Dora Thorne | Page 7

Ronald,
in his clear, young voice, read out the speeches of the chief of his party.
He smiled when the young man, eager to bring theory into practice,
fraternized with the tenant farmers, and visited families from whom his
father shrunk in aristocratic dread.
There was little doubt that in those days Ronald Earl believed himself
called to a great mission. He dreamed of the time when the barriers of
caste would be thrown down, when men would have equal rights and
privileges, when the aristocracy of intellect and virtue would take
precedence of noble birth, when wealth would be more equally
distributed, and the days when one man perished of hunger while
another reveled in luxury should cease to be. His dreams were neither
exactly Liberal nor Radical; they were simply Utopian. Even then,
when he was most zealous, had any one proposed to him that he should
inaugurate the new state of things, and be the first to divide his fortune,
the futility of his theories would have struck him more plainly.
Mingling in good society, the influence of clever men and beautiful
women would, Lord Earle believed, convert his son in time. He did not
oppose him, knowing that all opposition would but increase his zeal. It
was a bitter disappointment to him, but he bore it bravely, for he never
ceased to hope.
A new trouble was dawning for Lord Earle, one far more serious than
the Utopian dream of his son; of all his sorrows it was the keenest and
the longest felt. Ronald fell in love, and was bent on marrying a simple
rustic beauty, the lodge keeper's daughter.
Earlescourt was one of the fairest spots in fair and tranquil England. It
stood in the deep green heart of the land, in the midst of one of the
bonny, fertile midland counties.

The Hall was surrounded by a large park, where the deer browsed
under the stately spreading trees, where there were flowery dells and
knolls that would charm an artist; a wide brook, almost broad and deep
enough to be called a river, rippled through it.
Earlescourt was noted for its trees, a grand old cedar stood in the
middle of the park; the shivering aspen, the graceful elm, the majestic
oak, the tall, flowering chestnut were all seen to greatest perfection
there.
Art had done much, Nature more, to beautify the home of the Earles.
Charming pleasure gardens were laid out with unrivaled skill; the broad,
deep lake was half hidden by the drooping willows bending over it, and
the white water lilies that lay on its tranquil breast.
The Hall itself was a picturesque, gray old building, with turrets
covered with ivy, and square towers of modern build; there were deep
oriel windows, stately old rooms that told of the ancient race, and
cheerful modern apartments replete with modern comfort.
One of the great beauties of Earlescourt was the broad terrace that ran
along one side of the house; the view from it was unequaled for quiet
loveliness. The lake shone in the distance from between the trees; the
perfume from the hawthorn hedges filled the air, the fountains rippled
merrily in the sunshine, and the flowers bloomed in sweet summer
beauty.
Lord Earle loved his beautiful home; he spared no expense in
improvements, and the time came when Earlescourt was known as a
model estate.
One thing he did of which he repented till the hour of his death. On the
western side of the park he built a new lodge, and installed therein
Stephen Thorne and his wife, little dreaming as he did so that the first
link in what was to be a fatal tragedy was forged.
Ronald was nineteen, and Lord Earle thought, his son's college career
ended, he should travel for two or three years. He could not go with

him, but he hoped that surveillance would not be needed, that his boy
would be wise enough and manly enough to take his first steps in life
alone. At college he won the highest honors; great things were
prophesied for Ronald Earle. They might have been accomplished but
for the unfortunate event that darkened Earlescourt with a cloud of
shame and sorrow.
Lord and Lady Earle had gone to pay a visit to an old friend, Sir Hugh
Charteris, of Greenoke. Thinking Ronald would not reach home until
the third week in June, they accepted Sir Hugh's invitation, and
promised to spend the first two weeks in June with him. But Ronald
altered his plans; the visit he was making did not prove to be a very
pleasant one, and he returned to Earlescourt two days after Lord and
Lady Earle had left it. His father wrote immediately, pressing him to
join the party at Greenoke. He declined,