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Chapter 7 MISS JEMIMA STANBURY, OF EXETER.

Word Count: 4255    |    Released on: 29/11/2017

-English as to be unable to appreciate the difference between county society and town society,-the society, that is, of a provincial town, or so ignorant as not to know also that there

been said, special merit may prevail. Sir Peter Mancrudy, the great Exeter physician, has won his way in,-not at all by being Sir Peter, which has stood in his way rather than otherwise,-but by the acknowledged excellence of his book about saltzes. Sir Peter Mancrudy is supposed to have quite a metropolitan, almost a European reputation,-and therefore is acknowledged to belong to the county set, although he never dines out at any house beyond the limits of the city. Now, let it be known that no inhabitant of Exeter ever achieved a clearer right to be regarded as "county," in opposition to "town," than had Miss Jemima Stanbury. There was not a tradesman in Exeter who was not aware of it, and who did not touch his hat to her accordingly. The men who drove the flies, when summoned to take her out at night, would bring oats with them, knowing how probable it was that they might have to travel far. A distinct apology was made if she was asked to drink tea with people who

h, and the house was double throughout, having as many windows looking out behind into a gloomy courtyard. But the glory of the house consisted in this, that there was a garden attached to it, a garden with very high walls, over which the boughs of trees might be seen, giving to the otherwise gloomy abode a touch of freshness in the summer, and a look of space in the winter, which no doubt added something to the reputation even of Miss Stanbury. The fact,-for it was a fact,-that there was n

their beer there, and the landlord was a retired verger. Nearly the whole of one side of a dark passage leading out of the Close towards the High Street belonged to her; and though the passage be narrow and the houses dark, the locality is known to be good for trade. And she owned two large houses in the High Street, and a great w

r father's death, her brother, also now dead, had become vicar of the same parish,-her brother, whose only son, Hugh Stanbury, we already know, working for the "D. R." up in London. When Miss Stanbury was twenty-one she became engaged to a certain Mr. Brooke Burgess, the eldest son of a banker in Exeter,-or, it might, perhaps, be better said, a banker himself; for at the time Mr. Brooke Burgess was in the

eet. The results, however, were as have been described. At the period of which we treat, Miss Stanbury was a very rich lady, living by herself in Exeter, admitted, without question, to be one of the county set, and still at variance with her brother's family. Except to Hugh, she had never spoken a word to one of them since

estow upon him,-"and that only," she had added, "in the event of my surviving till his education be completed." And to Hugh himself she had declared that any allowance which she made him after he was called to the Bar, was only made in order to give him room for his foot, a spot of ground from whence to make his first

t you to Harrow and Oxford, nor yet up to London and paid £100 a year to Mr. Lambert. I think you are treating me badly, but that is nothing to your bad treatment of yourself. You need not trouble yourself to answer this, unless y

a Sta

Exeter, Apr

his bread, as a means of earning it had come within his reach. He might as well have spared himself the trouble. She simply wrote a few words across hi

public feeling were becoming demoralised and perverted. Had any reduction been made in the price of either of them, she would at once have stopped her subscription. In the matter of politics she had long since come to think that everything good was over. She hated the name of Reform so much that she could not bring herself to believe in Mr. Disraeli and his bill. For many years she had believed in Lord Derby. She would fain believe in him still if she could. It was the great desire of her heart to have some one in whom she believed. In the bishop of her diocese she did believe, and annually sent him some little comforting present from her own hand. And in two or three of the clergymen around her she believed, finding in them a flavour of the unascetic godliness of ancient days which was gratifying to her palate. But in politics there was

the use of much strong language. She was very punctilious in all her habits, breakfasting ever at half-past eight, and dining always at six. Half-past five had been her time, till the bishop, who, on an occasion, was to be her guest, once signified to her that such an hour cut up the day and interfered with clerical work. Her lunch was always of bread and cheese, and they who lunched with her either eat that,-or the bread without the cheese. An afternoon "tea" was a thing horrible to her imagination. Tea and buttered toast at half-past eight in the evening was the great luxury of her life. She was as strong as a horse, and had never hitherto known a day's illness. As a consequence of this, she did not believe in the illness of other people,-especially not in the illness of women. She did not like a girl who could not drink a glass of beer with her bread and cheese in the middle of the day, and she thought that a glass of port after dinner was good for

