, having more the appearance of an open country, or in some respects a prairie, than of a valley between two very high ridges. It is sufficiently rolling to hide the mountains which separate the Gauley from the Elk River. ”

“ Summerleigh was a quiet, self-contained little village on the edge of Epping Forest, far enough from London to be very jealous of the intrusion of strangers if they stayed more than a night at the inn, unless they happened to be visitors at the Hall. So when the poor woman came with her only son, a lad of ten, to occupy the little cottage that had stood tenantless so long on the edge of the forest clearing, the whole parish was stirred to discover who she was and why she came there. ”

“ Then, consulting his compass, he set off in search of the creek.
“And once there it won’t take me long to get my bearings,” he thought, confidently.
Up and down hill he rode; but the stream persistently remained out of sight.
To Bob Somers’ mind there was humor in the situation—but the humor was of rather a grim sort. Weeks might be spent in that wild region without encountering a single human soul.
“It’s a good thing I’m not a tenderfoot,” he grinned. He stroked his pony’s neck. “I guess, though, we’ll be able to find our way out of here before very long, old boy.” ”

“ But none of the other stories shows the originality and impressively realistic tone which distinguish The Case of Summerfield. In this he achieved the successful combination of audacity of theme with a fitting incisiveness of style. It alone rises above the level of the merely ingenious and clever ”

“ Reluctantly Summersby joined them. "My name is Calvin Full, sir, and this is Mrs. Full."
Summersby took his hand; it was dry and had a preciseness about its grip that irritated him. "John Summersby."
"I'm a milk inspector. My wife and I were on our honeymoon," said Full. "I work through the southern portions of Vermont; that's in the New York milk shed, you know."
"I didn't know. I'm a forest ranger," said Summersby. Retired, he thought bitterly, pensioned off to die with a rotten heart. They couldn't even let a man die on the job, in the woods. ”

“ Spring was so well advanced that the night air, windless, was as warm as it would ever be in Summer. There was again a moon, as on that first night when Summerlad had driven Lucinda and the Lontaines home from dinner at his bungalow and on the way had turned aside to show Lucinda from that high place in the hills all the provinces of her new kingdom mapped out beneath her. Summerlad's car, its superb motor in perfect tune, made light of speed laws on lonely roads far from the main-travelled ways that link the towns. ”

“ He must talk; and no one hindered him, for the most of the working force of the village was busy trying to draw water from the frozen pumps of the neighborhood.
"I might have known such a face would raise the devil," muttered he.
"Then, they are both done for!" was Summerman's quick answer. "If you are burnt to death, it's clear you can't be drowned. So, it seems you're a new man altogether. Sir, your wife calls you! But, before you go, pray, take the Good Will doctrine in. A present from me, if you please."
Having said these words, the organist wiped his eyes, and laughed. ”

“ You pain, you wound me, Somerset.’
‘Give me a match!’ cried Somerset wildly. ‘Let me set fire to this incomparable monster! Let me perish with him in his fall!’
‘For God’s sake,’ cried Zero, clutching hold of the young man, ‘for God’s sake command yourself! We stand upon the brink; death yawns around us; a man—a stranger in this foreign land—one whom you have called your friend—’
‘Silence!’ cried Somerset, ‘you are no friend, no friend of mine. I look on you with loathing, like a toad: my flesh creeps with physical repulsion; my soul revolts against the sight of you.’
Zero burst into tears. ”

“ The sky is clearing; the low sun flashes along the hill-crests and floods the Somerset landscape with ethereal beauty, which we drink in as we skim swiftly along the smooth, wet road. We catch a final gleam of the ocean at Weston-super-Mare and pass a long row of imposing hotels. ”

“ After one has ridden over conventional highways, the beaten path marked out by fences, hedges, bridges, etc., it is simply an impossibility to describe how the blood bounds in the veins at the freedom of an illimitable sea. No spongy, uncertain ground checks the course over the Plains; it is seldom even damp, and the air is so exhilarating one feels as if he had never breathed a full breath before. Almost the first words General Sherman said to me out there were, "Child, you'll find the air of the Plains is like champagne," and so it surely was. ”

