Thomas Wyndham

“ His son, the 2nd earl (1782–1850) , married Caroline (d. 1870) , daughter and heiress of Thomas Wyndham of Dunraven Castle, Glamorganshire, and took the name of Wyndham-Quin. Their son, the 3rd earl (1812–1871) , who was created a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Kenry in 1866, was a well-known man of science, especially interested in archaeology. ”

“ A thing of not much moment, as life goes, A thing a man with some philosophy Had idly brushed aside, as 't were a gnat That winged itself between him and the light, Had, through the crooked working of his mind, Brought Wyndham to a very grievous pass. Yet 't was a grapestone choked Anacreon And hushed his song. There is no little thing In nature: in a raindrop's compass lie A planet's elements. This Wyndham's woe Was one Griselda, daughter to a man Of Bideford, a shipman once, but since Turned soldier ”

“ As some wild animal that gets a wound, And prescience hath of death, will drag itself Back to its cavern sullenly to die, And would not have heaven's airs for witnesses, So Wyndham, shrinking from the very stars And tell-tale places where the moonlight fell, Crept through the huddled shadows back to hall, And in a lonely room where no light was, Save what the moon made at the casement there, Sat pondering his hurt, and in the dark Gave audience to a host of grievances. ”

“ Who waits shall have the world. Time's heir is he, Be he but patient. Thus the thing befell Wherefrom grew all this history of woe: Haunting the grounds one night, as his use was Who loved the dark as bats and owlets do, Wyndham got sound of voices in the air That did such strange and goblin changes ring As left him doubtful whence the murmurs came, Now here, now there, as they were winged things— Such trick plays Echo upon hapless wight Chance-caught in lonely places where she dwells, Anon a laugh rang out, melodious, Like the merle's note when its ecstatic heart Is packed with summer-time ”

“ At a dark alcove's end of that long hall, The ancient armor-room in the east wing, A certain door (whereof no mortal knew save Wyndham, now that other lay a-cold) Was to the panels of the wall so set, And with such devilish shrewdness overlaid By carvings of wild-flower and curled grape-leaf, That one not in the favor of the trick, Albeit he knew such mechanism was, Ere he put finger on the secret spring Had need of Job for ancestor, in faith! ”

“ Say what you will, and paint things as you may, The devil is not black, with horn and hoof, As gossips picture him: he is a person Quite scrupulous of doublet and demeanor, As was this Master Wyndham of The Towers, Now latterly in most unhappy case, Because of matters to be here set forth. ”

“ A lonely wight that no kith had nor kin Save one, a brother—by ill-fortune's spite A brother, since 't were better to have none— Of late not often seen at Wyndham Towers, Where he in sooth but lenten welcome got When to that gate his errant footstep strayed. Yet held he dear those gray majestic walls, Time-stained and crusted with the sea's salt breath; There first his eyes took color of the sea, There did his heart stay when fate drove him thence, And there at last—but that we tell anon. Darrell they named him, for an ancestor Whose bones were whitening in Holy Land, The other Richard ”

“ WYNDHAM, HENRY PENRUDDOCKE (1736–1819) , topographer, eldest son of Henry Wyndham (d. 1788, aged 79) , of Compton Chamberlayne, Wiltshire, and St. Edmund's College, Salisbury who married Arundel (d. 1780) , daughter of Thomas Penruddocke of Compton Chamberlayne, was born at Compton Chamberlayne on 4 June 1736. Sir Wadham Wyndham [q. v.] was his great-grandfather. Henry was educated at Eton and at Wadham College, Oxford, whence he matriculated as gentleman commoner on 21 Feb. ”

“ Madame Lola Montez, who is now happily returned to us, is the legitimate spouse of Sir Thomas James, an officer of the English Army. Milord Sir James loved to drink and the beautiful Lola loved to flirt. A wealthy Prince of Kabul was willing to possess her for her weight in gold and gems. Up till now, her principal love affairs have been with Don Enriquez, a Spaniard, Brûle-Tout, a well-developed French mariner, and [182] John, a phlegmatic Englishman. One day Sir James bet that he could drink three bottles of brandy in twenty minutes. ”

