Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-01-21
THE LUCK OF LADYPRIORS.

qulelesl anu iuOst secluded DenQS oil the
river. And at Ladyprioro the Lilburns
have been settled, if not exactly since the
Conquest, anyhow since the days of Oliver
Cromwell. The place, though secluded, is
not uufrequented All through the sum.
mer the splash Of oars may be heard from
the stream; punts are moored here and
there in quiet hooks, ard fishermen, and
fsherwomen, too, ply their patient task
from morn to eve. And vet waterfowl
haunt the sedgy margins of the river and
in the shallow backwater the heron is
sometimes to be seen poised motionless
upon his slender limbs.
The neighboring village, too is 4 favor
lite summer resort, with its noted hosiery,
the Gross Keys" once the homely resort
of artists, but now rather famous for its
little dinners and the excellent cookery of
its proprietor, Mr.. Anatole Leroy, and
favore! both by the fashionable world and
the magnates of the city.
Nor is Ladypriors itself in any way an
abode Of gloom, although there is a quiet,
old-world aspect about it, with Its quaint
gables, UNCOVERED walls, and twisted
chimney-shafts- suggestive rather of dig
nified repose than of active delight Quiet
and dignifed people, indeed, had been the
Lilburns, with a touch of austerity about
the family type; but the late Squire OF
the Priors had been brilliant exception.
In the early years of the Victorian era he
had shone out as a gay young blade, one of
the dandies OF the period, and in later
times he had been one of the pillars of
the Turf-au owner and breeder CT race
horses.
1t is not very far from Ladypriors to the
skirts of the Berkshire Downs, and on
these downs Mr. Lilburn's horses were
trained under the skillful management of
the famous Mr.. Snafiles. Mares and foals
were kept at Ladypriors, in whose grassy
paddocks brood mares and foalS roamed at
will and the meadows of the home farm
supplied the haystacks for winter PROV
ender. In all his plans the Squire was
zealOusly aided by his wife, who was, per-
haps, better judge than her husband in
matters equine. Anyhow, during her life
time, the Squire scored many successes.
In the prime of life Mrs Lilburn was
thrown from her horse and killed and
from that time the Squires luck deserted
him.
Still Mr.. Lilburn chung to his favorite
pursuit. He gave up living at Ladypri-
ors, and his widowed sister, Lady Rich
ards, took the place off his hands. One
morning, some ten years after his wifes
death, and when his son Charles was some
four-and-twenty years old, Squire Lilburn
was found dead in his own room, having
lost heavily the day before at Newmarket.
There was no legal obligation on Charles,
his only son and heir, to pay his fathers
debts of honor; but he did pay them, Dor
rowing from Mr.. Paddock, who had been
of late years his fathers lawyer and chief
adviser.
al don't ask you to follow in my foot
steps, Charlie; but if you keep the horses,
that colt by Viking out of Valhalla, |
have named him Wayland Smith, ought
to win everything back again"
Such was the substance of a hasty, I'M
finished scrawl found by the son among a
heap of bills trainers accounts letters
pressing for payment of various liabilities
"A regular tangle Of worry and perplexity
There was nothing here to tempt the
young man to follow in his fathers foot
steps. Where had they led? To ruin,
scarcely averted disgrace and sudden
death, perhaps suicide. This last point
would never be cleared up. The local
doctor was satisfied that his old friend had
died of heart disease, and an inquest was
avoided. But Charlie had his doubts.
Mr.. Paddock, lawyer only in name, and
otherwise financier, speculator, money
dealer and owner of houses, was at hand
to advise. He strongly urged young Lii
burn to sell the whole estate. He had a
friend at hand who would purchase every
thing the outlying farms,
stock, furniture and everything-at price
that would leave a doubtful margin of a
few thousands for Charles benefit Mr..
Paddock's advice was reiterated by
Lady Richards, Charles aunt, and the
present occupier of Ladypriors She had
always prophesied how her brothers infat-
uation would end and she held a high
opinion of Mr.. Paddock, who, she believed
had done his best to extricate Mr.. Lilburn
from his difficulties.
But to Charlie the notion of parting
with Ladypriors and sinking into the po-
sition of 4 nameless, landless man was ex.
tremely bitter; he loved the old place; he
loved the river along whose banks the
brightest part of his life had been spent
He loved the horses, too, among which he
had been brought up; and his dearest rec.
objections were connected with his mother
and her pride in and love for the old place
And he had advisers who gave him more
palatable counsel. Chief among these, his
sweetheart, Dell Richards, the sweetest lit.
tie girl in the world, the stepdaughter Of
his aunt, Lady Richards
Now Dell Richards was the heiress OF
the fine property known as Halsey Combe
which at one point touched on the do
mains of Ladypriors and stretched away
in detached portions, with woods, and
cornields, and wide pastures, as far as the
Berkshire Downs. There was an old say.
ing in those parts, often repeated by the
gnarled old wearers of smock-frocks in the
neighborhood, although nobody seemed to
know its meaning exactly:
"Ladypriors and Halsey Combe
Shall never be lost and never be won,
Till Wayland Smith come out of his tomb. y
AS the doggerel had never been reduced to
writing, there was some dispute as to
whether "never be won" should not be un.
derstood as never be one" Anyhow, al
though repeated attempts had been made
TO unite the two properties by matrimonial
arrangements, these had always broken
down in one way or another.
Who should Lady Richards object to
her nephew as a husband for Dell? Well
as she alleged, it was her duty to see that
her daughter made a good match, and ow.
ing to her poor brothers miserable infatua.
ton, Charles could no longer be regarded
in that light. And Lady Richards held
the estate for life, and was her STEP
daughters guardian
Young Lilburn took the advice that
came most gratefully to his own inclina-
tions. As his father had sunk so much in
getting together a racing stud, he would
do his best to get return for it. He sold
a farm or two and paid off all pressing LA
bilities. As for the few thousands that
Paddock had advanced to save the old
S9uire's reputation, that excellent fellow
begged him not to trouble himself to re-
pay it till he felt his legs again. There
were bills to be signed, of course, and in.
terest to be added on, but that was all a
matter of form. Charley travelled about
from one race meeting to another, saw that
his horses were done justice to, and, on the
whole made both ends meet, although the
trainers bills were constant source OF
wonder and dismay. Charlie did not bur
den himself with the cost of any establish