Henriettas Wish | Page 8

saw nothing of her," said Fred.
"Not till some time after he had been settled in his chambers at the
Temple. Now you must know that General St. Leger, though in most
matters a wise man, was not by any means so in money matters: and by
some unlucky speculation which was to have doubled his daughter's
fortune, managed to lose the whole of it, leaving little but his pay."
"Capital!" cried Frederick, "that brings her down to him."
"So it did," said his mother, smiling; "but the spectators did not rejoice
quite so heartily as you do. The general's health was failing, and it was
hard to think what would become of Beatrice; for Lord St. Leger's
family, though very kind, were not more congenial than they are now.
As soon as all this was pretty well known, Geoffrey spoke, and the
general, who was very fond of him, gave full consent. They meant to
wait until it was prudent, of course, and were well contented; but just
after it was all settled, the general had a sudden seizure, and died.

Geoffrey was with him, and he treated him like a son, saying it was his
great comfort to know that her happiness was in his hands. Poor
Beatrice, she went first to the St. Legers, stayed with them two or three
months, then I would have her to be my bridesmaid, though"-- and Mrs.
Langford tried to smile, while again she strangled a sobbing sigh--"she
warned me that her mourning was a bad omen. Well, she stayed with
my mother while we went abroad, and on our return went with us to be
introduced at Knight Sutton. Everybody was charmed, Mrs. Langford
and Aunt Roger had expected a fine lady or a blue one, but they soon
learnt to believe all her gaiety and all her cleverness a mere calumny,
and grandpapa was delighted with her the first moment. How well I
remember Geoffrey's coming home and thanking us for having
managed so well as to make her like one of the family, while the truth
was that she had fitted herself in, and found her place from the first
moment. Now came a time of grave private conferences. A long
engagement which might have been very well if the general had lived,
was a dreary prospect now that Beatrice was without a home; but then
your uncle was but just called to the bar, and had next to nothing of his
own, present or to come. However, he had begun his literary works,
and found them answer so well, that he believed he could maintain
himself till briefs came in, and he had the sort of talent which gives
confidence. He thought, too, that even in the event of his death she
would be better off as one of us, than as a dependent on the St. Legers;
and at last by talking to us, he nearly persuaded himself to believe it
would be a very prudent thing to marry. It was a harder matter to
persuade his father, but persuade him he did, and the wedding was at
Knight Sutton that very summer."
"That's right," cried Fred, "excellent and glorious! A farthing for all the
St. Legers put together."
"Nevertheless, Fred, in spite of your disdain, we were all of opinion
that it was a matter of rejoicing that Lord St. Leger and Lady Amelia
were present, so that no one had any reason to say that they
disapproved. Moreover, lest you should learn imprudence from my
story, I would also suggest that if your uncle and aunt had not been a
couple comme il-y-en a peu, it would neither have been excellent nor
glorious."
"Why, they are very well off," said Fred; "he is quite at the head of his

profession. The first thing a fellow asks me when he hears my name is,
if I belong to Langford the barrister."
"Yes, but he never would have been eminent, scarcely have had daily
bread, if he had not worked fearfully hard, so hard that without the
buoyant school-boy spirit, which can turn from the hardest toil like a
child to its play, his health could never have stood it."
"But then it has been success and triumph," said Fred; "one could work
like a galley-slave with encouragement, and never feel it drudgery."
"It was not all success at first," said his mother; "there was hard work,
and disappointment, and heavy sorrow too; but they knew how to bear
it, and to win through with it."
"And were they very poor?" asked Henrietta.
"Yes: but it was beautiful to see how she accommodated herself to it.
The house that once looked dingy and desolate, was very soon pretty
and cheerful, and the wirtschaft so well ordered and economical,