The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-05-16 00:00:00

SATURDAY, MAY 16, • 1885.

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
STRIVE AND THRIVE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

It R
14 ON THE ROAD TO RUIN.
,R. WA received three letters from Howard
e—LT"ont, after they parted in the autumn of 1852.
lee first vvas sent just before he set out upon his
pit, l?rairie Journey; and the second from Quebec, ionme-
ula,telY preceding his return to England.
,u'is third letter, dated at Belmont Hall, nearly a year
after his arrival home, was written under evident de-
pression of spirits, and gave hints of misfortune in
soe ra
i. Shape, without affording the faintest clue to its
cearacter.
Ls These letters load all been promptly answered, but
lie had not again written.
/award had never written to Eda, nor solicited ,
letters from her; for he had seemed in this, as in other
✓ 1
_esPects, scrupulously to avoid anything which could
reader it possible for her to regard him in the light of
'a SilitOr.
he need not have been so guarded, for poor Eda
I'Was the least presumptuous of mortals, and would ,
~ 13Carcely have credited her senses if he had made her 1
114 actual declaration of love.
, 4, tut if Belmont was reserved in imparting informa-
rn of his griefs to his Amerinn friends, the narrator
h"°es, not feel obliged to follow his example, and Will
‘.cere the liberty of disclosing all that he so carefully ,
concealed
lIIt was Certainly not among the causes of Howard's
• Itr.Oubles that he found Lord Belmont married on his
toria home, for this had been an expected event, and
els
Pretty young wife was every way worthy of her
—eilling good fortune. The marriage had been one
'llfisaffection on the part of the young nobleman, for
bride was not of high birth, nor did she have any
„e°nsiderable dowry. She was, however, of a most
`asPeetable family, and was the daughter of an old
' t!1c1 intimate friend of the dowager Lady Belmont,
%who looked to her known virtues and good sense to ,
txereise a reclaiming influence over her son, in whom
certain evil habits had gradually developed them-
selves.
zi here was the real source of Howard's unhappi-
itoes,,,a• His brother, whose disposition was amiability
--"'"f, whose unselfish nature was the subject of
f'?beral observation, had yet come under the domi-
Elical of two social vices, which were threatening
entire ruin. He was addicted to the excessive
1/se of table wine' and to the hazardous pastime of the card-
, Lord Belmont's marriage had checked his evil
:tiabits for a while. But the festivities consequent
I.,ick)n that event had hardly ceased, before he began
fall again under their dominion; and one of
'4,2Ward's first duties, upon arriving at Belmont Hall,
ii'vas to expostulate with its infatuated proprietor
hl3°ll his ruinous course, at the request of his lady
beerself, whose power over her husband had so soon
gun to wane.
• .B,.'ord Belmont always freely owned his faults,
elanly promised reformation, and regularly broke
promises upon the slightest temptation, so that
il•Tfore he had been married a year he was greatly
, tivolved in debt, and his large income had been
t caged for years in advance to unscrupulous and
xtortionate creditors.
.4,._The liberal allowance which he had made for his
"%tiler was now necessarily withheld, although, the
peer continually promised him that this should
. 15e
be a temporary change, and that the deficiency
Iti°111(1 be abundantly made up in that fortunate
, -I,„."``re when he should retrieve all his losses, and retire
'`.4ever from the gaming table.
Howard cared little for his personal losses,
~
b l'-'cially as he had an income independent of his
ipther's bounty, sufficient for his moderate wants.
4ellad, indeed, an accumulated capital, from which,
bi
s -'°wn to Lord Belmont, he contributed freely to
ii:: sister-in-law, for evident wants which the peer had
1 eAther money nor credit to supply.
th,:iffairs could not long remain in this condition, and
' NI, dissipated young lord, dejected and remorseful,
vs's Mad to escape the stings of his conscience, and
iZe reproachful looks of his friends, by the most
i Vicit compliance with all their requirements.
result, after many long and painful family
ultations, was an arrangement with one of the
