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10 - Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett · Little Lord Fauntleroy

0:02
Speaker 1: The truth was that missus Errol had found a great
0:04
Speaker 1: many sad things in the course of her work among
0:07
Speaker 1: the poor of the little village that appeared so picturesque
0:10
Speaker 1: when it was seen from the moor sides, everything was
0:13
Speaker 1: not as picturesque when seen near by as it looked
0:16
Speaker 1: from a distance. She had found idleness and poverty and
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Speaker 1: ignorance where there should have been comfort and industry, And
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Speaker 1: she had discovered after a while that Earlborough was considered
0:28
Speaker 1: to be the worst village in that part of the country.
0:31
Speaker 1: Mister Mordant had told her a great many of his
0:34
Speaker 1: difficulties and discouragements, and she had found out a great
0:37
Speaker 1: deal by herself. The agents who had managed the property
0:42
Speaker 1: had always been chosen to please the Earl, and had
0:45
Speaker 1: cared nothing for the degradation and wretchedness of the poor tenants.
0:50
Speaker 1: Many things therefore had been neglected which should have been
0:53
Speaker 1: attended to, and matters had gone from bad to worse.
0:58
Speaker 1: As to Earle's court, it was a disgrace, with its
1:01
Speaker 1: dilapidated houses and miserable, careless, sickly people. When first missus
1:07
Speaker 1: Errol went to the place, it made her shudder, such
1:11
Speaker 1: ugliness and slovenliness and want seemed worse in a country
1:15
Speaker 1: place than in a city. It seemed as if there
1:19
Speaker 1: it might be helped. And as she looked at the squalid,
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Speaker 1: uncared for children growing up in the midst of vice
1:25
Speaker 1: and brutal indifference, she thought of her own little boy
1:29
Speaker 1: spending his days in the great, splendid castle, guarded and
1:33
Speaker 1: served like a young prince, having no wish, ungratified, and
1:37
Speaker 1: knowing nothing but luxury and ease and beauty, and a
1:41
Speaker 1: bold thought came in her wise little mother heart. Gradually
1:46
Speaker 1: she had begun to see, as had others, that it
1:49
Speaker 1: had been her boy's good fortune to please the Earl
1:51
Speaker 1: very much, and that he would scarcely be likely to
1:55
Speaker 1: be denied anything for which he expressed a desire. The
2:00
Speaker 1: Earl would give him anything, she said to mister Mordant,
2:03
Speaker 1: He would indulge his every whim. Why should not that
2:07
Speaker 1: indulgence be used for the good of others? It is
2:10
Speaker 1: for me to see that this shall come to pass.
2:14
Speaker 2: She knew she could.
2:15
Speaker 1: Trust the kind, childish heart, so she told the little
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Speaker 1: fellow the story of Earl's court, feeling sure that he
2:22
Speaker 1: would speak of it to his grandfather. And hoping that
2:24
Speaker 1: some good results would follow, and strange as it appeared
2:28
Speaker 1: to every one, good results did follow. The fact was
2:34
Speaker 1: that the strongest power to influence the Earl was his
2:36
Speaker 1: grandson's perfect confidence in him, the fact that Cedric always
2:40
Speaker 1: believed that his grandfather was going to do what was
2:43
Speaker 1: right and generous. He could not quite make up his
2:47
Speaker 1: mind to let him discover that he had no inclination
2:49
Speaker 1: to be generous at all, and that he wanted his
2:52
Speaker 1: own way on all occasions, whether it was right or wrong.
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Speaker 1: It was such a novelty to be regarded with admiration
3:00
Speaker 1: as a benefactor of the entire human race and the
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Speaker 1: soul of nobility, that he did not enjoy the idea
3:07
Speaker 1: of looking into the affectionate brown eyes and saying, I
3:10
Speaker 1: am a violent, selfish, old rascal. I never did a
3:14
Speaker 1: generous thing in my life, and I don't care about
3:16
Speaker 1: Earl's court or the poor people, or something which would
3:20
Speaker 1: amount to the same thing. He actually had learned to
3:24
Speaker 1: be fond enough of that small boy with the mop
3:26
Speaker 1: of yellow love locks to feel that he himself would
3:29
Speaker 1: prefer to be guilty of an amiable action now and then.
