LI E> RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UN IVLRSITY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 823 
 Sa.94-£ 
 
 V.I 
 
 CUblwtbi^m tux^eemm. 

 
 LEOXARD NORMANDALE; 
 
 OB, 
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HONORABLE CHARLES STUART SAVILE. 
 
 IX THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HENRY C L B U R N, PUBLISHER, 
 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 1850.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PKINTED BY HARBISON AND SON^ 
 
 ST. martin's LANS.
 
 fa 3 
 
 y-1 
 
 (<\ 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 f 
 
 ^ TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 THE LORD LINDSAY, 
 
 &c,, &c., &c. 
 
 ^ My dear Cousin, 
 
 Allow a brother labourer in the field of 
 literature to dedicate this Work to the Author 
 of " Letters on the Holy Land/' and " Lives 
 of the Lindsays/' 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Charles Stuart Savile. 
 
 LOXDON, 
 
 December, 1849. 
 
 a 2
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/leonardnormandal01savi
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Gentle reader, lend me 
 
 Naj, do not look so alarmed and button 
 up jour pockets, for, altliough a younger 
 son, I am not going to boiTOw money of 
 you ; — all I ask, gentle reader, is, that you 
 will lend me — your ears. 
 
 This work is written for the purpose of 
 setting before the public a picture of the 
 sufferings to which the younger sons of 
 the British aristocracy may be exposed. 
 Although the events related are chiefly 
 fictitious, there is not a single one that 
 either might not have happened or may 
 not happen.
 
 VI PEEFACE. 
 
 Let no one, therefore, assert, tliat there 
 is either exaggeration or improbability in 
 the following pages, which the Author 
 sincerely hopes may not have been written 
 in vain.
 
 LEONARD NORMANDALE; 
 
 OB, 
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A YEKY SIMPLE AND DECIDEDLY TEDIOUS CHAP- 
 TER, BUT "WHICH, NEVERTHELESS, YOU ARE 
 REQUESTED TO READ, IF POSSIBLE. 
 
 " My dear Emilj, jou have put onlj one 
 lump of sugar into mj cup." 
 
 " Well, Leonard, and ^vliat of tliat ? Re- 
 member that JOU are but a younger son, 
 and may some day or otlier consider your- 
 self very bappy if you are able to sweeten 
 your tea at all." 
 
 " If it be necessary for me to accustom 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 LEOITAED NOEMANDALE, OK, 
 
 myself to such privations as tlie being with- 
 out the means of purchasing a lump of sugar, 
 it would surely have been better to have edu- 
 cated me in a stable, or a blacksmith's shop, 
 instead of bringing me uj) in my father's 
 house, surrounded by every possible luxury, 
 and accustomed from my childhood to the 
 sight and, as it were, the handling of 
 •wealth." 
 
 "I quite agree with you, Leonard. 
 Younger brothers ought never to be brought 
 up in the midst of luxury ; their position in 
 life is so exceedingly different to that of 
 their elder brother, that they should not 
 receive the same education." 
 
 "I declare, Emily, that you have taken 
 in real earnest what I said ironically. The 
 plan, however, you propose would decidedly 
 have its inconveniences, as it sometimes 
 happens that a younger brother becomes an 
 elder son; and it would be somewliat un- 
 seemly in a nobleman to have recei^^ed the 
 education of a ploughboy."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 3 
 
 The above observations and answers were 
 made during breakfast bj the Honourable 
 Leonard Xormandale and his cousin, Lady 
 Emily Darcy; the former being at the time 
 eighteen years of age, while the latter had 
 completed her twenty- first year. 
 
 Lady Emily had been brought up by her 
 mother, not only in the fear and love of the 
 Lord, but in the love and desire of a Lord; 
 and had been accustomed to regard with 
 the most utter detestation and contempt 
 the very sight of younger sons, or '' scor- 
 pions,*' as she had learned to term them. 
 And the amiable girl never lost an oppor- 
 tunity of annoying her cousin, Leonard 
 Xormandale, with taunts and sarcasms npon 
 his position and prospects. 
 
 As, however, it is the adventures of the 
 latter personage that we are about to relate, 
 we will, before proceeding with our narra- 
 tive, allow him to speak awhile for himself, 
 and have therefore taken a few pages from 
 a diary descriptive of his youthful days. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 It commences as follo\rs : — 
 
 Reader, are joii a younger son'? I 
 mean a British younger son. If so, you 
 will sympathize Avith me when I inform you 
 that I was born one of those unfortunate 
 wretches, who, after having been nursed in 
 childhood in the lap of luxury, and rendered 
 by their education and early habits unfit 
 for any serious occupation, are driren forth, 
 on reaching the age of manhood, to seek 
 their fortune in any way they can, and to 
 live upon their wits ; while their elder bro- 
 ther revels alone in the wealth amassed by 
 his ancestors. 
 
 My father was an English Earl; our 
 family one of the most ancient in the king- 
 dom ; indeed, according to Burke's Peer- 
 age, we have existed from time immemo- 
 rial, all trace of the founder of our house 
 being lost in the gloom of distant ages. 
 We can boast of a very tolerable share of 
 warriors and statesmen. To us has been 
 the glory of the scaffold and the battle-field.
 
 THE THKEE BROTHERS. 5 
 
 Our blood lias flowed in defence of our 
 faith, our country, our Kings, and our liber- 
 ties. We have had our men of science too, 
 although, of late years, their risits hare 
 somewhat resembled those of a comet, ap- 
 pearing at exceedingly long intervals, but 
 casting forth a viyid glare during their bril- 
 liant course, and leaving behind them their 
 glorious works as monuments of their wis- 
 dom and greatness. 
 
 To be brief, our knights have ever been 
 sans peur et sans reproche, our mothers and 
 sisters chaste and beautiful, our statesmen 
 consistent, and our prelates orthodox. 
 
 A fine old mansion was our dwelling 
 place. Certes! it was, and still remains, a 
 noble specimen of what man could do in 
 former ages, when the evil genius of specu- 
 lation was unknown, or existed only in the 
 breasts of a few trembling cringing Jews. 
 I will not attempt to describe it, for there 
 are many such in the British empire, which, 
 although they may flatter the vanity of the
 
 6 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 inliabitants, as tliej point tliem out to 
 foreigners, and taunt them with the fact of 
 their countries possessing nothing to equal 
 their grandeur and magnificence, contribute 
 in reality nothing towards the prosperity of 
 the kingdom. On the contrary, they are of 
 more injury than utility to the general wel- 
 fare. Besides, the keeping them up ruins 
 many of their proprietors, who are thereby 
 unable to make any provision for the 
 younger branches of their families. 
 
 The name and titles of my father were, 
 Kichard Normandale, Earl and Baron of 
 Fauconbridge, Viscount Danemore, and 
 Baron Latimer, all in the peerage of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 My mother was the daughter of a duke, 
 ■whose direct ancestor had signed Magna 
 Charta. She was an only child, and had it 
 not been for her sex, would have inherited 
 the lands and titles of her family; but on 
 account of their being entailed on the male 
 line, these passed away to a very distant 
 relatiye.
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHEES. 7 
 
 Thus although the daughter of a wealthy 
 nobleman, the Ladj Adeline de Beaujolois 
 brought no fortune into my father's family, 
 save her beauty, which was most extraor- 
 dinary. She retained, indeed, like Anne of 
 Austria, much more than a mere remnant 
 of her pristine charms, to the hour of her 
 death. 
 
 The issue of my fathers marriage with 
 the Lady Adeline de Beaujolois consisted 
 of three sons, of whom I was the second 
 born. My elder brother, the Viscount 
 Danemore, was three years older than 
 myself, while my brother Allen was a year 
 younger. 
 
 When I was about three years of age, a 
 distant relative, who resided chiefly at Paris, 
 haying taken a great fancy to me, requested 
 my parents to allow her to bring me up. 
 This desire was complied with ; and I re- 
 mained in the house of Lady Eleanor Tre- 
 maine until I was eight years old, when one 
 evening that excellent person was seized
 
 8 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OK, 
 
 with a fit of apoplexy, and almost instantly 
 expired. 
 
 Her death was concealed from me for 
 several weeks, fears being entertained that 
 its announcement would have a serious effect 
 upon my tender frame, as it was well known 
 that I was most devotedly attached to my 
 protectress. Every possible answer to my 
 numerous questions, caused by her sudden 
 disappearance, was invented in order to di- 
 vert my suspicions ; until, at length, my 
 father, who had come over to Paris for the 
 purpose of bringing me back to England, 
 gradually broke to me the fatal intelligence. 
 
 Never shall I forget the feeling of awe 
 that came over me, when, taking me by the 
 hand, and pointing to my dress, Lord Fau- 
 conbridge said : — 
 
 " Leonard, are you aware for whom you 
 are in mourning V* 
 
 " No, papa," I replied; " they dressed me 
 in these black clothes a short time ago, and 
 told me a relation was dead."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 9 
 
 " Tliej told YOU the truth/" returned mj 
 father. '•' You are in moui'ninor for a rek- 
 tion, and one who loved you dearly." 
 
 I looked upon his face as he spoke, and — 
 I knoAv not how it happened — I divined the 
 truth at once. A natural instinct told me, 
 infant though I was, that I should no more 
 behold her whom I loved as a mother. 
 
 Hiding my face in my father's lap, I burst 
 into tears. 
 
 *' Poor child I" exclaimed Lord Faucon- 
 bridge, '' Lady Eleanor is dead; but you are 
 to accompany me home, where we will en- 
 deavom' to make you as happy as when she 
 was alive.'*' 
 
 The rest may be surmised. On tlie fol- 
 lowing morning I was seated by my father's 
 side, in his travelling carriage, which was 
 posting towards Calais. 
 
 At that period I was too young to be 
 thoroughly aware of the great worldly loss 
 I had sustained by the sudden death of 
 Lady Eleanor Tremaine ; for, as I after- 
 
 B 3
 
 10 LEONARD NORMAKDALE, OR, 
 
 wards learned, slie had always intended 
 to constitute me her heir; but having, as 
 was supposed, invincible repugnance to 
 making a will, she had put off performing 
 that act until it was too late, and as she 
 had died intestate I inherited nothing ; the 
 whole of her immense fortune having gone 
 to her heir-at-law, whom she hardly knew 
 by sight. 
 
 The circumstance of my early years hav- 
 ing been passed in France was in one 
 respect most beneficial; for French had 
 become as familiar to me as my own lan- 
 guage, and although I did not return to the 
 continent until many years after the death 
 of Lady Eleanor Tremaine, a governess 
 from Blois, who resided in my father's 
 house, prevented my losing the accent, and 
 to this day I speak French like a native. 
 
 Shortly after my arrival at home. Lord 
 Danemore was sent to Eton, and I was placed 
 under the tuition of the person who had 
 hitherto directed my elder brother's studies.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 11 
 
 Excellent man ! may peace be to liis soul! 
 If ever a simple-minded, artless mortal 
 breathed it was the Rer. Mark Warner. 
 There was no one in the house, from my 
 father downwards, who did not love him. 
 The servants, who in general are apt to 
 dishke tutors and governesses, considering 
 them, as it were, neither fowl nor flesh, or 
 in other words, as nondescripts, were de- 
 lighted at receiving a command from him, 
 and hastened to perform it with even more 
 alacrity than an order emanating from the 
 master of the house. 
 
 Mr. Warner was not, it is true, a great 
 scholar, but he was admirably adapted for in- 
 structing young persons. He was firm with- 
 out severity, and kind without over-indul- 
 gence. An admirable principle of his was 
 the varying the order of his lessons. While 
 my elder brother was under his authority, 
 he worked on alternate evenings at arith- 
 metic and at Greek and Latin verses. The 
 consequence soon became apparent ; for
 
 12 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 instead of considering the latter as a task. 
 Lord Danemore looked forward to those 
 evenings with pleasure, regarding them almost 
 in the light of a holiday, compared with the 
 time he was engaged in the dry work of 
 adding, subtracting, multiplying, and inves- 
 tigating the scpare and cube roots ; in fine, 
 the making of Greek and Latin verses be- 
 came so familiar to my brother that, in my 
 opinion, few persons could have equalled 
 him in that art at any period of his life. 
 
 I continued under the tuition of Mr. 
 Mark Warner for one year only. Ifc was, 
 indeed, truly unfortunate for me that the 
 time was so short, for otherwise I should, 
 in all probability, have become a far supe- 
 rior classical scholar than I am. My ex- 
 cellent tutor, however, was inducted to a 
 living, and quitted our family in order to 
 adorn a position for which nature had well 
 adapted him. 
 
 He was succeeded by a very different 
 personage. The new^ comer, Mr. Dickson,
 
 THE THREE BEOTHEES. 13 
 
 was the son of a tradesman in a neighbour- 
 in o; yillao^e, and harinor received a tolerable 
 education at the grammar-school of his 
 county town, had profited yerj much there- 
 by, and ^vas a first-rate classic. He was, 
 howcTcr, exceedingly rain, and although 
 scarcely eighteen years of age when lie 
 entered upon his new duties, he took upon 
 himself to find fault with and alter all the 
 arrangements made by his predecessor. 
 
 Had Mr. Dickson been accustomed to 
 tuition, he might, perhaps, have invented 
 some system nearly as good ; but as it was, 
 he soon threw^ everytliing, not excepting our 
 brains, into a state of utter confusion. He 
 would, for instance, suddenly take us away 
 from learning a Latin lesson before we half 
 understood it, and set us down at some 
 Greek author, or vice versa. He considered 
 it also beneath his dignity to explain the 
 difficult passages, and left us to the sole aid 
 of our dictionaries. In short, he grossly 
 neglected his pupils, leaving us to learn by
 
 14 LEOXAKD KORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 inspiration while he AYas increasing his own 
 knowledge by hard stiidj. Even during 
 our walks he perused a book, and peremp- 
 torily forbade us to address him on any 
 subject whatever. 
 
 That he was thoroughly aware of his 
 conduct being wrong was evident by his 
 always hastily shutting and concealing his 
 book whenever he came in sight of my 
 father or mother. 
 
 At the age of thirteen I was placed at 
 Eton College. On arriving at that venerable 
 institution, my father and myself, accom- 
 panied by Mr. Dickson, drove to the house 
 of the assistant master who had been 
 selected as my tutor. By this gentleman 
 we were conducted to the chambers of the 
 liead master, in order that my name might 
 be entered upon the school-books. 
 
 I must confess, that on entering the pre- 
 sence of the far-famed Doctor Keate, 1 
 could not help trembling like a criminal 
 before his judge. His hearty manner, how-
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHEES. 15 
 
 ever, immediately reassured me, and I pro- 
 ceeded to answer his questions with a 
 readiness which evidently somewhat sur- 
 prised him. Ilaring previously received 
 some hints from an Etonian of lom^ standin^: 
 as to how I ought to reply, I acknowledged 
 ignorance on no single point. Homer, 
 Virgil, Horace, et ejusdem generis omnia, 
 were, according to my account, at my 
 fingers' ends. My father opened his eyes 
 wide with astonishment as I coolly enume- 
 rated the classical authors with whom I 
 claimed an intimate acquaintance, for he 
 had certainly no reason to believe me so far 
 advanced in learning; while, as for Mr. 
 Dickson, who was thoroughly aware of my 
 deficiencies, resulting, indeed, from his own 
 neglect, he blushed to the very roots of his 
 hair, with modesty, as was believed by 
 those present, but, according to my idea, 
 with the consciousness of his own unwor- 
 thiness- 
 
 *'You will do very well, sir," said the
 
 16 LEOXAED NOEMAIs'DALE, OK, 
 
 Doctor; "yciy ^vell, indeed, provided you 
 prove yourself as far advanced as you ap- 
 pear to be. Your knowledge, unusual in 
 one so j^oung, reflects the highest credit 
 upon your preceptor/' 
 
 Mr. Dickson blushed a still deeper red, 
 and said nothing. 
 
 " Mr. Johnston/"' continued the Doctor, 
 addressing the assistant master, " will you 
 have the goodness to take Mr. Normandalc 
 to your pupil-room, and let him undergo 
 the usual examination.*' 
 
 We all rose at tliese words, and my 
 father having placed a five pound note (the 
 usual entrance fee) upon the table, I pro- 
 ceeded to sign my name in an enormous 
 ledger, full of illustrious names, distinguished 
 in the senate, in the pulpit, upon the battle- 
 field, and at the bar. This ceremony 
 having been terminated, we returned to Mr. 
 Johnston's house, at the door of vrhich my 
 fatlier took leave of mc, and stepping into 
 his carriage, follovred bv Mr. Dickson, (who
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 17 
 
 appeared exceedingly liappj at getting awaj 
 before the commencement of mj examina- 
 tion), drove oiF, leaving me for the first time 
 in mj life, alone with strangers.
 
 18 LEONARD l^ORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 EARLY SCHOOLDAYS. 
 
 The first fortnight of mj Eton life glided 
 awaj pleasantly enough, for during that 
 period I was, according to the usual custom, 
 exempted from fagging. Mj companions 
 were mostly merry-hearted and good- 
 natured, and I began to regard all the 
 stories I had preyiously heard about the 
 bullying at school as mere fables. 
 
 I was soon undeceived, for on the fifteenth 
 morning I was summoned by my master to 
 his room. He was a boy about a year and
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 19 
 
 a half mj senior, and not yerj mucli higher 
 in the school, being onlj in the lowei* 
 division of the fifth form. I was the first 
 fag he had ever possessed, which was any 
 thing but fortunate for me, as it is a well- 
 known fact that no tyrants are so arbitrary 
 as petty ones. 
 
 I found my duties consisted in preparing 
 my master's breakfast, toasting his bread, 
 makinor his tea and coifee, boilino- liis ec^^s, 
 and waiting in his room until he allowed 
 .me to retire. 
 
 My first morning's servitude drove me to 
 the very verge of desperation, for although 
 I may say, without boasting, that any 
 moderate-minded mortal might have been 
 satisfied with my endeavours, I nevertheless 
 received several dozen slaps on the face, 
 besides yarious kicks upon my shins, and 
 this from the merest caprice on the part of 
 my master, with whom messed a big boy 
 from another tutor's house, who was pos- 
 sessed of a couple of fags ; never, during my
 
 20 LEONARD NOIIMANDALE, OR, 
 
 stay at Eton, did I see boys more ill-used. 
 I am sure that no West India planter or 
 poor-house schoolmaster was ever half so 
 barbarous in his treatment of his slaves or 
 pupils, as was Micklewood to the unfortunate 
 youths who were subjected to his sway. 
 
 Ironcot (my master) was an apt imitator 
 of his friend's cruelty. Indeed, the worthy 
 couple being too cowardly to exert their 
 prowess against boys of their OAvn age and 
 strength, satisfied their natural taste for 
 bullying, by torturing their defenceless fags. 
 Not only did they constantly strike us, until 
 our arms and shoulders were black with 
 bruises, but they would frequently, from 
 mere caprice, keep us fagging long after 
 they had finished their breakfasts, leaving us 
 no time for preparing either our own meals 
 or lessons before school-time. 
 
 Frequently, too, they would send us on 
 some futile message into Windsor, more 
 than two miles distant, causing us to be 
 late for school, by wliich we were subjected
 
 THE THREE BDOTHERS. 21 
 
 to the punishment inflicted upon retarda- 
 tors ; namely, a sound flogging, for we 
 dared not excuse ourselves to the masters, 
 bj informing them of the real cause of our 
 absence. 
 
 Fortunately for me, this tyranny was 
 brought to a much speedier termination 
 than I expected. 
 
 Micklewood had purchased a pair of 
 boxing-gloves, and brought them to Ironcot's 
 rooms, for the purpose of amusing himself 
 by boxing with his friends. One morning, 
 however, my master having breakfasted 
 alone, took a fancy to practise with, or 
 rather upon me. The idea proved par- 
 ticularly unlucky for him ; for, on engaging 
 in the mock combat, I found, to my utter 
 astonishment, that, although somewhat his 
 inferior in strengtli, I was far his superior 
 in the art of self-defence. 
 
 To account for this, it must be observed 
 that, from a very early age, I had been 
 constantly instructed to box by the famous
 
 22 LEOXAED XOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Crib, and to wrestle by a Devonshire artist, 
 I was also exceedingly actiye, and possessed 
 of great muscular strength. 
 
 As I have already mentioned, I dis- 
 coYered, in an instant, that I had suffered 
 myself to be hitherto tormented and bullied 
 by one whom I could easily thrash ; I 
 had, however, sufficient policy to conceal 
 my skill for the moment, and pretend to 
 be mucii inferior to my master ; but I was 
 meditating a just and signal revenge, which 
 was, to punish the cowardly bully in the 
 presence of the whole school. 
 
 Another motive for my temporary mode- 
 ration was the existence of a rule, whereby 
 no lower boy could challenge a member of 
 the fifth form without the permission of 
 the Captain of the school, a permission, 
 indeed, never refused when asked. 
 
 My line of conduct was soon arranged. 
 On quitting my masters presence, I pro- 
 ceeded to another house, where boarded a 
 boy in the upper division, whom, to use an
 
 THE THREE BEOTHEES. 23 
 
 Eton expression, I knew at home. Having 
 apprised liim of my determination, he 
 appeared delighted at mj plan, and pro- 
 mised not onlj to procure me the necessary 
 permission from the Captain, but also to 
 back me up during the battle, which I 
 determined should take place that very day. 
 Accordingly after eleven o'clock school was 
 over, I took care, as we were turning the 
 corner leading from the college yard, to 
 run against Ironcot, as if by accident ; the 
 result was as I expected, for he saluted me 
 with a kick and a torrent of abuse, when, 
 to his utter astonishment, I planted a 
 violent blow upon his chest and hurled 
 him to the ground. A crowd immediately 
 assembled round us ; and Micklewood, who 
 was close at hand, seizing hold of me, was 
 about to give me a thrashing, [when my 
 upper- division friend interposed. 
 
 " No nonsense, if you please, Micklcr 
 wood," he exclaimed, " N ormandale shall 
 have fair play, if he wishes to fight Ironcot.
 
 24 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Will joii give him leave *? '^ he continued, 
 addressing the Captain of the school, who 
 was passing bj. 
 
 " Of course," answered the Captain ; 
 " I am afraid, however, the lower boj will 
 be licked, for Ironcot is both the older and 
 taller." 
 
 " Leave that to me," I cried, " I am not 
 afraid of such a cowardly bully ; come 
 along, Ironcot, to the playing fields — that 
 is, if you have not already had enough." 
 
 " Come along, then, you fool," answered 
 my master, who was ghastly pale, with 
 mingled fear and rage ; " I want only one 
 round to finish your business." 
 
 " That remains to be proved," I ex- 
 claimed with confidence, as I turned my 
 steps towards the playing fields. 
 
 "A fight! a fight!" was the general 
 cry. " There is going to be a fight between 
 Normandale and Ironcot." 
 
 " A fag with his master." 
 
 " Bravo, I hope Ironcot will be well 
 licked!"
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 25 
 
 ^* A cowardly bullj!" 
 
 " A conceited fool !" 
 
 "An affected brute!" 
 
 " Bravo, Normandale ! pitch it into Lim 
 and no mistake ! " &c. 
 
 Such were the observations showered 
 forth from all quarters, until we reached 
 the usual place of combat, where a ring 
 having been formed, both Ironcot and 
 myself proceeded to take off our coats, 
 waistcoats, neckcloths, and shoes, prepa- 
 ratory to engaging in the single combat. 
 
 It being just after school, there was 
 scarcely a single boy absent, out of the six 
 hundred and thirty then at Eton. 
 
 The sight of such numbers encouraged 
 me, the more so, as it seemed to be the 
 general, I might say, universal wish, that I 
 should come off victorious, and with a firm 
 heart I stepped into the centre of the ring, 
 in front of my adversary. 
 
 Ironcot was, as I have already observed, 
 a year and a half older than myself; he 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 was also nearly a couple of inclies taller. 
 I was, neyertheless, nearly his equal in 
 strength, and far his superior in science and 
 activity. 
 
 To be brief, after a fight of twenty-five 
 rounds, Ironcot was forced to give in. 
 
 So complete had been my victory, that, 
 although not a feature of his countenance 
 was recognisable, I had scarcely received a 
 single blow. 
 
 As may easily be conceived, Ironcot did 
 not remain my master after this occurrence, 
 and I became the fag of the Captain of my. 
 house, a big, and powerful, though good- 
 natured boy, under whose command I con- 
 tinued, -until I entered the fifth form.
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 sm HEi!iriiY Meredith's tisit to de. 
 
 FLOG well's academy. 
 
 About two years after my arrival at 
 Eton, I was walking along tlie banks of the 
 Thames, when my attention was aroused bj 
 some piercing cries, coming fi'om the direc- 
 tion of the " Lion's leap,'' a part of the riyer 
 noted for its depth, and the fearful rapidity 
 of its current. Hastening to the spot, I 
 perceived a boy seized by the cramp, and 
 struggling in the midst of the stream, but so 
 feebly that it was evident he was about to 
 
 C2
 
 28 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 sink. The cries that had reached mj ear 
 were uttered by several boys who were 
 running in a frantic manner along the banks 
 without daring to swim to the assistance of 
 their drowning companion. 
 
 The instant I perceived what was occur- 
 ring, I threw off mj coat and plunged into 
 the river, swam towards the drowning boj, 
 and grasping him by the hair bore him in 
 safety to the shore, amidst the applauding 
 acclamations of the spectators. 
 
 The youth, whose life I had thus fortu- 
 nately saved, was a member of the same 
 part of the school as myself, and was about 
 my own age. A warm friendship sprang 
 up between us, and continued without in- 
 terruption until we left school. 
 
 Sir Henry Meredith, for such was the 
 name of my youthful friend, was one of 
 those rare mortals who seem born to be 
 popular both with men and women, and 
 who are gifted with the power of doing well 
 everything they undertake. His face was
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 29 
 
 extraordinarily beautiful — almost a woman's 
 beauty. The effeminacy of his features 
 were, however, counterpoised by the manly 
 expression of his eye, and by the height 
 and dignity of his form, which was of the 
 most athletic mould, and framed for deeds 
 of activity and strength. No one was a 
 better cricketer or fives player, — at football 
 and hockey he had no equal, no one could 
 puU an oar or scull with greater neatness ; 
 as a draughtsman he excelled many profes- 
 sional artists of renown, while at the same 
 time few, if any of the masters of the school 
 were better acquainted with the classics. 
 He subsequently took a double first class at 
 Oxford. In fine, he possessed a voice which 
 would by no means have disgraced a Neapo- 
 litan or Milanese tenor-singer, while, as an 
 instrumentalist, few artists could have com- 
 peted with him. 
 
 The inward qualities of Meredith formed 
 a counterpart to his outer — brave, generous, 
 gay, ardent to enthusiasm and warm in
 
 so LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 friendship was tlie noble joutli. He always, 
 indeed, appeared to be fond of every one 
 but himself, for self was a consideration 
 which did not often occupy his mind, and 
 then only when it was so mingled with the 
 interests of others that it could not be 
 separated therefrom. 
 
 Sir Henry Meredith was the representa- 
 live of a very ancient Welsh family, and 
 Was the last male scion of his race. Haying 
 lost his parents in his infancy, he had been 
 placed under the guardianship of a distant 
 relation of his mother's, who considered his 
 duty towards his ward sufficiently attended to, 
 by giving him an expensive tutor during his 
 childhood, and by sending him afterwards 
 to Eton, preparatory to his proceeding to 
 the university. 
 
 Meredith's holidays were alternatelypassed 
 at his own estate in Brecknockshire, and at 
 Lis guardian's house in Monmouthshire ; but 
 as that latter personage resided chiefly on 
 the Continent, his ward since his entrance
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEES. 31 
 
 at Eton saw little of him who stood in his 
 father's place. 
 
 During his childhood he had remained 
 several years in Italy, where his extraordi- 
 nary taste for music had been highly culti- 
 vated, while a love for the arts had become 
 so deeply engrafted in his soul, that it had 
 become almost a second nature. 
 
 Through my close friendship with this 
 gifted child of Cimbria, I imbibed an ardent 
 admiration for all that was poetic and beau- 
 tiful. It was also to his instructions that I 
 was indebted for the cultivation of a natu- 
 rally fine tenor voice, for he taught me to 
 sing the delicious airs of the land of song, — 
 so different to the monotonous, sleep excit- 
 ing sonnets of my own country. For hours 
 would we sit together and perform whole 
 scenas from Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, and 
 Donizetti, until our imaginations caused us 
 to figure ourselves as actually incorporated 
 into the heroes of those illustrious masters. 
 
 Among other natural gifts, Meredith pes-
 
 32 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 sessed the power of mimicry to such a won- 
 derful degree, that with the aid of dress and 
 a grej wig he could represent an elderly 
 gentleman in so perfect a manner, that in 
 the broadest daylight he would deceive his 
 most intimate friends. It was owing to this 
 talent, that we were enabled to play off an 
 excellent practical joke upon the master of 
 a private school situated about two miles 
 from Eton. 
 
 This pedagogue was a vain, conceited, 
 arbitrary fool, who conceived himself to be 
 a compound essence of Dr. Johnson, Person, 
 and Sir Isaac Newton, while at the same 
 time he believed his establishment to be the 
 ne plus ultra of preparatory schools. The 
 fact of one of his pupils having obtained a 
 first class at Oxford, had so puffed up the 
 vanity of the schoolmaster, that he had 
 become intolerable to all who knew him. 
 
 It so happened that the Rev. Jonas Flog- 
 well, D.D., for such was the appellation 
 of the pedagogue, fancied or pretended to
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 33 
 
 fancy his dignity insulted by some Eton 
 boys, who were passing by his academy, 
 and haying learned their names, he pro- 
 ceeded to make a formal complaint of their 
 behayiour to the head-master of the college, 
 the issue of which was, their receiving a 
 seyere flogging, although had strict justice 
 been done, it was upon Dr. Jonas Flog- 
 well that the flagellation ought to have 
 descended, 
 
 "By Joye! Normandale," said Meredith 
 to me, on hearing the case, " it would be an 
 infernal shame, were we to allow that over- 
 fed lump of pomposity to get scot-free after 
 such infamous conduct, for he has got those 
 fellows flogged by telling a cowardly lie." 
 
 " What is to be done V I replied. " Only 
 suggest some plan by which we can pay ofl 
 the old fellow, and I am your man." 
 
 " Well, I haye hit upon an excellent idea," 
 returned Meredith. " You know young 
 Barmaine V 
 
 " Your fag V 
 
 c3
 
 34 LEONAED KORMANDALE, OK, 
 
 " The same. He was at Flogwell's 
 academy before he came here, and knows 
 all the old blackguard's peculiarities, one of 
 which consists in a greater eagerness after 
 new pupils than is common even to animals 
 of his species. Barmaine has made me au 
 fait with everything that can assist mj plan, 
 and it is mj intention to dress myself up 
 as a respectable papa, and having hired a 
 barouche at Slough, to take some very small 
 lower boy with me, properly drilled, and 
 drive to the academy, where I will pass 
 myself ojQP as a country gentleman come to 
 place my little boy under the tuition of the 
 learned Doctor." 
 
 ^' Capital !" I exclaimed; " and of course 
 you will be very particular in your inquiries 
 after the manner in which the studies of the 
 young gentlemen are carried on, the room in 
 which your son will sleep, his morals, et 
 cetera." 
 
 "Exactly so; and as you would probably 
 like to witness the scene yourself, you had
 
 THE THKEE BROTHERS. 35 
 
 better, if you believe yourself able to keep 
 a serious countenance, accompany me in the 
 capacity of my eldest son." 
 
 To be brief, we proceeded to put our plan 
 into execution the very next day ; and ac- 
 companied by a very small but intelligent 
 lower boy, we drove up to Dr. FlogwelFs 
 establishment in a superb barouche hired for 
 the occasion at Slough. 
 