I,;:,acipal creditors, a rich and ambitious attorney,
..4 40 thirty years before load been the most obsequious
, Ent of the late lord, by which the temporary owner-
-1001) of Belmont Hall, and the revenues of its proprietor,
into his hands.
The
' Nit.l dowager retired to a quiet country residence,
- Am la few of the old family servants, and Lord Belmont
. tax?: his lady sought a home in Florence, where a tenth
' Ileit of their former large income, remitted to Lady.
Q na°nt in quarterly payments by Mr. Attorney
.tvrabb, sufficed for their comfortable support, and
for the enjoyment of most of the luxuries and
4egoncies of life.
' ye,,T4.llis course of living persevered in for half a dozen
would extricate the misguided nobleman from
ti 8 Pecuniary difficulties; and if it served at the same
' kiLe to eradicate his passion for gambling, and its
try '4,,reci vice, his cure might be said to be cheaply
• (~ : ed. He would return to the enjoyment of his
te
huzza, jun a young man, and although with some
I.eiousnesisngof the
recollections, yet with a soothing con-
retrieval energy which had worked out his
. trow r
a cl did not accompany his friends to Italy.
L 3 mother's health had rapidly given way under her
Zeat:Ltroubles, and her younger son felt that all his
-,;t1,10n was now due to so fond a parent.
the privilege of ministering to the comfort of
: ikae so beloved was not long accorded to him.
ly two months after the departure of Lord and
tio'Y Belmont, she died suddenly, and the bereaved
HOW di
thought that he would willingly have
' ',ended with her to the tomb.
was about thie time, when his heart was softened
trJe:filietion, that, in looking over some of the stored
' Net sures of his mother, he came across the beautiful
Lilt 4re of Eda, which she had always greatly admired,
if
tirrhich, since their removal from the hall, had not
e its accustomed place among the ornaments of
.. •
e tawing-room.
I
Lior ecame strangely interested in the contempla-
in recalling her words and looks during the
h:leus Pleasant interviews which he load with her,
Ced Which load nearly faded from his memory. Then
, p,itT'ondered whether she was married or net; and
4 Iviiil a slightly increased depression, the cause of
habiel.l he did not recognise, he decided upon the pro-
ble.oltY that the beautiful girl must long before have
4..r00 a wife.
PIA the picture away, and dismissed the sub-
the
44uid . graver ones which had so long filled his
' cless,„ , hut memories of Eda would come back to him,
Pit his efforts to dispel them.
tireaLallge how vividly some scenes came back in
.' Vair, which memory had failed to reproduce in his
4g hours; and stranger still, he thought, when
• kap.;W°ke, that a simple glance at a picture should
' SlohiBe'influenced his imagination in his sleep. The
! teet involved some mental phenomena which he
' Dekjed to look into; and again the witching Eda
ex
, go- eluded from his thoughts.
long or how successfully, it is not necessary
- 110,s Y 'but now that the last strong link which bound
tot 'ard -to his native land was severed, his passion
: lost travelling returned, and he resolved to seek his
e, .serenity of mind in foreign climes.
&liar, Lcent to Italy, but he did not linger there longer
Ivtior,:u Pay a visit of a few weeks to his brother,
, 11 hi; to. lois delight, he found apparently disenchanted
'lltors Vices, and deeply absorbed in the study of
arid philosophy; for Lord Belmont had the
‘btigti'llF,e to know that his only hope of successfully
fi.Lae„g temptation was in constant employment.
441 c, Belmont could not sufficiently express he
St/er4 to Howard for his persistent and strenuous
blor ss.) to save his brother from ruin; conduct the
he. e Pro:
ti Jr to seworthy because he was as yet the legal
itheii.2 peer, whose death would have devolved
t She "I both his title and estates.
411'qa ery
Way
her gratitude by contributing in
"' ay to his happiness; and she sought also to
'4lO is'iro in Florence, on account of the invaluable
htle,,,,T`c Which he exercised over her husband.
Foloar,
undecided d could not be induced to stay, though
ho
t'nt
tra„, t,le was decided where to go. The mania
L'A h' eh and for adventure, he said, was upon him ;
talked of Norway and Iceland, of Russia,
tilt,' China, and Japan.
"e went to America.
.—....0.
Prtt