The Village by the River

The Village by the River, by H.
Louisa Bedford

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Title: The Village by the River
Author: H. Louisa Bedford
Release Date: January 16, 2007 [EBook #20381]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
VILLAGE BY THE RIVER ***

Produced by Al Haines

[Frontispiece: Paul . . . was holding it closely upon the burning skirt.]

THE VILLAGE BY THE RIVER.

by
H. LOUISA BEDFORD,

AUTHOR OF
"MRS. MERRIMAN'S GODCHILD," "RALPH RODNEY'S
MOTHER,"
"MISS CHILCOTT'S LEGACY," ETC., ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY W. S. STACEY.

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
GENERAL LITERATURE COMMITTEE.

LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.;
43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.
BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET.
NEW YORK: E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER

I.
WHAT THE VILLAGERS SAID II. AN UNLOOKED-FOR
INHERITANCE III. FIRST IMPRESSIONS IV. OPPOSING VIEWS
V. A QUESTION OF EDUCATION VI. A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
VII. A MOMENTOUS DECISION VIII. AN OUTSTRETCHED
HAND IX. A CRISIS IN A LIFE X. RIVAL SUITORS XI. A FRIEND
IN NEED XII. KITTY'S CHRISTMAS TREE XIII. THE CALL OF
GOD XIV. A CHANGE OF MIND

ILLUSTRATIONS
Paul . . . was holding it closely upon the burning skirt. . . . . . .
Frontispiece
"I've come after some roses."
Before he could regain his feet, a hand was on his collar.

THE VILLAGE BY THE RIVER.
CHAPTER I.
WHAT THE VILLAGERS SAID.
"Well, it were the grandest funeral as ever I set eyes on," said Allison,
the blacksmith, folding his brawny arms under his leather apron, and
leaning his shoulders against the open door of the smithy in an attitude
of leisurely ease.
The group, gathered round him on their way home from work, gave an
assenting nod and waited for more.
For convenience Allison shifted his pipe more to the corner of his
mouth, and proceeded--

"Not one of yer new-fangled ones, with a glass hearse for all the world
like a big window-box, and a sight of white flowers like a wedding.
Everything was as black as it should be; I never see'd finer horses, in
my life, with manes and tails reachin' a'most to the ground, and a
shinin' black hearse with a score of plumes on the top, and half a dozen
men with silk hatbands walking alongside it, right away from the
station to the churchyard yonder." And Allison threw a backward
glance over the billowy golden cornfields, which separated the village
from the church by a quarter of a mile, where the grand tower reared its
head as if keeping watch over the village like a lofty sentinel.
"There were lots of follerers, I expect?" suggested Macdonald, gently.
He was a Scotchman, and worked on the line, and he shifted his bag of
tools from his shoulder to the ground as he spoke. "A gentleman like
him would leave a-many to miss him."
Allison stared across at the river which ran swiftly by on the opposite
side of the road. The long village of Rudham skirted its banks
irregularly for a mile or more. The blacksmith had plenty of news to
communicate, but he was not to be hurried in the relating of it.
"I'm tryin' to recolleck," he said, knitting his brows, "but I can't mind
more than two principal mourners. And the undertaker, when he
stopped to water his horses at the inn, told Mrs. Lake as they was the
doctor and the lawyer; but, relations or no, they did it wonderful well!
Stood with their hats off all in the burnin' sun, and went back to look at
the grave when the funeral was over."
"The household servants was there--leastways the butler and footman,"
said Tom Burney, a dark-eyed, gipsy-looking young man, who was one
of the under-gardeners at the big house on the hill, "but not him as is
coming after."
"The question is who is a-comin' after?" said Allison, in a tone of
sarcastic argument. "Maybe you'll tell us, as you seem to know such a
lot about it?"
Burney coloured under his dark skin, and gave an uneasy little laugh.

"I know what I've heard, no more nor less," he said; "but it comes
first-hand from the butler of him who's gone."
Allison gave an incredulous sniff; he was not used to playing second
fiddle, and the heads of his listeners had turned to a man in the
direction