And when
he was wafted to a still sublimer sphere, his grandson carried on the
business well.
Having spread the great news in this striking manner, Captain
Stubbard--though growing very bulky now with good living, ever since his
pay was doubled--set off at a conscientious pace against the stomach of
the hill, lest haply the Hall should feel aggrieved at hearing all
this noise and having to wonder what the reason was. He knew, and was
grateful at knowing, that Carne's black crime and devilish plot had
wrought an entire revulsion in the candid but naturally too soft mind
of the author of the Harmodiad. Sir Francis was still of a liberal mind,
and still admired his own works. But forgetting that nobody read them,
he feared the extensive harm they might produce, although he was now
resolved to write even better in the opposite direction. On the impulse
of literary conscience, he held a council with the gardener Swipes, as
to the best composition of bonfire for the consumption of poetry. Mr.
Swipes recommended dead pea-haulm, with the sticks left in it to
ensure a draught. Then the poet in the garden with a long bean-stick
administered fire to the whole edition, not only of the Harmodiad,
but also of the Theiodemos, his later and even grander work. Persons
incapable of lofty thought attributed this--the most sage and practical
of all forms of palinode--to no higher source than the pretty face and
figure, and sweet patriotism, of Lady Alice, the youngest sister of
Lord Dashville.
Pages:
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713