The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-02-25
Lady Margaret's Valentino.

past or the present, whether thought
of as the wife or widow of Sir GeOffrey
Caryil, she was always spoken OF as
a perfect lady" People were not
persuaded of anything more entirely
than of the projections of Lady Mar
garet. Her excellence was an article
f faith among us, so perfectly did our
little world believe in her.
This gracious lady was beautiful IN
+ 1aoe, very graceful in movements,
gentle In manner. She was atfable
without impairment condescenslon
and respectful to everybody. The
good Kempton people were very proud
of her title; "a lady in her own
right" they called her; dear, faith
full, friendly souls, and | had listened
to them In my childhood with much
solemn wonder In my swelling heart
as to what those words might mean.
Lady Margaret had stood much
alone in the world before her mar
riage. She had been an orphan; she
had brought no grand relations to
look down On the hereditary devotion
of the Kempton neigh bors; and Miss
Smithers, the crocer's heiress, had
had larger fortune; but Lady Mar
garet stood in no need of the recon-
was such . a perfect lady"
As to myself | worshipped Lady
Margaret with a truly devoted heart,
and my mother gave her the purest
admiration, and a very grateful love.
[ suppose | may say that my father,
James Royds, had been the first gen
tIeman of his family. The Royds
family had, Ia long succession, from
father to son. been in the place of
land stewards to the Caryll property
but the late Sir Godfrey, who had
been Lady Margaret's husband, and
my father, had been "Only sons" and
as the boys grew into close friends it
was agreed that they should not be
parted. They went to Oxford to-
gether, where my father greatly dis
tinguished himself. He bad become
Il barrister, and he had married early;
then, in the same year. he and Sir
Geoffrey died-Sir Geoffrey of fall
from his horse, my father in cOnse-
quence of a fever caught in London.
1 was ten years old at that time, and
Lady Margaret had been only two
years married.
The house in which we lived had
been prepared for my mothers recep-
ton when a bride, by Sir Godfrey.
1t stood within the park wall, which
was covered with ivy from the ground
to the coping; and it was backed by
great cedars, whose huge cone-coV-
cred branches gave out sweet odors
as they lay struggling in great feathery
lengths across the turf The Court
was about half mile off, and we
could get to it by pathway straight
across the park, passing by the spring
called the 9 Deer Pool" which lay on
the sunny side of dense thicket of
evergreens; this path was only used
by the servants of the Court, our
selves, and our two maid servants,
and the privileged feet of the village
pOstman. My mother and | were also
allowed to use p" the private drive,
and there my little pony. carriage
wheels were often heard merrily run
ming over the we'll rolled, perfectly
kept, graveled road.
On the deaths which [ have re-
corded, the Kempton people added to
their everyday thoughts many specu-
lations as to how my mother and Lady
Margaret would be left; and on both
matters they were soon sufficiently
informed My mother was left in
afluence, and Lady Margaret had the
entire Caryll property bequeathed to
her; but Ii a certain Captain CRANKY,
of whom no one had ever heard be-
fore, but who now turned out to be
some distant cousin of Sir Godfrey,
survived her, he was to be the future
owner of KemptOn Court.
Nobody cared for Captain CRANKY.
Nobody knew where he was. In
India, said somebody; so they took
hot
practical purposes Lady Margaret
was mistress of the situation, aud
more magnificent sympathy was offer
ed to her in consequence.
In the old time there had been
public days at Kempton Court, such
as the old Kings birth day, by which
George the Third was meant, when a
flag waved from the porch tower, and
the place had been thrown open to
all who had an estab ished right to
come. But as time went on the days
were changed. The accession OF
Queen Victoria had been kept; and
In my time it had always been Lady
Margaret's wedding day.
After Sir Geolfrey's death there was
much wondering about these public
days For six years kempton Court
was a house closed to all but particu-
lar friends; and during all that time
the wondering as to the possible fste
days of the future was every year re-
newed. During all this time Lady
Margaret had been the angel of our
house. She had won my mother out
of her Responding grief for my fathers
early death, and she made me love
her as l could not hope by any de-
scriptlon to make anybody under
stand. / quite worshipped Lady Mar
garet. The most perfect ladyl [
could echo the village judgment now
from my own heart, and because of
my own experience; and generally
Lady Margaret was even more de-
lighted in as a widow than she had
been as a wife - our perfect lady
Lady Margaret used often to have
me stay with her at Kempton Court;
and rather more than six years after
her husbands death, when | was her
guest-t being February, and, in
fact, ST. Valentines eve, she said:
MARY the people have been six
years without their public days in the
park. | am thinking this year of be-
ginning them again. l wonder if it
would be liked 2"
[ spoke positively of the pleasure it
would give; and W hen | looked at her
beautiful young face-she could not
have been more than twenty-seven, L
think felt glad that she would no
longer deprive our little world of so
much loneliness of person and mind.
And you will go out again-see
friends, mean"
Yes, said she; but / shall not
go to London this year, think"
Then I knew that nv deOraas fbo