New-York tribune., 1883-12-21

and made OyertureS OF recOnclllatlon'
Nv grandmother was essentially Lond92ni
woman that to her the dgnifed gloom of an OLD
manOral pile far from the charms OF qnaarifn f amu
casino, probably presented anything 9nt aGi nirit
ment She was also a woman OF that nlgn ePiIV
which fully enjoys the blessings OF liberty anu iI
dependence. She drove, with her own lar hanas a
mention this embematic OF her whol9
tall phaetOn and pair and in this eqnpage t5ans p
ported herself as she listed from LONDON 70 Dats' s'
and from Bath to London. SO great was her conn, a.
dence in herself that one dark evening haVIng 10
retnrn from some excursion across iounslow heat1
at that time infested by highwaymen-she laugned
to scOrn the warnings she received on the I % anu aru
The terrors of her two men-servants and IN the very
centre of the heath was stopped by three FOOT "a
She held one moment in parey ana trdw voIa i cal al
his puard hicked the other in the eve, drove e,I
lantlv over the third and arrived IN LONDON Win
spirits sufficiently composed to dress ior parttu
and relate her adventure IN illustration vi ulc IN
that n woman with her wits about her and the
whip-hand disengaged, is match ior tihee ineh any
day in the year; m ~, ,;.5 20 Loon
Nv grandmother still naturally ueslcu W h0'P
the whip-hand dsengaged.
The negotiations for reunion were carried on wlth
ceremoniOus pOlitcness, hut they came 10 hothnhe
and so. when Elizabeth went to knebworth on
periodcal visit to her father she found herseh
alone in the vast and ancient house whose long
gallery was hung with faded portraits. whose cha-
bers brstled with gloomy arras, and termed the
voung imagination with trap-doors and hiding
places The aspect and associations OF the place
powerfully a. ected the mind of the girl and intlu-
enced in later years the romantic tendencies of the
novelist. who knew it in his childhood and made the
restoration of its fallen fortunes dream of his lie
He was devotedly fond of his motSer. and 1t Is not
unnatural therefore that he should have cared lor
the Lvttons much more than for the BulwerS. ohe
of the faded portraits in the gallery represented
lady with a snuff-bOx, who must have had spirit
ike that of her descendant. the authors grahu-
mother. When Charles Edward crossed the border
the husband of this sensible dame, buckled on his
sword to join tn Pretender:
His wife finding that all her remonStrances were
! in VAN pretended to yield, and accompanied h'i
husband 10 the stables on pretence ot seeing MN uc
part; but no sooner had ne entered III Shf ,t nei"b
borhood were not to he trusted IKE the old N9lS-
| men of Guersyt-than the prudent lady turned thc
KEY IN the door and fairly locked HIM IN mere 10
his Inconceivable rage. was the inpatient Jacohte
| mprisoned for two days-fOod and WINE silently
lowered TO him from the lOft-till news came OF the
retreat of the Stuart from Derby. and the final de-
Strnction of all reasonable hope for ms cause INC
prisoner then released and u ne old hot ildh
his wife for preserving perhaps, ms h@'lu anu TI
tonlv his prGpeTty the debt Of gratitude due 10 hrT
has been amply paid by the blessings OF her pos
| terty.
At Kncbworth old Mr.. Lytton was encroSScd IN
the composition of no less work than drama IN
Hebrew, which he is said to have burnt in despair
becansc he could not find Jews sufficiently verscd III
Hebrew to act it, The paEalle difficulty of finding
an audience sufficiently versed in Hebrew to under
stand il had apparently not occurred to him. When
after year. Elizabeth insisted upon returning 10
her mother the disgused scholar broke up the
house and went to Boulogne. Having muddledaway
everything else he sold the plate before he de-
parted:
susrect it was an heirloom. However, that suS-
uicon 10 doubt never occurred 10 my grand iathcr;
for he was not more wastefu than he was honest
The plate! If there a luxurious vanity IN me
world which more than any other my granGl3thcr
was likely to dcSpiSc il would he plate. SalVrTs
and cnps the pride of successive generations. were
hastily huddled up, and jOyonsly hurried o1.
Among these must mention. with regret. an article
which seems to show that with rich county gentle
men, there was more luxury of old IN inlS uhpfo-
ductve wealth than our antiquarlans would lead MS
10 expect. II great tablc--ltS age unknoWh-
of solid silver slab and legs. On, grandfather,
grandfather! | have done my Pons pest TO pas pas
table-such relic of former magnfccnce-frr what
vou or know the gift of some grateful king to wise
counsellor or gallant knightItor snrely no lYtton
in his senses would have bought so heavy gcwgaw
with his own mOney-when think of that table
say, melted down into vulgar haf-crowns and shil-
lings, | declare that my gorge rises. ana II my
mother could have come into the world without
thee, would as lief thou hadst never been born!
The old gentleman had great dislike to our hero,
and predicted that he would break his mothers
heart and (what wOrsc that he would never |
know his A Be" It has already been remarked
that Edward was detestcd by his father; and he
was distinguished also by the open aversion OF his
grandmother LyttOn. The cause of dislike was the
same in all three cases, namely, jealousy for his
mothers love- The close affection and confidence
between Mrs. LyttOn and her boy is strkngly Illus
trated in an unfinished romance, in which the
novelist recorded under thin disguise bis early ad
ventures and impressions. The story, entitled
Lionel Hastings" belongs probably to the period
between 1910 and 1850 and what exists Of it Is
now printed for the first time. When the boy was
between seven and eight years of age, old Mr. Lyt-
ton died, and his pondcrous library removed TO
.1,o bo, aofb l. % Rpho N.ritp
antobiographer the great event of my infant life
my Siege of Troy, my Persian INVASION my Gailic
Revolution-the Arrival of my Grandfathcrs
Booksl The learned Deuge flowed into that calm
still world of Home it mounted the stairs. IT rolled
on floor upon floor the trim face Of drawing-rOoms
vanished before it; no attic the loftest escaped
from the food. But the grand reservoir, the
Lake Moers of the whole inundation. the great
dnmg-room; and there. when the food settled, |
rested mine infant ark" How he bundcred
through strange books in this delightful disorder,
may be inferred from an anecdOte: Z / remember"
he says as if it yesterday. after sitting long
silent and musng, addressed to my mother the fol-
lowing simple and chdlike question:
"'Pray, mamma, are you not sometimes overcome
by the sense of your own identtyP
"My mother looked up at me in amazed alarm.
Quoth she, 1t is high time you should go to school,
Teddy"
He is sure that he understood his own question:
and although cannot believe that any boy ever
began a question to his mother with Pray,
mamma"-One must draw the line of credibility
where-we shall not dispute the precOcity Of this
philosopher of seven. Does he not that he
was already a votary of Cupid, and that at six he
had experienced rapturous passion which was
really love, "iust the love the poets sing of'f
While a school-boy certainly he was engaged in an
affair of the heart which left distinct traces on his
later life. He wrote very touching and evidently |
sincere record of this episode, and years after
the painful separation in which it ended he made |
sentimental journey to the heroine's grave When |
we read such fragments this love story, Buwer |
u.