The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-18


 Castlewood, there were several little things concerning his past which he did not think it necessary to mention. Among them was the fact that he already had a wife living, a weayer's daughter, whom he had married in the Low countries when he was there in the train of the Duke of York.
 He had married her in a fit of repent ance when he thought himself dying of a wound received in duel; but when he got well of his wound he repented of his repentance and returned to England resolved to consider the Incident closed. The unhappy wife, after bearing son whom she named Henry entered con- vent.
 His lordship had been for some time comfortably installed in his ancestral house of Castlewood, Hants, when he heard of this first wife's death. Being a good-natured rascal he sent for his son. made hi ma member of the house. hold and turned him over to the care Of his chaplain, Father Holt, to be educated for priest, but all without telling the truth He allowed 1t to be understood generally that there was bar sinister on little Henry escutcheon.
 Henry was entirely ignorant of his own history; he vaguely remembered that at one time he had lived with some weavers who spoke a foreign tongue. He came to realize early though how he could not tell, that he was supposed to bear the name of Esmond only by courtesy.
 There was vast amount of political in- trigung going on at Castlewood as the boy got older; of it Father Holt seemed to be the guiding spirit. Most of the Els monds were of the old religion, and all or them were intensely loyal to the House or Steuart. One had died at a worcester fight. with half the men of Castlewood at his side; another had fallen defending at soldiers rebel Cromwell and a third had melted down all the family plate and emptied the family coners to supply the necessities or King Charles when the royal martyr was at Oxford
 That superannuated Esther Isabel Els mond had disputed with Nell Gwyn and the Duchess of Portsmouth for the favor of the second Charles-all of them, wo men and men, had made heavy sacrifices for the royal Stuarts.
 So finally, when King James attempted to recover his ancient Kingdom of Ire land Tom Esmond joined him and fell, sword in hand, at the battle of the Boyne, while his wife fled away to her dover house at Chelsea. Henry Esmond was Jeff quite alone with the domestics at gloomy old Castlewood, watching the rocks wheeling in fiocks to their nests in the ancient trees at sunset, and won dering what had become oi father I1olt' who had fled, too
 Thus the new lord, Col. Frank Esmond, found the salloW-taced, large-eyed. grave, l2-year-old boy when he came with hls beautiful wife to take possession or the title and estates of his dead relative The new lord. a bluff, hearty man of 45 or 90. oreatad inc solitary little fellow kindly; and as for his wife, who was barely 20, Harry thought when she took him by the hand that he had never heard so sweet A voice before or seen such Vlslon or loveliness as this fair lady with the golden hair and the fresh pink complex ion.
 There was another-a beautiful girl Of 4 who ran to Harry at once and kissed him. her father crying out: You are always ready to forsake an old friend for a new one, Trix." And then there was little boy baby in his nurses arms to make up the family.
 My lady worshipped her husband first and her children next and things settled down for time very pleasantly at Cas- tleWood But after a while 1t was easy to see that my lord was wearying of in- cense and that my lady, though she fought against it, was beginning to find that her boasted idol had not only feet Of clay, but was rather earthly all over.
 Then one day Harry brought the small pox from the village, and Lord Castle wood fled away with his daughter My lady and little Frank were taken down with it before Harry recovered. My lady was beautiful still after her illness, but 1t was as if some rough hand had rubbed off the delicate tints of that sweet pie ture; and when Castlewood returned and met his wife it evident she could never forgive him for the look he gave her when he saw the change.
 When Harry came home for his first vacation from Cambridge. whither he had been sent as soon as he was of prop CT age, he foun as guest at Castlewood the notorious Lord Mohun, young man who had achieved a reputation all over Europe for profigacy at an age when most boys are being birched at school. Lord Castlewood drank and gamed with his guests reckiessly and seemed more than ever estranged from his wife.
 You see how she treats me. Harry!" A~ ars>A- Damn itl I'm not good