The Way We Live Now - 01
Total number of words is 4627
Total number of unique words is 1379
49.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words
67.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words
75.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
THE WAY WE LIVE NOW.
by
ANTHONY TROLLOPE.
CONTENTS
I. THREE EDITORS.
II. THE CARBURY FAMILY.
III. THE BEARGARDEN.
IV. MADAME MELMOTTE'S BALL.
V. AFTER THE BALL.
VI. ROGER CARBURY AND PAUL MONTAGUE.
VII. MENTOR.
VIII. LOVE-SICK.
IX. THE GREAT RAILWAY TO VERA CRUZ.
X. MR. FISKER'S SUCCESS.
XI. LADY CARBURY AT HOME.
XII. SIR FELIX IN HIS MOTHER'S HOUSE.
XIII. THE LONGESTAFFES.
XIV. CARBURY MANOR.
XV. "YOU SHOULD REMEMBER THAT I AM HIS MOTHER."
XVI. THE BISHOP AND THE PRIEST.
XVII. MARIE MELMOTTE HEARS A LOVE TALE.
XVIII. RUBY RUGGLES HEARS A LOVE TALE.
XIX. HETTA CARBURY HEARS A LOVE TALE.
XX. LADY POMONA'S DINNER PARTY.
XXI. EVERYBODY GOES TO THEM.
XXII. LORD NIDDERDALE'S MORALITY.
XXIII. "YES;--I'M A BARONET."
XXIV. MILES GRENDALL'S TRIUMPH.
XXV. IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.
XXVI. MRS. HURTLE.
XXVII. MRS. HURTLE GOES TO THE PLAY.
XXVIII. DOLLY LONGESTAFFE GOES INTO THE CITY.
XXIX. MISS MELMOTTE'S COURAGE.
XXX. MR. MELMOTTE'S PROMISE.
XXXI. MR. BROUNE HAS MADE UP HIS MIND.
XXXII. LADY MONOGRAM.
XXXIII. JOHN CRUMB.
XXXIV. RUBY RUGGLES OBEYS HER GRANDFATHER.
XXXV. MELMOTTE'S GLORY.
XXXVI. MR. BROUNE'S PERILS.
XXXVII. THE BOARD-ROOM.
XXXVIII. PAUL MONTAGUE'S TROUBLES.
XXXIX. "I DO LOVE HIM."
XL. "UNANIMITY IS THE VERY SOUL OF THESE THINGS."
XLI. ALL PREPARED.
XLII. "CAN YOU BE READY IN TEN MINUTES?"
XLIII. THE CITY ROAD.
XLIV. THE COMING ELECTION.
XLV. MR. MELMOTTE IS PRESSED FOR TIME.
XLVI. ROGER CARBURY AND HIS TWO FRIENDS.
XLVII. MRS. HURTLE AT LOWESTOFT.
XLVIII. RUBY A PRISONER.
XLIX. SIR FELIX MAKES HIMSELF READY.
L. THE JOURNEY TO LIVERPOOL.
LI. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
LII. THE RESULTS OF LOVE AND WINE.
LIII. A DAY IN THE CITY.
LIV. THE INDIA OFFICE.
LV. CLERICAL CHARITIES.
LVI. FATHER BARHAM VISITS LONDON.
LVII. LORD NIDDERDALE TRIES HIS HAND AGAIN.
LVIII. MR. SQUERCUM IS EMPLOYED.
LIX. THE DINNER.
LX. MISS LONGESTAFFE'S LOVER.
LXI. LADY MONOGRAM PREPARES FOR THE PARTY.
LXII. THE PARTY.
LXIII. MR. MELMOTTE ON THE DAY OF THE ELECTION.
LXIV. THE ELECTION.
LXV. MISS LONGESTAFFE WRITES HOME.
LXVI. "SO SHALL BE MY ENMITY."
LXVII. SIR FELIX PROTECTS HIS SISTER.
LXVIII. MISS MELMOTTE DECLARES HER PURPOSE.
LXIX. MELMOTTE IN PARLIAMENT.
LXX. SIR FELIX MEDDLES WITH MANY MATTERS.
LXXI. JOHN CRUMB FALLS INTO TROUBLE.
LXXII. "ASK HIMSELF."
LXXIII. MARIE'S FORTUNE.
LXXIV. MELMOTTE MAKES A FRIEND.
LXXV. IN BRUTON STREET.
LXXVI. HETTA AND HER LOVER.
LXXVII. ANOTHER SCENE IN BRUTON STREET.
LXXVIII. MISS LONGESTAFFE AGAIN AT CAVERSHAM.
LXXIX. THE BREHGERT CORRESPONDENCE.
LXXX. RUBY PREPARES FOR SERVICE.
LXXXI. MR. COHENLUPE LEAVES LONDON.
LXXXII. MARIE'S PERSEVERANCE.
LXXXIII. MELMOTTE AGAIN AT THE HOUSE.
LXXXIV. PAUL MONTAGUE'S VINDICATION.
LXXXV. BREAKFAST IN BERKELEY SQUARE.
LXXXVI. THE MEETING IN BRUTON STREET.
LXXXVII. DOWN AT CARBURY.
LXXXVIII. THE INQUEST.
LXXXIX. "THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE."
XC. HETTA'S SORROW.
XCI. THE RIVALS.
XCII. HAMILTON K. FISKER AGAIN.
XCIII. A TRUE LOVER.
XCIV. JOHN CRUMB'S VICTORY.
XCV. THE LONGESTAFFE MARRIAGES.
XCVI. WHERE "THE WILD ASSES QUENCH THEIR THIRST."
XCVII. MRS. HURTLE'S FATE.
XCVIII. MARIE MELMOTTE'S FATE.
XCIX. LADY CARBURY AND MR. BROUNE.
C. DOWN IN SUFFOLK.
ILLUSTRATIONS
"JUST SO, MOTHER;--BUT HOW ABOUT THE CHAPTER III.
TWENTY POUNDS?"
THE DUCHESS FOLLOWED WITH THE MALE VICTIM. CHAPTER IV.
"THERE'S THE ยฃ20." CHAPTER VII.
THEN MR. FISKER BEGAN HIS ACCOUNT. CHAPTER IX.
THEN THE SQUIRE LED THE WAY OUT OF THE CHAPTER XIII.
ROOM, AND DOLLY FOLLOWED.
"YOU SHOULD REMEMBER THAT I AM HIS MOTHER." CHAPTER XV.
THE BISHOP THINKS THAT THE PRIEST'S ANALOGY CHAPTER XVI.
IS NOT CORRECT.
"YOU KNOW WHY I HAVE COME DOWN HERE?" CHAPTER XVII.
SHE MARCHED MAJESTICALLY OUT OF THE ROOM. CHAPTER XXI.
"IN THE MEANTIME WHAT IS YOUR OWN PROPERTY?" CHAPTER XXIII.
"I HAVE COME ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO SEE YOU." CHAPTER XXVI.
"GET TO YOUR ROOM." CHAPTER XXIX.
SIR DAMASK SOLVING THE DIFFICULTY. CHAPTER XXXII.