“ Godall solemnly, ‘the best paper in the world, the Standard.’
‘Good,’ resumed Somerset. ‘I now hold it in my hand, the voice of the world, a telephone repeating all men’s wants. I open it, and where my eye first falls—well, no, not Morrison’s Pills—but here, sure enough, and but a little above, I find the joint that I was seeking; here is the weak spot in the armour of society. ”

“ Overlooking the trees and vegetation which covered the descending slope, Bob Somers could see a narrow valley, then, beyond, a succession of rolling ridges. It was a wild, desolate and silent scene, with no suggestion of either human or animal life in all its vast reaches.
He realized, however, that if the man kept straight ahead he must soon emerge into the open valley. So, sheltered behind a mass of scrubby cedars, he watched and waited. ”

“ Its power was as transitory as it was entire; and before she retired to rest she had forgotten every thing but Somerville. He had invited the ladies to an evening sail in the harbour, and promised that the plan should be carried into execution before the week had expired. To think of his looks, expressions, the very tones of his voice, furnished ample food for her imagination during the interim; for in a heart that loves as youth and genius are too apt to love, the progress of affection nearly equals the rapidity of light. ”

“ While to crown all, the upper works of the vessel which had been caulked in the damp atmosphere of an English winter, had opened out under the hot sun of the Azores through every seam, and the eternal clank, clank of the pumps, which it was fondly hoped had been heard for the last time when the poor, worn-out little Sumter had been laid up, played throughout the long night a dismal accompaniment to the creaking of the labouring vessel, and the wild howling of an Atlantic gale. ”

“ He caught a glimpse of himself in a long old mirror between two windows in the living-room as he came down-stairs, and he said to himself:
“Why, I don’t look in the least like myself. I look a new man. Nobody would ever dream that I’m a murderer!”
He carried two pans of scalloped oysters across the lawn to the church, while Mrs. Summers walked [Pg 88] beside him and carried the third, and guided him to the church kitchen door. ”

“ Somerset, who was a Gibraltarian by birth, and it was the children's home at present. Being delicate, the climate of Gibraltar was thought better for them than the mists of England. Major and Mrs. Somerset were shortly expected home for a time on furlough, and there was great excitement at this prospect.
"Nory, Nory, you don't hear what I am saying! When will mamma come? You always say 'soon,' but what does 'soon' mean? Nory, you don't hear me," and the governess's dress was pulled.
This roused her from her reverie, and like one waking [347] from a dream she turned round. ”

“ No Somerset variants. Mr. Baring-Gould records a Devon variant, “The Nine Delights,” that is, the joys of Mary.
(10) No variants.
(11) “Eleven and eleven is gone to heaven,” that is, the twelve Apostles without Judas Iscariot.
(12) No variants.
In Notes and Queries for December 26, 1868, there is a version of the words of this song as “sung by the children at Becktngton, Somerset.” It begins as follows:
Sing, sing, what shall we sing ?
Sing all ever one.
One! What is one?
One they do call the righteous Man.
Save poor souls to rest. Amen. ”

“ North of Summerside the land nowhere rises more than 175 ft. above sea-level; but between Summerside and Charlottetown, especially near north Wiltshire, is a ridge of hills, running from north to south and rising to a height of nearly 500 ft. From Charlottetown eastwards the land is low and level. The north shore, facing the gulf, is a long series of beaches of fine sand, and is a favourite resort in summer. On the south, low cliffs of crumbling red sandstone face the strait. The climate is healthy, and though bracing, milder than that of the neighbouring mainland. ”

