{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "Washington Irving,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "36143\\nLibrary of Congreee\\nTwo Copies Received\\nAUG 18 1900\\nCopynght ontry\\nSECOND COPY.\\nDelivered to\\nORDER DIVISION,\\nAU6 25 1900\\n,pa,^oSl\\nCopyright, 1900, by W. B. Conkey Company.\\n68743", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS.\\nPAGE,.\\nThe Hall. 5\\nThe Busy Man g\\nFamily Servants.\\nThe Widow 25\\nThe Lovers 3a\\nFamily Reliques 35\\nAn Old Soldier 42\\nThe Widow s Retinue 47\\nReady-Money Jack 52\\nBachelors 5^\\nA Literary Antiquary 64\\nThe Farm-House 7a\\nHorsemanship 78\\nLove^ymptoms. 84\\nFSfconry 88\\nHawking 94\\nFortune-Telling 103\\nLove-Charms no\\nA Bachelor s Confessions 116\\nGypsies 121\\nVillage Worthies 128\\nThe Schoolmaster 132\\nThe School 139\\nA Village Politician i44\\nThe Rookery 150\\nMay-Day 160\\nThe Culprit i73\\nLoversl TrjMibles. 183\\nThe Wedding 190", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE HALL.\\nThe ancientest house, and the best for housekeeping in\\nthis county or the next, and though the master of\\nit write but squire, I know no lord like him.\\nMerry Beggars.\\nThe reader, if he has perused the volumes of\\nthe Sketch Book, will probably recollect some-\\nthing of the Bracebridge family, with which I\\nonce passed a Christinas. I am now on\\nanother visit at the Hall, having been invited\\nto a wedding which is shortly to take place.\\nThe squire s second son, Guy, a fine, spirited\\nyoung captain in the army, is about to be\\nmarried to his father s ward, the fair Julia\\nTempleton. A gathering of relations and\\nfriends has already comm-enced, to celebrate\\nthe joyful occasion; for the old gentleman is\\nan enemy to quiet, private weddings. There\\nis nothing, he says, like launching a young\\ncouple gayly, and cheering them from the\\nshore a good outset is half the voyage.\\nBefore proceeding any farther, I would beg\\nthat the squire might not be confounded with\\nthat class of hard-riding, fox-hunting gentle-\\nmen so often described, and, in fact, so nearly\\nextinct in England. I use this rural title,\\npartly because it is his universal appellation\\n5", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "6 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthroughout the neighborhood, and partly\\nbecause it saves me the frequent repetition of\\nhis name, which is one of those rough old\\nEnglish names at which Frenchmen exclaim\\nin despair.\\nThe squire is, in fact, a lingering specimen\\nof the old English country gentlemen; rusti-\\ncated a little by living almost entirely on his\\nestate, and something of a humorist, as English-\\nmen are apt to become when they have an\\nopportunity of living in their own way. I like\\nhis hobby passing well, however, which is, a\\nbigoted devotion to old English manners and\\ncustoms; it jumps a little with my own humor,\\nhaving as yet a lively and unsated curiosity\\nabout the ancient and genuine characteristics\\nof my fatherland.\\nThere are some traits about the squire s\\nfamily also, which appear to me to be national.\\nIt is one of those old aristocratical families,\\nwhich, I believe, are peculiar to England, and\\nscarcely understood in other countries this is\\nto say, families of the ancient gentry, who,\\nthough destitute of titled rank, maintain a high\\nancestral pride; who look down upon all\\nnobility of recent creation, and would consider\\nit a sacifice of dignity to merge the venerable\\nname of their house in a modern title.\\nThis feeling is very much fostered by the\\nimportance which they enjoy on their heredi-\\ntary domains. The family mansion is an old\\nmanor-house, standing in a retired and beauti-\\nful part of Yorkshire. Its inhabitants have\\nbeen always regarded through the surround-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 7\\ning country, as the great ones of the earth;\\nand the little village near the hall looks tip to\\nthe squire with almost feudal homage. An old\\nmanor-house, and an old family of this kind,\\nare rarely to be met with at the present day\\nand it is probably the peculiar humor of the\\nsquire that has retained this secluded specimen\\nof English housekeeping in something like the\\ngenuine old style.\\nI am again quartered in the paneled cham-\\nber, in the antique wing of the house. The\\nprospect from my window, however, has quite\\na different aspect from that which it wore on\\nmy winter visit. Though early in the month\\nof April, yet a few warm sunshiny days have\\ndrawn forth the beauties of the spring, which,\\nI think, are always most captivating on their\\nfirst opening. The parterres of the old-\\nfashioned garden are gay with flowers; and\\nthe gardener has brought out his exotics, and\\nplaced them along the stone balustrades.\\nThe trees are clothed with green buds and\\ntender leaves when I throw open my jingling\\ncasement I smell the odor of mignonette, and\\nhear the hum of the bees from the flowers\\nagainst the sunny wall, with the varied song of\\nthe throstle, and the cheerful notes of the\\ntuneful little wren.\\nWhile sojourning in this stronghold of old\\nfashions, it is my intention to make occasional\\nsketches of the scenes and characters before\\nme. I would have it understood, however,\\nthat I am not writing a novel, and have nothing\\nof intricate plot, or marvelous adventure, to", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "8 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\npromise the reader. The Hall of which I\\ntreat has, for ought I know, neither trap-door\\nnor sliding-panel, nor donjon-keep and indeed\\nappears to have no mystery about it. The\\nfamily is a worthy, well-meaning family, that,\\nin all probability, will eat and drink, and go\\nto bed, and get up regularly, from one end of\\nmy work to the other; and the squire is so\\nkind-hearted an old gentleman, that I see no\\nlikelihood of his throwing any kind of distress\\nin the way of the approaching nuptials. In a\\nword, I cannot foresee a single extraordinary\\nevent that is likely to occur in the whole term\\nof my sojourn at the Hall.\\nI tell this honestly to the reader, lest when\\nhe find me dallying along, through every-day\\nEnglish scenes, he may hurry ahead, in hopes\\nof meeting with some marvelous adventure\\nfarther on. I invite him, on the contrary, to\\nramble gently on with me, as he would saunter\\nout into the fields, stopping occasionally to\\ngather a flower, or listen to a bird, or admire\\na prospect, without any anxiety to arrive at\\nthe end of his career. Should I, however, in\\nthe course of my loiterings about this old man-\\nsion, see or hear anything curious, that might\\nserve to vary the monotony of this every-day\\nlife, I shall not fail to report it for the reader s\\nentertainment.\\nFor freshest wits I know will soon be wearie\\nOf any book, how grave so e er it be,\\nExcept it have odd matter, strange and merrie.\\nWell sauced with lies and glared all with glee.*\\n*Mirror for Magistrates.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0016.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE BUSY MAN.\\nA decayed gentleman, who lives most upon his own\\nmirth and my master s means, and much good do\\nhim with it. He does hold my master up with his\\nstories, and songs, and catches, and such tricks, and\\njigs you would admire he is with him now.\\nJovial Crew.\\nBy no one has my return to the Hall been\\nmore heartily greeted than by Mr. Simon Brace-\\nbridge, or Master Simon, as the squire most\\ncommonly calls him. I encountered him just\\nas I entered the park, where he was breaking\\na pointer, and he received me with all the\\nhospitable cordiality with which a man\\nwelcomes a friend to another one s house. I\\nhave already introduced him to the reader as a\\nbrisk old bachelor-looking little man; the wit\\nand superannuated beau of a large family con-\\nnection, and the squire s factotum. I found\\nhim, as usual, full of bustle with a thousand\\npetty things to do, and persons to attend to,\\nand in chirping good-humor; for there are few\\nhappier beings than a busy idler; this is to say,\\na man who is eternally busy about nothing.\\nI visited him, the morning after my arrival,\\nin his chamber, which is in a remote corner of\\nthe mansion, as he says he likes to be to him-\\nself, and out of the way. He has fitted it up\\nin his own taste, so that it is a perfect epitome", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0017.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "10 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nof an old bachelor s notions of convenience\\nand arrangement. The furniture is made up\\nof odd pieces from all parts of the house,\\nchosen on account of their suiting his notions,\\nor fitting some corner of his apartment and he\\nis very eloquent in praise of an ancient\\nelbow-chair, from which he takes occasion\\nto digress into a censure on modern\\nchairs, as having degenerated from the\\ndignity and comfort of high-backed antiquity.\\nAdjoining to his room is a small cabinet,\\nwhich he calls his study. Here are some hang-\\ning shelves, of his own construction, on which\\nare several old works on hawking, hunting,\\nand farriery, and a collection or two of poems\\nand songs of the reign of Elizabeth, which he\\nstudies out of compliment to the squire;\\ntogether with the Novelist s Magazine, the\\nSporting Magazine, the Racing Calendar, a\\nvolume or two of the Newgate Calendar, a\\nbook of peerage, and another of heraldry.\\nHis sporting dresses hang on pegs in a small\\ncloset; and about the walls of his apartment\\nare hooks to hold his fishing-tackle, whips,\\nspurs, and a favorite fowling-piece, curiously\\nwrought and inlaid, which he inherits from his\\ngrandfather. He has also a couple of old\\nsingle-keyed flutes, and a fiddle, which he has\\nrepeatedly patched and mended himself, affirm-\\ning it to be a veritable Cremona, though 1\\nhave never heard him extract a single note\\nfrom it that was not enough to make one s\\nblood run cold.\\nFrom this little nest his fiddle will often be", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0018.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 11\\nheard, in the stillness of mid-day, drowsily-\\nsawing some long-forgotten tune for he prides\\nhimself on having a choice collection of good\\nold English music, and will scarcely have any-\\nthing to do with modern composers. The\\ntime, however, at which his musical powers\\nare of most use, is now and then of an evening,\\nwhen he plays for the children to dance in the\\nhall, and he passes among them and the ser-\\nvants for a perfect Orpheus.\\nHis chamber also bears evidence of his\\nvarious avocations; there are half copied\\nsheets of music; designs for needlework;\\nsketches of landscapes, very indifferently exe-\\ncuted; a camera lucida; a magic lantern for\\nwhich he is endeavoring to paint glasses in a\\nword, it is the cabinet of a man of many\\naccomplishments, who knows a little of every-\\nthing, and does nothing well.\\nAfter I had spent some time in his apart-\\nment, admiring the ingenuity of his small\\ninventions, he took me about the establish-\\nment, to visit the stables, dog-kennel, and\\nother dependencies, in which he appeared like\\na general visiting the different quarters of his\\ncamp as the squire leaves the control of all\\nthese matters to him, when he is at the Hall.\\nHe inquired into the state of the horses;\\nexamined their feet prescribed a drench for\\none, and bleeding for another; and then took\\nme to look at his own horse, on the merits of\\nwhich he dwelt with great prolixity, and\\nwhich, I noticed, had the best stall in the\\nstable.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0019.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "12 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nAfter this I was taken to a new toy of his\\nand the squire s, which he termed the falconry,\\nwhere there were several unhappy birds in\\ndurance, completing their education. Among\\nthe number was a fine falcon, which Master\\nSimon had in especial training, and he told me\\nthat he would show me, in a few days, some\\nrare sport of the good old-fashioned kind. In\\nthe course of our round, I noticed that the\\ngrooms, gamekeeper, whippers-in, and other\\nretainers, seemed all to be on somewhat of a\\nfamiliar footing with Master Simon, and fond\\nof having a joke with him, though it was\\nevident they had great deference for his\\nopinion in matters relating to their functions.\\nThere was one exception, however, in a testy\\nold huntsman, as hot as a pepper-corn a meagre,\\nwiry old fellow, in a thread-bare velvet jockey-\\ncap, and a pair of leather breeches, that, from\\nmuch wear, shone as though they had been\\njapanned. He was very contradictory and\\npragmatical, and apt, as I thought, to differ\\nfrom Master Simon now and then, out of mere\\ncaptiousness. This was particularly the case\\nwith respect to the treatment of the hawk,\\nwhich the old man seemed to have under his\\npeculiar care, and, according to Master Simon,\\nwas in a fair way to ruin the latter had a vast\\ndeal to say about casting and imping, and\\ngleaming and enseaming, and giving the hawk\\nthe rangle, which I saw was all heathen Greek\\nto old Christy; but he maintained his point\\nnotwithstanding, and seemed to hold all his\\ntechnical lore in utter disrespect.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0020.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 13\\nI was surprised at the good humor with\\nwhich Master Simon bore his contradictions,\\ntill he explained the matter to me afterwards.\\nOld Christy is the most ancient servant in the\\nplace, having lived among dogs and horses\\nthe greater part of a century, and been in the\\nservice of Mr. Bracebridge s father. He\\nknows the pedigree of every horse on the\\nplace, and has bestrid the great-great-grand-\\nsires of most of them. He can give a circum-\\nstantial detail of every fox-hunt for the last\\nsixty or seventy years, and has a history of\\nevery stag s head about the house, and every\\nhunting trophy nailed to the door of the dog-\\nkennel.\\nAll the present race have grown up under\\nhis eye, and humor him in his old age. He\\nonce attended the squire to Oxford when he\\nwas a student there, and enlightened the whole\\nuniversity with his hunting lore. All this is\\nenough to make the old man opinionated,\\nsince he finds, on all these matters of first-rate\\nimportance, he knows more than the rest of\\nthe world. Indeed, Master Simon had been\\nhis pupil, and acknowledges that he derived\\nhis first knowledge in hunting from the in-\\nstructions of Christy; and I much question\\nwhether the old man does not still look upon\\nhim as rather a greenhorn.\\nOn our return homewards, as we were cross-\\ning the lawn in front of the house, we heard\\nthe porter s bell ring at the lodge, and shortly\\nafterwards, a kind of cavalcade advanced\\nslowly up the avenue. At sight of it my com-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0021.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "14 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\npanion paused, considered for a moment, and\\nthen, making a sudden exclamation, hurried\\naway to meet it. As it approached I discov-\\nered a fair, fresh-looking elderly lady, dressed\\nin an old-fashioned riding habit, with a broad-\\nbrimmed white beaver hat, such as may be\\nseen in Sir Joshua Reynold s paintings. She\\nrode a sleek white pony, and was followed by\\na footman in rich livery, mounted on an over-\\nfed hunter. At a little distance in the rear\\ncame an ancient cumbrous chariot, drawn by\\ntwo very corpulent horses, driven by as corpu-\\nlent a coachman, beside whom sat a page\\ndressed in a fanciful green livery. Inside of\\nthe chariot was a starched prim personage,\\nwith a look somewhat between a lady s com-\\npanion and a lady s m.aid, and two pampered\\ncurs that showed their ugly faces and barked\\nout of each window.\\nThere was a general turning out of the\\ngarrison to receive this new comer. The\\nsquire assisted her to alight, and saluted her\\naffectionately; the fair Julia flew into her\\narms, and they embraced with the romantic\\nfervor of boarding-school friends. She was-\\nescorted into the house by Julia s lover,\\ntowards whom she showed a distinguished\\nfavor and a line of the old servants, who had\\ncollected in the hall, bowed most profoundly\\nas she passed.\\nI observed that Master Simon was most\\nassiduous and devout in his attentions upom\\nthis old lady. He walked by the side of\\nher pony up the avenue and while she was", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0022.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 15\\nreceiving- the salutations of the rest of the\\nfamily, he took occasion to notice the fat\\ncoachman, to pat the sleek carriage-horses,\\nand, above all, to say a civil word to my lady s\\ngentlewoman, the prim, sour-looking vestal in\\nthe chariot.\\nI had no more of his company for the rest of\\nthe morning. He was swept off in the vortex\\nthat followed in the wake of this lady. Once\\nindeed, he paused for a moment, as he was\\nhurrying on some errand of the good lady s, to\\nlet me know that this was Lady Lillycraft, a\\nsister of the squire s, of large fortune, which\\nthe captain would inherit, and that her estate\\nlay in one of the best sporting counties in all\\nEngland.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0023.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "16 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nFAMILY SERVANTS.\\nVery old servants are the vouchers of worthy house-\\nkeeping. They are like rats in a mansion, or mites\\nin a cheese, bespeaking the antiquity and fatness of\\ntheir abode.\\nIn my casual anecdotes of the Hall, I may\\noften be tempted to dwell on circumstances of\\na trite and ordinary nature, from their appear-\\ning to me illustrative of genuine national char-\\nacter. It seems to be the study of the squire\\nto adhere, as much as possible, to what he\\nconsiders the old landmarks of English man-\\nners. His servants all understand his ways,\\nand, for the most part, have been accustomed\\nto them from infancy; so that, upon the\\nwhole, his household presents one of the few\\ntolerable specimens that can now be met with,\\nof the establishment of an English country\\ngentleman of the old school. By the by, the\\nservants are not the least characteristic part of\\nthe household the housekeeper, for instance,\\nhas been born and brought up at the Hall, and\\nhas never been twenty miles from it; yet she\\nhas a stately air that would not disgrace a\\nlady that had figured at the court of Queen\\nElizabeth.\\nI am half inclined to think that she has\\ncaught it from living so much among the old", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0024.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 17\\nfamily pictures. It may, however, be owing\\nto a conscioiisness of her importance in the\\nsphere in which she has always moved for\\nshe is greatly respected in the neighboring\\nvillage, and among the farmers wives, and\\nhas high authority in the household, ruling\\nover the servants with quiet but undisputed\\nsway.\\nShe is a thin old lady, with blue eyes, and\\npointed nose and chin. Her dress is always\\nthe same as to fashion. She wears a small,\\nwell-starched ruff, a laced stomacher, full pet-\\nticoats, and a gown festooned and open in\\nfront, which, on particular occasions, is of\\nancient silk, the legacy of some former dame\\nof the family, or an inheritance from her\\nmother, who was housekeeper before her. I\\nhave a reverence for these old garments, as I\\nmake no doubt they have figured about these\\napartments in days long past, when they have\\nset off the charms of some peerless family\\nbeauty; and I have sometimes looked from\\nthe old housekeeper to the neighboring por-\\ntraits, to see whether I could not recognize\\nher antiquated brocade in the dress of some\\none of those long-waisted dames that smile on\\nme from the walls.\\nHer hair, which is quite white, is frizzed out\\nin front, and she wears over it a small cap,\\nnicely plaited, and brought down under the\\nchin. Her manners are simple and primitive,\\nheightened a little by a proper dignity of\\nstation.\\nThe Hall is her world, and the history of the\\n2 Brace bridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0025.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "18 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nfamily the only history she knows, excepting\\nthat which she has read in the Bible. She can\\ngive a biography of every portrait in the pic-\\nture gallery, and is a complete family chron-\\nicle.\\nShe is treated with great consideration by\\nthe squire. Indeed, Master Simon tells me\\nthat there is a traditional anecdote current\\namong the servants, of the squire s having\\nbeen seen kissing her in the picture gallery,\\nwhen they were both young. As, however,\\nnothing further w^as ever noticed between\\nthem, the circumstance caused no great scan-\\ndal only she was observed to take to reading\\nPamela shortly afterwards, and refused the\\nhand of the village inn-keeper, whom she had\\npreviously smiled on.\\nThe old butler, who was formerly footman,\\nand a rejected admirer of hers, used to tell\\nthe anecdote now and then, at those little\\ncabals that will occasionally take place among\\nthe most orderly servants, arising from the\\ncommon propensity of the governed to talk\\nagainst administration but he has left it off,\\nand of late years, since he has risen into place,\\nand shakes his head rebukingly when it is\\nmentioned.\\nIt is certain that the old lady will, to this\\nday, dwell on the looks of the squire when he\\nwas a young man at college and she main-\\ntains that none of his sons can compare with\\ntheir father when he was of their age, and was\\ndressed out in his full suit of scarlet, with his", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0026.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 19\\nhair craped and powdered, and his three-cor-\\nnered hat.\\nShe has an orphan niece, a pretty, soft-\\nhearted baggage, named Phoebe Wilkins, who\\nhas been transplanted to the Hall within a\\nyear or two, and been nearly spoiled for any\\ncondition of life. She is a kind of attendant\\nand companion of the fair Jnlia s; and from\\nloitering about the young lady s apartments,\\nreading scraps of novels, and inheriting\\nsecond-hand finery, has become something be-\\ntween a waiting-maid and a slip-shod fine lady.\\nShe is considered a kind of heiress among\\nthe servants, as she will inherit all her aunt s\\nproperty which, if report be true, must be a\\nround sum of good golden guineas, the accu-\\nmulated wealth of two housekeepers savings;\\nnot to mention the hereditary wardrobe, and\\nthe many little valuables and knick-knacks\\ntreasured up in the housekeeper s room. In-\\ndeed the old housekeeper has the reputation\\namong the servants and the villagers of being\\npassing rich; and there is a japanned chest of\\ndrawers and a large iron-bound coffer in her\\nroom, which are supposed by the housemaids to\\nhold treasures of wealth.\\nThe old lady is a great friend of Master\\nSimon, who, indeed, pays a little court to her,\\nas to a person high in authority: and they\\nhave many discussions on points of family his-\\ntory, in which, notwithstanding his extensive\\ninformation, and pride of knowledge, he\\ncommonly admits her superior accuracy. He\\nseldom returns to the Hall, after one of his", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0027.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "20 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nvisits to the other branches of the family,\\nwithout bringing Mrs. Wilkins some remem-\\nbrance from the ladies of the house where he\\nhas been staying.\\nIndeed all the children in the house look up\\nto the old lady with habitual respect and\\nattachment, and she seems almost to consider\\nthem as her own, from their having grown up\\nunder her eye. The Oxonian, however, is\\nher favorite, probably from being the young-\\nest, though he is the most mischievous, and\\nhas been apt to play tricks upon her from boy-\\nhood.\\nI cannot help mentioning one little ceremony\\nwhich, I believe, is peculiar to the Hall. After\\nthe cloth is removed at dinner, the old house-\\nkeeper sails into the room and stands behind\\nthe squire s chair, when he fills her a glass of\\nwine with his own hands, in which she drinks\\nthe health of the company in a truly respectful\\nyet dignified manner, and then retires. The\\nsquire received the custom from his father, and\\nhas always continued it.\\nThere is a peculiar character about the ser-\\nvants of old English families that reside prin-\\ncipally in the country. They have a quiet,\\norderly, respectful mode of doing their\\nduties. They are always neat in their per-\\nsons, and appropriately, and, if I may use the\\nphrase, technically dressed they move about\\nthe house without hurry or noise there is noth-\\ning of the bustle of employment, or the voice\\nof command; nothing of that obtrusive house-\\nwifery that amounts to a torment. You are", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0028.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 21\\nnot persecuted by the process of making yoti\\ncomfortable; yet everything is done, and is\\ndone well. The work of the house is per-\\nformed as if by magic, but it is the magic of\\nsystem. Nothing is done by fits and starts,\\nnor at awkward seasons the whole goes on\\nlike well-oiled clockwork, where there is no\\nnoise nor jarring in its operations.\\nEnglish servants, in general, are not treated\\nwith great indulgence, nor rewarded by many\\ncommendations; for the English are laconic\\nand reserved towards their domestics but an\\napproving nod and a kind word from master\\nor mistress, goes as far here as an excess of\\npraise or indulgence elsewhere. Neither do\\nservants exhibit any animated marks of affec-\\ntion to their employers; yet, though quiet,\\nthey are strong in their attachments and the\\nreciprocal regard of masters or servants,\\nthough not ardently expressed, is powerful\\nand lasting in old English families.\\nThe title of an old family servant carries\\nwith it a thousand kind associations in all\\nparts of the world; and there is no claim upon\\nthe homebred charities of the heart more irre-\\nsistible than that of having been born in the\\nhouse. It is common to see gray-headed\\ndomestics of this kind attached to an English\\nfamily of the old school, who continue in it\\nto the day of their death in the enjoyment of\\nsteady unaffected kindness, and the perform-\\nance of faithful unofficious duty. I think such\\ninstances of attachment speak well for master", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0029.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "22 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nand servant, and the frequency of them speaks\\nwell for national character.\\nThese observations, however, hold good only\\nwith families of the description I have men-\\ntioned, and with such as are somewhat retired,\\nand pass the greater part of their time in the\\ncountry. As to the powdered menials that\\nthrong the walls of fashionable town resi-\\ndences, they equally reflect the character of\\nthe establishments to which they belong; and I\\nknow no more complete epitomes of dissolute\\nheartlessness and pampered inutility.\\nBut the good old family servant The one\\nwho has always been linked, in idea, with the\\nhome of our heart; who has led us to school in\\nthe days of prattling childhood who has been\\nthe confidant of our boyish cares, and schemes,\\nand enterprises; who has hailed us as we came\\nhome at vacations, and been the promoter of\\nall our holiday sports; who, when we, in wan-\\ndering manhood, have left the paternal roof,\\nand only return thither at intervals will wel-\\ncome us with a joy inferior only to that of our\\nparents; who now grown gray and infirm with\\nage, still totters about the house of our fathers\\nin fond and faithful servitute who claims us,\\nin a manner, as his own; and hastens with\\nquerulous eagerness to anticipate his fellow\\ndomestics in waiting upon us at table; and\\nwho, when we retire at night to the chamber\\nthat still goes by our name, will linger about\\nthe room to have one more kind look, and one\\nmore pleasant word about times that are past", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0030.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 23\\n\u00e2\u0080\u0094who does not experience towards such a\\nbeing a feeling of almost filial affection?\\nI have met with several instances of epi-\\ntaphs on the gravestones of such valuable\\ndomestics, recorded with the simple truth of\\nnatural feeling. I have two before me at this\\nmoment one copied from a tombstone of a\\nchurchyard in Warwickshire\\nHerelieth the body of Joseph Batte, con-\\nfidential servant to George Birch, Esq. of\\nHampstead Hall. His grateful friend and\\nmaster caused this inscription to be written in\\nmemory of his discretion, fidelity, diligence,\\nand continence. He died (a bachelor) aged\\n84, having lived 44 years in the same family.\\nThe other was taken from a tombstone in\\nEltham Churchyard\\nHere lie the remains of Mr. James Tappy,\\nwho departed this life on the 8th of Septem-\\nber 1 818, aged 84, after a faithful service of 60\\nyears in one family; by each individual of\\nwhich he lived respected, and died lamented\\nby the sole survivor.\\nFew monuments, even of the illustrious,\\nhave given me the glow about the heart that\\nI felt while copying this honest epitaph in the\\nchurchyard of Eltham. I sympathized with\\nthis sole survivor of a family mourning over\\nthe grave of the faithful follower of his race^\\nwho had been, no doubt, a living memento of\\ntimes and friends that had passed away and\\nin considering this record of long and devoted\\nservices, I called to mind the touching speech\\nof Old Adam in As You Like it, when tot-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0031.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "24 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntering after the youthful son of his ancient\\nmaster\\nMaster, go on, and I will follow thee\\nTo the last gasp, with love and loyalty\\nNote. I cannot but mention a tablet which I have\\nseen somewhere in the chapel of Windsor Castle, put up\\nby the late King to the memory of a family servant,\\nwho had been a faithful attendant of his lamented\\ndaughter, the Princess Amelia. George IIL possessed\\nmuch of the strong domestic feeling of the old English\\ncountry gentleman; and it is an incident curious in\\nmonumental history, and creditable to the human heart,\\na monarch erecting a monument in honor of the hum-\\nble virtues of a menial.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0032.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 25\\nTHE WIDOW.\\nShe was so charitable and piteous\\nShe would weep if she saw a mouse\\nCaught in a trap, if it were dead or bled\\nOf small hounds had she, that she fed\\nWith rost flesh, milke, and wasted bread\\nBut sore wept she if any of them were dead,\\nOr if man smote them with a yard smart.\\nChaucer.\\nNotwithstanding the whimsical parade made\\nby Lady Lillycraft on her arrival, she has\\nnone of the petty stateliness that I had imag-\\nined but, on the contrary, she has a degree of\\nnature, and simple-heartedness, if I may use\\nthe phrase, that mingles well with her old-\\nfashioned manners and harmless ostentation.\\nShe dresses in rich silks, with long waist; she\\nrouges considerably, and her hair, which is\\nnearly white, is frizzled out, and put up with\\npins. Her face is pitted with the small-pox,\\nbut the delicacy of her features shows that she\\nmay once have been beautiful and she has a\\nvery fair and well-shaped hand and arm, of\\nwhich, if I mistake not, the good lady is still a\\nlittle vain.\\nI have had the curiosity to gather a few par-\\nticulars concerning her. She was a great belle\\nin town between thirty and forty years since,\\nand reigned for two seasons with all the inso-\\nlence of beauty, refusing several excellent", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0033.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "26 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\noffers; when, Tinfortunately, she was robbed\\nof her charms and her lovers by an attack of\\nthe small-pox. She retired immediately into\\nthe country, where she some time after inher-\\nited an estate, and married a baronet, a former\\nadmirer, whose passion had suddenly revived;\\nhaving, as he said, always loved her mind\\nrather than her person.\\nThe baronet did not enjoy her mind and for-\\ntune above six months, and had scarcely grown\\nvery tired of her, when he broke his neck in a\\nfox-chase and left her free, rich, and discon-\\nsolate. She has remained on her estate in the\\ncountry ever since, and has never shown any\\ndesire to return to town, and revisit the scene\\nof her early triumphs and fatal malady. All\\nher favorite recollections, however, revert to\\nthat sh6rt period of her youthful beauty. She\\nhas no idea of town but as it was at that time\\nand continually forgets that the place and\\npeople must have changed materially in the\\ncourse of nearly half a century. She will often\\nspeak of the toasts of those days as if still\\nreigning; and, until very recently, used to talk\\nwith delight of the royal family, and the beauty\\nof the young princes and princesses. She can-\\nnot be brought to think of the present king\\notherwise than as an elegant young man,\\nrather wild, but who danced a minuet divinely\\nand before he came to the crown, would often\\nmention him as the sweet young prince.\\nShe talks also of the walks in Kensington\\nGardens, where the gentlemen appeared in\\ngold-laced coats and cocked hats, and the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0034.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 27\\nladies in hoops, and swept so proudly along\\nthe grassy avenues; and she thinks the ladies\\nlet themselves sadly down in their dignity\\nwhen they gave up cushioned head-dresses and\\nhigh-heeled shoes. She has much to say too\\nof the officers who were in the train of her\\nadmirers; and speaks familiarly of many wild\\nyoung blades, that are now, perhaps, hobbling\\nabout watering places with crutches and gouty\\nshoes.\\nWhether the taste the good lady had of\\nmatrimony discouraged her or not, I cannot\\nsay; but, though her merits and her riches\\nhave attracted many suitors, she has never been\\ntempted to venture again into the happy\\nstate. This is singular too, for she seems of\\nthe most soft and susceptible heart; is alv/ays\\ntalking of love and connubial felicity; and is a\\ngreat stickler for old-fashioned gallantry, de-\\nvoted attentions, and eternal constancy, on the\\npart of gentlemen. She lives, however, after\\nher own taste. Her house, I am told, must\\nhave been built and furnished about the time\\nof Sir Charles Grandison everything about it\\nis somewhat formal and stately; but has been\\nsoftened down into a degree of voluptuous-\\nness, characteristic of an old lady very tender-\\nhearted and romantic, and that loves her ease.\\nThe cushions of the great arm-chairs, and\\nwide sofas, almost bury you when you sit\\ndown on them. Flowers of the most rare and\\ndelicate kind are placed about the rooms and\\non little japanned stands; and sweet bags lie\\nabout the tables and mantelpieces. The house", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0035.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "28 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nis full of pet dogs, Angora cats, and singing\\nbirds, who are as carefully waited upon as she\\nis herself.\\nShe is dainty in her living, and a\\nlittle of an epicure, living on white meats,\\nand little lady-like dishes, though her\\nservants have substantial old English fare,\\nas their looks bear witness. Indeed, they\\nare so indulged, that they are all spoiled,\\nand when they lose their present place\\nthey will be fit for no other. Her\\nladyship is one of those easy-tempered\\nbeings that are always doomed to be much\\nliked, but ill served, by their domestics, and\\ncheated by all the world.\\nMuch of her time is passed in reading\\nnovels, of which she has a most extensive li-\\nbrary, and has a constant supply from the pub-\\nlishers in town. Her erudition in this line of\\nliterature is immense; she has kept pace with\\nthe press for half a century. Her mind is\\nstuffed with love-tales of all kinds, from the\\nstately amours of the old books of chivalry,\\ndown to the last blue-covered romance, reek-\\ning from the press: though she evidently\\ngives the preference to those that came out in\\nthe days of her youth, and when she was first\\nin love. She maintains that there are no nov-\\nels written nowadays equal to Pamela and Sir\\nCharles Grandison and she places the Castle\\nof Otranto at the head of all romances.