respectable neighbourhood on the Heavitree side of the town; but for the new streets, and especially for the suburban villas, she had no endurance. She liked to deal at dear shops; but would leave any shop, either dear or cheap, in regard to which a printed advertisement should reach her eye. She paid all her bills at the end of each six months, and almost took a delight in high prices. She would rejoice that bread sho

but they who could stand this rigidity came to know that their places were very valuable. No one belonging to them need want for aught, when once the good opinion of Miss Stanbury had been earned. When once she believed in her servant there was nobody like that servant. There was not a man in Exeter could clean a boot except Giles Hickbody,-and i

iven him to understand, that in the event of her death not a shilling would be left to him. Indeed, as to that matter of bequeathing her money, it was understood that it was her purpose to let it all go back to the Burgess family. With the Burgess family she had kept up no sustained connection, it being quite understood that she was never to be asked to m

ink up into the bed-rooms, and had she ever heard that any guest in her house was reading in bed, she would have made an instant personal attack upon that guest, whether male or female, which would have surprised that guest. Poor Hugh would have got on better with her had he not been discovered once smoking in the garden. Nor would she have writ

down, but did not speak a word. There had been no question asked of her, and the time for speaking had

een asked, and it was

Mrs. Stanb

Mrs. St

ma'am, unless it's to put Mr. Hugh

over him; you may be sure of that, Martha. And remember, Martha, I don't want to ha

ry nice gent

t. I won't have it. Perhaps I know what goes to t

ugh, m

t." As she said this, she got up from her chair, and shook her head,

u're mistress

taught. I'm not going to have my house crammed with radical incendiary stuff, printed with ink that stinks, on pa

, ma

anbury to send one of

s she asked the question, showed

artha;

