After the removal from town, which was effected with exceptional speed and completeness, a rearrangement of the furniture was, of course, necessary. The owner, an impoverished Earl with a family, had lived on the Continent for years past. He therefore welcomed the possession of so large a sum in cash, a portion of which, much to his private gratification, he was enabled to devote to the clearing off of long-standing debts, as well as to matters of family convenience. Lord Hexham, indeed, came over from Bruges to ratify all arrangements made by agents and representatives, and to have, as he explained to Mr. Banneret, a short ‘run up to town on his own,’ so as to look in at his clubs, to escape the monotony of the life at Bruges, which, though economically prudent, was far from entertaining. ‘Nothing to do, day after day, but to look at that confounded Cathedral, which I know by heart—and all the Johnnies rave about till it’s perfectly sickenin’. Never cared much about architecture—hardly [319] ]know whether my own place is Tudor or Gothic. Most awfully obliged to you, my dear fellow, for taking it off my hands, and so on. Benefactor to the deservin’ poor, don’t-cher-know—that sort of thing. Is there anything I can do to oblige you? Only say the word!’
‘I don’t see that there is anything more,’ said the purchaser, ‘that isn’t included in the agreement. Oh, by the bye, there are a few articles of furniture, an old dower-chest with parchments, some antique volumes, charters, and so on. I’m a bit of an antiquarian in my leisure hours—having more than I care for now, sorry to say. Would your man of law put a price upon them—that is, of course, if you have no dislike to part with them—heirlooms probably?’
‘Would I turn them into cash? Like a bird, my dear fellow—your man and mine can fight it out between them. You could have the title too, if there was no law to prevent it. Many a time I’ve wished I could melt it, like the family plate. Some of it has gone that way. You smile! It’s the “frozen truth,” as our friend Lady Neuchatel says.’
‘Of course you’re joking; your family succession——’
‘Not a bit of it. Talked it over with her Ladyship and the children many a time. Jack, my eldest son—he’s in the Guards—quite agrees with me. So do the girls. “Oh, take the cash, and let the title go.” Saw it in Omar Khayyám, she said. Clever girl, Corisande! “Broken gods no use any more, in modern times, without the money. [320] ]Rank without money the worst form of genteel poverty.” Give you my word, Mr. Banneret, it’s most refreshin’ start I’ve had for years. To think of a decent credit at one’s private bank account! Excuse my high spirits—makes me feel like a boy again—not good form, I admit, but situation exceptional.’
Arnold Banneret and this impoverished peer ‘got on,’ as the phrase is, wonderfully well together. Like most Englishmen of rank, he was utterly unaffected, never having had to take thought about his position, or to trouble himself as to the amount of consideration due to it. Sufficient deference is cheerfully yielded to Lords and Honourables in England and her colonies, whether rich or poor, as long as they merit respect from personal character. If they are not so honoured it is entirely due to their want of the qualities which are attributed to their birth and breeding. Lord Hexham had been in the army; had sold out when he succeeded to the title; married shortly afterwards, and, without being very extravagant, had lived a careless, easy life, until the foreclosure of a long-standing mortgage, and the accumulation of unpaid debts and obligations, compelled a surrender. His family was fairly large—four sons and three daughters—the eldest son in the army, second navy, two younger boys still at school. For the girls—Corisande was grown up; Adeline coming on, ambitious and slightly combative; Mildred still with her governess. When all liabilities had been liquidated or arranged, it was decided in a sort of [321] ]advisory committee, partly composed of creditors and partly of relatives, that the family must settle for the next few years in a cheap place, somewhere on the Continent, where the girls could learn music and languages. But all expensive amusements—travel, sport, house in town, yachting, etc.—must be done with once and for all. If the rents were regularly devoted to payment of creditors and the release of mortgages for a few years, the estate would be, perhaps not quite free from debt, but in a condition to allow the head of the house a reasonable income, and to afford the young people all the reasonable social advantages to which, by their birth and station, they had a natural claim. The position was felt by the Earl to be, in some respects, ‘rather hard lines upon a fellow who hadn’t had much spending out of the big indebtedness which had brought the family ship aground.’ But it was felt that there was nothing else for it, and his Lordship, taking his wife’s advice, submitted to it with a fairly good grace.
‘Deuced hard for your Ladyship, come to think—and the girls won’t like it one bit. But they’re young, and will get their music, and all the rest of it, as good in Bruges, perhaps better, than in London—cheaper too, ever so much cheaper. Jack and Falkland will be fighting England’s foes on sea and land. Mustn’t outrun the constable, though; but they’re steady chaps, particularly Jack—that’s one comfort. And if—I say if—we can put in five years in this kind of rustication, well, we’re not too old yet; we may look forward [322] ]to a clean sheet, and a little reasonable fun, in our—what’s the old song say?—“our declinin’ days,” declinin’ days—that’s good, isn’t it? Well, I’ll try to do my part—I know you’ll do yours.’
That settled it. The hunters, the carriage horses, the park hacks, were sold; the choice little herd of Jerseys, the greyhound kennel, were disposed of. The well-known historic estate of Hexham was finally sold out and out, to the wonder and surprise of the country people, who had a fixed idea that it belonged to the Crown, or, in some mysterious way, could not be disposed of without the royal sanction. However, it was sold, everything advertised in the county paper, and a large attendance witnessed the disposal of all the belongings and valuables not secured by special deed of settlement.
The all-important transaction being legally, equitably, peacefully concluded, everything being brought to the hammer—a few heirlooms in the shape of pictures, statuary, etc., being reserved,—Lord Hexham gave up his right and title to house and lands, and the new family acquired possession of the old Hall and the old acres.
It was a portentous proceeding, the girls considered, who acknowledged a feeling half of awe and half of triumph as they found themselves in possession of the ancient keep, with embattled walls, towers, and a portion of a deep and broad moat. They were driven through the Norman archway, seen through great elms and walnut trees, partly concealing the quaint high chimneys of the outbuildings, preserved through the [323] ]entreaties, even threats, of Lady Ermentrude. The Dowager Countess reached her ninetieth year before she surrendered her state and the deference which she exacted as due to the most exalted pedigree in Britain. A portion of ‘the flanking towers, with turrets high,’ did certainly look rather grim and menacing, favouring the idea that an attack in force might be expected at any time. But the remaining portion of the great building, or rather the collection of buildings, had been so modernised, that the perfection of comfort and artistic elegance demanded by latter-day life had been secured, combined with the luxurious amplitude of quasi-royal apartments. It was wonderful how the huge building had lent itself to ornamentation, to surprises, and luxurious lounging nooks and corners. Here quiet converse might be had by congenial spirits, or wide landscapes surveyed, beauteous with glimpses of lake and river varying the cultured sweep of pasture and arable, which seemed only to end with the horizon.