\\nShe does a vast deal of good in her neighbor-\\nhood, and is imposed upon by every beggar in\\nthe county. She is the benefactress of a vil-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0036.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 29\\nlage adjoining to her estate, and takes a special\\ninterest in all its love affairs. She knows of\\nevery courtship that is going on every love-\\nlorn damsel is sure to find a patient listener\\nand sage adviser in her ladyship. She takes\\ngreat pains to reconcile all love quarrels, and\\nshould any faithless swain persist in his incon-\\nstancy, he is sure to draw on himself the good\\nlady s violent indignation.\\nI have learned these particulars partly from\\nFrank Bracebridge and partly from Master\\nSimon. I am now able to account for the\\nassiduous attention of the latter to her lady-\\nship. Her house is one of his favorite resorts,\\nwhere he is a very important personage. He\\nmakes her a visit of business once a year,\\nwhen he looks into all her affairs; which, as\\nshe is no mahager, are apt to get into con-\\nfusion. He examines the books of the over-\\nseer, and shoots about the estate, which, he\\nsays, is well stocked with game, notwithstand-\\ning that it is poached by all the vagabonds in\\nthe neighborhood.\\nIt is thought, as I before hinted, that the\\ncaptain will inherit the greater part of her\\nproperty, having always been her chief favor-\\nite; for, in fact, she is partial to a red coat.\\nShe has now come to the Hall to be present at\\nhis nuptials, having a great disposition to inter-\\nest herself in all matters of love and matri-\\nmony.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0037.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "so BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE LOVERS.\\nRise up, my love, my fair one, and come away for lo\\nthe winter is past, the rain is over and gone the\\nflowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing\\nof birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard\\nin the land. Song of Solomon.\\nTo a man who is a little of a philosopher,\\nand a bachelor to boot; and who, by dint of\\nsome experience in the follies of life, begins\\nto look with a learned eye itpon the ways of\\nman, and eke of women; to such a man, I say,\\nthere is something very entertaining in noticing\\nthe conduct of a pair of young lovers. It may\\nnot be as grave and scientific a study as the\\nloves of the plants, but it is certainly as inter-\\nesting.\\nI have therefore derived much pleasure,\\nsince my arrival at the Hall, from observing\\nthe fair Julia and her lover. She has all the\\ndelightful blushing consciousness of an artless\\ngirl, inexperienced in coquetry, who has made\\nher first conquest; while the captain regards\\nher with that mixture of fondness and exulta-\\ntion, with which a youthful lover is apt to\\ncontemplate so beauteous a prize.\\nI observed them yesterday in the garden,\\nadvancing along one of the retired walks.\\nThe sun was shining with delicious warmth,\\nmaking great masses of bright verdure, and", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0038.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 31\\ndeep blue shade. The cuckoo, that har-\\nbinger of spring, was faintly heard from a\\ndistance the thrush piped from the hawthorn,\\nand the yellow butterflies sported, and toyed,\\nand coquetted in the air.\\nThe fair Julia was leaning on her lover s\\narm, listening to his conversation, with her\\neyes cast down, a soft blush on her cheek, and\\na quiet smile on her lips, while in the hand that\\nhung negligently by her side was a bunch of\\nflowers. In this way they were sauntering\\nslowly along, and when I considered them,\\nand the scene in which they were moving, I\\ncould not but think it a thousand pities that\\nthe season should ever change, or that young\\npeople should ever grow older, or that blos-\\nsoms should give way to fruit, or that lovers\\nshould ever get married.\\nFrom what I have gathered of family anec-\\ndote, I understand that the fair Julia is the\\ndaughter of a favorite college friend of the\\nsquire who, after leaving Oxford, had entered\\nthe army, and served for many years in India,\\nwhere he was mortally wounded in a skirmish\\nwith the natives. In his last moments he had,\\nwith a faltering pen, recommended his wife\\nand daughter to the kindness of his early\\nfriend.\\nThe widow and her child returned to Eng-\\nland helpless, and almost hopeless. When Mr.\\nBracebridge received accounts of their situa-\\ntion, he hastened to their relief. He reached\\nthem just in time to soothe the last moments\\nof the mother, who was dying of a consump-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0039.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "32 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntion, and to make her happy in the assurance\\nthat her child should never want a protector.\\nThe good squire returned with his prattling\\ncharge to his stronghold, where he has brought\\nher up with a tenderness truly paternaL As\\nhe has taken some pains to superintend her\\neducation, and form her taste, she has grown\\nup with many of his notions, and considers him\\nthe wisest as well as the best of men.\\nMuch of her time, too, has been past with\\nLady Lillycraft, who has instructed her in the\\nmanners of the old school, and enriched her\\nmind with all kinds of novels and romances.\\nIndeed, her ladyship has had a great hand in\\npromoting the match between Julia and the\\ncaptain, having had them together at her\\ncountry seat the moment she found there was\\nan attachment growing up between them the\\ngood lady being never so happy as when she\\nhas a pair of turtles cooing about her.\\nI have been pleased to see the fondness with\\nwhich the fair Julia is regarded by the old\\nservants of the Hall. She has been a pet with\\nthem from childhood, and every one seems to\\nlay some claim to her education so that it is\\nno wonder that she should be extremely\\naccomplished. The gardener taught her to rear\\nflowers, of which she is extremely fond. Old\\nChristy, the pragmatical hunstman, softens\\nwhen she approaches; and as she sits lightly\\nand gracefully in her saddle, claims the merit\\nof having taught her to ride while the house-\\nkeeper, who almost looks upon her as a daugh-\\nter, intimates that she first gave her an insight", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0040.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 33\\ninto the mysteries of the toilet, having been\\ndressing-maid in her young days to the late\\nMrs. Bracebridge. I am inclined to credit this\\nlast claim, as I have noticed that the dress of\\nthe young lady had an air of the old school,\\nthough managed with native taste, and that\\nher hair was put up very much in the style of\\nSir Peter Lely s portraits in the picture gallery.\\nHer very musical attainments partake of\\nthis old-fashioned character, and most of her\\nsongs are such as are not at the present day to\\nbe found on the piano of the modern performer.\\nI have, however, seen so much of modern\\nfashions, modern accomplishments, and modern\\nfine ladies, that I relish this tinge of antiquated\\nstyle in so young and lovely a girl and I have\\nhad as much pleasure in hearing her warble\\none of the old songs of Herrick, or Carew, or\\nSuckling, adapted to some simple old melody,\\nas I have had from listening to a lady amateur\\nskylark it up and down through the finest\\nbravura of Rossini or Mozart.\\nWe have very pretty music in the evenings,\\noccasionally, between her and the captain,\\nassisted sometimes by Master Simon, who\\nscraps, dubiously, on his violin; being very\\napt to get out, and to halt a note or two in the\\nrear. Sometimes he even thrums a little on\\nthe piano, and takes a part in a trio, in which\\nhis voice can generally be distinguished by a\\ncertain quavering tone, and an occasional false\\nnote.\\nI was praising the fair Julia s performance\\nto him after one of her songs, when I found he\\n3 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0041.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "34 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntook to himself the whole credit of having\\nformed her musical taste, assuring me that she\\nwas very apt; and, indeed, summing up her\\nwhole character in his knowing way, by adding,\\nthat she was a very nice girl, and had no\\nnonsense about her.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0042.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 35\\nFAMILY RELIQUES.\\nMy Infelice s face, her brow, her eye.\\nThe dimple on her cheek and such sweet skill\\nHath from the cunning workman s pencil flown,\\nThese lips look fresh and lovely as her own.\\nFalse colors last after the true be dead.\\nOf all the roses grafted on her cheeks,\\nOf all the graces dancing in her eyes,\\nOf all the music set upon her tongue,\\nOf all that was past woman s excellence\\nIn her white bosom look a painted board,\\nCircumscribes all Dekker.\\nAn old English family mansion is a fertile\\nsubject for study. It abounds with illustrations\\nof former times, and traces of the tastes, and\\nhumors, and manners of successive genera-\\ntions. The alterations and additions, in differ-\\nent styles of architecture the furniture, plate,\\npictures, hangings; the warlike and sporting\\nimplements of different ages and fancies all\\nfurnish food for curious and amusing specula-\\ntion. As the squire is very careful in collect-\\ning and preserving all family reliques, the Hall\\nis full of remembrances of this kind. In look-\\ning about the establishment, I can picture to\\nmyself the characters and habits that have pre-\\nvailed at different eras of the family history.\\nI have mentioned on a former occasion the\\narmor of the crusader which hangs up in the\\nHall. There are also several jack-boots, with", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0043.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "36 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nenormously thick soles and high heels, that\\nbelonged to a set of cavaliers, who filled the\\nHall with the din and stir of arms during the\\ntime of the Covenanters. A number of\\nenormous drinking vessels of antique fashion,\\nwith huge Venice glasses, and green hock\\nglasses, with the apostles in relief on them,\\nremain as monuments of a generation or two of\\nhard-livers, that led a life of roaring revelry,\\nand first introduced the gout into the family.\\nI shall pass over several more such indica-\\ntions of temporary tastes of the squire s prede-\\ncessors but I cannot forbear to notice a pair\\nof antlers in the great hall, which is one of the\\ntrophies of a hard- riding squire of former times,\\nwho was the Nimrod of these parts. There\\nare many traditions of his wonderful feats in\\nhunting still existing, which are related by old\\nChristy, the huntsman, who gets exceedingly\\nnettled if they are in the least doubted.\\nIndeed, there is a frightful chasm, a few miles\\nfrom the Hall, which goes by the name of the\\nSquire s Leap, from his having cleared it in\\nthe ardor of the chase there can be no doubt\\nof the fact, for old Christy shows the very dints\\nof the horse s hoofs on the rocks on each side\\nof the chasm.\\nMaster Simon holds the memory of this\\nsquire in great veneration, and has a number\\nof extraordinary stories to tell concerning\\nhim, w^hich he repeats at all hunting dinners;\\nand I am told that they wax more and more\\nmarvelous the older they grow. He has also\\na pair of Ripon spurs which belonged to this", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0044.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 37\\nmighty hunter of yore, and which he only\\nwears on particular occasions.\\nThe place, however, which abounds most\\nwith mementoes of past times, is a picture gal-\\nlery and there is something strangely pleas-\\ning, though melancholy, in considering the\\nlong rows of portraits which compose the\\ngreater part of the collection. They furnish a\\nkind of narrative of the lives of the family\\nworthies, which I am enabled to read with the\\nassistance of the venerable housekeeper, who\\nis the family chronicler, prompted occasionally\\nof Master Simon. There is the progress of a\\nfine lady, for instance, through a variety of\\nportraits. One represents her as a little girl,\\nwith a long waist and hoop, holding a kitten\\nin her arms, and ogling the spectator out of the\\ncorners of her eyes, as if she could not turn\\nher head. In another we find her in the fresh-\\nness of youthful beauty, when she was a cele-\\nbrated belle, and so hard-hearted as to cause\\nseveral unfortunate gentlemen to run desper-\\nate and write bad poetry. In another she is\\ndepicted as a stately dame, in the maturity of\\nher charms; next to the portrait of her hus-\\nband, a gallant colonel in full-buttomed wig\\nand gold-laced hat, who was killed abroad and,\\nfinally, her monument is in the church, the\\nspire of which may be seen from the window,\\nwhere her efiigy is carved in marble, and repre-\\nsents her as a venerable dame of seventy-six.\\nIn like manner I have followed some of the\\nfamily great men, through a series of pictures,\\nfrom early boyhood to the robe of dignity, or", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0045.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "38 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntruncheon of command, and so on by degrees\\nuntil they were gathered up in the common\\nrepository, the neighboring church.\\nThere is one group that particularly interested\\nme. It consisted of four sisters of nearly the\\nsame age, who flourished about a century\\nsince, and, if I may judge from their portraits,\\nwere extremely beautiful. I can imagine what\\na scene of gayety and romance this old man-\\nsion must have been when they were in the\\nheyday of their charms when they passed like\\nbeautiful visions through its halls, or stepped\\ndaintily to music in the revels and dances of\\nthe cedar gallery; or printed, with delicate\\nfeet, the velvet verdure of these lawns. How\\nmust they have been looked up to with mingled\\nlove, and pride, and reverence, by the old fam-\\nily servants and followed by almost painful\\nadmiration by the aching eyes of rival admir-\\ners How must melody, and song, and tender\\nserenade, have breathed about these courts,\\nand their echoes whispered to the loitering\\ntread of lovers How must these very turrets\\nhave made the hearts of the young galliards\\nthrill as they first discerned them from afar,\\nrising from among the trees, and pictured to\\nthemselves the beauties casketed like gems\\nwithin these walls! Indeed I have discovered\\nabout the place several faint records of this\\nreign of love and romance, when the Hall was\\na kind of Court of Beauty. Several of the old\\nromances in the library have marginal notes\\nexpressing sympathy and approbation, where\\nthere are long speeches extolling _ladies", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0046.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 39\\ncharms, or protesting eternal fidelity, or\\nbewailing the cruelty of some tyrannical fair\\none. The interviews, and declarations, and\\nparting scenes of tender lovers, also bear the\\nmarks of having been frequently read, and are\\nscored, and marked with notes of admiration,\\nand have initials written on the margins most\\nof which annotations have the day of the month\\nand year annexed to them. Several of the\\nwindows, too, have scraps of poetry engraved\\nin them with diamonds, taken from the writ-\\nings of the fair Mrs. Philips, the once celebrated\\nOrinda. Some of these seem to have been\\ninscribed by lovers and others, in a delicate\\nand unsteady hand, and a little inaccurate in\\nthe spelling, have evidently been written by\\nthe young ladies themselves, or by female\\nfriends, who have been on visits to the Hall.\\nMrs. Philips seems to have been their favorite\\nauthor, and they have distributed the names\\nof her heroes and heroines among their circle of\\nintimacy. Sometimes, in a male hand, the\\nverse bewails the cruelty of beauty and the\\nsufferings of constant love while in a female\\nhand it prudishly confines itself to lamenting\\nthe parting of female friends. The bow-win-\\ndow of my bedroom, which has, doubtless, been\\ninhabited by one of these beauties, has several\\nof these inscriptions. I have one at this\\nmoment before my eyes, called Camilla part-\\ning with Leonora:\\nHow perished is the joy that s past,\\nThe present how unsteady", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0047.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "40 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nWhat comfort can be great, and last,\\nWhen this is gone already!\\nAnd close by it is another, written, perhaps,\\nby some adventurous lover, who had stolen into\\nthe lady s chamber during her absence:\\nTheodosius to Camilla.\\nI d rather in your favor live\\nThan in a lasting name\\nAnd much a greater rate would give\\nFor happiness than fame.\\nTheodosius. 1700.\\nWhen I look at these faint records of gal-\\nlantry and tenderness; when I contemplate\\nthe fading portraits of these beautiful girls,\\nand think, too, that they have long since\\nbloomed, reigned, grown old, died, and passed\\naway, and with them all their graces, their\\ntriumphs, their rivalries, their admirers; the\\nwhole empire of love and pleasure in which\\nthey ruled all dead, all buried, all forgot-\\nten, I find a cloud of melancholy stealing over\\nthe present gayeties around me. I was gaz-\\ning, in a musing mood, this very morning, at\\nthe portrait of the lady whose husband was\\nkilled abroad, when the fair Julia entered the\\ngallery, leaning on the arm of the captain.\\nThe sun shone through the row of windows on\\nher as she passed along, and she seemed to\\nbeam out each time into brightness, and\\nrelapse into shade, until the door at the bottom\\nof the gallery closed after her. I felt a sad-\\nness of heart at the idea, that this was an\\nemblem of her lot a few more years of sun-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0048.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 41\\nshine and shade, and all this life, and loveli-\\nness, and enjoyment, will have ceased, and\\nnothing be left to commemorate this beautiful\\nbeing but one more perishable portrait; to\\nawaken, perhaps, the trite speculations of some\\nfuture loiterer, like myself, when I and my\\nscribblings shall have lived through our brief\\nexistence, and been forgotten.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0049.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "42 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nAN OLD SOLDIER.\\nI ve worn some leather out abroad let out a heathen\\nsoul or two fed this good sword with the black\\nblood of pagan Christians converted a few individ-\\nuals with it. But let that pass.\\nThe Ordinary.\\nThe Hall was thrown into some little agita-\\ntion, a few days since, by the arrival of Gen-\\neral Harbottle. He had been expected for sev-\\neral days, and had been looked for rather\\nimpatiently by several of the family. Master\\nSimon assured me that I would like the gen-\\neral hugely, for he was a blade of the old\\nschool, and an excellent table companion.\\nLady Lilly^craft, also, appeared to be some-\\nwhat fluttered, on the morning of the general s\\narrival, for he had been one of her early ad-\\nmirers and she recollected him only as a dash-\\ning young ensign, just come upon the town.\\nShe actually spent an hour longer at her toilet\\nand made her appearance with her hair uncom-\\nmonly frizzled and powdered, and an addi-\\ntional quantity of rouge. She was evidently a\\nlittle surprised and shocked, therefore, at find-\\ning the little dashing ensign transformed into\\na corpulent old general, with a double chin,\\nthough it was a perfect picture to witness their\\nsalutations: the graciousness of her profound\\ncourtesy, and the air of the old school with", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0050.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 43\\nwhich the general took off his hat, swayed it\\ngently in his hand, and bowed his powdered\\nhead.\\n_ All this bustle and anticipation has caused\\nme to study the general with a little more\\nattention than, perhaps, I should otherwise\\nhave done and the few days that he has\\nalready passed at the Hall have enabled me, I\\nthink, to furnish a tolerable likeness of him to\\nthe reader.\\nHe is, as Master Simon observed, a soldier\\nof the old school, with powdered head, side\\nlocks, and pigtail. His face is shaped like the\\nstern of a Dutch man-of-war, narrow at top,\\nand wide at bottom, with full rosy cheeks and\\na double chin so that, to use the cant of the\\nday, his organs of eating may be said to be\\npowerfully developed.\\nThe general, though a veteran, has seen\\nvery little active service, except the taking of\\nSeringapatam, which forms an era in his his-\\ntory. He wears a large emerald in his bosom,\\nand a diamond on his finger, which he got on\\nthat occasion, and whoever is unlucky enough\\nto notice either, is sure to involve himself in\\nthe whole history of the siege. To judge from\\nthe general s conversation, the taking of Ser-\\ningapatam is the most important affair that has\\noccurred for the last century.\\nOn the approach of warlike times on the\\ncontinent, he was rapidly promoted to get him\\nout of the way of younger officers of merit\\nuntil, having been hoisted to the rank of gen-\\neral, he was quietly laid on the shelf. Since", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0051.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "44 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthat time his campaigns have ben principally\\nconfined to watering-places; where he drinks\\nthe waters for a slight touch of the liver\\nwhich he got in India; and plays whist\\nwith old dowagers, with whom he has\\nflirted in his younger days. Indeed he\\ntalks of all the fine women of the last\\nhalf century, and, according to hints which he\\nnow and then drops, has enjoyed the particu-\\nlar smiles of many of them.\\nHe has seen considerable garrison duty, and\\ncan speak of almost every place famous for\\ngood quarters, and where the inhabitants give\\ngood dinners. He is a diner-out of the first-\\nrate currency, when in town being invited to\\none place because he has been seen at another.\\nIn the same way he is invited about the\\ncountry seats, and can describe half the seats\\nin the kingdom, from actual observation nor\\nis any one better versed in court gossip, and\\npedigrees and intermarriages of the nobility.\\nAs the general is an old bachelor and an old\\nbeau, and there are several ladies at the Hall,\\nespecially his quondam flame Lady Jocelyne,\\nhe is put rather upon his gallantry. He com-\\nmonly passes some time, therefore, at his\\ntoilet, and takes the field at a late hour every\\nmorning, with his hair dressed out and pow-\\ndered, and a rose in his button-hole. After he\\nhas breakfasted, he walks up and down the\\nterrace in the sunshine, humming an air, and\\nhemming between every stave, carrying one\\nhand behind his back, and with the other\\ntouching his cane to the ground and then rais-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0052.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 45\\ning it up to his shoulder. Should he, in these\\nmorning promenades, meet any of the elder\\nladies of the family, as he frequently does Lady\\nLillycraft, his hat is immediately in his hand,\\nand it is enough to remind one of those courtly\\ngroups of ladies and gentlemen, in old prints\\nof Windsor Terrace or Kensington Gardens.\\nHe talks frequently about the service,\\nand is fond of humming the old song,\\nWhy, soldiers, why,\\nShould we be melancholy, boys?\\nWhy, soldiers, why.\\nWhose business tis to die!\\nI cannot discover, however, that the general\\nhas ever run any great risk of dying, except-\\ning from an apoplexy, or indigestion. He\\ncriticises all the battles on the Continent, and\\ndiscusses the merits of the commanders, but\\nnever fails to bring the conversation ultimately\\nto Tippoo Saib and Seringapatam. I am told\\nthat the general was a perfect champion at\\ndrawing-rooms, parades, and watering-places,\\nduring the late war, and was looked to with\\nhope and confidence by many an old lady,\\nwhen laboring under the terror of Bonaparte s\\ninvasion.\\nHe is thoroughly loyal, and attends punctu-\\nally on levees when in town. He has treas-\\nured up many remarkable sayings of the late\\nking, particularly one which the king made to\\nhim on a field-day, complimenting him on the\\nexcellence of his horse. He extols the whole\\nroyal family, but especially the present king,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0053.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "46 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nwhom he pronounces a most perfect gentleman\\nand best whist-player in Europe. The general\\nswears rather more than is the fashion of the\\npresent day but it was the mode of the old\\nschool. He is, however, very strict in reli-\\ngious matters, and a staunch churchman. He\\nrepeats the responses very loudly in church,\\nand is emphatical in praying for the king and\\nroyal family.\\nAt table his loyalty waxes very fervent with\\nhis second bottle, and the song of God save\\nthe King puts him into a perfect ecstasy.\\nHe is amazingly well contented with the pres-\\nent state of things, and apt to get a little impa-\\ntient at any talk about national ruin and agri-\\ncultural distress. He says he has traveled\\nabout the country as much as any man, and\\nhas met with nothing but prosperity; and to\\nconfess the truth, a great part of his time is\\nspent in visiting from one country-seat to\\nanother, and riding about the parks of his\\nfriends. They talk of public distress, said\\nthe general this day to me, at dinner, as he\\nsmacked a glass of rich burgundy, and cast\\nhis eyes about the ample board, they talk of\\npublic distress, but where do we find it, sir? I\\nsee none. I see no reason any one has to com-\\nplain. Take my word for it, sir, this talk\\nabout public distress is all humbug", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0054.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 4T\\nTHE WIDOW S RETINUE.\\nLittle dogs and all Lear.\\nIn giving an account of the arrival of Lady\\nLillycraft at the Hall, I ought to have men-\\ntioned the entertainment which I derived from\\nwitnessing the unpacking of her carriage, and\\nthe disposing of her retinue. There is some-\\nthing extremely amusing to me in the num-\\nber of factitious wants, the loads of imaginary\\nconveniences, but real incumbrances, with\\nwhich the luxurious are apt to burthen them-\\nselves. I like to watch the whimsical stir and\\ndisplay about one of these petty progressess.\\nThe number of robustious footmen and retainers\\nof all kinds bustling about, with looks of infinite\\ngravity and importance, to do almost nothing.\\nThe number of heavy trunks and parcels, and\\nhandboxes, belonging to my lady and the solici-\\ntude exhibited about some humble, odd-looking\\nbox by my lady s maid the cushions piled in the\\ncarriage to make a soft seat still softer, and to\\nprevent the dreadful possibility of a jolt the\\nsmelling-bottles, the cordials, the baskets of\\nbiscuit and fruit; the new publications; all\\nprovided to guard against hunger, fatigue, or\\nennui the led horses to vary the mode of trav-\\neling; and all this preparation and parade to", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0055.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "48 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nmove, perhaps, some very good-for-nothing\\npersonage about a little space of earth\\nI do not mean to apply the latter part of\\nthese observations to Lady Lilly craft, for\\nwhose simple kindheartedness I have a very\\ngreat respect, and who is really a most amiable\\nand worthy being. I cannot refrain, however,\\nfrom mentioning some of the motley retinue\\nshe has brought with her and which, indeed,\\nbespeak the overflowing kindness of her\\nnature, which requires her to be surrounded^\\nwith objects on which to lavish it.\\nIn the first place, her ladyship has a pam-\\npered coachman, with a red face, and cheeks\\nthan hang down like dewlaps. He evidently\\ndomineers over her a little with respect to the\\nfat horses and only drives out when he thinks\\nproper, and when he thinks it will be good for\\nthe cattle.\\nShe has a favorite page to attend upon herj\\nperson a handsome boy of about twelve years\\nof age, but a mischievous varlet, very muchj\\nspoiled, and in a fair way to be good for noth-\\ning. He is dressed in green, with a profusion\\nof gold and gilt buttons about his clothes. She\\nalways has one or two attendants of the kind,\\nwho are replaced by others as soon as they|\\ngrow to fourteen years of age. She has brought\\ntwo dogs with her also, out of a number of pets\\nwhich she maintains at home. One is a fat\\nspaniel, called Zephyr though heaven defend\\nme from such a zephyr He is fed out of all\\nshape and comfort his eyes are nearly strained\\nout of his head he wheezes with corpulency,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0056.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "He enjoys the stout oaken chair. Page 52.\\nBracebridge Hall.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0057.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0058.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 49\\nand cannot walk without great difficulty. The\\nother is a little, old, gray-muzfeled curmudgeon,\\nwith an unhappy eye, that kindles like a coal\\nif you only look at him his nose turns up his\\nmouth is drawn into wrinkles, so as to show his\\nteeth in short, he has altogether the look of a\\ndog far gone in misanthropy, and totally sick of\\nthe world. When he walks, he has his tail\\ncurled up so tight that it seems to lift his feet\\nfrom the ground and he seldom makes use of\\nmore than three legs at a time, keeping the\\nother drawn up as a reserve. This last wretch\\nis called Beauty.\\nThese dogs are full of elegant ailments un-\\nknown to vulgar dogs; and are petted and\\nnursed by Lady Lillycraft with the tenderest\\nkindness. They are pampered and fed with\\ndelicacies by their fellow-minion, the page;\\nbut their stomachs are often weak and out of\\norder, so that they cannot eat though I have\\nnow and then seen the page give them a\\nmischievous pinch or thwack over the head,\\nwhen his mistress was not by. They have\\ncushions for their express use, on which they\\nlie before the fire, and yet are apt to shiver\\nand moan if there is the least draught of air.\\nWhen any one enters the room, they make a\\nmost tyrannical barking, that is absolutely\\ndeafening. They are insolent to all the other\\ndogs of the establishment. There is a noble\\nstaghound, a great favorite of the Squire s,\\nwho is a privileged visitor to the parlor; but\\nthe moment he makes his appearance, these\\nintruders fly at him with furious rage and I\\n4 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0059.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "50 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nhave admired the sovereign indifference and\\ncontempt with which he seems to look down\\nupon his puny assailants. Wheji her ladyship\\ndrives out, these dogs are generally carried\\nwith her to take the air; when they look out\\nof each window of the carriage, and bark at all\\nvulgar pedestrian dogs. These dogs are a con-\\ntinual source of misery to the household as\\nthey are always in the way, they every now\\nand then get their toes trod on, and then there\\nis a yelping on their part, and a loud lamenta-\\ntion on the part of their mistress, that fills the\\nroom with clamor and confusion.\\nLastly, there is her ladyship s waiting-gen-\\ntlewoman, Mrs. Hannah, a prim, pragmatical\\nold maid one of the most intolerable and in-\\ntolerant virgins that ever lived. She has kept\\nher virtue by her until it has turned sour, and\\nnow every word and look smacks of verjuice.\\nShe is the very opposite to her mistress, for\\none hates, and the other loves, all mankind.\\nHow they first came together I cannot imag-\\nine, but they have lived together for many\\nyears; and the abigail s temper being tart and\\nencroaching, and her ladyship s easy and yield-\\ning, the former has got the complete upper\\nhand, and tyrannizes over the good lady in\\nsecret.\\nLady Lillycraft now and then complains of\\nit, in great confidence, to her friends, but hush-\\nes up the subject immediately, if Mrs. Han-\\nnah makes her appearance. Indeed, she has\\nbeen so accustomed to be attended by her, that\\nshe thinks she could not do without her;", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0060.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 51\\nthough one great study of her life is to keep\\nMrs. Hannah in good humor, by little presents\\nand kindnesses.\\nMaster Simon has a most devout abhorrence,\\nmingled with awe, for this ancient spinster.\\nHe told me the other day, in a whisper, that\\nshe was a cursed brimstone in fact, he added\\nanother epithet, which I would not repeat for\\nthe world. I have remarked, however, that he\\nis always extremely civil to her when they\\nmeet.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0061.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "52 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nREADY-MONEY JACK.\\nMy purse, it is my privy wyfe,\\nThis song I dare both syng and say,\\nIt keepeth men from grievous stryfe,\\nWhen every man for hymself shall pay.\\nAs I ryde in rych array\\nFor gold and sylver men wyll me floryshe\\nBy thys matter I dare well saye,\\nEver gramercy myne owne purse.\\nBook of Hunting.\\nOn the skirts of the neighboring village there\\nlives a kind of small potentate, who, for aught\\nI know, is a representative of one of the most\\nancient legitimate lines of the present day for\\nthe empire over which he reigns has belonged\\nto his family time out of mind. His territories\\ncomprise a considerable number of good fat\\nacres and his seat of power is an old farm-\\nhouse, where he enjoys, unmolested, the stout\\noaken chair of his ancestors. The personage\\nto whom I allude is a sturdy old yeoman of\\nthe name of John Tibbets, or rather, Ready-\\nMoney Jack Tibbets, as he is called throughout\\nthe neighborhood.\\nThe first place where he attracted my atten-\\ntion was in the churchyard on Sunday where\\nhe sat on a tombstone after service, with his\\nhat a little on one side, holding forth to a small\\ncircle of auditors, and, as I presumed, ex-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0062.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 53\\npounding the law and the prophets, until, on\\ndrawing a little nearer, I found he was only-\\nexpatiating on the merits of a brown horse.\\nHe presented so faithful a picture of a substan-\\ntial English yeoman, such as he is often de-\\nscribed in books, heightened, indeed, by some\\nlittle finery peculiar to himself, that I could\\nnot but take note of his whole appearance.\\nHe was between fifty and sixty, of a strong\\nmuscular frame, and at least six feet high,\\nwith a physiognomy as grave as a lion s and\\nset off with short, curling, iron-gray locks.\\nHis shirt-collar was turned down, and dis-\\nplayed a neck covered with the same short,\\ncurling, gray hair; and he wore a colored\\nsilk neckcloth, tied very loosely, and tucked\\nin at the iDOSom, with a green paste\\nbrooch on the knot. His coat was of\\ndark-green cloth, with silver buttons, on\\neach of .which was engraved a stag, with\\nhis own name, John Tibbets, underneath.\\nHe had an inner waistcoat of figured\\nchintz, between which and his coat was\\nanother of scarlet cloth unbuttoned. His\\nbreeches were also left unbuttoned at the knees\\nnot from any slovenliness, but to show a broad\\npair of scarlet garters. His stockings were\\nblue, with white clocks; he wore large silver\\nshoe-buckles; a broad paste buckle in his hat-\\nband his sleeve buttons were gold seven-shill-\\ning pieces and he had two or three guineas\\nhanging as ornaments to his watch-chain.\\nOn making some inquiries about him, I\\ngathered that he was descended from a line of", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0063.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "54 BRACEBRIUGE HALL.\\nfarmers that had always lived on the same spot\\nand owned the same property; and that half\\nof the churchyard was taken up with the tomb-\\nstones of his race. He has all his life been\\nan important character in the place. When a.\\nyoungster, he was one of the most roaring\\nblades of the neighborhood. No one could\\nmatch him at wrestling, pitching the bar, cud-\\ngel play, and other athletic exercises. Like\\nthe renowned Pinner of Wakefield, he was the\\nvillage champion carried off the prize at all the\\nfairs, and threw his gauntlet at the country\\nround. Even to this day the old people talk\\nof his prowess, and undervalue, in comparison,\\nall heroes of the green that have succeeded\\nhim nay, they say that if Ready- Money Jack\\nwere to take the field even now, there is no\\none could stand before him.