Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 107: what you’re looking at

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$4 ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS, at parting from her father—and I therefore ar- ranged this expedition for that day in order to divert her mind as much as possible. After breakfast on the ensuing morning Mr. Norman bade us farewell; and at about ten o’clock a postchaise drove up to the door to take Juliet and myself to Willowbridge; for Mary Glentworth expressed no desire to accompany us, and of late I had never pressed her to do anything which did not seem entirely to suit her inclination. Juliet and I therefore set off together. The estate was situated in Hertfordshire ; and if was conse- quently in a northerly direction that we pro- ceeded. “ If the house correspond with the drawings and the plans,” said Juliet, “it must be a hand- some as well as a commodious one. My only fear, Ellen, is that you will find it considerably out of repair; for you remember the estate-agent in- formed you that the mansion had not been tenanted for the last seven or eight years, thoug the land had been kept in good order.’? “‘Yes—I am prepared to find that it is neces- Saty to expend some money upon the repairs of the house: but the estate-agent assured us, if you recollect, that all this is taken into consideration in the price that is asked for the property. If we like the appearance of the mansion and the grounds, it will be easy to take further advice upon the subject,—which of course I should do before completing the purchase. Henry himself must see it. I shall get my father to come and give his opinion—then a competent surveyor would be employed—and, in short, there are plenty of business details to be accomplished before a bar- gain of this kind can be concluded.” “And now tell me, Ellen,” said Juliet ; ‘ if ater your marriage you live away from London, what will Mary Glentworth do?” “She has already assured me,’? I answered, *‘ that on no consideration will she continue to live with me after my marriage. But understand me well, Juliet! She has not in this sense spoken unkindly nor ungratefully : on the contrary, it was with the utmost delicacy of feeling that Mary an- nounced to me her intention on the subject. She said that young married persons ought not to be subjected to the restraint of visitors or friends re- siding with them: in short, Juliet, Mary’s reason- ing is most considerate—and though I argued against it, she nevertheless remained firm to her purpose. It will grieve me to separate from her: but what am Ito doP She must have a home of her own: I will make her a present of all my fur- niture in Great Ormond Street—she seems to like the house—and she may therefore continue to live there.’ By means of conyersation the time was whiled away ; and we drew near to the end of our journey. The mansion took its name from a picturesque little village near which it stood, at an interval of only about a mile and a half. As we had been informed there was an old couple in charge of the premises, and as there wags consequently no neces- sity to halt in the village in the first instance, we might have driven straight up to the door of the mansion ; but as the weather was deliciously fine, and we were also desirous of obtaining a full view of the landscape, we decided upon walking for that phort distance. We accordingly alighted at the village-inn, where we ordered the postchaise to be put up; and we then set off on our ramble towards the mansion. We pursued the main road for nearly a mile; and then we stopped at a gate opening into the grounds belonging to the house. There was a porter’s lodge : but this was shut up, and the gate was left unlocked. We entered. A gradually ascending carriage-drive, intersecting fields thinly planted with trees, and what might by some little stretch of the imagination be looked upon as “ a park,” led up towards the edifice itself.’ This, eyen at a distance, had a dilapidated and tumble-down look : but the nearer we drew the less satisfactory or inviting became its appearance. Its condition was evidently far worse than the estate-agent had given me to understand: but the site was pic- turesque—we obtained a view of spacious gardens attached to the mansion—and all the surrounding scenery was of the most attractive description. Nevertheless, I saw that Juliet had ‘conceived a strong repugnance for Wiilowbridge Manor ; and I myself began to fear that in consequence of the dilapidated state of the house it was not calculated to prove a bargain which I should be justified in concluding. ~ 1 ALT oo ge Shall you go over the premises?” inquired Juliet, as we halted at a little distance from the portico. “ You mean, my dear friend,” I said, “ that you have already seen sufficient to disgust you with Willowbridge ?>—you think we have lost sufficient time, and the best thing we can do is to return at once to London P” * To speak candidly, Ellen,” rephed Lady Fre- derick Ravenscliffe, “I do not think the place will suit you. It is prettily situated: but it is lonely. Look!—between this spot and the village, a dis- tance of a mile and a half, there are actually only two houses—the little wayside inn yonder, and the turnpike through which we passed on emerging from the hamlet. If you glance around, there is scarcely another habitation to be seen if * But country-residences are generally lonely in a certain sense,” I obseryed. “ River House, my dear Juliet, is not surrounded by habitations ? * No !—but it is within a few hundred yards of several, and altogether is far less lonely than this. Then bear in mind likewise that it will cost you a mint of money to put this house in repair! Look at the Venetian shutters, all falling away from their fastenings and hinges—many of the window- frames broken out—great cracks in the brick-work —the whole structure wearing an aspect of dilapi- dation——-But for heaven’s’sake, my dear Ellen, do not suffer me to set you against the place, if you really fancy it !” “ T confess that I have been deceived,” I said, “by the terms of the advertisement and the repre- sentations of the agent. But still, as we have come thus far, we will peep into the interior.” By all means,” said Juliet, “if you wish it!” We accordingly approached the front door, which was all~rotting upon its hinges, large pieces of the wood-work having been broken off, and thus exposing the decaying condition of the remainder; while a glance upward at the portico itself showed a huge gaping crack all across the masonry overhead, — producing the disagreeable impression that it was about to tumble down that CORNICLOOML< (C (EO)