 Our arrival evidently caused a good deal 
 of commotion among the inmates of the 
 house, for we could perceive a variety of 
 heads popping up at the windows, while a 
 fleeting vision of a lady en neglige carrying 
 off a squalling child in her arms was visible 
 through the glass partitions of the front 
 door. 
 
 The bell was rung; a stately footman ap- 
 peared at the summons, and having, in answer 
 to our questions, informed us that his master 
 was at home, proceeded to usher us into an 
 apartment over the door of which was painted 
 in huge letters, Library, and where we found
 
 36 LEONARD KORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 tlie Doctor apparently so deeply immersed 
 in study as not to remark our entrance until 
 his attention -svas aroused by the servant ad- 
 dressing him. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, gentlemen," he ex- 
 claimed, hastily rising from his seat, " but 
 I did not hear the door open. I trust, how- 
 ever, you will excuse my distraction, for I 
 was completely wrapped up in a delightful 
 passage of Euripides." 
 
 " Pray do not consider any excuse neces- 
 sary," replied Meredith, in a voice so com- 
 pletely different to his own, that although he 
 had previously rehearsed his part in my pre- 
 sence, I was for a moment almost deceived, 
 so perfect was his acting. " Euripides," he 
 continued, " is such a pleasant companion, 
 that we ought rather to make our excuses 
 for disturbing your tete-a-tete. To account, 
 however, for our visit, I beg to inform you, 
 that I have brought a boy of mine to your 
 academy, in order that he may have the 
 benefit of your admirable system of tuition;
 
 THE TPIKEE BKOTHEES. 37 
 
 a system, the fame of which has readied our 
 county." 
 
 " You flatter me," returned the delighted 
 pedagogue. " At any rate I shall be charmed 
 at receiving your son among my pupils. 
 Might I inquire which of these young gentle- 
 men it is whose education is about to be con- 
 fided to my charge V 
 
 " My youngest son," said Meredith, " whom 
 you will find by no means a stupid boy, and 
 who will not discredit your academy, first- 
 rate as is its reputation." 
 
 " You are really too good," cried the 
 Doctor. " I am happy, however, to have 
 it in my power to observe, that some of the 
 gentlemen educated by me have greatly dis- 
 tinguished themselves in after-life — one of 
 ray pupils, indeed, took a first-class at Oxford 
 last year." 
 
 "I have heard of the circumstance," re- 
 marked Meredith; " and I am sure that the 
 young Oxonian owed his honours much less 
 to his natural abilities, than to the admirable
 
 38 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 system pursued in jour establisliment. But 
 not to trespass upon jour yaluable time, 
 might I request jou to acquaint me with 
 jour terms and the nature of jour studies V 
 " We teach ever jthing here," said or rather 
 recited the pedagogue, for it was evident 
 that he was speaking by rote; " the Classics, 
 Latin and Greek, Geographj, both ancient 
 and modern, Ilistorj, Mathematics, Euclid, 
 Natural Philosophj, Logic, Algebra, and 
 Astronomj, — all for the moderate terms of 
 eight J guineas a jear. Frencli, Italian, 
 German, Spanish, Drawing, Music, and 
 Fencing are extras. Each boj is expected 
 to bring with him two jackets or coats, four 
 waistcoats, two pairs of cloth trowsers, two 
 pairs of summer ditto, six pairs of cotton 
 stockings or socks, and six pairs worsted 
 ditto, two pairs of shoes, a great-coat, two 
 silk cravats, a hat, a cap, two pairs of sheets, 
 six towels, a dinner knife, a silver spoon and 
 fork, and last, although not least (here the 
 Doctors voice put on a nasal twang), a Bible
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 39 
 
 and Prajer-book; the sclioolbooks are fur- 
 nished bj myself at a Tcrj moderate price. 
 Ever J possible care is taken of the boys, who 
 -will find a second father in me, and a mother 
 in Mrs. Flogwell." 
 
 " I am perfectly convinced of that, Doc- 
 tor," observed Meredith, as the school- 
 master brought his harangue, or rather 
 advertisement, to a conclusion ; " and am 
 truly happy at having made your valuable 
 acquaintance. Be assured that I consider 
 this day as one of the most fortunate of my 
 life. Theophilus, look upon that gentleman 
 as henceforth standing in my shoes; love, 
 honour, and reverence him; listen attentively 
 to his instructions ; and, above all, don't 
 bite your nails in school Do you hear, 
 
 sir r 
 
 " Yes, papa," replied the boy. 
 
 " Then mind you don't forget : if you do, 
 I trust Doctor Flogwell ^vill not hesitate to 
 flog your — back, until it smarts again." 
 
 " I hope there \vill never be any occasion
 
 40 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 for mj proceeding to such extremities," said 
 the pedagogue with a smile ; " the young 
 gentleman appears much too intelligent to 
 ever need any correction at mj hands, be- 
 sides mj motto is — melius ducere quam 
 impellere/^ 
 
 This Latin quotation brought forth an 
 answer from Meredith, and was followed by 
 a small artillery of classical jokes, delivered 
 in classical language ; when the school- 
 master, in all probability finding that mj 
 temporary papa was beating him on his own 
 ground, hastily changed the subject by con- 
 ducting us over the dormitories, playgrounds, 
 and schoolrooms ; and these formalities being 
 terminated, proceeded to present us to 
 Mrs. Flogwell, who had evidently made a 
 hasty toilet, and who received us with the 
 most obsequious civility, declaring that the 
 new pupil was the sweetest cherub she had 
 ever set eyes on. 
 
 Be it observed, that our accomplice, 
 although extremely intelligent, was one of
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 41 
 
 the Ugliest little monsters Imman nature 
 ever produced. 
 
 Wine and cake were now placed upon the 
 table ; having partaken of which we took 
 our leave, after settling that the new pupil, 
 Master Theophilus Rams cull (for Meredith's 
 alias was Newton Ramscull, Esq., of Ram- 
 scull Hall in the county of Hants) was to 
 be installed at the academy that day fort- 
 night. 
 
 We subsequently learned that the anger 
 of the pompous doctor was of the direst 
 kind when, on the expected pupil failing to 
 appear, and all inquiries made concerning Mr. 
 Newton Ramscull, of Ramscull Hail, end- 
 ing in its being ascertained that no such a 
 personage or hall was known in the county, 
 the pedagogue perceived that he had been 
 the dupe of a practical joke. Having come 
 over to Eton in a most overwhelming rage, 
 he proceeded to lodge a complaint before 
 the head-master ; but as he could neither 
 name or point out the offenders, we escaped
 
 42 LEONARD KORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 the punishment inyoked by liim on our 
 devoted heads and antipodes. 
 
 We were, however, sorry at learning that 
 he had vented his anger upon his own unfor- 
 tunate pupils ; to such a length indeed did 
 he carry his tyranny, that the boys mutinied 
 and barred themselves out for several days. 
 While attempting to expostulate with them, 
 the Doctor s head was broken by an article 
 of crockery-ware hurled at him by one of 
 the malcontents. 
 
 When we were nearly eighteen years of 
 age, both Meredith and myself quitted Eton. 
 Notwithstanding we were on the point of 
 commencing our university career, which 
 holds out so much attraction to boys at 
 school, it was with feelings of regret that 
 we beheld the day approach on which our 
 names were to be erased from the list on 
 which they had so long appeared. We had 
 been nearly a year in the sixth form, which 
 elevated position afforded us the enjoyment 
 of almost complete liberty, as we were per-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 43 
 
 mitted to follow anj course of life we 
 pleased, being unrestricted bj the laws and 
 rules which goYerned our schoolfellows of a 
 lower grade. 
 
 Our chief regret was occasioned at the 
 thought of our approaching separation, for 
 Meredith was about to be matriculated at 
 Oxford, while I on the contrary was entered 
 at Cambridge. It was, however, settled that 
 the few months intervening between our 
 quitting school and commencing our univer- 
 sity career, should be passed at Meredith 
 Castle with a tutor, for the purpose of 
 getting up some necessary points of infor- 
 mation totally neglected at Eton. 
 
 I cannot draw this chapter to a conclu- 
 sion without making a few remarks upon 
 the system of education pursued at the first- 
 rate public schools of England. Is the 
 system good ? is it bad ? I will leave it to 
 the unprejudiced reader to judge, on his 
 perusing the following exact description of 
 the studies and discipline of Eton, the
 
 44 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 public school reputed as the first in the 
 country, if not in the whole world. 
 
 A boj, say twelve years of age (although 
 there are many much younger), arrives at 
 Eton and is placed either in the fourth form 
 or on the remove ; from that moment until 
 the day he takes leave of the head-master, 
 Lis education consists in making (or getting 
 made by other boys) some Latin or Greek 
 verses once a-week, in learning by rote (to 
 be forgotten the next hour) portions of the 
 ancient Greek and Latin authors, and in 
 construing scraps of Homer, Virgil, Horace, 
 &c., &c. Modern geography is utterly neg- 
 lected ; so are arithmetic, mathematics, logic, 
 and history ; so are all foreign living lan- 
 guages ; so is music ; so is almost every 
 sort of knowledge that can be useful to a 
 man in after life. 
 
 No care whatever is taken of the boys' 
 morals. Religion and the Bible are almost 
 totally neglected ; at least they are as dead 
 letters, for the attendance at chapel which
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 45 
 
 is enforced on Sundays and holidays is a 
 mere form, as tlie boys pay no attention to 
 the prayers, but carry on sotto voce conver- 
 sations with each other during the services, 
 and the clergyman who can read the fastest 
 is the greatest favourite with his youthful 
 congregation. 
 
 The system of fagging is one of the 
 foulest blots in a public school. The bullying 
 and tyranny which the lower boys undergo 
 is the more shameful, as it passes almost 
 under the eyes of the tutors, who take no 
 pains to prevent it. I have indeed beheld 
 fags so brutally treated by their boy-masters, 
 that their health has been irretrievably 
 ruined from the violence of the blows re- 
 ceived upon the head, spine, chest, and 
 joints. 
 
 A mere child, thirteen years of age only, 
 was fagging at cricket in the year 1829, for 
 a boy of more than seventeen. The latter 
 not being satisfied with the manner the ball 
 was thrown up to the wicket (he had
 
 46 LEOXAED KOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 required the execution of an impossible feat), 
 called the fag up to him, and drawing one 
 of the stumps out of the ground, proceeded 
 to belabour the unfortunate child with all 
 his force. At length one of the blows 
 struck the knee of the fag, who was so 
 dreadfully injured as to be confined to his 
 bed for more than seven weeks. His tor- 
 tures were dreadful, and for a time the 
 surgeon was fearful of its being necessary to 
 amputate the limb. 
 
 Will it be belieyed possible, that the 
 cowardly brute who had thus wreaked his 
 tyranny upon an unoffending child, never 
 once came to visit his victim during his 
 illness, although the latter, from a false 
 sense of honour, was foolish enough to con- 
 ceal the wretch's name from the school 
 authorities. 
 
 The sufferer on this occasion was the 
 author of this work — the brute who struck 
 
 the blow was . Should he chance to 
 
 glance over these pages, let him blush
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 47 
 
 scarlet for his cowardly and despicable 
 conduct. 
 
 The author feels the effects of the blow to 
 the present day. 
 
 In addition to the aboye-mentioned evils 
 consequent on this barbarous system, the 
 studies of the lower boys are constantly 
 interfered with and interrupted, by their 
 being forced to run errands, or to wait as 
 servants upon the boys of the fifth and sixth 
 forms. 
 
 Drunkenness, swearing, and low de- 
 bauchery are common at Eton ; how indeed 
 could it be otherwise, when no surveillance 
 is exercised over the boys out of school 
 hours. On the contrary, whenever they 
 are not engaged in construing or repeating 
 their lessons, they are permitted to wander 
 about wherever they please, that is, during 
 the daytime. At sunset, it is true, the 
 doors of their different houses are locked; 
 but the boys have the full range of the 
 building to themselves, and there is generally
 
 48 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 nothing to prevent their sitting up drinking 
 all night. 
 
 But I must draw this subject to a hasty 
 conclusion, otherwise I should fill whole 
 volumes with my comments upon the vicious 
 and useless nature of a public school education. 
 I might mention the almost fabulous sums 
 lavished by parents, who could ill afford the 
 money, in order to procure their sons the 
 benefit of being brought up at an aristo- 
 cratic institution ; I could dwell upon the 
 fatal habits of idleness and extravagance 
 contracted at Eton, Westminster, Winches- 
 ter, and Harrow ; and I could mourn over 
 the health of many a fine youth tainted by 
 early debauchery. 
 
 I will refer but to one subject more : the 
 manner of punishment at Eton, of wliicli 
 there are two sorts; the one consists in 
 bein"" obliged to write out and translate the 
 Greek and Latin lessons of the day, or a 
 chapter of the Bible. The other in being 
 publicly flogged with a birch rod. This
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 49 
 
 mode of chastisement is inflicted upon boys 
 of all ages. I have indeed seen young men, 
 nearly eighteen years old, and six feet in 
 height, kneel upon a wooden block, to re- 
 ceive a flagellation upon their bare flesh, 
 inflicted by the head master, a doctor of 
 trinity. 
 
 A more degrading exhibition cannot easily 
 be imagined, although it is so common at 
 Eton, as to be perfectly disregarded and 
 even made a jest of. One frequently hears 
 a youth mention to his companions that he 
 is going to be swished, with as much sang- 
 froid as though he were about to eat his 
 breakfast. 
 
 The only Etonians exempt from this 
 punishment are those in the sixth form, 
 which is seldom composed of more than six- 
 teen or eighteen youths. 
 
 The vacations at Eton collectively amount 
 to more than four months yearly. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the time is not far 
 distant, when a sweeping reform will take 
 
 yoL. I. D
 
 50 
 
 place in all our public schools, and that 
 their system of education will be thoroughly 
 altered, for although it may be remarked, in 
 answer to the above observations, that many 
 illustrious men have been brought up at 
 Eton, Westminster, Winchester, and Har- 
 row, all I can answer is, that they were 
 illustrious not because they were educated, 
 but in spite of their being educated at the 
 aforesaid colleges of Eton, Westminster, 
 Winchester, and Harrow.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 51 
 
 CHAPTER ly. 
 
 GWENDAJLIXE. 
 
 We aiTiyed about the commencement of 
 August at Meredith Castle, which was si- 
 tuated at several miles^ distance from 
 Llandilo. Although not of such stupendous 
 proportions as Normandale Hall, it was 
 much more adyantageouslj situated with 
 regard to beauty and magnificence of scenery. 
 Few persons, on gazing from its windows 
 upon the surrounding country, would have 
 marvelled at the romantic disposition of its 
 youthful owner. I have since travelled 
 
 D 2 
 
 J.._. ^> ti I IMAir
 
 52 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 much more, and beheld the most gorgeous 
 scenery, the loftiest mountains, and the love- 
 liest woodlands, but I was never impressed 
 by them with the sensation of mingled awe 
 and rapture which came over me upon first 
 gazing from the summit of Meredith Castle. 
 I will not attempt any description of the 
 spot, for I was scarcely more than a boy 
 at the time, and the enthusiasm natural 
 to my age might have heightened my admi- 
 ration. 
 
 A kinder or merrier-hearted being never 
 existed than the tutor who, to use a Cam- 
 bridge phrase, was to cram us for the Uni- 
 versity. The Reverend Silas Mainwell, — 
 for he was in holy orders, — was a first-rate 
 mathematician and classic, had indeed been 
 fourth wrangler and senior Chancellor's 
 medallist at Cambridge some ten years 
 before, at which period he was elected a 
 Fellow of his college (Trinity). For some 
 time all had appeared to prosper with the 
 worthy Cantab ; he had entered holy orders
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 53 
 
 and had been engaged by a nobleman as 
 tutor to his only son, a young man of 
 twenty, who was about to make the tour of 
 Europe. Before long Mr. Mainwell had 
 completely gained the goodwill of his pupil's 
 father, the Duke of Dainbridge. An excel- 
 lent living, in the gift of that nobleman, was 
 promised to his son's preceptor, as soon as 
 the incumbent should think fit to quit the 
 cares of this life, and as that personage was 
 both old and infirm, there seemed every 
 possible chance of the Reverend Silas Main- 
 well becoming the Rector of Boxton, — a 
 living amounting in value to nearly twelve 
 hundi'ed a-year. 
 
 Unfortunately for Mr. Mainwell, the young 
 Marquis of Ethelston, his pupil, had an 
 amiable failing. He was apt to fall des- 
 perately in love with every pretty female 
 face he chanced to meet with. He was, 
 indeed, on the point of committing matri- 
 mony several times during his tour ; his 
 tutor, however, was, for a time, sufficiently
 
 54 LEONARD KORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 vigilant to save liiin from the consummation 
 of such foil J. 
 
 A handsome Parisian debitante de tabac 
 "^as the first to captivate the joung Mar- 
 quis's affection, — a most fortunate circum- 
 stance for the ladj, for her admirer, although 
 no smoker (even a cigarette made him 
 sick), had purchased more than half her 
 stock-in-trade before he could muster up 
 sufficient courage to utter aloud his decla- 
 ration of love. 
 
 The debitante, however, who had once 
 been the mistress of a chef de bureau, 
 through whose interest she had obtained her 
 debit, was most ferociously virtuous, and 
 talked of honour and " son pauvre pere, le 
 Colonel,'' who had been killed at Waterloo, 
 and who would rise out of his grave, from 
 indignation, were his daughter to forget her 
 station and ancienne noblesse. 
 
 So desperately enamoured did the joung 
 nobleman at length become, that he actually 
 proposed matrimony, and the union would
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 55 
 
 hare taken place secretly, had not Mr. 
 Mainwell, having discoyered that his pupil 
 was meditating an elopement, taken the 
 pains of hunting out certain passages in the 
 past life of Mademoiselle de la Touche (for 
 such T^'as the aristocratic patronj^mic assumed 
 bj the model of virtue, who was in reality 
 an enfant trouvee), that he quite cooled 
 Lord Ethelston's ardour, — but for that lady 
 only ; for no sooner was the Marquis out of 
 his first scrape, than he plunged deep into' 
 another with a soi-disant Marquise. 
 
 The tutor now considered it high time to 
 quit Paris, and consequently compelled the 
 Marquis to obey his orders to that effect, by 
 menacing to report his conduct to the Duke, 
 his father. In every town, however, where 
 the travellers remained more than a week, 
 did Lord Ethelston fall in love, — despe- 
 rately, irretrievably' in love,— keeping Mr. 
 Mainwell in a perpetual fever of anxiety. 
 
 On arriving at Milan, after a tour through 
 Southern Italy, the worthy tutor fell ill,
 
 56 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 and being confined to his bed, was unable to 
 •watch over his pupil in person, and the 
 English servant, whom he had particularly 
 enjoined to keep him thoroughly informed 
 of all Lord Ethelston^s movements, having 
 been bribed by his young master, assisted 
 the Marquis in running away with and even- 
 tually marrying the prima donna of the 
 Scala. 
 
 The rage of the Duke of Dainbridge knew 
 no bounds on his learning the conduct of 
 his heir ; he would listen to no defence on 
 the part of Mr. Silas Mainwell, and be- 
 stowed the promised living, which had just 
 become vacant, upon a nephew — with whom, 
 up to that moment, he had not been on 
 good terms, on account of the latter being 
 a supporter of Low Church principles. 
 
 So bitter, indeed, was this enmity of his 
 Grace against the innocent tutor, that he 
 prevented him by his representations from 
 procuring any other situation as tutor, and 
 the Rev. Silas Mainwell was forced to re-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 57 
 
 turn to Cambridge and increase the small 
 means of his fellowship bj cramming young 
 Uniyersitj men for their examinations. 
 
 " Mr. Mainwell," said Sir Henry Mere- 
 dith, a few days after our arrival, as we 
 were seated at breakfast, "you are, it ap- 
 pears, an ardent admirer of the scenery of 
 Switzerland : you will now have an oppor- 
 tunity of comparing it with the mountain- 
 passes of this country, which, I assure you, 
 are by no means to be despised." 
 
 " I have never before visited this famous 
 region,'^ returned Mr. Mainwell, " although 
 I have frequently been on the point of so 
 doing, in company with a reading party, 
 during the long vacations. Some obstacle, 
 however, has' always occurred to put off 
 our journey; but next to the pleasure of 
 making the acquaintance of yourself and 
 Mr. Normandale, the desire of gazing upon 
 the Welsh Alps has proved the greatest 
 incentive to my accepting your invitation/^ 
 
 "The scenery of the neighbourhood is 
 
 D 3
 
 58 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 indeed magnificent," obseryed Meredith. 
 "You have the Black Mountains on the 
 horizon ; Grangar Hills, Carricksawth j Com- 
 mon, and Cenrig-Cennan, almost \7ithin a 
 stone's throw; while within a few miles are 
 the ruins of a monastery, said to be spectre- 
 ridden. What say jou, as the day is fine, 
 to our ordering our horses and proceeding 
 at once thither ; we can chatter mathe- 
 matics and solve problems as we ride along 
 the ranges of Lyn-y-van V 
 
 The proposal was seized upon with avi- 
 dity, and in half an hour we were in our 
 saddles and on our way to the haunted 
 ruins. 
 
 I must here observe that one of the chief 
 recommendations of the Vale of Towy is 
 the reported unrivalled excellence of its 
 fly-fishing ; they who have visited the 
 spot assuring those who are about to visit 
 it, that there is nothing more to do than 
 throw in a line and pull out sewen or 
 salmon, which you please, ad libitum. For
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 59 
 
 mj part I Ccannot affirm that I found it so ; 
 scarcely a fish ever rose to mj flies, while 
 a nibble was almost a miracle ; and yet I 
 was constantly tantalized by beholding 
 more than one grinning, bare-legged urchin, 
 whose head hardly reached to my waistcoat 
 pocket, pull out, with only a worm or a 
 grub at the end of a pin-hook, a fine, spank- 
 ing sewen which but a moment before had 
 been coquetting with my fly and making 
 me believe he was going to bolt it. 
 
 Query 1 Do salmon and sewen prefer 
 worms to flies? and if so, is not the village 
 urchin, with his bobbing line, a wiser indi- 
 vidual in his generation than the would-be 
 Isaac Waltons of the present day, who 
 spend all their spare cash in light fishing 
 rods and artificial flies 1 
 
 We had not long been within the walls 
 of the ancient ruin, when we perceived a 
 party of equestrians approaching. Several 
 hundred yards in advance was a lady of 
 about seven-and-thirty years of age, and
 
 60 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Still possessed of great beauty. At her 
 side rode a demure and somewhat puritani- 
 cal personage, whose countenance did not 
 possess a rerj agi'eeable expression. 
 
 "Sir Henry Meredith, I declare!'' ex- 
 claimed the lady, " really this is too for- 
 tunate !" 
 
 " Fortunate on our part, my dear Lady 
 Glendower," returned Meredith, shaking 
 hands with the new-comer ; "had I been 
 aware of your intention to visit the monas- 
 tery, I would have made a point of coming, 
 although Meredith Castle had been ten times 
 more distant." 
 
 " If I had a son, I should certainly send 
 him to Eton,'' replied Lady Glendower, 
 " for you Etonians have a way of saying 
 polite things, which no other collegians can 
 imitate; but, pray tell me, is it irue that 
 you are about to proceed to Oxford ?" 
 
 " I am at present preparing for the uni- 
 versity," said Meredith, " in company with 
 Mr. Normandale, son of Lord Fauconbridge,
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 61 
 
 and Mr. Main well, fellow of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. Allow me to present both my 
 friends to yon.'^ 
 
 The remainder of the party having come 
 up, the introductions became general, and I 
 found that the newly arrived persons con- 
 sisted of Sir Owen Glendower and his 
 daughter, the latter's French governess, and 
 one or two gentlemen. The puritanical 
 personage who had accompanied Lady Glen- 
 dower proved to be the Rev. Warrington 
 Crowther, a young clergyman lately in- 
 ducted to a living of four hundred a-year, 
 in the gift of his father, and which had 
 been held for him a great many years by 
 "what is termed, in ecclesiastical and par- 
 liamentary phraseology, a warming-pan. 
 
 " G wendahne, my love,'' said Lady Glen- 
 dower to her daughter, who had remained 
 in the back ground, "have you forgotten 
 your old, or rather your young friend. Sir 
 Henry Meredith, that you have not shaken 
 hands with him V
 
 62 LEOKAED NORM AND ALE, OE, 
 
 " Miss Glendower has not jet pardoned 
 me our last quarrel," said Meredith, laughing. 
 
 " I have so little reason for forgiving you, 
 Sir Henrj," said the young girl, " that I do 
 not even remember the date and subject of 
 the quarrel you allude to." 
 
 " What, do you forget our falling out ? 
 — ^because, while you asserted that Ap 
 Wynn ap Reece ap Roger Mynchkwnder 
 was the greatest chieftain of South Wales 
 two thousand years ago, and vanquished the 
 famous Ap Crassmovey ap Pugh Brnngwnrs 
 ap Prnngmtrrs in single combat, I was of 
 the contrary opinion, and declared that Ap 
 Crassmovey ap Pugh Brnngwnrs ap Prnng- 
 mtrrs overcame Ap Wynn ap Reece ap 
 Roger Mynchkwnder, and drove him from 
 the country with all his family." 
 
 " You are quite mistaken in yom' asser- 
 tion. Sir Henry," said Miss Glendower, with 
 a joyful laugh, " and I am ready to prove 
 your error to you, the next time we enter 
 the lists of W^elsh history."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 63 
 
 " In \vhicli I am ever ready to break a 
 lance/'' returned Meredith, " for the ancient 
 history, or rather legends of my country are 
 my hobby. Anyhow, if I be unhorsed, it 
 will be by such exceedingly fair hands that 
 I cannot repine/' 
 
 Gwendaline Glendower was but sixteen 
 years of age ; her beauty, however, was as 
 resplendent as though she had been two 
 years older. Upon a form worthy the chisel 
 of Michael Angelo, she carried a head such 
 as Raphael and Titian would have loved to 
 paint. Her complexion was of a freshness 
 pecuHarly Welsh, and would have driven to 
 despair many a farded belle. Her face was 
 the very ideal of angelic purity, and the 
 milky whiteness of her large polished brow 
 reflected back the light as perfectly as a 
 min'or. Her hair was of a bright jet black, 
 her eyes, dark as those of the antelope, were 
 large and shaped like an almond, — one mo- 
 ment they sparkled with a fire that dazzled 
 like a flash of lightning, at another, were veiled
 
 64 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 with the long silky eyelashes that caused a 
 strange thrill to dart through the frame of 
 any one who gazed upon them. 
 
 Altogether she was one of the most per- 
 fect specimens of the human form that ever 
 deigned to tread upon earth, — at least I 
 thought so on first beholding her. 
 
 " Might I inquire/' I observed, after a 
 short conversation with Lady Glendower, 
 " what has brought your party to these ruins 
 to-day r' 
 
 *' Why, I wish to show Mr. Warrington 
 Orowther the haunted cells," she replied, 
 "in order, that should the ghost dare to 
 show itself, he may exorcise it at once and 
 send it off to the Red Sea." 
 
 "I should not, however, imagine there 
 was much chance of the ghost favouring us 
 with a visit," said Meredith. " One priest was 
 always considered as a sufficient guard against 
 an evil spirit ; and we are doubly strong," he 
 continued, referring to the two clergymen. 
 
 " It is scarcely probable that an evil spirit
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 65 
 
 can be the tenant of this castle/' I remarked, 
 "for I have always understood, that they 
 prefer gloomy abodes such as musty old 
 chambers or damp vaults, while the ghost 
 that is reported to roam through this build- 
 ing has chosen one of the most beautiful 
 spots in Christendom, w^hich at all events 
 proves that he or she is a spirit of excellent 
 taste." 
 
 " In that case/' said Mr. Silas Mainwell, 
 as we proceeded to enter the building, "it 
 would be decidedly a great pity to drive 
 away its ghostship from the spot of its pre- 
 dilection, and I for one will refuse to aid in 
 exorcising it.'' 
 
 Mr. Warrington Orowther said nothing, 
 but looked exceedingly grave at the turn 
 the conversation had taken. 
 
 Our visit to the castle had come to an 
 end, and we were descending the hills in the 
 direction of Glendower Manor, where we 
 had been invited to dine and remain the 
 night, when we were suddenly overtaken by
 
 66 LEONARD Is^ORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 sucli a terrific thimder-storin, that it cast 
 dismay into the hearts of all our party. 
 
 If any one possesses a taste for thunder- 
 storms, he has the finest possible opportunity 
 for enjoying them in perfection among the 
 mountain ranges of Llyn-y-yan. In London, 
 and indeed in any town or flat country, a 
 kmiyburly of this sort is very safe, tame, 
 and common-place. The thunder, its Toice 
 deadened by the eternal fog, growls faintly 
 like a drowsy lion; the lightning contents 
 itself with throwinor a few old women into 
 fits ; while a small bolt, scarcely bigger than 
 a crab-apple, drops down through the sky- 
 light of a tailor's shop, for apparently no 
 other reason than to " create a sensation" 
 among the apprentices, and furnish the 
 newspapers with a paragraph. 
 
 Such in nineteen cases out of twenty is a 
 cockney thunderstorm ; but in Wales, as in 
 any otlier mountainous country, it is a very 
 difibrent affair. There the thunder yindi- 
 cates its fuU claim to sublimity, roaring and
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 67 
 
 rattling among the craggy heights with a 
 sound as if ten thousand brazen chariots 
 were at the same moment clattering along 
 the floor of heaven; while the blue arrowy 
 lightning digs gashes in the stern forehead 
 of the precipice, or splits asunder immense 
 fragments of overhanging granite, sending 
 them crashing down into the vale beneath. 
 Then the frenzied rain, with the rush of the 
 torrent which but an hour before was a 
 mere rivulet, silverlining the side of some 
 sunny upland — away it goes, scampering 
 faster than ever younger brother fled from a 
 sherifi''s ofiicer; bounding deliriously from 
 rock to rock, swallowing bridges at a gulp, 
 and subjecting whole villages to the cere- 
 mony of an undesired baptism. 
 
 But though pleasant enough to one who, 
 like Franklin, can boast that he 
 
 " Ex coelo eripuit fulmen et sceptra tyrannis," 
 
 still, even to the lovers of the sublime, a 
 single tempest on a magnificent scale is suf-
 
 68 LEOI^AED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 ficient; and few who have witnessed one 
 among the Welsh hills would have the 
 slightest desire of finding themselves exposed 
 to the fury of a second, even wdth the pro- 
 tection of a paratonnerre. 
 
 But to return to the tempest bj which 
 our party was surprised. The lightning 
 gleamed, the thunder roared, while the af- 
 frighted horses plunged so violentlj that it 
 was with difficulty that I could keep Miss 
 Glendower, at whose side I was riding, from 
 falling from her saddle. Every instant I 
 expected that a thunderbolt would dart 
 down and exterminate us. Even Meredith's 
 cheek, brave and stout-hearted as I knew 
 him to be, was blanched, as he held the 
 bridle of Lady Glendower, who appeared to 
 be on the point of falling senseless into the 
 arms of her cavalier. Excepting a few 
 words of encouragement, and the suppressed 
 shrieks of the ladies, not a sound escaped 
 our lips; our thoughts, however, were most 
 eloquent.
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 69 
 
 Whenerer I hear a soi-disant atheist (for 
 in mj opinion no man "s^as ever reallj such) 
 scoffing at the idea of Divinitj, I feel a 
 desire to place him in a mountain-pass 
 during a violent thunder-storm, and watch 
 his demeanour. It is yerj easy for free- 
 thinkers to boast of their unbeHef after din- 
 ner, over a bottle of claret, or in the bright 
 sunshine, but let those gentlemen be brought 
 in approximation with death, and I would 
 almost stake my existence on it that they wiU 
 exclaim, like Shelley a6eo^, during the storm 
 at sea, "0 Lord, save me; God, save 
 me;" although, when the danger shall have 
 passed, they may laugh at their late fears, 
 and boast anew of their unbelief. 
 
