The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-05-05
"Mrs. Beauchamp Brown"

The following from the opening chapter Of
the coming No Name volume, will give fair
idea of the literary style of the book, which, it
is prophesied, will create sensation in Bos-
ton:
Eight persons were dining in charming
room of charming house on Beacon Hill in
Boston-dining not eating dinner, the latter
being an animal necessity, the former an es-
thetic enjoyment; and Mrs. Beauchamp
Brown, the hostess, was one of those people
who discover aesthetics by the same subtle law
of attraction that led Columbus to America, or
Galileo to the revolution he so obstinately
fought.
A very queer person was Mrs. Beauchamp
Brown, and quite as much of liberal educa-
ton, if you studied her exhaustively, as Lady
Mary Wortley Montagu, to those who loved
her. A leader, you might say the leader, of
her world for forty years; autocratic, as self
centred, as indomitable, as ever a Russian
Catherine or an Elizabeth of them all. What
is to be known of this world in its social aspect
and history, she knew; what never was known
before, she invented and Illuminated, and,
which is more remarkable, made other people
accept in spite of themselves; she endured
none but ultramontanists near her throne,
and if Pope Joan be, as they say, myth, Mrs.
Beauchamp Brown was the reality she prefg-
ured For the rest, she was widow childless,
wealthy and worldly.
just now she was very cross all the more so
that the laws of hospitality prevented her Civ
ing vent to her feelings, except in sundry
sharp satirical remarks and two or three quiet
snubs to Belinda Movie and Joan.
And it aoGS provoking, to be sure. Here was
Mr.. Forsythe, Hon. Reginald Forsythe, newly
appointed minister to Spain, the handsomest,
most elegant, thoroughbred gentleman of his
day, distinguished as q poet, an authority on
beiles-lettres, everything in fact that a man
need be to constitute brilliant parti, and per-
fectly wild to marry Margaret. Now Margaret,
although widow and Independent of every
body SO far as fortune goes, was not yet thirty
years old, and when she was not playing moon
among the stars of Washington or New York,
lived with her aunt, Mrs. Beauchamp Brown,
in Boston, and partly from Incidence, partly
from love to her mothers sister, allowed that
lady to manage her in some ways so entirely
that when, as in this ForSythe business she qui-
city took and kept her own course, it was a
source of absolute grievance to Pope Joan.
This was the matter now Mr.. Forsythe had
rushed from Washington to Boston, with the
ink yet wet upon his credentials, to lay them
at Margaret's feet, and ask her to go with him
to Madrid as madame PdnabdsSddrice Marga-
ret knew when she read the appointment that
he would come, and also knew, having lived
much abroad, that it is good thing to be an
ambassadress to one OF the first courts of Eu-
rope She liked Mr.. Forsythe, too, and be-
lieved that he loved her very honestly, but
He arrived, found her charming and affable
as ever, found Mrs. Beauchamp Brown impress
sive and eager, found Belinda Movie always
glued to Margaret's side and impossible to get
rid Of Mrs Beauchamp Brown asked him to
dinner and sternly demanded that Margaret
should allow him chance to speak during the
evening.
To her great relief Mrs. Ufford answered.
quietly, Eyes, 1 intend to- and left the room
before her aunt could ask any more questions
Mrs. Beauchamp Brown gave good deal of
thought and diplomacy to that dinner; not so
much to the material portion, for her house
keeper and her cook were ph9nixes, and Rob-
ert, her solemn old butler, ought to have been
Notwithstanding at Buckingham Palace,
but to the construction of the party that there
should be neither q rival attraction to disturb
the current of sympathy between Forsythe and
his coy lady-love, nor such isolation as to make
them conspicuous; neither dinner so entirely
en- JdIliue as to seem negligent of the dignities
of the guest, or so general as to allow Marga-
ret to devote herself to somebody else and lose
herself in crowd.
The result of several hours severe cogita-
tiOn was this: Leyerett Beauchamp Mrs b.
BIS brother (pardon the negligence and the al
Iteration, but life is shOrt, gallant and court
ly old bachelor living at the fremont House,
was invited to take the head of the table and
show due honor to the Spanish minister. Be-
sprightly, shrewd little person, would sit be-
side the host and keep up a general conversa-
tion without venturing to interrupt anything
the bigger people might say. Then, to balance
the party, and give an arm to his hostess, she
would invite Larry Beauchamp, a nice young
| fellow just graduating from Harvard, sure to
say only the thing one should say at dinner
party, and not likely to devote himself to Mar
garet, whom ne nevertheless admired in a
cousinly and deferential style. This made six
at table, and one of Pope Joan's most solemn
| edicts was against dinner company of more
than six, unless there were as many as twelve
guests. LET us be cosy, or let us be stately
| said she. ''Six persons may talk upon one top
| ic, twelve persons may talk upon six; but eight
| or ten persons are too many for general con-
| versation, too few to be divided. Why else is
it one of the laws of nature that dinner services
come in doZens?'