\\nWhen Jack s father died, the neighbors\\nshook their heads, and predicted that young\\nHopeful would soon make way with the old\\nhomestead; but Jack falsified all their predic-\\ntions. The mioment he succeeded to the pater-\\nnal farm he assumed a nev/ character; took a\\nwife; attended resolutely to his affairs, and\\nbecame an industrious, thrifty farmer. With\\nthe family property he inherited a set of old\\nfamily maxims, to which he steadily adhered.\\nHe saw to everything himself; put his own\\nhand to the plough; worked hard; ate heart-\\nily; slept soundly; paid for everything in cash\\ndown; and never danced except he could do it\\nto the music of his own money in both\\npockets. He has never been without a hun-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0064.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL, 55\\ndred or two pounds in gold by him, and never\\nallows a debt to stand unpaid. This has\\ngained him his current name, of which, by the\\nby, he is a little proud and has caused him to\\nbe looked upon as a very wealthy man by all\\nthe village.\\nNotwithstanding his thrift, however, he has\\nnever denied himself the amusements of life,\\nbut has taken a share in every passing pleas-\\nure. It is his maxim that he that works hard\\ncan afford to play. He is, therefore, an\\nattendant at all the country fairs and wakes,\\nand has signalized himself by feats of strength\\nand prowess on every village green.\\nHe is a regular frequenter of the village inn,\\nthe landlady having been a sweetheart of his\\nin early life, and he having always continued\\non kind terms with her. He seldom, however,\\ndrinks anything but a draught of ale smokes\\nhis pipe,and pays his reckoning before leaving\\nthe tap-room. Here he gives his little senate\\nlaws; decides bets, which are very generally\\nreferred to him; determines upon the char-\\nacters and qualities of horses; and indeed\\nplays now and then the part of a judge,\\nin settling petty disputes between neigh-\\nbors, which otherwise might have been\\nnursed by country attorneys into toler-\\nable lawsuits. Jack is very candid and\\nimpartial in his decisions, but he has not a\\nhead to carry a long argument, and is very apt\\nto get perplexed and out of patience if there is\\nmuch pleading. He generally breaks through\\nthe argument with a strong voice, and brings", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0065.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "56 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nmatters to a summary conclusion, by pro-\\nnouncing what he calls the upshot of the\\nbusiness, or, in other words, the long and\\nshort of the matter.\\nJack once made a journey to London, a great\\nmany years since, which has furnished him\\nwith topics of conversation ever since. He\\nsaw the old king on the terrace at Windsor,\\nwho stopped, and pointed him out to one of the\\nprincesses, being probably struck with Jack s\\ntruly yeoman-like appearance. This is a\\nfavorite anecdote with him, and has no doubt\\nhad a great effect in making him a most loyal\\nsubject ever since, in spite of taxes and poor s\\nrates. He was also at Bartholomew-fair, where\\nhe had half the buttons cut off his coat and\\na gang of pick-pockets, attracted by his ex-\\nternal show of gold and silver, made a regular\\nattempt to hustle him as he was gazing at a\\nshow but for once they found that they had\\ncaught a tartar, for Jack enacted as great won-\\nders among the gang as Sampson did among\\nthe Philistines. One of his neighbors, who\\nhad accompanied him to town, and was with\\nhim at the fair, brought back an account of his\\nexploits, which raised the pride of the whole\\nvillage; who considered their champion as\\nhaving subdued all London, and eclipsed the\\nachievements of Friar Tuck, or even the re-\\nnowned Robin Hood himself.\\nOf late years the old fellow has begun to\\ntake the world easily; he works less, and\\nindulges in greater leisure, his son having\\ngrown up, and succeeded to him both in the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0066.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 57\\nlabors of the farm and the exploits of the\\ngreen. Like all sons of distinguished men,\\nhowever, his father s renown is a disadvantage\\nto him, for he can never come up to public ex-\\npectation. Though a fine, active fellow of\\nthree-and-twenty, and quite the cock of the\\nwalk, yet the old people declare he is noth-\\ning like what Ready-Money Jack was at his\\ntime of life. The youngster himself acknowl-\\nedges his inferiority, and has a wonderful opin-\\nion of the old man, who indeed taught him all\\nhis athletic accomplishments, and holds such\\na sway over him, that I am told, even to this\\nday, he would have no hesitation to take him\\nin hands, if he rebelled against paternal gov-\\nernment.\\nThe Squire holds Jack in very high esteem,\\nand shows him to all his visitors as a specimen\\nof old English heart of oak. He frequently\\ncalls at his house, and tastes some of his home-\\nbrewed, which is excellent. He made Jack a\\npresent of old Tusser s Hundred Points of\\ngood Husbandrie, which has furnished him in\\nreading ever since, and is his text-book and\\nmanual in all agricultural and domestic con-\\ncerns. He has made dog s ears at the most\\nfavorite passages, and knows many of the poet-\\nical maxims by heart.\\nTibbets, though not a man to be daunted or\\nfluttered by high acquaintances; and though\\nhe cherishes a sturdy independence of mind\\nand manner, yet is evidently gratified by the\\nattentions of the squire, whom he has known\\nfrom boyhood, and pronounces a true gentle-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0067.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "58 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nman every inch of him. He is also on excel-\\nlent terms with Master Simon, who is kind of\\nprivy councillor to the family; but his great\\nfavorite is the Oxonian, whom he taught to\\nwrestle and play at quarter-staff when a boy,\\nand considers the most promising young gen-\\ntleman in the whole county.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0068.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nBACHELORS.\\nThe Bachelor most joyfully\\nIn pleasant plight doth pass his dades,\\nGood fellowship and companie\\nHe doth maintain and kepe alwaies.\\nEvans s OM BaHads.\\nThere is no character in the comedy of human\\nlife that is more difficult to play well than\\nthat of an old bachelor. When a singl-e gen-\\ntleman, therefore, arrives at that critical period\\nwhen he begins to consider it an impertinent\\nquestion to be asked his age, I would advise\\nhim to look well to his ways. This period, it\\nis true, is much later with some men thaa with\\nothers; I have witnessed more than ance the\\nmeeting of two wrinkled old lads of this kind,\\nwho had not seen each other for several years,\\nand have been amused by the amicable ex-\\nchange of compliments on each other s appear-\\nance that takes place on such occ^ions. There\\nis always one invariable observation, Why,\\nbless my soul! you look younger than when\\nlast I saw you! Whenever a man s friends\\nbegin to compliment him about looking young,\\nhe may be sure that they think he is growing\\nold.\\nI am led to make these remarks by the con-\\nduct of Master Simon and the general, who\\nhave become great cronies. As the former is", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0069.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "60 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthe younger by many years, he is regarded as\\nquite a youthful gallant by the general, who\\nmoreover looks upon him as a man of great\\nwit and prodigious acquirements. I have\\nalready hinted that Master Simon is a family\\nbeau, and considered rather a young fellow by\\nall the elderly ladies of the connection for an\\nold bachelor, in an old family connection, is\\nsomething like an actor in a regular dramatic\\ncorps, who seems to flourish in immortal\\nyouth, and will continue to play the Romeos\\nand Rangers for half a century together.\\nMaster Simon, too, is a little of the cha-\\nmeleon, and takes a different hue with every\\ndifferent companion he is very attentive and\\nofficious, and somewhat sentimental, with\\nLady Lillycraf t copies out little namby-pamby\\nditties and love-songs for her, and draws\\nquivers, and doves, and darts, and Cupids, to\\nbe worked in the corners of her pocket-hand-\\nkerchiefs. He indulges, however, in very con-\\nsiderable latitude with the other married ladies\\nof the family and has many sly pleasantries\\nto whisper to them, that provoke an equivocal\\nlaugh and tap of the fan. But when he gets\\namong young company, such as Frank Brace-\\nbridge, the Oxonian, and the general, he is apt\\nto put on the mad wig, and to talk in a very\\nbachelor-like strain about the sex.\\nIn this he has been encouraged by the ex-\\nample of the general, whom he looks up to as\\na man who has seen the world. The general,\\nin fact, tells shocking stories after dinner,\\nwhen the ladies have retired, which he gives", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0070.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 61\\nas some of the choice things that are served up\\nat the MuUigatawney Club, a knot of boon com-\\npanions in London. He also repeats the fat\\njokes of Major Pendergast, the wit of the club,\\nand which, though the general can hardly\\nrepeat them for laughing, always make Mr.\\nBracebridge look grave, he having a great\\nantipathy to an indecent jest. In a word, the\\ngeneral is a complete instance of the declen-\\nsion in gay life, by which a young man of\\npleasure is apt to cool down into an obscene\\nold gentleman.\\nI saw him and Master Simon, an evening\\nor two since, conversing with a buxom milk-\\nmaid in the meadow; and from their elbowing\\neach other now and then, and the general s\\nshaking his shoulders, blowing up bis cheeks,\\nand breaking out into a short fit of irrepressi-\\nble laughter, I had no doubt they were playing\\nthe mischief with the girl.\\nAs I looked at them through the hedge, I\\ncould not but think they would have made a\\ntolerable group for a modern picture of Susan-\\nnah and the two elders. It is true the girl\\nseemed in no wise alarmed at the force of the\\nenemy; and I question, had either of them\\nbeen alone, whether she would not have been\\nmore than they would have ventured to en-\\ncounter. Such veteran roisters are daring wags\\nwhen together, and will put any female to the\\nblush with their jokes but they are as quiet\\nas lambs when they fall singly into the clutches\\nof a fine woman.\\nIn spite of the general s years, he evidently", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0071.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "62 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nis a little vain of his person, and ambitious of\\nconquests. I have observed him on Sunday in\\nchurch eyeing the country girls most suspic-\\niously; and have seen him leer upon them with\\na downright amorous look, even when he has\\nbeen gallanting Lady Lillycraft with great\\nceremony through the churchyard. The gen-\\neral, in fact, is a veteran in the service of Cupid\\nrather than of Mars, having signalized himself\\nin all the garrison towns and country quarters,\\nand seen service in every ball-room in England.\\nNot a celebrated beauty but he has laid siege\\nto; and if his words may be taken in a matter\\nwherein no man is apt to be over veracious, it\\nis incredible what success he has had with the\\nfair. At present he is like a worn-out warrior,\\nretired from service; but who still cocks his\\nbeaver with a military air, and talks stoutly\\nof fighting whenever he comes within the\\nsmell of gunpowder.\\nI have heard him speak his mind very freely\\nover his bottle, about the folly, of the captain\\nin taking a wife as he thinks a young soldier\\nshould care for nothing but his bottle and\\nkind landlady. But, in fact, he says, the ser-\\nvice on the continent has had a sad effect upon\\nthe young men; they have been ruined, by\\nlight wines and French quadrilles. They ve\\nnothing, he says, of the spirit of the old\\nservice. There are none of your six-bottle\\nmen left, that were the souls of a mess-dinner,\\nand used to play the very deuce among the\\nwomen.\\nAs to a bachelor, the general affirms that he", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0072.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 63\\nis a free and easy man, with no baggage to take\\ncare of but his portmanteau; but, as Major\\nPendergast says, a married man, with his wife\\nhanging on his arm, always puts him in mind\\nof a chamber candlestick, with its extinguisher\\nhitched to it. I should not mind all this if\\nit were merely confined to the general but I\\nfear he will be the ruin of my friend, Master\\nSimon, who already begins to echo his heresies,\\nand to talk in the style of a gentleman that\\nhas seen life, and lived upon the town. Indeed\\nthe general seems to have taken Master Simon\\nin hand, and talks of showing him the lions\\nwhen he comes to town, and of introducing\\nhim to a knot of choice spirits at the Mulliga-\\ntawney Club; which, I understand, is com-\\nposed of old nabobs, officers in the Company s\\nemploy, and other men of Ind, that have\\nseen service in the East, and returned home\\nburnt out with curry and touched with the liver\\ncomplaint. They have their regular club,\\nwhere they eat MuUigatawney soup, smoke\\nthe hookah, talk about Tippoo Saib, Seringa-\\npatam, and tiger-hunting; and are tediously\\nagreeable in each other s company.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0073.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "64 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nA LITERARY ANTIQUARY.\\nPrinted bookes he contemnes, as a novelty of this latter\\nage but a manuscript he pores on everlastingly\\nespecially if the cover be all moth-eaten, and the\\ndust make a parethesis between every syllable.\\nMicro-Cosmographie, 1628.\\nThe squire receives great sympathy and sup-\\nport in his antiquated humors, from the par-\\nson, of whom I made some mention on my for-\\nmer visit to the Hall, and who acts as a kind\\nof family chaplain. He has been cherished by\\nthe squire almost constantly since the time\\nthat they were fellow-students at Oxford for\\nit is one of the peculiar advantages of these\\ngreat universities, that they often link the poor\\nscholar to the rich patron, by early and heart-\\nfelt ties, that last through life, without the\\nusual humiliation of dependence and patron-\\nage. Under the fostering protection of the\\nsquire, therefore, the little parson has pursued\\nhis studies in peace. Having lived almost en-\\ntirely among books, and those, too, old books,\\nhe is quite ignorant of the world, and his mind\\nis as antiquated as the garden at the Hall,\\nwhere the flowers are all arranged in formal\\nbeds, and the yew-trees clipped into urns and\\npeacocks.\\nHis taste for literary antiquities was first\\nimbibed in the Bodlein Library at Oxford;", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0074.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 65\\nwhere, when a student, he passed many an hour\\nforaging among the old manuscripts. He has\\nsince, at different times, visited most of the\\ncurious libraries in England, and has ran-\\nsacked many of the cathedrals. With all his\\nquaint and curious learning, he has nothing of\\narrogance or pedantry; but that unaffected\\nearnestness and guileless simplicity which seem\\nto belong to the literary antiquary.\\nHe is a dark, mouldy little man, and rather\\ndry in his manner; yet, on his favorite theme,\\nhe kindles up, and at times is even eloquent.\\nNo fox-hunter, recounting his last day s sport,\\ncould be more animated than I have seen the\\nworth}- parson, when relating his search after\\na curious document, which he had traced from\\nlibrary to library, until he fairly unearthed it\\nin the dusty chapter-house of a cathedral.\\nWhen, too, he describes some venerable manu-\\nscript, with its rich illuminations, its thick\\ncreamy vellum, its glossy ink, and the odor of\\nthe cloisters that seemed to exhale from it, he\\nrivals the enthusiams of a Parisian epicure, ex-\\npatiating on the merits of a Perigord pie, or a\\nPate de Strasbourg.\\nHis brain seems absolutely haunted with\\nlovesick dreams about gorgeous old works in\\nsilk linings, triple gold bands, and tinted\\nleather, locked up in wire cases, and secured\\nfrom the vulgar hands of the mere reader;\\nand, to continue the happy expression of an\\ningenious writer, dazzling one s eyes, like\\neastern beauties peering through their jealous-\\nies.\\n5 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0075.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "66 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nHe has a great desire, however, to read such\\nworks in the old libraries and chapter-houses\\nto which they belong for he thinks a black-\\nlettered volume reads best in one of those\\nvenerable chambers where the light struggles\\nthrough dusty lancet windows and painted\\nglass and that it loses half its zest if taken\\naway from the neighborhood of the quaintly\\ncarved oaken book-case and Gothic reading-\\ndesk. At his suggestion, the squire has had\\nthe library furnished in this antique taste, and\\nseveral of the windows glazed with painted\\nglass, that they may throw a properly tem-\\npered light upon the pages of their favorite\\nold authors.\\nThe parson, I am told, has been for some\\ntime meditating a commentary on Strut,\\nBrand, and Douce, in which he means to de-\\ntect them in sundry dangerous errors in re-\\nspect to popular games and superstitions; a\\nwork to which the squire looks forward with\\ngreat interest. He is also a casual contributor\\nto that long established repository of national\\ncustoms and antiquities, the Gentleman s\\nMagazine, and is one of those that every now\\nand then make an inquiry concerning some\\nobsolete customs or rare legend nay, it is said\\nthat several of his communications have been\\nat least six inches in length. He frequently\\nreceives parcels by coach from different parts\\nof the kingdom, containing mouldy volumes\\nand almost illegible manuscripts; for it is sin-\\ngular what an active correspondence is kept\\nup among literary antiquaries, and how soon", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0076.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 67\\nthe fame of any rare volume, or tmiqtie copy,\\njust discovered among the rubbish of a library,\\nis circulated among them. The parson is\\nmore busy than common just now, being a lit-\\ntle flurried by an advertisement of a work, said\\nto be preparing for the press, on the mythol-\\nogy of the middle ages. The little man has\\nlong been gathering together all the hobgob-\\nlin tales he could collect, illustrative of the\\nsuperstitions of former times and he is in a\\ncomplete fever lest this formidable rival should\\ntake the field before him.\\nShortly after my arrival at the Hall, I called\\nat the parsonage, in company with Mr. Brace-\\nbridge and the general. The parson had not\\nbeen seen for several days, which was a mat-\\nter of some surprise, as he was an almost daily\\nvisitor at the Hall. We found him in his\\nstudy, a small, dusky chamber, lighted by a\\nlattice window that looked into the churchyard,\\nand was overshadowed by a yew-tree. His\\nchair was surrounded by folios and quartos,\\npiled upon the floor, and his table was covered\\nwith books and manuscripts. The cause of\\nthis seclusion was a work which he had re-\\ncently received, and with which he had retired\\nin rapture from the world, and shut himself\\nup to enjoy a literary honeymoon undisturbed.\\nNever did boarding-school girl devour the\\npages of a sentimental novel, or Don Quixote\\na chivalrous romance, with more intense de-\\nlight than did the little man banquet on the\\npages of this delicious work. It was Dibdin s\\nBibliographical Tour; a work calculated to", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0077.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "68 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nhave as intoxicating effect on the imaginations\\nof literary antiquaries as the adventures of the\\nheroes of the Round Table on all true knights;\\nor the tales of the early American voyagers on\\nthe ardent spirits of the age, filling them with\\ndreams of Mexican and Peruvian mines, and\\nof the golden realm of El Dorado.\\nThe good parson had looked forward to this\\nbibliographical expedition as of far greater\\nimportance than those to Africa, or the North\\nPole. With what eagerness had he seized\\nupon the history of the enterprise! With\\nwhat interest had he followed the redoubtable\\nbibliographer and his graphical squire in their\\nadventurous roamings among Norman castles\\nand cathedrals, and French libraries, and Ger-\\nman convents and universities; penetrating\\ninto the prison-houses of vellum manuscripts\\nand exquisitely illuminated missals, and re-\\nvealing their beauties to the v/orld\\nWhen the parson had finished a rapturous\\neulogy on this most curious and entertaining\\nwork, he drew forth from a little drawer a\\nmanuscript lately received from a correspond-\\nent, which perplexed him sadly. It was writ-\\nten in Norman-French in very ancient charac-\\nters, and so faded and mouldered away as to be\\nalmost illegible. It was apparently an old\\nNorman drinking song, that might have been\\nbrought over by one of William the Conquer-\\nor s carousing followers. The writing was just\\nlegible enough to keep a keen antiquity\\nhunter on a doubtful chase; here and there he\\nwould be completely thrown out, and then", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0078.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 69\\nthere would be a few words so plainly written\\nas to put him on the scent again. In this way-\\nhe had been led on for a whole day, until he\\nhad found himself completely at fault.\\nThe squire endeavored to assist him, but was\\nequally baffled. The old general listened for\\nsome time to the discussion, and then asked\\nthe parson if he had read Captain Morris s or\\nGeorge Stephens s or Anacreon Moore s bac-\\nchanalian songs on the other replying in the\\nnegative, Oh, then, said the general, with\\na sagacious nod, if you want a drinking song\\nI can furnish you with the latest collection\\nI did not know you had a turn for those kind\\nof things; and I can lend you the Encyclo-\\npsedia of Wit into the bargain. I never travel\\nwithout them they re excellent reading at an\\ninn.\\nIt would not be easy to describe the odd\\nlook of surprise and perplexity of the parson\\nat this proposal; or the difficulty the squire\\nhad in making the general comprehend, that\\nthough a jovial song of the present day was\\nbut a foolish sound in the ears of wisdom, and\\nbeneath the notice of a learned man, yet a\\ntrowl written by a tosspot several hundred\\nyears since was a matter worthy of the grav-\\nest research, and enough to set whole colleges\\nby the ears.\\nI have since pondered much on this matter,\\nand have figured to myself what may be the\\nfate of our current literature, when retrieved\\npiecemeal by future antiquaries, from among\\nthe rubbish of ages. What a Magnus Apollo,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0079.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "70 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nfor instance, will Moore become among sober\\ndivines and dusty schoolmen Even his fes-\\ntive and amatory songs, which are now the\\nmere quickeners of our social moments, or the\\ndelights of our drawing-rooms, will then\\nbecome matters of laborious research and pain-\\nful collation. How many a grave professor\\nwill then waste his midnight oil, or worry his\\nbrain through a long morning, endeavoring to\\nrestore the pure text, or illustrate the bio-\\ngraphical hints of *Come tell me, says Rosa,\\nas kissing and kissed; and how many an arid\\nold book-worm, like the worthy little parson,\\nwill give up in despair, after vainly striving to\\nfill up some fatal hiatus in Fanny of Tim-\\nmol!\\nNor is it merely such exquisite authors as\\nMoore that are doomed to consume the oil of\\nfuture antiquaries. Many a poor scribbler,\\nwho is now apparently sent to oblivion by\\npastry-cooks and cheesem-ongers, will then rise\\nagain in fragments, and flourish in learned\\nimmortality.\\nAfter all, thought I, time is not such an in-\\nvariable destroyer as he is represented. If he\\npulls down, he likewise builds up if he im-\\npoverishes one, he enriches another; his very\\ndilapidations furnish matter for new works of\\ncontroversy, and his rust is more precious than\\nthe most costly gilding. Under his plastic\\nhand trifles rise into importance the nonsense\\nof one age becomes the wisdom of another;\\nthe levity of the wit gravitates into the learn-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0080.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 71\\ning of the pedant, and an ancient farthing\\nmoulders into infinitely more value than a\\nmodern guinea.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0081.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "72 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE FARM-HOUSE.\\n-Love and hay\\nAre thick sown, but come up full of thistles.\\nBeaumont and Fletcher.\\nI was so much pleased with the anecdotes\\nwhich were told me of Ready- Money Jack\\nTibbits, that I got Master Simon, a day or two\\nsince, to take me to his house. It was an old-\\nfashioned farm-house, built of brick, with curi-\\nously twisted chimneys. It stood at a little\\ndistance from the road, with a southern ex-\\nposure, looking upon a soft green slope of\\nmeadow. There was a small garden in front,\\nwith a row of beehives humming among beds\\nof sweet herbs and flowers. Well-scoured\\nmilking tubs, with bright copper hoops, hung\\non the garden paling. Fruit trees were trained\\nup against the cottage, and pots of flowers\\nstood in the windows. A fat superannuated\\nmastiff lay in the sunshine at the door; with a\\nsleek cat sleeping peacefully across him.\\nMr. Tibbits was from home at the time of\\nour calling, but we were received with hearty\\nand homely welcome by his wife a notable,\\nmotherly woman, and a complete pattern for\\nwives, since, according to Master Simon s ac-\\ncount, she never contradicts honest Jack, and\\nyet manages to have her own way, and to con-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0082.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 73\\ntrol him in everything. She received us in the\\nmain room of the house, a kind of parlor or\\nhall, with great brown beams of timber across\\nit, which Mr. Tibbits is apt to point out with\\nsome exultation, observing that they don t put\\nsuch timber in houses nowadays. The furni-\\nture was old-fashioned, strong and highly pol-\\nished the walls were hung with colored prints\\nof the story of the Prodigal Son, who was rep-\\nresented in a red coat and leather breeches.\\nOver the fireplace was a blunderbuss, and a\\nhard-favored likeness of Ready-Money Jack,\\ntaken, when he was a young man, by the same\\nartist that painted the tavern sign his mother\\nhaving taken a notion that the Tibbetses had\\nas much right to have a gallery of family\\nportraits as the folks at the Hall.\\nThe good dame pressed us very much to take\\nsome refreshments, and tempted us with a\\nvariety of household dainties, so that we were\\nglad to compound by tasting some of her\\nhome-made wines. While we were there, the\\nson and heir-apparent came home; a good-\\nlooking young fellow, and something of a rus-\\ntic beau. He took us over the premises, and\\nshowed us the whole establishment. An air\\nof homely but substantial plenty prevailed\\nthroughout; everything was of the best mate-\\nrials, and in the best condition. Nothing was\\nout of place, or ill-made and you saw every-\\nwhere the signs of a man that took care to\\nhave the worth of his money, and that paid as\\nhe went.\\nThe farm-yard was well-stocked; under a", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0083.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "74 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nshed was a taxed cart, in trim order, in which\\nReady-Money Jack took his wife about the\\ncountry. His well-fed horse neighed from the\\nstable, and when led out into the yard, to use\\nthe words of young Jack, he shone like a bot-\\ntle for he said the old man made it a rule\\nthat everything about him should fare as well\\nas he did himself.\\nI was pleased to see the pride which the\\nyoung fellow seemed to have of his father.\\nHe gave us several particulars concerning his\\nhabits, which were pretty much to the effect\\nof those I have already mentioned. He had\\nnever suffered an account to stand in his life,\\nalways providing the money before he pur-\\nchased anything; and, if possible, paying in\\ngold and silver. He had a great dislike to\\npaper money, and seldom went without a con-\\nsiderable sum in gold about him. On my ob-\\nserving that it was a wonder he had never\\nbeen waylaid and robbed, the young fellow\\nsmiled at the idea of any one venturing upon\\nsuch an exploit, for I believe he thinks the old\\nman would be a match for Robin Hood and all\\nhis g^ng.\\nI have noticed that Master Simon seldom\\ngoes into any house without having a world of\\nprivate talk with some one or other of the fam-\\nily, being a kind of universal counselor and\\nconfidant. We had not been long at the farm\\nbefore the old dame got him into a corner of\\nher parlor, where they had a long whispering\\nconference together; in which I saw by his\\nshrugs that there were some dubious matters", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0084.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 75\\ndiscussed, and by his nods that he agreed with\\neverything she said.\\nAfter we had come out, the young man ac-\\ncompanied us a little distance, and then, draw-\\ning Master Simon aside into a green lane, they\\nwalked and talked together for nearly half an\\nhour. Master Simon, who has the usual pro-\\npensity of confidants to blab everything to the\\nnext friend they meet with, let me know that\\nthere was a love affair in question the young\\nfellow having been smitten with the charms of\\nPhcebe Wilkins, the pretty niece of the house-\\nkeeper at the Hall. Like most other love con-\\ncerns, it had brought its troubles and perplex-\\nities. Dame Tibbets had long been on inti-\\nmate gossiping terms with the housekeeper,\\nwho often visited the farm-house; but when\\nthe neighbors spoke to her of the likelihood of\\na match between her son and Phoebe Wilkins,\\nMarry come up! she scouted the very idea.\\nThe girl had acted as lady s maid, and it was\\nbeneath the blood of the Tibbetses, who had\\nlived on their own lands time out of mind, and\\nowed reverence and thanks to nobody, to have\\nthe heir-apparent marry a servant!\\nThese vaporings had faithfully been carried\\nto the housekeeper s ear by one of the mutual\\ngo-between friends. The old housekeeper s\\nblood, if not as ancient, was as quick as that\\nof Dame Tibbets.\\nShe had been accustomed to carry a high\\nhead at the Hall and among the villagers; and\\nher faded brocade rustled with indignation at\\nthe slight cast upon her alliance by the wife of", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0085.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "76 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\na petty farmer. She maintained that her niece\\nhad been a companion rather than a waiting-\\nmaid to the young ladies. Tliank heavens,\\nshe was not obliged to work for her living, and\\nwas as idle as any yotmg lady in the land and\\nwhen somebody died, would receive something\\nthat would be worth the notice of some folks\\nwith all their readj^ money.\\nA bitter feud had thus taken place between\\nthe two worthy dames, and the young people\\nwere forbidden to think of one another. As to\\nyoung Jack, he was too much in love to reason\\nupon the matter; and being a little heady,\\nand not standing in much awe of his mother,\\nwas ready to sacrifice the whole dignity of the\\nTibbetses to his passion. He had lately, how-\\never, had a violent quarrel with his mistress,\\nin consequence of some coquetry on her part,\\nand at present stood aloof. The politic mother\\nwas exerting all her ingenuity to widen this\\naccidental breach but, as is most commonly\\nthe case, the more she meddled with this per-\\nverse inclination of her son, the stronger it\\ngrew. In the meantime Old Ready-Money\\nwas kept completely in the dark; both parties\\nwere in awe and uncertainty as to what might\\nbe his way of taking the matter, and dreaded\\nto awaken the sleeping lion. Between father\\nand son, therefore, the worthy Mrs. Tibbets\\nwas full of business and at her wits end. It\\nis true that there was no great danger of hon-\\nest Ready-Money s finding the thing out, if\\nleft to himself; for he was of a most unsuspi-\\ncious temper, and by no means quick of ap-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0086.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 7T\\nprehension; but there was daily risk of his at-\\ntention being aroused by those cobwebs which\\nhis indefatigable wife was continually spinning\\nabout his nose.\\nSuch is the distracted state of politics in the\\ndomestic empire of Ready-Money Jack; which\\nonly shows the intrigues and internal dangers\\nto which the best regulated governments are\\nliable. In this perplexing situation of their\\naffairs, both mother and son have applied to\\nMaster Simon for counsel; and, with all his\\nexperience in meddling with other people s\\nconcerns, he finds it an exceedingly difficult\\npart to play, to agree with both parties, seeing\\nthat their opinions and wishes are so diamet-\\nrically opposite.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0087.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "78 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nHORSEMANSHIP.\\nA coach was a strange monster in those days, and the\\nsight of one put both horse and man into amaze-\\nment. Some said it was a great crabshell brought\\nout of China, and some imagined it to be one of the\\nPagan temples in which the Cannibals adored the\\ndivell. Taylor, the Water Poet.\\nI have made casual mention, more than\\nonce, of one of the squire s antiquated retain-\\ners, old Christy the huntsman. I find that his\\ncrabbed humor is a source of much entertain-\\nment among the young men of the family the\\nOxonian, particularly, takes a mischievous\\npleasure now and then in slyly rubbing the old\\nman against the grain, and then smoothing\\nhim down again; for the old fellow is as ready\\nto bristle up his back as a porcupine. He\\nrides a venerable hunter called Pepper, which\\nis a counterpart of himself, a heady, cross-\\ngrained animal, that frets the flesh off its\\nbones bites, kicks, and plays all manner of\\nvillainous tricks. He is as tough, and nearly\\nas old as his rider, who has ridden him time\\nout of mind, and is, indeed, the only one that\\ncan do anything with him. Sometimes, how-\\never, they have a complete quarrel, and a dis-\\npute for mastery, and then, I am told, it is as\\ngood as a farce to see the heat they both get\\ninto, and the wrongheaded contest that ensues;", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0088.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 79\\nfor they are quite knowing in each other s\\nways, and in the art of teasing and fretting\\neach other. Notwithstanding these doughty\\nbrawls, however, there is nothing that nettles\\nold Christy sooner than to question the merits\\nof his horse which he upholds as tenaciously\\nas a faithful husband will vindicate the vir-\\ntues of the termagant spouse that gives him a\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2curtain lecture every night of his life.\\nThe young men call old Christy their pro-\\nfessor of equitation, and in accounting for the\\nappellation, they let me into some particulars\\nof the squire s mode of bringing up his chil-\\ndren. There is an odd mixture of eccentricity\\nand good sense in all the opinions of my\\nworthy host His mind is like modern Gothic,\\nwhere plain brick-work is set off with pointed\\narches and plain tracery. Though the main\\ngroundwork of his opinions is correct, yet he\\nhas a thousand little notions, picked up from\\nold books, which stand out whimsically on the\\nsurface of his mind.\\nThus, in educating his boys, he chose Peach-\\num, Markham, and such old English writers\\nfor his manuals. At an early age he took the\\nlads out of their mother s hands, who was dis-\\nposed, as mothers are apt to be, to make fine\\norderly children of them, that should keep out\\nof sun and rain, and never soil their hands, nor\\ntear their clothes.