3:33
Speaker 1: And so though he laughed at himself. After some reflection,
3:37
Speaker 1: he sent for Newick and had quite a long interview
3:40
Speaker 1: with him on the subject of the court, and it
3:43
Speaker 1: was decided that the wretched hovels should be pulled down
3:45
Speaker 1: and new houses should be built. It is Lord Fauntleroy
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Speaker 1: who insists on it, he said, dryly. He thinks it
3:53
Speaker 1: will improve the property.
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Speaker 2: You can tell the tenants that it's his idea.
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Speaker 1: And he looked down at his small lordship, who was
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Speaker 1: lying on the hearth rug plain with Dougal. The great
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Speaker 1: dog was the Lad's constant companion, and followed him about everywhere,
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Speaker 1: stalking solemnly after him when he walked, and trotting majestically
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Speaker 1: behind when he rode or drove. Of course, both the
4:17
Speaker 1: country people and the town people heard of the proposed improvement.
4:21
Speaker 1: At first, many of them would not believe it, But
4:24
Speaker 1: when a small army of workmen arrived and commenced pulling
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Speaker 1: down the crazy, squalid cottages, people began to understand that
4:32
Speaker 1: little Lord Fauntleroy had done them a good turn again,
4:35
Speaker 1: and that through his innocent interference, the scandal of Earl's
4:39
Speaker 1: Court had at last been removed. If he had only
4:43
Speaker 1: known how they talked about him and praised him everywhere,
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Speaker 1: and prophesied great things for him when he grew up.
4:50
Speaker 1: How astonished he would have been, but he never suspected it.
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Speaker 1: He lived his simple, happy child life, frolicking about in
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Speaker 1: the park the rabbits to their burrows, lying under the
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Speaker 1: trees on the grass, or on the rug in the library,
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Speaker 1: reading wonderful books, and talking to the Earl about them,
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Speaker 1: and telling the stories again to his mother, writing long
5:13
Speaker 1: letters to Dick and mister Hobbs, who responded in characteristic fashion.
5:18
Speaker 1: Writing out at his grandfather's side or with Wilkins's escort
5:23
Speaker 1: as they rode through the market town, he used to
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Speaker 1: see the people turn and look, and he noticed that
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Speaker 1: as they lifted their hats, their faces often brightened very much,
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Speaker 1: but he thought it was all because his grandfather was
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Speaker 1: with him. They are so fond of you, he once said,
5:40
Speaker 1: looking up at his lordship with a bright smile. Do
5:43
Speaker 1: you see how glad they are when they see you.
5:46
Speaker 1: I hope they will some day be as fond of me.
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Speaker 1: It must be nice to have everybody like you, And
5:54
Speaker 1: he felt quite proud to be the grandson of so
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Speaker 1: greatly admired and beloved an individual. When the cottages were
6:02
Speaker 1: being built, the lad and his grandfather used to ride
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Speaker 1: over to Earl's Court together to look at them, and
6:07
Speaker 1: Fauntleroy was full of interest. He would dismount from his
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Speaker 1: pony and go and make acquaintance with a workman, asking
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Speaker 1: them questions about building in brick Lane and telling them
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Speaker 1: things about America.
6:20
Speaker 2: After two or.
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Speaker 1: Three such conversations, he was able to enlighten the Earl
6:24
Speaker 1: on the subject of brickmaking as they rode home. I
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Speaker 1: always like to know about things like those, he said,
6:31
Speaker 1: because you never know what you are coming to.
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Speaker 2: When he left them, the workmen.
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Speaker 1: Used to talk him over among themselves and laugh at
6:40
Speaker 1: his odd, innocent speeches. But they liked him and liked
6:43
Speaker 1: to see him stand among them, talking away with his
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Speaker 1: hands in his pockets, his hat pushed back on his curls,
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Speaker 1: and his small face full of eagerness. He's a rearand
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Speaker 1: they used to say, and a noice, little outspoken chap too,
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Speaker 1: not much of the badstufal in him. And they would
7:02
Speaker 1: go home and tell their wives about him, and the
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Speaker 1: women would tell each other, and so it came about
7:07
Speaker 1: that almost everyone talked of or knew some story of
7:11
Speaker 1: little Lord Fauntleroy, And gradually almost everyone knew that the
7:16
Speaker 1: wicked Earl had found something he cared for at last,
7:20
Speaker 1: something which had touched and even warmed his hard, bitter,
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Speaker 1: old heart. But no one knew quite how much it
7:27
Speaker 1: had been warmed, and how day by day the old
7:30
Speaker 1: man found himself caring more and more for the child
7:33
Speaker 1: who was the only creature that had ever trusted him.