"I LOIKS TO SEE HER LOIK O' THAT." CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE BOARD-ROOM. CHAPTER XXXVII.
LADY CARBURY ALLOWED HERSELF TO BE KISSED. CHAPTER XXXIX.
"IT'S NO GOOD SCOLDING." CHAPTER XLI.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY MAN'S COAT." CHAPTER XLIII.
THE SANDS AT LOWESTOFT. CHAPTER XLVI.
"YOU, I THINK, ARE MISS MELMOTTE." CHAPTER L.
THE DOOR WAS OPENED FOR HIM BY RUBY. CHAPTER LI.
"CAN I MARRY THE MAN I DO NOT LOVE?" CHAPTER LII.
FATHER BARHAM. CHAPTER LVI.
MR. SQUERCUM IN HIS OFFICE. CHAPTER LVIII.
"HAVE YOU HEARD WHAT'S UP, JU?" CHAPTER LXI.
MR. MELMOTTE SPECULATES. CHAPTER LXII.
"NOT A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE IN THE HOUSE." CHAPTER LXIX.
MELMOTTE IN PARLIAMENT. CHAPTER LXIX.
"GET UP, YOU WIPER." CHAPTER LXXI.
"I MIGHT AS WELL SEE WHETHER THERE IS ANY CHAPTER LXXV.
SIGN OF VIOLENCE HAVING BEEN USED."
"YOU HAD BETTER GO BACK TO MRS. HURTLE." CHAPTER LXXVI.
"AH, MA'AM-MOISELLE," SAID CROLL, "YOU CHAPTER LXXVII.
SHOULD OBLIGE YOUR FADER."
"HE THOUGHT I HAD BETTER BRING THESE CHAPTER LXXXII.
BACK TO YOU."
"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?" CHAPTER LXXXV.
"SHE'S A COOMIN; SHE'S A COOMIN." CHAPTER LXXXVII.
"OF COURSE YOU HAVE BEEN A DRAGON OF VIRTUE." CHAPTER LXXXIX.
"SIT DOWN SO THAT I MAY LOOK AT YOU." CHAPTER XCI.
THE HAPPY BRIDEGROOM. CHAPTER XCIV.
MRS. HURTLE AT THE WINDOW. CHAPTER XCVII.
"THERE GOES THE LAST OF MY ANGER." CHAPTER C.
CHAPTER I.
THREE EDITORS.
Let the reader be introduced to Lady Carbury, upon whose character
and doings much will depend of whatever interest these pages may
have, as she sits at her writing-table in her own room in her own
house in Welbeck Street. Lady Carbury spent many hours at her desk,
and wrote many letters,--wrote also very much beside letters. She
spoke of herself in these days as a woman devoted to Literature,
always spelling the word with a big L. Something of the nature of her
devotion may be learned by the perusal of three letters which on this
morning she had written with a quickly running hand. Lady Carbury was
rapid in everything, and in nothing more rapid than in the writing of
letters. Here is Letter No. 1;--
Thursday,
Welbeck Street.
DEAR FRIEND,--
I have taken care that you shall have the early sheets of
my two new volumes to-morrow, or Saturday at latest, so
that you may, if so minded, give a poor struggler like
myself a lift in your next week's paper. Do give a poor
struggler a lift. You and I have so much in common, and
I have ventured to flatter myself that we are really
friends! I do not flatter you when I say, that not only
would aid from you help me more than from any other
quarter, but also that praise from you would gratify my
vanity more than any other praise. I almost think you will
like my "Criminal Queens." The sketch of Semiramis is at
any rate spirited, though I had to twist it about a little
to bring her in guilty. Cleopatra, of course, I have taken
from Shakespeare. What a wench she was! I could not quite
make Julia a queen; but it was impossible to pass over
so piquant a character. You will recognise in the two or
three ladies of the empire how faithfully I have studied
my Gibbon. Poor dear old Belisarius! I have done the best
I could with Joanna, but I could not bring myself to
care for her. In our days she would simply have gone to
Broadmore. I hope you will not think that I have been too
strong in my delineations of Henry VIII. and his sinful
but unfortunate Howard. I don't care a bit about Anne
Boleyne. I am afraid that I have been tempted into too
great length about the Italian Catherine; but in truth she
has been my favourite. What a woman! What a devil! Pity
that a second Dante could not have constructed for her a
special hell. How one traces the effect of her training
in the life of our Scotch Mary. I trust you will go with
me in my view as to the Queen of Scots. Guilty! guilty
always! Adultery, murder, treason, and all the rest of it.
But recommended to mercy because she was royal. A queen
bred, born and married, and with such other queens around
her, how could she have escaped to be guilty? Marie
Antoinette I have not quite acquitted. It would be
uninteresting;--perhaps untrue. I have accused her
lovingly, and have kissed when I scourged. I trust
the British public will not be angry because I do not
whitewash Caroline, especially as I go along with them
altogether in abusing her husband.
But I must not take up your time by sending you another
book, though it gratifies me to think that I am writing
what none but yourself will read. Do it yourself, like a
dear man, and, as you are great, be merciful. Or rather,
as you are a friend, be loving.
Yours gratefully and faithfully,
MATILDA CARBURY.
After all how few women there are who can raise themselves
above the quagmire of what we call love, and make
themselves anything but playthings for men. Of almost all
these royal and luxurious sinners it was the chief sin
that in some phase of their lives they consented to be
playthings without being wives. I have striven so hard to
be proper; but when girls read everything, why should not
an old woman write anything?
This letter was addressed to Nicholas Broune, Esq., the editor of the
"Morning Breakfast Table," a daily newspaper of high character; and,
as it was the longest, so was it considered to be the most important
of the three. Mr. Broune was a man powerful in his profession,--and
he was fond of ladies. Lady Carbury in her letter had called herself
an old woman, but she was satisfied to do so by a conviction that no
one else regarded her in that light. Her age shall be no secret to
the reader, though to her most intimate friends, even to Mr. Broune,
it had never been divulged. She was forty-three, but carried her
years so well, and had received such gifts from nature, that it was
impossible to deny that she was still a beautiful woman. And she
used her beauty not only to increase her influence,--as is natural
to women who are well-favoured,--but also with a well-considered
calculation that she could obtain material assistance in the
procuring of bread and cheese, which was very necessary to her, by
a prudent adaptation to her purposes of the good things with which
providence had endowed her. She did not fall in love, she did not
wilfully flirt, she did not commit herself; but she smiled and
whispered, and made confidences, and looked out of her own eyes into
men's eyes as though there might be some mysterious bond between her
and them--if only mysterious circumstances would permit it. But the
end of all was to induce some one to do something which would cause
a publisher to give her good payment for indifferent writing, or an
editor to be lenient when, upon the merits of the case, he should
have been severe. Among all her literary friends, Mr. Broune was the
one in whom she most trusted; and Mr. Broune was fond of handsome
women. It may be as well to give a short record of a scene which had
taken place between Lady Carbury and her friend about a month before
the writing of this letter which has been produced. She had wanted
him to take a series of papers for the "Morning Breakfast Table," and
to have them paid for at rate No. 1, whereas she suspected that he
was rather doubtful as to their merit, and knew that, without special
favour, she could not hope for remuneration above rate No. 2, or
possibly even No. 3. So she had looked into his eyes, and had left
her soft, plump hand for a moment in his. A man in such circumstances
is so often awkward, not knowing with any accuracy when to do one
thing and when another! Mr. Broune, in a moment of enthusiasm, had
put his arm round Lady Carbury's waist and had kissed her. To say
that Lady Carbury was angry, as most women would be angry if so
treated, would be to give an unjust idea of her character. It was a
little accident which really carried with it no injury, unless it
should be the injury of leading to a rupture between herself and
a valuable ally. No feeling of delicacy was shocked. What did it
matter? No unpardonable insult had been offered; no harm had been
done, if only the dear susceptible old donkey could be made at once
to understand that that wasn't the way to go on!
