A Whim, and Its Consequences: Collection of British Authors Vol. CXIVJames, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
General
A Whim, and Its Consequences: Collection of British Authors Vol. CXIV
James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
Fiction
"The honourable and reverend Horace Fleming," was then called, and
entered the witness-box with a calm, firm step, and a look of placid
dignity. "I know the prisoner in the dock," he said, in answer to the
counsel's questions. "I never spoke with him but once, but have seen
him several times in the grounds of Mr. Tracy, of Northferry. I always
believed his real name to be Acton, till the night of the fifth of
February, when I was told by my servant that he was the son of the
late Sir Harry Winslow. I recollect all the events of that night,
perfectly. I went into my library a little before five o'clock, to
select some sermons, as I was coming over to my vicarage at Sandbourn
on the following day; and about ten minutes after, my servant informed
me that Mr. Tracy's head-gardener wanted to speak to me. He was shown
into the library by my orders, and I asked him to sit down. I had
heard from Mr. Tracy that he was a man of extraordinary information
for his station in life; and it did not therefore surprise me to find
him mingle very appositely quotations in Latin and Greek with his
conversation. At the same time, I will own, both his manner and the
request he came to make, seemed to me very strange. He was a good deal
excited; and, after apologizing in a hurried manner for taking a
liberty, he said, a friend of his--indeed, a relation--had been left,
by Sir Harry Winslow, all the books and a great number of the pictures
at Winslow Abbey; together with the large book cases, and a great deal
of other furniture. Sir William Winslow, he said, was behaving very
ill about the whole business; and his friend was anxious to have the
various articles removed from Winslow Abbey at once, but had no place
to put them in. He then went on to explain to me, that having heard I
had several large apartments unfurnished in the rectory, he thought I
might be induced to give these articles house-room for a few weeks,
till they could be otherwise disposed of. I replied, that the rooms
though large for a rectory, were low pitched and difficult of access,
so that it would be impossible to place tall bookcases in them,
whatever inclination I might have to render the gentleman he mentioned
any service. We went to look at the rooms, and he acknowledged that
what he had proposed could not be done. He stayed some little time
afterwards, conversing on various subjects; and I found him a man of
very extensive information, which decidedly induced me to believe that
his original station in life was not that which he assumed. He spoke
with considerable acerbity of Sir William Winslow; and although he
affected a certain degree of roughness of manner, probably to
harmonize with his assumed character, it was quite evident to me that
he had received the education of a gentleman. I did suspect him to be
Mr. Winslow before our conversation was at an end; so much so, indeed,
that I asked him if he knew Sir William Winslow was at Northferry
House.
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