Despite the proverb that "comparisons are odious," there is a great
fascination to those who love to explore the old quarters of London, and
to hunt up the records of people who have lived and died there, leaving
their mark whether for good or evil, and then to note the difference
that a hundred or so of years have made in its buildings and
inhabitants. Take old Bloomsbury for instance--by no means an
uninteresting stroll--described by Evelyn in 1665 as "a little towne
with good aire." Pope alludes to this once fashionable locality thus:--
"In Palace Yard at nine, you'll find me there,
At ten for certain, sir, in Bloomsbury Square."
According to Timbs, in his interesting work on London, this "little
towne" was the site of the grand old Domesbury Manor, where the kings of
England in ancient days had their stables. Yonder great corner house was
built by Isaac Ware, editor of _Palladio_, originally a chimney-sweep,
of whom it was said, that "his skin was so ingrained with soot, that to
his dying day he bore the marks of his early calling." By the way, that
particular trade would appear to have been extremely lucrative in those
days, as it is well known and authenticated that two great squares--not
a hundred miles away--were entirely built by one David Porter, "who held
the appointment of chimney-sweep to the village of Marylebone."
A few hundred yards further on to the north-west, and you reach the
quiet thoroughfare of Chenies Street, which connects Gower Street and
Tottenham Court Road, and here, indeed, a transformation has taken
place. Where are the solid, but dull, old, grey houses which erstwhile
stood on this spot? Within the last few years they have all been swept
away, and the street is vastly improved by the imposing block of
red-brick mansions which has been erected, and which bears outside a
brass plate, inscribed "Ladies' Residential Chambers." A long-felt want
is here supplied. In an age when hundreds of women of culture and of
position are earning their living, and whose respective occupations
require that they should dwell in the metropolis, a necessity has arisen
for independent quarters, such as never can be procured in the ordinary
lodgings or boarding-house, where, without being burdened with the cares
of house-keeping, the maximum of comfort and privacy with the minimum of
domestic worry can be obtained. All this is amply provided for within
these walls. Touching an electric button without, the door is opened by
the porter--the only man in the house--who wears on his breast the Alma,
Balaklava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol medals, you enter a spacious hall,
which opens on all sides into a number of self-contained flats. In the
centre is a vast well staircase running up to the top of the building.
On the present occasion business takes you only to the first floor,
where, rounding the great corridor, are separate little vestibules, each
containing a complete suite of rooms, and Miss Adeline Sergeant's
chambers are reached. They are so exquisitely arranged, and display so
much artistic taste and refinement, that a few words must be said in
description of them. The outer door is covered inside with a striped
Moorish _portiere_, and leads into a little hall faced by the study, and
opening into the drawing-room on the right. The blue and white walls, on
which hang half-a-dozen pictures, are of conventional floral design,
relieved by cream-coloured mouldings, which throw up the rich Oriental
draperies of the couch and Japanese screen near the door. The floor is
laid down with peacock-blue felt and a few Persian rugs of subdued
tints, whilst a white Siberian wolf, mounted on a fine black bearskin
forms the rug. The broad bay windows are hung with soft cream-coloured
muslin and guipure curtains, peeping out from the folds of oatmeal cloth
hangings of the same shade of blue. Three dwarf bookcases are fitted
into recesses, and are well filled with all the books necessary to a
woman of letters. A clear fire blazes and sparkles in the tiled hearth,
and throws out a ruddy glow over the bright brasses. The fireplace is
draped with wine-coloured brocaded velvet curtains; the mantelshelf is
high, and the long oblong mirror, in plain black narrow frame, is raised
just sufficiently to show off the beautiful Oriental china, Benares
brass vases, and Indian jars standing thereon. Over it hangs a single
plaque, framed in dark oak, copied by Miss F. Robertson, in _violet de
fer_ on china, from the original engraving of "Enid, a Saxon Maiden."
