If I wished to tell a love tale, I should begin this with the
sweetest memories of my life, and relate when and where Walter Linton
and I first met; should describe my pride and happiness when I knew
that he wished me to become his wife. The love we bore each other
through life--ay, even after life--may be made manifest as I write
these lines, but it is not because I loved him I have this tale to
tell. Other women have loved as I love, and have mourned as I mourn:
my life, so far as the joy and grief of it go, is but the life of
thousands.
Had Walter Linton, when first he asked me for the heart which was
already his own, been but a poor, struggling man, I should have given
him all as freely as I did then. If need had been, I could have
waited patiently for years, or until fortune smiled upon him.
Feeling this, I had no false sentiment as to sharing the worldly good
that was his, although I was a penniless girl and brought nothing in
my hands. Of course, kind friends around wondered why Walter did not
choose a wife who would bring him wealth as well as love. Ah, no one
could have given him more love than I could give him; that was all he
wanted or asked for. He was twenty-three, and his own master; I was
twenty, and utterly alone in this world. So we were married--just
six weeks after that happy spring day on which he told me I was
dearest to him.
Our home--a dear gray old house, full of pleasant corners--was
Draycot Hall, Somersetshire, not far from the Mendip Hills. Walter
had recently inherited the house and the estates of Draycot, and when
we took possession of our kingdom, which was almost as new to Walter
as it was to me, life seemed to hold all that could be desired.
Walter's income was sufficient for the life of a quiet country
gentleman--a life to which he settled down, and appeared to find
every wish gratified in that happy existence. Shooting, fishing, and
hunting gave him plenty of amusement, and the land, part of which he
farmed himself, brought occupation and interest enough to make him
feel that his life was not altogether an idle or useless one.
Then, to make our happiness complete, the children came--a girl, then
one, two, three bonny boys. How merry and busy the old house grew
with them, the sturdy rogues! How proud Walter was of them!
We were not very rich people. Compared to that of some of our county
neighbors, our income was insignificant. Draycot Hall, although not
such an imposing pile as the name might suggest, was by no means a
small house; and, like all rambling old places, cost a good deal of
money to keep up. Even when we began life together we found, at the
end of the year, that our expenditure and income nearly tallied, and
as expenses increased with an increasing family, we felt that a few
hundreds added to our revenue would be a very welcome addition. But
in spite of this our lot was too happy for us to think of grumbling.
We sat one summer's evening on the lawn. The air was cooled by late
fallen rain, and sweet with fragrance rising from the freshened
flowers--for days were long and petals not yet closed. Our latest
given child slept on my knee; and, as we watched the sun sink slowly
down behind the Mendip Hills, my husband said:
"Helena, how shall we manage to start all these boys in life?"
I laughed at such a distant obligation. We were still young, and it
seemed that so many years must pass before the baby on my knee would
want a starting hand. I kissed the child's little white fingers.
"Why, Walter," I said, "you are looking a long, long way into the
future."
"Yes, my girl; but days happy as ours pass very quickly. It will not
seem so long before we shall be obliged to think about it. What
shall we do then? We save no money even now, you know. By-and-by we
must send these babies to school; after that they will want money to
help them on in professions. How are we to do all this? Our income
won't increase."
"We must try and economize," I answered, impressed by the really
serious view he took.
"But how? As it is, we can scarcely make both ends meet. I am
afraid I am selfish in living as I do. I have serious thought of
going into some business and trying to make a fortune."
I begged, beseeched him to dismiss the wild idea. Were we not happy
enough with all we now possessed? Why change our mode of life, which
was so peaceful and sweet? Besides, in my heart of hearts I doubted
if my good, easy-going Walter was quite fitted for a commercial
career. He kissed me as I pleaded eloquently for a continuation of
our present happiness, and for a time the subject dropped.
Yet I could see, from remarks he now and again made, that the thought
lingered in his mind, and I began to fear lest, some day, he might
put it into practical shape, when the anxieties attendant on
money-making or money-losing might be ours.
It was some months after our conversation that old Reuben Dyke, a
well-known character in the village of Draycot, came to the Hall. He
wanted to see the master on important business, he said. This old
Reuben was the greatest gossip of the place--the ale-house
oracle--meddler in every one's business, and unsolicited
adviser-in-general to the little world around him. He was a great
authority among the villagers, many of whom would have backed his
opinion against the united wisdom of a Daniel and a Solomon. His
talk and broad Somerset accent always amused us, and, it may be,
insured him a better reception than his virtues merited.