 Fortunately, just before the rain came on, 
 we arrived in sight of a solitary ruin, con- 
 sisting of bare brick walls and a leaden roof. 
 With one simultaneous movement we dashed 
 towards it, and were but just housed be- 
 neath its protecting cover, when a complete 
 deluge issued from the ink-black clouds 
 above.
 
 70 LEONAKD XOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 The ruin in wliicli we had taken shelter 
 was perched upon the brow of a table-laud, 
 about a mile distant from a Tillage, and 
 forming a gradual slope in front of what 
 had evidently once been a garden or pad- 
 dock, but was now in the last stage of 
 decay. 
 
 I never beheld a ruin, and I have seen 
 many, which impressed me with such a 
 stern sense of desolation. There was no- 
 thing picturesque to relieve the feeling of 
 melancholy its appearance excited. All 
 about it spoke of decay and death in their 
 most bald, squalid, and homely form. 
 
 Castellated and monastic ruins are abun- 
 dant throughout Wales; but this was the 
 only family mansion or manor-house I had 
 yet seen in that condition. 
 
 " It is strange," I observed, as I paced its 
 confined interior, as soon as the storm began 
 to abate, " that so plain and unaspiring a 
 domicile should have been suffered to be- 
 come so utter a wreck, when nothing could
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 71 
 
 have been easier than to have kept it in a 
 state of preservation/^ 
 
 "I agree with jou/' said Mr. Mainwell. 
 " Castles and monasteries, as we are all 
 aware, decay as a matter of course; indeed, 
 thej seem built for no other purpose than 
 to serve the turn of the novelist and land- 
 scape painter; for, in the first place, their 
 vast extent prevents their being fitly kept 
 up, and, secondly, their owners have usually 
 been forced by their rank and connexions 
 to take a leading part in the civil broils of 
 their epoch. They have of necessity risen 
 or fallen (and in the game of war few come 
 off winners) with the party to which they 
 had attached themselves. Such, however, 
 could scarcely have been the case with re- 
 gard to this ruined mansion, which has evi- 
 dently never belonged to any powerful or 
 turbulent nobleman, but to some convivial 
 sporting Welsh squire, — the very last per- 
 son likely^ to sacrifice his interests to his 
 ambition."
 
 72 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 "You have guessed right/' said Sir Owen 
 Glendower; " this old manor-house was the 
 property of exactly the sort of person you 
 have described. A hard-drinking, sporting 
 squire, ^vhose life was cut short by his 
 younger brother, who, driven to despair by 
 poverty, sought to enrich himself by stopping 
 his senior's respiratory organs ; or, in other 
 words, smothering him." 
 
 " Horrible !'' was the almost general cry. 
 
 " But for which deed the laws and customs 
 of this country are responsible,'' observed 
 Meredith, " making, as they do, such an 
 immense difference between the lot of two 
 brothers, giving all to one, and casting the 
 other penniless upon the world." 
 
 " Why, I declare that you are becoming 
 quite a radical, Sir Henry," returned Lady 
 Glen dower : " you surely, however, cannot 
 excuse such a horrible crime as fratricide, 
 under any circumstances ?" 
 
 " By no means," said Meredith; ^' I merely 
 wished to remark, that as long as the system
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 73 
 
 of primogeniture and entail is prevalent in 
 England, so long ^'ill the most deadly hatred 
 exist between the children of the same 
 parents." 
 
 " Was the murderer punished V I inquired 
 of Sir Owen. 
 
 " Bj God, but not by the offended laws of 
 his country/^ returned the Baronet. " He 
 had managed the infernal deed so cunningly, 
 while his victim was lying in a state of 
 drunken insensibility, that it was supposed 
 that the deceased had gone off in a fit of 
 apoplexy. The murderer went abroad 
 immediately after the funeral, but returned 
 to the spot at the end of several years, 
 almost wasted to a skeleton by remorse. 
 He did not long survive his return, and on 
 his death-bed confessed the deed, declaring 
 that he had been driven to the verge of 
 madness by the cruel conduct of his elder 
 brother, who, half an hour before the murder 
 was committed, had not only refused to 
 accord him any assistance, but had taunted 
 
 YOL. I. E
 
 74 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 him in the most sarcastic manner with beincr 
 a beggar. 
 
 " On the death of the murderer, which 
 occurred about fifty years ago," continued 
 the Baronet, " this building was dismantled 
 and abandoned. No one has since ven- 
 tured to inhabit the spot, and it is regarded 
 by the inhabitants of the surrounding 
 country as accursed, in consequence of 
 harinor been the abode of a fratricide." 
 
 " He was a bonny youth, nevertheless/' 
 cried a shrill, cracked voice, issuing from a 
 dark corner of the building. "Ay, Ralph 
 Griffiths was a bonny youth, and worth a 
 million of his brother. ^lay the Lord have 
 mercy on him ! I mean the younger; for 
 the elder died unrepentant and un shriven : 
 there is therefore no hope for him.'' 
 
 We all turned towards the spot from 
 whence these words appeared to proceed, 
 when an old shrivelled hag ciime hobbling 
 towards us. So horrible and unearthly 
 was her aspect, that the ladies of our
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 75 
 
 party gave a scream of terror, and each 
 clung to the arm of the gentleman nearest 
 to her. 
 
 " There is nothing to fear," cried Mere- 
 dith, recognising the hag ; " it is only 
 poor old mad Janet. As long as one 
 does not irritate her, she is perfectly harm- 
 less." 
 
 " Who was talking of Ralph Griffiths, the^ 
 fratricide, as they call him V screeched the 
 maniac. " I knew him well once, when he 
 was the bonniest youth in the county. Who 
 would have believed that, when he returned 
 from foreign parts, wasted by conscience, as 
 the curate said '? Yet he must have beea 
 a stone^ to have borne with his brother's 
 cruelty, who, although wallowing in luxury 
 himself, allowed his own mother's son to 
 want the commonest necessaries of life. But 
 why should I speak to ye of Ralph 1 None 
 of ye knew him, for he was dead when the 
 oldest of ye was but a child. I knew him, 
 however; I loved him, and he loved me. He 
 
 E 2
 
 76 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 would Lave wedded me, could he have sup- 
 ported a wife. Poor Ralph ! if he killed his 
 brother, it was in a moment of passion. He 
 was no Cain I" 
 
 " Surely, mj good woman," observed Mr. 
 Warrington Orowther, " jou do not profess 
 to excuse the crime of murder, committed 
 under any provocation whatever 1 If you 
 do, may Heaven pardon your blindness of 
 heart." 
 
 " Who dares to talk of Heaven to me ?" 
 cried the hag, gazing furiously at the clergy- 
 man. " You ought to be the last to utter 
 such words, for any one who gazes upon 
 your countenance, can see that it is that of 
 a hypocrite." 
 
 " The woman is so mad," exclaimed 
 Mr. Orowther, turning pale with rage, 
 "that she ought to be shut up in an 
 asylum." 
 
 " An asylum ! Put me into an asylum \" 
 screamed the mad-woman, — " Oh, no ! it is 
 ihose who listen to your smooth tongue, and
 
 THE THREE BKOTHERS. 77 
 
 trust to jour honied words, that should be 
 loaded ^vith chains in the dungeons of a 
 mad-house. You are a parson, I see, by 
 jour white throat ; nevertheless jou are 
 doomed to damnation, for anj one may 
 perceive that jou are a bad, false-hearted 
 man/^ 
 
 The person addressed was so overcome 
 with furj at these words that he forgot 
 both the age and misfortune of the speaker, 
 and had raised his cane, when Meredith 
 interposed. 
 
 " Sir," he observed, " praj remember 
 that the poor creature is mad.'' 
 
 The quick ear of the maniac caught the 
 observation, scarcelj audible as it was. 
 
 " Yes, I am mad," she cried, " I am mad, 
 but I am happj in comparison to what jou 
 will be, some future day ; and jet, generous 
 joung man, jou deserve not jour fate, and 
 poor wild Janet pities jou." 
 
 These words were uttered so earnestlj, 
 and there was such an evident feeling of
 
 78 LEONARD Is^OEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 conTiction in the tone of the speaker, that 
 Meredith started ; but immediately re- 
 covering his wonted coolness, he smiled and 
 shook his head. 
 
 " Hearen forefend jour words coming 
 tnie,^' he observed : " pray, however, do not 
 suffer me to be the only one to benefit 
 by your gift of prophecy, but exercise 
 your talent upon all present; in the mean- 
 while allow me to offer you my contribu- 
 tion/' 
 
 And he slipped a sovereign into her 
 hand. 
 
 " Gold,'' cried Janet, " gold ! it is many 
 a long year since I have touched the metal, 
 although I once knew the handling of it 
 right well. But that was when I was a 
 bonny young girl." 
 
 "Will you tell me my fortune 1" said 
 Lady Glendower, drawing forth her purse, 
 and opening the palm of her hand. 
 
 " I am no gipsey," cried the mad woman, 
 " and know not how to read a palm ; your
 
 • THE THREE BROTHERS. 79 
 
 countenance, however, tells enough. Your 
 way in the world will be straight and com- 
 mon-place ; all plain sailing, as thej say at 
 sea." 
 
 Nearly the same observation was made 
 with respect to Sir Owen and Mr. Mainwell, 
 but, on coming to Gwendaline, the hag 
 shook her head. 
 
 " There is trouble preparing for you, 
 young lady. You will both cause un- 
 happiness and be unhappy yourself. Still, 
 yours is a face all would love to gaze upon. 
 I was once like yourself Look at me now! 
 who would think that possible 1 Poor 
 Ralph, you said I was beautiful, and often 
 have we sat embraced in each other^s arms, 
 and yet they called you a murderer. Oh, 
 no ! your heart was too kindly, to hurt any 
 of God's creatures. It was a demon you 
 slew, and no human being." 
 
 " You have forgotten to tell me my fate," 
 I observed, wishing to divert the poor 
 creature's imagination from the painful
 
 80 LEONAKD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 subject that engrossed it ; " praj let me 
 know whether I am to be happj or other- 
 wise." 
 
 The maniac turned sharply round, and 
 gazing fiercely upon me with her wild 
 rolling eye, she exclaimed in an angry 
 tone: 
 
 " Why ask me to read your fate, 
 unhappy young man 1 when one possesses 
 a countenance like yours, any one can tell 
 that poverty, and misery, and gnashing of 
 teeth will be your portion in this life. 
 Poor fellow ! I pity you. Oh, beware of 
 that lily-and-rose face yonder, if you would 
 escape some part of your coming wretched- 
 ness, but even then your sufibrings will be 
 such tliat you will envy the lot of old Janet, 
 the mad-woman." 
 
 " But stay," she continued, " there is a 
 bright spot upon your brow. Perhaps, after 
 all, happiness may eventually be in store 
 for you. Alas ! poor Ralph had no bright 
 spot on his forehead. All was dark and
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 81 
 
 gloomy there. He died as he lived, 
 wretched. As for Edward Griffiths, the 
 curse of both God and devil was upon his 
 head. He forgot that he had a brother, 
 or rather he looked upon his mother's son 
 as dirt beneath his feet. Such is the 
 way with the elder-born, who inherit all, 
 while their brethren are treated as base- 
 born beggars !" 
 
 Thus muttering, the hag turned her back 
 to us and retired into the inner part of 
 the building, without deigning to cast a 
 farewell glance upon our party. 
 
 " Sir Owen," cried Mr. Warrington Crow- 
 ther, " you are a magistrate of the county, 
 I wonder, therefore, you should allow such 
 a yillainous old mad-woman to go loose ; 
 for she may, some of these days, not con- 
 tent herself with praising up murder and 
 fratricide, but carry her ideas into practice, 
 and strangle some of the children in the 
 neighbouring villages." 
 
 " Old Janet is quite harmless," observed 
 
 E 3
 
 82 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 Meredith, " and it would be the height of 
 cruelty to deprive her of her liberty ; for 
 the poor creature has suffered much during 
 her long life, and the only pleasure that 
 remains to her is to roam about unre- 
 strained. As you may perceive by her 
 speech she has received a superior educa- 
 tion. Indeed, she was the daughter of a 
 banker, who failed and committed suicide, 
 shortly before the period fixed for her 
 marriage with Ralph Griffiths, which was 
 broken off, or rather postponed, in con- 
 sequence of the poverty of the betrothed 
 lovers. After the murder committed by 
 her lover, Janet Vaughan pined away for 
 several years, until Ralph's return, when, 
 on hearing his death-bed confession, at 
 which she was present, she went mad with 
 horror. Ever since, that is, for the last 
 fifty years, she has wandered about this 
 part of the country, uttering praises of her 
 betrothed, and prophecies similar to those 
 we have just listened to."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 83 
 
 " Which prophecies," I obseiTed, ** will I 
 trust turn out the reverse of the sjbil^s 
 denunciations, saving always the one bright 
 spot on mj forehead. I almost expected to 
 see the old lady disappear in a flame of fire, 
 or upon one of the flashes of lightning on 
 which she seemed to have arrived." 
 
 The storm having now subsided, we all 
 mounted our horses and proceeded at a 
 brisk canter towards Glendower Hall. 
 
 Notwithstanding the very short period 
 that had elapsed since my meeting with 
 Gwendaliue Glendower, I had fallen madly 
 in love with her — such love as is felt only 
 by a boy under twenty, and compared to 
 w^hich the love of a full-grown man is as a 
 placid lake to the ocean in a storm. It was 
 upon my arm that she had unconsciously 
 leaned for protection when the maniac ap- 
 peared, and never shall I forget the thrill 
 that darted tlirough me as I felt her heart 
 fieating against mine and her warm, balmy 
 breath fanning my face.
 
 84 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Gwendaline, how I loved jou then, and 
 how I loved jou even when every hope was 
 fled. 
 
 4^ 4'c -JC- * 
 
 We will here conclude our extracts from 
 Leonard Normandale's diary, and proceed 
 with our narrative.
 
 THE TKKEE BROTHERS. 85 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 A LONDON BALL IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 *' Who is that beautiful girl ?" inquired 
 Lord Hasedale of Sir Mordaunt Bannington, 
 at a ball given by Ladj Fauconbridge in 
 Grosrenor-square ; " she must be a new 
 importation, for I have not remarked her 
 before to-night." 
 
 " You are not wrong," returned Sir Mor- 
 daunt; "she is a new importation, and of 
 great value in the market too, being the sole 
 child and heiress of Sir Owen Glendower, a 
 Welsh baronet of ten thousand a-jear, and 
 rather rickettj on the legs."
 
 86 LEONARD NORMAIs^DALE, OR, 
 
 " Ten thousand a year/' eclioed Lord 
 Hasedale, " with a face and figure like hers, 
 and not by any means a bad name ; by 
 Jove, she is well worth haying a throw for. 
 Do you happen to know the Glendowers ? 
 if so, be a good fellow and introduce me. 
 You are a married man, so I cannot do you 
 any harm." 
 
 " As for introducing you, I have no objec- 
 tion, although I am not very intimately 
 acquainted with them," returned Sir Mor- 
 daunt ; " I am afraid, however, that you 
 will find the place taken, or something very 
 near it." 
 
 " And who is the fortunate individual T 
 
 " Leonard Normandale, son of our 
 hostess." 
 
 " What, Danemore's }'ounger brother \ 
 Well, he is not a bad fellow, although 
 somewhat of a radical. But is he in pos- 
 session T 
 
 " If not actually accepted, he is next to 
 it. Look, for instance, at him at this
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 87 
 
 moment — he is asking her to dance ; see 
 how she colours with pleasure." 
 
 " But the old woman at her side looks 
 somewhat glum ; I suppose she is the 
 mother, and therefore not quite delighted 
 at a younger son making up to her 
 daughter." 
 
 " Perhaps so ; but the girl is all right, 
 and I understand Normandale has been 
 intimately acquainted with the family for 
 more than three years, and in Wales, too ; 
 now if his attentions had been actually 
 disagreeable to the papa and mamma, he 
 would not have been invited down to Glen- 
 dower Hall this last winter, where I under- 
 stand he passed several weeks.'' 
 
 " That was all very well in Wales, but in 
 London the case is very different. The 
 Glendowers, although a good old family, are 
 nothing in the world ; they were therefore, 
 perhaps, glad of the acquaintance of such a 
 fashionable young man as Leonard Norman- 
 dale, who might be useful on their first
 
 88 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 appearance in London ; and the proof of 
 tlieir being wise in their generation is their 
 having procured an invitation to this house, 
 into which nothing that is not premiere 
 qualite ever obtains entrance. But Weip- 
 pert is blowing a note or two on his 
 flageolet, the quadrille is about to commence, 
 and I am engaged to Ladj Emilj Darcj, 
 Normandale's cousin." 
 
 " I do not envy you, for I consider her 
 the most disagreeable girl in the three 
 kingdoms." % 
 
 " True ! but she is so very witty and sar- 
 castic, that she amuses me, and that is by 
 no means a slight affair. — Normandale, will 
 you be my vis-a-vis V 
 
 This question was made by Lord Hase- 
 dale to Leonard Normandale, who was 
 passing by with Miss Glendower on his 
 arm. Both were radiant with happiness 
 — such happiness as is felt by the young 
 only when they really love ; and truly 
 ardent was the affection borne by Leonard
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 89 
 
 for Gwendaline. He loved her for herself ; 
 he had loved her from the daj of their 
 first raeeting. And did Gwendaline love 
 him ? She imagined so, and perhaps she 
 really did. 
 
 The quadrille was over ; the happy 
 couple, instead of at once returning to Lady 
 Glendower, sauntered on until they found 
 themselves in another saloon, beyond which 
 was a boudoir, the entrance to which was 
 through a small door concealed by a cur- 
 tain. 
 
 It was into this room that Leonard con- 
 ducted his partner. 
 
 "Gwendaline,^" he murmured, as soon as 
 they were alone, at the same time encirchng 
 her waist with his arm, and placing his lips 
 gently upon hers, "this is real happiness; 
 for when I am thus alone with you I feel as 
 if you were really and truly mine, but in a 
 crowded ball-room you appear ever on the 
 point of escaping from me. When I behold 
 you surrounded by all those brilliant butter-
 
 90 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 flies, I tremble; for I cannot forget that I 
 am only a poor younger son." 
 
 " You are at jour fears again, Leonard," 
 exclaimed Gwendaline, in a tone of soft 
 reproach; " what difference can it make to 
 me whether you be a younger or an elder 
 son?" 
 
 " None at present, my own dear Gwenda- 
 line," returned Leonard; "your heart is so 
 guileless now that worldly calculations never 
 enter your head. Oh, may you ever remain 
 thus!" 
 
 " Why should I nof?" exclaimed Gwen- 
 daline. "Do you belieye me so naturally 
 prone to error, or rather so weak-minded, 
 as to allow my head to be turned by 
 a few balls and parties '? No, Leonard, 
 happen what may, I shall neyer forget 
 that we have pledged our love to each 
 other." 
 
 "Dear Gwendaline," answered the ena- 
 moured youth, again clasping the beautiful 
 girl to his bosom, "would that I were as
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 91 
 
 sure of jour parents' consent as of jour 
 love." 
 
 " Take courage, then, and follow mj ad- 
 rice. Go at once to mj father, and boldlj 
 ask him for mj hand/' 
 
 " And from that moment have the door 
 of jour house hermeticallj closed to me. 
 Listen, mj Gwendaline. Your father 
 esteems me, and, were he onlj to be con- 
 sulted, I should have httle fear ; but joiir 
 mother is, I am convinced, bent upon jour 
 marrjing some elder son of high rank, and 
 would never allow jou to become the wife 
 of a scorpion." 
 
 " What are jou sajing about scorpions, 
 Leonard?" cried a voice which made the two 
 lovers start to their feet. " Are jou giving 
 Miss Glendower a lesson on natural historj, 
 and describing the different species of rep- 
 tiles?' 
 
 The unwelcome intruder was Ladj Emilj 
 Darcj, who was leaning upon the arm of 
 Lord Hasedale. Leonard gazed upon her
 
 92 LEONARD KOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 for a moment as if she liad been of the 
 genus she had just named; but instantly 
 recoTering his coolness, he answered, — 
 
 " I was talking upon a most unworthy 
 theme, Lady Emily, — no greater a person, 
 or rather reptile, than myself; the world 
 haying given us younger sons the soubriquet 
 of scorpions/' 
 
 " A very disagreeable appellation," ob- 
 served Lord Hasedale, "and were I a 
 younger son I should dislike it exceedingly. 
 To change the subject, however," continued 
 the nobleman, on his observing Leonard's 
 eye ghsten, " would you be kind enough, 
 Lady Emily, to keep the promise you did 
 me the honour of making me just now V 
 
 " With pleasure," returned Lady Emily. 
 " Miss Glendower, allow me to present Lord 
 Hasedale, who is most anxious to have the 
 pleasure of dancing the next quadrille with 
 you." 
 
 As Gwendaline happened to be disen- 
 gaged, the offer was of course accepted. She
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 93 
 
 could not, indeed, have refused; and as the 
 orchestra in the ball-room began to play 
 the prelude to the quadrille, Lord Hasedale 
 and his unwilling partner quitted the 
 boudoir in search of a vis-a-vis. 
 
 "Emily, you are a cruel-hearted girl," 
 exclaimed Leonard, as he cast a lingering 
 glance after Gwendaline. " You know how 
 I love Miss Glendower. Why do you, 
 therefore, wilfully break in upon us, and 
 interrupt our conversation V 
 
 " Which I have no doubt was very in- 
 teresting," said Lady Emily, with a sarcastic 
 laugh. "Poor Leonard! I declare he 
 imagines that he is about to marry an 
 heiress, and set up as an elder brother." 
 
 " Why ascribe interested motives to me '?" 
 replied Leonard energetically, "when you 
 know in your heart, if you have one, that I 
 love Gwendaline Glendower for herself, and 
 not for her fortune." 
 
 " Which, notwithstanding all your rhodo- 
 montades, I am sure you regard much more
 
 94 LEOXAED XORMAXDALE, OE, 
 
 than the lady herself. Naj, do not contra- 
 dict me, for jou know I am asserting the 
 truth. You have been slvlj nursing the 
 heiress for yourself in Wales, without saying 
 a word to any one, and you think now she 
 has come to London, that you will be able 
 to lead her to St. George's Church, and be 
 joined together in holy matrimony.'^ 
 
 " And if I desire that happiness, Emily, 
 are you so spiteful and ill-natured as to 
 attempt to thwart me ? But yes, I know 
 you too well; you have from my childhood 
 upwards made me continually feel your 
 taunts and sarcasms ; you have been a ser- 
 pent in my path. But take care, — do not 
 anger me too much, or " 
 
 " Or what, Mr. Passion ! Nay, do not 
 frown and look so fierce ; you won^t frighten 
 me, I assure you." 
 
 "1 was wrong to be angry," replied 
 Leonard contemptuously ; " the woman who 
 maliciously takes every opportunity of 
 thwarting the happiness of her cousin,
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHEES. 95 
 
 even under the very roof of his parents, is 
 beneath my anger. Excuse me, therefore, 
 Lady Emily Darcy, for having, although 
 but for a moment, allowed my indignation 
 to get the better of my temper." 
 
 And with a bow of mock respect Leonard 
 left the boudoir. Having re-entered the 
 ball room, he instinctively passed near that 
 portion of the quadrille occupied by Gwen- 
 daline and Lord Hasedale. As he gazed 
 upon the countenance of the lovely girl, his 
 spirits were raised by observing that she 
 was evidently very much bored by the con- 
 versation of her partner. On her eyes, 
 however, resting upon Leonard, they glis- 
 tened with a sudden animation, and her 
 head inclined in an almost imperceptible 
 recognition. This act, slight as it was, 
 threw balm upon the troubled spirit of her 
 lover, for he felt that, although forced by the 
 forms of society to undergo the temporary 
 companionship of others, her thoughts were 
 for him alone.
 
 96 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 As Leonard passed onwards, he encoun- 
 tered his mother, accompanied by a lady of 
 haughty and dignified demeanour. On per- 
 ceiving her son Lady Fauconbridge beckoned 
 to him. 
 
 " I was looking for you, my dear boy," 
 she said, on his obeying the summons, " as 
 I want you to take Lady Dornton to the 
 supper-room. I believe you know my son?" 
 she continued, addressing her companion. 
 
 " I have that pleasure/' returned Lady 
 Dornton, in a cold, supercilious manner, for 
 it must be remarked that nothing was more 
 obnoxious to her ladyship than the sight of 
 a younger son ; for she regarded the whole 
 tribe of scorpions as merely fit to call car- 
 riages and carry messages. 
 
 Leonard, as in duty bound, offered his 
 arm to the haughty dame, and having made 
 their way through the crowd, the ill-sorted 
 couple reached the supper-room, where upon 
 several tables, magnificently ornamented 
 with plate and flowers, was laid out a ban-
 
 THE THREE BEOTHEES. 97 
 
 qiiet, such as the illustrious Gunter can 
 alone produce; a banquet which would 
 not have disgraced the hall of Diana when 
 Lucullus supped with Lucullus. : 
 
 ''Dear me/^ suddenly exclaimed Lady 
 Dornton, after having devoured the greater 
 portion of a truffled chicken, and swallowed 
 several glasses of champagne; "for gracious 
 sake tell me who is that person my daugh- 
 ter is talking to V 
 
 Leonard followed the direction of her 
 ladyship^s eyes, and perceived Lady Jana 
 Welhngham, her daughter, talking very 
 gaily, and in a most intimate manner, with 
 a very young man, whom he recognized as 
 Lord Rochmore, a nobleman of immense 
 fortune, and who had only arrived in Lon- 
 don a few days previously. He was not 
 yet of age, and was personally unknown to 
 all the husband-hunting mammas who had 
 daughters in the marriage-market. 
 
 Feeling somewhat indignant at Lady 
 Dornton's presuming to question the pro- 
 
 YOL. I. r
 
 98 LEONARD FORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 priety of her daughter's talking to any one 
 ■whom his mother had chosen to invite to 
 her house, Leonard determined to inflict a 
 slight, although ^ell-merited punishment 
 upon the supercilious Marchioness. 
 
 "Oh, that is the second son of the Rector 
 of our parish; a very nice person. Do you 
 wish me to present him to you/' 
 
 On hearing the first portion of the above 
 sentence, Lady Dornton scarcely remained 
 seated sufficient time to listen to what fol- 
 lowed, but almost rushing up to her daugh- 
 ter, she placed the young lady's arm within 
 her own, and dragged her, as it w^ere, from 
 the table. 
 
 Lord Rochmore, although evidently sur- 
 prised and perplexed at the sudden move- 
 ment of the angry mother, followed the 
 retreating couple, and addressing Lady Jane 
 Wellingham, observed : — 
 
 " Has the quadrille for which I have the 
 
 honour of being engaged to you, commenced?" 
 
 " My daughter is not going to dance any
 
 THE THREE BROTSERS. 99 
 
 more, sir," replied Ladj Dornton, as \vitli 
 a haughty bow she left the supper room. 
 
 " How dare jou think of talking to that 
 man," she continued in a yerj audible whis- 
 per, to Ladj Jane, as the j reached the door ; 
 " JOU little ungratefid thing, jou shall pay 
 dearly for your conduct." 
 
 Lord Rochmore looked astounded: he 
 was evidently at a complete loss to under- 
 stand the meaning of Lady Dornton's in- 
 solence, and turned with a piteous look to 
 Leonard for an explanation, which the latter 
 gare him as soon as he could speak; as for 
 a few moments he was conTulsed with 
 laughter. 
 
 "Capital," exclaimed the young noble- 
 man, "capital! So Lady Dornton took me 
 for a parson's younger son, and was afraid 
 of my contaminating her daughter." 
 
 " I do not wonder at it," said Norman- 
 dale," for her ladyship is one of the most 
 ardent of the "Dames de la Halle Nuptiale" 
 of London, and is most anxious to see her 
 
 F 2
 
 lOO LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 daugliters inarried. This year notliing under 
 a peer with forty thousand a-year will 
 satisfy her.'" 
 
 . " At any rate/^ observed Lord Rochmore, 
 " if she require such a price for her merchan- 
 -dise, she ought to expose goods a little more 
 saleable, for the two Ladies Wellingham are 
 -as ugly specimens of humanity as can be 
 well imagined." 
 
 ** Hush," interrupted Leonard, '* you are 
 littering treason ; never for the life of you 
 say that a lady is ugly, or else, notwith- 
 standing your being an elder son, you will 
 get a bad name. Remember that in Lon- 
 don, as in Paris, as in Vienna, as indeed 
 everywhere in the civilized world, the word 
 ugly must never be used with respect to a, 
 lady, by tongues polite." 
 
 " Always the champion of the women,^^ 
 cried a voice close to them; "I declare, 
 Normandale, it is a pity that the epoch of 
 knight errantry is passed, otherwise yon 
 would be a second Bayard."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 101 
 
 ** Meredith I you here," exclaimed Leonard 
 jojfuUj, as he shook hands with his old 
 schoolfellow ; "' I thought jou were in 
 Paris." 
 
 " So I was three days ago, but on reach 
 ing London this eyening I heard that your 
 lady mother gave a ball to-night, and as I 
 have a general inyitation to your house, I 
 came here after a hasty dinner at the 
 Travellers. Would you, by the bye, have 
 the goodness to tell me where I can find 
 Lady Fauconbridge, that I may pay my 
 respects to herl" 
 
 " Certainly,'' returned Leonard, putting 
 his arm within that of his friend. " In the 
 meantime, Rochmore, if I were you, I would 
 look after your late partner, for I do not 
 think the mamma will look so ferociously on 
 you now, as her ladyship will have learned 
 before this, your real name, rank, fortune, 
 and all the other concomitants so highly 
 prized by the marriage market-women of 
 London.'"
 
 102 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 " What is it I hear, Normandale, concern- 
 ing jou and Miss Glendower" inquired 
 Meredith, as he and his friend ascended the 
 staircase ; " I trust the report is true on this 
 occasion, and that jour marriage with our 
 Welsh heiress is fixed/' 
 
 "I wish it were, Meredith," returned 
 Normandale, " for I loYe Gwendaline with 
 all the loYe of an unblase heart of twentj- 
 two. Would that she were no heiress, for 
 then I might hope, but as it is I tremble/' 
 
 **'To use an old, worn out adage,'' ob- 
 served Sir Henrj, "Remember that faint 
 heart never won fair dame. Why do jou 
 not at once boldly propose '?" 
 
 " I have already done so." 
 
 " And been refused 1" 
 
 "No, thank Heaven, I have not been 
 quite so unfortunate as that. Gwendaline 
 has accepted me, but her consent is not 
 sufficient; there is yet that of Sir Owen and 
 Lady Glendower to be obtained." 
 
 " You mean Lady Glendower's," re-
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 103 
 
 marked Meredith, " for Sir Owen, although 
 a most excellent man and worthy magis- 
 trate, does not weigh much in the family 
 scale." 
 
 "You are right," answered Leonard; 
 "Sir Owen counts for nobody in his own 
 family, excepting with his daughter, or 
 I should haye little to fear. But Lady 
 Glendower is on the contrary all and 
 eyerything in her own house, and I 
 am afraid, nay, I am certain, that she 
 is desirous of obtaining some rich peer, 
 or his eldest son, for her daughter's hus- 
 band." 
 
 "That is to say, that were you Lord 
 Danemore, instead of being Leonard Nor- 
 mandale, you would haye no fear of not 
 succeeding." 
 