“ Then, too, when the glamour of the elopement had dimmed, it was obvious that her action in running away from Bath had been precipitate. Thomas, for all his luxuriant whiskers and dash, was, she reflected sadly, "nothing but the outside shell of a man, with neither a brain that she could respect nor a heart she could love." A sorry awakening from the dreams in which she had indulged. As a matter of fact, they had nothing in common. The husband, who was sixteen years his wife's senior, cared for little but hunting and drinking, and Lola's tastes were mainly for dancing and flirting. ”

“ Wyndham before his engagement was one of the most boyish of men. All the sunshine, the petting, the warmth, the love, which encircled him as the prime favorite of many sisters and an adoring father at Jewsbury-on-the-Wold, seemed to have grown into his face. His deep grey-blue changeful eyes were always laughing—he was witty, and he said witty and laughable things by the score. The young man had plenty of talent, and a public school and university education had developed these abilities to a fine point of culture. ”

“ He got into the canoe and when the negroes paddled off Marston leaned against the rail.
"I suppose we need expect nothing from Larrinaga," he remarked. "How much did you tell him?"
"All I thought it useful for him to know," said Wyndham, rather dryly. "He's a common type; lazy and greedy. Now he's got his bribe, I don't suppose he'll bother us. What did you think about the other?"
"I didn't study him much. Amusing fellow, but you get a hint of force. I imagine he's clever and a man who can hold on. ”

“ This accounts for the locked gates, and the girl’s admiration for the walls—an admiration that no doubt has but little to do with the ivy and the Virginian creeper, now throwing out its palest leaves of green, and the other trailing glories that have lifted them into a dream of beauty.
133‘Your thought was very nearly right,’ says Wyndham, with a cold smile; he is quite unmoved by the nervous pallor and the frightened expression on the young face before him. Barristers after a while get accustomed to young, frightened faces, and lose their interest in them. ”

“ A grave thoughtful man with a wonderfully sweet expression.
It was plain to be seen that Wyndham, the expectant curate of Jewsbury-on-the-Wold, and Wyndham, the promised husband of Valentine Paget, were totally different individuals. Wyndham's prospects were changed, so was his appearance—so, in very truth, was the man himself. ”

“ In his last years he found politics very depressing, and saw nothing clearly in the future except war with Germany.
Wyndham’s career in office was less than seven years, and his literary output was small; the impression which he made on those who knew him personally was greater than can be justified by his actual achievements. He had a very keen appreciation of beauty in nature, in some kinds of art, and in some departments of literature; a passion for life, and a passion for ideas ”

“ Its citizens are Christians and follow the light, although their steps are sometimes weak; these others would plunge the land in the dark of superstitious horror. I know, I have long watched the shadow deepen."
"You are a loyal servant," Wyndham replied. "I am afraid you must come with us, but we will try to make your journey easy."
"White man fool man! Black man fix them thing different," Rupert remarked with his cruel grin. Then he indicated Marston and added in good English: "This fellow is certainly a fool, but his boyish scruples have beaten my cleverest schemes." ”

“ It is the right path; I think he is brave." Then he paused and smiled. "I am old and have lived in this country long. There is much about Voodoo and other things that puzzles me; but this I know. They who walk in the light need fear no lasting hurt."
"Sometimes one's light gets dim," said Marston.
"That is when we stray into the shadow and our eyes are dull. The light burns steadily; it will not go out."
Don Felix came back from the hatch and stopped for dinner. When he and Father Sebastian had gone, Marston asked Wyndham: "What about the other lot of goods that was already in the hold?" ”

“ He dropped on his knees; his streaming white hair fell behind him, his hands were raised in supplication.
"Don't," said Wyndham, terribly distressed. "You have wronged me bitterly, but I, too, am a sinner; I would not willingly hurt mortal on this earth. Get up, don't degrade yourself. I am a living man like yourself. I have come to speak to you of my wife—of Valentine." ”

“ A trick of pushing out his lips and stretching his nostrils, perhaps; but one feels he is a half-breed. I think he will never really be a white man again. He gave no hint of regret for [Pg 231] all that he has lost; it was rather horrible to see he was content."
"He is content, he has done with civilization," said Marston quietly. "We must remember this."
Wyndham nodded. "From now, we have not to deal with Rupert Wyndham, but with the Bat. To some extent, it makes the job easier. All the same, we can't give him up to Larrinaga. ”