Without a flutter, and without a blush, she escaped from his arm, and
then made him an excellent little speech. "Mr. Broune, how foolish,
how wrong, how mistaken! Is it not so? Surely you do not wish to put
an end to the friendship between us!"
"Put an end to our friendship, Lady Carbury! Oh, certainly not that."
"Then why risk it by such an act? Think of my son and of my
daughter,--both grown up. Think of the past troubles of my life;--so
much suffered and so little deserved. No one knows them so well as
you do. Think of my name, that has been so often slandered but never
disgraced! Say that you are sorry, and it shall be forgotten."
When a man has kissed a woman it goes against the grain with him to
say the very next moment that he is sorry for what he has done. It is
as much as to declare that the kiss had not answered his expectation.
Mr. Broune could not do this, and perhaps Lady Carbury did not quite
expect it. "You know that for worlds I would not offend you," he
said. This sufficed. Lady Carbury again looked into his eyes, and
a promise was given that the articles should be printed--and with
generous remuneration.
When the interview was over Lady Carbury regarded it as having been
quite successful. Of course when struggles have to be made and hard
work done, there will be little accidents. The lady who uses a street
cab must encounter mud and dust which her richer neighbour, who has a
private carriage, will escape. She would have preferred not to have
been kissed;--but what did it matter? With Mr. Broune the affair was
more serious. "Confound them all," he said to himself as he left the
house; "no amount of experience enables a man to know them." As he
went away he almost thought that Lady Carbury had intended him to
kiss her again, and he was almost angry with himself in that he had
not done so. He had seen her three or four times since, but had not
repeated the offence.
We will now go on to the other letters, both of which were addressed
to the editors of other newspapers. The second was written to Mr.
Booker, of the "Literary Chronicle." Mr. Booker was a hard-working
professor of literature, by no means without talent, by no means
without influence, and by no means without a conscience. But,
from the nature of the struggles in which he had been engaged,
by compromises which had gradually been driven upon him by the
encroachment of brother authors on the one side and by the demands
on the other of employers who looked only to their profits, he had
fallen into a routine of work in which it was very difficult to be
scrupulous, and almost impossible to maintain the delicacies of a
literary conscience. He was now a bald-headed old man of sixty, with
a large family of daughters, one of whom was a widow dependent on
him with two little children. He had five hundred a year for editing
the "Literary Chronicle," which, through his energy, had become
a valuable property. He wrote for magazines, and brought out some
book of his own almost annually. He kept his head above water, and
was regarded by those who knew about him, but did not know him, as
a successful man. He always kept up his spirits, and was able in
literary circles to show that he could hold his own. But he was
driven by the stress of circumstances to take such good things as
came in his way, and could hardly afford to be independent. It must
be confessed that literary scruple had long departed from his mind.
Letter No. 2 was as follows;--
Welbeck Street,
25th February, 187--.
DEAR MR. BOOKER,--
I have told Mr. Leadham--[Mr. Leadham was senior partner
in the enterprising firm of publishers known as Messrs.
Leadham and Loiter]--to send you an early copy of my
"Criminal Queens." I have already settled with my friend
Mr. Broune that I am to do your "New Tale of a Tub" in
the "Breakfast Table." Indeed, I am about it now, and
am taking great pains with it. If there is anything
you wish to have specially said as to your view of the
Protestantism of the time, let me know. I should like you
to say a word as to the accuracy of my historical details,
which I know you can safely do. Don't put it off, as the
sale does so much depend on early notices. I am only
getting a royalty, which does not commence till the first
four hundred are sold.
Yours sincerely,
MATILDA CARBURY.
ALFRED BOOKER, Esq.,
"Literary Chronicle," Office, Strand.
There was nothing in this which shocked Mr. Booker. He laughed
inwardly, with a pleasantly reticent chuckle, as he thought of Lady
Carbury dealing with his views of Protestantism,--as he thought also
of the numerous historical errors into which that clever lady must
inevitably fall in writing about matters of which he believed her to
know nothing. But he was quite alive to the fact that a favourable
notice in the "Breakfast Table" of his very thoughtful work, called
the "New Tale of a Tub," would serve him, even though written by the
hand of a female literary charlatan, and he would have no compunction
as to repaying the service by fulsome praise in the "Literary
Chronicle." He would not probably say that the book was accurate,
but he would be able to declare that it was delightful reading, that
the feminine characteristics of the queens had been touched with a
masterly hand, and that the work was one which would certainly make
its way into all drawing-rooms. He was an adept at this sort of work,
and knew well how to review such a book as Lady Carbury's "Criminal
Queens," without bestowing much trouble on the reading. He could
almost do it without cutting the book, so that its value for purposes
of after sale might not be injured. And yet Mr. Booker was an
honest man, and had set his face persistently against many literary
malpractices. Stretched-out type, insufficient lines, and the French
habit of meandering with a few words over an entire page, had been
rebuked by him with conscientious strength. He was supposed to be
rather an Aristides among reviewers. But circumstanced as he was he
could not oppose himself altogether to the usages of the time. "Bad;
of course it is bad," he said to a young friend who was working with
him on his periodical. "Who doubts that? How many very bad things are
there that we do! But if we were to attempt to reform all our bad
ways at once, we should never do any good thing. I am not strong
enough to put the world straight, and I doubt if you are." Such was
Mr. Booker.
Then there was letter No. 3, to Mr. Ferdinand Alf. Mr. Alf managed,
and, as it was supposed, chiefly owned, the "Evening Pulpit," which
during the last two years had become "quite a property," as men
connected with the press were in the habit of saying. The "Evening
Pulpit" was supposed to give daily to its readers all that had been
said and done up to two o'clock in the day by all the leading people
in the metropolis, and to prophesy with wonderful accuracy what would
be the sayings and doings of the twelve following hours. This was
effected with an air of wonderful omniscience, and not unfrequently
with an ignorance hardly surpassed by its arrogance. But the
writing was clever. The facts, if not true, were well invented; the
arguments, if not logical, were seductive. The presiding spirit of
the paper had the gift, at any rate, of knowing what the people for
whom he catered would like to read, and how to get his subjects
handled, so that the reading should be pleasant. Mr. Booker's
"Literary Chronicle" did not presume to entertain any special
political opinions. The "Breakfast Table" was decidedly Liberal. The
"Evening Pulpit" was much given to politics, but held strictly to the
motto which it had assumed;--
"Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri;"--
and consequently had at all times the invaluable privilege of abusing
what was being done, whether by one side or by the other. A newspaper
that wishes to make its fortune should never waste its columns and
weary its readers by praising anything. Eulogy is invariably dull,--a
fact that Mr. Alf had discovered and had utilized.
