New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-26


dent il lost much of its freshness. He heard no
tdpcs Of fresh discovery from the museum Keeper
and OF made none himself Yet often IN IN mo
ments of idle thought he caught himself nan I'M
consciously coming the old barons secret:
Quantum porta, tantum a plscna.'
II.
wear had gone by, and once moro Eustace
Walters was speeding down into the country. But
no was longer the unencumpereu ana ainloSl
aimlsss wanderer of last year. lie nad met win
| a yonng lady who was staying with friends III
London had fallen in love with her, and asked her
| Ia he his wife. Now he was on his way 10 De
introduced to Beatrice Bruton's mother her only
living relation, and to get q day hxed FOR the wei
| ding. OF Beatrces position he Knew niue, save
| that thcugh of good family, she had been about
to 20 out into the world ~ goyeIness; ana having
| once mado up his mind to look for no worldly al
vantage by tho match. he had checked all attempts
| on her part 20 explain hex mother poverty. Ar,
rived ut FrOne he got into ny with MS traps anu
was driven six miles of very hilly country 10
his betr othed's native village of Brutcomoe. and APP
| propriately set down at the Bruton Arms. NO
! sooner bad he alighted than "a small boy asker
| and being satisfied led the way down the road,
pointea out lady in the distance, and dlscreetly
| vanished. The lovers were not slow 10 gIeet one
another and did and said all sorts of FOOLISH things
in the middle of the road. But travellers are gen
orally hungry, and hospitality at length led Bea-
| trice to put stop TO our hero's phlianderng.
Come Eus ! must take You home. My mother
will De wondering what has happened to me-
| This is what has happened TO you and IL mad
| happened about mir ETY. times:
But Eus,' she REPLIED clinGing TO his arm,
| have something to tell you first. You know how
very poor We are; but you remember you would
| not let me talk about IT,
And | want you TO talk about nothing yon dls-
| like nOw darling "a
| But must tell You now. You know my father
was IN debt all along, and when no died the people
sold the hall which only Just satisfied them, 50 that
| MY mother found herself without a penny. or an
acre, save the old castle,rninS which were worm
nothing to any one And we had no relations to
| give a home. so what was to become OF herr
And OF you, BeatrlceP
so she had to take q vacancy in our old aims
houses, where she had often visited Others And
she is still there in family hospital built only
for our dependents. Shall YOU mind coming there
1t odd how the Using pride seemed TO stlnen
her looks and words. The answer came not III
speech but it satisfied her; and with that trouble
off her mind, she told him more about their fallen
fortunes until they came upon such scene as only
old countries can show. On the left OF the road,
which wound round 1t, was small mere; on the
right rose mound covered win rooless vans ana
towers, in place but a foot above the SOIL IN
another towering up a still frowning mass OF
masonry. An old gateway gave admission to
steep road that led TO the summit and on one side
of tins gateway long low Tudor building with
thick -slated windows overgrown by hartstongue
and cetar.ch In its front were four doors, and at
the nearest to the road stood an odd lady nicely
dressed, who evidently Watching for the pair.
She came forward and greeted Walters like
countess ending after long look, by kissing him.
NV daughter will have told you solDethin of
our condition. Mr.. Walters, she said presently. |
am not ashamed to welcome yon unaeI a LOT io9I
thought that Bruton's widow would have no
other dower-bouse.
NV mo6her and father we've cousins put in Bea-
trice as they entered are the last OF the race.
But there is hope yet dear mother. Eustace docs
not know the proverb here, that the Brutons have
as many lives as q cat.
The awkwaIdness OF the meeting being once
surmuunted. few peasanter little parties sat down
10 tea III SOmersetshire that night than was as
sembled in BrutcOmbe Almshouse, No. i. quickly
Walters learned moe of the curious history of the
family whose last descendant he was to wed Inc
Br tons OF Brutcombe had been great in the land
frOt nhpQ'4
Roses had held the BaTony OF Wimborne but then,
taking tho wrong side, the barony had been lost by
attainder though half the estates came back with
the final Tudor victory. They had gone on gather
ing power and in the Civil Wars took the right side
at the right time but regarding The Kings return
40 precedent to be expected III all fnture contests
they spent much money II abortive Jacobite
schemes along with Sir WRtkyn Wynn, and more
in escaping painful results This was the begin
nInr OF ruin completed by extravaganza. Grad
ually the lands. once reaching Tor miles on every
side of Brutconbe Keep; had been parted with;
nv debt and regret the manor house, for which the
castle had been deserted in Elizabeth's time had
passed from the family. His widow, the possessor
Of a couple of acres of ruins and a few manorlal
rights having relations. had sought shelter In
the charity of her ancestors. The name OF the
family was still great through the country side,
kept up by the relics of grandeur the church fulI
OF their monuments. and half occupied by theli
pew their arms over the village Inn; INC castle,
famous among slghtseers.
Fresh from the realism the matter-of- factness, or
London lfe these things seemed to walters, as he
upon the ruins, that seemed vaster by nleht, IKE
some patchwork dream of past and present. IN
which the IMAGINATION htsn every prVIan nn ds
scent in view of which his own family PRIDE OWN
dleu to a shadow, would come with his BRIDE; and,
for her mother, he knew that she would accept
nothing From the hands of their fathers could
the Buttons accept aims, and from no others.
Next morning Beatrice took him to see the
church of which | need say nothing. save That III
was "A SOmersetshire church, with one OF the towers
that mutilated as most OF them are, make that
conntv famous In IT, however. he had now
personal interest; 1t was but receptacle OF past
Brutons, whose monuments OF all sorts, from
stately eigies in stone armor 10 mural taDets Tell
inc of Quebec and Waterloo cadets, were there.
Within the altarrails the oldest records OF the
family for there had the tablets and brasses been
placed which had been taken from tho castle
hanel when il had been left to decay nearly hall
a century after the rest OF the pile had been de-
serted. Right and left in front OF the altar, were
two brasses let into the pavement, one OF wncn
affected our hero in curious manner lie c9uld not
conceal his SURPRISE and when Beatrice asked MN
the reason, only pointed 10 the portrait sun alos'
az clear as the day it was cut From the lnscrlp
tion below it simply appeared that 1t was Aylner
de Bruton, Lord OF Wimborne. who died IN the
reign of Edward H., and from the crossed legs IL
was evident that he was a crusader. But it was not
either of these facts that astOnlshed Walters NO.
Int casped to his breast so as clearly to be seen.
was finely engraved the Identical sword whose
curious hilt he had examined at Monkmoor year
ago. o.;o. - ~. ~, ,3d ora
.WhV. Eustace, how clever you are! For that is
unite celebrated sword among us How did you
know anything about itT
celebrated among you Why have you got 1t
nowP
20 dear no, it has been lost hundreds of years;
but it was presented to this Aymer de brut9h oy
the Pone while on the crusade with Edward l. L
know he had obliged the Pope in some way ana,
as he was one of the greatest OF the old Lords OF
Wimborne this sword was often carried oY Ills
descendants
And what became of it ? asked Walters. fully
expecting the continuation oil his SurihiSe' WHICH
came indeed.
1T was lost with Ralph de Bruton at Mortimer's
Cross He was "a great ally of the Earl OF Penn
broke and after his death his sons left the coun-
try Ralph was the last baron. you know
beatrice, / have seen the sword, or at least the