Kenelm Chillingly

Kenelm Chillingly

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Title: Kenelm Chillingly, Complete
Author: Edward Bulwer-Lytton
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
CHILLINGLY, LYTTON, COMPLETE ***

This eBook was produced by Dagny, [email protected] and David
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KENELM CHILLINGLY
HIS ADVENTURES AND OPINIONS
BY
EDWARD BULWER LYTTON
(LORD LYTTON)

BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
SIR PETER CHILLINGLY, of Exmundham, Baronet, F.R.S. and
F.A.S., was the representative of an ancient family, and a landed
proprietor of some importance. He had married young; not from any
ardent inclination for the connubial state, but in compliance with the
request of his parents. They took the pains to select his bride; and if
they might have chosen better, they might have chosen worse, which is
more than can be said for many men who choose wives for themselves.

Miss Caroline Brotherton was in all respects a suitable connection. She
had a pretty fortune, which was of much use in buying a couple of
farms, long desiderated by the Chillinglys as necessary for the rounding
of their property into a ring-fence. She was highly connected, and
brought into the county that experience of fashionable life acquired by
a young lady who has attended a course of balls for three seasons, and
gone out in matrimonial honours, with credit to herself and her
chaperon. She was handsome enough to satisfy a husband's pride, but
not so handsome as to keep perpetually on the /qui vive/ a husband's
jealousy. She was considered highly accomplished; that is, she played
upon the pianoforte so that any musician would say she "was very well
taught;" but no musician would go out of his way to hear her a second
time. She painted in water-colours--well enough to amuse herself. She
knew French and Italian with an elegance so lady-like that, without
having read more than selected extracts from authors in those
languages, she spoke them both with an accent more correct than we
have any reason to attribute to Rousseau or Ariosto. What else a young
lady may acquire in order to be styled highly accomplished I do not
pretend to know; but I am sure that the young lady in question fulfilled
that requirement in the opinion of the best masters. It was not only an
eligible match for Sir Peter Chillingly,--it was a brilliant match. It was
also a very unexceptionable match for Miss Caroline Brotherton. This
excellent couple got on together as most excellent couples do. A short
time after marriage, Sir Peter, by the death of his parents--who, having
married their heir, had nothing left in life worth the trouble of living
for--succeeded to the hereditary estates; he lived for nine months of the
year at Exmundham, going to town for the other three months. Lady
Chillingly and himself were both very glad to go to town, being bored
at Exmundham; and very glad to go back to Exmundham, being bored
in town. With one exception it was an exceedingly happy marriage, as
marriages go. Lady Chillingly had her way in small things; Sir Peter his
way in great. Small things happen every day; great things once in three
years. Once in three years Lady Chillingly gave way to Sir Peter;
households so managed go on regularly. The exception to their
connubial happiness was, after all, but of a negative description. Their
affection was such that they sighed for a pledge of it; fourteen years
had he and Lady Chillingly remained unvisited by the little stranger.

Now, in default of male issue, Sir Peter's estates passed to a distant
cousin as heir-at-law; and during the last four years this heir-at-law had
evinced his belief that practically speaking he was already
heir-apparent;