“ Indeed, the Somerset Coast is singularly varied, and has many elements of beauty. Between the noble scene of its opening, where the romantic gorge of the Avon, set with rugged cliffs and delightful woods, is spanned by the airy Suspension Bridge of Clifton, and the wood-clad steeps of Glenthorne, you will find such beautiful places as Portishead and Weston, whose scenery no crowds of vulgarians can spoil; and Dunster, Minehead, and Porlock, which need no advertisement from this or any other pen. ”

“ And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said "good night," and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where, swinging wide at her moorings, lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war:
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon, like a prison-bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide. ”

“ That is arranged; and in the meanwhile, I observe my breakfast growing cold. Do, dear Mr. Somerset, since you find yourself condemned, for a week at least, to the society of a very interesting character, display some of that open favour, some of that interest in life’s obscurer sides, which stamp the character of the true artist. Hang me, if you will, to-morrow; but to-day show yourself divested of the scruples of the burgess, and sit down pleasantly to share my meal.’
‘Man!’ cried Somerset, ‘do you understand my sentiments?’
‘Certainly,’ replied Zero; ‘and I respect them! ”

“ If Somerset was so great a novice in this detestable art, that, during the course of five months, a man who was his prisoner and attended by none but his emissaries, could not be despatched but in so bungling a manner, how could it be imagined, that a young prince, living in his own court, surrounded by his own friends and domestics, could be exposed to Somerset’s attempts, and be taken off by so subtile a poison, if such a one exist, as could elude the skill of the most experienced physicians? ”

“ But Somerset had fallen below the reach of this material comfort.
‘Let me be,’ he said. ‘I am lost; you have caught me in the toils. Up to this moment, I have lived all my life in the most reckless manner, and done exactly what I pleased, with the most perfect innocence. And now—what am I? Are you so blind and wooden that you do not see the loathing you inspire me with? Is it possible you can suppose me willing to continue to exist upon such terms? ”

“ Now the Verde River was not a very good substitute for the sea, and the thick water filled our ears and mouths, but it gave us a little half hour in the day when we could experience a feeling of being cool, and we found it worth while to take the trouble. Thick clumps of mesquite trees furnished us with dressing-rooms. We were all young, and youth requires so little with which to make merry. ”

“ To think,’ he cried, ‘that a young man, guilty of no fault on earth but amiability, should find himself involved in such a damned imbroglio!’ And placing his knuckles in his eyes, Somerset rolled upon the sofa.
‘My God,’ said Zero, ‘is this possible? And I so filled with tenderness and interest! Can it be, dear Somerset, that you are under the empire of these out-worn scruples? or that you judge a patriot by the morality of the religious tract? I thought you were a good agnostic.’
‘Mr. Jones,’ said Somerset, ‘it is in vain to argue. ”

“ Beyond Kenn, in a lonely situation midway between Yatton and the coast at the point where the waters of the Yeo estuary glide and creep, rather than fall, into the sea, stands the village of Kingston Seymour. The country all round about is more remarkable for the rich feeding its flat pastures afford the cows than for its scenic beauties. If it were not for the luxuriant hedgerows and the fine hedgerow trees, it would be possible to say, with the utmost sincerity, that this corner of Somerset was tame and dull. ”

“ We only stayed two days at La Grange, and when we returned to Paris, Somerville went home and my son joined us, when we made a rapid tour in Switzerland, the only remarkable event of which was a singular atmospheric phenomenon we saw on the top of the Grimsel. On the clouds of vapour below us we saw our shadows projected, of giant proportions, and each person saw his own shadow surrounded by a bright circle of prismatic colours. ”

“ Monday morning found us ready to move; and, at 8 o’clock, we bade good bye to Somerset, much to our satisfaction. We marched twelve miles that day, over the worst kind of a road. In many places the mud was belly deep to the horses, and they often got stalled. At night, camped in a small valley near a creek. [Pg 34] During the night, a heavy snow storm set in, and, in the morning, the ground was covered, and more still falling. At 8 o’clock, were again on the move. The roads were but little better than the day previous; we were, however, in a more open country. ”