San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-02-10

members, ana one OF the Ola fanny that
gave its name to the town and got for it
its franchises was always chosen with
out contest.
at is lovely region, sir, where the
town of Clitheroe and the old manor
house of my family stand-the fairest
part of Lancashire. If you have only
seen, as you say, the flat country about
Liverpool and Manchester, you do not
know at all what Lancashire can do in
scenery. Why, there is Pendle hill; it
might better be called mountain. Pen
| die hill rises almost at my doorstep at
| the door of Clitheroe hall Pendle hill,
| sir, is eighteen hundred and odd feet
| high. And beautiful hill it is. l
| talked of the Wind River mountains
this afternoon; they are very fine, but
never should have learned to love heights
| if my boyhood had not been trained by
the presence of Pendle hill.
"And there is the Ribble too. A lovely
river coming from the hills-such
stream as l have not seen on this con-
tineut. do not wish to make harsh |
comparisons, but your Mississippi and
Missouri are more like bitches than
rivers, and as to the Platte, why, sir, it
seems to me no better than chain of
mud pools. But the Ribble is quite an
other thing. suppose l love it more
because l have dabbled in it boy, and
| bathed in it a man, and have, seen it
| flow on always friend, whether l was
rich or poor. Nature, sir, does not look
coldly on a poor man as humanity does.
| The river Ribble and Pendle hill have
been faithful to me-they and my dear
| Ellen, always.
perhaps / tire you with this chat" he
said.
"Oh, nor replied I. II should be q
| poor American if did not love to hear
of Mother England everywhere and al
ways"
Il almost fear to talk about home
our old home, mean-to my dear child.
She might grow little homesick, you
| know, and how could she understand, S.
| young and woman, too, that duty
makes exile needful? OF course do not
mean to suggest that we deem our new
home in the Promised Land an exile"
And here he again gave the same anx-
ious look had before observed, as if he
dreaded l had the power to dissolve an
unsubstantial illusion.
| II wish had thought" he continued,
'to show you, when you were at tea, a
| picture of Clitheroe Hall l have. 1t is
my daughter Ellen's work. She has a
| genius for art, really genius We have
been living in a cottage near there,
where she could see the hall from her
window-dear old place! and she has,
made capital drawing of it."
"You had left it," asked. He had
| paused, commanded by his melancholy
| recollections.
"Oh, yes! Did l not tell you about
| my losses? was rich man and pros
| porous once. 1 kept open house, sir, in
my wife's lifetime. She was great
| beauty. Ny dear Ellen is like her, but
| she has no beauty-a good girl and
daughter, though, like all young people,
she has juvenile wish to govern-bu5
no beauty. Perhaps she will grow hand
some when we grow rich again"
"Few women are so attractive as Miss
Clitheroe," l aid boldly enough.
II have tried to be IL good father to
her, sir. She should have had diamonds
and pearls, and everything that young
ladies want, if / had succeeded. Butt
you ought to have seen Clitheroe Hal,
sir, in its best days. Such oaks as had
in my park One of those oaks is no.
ticed in Evelyn's Silva. One day, al
great many years ago, found a youngt
man sitting under that oak writingi
verses l was hospitable to him, and
gave him luncheon, which he ate with al
very good appetite, if he was poet.
did not ask his name; but not three
months after 1 received volume of
poems, with a sonnet among them,
really very well done-very we'll done,
indeed-inscribed to the Clitheroe oak.
The volume, sir, was by Mr.. Words
worth, quite one of our best poets in his
way, the founder of new school"
"a very pleasant incidentr'
"Yes, indeed. The poet was fortu-
nate, was he not? But if you are fond
of pictures, should have liked to show
you my Vandykes. We had the famous
Clitheroe Beauty, an earl's daughter,
maid of honor to Queen Henrietta Maria,
She chose plain Hugh Clitheroe before
all the noblemen of the court-we Clith-
eroes have always been fortunate in that
way. l said plain Hugh, but he was as
handsome cavalier as ever wore rapier.
He might have been an earl himself, but
he took the part of liberty and was
killed on the Parliament side at Edge
moor. 1 had his portrait, too, Van.