one of the many balls with which it was the delight of my father to entertain the young people of his own and neighbours’ families, it had a very pretty and pleasing appearance. The other wing, with its heavy mullioned windows and dark wainscoting, was used for the dining-room and library, and very handsome and comfortable they looked, particularly in winter, with their dark, oak furniture, and crimson velvet draperies. Long cloistered walks extended on either side of the house, and led out to the extensive gardens, with their fountains, terraces, and the modern innovation of conservatories and hothouses. The whole was situated in an extensive deer-park, and bounded by dark woods. A bright stream ran at the bottom of the gardens, dividing them from the park, and affording many a day’s amusement in boating and fishing to myself and my schoolfellows.
In this abode of peace and plenty I passed some of my happiest days and I hoped that I was to remain there to the end of life. In this favoured spot I resided until I was close upon my majority, and my dream of life was, that I should, upon my father’s death, assume the responsibilities of a large landed proprietor, take to myself a wife, and devote my time and the influence of my station to the amelioration of the condition, both physical and moral, of those who, living within the district in which my estate was situated, were fit and deserving objects on whom to expend some of my superfluous wealth. But, alas! for the vanity of all, or at least some, human calculations, an event occurred which completely upset all my nicely laid plans for the future, and rendered it indispensably necessary for me to put my shoulder to the wheel in good earnest, and not trouble myself about the propriety of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the afflicted, and so on. But to explain. My father was chief partner in a large mercantile house, whose principal warehouses were situated in Thames Street, City. The business of the firm was chiefly confined to the importation of foreign goods, such as French lace, and Lyons shawls, and a good deal was done in Russian furs, sables, &c. My father had originally been a clerk in the establishment over which he now ruled supreme. Being a well-made, and rather, if not very, good-looking young man, he, at the early age of two-and-twenty, captivated the maiden affections of Miss Virginia Allbone, who was not more than thirty years his senior. Being desirous of exchanging her solitary mode of life, Miss Virginia Allbone took advantage of the privilege attaching to ladies in leap years, and proposed to my father that he should give up sitting at a desk all day long, writing out invoices, and casting up very long columns of figures, for the trifling consideration of eighty pounds a-year, and become the partner of her joys and sorrows. The author of my being hesitated, and expressed a conviction that if he was to accept the very flattering offer of Miss Virginia it would cause him the loss of his situation, as, without doubt, Mr. Allbone, the chief partner in the firm of Allbone, Grizzle & Co., would be very angry in the event of a marriage taking place between his (Mr. Allbone’s) only sister, and one of his junior clerks. The enamoured Virginia, however, contemptuously ignored the necessity of endeavouring to obtain the sanction of her brother. She was of age, she said, and could do what she liked.
“Yes, that’s right enough,” replied my cautious parent; “but suppose he gives me the sack, what are we to do for a living? It isn’t very easy to get a situation that would suit me.”
“Who wants you to get a situation?” indignantly rejoined the lady. “Do you think that I would desire to see my husband toiling from morning till night for the means of existence.”
“Well! but what are we to live on?” continued the far-seeing youth.
“Live on! why the interest of my money. Haven’t I got thirty thousand pounds in the Three per Cents, and don’t they bring me in nine hundred pounds a-year; and if we can’t live on nine hundred pounds a-year we ought to starve.”
The end of it all was, that my father, who thought that a hundred, or a hundred and fifty at the outside, was the amount of the old girl’s income, married, by special licence, the rich heiress, Miss Virginia Allbone, who, on her bridal day, handed him a bank receipt for ten thousand pounds. He treated her very kindly, and from the day of their marriage until her death, which happened about ten years after their union, no quarrel or serious disagreement took place between them.
Michael Allbone was very much annoyed at first, but his annoyance arose from the disparity between the ages of the bride and bridegroom, and from a firm conviction, that nothing but misery would ensue from such an unequal match. However, when he heard upon what terms they were living, he visited them at their suburban residence, and offered his brother-in-law a share in the profits of the firm. By her will, Mrs. Virginia Trussell, née Allbone, left the whole of her wealth to her husband, who, shortly after his year of mourning had expired, assumed the complete management of the affairs of the firm of Allbone, Grizzle & Co. In due time my father married again, and the result of that proceeding was myself and four sisters. Whilst he was in business, my father, together with his wife and family, resided at Highgate, and used to drive to the City in his phaeton and pair every morning at ten, and return about five in the afternoon. In the course of years my father amassed a large fortune, and like a sensible man determined to enjoy it. With this resolution strong within him, he instructed a well-known auctioneer to purchase for him an estate, the particulars of which were duly set forth by my father. Colyton Priory was for sale, and my father no sooner saw it than he became enamoured of it; and as soon as the title deeds had been looked into, and the conveyance made out, the ownership of Colyton Priory and the adjoining estate was vested in the name of Ernest Sigismund Trussell, Esq., and Ernest Sigismund Trussell was my father. Retiring from the bustle of City affairs, the new owner of Colyton Priory settled down to the enjoyments of country life; but he soon got tired of it, and never rested until he bought himself back into