Elinor Wyllys Volume Ii Part 26

"Not in the least," replied Hazlehurst. "You have read this volume often I suppose," he added, turning to the sailor.

"Not I," was the reply; "I ain't given to reading in any shape; my s.h.i.+pmates have read that 'ere book oftener than I have."

"Did you carry it with you in all your voyages?"

"No; I left it ash.o.r.e half the time."

"How long have you had it in your possession?"

"Since I first went to sea."

"Indeed! that is singular; I should have said, Mr. Clapp,"

exclaimed Harry, suddenly facing the lawyer, "that only four years since, I read this very volume of the Spectator at Greatwood!"

If Hazlehurst expected Mr. Clapp to betray confusion, he was disappointed.

"You may have read some other volume," was the cool reply; although Harry thought, or fancied, that he traced a muscular movement about the speaker's eyelids, as he uttered the words: "That volume has been in the possession of Mr. Stanley since he first went to sea."

"Is there no other copy of the Spectator at your country-place, Mrs. Stanley?" asked Mr. Reed.

"There is another edition, entire, in three volumes," said Mrs.

Stanley.

"I had forgotten it" said Hazlehurst; "but I am, nevertheless, convinced that it was this edition which I read, for I remember looking for it on an upper shelf, where it belonged."

"It was probably another volume of the same edition; there must be some half-dozen, to judge by the size of this," observed Mr.

Reed.

"There were eight volumes, but one has been missing for years,"

said Mrs. Stanley.

"It was this which I read, however," said Harry; "for I remember the portrait of Steele, in the frontispiece."

"Will you swear to it?" asked Mr. Clapp, with a doubtful smile.

"When I do take an oath, it will not be lightly, sir," replied Hazlehurst.

"It is pretty evident, that Mr. Hazlehurst will not be easily satisfied," added Mr. Clapp, with an approach to a sneer. "Shall we go on, Mr. Reed, or stop the examination?"

Mrs. Stanley professed herself anxious to ask other questions; and as she had showed more symptoms of yielding than the gentlemen, the sailor's counsel seemed to cherish hopes of bringing her over to their side. At her request, Mr. Wyllys then proceeded to ask some questions, which had been agreed upon before the meeting.

"What is your precise age, sir?"

"I shall be thirty-seven, the tenth of next August."

"Where were you born?"

"At my father's country-place, in ----- county, Pennsylvania."

"When were you last there before his death?"

"After my whaling voyage in the Sally-Ann, in the summer of 1814."

"How long did you stay at home on that occasion?"

"Three months; until I went to sea in the Thomas Jefferson."

"What was your mother's name, sir?"

"My mother's name was Elizabeth Radcliffe."

"What were the names of your grand-parents?" added Mr. Wyllys, quickly.

"My grandfather Stanley's name was William; I am named after him.

My grandmother's maiden name was Ellis--Jane Ellis."

"What were the Christian names of your grand-parents, on your mother's side?"

"Let me see--my memory isn't over-good: my grandfather Radcliffe was named John Henry."

"And your grandmother?"

The sailor hesitated, and seemed to change colour; but, perhaps it was merely because he stooped to pick up his handkerchief.

"It's curious that I can't remember her Christian name," said he, looking from one to another; "but I always called her grandmother;--that's the reason, I suppose."

"Take time, and I dare say you will remember," said Clapp. "Have you never chanced to see the old family Bible?"

The sailor looked at him, as if in thought, and suddenly exclaimed: "Her name was Agnes Graham!" Other questions were then asked, about the persons of his parents, the house at Greatwood, and the neighbourhood. He seemed quite at home there, and answered most of the questions with great accuracy--especially about the place and neighbourhood. He described Mr. Stanley perfectly, but did not appear to remember his mother so well; as she had died early, however, Mr. Reed and Mr. Clapp accounted for it in that way. He made a few mistakes about the place, but they were chiefly upon subjects of opinion, such as the breadth of a river, the height of a hill, the number of acres in a field; and possibly his account was quite as correct as that of Mr. Wyllys.

"On which side of the house is the drawing-room, at Greatwood?"

asked Hazlehurst.

"Maybe you have changed it, since you got possession; but in my day it was on the north side of the house, looking towards the woods."

"Where are the stairs?"

"They stand back as you go in--they are very broad."

"Is there anything particular about the railing?"

The sailor paused. "Not that I remember, now," he said.

"Can't you describe it?--What is it made of?"

"Some kind of wood--dark wood--mahogany."

"What is the shape of the bal.u.s.ters?"