\\nIn place of this, the squire turned them\\nloose, to run free and wild about the park,\\nwithout heeding wind or weather. He was\\nalso particularly attentive in making them", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0089.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "80 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nbold and expert horsemen and these were the\\ndaj^s when old Christy, the huntsman, enjoyed\\ngreat importance, as the lads were put under\\nhis care to practice them at the leaping-bars,\\nand to keep an eye upon them in the chase.\\nThe squire always objected to their using\\ncarriages of any kind, and is still a little ten-\\nacious on this point. He often rails against\\nthe universal use of carriages, and quotes the\\nwords of honest Nashe to that effect. It was\\nthought, says Nashe, in his Quaternio, a\\nkind of solecism, and to savor of effeminacy,\\nfor a young gentleman in the flourishing time\\nof his age to creep into a coach, and to shroud\\nhimself from wind and weather; our great\\ndelight was to out-brave the blustering boreas\\nupon a great horse to arm and prepare our-\\nselves to go with Mars and Bellona into the\\nfield was our sport and pastime; coaches and\\ncaroches we left unto them for whom they\\nwere first invented, for ladies and gentlemen,\\nand decrepit age and important people.\\nThe squire insists that the English gentle-\\nmen have lost much of their hardiness and\\nmanhood since the introduction of carriages.\\nCompare, he will say, the fine gentleman\\nof former times, ever on horseback, booted\\nand spurred, and travel-stained, but open,\\nfrank, manly, and chivalrous, with the fine\\ngentleman of the present day, full of affecta-\\ntion and effeminacy, rolling along a turnpike\\nin his voluptuous vehicle. The young men of\\nthose days were rendered brave, and lofty, and\\ngenerous, in their notions, by almost living", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0090.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 81\\nin their saddles, and having their foaming\\nsteeds like proud seas under them. There\\nis something, he adds, in bestriding a fine\\nhorse, that makes a man feel more than mor-\\ntal. He seems to have doubled his nature, and\\nto have added to his own courage and sagacity\\nthe power, the speed, and stateliness of the\\nsuperb animal on which he is mounted.\\nIt is a great delight, says old Nashe, to\\nsee a young gentleman with his skill and cun-\\nning, by his voice, rod, and spur, better to\\nmanage and to command the great Bucepha-\\nlus, than the strongest Milo, with all his\\nstrength; one while to see him make him\\ntread, trot, and gallop the ring and one after\\nto see him gather up roundly to bear his head\\nsteadily to run a full career swiftly to stop\\na sudden lightly anon after to see him make\\nhis advance, to yorke, to go back and side\\nlong, to turn on either hand; to gallop the\\ngallop galliard; to do the capriole, the cham-\\nbetta, and dance the curvety.\\nIn conformity to these ideas, the squire had\\nthem all on horseback at an early age, and\\nmade them ride, slap-dash, about the country,\\nwithout flinching at hedge or ditch, or stone\\nwall, to the imminent danger of their necks.\\nEven the fair Julia was partially included in\\nthis system and, under the instructions of old\\nChristy, has become one of the best horse-\\nwomen in the county. The squire says it is\\nbetter than all the cosmetics and sweeteners\\nof the breath that ever were invented. He\\nextols the horsemanship of the ladies in former\\n6 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0091.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "82 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntimes, when Queen Elizabeth would scarcely\\nsuffer the rain to stop her accustomed ride.\\nAnd then think, he will say, what nobler\\nand sweeter beings it made them. What a\\ndifference must there be, both in mind and\\nbody, between a joyous high-spirited dame of\\nthose days, glowing with health and exercise,\\nfreshened by every breeze that blows, seated\\nloftily and gracefully on her saddle, with\\nplume on head, and hawk on hand, and her\\ndescendant of the present day, the pale victim\\nof routs and ball-rooms, sunk languidly in one\\ncorner of an enervating carriage.\\nThe squire s equestrian system has been\\nattended with great success, for his sons,\\nhaving passed through the whole course of\\ninstruction without breaking neck or limb, are\\nnow healthful, spirited and active, and have\\nthe true Englishman s love for a horse. If\\ntheir manliness and frankness are praised in\\ntheir father s hearing, he quotes the old Per-\\nsian maxim, and says, they have been taught\\nto ride, to shoot, and to speak the truth.\\nIt is true the Oxonian has now and then\\npracticed the old gentleman s doctrines a little\\nin the extreme. He is a gay youngster, rather\\nfonder of his horse than his book, with a little\\ndash of the dandy; though the ladies all\\ndeclare that he is the flower of the flock.\\nThe first year that he was sent to Oxford he\\nhad a tutor appointed to overlook him, a dry\\nchip of the university. When he returned\\nhome in the vacation, the squire made many\\ninquiries about how he liked his college, his", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0092.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 83\\nStudies and his tutor. Oh, as to my tutor,\\nsir, I have parted with him some time since.\\nYou have; and, pray, why so? Oh, sir,\\nhunting was all the go at our college, and I\\nwas a little short of funds so I discharged my\\ntutor, and took ahorse, you know. Ah, I\\nwas not aware of that, Tom, said the squire\\nmildly.\\nWhen Tom returned to the college his allow-\\nance was doubled, that he might be enabled\\nto keep both horse and tutor.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0093.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "84 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nLOVE SYMPTOMS.\\nI will now begin to sigh, read poets, look pale, go\\nneatly, and be most apparently in love.\\nMarston.\\nI should not be surprised if we should have\\nanother pair of turtles at the Hall, for Master\\nSimon has informed me, in great confidence,\\nthat he suspects the general of some design\\nupon the susceptible heart of Lady Lillycraft.\\nI have, indeed, noticed a growing attention\\nand courtesy in the veteran towards her lady-\\nship he softens very much in her company,\\nsits by her at table, and entertains her\\nwith long stories about Seringapatam, and\\npleasant anecdotes of the Mulligatawney Club.\\nI have even seen him present her with a full-\\nblown rose from the hot-house, in a style of\\nthe most captivating gallantry, and it was\\naccepted with great suavity and graciousness\\nfor her ladyship delights in receiving the hom-\\nage and attention of the sex.\\nIndeed, the general was one of the earliest\\nadmirers that dangled in her train during her\\nshort reign of beauty and they flirted together\\nfor half a season in London, some thirty or\\nforty years since. She reminded him lately,\\nin the course of conversation, about former\\ndays, of the time when he used to ride a white", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0094.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALLe 85\\nhorse, and to canter so gallantly by the side\\nof her carriage in Hyde Park; whereupon I\\nhave remarked that the veteran has regularly\\nescorted her since, when she rides out on horse\\nback; and I suspect he almost persuades\\nhimself that he makes as captivating an ap-\\npearance as in his youthful days.\\nIt would be an interesting and memorable\\ncircumstance in the chronicles of Cupid, if\\nthis spark of the tender passion, after lying\\ndormant for such a length of time, should\\nagain be fanned into a flame from amidst the\\nashes of two burnt-out hearts. It would be an\\ninstant of perdurable fidelity, worthy of being\\nplaced beside those recorded in one of the\\nsquire s favorite tomes, commemorating the\\nconstancy of the olden times in which times\\nwe are told, *men and wymmen coulde love\\ntogyders seven yeres, and no licours lustes\\nwere betwene them, and thenne was love,\\ntrouthe, and f eythfulness and lo in lyke wyse\\nwas used love in Kyng Arthurs dayes.\\nStill, however, this may be nothing but a\\nlittle venerable flirtation, the general being a\\nveteran dangler, and the good lady habituated\\nto these kind of attentions. Master Simon, on\\nthe other hand, thinks the general is looking\\nabout him with the wary eye of an old cam-\\npaigner; and now that he is on the wane, is\\ndesirous of getting into warm winter quarters.\\nMuch allowance, however, must be made for\\nMaster Simon s uneasiness on the subject, for\\nhe looks on Lady Lilly craft s house as one of\\n*Mort d* Arthur.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0095.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "86 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthe strongholds where he is lord of the ascend-\\nant; and, with all his admiration of the gen-\\neral, I much doubt whether he would like to\\nsee him lord of the lady and the establishment.\\nThere are certain other symptoms, notwith-\\nstanding, that give an air of probability to\\nMaster Simon s intimations. Thus, for in-\\nstance, I have observed that the general has\\nbeen very assiduous in his attentions to her\\nladyship s dogs, and has several times exposed\\nhis fingers to imminent jeopardy in attempting\\nto pat Beauty on the head. It is to be hoped\\nhis advances to the mistress will be m_ore\\nfavorably received, as all his overtures towards\\na caress are greeted by the pestilent little cur\\nwith a wary kindling of the eye, and a most\\nvenomous growl. He has, moreover, been\\nvery complaisant towards the lady s gentle-\\nwoman, the immaculate Mrs. Hannah, whom\\nhe used to speak of in a way that I do not\\nchoose to mention. Whether she has the same\\nsuspicions with Master Simon or not, I cannot\\nsay; but she receives his civilities with no\\nbetter grace than the implacable Beauty; un-\\nscrewing her mouth into a most acid smile, and\\nlooking as though she could bite a piece out of\\nhim. In short, the poor general seems to hr.ve\\nas formidable foes to contend with as a hero\\nof ancient fairy tale, who had to fight his way\\nto his enchanted princess through ferocious\\nmonsters of every kind, and to encounter the\\nbrimstone terrors of some fiery dragon.\\nThere is still another circumstance which\\ninclines me to give very considerable credit to", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0096.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 87\\nMaster Simon s suspicions. Lady Lilly craft\\nis very fond of quoting poetry, and the con-\\nversation often turns upon it, on which occa-\\nsions the general is thrown completely out. It\\nhappened the other day that Spenser s Fairy\\nQueen was the theme for the great part of\\nthe morning, and the poor general sat per-\\nfectly silent. I found him not long after in\\nthe library with spectacles on nose, a book in\\nhis hand, and fast asleep. On my approach\\nhe awoke, slipped the spectacles into his pocket,\\nand began to read very attentively. After a\\nlittle while he put a paper in the place, and\\nlaid the volume aside, which I perceived was\\nthe Fairy Queen. I have had the curiosity to\\nwatch how he got on in his poetical studies\\nbut though I have repeatedly seen him with\\nthe book in his hand, yet I find the paper has\\nnot advanced above three or four pages; the\\ngeneral being extremely apt to fall asleep\\nwhen he reads.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0097.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "88 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nFALCONRY.\\nNe is there hawk which mantleth on her perch,\\nWhether high tow ring or accousting low,\\nBut I the measure of her flight doe search.\\nAnd all her prey and all her diet know.\\nSpenser.\\nThere are several grand sources of lamenta-\\ntion furnished to the worthy squire by the\\nimprovement of society, and the grievous\\nadvancement of knowledge; among which\\nthere is none, I believe, that causes him more\\nfrequent regret than the unfortunate inven-\\ntion of gunpowder. To this he continually\\ntraces the decay of some favorite custom, and,\\nindeed, the general downfall of all chivalrous\\nand romantic usages, English soldiers, he\\nsays, have never been the men they were in\\nthe days of the cross-bow and the long-bow;\\nwhen they depended upon the strength of the\\narm, and the English archer could draw a cloth-\\nyard shaft to the head. These were the times\\nwhen, at the battles of Cressy, Poictiers, and\\nAgincourt, the French chivalry was completely\\ndestroyed by the bowmen of England. The\\nyeomanry, too, have never been what they\\nwere, when, in times of peace, they were con-\\nstantly exercised with the bow, and archery\\nwas a favorite holiday pastime.\\nAmong the other evils which have followed", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0098.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 89\\nin the train of this fatal invention of gunpow-\\nder, the squire classes the total decline of the\\nnoble art of falconry. Shooting, he says,\\nis a skulking, treacherous, solitary sport in\\ncomparison but hawking was a gallant, open,\\nsunshiny recreation it was the generous sport\\nof hunting carried into the skies.\\nIt was, moreover, he says, according to\\nBraithewaite, the stately amusement of high\\nand mounting spirits; for, as the old Welsh\\nproverb affirms, in those times You might\\nknow a gentleman by his hawk, horse, and\\ngreyhound. Indeed, a cavalier was seldom\\nseen abroad without his hawk on his fist; and\\neven a lady of rank did not think herself com-\\npletely equipped, in riding forth, unless she\\nhad her tassel-gentel held by jesses on her\\ndelicate hand. It was thought in those excel-\\nlent days, according to an old writer, quite\\nsufficient for noblemen to winde their horn,\\nand to carry their hawke fair; and leave study\\nand learning to the children of mean people.\\nKnowing the good squire s hobby, therefore,\\nI have not been surprised at finding that\\namong the various recreations of former times\\nwhich he has endeavored to revive in the\\nlittle world in which he rules, he has bestowed\\ngreat attention on the noble art of falconry.\\nIn this he of course has been seconded by his\\nindefatigable coadjutor, Master Simon: and\\neven the parson has thrown considerable light\\non their labors, by various hints on the subject,\\nwhich he has met with in old English works.\\nAs to the precious work of that famous dame,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0099.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "90 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nJulianna Barnes; the Gentleman s Academie,\\nby Markham; and the other well-known treat-\\nises that were the manuals of ancient sports-\\nmen, they have them at their fingers ends:\\nbut they have more especially studied some old\\ntapestry in the house, whereon is represented\\na party of cavaliers and stately dames, with\\ndoublets, caps, and flaunting feathers, mounted\\non horse, with attendants on foot, all in ani-\\nmated pursuit of the game.\\nThe squire has discountenanced the killing of\\nany hawks in his neighborhood, but gives a\\nliberal bounty for all that are brought him\\nalive; so that the Hall is well stocked with all\\nkinds of birds of prey. On these he and Master\\nSimon have exhausted their patience and\\ningenuity, endeavoring to reclaim them, as\\nit is termed, and to train them up for the sport\\nbut they have met with continual checks and\\ndisappointments. Their feathered school has\\nturned out the most intractable and graceless\\nscholars; nor is it the least of their trouble to\\ndrill the retainers who were to act as ushers\\nunder them, and to take immediate charge of\\nthese refractory birds. Old Christy and the\\ngamekeeper both, for a time, set their faces\\nagainst the whole plan of education Christy\\nhaving been nettled at hearing what he terms\\na wild-goose chase put on a par with a fox-\\nhunt; and the game-keeper having always\\nbeen accustomed look upon hawks as arrant\\npoachers, which it was his duty to shoot down,\\nand, nail, m terrorem, against tne out-houses.\\nChristy has at length taken the matter in", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0100.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 91\\nhand, but has done still more mischief by his\\nintermeddling. He is as positive and wrong-\\nheaded about this as he is about hunting.\\nMaster Simon has continual disputes with him\\nas to feeding and training the hawks. He\\nreads to him long passages from the old\\nauthors I have mentioned; but Christy, who\\ncannot read, has a sovereign contempt for all\\nbook-knowledge, and persists in treating the\\nhawks according to his own notions, which\\nare drawn from his experience, in younger\\ndays, in rearing of game cocks.\\nThe consequence is, that, between these\\njarring systems, the poor birds have had a most\\ntrying and unhappy time of it. Many have\\nfallen victims to Christy s feeding and Master\\nSimon s physicking; for the latter has gone to\\nwork secundum artem, and has given them all the\\nvomitings and scourings laid down in the\\nbooks never were poor hawks so fed and phy-\\nsicked before. Others have been lost by being\\nbut half reclaimed, or tamed for on being\\ntaken into the field they have raked after the\\ngame quite out of hearing of the call, and never\\nreturned to school.\\nAll these disappointments had been petty,\\nyet sore grievances to the squire, and had made\\nhim to despond about success. He has lately,\\nhowever, been made happy by the receipt of a\\nfine Welch falcon, which Master Simon terms\\na stately highflyer. It is a present from the\\nsquire s friend, Sir Watkyn Williams Wynn;\\nand is, no doubt, a descendant of some ancient\\nline of Welsh princes of the air, that have long", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0101.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "92 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nlorded it over their kingdom of clouds, from\\nWynnstay to the very summit of Snowdon, or\\nthe brow of Penmanmawr. Ever since the\\nsquire received this invaluable present, he has\\nbeen as impatient to sally forth and make\\nproof of it, as was Don Quixote to assay his\\nsuit of armor. There have been some demurs\\nas to whether the bird was in proper health\\nand training; but these have been overruled\\nby the vehement desire to play with a new\\ntoy; and it has been determined, right or\\nwrong, in season or out of season, to have a\\nday s sport in hawking to-morrow.\\nThe Hall, as usual, whenever the squire is\\nabout to make some new sally on his hobby, is\\nall agog with the thing. Miss Templeton,\\nwho is brought up in reverence for all her\\nguardian s humors, has proposed to be one of\\nthe party, and Lady Lillycraft has talked also\\nof riding out to the scene of action and look-\\ning on. This has gratified the old gentleman\\nextremely he hails it as an auspicious omen\\nof the revival of falconry, and does not despair\\nbut the time will come when it will be again\\nthe pride of a fine lady to carry about a noble\\nfalcon in preference to a parrot or a lapdog.\\nI have amused myself with the bustling\\npreparations of that busy spirit, Master Simon,\\nand the continual thwartings he receives from\\nthat genuine son of a pepper-box, old Christy.\\nThey have had half a dozen consultations about\\nhow the hawk is to be prepared for the morn-\\ning s sport Old Nimrod, as usual, has always\\ngot in a pet, upon which Master Simon has", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0102.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 93\\ninvariably given up the point, observing in a\\ngood-humored tone, *Well, well, have it your\\nown way, Christy only don t put yourself in\\na passion; a reply which always nettles the\\nold man ten times more than ever.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0103.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "94 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nHAWKING.\\nThe soaring hawk, from fist that flies,\\nHer falconer doth constrain\\nSometimes to range the ground about\\nTo find her out again\\nAnd if by sight, or sound of bell,\\nHis falcon he may see,\\nWo ho he cries with cheerful voice\\nThe gladdest man is he.\\nHandef ull of pleasant delites.\\nAt an early hour this morning the Hall was\\nin a bustle, preparing for the sport of the day.\\nI heard Master Simon whistling and singing\\ntinder my window at sunrise, as he was pre-\\nparing the jesses for the hawk s legs, and could\\ndistinguish now and then a stanza of one of\\nhis favorite old ditties\\nIn peascod time, when hound to horn\\nGives note that buck be killed\\nA little boy with pipe of corn\\nIs tending sheep afield, etc.\\nA hearty breakfast, well flanked by cold\\nmeats, was served up in the great hall. The\\nwhole garrison of retainers and hangers-on\\nwere in motion, reinforced by volunteer idlers\\nfrom the village. The horses were led up and\\ndown before the door; everybody had some-\\nthing to say and something to do, and hurried\\nhither and thither there was a direful yelping", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0104.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 95\\nof dogs some that were to accompany us being\\neager to set off, and others that were to stay\\nat home being whipped back to their kennels.\\nIn short, for once, the good squire s mansion\\nmight have been taken as a good specimen\\nof one of the rantipole establishments of the\\ngood old feudal times.\\nBreakfast being finished, the chivalry of the\\nHall prepared to take the field. The fair Julia\\nwas of the party, in a hunting-dress, with a\\nlight plume of feathers in her riding-hat. As\\nshe mounted her favorite Galloway, I re-\\nmarked, with pleasure, that old Christy for got\\nhis usual crustiness, and hastened to adjust her\\nsaddle and bridle. He touched his cap as she\\nsmiled on him and thanked him and then, look-\\ning round at the other attendants, gave a know-\\ning nod of his head, in which I read pride and\\nexultation at the charming appearance of his\\npupil.\\nLady Lillycraft had likewise determined to\\nwitness the sport. She was dressed in her\\nbroad white beaver, tied under the chin, and a\\nriding habit of the last century. She rode her\\nsleek, ambling pony, whose motion was as easy\\nas a rocking-chair; and was gallantly escorted\\nby the general, who looked not unlike one of\\nthe doughty heroes in the old prints of the bat-\\ntle of Blenheim. The parson, likewise, accom-\\npanied her on the other side for this was a\\nlearned amusement in which he took great in-\\nterest; and, indeed, had given much counsel,\\nfrom his knowledge of old customs.\\nAt length everything was arranged, and off", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0105.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "96 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nwe set from the Hall. The exercise on horse-\\nback puts one in fine spirits and the scene was\\ngay and animating. The young men of the\\nfamily accompanied Miss Templeton. She sat\\nlightly and gracefully in her saddle, her plumes\\ndancing and waving in the air; and the group\\nhad a charming effect as they appeared and\\ndisappeared among the trees, cantering along\\nwith the bounding animation of youth. The\\nsquire and Master Simon rode together, accom-\\npanied by old Christy mounted on Pepper.\\nThe latter bore the hawk on his fist, as he in-\\nsisted the bird was most accustomed to him.\\nThere was a rabble rout on foot, composed of\\nretainers from the Hall, and some idlers from\\nthe village, with two or three spaniels for the\\npurpose of starting the game.\\nA kind of corps de reserve came on quietly\\nin the rear, composed of Lady Lillycraft, Gen-\\neral Harbottle, the parson, and a fat footman.\\nHer ladyship ambled gently along on her\\npony, while the general, mounted on a tall\\nhunter, looked down upon her with an air of\\nthe most protecting gallantry.\\nFor my part, being no sportsman, I kept\\nwith this last party, or rather lagged behind,\\nthat I might take in the whole picture and the\\nparson occasionally slackened his pace and\\njogged on in company with me.\\nThe sport led us at some distance from the\\nHall, in a soft meadow reeking with the moist\\nverdure of spring. A little river ran through\\nit, bordered by willows which had put forth\\ntheir tender early foliage. The sportsmen", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0106.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "A gypsy girl with a pair of roguish eyes. Page 104.\\nBraeebi-idge Hall.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0107.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0108.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 97\\nwere in quest of herons, which were said to\\nkeep about this stream.\\nThere was some disputing already among\\nthe leaders of the sport. The squire, Master\\nSimon, and old Christy, came every now and\\nthen to a pause, to consult together, like the\\nfield officers in an army and I saw, by certain\\nmotions of the head, that Christy was as posi-\\ntive as any old wrong-headed German com-\\nmander.\\nAs we were prancing up this quiet meadow\\nevery sound we made was answered by a dis-\\ntant echo, from the sunny wall of an old build-\\ning that lay on the opposite margin of the\\nstream; and I paused to listen to the spirit\\nof a sound, which seems to love such quiet\\nand beautiful places. The parson informed\\nme that this was the ruin of an ancient grange,\\nand was supposed by the country people to be\\nhaunted by a dobbie, a kind of rural sprite,\\nsomething like Robin Goodfellow. They often\\nfancied the echo to be the voice of the dobbie\\nanswering them, and were rather shy of dis-\\nturbing it after dark. He added, that the\\nsquire was very careful of this ruin, on account\\nof the superstition connected with it. As I\\nconsidered this local habitation of an airy\\nnothing, I called to mind the fine description\\nof an echo in Webster s Duchess of Malfy:\\nYond side o* th* river lies a wall,\\nPiece of a cloister, which in my opinion\\nGives the best echo that you have ever heard\\nSo plain is the distinction of our words\\nThat many have supposed it a spirit\\nThat answers.\\n7 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0109.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "98 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nThe parson went on to comment on a pleaS\\ning and fanciful appellation which the Jews of\\nold gave to the echo, which they called Bath-\\nkool, that is to say, the daughter of the\\nvoice they considered it an oracle, supply*\\ning in the second temple the want of the TJrin\\nand Thummim, with which the first was hon-\\nored.* The little man was just entering very\\nlargely and learnedly upon the subject, when\\nwe were startled by a prodigious bawling,\\nshouting, and yelping. A flight of crows,\\nalarmed by the approach of our forces, had\\nsuddenly risen from a meadow a cry was put\\nup by the rabble rout on foot. Now,\\nChristy! now is your time, Christy! The\\nsquire and Master Simon, who were beating\\nup the river banks in quest of a heron, called\\nout eagerly to Christy to keep quiet the old\\nman, vexed and bewildered by the confusion of\\nvoices, completely lost his head: in his flurry\\nhe slipped off the hood, cast off the falcon, and\\naways flew the crows, and away soared the\\nhawk.\\nI had paused on a rising ground, close to\\nLady Lillycraft and her escort, from whence I\\nhad a good view of the sport. I was pleased\\nwith the appearance of the party in the\\nmeadow, riding along in the direction that the\\nbird flew; their bright beaming faces turned\\nup to the bright skies as they watched the\\ngame; the attendants on foot scampering\\nalong, looking up, and calling out, and the\\n*Becker s Monde E?ichante,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0110.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 99\\ndogs bounding and yelping with clamorous\\nsympathy.\\nThe hawk had singled out a quarry from\\namong the carrion crew. It was curious to see\\nthe efforts of the two birds to get above each\\nother one to make the fatal swoop, the other\\nto avoid it. Now they crossed athwart a\\nbright feathery cloud, and now they were\\nagainst the clear blue sky. I confess, being no\\nsportsman, I was more interested for the poor\\nbird that was striving for its life, than for the\\nhawk that was playing the part of a mercenary\\nsoldier. At length the hawk got the upper\\nhand, and made a rushing stoop at her quarry,\\nbut the latter made as sudden a surge down-\\nwards, and slanting up again evaded the blow,\\nscreaming and making the best of his way for\\na dry tree on the brow of a neighboring hill\\nwhile the hawk, disappointed of her blow,\\nsoared up again into the air, and appeared to\\nbe **raking off. It was in vain old Christy\\ncalled and whistled, and endeavored to lure her\\ndown she paid no regard to him and, indeed,\\nhis calls were drowned in the shouts and yelps\\nof the army of militia that had followed him\\ninto the field.\\nJust then an exclamation from Lady Lilly-\\ncraft made me turn my head. I beheld a com-\\nplete confusion among the sportsmen in the\\nlittle vale below us. They were galloping and\\nrunning towards the edge of the bank and I\\nwas shocked to see Miss Templeton s horse\\ngalloping at large without his rider. I rode to\\nthe place to which the others were hurrying,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0111.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "100 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nand when I reached the bank, which almost\\noverhung the stream, I saw at the foot of it\\nthe fair Julia, pale, bleeding, and apparently\\nlifeless, supported in the arms of her frantic\\nlover.\\nIn galloping heedlessly along, with her eyes\\nturned upward, she had unwarily approached\\ntoo near the bank; it had given Vv^ay with her,\\nand she and her horse had been precipitated\\nto the pebbled margin of the river.\\nI never saw greater consternation. The\\ncaptain was distracted Lady Lillycraft faint-\\ning the squire in dismay and Master Simon at\\nhis wits end. The beautiful creature at length\\nshowed signs of returning life she opened her\\neyes; looked around her upon the anxious\\ngroup, and comprehending in a moment the\\nnature of the scene, gave a sweet smile, and\\nputting her hand in her lover s, exclaimed\\nfeebly, I am not much hurt, Guy! I could\\nhave taken her to my heart for that single ex-\\nclamation.\\nIt was found, indeed, that she had escaped,\\nalmost miraculously, with a contusion of the\\nhead, a sprained ankle, and some slight\\nbruises. After her wound was staunched, she\\nwas taken to a neighboring cottage until a car-\\nriage could be summoned to convey her home;\\nand when this had arrived, the cavalcade,\\nwhich had issued forth so gayly on this enter-\\nprise, returned slowly and pensively to the\\nHall.\\nI had been charmed by the generous spirit\\nshown by this young creature, who, amidst", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0112.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 101\\npain and danger, had been anxious only to re-\\nlieve the distress of those around her. I was\\ngratified, therefore, by the universal concern\\ndisplayed by the domestics on our return.\\nThey came crowding down the avenue, each\\neager to render assistance. The butler stood\\nready with some curiously delicate cordial;\\nthe old housekeeper was provided with half a\\ndozen nostrums, prepared by her own hands,\\naccording to the family receipt book; while\\nher niece, the melting Phoebe, having no other\\nway of assisting, stood wringing her hands and\\nweeping aloiid.\\nThe most material effect that is likely to fol-\\nlow this accident is a postponement of the nup-\\ntials, which were close at hand. Though I\\ncommiserate the impatience of the captain on\\nthat account, yet I shall not otherwise be sorry\\nat the delay, as it will give me a better oppor-\\ntunity of studying the characters here assem-\\nbled, with which I grow more and more enter-\\ntained.\\nI cannot but perceive that the worthy squire\\nis quite disconcerted at the unlucky result of\\nhis hawking experiment, and this unfortunate\\nillustration of his eulogy on female equitation.\\nOld Christy, too, is very waspish, having\\nbeen sorely twitted by Master Simon for hav-\\ning let his hawk fly at carrion. As to the fal-\\ncon, in the confusion occasioned by the fair\\nJulia s disaster, the bird was totally forgotten.\\nI make no doubt she has made the best of her\\nway back to the hospitable Hall of Sir Watkyn", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0113.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "102 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nWilliams Wynn; and may very possibly, at\\nthis present writing, be pluming her wings\\namong the breezy bowers of Wynnstay.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0114.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 103\\nFORTUNE-TELLING.\\nEach city, each town, and every village\\nAffords us either an alms or pillage.\\nAnd if the weather be cold and raw,\\nThen in a barn we tumble on straw.\\nIf warm and fair, by yea-cock and nay-cock,\\nThe fields will afford us a hedge or a ha^ ^-cock.\\nMerry Beggars.\\nAs I was walking one evening with the Ox-\\nonian, Master Simon, and the general, in a\\nmeadow not far from the village, we heard the\\nsound of a fiddle rudely played, and looking\\nin the direction from whence it came, we saw\\na thread of smoke curling up from among the\\ntrees. The sound of music is always attract-\\nive; for, wherever there is music, there is\\ngood humor, or good- will. We passed along a\\nfootpath, and had a peep, through a break in\\nthe hedge, at the musician and his party,\\nwhen the Oxonian gave us a wink, and told us\\nthat if we could follow him we should have\\nsome sport.\\nIt proved to be a gypsy encampment, con-\\nsisting of three or four little cabins, or tents,\\nmade of blankets and sail-cloths, spread over\\nhoops that were stuck in the ground. It was\\non one side of a green lane, close under a haw-\\nthorn hedge, with a broad beech-tree spread-\\ning above it. A small rill tinkled along close", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0115.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "104 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nby, through the fresh sward, that looked like\\na carpet.\\nA tea-kettle was hanging by a crooked piece\\nof iron, over a fire made from dry sticks and\\nleaves and two old gypsies, in red cloaks, sat\\ncrouched on the grass, gossiping over their\\nevening cup of tea for these creatures, though\\nthey live in the open air, have their ideas of\\nfireside comforts. There were two or three\\nchildren sleeping on the straw with which the\\ntents were littered a couple of donkeys were\\ngrazing in the lane, and a thievish-looking\\ndog was lying before the fire. Some of the\\nyounger gypsies were dancing to the music of\\nthe fiddle, played by a tall, slender stripling,\\nin an old frock coat, with a peacock s feather\\nstuck in his hat-band.\\nAs we approached, a gypsy girl, with a pair\\nof fine roguish eyes, came up, and, as usual,\\noffered to tell our fortunes. I could not but\\nadmire a certain degree of slattern elegance\\nabout the baggage. Her long black silken\\nhair was curiously plaited in numerous small\\nbraids, and negligently put up in a pictur-\\nesque style that a painter might have been\\nproud to have devised. Her dress was of a\\nfigured chintz, rather ragged, and not over\\nclean, but of a variety of most harmonious and\\nagreeable colors for these beings have a sin-\\ngularly fine eye for colors. Her straw hat was\\nin her hand, and a red cloak thrown over one\\narm.\\nThe Oxonian offered at once to have his for-\\ntune told, and the girl began with the usual.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0116.jp2"}, "117": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 105\\nvolubility of her race but he drew her on one\\nside near the hedge, as he said he had no idea\\nof having his secrets overheard. I saw he was\\ntalking to her instead of she to him, and by his\\nglancing towards us now and then, that he was\\ngiving the baggage some private hints. When\\nthey returned to us, he assumed a very serious\\nair. Zounds! said he, it s very astonish-\\ning how these creatures come by their knowl-\\nedge this girl has told me somethings that I\\nthought no one knew but myself!\\nThe girl now assailed the general: Come,\\nyour honor, said she, I see by your face\\nyou re a lucky man; but you re not happy in\\nyour mind; you re not, indeed, sir; but have\\na good heart, and give me a good piece of sil-\\nver, and I ll tell you a nice fortune.