 "Exactly so; but as I am only plain 
 Leonard Normandale, a poor scorpion, I 
 feel certain that Lady Glendower will never 
 consent to my union with Gwendaline, and 
 that is the reason why I delay my proposal
 
 104 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 to her parents from daj to day, and from 
 week to week/' 
 
 " In mj opinion," said Meredith, " if I 
 were you, I would not remain any longer in 
 suspense, but learn the worst or the best at 
 once. If you have no objection, I will call 
 upon Sir Owen to-morrow, and broach the 
 subject to him and Lady Glendower ; leave 
 your cause in my hands, and I will plead 
 for you to the best of my abilities/' 
 
 "You are a true friend, Meredith," ex- 
 claimed Normandale, pressing Sir Henry's 
 hand warmly; "may you be successful. 
 Still I am afraid, that notwithstanding 
 your being a great favourite with Lady 
 Glendower, that you will never persuade 
 her to accept of a scorpion for her son-in- 
 law/' 
 
 "At any rate, I will do my best," re- 
 turned Sir Henry. " Dine with me to- 
 morrow evening at the Clarendon, and I will 
 report to you the issue of my mission over 
 some of the excellent Johannisberg of that
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 105* 
 
 establishment ; but I perceive Ladj Faucon-' 
 bridge at the further end of the room. A 
 demain, therefore. Remember the Clarendon 
 to-morrow at 7 o'clock." 
 
 " In the meantime," said Leonard, as the 
 two friends separated, " I will inform Gwcn- 
 daline of our intention." 
 
 The ball was now at its height. Xo one 
 gave better parties than the Countess of 
 Fauconbridge ; and in many instances, as 
 much diplomacy and intrigue took place in 
 order to procure an invitation to them, as 
 would have sufficed half the ambassadors in 
 Em'ope to accomplish some knotty point in 
 the politics of nations ; indeed, to be invited 
 to Xormandale House was to receive the 
 accolade of fashion, and assured the for- 
 tunate guest an easy entrance to all the 
 other ball and xDarty-giving houses in 
 London. 
 
 The splendid suite of apartments, although 
 not crowded to suffocation, — for Ladv Fau- 
 conbridge never overfilled her rooms, — would 
 
 f3
 
 106 LEONARD KORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 have presented a most gay and animated 
 scene to a spectator who merely gazed upon 
 the surface of what met his vision ; but if 
 Asmodeus-like he had been enabled to pene- 
 trate the thoughts of the assembled guests, 
 he would have discovered beneath the dis- 
 guise of smiling faces, many a sad heart 
 wearied by ennui, and blase to every plea- 
 sure. 
 
 Take, for instance, that laughing girl. 
 She is in reality ready to burst into tears, 
 for she is rendered wretched at perceiving 
 that the wealthy partner who had promised 
 to meet her mother and herself at the ball, 
 has not made his appearance. What renders 
 the circumstance more annoying to them, is 
 the fact of the absent man being expected 
 to propose that night. 
 
 Look at that handsome youth ; he is 
 talking gaily to several of his friends, 
 although at the same moment he is almost 
 ready to blow out his brains from vexation, 
 as the prettiest girl in the room (in his esti-
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 107 
 
 mation), and to whom he is really attached, 
 has just snubLed him at the very moment 
 he believed that he was making a favourable 
 impression upon her heart. 
 
 Listen to the conversation of those old, 
 farded, rouged dowagers, huddled up in a 
 corner, tearing to pieces the reputations of 
 their best friends, and finding fault with the 
 appearance of every young girl in the room. 
 Their hearts are full of envy, hatred, malice, 
 and all uncharitableness ; they detest all 
 that is beautiful and gay ; and yet most of 
 those very backbiters and slanderers are 
 looked upon as models of religion and piety 
 in their respective counties. They never 
 miss taking the sacrament on a Communion 
 Sunday ; they are regular church-goers ; 
 they give to the poor an immense deal of 
 — advice, and are continually railing at the 
 ingratitude and viciousness of the lower 
 orders. 
 
 Observe that insipid young man ; he 
 sputters and stammers whenever he speaks.
 
 1-08 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 and has a natui^al repugnance to tlie pro- 
 nunciation of the letter R. Not a Tvord he 
 utters possesses a grain of common sense, 
 and yet he is surrounded bj an applauding 
 and admiring crowd ; but how could it be 
 otherwise 1 He is the Duke of Hampshire, 
 and has a hundred and twenty thousand 
 a-year. He has by the bye two younger 
 brothers, to whom he generously allows, 
 two hundred pounds a-year, and is very 
 indignant at their not being able tO: 
 live upon that sum. It is reported that 
 one of them is about to marry an actress 
 of reputation, in order that her salary 
 may procure him the means of living like 
 a gentleman. 
 
 Surely that couple dancing near us are. 
 engaged in a most interesting conversation. 
 Asmodeus, let us draw near and listen. Look, 
 how they both smile; how the lady seems to; 
 hang upon every single word uttered by the> 
 gentleman. What can they be talking 
 ajbout 1
 
 THE THKEE BKOTHEES. 10^ 
 
 " Very fine — eh V says the gentleman. 
 *' Fine but cloudy," responds the lady. 
 " Not too hot." 
 *'0h, no; but rather close." 
 " I hope it will be fine to-morrow." 
 ."Sodol." 
 " Were you at the Opera yesterday X' 
 " Yes." 
 
 " How well Rubini sang !" 
 
 " Oh, yes ! how delightful !" 
 
 " And Grisi too." 
 
 " And Tamburmi ." 
 
 " And Lablache." 
 
 " How droll he is 1" 
 
 " Yes, he makes one laugh — eh T 
 
 *' Oh, yes ! Do you speak Itahan V 
 
 "Perfectly! — I passed last winter at 
 
 Rome." 
 
 " Oh, how fortunate you are to have seen 
 
 Rome 1" 
 
 " A charming place ! — Very fine pictures 
 
 and statues." ■.. ,1 
 
 "How I long to yisit it ! I will try and.
 
 110' LEONARD XOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 make mamma persuade papa to go there 
 this winter." 
 
 "An excellent idea! — Mind the car- 
 dinals do not make a Roman Catholic of 
 
 you." 
 
 " Why not ? — papa voted for the Ca- 
 tholics." 
 
 " Did he, indeed !" 
 
 "Yes, he did." 
 
 « Oh ! — Are you going to the Duke of 
 Devonshire's on Tuesday V 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " It will be beautiful." 
 
 « Sol hear." 
 
 — And so on until the end of the qua- 
 drille. 
 
 But who are those two grave, elderly 
 gentlemen, talking so earnestly together 1 — 
 One is a member of the Cabinet, the other a 
 peer of great parliamentary influence. The 
 minister has just concluded a transaction; 
 he is to appoint one of the nobleman's 
 younger sons to the Governorship of a
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. Ill 
 
 colony; and the father is, in return, to give 
 all his influence to the Cabinet on a forth- 
 coming measure. Be it remarked, en pas- 
 sant, that the Governor in embryo is an 
 imbecile cretin ; but what of that 1 — Is it 
 necessary for a colonial governor to possess 
 any capacity for his situation, or indeed 
 know anything about the colonies 1 How- 
 ever that may be, out will the Honourable 
 Thickhead Cretin go; and upon his manage- 
 ment will many thousand famihes have to 
 depend for their livelihood, and perhaps 
 their lives. 
 
 But, Asmodeus, we are boring our readers; 
 they have, in all probability, frequently been 
 at a London ball, and have had many oppor- 
 tunities of seeing, hearing, and judging for 
 themselves. We will therefore make our 
 farewell to our noble hostess ; and, calling 
 for our carriage (that is, we would call for 
 it, did we possess one), leave the dancers, 
 talkers, slanderers, backbiters, love-makers, 
 flirts, coquettes, and the old women, to amuse
 
 112 LEOl^ARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 tkemselves until the rising sun drives tliem 
 to their beds. 
 
 ■ Leonard had seen Gwendaline, and in- 
 formed her in a low tone of voice — for Lady 
 Glendower was close at liand — of the step 
 he was about to take. A gentle pressure of 
 thel^hand was the answer, which made his 
 heart thrill and his pulse beat with a sensa- 
 tion of mingled joy and fear. 
 
 " Oh, Gwendaline !" he murmured, " if I 
 lose thee, I shall be indeed accursed.'' 
 
 " Hope for the best, mj own dear Leo- 
 nard," was the reply, made in a like murmur; 
 "happen what may, I am yours for ever." 
 
 " Very pretty speeches, indeed ; very 
 pretty. This charming billing and cooing 
 must, however, be put a stop to, and speedily 
 too ; or," by Jove, that fellow will carry off 
 the heiress before our very faces.'' 
 
 . The utterer, or rather thinker of this sen- 
 tence, was Lord Hasedale, who had been 
 standing concealed by a curtain, behind the 
 sofa, close to the lovers, and whose quick
 
 THE THEEE BROTKERS. IIS 
 
 ear had OYerheard the whole of their conver- 
 sation. 
 
 Emerging from his hiding-place, the noble- 
 man proceeded to seat himself bj the side 
 of Ladj Glendower.
 
 114 LEONAED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A GALLOP TO GKETNA GKEEN. 
 
 About a month after the events related 
 in the preceding chapter, a traveUing-car- 
 riage might have been seen about six o'clock 
 in the morning tearing at the full speed of 
 four post-horses along the road leading to- 
 wards the Scottish border. It contained 
 two persons with whom our readers are 
 already acquainted, Leonard Normandale 
 and Gwendaline Glendower. Thej had 
 evidentlj from their appearance been travel- 
 ling all night without partaking of a 
 moment's rest. The countenance of Gwen-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 115 
 
 daline bore an expression of great agitation, 
 as if she half repented of the step she was 
 taking ; while that of Leonard was radiant 
 with happiness and triumph. 
 
 " Gwendaline !" he exclaimed, as the car- 
 riage darted past a milestone on which was 
 engraved the words " Carlisle, four miles," 
 " Gwendaline, in one short hour you will be 
 mine, irrevocablj mine, in spite of all the- 
 impediments that have risen up against our 
 union." 
 
 " May Heayen grant that all turn out as 
 you expect, my own dear Leonard," returned 
 Gwendaline ; " for my part, however, I can- 
 not repress an involuntary foreboding of 
 evil." 
 
 " Away with such gloomy ideas, Gwenda- 
 line," cried Leonard, " we must have had at 
 least eight hours' start of our pursuers, if 
 indeed we are pursued ; for we left London 
 at two o'clock yesterday morning, and by 
 the kindness of our noble-hearted friend, 
 Meredith, have found relays ready at every
 
 116 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 stage, and have proceeded hitherto on our 
 journey without the slightest delay or hin- 
 drance. Do not therefore allow yourself to 
 be cast down by any evil forebodings, but 
 hope for the best/'' 
 
 : "I cannot help it, Leonard," said Gwen- 
 daline earnestly, " but something in my heart 
 of hearts seems like^a warning to me that 
 sdl will not end well. Besides, I cannot 
 conceal from myself the rashness of the step 
 I have taken in abandoning my father's 
 house and flying in the face of his com- 
 mands/' 
 
 " Our union was not forbidden by your 
 father," said Normandale, affectionately kiss- 
 ing his companion ; " he would on the con- 
 trary have accorded me your hand, had not 
 your mother, notwithstanding the earnest 
 soHcitations of both Meredith and myself, 
 compelled Sir Owen to shut his door upon 
 me and forbid me his house. You are not 
 therefore in reality disobeying your father, 
 for he both loves and esteems me, and would
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 117 
 
 have accepted me as liis son-in-law, had lie 
 been suffered to follow his own inclina- 
 tions." 
 
 "You have an answer to everything," 
 replied Gwendaline, fondly reclining her 
 head upon her lover's breast. " My own 
 dear, good Leonard, Heaven is witness that 
 it is on your account more than my own 
 that I tremble." 
 
 "Dearest Gwendaline, you are an angel." 
 
 And kiss followed upon kiss, and fond, 
 half-broken words issued from the lips of 
 the young, beauteous, ardent couple— words 
 such as are spoken by lovers at an age when 
 the heart is still unvitiated by the contami- 
 nating influence of the world. 
 
 On galloped the horses ; the whirling 
 wheels almost kindled at the speed. On 
 they went, the panting steeds urged to their 
 utmost by both whip and spur, until at 
 length the carriage drove up to the inn at 
 Carlisle, from whence issued Meredith. 
 
 " Let the horses be brought out instantly,"
 
 118 LEONARD NOllMANDALE, OR, 
 
 he exclaimed, " you must indeed haye made 
 the best of your way, Leonard, for I hardly 
 expected you for an hour to come. I trust, 
 Miss Glendower, that you are not fatigued 
 by the rapidity of your journey ; you 
 have but half an hour more to reach the 
 border/' 
 
 Leonard gratefully clasped his friend's 
 hand ; " Meredith,'' he exclaimed, " how can 
 I ever be sufficiently grateful for all your 
 kindness 1" 
 
 •' By making a good husband to my pretty 
 countrywoman. But the horses are to, and 
 we must lose no time. I will leap upon the 
 box and urge on the postboys." 
 
 And suiting the action to the word, he 
 took his place by the side of Leonard's ser- 
 vant, and the carriage again drove off. 
 
 On they went ; the horses were urged to 
 their utmost speed ; and in less than ten 
 minutes more the travellers would have 
 safely arrived at their journey's end, when, 
 just as they were passing the second mile-
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHEES. 119 
 
 stone from Gretna Green, the liindwheel of 
 the carriage was whirled off and the rehicle 
 violently upset. 
 
 Although much bruised bj the fall, Mere- 
 dith leaped to his feet immediately, and 
 opened the carriage-door, in order to assist 
 his friends to extricate themselves from their 
 perilous position. 
 
 Leonard, although unhurt himself, was 
 rendered almost distracted by finding that 
 Gwendaline had become senseless from the 
 concussion. For several minutes her lover 
 imagined that life had flown ; but at length 
 some water having been procured and 
 thrown over her face, she gradually revived. 
 The shock, however, that she had sustained, 
 had been too violent to permit of her per- 
 forming the remainder of the journey, short 
 as it was, on foot ; Meredith in consequence 
 mounted one of the post-horses, and galloped 
 off to Gretna Green in order to procure a 
 chaise. 
 
 "There is an evil fate impending,'' ex-
 
 120 LEONAED NOEMAXDALE, OE, 
 
 claimed Gwendaline, as she lay supported 
 in her loYer's arms; "for had not this 
 accident occurred we should ere this have 
 been united. It Tvould seem as if Heaven 
 were against us/^ 
 
 " Do not be cast down, mj own dearest/^ 
 said Leonard; "had Heaven been against 
 us, the effects of our accident, bad as it is, 
 would have been still more deplorable. 
 Thank God jou are saved.'' 
 
 " Leonard ! jou will perhaps regard me 
 as a superstitious silly girl, but I cannot 
 help calling to mind the words that old 
 mad woman uttered, on the day we first 
 met : they have made a great impression 
 on my mind. I fancy I hear them still ; 
 did she not warn you, pointing to me, 
 and cry, ' Beware of that lily and rose 
 face yonder, if you would escape some 
 portion of your misery.' Leonard, I cannot 
 help regarding myself as your evil genius.'' 
 
 " You my evil genius, Gwendaline T'^ 
 cried Normandale in an enerojetic tone ;
 
 THE THREE BEOTHEES. 121 
 
 no ! for you are the bright planet which 
 shines upon my path, the sun that warms 
 and lightens up my life. My evil genius ! 
 never !"' 
 
 " Forgive me, Leonard," exclaimed the 
 trembling maiden, bursting into an hvsterioal 
 fit of crying, " forgive ine, but my spirits 
 are thoroughly depressed, and I feel that all 
 will not end well." 
 
 As she uttered these words, the adtated 
 girl laid her head upon her lover's shoulder 
 and sobbed aloud. 
 
 It was evident that the shock she had 
 sustained had quite unnerved her, for the 
 fit of weeping was of long continuance, and 
 in spite of the endearing and soothing ex- 
 pressions of her lover, she was scarcely 
 recovered when Meredith returned in a post- 
 chaise and four. 
 
 "Lose not a moment," he cried, "'but 
 jump in with me. Post-boys, the two miles 
 in seven minutes, and you shall have a 
 guinea a-piece." 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 LEONARD NOEMAlsTDALE, OR, 
 
 " All will be ready wlien we arrive," he 
 continued, as the chaise rattled on towards 
 the border ; " within five minutes after our 
 reaching Gretna Green, jou will be man and 
 wife." 
 
 " Gwendaline," said the enraptured Nor- 
 mandale, as the chaise drove up to the door 
 of the inn, "never try jour hand at pro- 
 phecjing again, for see how jour sad fore- 
 bodings have to pass." 
 
 Five minutes after thej had reached the 
 Scottish border, Leonard Normandale and 
 Gwendaline Glendower were standing side 
 bj side in front of the worth j gentleman, 
 who combined in his own person the pro- 
 fessions of blacksmith, innkeeper, and Priest 
 of Hjmen, the last bj no means the least, 
 lucrative of the three. 
 
 Meredith, the innkeeper's wife, and a 
 waiter, were the witnesses. 
 
 "Leonard Normandale," inquired the 
 fimctionarj, " wilt thou have this woman for 
 thj wedded wife 1"
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 123 
 
 " I ^vill," replied Leonard firmlj. 
 
 "Gweudaliue Glendower, wilt thou have 
 this man for thj wedded husband V' said 
 the blacksmith. 
 
 " Xever I" exclaimed a Toice from with- 
 out, as the door of the room was violently 
 burst open, and Lord Hasedale and Sir 
 Owen Glendower stood before the astounded 
 couple. 
 
 To account for the sudden appearance of 
 the two new-comers, the reader must be in- 
 formed, that Lord Hasedale had, bj bribing 
 Gwendaline's attendant, procured a know- 
 ledge of the intended elopement, which had 
 indeed become the only means bj which 
 Leonard could obtain the hand of Miss 
 Glendower, in consequence of her mother 
 having caused Sir Owen to forbid her lover 
 the house, immediately after the proposal 
 made by Meredith in favour of his friend. 
 
 The Baronet himself, be it observed, was 
 perfectly willing, indeed desirous of accept- 
 ing Normandale as his son-in-law, but Lady 
 
 g2
 
 124 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 Glendower would not for an instant listen 
 to the idea. Her natural prejudice against 
 younger sons had been heightened by 
 observing the marked attentions paid to her 
 daughter at Lady Fauconbridge's ball by 
 Lord Hasedale, and she did not hesitate for 
 a single moment to sacrifice Gwendaline's 
 happiness to her own ambition. What 
 English or rather British mother would have 
 acted otherwise ? 
 
 Rendered desperate by the refusal, which 
 was the death to all his hopes, Leonard had 
 with much difficulty persuaded Miss Glen- 
 dower to elope with him, and advantage was 
 taken of Sir Owen's temporary absence at 
 Manchester to arrange their flight. Mere- 
 dith, full of ardour to assist his friend, had 
 travelled down to Carlisle, ordering relays 
 at every stage for the day on which the 
 lovers were to take flight from London, and 
 as it will have been perceived, awaited their 
 arrival. 
 
 All these arrangements had, however,
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 125 
 
 been made in vain, for Lord Hasedale \vas 
 informed of the exact hour at wliich the 
 fugitives were to start. 
 
 Haring posted to Manchester, he pro- 
 ceeded at once to Sir Owen's hotel, and made 
 him acquainted with the proposed flight of 
 his daughter, he then accompanied the baro- 
 net to Gretna Green, where they arriyed just 
 in time to prevent the marriage taking place. 
 
 It must be remarked that Lord Hasedale 
 preferred acting as he had done, instead of 
 preventing the intended elopement by in- 
 forming Lady Glendower of what had come 
 to his knowledge, in order tliat Leonard 
 might be irretrievably compromised. 
 
 As for the scandal the affair mio^ht occa- 
 
 o 
 
 sion, he was perfectly indifferent on that 
 point. He was, indeed, rather desirous 
 than otherwise of making the elopement as 
 public as possible, in order to keep off all 
 other competitors for Gwendaline's hand, 
 and thus make his own union with the 
 wealthy Welsh heii'ess more certain and
 
 126 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 easy; for Lord Hasedale^s fortune was 
 greatly dilapidated by play and other ex- 
 trayagancies, and he was anxious to make 
 the Glendower property assist in paying off 
 the many incumbrances on his estate. 
 
 It was in consequence of the line of con- 
 duct pursued by Lord Hasedale that the 
 marriage ceremony was so unexpectedly 
 interrupted by the entrance of the two new- 
 comers. 
 
 The nobleman's treacherous and un- 
 manly conduct was, however, nearly proving 
 of no avail, for his informant had mis- 
 taken the actual time fixed for the elope- 
 ment by several hours, and in consequence 
 of her error, the pursuers would, in all 
 probability, have arrived at Gretna Green 
 too late to stop the union of the two fugi- 
 tives, but for the half-hour lost by the 
 accident that had occurred to their car- 
 riage, when so nearly arrived at the place 
 of its destination. 
 
 '•' Shame on you, Gwendaline," cried Sir
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 127 
 
 Owen, taking his daughter hj the arm, 
 "shame on joii, for leaving jour father's 
 house and fljing in the face of his com- 
 mands." 
 
 " Sir Owen/' said the heart-broken Nor- 
 mandale, " if any one be to blame in this 
 instance, it is myself, for having persuaded 
 Miss Glendower to take the step she has 
 done. My excuse, however, is that I love 
 her, and that my love is retui'ned. It was 
 Lady Glendower only who sought to tear 
 lis asunder ; for you, Sir Owen, in your 
 heart were not opposed to our union. We 
 fled therefore hither, in order to take advan- 
 tage of the marriage law of the country.'' 
 
 " I did not address myself to you, sir," 
 retm-ned Sir Owen, "and do not require 
 any answer. Thanks to Lord Hasedale, 
 your iniquitous pi*oject has miscarried, and 
 ve arrived in time to save my daughter 
 from sacrificing herself to a villain." 
 
 " You are the father of her I love," said 
 Leonard, "and can, therefore, utter what
 
 128 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 you choose with impunity; at the same 
 time I accord that permission to you alone, 
 Sir Owen," he added, looking fiercely at 
 Lord Hasedale. 
 
 "Is your inuendo intended for me, sir?" 
 exclaimed that nobleman ; " if so, I treat it 
 with the contempt it merits." 
 
 For a single moment, Normandale gazed 
 sternly upon the last speaker — so sternly, 
 that all present imagined that he was about 
 to strike Lord Hasedale to the ground, when 
 Gwendaline, extricating herself from her 
 father's arms, rushed towards her lover, and 
 throwing her arms round his neck, entreated 
 him to be calm. 
 
 " You know I love you, Leonard," she 
 exclaimed, "let that assurance suffice you, 
 but do not demean yourself by chastising 
 one who is beneath your notice. I know 
 now in what manner our plans have been 
 thwarted. Lord Hasedale has acted the 
 spy, and bribed my maid, in the hope of 
 obtaining my hand, or rather my wealth.
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 129 
 
 for himself. He is mistaken, however; for 
 I solemnly yow that I ^YOlIld sooner die 
 than become his wife. My dearest father," 
 she continued, turning to Sir Owen, "jou 
 haye often assured me that you both loved 
 and esteemed Leonard, — what prevents 
 you, therefore, from giving your consent 
 to our union, and joining our hands at 
 once V 
 
 As she spoke, Sir Owen gazed upon his 
 daughter with benignity, and it was evident 
 that her appeal had touched his heart ; be- 
 fore, however, he could speak. Lord Hase- 
 dale had whispered a few hasty words in 
 his ear, which evidently had an immediate 
 effect ; for taking his daughter by the 
 arm, he proceeded to lead her from the 
 room. 
 
 The words Lord Hasedale had uttered, 
 and which had so completely banished all 
 the gentler feelings from Sir Owen^s breast, 
 were but five in number, but their eloquence, 
 however, went to his heart. 
 
 g3
 
 130 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 " What will Lady Glendover ssljV 
 
 Poor Sir Owen! He was, as Leonard 
 had observed, an excellent man and a 
 worthy magistrate, but he weighed nothing 
 (figuratively speaking) in the family balance, 
 and was afraid of his wife. 
 
 " If you refuse to follow me, Gwendaline," 
 he observed, as his daughter seemed dis- 
 posed to rebel against his authority, " I wiU 
 call in the officers of the law, and have you 
 dragged by force to my carriage." 
 
 Gwendaline turned an appealing look at 
 lier lover, and disengaging herself from her 
 father's grasp, threw herself into Leonard's 
 arms. 
 
 '' I will not leave him," she cried. 
 
 " We shall soon settle that matter," ob- 
 served Sir Owen, with as much calmness as 
 he could command. " Might I request you, 
 Lord Hasedale, to call in a constable." 
 
 "Stay, my Lord," exclaimed Leonard, 
 as the nobleman was about to quit the room 
 for the purpose of executing Sir Owen's
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 131 
 
 request. "Rather than allow such an 
 indignity to be put upon Miss Glendower I 
 would lose mj life. Gwendaline," he con- 
 tinued in a soft Toice, which contrasted 
 strangely with the imperious tone he had 
 used in addressing Lord Hasedale, '' accom- 
 pany your father, who I trust will soon 
 acknowledge the injustice and cruelty of his 
 present conduct." 
 
 With these words he pressed the agitated 
 girl to his breast with one last embrace ; 
 then bowing with dignity to Sir Owen, he 
 left the apartment, accompanied by Mere- 
 dith, who had remained a silent but ob- 
 seryant spectator of the exciting scene. 
 
 "Meredith," exclaimed the wretched 
 young man, as soon as they had entered the 
 coffee-room, "you are of course aware of 
 what ought and must be done. We cannot 
 suffer Lord Hasedale to return with Sir 
 Owen and Gwendaline in the carriage which 
 is waiting for them before the door. He 
 must and shall give me immediate satisfac-
 
 132 LEO^'ARD ^'OPt^rA^'DALE, OR, 
 
 lion for the manner in which he has be- 
 haved/^ 
 
 " Trust to me, Normandale," said Mere- 
 dith, *• and remain quietly here imtil I re- 
 tm-n ; for I Tvill take care that Lord Hase- 
 dale shall not accompany Sir Owen. That 
 is, unless he be a coward." 
 
 In the meanwhile Sir Owen had conducted 
 his weeping child to his carriage, which had 
 remained at the door, and had called to 
 Lord Hasedale to follow, when, just as the 
 latter was placing his foot upon the steps, a 
 hand was laid upon his shoulder. 
 
 Turning round he perceiyed Sir Henry 
 Meredith. 
 
 '•'Lord Hasedale," obserred the latter, 
 " allow me to say a few words to you in 
 private. Your Lordship cannot accompany 
 Sir Owen," he exclaimed, as soon as they 
 were both out of earshot. 
 
 " VThj not, sir?" was the haughty answer 
 of the nobleman. •'•' Pray who is to prevent 
 me?"
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 133 
 
 " You hare grossly insulted Leonard 
 Normandale, and must give him immediate 
 satisfaction/'' 
 
 " I am ready to give Mr. Normandale 
 everv possible satisfaction lie chooses to 
 demand. You are acquainted with my 
 address, Sir Henry. I shall make a point 
 of there holding myself at your friend's 
 serrice as soon as I retm'n to London.* 
 '*' Pardon me, my Lord, that will not do.'' 
 " ^hat do you mean. Sir Henry?" 
 '• I mean that you must give Xormandale 
 immediate satisfaction; for. not content 
 with acting the spy. in order to forward 
 your own selfish views, you hare used the 
 grossest language towards him, when you 
 knew you could do so with temporary im- 
 punity. Pardon me, my Lord, for making 
 the observation, that the person capable of 
 such conduct is not incapable of secretly 
 informing the police of his having received 
 a hostile message, and have his adversary 
 bound over to keep the peace.''
 
 134 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 Lord Hasedale turned pale "with rage. 
 He was by no raeans wanting in personal 
 courage, and although he had acted meanly 
 with respect to the eloperaent, he was per- 
 fectly ready to meet Leonard, but at another 
 time and place. He was desirous of accom- 
 panying Sir Owen and Miss Glendower in 
 their journey to Wales, for it was thither 
 the baronet was about to proceed. Mere- 
 dith's taunt, however, was too severe to 
 allow of Lord Hasedale's putting his in- 
 tended plan into execution. He made, 
 nevertheless, one last effort to put off the 
 meetiug. 
 
 " I am acquainted with no one here- 
 abouts,'' he observed, " and I cannot meet 
 Mr. Normandale without a friend. It would 
 be quite out of the question to apply to 
 Sir Owen. I will give you, however, my 
 word of honour to be at any place this 
 day week, at any houi' you may please to 
 name." 
 
 "Your want of a friend can easily be
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. ' 135 
 
 supplied," returned Meredith, " for Sir Mor- 
 daunt Bannington is at tliis rerj moment at 
 Carlisle on his way to the Highlands. You 
 can send a messenger to his hotel to request 
 his immediate presence here. In less than 
 two hours he will have arrived at Gretna. 
 
 " I will in that case comply with your 
 request," said Lord Hasedale coldly, but in 
 a tone which proved the extent of his vexa- 
 tion ; " in the meanwhile allow me to say a 
 few words to Sir Owen." 
 
 A sudden thought had crossed the noble- 
 man's mind. He remembered that nothing 
 could be easier than to request Sir Owen to 
 proceed to Carlisle and wait for him at the 
 inn. Having arranged this matter with 
 the baronet, the latter gave orders to the 
 postboys to drive off. 
 
 A couple of houi's after the above events 
 Leonard Normandale and Lord Hasedale 
 met in a retired glen in the neighbourhood 
 of Gretna Green. x\t the first shot neither 
 of the opponents fell or gave any signs of
 
 136 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 being wounded ; but on Sir JNIordaunt Ban- 
 nington inquiring whether Leonard was 
 satisfied, the latter insisted on a second 
 exchange of shots. The signal was again 
 given, and Lord Hasedale fell. On raising 
 the wounded nobleman, it was declared by 
 a sui'geon, whose seryices had been secured 
 for the occasion, that the wound was not 
 mortal, the ball having merely shattered the 
 right shoulder. 
 
 " You had nearly done for him," said 
 Meredith, approaching Normandale, who 
 had not quitted the spot from which he had 
 fired, but had remained sternly gazing upon 
 his fallen opponent ; " he will, however, be 
 let ofi* with a confinement of several weeks. 
 But what is the matter with you, Norman- 
 dale," he continued, as he perceived that the 
 face of his friend was ashy pale ; " good 
 God ! are you hurt V 
 
 In answer to this question, Leonard tore 
 open his coat, which was buttoned up to his 
 chin, baring by the act his breast, which was
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 137 
 
 covered with blood. He had received a ball 
 in his chest. 
 
 "I was wounded at the first fire," he 
 exclaimed in a feeble voice, as he sunk 
 fainting to the ground.
 
 138 LEONARD NORM AXD ALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER yil. 
 
 THE DEATH-BED OE AN ENGLISH NOBLEMAN. 
 
 On a beautiful evening at tlie latter end 
 of the montli of June, a season of the year 
 "which reconciles even natives of the sunnj 
 south to the climate of England, when it 
 does not rain, two young men sat leaning 
 against the muUions of one of the windows 
 of a magnificent castle situated in the North 
 Riding of Yorkshire, looking out upon the 
 setting sun, and through which the reflection 
 of the gilded sky cast a bright, joyous light. 
 
 Two handsomer specimens of the human
 
 THE THEEE BKOTHERS. 139 
 
 form were seldom, if ever, gazed upon. No- 
 bility was stamped upon them, nobilitj that 
 could claim at least a thousand years of un- 
 stained descent. Their faces, such as one 
 could fancy belonging to the angels Michael 
 and Raphael* Among the aristocracy of 
 England only, is such manly beauty to be 
 met with as might be remarked in their 
 features. 
 