Mr. Alf had, moreover, discovered another fact. Abuse from those who
occasionally praise is considered to be personally offensive, and
they who give personal offence will sometimes make the world too
hot to hold them. But censure from those who are always finding
fault is regarded so much as a matter of course that it ceases to be
objectionable. The caricaturist, who draws only caricatures, is held
to be justifiable, let him take what liberties he may with a man's
face and person. It is his trade, and his business calls upon him to
vilify all that he touches. But were an artist to publish a series of
portraits, in which two out of a dozen were made to be hideous, he
would certainly make two enemies, if not more. Mr. Alf never made
enemies, for he praised no one, and, as far as the expression of his
newspaper went, was satisfied with nothing.
Personally, Mr. Alf was a remarkable man. No one knew whence he came
or what he had been. He was supposed to have been born a German Jew;
and certain ladies said that they could distinguish in his tongue the
slightest possible foreign accent. Nevertheless it was conceded to
him that he knew England as only an Englishman can know it. During
the last year or two he had "come up" as the phrase goes, and had
come up very thoroughly. He had been black-balled at three or four
clubs, but had effected an entrance at two or three others, and
had learned a manner of speaking of those which had rejected him
calculated to leave on the minds of hearers a conviction that the
societies in question were antiquated, imbecile, and moribund. He
was never weary of implying that not to know Mr. Alf, not to be on
good terms with Mr. Alf, not to understand that let Mr. Alf have been
born where he might and how he might he was always to be recognised
as a desirable acquaintance, was to be altogether out in the dark.
And that which he so constantly asserted, or implied, men and
women around him began at last to believe,--and Mr. Alf became an
acknowledged something in the different worlds of politics, letters,
and fashion.
He was a good-looking man, about forty years old, but carrying
himself as though he was much younger, spare, below the middle
height, with dark brown hair which would have shown a tinge of
grey but for the dyer's art, with well-cut features, with a smile
constantly on his mouth the pleasantness of which was always belied
by the sharp severity of his eyes. He dressed with the utmost
simplicity, but also with the utmost care. He was unmarried, had
a small house of his own close to Berkeley Square at which he
gave remarkable dinner parties, kept four or five hunters in
Northamptonshire, and was reputed to earn ยฃ6,000 a year out of the
"Evening Pulpit" and to spend about half of that income. He also was
intimate after his fashion with Lady Carbury, whose diligence in
making and fostering useful friendships had been unwearied. Her
letter to Mr. Alf was as follows;--
DEAR MR. ALF,--
Do tell me who wrote the review on Fitzgerald Barker's
last poem. Only I know you won't. I remember nothing done
so well. I should think the poor wretch will hardly hold
his head up again before the autumn. But it was fully
deserved. I have no patience with the pretensions of
would-be poets who contrive by toadying and underground
influences to get their volumes placed on every
drawing-room table. I know no one to whom the world has
been so good-natured in this way as to Fitzgerald Barker,
but I have heard of no one who has extended the good
nature to the length of reading his poetry.
Is it not singular how some men continue to obtain the
reputation of popular authorship without adding a word
to the literature of their country worthy of note? It is
accomplished by unflagging assiduity in the system of
puffing. To puff and to get one's self puffed have become
different branches of a new profession. Alas, me! I wish
I might find a class open in which lessons could be taken
by such a poor tyro as myself. Much as I hate the thing
from my very soul, and much as I admire the consistency
with which the "Pulpit" has opposed it, I myself am so
much in want of support for my own little efforts, and
am struggling so hard honestly to make for myself a
remunerative career, that I think, were the opportunity
offered to me, I should pocket my honour, lay aside the
high feeling which tells me that praise should be bought
neither by money nor friendship, and descend among the low
things, in order that I might one day have the pride of
feeling that I had succeeded by my own work in providing
for the needs of my children.
But I have not as yet commenced the descent downwards;
and therefore I am still bold enough to tell you that I
shall look, not with concern but with a deep interest,
to anything which may appear in the "Pulpit" respecting
my "Criminal Queens." I venture to think that the
book,--though I wrote it myself,--has an importance of
its own which will secure for it some notice. That my
inaccuracy will be laid bare and presumption scourged I do
not in the least doubt, but I think your reviewer will be
able to certify that the sketches are life-like and the
portraits well considered. You will not hear me told,
at any rate, that I had better sit at home and darn
my stockings, as you said the other day of that poor
unfortunate Mrs. Effington Stubbs.
I have not seen you for the last three weeks. I have a few
friends every Tuesday evening;--pray come next week or
the week following. And pray believe that no amount of
editorial or critical severity shall make me receive you
otherwise than with a smile.
Most sincerely yours,
MATILDA CARBURY.
Lady Carbury, having finished her third letter, threw herself back
in her chair, and for a moment or two closed her eyes, as though
about to rest. But she soon remembered that the activity of her life
by
ANTHONY TROLLOPE.