\\nThe general had received all her approaches\\nwith a banter, and had suffered her to get hold\\nof his hand; but at the mention of the piece of\\nsilver, he hemmed, looked grave, and turning\\nto us, asked if we had not better continue our\\nwalk. Come, my master, said the girl\\narchly, you d not be in such a hurry if you\\nknew all that I could tell you about a fair lady\\nthat has a notion for you. Come, sir, old love\\nburns strong; there s many a one comes to see\\nweddings that go away brides themselves!\\nHere the girl whispered something in a low\\nvoice, at which the general colored up, was a\\nlittle fluttered, and suffered himself to be\\ndrawn aside under the hedge, where he ap-\\npeared to listen to her with great earnestness,\\nand at the end paid her half-a-crown with the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0117.jp2"}, "118": {"fulltext": "106 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nair of a man that has got the worth of his\\nmoney.\\nThe girl next made her attack upon Master\\nSimon, who, however, was too old a bird to be\\ncaught, knowing that it would end in an attack\\nupon his purse, about which he is a little sen-\\nsitive. As he has a great notion however, of\\nbeing considered a roister, he chucked her un-\\nder the chin, played her off with rather broad\\njokes, and put on something of the rake-helly\\nair, that we see now and then- assumed on the\\nstage by the sad-boy gentlemen of the old\\nschool. Ah, your honor, said the girl, with\\na malicious leer, you were not in such a tan-\\ntrum last year when I told you about the\\nwidow, you know who but if you had taken a\\nfriend s advice, you d never have come away\\nfrom Doncaster races with a flea in your ear!\\nThere was a secret sting in this speech that\\nseemed quite to disconcert Master Simon. He\\njerked away his hand in a pet, smacked his\\nwhip, whistled to his dogs, and intimated that\\nit was high time to go home. The girl, how-\\never, was determined not to lose her harvest.\\nShe now turned upon me, and, as I have a\\nweakness of spirit where there is a pretty face\\nconcerned, she soon wheedled me out of my\\nmoney, and in return read me a fortune which,\\nif it prove true, and I am determined to believe\\nit, will make me one of the luckiest men in the\\nchronicles of Cupid.\\nI saw that the Oxonian was at the bottom of\\nall this oracular mystery, and was disposed to\\namuse himself with the general, whose tender", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0118.jp2"}, "119": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 107\\napproaches to the widow have attracted the\\nnotice of the wag. I was a little curious, how-\\never, to know the meaning of the dark hints\\nwhich had so suddenly disconcerted Master\\nSimon and took occasion to fall in the rear\\nwith the Oxonian on our way home, when he\\nlaughed heartily at my questions, and gave me\\nample information on the subject.\\nThe truth of the matter is, that Master\\nSimon has met with a sad rebuff since my\\nChristmas visit to the Hall. He used at that\\ntime to be joked about a widow, a fine dashing\\nw^oman, as he privately informed me. I had\\nsupposed the pleasure he betrayed on these oc-\\ncasions resulted from the usual fondness of old\\nbachelors for being teased about getting mar-\\nried, and about flirting, and being fickle and\\nfalse-hearted. I am assured, however, that\\nMaster Simon had really persuaded himself the\\nwidow had a kindness for him in consequence\\nof which he had been at some extraordinary\\nexpense in new clothes, and had actually got\\nFrank Bracebridge to order him a coat from\\nStultz. He began to throw out hints about\\nthe importance of a man s settling himself in\\nlife before he grew old he would look grave\\nwhenever the widow and matrimony were\\nmentioned in the same sentence and privately\\nasked the opinion of the squire and parson\\nabout the prudence of marrying a widow with\\na rich jointure, but who had several children.\\nAn important member of a great family con-\\nnection cannot harp much upon the theme of\\nmatrimony without its taking wind; and it", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0119.jp2"}, "120": {"fulltext": "108 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nsoon got buzzed about that Mr. Simon Brace-\\nbridge was actually gone to Doncaster races\\nwith a new horse, but that he meant to return\\nin a curricle with a lady by his side. Master\\nSimon did, indeed, go to the races, and that\\nwith a new horse and the dashing widow did\\nmake her appearance in her curricle but it\\nwas unfortunately driven by a strapping young\\nIrish dragoon, with whom even Master Simon s\\nself-complacency would not allow him to enter\\ninto competition, and to whom she was mar-\\nried shortly after.\\nIt was a matter of sore chagrin to Master\\nSimon for several months, having never be-\\nfore been fully committed. The dullest head\\nin the family had a joke upon him; and there\\nis on one that likes less to be bantered than an\\nabsolute joker. He took refuge for a time at\\nLady Lillycraft s, until the matter should blow\\nover; and occupied himself by looking over\\nher accounts, regulating the village choir, and\\ninculcating loyalty into a pet bullfinch by\\nteaching him to whistle God save the\\nking.\\nHe has now pretty nearly recovered from\\nthe mortification; holds up his head, and\\nlaughs as much as any one; again affects to\\npity married men, and is particularly facetious\\nabout widows, when Lady Lillycraft is not by.\\nHis only time of trial is when the general gets\\nhold of him, who is infinitely heavy and perse-\\nvering in his waggery, and will interweave a\\ndull joke through the various topics of a whole\\ndinner-time. Master Simon often parries", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0120.jp2"}, "121": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 109\\nthese attacks by a stanza from his old work of\\nCupid s Solicitor for Love:\\nTis in vain to woo a widow over long,\\nIn once or twice her mind you may perceive\\nWidows are subtle, be they old or young,\\nAnd by their wiles young men they will deceive.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0121.jp2"}, "122": {"fulltext": "110 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nLOVE-CHARMS.\\nCome, do not weep, my girl,\\nForget him, pretty pensiveness there will\\nCome others, every day, as good as he.\\nSir J. Suckling.\\nThe approach of a wedding in a family is\\nalways an event of great importance, but par-\\nticularly so in a household like this, in a retired\\npart of the country. Master Simon, who is a\\npervading spirit, and, through means of the\\nbutler and housekeeper, knows everything\\nthat goes forward, tells me that the maid-serv-\\nants are continually trying their fortunes, and\\nthat the servants hall has of late been quite a\\nscene of incantation.\\nIt is amusing to notice how the oddities of\\nthe head of a family flow down through all the\\nbranches. The squire, in the indulgence of\\nhis love of everything that smacks of old times,\\nhas held so many grave conversations with the\\nparson at table, about popular superstitions and\\ntraditional rites, that they have been carried\\nfrom the parlor to the kitchen by the listening\\ndomestics, and, being apparently sanctioned\\nby such high authorities, the whole house\\nhas become infected bj^ them.\\nThe servants are all versed in the common\\nmodes of trying luck, and the charms to ensure", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0122.jp2"}, "123": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. Ill\\nconstancy. They read their fortunes by draw-\\ning strokes in the ashes, or by repeating a form\\nof words, and looking in a pail of water. St.\\nMark s Eve, I am told, was a busy time with\\nthem; being an appointed night for certain\\nmystic ceremonies. Several of them sowed\\nhemp-seed, to be reaped by their true lovers\\nand they even ventured upon the solemn and\\nfearful preparation of the dumb-cake. This\\nmust be done fasting and in silence. The\\ningredients are handed down in traditional\\nform; An egg-shell full of salt, an egg-shell\\nfull of malt, and an egg-shell full of barley\\nmeal. When the cake is ready, it is put upon\\na pan over the fire, and the future husband will\\nappear, turn the cake, and retire; but if a\\nword is spoken, or a fast is broken, during this\\nawful ceremony, there is no knowing what\\nhorrible consequence would ensue\\nThe experiments in the present instance\\ncame to no result they that sowed the hemp-\\nseed forgot the magic rhyme that they were to\\npronounce, so the true lover never appeared;\\nand as to the dumb-cake, what between an\\nawful stillness they had to keep, and the awful-\\nness of the midnight hour, their hearts failed\\nthem when they had put the cake in the pan,\\nso that, on the striking of the great house-clock\\nin the servants hall, they were seized with a\\nsudden panic, and ran out of the room, to\\nwhich they did not return until morning, when\\nthey found the mystic cake burnt to a cinder.\\nThe most persevering at these spells, how-\\never, is Phoebe Wilkins, the housekeeper s", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0123.jp2"}, "124": {"fulltext": "112 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nniece. As she is a kind of privileged person-\\nage, and rather idle, she has more time to\\noccupy herself with these matters. She has\\nalways had her head full of love and matri-\\nmony, she knows the dreaming book by heart,\\nand is quite an oracle among the little girls of\\nthe family, who always come to her to intrepret\\ntheir dreams in the mornings.\\nDuring the present gayety of the house, how-\\never, the poor girl has worn a face full of\\ntrouble; and, to use the housekeeper s words,\\nhas fallen into a sad hystericky way lately.\\nIt seems that she was born and brought up in\\nthe village, where her father was parish-clerk,\\nand she was an early playmate and sweetheart\\nof young Jack Tibbets. Since she has come to\\nlive at the Hall, however, her head has been a\\nlittle turned. Being very pretty, and natur-\\nally genteel, she has been much noticed and\\nindulged: and being the housekeeper s niece,\\nshe has held an equivocal station between a\\nservant and a companion, she has learnt some-\\nthing of fashions and notions among the young\\nladies, which have effected quite a metamor-\\nphosis; insomuch that her finery at church on\\nSundays has given mortal offence to her former\\nintimates in the village. This has occasioned\\nthe misrepresentations which have awakened\\nthe implacable family pride of Dame Tibbets.\\nBut what is worse, Phoebe, having a spice of\\ncoquetry in her disposition, showed it on one\\nor two occasions to her lover, which produced\\na downright quarrel; and Jack, being very", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0124.jp2"}, "125": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 113\\nprond and fiery, has absolutely turned his back\\nupon her for several successive Sundays.\\nThe poor girl is full of sorrow and repent-\\nance, and would fain make up with her lover;\\nbut he feels his security, and stands aloof. In\\nthis he is doubtless encouraged by his mother,\\nwho is continually reminding him of what he\\nowes to his family for this same family pride\\nseems doomed to be the eternal bane of lovers.\\nAs I hate to see a pretty face in trouble, I\\nhave felt quite concerned for the luckless\\nPhoebe, ever since I heard her story. It is a\\nsad thing to be thwarted in love at any time,\\nbut particularly so at this tender season of\\nthe year, when every living thing, even to the\\nvery butterfly, is sporting with its mate and\\nthe green fields and the budding groves, and\\nthe singing of the birds, and the sweet smell\\nof the flowers, are enough to turn the head of\\na love-sick girl. I am told that the coolness of\\nyoung Ready-Money lies heavy at poor\\nPhoebe s heart. Instead of singing about the\\nhouse as formerly, she goes about, pale and\\nsighing, and is apt to break into tears when\\nher companions are full of merriment.\\nMrs. Hannah, the vestal gentlewoman of\\nmy Lady Lillycraft, has had long talks and\\nwalks with Phoebe, up and down the avenue,\\nof an evening, and has endeavored to squeeze\\nsome of her own verjuice into the other s\\nmilky nature. She speaks with contempt and\\nabhorrence of the whole sex, and advises\\nPhoebe to despise all the men as heartily as\\nshe does. But Phoebe s loving temper is not\\n8 Bracebridlge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0125.jp2"}, "126": {"fulltext": "114 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nto be curdled she has no such thing as hatred\\nor contempt for mankind in her whole composi-\\ntion. She has all the simple fondness of heart\\nof poor, weak, loving women; and her only\\nthoughts at present are, how to conciliate and\\nreclaim her wayward swain.\\nThe spells and love-charms, which are mat-\\nters of sport to the other domestics, are serious\\nconcerns with this love-stricken damsel. She\\nis continually trying her fortune in a variety\\nof ways. I am told that she has absolutely\\nfasted for six Wednesdays, and three Fridays\\nsuccessively, having understood that it was a\\nsovereign charm to ensure being married to\\none s liking within the year. She carries\\nabout, also, a lock of her sweetheart s hair, and\\na ribbon he once gave her, being a mode of\\nproducing constancy in her lover. She even\\nwent so far as to try her fortune by the moon,\\nwhich has always had much to do with lovers\\ndreams and fancies. For this purpose she\\nwent out in the night of the full moon, knelt\\non a stone in the meadow, and repeated the old\\ntraditional rhyme:\\nAll hail to thee, moon, all hail to thee:\\nI pray to thee good moon, now show to me\\nThe youth who my future husband will be.\\nWhen she came back to the house, she was\\nfaint and pale, and went immediately to bed.\\nThe next morning she told the porter s wife\\nthat she had seen some one close by the\\nhedge in the meadow, which she was sure was\\nyoung Tibbets at any rate, she had dreamt of", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0126.jp2"}, "127": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 115\\nhim all night; both of which, the old dame\\nassured her, were most happy signs. It has\\nsince turned out that the person in the meadow\\nwas old Christy, the huntsman, who was walk-\\ning his nightly rounds with the great stag-\\nhound; so that Phoebe s faith in the charm is\\ncompletely shaken.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0127.jp2"}, "128": {"fulltext": "116 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nA BACHELOR S CONFESSIONS.\\nI ll have a private, pensive single life.\\nThe Collier of Croydon.\\nI was sitting in my room a morning or two\\nsince, reading, when some one tapped at the\\ndoor, and Master Simon entered. He had an\\nunusually fresh appearance he had put on a\\nbright green riding-coat, with a bunch of vio-\\nlets in the button-hole, and had the air of an\\nold bachelor trying to rejuvenate himself. He\\nhad not, however, his usual briskness and\\nvivacity, but loitered about the room with\\nsomewhat of absence of manner, humming the\\nold song, Go, lovely rose, tell her that wastes\\nher time and me; and then, leaning against\\nthe window and looking upon the landscape,\\nhe uttered a very audible sigh. As I had not\\nbeen accustomed to see Master Simon in a\\npensive mood, I thought there might be some\\nvexation praying on his mind, and I endeav-\\nored to introduce a cheerful strain of conversa-\\ntion but he was not in the vein to follov/ it\\nup, and proposed that we should take a walk.\\nIt was a beautiful morning, of that soft vernal\\ntemperature, that seems to thaw all the frost\\nout of one s blood, and to set all nature in a\\nferment. The very fishes felt its influence:\\nthe cautious trout ventured out of his dark hole", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0128.jp2"}, "129": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 117\\nto seek his mate, the roach and the dace rose\\nup to the surface of the brook to bask in the\\nsunshine, and the amorous frog piped from\\namong- the rushes. If ever an oyster can really\\nfall in love, as has been said or sung, it must\\nbe on such a morning.\\nThe weather certainlj^ had its effect even\\nupon Master Simon, for he seemed obstinately\\nbent upon the pensive mood. Instead of\\nstepping briskly along, smacking his dog-whip,\\nwhistling quaint ditties, or telling sporting\\nanecdotes, he leaned on my arm, and talked\\nabout the approaching nuptials; from whence\\nhe made several digressions upon the character\\nof womankind, touched a little upon the tender\\npassion, and made sundry very excellent,\\nthough rather trite, observations upon disap-\\npointments in love. It was evident that he\\nhad something on his mind which he wished to\\nimpart, but felt awkward in approaching it. I\\nwas curious to see to what this strain would\\nlead but I was determined not to assist him.\\nIndeed, I mischievously pretended to turn the\\nconversation, and talked of his usual topics,\\ndogs, horses, and hunting; but he was very\\nbrief in his replies, and invariably got back, by\\nhook or by crook, into the sentimental vein.\\nAt length we came to a clump of trees that\\noverhung a whispering brook, with a rustic\\nbench at their feet. The trees were grievously\\nscored with letters and devices, which had\\ngrown out of all shape and size by the growth\\nof the bark; and it appeared that this grove\\nhad served as a kind of register of the family", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0129.jp2"}, "130": {"fulltext": "118 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nloves from time immemorial. Here Master\\nSimon made a pause, pulled up a tuft of\\nflowers, threw them one by one into the water,\\nand at length, turning somewhat abruptly upon\\nme, asked me if ever I had been in love. I\\nconfess the question startled me a little, as I\\nam not over fond of making confessions of my\\namorous follies; and, above all, should never\\ndream of choosing my friend Master Simon for\\na confidant. He did not wait, however, for a\\nreply; the inquiry was merely a prelude to a\\nconfession on his own part, and after several\\ncircumlocutions and whimsical preambles, he\\nfairly disburthened himself of a very tolerable\\nstor}/ of his having been crossed in love.\\nThe reader will, very probably, suppose that\\nit related to the gay widow who jilted him no-t\\nlong since at Doncaster races; no such thing.\\nIt was about a sentimental passion that he\\nonce had for a most beautiful young lady, who\\nwrote poetry and played on the harp. He used\\nto serenade her; and, indeed, he described\\nseveral tender and gallant scenes, in which he\\nv^as evidently picturing himself in his mind s\\neye as some elegant hero of romance, though\\nunfortunately for the tale, I only saw him as\\nhe stood before me, a dapper little old bach-\\nelor, with a face like an apple that has dried\\nwith the bloom on it.\\nWhat were the particulars of this tender tale\\nI have already forgotten indeed, I listened to\\nit with a heart like a very pebble stone, hav-\\ning hard work to repress a smile while Master\\nSimon was putting on the amorous swain, ut-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0130.jp2"}, "131": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 119\\ntering, every now and then, a sigh, and endeav-\\noring to look sentimental and melancholy.\\nAll that I recollect is, that the lady, accord-\\ning to his account, was certainly a little\\ntouched; for she used to accept all the music\\nthat he copied for her harp, and all the pat-\\nterns that he drew for her dresses; and he be-\\ngan to flatter himself, after a long course of\\ndelicate attentions, that he was gradually fan-\\nning up a gentle flame in her heart, when she\\nsuddenly accepted the hand of a rich, boister-\\nous, fox-hunting baronet, without either music\\nor sentiment, who carried her by storm, after\\na fortnight s courtship.\\nMaster Simon could not help concluding by\\nsome observation upon modest merit, and\\nthe power of gold over the sex. As a remem-\\nbrance of his passion, he pointed out a heart\\ncarved on the bark of one of the trees; but\\nwhich, in the process of time, had grown out\\ninto a large excrescence and he showed me a\\nlock of her hair, which he wore in a true lov-\\ner s knot, in a large gold brooch.\\nI have seldom met with an old bachelor that\\nhad not, at some time or other, his nonsensical\\nmoment, when he would become tender and\\nsentimental, talk about the concerns of the\\nheart, and have some confession of a delicate\\nnature to make. Almost every man has some\\nlittle trait of romance in his life, which he\\nlooks back to with fondness, and about which\\nhe is apt to grow garrulous occasionally. He\\nrecollects himself as he was at the time, young\\nand gamesome and forgets that his hearers", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0131.jp2"}, "132": {"fulltext": "120 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nhave no other idea of the hero of the tale but\\nsuch as he may appear at the time of telling it;\\nperadventure, a withered, whimsical, spindle-\\nshanked old gentleman. With married men,\\nit is true, this is not so frequently the case;\\ntheir amorous romance is apt to decline after\\nmarriage why, I cannot for the life of me im-\\nagine; but with a bachelor, though it may\\nslumber, it never dies. It is always liable to\\nbreak out again in transient flashes, and never\\nso much as on a spring morning in the country\\nor on a winter evening, when seated in his sol-\\nitary chamber, stirring up the fire and talking\\nof matrimony.\\nThe moment that Master Simon had gone\\nthrough his confession, and, to use the com-\\nmon phrase, had made a clean breast of it,\\nhe became quite himself again. He had set-\\ntled the point which had been worrying his\\nmind, and doubtless considered himself estab-\\nlished as a man of sentiment in my opinion.\\nBefore we had finished our morning s stroll he\\nwas singing as blithe as a grasshopper, whis-\\ntling to his dogs, and telling droll stories; and\\nI recollect that he was particularly facetious\\nthat day at dinner on the subject of matri-\\nmony, and uttered several excellent jokes, not\\nto be found in Joe Miller, that made the bride-\\nelect blush and look down, but set all the old\\ngentlemen at the table in a roar, and abso-\\nlutely brought tears into the general s eyes.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0132.jp2"}, "133": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 121\\nGYPSIES.\\nWhat s that to absolute freedom, such as the very beg-\\ngars have to feast and revel here to-day, and yon-\\nder to-morrow; next day where they please; and\\nso on still, the whole country or kingdom over?\\nThere s liberty! the birds of the air can take no\\nmore. Jovial Crew.\\nSince the meeting with the gypsies, which I\\nhave related in a former paper, I have observed\\nseveral of them haunting the purlieus of the\\nHall, in spite of a positive interdiction of the\\nsquire. They are part of a gang that has long\\nkept about this neighborhood; to the great an-\\nnoyance of the farmers, whose poultry-yards\\noften suffer from their nocturnal invasions.\\nThey are, however, in some measure, patron-\\nized by the squire, who considers the race as\\nbelonging to the good old times; which, to\\nconfess the private truth, seem to have\\nabounded with good-for-nothing characters.\\nThis roving crew is called Starlight Tom s\\nGang, from the name of its chieftain, a noto-\\nrious poacher. I have heard repeatedly of the\\nmisdeeds of this minion of the moon for\\nevery midnight depredation that takes place in\\npark, or fold, or farm-yard, is laid to his\\ncharge. Starlight Tom, in fact, answers to\\nhis name he seems to walk in darkness, and,\\nlike a fox, to be traced in the morning by the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0133.jp2"}, "134": {"fulltext": "122 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nmischief he has done. He reminds me of that\\nfearful personage in the nursery rhyme:\\nWho goes round the house at night?\\nNone but bloody Tom\\nWho steals all the sheep at night?\\nNone but one by one!\\nIn shott, Starlight Tom is the scapegoat of\\nthe neighborhood; but so cunning and adroit,\\nthat there is no detecting him. Old Christy\\nand the gamekeeper have watched many a night\\nin hopes of entrapping him and, Christy often\\npatrols the park with his dogs, for the purpose,\\nbut all in vain. It is said that the squire\\nwinks hard at his misdeeds, having an indulg-\\nent feeling towards the vagabond, because of\\nhis being very expert at all kinds of games, a\\ngreat shot with the crossbow, and the best\\nmorris dancer in the country.\\nThe squire also suffers the gang to lurk un-\\nmolested about the skirts of his estate, on con-\\ndition that they do not come about the house.\\nThe approaching wedding, however, has made\\na kind of Saturnalia at the Hall, and has\\ncaused a suspension of all sober rule. It has\\nproduced a great sensation throughout the fe-\\nmale part of the household not a housemaid\\nbut dreams of wedding favors, and has a hus-\\nband running in her head. Such a time is a\\nharvest for the gypsies; there is a public foot-\\npath leading across one part of the park, by\\nwhich they have free ingress, and they are\\ncontinually hovering about the grounds, telling\\nthe servant girls fortunes, or getting smug-\\ngled in to the young ladies.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0134.jp2"}, "135": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 123\\nI believe the Oxonian amuses himself very\\nmuch by furnishing them with hints in pri-\\nvate, and bewildering all the weak brains in\\nthe house with their wonderful revelations.\\nThe general certainty was very much aston-\\nished by the communications made to him the\\nother evening by the gypsy girl: he kept a\\nwary silence towards us on the subject, and\\naffected to treat it lightly but I have noticed\\nthat he has since redoubled his attentions to\\nLady Lillycraft and her dogs.\\nI have seen also Phoebe Wilkins, the house-\\nkeeper s pretty and love-sick niece, holding a\\nlong conference with one of these old sibyls\\nbehind a large tree in the avenue, and often\\nlooking round to see that she was not ob-\\nserved. I make no doubt that she was endeav-\\noring to get some favorable augury about the\\nresult of her love quarrel with young Ready-\\nMoney, as oracles have always been more con-\\nsulted on love affairs than upon anything else.\\nI fear, however, that in this instance the re-\\nsponse was not so favorable as usual, for I per-\\nceived poor Phoebe returning pensively\\ntowards the house her head hanging down, her\\nhat in her hand, and the ribbon trailing along\\nthe ground.\\nAt another time, as I turned a comer of a\\nterrace, at the bottom of the garden, just by a\\nclump of trees, and a large stone urn, I came\\nupon a bevy of the young girls of the family,\\nattended by this same Phoebe Wilkins. I was\\nat a loss to comprehend the meaning of their\\nblushing and giggling, and their apparent agi-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0135.jp2"}, "136": {"fulltext": "124 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntation, until I saw the red cloak of a gypsy\\nvanishing among the shrubbery. A few mo-\\nments later, I caught sight of Master Simon\\nand the Oxonian stealing along one of the\\nwalks of the garden, chuckling and laughing\\nat their successful waggery; having evidently\\nput the gypsy up to the thing, and instructed\\nher what to say.\\nAfter all, there is something strangely pleas-\\ning in these tamperings with the future, even\\nwhere we are convinced of the fallacy of the\\nprediction. It is singular how willingly the\\nmind will half deceive itself, and with what a\\ndegree of awe we will listen even to these bab-\\nblers about futurity. For my part, I cannot\\nfeel angry with these poor vagabonds, that\\nseek to deceive us into bright hopes and expec-\\ntations. I have always been something of a\\ncastle-builder, and have found my liveliest\\npleasures to arise from the illusions which\\nfancy has cast over commonplace realities.\\nAs I get on in life I find it more difficult to de-\\nceive myself in this delightful manner; and I\\nshould be thankful to any prophet, however\\nfalse, that would conjure the clouds which\\nhang over futurity into palaces, and all its\\ndoubtful regions into fairyland.\\nThe squire, who, as I have observed, has a\\nprivate good will towards gypsies, has suffered\\nconsiderable annoyance on their account. Not\\nthat they requite his indulgence with ingrati-\\ntude, for they do not depredate very flagrantly\\non his estate but because their pilferings and\\nmisdeeds occasion loud murmurs in the village.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0136.jp2"}, "137": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 125\\nI can readily understand the old gentleman s\\nhumor on this point I have a great toleration\\nfor all kinds of vagrant, sunshiny existence,\\nand must confess I take a pleasure in observ-\\ning the ways of gypsies. The English, who\\nare accustomed to them from childhood, and\\noften suffer from their petty depredations,\\nconsider them as mere nuisances but I have\\nbeen very much struck with their peculiarities.\\nI like to behold their clear olive complexions,\\ntheir romantic black eyes, their raven locks,\\ntheir lithe, slender figures, and to hear them,\\nin low, silver tones, dealing forth magnificent\\npromises of honors and estates, of world s\\nworth, and ladies love.\\nTheir mode of life, too, has something in it\\nvery fanciful and picturesque. They are the\\nfree denizens of nature, and maintain a prim-\\nitive independence, in spite of law and gospel\\nof county jails and country magistrates. It is\\ncurious to see the obstinate adherence to the\\nwild, unsettled habits of savage life transmit-\\nted from generation to generation, and pre-\\nserved in the midst of one of the most culti-\\nvated, populous, and systematic countries in\\nthe world. They are totally distinct from the\\nbusy, thrifty people about them. They seem\\nto be like the Indians of America, either above\\nor below the ordinary cares and anxieties of\\nmankind. Heedless of power, of honors, of\\nwealth and indifferent to the fluctuations of\\nthe times, the rise or fall of grain, or stock, or\\nempires, they seem to laugh at the toiling,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0137.jp2"}, "138": {"fulltext": "126 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nfretting world around them, and to live accord-\\ning to the philosophy of the old song\\nWho would ambition shun,\\nAnd loves to lie i the sun,\\nSeeking the food he eats,\\nAnd pleased with what he gets,\\nCome hither, come hither, come hither\\nHere shall he see\\nNo enemy,\\nBut winter and rough weather.\\nIn this way they wander from county to\\ncounty, keeping about the purlieus of villages,\\nor in plenteous neighborhoods, where there are\\nfat farms and rich country seats. Their en-\\ncampments are generally made in some beau-\\ntiful spot either a green shady nook of a road\\nor on the border of a common, under a shelter-\\ning hedge or on the skirts of a fine spreading\\nwood. They are always to be found lurking\\nabout fairs and races, and rustic gather-\\nings, wherever their is pleasure, and throng,\\nand idleness. They are the oracles of milk-\\nmaids and simple serving girls and sometimes\\nhave even the honor of perusing the white\\nhands of gentlemen s daughters, when ramb-\\nling about their father s grounds. They are\\nthe bane of good housewives and thrifty farm-\\ners, and odious in the eyes of country justices;\\nbut, like all other vagabond beings, they have\\nsomething to commend them to the fancy.\\nThey are among the last traces, in these mat-\\nter-of-fact days, of the motley population of", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0138.jp2"}, "139": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 127\\nformer times; and are whimsically associated\\nin my mind with fairies and witches, Robin\\nGoodfellow, Robin Hood, and the other fan-\\ntastical personages of poetry.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0139.jp2"}, "140": {"fulltext": "128 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nVILLAGE WORTHIES.\\nNay, I tell you, I am so well beloved in our town, that\\nnot the worst dog in the street would hurt my little\\nfinger.\\nCollier of Croydon.\\nAs the neighboring village is one of those\\nout-of-the-way, but gossiping little places,\\nwhere a small matter makes a great stir, it is\\nnot to be supposed that the approach of a fes-\\ntival like that of May-Day can be regarded with\\nindifference, especially since it is made a mat-\\nter of such moment by the great folks at\\nthe Hall. Master Simon, who is the faith-\\nful factotum of the worthy squire, and\\njumps with his humor in everything, is\\nfrequent just now in his visits to the vil-\\nlage, to give directions for the impend-\\ning fete; and as I have taken the liberty\\noccasionally of accompanying him, I have been\\nenabled to get some insight into the characters\\nand internal politics of this very sagacious lit-\\ntle community.\\nMaster Simon is in fact the Caesar of the vil-\\nlage. It is true the squire is the protecting\\npower, but his factotum is the active and busy\\nagent. He intermeddles in all its concerns, is\\nacquainted with all the inhabitants and their\\ndomestic history, gives counsel to the old folks\\nin their business matters, and the young folks", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0140.jp2"}, "141": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 129\\nin their love affairs, and enjoys the proud satis-\\nfaction of being a great man in a little world.\\nHe is the dispenser, too, of the squire s\\ncharity, which is bounteous; and, to do Mas-\\nter Simon justice, he performs this part of his\\nfunctions with great alacrity. Indeed I have\\nbeen entertained with the mixture of bustle,\\nimportance, and kindheartedness which he\\ndisplays. He is of too vivacious a tempera-\\nment to comfort the afflicted by sitting down\\nmoping and whining and blowing noses in\\nconcert; but goes whisking about like a spar-\\nrow, chirping consolation into every hole and\\ncorner of the village. I have seen an old\\nwoman, in a red cloak, hold him for half an\\nhour together with some long phthisical tale\\nof distress, which Master Simon listened to\\nwith many a bob of the head, smack of his\\ndog-whip, and other symptoms of impatience,\\nthough he afterwards made a most faithful\\nand circumstantial report of the case to the\\nsquire. I have watched him, too, during one\\nof his pop visits into the cottage of a super-\\nannuated villager, who is a pensioner of the\\nsquire, when he fidgeted about the room with-\\nout sitting down, made many excellent off-\\nhand reflections with the old invalid, who was\\npropped up in his chair, about the shortness\\nof life, the certainty of death, and the neces-\\nsity of preparing for that awful change\\nquoted several texts of Scripture very incor-\\nrectly, but much to the edification of the cot-\\ntager s wife; and on coming out pinched the\\ndaughter s rosy cheek, and wondered what was\\n9 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0141.jp2"}, "142": {"fulltext": "130 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nin the young men, that such a pretty face did\\nnot get a husband.\\nHe has also his cabinet councillors in the vil-\\nlage, with whom he is very busy just now,\\npreparing for the May-Day ceremonies.\\nAmong these is the village tailor, a pale-faced\\nfellow, that plays the clarionet in the church\\nchoir; and, being a great musical genius, has\\nfrequent meetings of the band at his house,\\nwhere they make night hideous by their\\nconcerts. He is, in consequence, high in favor\\nwith Master Simon; and, through his influence,\\nhas the making, or rather marring, of all the\\nliveries of the Hall; which generally look as\\nthough they had been cut out by one of those\\nscientific tailors of the Flying Island of\\nLaputa, who took measure of their customers\\nwith a quadrant. The tailor, in fact, might\\nrise to be one of the monied men of the vil-\\nlage, was he not rather too prone to gossip,\\nand keep holidays, and give concerts, and blow\\nall his substance, real and personal, through\\nhis clarionet, which literally keeps him poor\\nboth in body and estate. He has for the pres-\\nent thrown by all his regular work, and\\nsuffered the breeches of the village to go un-\\nmade and unmended, while he is occupied in\\nmaking garlands of parti-colored rags, in imi-\\ntation of flowers, for the decoration of the\\nMay-Pole.