7:37
Speaker 1: He found himself looking forward to the time when Cedric
7:40
Speaker 1: would be a young man, strong and beautiful, with life
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Speaker 1: all before him, but having still that kind heart and
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Speaker 1: the power to make friends everywhere. And the Earl wondered
7:51
Speaker 1: what the lad would do and how he would use
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Speaker 1: his gifts. Often as he watched the little fellow lying
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Speaker 1: upon the hearth Conning's big book, the light shining on
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Speaker 1: the bright young head, his old eyes would gleam, and
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Speaker 1: his cheek would flush. The boy can do anything, he
8:09
Speaker 1: would say to himself anything. He never spoke to any
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Speaker 1: one else of his feeling for Cedric. When he spoke
8:17
Speaker 1: of him to others, it was always with the same
8:19
Speaker 1: grim smile. But Fauntleroy soon knew that his grandfather loved
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Speaker 1: him and always liked him to be near near to
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Speaker 1: his chair if they were in the library, opposite to
8:29
Speaker 1: him at table, or by his side when he rode,
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Speaker 1: or drove or took his evening walk on the broad terrace.
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Speaker 1: Do you remember, Cedric said, once, looking up from his
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Speaker 1: book as he lay on the rug, Do you remember
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Speaker 1: what I said to you that first night about our
8:46
Speaker 1: being good companions? I don't think any people could be
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Speaker 1: better companions than we are, do you? We are pretty
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Speaker 1: good companions, I should say, replied his lordship. Come here.
9:00
Speaker 1: Fauntleroy scrambled up and went to him. Is there anything
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Speaker 1: you want? The Earl asked, anything you have not? The
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Speaker 1: little fellow's brown eyes fixed themselves on his grandfather with
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Speaker 1: a rather wistful look. Only one thing, he answered.
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Speaker 2: What is that?
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Speaker 1: Inquired the Earl. Fauntleroy was silent a second. He had
9:24
Speaker 1: not thought matters over to himself so long for nothing?
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Speaker 1: What is it, my lord, repeated Fauntleroy answered, it is dearest,
9:33
Speaker 1: he said. The old Earl winced a little. But you
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Speaker 1: see her almost every day, he said, Is not that enough?
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Speaker 1: I used to see her all the time, said Fauntleroy.
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Speaker 1: She used to kiss me when I went to sleep
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Speaker 1: at night and in the morning, she was always there,
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Speaker 1: and we could tell each other things without waiting. The
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Speaker 1: old eyes and the young ones looked into each other
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Speaker 1: through a moment of silence. Then the Earl knitted his brows.
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Speaker 1: Do you never forget about your mother? He said, No,
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Speaker 1: answered Fauntleroy, never, and she never forgets about me. I
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Speaker 1: shouldn't forget about you. You know, if I didn't live
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Speaker 1: with you, I should think about you all the more
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Speaker 1: upon my word, said the Earl, after looking at him
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Speaker 1: a moment longer. I believe you would. The jealous pang
10:29
Speaker 1: that came when the boy spoke so of his mother
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Speaker 1: seemed even stronger than it had been before. It was
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Speaker 1: stronger because of this old man's increasing affection for the boy.
10:40
Speaker 1: But it was not long before he had other pangs,
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Speaker 1: so much harder to face that he almost forgot for
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Speaker 1: the time he had ever hated his son's wife at all.
10:49
Speaker 1: And in a strange and startling way. It happened one evening,
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Speaker 1: just before the Earl's court cottages were completed, there was
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Speaker 1: a grand dinner party at Dorincourt. There had not been
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Speaker 1: such a party at the castle for a long time.
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Speaker 1: A few days before it took place, Sir Harry Lauridale
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Speaker 1: and Lady Laurdale, who was the Earl's only sister, actually
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Speaker 1: came for a visit, a thing which caused the greatest
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Speaker 1: excitement in the village and set Missus Dibble's shop bell
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Speaker 1: tinkling madly again, because it was well known that Lady
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Speaker 1: Laurdale had only been to Dorincourt once since her marriage
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Speaker 1: thirty five years before. She was a handsome old lady
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Speaker 1: with white curls and dimpled, peachy cheeks, and she was
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Speaker 1: as good as gold. But she had never approved of
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Speaker 1: her brother any more than did the rest of the world,
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Speaker 1: and having a strong will of her own, and not
11:43
Speaker 1: being at all afraid to speak her mind. Frankly, she had,
11:46
Speaker 1: after several lively quarrels with his lordship, seen very little
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Speaker 1: of him. Since her young days, she had heard a
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Speaker 1: great deal of him that was not pleasant through the
11:57
Speaker 1: years in which they had been separated. She had heard
12:00
Speaker 1: about his neglect of his wife, and of the poor
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Speaker 1: lady's death, and of his indifference to his children, and
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Speaker 1: of the two weak, vicious, unprepossessing elder boys who had
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Speaker 1: been no credit to him. Or to any one else.
