Daily globe., 1879-01-05
FAIR AGNES.
The Chambermaid of Marblehead Who
Became q Lady"

Slr Charles Henry F'rankland, son of
former Governor of Bengal, and descend
ed from a family of England tracing a
lineage back to the Norman conquest,
had visited America long previous to the
war OF the Revolution, and was holding
the office of collector of his Maiesty's
customs In Boston under the royal gov
ernncnt of Massachusetts. Unhapp1lv,
the gay manners and hcentious princi-
pies OF the young knight were better ac-
commodated to the profligate circles of
the Old World courts in which he moved
than to the severe morality of Puritan
New England society.
One some occasion, in pursuit either of
BUSINESS Or pleasure, it would appear that
this ncbleman CHANGED to visit the vii
lage OF Marblehead (some sixteen tradi-
tons say Glouster), where, at the village
inn, he found damsel OF ''sweet six
| teen." without shoes OR stockings, and
engaged in the very unromantic employ
ment OF scrubbing the staircase. Attrac-
ted, however, by her appearance, for,
Notwithstanding her GesAabizle, she was
yet evidently possessed of an unusally
comelY face and form, the gallant youth
WChC u y oLAS& lLSl Cchll1C NOWA ItSG1l, uu-
| til at length he had quite fallen in love
with the young barefooted beauty.
| Meanwhile the grace Of her attendance
| upon the tea-table materially aided a
conquest which, when our hero ascer-
tanned that to the charms Of personal
| loveliresss were united wifhal a lively
wit and a strong though uncultivated
mind, became complete.
The 'snoble" adyenturer improved his
earliest opportunity to make known TO
the fair maid his feelings toward her. He
did not feel at liberty at present, in view
Of the immense social disparity between
them, to offer her his hand in marriage.
But, if she was disposed, she should be-
come his companion for life. On their
return to Boston she should at once be
put in the way of acquiring all the ac-
complishments in the way of education
which the best instructors at the time
| could bestow. This achieved, she should
| be installed the permanent and sole mis-
trcss Of his mansion, as she was already
the undispu5ed mistress of his heart
Bewildered by this sudden and most un-
expected stroke of seeming good fortune,
the rustic and penniless beauty yielded
to the ardent end persuasive protestaticns
Of her noble and consented forthwith to
return with him to Boston.
The vigorous tone of moral sentiment
existing from the earliest day here in
New England, it need hardly be said, was
grossly outraged and scandalizad by such
a connection as this, all unblessed as it
was by any pretence of matrimonial rites
and 1r hx- H.,
paraded before the eyes of all as was this
OF Sir Charles Henry Frankland's high
social position and commanding influence.
Such behavior might possibly be allowed
in the lax and proaigate circles of the
Old World. But New England society
would admit of nothing of the kind, even
though the offender was possessed of un-
told wealth, was royal official and an
English nobleman.
So it happened that, while the com
panion Of Sir Henry was surrounded by
all graces and luxuries and accomplish
ments, she was yet insulated amid vir-
tuous community. The knight himself
was made to feel keenly the disgrace he
was bringing upon himself and his house.
At length, driven by the stern reproba-
ton Of an uncorrupted public opinion to
seek a retreat beyond its censure for
himself and his frail and comparatively
unofending associate, he purchased
wide domain in Hopkinton, and erected
within its bounds one Of the most splen-
did mansions of the country. The ap-
proach to it was through noble avenues,
hewn out of the deep primeval forest,
and overshadowed by the most ancient
of trees. And there in that quiet, yet
palatial retreat, Sir Henry was wont, it
was said, to beguile his otherwise tedious
days by maintaining, on a mimic scale,
the customs Of his baronial ancestors,
and practicing many of the usages of
feudal times; while his magnificent stud
of horses and pack of hounds, with feast
and festival, combined to invite manv
gay and unscrupulous guest from the
haunts of the metropolis to the solitude
of this interior town.
But not always was Sir Henry Frank
land to pursue this aimless, profigate
career, Or to withhold from his associate
in sin the dover of wifehood which was
her due. An event is at hand which is
effectuaily to sober him, and, by impress
ing permanently upon his mind sense
of the instability Of human affairs, to
direct his thoughts to higher things, and
having been appointed Consul General to
Portugal, it so happened that he was re-
siding at Lisbon at the time OF the great
earthquake, November 1, 1855. Saved,
as it were, by miracle from that most
appalling and almost Unprecedented ruin,
the hitherto gay Lothario suddenly "came
to himself t'-was SO profoundly affected
by his narrow escape from instant death
that, Immediately upon his deliverance,
he made haste to do justice to his long
suffering companion 10y espousing her in
due form, and so making her at last his
lawful wife.
The two subsequently returned to
America, and every year thereafter, as
long as he lived, on the anniversary of his
memorable deliverance, Sir Henry was
accustomed to retire to certain room in
his house in Hopkinton, and there having
secluded himself from every visitor, keep
solemn fast. In the apartment about
him, it is said, were hung up, torn, soiled,
and covered with lime and dust that he
had gathered on them at the time of the
disaster, the identical garments worn by
him amid the ruins and debris Of that
doomed CITY.
Having, many years after the events
just recorded, revisited England on bust
ness, Sir Henry died suddenly at Bath,
January i 1th, 1868. Lady FranKland con-
tinued to reside at Hopkinton until the
breaking out of hostilities in connection
with the American Revolution. Though
Marblehead girl herself, yet, as the wife
of an English nobleman, she not unnatur-
ally so incurred the suspicious of the stur-
dy patriots that her situation early became
an extremely embarrassing, not to say a