\\nAnother of Master Simon s councillors is the\\napothecary, a short, and rather fat man, with\\na pair of prominent eyes, that diverge like\\nthose of a lobster. He is the village wise", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0142.jp2"}, "143": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 131\\nman very sententious and full of profound\\nremarks on shallow subjects. Master Simon\\noften quotes his sayings, and mentions him as\\nrather an extraordinary man and even con-\\nsults him occasionally in desperate cases of the\\ndogs and horses. Indeed he seems to have\\nbeen overwhelmed by the apothecary s philos-\\nophy, which is exactly one observation deep,\\nconsisting of indisputable maxims, such as\\nmay be gathered from the mottoes of tobacco\\nboxes. I had a specimen of his philosophy in\\nmy very first conversation with him; in the\\ncourse of which he observed, with great solem-\\nnity and emphasis, that **man is a compound\\nof wisdom and folly; upon which Master\\nSimon, who had hold of my arm, pressed very\\nhard upon it, and whispered in my ear,\\nThat s a devilish shrewd remark!", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0143.jp2"}, "144": {"fulltext": "132 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE SCHOOLMASTER.\\nThere will no mosse stick to the stone of Sisiphus, no\\ngrasse hang on the heels of Mercury, no butter\\ncleave on the bread of s traveller. For as the eagle\\nat every flight loseth a feather, v/hich maketh her\\nbauld in her age, so the traveller in every country\\nloseth some fleece, which maketh him a beggar in\\nhis youth, by buying that for a pound which he\\ncannot sell again for a penny repentance.\\nLilly s Euphues.\\nAmong the worthies of the village, that en-\\njoy the peculiar confidence of Master Simon,\\nis one who has struck my fancy so much that I\\nhave thought him worthy of a separate notice.\\nIt is Slingsby, the schoolmaster, a thin,\\nelderly man, rather threadbare and slovenly,\\nsomewhat indolent in manner, and with an\\neasy, good-humored look, not often met with\\nin his craft. I have been interested in his\\nfavor by a few anecdotes which I have picked\\nup concerning him.\\nHe is a native of the village, and was a con-\\ntemporary and playmate of Ready-Money Jack\\nin the days of their boyhood. Indeed, they\\ncarried on a kind of league of mutual good\\noffices. Slingsby was rather puny, and withal\\nsomewhat of a coward, but very apt at his\\nlearning; Jack, on the contrary, was a bully\\nboy out of doors, but a sad laggard at his\\nbooks. Slingsby helped Jack, therefore, to all", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0144.jp2"}, "145": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 133\\nhis lessons: Jack fought all Slingsby s battles;\\nand they were inseparable friends. This\\nmutual kindne,ss continued even after they left\\nschool, notwithstanding the dissimilarity of\\ntheir characters. Jack took to ploughing and\\nreaping, and prepared himself to till his pater-\\nnal acres while the other loitered negligently\\non in the path of learning, until he penetrated\\neven into the confines of Latin and mathe-\\nmatics.\\nIn an unlucky hour, however, he took to\\nreading voyages and travels, and was smitten\\nwith a desire to see the world. This desire\\nincreased upon him as he grew up; so, early\\none bright, sunny morning, he put all his\\neffects in a knapsack, slung it on his back, took\\nstaff in hand, and called in his way to take\\nleave of his early schoolmate. Jack was just\\ngoing out with the plough the friends shook\\nhands over the farm-house gate; Jack drove\\nhis team afield, and Slingsby whistled Over\\nthe hills, and far away, and sallied forth\\ngayly to seek his fortune.\\nYears and years passed by, and young Tom\\nSlingsby was forgotten; when, one mellow\\nSunday afternoon in autumn, a thin man,\\nsomewhat advanced in life, with a coat out at\\nelbows, a pair of old nankeen gaiters, and a\\nfew things tied in a handkerchief and slung\\non the end of a stick, was seen loitering\\nthrough the village. He appeared to regard\\nseveral houses attentively, to peer into the\\nwindows that were open, to eye the villagers\\nwistfully as they returned from church, and", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0145.jp2"}, "146": {"fulltext": "134 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthen to pass some time in the churchyard,\\nreading the tombstones.\\nAt length he found his way to the farm-\\nhouse of Ready- Money Jack, but paused ere\\nhe attempted the wicket; contemplating the\\npicture of substantial independence before\\nhim. In the porch of the house sat Ready-\\nMoney Jack, in his Sunday dress, with his hat\\nupon his head, his pipe in his mouth, and his\\ntankard before him, the monarch of all he sur-\\nveyed. Beside him lay his fat house-dog.\\nThe varied sounds of poultry were heard from\\nthe well-stocked farm-yard the bees hummed\\nfrom their hives in the garden; the cattle\\nlowed in the rich meadow, while the crammed\\nbarns and ample stacks bore proof of an abun-\\ndant harvest.\\nThe stranger opened the gate and advanced\\ndubiously towards the house. The mastiff\\ngrowled at the sight of the suspicious-looking\\nintruder, but was immediately silenced by his\\nmaster, who, taking his pipe from his mouth,\\nawaited with inquiring aspect the address of\\nthis equivocal personage. The stranger eyed\\nold Jack for a moment, so portly in his dimen-\\nsions, and decked out in gorgeous apparel;\\nthen cast a glance upon his own threadbare\\nand starveling condition, and the scanty bun-\\ndle which he held in his hand then giving his\\nshrunk waistcoat a twitch to make it meet his\\nreceding waistband and casting another look,\\nhalf sad, half humorous at the sturdy yeo-\\nman, I suppose, said he, Mr. Tibbets, you\\nhave forgot old times and old playmates?", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0146.jp2"}, "147": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 135\\nThe latter gazed at him with scrutinizing\\nlook, but acknowledged that he had no recol-\\nlection of him.\\nLike enough, like enough, said the\\nstranger; everybody seems to have forgotten\\npoor Slingsby!\\nWhy, no sure! it can t be Tom Slingsby?\\nYes, but it is, though! replied the\\nstranger, shaking his head.\\nReady-Money Jack was on his feet in a\\ntwinkhng; thrust out his hand, gave his\\nancient crony the gripe of a giant, and slap-\\nping the other hand on a bench, Sit down\\nthere, cried he, Tom Slingsby!\\nA long conversation ensued about old times,\\nwhile Slingsby was regaled with the best cheer\\nthat the farm-house afforded; for he was\\nhungry as well as wayworn, and had the keen\\nappetite of a poor pedestrian. The early play-\\nmates then talked over the subsequent lives\\nand adventures. Jack had but little to relate,\\nand was never good at a long story. A pros-\\nperous life, passed at home, has little incident\\nfor narrative; it is only poor devils, that are\\ntossed about the world, that are the true\\nheroes of story. Jack had stuck by the pater-\\nnal farm, followed the same plough that his\\nforefathers had driven, and had waxed richer\\njand richer as he grew older. As to Tom\\nslingsby, he was an exemplification of the old\\nproverb, A rolling stone gathers no moss.\\nHe had sought his fortune about the world,\\nwithout ever finding it, being a thing\\noften\u00c2\u00aber found at home than abroad. He had", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0147.jp2"}, "148": {"fulltext": "136 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nbeen in all kinds of situations, and had learned\\na dozen different modes of making a living but\\nhad found his way back to his native village\\nrather poorer than when he left it, his knap-\\nsack having dwindled down to a scanty bundle.\\nAs luck wou M have it, the squire was pass-\\ning by the farm-house that very evening, and\\ncalled there, as is often his custom. He found\\nthe two schoolmates all gossiping in the porch,\\nand, according to the good old Scottish song,\\ntaking a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang\\nsyne. The squire was struck by the contrast\\nin appearance and fortunes of these early\\nplaymates. Ready-Money Jack, seated in\\nlordly state, surrounded by the good things of\\nthis life, with golden guineas hanging to his\\nvery watch chain, and the poor pilgrim Slings-\\nby, thin as a weasel, with all his worldly\\neffects, his bundle, hat, and walking-staff,\\nlying on the ground beside him.\\nThe good squire s heart warmed towards the\\nluckless cosmopolite, for he is a little prone to\\nlike such half-vagrant characters. He cast\\nabout in his mind how he should contrive once\\nmore to anchor Slingsby in his native village.\\nHonest Jack had already offered him a present\\nshelter under his roof, in spite of the hints,\\nand winks, and half remonstrances of the\\nshrewd Dame Tibbets but how to provide for\\nhis permanent maintenance was the question.\\nLuckily the squire bethought himself that\\nthe village school was without a teacher. A\\nlittle further conversation convinced him that\\nSlingsby was as fit for that as for anything", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0148.jp2"}, "149": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 137\\nelse, and in a day or two he was seen swaying\\nthe rod of empire in the very school-house\\nwhere he had often been horsed in the days of\\nhis boyhood.\\nHere he has remained for several years, and\\nbeing honored by the countenance of the\\nsquire, and the fast friendship of Mr. Tibbets,\\nhe has grown into much importance and con-\\nsideration in the village. I am told, however,\\nthat he still shows, now and then, a degree of\\nrestlessness, and a disposition to rove abroad\\nagain, and see a little more of the world; an\\ninclination which seems particularly to haunt\\nhim about spring-time. There is nothing so\\ndifficult to conquer as the vagrant humor,\\nwhen once it has been fully indulged.\\nSince I have heard these anecdotes of poor\\nSlingsby, I have more than once mused upon\\nthe picture presented by him and his school-\\nmate Ready-Money Jack, on their coming to-\\ngether after so long a separation. It is diffi-\\ncult to determine between lots in life, where\\neach is attended with its peculiar discontents.\\nHe who never leaves his home repines at his\\nmonotonous existence, and envies the trav-\\neler, whose life is a constant tissue of wonder\\nand adventure, while he who is tossed about\\nthe world, looks back with many a sigh to the\\nsafe and quiet shore which he has abandoned.\\nI cannot help thinking, however, that the man\\nthat stays at home, and cultivates the comforts\\nand pleasures daily springing up around him,\\nstands the best chance for happiness. There\\nis nothing so fascinating to a young mind as", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0149.jp2"}, "150": {"fulltext": "138 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthe idea of traveling; and there is very\\nwitchcraft in the old phrase found in\\nevery nursery tale, of going to seek one s\\nfortune. A continual change of place,\\nand change of object, promises a con-\\ntinual succession of adventure and grati-\\nfication of curiosity. But there is a limit\\nto all our enjoyments, and every desire bears\\nits death in its very gratification. Curiosity\\nlanguishes under repeated stimulants, novel-\\nties cease to excite surprise, until at length\\nwe cannot wonder even at a miracle. He who\\nhas sallied forth into the world, like poor\\nSlingsby, full of sunny anticipations, finds too\\nsoon how different the distant scene becomes\\nwhen visited. The smooth place roughens as\\nhe approaches the wild place becomes tame\\nand barren the fairy tints that beguiled him\\non still fly to the distant hill, or gather upon the\\nland he has left behind, and every part of the\\nlandscape seems greener than the spot he\\nstands on.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0150.jp2"}, "151": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 139\\nTHE SCHOOL.\\nBut to come down from great men and higher matters\\nto my little children and poor school-house again I\\nwill, God willing, go forward orderly, as I proposed,\\nto instruct children and young men both for learning\\nand manners. Roger Ascham.\\nHaving given the reader a slight sketch of\\nthe village schoolmaster, he may be curious to\\nlearn something concerning his school. As\\nthe squire takes much interest in the educa-\\ntion of the neighboring children, he put into\\nthe hands of the teacher, on first installing\\nhim in office, a copy of Roger Ascham s\\nSchoolmaster, and advised him, moreover, to\\ncon over that portion of old Peachum which\\ntreats of the duty of masters, and which con-\\ndemns the favorite method of making boys\\nwise by flagellation.\\nHe exhorted Slingsby not to break down or\\ndepress the free spirit of the boys by harsh-\\nness and slavish fear, but to lead them freely\\nand joyously on in the path of knowledge,\\nmaking it pleasant and desirable in their eyes.\\nHe wished to see the youth trained up in the\\nmanners and habitudes of the peasantry of\\nthe good old times, and thus lay the foundation\\nfor the accomplishment of his favorite object,\\nthe revival of old English customs and charac-\\nter. He recommended that all the ancient", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0151.jp2"}, "152": {"fulltext": "\u00e2\u0080\u00a2140 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nholidays should be observed, and that the\\nsports of the boys, in their hours of play,\\nshould be regulated according to the standard\\nauthorities laid down by Strutt; a copy of\\nwhose invaluable work, decorated with plates,\\nwas deposited in the schoolhouse. Above\\nall, he exhorted the pedagogue to abstain from\\nthe use of birch, an instrument of instruction\\nwhich the good squire regards with abhorrence,\\nas fit only for the coercion of brute natures,\\nthat cannot be reasoned with.\\nMr. Slingsby has followed the squire s in-\\nstructions to the best of his disposition and\\nabilities. He never flogs the boys, because he\\nis too easy, good-humored a creature to inflict\\npain on a worm. He is bountiful in holidays,\\nbecause he loves holidays himself, and has a\\nsympathy with the urchins impatience of con-\\nfinement, from having divers times experienced\\nits irksomeness during the time that he was\\nseeing the world. As to sports and pastimes,\\nthe boys are faithfully exercised in all that are\\non record, quoits, races, prison bars, tipcat,\\ntrap-ball, bandy-ball, wrestling, leaping, and\\nwhat not. The only misfortune is, that having\\nbanished the birch, honest Slingsby has not\\nstudied Roger Ascham sufficiently to find out\\na substitute, or rather he has not the manage-\\nment in his nature to apply one his school,\\ntherefore, though one of the happiest, is one\\nof the most unruly in the country; and never\\nv/as a pedagogue more liked, or less heeded,\\nby his disciples than Slingsby.\\nKe has lately taken a coadjutor worthy of", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0152.jp2"}, "153": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 141\\nhimself, being another stray sheep that has\\nreturned to the village fold. This is no other\\nthan the son of the musical tailor, who had\\nbestowed some cost upon his education, hoping\\nto see him one day arrive at the dignity of an\\nexciseman, or at least of a parish clerk. The\\nlad grew up, however, as idle and musical as\\nhis father and, being captivated by the drum\\nand fife of a recruiting party, he followed\\nthem off to the army. He returned not long\\nsince, out of money, and out at elbow, the\\nprodigal son of the village. He remained for\\nsome time lounging about the place in half\\ntattered soldier s dress, with a foraging cap on\\none side of his head, jerking stones across the\\nbrook, or loitering about the tavern door, a\\nburthen to his father, and regarded with great\\ncoldness by all warm householders.\\nSomething, however, drew honest Slingsby\\ntoward the youth. It might be the kindness\\nhe bore to his father, who is one of the school-\\nmaster s greatest cronies; it might be that\\nsecret sympathy, which draws men of vagrant\\npropensities towards each other; for there is\\nsomething truly magnetic in the vagabond\\nfeeling; or it might be, that he remembered\\nthe time when he himself had come back, like\\nthis youngster, a wreck to his native place.\\nAt any rate, whatever the motive, Slingsby\\ndrew towards the youth. They had many\\nconversations in the village tap-room about\\nforeign parts, and the various scenes and\\nplaces they had witnessed during their way-\\nfaring about the world. The more Slingsby", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0153.jp2"}, "154": {"fulltext": "142 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ntalked with him, the more he found him to\\nhis taste, and finding him almost as learned as\\nhimself, he forthwith engaged him as an assist-\\nant or usher in the school.\\nUnder such admirable tuition, the school, as\\nmay be supposed, flourishes apace; and if the\\nscholars do not become versed in all the holi-\\nday accomplishments of the good old times,\\nto the squire s heart s content, it will not be\\nthe fault of their teachers. The prodigal son\\nhas become almost as popular among the boys\\nas the pedagogue himself. His instructions\\nare not limited to school hours; and having\\ninherited the musical taste and talents of his\\nfather, he has bitten the whole school with the\\nmania. He is a great hand at beating a drum,\\nwhich is often heard rumbling from the rear\\nof the school-house. He is teaching half the\\nboys of the village, also, to play the fife, and\\nthe pandean pipes; and they weary the whole\\nneighborhood with their vague piping, as they\\nsit perched on stiles, or loitering about the\\nbarn-doors in the evening. Among the other\\nexercises of the school, also, he has introduced\\nthe ancient art of archery, one of the squire s\\nfavorite themes, with such success, that the\\nwhipsters roam in truant bands about the\\nneighborhood, practicing with their bows and\\narrows upon the birds of the air, and the\\nbeasts of the field; and not unfrequently mak-\\ning a foray into the squire s domains, to the\\ngreat indignation of the gamekeepers. In a\\nword, so completely are the ancient English\\ncustoms and habits cultivated at this school,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0154.jp2"}, "155": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 143\\nthat I should not be surprised if the squire\\nshould live to see one of his poetic visions\\nrealized, and a brood reared up, worthy suc-\\ncessors to Robin Hood and his merry gang of\\noutlaws.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0155.jp2"}, "156": {"fulltext": "144 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nA VILLAGE POLITICIAN.\\nI am a rogue if I do not think I was designed for the\\nhelm of state I am so full of nimble stratagems, that\\nI should have ordered affairs, and carried it against\\nthe stream of a faction, with as much ease as a skip-\\nper would laver against the wind.\\nThe Goblins.\\nIn one of my visits to the village with Mas-\\nter Simon, he proposed that we should stop at\\nthe inn, which he wished to show me, as a\\nspecimen of a real country inn, the head-\\nquarters of village gossip. I had remarked\\nit before, in my perambulations about the\\nplace. It was a deep, old fashioned porch,\\nleading into a large hall, which serves for tap-\\nroom and travelers room having a wide fire-\\nplace, with high -backed settles on each side,\\nwhere the wise men of the village gossip over\\ntheir ale, and hold their sessions during the\\nlong winter evenings. The landlord is a\u00c2\u00bbn\\neasy, indolent fellow, shaped a little like one\\nof his own beer barrels, and is apt to stand\\ngossiping at his door, with his wig on one side,\\nand his hands in his pockets, whilst his wife\\nand daughter attend to customers. His wife,\\nhowever, is fully competent to manage the\\nestablishment; and, indeed, from long habi-\\ntude, rules over all the frequenters of the tap-\\nroom as completely as if they were her depen-\\ndents instead of her patrons. Not a veteran", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0156.jp2"}, "157": {"fulltext": "He will seize upon it with avidity. Page 153.\\nBracebridge Hall.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0157.jp2"}, "158": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0158.jp2"}, "159": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 145\\nale-bibber but pays homage to her, having, no\\ndoubt, been often in her arrears. I have\\nalready hinted that she is on very good terms\\nwith Ready-Money Jack. He was a sweet-\\nheart of hers in early life, and has always\\ncountenanced the tavern on her account.\\nIndeed, he is quite the cock of the walk at\\nthe tap-room.\\nAs we approached the inn, we heard some\\none talking with great volubility, and distin-\\nguished the ominous words taxes, poor s\\nrates, and agricultural distress. It proved\\nto be a thin, loquacious fellow, who had\\npenned the landlord up in one corner of the\\nporch, with his hands in his pockets, as usual,\\nlistening with an air of the most vacant acqui-\\nescence.\\nThe sight seemed to have a curious effect on\\nMaster Simon, as he squeezed my arm, and,\\naltering his course, sheered wide of the porch\\nas though he had not had any idea of entering.\\nThis evident evasion induced me to notice the\\norator more particularly. He was meagre, but\\nactive in his make, with a long, pale, bilious\\nface a black, ill-shaven beard, a feverish eye,\\nand a hat sharpened up at the sides into a most\\npragmatical shape. He had a newspaper in his\\nhand, and seemed to be commenting on its\\ncontents, to the thorough conviction of mine\\nhost.\\nAt sight of Master Simon the landlord was\\nevidently a little flurried, and began to rub\\nhis hands, edge away from his corner, and\\nmake several profound publican bows; while\\n10 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0159.jp2"}, "160": {"fulltext": "146 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthe orator took no other notice of my compan-\\nion than to talk rather louder than before, and\\nwith, as I thought, something of an air of\\ndefiance. Master Simon, however, as I have\\nbefore said, sheered off from the porch, and\\npassed on, pressing my arm within his, and\\nwhispering as we got by, in a tone of awe and\\nhorror, That s a radical! he reads Cobbett!\\nI endeavored to get a more particular account\\nof him from my companion, but he seemed\\nunwilling even to talk about him, answering\\nonly in general terms, that he was a cursed\\nbusy fellow, that had a confounded trick of\\ntalking, and was apt to bother one about the\\nnational debt, and such nonsense; from\\nwhich I suspected that Master Simon had been\\nrendered wary of him by some accidental\\nencounter on the field of argument for these\\nradicals are continually roving about in quest\\nof wordy warfare, and never so happy as when\\nthey can tilt a gentleman logician out of his\\nsaddle.\\nOn subsequent inquiry my suspicions have\\nbeen confirmed; I find the radical has but\\nrecently found his way into the village, where\\nhe threatens to commit fearful devastations\\nwith his doctrines. He has already made two\\nor three complete converts, or new lights;\\nhas shaken the faith of several others; and\\nhas grievously puzzled the brains of many of\\nthe oldest villagers, who had never thought\\nabout politics, or scarce anything else, during\\ntheir whole lives.\\nHe is lean and meagre from the constant", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0160.jp2"}, "161": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 147\\nrestlessness of mind and body worrying about\\nwith newspapers and pamphlets in his pockets,\\nwhich he is ready to pull out on all occasions.\\nHe has shocked several of the staunchest villa-\\ngers by talking lightly of the squire and his\\nfamily; and hinting that it would be better\\nthe park should be cut up into small farms\\nand kitchen gardens, or feed good mutton\\ninstead of worthless deer.\\nHe is a great thorn in the side of the squire,\\nwho is sadly afraid that he will introduce pol-\\nitics into the village, and turn it into an un-\\nhappy, thinking community. He is a still\\ngreater grievance to Master Simon, who has\\nhitherto been able to sway the political opin-\\nions of the place, without much cost of learn-\\ning or logic but has been very much puzzled\\nof late to weed out the doubts and heresies\\nalready sworn by this champion of reform.\\nIndeed, the latter has taken complete com-\\nmand at the tap-room of the tavern, not so\\nmuch because he has convinced, as because\\nhe has out-talked all the established ora-\\ncles. The apothecary, with all his philos-\\nophy, was as naught before him. He has\\nconvinced and converted the landlord at\\nleast a dozen times; who, however, is liable\\nto be convinced and converted the other way\\nby the next person with whom he talks. It is\\ntrue the radical has a violent antagonist in\\nthe landlady, who is vehemently loyal, and\\nthoroughly devoted to the king, Master Simon,\\nand the squire. She now and then comes out\\nupon the reformer with all the fierceness of a", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0161.jp2"}, "162": {"fulltext": "148 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ncat-o -mountain, and does not spare her own\\nsoft-headed husband, for listening to what she\\nterms such low-lived politics. What makes\\nthe good woman the more violent, is the per-\\nfect coolness with which the radical listens to\\nher attacks, drawing his face up into a provok-\\ning supercilious smile and when she has talked\\nherself out of breath, quietly asking her for\\na taste of her home-brewed.\\nThe only person who is in any way a match\\nfor this redoubtable politician is Ready- Money\\nJack Tibbets, who maintains his stand in the\\ntap-room, in defiance of the radical and all his\\nworks. Jack is one of the most loyal men in\\nthe country, without being able to reason\\nabout the matter. He has that admirable\\nquality for a tough arguer, also, that he never\\nknows when he is beat. He has half-a-dozen\\nold maxims, which he advances on all occa-\\nsions, and though his antagonist may overturn\\nthem never so often, yet he always brings\\nthem anew into the field. He is like the rob-\\nber in Ariosto, who, though his head might\\nbe cut off half a hundred times, yet whipped\\nit on his shoulders again in a twinkling, and\\nreturned as sound a man as ever to the charge.\\nWhatever does not square with Jack s simple\\nand obvious creed, he sets down for French\\npolitics; for, notwithstanding the peace, he\\ncannot be persuaded that the French are not\\nstill laying plots to ruin the nation, and to get\\nhold of the Bank of England. The radical\\nattempted to overwhelm him one day by a long\\npassage from a newspaper; but Jacks neither", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0162.jp2"}, "163": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 149\\nreads nor believes on newspapers. In reply-\\nhe gave him on of the stanzas which he has\\nby heart from his favorite and indeed only\\nauthor, old Tusser, and which he calls his\\nGolden Rules:\\nLeave Princes affairs undescanted on.\\nAnd tend to such doings as stand thee upon\\nFear God, and offend not the King nor his laws,\\nAnd keep thyself out of the magistrate s claws.\\nWhen Tibbets had pronounced this with\\ngreat emphasis, he pulled out a well-filled\\nleathern purse, took out a handful of gold and\\nsilver, paid his score at the bar with great\\npunctuality, returned his money, piece by\\npiece, into his purse, his purse into his pocket,\\nwhich he buttoned up, and then giving his\\ncudgel a stout thump upon the floor, and bid-\\nding the radical Good-morning, sir! with\\nthe tone of a man who conceives he has com-\\npletely done for his antagonist, he walked with\\nlion-like gravity out of the house. Two or\\nthree of Jack s admirers who were present, and\\nhad been afraid to take the field themselves,\\nlooked upon this as a perfect triumph, and\\nwinked at each other when the radical s back\\nwas turned. Ay, ay! said mine host, as\\nsoon as the radical was out of hearing, let old\\nJack alone; I ll warrant he ll give him his\\nown!", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0163.jp2"}, "164": {"fulltext": "150 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE ROOKERY.\\nBut cawing rooks, and kites that swim sublime\\nI In still repeated circles, screaming loud,\\nThe jay, the pie, and e en the boding owl,\\nThat hails the rising moon, have charms for me.\\nCowper.\\nIn a grove of tall oaks and beeches, that\\ncrowns a terrace walk, just on the skirts of\\nthe garden^ is an ancient rookery, which is one\\nof the most important provinces in the squire s\\nrural domains. The old gentleman sets great\\nstore by his rooks, and will not suffer one of\\nthem to be killed, in consequence of which they\\nhave increased amazingly; the tree tops are\\nloaded with their nests they have encroached\\nupon the great avenue, and have even estab-\\nlished, in times long past, a colony among the\\nelms and pines of the churchyard, which, like\\nother distant colonies, has already thrown off\\nallegiance to the mother-country.\\nThe rooks are looked upon by the squire as\\na very ancient and honorable line of gentry,\\nhighly aristocratical in their notions, fond of\\nplace, and attached to church and state; as\\ntheir building so loftily, keeping about\\nchurches and cathedrals, and in the venerable\\ngroves of old castles and manor-houses, suffi-\\nciently manifests. The good opinion thus\\nexpressed by the squire put me upon observing", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0164.jp2"}, "165": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 151\\nmore narrowly these very respectable birds;\\nfor I confess, to my shame, I had been apt to\\nconfound them with their cousins-german the\\ncrows, to whom, at the first glance, they bear\\nso great a family resemblance. Nothing, it\\nseems, could be more unjust or injurious than\\nsuch a mistake. The rooks and crows are,\\namong the feathered tribes, what the Span-\\niards and Portuguese are among nations, the\\nleast loving, in consequence of their neighbor-\\nhood and similarity. The rooks are old-estab-\\nlished housekeepers, high-minded gentlefolk\\nthat have had their hereditary abodes time out\\nof mind; but as to the poor crows, they are a\\nkind of vagabond, predatory, gyps}^ race, rov-\\ning about the country, without any settled\\nhome; their hands are against everybody,\\nand everybody s against them, and they are\\ngibbeted in every cornfield. Master Simon\\nassures me that a female rook that should so\\nfar forget herself as to consort with a crow,\\nwould inevitably be disinherited, and indeed\\nwould be totally discarded by all her genteel\\nacquaintance.\\nThe squire is very watchful over the inter-\\nests and concerns of his sable neighbors. As\\nto Master Simon, he even pretends to know\\nmany of them by sight, and to have given\\nnames to them he points out several which he\\nsays are old heads of families, and compares\\nthem to worthy old citizens, beforehand in the\\nworld, that wear cocked hats and silver buckles\\nin their shoes. Notwithstanding the protect-\\ning benevolence of the squire, and their being", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0165.jp2"}, "166": {"fulltext": "162 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nresidents in his empire, they seem to acknowl-\\nedge no allegiance, and to hold no intercourse\\nor intimacy. Their airy tenements are built\\nalmost out of the reach of gunshot and, not-\\nwithstanding their vicinity to the Hall, they\\nmaintain a most reserved and distrustful shy-\\nness of mankind.\\nThere is one season of the year, however,\\nwhich brings all birds in a manner to a level,\\nand tames the pride of the loftiest highflyer;\\nwhich is the season of building their nests.\\nThis takes place early in the spring, when the\\nforest trees begin to show their buds the long\\nwithy ends of the branches turn green; when\\nthe wild strawberry, and other herbage of the\\nsheltered woodlands, put forth their tender\\nand tinted leaves, and the daisy and the prim-\\nrose peep from under the hedges. At this\\ntime there is a general bustle among the feath-\\nered tribes an incessant fluttering about, and\\na cheerful chirping, indicative, like the germ-\\nination of the vegetable world, of the reviving\\nlife and fecundity of the year.\\nIt is then that the rooks forget their usual\\nstateliness, and their shy and lofty habits.\\nInstead of keeping up in the high regions of\\nthe air, swinging on the breezy tree-tops, and\\nlooking down with sovereign contempt upon\\nthe humble crawlers upon earth, they are fain\\nto throw off for a time the dignity of a gentle-\\nman, and to come down to the ground, and put\\non the painstaking and industrious character of\\na laborer. They now lose their natural shy-\\nness, become fearless and familiar, and", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0166.jp2"}, "167": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 153\\nmay be seen flying about in all directions,\\nwith an air of great assiduity, in search of\\nbuilding materials. Every now and then your\\npath will be crossed by one of these busy old\\ngentlemen, worrying about with awkward gait,\\nas if troubled with the gout or with corns on\\nhis toes, casting about many a prying look,\\nturning down first one eye, then the other, in\\nearnest consideration upon every straw he\\nmeets with, until espying some mighty twig,\\nlarge enough to make a rafter for his air-castle,\\nhe will seize upon it with avidity, and hurry\\naway with it to the tree-top; fearing, appar-\\nently, lest you should dispute with him the\\ninvaluable prize.\\nLike other castle-builders, these airy archi-\\ntects seem rather fanciful in the materials with\\nwhich they build, and to like those most which\\ncome from a distance. Thus, though there\\nare abundance of dry twigs on the surrounding\\ntrees, yet they never think of making use of\\nthem, but go foraging in distant lands, and\\ncome sailing home, one by one, from the ends\\nof the earth, each bearing in his bill some\\nprecious piece of timber.\\nNor must I avoid mentioning what, I grieve\\nto say, rather derogates from the grave and\\nhonorable character of these ancient gentle-\\nfolk, that, during the architectural season,\\nthey are subject to great dissentions among\\nthemselves; that they make no scruple to\\ndefraud and plunder each other; and that\\nsometimes the rookery is a scene of hideous\\nbrawl and commotion, in consequence of some", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0167.jp2"}, "168": {"fulltext": "154 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ndelinquency of the kind. One of the partners\\ngenerally remains on the nest to guard it from\\ndepredation; and I have seen severe contests\\nwhen some sly neighbor has endeavored to filch\\naway a tempting rafter that has captivated his\\neye. As I am not willing to admit any sus-\\npicion hastily that should throw a stigma on\\nthe general character of so worshipful a people,\\nI am inclined to think that these larcenies are\\nvery much discountenanced by the higher\\nclasses, and even rigorously punished by those\\nin authority; for I have now and then seen a\\nwhole gang of rooks fall upon the nest of some\\nindividual, pull it all to pieces, carry off the\\nspoils, and even buffet the luckless proprietor.\\nI have concluded this to be some signal pun-\\nishment inflicted upon him by the officers of\\nthe police, for some pilfering misdemeanor;\\nor, perhaps, that it was a crew of bailiffs carry-\\ning an execution into his house.\\nI have been amused with another of their\\nmovements during the building season. The\\nsteward has suffered a considerable number of\\nsheep to graze on a lawn near the house, some-\\nwhat to the annoyance of the squire, who thinks\\nthis an innovation on the dignity of a park,\\nwhich ought to be devoted to deer only. Be\\nthis as it may, there is a green knoll, not far\\nfrom the drawing-room window, where the\\newes and lambs are accustomed to assemble\\ntowards evening for the benefit of the setting\\nsun. No sooner were the} gathered here, at\\nthe time when these politic birds were build-\\ning, than a stately old rook, who. Master", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0168.jp2"}, "169": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 155\\nSimon assured me was the chief magistrate of\\nthis community, would settle down upon the\\nhead of one of the ewes, who, seeming con-\\nscious of this condenscension, would desist from\\ngrazing, and stand fixed in motionless rever-\\nence of her august brethren the rest of the\\nrookery would then come wheeling down, in\\nimitation of their leader, until every ewe had\\ntwo or three of them cawing, and fluttering,\\nand battling upon her back. Whether they\\nrequited the submission of the sheep by levy-\\ning a contribution upon their fleece for the\\nbenefit of the rookery, I am not certain, though\\nI presume they followed the usual custom of\\nprotecting powers.\\nThe latter part of May is a time of great\\ntribulation among the rookeries, when the\\nyoung are just able to leave the nests, and bal-\\nance themselves on the neighboring branches.