12:14
Speaker 1: Those two elder sons, Bevis and Morris, she had never seen.
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Speaker 1: But once there had come to Lourdale Park a tall, stalwart,
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Speaker 1: beautiful young fellow about eighteen years old, who had told
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Speaker 1: her that he was her nephew, Cedric Errol, and that
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Speaker 1: he had come to see her because he was passing
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Speaker 1: near the place and wished to look at his aunt Constantia,
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Speaker 1: of whom he had heard his mother speak. Lady Lordale's
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Speaker 1: kind heart had warmed through and through at the sight
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Speaker 1: of the young man, and she had made him stay
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Speaker 1: with her a week, and petted him, and made much
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Speaker 1: of him, and admired him immensely. He was so sweet tempered,
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Speaker 1: light hearted and spirited a lad that when he went
12:53
Speaker 1: away she had hoped to see him often again, But
12:56
Speaker 1: she never did because the Earl had been in a
12:59
Speaker 1: bad humor when he went back to Dorincourt and had
13:02
Speaker 1: forbidden him ever to go to Laurdale Park again. But
13:06
Speaker 1: Lady Laurdale had always remembered him tenderly, and though she
13:10
Speaker 1: feared he had made a rash marriage in America, she
13:13
Speaker 1: had been very angry when she heard how he had
13:15
Speaker 1: been cast off by his father and that no one
13:18
Speaker 1: really knew where or how he lived. At last there
13:22
Speaker 1: came a rumor of his death, and then Bevis had
13:25
Speaker 1: been thrown from his horse and killed, and Morris had
13:29
Speaker 1: died in Rome of the fever. And soon after came
13:32
Speaker 1: the story of the American child who was to be
13:34
Speaker 1: found and brought home as Lord Fauntleroy probably to be
13:40
Speaker 1: ruined as the others were, She said to her husband,
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Speaker 1: unless his mother is good enough and has a will
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Speaker 1: of her own to help her take care of him.
13:48
Speaker 1: But when she heard that Cedric's mother had been parted
13:51
Speaker 1: from him, she was almost too indignant for words. It
13:54
Speaker 1: is disgraceful, Harry, she said, fancy a child of that
13:58
Speaker 1: age being taken from his mother and made the companion
14:01
Speaker 1: of a man like my brother. He will either be
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Speaker 1: brutal to the boy or indulge him until he is
14:07
Speaker 1: a little monster. If I thought it would do any
14:10
Speaker 1: good to write it, wouldn't, Constantia, said, Sir Harry. I
14:15
Speaker 1: know it wouldn't, She answered, I know his Lordship, the
14:19
Speaker 1: Earl of Dorincourt, too well. But it is outrageous. Not
14:25
Speaker 1: only the poor people and farmers heard about little Lord Fauntleroy,
14:28
Speaker 1: others knew him. He was talked about so much, and
14:32
Speaker 1: there were so many stories of him, of his beauty,
14:35
Speaker 1: his sweet temper, his popularity, and his growing influence over
14:39
Speaker 1: the Earl his grandfather that rumors of him reached the
14:43
Speaker 1: gentry at their country places, and he was heard of
14:46
Speaker 1: in more than one county in England. People talked about
14:50
Speaker 1: him at the dinner tables. Ladies pitied his young mother
14:53
Speaker 1: and wondered if the boy were as handsome as he
14:56
Speaker 1: was said to be, And men who knew the Earl
14:58
Speaker 1: and his habits laughed heartily at the stories of the
15:01
Speaker 1: little fellow's belief in his lordship's amiability. Sir Thomas Ashe
15:07
Speaker 1: of Asshaw Hall, being in Earlborough one day, met the
15:11
Speaker 1: Earl and his grandson writing together, and stopped to shake
15:14
Speaker 1: hands with my lord and congratulate him on his change
15:16
Speaker 1: of looks and on his recovery from the gout. And
15:20
Speaker 1: do you know, he said, when he spoke of the
15:22
Speaker 1: incident afterward, the old man looked as proud as a
15:25
Speaker 1: turkey cock. And upon my word, I don't wonder for
15:29
Speaker 1: a handsomer, finer lad than his grandson. I never saw
15:33
Speaker 1: as straight as a dart and sat his pony like
15:35
Speaker 1: a young trooper. And so by degrees, Lady Laurdale too
15:41
Speaker 1: heard of the child. She heard about Higgins and the
15:44
Speaker 1: lame boy, and the cottages at Earl's court, and a
15:47
Speaker 1: score of other things, and she began to wish to
15:50
Speaker 1: see the little fellow. And just as she was wondering
15:53
Speaker 1: how it might be brought about, to her utter astonishment,
15:57
Speaker 1: she received a letter from her brother inviting her to
16:00
Speaker 1: come with her husband to Dorincourt. It seems incredible, she exclaimed.