There are flowers everywhere--pots of lilies of the valley, ferns and
palms, alike on the little hexagonal ebonised table in the windows and
the small cabinet, whilst cut daffodils and anemones are grouped in
vases in other parts of the room. The great Arabian brass salver, with
its mystic scrolls and ebonised stand, forms a suitable tea-table
alongside the comfortable American rocking-chair. The copper-coloured
brocaded silk gown, with a tinge of red, which Adeline Sergeant wears,
with leaves of darker and flowers of lighter pattern woven in, is in
unison with the prevailing tints by which she is surrounded. A black fur
boa is carelessly thrown round her shoulders, she is rather below the
middle height, dark grey eyes, with a mischievous twinkle in them, can
be discerned behind the _pince-nez_ which she habitually wears, her good
colouring betokens a healthy constitution her extremely thick hair,
lightly touched with grey, is loosely rolled back from her forehead, she
has a merry, bright smile, and laughs with silvery sweetness on being
told you had nervously expected, from her pictures, to see a
strong-minded, austere-looking woman; but until a sun-portrait can
produce rich colouring, earnestness of purpose, combined with an
ever-changing, laughing expression, she will appear to those who have
only seen her photograph as being somewhat severe and stern.
Adeline Sergeant was born at Ashbourne, in Derbyshire. Her father
belonged to an old Lincolnshire family who had lived since the sixteenth
century, at least, on the same ground, and had inhabited for many years
a long, low, rambling house, of which he used to delight to tell her
stories. When yet but a child she went with her parents to Selby,
Easingwold, Weston-super-Mare, Worcester, and Rochester, where, when she
was nineteen years of age, her father died, and their wanderings
practically ended.
"My mother was a quiet, delicate, refined, sensitive woman," says Miss
Sergeant, while a look of sadness comes over her face. "She spent most
of her spare time in writing, and from her, I suppose, I inherit some of
my taste for writing, though it comes from my father's side too, for a
cousin of mine is a literary man, and several of my relations dabbled a
little in literature. My mother wrote verses and religious stories
chiefly; she had a very high ideal of style, and one of my earliest and
latest recollections of her is seeing her covering scraps of paper with
her peculiarly beautiful handwriting in pencil, and afterwards copying
them most carefully in ink at her desk. She had a long illness; she died
of consumption, after eight years of confirmed invalidism and gradually
wasting away. I remember it now as a remarkable fact that I never knew
her to complain or to have anything but the sweetest, brightest smile.
Her sense of the ridiculous was acute to the very last, and she was
always ready to enjoy a good story. Her appreciation of literature was
very great, and it was from her that I learned to enjoy Browning as well
as the older masters of verse. After my father's death we removed to the
suburbs of London, and my mother died fifteen months later. We were
united heart and soul, and her death was the greatest sorrow of my life,
especially as I had been much separated from her by school and college
life, and had been promised that I should live at home and care for her
when my elder sister married, but my mother died four months before the
wedding, and that dream--hers as well as mine, I think--was never
realized."
Adeline Sergeant began to write at the very youthful age of eight. Her
first published verses appeared when she was but thirteen, and a volume
of verse when she was sixteen years of age. "It always seems to me," she
continues, "that I owe a great deal to the influences of the free
country life of my early childhood when we lived at Eastington, near
Stonehouse, for two years. I believe that modern teachers would say that
I wasted my time, for I went to no school then, but 'did lessons' with
my mother in a desultory fashion." Rambling for hours in the fields and
lanes by herself, sometimes with a book and sometimes without, the young
author used conscientiously to set herself her own tasks; she wrote
innumerable stories, had no playfellows, and no children's books, but
she had the run of her father's library. Here she read Shakespeare until
she knew him by heart; next to Shakespeare her favourite book was
Addison's "Spectator"; after these came Byron, Mrs. Hemans, and many
earlier poets, Prior, Gay, Dryden, etc. Here, from the age of eleven to
fifteen, she also studied theological writers like Chalmers, Butler, and
Jeremy Taylor; whilst a set of Encyclopaedias, in twenty-two volumes,
gave her many happy hours. It is no wonder that Adeline Sergeant
declares this to have been one of the most fructifying periods of her
life, and that her impressions of landscape, cloud scenery, effects of
light, shade, sound, etc., are still coloured by her remembrances of
that time.