“ WHILE Phyllis was having, as she said in her letters, a pleasant amphibious summer, the rest of the Wyndhams were staying in town for the first time in their lives. New York is not as bad a place during the heated months as people think it who fly from the first touch of the mounting sun. Except for the noise, even Mrs. Wyndham did not find it uncomfortable, and the noises could be forgotten while she rested and read in their little dining-room, the depth of the apartment away from them.
Jessamy and Barbara discovered that there was much to be enjoyed in early rising for walks in the park ”

“ I shall not, indeed,’ says the girl firmly. Her firmness is costing her a good deal. It causes Wyndham absolute physical suffering to see the pallor of her face, the trembling of her slight form. But that he can shake her decision seems improbable. ”

“ Doctor Leighton—my mother," said Barbara.
"Please don't think me intrusive, Mrs. Wyndham," said Tom, stepping forward to take the delicate hand extended to him. "I am the son of John Leighton, a friend of your husband, and I wanted to ask if I could be of use in getting you in order. I'm a jack-of-all-trades, and have been boarding long enough to have learned dodges."
"I remember your father," said Mrs. Wyndham, cordially. "It is very pleasant to find a friend among strangers. I don't see what you can do, unless you can build a closet. ”

“ Jessamy drove with her mother to the kind friend who waited her with loving welcome, but Phyllis and Bab sobbed long and tempestuously on the stairs after Mrs. Wyndham had gone, and black Violet and blacker Sally, with Irish Ellen, the laundress, on the basement stairs, sobbed with them. ”

“ Yet Wyndham was aware of an instant recoil from the idea, aware that he personally preferred matters as they stood. With which conclusion he spurred his horse to a canter, as though he could thus outrun the quickened current of thought and feeling which this unlooked-for meeting had set stirring in his brain. ”

“ Sir Charles Wyndham, our veteran actor, of whom we are most justly proud, seems to have one leg in the past and the other in the present, so unconscious of the passing years and full of life and power does he still seem on those occasions on which the public have the opportunity of watching this favourite of several generations of playgoers. ”

“ George Wyndham was one of the most fortunate men of his time—strong, handsome, an athlete, an orator, a statesman, a writer with a sense of style, popular, rich, and with nine out of ten of the attributes that we envy most. ”

“ The Doc had buried the Cora's recruiting agent the night the schooner sailed, doing everything except the digging of the grave with his own hands. He had then returned home and shut himself in for his ten days of solitary quarantine. Solitary is hardly the word, though. Wyndham was far from being alone. Unlike Bell, he was a "spree drinker" rather than a speedy tippler. ”

“ This great display of Wyndham's work astonished and dazzled them. Above all, the amazing pièce de résistance of the afternoon won their obeisance to the genius. They stared at the vast canvas in wonder, at once conquered by this crowd of tattered labour intermingled with the silk hats and frock-coats of Bond Street, the smart brougham rolling along with its aristocratic occupant and her poodle, the pillared structure in the background, the vista of roadway, the trees and the foliage. ”

“ Little Cecily Harvey was not the only person who came under Wyndham's soothing influence. During this first evening he found himself more or less in the position of a sort of general sick-nurse. But the next day people were better, and then he appeared in another rôle. He could entertain, with stories, with music, with song. He could recite; above all things he could organize, and had a knack of showing off other people to the best advantage. Long before a week had passed, Wyndham was the most popular person on board. He was not only popular with saloon passengers, but with the emigrants. ”

“ Wyndham, finding the pursuit grow too hot for64 him, rode to Sion House, Isleworth, one of the seats of his father-in-law, the Duke of Somerset. The two went up to the Duke’s town residence, Northumberland House, whence Wyndham’s brother-in-law, the Earl of Hertford, sent notice of the presence of such a guest to Secretary Stanhope. That official dispatched a messenger, by whom Wyndham was carried before the Council Board. It was said in London that he there denied all knowledge of a plot; but the Council, nevertheless, committed him to the Tower. ”