CONTENTS
I. THREE EDITORS.
II. THE CARBURY FAMILY.
III. THE BEARGARDEN.
IV. MADAME MELMOTTE'S BALL.
V. AFTER THE BALL.
VI. ROGER CARBURY AND PAUL MONTAGUE.
VII. MENTOR.
VIII. LOVE-SICK.
IX. THE GREAT RAILWAY TO VERA CRUZ.
X. MR. FISKER'S SUCCESS.
XI. LADY CARBURY AT HOME.
XII. SIR FELIX IN HIS MOTHER'S HOUSE.
XIII. THE LONGESTAFFES.
XIV. CARBURY MANOR.
XV. "YOU SHOULD REMEMBER THAT I AM HIS MOTHER."
XVI. THE BISHOP AND THE PRIEST.
XVII. MARIE MELMOTTE HEARS A LOVE TALE.
XVIII. RUBY RUGGLES HEARS A LOVE TALE.
XIX. HETTA CARBURY HEARS A LOVE TALE.
XX. LADY POMONA'S DINNER PARTY.
XXI. EVERYBODY GOES TO THEM.
XXII. LORD NIDDERDALE'S MORALITY.
XXIII. "YES;--I'M A BARONET."
XXIV. MILES GRENDALL'S TRIUMPH.
XXV. IN GROSVENOR SQUARE.
XXVI. MRS. HURTLE.
XXVII. MRS. HURTLE GOES TO THE PLAY.
XXVIII. DOLLY LONGESTAFFE GOES INTO THE CITY.
XXIX. MISS MELMOTTE'S COURAGE.
XXX. MR. MELMOTTE'S PROMISE.
XXXI. MR. BROUNE HAS MADE UP HIS MIND.
XXXII. LADY MONOGRAM.
XXXIII. JOHN CRUMB.
XXXIV. RUBY RUGGLES OBEYS HER GRANDFATHER.
XXXV. MELMOTTE'S GLORY.
XXXVI. MR. BROUNE'S PERILS.
XXXVII. THE BOARD-ROOM.
XXXVIII. PAUL MONTAGUE'S TROUBLES.
XXXIX. "I DO LOVE HIM."
XL. "UNANIMITY IS THE VERY SOUL OF THESE THINGS."
XLI. ALL PREPARED.
XLII. "CAN YOU BE READY IN TEN MINUTES?"
XLIII. THE CITY ROAD.
XLIV. THE COMING ELECTION.
XLV. MR. MELMOTTE IS PRESSED FOR TIME.
XLVI. ROGER CARBURY AND HIS TWO FRIENDS.
XLVII. MRS. HURTLE AT LOWESTOFT.
XLVIII. RUBY A PRISONER.
XLIX. SIR FELIX MAKES HIMSELF READY.
L. THE JOURNEY TO LIVERPOOL.
LI. WHICH SHALL IT BE?
LII. THE RESULTS OF LOVE AND WINE.
LIII. A DAY IN THE CITY.
LIV. THE INDIA OFFICE.
LV. CLERICAL CHARITIES.
LVI. FATHER BARHAM VISITS LONDON.
LVII. LORD NIDDERDALE TRIES HIS HAND AGAIN.
LVIII. MR. SQUERCUM IS EMPLOYED.
LIX. THE DINNER.
LX. MISS LONGESTAFFE'S LOVER.
LXI. LADY MONOGRAM PREPARES FOR THE PARTY.
LXII. THE PARTY.
LXIII. MR. MELMOTTE ON THE DAY OF THE ELECTION.
LXIV. THE ELECTION.
LXV. MISS LONGESTAFFE WRITES HOME.
LXVI. "SO SHALL BE MY ENMITY."
LXVII. SIR FELIX PROTECTS HIS SISTER.
LXVIII. MISS MELMOTTE DECLARES HER PURPOSE.
LXIX. MELMOTTE IN PARLIAMENT.
LXX. SIR FELIX MEDDLES WITH MANY MATTERS.
LXXI. JOHN CRUMB FALLS INTO TROUBLE.
LXXII. "ASK HIMSELF."
LXXIII. MARIE'S FORTUNE.
LXXIV. MELMOTTE MAKES A FRIEND.
LXXV. IN BRUTON STREET.
LXXVI. HETTA AND HER LOVER.
LXXVII. ANOTHER SCENE IN BRUTON STREET.
LXXVIII. MISS LONGESTAFFE AGAIN AT CAVERSHAM.
LXXIX. THE BREHGERT CORRESPONDENCE.
LXXX. RUBY PREPARES FOR SERVICE.
LXXXI. MR. COHENLUPE LEAVES LONDON.
LXXXII. MARIE'S PERSEVERANCE.
LXXXIII. MELMOTTE AGAIN AT THE HOUSE.
LXXXIV. PAUL MONTAGUE'S VINDICATION.
LXXXV. BREAKFAST IN BERKELEY SQUARE.
LXXXVI. THE MEETING IN BRUTON STREET.
LXXXVII. DOWN AT CARBURY.
LXXXVIII. THE INQUEST.
LXXXIX. "THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE."
XC. HETTA'S SORROW.
XCI. THE RIVALS.
XCII. HAMILTON K. FISKER AGAIN.
XCIII. A TRUE LOVER.
XCIV. JOHN CRUMB'S VICTORY.
XCV. THE LONGESTAFFE MARRIAGES.
XCVI. WHERE "THE WILD ASSES QUENCH THEIR THIRST."
XCVII. MRS. HURTLE'S FATE.
XCVIII. MARIE MELMOTTE'S FATE.
XCIX. LADY CARBURY AND MR. BROUNE.
C. DOWN IN SUFFOLK.
ILLUSTRATIONS
"JUST SO, MOTHER;--BUT HOW ABOUT THE CHAPTER III.
TWENTY POUNDS?"
THE DUCHESS FOLLOWED WITH THE MALE VICTIM. CHAPTER IV.
"THERE'S THE ยฃ20." CHAPTER VII.
THEN MR. FISKER BEGAN HIS ACCOUNT. CHAPTER IX.
THEN THE SQUIRE LED THE WAY OUT OF THE CHAPTER XIII.
ROOM, AND DOLLY FOLLOWED.
"YOU SHOULD REMEMBER THAT I AM HIS MOTHER." CHAPTER XV.
THE BISHOP THINKS THAT THE PRIEST'S ANALOGY CHAPTER XVI.
IS NOT CORRECT.
"YOU KNOW WHY I HAVE COME DOWN HERE?" CHAPTER XVII.
SHE MARCHED MAJESTICALLY OUT OF THE ROOM. CHAPTER XXI.
"IN THE MEANTIME WHAT IS YOUR OWN PROPERTY?" CHAPTER XXIII.
"I HAVE COME ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO SEE YOU." CHAPTER XXVI.
"GET TO YOUR ROOM." CHAPTER XXIX.
SIR DAMASK SOLVING THE DIFFICULTY. CHAPTER XXXII.
"I LOIKS TO SEE HER LOIK O' THAT." CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE BOARD-ROOM. CHAPTER XXXVII.
LADY CARBURY ALLOWED HERSELF TO BE KISSED. CHAPTER XXXIX.
"IT'S NO GOOD SCOLDING." CHAPTER XLI.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY MAN'S COAT." CHAPTER XLIII.
THE SANDS AT LOWESTOFT. CHAPTER XLVI.
"YOU, I THINK, ARE MISS MELMOTTE." CHAPTER L.
THE DOOR WAS OPENED FOR HIM BY RUBY. CHAPTER LI.
"CAN I MARRY THE MAN I DO NOT LOVE?" CHAPTER LII.
FATHER BARHAM. CHAPTER LVI.
MR. SQUERCUM IN HIS OFFICE. CHAPTER LVIII.
"HAVE YOU HEARD WHAT'S UP, JU?" CHAPTER LXI.
MR. MELMOTTE SPECULATES. CHAPTER LXII.
"NOT A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE IN THE HOUSE." CHAPTER LXIX.
MELMOTTE IN PARLIAMENT. CHAPTER LXIX.
"GET UP, YOU WIPER." CHAPTER LXXI.
"I MIGHT AS WELL SEE WHETHER THERE IS ANY CHAPTER LXXV.
SIGN OF VIOLENCE HAVING BEEN USED."
"YOU HAD BETTER GO BACK TO MRS. HURTLE." CHAPTER LXXVI.
"AH, MA'AM-MOISELLE," SAID CROLL, "YOU CHAPTER LXXVII.
SHOULD OBLIGE YOUR FADER."
"HE THOUGHT I HAD BETTER BRING THESE CHAPTER LXXXII.
BACK TO YOU."