"I think," she observes, smiling, "that this was better bracing for the
mind than the indiscriminate devouring of story-books, which is
characteristic of young folks nowadays. But I must also add that at
Weston, our next place of residence, I simply gorged myself on novels of
all sorts, as I had the command of every circulating library in the
place, and no control was ever exercised over my reading."
At sixteen Miss Sergeant went to Laleham, Miss Pipe's well-known school
at Clapham; and at eighteen to Queen's College, Harley Street, where she
held a scholarship for some time. The death of her sister two years
after her marriage left the young girl very much alone in the world. For
some years she lived with very dear and kind friends, whose two
daughters she had some share in teaching. Having much time free, she
went on with her literary work, which had been suspended for a long
while after her bereavements, when she had no heart to write anything.
After leaving college, Adeline Sergeant devoted herself entirely to
study for the Cambridge and other examinations. After taking her First
Class Honours Certificate in the women's examination, she gave up her
time to teaching, writing, and parochial work of all sorts; she played
the organ in church, held Sunday and week-day classes for village
children, trained the choir, and so on. A temporary failure in health
made a winter in Egypt a real boon to her about that time, and it was on
her return that she gave herself up more to literary work.
"I was not at all successful at first," says Miss Sergeant in a cheerful
tone of voice. "My first novel has never seen the light to this day. My
second was also refused, but has since been re-written and re-issued,
under the name of 'Seventy Times Seven.' I wrote little stories for
little magazines, and a child's book or two. But I had no success for
many years. In 1880 I competed for a prize of L100 offered by the Dundee
_People's Friend_ for a story, and gained it, to my great delight. I
have kept up my connection with this paper ever since, and am always
grateful to the editor for the help he gave me at a critical time. This
story was 'Jacobi's Wife.' When I heard the good news I was in Egypt,
where I was spending a winter at the invitation of my friends, Professor
and Mrs. Sheldon Amos. On my return I wrote 'Beyond Recall,' which
embodies my impressions of Egyptian life. I went on writing for the next
two years, and doing other work as well, but in 1883 I made up my mind
to throw myself entirely into literature."
Miss Sergeant's next step was to write and consult the kindly Dundee
editor on this subject, and in return she received a proposition from
the proprietors that she should go to live in Dundee and do certain
specified literary work for them. She did so, and counts it as one of
the most fortunate occurrences of her life, as she made many friends and
led a pleasant and healthful life, first at Newport, in Fife, and then
in Dundee. Two years later, however, it seemed better to her to return
to London, though without severing her connection with Dundee. Since
1887 Adeline Sergeant has lived more or less in London, although she
spends a good deal of time at the seaside, in the country, and in
Scotland, or in visiting at friends' country houses in different parts
of England.
Besides the works already named, Adeline Sergeant has produced several
highly interesting novels, notably, "An Open Foe," "No Saint," "Esther
Denison," and "Name and Fame"--this last was written in collaboration
with A. S. Ewing Lester--"Little Miss Colwyn," "A Life Sentence," "Roy's
Repentance," "Under False Pretences." Her later works are "Caspar
Brooke's Daughter," "An East London Mystery," and "Sir Anthony." "Esther
Denison" and "No Saint" are, perhaps, the author's own favourites,
although she frankly says that she thinks that they have not found as
much favour with the public as some of her more "sensational" stories,
though the critics generally liked them better, and, indeed, compared
them with George Eliot and some of Mrs. Oliphant's works. Both these
books contain many transcripts from her own personal experiences.