 The elder was Leonard Normandale, over 
 "whose head nearly seven summers had passed 
 since we left him lying apparently lifeless on 
 the Scottish border, with a pistol-shot in his 
 breast. Although his extraordinary beauty 
 had not diminished during that period, his 
 countenance was shadowed, as it w^ere, with 
 a permanent cloud of sadness. The once 
 joyous smile, which formerly never scarcely 
 left it for a moment's duration, no longer 
 lighted it up. His heart, indeed, shone upon 
 his face, but it was evidently blighted with 
 early grief His brow, also, appeared to 
 have been seared by some deep-felt agony.
 
 140 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 His dark, black eye, however, had losfc 
 none of its former fire, but flashed bright 
 as that of an eagle, when its gaze meets the 
 sun. 
 
 The younger was Allen Normandale, 
 whose resemblance to his brother was 
 most striking ; indeed, a stranger might 
 have momentarily mistaken the one for 
 the other when seen apart. He was, how- 
 ever, what Leonard had been. No care 
 had settled upon his brow, no misfortune 
 had lain heavy upon his soul ; for his course 
 through life had hitherto been prosperous 
 and unruffled. He had been educated at 
 Woolwich, and having obtained a commis- 
 sion in the Artillery, had served with honour 
 in China; and for his courageous conduct in 
 that country, had been promoted to the rank 
 of major, and made a O.B. 
 
 The two brothers were evidently con- 
 versing upon a subject which touched them 
 deeply, and which cast a momentary gloom 
 on even the naturally joyous countenance of
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 141 
 
 Allen; indeed, traces of tears might have 
 been remarked upon his cheeks. 
 
 " Mj poor, good, dear father,'' he observed, 
 "we are going to lose him for ever : the 
 Doctor says there is no hope/' 
 
 " Alas ! mj dear Allen," returned Leo- 
 nard, "he will never see another sun-rise. 
 Oh, that I could take his place, and save his 
 life bj the sacrifice of mj own \" 
 
 " Do jou think that every chance of his 
 recovery is fled V observed Allen. " After 
 all. Dr. Dusriff may be mistaken." 
 
 " Doctor DusrifF has known my father 
 from his childhood," said his brother, " and 
 is thoroughly acquainted with his constitu- 
 tion. Besides, he would not be so positive, 
 did the very slightest hope remain. To- 
 morrow we shall be fatherless. !May the 
 Lord have mercy upon the departing spirit ! 
 But of that I have little fear, for the life of 
 my father has been that of an honourable 
 man and a good Christian." 
 
 " Rightly remarked," said a person who
 
 142 LEONAED XOEMAXDALE, OR, 
 
 entered tlie room at that moment. " Lord 
 Fauconbridge's course through Kfe might be 
 held forth as a pattern to the world. He 
 can appear Tvithout trembling before his 
 Maker, trusting in the expiation of our 
 Blessed Saviour for all true beheyers.*' 
 
 The newcomer was a grave, almost stern- 
 looking man, and bj his dress and manner 
 was evidently a clergyman. Still, notwith- 
 standing the pious observations made by 
 him, there was a peculiar puritanical twang 
 in his voice, which would have caused an 
 acute observer to hesitate before he pro- 
 nounced the speaker exempt from hy- 
 pocrisy. 
 
 The Reverend Warrington Orowther — for 
 it was he — had been inducted to the rectory 
 of Normandale about two years previous 
 to the events related in this chapter; it 
 was the fourth benefice he had consecutively 
 occupied within four years. The first one, 
 of 400/. a-year, he quitted about fourteen 
 months after his induction, for the second,
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 143 
 
 Talued at 1100/. a-year; which in turn he 
 left for the third, of the yearly value of 
 1700/., eighteen months afterwards; and 
 in little more than a year, a fourth living 
 of 2500/. a-year happening to fall vacant in 
 the gift of his uncle, a bishop, it had been 
 immediately bestowed upon him. 
 
 Of course the difference in the value of 
 the livings had not the least weight with the 
 worthy bishop and his nephew; of course the 
 prelate and the priest acted as they did, not 
 for worldly lucre, but for the good of Chris- 
 tianity in general, and the parishioners of 
 the different parishes especially. 
 
 Mr. Warrington Crowther was the younger 
 son of an old family in the south of Eng- 
 land, and had been educated at Eton until 
 the age of nineteen. At this school he dis- 
 tinguished himself not by his learning or 
 application, but by his skill in boating, 
 cricket, and the pugilistic arts. A constant 
 visitor to the tap at the Christopher, he was 
 there noted as being able to drink more ale
 
 144 LEO:tTARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 than any other boy in the school ; nor was 
 this the only exploit in which he excelled 
 the frequenters of the tap, for none could 
 surpass him in the art of " slang." 
 
 Never did a greater bully exist than 
 Warrington Crowther. The bodies of liis 
 wretched fags used to be one mass of 
 bruises and sores, from the kicks, blows, and 
 scratches they had received from their inhu- 
 man master. 
 
 At the age of nineteen Warrington Crow- 
 ther was entered at the University of Cam- 
 bridge, where, for about five years, his life 
 was one continued course of low debauchery. 
 At the conclusion of the above-mentioned 
 period, he managed, after having been 
 plucked no less than five times, to scrape 
 through his examination, immediately after 
 which he entered holy orders. 
 
 On taking orders a complete change came 
 over Mr. Warrington Crowther's manner of 
 living. He put on all the outward sem- 
 blance of piety, and pursued a most sancti-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 145 
 
 monious course of life. Terrible were his 
 denunciations from the pulpit against the 
 poor sinners of the parish ; as for his more 
 wealthy parishioners, it must be imagined 
 that the J were exceedingly pure and virtuous, 
 as he never had occasion to preach against 
 their vices or give them spiritual counsel. 
 
 A short time before Mr. Warrington 
 Crowther was presented to the Rectory of 
 Normandale, his father fell into difficulties 
 brought on by extravagance and foolish spe- 
 culations ; and soon afterwards died, quite 
 neglected by his son, to whom, however, he 
 had been a most kind and generous parent, 
 and had frequently paid his debts without, 
 as is usual in such cases, diminishing the 
 kindness of the act by taunts and re- 
 proaches. 
 
 Such was the personage who entered the 
 room occupied by Leonard and Allen Nor- 
 mandale. He had been sent for in order to 
 administer the sacrament to their expiring- 
 father, and had hastily obeyed the summons 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 LEONAKD NORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 although he was at the moment on his waj 
 to the death- bed of a poor old woman of the 
 parish ; but perhaps in the opinion of Mr. 
 CroAvther, the rich nobleman was in this 
 instance more in want of spiritual consola- 
 tion than the pauper. 
 
 ". Is Lord Fauconbridge ready to receive 
 me ?" he inquired, after having saluted the 
 two brothers. " I have not tarried on the 
 road since I was informed that mj ministry 
 was required in this house, on which may 
 the blessing of God descend." 
 
 " We beg to return you our most sincere 
 thanks for your diligence," said Leonard. 
 " In a few moments our brother Jocelyn will 
 be here, when we will proceed at once to 
 the bedside of my poor father." 
 
 As he spoke the door opened, and the 
 young nobleman just referred to entered, 
 and having shaken hands with the clergy- 
 man, informed him that all the necessary 
 preparations had been made in the sick-room, 
 for the ceremony.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 147 
 
 Lord Danemore bore a striking family 
 likeness to his brothers, and was gifted in 
 like manner with the most incomparable 
 manlj beauty both of face and figure. The 
 fine expression of his noble featui'es were 
 however somewhat marred, by a haughty 
 and supercilious sneer, which appeared to 
 be stereotyped upon them. His demeanour 
 towards his brothers was cold and arrogant, 
 as if he regarded them as quite of a different 
 species, or rather race, to himself, but that 
 was the fault (5!" his education, by which he 
 had been taught like all other elder sons in 
 England, to consider his younger brothers as 
 hardly upon an equality with his valet-de- 
 chambre. 
 
 On entering the dying nobleman's room, 
 they found Lord Faucon bridge sitting up in 
 his bed, with his shoulders propped by 
 pillows. By his side were two grave men, 
 who evidently, by their appearance, were of 
 the medical profession. At the foot of the 
 bedstead stood an aged domestic, down 
 
 H 2
 
 148 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 •whose cheeks the tears were coursing each 
 other. 
 
 " Do not cry so bitterly, Richard,^' said 
 the Earl, "for sooner or later the day of our 
 final departure must arrive. I am but pre- 
 ceding you to the throne of our Heavenly 
 Father, in whose eyes I trust to find 
 favour through the merits of our blessed 
 Saviour.'' 
 
 " 0, my Lord, forgive my yielding to my 
 feelings,'' returned the servant ; "I cannot 
 help it, for I had hoped that many years 
 were in store for you, for I am twenty 
 years older than your Lordship, and nursed 
 you when you were an infant." 
 
 " You have ever been a good and faithful 
 servant, Richard," said Lord Fauconbridge, 
 " and have done your duty before God and 
 man ; but dry up your tears, for no mourn- 
 ing can prolong my life one moment after 
 the Lord has summoned me to my last 
 -account. As for you, gentlemen," he con- 
 tinued, addressing the two doctors, " allow
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 149 
 
 me to thank jou for your care and atten- 
 tion during my illness. You have done all 
 that human power and science could 
 perform/' 
 
 At this moment Lord Danemore and his 
 two brothers, accompanied by the Rev. 
 Warrington Orowther, entered the room, and 
 after a few words had passed between Lord 
 Fauconbridge and his sons, the clergyman 
 proceeded to read the beautiful ritual set 
 apart for the visitation of the sick, and 
 to administer the sacrament to the dying 
 nobleman, all present communicating at the 
 same time. 
 
 " And now, my dear Danemore," observed 
 his father, when the holy ceremony was 
 concluded, " I have a few parting words to 
 say to you in the presence of your two bro- 
 thers. You can remain, Mr. Orowther," 
 he continued, as that personage was 
 about to retire with the doctors. At 
 these words the three brothers and the 
 clergyman assembled round the bed, when
 
 150 LEONAED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Lord Fauconbridge spoke as follows, in a 
 Toice which gradiiallj became more weak 
 and faltering : 
 
 "Joceljn, jou are about to inherit an 
 immense fortune; worldly riches, and worldly 
 titles, will be yours in abundance, at the 
 same time your two brothers will be utterly 
 penniless, for I am grieved to inform you, 
 that forgetting the soul of man might be 
 summoned away at any hour, and even 
 without a moment's warning, I had imagined 
 that my life would be prolonged for many 
 years, and I spent in building and improv- 
 ing my estates large sums which I ought to 
 have set aside for my younger children ; the 
 consequence is, that as no settlement was 
 made for them at my marriage, they will be 
 entirely dependent after my death, upon 
 you, Jocelyn. Remember, however, that 
 the money that ought to have been theirs 
 has been spent in improving your estates, 
 and let me beseech you to continue to make 
 them the same allowances they have hitherto
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 151 
 
 received from me, — namelv, twelve hundred 
 a-jear each." 
 
 As Lord Fauconbridge spoke, an expres- 
 sion not easily to be defined, crossed the- 
 features of his elder son. It would indeed 
 have been impossible for a spectator to have 
 judged whether or not in his heart he coin- 
 cided with his dying parent's wishes. Any- 
 how Lord Fauconbridge imagined that his 
 appeal had been favourably received, and 
 grasping Lord Danemore's hand, he ex- 
 claimed in a low fervent tone, " God bless you, 
 Jocelyn, you haA^e taken a great weight off 
 my mind, for now I know that your brothers 
 will be provided for. God bless you, Leo- 
 nard, God bless you, Allen; may you all be 
 happy." 
 
 " My dearest father 1" exclaimed Leonard, 
 bursting into tears, for he could contain his 
 grief no longer; "I feel as if my heart would 
 break. It is only a year since we lost our- 
 beloved mother, and now God is about to 
 make us fatherless."
 
 152 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 "Clieer up, Leonard," said his father, 
 " cheer up, do not repine against the will of 
 God. He has summoned me away, and I 
 must obey." 
 
 From this moment the dying nobleman 
 visibly declined. Shortly afterwards his 
 thoughts began to ramble, and he seemed to 
 imagine that his deceased wife was present. 
 
 " Adeline," he muttered, " I do not like 
 the behaviour of Jocelyn towards his 
 brothers : it is too haughty and supercilious ; 
 surely, knowing how favourably he is treated 
 by the laws of his country, he ought to make 
 Leonard and Allen feel their unfortunate 
 position as little as possible ; but do not 
 cry, Adeline, because you fear that your 
 children will be beggars. Jocelyn, after all, 
 cannot forget what is due to a scion of our 
 house ; still, why does he look so stern and 
 cruel? But come into the house, Adeline, it 
 is getting cold, and the dew is falling ; how 
 it pierces me to the very bone ; I feel as if 
 I were frozen."
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 153 
 
 After some more incolierent words, Lord 
 Fauconbridge gazed around, and it became 
 evident that as the moment of his dissolu- 
 tion approached, he was again restored to 
 consciousness. At length his gaze was fixed 
 upon his eldest son's countenance, and for 
 the space of a minute seemed to read the 
 workings of the joung nobleman's brain; 
 then in a solemn, unfaltering voice, he 
 exclaimed, 
 
 " Joceljn, remember T 
 And sinking slowly back upon his pillow, 
 he breathed his last. 
 
 So calm was the expression of his 
 features, that all present for awhile believed 
 him asleep, and it was not until the doctors, 
 who had returned to the chamber of death, 
 remarked the rigidity of his limbs, that the 
 bystanders became aware that the spirit of 
 the Earl of Fauconbridge had passed away 
 to meet its God. 
 
 h3
 
 154 LEONARD NOEMAI^DALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SCORPIONS. 
 
 The funeral of the deceased peer was 
 conducted with all the magnificence and 
 pomp usual when the grave opens for the 
 rich and titled ; the hearse, however, on this 
 occasion was followed bj a crowd composed 
 not only of friends and retainers, but of the 
 people of the surrounding country. 
 
 Be it remarked, that the hearses of tlie 
 rich are bj no means frequently followed hy 
 a sorrowing crowd. It is true, that the 
 people come to gape and wonder as the 
 sumptuous funeral passes ; but they follow
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 155 
 
 the hearses of those only who while living 
 had excited their love and sympathy. 
 
 The deceased Earl of Fauconbridge had 
 been a really good man. He had certainly 
 never built a church, and advertised the 
 pious deed in the newspapers, with a long 
 eulogy attached to the paragraph, written 
 by an admiring editor at the rate of half-a- 
 crown a line. His name had seldom ap- 
 peared in the lists of pharisaical donators 
 to public charities, gorgeously advertised in 
 long columns beginning with the dukes and 
 ending with the esquires ; but he had been, 
 a good landlord and a kind friend ; he had 
 ever allowed his tenants to vote as they 
 wished, and did not turn whole families out 
 of their farms for having exercised their 
 right as electors according to their con- 
 sciences. His private charities had been 
 numerous, and many a once suffering pauper 
 was enabled to bless his benefactor's memory 
 as he gazed upon his own hearth, now sur- 
 rounded by a smiling family.
 
 156 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 As the corpse was lowered into the 
 family vault, a general wail of lamenta- 
 tion rose towards heaven, and tears, real, 
 unbought tears, fell from the eyes of all 
 present. 
 
 A few hours after the mournful ceremony, 
 Leonard and Allen received a message from 
 their late fathers steward, requesting an 
 interview, in order to make a communication 
 with which he had been entrusted. 
 
 " Tell Mr. Morison that we shall be 
 happy to receive him here," replied Leonard 
 to the servant who had brought the mes- 
 sage. 
 
 In about five minutes the steward entered. 
 He was a man of nearly sixty years of age, 
 five-and-forty of which had been passed in 
 the service of the Normandale family, in 
 which he had originally entered as the 
 butler's boy, and had by degrees climbed 
 the ladder of domesticity until he had 
 become valet to the late earl, in which situa- 
 tion he had remained for twenty years, when
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 157 
 
 he was appointed steward to tlie Norman- 
 dale estate. 
 
 It was chiefly owing to Morison that 
 Lord Danemore had become the proud and 
 haughty being he was, for the yalet had 
 during the young nobleman's childhood con- 
 tinually inculcated into his mind the differ- 
 ence that existed between his position and 
 that of his younger brothers. Lord Dane- 
 more had also always remarked, that al- 
 though most humble and respectful to him, 
 the elder son, Morison's demeanour towards 
 Leonard and Allen was but one remoye from 
 the most contemptuous insolence. Indeed, 
 so disrespectful was the man's behaviour at 
 times to the two younger brothers as they 
 grew up, that they were more than once com- 
 pelled to complain of the circumstance to 
 their father, who would have dismissed 
 Morison, but for his well-known honesty and 
 long services. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the steward, as soon 
 as he was seated, " I have a communication
 
 158 LEONAED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 to make to joiifrom Lord Danemore — Lord 
 Fauconbridge, I mean — concerning the allow- 
 ance lie intends making jou ; if jou are 
 so disposed, we will at once proceed to 
 business/' 
 
 Leonard and Allen bowed their heads in 
 intimation for him to continue. 
 
 "Lord Danemore, I beg pardon, Lord 
 Fauconbridge,'^ said the steward, " has 
 directed me to inform jou, that he will 
 allow each of his younger brothers a hun- 
 dred a-jear, payable quarterly at his 
 banker's in London/' 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir," exclaimed Leo- 
 nard at these unexpected words ; "pray men- 
 tion the amount again, for I am convinced 
 that we have misunderstood your meaning/' 
 
 " One hundred a-year," answered Mori son, 
 " payable quarterly at his lordship's bankers, 
 Messrs. Flinton and Company, Exchange- 
 buildings, City." 
 
 " One hundred a-year !" exclaimed the 
 brothers simultaneously, " is that all V
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 159 
 
 " Yes, gentlemen," returned the steward. 
 
 " But how are we to live upon that sum?" 
 cried Leonard ; " surely you must have mis- 
 taken my brother's meaning, for my poor 
 father on his death-bed entreated him to 
 continue to us the same allowance he had 
 made up to the present time. Surely, Mr. 
 Morison, you must be mistaken." 
 
 " I can assure you, Mr. Normandale," 
 returned the steward, " that I am not mis- 
 taken, for I wrote down Lord Danemore's, 
 I mean Lord Fauconbridge's, words as he 
 spoke them, and repeated them to him when 
 his lordship had finished. Here they are," 
 he continued, looking at a paper ; " ' My two 
 brothers may draw upon Messrs. Flinton for 
 a hundred pounds a-year, payable quarterly; 
 when I arrive in London I shall give my 
 bankers the necessary directions.' " 
 
 " I will proceed at once to Jocelyn's 
 room," said Leonard, rising ; " he cannot 
 possibly be as heartless as your communica- 
 tion would make him out."
 
 160 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 " Lord Fauconbridge has left the house 
 about half an hour since," observed Mori^ 
 son, " on his way to London." 
 
 " And without even informing us of his 
 intended departure," cried Leonard, clasp- 
 ing his hands together ; " Joceljn ! Joceljn ! 
 I knew jou were a cold-hearted, calculating 
 man, but I did not expect you to treat us 
 thus." 
 
 "Before starting," said the steward, in 
 rather a hesitating tone, " his lordship di- 
 rected me to inform you that as he is going 
 to shut up the Hall for the present, that it 
 would be requisite for you to take your 
 departure as soon as possible. Indeed, his 
 lordship said that — that — he could not, — 
 pray pardon me, gentlemen, for I am merely 
 repeating what his lordship said, — that he 
 could not allow you to remain here beyond 
 to-morrow morning." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Allen, starting in- 
 dignantly to his feet; "what! not content 
 with treating us with the most cutting con-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 161 
 
 tempt, and breaking his promise to mj poor 
 father, he turns us out of his house, as 
 though we were beggars ! " 
 
 " After all," said Leonard, " how can we 
 be surprised at my brother's conduct '? Do 
 not the laws and customs of our country 
 draw such a marked line between the elder 
 and younger brothers of one family, that 
 the former is brought up to consider the 
 latter as though they "svere of a different 
 race to himself?" 
 
 "But," remarked Allen, "in acting as 
 he does, Jocelyn is breaking the promise he 
 made to my father on his death-bed. He 
 certainly did not make that promise ver- 
 bally, but he tacitly allowed my poor father 
 to imagine that his last dying request would 
 be complied ^'ith." 
 
 " It is because his conscience upbraids 
 him," cried Leonard, "that he has stolen 
 away from the house. He wished to avoid 
 a meeting with those he has treated so 
 scandalously. I tell you what, Allen ; our
 
 162 
 
 brother Joceljn is morally a coward, as well 
 as an unfeeling heartless wretch, below con- 
 tempt. Mr. Morison,'' he continued, turning 
 to the steward, "Lord Fauconbridge's or- 
 ders shall be obeyed to the very letter. My 
 brother Allen and myself will not eyen take 
 advantage of the offer doled out to us, of 
 another night^s lodging under his lord- 
 ship's roof Within half an hour we shall 
 have left this house, to which our bro- 
 ther can return, as soon as he pleases, 
 "without encountering his father's sons on 
 his path." 
 
 " One moment, gentlemen," said the 
 steward, as Leonard and Allen turned 
 towards the door ; " Lord Fauconbridge is 
 not so ungenerous as you appear to imagine. 
 His lordship has desired me, in order that 
 you may not be without some ready cash, 
 to pay you over five pounds each, which 
 sum will not be counted in your quarterly 
 allowances." 
 
 With these words he drew from a pocket-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 163 
 
 book two bank-notes for the yalue specified, 
 and offered one to each of the others. 
 
 With a simultaneous moyement of con- 
 tempt, both Leonard and Allen cast the 
 notes upon the table. 
 
 " We are no beggars/' thej said, as they 
 quitted the room. " Lord Fauconbridge 
 might have spared us this insult/' 
 
 Within the time specified by Leonard 
 Normandale, both he and his brother Allen 
 had quitted the roof of their fathers, now 
 no longer either a paternal or a fraternal 
 one to them, and had taken up their 
 temporary quarters in the Tillage inn, to 
 which they directed their effects to be for- 
 warded. 
 
 " Leonard," said Allen, as soon as the 
 two brothers were seated in the humble 
 best room of the inn or rather public- house, 
 and had got rid of the bowing landlord by 
 giving orders for dinner to be prepared, 
 " Leonard, what I have just learned is the 
 announcement of my ruin.''
 
 164 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 " Your ruin T eclioed Leonard in asto- 
 nishment. 
 
 "Yes, mj ruin !" continued Allen; "for 
 about four months ago, I became security 
 for a brother officer for the sum of six hun- 
 dred pounds, payable in six months. Yes- 
 terday morning I received a letter from 
 Captain Hamilton, for such is my friend's 
 name, informing me that, owing to unfore- 
 seen circumstances, he would be unable to 
 meet the bill on its becoming due, and 
 entreating me to forgive him, for that it was 
 not his fault, but his misfortune, to be the 
 cause of my being put to any inconvenience 
 on his account.^' 
 
 "In other words," said Leonard, "he 
 civilly wishes to make you understand, that 
 as he cannot pay, you must.'' 
 
 " Exactly so, for I am the acceptor of the 
 bill," returned Allen, " and am therefore 
 liable to be arrested should it not be paid 
 at maturity. Were my poor father yet 
 alive, I should feel at ease ; but Jocelyn's
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 165 
 
 conduct gives me but slight hopes of his 
 paying the money, even to save me from 
 ruin." 
 
 " Surely Jocelyn will never suffer you to 
 be arrested ; for a confinement of any length 
 would be the ruin of your prospects.'' 
 
 " On the contrary, Jocelyn is capable of 
 leaving me to rot in gaol, sooner than put 
 himself to the very slightest inconveni- 
 ence.'' 
 
 " Let us hope for better things, Allen ; 
 for Jocelyn, though it were only for the sake 
 of appearances, would never allow you to 
 continue in a debtor's prison, and conse- 
 quently lose your commission." 
 
 " yes he would," said Allen, in a de- 
 jected tone of voice ; " he has already broken 
 the promise he tacitly made to our dying 
 father. He has, although rolling in wealth, 
 cast us almost destitute upon the world. He 
 has proved himself a selfish, mean-hearted 
 man, capable of everything that is base." 
 
 " Let us proceed to London by to-night's
 
 166 LEONARD KORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 mail-train," suggested Leonard ; " it will 
 leave the station at the end of the village 
 at 7 o'clock, and to-morrow, if Joceljn has 
 arrived in Grosvenor-square, I will set jour 
 case before him in such vivid terms, that 
 should he refuse to help jou out of jour 
 scrape, he must be of stone. Cheer up, 
 therefore, Allen, and for the present let us 
 think no more on the subject." 
 
 Dinner, or rather the meal dignified bj 
 that appellation, was now brought in, and 
 the landlord having managed to find a bottle 
 of tolerable wine for his unexpected guests, 
 respectfullj proceeded to observe that it 
 formed part of a batch ordered for a jeo- 
 manrj dinner given at his inn some fifteen 
 jears before. 
 
 " Indeed, honoured sirs," said the Boni- 
 face, " I doubt whether jou could find better 
 in the cellars of the Hall. Look, gentlemen, 
 at the bee's-wing ! I onlj wish I had a few 
 dozen of it at vour honours' command." 
 
 " Take a glass jourself, mj good fellow,"
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 167 
 
 said Allen, " and drink to tlie health of your 
 T\ife and family." 
 
 " no, honoured sirs," replied the land- 
 lord, "that Avill never do. I know my 
 pla(^e ; and by your leave, gentlemen, I 
 drink to your good health and to the memory 
 of your respected, venerable father. We 
 shall never have the likes of him again," he 
 continued. " He was a real, true English 
 nobleman ; may God grant that his suc- 
 cessor may tread in his footsteps." 
 
 " May your prayer be realised," said 
 Allen, as the landlord drank off his glass ; 
 " time, however, alone will show." 
 
 "I say, x\aron," said a farmer to the 
 landlord, as the two brothers started for the 
 station ; " I thank my stars as how I warn't 
 born a gentleman ; for if I had, it seems as 
 how I should have been without bowels, and 
 driven away my own mother's sons from the 
 house as soon as the breath was out of the 
 body of my father." 
 
 " What, is it true then," inquired the
 
 168 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 landlord, " that tlie new Earl has turned his 
 own brothers out of doors V 
 
 "As sure as I stands here/^ replied the 
 farmer. " Thank heaven, there be no such 
 things as entails with us poor folks, for we 
 all shares alike. But with them noble 
 people, the eldest son takes all, and the 
 youngers have nothing but their hands to 
 work with ; and Lord have mercy upon 
 them ! for they beant by no means brought 
 up to do ought in the labour line." 
 
 " Poor young gentlemen !" said the land- 
 lord's wife, who came up at this moment ; 
 " so those two handsome youths be turned 
 adrift, while their brother keeps all. Shame 
 on the new Lord Fauconbridge ! If there 
 be any justice in heaven, he will be punished 
 hereafter for his hard-heartedness." 
 
 At this instant, Mr. Warrington Orowther 
 happening to pass by, overheard the observa- 
 tions made on the conduct of Lord Faucon- 
 bridge and elder sons in general, and 
 advancing at once towards the persons
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 169 
 
 assembled, lie proceeded to apostrophize 
 tliem in the most virulent terms. 
 
 " Aaron Wilson/' he cried, " what busi- 
 ness have jou to discuss the conduct of the 
 Earl of Fauconbridge 1 Is it proper for 
 persons in your station to talk about the 
 merits or demerits of your betters, to whom 
 you ought to order yourselves lowly and 
 reverently, and look up with all possible re- 
 spect. I tell you what, Mrs. Wilson, if the 
 cuddystool were in usage here, you should 
 stand upon it next Sunday. You may be 
 assured that I shall take the first oppor- 
 tunity of reporting your behaviour to Lord 
 Fauconbridge, and it will be for his lord- 
 ship to judge whether vou shall remain his 
 tenants. As for you. Farmer Harrisou, th;3 
 greater portion of your form is rented of me, 
 and out you shall turn at Christmas as sure 
 as you are born; besides, let your son look to 
 himself, for I have been informed that he is 
 given to poaching. Only let him be caught 
 YOL. T. 1
 
 170 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 in the act and brought before me, and he 
 shall go to the treadmill for six months. So 
 let him beware, for he shall find no mercy 
 either at my hands or any of my brother 
 magistrates." 
 
 " The insolence of the lower orders is be- 
 coming intolerable," muttered the rector as 
 he walked off ; " and seyere measures must 
 be taken, if we intend to keep them in their 
 proper places." 
 
 "And that is a minister of the Lord!'* 
 said the farmer, as soon as Mr. Crowther 
 was out of ear-shot ; " a clergyman, who 
 preaches brotherly love and charity from the 
 pulpit." 
 
 " I tell you what, Mr. Harrison," returned 
 the landlord, " I hare ever observed that the- 
 richly beneficed clergymen, as they calls them,, 
 as has large livings, seems puffed with vanity 
 and forgets their calling. Now what a dif- 
 ferent sort of a gentleman is Mr. Denton the 
 curate; he is really a Christian, and a friend 
 to the poor."
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. I7l 
 
 "Because lie is poor himself," said the 
 lancUorcl's "wife ; " only let him get a good 
 living, and he will become as purse-proud as 
 the rector." 
 
 " Xaj, Hannah," obseryed her husband, 
 " I thinks jou be a bit mistaken there ; Mr. 
 Denton is one whom no riches could spoil. 
 God bless him ! don't you remember how ha 
 used to walk many a weary mile to see my 
 poor sister in her last illness, while his proud 
 rector never stirred a step her way. Oh, no ! 
 Mr. Crowther, like the one before him, looks 
 upon the poor and humble as though they 
 were no Christians, forgetting what our 
 Saviour says of the rich. Anyhow, I care 
 not a jot for his malice; for I've a lease, and 
 can pay my rent." 
 
 " But, for my part," said the farmer, " I've 
 got no lease; and if the rector turns me out 
 of my farm, as he threatens to do, Tm a 
 ruined man, for I've spent a mint of money 
 in improvements. He is, however, a liar 
 
 l2
 
 172 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 when he says mj boy is a poacher ; for an 
 honester lad never trod shoe-leather." 
 
 "Keep a good heart up in that case," 
 said the landlord ; " for let a man have a 
 good conscience, and he may look the world 
 in the face, and be afraid of no one/' 
 
 " Very true," returned the farmer, " very 
 true; still, riches is all powerful, and a bad 
 rich man may easily ruin the honestest poor 
 man as ever breathed. Mark my words : the 
 rector will have the best of it, if he wishes 
 to trample upon me ; and, dang me ! hell do 
 as he said, as sure as my name is James 
 Harrison." 
 
 Before proceeding further, we must inform 
 our reader that Mr. Warrington Crowther 
 kept his promise with respect to his tenant. 
 Farmer Harrison, who was turned out of his 
 farm just as he had spent a large sum on 
 improvements, trusting to the good faith of 
 his landlord. After this event the poor man 
 fell into difficulties, and was at length com-
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 173 
 
 pletelj ruined; cand being too old to work as 
 a labourer, was supported bj his son, one of 
 the finest young men in the parish. John 
 Harrison, however, had the vengeful eje of 
 the rector upon him, ready, if possible, to 
 catch him tripping. 
 
 One evening the young man was returning 
 home across a field belonging to the Earl of 
 Fauconbridge, with a gun in his hand, with 
 which he had been shooting sparrows, when 
 he perceived a partridge, which had been 
 wounded by a sickle, lying on the ground 
 before him, and naturally took it up; but as 
 he was trudging along, carrying the bird by 
 the legs, he met the gamekeeper of the 
 manor, who was a great favourite of the 
 rector, and consequently a decided enemy 
 to John Harrison and his father. 
 
