The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-31
1912 Fsbs.Z -l9l2

1 that 1t made her feel almost ashamed to have done so little and have won so
 much.
 When these six years had passed, @
 letter came from the lawyer saying
 that MT. Jarndyce was about to receive
 into his house ward fin chancery, and
 that he wished for Miss Summerson's
 services as companion to her.
 The letter gave her only five days notice. When the five days had passed she went through the school rooms to
 see them for the last time; and one girl
 cried "Esther, dear, say goodbye to me here, in my room, where you first spoke so kindly to me" And others
 asked her to write something with Esther's love-" and they all surrounded her with parting presents and clung to her Even the ugly old gardener who,
 she thought. hardly. had noticed her in
 all the years. came panting after the
 coach and brought her bunch of ger
 aniums.
 She was quite bowed down in the
 coach, and only succeeded in composing
 herself and cooling her eyes with lav-
 ender water when the vehicle entered
 London. The lawyers people met her to
 take her before the tremendous Lord Chancellor who was to see her that he : might satisfy himself that she would be
 a proper companion for the Ward in I Chancery Esther gathered that this
 was a ward in e great case, a famous case, case that had been before Chancery so many years and had cost so much and bade fair to continue to
 cost so much, that the case was entitled
 to rank among the greatest national
 institutions, as something for Engl1slS
 men to be proud of. The case was Jarh- dyce versus Jarndyce.
 The Ward in Chancery was waiting
 in the Lord Chancenor's room. The
 Ward was a young girl with rich gold en hair and soft blue eyes and such a : bright innocent trusting face that
 Esther's diffidence fled instantly and
 they kissed each other as by one im- pulse The Wards name was Ada Clare
 and before they had been talking long
 they found that neither of them ever : had seen John Jarndyce, who was Ada s cousin. Presently young man was 1n- troduced as Richard Carstone. He was
 handsome youth with an ingenious face and a most engaging laugh. He turned out to be another cousin of John Jarndyce and also a Ward in Chancery and like Ada, he had been invited by Jarndyce to make his home with him. The tremendous Lord Chancellor was graeiously pleased to approve Miss Sum- , merson; and the three soon were on the
 road to Bleak House, M. Jarndyces es- tate in Hertfordshire. very much occupied in speeulatng on what and whom they , might fiRd.
 Before they reached the place, a mes senger from Bleak House met them and delivered letter to each. Each note was like the other. It said: T look forward, } my dear, to our meeting without restraint ], on either side. | therefore have to pro- pose that we meet as old friends and
 take the past for granted. It will be a
 relief to you possibly, and to me cer- tainly and so my love to you.'
 The notes revived in both Ada and
 Richard a general impression, gained
 from family tradition, that John Jarn- dyce could so little bear thanks for any
 kindness he did that he had been known l to run away and avoid people for months after being guilty of some uncommon
 generosity.
 It was night when they reached the house. great bell rang as the coach l drew up, many dogs parked, there was 8
 gush of light from the opening door, and
 a handsome robust man had his arms , around Ada and Esther and bore them } into a ruddy room. all a-glow with a blaz- ing fire. His hair, was a silvered iror grey, and his age was near sixty, but his
 face was so lively and quick, so full of
 change and motion that it took ten years 7 off every time he spoke or laughed. Bleak House was like it's master. Never
 was house so misnamed; though, to |, be sure it had earned its name sadly enough once, when a Jarndyce was ruined by the great suit in Jarndyce vs. Jarn- dyce and let house and estates and land and himself go to wreck and at last
 blew his brains out as a delicate last
 compliment to the great court of chan
 cery. John Iarndyce, who was its mas ter now, had escaped the court. He was a party to the suit because the law wouldn't let him stay out: but he refused to read any of the papers that were
 ground out by the ton, he refused to gc
 near the court he refused to let his law I, yers do anything that the law did moi , compel He had saved himself from the , blight and despair and ruin that had |. fallen on Jarndyce after Jarndyce: and he '. had made Bleak House the cosest and
 brightest of houses, whose masters heart
 was not bit less warm and cheery than were the fires that blazed on It's hos 5 pitable hearths.
 It came out through an accidental ad- | mission by MT. Jarndyce that he had wis
 tied the vicinity of the school surrepti- tiously several times to SC how Esther was getting along. He looked so alarmed } when he perceived what he had confessed that Esther did not dare look at him. for fear he would get up and run away in- stantly. Nor did she dare thank him for
 his confidence when a maid delivered a great bunch of keys to her and she found !, E.nat she was to be installed as house. keeper of Bleak House and that every } thing was to be in her charge.
 There were so many rooms and cor ners and cupboards and drawers and
 closets and what-not in Bleak House and Esther. knowing that she was
 not at all clever, had to be so method l Ical to make up for it; and she was so determined that every tiny .hihs
 in her benefactor's house should al ways bo at it's brightest and best, that , she was a busy little woman from the very first morning.
 Everybody was so kind that she could
 not be anything but bright and happy.
 Instead of realizing that 1t was Bleak House and everything connected with } 1t that made her sunny. the ridiculous
 people around her persisted in declar- ing that it was she who made Bleak : House sunny. 1t was the beginning of her being called Little old Woman, and , Cobweb, and Mrs. Shipton, Mother Hub , bard and Dame Burden, till her own , name became quite lost.
 Little old , woman, and whither so / TO sweep the cobwebs out of the sky"
 John Jarndyce used to sing.
 He made her call him Guardian. as Ada and Richard did; and soon he had her regular seat by her Guardians desk