Round the Corner

d all alone And ever mo

SO

so gentle that the males could not (with the countenance of their familie

was the eldest son and he had two brothers, so that there was one Folyat for each of the three professions, if enough patronage could be collected from their various titled and more or less inf

its deep-rooted conservatism, the family is proud of that insurgent son. He marks its descent for all to see, and, as it is all so long ago, it is easy to forget that he failed to do that for which certain politicians have become infamous, namely, to blow up the House of Lords and, with it, his cousins, the Baron Folyat and

his word, and when the time came for Francis to enter upon a career he procured him a commission in His Majesty's Army. Francis was highly delighted at this, and saw himself stepping into the Duke of Wellington's shoes when that illustrious man should be gathered to that fold where the most illustrious are even as the meanest of God's creatures. He spent a glorious day in the top of his favourite oak-tree in the park planning heroic wars for England and telling the birds that at last they had something to sing about. He had never thought of it before, but, as it had been decided that he was to be a soldier, he fla

"a true Folyat, wort

g

world-he had often prayed to God to make him like William better-and he thought there was a curious loo

ishes to

extremely fashionable and very indifferent painter and it hung in her room, the best in the house. She wore a beautiful lace fichu and black lace mittens, and the lines of her face were hard. Her hair was done in ringlets on either side of her face and drawn up

iled to be, by the rich tones of her voice. It was a magnificent voice, and she knew it and used it caressingly, lingering on her favourite notes, which she threw cunningly upon the open vowel

said, "I have

no reply and F

hall I say it?-too emotional, too much given to dreams. The life of a soldier is stern [Pg 4]and calls for resolution. The Folyats ar

wear the king's uniform. Better never to wear it than to disgrace it! It was quite as easy for him to see himself in this light as to dream heroically of warlike deeds and successful prowess. His mother played upon his foible and stripped him

Church his Cousin Bampfield could provide him with a living as soon as he had been ordained. She could not send him to Oxford or Cambridge, since the estate of a gentleman in those universities was costly,

eek Testament with the vicar. The subject of the commission was never

until it swelled and assumed a red and purple hue, [Pg 5]and William howled and vowed that if ever he could do his brother a mischief he would. No hint of the combat ever reached their mother, in spite of her distress at the damage to her William's beautiful nose, and the

s and few friends, and he devoted much time to the growth and cultivation of a long golden beard, which, together with his snub nose, earned him the nickname of Socrates, or Old Soc. In Ireland he was happier than he ever was again in all his long life, though, with his large capacity for enjoyment, it cannot be said that he was ever genuinely unhappy. In Ireland he found an atmosphere altogether congenial to his temperament, which found its food in Rabelais, Montaigne (Voltaire he would no

ty-nine Articles [Pg 6]without blinking and proceeded to ordination at the hands of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, shortly after the marriage of Queen Vict

family. This greatly upset madam, his mother, who warned him that he might be jeopardising his chances of the next family living. Within himself he argued that, being by profession a shepherd of souls, he must not waste time in places where there was not one to be found. He did not, however, lay this argument before his mother, but accepted a curacy at one hundred and ten pounds in South Devon, on a pleasant estuary, in a little town that had been a seaport in old days, trading busily with Fran

yed only a very unsatisfactory relationship. His brother William was in India; Peter [Pg 7]was on the high seas, and no word was to be expected from him for three years or more. He was alone, and he felt ashamed of his incapacity to grapple with the situation. His mother, perhaps as a tactful tribute to the profession into which she had forced him, asked him

must read bett

he knew it was selfish and inappro

dered that I should wear a black. I do not think I shall ever be a bishop, bu

s-twelve in all. Certain articles of furniture and plate he was to keep in trust for his brothers when they should return to Eng

rancis, "am a stra

flowing emotion in his mother's presence that he was relieved when this colloquy was broken off by the entry of Dr. Fish, th

of tobacco, a luxury which had mastered him in Dublin. He learned there to smok

he dark room with the great bed, and when he

Not a bit of it. She'll

r she was a ghost whom he regarded with a friendly eye. Never