"Esther Denison" is, indeed, largely autobiographical. It is evident
that Miss Sergeant has put her whole heart in this story. A somewhat
caustic wit is pleasantly relieved by the earnest tone which runs
through it. Without being a theological novel, the description of the
struggles of the high-souled but sympathetic heroine is powerfully and
faithfully drawn. Many of these books contain strong dramatic incidents;
they are all full of interest, and are characterized by the exceeding
good taste and the excellent English in which they are written. They are
all popular in America, where they are published by Messrs. Lowell &
Son.
"I have sometimes been misunderstood by critics," Miss Sergeant
observes, "on account of the absence of any _data_ to my books. Having
disposed some years ago of many of the copyrights, I see them issued as
if they were freshly written, which is not always the case. A weekly
reviewer expressed great surprise at the publication of 'Jacobi's Wife'
_after_ 'No Saint.' As a matter of fact it had been written and sold
some years earlier. My own works seem to me to fall into two classes:
the one, of incident, when I simply try to tell an interesting story--a
perfectly legitimate aim in art, I believe--and the other, of character,
with the minimum of story. I like to analyze a character 'to death,' so
to speak, and I look on my stories of this sort as the best I have
written."
Of one of Adeline Sergeant's late novels, "An East London Mystery," no
single word of the plot shall be hinted at, nor shall the intending
reader's interest be discounted beforehand. Suffice it to say that from
the first page to the last it is full of deeply-absorbing matter. Each
character is drawn with a masterly touch, and is admirably sustained
throughout; it may be safely predicted that when taken up it will
scarcely be laid down until the last leaf be turned.
A peculiar interest is attached to a book which has lately come
prominently before the public, and which has created much sensation,
called "The Story of a Penitent Soul" (Bentley & Son), to which Adeline
Sergeant's name was not affixed, but of which she now acknowledges
herself to be the author. It deals with a sad subject handled in a
powerful but most delicate manner, and is quite a new departure from her
former works. For some time the critics, whilst mostly praising it
warmly and at once recognizing that it was written by no ''prentice
hand,' were somewhat puzzled as to the authorship. Gradually the secret
leaked out, and Miss Sergeant relates in a few eloquent words her
reasons for the concealment of her identity with the story. "Every now
and then," she says, "I feel the necessity of escaping from the trammels
imposed by publishers, editors, and the supposed taste of the public. I
want to say my own say, to express what I really mean and feel, to
deliver my soul. Then I like to go away 'into the wilderness' and write
for myself, not for the public, without caring whether anybody reads and
understands what I write, or whether it is published or not. That is how
and why I wrote 'The Story of a Penitent Soul.' It was written because
it _had_ to be written; it wrote itself, so to speak. Work done in this
way is the only work that seems worth doing and is in itself a joy, but
it cannot be done at will, or every day."
Novel-making, however, does not absorb all this industrious author's
time. She is an ardent novel reader in three languages. Her favourite
writers in English are Thackeray, George Eliot, and Meredith. As she
reads French authors more for style than for subject she is not afraid
to avow that she greatly admires Daudet, Pierre Loti, Flaubert, and
Georges Sand; the Russian novelists Tolstoi, Dostorievski, and
Tourguenieff are also much to her liking, and she reads American modern
writers such as Howell, Henry James, and Egbert Craddock, with pleasure.
"But I read other things besides novels," she says. "Even as a child I
was always of a metaphysical turn, and my delight in books of that sort
is so great that I hardly dare touch them when I am trying to write
fiction. They fascinate and paralyse me. Economics and some kinds of
theological speculation are also a favourite study."