 Seizing the young farmer by the collar, he 
 taxed him with being a poacher; and, as may 
 be imagined, John Harrison indignantly re- 
 futed the accusation, mentioning how he had
 
 174 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 found the partridge. The gamekeeper, never- 
 theless, would not be convinced of his inno- 
 cence, but retained his hold upon his collar, 
 and in consequence a scuffle ensued, in which 
 the officious menial was worsted. 
 
 Hastening to the rectory, the gamekeeper 
 proceeded to lay the case before Mr. War- 
 rington Crowther, who immediately issued a 
 warrant against the so-called poacher, who 
 was condemned at the Sessions by a bench 
 of magistrates, all toadies of the Earl of 
 Fauconbridge and the rector, to six months' 
 hard labour and a heavy fine, for poaching 
 during the night-time, and assaulting the 
 gamekeeper while in tlie execution of his 
 duty ; for the indictment was so worded, 
 and the evidence so arranged, that the jury 
 found the accused guilty of the charge. 
 
 Maddened at the injustice of the punish- 
 ment, John Harrison, as soon as he was 
 released from confinement, proceeded to a 
 public-house frequented by the gamekeeper,
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 175 
 
 whom, as he expected, he found guzzling in 
 front of the house. 
 
 As may be imagined, the young farmer 
 taunted the yile fellow with his perjury. 
 From words they came to blows ; and, after 
 a fight of short duration, the gamekeeper 
 was thrown with such violence upon his 
 head that he was killed upon the spot. 
 
 Found guilty of manslaughter, under 
 aggravated circumstances, John Harrison 
 was transported for life. His wretched 
 father died within the year, of a broken 
 heart, in the union workhouse.
 
 176 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE EEV. WAKEIXGTOX CROWTHER AND HIS 
 COLLEGE FRIEND. 
 
 After haying giyen rent to his indigna- 
 tion, Mr. AVarrington Crowther turned his 
 steps towards the rectory, — a beautiful 
 mansion standing in the midst of a large 
 garden, and furnished with the utmost 
 splendour. On his reaching the door, he 
 was informed by a servant in livery, that 
 two railway policemen had just brought up 
 a prisoner for examination. For it must 
 be observed that the rector, as is not unfre-
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 177 
 
 quentlj tlie case in England, mingled the 
 duties of a magistrate with those of a 
 pastor. 
 
 "Of what is the prisoner accused?" in- 
 quired Mr. Crowther of the town-clerk, ^yho 
 had been summoned bj the constables, and 
 whom he found awaiting his arriyal in the 
 study. 
 
 "Michael Rowan, one of the railway 
 police, met the fellow skulking about," re- 
 plied the town-clerk ; " and, on looking 
 steadfastly at him, remarked that he exactly 
 answered the description in the Hue and 
 Cry, of one Joseph Riley, a noted house- 
 breaker, implicated in seyeral robberies both 
 in town and country, and, lastly, in a mur- 
 der at Chelsea, and for whom a very large 
 reward is offered. Rowan consequently 
 followed the man until they met with a 
 second policeman, with whose assistance the 
 fellow was taken into custody." 
 
 " Very good, Mr. Jackson," returned the 
 
 I 3
 
 178 LEONARD XORMAI:TDALE, OE, 
 
 rector. " Michael Rowan is a most active 
 officer, and deserves being recommended for 
 promotion. I shall not forget him in mj 
 next report. In the meanwhile let the pri- 
 soner be brought in." 
 
 In obedience to this order, the policemen 
 entered, introducing a tall man. of strong 
 stout-built frame. His complexion was 
 dark as that of a Spaniard, and the expres- 
 sion of his countenance was that of one at 
 war with society in general. Vice and 
 crime were stamped upon his brow as 
 plainly as though the words had been 
 written there. Indeed, no one could have 
 hesitated a single instant in asserting him 
 to be a determined and ferocious villain. 
 He was, however, well, almost elegantly 
 dressed; and there was something in his air 
 which seemed to imply that he by no means 
 belonged to the lower orders, but, on the 
 contrary, had been accustomed to mingle 
 with persons of superior education and 
 manners.
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 179 
 
 One curious circumstance might have 
 been noticed, which was, that although the 
 prisoner was in a most terrible position, on 
 account of the gravity of the charge hanging 
 over his head, should his identity with the 
 murderer named in the Hue and Cry be 
 proved, he appeared to be by no means 
 downcast. On the contrary, a sneer of 
 triumph, entirely exempt from bravado, 
 pervaded his features, as though he felt 
 himself in perfect safety. 
 
 " What have you to say against the pri- 
 soner. Rowan 1'' inquired the town-clerk, as 
 soon as the rector had notified that he was 
 ready to listen to the charge. 
 
 The policeman proceeded to describe his 
 meeting with the prisoner, and the reasons 
 he had for supposing him to be Joseph 
 Riley; for whose apprehension two hun- 
 dred pounds' reward had been offered. 
 
 " Have you any observation to make?" 
 inquired Mr. Orowther of the accused. ''If
 
 180 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OK, 
 
 SO, jou are at liberty to speak. At the 
 same time, it is my duty as a magistrate, to 
 caution you that all you utter here will be 
 taken down. I should therefore advise you, 
 for your own sake, to say as little as pos- 
 sible; unless you are able to disprove your 
 identity with Joseph Riley." 
 
 *'I am not the person these policemen 
 take me for," returned the prisoner in a 
 gruff angry tone. " I was quietly wending 
 my way along a public path, as is my right, 
 as a free and independent Englishman, 
 when these men pounced upon me." 
 
 " The reason of their so doing," observed 
 the town-clerk, " was on account of your 
 answering in every particular the descrip- 
 tion, in the Hue and Cry, of a murderer 
 and robber; — namely, age, thirty-four, — 
 complexion very dark, — eyes ditto, — fea- 
 tures regular, witn a fierce scowling expres- 
 sion, — height five feet eleven." 
 
 "There is a measuring-board in the
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 181 
 
 house, sir;"' said one of the policemen. 
 "ShaUIfetchit?" 
 
 " There is no occasion for your taking 
 that trouble/' exclaimed the suspected mur- 
 derer sullenly. " I own that my complexion 
 and eyes are dark, and that I am exactly 
 five feet eleven in height; but, for all that, 
 I am not the man you mistake me for." 
 
 " Can you prove the truth of your asser- 
 tion T inquired the rector. "If so, you 
 will at once be set at liberty." 
 
 "Of course I can,'" said the man; "other- 
 wise, do you imagine I should be so confi- 
 dent T 
 
 " Give us the said proofs in that case," 
 remarked the town-clerk. "Is there any 
 respectable person in the neighbourhood 
 that can vouch for your identity?" 
 
 " There is," replied the prisoner ; " but I 
 have reasons of my own for wishing to give 
 the necessary proofs to the magistrate only. 
 Would you allow me to speak to you alone.
 
 182 LEONARD XORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Sirl 0, do not be afraid of me/' he con- 
 tinued with a sneer, as Mr. Warrington 
 Crowther gave signs of the most unequivo- 
 cal alarm ; " I have no arms about me. 
 Those gentlemen can Touch for the truth of 
 that assertion, for thej have searched me 
 from head to foot, and yerj cleverly too." 
 
 " Your request is most extraordinary," 
 cried the rector ; " and I should not be 
 justified in complying with it." 
 
 " Then you will be committing an act of 
 the grossest injustice," returned the accused, 
 " and be consigning an innocent man to 
 prison for several days. I tell you, sir, I 
 can prove my identity most easily; but, for 
 certain reasons, which you can appreciate 
 when you have heard them, I do not wish 
 to do so in the presence of any other per- 
 son than yourself." 
 
 " Your request cannot be complied with," 
 said the town-clerk, who had been wdiisper- 
 ing with the clergyman. "You cannot,
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEES. 183 
 
 indeed, complain at your being remanded 
 for a few days, as you refuse to bring for- 
 ward satisfactory proofs of your not being 
 the murderer Riley.'' 
 
 '' In that case, give me a bit of paper and 
 a pen," said the prisoner. " Would you 
 have the kindness to cast your eye over 
 that, sir?" he continued, addressing the 
 magistrate, after hariug written a few words 
 upon the sheet brought to him, in com- 
 pliance with his request. 
 
 Mr. Warrington Crowther took the paper 
 and cast his eye over its contents, on read- 
 ing which he started, and for a moment 
 changed coloui*; but, instantly recoreiing 
 his composure, he turned to the town-clerk, 
 and requested him to retire with the police- 
 men into the next room, and remain there 
 until he should be recalled. 
 
 The sentence which had such an imme- 
 diate effect upon his determination was as 
 follows : —
 
 184 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 " T must speak to jou alone, for jour o'\vii 
 sake. You are a ruined man if jou refuse 
 to listen to me/"' 
 
 " Well, fellow," exclaimed the rector 
 angrily, as soon as the door was closed, and 
 he found himself alone with the prisoner; 
 "what have jou to say? I trust that jou 
 are not trifling with justice." 
 
 The accused man gazed for a moment 
 upon the magistrate with a sneer of mingled 
 hatred and contempt. It was eyident, in- 
 deed, that he was in possession of some 
 important secret, that placed the rector in 
 his power. 
 
 " Look at me well, Mr. Warrington Crow- 
 ther," he said, after a short pause, " and see 
 'whether jou do not recollect me." 
 
 Mr. Crowther carefullj scanned the fierce 
 countenance before him, and then shook his 
 head. 
 
 " I never saw jou before," he observed. 
 
 " Indeed," replied the other, " jour
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 185 
 
 memory is not so good as mine ; suppose I 
 jog it a little by telling you my name. 
 Have you forgotten Mark Handley, under- 
 graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, at 
 the same time as yourself? Or if you do 
 not choose to remember my name, can you 
 manage to call to mind that of Maude 
 Handley, my sister?" 
 
 As the man spoke, the rector's face turned 
 ashy pale, and for an instant he seemed on 
 the point of falling to the ground. With a 
 violent effort, however, he leaped to liis feet 
 and staggered to a cupboard at the other 
 side of the room, and taking therefrom a 
 bottle of brandy, he filled a glass to the 
 brim and drained it off at a draught. 
 
 " Nothing like brandy for giving a man 
 courage when he has received a settler," 
 cried Mark Handley with a smile ; " and now, 
 sir, as you have taken in some Dutch cou- 
 rage, suppose we proceed to business at 
 once, for time presses and I want to be off."
 
 186 leo:n^ard noemandale, or, 
 
 " You are not then tlie murderer for 
 whom the reward has been offered/' 
 exclaimed Warrington Orowther eagerlj, 
 as if his bosom was eased of a great 
 weight ; " and Joseph Rilej is no alias of 
 jours V 
 
 "We will talk over that affair shortly/' 
 returned Handlej; " for the present I have 
 something else to saj to jou, Mr. Warring- 
 ton Orowther, the pious and virtuous rector 
 of Normandale." 
 
 " What mean jou ?" cried the clergyman. 
 
 "Sit down, sir, and listen to me," con- 
 tinued Mark, unheeding the interruption, 
 and speaking in an authoritative tone ; " sit 
 down, while I repeat what you already 
 know, the cold, calculating villain you are. 
 No answer, sir, I will not be interrupted ; 
 sit down in your magisterial chair, which 
 you become so well, and listen." 
 
 " Some thirteen years ago," began Mark, 
 as soon as the rector had staggered back to
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEKS. 187 
 
 his seat, " two young men, hardly beyond 
 the first bloom of youth, were entered on 
 the boards of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
 the one as a fellow commoner, the other as 
 a pensioner. The former was called War- 
 rington Crowther, the latter Mark Handley. 
 Notwithstanding the disparity of their rank 
 in life — for Warrington Crowther was the 
 grandson of a duke by his mother's side — a 
 sort of companionship, — I cannot dignify it 
 by the name of friendship, — a sort of com- 
 panionship in debauchery sprang up between 
 the two. They haunted Barnewell together, 
 they got drunk at the Swan in each other's 
 society, they pulled together in the same 
 boat, they thrashed the proctor's bulldogs 
 together — that is, Mark Handley used to 
 thrash them, while his friend looked on and 
 encouraged him, for Warrington Crow ther's 
 courage was rather of the negative kind. 
 Mark Handley 's purse w^as ever at the dis- 
 posal of his aristocratic acquaintance, who
 
 188 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 being a younger son was kept upon some- 
 what short commons. 
 
 "Well, three years passed over in this 
 manner, when Mark Handlej, notwithstand- 
 ing his debauched mode of living, took his 
 degree as a wrangler and chancellor's medal- 
 list, for he was no fool; while on the 
 contrary, Warrington Crowther had been 
 unable to scrape through his littlego, for he 
 was a thorough blockhead. Nay, do not 
 frown, I am not here to pay false compli- 
 ments, but to tell the truth, the barefaced, 
 open truth. 
 
 " Having taken his degree, Mark Handley 
 entered himself at the Middle Temple, and 
 set to studying the law, with a firm determi- 
 nation of making his way. But as ill luck 
 would have it, about a year after liis quit- 
 ting the university, he met with his old 
 friend Warrington Crowther, who by the by 
 was still an undergraduate, having been 
 plucked several times ; how he ever managed,
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEES. 189 
 
 indeed, to scrape through his examination, is 
 to me a mysterj. 
 
 " To proceed, ho-^ever ; the former inti- 
 macy of the two friends was renewed. It 
 was during the Easter vacation, which War- 
 rington Crowther was spending in London 
 with a party of aristocratic acquaintances, 
 Mark Handley was induced by him to play, 
 a vice he had hitherto avoided. To he 
 brief, the young law student was completely 
 pigeoned by the undergraduate of Cam- 
 bridge, and was left without a single 
 farthing. 
 
 " Being unable from want of means to 
 continue his law terms, Mark Handley 
 
 quitted the Temple, and . But I will 
 
 not weary you with an account of how I fell 
 from bad to worse ; let it suffice to observe 
 that a little more than seven years ago I 
 was condemned to transportation for house- 
 breaking, and was sent off to Xorfolk Island. 
 I do not, indeed, wonder at your not recog-
 
 190 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 nizing me ; for a few years' stay in tliat hell 
 upon earth, where one's back is constantly 
 flayed by the cat-o'-nine-tails, and where 
 one is worked off one's legs under a broiling 
 sun, is enough to change a man's counte- 
 nance so as to prevent his own mother from 
 recognizing the child she nursed. 
 
 " About two months ago, haying served 
 my time, I returned to England, and ever 
 since have lived by robbery, for I had no 
 other means of existence. Under the alias 
 of Joseph Riley, I have committed many a 
 black deed, but my hands were unstained 
 with blood until I happened to be engaged 
 in an affair at Chelsea (which you must 
 have read of in the newspapers,) where we 
 broke into the house of an old miser, and 
 were carrying off a rich booty, when the 
 old fellow having been aroused, rushed out 
 of his bed-room with a pistol in his hand. 
 My pals ran off, but I was encumbered with 
 a heavy desk, and the old man grappled me
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHERS. 191 
 
 by the throat, and was on the point of firing 
 his pistol at mj head, when just at the 
 Yerj moment that he pulled the trigger, 
 I seized the muzzle and tm^ned it. — the ball 
 went through the miser's heart, and I was, 
 — at least in the ejes of the law, — a mur- 
 derer." 
 
 "And YOU dare to avow the deed 
 to me,'' exclaimed the rector, "and ima- 
 gine because you are an old college friend, 
 that I shall help you to escape from 
 justice T 
 
 " Silence, Mr. Warrington Crowther," 
 returned Handley : " silence ! don't attempt 
 to come any gammon orer me. Do you 
 think I should hare boldly let you into my 
 secrets, unless I had the means of making 
 you hold your tongue. Listen a few mo- 
 ments, or you will repent of your folly. I 
 tell you, sir, that within ten minutes you 
 will haye declared to the policemen yonder 
 that I have perfectly satisfied you with
 
 192 LEONARD Is^OEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 respect to my not being the murderer of 
 whom they are in search. Ha \" 
 
 " Fellow, this is too much insolence," 
 cried the clergyman, starting to his feet in 
 a state of frenzied exasperation, and has- 
 tening to the bell; before, however, he had 
 reached the rope, the hand of Mark Handley 
 was upon his shoulder. 
 
 " Fool !" he cried, " dare to summon those 
 fellows and you are a lost man, for I have it 
 in my power to blast you for ever ; beware, 
 therefore, and listen to the end of my story, 
 — I have but little more to relate/^ 
 
 " The night after the dreadful deed had 
 been committed, which had branded me, or 
 rather my alias, as a murderer," continued 
 Handley, as soon as the rector was re- 
 seated ; " I was skulking along a dark street, 
 when I was accosted by a female. She was 
 close to a lamp-post, the light of which fell 
 full upon her wan, emaciated features, which, 
 changed as they were, I recognized as those
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 193 
 
 of mj only sister, — mj own dearest Maude, 
 — whom eight years previously I had left a 
 lovely, cheerful girl of sixteen. I had 
 carefully kept my dishonour a secret from 
 her, for I had been condemned under ano- 
 ther name, having given out that I had gone 
 to the East Indies. I was happy to think 
 while I was serving my time in Norfolk 
 Island, that she was under the safeguard of 
 a distant relation. But how bitterly was I 
 deceived! The returned convict found his 
 sister a common street-walker. And who 
 had brought her down to that state of in- 
 famy? Curses on you, Warrington Orow- 
 ther, — it was you who had seduced the con- 
 fiding, innocent girl!" 
 
 As he pronounced these last words, tears 
 of agony fell from the eyes of the wretched 
 convict, and for a moment his emotion was 
 so great as to render him incapable of pro- 
 ceeding. Having, however, drank off a 
 long draught from the rector's brandy- 
 
 yoL. I. K
 
 194 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 bottle, lie turned again towards that person, 
 who \Yas gazing with an affrighted stare 
 upon the countenance of his former ac- 
 quaintance. 
 
 " Yes ! you had seduced her, and since 
 your own marriage too, under the promise 
 of making her your wife, having passed 
 yourself off as a bachelor. 0, do not attempt 
 to deny the fact, for I have the letters which 
 you were so foolish as to write and sign at 
 that period with your own name. Besides^ 
 I hare proofs, and good ones too, of your 
 having administered drugs to her, by whick 
 you narrowly escaped becoming a murderer, 
 for the skill of the physician you called in 
 alone savedyour neck from thegallows. From 
 pity to your victim, and in consequence of 
 your swearing a solemn oath to marry her,, 
 the doctor did not expose your villainy, for 
 lie thought, and still thinks, you were a single 
 man. I have proofs of your having sup- 
 ported your child for a short period, and of
 
 THE THEEE BROTHERS. 195 
 
 haying then co-wardlj and brutally aban- 
 doned it. The poor mother, howeyer, nearly 
 worked her fingers off in order to giye her 
 offspring bread; but it would not do, for 
 she was at length compelled, rather than see 
 her child expire before her eyes, to walk the 
 streets of London, and become the aban- 
 doned thing she is at present." 
 
 Y^hile the proofs of his yile conduct were 
 being enumerated, Warrington Crowther had 
 coyered his eyes with his hands, as if afraid 
 of meeting the gaze of his accuser. On 
 Mark Handley, howeyer, coming to a pause, 
 he looked up and showed a countenance 
 rendered haggard from consternation. 
 
 " What would you haye me do, Ilandley'?"' 
 he exclaimed in a tremulous yoice. " Tell 
 me at once, in order that I may know 
 whether it be possible/' 
 
 " Call in the town-clerk and the poHce- 
 men," returned the other, " and tell tnem 
 that I haye giyen you the most satisfactory 
 
 k2
 
 196 LEONARD KORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 proofs of my not being the murderer Riley, 
 and that in consequence I am discharged 
 from custody." 
 
 " Be it so/' said Mr. Orowther, who was 
 proceeding to obey his command, when 
 Handley interposed. 
 
 " Stop a moment, my good sir," he ob- 
 served with a sneer; "it will nerer do to 
 call in those lynx-eyed fellows, while your 
 face bears such unequivocal marks of having 
 just heard something very unpleasant; 
 besides I have a few remarks more to 
 make." 
 
 "Be quick, then," said the rector, "our 
 conference has already lasted too long, and 
 .may excite suspicion." 
 
 " I am totally without money," remarked 
 Handley ; " I spent the last farthing I had 
 on a third-class ticket down to this place, for 
 I was in search of your house, when the 
 policeman collared me, and I have only you, 
 for the moment, to whom I can look for 
 funds."
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 197 
 
 " How much do you require V asked the 
 rector, hastily. 
 
 " Let me see : Maude wants something for 
 herself and her child, and I want something 
 for myself; besides, I intend taking them 
 both with me to America, and setting up as 
 an honest man there. So let it be fifteen 
 himdred pounds, and finish the matter at 
 once." 
 
 "Fifteen hundred pounds!" cried War- 
 rington Crowther; "how can I manage to 
 give you such an immense sum as that V 
 
 " You both must and can manage it," 
 replied Mark, sternly; "come, out with your 
 check-book, without any hesitation, and 
 draw me an order on your London bankers, 
 payable to Mark Handley, Esquire ; I 
 warrant the check^s being honoured. Come, 
 sir, no shilly-shallying, but choose between 
 the public exposure of your yillany, or the 
 continuance of the first-rate reputation for 
 piety and morality you at present enjoy.
 
 198 LEOJ^^ARD XORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 Freedom to me mthoiit money is useless ; I 
 would as soon swing from the Newgate drop 
 as live any longer the life I have hitherto 
 done ; but, mind, if I am brouglit to trial, 
 woe be to you/' 
 
 " There is the check,'' said the clergyman, 
 hastily writing the required order. "For 
 God's sake, quit this country immediately, 
 and never let me hear of either yourself or 
 your sister again. And now, shall I call in 
 the policemen V 
 
 " One moment more," said Mark, as soon 
 as he had read the check, and perceiyed that 
 it was correct. " I cannot pay my journey 
 to London with this ; so just give me a few 
 soYereigns — ten or twelve will do. And now 
 put on a smihng face, if possible," he con- 
 tinued, as the rector emptied his purse into 
 his hands ; " and when your myrmidons 
 enter, have the goodness to appear to be 
 asking my pardon. By the bye, call me Mr. 
 Spencer in their presence : another alias
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEES, 199 
 
 more or less, added to my list, cannot do any 
 harm.'*' 
 
 " You are quite mistaken ^ith respect to 
 this gentleman/' ohserved Mr. Warrington 
 Crowther to the policemen as thej entered 
 vita the town-clerk. "He has proved to 
 me in the most satisfactory manner that he 
 is a Mr. Spencer, arriyed this very day from 
 London. He was indeed on his way to my 
 house "when you aiTcsted him." 
 
 " What ! has he been coming that story 
 oyer you, sir V said Michael Rowan. "Why, 
 he said exactly the same thing when I caught 
 him by the collar.'' 
 
 " Of course he did," returned the rector ; 
 " and for a yery good reason, too, for it was 
 the truth. Mr. Spencer," he continued, ad- 
 dressing Mark Handley, " I am exceedingly 
 sorry for the treatment you haye receiyed at 
 the hands of these policemen. Be assured 
 any complaint you may make shall be for- 
 warded to the proper authorities."
 
 200 LEONAED Is'ORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 " You are rerj kind, sir," returned Hand- 
 ley: " but I have no complaint ^^liatever to 
 make against this honest fellow here, who, I 
 presume, really mistook me for a murderer 
 designated in the Hue and Cry, and in hopes 
 of getting the large reward offered by Go- 
 Ternment for the capture, put his hand upon 
 my collar. Strictly speaking, the act, al- 
 though wanting in courtesy, was not illegal; 
 and consequently I cannot complain of what 
 has occuiTed/' 
 
 " In that case, Michael Rowan,'^ observed 
 the magistrate, '^ you and your comrade 
 can retire. You may call at the pantry, 
 if you like, and ask for some ale before 
 you go." 
 
 " But, sir,'' exclaimed Rowan, in a voice 
 rendered piteous, as he perceived the two 
 hundred pounds he had counted on slipping 
 from his grasp, *' are you quite sure he is not 
 Joseph Riley, for he so exactly answers the 
 description in the Hue and Cry? I beg
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 201 
 
 pardon, sir, but had you not better remand 
 him T 
 
 " Rowan, jou are forgetting yourself," 
 cried the rector sternly; " I have no orders 
 to receive from you. Let me advise you to 
 stick to your duty, and never pretend to dic- 
 tate to a magistrate." 
 
 "I beg your pardon right humbly, sir," 
 replied the chop-fallen policeman; " but if 
 I have said a single word too much, you 
 must set it down to my zeal ; for pray re- 
 member, that had the gentleman turned out 
 to be Joseph Riley, it would have been two 
 hundred pounds in my pocket — one hundred 
 from Government, and the other from the 
 family of the murdered man." 
 
 " I am very sorry for you. Rowan," said 
 the town-clerk, who was a great toady of 
 the rector; "but we must hope for better 
 luck another time. My service to you, 
 sir," he continued, addressing the magis- 
 trate. "Pray give my best compliments 
 
 k3
 
 202 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 to Mrs. Orowtlier : I trust she is quite 
 well/^ 
 
 " She is in excellent health/' replied the 
 rector. " I will inform her of jour kind 
 inquiries on her return from visiting some 
 of my poor parishioners, "who are on her 
 sick-list.'^ 
 
 " Always charitable," said the town-clerk. 
 " What a pattern is your admirable noble- 
 minded lady to the county ! Her praises 
 are in every mouth. May God bless her ! 
 Indeed, God does bless her, and you too, 
 sir. You deserve indeed to be blessed," he 
 added, as he bowed out of the room. 
 
 "I say, Thompson," observed Michael 
 Rowan, as the two policemen wended their 
 way towards the pantry, " Tve no luck ; 
 them two hundred pounds would have made 
 a man of me." 
 
 " I must say," returned his comrade, 
 " that I was never so flammergasted in the 
 whole course of my life, as when the rector
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHERS. 203 
 
 told us as bow the gentleman was a gentle- 
 man, and not the rum cove we took him 
 for. Mr. Crowther knows best, onlj if ever 
 a pin looked like a pin, that 'ere Mr. Spencer 
 looked like what the Hue and Cry said 
 about Joseph Rilej." 
 
 "Aj, that's very true," echoed Rowan, 
 with a sigh ; " had any one but the rector 
 stuck up for the fellow's identity, I should 
 have felt as convinced as ever that the mur- 
 derer Riley stood before me. As it is, I 
 do not feel quite conyinced of Mr. Spencer, 
 as he calls himself, beiug an honest member 
 of society. Them swell-mob fellows do take 
 one in so. Indeed, I have a good mind to 
 waylay the fellow, and take him before 
 another magistrate.'' 
 
 "But what would Mr. Crowther say to 
 that T observed the other policeman. " He 
 was so very positive in what he asserted just 
 now, that we should get into a confounded 
 scrape, were we on our own responsibility
 
 204 LEONARD XOEMAXDALE, OR, 
 
 to arrest a man he had just set at 
 liberty/' 
 
 " Very true, Thompson," returned Rowan, 
 with a sigh ; " I am afraid indeed that all 
 chance of my getting that two hundred 
 pounds reward is gone ; and yet the rector 
 may be mistaken, for yon chap had a rare 
 good tongue for gammoning. Anyhow, Til 
 be on the look-out, and see which way that 
 Mr. Spencer goes/' 
 
 "And now, Mr. Warrington Crowther," 
 said Handlej to the rector, as soon as they 
 were alone, " there is one thing more that I 
 would advise you to perform, much more 
 for your own sake than mine, which is, to 
 order out a gig or some other rehicle of 
 your own, and have me driven oflf quickly 
 to the Norcot station, which is seven miles 
 nearer London than that of Normandale, 
 for otherwise it might suit that fellow Rowan, 
 who is a sharp one, to follow me if I left 
 this house on foot, and having arrested me
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 205 
 
 again, to take me before another magistrate, 
 ^Yllo miglit prove somewhat less accommodat- 
 ing than jom'self. Rowan, however, would 
 hardly dare take me out of a carriage of 
 jours ; and on reflection, I think you had 
 better drive me yourself to prevent acci- 
 dents, for it would be excessively inconve- 
 nient to be asked disagreeable questions." 
 
 Warrington Orowther was immediately 
 struck by the sense of this advice, and hav- 
 ing ordered out his brougham, accompanied 
 his unwelcome guest to the Norcot station, 
 and with a sigh of relieved anxiety, he saw 
 Mark Handley safely ensconced in a carriage 
 of an express train, and wafted swiftly in 
 the direction of London ! 
 
 " Curse on my ill-luck T^ said the rector, 
 as the train started; ''' fifteen hundred pounds 
 gone at once, besides being still in the 
 power of that infernal villain. Would to 
 God the train might run off the line and 
 smash him to atoms.''
 
 206 LEONAED KOPvMANDALE, OK, 
 
 And with tliis truly Cliristian-like wisli in 
 his hearty Mr. Warrington Orowther got into 
 his carriage, and desired the coachman to 
 drive to the rectorj. 
 
 About ten days after the above events, 
 the rector received a foreign letter stamped 
 with the post-mark of Havre. It contained 
 the following lines : — 
 
 " We are on board a vessel bound for 
 New York, as I thought it more prudent to 
 start from a foreign port, and in a couple of 
 hours we shall weigh anchor. Maude desires 
 me to inform you, that for her child's sake 
 she forgives you."
 
 THE THREE EROTHErS. 207 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JOCELYX, SEYEXTEENTH EAEL OF FAUCONEEIDGE. 
 
 About a montli after his father's funeral, 
 the new Earl of Faiiconbridge was seated at 
 breakfast in a splendidly-furnished dressing- 
 room, situate on the first-floor of his house 
 in Grosvenor-square. He had paid several 
 lengthened visits to different relations whose 
 estates were situated on the line of road 
 leading from Yorkshire to London. 
 
 The reason of his having so long delayed 
 his arrival in the capital, was the desire of 
 putting off the interview, which he felt must
 
 208 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 take place sooner or later, between himself 
 and his younger brothers. He would indeed 
 have remained absent from London for a 
 much longer period, had it not been abso- 
 lutely necessary for him to arrange some 
 matters of business with his town lawyers ; 
 and he had in consequence arrived at his 
 family mansion the previous evening. 
 
 The appearance of the young nobleman 
 as he sat in his easy-chair sipping his choco- 
 late, was truly aristocratic. In common 
 with his brothers, he w^as gifted with the 
 most striking beauty of face and form. His 
 countenance was intellectual, and his broad, 
 lofty brow would have at once caused a 
 phrenologist to decide that its owner was 
 a being possessed of the most extraordinary 
 genius. Nor would the disciple of Gall and 
 Spurzheim have been mistaken, for Jocelyn, 
 seventeenth Earl of Fauconbridge, was by 
 nature endowed with almost every quality 
 that could render man perfect.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 209 
 
 The reader may perhaps be surprised at 
 this assertion, for Lord Fauconbridge has by 
 no means as jet appeared in a favourable 
 light. The answer to this apparent anomaly 
 is very simple, for nature had intended him 
 to be as noble and generous as he was beau- 
 tiful and talented, but the yicious system of 
 an English education had completely per- 
 verted his heart. 
 
 Ever since his birth he had been con- 
 tinually reminded by the numerous depend- 
 ents by whom he was surrounded, of his 
 rank and birthright. Flattery and honied 
 words had constantly met his ear, and he 
 had ever been accustomed to look upon his 
 younger brothers as belonging to a different 
 class of society to himself — as beings, 
 indeed, of an inferior description. He had 
 remarked, even when a boy, that his father's 
 servants did not treat them with the same 
 servile, cringing respect as himself ; in fine, 
 he was given to understand that a younger
 
 210 LEOlN^AED KOKMANDALE, OE, 
 
 son ^>'as notliing better tlian a horseleech, 
 ready to fix his fangs npon his elder brother. 
 Indeed it may be asserted, that Lord Faii- 
 conbridge ^vould have been far more disposed 
 to assist a stranger than his two brothers, 
 and it -svas even \vith great reluctance that 
 lie accorded them a pension, trifling as it 
 \vas in comparison '\;\dth his enormous 
 income. 
 