To-day he entered the room with an indescribable look of mystery and
secrecy on his shrewd old face. He carefully closed the door after
him and bade us a respectful good-day. Then, drawing quite close to
us, he spoke in guarded whispers.
"I be jest come, zur, to tell 'ee as ther' have a-bin a chap a
staayin' at the Blue Boar vor the last two or dree daays. Mebby,
zur, as you've a zeed un about--a darkish, picket-noased zort of a
chap."
"Yes, I saw him," answered Walter. "What about him?"
"Now, look here, zur. None o' we couldn't at vust miake out what a
wer' up to. He yent one o' them outrides, you zee. He werdn't
lookin' aater shopkippers. He were a ferretin' about aater land. Zo
we up and ax'd un what a farm a wer' aater, or if a did want to buy
any land hereabouts? He laughed and zed, zes he, 'We be gwain to
make a raailroad right up droo theese yer valley.' Zes I, 'I hoap my
head won't yache till we do get a raailwaay on Mendip, vor that is a
devilish poor country.' 'True,' zes he; 'but there be a lot o' coal
jest under--along Havyat Green and Upper Langford.' Zes I, 'Zo I've
a-heerd;' and then I zeed in a minute which waay the cat wer'
jumpin'. He werdn't gwain to make nar a raailwaay; he wanted to zenk
a coal-pit, and get howld o' zome land under false pretenses. Zo, if
I wer' you, zur, and if I wer' Mr. Llewellyn, I should jest keep my
eyes open; vor I shouldn't wonder if, one o' thease here daays, he
won't be along and offer 'ee a hundred and fifty a yacre vor some o'
your poorest land. But my advice to you, zur, is--doan't 'ee zell
it--not vor double the money."
After this important communication, Reuben bowed himself out;
retiring probably to the kitchen, in order that he might regale
himself with meat and drink and our servants with the latest village
gossip. Walter and I sat digesting his news.
"I wonder if there can be any truth in it," said Walter. "I'll go
down to-morrow and see that fellow at the inn, and ask him pointblank
about it."
But on the morrow the fellow at the inn was there no longer. He had
departed and left no address. The landlord only knew him as plain
Mr. Smith. We never saw or heard of him again--whatever his errand
may have been, it was not revealed to us; but, nevertheless, old
Reuben's conjecture as to the object of his sojourn at the Blue Boar
quite unsettled Walter's mind. The thought that untold wealth might
be lying under our very feet was always present to it, and at last he
resolved to employ experts who were competent to give an opinion on
the matter, and settle our hopes and doubts.
So, very soon, we were visited by Captain Thomas Davies, of
Aberfellteg, and Captain Davies Thomas, of Cwmtygwyn, two gentlemen
whose strangely accented English, redundant with such words as
"Inteet" and "Inteet to coodness," was a source of great amusement
and enjoyment to each of us. They inspected, diagnosed,
experimented, and then reported. My poor dear love! shall I ever
forget your excitement, your joy, as we perused together that glowing
joint production? What wealth you dreamed of and counted up! Not, I
know, that you wished for riches for your own sake--it was for the
sake of wife and children that the desire of acquiring a large
fortune obtained such a hold on you. Ah me! how certain, how clear
and straightforward it all seemed! Had not the mining captains
calculated, with an accuracy that seemed infallible, every ton of
coal that lay hidden beneath our green fields? Did not their figures
prove beyond dispute the profit each ton raised must bring? After
every contingency had been guarded against, what read like Aladdin's
wealth lay waiting for us to stoop down, take, and enjoy. Why should
we not do so?
Then other gentlemen came to our quiet home--legal
gentlemen--gentlemen who were called financiers--gentlemen learned,
very learned, it seemed to me, in acreages, crops, and soils. Old
safes were unlocked, old plans and musty deeds extracted from their
recesses. I heard the word "Mortgage" frequently; and Walter told me
he had resolved to share his promised wealth with no one. He would
work the projected mines solely on his own account; but, in order to
begin operations, money was needful; so he had arranged with the two
financial gentlemen, Messrs. Leach and Vincent, of Bristol, that such
sums of money as were necessary should be advanced to him upon the
security of his estate. And these gentlemen applauded Walter's
courageous resolution, and everything went so pleasantly.
Then the digging began!