ver like i

suppose

The young lady'll be out of the house in a

ean yo

, ma'am, and it don

re a

, ma'am, I d

e must do the best we can

a different thing. I don't see how it's possible she's to stay. I'm told

what

e so hard

duty, or at least I'll try. Now you know all about it, and you may g

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Contents

Chapter 1 SHEWING HOW WRATH BEGAN. Chapter 2 COLONEL OSBORNE. Chapter 3 LADY MILBOROUGH'S DINNER PARTY. Chapter 4 HUGH STANBURY. Chapter 5 SHEWING HOW THE QUARREL PROGRESSED. Chapter 6 SHEWING HOW RECONCILIATION WAS MADE. Chapter 7 MISS JEMIMA STANBURY, OF EXETER. Chapter 8 I KNOW IT WILL DO. Chapter 9 SHEWING HOW THE QUARREL PROGRESSED AGAIN. Chapter 10 HARD WORDS. Chapter 11 LADY MILBOROUGH AS AMBASSADOR.
Chapter 12 MISS STANBURY'S GENEROSITY.
Chapter 13 THE HONOURABLE MR. GLASCOCK.
Chapter 14 THE CLOCK HOUSE AT NUNCOMBE PUTNEY.
Chapter 15 WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT IT IN THE CLOSE.
Chapter 16 DARTMOOR.
Chapter 17 A GENTLEMAN COMES TO NUNCOMBE PUTNEY.
Chapter 18 THE STANBURY CORRESPONDENCE.
Chapter 19 BOZZLE, THE EX-POLICEMAN.
Chapter 20 SHEWING HOW COLONEL OSBORNE
Chapter 21 SHEWING HOW COLONEL OSBORNE No.21
Chapter 22 SHEWING HOW MISS STANBURY BEHAVED
Chapter 23 COLONEL OSBORNE AND MR. BOZZLE
Chapter 24 NIDDON PARK.
Chapter 25 HUGH STANBURY SMOKES HIS PIPE.
Chapter 26 A THIRD PARTY IS SO OBJECTIONABLE.
Chapter 27 MR. TREVELYAN'S LETTER TO HIS WIFE.
Chapter 28 GREAT TRIBULATION.
Chapter 29 MR. AND MRS. OUTHOUSE.
Chapter 30 DOROTHY MAKES UP HER MIND.
Chapter 31 MR. BROOKE BURGESS.
Chapter 32 THE FULL MOON AT ST. DIDDULPH'S.
Chapter 33 HUGH STANBURY SMOKES ANOTHER PIPE.
Chapter 34 PRISCILLA'S WISDOM.
Chapter 35 MR. GIBSON'S GOOD FORTUNE.
Chapter 36 MISS STANBURY'S WRATH.
Chapter 37 MONT CENIS.
Chapter 38 VERDICT OF THE JURY- MAD, MY LORD.
Chapter 39 MISS NORA ROWLEY IS MALTREATED.
Chapter 40 C. G.
Chapter 41 SHEWING WHAT TOOK PLACE AT ST. DIDDULPH'S.
Chapter 42 MISS STANBURY AND MR. GIBSON BECOME TWO.
Chapter 43 LABURNUM COTTAGE.
Chapter 44 BROOKE BURGESS TAKES LEAVE OF EXETER.
Chapter 45 TREVELYAN AT VENICE.
Chapter 46 THE AMERICAN MINISTER.
Chapter 47 ABOUT FISHING, AND NAVIGATION, AND HEAD-DRESSES.
Chapter 48 MR. GIBSON IS PUNISHED.
Chapter 49 MR. BROOKE BURGESS AFTER SUPPER.
Chapter 50 CAMILLA TRIUMPHANT.
Chapter 51 SHEWING WHAT HAPPENED
Chapter 52 MR. OUTHOUSE COMPLAINS THAT IT'S HARD.
Chapter 53 HUGH STANBURY IS SHEWN TO BE NO CONJUROR.
Chapter 54 MR. GIBSON'S THREAT.
Chapter 55 THE REPUBLICAN BROWNING.
Chapter 56 WITHERED GRASS.
Chapter 57 DOROTHY'S FATE.
Chapter 58 DOROTHY AT HOME.
Chapter 59 MR. BOZZLE AT HOME.
Chapter 60 ANOTHER STRUGGLE.
Chapter 61 PARKER'S HOTEL, MOWBRAY STREET.
Chapter 62 LADY ROWLEY MAKES AN ATTEMPT.
Chapter 63 SIR MARMADUKE AT HOME.
Chapter 64 SIR MARMADUKE AT HIS CLUB.
Chapter 65 MYSTERIOUS AGENCIES.
Chapter 66 OF A QUARTER OF LAMB.
Chapter 67 RIVER'S COTTAGE.
Chapter 68 MAJOR MAGRUDER'S COMMITTEE.
Chapter 69 SIR MARMADUKE AT WILLESDEN.
Chapter 70 SHEWING WHAT NORA ROWLEY
Chapter 71 SHEWING WHAT HUGH STANBURY THOUGHT
Chapter 72 THE DELIVERY OF THE LAMB.
Chapter 73 DOROTHY RETURNS TO EXETER.
Chapter 74 THE LIONESS AROUSED.
Chapter 75 THE ROWLEYS GO OVER THE ALPS.
Chapter 76 WE SHALL BE SO POOR.
Chapter 77 THE FUTURE LADY PETERBOROUGH.
Chapter 78 CASALUNGA.
Chapter 79 I CAN SLEEP ON THE BOARDS.
Chapter 80 WILL THEY DESPISE HIM
Chapter 81 MR. GLASCOCK IS MASTER.
Chapter 82 MRS. FRENCH'S CARVING KNIFE.
Chapter 83 BELLA VICTRIX.
Chapter 84 SELF-SACRIFICE.
Chapter 85 THE BATHS OF LUCCA.
Chapter 86 MR. GLASCOCK AS NURSE.
Chapter 87 MR. GLASCOCK'S MARRIAGE COMPLETED.
Chapter 88 CROPPER AND BURGESS.
Chapter 89 I WOULDN'T DO IT, IF I WAS YOU.
Chapter 90 LADY ROWLEY CONQUERED.
Chapter 91 FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.
Chapter 92 TREVELYAN DISCOURSES ON LIFE.
Chapter 93 SAY THAT YOU FORGIVE ME.
Chapter 94 A REAL CHRISTIAN.
Chapter 95 TREVELYAN BACK IN ENGLAND.
Chapter 96 MONKHAMS.
Chapter 97 MRS. BROOKE BURGESS.
Chapter 98 ACQUITTED.
Chapter 99 CONCLUSION.
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