 In making these remarks upon Lord 
 Fauconbridge, we may be said to refer to 
 every man similarly situated, with scarcely 
 a single exception. Take at hazard a thou- 
 sand elder sons in the British dominions 
 who are heirs to entailed estates, and I defy 
 any one to find out of that number more 
 than two who do not look upon their 
 younger brothers with disHke and contempt, 
 and who would put themselves to the 
 very slightest inconvenience to save them 
 from utter ruin. 
 
 Lord Fauconbridge had just finished his
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEES. 211 
 
 breakfast when a servant entered and an- 
 nounced that Messieurs Brett and Brittle, of 
 Gray's Inn, had arrived, and -^^'ere Tvaitiug 
 his Lordship's commands. 
 
 " Show them up stairs," was the answer. 
 
 A strano-er to Endand, its customs, and 
 the servile demeanour common to the middle 
 classes when in the presence of a nobleman, 
 would scarcely have imagined himself to be 
 in a free country, had he been present when 
 Messieurs Brett and Brittle, attorneys-at-law, 
 and solicitors of the High Court of Chancery, 
 entered the apartment of their noble chent. 
 They certainly did not actually fall down on 
 their faces and rub their noses in the dirt, 
 like the subjects of the Emperor of China 
 before their celestial ruler, but they pro- 
 ceeded to bow, and to cringe, and scrape 
 their feet, as though tliey were slaves in the 
 presence of their master, and would have 
 been ready, had the Earl so commanded, to 
 lick the dust from the soles of his slippers.
 
 212 LEONAKD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 Nearly fiye minutes elapsed before they 
 obeyed Lord Fauconbridge's desire for them 
 to be seated, during Avliich time the t\YO 
 partners had each repeated — or rather, Mr. 
 Brett had repeated, and Mr. Brittle echoed 
 — the words, "your Lordship," at least a 
 hundred times. 
 
 " Your Lordship," " my Lord;" ho^y s^veet 
 must those words sound to English ears ! 
 ho^Y delightfully must they tickle the palate 
 and tongues of those who utter them ! 
 Every nation has its peculiarity : the Ger- 
 man is noted for his loA^e of music, legendary 
 stories, and his pipe; while a Frenchman is, 
 with all his faults and foibles, an enthusiastic 
 admirer of military glory ; the Englishman, 
 howerer, for his part, is remarkable for his 
 devoted attachment to flunkeyhood and his 
 servile respect for a lord. 
 
 Enter that stage-coach or omnibus ; at 
 your side is seated a very ordinary-looking 
 personage, whom most probably you scarcely
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 213 
 
 notice. Suddenly joii perceive the guard 
 whisper in a most mysterious manner to 
 some passenger next to him, whose counte- 
 nance immediately puts on a most awe- 
 stricken appearance, as, with dilated eye 
 and pm'sed-up mouth, he transmits the 
 intelKgence he has just receiyed to his next 
 neighbour, who in his turn appears quite 
 OYercome with the importance of the news. 
 Presently the eyes of all turn upon the 
 ordinary-looking person next to you; whisper 
 follows whisper, and it is evident that the 
 passenger is the theme of the subdued con- 
 versation. You necessarily suppose that he 
 has been recognised as some great general, 
 or a cabinet minister, or a first-rate parlia- 
 mentary orator, or an illustrious author, or 
 a great railroad speculator, or a French 
 Montagnard leader, or perhaps some noted 
 pickpocket, whom it is the intention of the 
 guard to give into custody as soon as the 
 vehicle stops.
 
 214 LEO]S^ARD NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 Haying approached jour ear to your 
 neighbour's mouth, jou inquire in a low tone 
 Avhat is the matter. 
 
 " Don't you know/' whispers the person 
 addressed, " that the passenger next to you 
 is Lord ." 
 
 " Indeed !" is your answer; and you forth- 
 with proceed to interrogate your memory as 
 
 to what great deed the said Lord has 
 
 performed, that he should thus occasion such 
 general notice. You can recollect none. 
 You then try to remember whether he has 
 made himself remarkable in any way what- 
 ever. The same result is the consequence 
 of your cogitation ; and for excellent reasons 
 too, for the said Lord is a complete non- 
 entity. He never did or thought of doing 
 anything out of the common way; he is a 
 mere mechanical being. But then, he is a 
 Lord ; and that is the sole reason of all his 
 fellow- passengers being so utterly awe- 
 stricken. Be assured that almost every one
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHEKS. 215 
 
 of thein will remark, mtli an important air, 
 on meeting a friend in the course of the 
 day,— 
 
 " I met Lord this morning." 
 
 " Indeed," sajs the friend, with as much 
 solemnity as if he had just been informed 
 that a hundred thousand Red Republicans 
 had landed near DoYcr, and were on their 
 march tow^ards the capital. "Indeed! and 
 pray how was his lordship looking V 
 
 "My Lord," observed Mr. Brett, when he was 
 at length seated, and had taken from a canvas 
 bag a large bundle of papers, tied with red 
 tape, and deposited it on the table; "accord- 
 ing to your lordship's commands I have 
 come this morning with my partner, Mr. 
 Brittle, to talk over some of the most im- 
 portant affairs concerning your lordship's 
 property ; at the same time allow me to 
 congratulate your lordship upon the im- 
 proving state of your lordship's estates, tlie 
 Talue of which has much increased since the
 
 216 LEONAED KORMAKDALE, OR, 
 
 accession of jour lordship's lamented father, 
 the late Earl of Fauconbridge." 
 
 " How much do jou consider the rent- 
 roll of mj different estates really amounts 
 to, Mr. Brett T inquired the Earl. 
 
 " Why, your lordship's Yorkshire pro- 
 perty,'' returned the lawyer, "may be valued 
 at twenty-seven thousand a-year, the Lin- 
 colnshire estates at fifteen thousand a-year, 
 while your lordship's property in other parts 
 of England brings in about ten thousand 
 a-year more." 
 
 "Why, that makes an income of rather 
 more than fifty thousand pounds," said Lord 
 Fauconbridge, with a self-satisfied smile. 
 " Then there is the live stock and furniture, 
 of the different estates and houses to be 
 counted. By the bye, Mr. Brett, cannot my 
 brothers lay a claim to a share of that por- 
 tion of the property, it being personal?" 
 
 " Your lordship's younger brothers would 
 decidedly have been entitled to share with
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 217 
 
 your Lordship in all personal property of 
 every possible description, excepting what 
 comes under the denomination of heir-looms, 
 had the last Earl died entu'ely free of debt ; 
 but as such was not the case, the creditors 
 have the right of having the different effects 
 valued and sold for their benefit, unless 
 your lordship prefers to buy them up at a 
 valuation. Should, however, your Lordship 
 be in want of the funds necessary for that pur- 
 pose, nothing will be easier than to raise any 
 amount your Lordship may require at a very 
 small interest.'' 
 
 " Thank you, my dear sir, for your offer," 
 said Lord Fauconbridge, " but fortunately I 
 am by no means in want of money, having 
 always enjoyed, during my father's lifetime, 
 an allowance of much larger amount than 
 my expenses. I have also been exceedingly 
 lucky in various speculations, and have at 
 this moment about fifty thousand pounds at 
 my disposal, which I presume will more than 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 suffice to buy up all the live stock, furniture, 
 and other eiFects upon which my late father's 
 creditors might have claims/' 
 
 " Fifty thousand pounds r was the ex- 
 clamation of Mr. Brett, echoed by Mr. 
 Brittle; "fifty thousand pounds!" he con- 
 tinued, gazing upon his noble client with 
 real undisguised admiration. " Why, my 
 Lord, that would be sufficient to buy all the 
 furniture and live stock three times over, for 
 the pictures at Normandale Hall are heir- 
 looms, and therefore go with the entailed 
 estate." 
 
 " So much the better," observed the noble- 
 man, "for it would have been excessively 
 unpleasant to have been forced to contract 
 debts on entering into possession. Of course, 
 I am not answerable for my father's debts, 
 should any remain, beyond the amount of 
 the personal property." 
 
 " Of course not," replied the attorney ; 
 " one of the chief beauties of an entail is.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 219 
 
 that its proprietor may die owing millions, 
 while his heir succeeds to the property 
 totally unencumbered, and is not legally 
 answerable for a single penny of his prede- 
 cessor's engagements. the law of entail 
 is a splendid thing." 
 
 "Excepting always for the deceased's 
 creditors,^' obserred the Earl smiling. 
 
 " More fools they for allowing a proprietor 
 of an entailed estate to run into their debt 
 without insuring his life. They deserve, 
 indeed, to suffer for their folly and negli- 
 gence. I must, however, beg to remark 
 that although your Lordship's late respected 
 father, in consequence of the very large 
 sums he had spent in improving his estates, 
 has left no ready money, but, on the con- 
 trary, several debts of large amount, those 
 debts will be just covered by the sale of his 
 personal effects/^ 
 
 "So much the better, Mr. Brett," said 
 Lord Fauconbridge. "By-the-bye, now I 
 
 l2
 
 220 LEONARD KOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 think of it," lie continued, as tlie lawyers, 
 after having read over several deeds which 
 required their client's signature, were about 
 to retire, "might I request jou to be so 
 kind as to step over to mj bankers. Mes- 
 sieurs Flinton, and give them instmctions to 
 pay to the order of my brothers, Leonard 
 and Allen Normandale, the sum of twenty- 
 live pounds a-quarter each." 
 
 Even Messieurs Brett and Brittle, im- 
 bued as they were to their very hearts' core 
 with the treble-distilled essence of flunky- 
 hood, were somewhat taken aback on receiv- 
 ing such an order from the owner of more 
 than fifty thousand a-year; indeed, Mr. 
 Brett, convinced that he had misunderstood 
 the meaning of the Earl's words, observed 
 in a subservient voice, — 
 
 " I beg your Lordship's pardon ! but how 
 much am I to direct your Lordship's 
 bankers to pay quarterly to each of the 
 Honourable Messieui's Normandale ? "
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 221 
 
 " Five-and-twentj pounds," returned 
 Lord Fauconbridge ; " and yer j generous of 
 me too ; for the law does not compel me to 
 make mj younger brothers any allowance 
 whatever." 
 
 " Your Lordship is quite right/' remarked 
 Mr. Brett obsequiously ; " the law makes no 
 provision for the younger branches of a 
 family, the estates of which are entailed, 
 unless they (the younger branches) have 
 been provided for by the marriage settle- 
 ment. Whatever allowance, therefore, your 
 Lordship chooses to grant to the Honour- 
 able Messieurs Normandale is an act of 
 sheer generosity on your Lordship's part." 
 
 " I am decidedly of Mr. Brett's opinion," 
 echoed Mr. Brittle ; " your Lordship's gene- 
 rosity is beyond all praise." 
 
 Did Lord Fauconbridge in his heart con- 
 sider that the eulogies so liberally bestowed 
 by his two attorneys were merited, or did 
 his conscience upbraid him for his mean
 
 222 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 ungenerous conduct '? It would be difficult 
 to answer such a question; for so com- 
 pletely are tlie younger branches of the Eng- 
 lish aristocracy estranged from the heart of 
 their elder brother; so completely does the 
 head of the family consider his parents' 
 children as aliens; that it is possible for an 
 English nobleman, although the possessor of 
 millions, to suiFer his brothers to die of 
 starvation at his very door, without feeling 
 the slightest compunction or pangs of con- 
 science. 
 
 The difference that exists in the British 
 dominions between the condition of children 
 belonging to the same family is enormous, 
 and contrary to nature. For instance, take 
 two brothers, sons of a British nobleman or 
 large landed proprietor. They are both 
 educated in the same expensive manner; 
 they are both accustomed from their earliest 
 childhood to the same luxuries; they are 
 both brought up as though they were
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 223 
 
 "friiges consumere nati, sed non producere/' 
 but wlien tliej have arrived at manhood, 
 how changed is their position. The elder, 
 during his father's lifetime, receives a large 
 annual income, ^vhich enables him to keep 
 his carriages, his horses, and his servants, 
 and enjoj all the luxuries he has hitherto 
 been so accustomed to that thej have be- 
 come necessaries. If he feel inclined to 
 marry, he has merely to take his choice 
 from out a market of the most beautiftd and 
 accomplished women in the world ; and he 
 in general is married early, and is appa- 
 rently kept clear from immorality and de- 
 bauchery. 
 
 Pushed on by his family's wealth, he pro- 
 bably enters parliament, and having silently 
 voted for a few years with the Ministry of 
 the day, he takes office, — perhaps as an 
 Under-Secretary of State, of the duties of 
 which he knows as much as does the man 
 in the moon. As, however, there is always
 
 224 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 an immovable Under-Secretary, who remains 
 in office through all the changes of Ministry, 
 his ignorance does not much signify. In 
 consequence he earns fifteen hundred a-year, 
 without much trouble. In time he becomes, 
 perhaps, a Cabinet Minister; — there again 
 ignorance is no obstacle, for he can always 
 find understrappers to do his work. 
 
 Suppose, however, the elder brother to 
 be disinclined to enter 'public life, or, in 
 other words, be fond of taking his pleasure, 
 in that case he divides his time between his 
 country-house, his town mansion, and his 
 annual tour on the continent. In fine, he 
 is regarded as an excellent moral character, 
 and is highly respected by all who know 
 him. It is true, indeed, that some of these 
 favoured children of fortune, not contented 
 with the immense estate they inherit from 
 their fathers, contract enormous debts, — for 
 what tradesman can refuse credit to a man 
 who possesses a rent-roll of many thou- 
 sands ?
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 225 
 
 These debts are in general never paid, 
 because the estates being strictly entailed, 
 cannot be touched by the creditors ; and 
 there are few instances of the son and heir 
 being honest enough to pay the debts of 
 his father, when he conies into possession of 
 the property at the death of the latter. 
 
 The system of entail is in reality nothing 
 more than a legal swindle. 
 
 What a different life is that of the 
 younger son ! He certainly enjoys the ad- 
 vantages of a liberal education, and may 
 enter some profession : — " the army, the 
 navy, the bar, and the church." 
 
 In time of peace, however, the army can 
 scarcely be termed a profession, for there 
 hardly exists a single officer who can live 
 upon his pay, his expenses far exceeding his 
 receipts. Besides, an officer must purchase 
 his commissions, otherwise he wiU remain 
 on the list of Lieutenants, with but a very 
 faint hope of obtaining advancement. 
 
 l3
 
 226 
 
 As for the nayj, in order to get on in 
 that profession, one must have very powerful 
 friends or relations, whose interest is para- 
 mount at the Admiralty; and supposing that 
 a young scion of nobility attains the rank 
 of Post Captain in the very shortest period 
 of time possible, his pay does not even then 
 amount to as much as the wages of his 
 brother s steward. 
 
 As for the law, in addition to the very 
 large sums required to be spent by the law 
 student before he can be called to the bar, 
 there is a prejudice in the English courts 
 against young barristers, for they are not 
 supposed to have the ear of the court and 
 until a lawyer be far advanced in years, if 
 even then, he seldom receives a brief. 
 
 The profession of an attorney is indeed 
 very lucrative, but then to be a good attor- 
 ney, one must be neither a Christian nor a 
 gentleman. 
 
 For a younger son, therefore, to enter
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEES. 227 
 
 any of the aboTe-mentioned professions, is 
 to commence a life of privation, full of con- 
 stant struggles to keep up appearances ; — 
 those struggles being rendered more heart- 
 rending by the contrast, ever before his 
 eyes, between his own condition and that of 
 his elder brother. 
 
 There remains indeed for him the pro- 
 fession of the church, and provided he gets 
 inducted to a good family living, the younger 
 son, who enters holy orders, may, as we have 
 already shown in the course of this work, 
 by describing the character of the Rev. 
 Warrington Crowther, find his lot in life 
 not intolerable ; but as the aspirant after 
 holy orders is obliged to assert that^ he feels 
 prompted by the Holy Ghost to become a 
 minister of Christ, it is blasphemy to be- 
 come a clergyman merely with the intention 
 of making the church a profession, and 
 enjoying the luxuries placed within one's 
 reach by the possession of a rich living.
 
 228 IXOXAED KOEMA^'DALE, 01?, 
 
 The younger sod, therefore, ^vho has any 
 feelings of conscience has in realitj no pro- 
 fession open to him. 
 
 Hard as is the life of a scorpion during 
 his father's lifetime, it is happy in compari- 
 son to what it hecomes after his decease, 
 for then he is left totally dependant upon 
 the charity of his elder brother ; and nine 
 hundred and ninety-nine times out of a 
 thousand that elder brother regards his 
 unfortunate junior as the dirt beneath his 
 feet, and treats him accordingly. If, how- 
 ever, he doles out to the wretched being a 
 niggardly pittance, — not so much as he gives 
 to his valet, — he never neglects an oppor- 
 tunity of making him feel, and keenly feel, 
 his dependent condition. 
 
 Some years ago England nobly emanci- 
 pated the slaves in the colonies ; but there 
 still remains a race of Helots in the mother 
 country, whose lot is, in comparison, far more 
 wretched than was that of the West India
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 229 
 
 To return to our narratiye. 
 
 A few minutes after the departure of the 
 two attorneys, Lord Fauconbridge's valet 
 entered. 
 
 "Mr. Leonard Normandale is below, mj 
 Lord," he observed. 
 
 "Show him up stairs,'' replied the Earl.
 
 230 LEOI^AED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE ELDEB AND THE TOUNGEB BKOTHEB. 
 
 "How are jou, Leonard 1" exclaimed 
 Lord Fauconbridge, holding out his hand in 
 a patronising manner as his brother entered 
 the room. 
 
 " Quite well, thank jou, my dear Joceljn ; 
 and JOU '?" 
 
 "As well as can be expected after a 
 month's worry. I assure you that I am 
 nearly bored out of my senses ; it is only 
 ten minutes since my lawyers, Brett and
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 231 
 
 Brittle, have left me. For the last hour I 
 have been over head and ears in business. 
 I tell jou what, mj dear Leonard, the metier 
 of an elder son is not altogether couleur-de- 
 rose.'' 
 
 " At any rate,'' said Leonard, smiling, " I 
 do not imagine you Avould exactly wish to 
 change places with me and Allen." 
 
 " Indeed I would, that is, if it were pos- 
 sible ; but as it is not, there is no use what- 
 ever in my preferring to be a younger son, 
 with all his freedom from care and annoy- 
 ance, rather than an elder son, with all the 
 tumult and worry the management of his 
 colossal affairs brings down upon his head.'' 
 
 " If you imagine that Allen and myself 
 are free from care and annoyance," returned 
 Leonard, " you are strangely mistaken. It 
 is on that very account I am here. — Nay, 
 listen to me, Jocelyn," he continued, on 
 observing that Lord Fauconbridge was show- 
 ing signs of impatience, — " listen to me while
 
 232 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 I lay Allen's situation before jou, for I am 
 not going to speak of myself/' 
 
 " That is to say," observed his brother, 
 "that after you are gone, I shall receive a 
 visit from Allen, who will, in his turn, lay 
 your situation before me without speaking 
 of himself. The long and short of the matter 
 is, that you are going to plead each other's 
 causes." 
 
 " You mistake my meaning entirely," re- 
 plied Leonard. "I am certainly here to plead 
 Allen's cause ; but for myself, neither I nor 
 others have any intention to plead. I am 
 no beggar, and do not intend to request you 
 to increase my allowance, mean as it is for 
 your fortune and my rank." 
 
 " What ! do you call a hundred a-year 
 nothing?" cried Lord Fauconbridge. "I 
 assure you there are many who would wish 
 to be in your shoes, that's all. A hundred 
 a-year for nothing ! You ought to consider 
 yourself exceedingly lucky."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 233 
 
 " I do not intend," returned Normandale, 
 "to make any allusion to wliat mj poor 
 father allowed us when he was alive, and 
 what he entreated jou when on his death- 
 bed to allow us when he should be gone. If 
 your heart and feelings do not prompt you 
 to execute our parent's last wishes, I am 
 perfectly aware that no entreaties on our 
 part will effect the slightest change in your 
 intention." 
 
 " You have a proud spirit of your own, 
 Leonard," said the Earl. 
 
 "I am a Normandale," replied his 
 brother. 
 
 "Brayo," exclaimed Lord Fauconbridge 
 ironically, " bravo ; you are very likely 
 indeed to make your way in the world. 
 Take my word for it, Leonard, a little 
 humility in a man, unless he have at least 
 ten thousand a-year, is by no means amiss. 
 It is for oaks only to stand against the 
 storm ; willows must bend."
 
 234 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 " Instead of taunting me with the inde- 
 pendence of spirit," returned Leonard, " with 
 which nature and birth have endowed me, 
 jou should be proud, Joceljn, of your 
 brother's never forgetting lie is a Norman- 
 dale. But allow me to return to the subject 
 which has brought me here, and to beg of 
 JOU to listen attentively, for the happiness 
 of Allen is in your hands/' 
 
 " Proceed," said Lord Fauconbridge, tak- 
 ing no pains to repress the yawn, which 
 proved how little the welfare of his brother 
 interested his feelings; " proceed ; but be as 
 quick as possible, for it is nearly one o'clock, 
 and my carriage is to call for me precisely 
 at that hour, for an affair which cannot be 
 put off." 
 
 Notwithstanding the cold, heartless tone 
 of voice in which Lord Fauconbridge spoke, 
 Leonard was determined not to be discou- 
 raged, and in the calmest and most persau- 
 sive manner possible he proceeded to narrate
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 235 
 
 the unfortunate situation in whicli Allen 
 found himself. He concluded bj entreating 
 the Earl to pay the six hundred pounds for 
 which their youngest brother was liable. 
 
 " And supposing that I was disposed to 
 assist Allen in his difficulties/' obseryed the 
 Earl, " how the devil am I to manage to find 
 six hundred pounds ?" 
 
 " Surely/' cried his brother, "you can have 
 no difficulty in procuring that sum.'' 
 
 " Indeed ! that is your opinion," returned 
 Lord Fauconbridge ; " a pretty idea you 
 seem to have of the value of money ! Why, 
 at this moment I scarcely know where to 
 look for a hundred pounds. My father, as 
 you well know, left no ready money; but, on 
 the contrary, debts to a large amount ; and 
 it is with the greatest difficulty that Mes- 
 sieurs Brett and Brittle are enabled to pro- 
 cure me the funds necessary to purchase the 
 furniture and live stock at a valuation, for 
 the benefit of my father's creditors."
 
 236 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 " Surely if jou can raise the thousands 
 necessary to buy up the personal effects of 
 my poor father, you could manage to raise 
 six hundred pounds more, in order to save 
 your brother from ruin." 
 
 " I tell you again, it is impossible. Be- 
 sides, if Allen be ruined, it is entirely his 
 own fault. Why the deyil did he run into 
 debt, when he had no means of paying T 
 
 " First of all, he has not run into debt ; 
 but what he is liable for is a sum of money 
 owing by a brother officer, who for the mo- 
 ment cannot pay the bill accepted by Allen; 
 and secondly, when our brother became 
 security for his friend, my father was alive, 
 from whom he was in the receipt of an allow- 
 ance of twelve hundred a-year." 
 
 " I cannot help it," said the Earl. " You 
 have my answer ; it is impossible for me to 
 assist Allen, who is, in my opinion, a thorough 
 fool to become answerable for any one." 
 
 " But if the bill be not paid at maturity.
 
 THE THREE BKOTHERS. 237 
 
 Allen will be arrested and lose his commis- 
 sion, at a moment, too, when he is getting 
 on so well. Remember that his courageous 
 conduct in China has procured him a brevet 
 majority; and that if you do not come to 
 his assistance, his career, so well begun, will 
 be irrevocably lost." 
 
 *' I am very sorry," said Lord Faucon- 
 bridge coldly ; " but I cannot do anything 
 for him. And, by the bye, the carriage will 
 be at the door in a few minutes, and I must 
 be off ; so, my dear fellow, I must wish you 
 good bye for the present. I woidd ask you 
 to dinner ; but as I am a bachelor, I do not 
 keep up any estabhshment, and dine at my 
 club." 
 
 Notwithstanding that it was perfectly evi- 
 dent that Lord Fauconbridge had no inten- 
 tion of affording the sHghtest assistance to 
 Major Normandale, Leonard over and over 
 again attempted to induce his brother to 
 alter his determination. He almost indeed
 
 :23.8 LEONAKD NOEMANDALE, OR, 
 
 went upon his knees before the unfeeling 
 nobleman ; but he might as well have ad- 
 dressed himself to a stone, for Lord Faucon- 
 bridge met all his entreaties with a refusal, 
 which was rendered more harsh bj his cold, 
 sneering manner. 
 
 At length, perceiving that he was wasting 
 his time in useless prayers, the unliappy 
 young man cast a withering glance upon his 
 elder brother, and exclaiming, " Jocelyn, you 
 have no heart !" rushed hastily, almost fran- 
 tically, from the room. 
 
 No sooner was he gone, than Lord Fau- 
 conbridge rang the bell, and ordered his car- 
 riage to be brought round; and having entered 
 it, he directed the coachman to drive him to 
 the house of an Italian opera-singer, to whom 
 he accorded what is termed his protection. 
 On the road to the lady's abode, he stopped 
 at Storr and Mortimer's, and purchased as a 
 present for the fair cantatrice a magnificent 
 diamond necklace, the price of which
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHEES. 239 
 
 amounted to more than the sum he had just 
 refused to pay in order to save his younger 
 brother from ruin. 
 
 Start not, gentle readers. Do not be 
 horrified, and cry out, " Impossible \" for 
 such things are of frequent occurrence in the 
 dominions of Her Britannic Majesty.
 
 240 LEONARD NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW CAPTAIN FLOCKS BECAME EAEL OF 
 CASTLEMOAT. 
 
 "We have but one chance left/' said 
 Leonard, after having informed his brother 
 of the want of success that had attended his 
 application to Lord Fauconbridge. 
 
 "What is iti" inquired Allen. 
 
 " We must lay your case before your god- 
 father, Lord Oastlemoat," replied liconard. 
 " I met him in the street on my way hither, 
 and he asked us both to dinner for this 
 evening ; and an invitation from him is such
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 241 
 
 a miracle, that I regard it as a fortunate 
 omen.'' 
 
 '•'I cannot agree with you,'' said his 
 brother; "for Lord Castlemoat, although 
 enormously rich, is as araricious as Daniel 
 Dancer, the prince of misers. Notwith- 
 standing his large fortune, he never did a 
 generous act in his life." 
 
 "But surely when he hears how you are 
 situated, he cannot refuse to assist jou," 
 obseryed Leonard ; "I intend making the 
 application after dinner, when his heart may 
 be somewhat more open to the promptings 
 of generosity.'' 
 
 Allen shook his head, for he was well 
 acquainted with Lord Castlemoat's character: 
 he well knew that no spark of feeling had 
 eyer warmed the breast of that nobleman ; 
 and that sooner than unloose his purse- 
 strings for any one but himself and his own 
 family, he would have seen the whole race 
 of mankind perish before his eyes. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 James Winters Flocks, Earl of Castle- 
 moat, was originally born a younger son ; his 
 father, then Baron Westerton, had placed both 
 him and his elder brother, Walter, in the 
 army ; and at the period of the Peninsular 
 war, the one was lieutenant-colonel, and the 
 other captain in the same regiment of 
 dragoons. 
 
 Colonel Flocks was by no means an un- 
 kind man ; unlike elder sons in general, his 
 purse was ever open to his younger brother, 
 who did not neglect to profit by the Colonel's 
 generosity, not on account of any disposition 
 for extravagance, but in order to hoard up 
 the money thus received ; for a phrenolo- 
 gist would on examining the head of the 
 honourable James Winters Flocks, have 
 found the organ of acquisitiveness largely- 
 developed. 
 
 Colonel Flocks was one of the bravest 
 officers in the British army, and had fre- 
 quently distinguished himself on the field of
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 243 
 
 battle ; while, on the contrary, the captain, 
 his brother, had the greatest difficiiltj in 
 concealing from his brother officers the ex- 
 cessive pusillanimity of spirit with which 
 nature had cursed him. Almost all ayari- 
 cious close-fisted men are cowards. 
 
 It was during a gallant charge made by 
 the — th dragoons at the Battle of Vittoria, 
 so glorious to the British arms, that Colonel 
 Flocks fell at the head of his reo^iment. To 
 the great surprise, however, of the surgeons 
 who examined the corpse of the fallen man, 
 it was discovered that his death had been 
 occasioned by a ball which had lodged in 
 the' back of his head. As the Colonel at 
 the moment of his fall was galloping in front 
 of his men, there were no other means of 
 explaining this extraordinary circumstance, 
 than by supposing that he had been killed 
 at the moment he had turned round on his 
 saddle, in order to cheer on his soldiers. 
 
 There ^ere two persons, however, in the 
 
 m2
 
 244 LEONAED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 regiment, who could Lave told a different 
 tale. 
 
 After the battle was over, Captain Flocks, 
 apparently absorbed in grief, was passing 
 through a field in which several dragoons of 
 his regiment who had been wounded, were 
 receiving the attentions of the surgeons. 
 Near the door was lying a sergeant, who had 
 just had his arm amputated, and whom the 
 captain recognized as the son of one of his 
 father's tenants. Having approached the 
 wounded man, he addressed a few words of 
 comfort to him, when, to his surprise, the 
 sergeant turned his head away, with every 
 sign of horror. 
 
 " My good fellow," said Captain Flocks, 
 much surprised at the man's manner, " are 
 you suffering very much, and is there any- 
 thing I can do for you'?" 
 
 "Oh, Mr. James ! Mr. James !" muttered 
 the sergeant, " is it indeed yourself, and not 
 the devil in your place V
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEKS. 245 
 
 Captain Flocks, imagining that the man's 
 head was wandering, proceeded to address 
 him in the most soothing terms, telling him 
 to be of good heart, for that he should never 
 want for anything. 
 
 *' CoUjer," he continued, " jou are a brave 
 fellow, and have nobly done your duty ; 
 how proud your father will be of you." 
 
 " Would youi' father be proud of you, Mr. 
 James," returned the sergeant, "did he know 
 what you have done T 
 
 "What mean you, CoUyer'?" cried the 
 captain ; "you rave." 
 
 " Oh, no, Mr. James !" said Collyer, " I 
 don't rave — I saw it all : it was an ac- 
 cursed deed, and the devil prompted you 
 to it." 
 
 Captain Flocks turned pale at these words, 
 and was unable to reply, for he was con- 
 science-stricken. 
 
 " Yes ! the devil prompted you," con- 
 tinued the sergeant ; " I saw it all ; I saw
 
 2-16 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 jou take the pistol from jour holster, and 
 fire it at the head of your brother. — Lord 
 have mercj upon him ! Oh, Mr. James, you 
 aimed sure, for you were just behind him, 
 and you thought the smoke would prevent 
 any one seeing the foul deed ; but I was at 
 your side, I saw you blow out the brains of 
 our excellent colonel. Oh, Mr. James, had 
 it been any other than yourself, I would 
 have done God's justice upon you with my 
 own hand. But as it is, I would not have 
 the family disgraced, and so leave you to be 
 punished by your conscience. The Lord 
 forgive you, if it be possible ; but pray leave 
 me, for I shall not die in peace with the 
 murderer of his brother beside me.'' 
 
 Captain Flocks rushed from the spot, 
 overcome by fear and the workings of his 
 conscience. 
 