"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?" CHAPTER LXXXV.
"SHE'S A COOMIN; SHE'S A COOMIN." CHAPTER LXXXVII.
"OF COURSE YOU HAVE BEEN A DRAGON OF VIRTUE." CHAPTER LXXXIX.
"SIT DOWN SO THAT I MAY LOOK AT YOU." CHAPTER XCI.
THE HAPPY BRIDEGROOM. CHAPTER XCIV.
MRS. HURTLE AT THE WINDOW. CHAPTER XCVII.
"THERE GOES THE LAST OF MY ANGER." CHAPTER C.
CHAPTER I.
THREE EDITORS.
Let the reader be introduced to Lady Carbury, upon whose character
and doings much will depend of whatever interest these pages may
have, as she sits at her writing-table in her own room in her own
house in Welbeck Street. Lady Carbury spent many hours at her desk,
and wrote many letters,--wrote also very much beside letters. She
spoke of herself in these days as a woman devoted to Literature,
always spelling the word with a big L. Something of the nature of her
devotion may be learned by the perusal of three letters which on this
morning she had written with a quickly running hand. Lady Carbury was
rapid in everything, and in nothing more rapid than in the writing of
letters. Here is Letter No. 1;--
Thursday,
Welbeck Street.
DEAR FRIEND,--
I have taken care that you shall have the early sheets of
my two new volumes to-morrow, or Saturday at latest, so
that you may, if so minded, give a poor struggler like
myself a lift in your next week's paper. Do give a poor
struggler a lift. You and I have so much in common, and
I have ventured to flatter myself that we are really
friends! I do not flatter you when I say, that not only
would aid from you help me more than from any other
quarter, but also that praise from you would gratify my
vanity more than any other praise. I almost think you will
like my "Criminal Queens." The sketch of Semiramis is at
any rate spirited, though I had to twist it about a little
to bring her in guilty. Cleopatra, of course, I have taken
from Shakespeare. What a wench she was! I could not quite
make Julia a queen; but it was impossible to pass over
so piquant a character. You will recognise in the two or
three ladies of the empire how faithfully I have studied
my Gibbon. Poor dear old Belisarius! I have done the best
I could with Joanna, but I could not bring myself to
care for her. In our days she would simply have gone to
Broadmore. I hope you will not think that I have been too
strong in my delineations of Henry VIII. and his sinful
but unfortunate Howard. I don't care a bit about Anne
Boleyne. I am afraid that I have been tempted into too
great length about the Italian Catherine; but in truth she
has been my favourite. What a woman! What a devil! Pity
that a second Dante could not have constructed for her a
special hell. How one traces the effect of her training
in the life of our Scotch Mary. I trust you will go with
me in my view as to the Queen of Scots. Guilty! guilty
always! Adultery, murder, treason, and all the rest of it.
But recommended to mercy because she was royal. A queen
bred, born and married, and with such other queens around
her, how could she have escaped to be guilty? Marie
Antoinette I have not quite acquitted. It would be
uninteresting;--perhaps untrue. I have accused her
lovingly, and have kissed when I scourged. I trust
the British public will not be angry because I do not
whitewash Caroline, especially as I go along with them
altogether in abusing her husband.
But I must not take up your time by sending you another
book, though it gratifies me to think that I am writing
what none but yourself will read. Do it yourself, like a
dear man, and, as you are great, be merciful. Or rather,
as you are a friend, be loving.
Yours gratefully and faithfully,
MATILDA CARBURY.
After all how few women there are who can raise themselves
above the quagmire of what we call love, and make
themselves anything but playthings for men. Of almost all
these royal and luxurious sinners it was the chief sin
that in some phase of their lives they consented to be
playthings without being wives. I have striven so hard to
be proper; but when girls read everything, why should not
an old woman write anything?
This letter was addressed to Nicholas Broune, Esq., the editor of the
"Morning Breakfast Table," a daily newspaper of high character; and,
as it was the longest, so was it considered to be the most important
of the three. Mr. Broune was a man powerful in his profession,--and
he was fond of ladies. Lady Carbury in her letter had called herself
an old woman, but she was satisfied to do so by a conviction that no
one else regarded her in that light. Her age shall be no secret to
the reader, though to her most intimate friends, even to Mr. Broune,
it had never been divulged. She was forty-three, but carried her
years so well, and had received such gifts from nature, that it was
impossible to deny that she was still a beautiful woman. And she
used her beauty not only to increase her influence,--as is natural
to women who are well-favoured,--but also with a well-considered
calculation that she could obtain material assistance in the
procuring of bread and cheese, which was very necessary to her, by
a prudent adaptation to her purposes of the good things with which
providence had endowed her. She did not fall in love, she did not
wilfully flirt, she did not commit herself; but she smiled and
whispered, and made confidences, and looked out of her own eyes into
men's eyes as though there might be some mysterious bond between her
and them--if only mysterious circumstances would permit it. But the
end of all was to induce some one to do something which would cause
a publisher to give her good payment for indifferent writing, or an
editor to be lenient when, upon the merits of the case, he should
have been severe. Among all her literary friends, Mr. Broune was the
one in whom she most trusted; and Mr. Broune was fond of handsome
women. It may be as well to give a short record of a scene which had
taken place between Lady Carbury and her friend about a month before
the writing of this letter which has been produced. She had wanted
him to take a series of papers for the "Morning Breakfast Table," and
to have them paid for at rate No. 1, whereas she suspected that he
was rather doubtful as to their merit, and knew that, without special
favour, she could not hope for remuneration above rate No. 2, or
possibly even No. 3. So she had looked into his eyes, and had left
her soft, plump hand for a moment in his. A man in such circumstances
is so often awkward, not knowing with any accuracy when to do one
thing and when another! Mr. Broune, in a moment of enthusiasm, had
put his arm round Lady Carbury's waist and had kissed her. To say
that Lady Carbury was angry, as most women would be angry if so
treated, would be to give an unjust idea of her character. It was a
little accident which really carried with it no injury, unless it
should be the injury of leading to a rupture between herself and
a valuable ally. No feeling of delicacy was shocked. What did it
matter? No unpardonable insult had been offered; no harm had been
done, if only the dear susceptible old donkey could be made at once
to understand that that wasn't the way to go on!
Without a flutter, and without a blush, she escaped from his arm, and
then made him an excellent little speech. "Mr. Broune, how foolish,
how wrong, how mistaken! Is it not so? Surely you do not wish to put
an end to the friendship between us!"
"Put an end to our friendship, Lady Carbury! Oh, certainly not that."
"Then why risk it by such an act? Think of my son and of my
daughter,--both grown up. Think of the past troubles of my life;--so
much suffered and so little deserved. No one knows them so well as
you do. Think of my name, that has been so often slandered but never
disgraced! Say that you are sorry, and it shall be forgotten."
When a man has kissed a woman it goes against the grain with him to
say the very next moment that he is sorry for what he has done. It is
as much as to declare that the kiss had not answered his expectation.
