"
He had a christening feast, and it was pretty well attended, for he
reminded all he asked that the young Christian was the heir to the
Bassett estates. They feasted, and the church-bells rang merrily.
He had his pew in the church new lined with cloth, and took his wife to
be churched. The nurse was in the pew too, with his son and heir. It
squalled and spoiled the Liturgy. Thereat Gallus chuckled.
He made a gravel-walk all along the ha-ha that separated his garden
from Sir Charles's, and called it "The Heir's Walk." Here the nurse and
child used to parade on sunny afternoons.
He got an army of workmen, and built a nursery fit for a duke's nine
children. It occupied two entire stories, and rose in the form of a
square tower high above the rest of his house, which, indeed, was as
humble as "The Heir's Tower" was pretentious. "The Heir's Tower" had a
flat lead roof easy of access, and from it you could inspect
Huntercombe Hall, and see what was done on the lawn or at some of the
windows.
Here, in the August afternoons, Mr. and Mrs. Bassett used to sit
drinking their tea, with nurse and child; and Bassett would talk to his
unconscious boy, and tell him that the great house and all that
belonged to it should be his in spite of the arts that had been used to
rob him of it.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187