\\nNow comes on the season of rook shooting:\\na terrible slaughter of the innocents. The\\nsquire, of course, prohibits all invasion of the\\nkind on his territories; but I am told that a\\nlamentable havoc takes place in the colony\\nabout the old church. Upon this devoted com-\\nmonwealth the village charges with all its\\nchivalry. Every idle wight that is lucky\\nenough to possess an old gun or a blunderbuss,\\ntogether with all the archery of Slingsby s\\nschool, take the field on the occasion. In vain\\ndoes the little parson interfere, or remonstrate\\nin angry tones, from his study window that\\nlooks into the churchyard; there is a continual\\npopping from morning to night. Being no", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0169.jp2"}, "170": {"fulltext": "156 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ngreat marksmen, their shots are not often\\neffective but every now and then a great shout\\nfrom the besieging army of bumpkins makes\\nknown the downfall of some unlucky squab\\nrook, which comes to the ground with the\\nemphasis of a squashed apple-dumpling.\\nNor is the rookery entirely free from othet\\ntroubles and disasters. In so aristocratical\\nand lofty-minded a community, which boasts\\nso much ancient blood and hereditary pride, it\\nis natural to suppose that questions of etiquette\\nwill sometimes arise, and affairs of honor\\nensue. In fact, this is very often the case\\nbitter quarrels break out between individuals,\\nwhich produce sad scuffiings on the tree tops,\\nand I have more than once seen a regular duel\\ntake place between two doughty heroes of the\\nrookery. Their field of battle is generally the\\nair; and their contest is managed in the most\\nscientific and elegant manner wheeling round\\nand round each other, and towering higher and\\nhigher to get the vantage ground, until they\\nsometimes disappear in the clouds before the\\ncombat is determined.\\nThey have also fierce combats now and then\\nwith an invading hawk, and will drive him off\\nfrom their territories by 2^ posse comitatus. They\\nare also extremely tenacious of their domains,\\nand will suffer no other bird to inhabit the\\ngrove or its vicinity. There was a very ancient\\nand respectable old bachelor owl that had long\\nhad his lodgings in a corner of the grove, but\\nhas been fairly ejected by the rooks, and has\\nretired, disgusted with the world, to a neigh-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0170.jp2"}, "171": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 157\\nboring wood, where he leads the life of a her-\\nmit, and makes nightly complaints of his ill-\\ntreatment.\\nThe hootings of this unhappy gentleman may\\ngenerally be heard in the still evenings, when\\nthe rooks are all at rest and I have often lis-\\ntened to them of a moonlight night, with a\\nkind of mysterious gratification. This gray-\\nbearded misanthrope of course is highly\\nrespected by the squire, but the servants have\\nsuperstitious notions about him and it would\\nbe difficult to get the dariymaid to venture\\nafter dark near to the wood which he inhabits.\\nBesides the private quarrels of the rooks,\\nthere are other misfortunes to which they are\\nliable, and which often bring distress into the\\nmost respectable families of the rookery.\\nHaving the true baronial spirit of the good old\\nfeudal times, they are apt now and then to\\nissue forth from their castles on a foray, and\\nto lay the plebeian fields of the neighboring\\ncountry under contribution in the course of\\nwhich chivalrous expeditions they now and then\\nget a shot from the rusty artillery of some\\nrefractory farmer. Occasionally, too, while\\nthey are quietly taking the air beyond the park\\nboundaries, they have the incaution to come\\nwithin the reach of the truant bowmen of\\nSlingsby s school, and receive a flight shot from\\nsome unlucky urchin s arrow. In such case\\nthe wounded adventurer will sometimes have\\njust strength enough to bring himself home,\\nand giving up the ghost at the rookery, will\\nhang dangling all abroad on a bough like a", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0171.jp2"}, "172": {"fulltext": "158 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthief on a gibbet an awful warning to hk\\nfriends, and an object of great commiseration\\nto the squire. But, maugre all these untoward\\nincidents, the rooks have, upon the whole\\na happy holiday life of it. When their young\\nare reared, and fairly launched upon theii\\nnative element, the air, the cares of the old\\nfolks seem over, and they resume all their aris-\\ntocratical dignity and idleness. I have envied\\nthem the enjoyment which they appear to have\\nin their ethereal heights, sporting with clamor-\\nous exultation about their lofty bowers some-\\ntimes hovering over them, sometimes partially\\nalighting upon the topmost branches, and there\\nbalancing with outstretched wings, and swing-\\ning in the breeze. Sometimes they seem to\\ntake a fashionable drive to the church, and\\namuse themselves by circling in airy rings\\nabout its spire at other times a mere gar-\\nrison is left at home to mount guard in their\\nstronghold at the grove, while the rest roam\\nabroad to enjoy the fine weather. About sun-\\nset the garrison gives notice of their return\\ntheir faint cawing will be heard from a great\\ndistance, and they will be seen far off like\\na sable cloud, then nearer and nearer,\\nuntil they all come soaring home. Then\\nthey perform several grand circuits in\\nthe jair, over the Hall and garden, wheel-\\ning closer, and closer, until they gradually\\nsettle down upon the grove, when a\\nprodigious cawing takes place, as though they\\nwere relating their day s adventures.\\n1 like at such times to walk about these", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0172.jp2"}, "173": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 159\\ndusky groves, and hear the various sounds of\\nthese airy people roosted so high above me.\\nAs the gloom increases, their conversation\\nsubsides, and they seem to be gradually drop-\\nping asleep but every now and then there is a\\nquerulous note, as if some one was quarreling\\nfor a pillow, or a little more of the blanket.\\nIt is late in the evening before they completely\\nsink to repose, and then their old anchorite\\nneighbor, the owl, begins his lonely hootings\\nfrom his bachelor s hall in the wood.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0173.jp2"}, "174": {"fulltext": "160 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nMAY-DAY.\\nIt is the choice time of the year,\\nFor the violets now appear\\nNow the rose receives its birth,\\nAnd pretty primrose decks the earth.\\nThen to the May-pole come away,\\nFor it is now a holiday.\\nActseon and Diana.\\nAs I was lying in bed this morning, enjoying\\none of those half-dreams, half-reveries, which\\nare so pleasant in the country, when the birds\\nare singing about the window, and the sun-\\nbeams peeping through the curtains, I was\\nroused by the sound of music. On going\\ndownstairs, I found a number of villagers\\ndressed in their holiday clothes, bearing a pole\\nornamented with garlands and ribbons, and\\naccompanied by the village band of music, un-\\nder the direction of the tailor, the pale fellow\\nwho plays on the clarionet. They had all\\nsprigs of hawthorn, or, as it is called, the\\nMay, in their hats, and had brought green\\nbranches and flowers to decorate the Hall door\\nand windows. They have come to give notice\\nthat the May-pole was reared on the green,\\nand to invite the household to witness the\\nsports. The Hall, according to custom, became\\na scene of hurry and delightful confusion. The\\nservants were all agog with May and music", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0174.jp2"}, "175": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 161\\nand there was no keeping either the tongues\\nor the feet of the maids quiet, who were an-\\nticipati ng the sports of the green, \u00e2\u0080\u00a2and the\\nevening dance.\\nI repaired to the village .at an early hour to\\nenjoy the merry-making. The morning was\\npure and sunny, such as a May morning is al-\\nways described. The fields were white with\\ndaisies, the hawthorn was covered with its fra-\\ngrant blossoms, the bee hummed about every\\nbank, and the swallow played high in the air\\nabout the village steeple. It was one of those\\ngenial days when we seem to draw in pleasure\\nwith the very air we breathe, and to feel happy\\nwe know not why. Whoever has felt the\\nworth of worthy man, or has doted on lovely\\nwoman, will, on such a day, call them tenderly\\nto mind, and. feel his heart all alive with long-\\nburied recollections. For thenne, says the\\nexcellent romance of King Arthur, *lovers call\\nageyne to their mynde old gentilnes and old\\nservyse, and many kind dedes that were for-\\ngotten by neglygence.\\nBefore reaching the village, I saw the May-\\npole towering above the cottages, with its gay\\ngarlands and streamers, and heard the sound\\nof music. I found that there had been booths\\nset up near it, for the reception of company;\\nand a bower of green branches and flowers for\\nthe Queen of May, a fresh, rosy-cheeked girl\\nof the village,\\nA band of morris-dancers were capering on\\nthe green in their fantastic dresses, jingling\\nwith hawks bells, with a boy dressed up as\\nII Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0175.jp2"}, "176": {"fulltext": "162 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nMaid Marian, and the attendant fool rattling\\nhis box to collect contributions from the by-\\nstanders. The gypsy women, too, were already\\nplying their mystery in by-corners of the vil-\\nlage, reading the hands of the simple country\\ngirls, and no doubt promising them all good\\nhusbands and tribes of children.\\nThe squire made his appearance in the course\\nof the morning, attended by the parson, and\\nwas received with loud acclamations. He min-\\ngled among the country people throughout the\\nday, giving and receiving pleasure wherever\\nhe went. The amusements of the day were\\nunder the management of Slingsby, the school-\\nmaster, who is not merely lord of misrule in\\nhis school, but master of the revels to the vil-\\nlage. He was bustling about with the per-\\nplexed and anxious air of a man who has the\\noppressive burthen of promoting other peo-\\nple s merriment upon his mind. He had in-\\nvolved himself in a dozen scrapes in conse-\\nquence of a politic intrigue, which, by the by,\\nMaster Simon and the Oxonian were at the\\nbottom of, which had for object the election of\\nthe Queen of May. He had met with violent\\nopposition from a faction of ale-drinkers, who\\nwere in favor of a bouncing barmaid, the\\ndaughter of the innkeeper; but he had been\\ntoo strongly backed not to carry his point,\\nthough it shows that these rural crowns, like\\nall others, are objects of great ambition and\\nheart-burning. I am told that Master Simon\\ntakes great interest, though in an underhand\\nway, in the election of these May-Day Queens,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0176.jp2"}, "177": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 163\\nand that the chaplet is generally secured for\\nsome rustic beauty that has found favor in his\\neyes. In the course of the day there were\\nvarious games of strength and agility on the\\ngreen, at which a knot of village veterans pre-\\nsided, as judges of the lists. Among those I\\nperceived that Ready- Money Jack took the\\nlead, looking with a learned and critical eye\\non the merits of the different candidates; and\\nthough he was very laconic, and sometimes\\nmerely expressed himself by a nod, yet it was\\nevident that his opinions far outweighed those\\nof the most loquacious.\\nYoung Jack Tibbets was the hero of the day,\\nand carried off most of the prizes, though in\\nsome of the feats of agility he was rivaled by\\nthe prodigal son, who appeared much in his\\nelement on this occasion but his most formid-\\nable competitor was the notorious gypsy, the\\nredoubtable Starlight Tom. 1 was rejoiced\\nat having an opportunity of seeing this minion\\nof the moon in broad daylight. I found him\\na tall, swarthy, good-looking fellow, with a\\nlofty air, something like what I have seen in\\nan Indian chieftain and with a certain loung-\\ning, easy, and almost graceful carriage, which\\nI have often remarked in beings of the lazzar-\\noni order, that lead an idle, loitering life, and\\nhave a gentleman-like contempt of labor.\\nMaster Simon and the old general reconnoi-\\ntred the ground together, and indulged a vast\\ndeal of harmless raking among the buxom\\ncountry girls. Master Simon would give some\\nof them a kiss on meeting with them, and", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0177.jp2"}, "178": {"fulltext": "164 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nwould ask after their sisters, for he is ac-\\nquainted with most of the farmers families.\\nSometimes he would whisper, and affect to talk\\nmischievously with them, and, if bantered on\\nthe subject, would turn it off with a laugh,\\nthough it was evident he liked to be suspected\\nof being a gay Lothario amongst them.\\nHe had much to say to the farmers about\\ntheir farms, and seemed to know all their\\nhorses by name. There was an old fellow,\\nwith a round, ruddy face, and a night-cap un-\\nder his hat, the village wit, who took severaj\\noccasions to crack a joke with him in the hear-\\ning of his companions, to whom he would turn\\nand wink hard when Master Simon had passed.\\nThe harmony of the day, however, had\\nnearly at one time been interrupted by the\\nappearance of the radical on the ground, with\\ntwo or three of his disciples. He soon got en-\\ngaged in argument in the very thick of the\\nthrong, above which I could hear his voice,\\nand now and then see his meagre hand, half a\\nmile out of the sleeve, elevated in the air in\\nviolent gesticulation, and flourishing a pamph-\\nlet by way of truncheon. He was decrying\\nthese idle nonsensical amusements in times of\\npublic distress, when it was every one s busi-\\nness to think of other matters, and to be mis-\\nerable. The honest village logicians could\\nmake no stand against him, especially as he\\nwas seconded by his proselytes when, to their\\ngreat joy. Master Simon and the general came\\ndrifting down into the field of action. I saw\\nthat Master Simon was for making off, as soon", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0178.jp2"}, "179": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 165\\nas he found himself in the neighborhood of this\\nfireship but the general was too loyal to suffer\\nsuch talk in his hearing, and thought, no\\ndoubt, that a look and a word from a gentle-\\nman would be sufficient to shut up so shabby\\nan orator. The latter, however, was no re-\\nspecter of persons, but rather seemed to exult\\nin having such important antagonists. He\\ntalked with greater volubility than ever, and\\nsoon drowned them with declamation on the\\nsubject of taxes, poor s rates, and the national\\ndebt. Master Simon endeavored to brush\\nalong in his usual excursive manner, which had\\nalways answered amazingly well with the vil-\\nlagers but the radical was one of those pesti-\\nlent fellows that pin a man down to facts, and,\\nindeed, he had two or three pamphlets, in his\\npocket, to support everything he advanced by\\nprinted documents. The general, too, found\\nhimself betrayed into a more serious action\\nthan his dignity could brook, and looked like a\\nmighty Dutch Indiaman grievously peppered\\nby a petty privateer. It was in vain that he\\nswelled and looked big, and talked large, and\\nendeavored to make up by pomp of manner\\nfor poverty of matter every home-thrust of\\nthe radical made him wheeze like a bellows,\\nand seemed to let a volume of wind out of him.\\nIn a word, the two worthies from the Hall were\\ncompletely dumfounded, and this, too, in the\\npresence of several of Master Simon s staunch\\nadmirers, who had always looked up to him as\\ninfallible. I do not know how he and the gen-\\neral would have managed to draw their forces", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0179.jp2"}, "180": {"fulltext": "166 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ndecently from the field, had there not been a\\nmatch at grinning through a horse-collar an-\\nnounced, whereupon the radical retired with\\ngreat expression of contempt, and as soon as\\nhis back was turned, the argument was carried\\nagainst him all hollow.\\n*Did you ever hear such a pack of stuff,\\ngeneral? said Master Simon there s no talk-\\ning with one of these chaps when he once gets\\nthat confounded Cobbett in his head.\\nS blood, sir! said the general, wiping his\\nforehead, such fellows ought all to be trans-\\nported\\nIn the latter part of the day the ladies from\\nthe Hall paid a visit to the green. The fair\\nJulia made her appearance, leaning on her\\nlover s arm, and looking extremely pale and\\ninteresting. As she is a great favorite in the\\nvillage, where she had been known from child-\\nhood, and as her late accident had been much\\ntalked about, the sight of her caused very\\nmanifest delight, and some of the old women\\nof the village blessed her sweet face as she\\npassed.\\nWhile they were walking about, I noticed\\nthe schoolmaster in earnest conversation with\\nthe young girl that represented the Queen of\\nMay, evidently endeavoring to spirit her up to\\nsome formidable undertaking. At length, as\\nthe party from the Hall approached her bower,\\nshe came forth, faltering at every step, until\\nshe reached the spot where the fair Julia stood\\nbetween her lover and Lady Lillycraft. The\\nlittle Queen then took the chaplet of flowers", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0180.jp2"}, "181": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 167\\nfrom her head, and attempted to put it on that\\nof the bride-elect; but the confusion of both\\nwas so great, that the wreath would have\\nfallen to the ground, had not the officer caught\\nit, and, laughing, placed it upon the blushing\\nbrow of his mistress. There was something\\ncharming in the very embarrassment of these\\ntwo young creatures, both so beautiful, yet so\\ndifferent in their kinds of beauty. Master\\nSimon told me, afterwards, that the Queen of\\nMay was to have spoken a few verses which\\nthe schoolmaster had written for her; but that\\nshe had neither wit to understand nor memory\\nto recollect them. Besides, added he, be-\\ntween you and I, she murders the king s Eng-\\nlish abominably so she has acted the part of a\\nwise woman in holding her tongue, and trust-\\ning to her pretty face.\\nAmong the other characters from the Hall\\nwas Mrs. Hannah, my Lady Lillycraft s gen-\\ntlewoman to my surprise he was escorted by\\nold Christy the huntsman, and followed by his\\nghost of a greyhound but I find they are very\\nold acquaintances, being drawn together from\\nsome sympathy of disposition Mrs. Hannah\\nmoved about with starched dignity among the\\nrustics, who drew back from her with more\\nawe than they did from her mistress. Her\\nmouth seemed shut as with a clasp, excepting\\nthat I now and then heard the word fellows!\\nescape from between her lips, as she got acci-\\ndentally jostled in the crowd.\\nBut there was one other heart present that\\ndid not enter into the merriment of the scene,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0181.jp2"}, "182": {"fulltext": "\\\\eS BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nwhich was that of the simple Phoebe Wilkins,\\nthe housekeeper s niece. The poor girl has\\ncontinued to pine and whine for some time\\npast, in consequence of the obstinate coldness\\nof her lover; never was a little flirtation more\\nseverely punished. She appeared this day on\\nthe green, gallanted by a smart servant out of\\nlivery, and had evidently resolved to try the\\nhazardous experiment of awakening the jeal-\\nousy of her lover. She was dressed in her very\\nbest; affected an air of great gayety; talked\\nloud and girlishly, and laughed when there was\\nnothing to laugh at. There was, however, an\\naching, heavy heart, in the poor baggage s\\nbosom, in spite of all her levity. Her eye\\nturned every nbw and then in quest of her\\nreckless lover, and her cheek grew pale, and her\\nfictitious ga3^ety vanished, on seeing him pay-\\ning his rustic homage to the little May-day\\nQueen.\\nMy attention was now diverted by a fresh\\nstir and bustle. Music was heard from a dis-\\ntance; a banner was seen advancing up the\\nroad, preceded by a rustic band playing some-\\nthing like a march, and followed by a sturdy\\nthrong of country lads, the chivalry of a neigh-\\nboring and rival village.\\nNo sooner had they reached the green than\\nthey challenged the heroes of the day to new\\ntrials of strength and activity. Several gym-\\nnastic contests ensued for the honor of the re-\\nspective villages. In the course of these exer-\\ncises, young Tibbets and the champion of the\\nadverse party had an obstinate match at wi*es-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0182.jp2"}, "183": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 169\\ntling. They tugged, and strained, and\\npanted, without either getting the mastery,\\nuntil both came to the ground, and rolled upon\\nthe green. Just then the disconsolate Phoebe\\ncame by. She saw her recreant lover in fierce\\ncontest, as she thought, and in danger. In a\\nmoment pride, pique, and coquetry were for-\\ngotten she rushed into the ring, seized upon\\nthe rival champion by the hair, and was on\\nthe point of wreaking on him her puny ven-\\ngeance, when a buxom, strapping, country lass,\\nthe sweetheart of the prostrate swain, pounced\\nupon her like a hawk, and would have stripped\\nher of her fine plummage in a twinkling, had\\nshe also not been seized in her turn.\\nA complete tumult ensued. The chivalry of\\nthe two villages became embroiled. Blows\\nbegan to be dealt, and sticks to be flourished.\\nPhoebe was carried off from the field in hys-\\nterics. In vain did the sages of the village in-\\nterfere. The sententious apothecary endeav-\\nored to pour the soothing oil of his philosophy\\nupon this tempestuous sea of passion, but was\\ntumbled into the dust. Slingsby, the peda-\\ngogue, who is a great lover of peace, went into\\nthe middle of the throng, as marshal of the\\nday, to put an end to the commotion, but was\\nrent in twain, and came out with his garment\\nhanging in two strips from his shoulders upon\\nwhich the prodigal son dashed in with fury to\\nrevenge the insult which his patron had sus-\\ntained. The tumult thickened; I caught\\nglimpses of the jockey-cap of old Christy, like\\nthe helmet of a chieftain, bobbing about in the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0183.jp2"}, "184": {"fulltext": "170 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nmidst of the scuffle while Mrs. Hannah, sep-\\narated from her doughty protector, was squal-\\nling and striking at right and left with a faded\\nparasol being tossed and tousled about by the\\ncrowd in such wise as never happened to\\nmaiden gentlewoman before.\\nAt length I beheld old Ready-Money Jack\\nmaking his way into the very thickest of the\\nthrong tearing it, as it were, apart, and en-\\nforcing peace vi et armis. It was surprising to\\nsee the sudden quiet that ensued. The storm\\nsettled down at once into tranquillity. The\\nparties, having no real grounds of hostility,\\nwere readily pacified, and, in fact, were a little\\nat a loss to know why and how they had got by\\nthe ears. Slingsby was speedily stitched to-\\ngether again by his friend the tailor, and re-\\nsumed his usual good humor. Mrs. Hannah\\ndrew on one side to plume her rumpled feathers;\\nand old Christy, having repaired his damages,\\ntook her under his arm and they swept back\\nagain to the Hall, ten times more bitter\\nagainst mankind than ever.\\nThe Tibbets family alone seemed slow in\\nrecovering from the agitation of the scene.\\nYoung Jack was evidently very much moved\\nby the heroism of the unlucky Phoebe. His\\nmother, who had been summoned to the field\\nof action by news of the affray, was in a sad\\npanic, and had need of all her management to\\nkeep him from following his mistress, and\\ncoming to a perfect reconciliation.\\nWhat heightened the alarm and perplexity\\nof the good managing dame was, that the mat-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0184.jp2"}, "185": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 371\\nter had roused the slow apprehension of old\\nReady-Money himself; who was very much\\nstruck by the intrepid interference of so pretty\\nand delicate a girl, and was sadly puzzled to\\nunderstand the meaning of the violent agita-\\ntion in his family.\\nWhen all this came to the ears of the squire,\\nhe was grievously scandalized that his May-\\nday fete should have been disgraced by such a\\nbrawl. He ordered Phoebe to appear before\\nhim but the girl was so frightened and dis-\\ntressed, that she came sobbing and trembling,\\nand, at the first question he asked, fell again\\ninto hysterics. Lady Lillycraft, who had un-\\nderstood that there was an affair of the heart\\nat the bottom of this distress, immediately\\ntook the girl into great favor and protection,\\nand made her peace with the squire. This\\nwas the only thing that disturbed the harmony\\nof the day, if we except the discomfiture of\\nMaster Simon and the general by the radical.\\nUpon the whole, therefore, the squire had very\\nfair reason to be satisfied that he had rode his\\nhobby throughout the day without any other\\nmolestation.\\nThe reader, learned in these matters, will\\nperceive that all this was but a faint shadow\\nof the once gay and fanciful rites of May.\\nThe peasantry have lost the proper feeling for\\nthese rites, and have grown almost as strange\\nto them as the boors of La Mancha were to the\\ncustoms of chivalry in the days of the valorous\\nDon Quixote. Indeed, I considered it a proof\\nof the discretion with which the squire rides", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0185.jp2"}, "186": {"fulltext": "172 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nhis hobby, that he had not pushed the thing\\nany farther, nor attempted to revive many ob-\\nsolete usages of the day, which, in the present\\nmatter-of-fact times, would appear affected\\nand absurd. I must say, though I do it under\\nthe rose, the general brawl in which this festi-\\nval had nearly terminated, has made me doubt\\nwhether these rural customs of the good old\\ntimes were always so very loving and innocent\\nas we ar\u00c2\u00a9 apt to fancy them and whether the\\npeasantry in those times were really so Arca-\\ndian as they have been fondly represented. I\\nbegin to fear\\nThose days were never; airy dreams\\nSat for the picture, and the poet s hand,\\nImparting substance to an empty shade,\\nImposed a gay delirium for a truth.\\nGrant it I still must envy them an age\\nThat favored such a dream.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0186.jp2"}, "187": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 173\\nTHE CULPRIT.\\nFrom fire, from water, from all things amiss,\\nDeliver the house of an honest justice.\\nThe Widow.\\nThe serenity of the Hall has been suddenly\\ninterrupted by a very important occurrence.\\nIn the course of this morning a posse of vil-\\nlagers was seen trooping up the avenue, with\\nboys shouting in advance. As it drew near,\\nwe perceived Ready-Money Jack Tibbets\\nstriding along, wielding his cudgel in one\\nhand, and with the other grasping the collar\\nof a tall fellow, whom, on still nearer ap-\\nproach, we recognized for the redoubtable\\ngypsy hero, Starlight Tom. He was now,\\nhowever, completely cowed and crest-fallen,\\nand his courage seemed to have quailed in the\\niron gripe of the lion-hearted Jack.\\nThe whole gang of gypsy women and chil-\\ndren came draggling in the rear; some in\\ntears, others making a violent clamor about\\nthe ears of old Ready- Money, who, however,\\ntrudged on in silence with his prey, heeding\\ntheir abuse as little as a hawk that has\\npounced upon a barn-door hero regards the\\noutcries and cacklings of his whole feathered\\nseraglio.\\nHe had passed through the village on his", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0187.jp2"}, "188": {"fulltext": "174 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nway to the Hall, and of course had made a\\ngreat sensation in that most excitable place,\\nwhere every event is a matter of gaze and gos-\\nsip. The report flew like wildfire that Star-\\nlight Tom was in custody. The ale-drinkers\\nforthwith abandoned the tap-room; Slingby s\\nschool broke loose, and master and boys\\nswelled the tide that cam.e rolling at the heels\\nof old Ready-Money and his captive.\\nThe uproar increased as they approached the\\nHall; it aroused the whole garrison of dogs,\\nand the crews of hangers-on. The great mas-\\ntiff barked from the dog-house; the stag-\\nhound, and the greyhound, and the spaniel,\\nissued barking from the Hall door, and my\\nLady Lilly craft s little dogs ramped and\\nbarked from the parlor window. I remarked,\\nhowever, that the gypsy dogs miade no reply\\nto all these menaces and insults, but crept\\nclose to the gang, looking round with a guilty,\\npoaching air, and now and then glancing up a\\ndubious eye to their owners; which shows that\\nthe moral dignity, even of dogs, may be\\nruined by bad company!\\nWhen the throng reached the front of the\\nhouse, they were brought to a halt by a kind\\nof advanced guard, composed of old Christy,\\nthe gamekeeper, and two or three servants of\\nthe house, who had been brought out by the\\nnoise. The common herd of the village fell\\nback with respect; the boys were driven back\\nby Christy and his compeers; while Ready-\\nMoney Jack maintained his ground and his\\nhold of the prisoner, and was surrounded by", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0188.jp2"}, "189": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 175\\nthe tailor, the schoolmaster, and several\\nother dignitaries of the village, and by the\\nclamorous brood of gypsies, who were neither\\nto be silenced nor intimidated.\\nBy this time the whole household were\\nbrought to the doors and windows, and the\\nsquire to the portal. An audience was de-\\nmanded by Ready-Money Jack, who had de-\\ntected the prisoner in the very act of sheep-\\nstealing on his domains, and had borne him off\\nto be examined before the squire, who is in the\\ncommission of the peace.\\nA kind of tribunal was immediatley held in\\nthe servants hall, a large chamber with a stone\\nfloor and a long table in the center, at one end\\nof which, just under an enormous clock, was\\nplaced the squire s chair of justice, while Mas-\\nter Simon took his place at the table as clerk\\nof the court. An attempt had been made by\\nold Christy to keep out the gypsy gang, but in\\nvain and they, with the village worthies, and\\nthe household, half filled the hall. The old\\nhousekeeper and the butler were in a panic at\\nthis dangerous irruption. They hurried away\\nall the valuable things and portable articles that\\nwere at hand, and even kept a dragon watch\\non the gypsies, lest they should carry off the\\nhouse clock or the deal table.\\nOld Christy, and his faithful coadjutor, the\\ngamekeeper, acted as constables to guard the\\nprisoner, triumphing in having at last got this\\nterrible offender in their clutches. Indeed I\\nam inclined to think the old man bore some\\npeevish recollection of having been handled", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0189.jp2"}, "190": {"fulltext": "176 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nrather roughly by the gypsy in the chance-\\nmedley affair of May-day.\\nSilence was now commanded by Master\\nSimon but it was difficult to be enforced in\\nsuch a motley assemblage. There was a con-\\ntinued snarling and yelping of dogs, and, as\\nfast as it was quelled in one corner, it broke\\nout in another. The poor gypsy curs, who,\\nlike errant thieves, could not hold up their\\nheads in an honest house, were worried and\\ninsulted by the gentlemen dogs of the estab-\\nlishment, without offering to make resistance\\nthe very curs of my Lady Lillycraft bullied\\nthem with impunity.\\nThe examination was conducted with great\\nmildness and indulgence by the squire, partly\\nfrom the kindness of his nature, and partly, I\\nsuspect, because his heart yearned towards the\\nculprit, who had found great favor in his eyes,\\nas I have already observed, from the skill he\\nhad at various times displayed in archery,\\nmorris-dancing, and other obsolete accom-\\nplishments. Proofs, however, were too strong.\\nReady-Money Jack told his story in a straight-\\nforward independent way, nothing daunted by\\nthe presence in which he found himself. He\\nhad suffered from various depradations on his\\nsheep-fold and poultry-yard, and had at length\\nkept watch, and caught the delinquent in the\\nvery act of making off with a sheep on his\\nshoulders.\\nTibbets was repeatedly interrupted, in the\\ncourse of his testimony, by the culprit s\\nmother, a furious old beldame, with an un-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0190.jp2"}, "191": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 177\\nsufferable tongue, and who, in fact, was sev-\\neral times kept, with some difficulty, from fly-\\ning at him tooth and nail. The wife, too, of\\nthe prisoner, whom I am told he does not beat\\nabove half a dozen times a week, completely\\ninterested Lady Lillycraft in her husband s\\nbehalf, by her tears and supplications and\\nseveral other of the gypsy women were\\nawakening strong sympathy among the young\\ngirls and maid-servants in the background.\\nThe pretty black-eyed gypsy girl, whom I have\\nmentioned on a former occasion as the sibyl\\nthat read the fortunes of the general, endeav-\\nored to wheedle that doughty warrior into their\\ninterests, and even made some approaches to\\nher old acquaintance, Master Simon but was\\nrepelled by the latter, with all the dignity of\\noffice, having assumed a look of gravity and\\nimportance suitable to the occasion.\\nI was a little surprised, at first, to find hon-\\nest Slingsby, the schoolmaster, rather opposed\\nto his old crony Tibbets, and coming forward\\nas a kind of advocate for the accused. It\\nseems that he had taken compassion on the\\nforlorn fortunes of Starlight Tom, and had\\nbeen trying his eloquence in his favor the\\nwhole way from the village, but without\\neffect. During the examination of Ready-\\nMoney Jack, Slingsby had stood like dejected\\nPity at his side, seeking every now and then,\\nby a soft word, to soothe any exacerbation of\\nhis ire, or to qualify any harsh expression.\\nHe now ventured to make a few observations\\nto the squire in palliation of the delinquent s\\n12 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0191.jp2"}, "192": {"fulltext": "178 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\noffence but poor Slingsby spoke more from\\nthe heart than the head, and was evidently\\nactuated merely by a general sympathy for\\nevery poor devil in trouble, and a liberal tolera-\\ntion for all kinds of vagabond existence.\\nThe ladies, too, large and small, with the\\nkind-heartedness of their sex, were zealous on\\nthe side of mercy, and interceded strenuously\\nwith the squire: insomuch that the prisoner,\\nfinding himself unexpectedly surrounded by\\nactive friends, once more reared his crest, and\\nseemed disposed for a time to put on the air of\\ninjured innocence. The squire, however,\\nwith all his benevolence of heart, and his lurk-\\ning weakness towards the prisoner, was too\\nconscientious to swerve from the strict path of\\njustice. There was abundant concurrent tes-\\ntimony that made the proof of guilt incontro-\\nvertible, and Starlight Tom s mittimus was\\nmade out accordingly.\\nThe sympathy of the ladies was now greater\\nthan ever they even made some attempts to\\nmollify the ire of Ready-Money Jack but that\\nsturdy potentate had been too much incensed\\nby the repeated incursions that had been made\\ninto his territories by the predatory band of\\nStarlight Tom, and he was resolved, he said, to\\ndrive the varmint reptiles out of the neigh-\\nborhood. To avoid all further importunities,\\nas soon as the mittimus was made out, he\\ngirded up his loins, and strode back to his seat\\nof empire, accompanied by his interceding\\nfriend, Slingsby, and followed by a detach-\\nment of the gypsy gang, who hung on his", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0192.jp2"}, "193": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 179\\nrear, assailing him with mingled prayers and\\nexecrations.\\nThe question now was, how to dispose of\\nthe prisoner; a matter of great moment in\\nthis peaceful establishment, where so formid-\\nable a character as Starlight Tom was like a\\nhawk entrapped in a dovecote. As the hubbub\\nand examination had occupied a considerable\\ntime, it was too late in the day to send him to\\nthe county prison, and that of the village was\\nsadly out of repair from long want of occupa-\\ntion. Old Christy, who took great interest in\\nthe affair, proposed that the culprit should be\\ncommitted for the night to an upper loft of a\\nkind of tower in one of the out-houses, where\\nhe and the gamekeeper would mount guard.