Oh, how I hated it! From the very first I hated it! Not only did it
spoil one of our prettiest fields--the one where the children
gathered earliest cowslips--but it brought strange faces and rough
forms to the quiet, sleepy little village. Men and women of a very
different type to that of laborers round about. Slatternly untidy
women and strong, surly men who knew not the traditions of the land.
Men who were supposed to beat their wives once a week, and who, we
knew, played havoc with our neighbors' costly preserves. Men who
worked hard--very hard--and insisted upon that work being highly paid
for--who spent so large a proportion of those hard-earned wages in
drink, that the landlords of the opposition village inns actually
shook hands in their unexpected prosperity; whilst our kind, old,
easy-going rector fairly cried at the way in which his new and
unwelcome parishioners were demoralizing the old ones, and old Reuben
Dyke seemed to look almost patronizingly upon us, as two deserving
young people helped to fortune by his great sagacity and wisdom.
So it went on, month after month; yet I saw no signs of the advent of
that promised wealth. So far as I could understand it, the seam of
coal hit upon by those clever captains was a failure. It broke, or
dipped, or something else; so the continuation had to be sought
elsewhere. Thereupon Captains Thomas Davies and Davies Thomas came
over again, inspected again, and reported so cheerfully that Walter's
face lost that look of anxiety which I had lately seen upon it, and
he pushed on the work more briskly than before.
Then they told me the right seam had been found--Walter was radiant.
Out of the first money gained he would send Thomas Davies and Davies
Thomas a hundred pounds apiece, as an extra recognition due to their
skill and good counsel. Larger sums than before were furnished by
our financial friends, who came to the Hall once or twice, and were,
I thought, very rude and familiar in their manner. Machinery and
engines were erected, more men engaged, and in time great black heaps
began to accumulate, and grimy black faces met me at every turn. Our
peaceful and beautiful home was so changed that I began almost to
loathe what had once been the dearest spot on earth to me, and to
long for change of air and scene.
Money seemed always being paid away--large sums that frightened me.
But was I not only a woman, who knew nothing of business?
Yet all these grievances were nothing to the grief I felt at seeing
the change in my darling's face. Every week I noticed an alteration.
Gradually a cloud of care seemed settling down on his once gay
nature, and I knew his mind was anxious and ill at ease. He grew
thinner; his dark hair showed signs of premature grayness; his sleep
was often restless and unfreshing. Though now, as he ever had been,
kind and gentle to me, at times with others he was moody, silent, and
evidently worried. All the brightness of youth appeared to be
leaving him, so much so that my heart ached to see him, and I felt I
could bear it no longer. I would learn the worst he had to tell me,
claiming my right as a true wife to share trouble as well as joy with
my husband.
The confidence I was resolved to claim came unasked for. One evening
Walter returned home and threw himself into a chair, apparently
utterly broken down. He covered his eyes with his hands and sobbed
bitterly.
I knelt at his side and my arms were round him. Then he told me
all--I need not give the details. The bare truth was this: After all
the money spent, the coal raised was of such a poor quality that
every ton sold was sold at a loss. And more money than I had ever
imagined had been expended. Of course he had been cheated--I knew he
was being cheated the moment I saw the faces of the men who had lent
him the money he wanted; but there was no help for it now. Messrs.
Leach and Vincent claimed, for advances, costs and interest, the
enormous sum of close upon ten thousand pounds. Walter had just come
from Bristol, where these men carried on business, and after a stormy
interview with them, had been informed that unless the amount was
paid by Saturday, house, lands, and everything would be at once
advertised for sale--and to-day was Wednesday!
I knew nothing of law; but, even to my ignorance, this sudden demand
and swift procedure seemed unusual.
"But can they do it?" I asked.
"Yes, I am afraid they can. Months ago, when they made me a large
advance, they gave me notice to pay the mortgage off. It was a mere
matter of form, they said; but now they will act upon it. They are
thorough-going rogues, and I believe have some scheme in their heads
by which they fancy it possible to get absolute possession of the
whole estate."
"But, Walter dear, the estate must be worth thousands more than that
amount."
"Oh yes, I can get the money easily enough. But not in three days.
It will cut me to the heart even to see it all advertised, although
doubtless the sale may be stopped."
"Why not go to that nice old gentleman, Mr. Mainwaring?" I suggested.
"You always call him your family solicitor. He will help you, I am
sure."
"That is just what I intend doing. I shall go to London to-morrow,
and show him exactly how I stand, and beg as a great favor that I may
have the money at once. When I return I will give orders for all the
men to be discharged and the machinery sold. There shall be an end
of it before it makes an end of me."