Mr. Broune could not do this, and perhaps Lady Carbury did not quite
expect it. "You know that for worlds I would not offend you," he
said. This sufficed. Lady Carbury again looked into his eyes, and
a promise was given that the articles should be printed--and with
generous remuneration.
When the interview was over Lady Carbury regarded it as having been
quite successful. Of course when struggles have to be made and hard
work done, there will be little accidents. The lady who uses a street
cab must encounter mud and dust which her richer neighbour, who has a
private carriage, will escape. She would have preferred not to have
been kissed;--but what did it matter? With Mr. Broune the affair was
more serious. "Confound them all," he said to himself as he left the
house; "no amount of experience enables a man to know them." As he
went away he almost thought that Lady Carbury had intended him to
kiss her again, and he was almost angry with himself in that he had
not done so. He had seen her three or four times since, but had not
repeated the offence.
We will now go on to the other letters, both of which were addressed
to the editors of other newspapers. The second was written to Mr.
Booker, of the "Literary Chronicle." Mr. Booker was a hard-working
professor of literature, by no means without talent, by no means
without influence, and by no means without a conscience. But,
from the nature of the struggles in which he had been engaged,
by compromises which had gradually been driven upon him by the
encroachment of brother authors on the one side and by the demands
on the other of employers who looked only to their profits, he had
fallen into a routine of work in which it was very difficult to be
scrupulous, and almost impossible to maintain the delicacies of a
literary conscience. He was now a bald-headed old man of sixty, with
a large family of daughters, one of whom was a widow dependent on
him with two little children. He had five hundred a year for editing
the "Literary Chronicle," which, through his energy, had become
a valuable property. He wrote for magazines, and brought out some
book of his own almost annually. He kept his head above water, and
was regarded by those who knew about him, but did not know him, as
a successful man. He always kept up his spirits, and was able in
literary circles to show that he could hold his own. But he was
driven by the stress of circumstances to take such good things as
came in his way, and could hardly afford to be independent. It must
be confessed that literary scruple had long departed from his mind.
Letter No. 2 was as follows;--
Welbeck Street,
25th February, 187--.
DEAR MR. BOOKER,--
I have told Mr. Leadham--[Mr. Leadham was senior partner
in the enterprising firm of publishers known as Messrs.
Leadham and Loiter]--to send you an early copy of my
"Criminal Queens." I have already settled with my friend
Mr. Broune that I am to do your "New Tale of a Tub" in
the "Breakfast Table." Indeed, I am about it now, and
am taking great pains with it. If there is anything
you wish to have specially said as to your view of the
Protestantism of the time, let me know. I should like you
to say a word as to the accuracy of my historical details,
which I know you can safely do. Don't put it off, as the
sale does so much depend on early notices. I am only
getting a royalty, which does not commence till the first
four hundred are sold.
Yours sincerely,
MATILDA CARBURY.
ALFRED BOOKER, Esq.,
"Literary Chronicle," Office, Strand.
There was nothing in this which shocked Mr. Booker. He laughed
inwardly, with a pleasantly reticent chuckle, as he thought of Lady
Carbury dealing with his views of Protestantism,--as he thought also
of the numerous historical errors into which that clever lady must
inevitably fall in writing about matters of which he believed her to
know nothing. But he was quite alive to the fact that a favourable
notice in the "Breakfast Table" of his very thoughtful work, called
the "New Tale of a Tub," would serve him, even though written by the
hand of a female literary charlatan, and he would have no compunction
as to repaying the service by fulsome praise in the "Literary
Chronicle." He would not probably say that the book was accurate,
but he would be able to declare that it was delightful reading, that
the feminine characteristics of the queens had been touched with a
masterly hand, and that the work was one which would certainly make
its way into all drawing-rooms. He was an adept at this sort of work,
and knew well how to review such a book as Lady Carbury's "Criminal
Queens," without bestowing much trouble on the reading. He could
almost do it without cutting the book, so that its value for purposes
of after sale might not be injured. And yet Mr. Booker was an
honest man, and had set his face persistently against many literary
malpractices. Stretched-out type, insufficient lines, and the French
habit of meandering with a few words over an entire page, had been
rebuked by him with conscientious strength. He was supposed to be
rather an Aristides among reviewers. But circumstanced as he was he
could not oppose himself altogether to the usages of the time. "Bad;
of course it is bad," he said to a young friend who was working with
him on his periodical. "Who doubts that? How many very bad things are
there that we do! But if we were to attempt to reform all our bad
ways at once, we should never do any good thing. I am not strong
enough to put the world straight, and I doubt if you are." Such was
Mr. Booker.
Then there was letter No. 3, to Mr. Ferdinand Alf. Mr. Alf managed,
and, as it was supposed, chiefly owned, the "Evening Pulpit," which
during the last two years had become "quite a property," as men
connected with the press were in the habit of saying. The "Evening
Pulpit" was supposed to give daily to its readers all that had been
said and done up to two o'clock in the day by all the leading people
in the metropolis, and to prophesy with wonderful accuracy what would
be the sayings and doings of the twelve following hours. This was
effected with an air of wonderful omniscience, and not unfrequently
with an ignorance hardly surpassed by its arrogance. But the
writing was clever. The facts, if not true, were well invented; the
arguments, if not logical, were seductive. The presiding spirit of
the paper had the gift, at any rate, of knowing what the people for
whom he catered would like to read, and how to get his subjects
handled, so that the reading should be pleasant. Mr. Booker's
"Literary Chronicle" did not presume to entertain any special
political opinions. The "Breakfast Table" was decidedly Liberal. The
"Evening Pulpit" was much given to politics, but held strictly to the
motto which it had assumed;--
"Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri;"--
and consequently had at all times the invaluable privilege of abusing
what was being done, whether by one side or by the other. A newspaper
that wishes to make its fortune should never waste its columns and
weary its readers by praising anything. Eulogy is invariably dull,--a
fact that Mr. Alf had discovered and had utilized.
Mr. Alf had, moreover, discovered another fact. Abuse from those who
occasionally praise is considered to be personally offensive, and
they who give personal offence will sometimes make the world too
hot to hold them. But censure from those who are always finding
fault is regarded so much as a matter of course that it ceases to be
objectionable. The caricaturist, who draws only caricatures, is held
to be justifiable, let him take what liberties he may with a man's
face and person. It is his trade, and his business calls upon him to
vilify all that he touches. But were an artist to publish a series of
portraits, in which two out of a dozen were made to be hideous, he
would certainly make two enemies, if not more. Mr. Alf never made
enemies, for he praised no one, and, as far as the expression of his
newspaper went, was satisfied with nothing.
Personally, Mr. Alf was a remarkable man. No one knew whence he came
or what he had been. He was supposed to have been born a German Jew;
and certain ladies said that they could distinguish in his tongue the
slightest possible foreign accent. Nevertheless it was conceded to
him that he knew England as only an Englishman can know it. During
the last year or two he had "come up" as the phrase goes, and had
come up very thoroughly. He had been black-balled at three or four
clubs, but had effected an entrance at two or three others, and
had learned a manner of speaking of those which had rejected him
calculated to leave on the minds of hearers a conviction that the
societies in question were antiquated, imbecile, and moribund. He
was never weary of implying that not to know Mr. Alf, not to be on
good terms with Mr. Alf, not to understand that let Mr. Alf have been
born where he might and how he might he was always to be recognised
as a desirable acquaintance, was to be altogether out in the dark.