 The next morning, to his great relief, he 
 heard that Sergeant OoUyer had died of his 
 wounds duriuo^ the ni^ht.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 247 
 
 Shortly after the battle, Captain Flocks, 
 now the eldest son of his family, sold out of 
 the army, and returned to England. At 
 the peace, his father was created Earl of 
 Castlemoat and Viscount Westerton, the 
 latter of which titles was assumed by his 
 eldest surviying son, James Winters Flocks, 
 who shortly afterwards espoused Miss de 
 Beaujolois, a cousin of Lady Fauconbridge. 
 This union was followed by the birth of one 
 son and two daughters. About fifteen years 
 after the marriage of his eldest son, Lord 
 Castlemoat died, and James Winters Flocks 
 succeeded to the title as second Earl, and to 
 a fortune of almost fabulous amount. 
 
 The personal appearance of James, Earl 
 of Castlemoat, was singularly unprepossess- 
 ing; his face, indeed, bore more resemblance 
 to that of a monkey than of a human being. 
 He was of a vain, pompous disposition, 
 and imagined himself to be both a great 
 orator and a profound politician. Be it
 
 248 LEONARD NOllMANDALE, OR, 
 
 observed that that opinion was confined to 
 himself. 
 
 Lord Westerton, the only son of Lord 
 Oastlemoat, \yas a fac-simile of his father. 
 He was indeed both in mind and body a 
 complete specimen of a Yahoo, and had he 
 not been the heir to a peerage, would never 
 have been tolerated in society. As it was, 
 however, he was so piijffed up with his won- 
 derful talents so vaunted by his parents, 
 that he was considered by those not very 
 intimate with him, as a young man of 
 extraordinary capacity and abilities. 
 
 To prove the infatuation of his father, it 
 will ' be sufficient to relate the following 
 anecdote : — 
 
 Lord Castlemoat had come up to London 
 at the opening of Parliament, and as the 
 season could hardly be said to have com- 
 menced (it w^as the end of January), he had 
 taken up his abode at Lord Fauconbridge's 
 house, in order to save the expense of
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 249 
 
 keeping up an establishment of his o^Yn. 
 Leonard Normandale happened to be staj- 
 ino: at the same time in his father s house 
 in Grosvenor Square ; and was one morning 
 in the act of dressing, when Lord Oastle- 
 moat hastily entered his room triumphantly 
 brandishing a letter. 
 
 " Westerton has just taken his de- 
 gree/' he exclaimed; "and a magnificent 
 one too.'' 
 
 " AYhat, a first class V naturally inquii^ed 
 Leonard. 
 
 "Oh no, not quite that," returned the 
 Earl. 
 
 "A second class then," responded Nor- 
 mandale, " and a very good degree too." 
 
 " Why, not exactly a second class," said 
 Lord Castlemoat ; " it would have been 
 expecting rather too much." 
 
 "A third class is by no means a bad 
 degree, particularly for a nobleman," ha- 
 zarded Leonard. 
 
 m3
 
 250 LEONAED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 " To be frank, Westerton has not taken 
 a third class,^^ remarked the Earl. 
 
 Leonard was silent. He was aware that 
 in the examination for honours at Oxford, 
 there were but four classes. 
 
 "Westerton has taken a fourth class," 
 continued Lord Castlemoat, " and he de- 
 serves the greatest credit for his application. 
 It is not everj one who can take such honours 
 as a fourth class." 
 
 " He might indeed have been plucked," 
 Leonard longed to observe. He did not, 
 however, wish to offend the triumphant 
 father; so without making any further ob- 
 servation, he allowed Lord Castlemoat to 
 chaunt the praises of his precious first- 
 born. 
 
 Such was the character of the nobleman 
 who had invited the two brothers to dinner, 
 and to whom Allen was about to apply as a 
 last resource — a sort of forlorn hope — forlorn 
 indeed !
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 251 
 
 " I am quite certain that it is useless 
 asking my godfather for any assistance," 
 observed Allen, as the two brothers were 
 proceeding in the direction of Lord Castle- 
 moat's mansion. 
 
 "We must hope for the best," said his 
 brother; " for perhaps we may be mistaken 
 in our estimation of his close-fistedness." 
 
 " Oh no, we are far from being mistaken 
 as to that matter," observed Allen, mourn- 
 fully. " I tell you what, Leonard, I have 
 more chance of receiving back my acceptance 
 from the holder without its being paid, than 
 of obtaining the slightest assistance from 
 Lord Castlemoat. I know him, alas ! too 
 well ; for I recollect that the day I came of 
 age, he was staying at my father's house. 
 In the evening he called me aside, and after 
 observing that he was my godfather, he 
 proceeded to give me " 
 
 " Five hundred pounds V suggested 
 Leonard, as Allen paused, " considering the
 
 252 LEONARD NORMAXDALE, OR, 
 
 amount of liis fortime and the occasion, lie 
 could not have ojiyen less." 
 
 " a great deal of advice," continued 
 
 Allen ; " advice impossible to be followed ; 
 then putting his hand into his pocket, he 
 pulled out " 
 
 "Fiye hundred pounds?" said his bro- 
 ther. 
 
 " his pocket handkerchief," conti- 
 nued Major Normandale; " and having 
 wiped his face and blown his nose, he put 
 on a pompous air, and in a pompous Yoice 
 observed : — ^ And noWj mj dear AHe»> \ 
 cof.!!'^--r ^^l^.t I have uohe mj duty as a 
 godfather. Follow tlie advice I have given 
 you, and you will be an honour to your 
 family ;' and then putting his handkerchief 
 into his pocket, he walked, or rather stalked 
 away." 
 
 " Was that before or after dinner V in- 
 quired Leonard. 
 
 " After."
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 253 
 
 " In that case/' added Leonard, as tliej 
 arrived at the door of the nobleman's house, 
 "I am afraid there is little chance of orettino; 
 anything from Lord Castlemoat/'
 
 254 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AX EASTERN PEENIPOTEXTIAEY. 
 
 The company assembled at Lord Castle- 
 moat's was composed almost entirely of 
 relations and connections, all of them in 
 mourning for the death of Lord Faucon- 
 bridge. Among the yery few guests, how- 
 eyer, who were not allied to the master of 
 the house, was Sir Sawney Macrise, a per- 
 sonage who was a remarkable instance 
 that a man of yery second-rate abilities, 
 proyided he be totally deyoid of common
 
 THE THEEE BEOTHERS. 255 
 
 honour, gratitude, and feeling, maj easily 
 succeed in tlie world. 
 
 Sir Sawney Macrise was the son of a 
 fanner in the Scotch isles, who, being 
 desii'ous of pushing his child forward, de- 
 termined to take him from the plough and 
 make a doctor of him ; and at the age of 
 thirteen young Sawney was apprenticed to 
 an apothecary of Glasgow. 
 
 The star of the young islander must hare 
 been generally in the ascendant, for although 
 it was well known that he several times 
 failed in passing the examination requisite 
 for his being received a member of the Col- 
 lege of Surgeons, and finally had merely 
 scraped through in a most lame and dis- 
 creditable manner, he was fortunate enough 
 to receive, when about two-and-twenty years 
 of age, an appointment from the East India 
 Company as Assistant-Surgeon in a regi- 
 ment of Native Infantry. 
 
 How he managed to procure the appoint-
 
 256 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 ment Avill ever remain a mystery; indeed, 
 liis old master, the apothecary, when he 
 heard of the event observed, " Sawney, 
 Sawney, I knaw'd he ware a canny doog ; it 
 woont be his ain fault if he doont becoom 
 Governor- General, for he'd coot his ain 
 father's throait if he imaagined that the 
 dooing on't wad advance him a bittock on 
 his wa." 
 
 Notwithstanding his ignorance of his 
 profession, Sawney Macrise rose gradually 
 to the rank of Surgeon-in-chief to his 
 regiment, and at length obtained the ap- 
 pointment — Heaven alone knows how he 
 mana'f]:ed it, — of Suro^eon to the British Le- 
 gation in . 
 
 In this situation he intrigued, and lied, 
 and twisted and turned about, until he cap- 
 tivated the thorough good will and confi- 
 dence of Sir James Warbell, the Ambassa- 
 dor, who, not content with assisting the 
 Doctor with his purse, in the most generous
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 257 
 
 manner, neglected no opportunity of push- 
 ing forward his interests at head-quarters. 
 
 At the end of several years the Secretary 
 of the Legation died, and, at the earnest 
 request of Sir James Warbell, the place was 
 given to Doctor Sawney Macrise. 
 
 No sooner did the canny Scotchman 
 attain this elevated position, than, forgetful, 
 or rather unmindful of all the obligations 
 he was under to his kind, generous chief, he 
 began to intrigue in order to achieve the 
 downfal of his benefactor, hoping that, 
 should Sir James Warbell be recalled, he, 
 Sawney Macrise, would be appointed to his 
 place. 
 
 The intrigues of the islander were but 
 too successful, and after a series of the 
 foulest plots and the most infamous lies, 
 reported by himself and his friends, Doctor 
 Sawney Macrise succeeded in entirely sap- 
 ping the reputation of his benefactor at 
 head- quarters, and procuring the recal of
 
 258 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 the best Envoy that was ever sent out to 
 the East. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Sawney Macrise had 
 the satisfaction of receiving from the hands 
 of the Minister for Foreign Affairs the ap- 
 pointment of Envoy Extraordinary and 
 Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of 
 
 Any one might have supposed that 
 Sawney Macrise would have been satisfied 
 with what he had obtained in so vile a 
 manner; but the new Envoy was deter- 
 mined, by hook or by crook, to rise still 
 higher. 
 
 On Sawney Macrise reaching the capital 
 of the Oriental monarch in his new ca- 
 pacity, the Ministers were naturally sur- 
 prised at a person who had originally filled 
 such a humble situation in the Legation 
 being sent out as an Ambassador; and 
 Doctor Sawney Macrise was not received 
 (at least he so imagined) with quite as much
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 2.59 
 
 respect and honour as he considered him- 
 self entitled to. Besides which, many of 
 the inhabitants of the capital, both rich and 
 poor, thronged, as is customary in Eastern 
 countries, to the Envoy's residence, in 
 order to consult him concerning their 
 diseases, as they had formerly been wont 
 to do, when the Envoy, acting in the ca- 
 pacity of physician, used to purge and bolus 
 them. 
 
 The Scotchman's dignity was hurt, or 
 rather pretended to be hurt, at these 
 affronts, — for in such a Hght did he choose 
 to consider them, — and vowing vengeance, 
 he conducted himself in such a haughty 
 and contemptuous manner, that he en- 
 tirely alienated the goodwill hitherto enter- 
 tained by the King and people towards 
 England. 
 
 There were many persons, however, well
 
 260 LEONARD Is^ORMANDALE, OE, 
 
 acquainted with Eastern affairs, who were 
 disposed to assert that Mr. Sawnej Macrise 
 merely acted as he did at the instigation of 
 Russia, from whose government he was in 
 the habit of receiving large bribes. But, 
 whatever was the real reason, he, by means 
 too long to insert here, irretrievably ruined 
 
 the interests of his country in , by his 
 
 course of policy, and at length returned to 
 England, having withdrawn the Legation 
 
 from the territory at a moment 
 
 when, had he done his dutv, he ou^ht to 
 have pursued an exactly opposite line of 
 conduct. 
 
 Every one who took the least interest in 
 Eastern aflfairs, naturally supposed that Mr. 
 Sawney Macrise would have been dismissed 
 fom the diplomatic service with disgrace ; 
 but, to the surprise of all, the Foreign Secre- 
 tary — for reasons best known to himself —
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 261 
 
 received the EnToj witli every outward ap- 
 pearance of cordiality, and presented him to 
 the Queen as a personage deserving the ut- 
 most distinction. 
 
 In consequence, Mr. Sawney !Macrise was 
 made a Civil Grand Cross of the Bath, to 
 the utter indignation of those who, having 
 earned that distinguished order by hard- 
 fought services in the fields of diplomacy, 
 were naturally disgusted at seeing it so 
 prostituted. 
 
 Sir Sawney Macrise, G.C.B., remained 
 several years at home, receiving his pay and 
 retaining his situation as Envoy, when at 
 length such a general outcry was raised at 
 so great an abuse of the Government 
 money, that a successor was appointed, and 
 the illustrious Sir Sawney Macrise, G.C.B., 
 retired upon an excellent pension. 
 
 Be it remarked, en passant, tliat Sir
 
 262 LEONAED NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 Sawney Macrise had entirely forgotten the 
 obligations under which he lay to his 
 former chief, Sir James Warbell. So far 
 indeed was this want of memory carried, 
 that Sir Sawney had been actually heard 
 to assert that he never in the whole 
 course of his life received a loan, or indeed 
 any kindness whatever, from Sir James 
 Warbell. 
 
 Alas for the honour of human nature, 
 the world abounds with Sirs Sawney 
 Macrise ! 
 
 On entering Lord Oastlemoat's drawing- 
 room, Leonard and Allen were received as 
 younger sons are usually received, that is, 
 with the utmost nonchalance. Indeed, with 
 the exception of Lord and Lady Castlemoat 
 and their family, there was hardly any one 
 present, although those assembled consisted 
 almost entirely of relations, who took the
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 263 
 
 trouble of addressing no more than a com- 
 mon inquiry after their health ; and even 
 those who shook hands with the U\o Parias, 
 did so at most with two fingers and a 
 poke. 
 
 "I had invited jour brother Faucon- 
 bridge as well as youi'selyes/^ said Lord 
 Castlemoat, " but he sent me word that he 
 was already engaged." 
 
 *^ I trust his Lordship is quite well/^ ob- 
 served Sir Sawney Macrise, who never lost 
 an opportunity of claiming acquaintance 
 with a Lord. 
 
 " I saw my brother this morning/' replied 
 Leonard, " and he appeared to be in excel- 
 lent health." 
 
 " I am delighted to hear it," said the 
 G.C.B., " for I was well acquainted with 
 your late excellent father, whose loss to the 
 country will be irreparable/'
 
 264 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 Leonard and Allen bowed their acknow- 
 ledgments. 
 
 "I may term the late Lord Fauconbridge 
 a brother diplomatist/' continued Sir Saw- 
 ney ; " although he had quitted the seryice 
 before I entered it. His Lordship was one 
 of the most illustrious members of the Order 
 of the Bath." 
 
 " Which he earned by long and arduous 
 services," observed Allen ; " no one could 
 complain of my poor father being favoured, 
 when he received the ribbon and star of 
 G.O.B." 
 
 Sir Sawney Macrise wore at that very 
 moment the ribbon and star of the Order, 
 and he turned very red as Major Norman- 
 dale made the above observation ; and hav- 
 ing stammered out a few vague sentences, 
 he took the first opportunity of joining a 
 group at the opposite end of tlie room.
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 265 
 
 "Lord Oastlemoat," observed a Scotch 
 cousin of the host, shortly after the dinner 
 had commenced ; '* did you hear of the 
 awful scrape I was nearly getting into at 
 
 Cadiz r 
 
 " No," replied the Earl, " what was 
 
 itr^ 
 
 "Why, I had been buying an immense 
 quantity of curiosities, costumes, and other 
 things, and besides had run up an enormous 
 bill at the hotel. Well! the hot weather 
 was setting in, the place had become into- 
 lerable, and I determined to quit the country 
 by the first steamer, which I suddenly dis- 
 covered was about to start for England that 
 very afternoon. Being desirous of taking 
 my passage on board the vessel, and my 
 passport being en regie, all that remained 
 for me to do was to get in my bills and pay 
 them. Now nothing was easier than to get 
 my bills in, for my courier had no sooner 
 mentioned that I was about to depart, than 
 
 YOL. I. N
 
 266 LEONARD NORM AND ALE, OR, 
 
 in thej flowed like breakers during a gale of 
 wind. All that remained, therefore, was to 
 paj. That was not very difficult, as I had 
 a good letter of credit upon the first banker 
 of the town ; and although I had drawn 
 pretty freely upon it, enough remained to 
 pay all my debts ^Ye times oyer. 
 
 " Having calculated the amount I wanted, 
 I started off for my banker's establish- 
 ment. On my entering his office he wished 
 me a good morning, and told me to con- 
 sider his house as my own. 
 
 " I answered that I would not trespass so 
 far upon his generosity, being merely in 
 want of a thousand dollars. 
 
 "He smiled blandly, desired his cashier 
 to count out the money, and held out his 
 hand for my letter of credit. 
 
 " I felt in my breast pocket, then in my 
 trowsers pocket, then in every pocket I 
 possessed. 
 
 " No letter of credit.
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 267 
 
 " The banker began to look grave. 
 
 " * I am sure I had it when I left the 
 house/ I observedj ' and I must have lost it 
 on mj road here.' 
 
 " ' Ver J possibly,- said the banker, coldly. 
 
 " 'Any how, as you have seen the letter of 
 credit several times, and ascertained its 
 authenticity, you can let me have the money 
 I want, and I will give you my bill upon 
 my London bankers.' 
 
 " The Spaniard shook his head ; he had 
 just offered me his house, but it appeared 
 that his money did not go with the pre- 
 mises. 
 
 " * I cannot let you have any funds with- 
 out you present me your letter of credit. 
 
 " * But you know I have one.' 
 
 "A shrug. 
 
 " ' But you have given me money on it.' 
 
 " Another shrug. 
 
 " Do you think I am capable of deceiving 
 jour' 
 
 N 2
 
 268 LEOXAED XOEMANDALE, OK, 
 
 " 'Certainlj not; but rules and regulations 
 must be followed, and those of my house are, 
 never to give any money without a letter of 
 credit before me/ 
 
 " ' But I have lost mine/ 
 
 " ' It is a very unlucky circumstance for 
 you,' observed the banker, with another 
 shrug; 'but what can I do V 
 
 " ' What course would you advise me to 
 follow V 
 
 "'Write to your country for another/ 
 
 " 'But it will be a month at least before I 
 get an answer/ 
 
 "A fourth shrug. 
 
 " In fine, the fellow refused point blank to 
 advance me a single coin, without the unfor- 
 tunate letter of credit, and I returned to my 
 hotel in a state of frenzy, and had every 
 box, portmanteau, carpet-bag, and trunk, 
 opened and searched. 
 
 '' No letter of credit. 
 
 " I returned to the banker, and attempted
 
 to mollifH" liis Iieart ; — I might as Tvell have 
 tried to melt a piece of granite. 
 
 " 'But if I stay here only a week longer, 
 I sliall be broiled alive; what will, then, 
 become of me if I remain a month V 
 
 "A fifth shrug. 
 
 "I was turning away in a fury, vs-ith a 
 vision of suicide in my brain, when the 
 banker pointed to my left hand. 
 
 " ' What is that V he exclaimed, without 
 moving a muscle of his face. 
 
 "On following the direction of his eyes, I 
 perceived a piece of paper tightly folded up 
 and compressed between my forefinger and 
 thumb. 
 
 "Itvras my letter of credit, which, notwith- 
 standing all my hurry and rage and frenzy, 
 I had kept closely clasped ; my fingers in- 
 deed appeared in that case to have had 
 more sense than my head. As you may 
 imagine, the thousand dollars were imme- 
 diately forthcoming; and as I took leave
 
 270 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 of the worthy banker, he renewed his 
 kind offer of placing his house at my 
 seryice/^ 
 
 All present, excepting Lord Oastlemoat, 
 laughed heartily at this anecdote ; as for 
 the Earl, however, he seemed unusually 
 grave. 
 
 About a quarter of an hour had passed, 
 ^hen another cousin of the noble host hap- 
 pened to mention a dreadful accident that 
 had caused the death of two of his friends. 
 
 "Shocking! horrible !^^ cried all present, as 
 he proceeded to relate the manner in which 
 the event had occurred. 
 
 "Ha! ha! ha! ha!" roared out Lord 
 Oastlemoat, holding his sides, so convulsed 
 was he with laughter. 
 
 Our host had just begun to understand 
 the meaning of the story concerning the 
 letter of credit. 
 
 A few minutes afterwards, the Earl again 
 looked grave, although all the rest of the
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 271 
 
 party were laughing at an anecdote told by 
 one of the richest men at the table, and 
 which of course excited universal merri- 
 ment. His Lordship was thinking over the 
 dreadful accident which had just before been 
 related. Five minutes afterwards his 
 countenance was again suffused with smiles, 
 excited by the droll anecdote, which had by 
 the bye been succeeded by some observa- 
 tions of a grave and serious character. 
 
 It is useless to give any further descrip- 
 tion of the dinner, for it resembled all other 
 banquets of the sort and kind, composed 
 almost entirely of relations. Sir Sawney 
 Macrise, however, pompous and vulgar as 
 ever, and smarting under the well-deserved 
 rebuke he had received from Major Nor- 
 mandale, attempted more than once to snub 
 the two younger brothers ; but as dross can 
 never really tarnish gold and silver, he was 
 unable to annoy Leonard and Allen as he 
 intended, for thoroughly despising the worth-
 
 272 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 less reptile, thej did not deign to notice his 
 iniiendoes. 
 
 But once, once only, did Leonard retaliate: 
 it was just after the G.O.B. had told one of 
 his Eastern stories. 
 
 " Sir Sawney," he observed, " if I remem- 
 ber right, that event occurred when you 
 
 were attached as Doctor to the embassy in 
 
 }) 
 
 The G.O.B. became scarlet; nothing 
 could be more vexatious to his feelings 
 than any reference to his former obscure 
 vocation. 
 
 " What makes me think so," continued 
 Leonard, " is, that I heard tlie same story 
 told by Sir James Warbell, from whom I 
 understood that the event had occurred on 
 
 his first arrival at the court ; and at 
 
 that period, if I am not mistaken, you were 
 attached to the embassy in a medical 
 capacity." 
 
 This was a double tlirust at Sir Sawney;
 
 THE THliEE BROTHEKS. 273 
 
 for that personage liad told the storj as 
 happening to himself, in his quality as 
 Envov. 
 
 From scarlet the discomfited Scotchman's 
 face became purple. He was obliged, how- 
 ever, to swallow the bitter pill; for Leonard 
 had said nothing but the trutli. He made 
 an inward tow, however, that should he ever 
 have an opportunity of wreaking his venge- 
 ance upon the young man, he would not 
 allow it to slip. 
 
 As the gentlemen rose from the table in 
 order to join the ladies in the drawing-room, 
 Leonard proceeded to inform Lord Castle- 
 moat that he and his brother wished to 
 speak to him in private. 
 
 " With pleasure, my dear boys," returned 
 the Earl, who was in an excellent humour; 
 " come into my study — we shall not be in- 
 terrupted there.'' 
 
 As soon as they were seated, Leonard 
 proceeded to state his brother's case, 
 
 N 3
 
 274 LEONAED XORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 showing indeed how completely Allen^s 
 prospects would be ruined, unless his god- 
 father was generous enough to come to his 
 assistance. 
 
 As Leonard was repeating his observa- 
 tions for the third time, Lord Castlemoat's 
 countenance underwent a gradual change: 
 from laughing it became smiling; from smil- 
 ing, placid; from placid, thoughtful; and 
 from thoughtful, graye. 
 
 "Mj dear boj — er — Allen — er" he at 
 length observed; " jou — er — are — er — con- 
 vinced — er — that — er — I have — er — jour 
 interests — er — at heart — er. I have — er 
 — indeed — er — always proved my good- will 
 — er — towards yourself. Indeed — er — I 
 should not — er — have done my duty — er — 
 as youi' godfather — er — had I not — er — 
 that is — er — you understand me — er." 
 
 " Perfectly, my dear godfather," exclaimed 
 Allen, agreeably surprised^ at the apparent 
 good intentions of Lord Castlemoat, and
 
 THE THREE BEOTHEES. 275 
 
 imaormiiio: that the nobleman was abont to 
 assist him. 
 
 " You must be aware/^ continued the Earl 
 stammering out a multitude of ers, " that I 
 am ready to do anything in my power to 
 assist you : you will sm-ely give me credit 
 for that/' 
 
 Allen bowed. 
 
 " It appears/' said his godfather, " that 
 unless you can pay the six hundi'ed pounds 
 for which you have become answerable for 
 a brother officer — rery foolish of you 
 I must in candour remark — you will be 
 arrested/' 
 
 " Exactly so/' replied Major Normandale. 
 
 " In that case, I should advise you to take 
 the benefit of the Insolvent Act," returned 
 Lord Castlemoat. 
 
 Allen almost bounded from his chair at 
 these words. 
 
 "My dear godfather,'"' he cried, "yon 
 are not perhaps aware that no officer can do
 
 276 LEOXAED XORMAXDALE, OR, 
 
 such a tiling, for he ^voulcl liaye to quit the 
 arm J immediately." 
 
 " That is unlucky," said Lord Castlemoat; 
 "for otherwise I should certainly have recom- 
 mended you to go through the court. As, 
 liowerer, it appears that it would be the loss 
 of your commission to do so, I can think of 
 no other means of getting you out of your 
 scrape, since Fauconbridge refuses to assist 
 you." 
 
 " I had hoped," suggested Leonard, " that 
 you would have paid the money yourself ; it 
 would be indeed most kind and generous on 
 your part." 
 
 "I would do so with the greatest plea- 
 sure, my dear boy," said the Earl, " were it 
 in my power ; but unfortunately I cannot 
 command that sum, for I have been put to 
 a good deal of expense of late. Indeed," 
 he added, with a laugh, "I am in debt 
 myself, and am obliged to cut my bread 
 very close. Anything, however, in the way
 
 THE THEEE BROTHEKS. 277 
 
 of advice that I can do for you, my dear 
 Allen, is entirely at your service ; if, there- 
 fore, I can be of any use in that way, do not 
 hesitate to apply to me." 
 
 And with these words Lord Castlemoat 
 rose from his seat and left the room.
 
 278 LEONARD KOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ALLEN NOEMANDALE DETERMINES TO STABT 
 FOR PARIS. 
 
 "The cold-hearted lijpocrite!" exclaimed 
 Leonard, as soon as he was alone with his 
 brother, " there is no chance of any assistance 
 from him." 
 
 " I told you so,'' said Allen, meekly, 
 " although for a moment I began to hope 
 the contrary/' 
 
 "What then is to be done '^" cried 
 Leonard, in despair. " Heayen must aid
 
 THE THREE BEOTHERS. 279 
 
 US, for otherwise we are lost — I saj we, for 
 if jou are ruined, it will be tlie same as 
 though the calamity had fallen upon my own 
 head/' 
 
 Allen took his brother bj the hand and 
 pressed it. 
 
 " I know that well, Leonard," he said, as 
 the tears rose to bis ejes ; " were jou Lord 
 Fauconbridge, mj position would be verj 
 different. Poor Joceljn !" he continued, 
 " I feel more pitj than bitterness for him.'' 
 
 " Pity r exclaimed his brother. 
 
 " Yes, pity — pity that he should possess 
 a heart so utterly devoid of feeling ; pity 
 that he should be ignorant of even the name 
 of brotherly love." 
 
 "I understand you. Such a man as 
 Jecelyn can never know the meaning of 
 friendship. Ho will live and die friend- 
 less, and brotherless, yet nature never
 
 280 LEONAED NOEMANDALE, OE, 
 
 intended liis for a selfish or unfeelinof heart. 
 Had he not been born and educated an elder 
 son, his character would have been utterly 
 different. But, as it is, to allow jour pros- 
 pects to be ruined, which thej will be if the 
 money be not paid when the bill becomes 
 due, is an act of the most atrocious selfish- 
 ness." 
 
 "Coffee is ready in the drawing-room, 
 gentlemen," said a seryant, entering. 
 
 " We are coming directly," returned 
 Leonard. "I tell you what, Allen," he 
 continued, " there is nothing like taking the 
 bull by the horns. Let us go to the money- 
 lender who holds the bill, and try and per- 
 suade him to renew for six months." 
 
 " I haye already seen the fellow," replied 
 Major Normandale, "and he refuses to accord 
 me a single hour's delay; * If,' such were his 
 words, ' the bill be not paid at maturity, I
 
 THE THREE BROTHEES. 281 
 
 sliall immediately commence legal proceed- 
 ino^s aojainst you/ " 
 
 "And no one to apply to,'' gi'oaned 
 Leonard ; " and yet to think, that ^vhile we 
 are in this miserable condition, our relations 
 are rolling in wealth. Our eldest brother, 
 because he had the luck to come into the 
 world a few months before us, is possessed 
 of every luxury that riches can procure. Is 
 it just — is it Christian-like, that such a dif- 
 ference should be made between children of 
 the same parents, and whose education and 
 habits are the same \ Meredith," he 
 continued, in an agony of spirit, "would 
 that I knew in what quarter of the world to 
 hnd you, for I am convinced that you would 
 never allow my brother to be dragged to a 
 debtor's prison." 
 
 " Is it very long since you have heard 
 from Sir Henry Meredith T inquired Allen.
 
 282 LEONAED NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 " For the last tliree years I have neither 
 heard from or of him/' replied Leonard; 
 " even at Meredith Castle they have had no 
 tidings of their master during that period. 
 It is supposed that he is travelling far awaj 
 in the East, notwithstanding his being 
 accompanied bj his wife/' 
 
 "Where was he staying when you last 
 had tidings of him V 
 
 " At Naples, from whence he first wrote 
 to me, announcing his approaching marriage; 
 and he was evidently in the highest spirits. 
 I then received a second letter, mentioning 
 that the wedding had taken place ; and 
 afterwards a third arrived, informing me 
 of his intended departure on a tour. Since 
 that time I have never heard from him, and 
 I have in vain attempted to learn anything 
 concerning either himself or his wife. All 
 I could ascertain, and that must be nearly
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 283 
 
 three years ago, was, that his lawyer had 
 sold a very large sum out of the funds in 
 his name, and forwarded the amount to the 
 Continent. Since that circumstance, which 
 I learned by the merest hazard, his man of 
 business has always informed me that he 
 was himself ignorant of liis client's where- 
 abouts/' 
 
 " I trust," said Major Normandale, " that 
 no accident has happened to him. Good 
 fellows, — and Meredith is the king of them, 
 — are much too scarce in this world and cen- 
 tury, to spare one of them, and Sir Henry's 
 loss would be irretrievable. It is odd, how- 
 ever, that he should not have written to his 
 friends for so long a time." 
 
 " If he be in the East, his letters may 
 easily have miscarried," suggested Leonard. 
 " We must therefore hope for the best." 
 
 "Inshallah! as the Persians say, and may
 
 284 LEONARD NORMANDALE, OR, 
 
 y^e soon be able to crj AlhaDidellillah !" 
 observed Major Normaudale. " But we were 
 talking of the Continent," he continued, as 
 if struck bj a sudden idea ; " let us start 
 for Paris ourselves, for I cannot be arrested 
 there, and can come to better terms with the 
 obstinate holder of the bill." 
 
 " We cannot do better," said Leonard ; 
 " you can in that case apply at the Ordnance 
 Office for six montlis' leave. By the bye, 
 when is the bill due V 
 
 "This day fortnight." 
 
 " In that case we shall haT e arrived in 
 Paris a full week before the time a * ne 
 exeat' could be got out against you ; there- 
 fore nil desperandum. And now let us 
 proceed to the dining-room, and listen to 
 the lies and braggadocia of that vulgar, 
 pompous rascal. Sir Sawney Macrise." 
 
 Within a week after the above conversa-
 
 THE THREE BROTHERS. 285 
 
 tion, the two brotliers liad arrived at 
 Paris. 
 
 The very day on which his youngest 
 brother left his country's shores, the Earl of 
 Fauconbridge purchased a magnificent Titian 
 for the sum of two thousand pounds. Every 
 one considered it an excellent baro^ain. 
 
 EXD OF yoL. I.
 
 r.oxDON : 
 
 FEINTED BY nAREISON AND SON, 
 
 ST. martin's lane.
 
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