Her love for economics and the discussion of social problems has led
Adeline Sergeant to join the Fabian Society, in which she takes great
interest. Her religious tendencies are all in the direction of what is
called "Broad Church," and she is an ardent believer in Women's
Suffrage. She is a member of the committee of the Somerville Club for
women, and is on two sub-committees. She is the co-secretary for the
Recreative Evening Schools Association in St. Pancras District, and an
Evening School Manager for north and south St. Pancras. "I must say that
I have a great deal too much to do," she adds, "and I cannot get through
half as much business as I ought. I have a rather large circle of
friends, and I find it difficult to keep up with my social duties. I
generally write all the morning, but I like to write and can write all
day. At St. Andrews, for instance, where I have just spent two months, I
wrote and read for quite nine or ten hours every day. One cannot do that
in London." As a recreation Miss Sergeant prefers music to any other,
and, indeed, used to play a good deal once, but has now no time to keep
up any pretence at _technique_. The same reason has caused her to
discard her old pastime of pen-and-ink drawing, of which she is
passionately fond, but which she found to be rather too trying to the
eyes to be pursued with advantage. "I have done some elaborate
embroidery in my time," she says, "but now I never use my needle for
amusement; only for necessity. Any sort of philanthropic work that I
undertake is purely secular. I love foreign travel, though I have not
gone abroad very lately. I have been in Holland, Belgium, Germany,
Italy, and France, besides in Egypt. Switzerland I reserve for a future
occasion. It may interest you to hear my unknown American readers every
now and then send me kind letters, with requests for autographs or
photographs, and that this last likeness, which misled you to think me
'severe and stern,' was taken chiefly in order to be reproduced for the
benefit of American as well as English readers. I wonder if it will have
the same effect on them," she adds, laughing.
The little study beyond must be visited, and here are Miss Adeline
Sergeant's _secretaire_ and library. It contains a fairly good
collection of English authors, and much French literature; but she has
moved about so constantly from place to place, that she has been unable
to collect as many books as she would have liked. The great broad couch
by the window is a comfortable lounge for a weary writer, and the rest
of the furniture is all snug and suitable. Miss Sergeant imparts some
interesting information about this unique establishment, which was
founded for gentlewomen only, of different occupations. The number of
rooms in each flat varies from two to four or five, according to
requirements. The whole concern is conducted entirely upon the
principles of a gentleman's club, with the great advantage that the
tenants can be as much at home and enjoy as absolute a privacy as they
desire. The _cuisine_ and all domestic details are under the management
of an experienced housekeeper. Breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners are
served in the great club-room below during stated hours, each allowing a
good margin for the convenience of the members, whilst an adjoining room
is reserved for their private parties. This is a gala day at the
"Ladies' Residential Chambers." There is a large afternoon "At Home,"
which is an annual entertainment. Each lady has sent cards to her
friends and the guests are beginning to flock in. The coloured-tiled
corridors and window-ledges are gaily decorated with palms, ferns, and
flowers. A hospitable custom prevails. Wherever a hall-door is found
open it is a signal that visitors to the other residents are permitted
to enter and look round the rooms. Should any lady be unable to receive
she "sports her oak." Ample refreshments are provided in the club-room,
and as many doors are invitingly thrown open, you take advantage of the
implied permission, and are kindly received by each hostess. There are
members of many professions within these walls. Two sets of chambers are
occupied by practising medical women, a third by a busy journalist, a
fourth by an artist, a fifth by a young musician, a sixth by a fair and
gentle girl, who modestly tells you that she is a high-school mistress,
and, with kindling eyes, adds, "there is a glorious independence in
earning one's own bread." There is a happy _camaraderie_ prevailing in
this big hive of scholarly, industrious women. Such things as quarrels
or petty jealousies are unknown, and when it is stated that these
mansions have only been built for four years, and that all the
twenty-two sets of chambers which they contain are inhabited, it will be
readily understood how much the comfort and freedom of this cheerful
club life is appreciated. But the three or four hundred guests are
dispersing, and you take leave of Miss Adeline Sergeant, with a sense of
gratitude for an entirely novel and interesting entertainment.
[Illustration: Mary E. Kennard]