And that which he so constantly asserted, or implied, men and
women around him began at last to believe,--and Mr. Alf became an
acknowledged something in the different worlds of politics, letters,
and fashion.
He was a good-looking man, about forty years old, but carrying
himself as though he was much younger, spare, below the middle
height, with dark brown hair which would have shown a tinge of
grey but for the dyer's art, with well-cut features, with a smile
constantly on his mouth the pleasantness of which was always belied
by the sharp severity of his eyes. He dressed with the utmost
simplicity, but also with the utmost care. He was unmarried, had
a small house of his own close to Berkeley Square at which he
gave remarkable dinner parties, kept four or five hunters in
Northamptonshire, and was reputed to earn ยฃ6,000 a year out of the
"Evening Pulpit" and to spend about half of that income. He also was
intimate after his fashion with Lady Carbury, whose diligence in
making and fostering useful friendships had been unwearied. Her
letter to Mr. Alf was as follows;--
DEAR MR. ALF,--
Do tell me who wrote the review on Fitzgerald Barker's
last poem. Only I know you won't. I remember nothing done
so well. I should think the poor wretch will hardly hold
his head up again before the autumn. But it was fully
deserved. I have no patience with the pretensions of
would-be poets who contrive by toadying and underground
influences to get their volumes placed on every
drawing-room table. I know no one to whom the world has
been so good-natured in this way as to Fitzgerald Barker,
but I have heard of no one who has extended the good
nature to the length of reading his poetry.
Is it not singular how some men continue to obtain the
reputation of popular authorship without adding a word
to the literature of their country worthy of note? It is
accomplished by unflagging assiduity in the system of
puffing. To puff and to get one's self puffed have become
different branches of a new profession. Alas, me! I wish
I might find a class open in which lessons could be taken
by such a poor tyro as myself. Much as I hate the thing
from my very soul, and much as I admire the consistency
with which the "Pulpit" has opposed it, I myself am so
much in want of support for my own little efforts, and
am struggling so hard honestly to make for myself a
remunerative career, that I think, were the opportunity
offered to me, I should pocket my honour, lay aside the
high feeling which tells me that praise should be bought
neither by money nor friendship, and descend among the low
things, in order that I might one day have the pride of
feeling that I had succeeded by my own work in providing
for the needs of my children.
But I have not as yet commenced the descent downwards;
and therefore I am still bold enough to tell you that I
shall look, not with concern but with a deep interest,
to anything which may appear in the "Pulpit" respecting
my "Criminal Queens." I venture to think that the
book,--though I wrote it myself,--has an importance of
its own which will secure for it some notice. That my
inaccuracy will be laid bare and presumption scourged I do
not in the least doubt, but I think your reviewer will be
able to certify that the sketches are life-like and the
portraits well considered. You will not hear me told,
at any rate, that I had better sit at home and darn
my stockings, as you said the other day of that poor
unfortunate Mrs. Effington Stubbs.
I have not seen you for the last three weeks. I have a few
friends every Tuesday evening;--pray come next week or
the week following. And pray believe that no amount of
editorial or critical severity shall make me receive you
otherwise than with a smile.
Most sincerely yours,
MATILDA CARBURY.
Lady Carbury, having finished her third letter, threw herself back
in her chair, and for a moment or two closed her eyes, as though
about to rest. But she soon remembered that the activity of her life
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- Parts
- The Way We Live Now - 01Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4627Total number of unique words is 137949.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 02Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5131Total number of unique words is 127357.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 03Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5103Total number of unique words is 126257.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 04Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5069Total number of unique words is 121459.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 05Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5185Total number of unique words is 117158.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 06Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5159Total number of unique words is 117959.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 07Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5079Total number of unique words is 125354.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words73.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 08Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5102Total number of unique words is 128657.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 09Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5021Total number of unique words is 123458.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 10Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5126Total number of unique words is 119160.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 11Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5275Total number of unique words is 105465.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 12Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5123Total number of unique words is 127057.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 13Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5194Total number of unique words is 113861.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 14Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5247Total number of unique words is 116662.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 15Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5113Total number of unique words is 108561.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 16Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5077Total number of unique words is 115257.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 17Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5077Total number of unique words is 112360.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 18Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5185Total number of unique words is 115163.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 19Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5296Total number of unique words is 110459.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 20Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5160Total number of unique words is 115061.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 21Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5125Total number of unique words is 119460.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 22Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5158Total number of unique words is 124058.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 23Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5144Total number of unique words is 114559.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words73.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words79.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 24Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5129Total number of unique words is 126255.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words73.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words79.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 25Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5075Total number of unique words is 120959.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 26Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5117Total number of unique words is 113462.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 27Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5258Total number of unique words is 98566.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 28Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5171Total number of unique words is 114362.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 29Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5216Total number of unique words is 114661.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 30Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5250Total number of unique words is 115759.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 31Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5037Total number of unique words is 122256.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words73.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 32Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5189Total number of unique words is 116059.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 33Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5347Total number of unique words is 116162.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 34Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5130Total number of unique words is 112963.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 35Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5226Total number of unique words is 112963.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 36Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5262Total number of unique words is 112562.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 37Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4969Total number of unique words is 123957.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words74.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 38Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5070Total number of unique words is 126955.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words74.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words80.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 39Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5035Total number of unique words is 126455.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words74.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 40Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5154Total number of unique words is 114858.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 41Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5051Total number of unique words is 117858.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 42Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5067Total number of unique words is 122457.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words73.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words80.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 43Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5202Total number of unique words is 118960.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 44Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5138Total number of unique words is 116459.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 45Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5120Total number of unique words is 115062.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 46Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5315Total number of unique words is 105365.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 47Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5161Total number of unique words is 115059.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words81.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 48Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5178Total number of unique words is 121160.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 49Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5190Total number of unique words is 119259.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 50Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5314Total number of unique words is 109561.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 51Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5145Total number of unique words is 108963.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 52Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5089Total number of unique words is 105563.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 53Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5138Total number of unique words is 108561.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 54Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5088Total number of unique words is 112962.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 55Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5178Total number of unique words is 108264.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words80.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 56Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5115Total number of unique words is 124559.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words75.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 57Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5215Total number of unique words is 116561.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words84.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 58Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5221Total number of unique words is 115463.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words79.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 59Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5242Total number of unique words is 111864.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words81.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words86.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 60Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5162Total number of unique words is 114759.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 61Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5095Total number of unique words is 129456.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words74.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 62Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5202Total number of unique words is 113259.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 63Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5275Total number of unique words is 119259.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 64Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5119Total number of unique words is 120958.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words78.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 65Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5143Total number of unique words is 126656.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 66Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5082Total number of unique words is 118761.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words83.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 67Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5238Total number of unique words is 123958.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words82.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 68Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 5174Total number of unique words is 115860.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words77.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words85.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Way We Live Now - 69Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3691Total number of unique words is 90063.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words82.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words87.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words