\\nAfter much deliberation this measure was\\nadopted the premises in question were exam-\\nined and made secure, and Christy and his\\ntrusty ally, the one armed with a fowling-\\npiece, the other with an ancient blunderbuss,\\nturned out as sentries to keep watch over this\\ndonjon-keep.\\nSuch is the momentous affair that has just\\ntaken place, and it is an event of too great mo-\\nment in this quiet little world, not to turn it\\ncompletely topsy-turvy. Labor is at a stand.\\nThe house has been a scene of confusion the\\nwhole evening. It has been beleaguered by\\ngypsy women, with their children on their\\nbacks, wailing and lamenting while the old\\nvirago of a mother has cruised up and down\\nthe lawn in front, shaking her head and mut-\\ntering to herself, or now and then breaking", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0193.jp2"}, "194": {"fulltext": "180 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nout into a paroxysm of rage, brandishing her\\nfist at the Hall, and denouncing ill-luck upon\\nReady-Money Jack, and even upon the squire\\nhimself.\\nLady Lillycraft has given repeated audiences\\nto the culprit s weeping wife, at the Hall\\ndoor; and the servant-maids have stolen out\\nto confer with the gypsy women under the\\ntrees. As to the little ladies of the family,\\nthey are all outrageous at Ready-Money Jack,\\nwhom they look upon in the light of a tyran-\\nnical giant of fairy tale. Phoebe Wilkins,\\ncontrary to her usual nature, is the only one\\nthat is pitiless in the affair. She thinks Mr.\\nTibbets quite in the right and thinks the\\ngypsies deserve to be punished severely for\\nmeddling with the sheep of the Tibbetses.\\nIn the meantime the females of the family\\nhave evinced all the provident kindness of the\\nsex, ever ready to soothe and succor the dis-\\ntressed, right or wrong. Lady Lillycraft has\\nhad a mattress taken to the out-house, and\\ncomforts and delicacies of all kinds have been\\ntaken to the prisoner even the little girls\\nhave sent their cakes and sweetmeats so that,\\nI ll warrant, the vagabond has never fared so\\nwell in his life before. Old Christy, it is true,\\nlooks upon everything with a wary eye struts\\nabout with his blunderbuss with the air of a\\nveteran campaigner, and will hardly allow\\nhimself to be spoken to. The gypsy women\\ndare not come within gunshot, and every tat-\\nterdemallion of a boy has been frightened\\nfrom the park. The old fellow is determined", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0194.jp2"}, "195": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 181\\nto lodge Starlight Tom in prison with his own\\nhands; and hopes, he says, to see one of the\\npoaching crew made an example of.\\nI doubt, after all, whether the worthy squire\\nis not the greatest sufferer in the whole affair.\\nHis honorable sense of duty obliges him to be\\nrigid, but the overflowing kindness of his\\nnature makes this a grievous trouble to him.\\nHe is not accustomed to have such demands\\nupon his justice in his truly patriarchal do-\\nmain; and it wounds his benevolent spirit,\\nthat, while prosperity and happiness are flow-\\ning in thus bounteously upon him, he should\\nhave to inflict misery upon a fellow-being.\\nHe has been troubled and cast down the\\nwhole evening took leave of the family, on\\ngoing to bed, with a sigh, instead of his usual\\nhearty and affectionate tone, and will, in all\\nprobability, have a far more sleepless night\\nthan his prisoner. Indeed this unlucky affair\\nhas cast a damp upon the whole household, as\\nthere appears to be an universal opinion that\\nthe unlucky culprit will come to the gallows.\\nMorning. The clouds of last evening are all\\nblown over. A load has been taken from the\\nsquire s heart, and every face is once more in\\nsmiles. The gamekeeper made his appearance\\nat an early hour, completely shamefaced and\\ncrestfallen. Starlight Tom had made his es-\\ncape in the night how he had got out of the\\nloft no one could tell the devil, they think,\\nmust have assisted him. Old Christy was so\\nmortified that he would not show his face, but\\nhad shut himself up in his stronghold at the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0195.jp2"}, "196": {"fulltext": "182 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ndog-kennel, and would not be spoken with.\\nWhat has particularly relieved the squire is,\\nthat there is very little likelihood of the cul-\\nprit s being retaken, having gone off on one of\\nthe old gentleman s best hunters.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0196.jp2"}, "197": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 183\\nLOVERS TROUBLES.\\nThe poor soul sat singing by a sycamore tree,\\nSing all a green willow\\nHer hand on her bosom, her head on her knee.\\nSing willow, willow, willow;\\nSing all a green willow must be my garland.\\nOld Song.\\nThe fair Julia having nearly recovered from\\nthe effects of her hawking disaster, it begins\\nto be thought high time to appoint a day for\\nthe wedding. As every domestic event in\\na venerable and aristocratic family connection\\nlike this is a matter of moment, the fixing\\nupon this important day has, of course, given\\nrise to much conference and debate.\\nSome slight difficulties and demurs have\\nlately sprung up, originating in the peculiar\\nhumors that are prevalent at the Hall. Thus,\\n1 have overheard a very solemn consultation be-\\ntween Lady Lillycraft, the parson, and Master\\nSimon, as to whether the marriage ought not\\nto be postponed until the coming month.\\nWith all the charms of the flowery month of\\nMay, there is, I find, an ancient prejudice\\nagainst it as a marrying month. An old\\nproverb says, To wed in May, is to wed pov-\\nerty. Now, as Lady Lillycraft is very much\\ngiven to believe in lucky and unlucky times\\nand seasons, and indeed is very superstitious", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0197.jp2"}, "198": {"fulltext": "184 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\non all points relating to the tender passion,\\nthis old proverb seems to have taken great\\nhold upon her mind. She recollects two or\\nthree instances in her own knowledge of\\nmatches that took place in this month, and\\nproved very unfortunate. Indeed, an old\\ncousin of hers, who married on a May-day, lost\\nher husband by a fall from his horse, after\\nthey had lived happily together for twenty\\nyears.\\nThe parson appeared to give great weight to\\nher ladyship s objections, and acknowledged\\nthe existence of a prejudice of the kind, not\\nmerely confined to modern times, but preva-\\nlent likewise among the ancients. In confir-\\nmation of this he quoted a passage from\\nOvid, which had a great effect on Lady Lilly-\\ncraft, being given in a language which she did\\nnot understand. Even Master Simon was\\nstaggered by it; for he listened with a puzzled\\nair, and then, shaking his head, sagaciously\\nobserved that Ovid was certainly a very wise\\nman.\\nFrom this sage conference I likewise gath-\\nered several other important pieces of infor-\\nmation relative to weddings; such as that if\\ntwo were celebrated in the same church on the\\nsame day, the first would be happy, the second\\nunfortunate. If, on going to church, the\\nbridal party should meet the funeral of a fe-\\nmale, it was an omen that the bride would die\\nfirst if of a male, the bridegroom. If the\\nnewly-married couple were to dance together\\non their wedding-day, the wife would thence-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0198.jp2"}, "199": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 185\\nforth rule the roast with many other curious\\nand unquestionable facts of the same nature,\\nall which made me ponder more than ever\\nupon the perils which surround this happy\\nstate, and the thoug htless ignorance of mortals\\nas to the awful risks they run in entering\\nupon it. I abstain, however, from enlarging\\nupon this topic, having no inclination to pro-\\nmote the increase of bachelors.\\nNotwithstanding the due weight which the\\nsquire gives to traditional saws and ancient\\nopinions, yet I am happy to find that he makes\\na firm stand for the credit of this loving\\nmonth, and brings to his aid a whole legion of\\npoetical authorities; all which, I presume,\\nhave been conclusive with the young people,\\nas I understand they are perfectly willing to\\nmarry in May and abide the consequences.\\nIn a few days, therefore, the wedding is to\\ntake place and the Hall is in a buzz of antici-\\npation. The housekeeper is bustling about\\nfrom morning till night with a look full of bus-\\niness and importance, having a thousand ar-\\nrangements to make, the squire intending to\\nkeep open house on the occasion and as to the\\nhousemaids, you cannot look one of them in the\\nface, but the rogue begins to color up and sim-\\nper.\\nWhile, however, this leading love affair is\\ngoing on with a tranquillity quite inconsistent\\nwith the rules of romance, I cannot say that\\nthe underplots are equally propitious. The\\nopening bud of love between the general\\nand Lady Lillycraft seems to have experienced", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0199.jp2"}, "200": {"fulltext": "186 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nsome blight in the course of this genial season.\\nI do not think the general has ever been able\\nto retrieve the ground he lost when he fell\\nasleep during the captain s story. Indeed,\\nMaster Simon thinks his case is completely\\ndesperate, her ladyship having determined\\nthat he is quite destitute of sentiment.\\nThe season has been equally unpropitious to\\nthe love-lorn Phoebe Wilkins. I fear the rea-\\nder will be impatient at having this humble\\namour so often alluded to but I confess I am\\napt to take a great interest in the love\\ntroubles of simple girls of this class. Few\\npeople have an idea of the world of care and\\nperplexity that these poor damsels have in\\nmanaging the affairs of the heart.\\nWe talk and write about the tender passions\\nwe give it all the colorings of sentiment and\\nromance, and lay the scene of its influence in\\nhigh life but, after all, I doubt whether its\\nsway is not more absolute among females of a\\nhumbler sphere. How often, could we but\\nlook into the heart, should we find the senti-\\nment throbbing in all its violence in the bosom\\nof the poor lady s maid, rather than in that of\\nthe brilliant beauty she is decking out for con-\\nquest; whose brain is probably bewildered\\nwith beaux, ball-rooms, and wax-light chan-\\ndeliers.\\nWith these humble beings love is an honest,\\nengrossing concern. They have no ideas of\\nsettlements, establishments, equipages, and\\npin-money. The heart the heart is all-in-\\nall with them, poor things! There is seldom", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0200.jp2"}, "201": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 187\\none of them but has her love cares, and love\\nsecrets her doubts, and hopes, and fears, equal\\nto those of any heroine of romance, and ten\\ntimes as sincere. And then, too, there is her\\nsecret hoard of love documents; the broken\\nsixpence, the gilded brooch, the lock of hair,\\nthe unintelligible love scrawl, are treasured up\\nin her box of Sunday finery, for private con-\\ntemplation.\\nHow many crosses and trials is she exposed to\\nfrom some lynx-eyed dame, or staid old vestal\\nof a mistress, who keeps a dragon watch over\\nher virtue, and scouts the lover from the door\\nBut then how sweet are the little love scenes,\\nsnatched at distant intervals of holiday, fondly\\ndwelt on through many a long day of house-\\nhold labor and confinement! If in the country,\\nit is the dance at the fair or wake, the inter-\\nview in the churchyard after service, or the\\nevening stroll in the green lane. If in town,\\nit is perhaps merely a stolen moment of deli-\\ncious talk between the bars of the area, fearful\\nevery instant of being seen and then, how\\nlightly will the simple creature carol all day\\nafterwards at her labor.\\nPoor baggage after all her crosses and diffi-\\nculties, when she marries, what is it but to\\nexchange a life of comparative ease and com-\\nfort for one of toil and uncertainty? Perhaps,\\ntoo, the lover, for whom, in the fondness of\\nher nature, she has committed herself to for-\\ntune s freaks, turns out a worthless churl, the\\ndissolute, hard-hearted husband of low life;\\nwho, taking to the alehouse, leaves her to a", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0201.jp2"}, "202": {"fulltext": "188 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\ncheerless home, to labor, penury, and child-\\nbearing.\\nWhen I see poor Phoebe going about with\\ndrooping eyes, and her head hanging all o*\\none side, I cannot help calling to mind the\\npathetic little picture drawn by Desdemona:\\nMy mother had a maid, called Barbara;\\nShe was in love and he she loved proved mad\\nAnd did forsake her she had a song of willow.\\nAn old thing twas but it express d her fortune,\\nAnd she died singing it.\\nI hope^ however, that a better lot is in\\nreserve for Phoebe Wilkins, and that she may\\nyet rule the roast, in the ancient empire of\\nthe Tibbetses! She is not fit to battle with\\nhard hearts or hard times. She was, I am told,\\nthe pet of her poor mother, who was proud of\\nthe beauty of her child, and brought her up\\nmore tenderly than a village girl ought to be\\nand ever since she has been left an orphan the\\ngood ladies at the Hall have completed the\\nsoftening and spoiling of her.\\nI have recently observed her holding long\\nconferences in the churchyard, and up and down\\none of the lanes near the village, with Slingsby\\nthe schoolmaster. I at first thought the peda-\\ngogue might be touched with the tender\\nmalady so prevalent in these parts of late but\\nI did him injustice. Honest Slingsby, it\\nseems, was a friend and crony of her late\\nfather, the parish clerk; and is on intimate\\nterms with the Tibbets family. Prompted,\\ntherefore, by his good- will towards all parties,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0202.jp2"}, "203": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 189\\nand secretly instigated, perhaps, by the manag-\\ning dame Tibbets, he has undertaken to talk\\nwith Phoebe upon the subject. He gives her,\\nhowever, but little encouragement. Slingsby\\nhas a formidable opinion of the aristocratical\\nfeeling of old Ready-Money, and thinks, if\\nPhoebe were even to make the matter up with\\nthe son, she would find the father totally hos-\\ntile to the match. The poor damsel, therefore,\\nis reduced almost to despair; and Slingsby,\\nwho is too good-natured not to sympathize in\\nher distress, has advised her to give up all\\nthoughts of young Jack, and has promised as a\\nsubstitute his learned coadjutor, the prodigal\\nson. He has even, in the fulness of his heart,\\noffered to give up the schoolhouse to them,\\nthough it would leave him once more adrift in\\nthe wide world.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0203.jp2"}, "204": {"fulltext": "190 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nTHE WEDDING.\\nNo more, no more, much honor aye betide\\nThe lofty bridegroom, and the lovely bride\\nThat all of their succeeding days may say,\\nEach day appears like to a wedding-day.\\nBraithwaite.\\nNotwithstanding the doubts and demurs of\\nLady Lillycraft, and all the grave objections\\nthat were conjured up against the month of\\nMay, yet the Wedding has at length happily\\ntaken place. It was celebrated at the village\\nchurch in presence of a numerous company of\\nrelatives and friends, and many of the tenantry.\\nThe squire must needs have something of the\\nold ceremonies observed on the occasion so at\\nthe gate of the churchyard, several little girls\\nof the village, dressed in white, were in readi-\\nness with baskets of flowers, which they strewed\\nbefore the bride and the butler bore before\\nher the bride-cup, a great silver embossed\\nbowl, one of the family reliques from the days\\nof the hard drinkers. This was filled with\\nrich wine, and decorated with a branch of rose-\\nmary, tied with gay ribbons, according to\\nancient custom.\\nHappy is the bride that the sun shines on,\\nsays the old proverb and it was as sunny and\\nauspicious a morning as heart could wish. The\\nbride looked uncommonly beautiful; but, in", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0204.jp2"}, "205": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 191\\nfact, what woman does not look interesting on\\nher wedding-day? I know no sight more\\ncharming and touching than that of a young\\nand timid bride, in her robes of virgin white,\\nled up trembling to the altar. When I thus\\nbehold a lovely girl, in the tenderness of her\\nyears, forsaking the house of her fathers and\\nthe home of her childhood, and, with the im-\\nplicit, confiding, and the sweet self-abandon-\\nment which belong to woman, giving up all the\\nworld for the man of her choice when I hear\\nher, in the good old language of the ritual,\\nyielding herself to him for better for worse,\\nfor richer for poorer, in sickness and in health\\nto love, honor, and obey, till death us do part,\\nit brings to my mind the beautiful and affect-\\ning self-devotion of Ruth: Whither thou\\ngoest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will\\nlodge thy people shall be my people, and thy\\nGod my God.\\nThe fair Julia was supported on the trying\\noccasion by Lady Lillycraft, whose heart was\\noverflowing with its wonted sympathy in all\\nmatters of love and matrimony. As the bride\\napproached the altar, her face would be one\\nmoment covered with blushes, and the next\\ndeadly pale and she seemed almost ready to\\nshrink from sight among her female compan-\\nions.\\nI do not know what it is that makes every\\none serious, and, as it were, awestruck at a\\nmarriage ceremony, which is generally consid-\\nered as an occasion of festivity and rejoicing.\\nAs the ceremony was performing, I observed", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0205.jp2"}, "206": {"fulltext": "192 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nmany a rosy face among the country girls turn\\npale, and I did not see a smile throughout the\\nchurch. The young ladies from the Hall were\\nalmost as much frightened as if it had been\\ntheir own case, and stole many a look of sym-\\npathy at their trembling companion. A tear\\nstood in the eye of the sensitive Lady Lilly-\\ncraft; and as to Phoebe Wilkins, who was\\npresent, she absolutely wept and sobbed aloud\\nbut it is hard to tell half the time what these\\nfond, foolish creatures are crying about.\\nThe captain, too, though naturally gay and\\nunconcerned, was much agitated on the occa-\\nsion, and, in attempting to put the ring upon\\nthe bride s finger, dropped it on the floor;\\nwhich Lady Lillycraft has since assured me is\\na very lucky omen. Even Master Simon had\\nlost his usual vivacity, and had assumed a most\\nwhimsically solemn face, which he is apt to\\ndo on all occasions of ceremony. He had much\\nwhispering with the parson and parish-clerk,\\nfor he is always a busy personage in the scene;\\nand he echoed the clerk s amen with a solem-\\nnity and devotion that edified the whole assem-\\nblage.\\nThe moment, however, that the ceremony\\nwas over, the transition was magical. The\\nbride-cup was passed round, according to\\nancient usage, for the company to drink to a\\nhappy union; everyone s feelings seemed to\\nbreak forth from restraint Master Simon had\\na world of bachelor pleasantries to utter, and\\nas to the gallant general, he bowed and cooed", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0206.jp2"}, "207": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 193\\nabout the dulcet Lady Lillycraft, like a mighty\\ncock pigeon about his dame.\\nThe villagers gathered in the churchyard to\\ncheer the happy couple as they left the church\\nand the musical tailor had marshalled his\\nband, and set up a hideous discord, as the\\nblushing and smiling bride passed through\\na lane of honest peasantry to her carriage.\\nThe children shouted and threw up their hats;\\nthe bells rung a merry peal that set all the\\ncrows and rooks flying and cawing about the\\nair, and threatened to bring down the battle-\\nments of the old tower; and there was a con-\\ntinual popping of rusty fire-locks from every\\npart of the neighborhood.\\nThe prodigal son distinguished himself on\\nthe occasion, having hoisted a flag on the top\\nof the school-house, and kept the village in a\\nhubbub from sunrise with the sound of drum,\\nand fife, and pandean pipe; in which species\\nof music several of his scholars are making\\nwonderful proficiency. In his great zeal, how-\\never, he had nearly done mischief; for, on\\nreturning from church, the horses of the\\nbride s carriage took fright from the discharge\\nof a row of old gun-barrels, which he had\\nmounted as a park of artillery in front of the\\nschool-house, to give the captain a military\\nsalute as he passed.\\nThe day passed off with great rustic rejoic-\\nings. Tables were spread under the trees in\\nthe park, where all the peasantry of the neigh-\\nborhood were regaled with roast beef and\\nplum-pudding, and oceans of ale. Ready-\\n13 Bracebridge", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0207.jp2"}, "208": {"fulltext": "194 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nMoney Jack presided at one of the tables, and\\nbecame so full of good cheer, as to unbend\\nfrom his usual gravity, to sing a song out of\\nall tune, and give two or three shouts of\\nlaughter, that almost electrified his neighbors,\\nlike so many peals of thunder. The school-\\nmaster and the apothecary vied with each other\\nin making speeches over their liquor; and\\nthere were occasional glees and musical per-\\nformances by the village band, that must have\\nfrightened every faun and dryad from the\\npark. Even old Christy, who had got on a new\\ndress, from top to toe, and shone in all the\\nsplendor of bright leather breeches, and an\\nenormous wedding favor in his cap, forgot\\nhis usual crustiness, became inspired by wine\\nand wassail, and absolutely danced a hornpipe\\non one of the tables, with all the grace and\\nagility of a mannikin hung upon wires.\\nEqual gayety reigned within doors, where a\\nlarge party of friends were entertained. Every\\none laughed at his own pleasantry, without\\nattending to that of his neighbors. Loads of\\nbridecake were distributed. The young ladies\\nwere all busy in passing morsels of it through\\nthe wedding ring to dream on, and I myself\\nassisted a fine little boarding-school girl in\\nputting up a quantity for her companions,\\nwhich I have no doubt will set all the little\\nheads in the school gadding, for a week at\\nleast.\\nAfter dinner all the company, great and\\nsmall, gentle and simple, abandoned them-\\nselves to the dance not the modern quadrille,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0208.jp2"}, "209": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 195\\nwith its graceful gravity, but the merry,\\nsocial, old country dance; the true dance, as\\nthe squire says, for a wedding occasion as it\\nsets all the world jigging in couples, hand in\\nhand, and makes every eye and every heart\\ndance merrily to the music. According to\\nfrank old usage, the gentlefolks of the Hall\\nmingled, for a time, in the dance of the peas-\\nantry, who had a great tent erected for a ball-\\nroom; and I think I never saw Master Simon\\nmore in his element than when figuring about\\namong his rustic admirers, as master of the\\nceremonies, and, with a mingled air of pro-\\ntection and gallantry, leading out the quan-\\ndom Queen of May all blushing at the signal\\nhonor conferred upon her.\\nIn the evening, the whole village was illu-\\nminated, excepting the house of the radical,\\nwho has not shown his face during the rejoic-\\nings. There was a display of fireworks at the\\nschool- house, got up by the prodigal son,\\nwhich had wellnigh set fire to the building.\\nThe squire is so much pleased with the extra-\\nordinary services of this last-mentioned worthy\\nthat he talks of enrolling him in his list of\\nvaluable retainers, and promoting him to some\\nimportant post on the estate peradventure to\\nbe falconer, if the hawks can ever be brought\\ninto proper training.\\nThere is a well-known old proverb that says,\\n**one wedding makes many or something\\nto the same purpose and I should not be sur-\\nprised if it holds good in the present instance.\\nI have seen several flirtations among the", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0209.jp2"}, "210": {"fulltext": "196 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nyoung people that have been brought together\\non this occasion and a great deal of strolling\\nabout in pairs, among the retired walks and\\nblossoming shrubberies of the old garden;\\nand if groves were really given to whispering,\\nas poets would fain make us believe, Heaven\\nknows what love-tales the grave-looking old\\ntrees about this venerable country-seat might\\nblab to the world. The general, too, has\\nwaxed very zealous in his devotions within\\nthe last few days, as the time of her ladyship s\\ndeparture approaches. I observed him cast-\\ning many a tender look at her during the\\nwedding dinner, while the courses were chang-\\ning; though he was always liable to be inter-\\nrupted in his adoration by the appearance of\\nany new delicacy. The general, in fact, has\\narrived at that time of life when the heart and\\nthe stomach maintain a kind of balance of\\npower and when a man is apt to be perplexed\\nin his affections between a fine woman and a\\ntruffled turkey. Her ladyship was certainly\\nrivaled through the whole of the first course\\nby a dish of stewed carp; and there was one\\nglance, which was evidently intended to be a\\npoint-blank shot at her heart, and could scarce-\\nly have failed to effect a practicable breach,\\nhad it not unluckily been diverted away to a\\ntempting breast of lamb, in which it imme-\\ndiately produced a formidable incision.\\nThus did the faithless general go on, coquet-\\nting during the whole dinner, and committing\\nan infidelity with every new dish; until, in\\nthe end, he was so overpowered by the atten-", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0210.jp2"}, "211": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 197\\ntions he had paid to fish, flesh, and fowl to\\npastry, jelly, cream, and blancmange, that he\\nseemed to sink within himself: his eyes swam\\nbeneath their lids, and their fire was so much\\nslackened, that he could no longer discharge\\na single glance that would reach across the\\ntable. Upon the whole, I fear the general ate\\nhimself into as much disgrace, at this mem-\\norable dinner, as I have seen him sleep himself\\ninto on a former occasion.\\nI am told, moreover, that young Jack Tib-\\nbets was so touched by the wedding ceremony,\\nat which he was present, and so captivated by\\nthe sensibility of poor Phoebe Wilkins, who\\ncertainly looked all the better for her tears,\\nthat he had a reconciliation wi th her that very\\nday, after dinner, in one of the groves of the\\npark, and danced with her in the evening, to\\nthe complete confusion of all Dame Tibbets s\\ndomestic politics. I met them w^alking\\ntogether in the park, shortly after the recon-\\nciliation must have taken place. Young Jack\\ncarried himself gayly and manfully; but\\nPhoebe hung her head, blushing, as I ap-\\nproached. However, just as she passed me,\\nand dropped a curtsey, I caught a shy gleam of\\nher eye from under her bonnet; but it was\\nimmediately cast down again. I saw enough\\nin that single gleam, and in the involuntary\\nsmile that dimpled about her rosy lips, to feel\\nsatisfied that the little gypsy s heart was\\nhappy again.\\nWhat is more. Lady Lillycraft, with her\\nusual benevolence and zeal in all matters of", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0211.jp2"}, "212": {"fulltext": "198 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nthis tender nature, on hearing of the rec-\\nonciliation of the lovers, undertook the crit-\\nical task of breaking the matter to Ready-\\nMoney Jack. She thought there was no time\\nlike the present, and attacked the sturdy old\\nyeoman that very evening in the park, while\\nhis heart was yet lifted up with the squire s\\ngood cheer. Jack was a little surprised at\\nbeing drawn aside by her ladyship, but was not\\nto be flurried by such an honor: he was still\\nmore surprised by the nature of her commu-\\nnication, and by this first intelligence of an\\naffair that had been passing under his eye.\\nHe listened, however, with his usual gravity,\\nas her ladyship represented the advantages of\\nthe match, the good qualities of the girl, and\\nthe distress which she had lately suffered; at\\nlength his eye began to kindle, and his hand\\nto play with the head of his cudgel. Lady\\nLillycraft saw that something in the narrative\\nhad gone wrong, and hastened to mollify his\\nrising her by reiterating the soft-hearted\\nPhoebe s merit and fidelity, and her great\\nunhappiness, when old Ready-Money suddenly\\ninterrupted her by exclaiming, that if Jack did\\nnot marn/ the wench, he d break every bone\\nin his body! The match, therefore, is con-\\nsidered a settled thing; Dame Tibbets and the\\nhousekeeper have made friends, and drank tea\\ntogether; and Phoebe has again recovered her\\ngood looks and good spirits, and is carolling\\nfrom morning till night like a lark.\\nBut the most whimsical caprice of cupid is\\none that I should be almost afraid to mention,", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0212.jp2"}, "213": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 199\\ndid I not know that I was writing for readers\\nwell acquainted in the waywardness of this\\nmost mischievous deity. The morning after\\nthe wedding, therefore, while Lady Lillycraft\\nwas making preparations for her departure,\\nan audience was requested by her immaculate\\nhandmaid, Mrs. Hannah, who, with much\\npriming of the mouth, and many maidenly\\nhesitations, requested leave to stay behind,\\nand that Lady Lillycraft would supply her\\nplace with some other servant. Her ladyship\\nwas astonished: What! Hannah going to\\nquit her, that had lived with her so long!\\n**Why, one could not help it; one must settle\\nin life some time or other.\\nThe good lady was still lost in amazement;\\nat length the secret was gasped from the dry\\nlips of the maiden gentlewoman; she had\\nbeen some time thinking of changing her con-\\ndition, and at length had given her word, last\\nevening, to Mr. Christy, the huntsman.\\nHow, or when, or where this singular court-\\nship had been carried on, I have not been able\\nto learn nor how she has been able, with the\\nvinegar of her disposition, to soften the stony\\nheart of old Nimrod so, however, it is, and\\nit has astonished every one. With all her\\nladyship s love of matchmaking, this last fume\\nof Hymen s torch has been too much for her.\\nShe has endeavored to reason with Mrs, Han-\\nnah, but all in vain; her mind was made up,\\nand she grew tart on the least contradiction.\\nLady Lillycraft applied to the squire for his\\ninterference. She did not know what she", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0213.jp2"}, "214": {"fulltext": "200 BRACEBRIDGE HALL.\\nshould do without Mrs. Hannah, she had been\\nused to have her about her so long a time.\\nThe squire, on the contrary, rejoiced in the\\nmatch, as relieving the good lady from a kind\\nof toilet-tyrant, under whose sway she had\\nsuffered for years. Instead of thwarting the\\naffair, therefore, he has given it his full coun-\\ntenance and declares that he will set up the\\nyoung couple in one of the best cottages on\\nhis estate. The approbation of the squire\\nhas been followed by that of the whole house-\\nhold; they all declare, that if ever matches are\\nreally made in heaven, this must have been;\\nfor that old Christy and Mrs. Hannah were as\\nevidently formed to be linked together as ever\\nwere pepper-box and vinegar-cruet.\\nAs soon as this matter was arranged, Lady\\nLillycraft took her leave of the family at the\\nHall; taking with her the captain and his\\nblushing bride, who are to pass the honey-\\nmoon with her. Master Simon accompanied\\nthem on horseback, and indeed means to ride\\non ahead to make preparations. The general,\\nwho was fishing in vain for an invitation to her\\nseat, handed her ladyship into her carriage\\nwith a heavy sigh; upon which his bosom\\nfriend, Master Simon, who was just mounting\\nhis horse, gave me a knowing wink, made an\\nabominably wry face, and, leaning from his\\nsaddle, whispered loudly in my ear, It won t\\ndo I Then putting spurs to his horse, away\\nhe cantered off. The general stood for some\\ntime waving his hat after the carriage as it\\nrolled down the avenue, until he was seized", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0214.jp2"}, "215": {"fulltext": "BRACEBRIDGE HALL. 201\\nwith a fit of sneezing, from exposing his head\\nto the cool breeze. I observed that he returned\\nrather thoughtfully to the house; whistling\\nthoughtfully to himself, with his hands behind\\nhis back, and an exceedingly dubious air.\\nThe company have now almost all taken\\ntheir departure. I have determined to do the\\nsame to-morrow morning; and I hope my\\nreader may not think that I have already\\nlingered too long at the Hall. I have been\\ntempted to do so, however, because I thought\\nI had lit upon one of the retired places where\\nthere are yet some traces to be met with of\\nold English character. A little while hence,\\nand all these will probably have passed away.\\nReady-Money Jack will sleep with his fathers\\nthe good squire, and all his peculiarities, will\\nbe buried in the neighboring church. The\\nold Hall will be modernized into a fashionable\\ncountry-seat, or, peradventure, a manufactory.\\nThe park will be cut up into petty farms and\\nkitchen-gardens. A daily coach will run\\nthrough the village; it will become, like all\\nother commonplace villages, thronged with\\ncoachmen, post-boys, tipplers, and politicians;\\nand Christmas, May-day, and all the other\\nhearty merry-makings of the good old times,\\nwill be forgotten.\\nTHE END.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0215.jp2"}, "216": {"fulltext": "W. B. GoNKEY Gonrs Fdblightions\\nONE HUNDRED SELECTED POPUUR STANDARD BOOKS,\\nMASTERPIECES OF LITERATURE, BY THE\\nWORLD S MOST FAMOUS AUTHORS\\nPrinted From New, Perfect Plates\\nBOUND m THREE SERIES, AS FOLLOWS:\\nTHE IVORY SERIES\\nBEE LIST OF TITLES ON NEXT PAGE\\nThree original full page illastrationa and portrait of the\\nanthor in each book. Beautifully illuminated title page. Printed\\nwith the greatest care on fine laid paper, frotn clear, open-faced\\ntype, fiound in Buperb style with white yellum cloth and imported\\nfancy paper sides, artistically stamped in gold, with gold top and\\nsilk ribbon marker. Each book in neat covered box. 16mo size.\\nAn ezquisite series of gift books. Price, 60C.\\nTHE UNIVERSITY SERIES\\nSEE LIST OF TITLES ON NEXT PAGE\\nAn unexcelled library of standard works. Bound in a beautiful\\nand dnrable heavy ribbed cloth, handsomely stamped in gilt and\\ntwo colors of ink. A perfect portrait of the author and three full\\npage original illustrations in each volume. Title page in colors.\\nPrinted on fine laid paper, from new, clear type. Wrapped in neat\\ncolored printed wrappers. 16mo size. Price, 35c.\\nTHE AMARANTH SERIES\\nSEE LIST OF TITLES ON NEXT PAGE\\nThe latest, handsomest, and best selected series of standard\\nbooks at a popular price. Printed on good paper from new type,\\nend bound in strong cloth, artistically stamped with original\\ndesign in two colors of ink. Printed colored wrappers. 16mo size.\\nPrice. 25c.\\nAll of the above series are for sale by leading booksellers\\neverywhere. Ask for them by the name of the series, or\\nwill be sent postpaid, on receipt of price, by the publishers.\\nW. B. CONKEY COMPANY, Chicago\\nWOR^S: Hammond, lad.", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0216.jp2"}, "217": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0217.jp2"}, "218": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0218.jp2"}, "219": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0219.jp2"}, "220": {"fulltext": "Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process.\\nNeutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide\\nTreatment Date: Sept. 2009\\nPreservationTechnologies\\nA WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION\\n111 Thomson Park Drive\\nCranberry Township, PA 16066\\n(724)779-2111", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0220.jp2"}, "221": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0221.jp2"}, "222": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2719", "width": "1637", "jp2-path": "bracebridgehall01irvi_0222.jp2"}}