16:05
Speaker 1: I have heard it said that the child has worked miracles,
16:08
Speaker 1: and I begin to believe it.
16:10
Speaker 2: They say.
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Speaker 1: My brother adores the boy and can scarcely endure to
16:14
Speaker 1: have him out of sight, and he is so proud
16:18
Speaker 1: of him. Actually, I believe he wants to show him
16:21
Speaker 1: to us. And she accepted the invitation at once. When
16:26
Speaker 1: she reached Dorincourt Castle with Sir Harry, it was late
16:29
Speaker 1: in the afternoon, and she went to her room at
16:31
Speaker 1: once before seeing her brother. Having dressed for dinner, she
16:35
Speaker 1: entered the drawing room. The Earl was there, standing near
16:38
Speaker 1: the fire and looking very tall and imposing, and at
16:42
Speaker 1: his side stood a little boy in black velvet and
16:45
Speaker 1: a large van Dyke collar of rich lace, A little
16:49
Speaker 1: fellow whose round, bright face was so handsome, and who
16:52
Speaker 1: turned upon her such beautiful, candid brown eyes that she
16:56
Speaker 1: almost uttered an exclamation of pleasure and surprise at the sight.
17:01
Speaker 1: As she shook hands with the Earl, she called him
17:03
Speaker 1: by the name she had not used since her girlhood.
17:07
Speaker 1: What Molly knew, she said, Is this the child? Yes, Constentia,
17:13
Speaker 1: answered the earl.
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Speaker 2: This is the boy. Fauntleroy.
17:17
Speaker 1: This is your grand aunt, Lady Laurdale. How do you do, grandaunt,
17:22
Speaker 1: said Fauntleroy. Lady Loridale put her hand on his shoulders, and,
17:27
Speaker 1: after looking down into his upraised face a few seconds,
17:30
Speaker 1: kissed him warmly. I am your aunt, Costenzia, she said.
17:34
Speaker 1: And I loved your poor papa, and you are very
17:37
Speaker 1: like him. It makes me glad when I am told
17:41
Speaker 1: I am like him, answered Fauntleroy, because it seems as
17:45
Speaker 1: if every one liked him just like dearest exactly, and
17:49
Speaker 1: Gastancia adding the two words after a second's pause. Lady
17:55
Speaker 1: Laurdale was delighted. She bent and kissed him again, and
17:58
Speaker 1: from that moment they were warm friends. Well Molineux, she
18:03
Speaker 1: set aside to the Earl afterward. It could not possibly
18:07
Speaker 1: be better than this, I think, not, answered his lordship dryly.
18:13
Speaker 1: He is a fine little fellow. We are great friends.
18:16
Speaker 1: He believes me to be the most charming and sweet
18:19
Speaker 1: tempered of philanthropists. I will confess to you, Constantia, as
18:24
Speaker 1: you would find it out if I did not, that
18:26
Speaker 1: I am in some slight danger of becoming rather an
18:28
Speaker 1: old fool about him. What does his mother think of you?
18:33
Speaker 1: Asked Lady Loredale, with her usual straightforwardness. I have not
18:38
Speaker 1: asked her, answered the Earl, slightly, scowling well, said Lady Loredale,
18:44
Speaker 1: I will be frank with you at the outset Molyneux,
18:46
Speaker 1: and tell you I don't approve of your course, and
18:49
Speaker 1: that it is my intention to call on missus Errol
18:52
Speaker 1: as soon as possible. So if you wish to quarrel
18:55
Speaker 1: with me, you had better mention it at once. What
18:58
Speaker 1: I hear of the young creature makes me quite sure
19:01
Speaker 1: that her child owes her everything. We were told even
19:04
Speaker 1: at laura Dale Park that your poorer tenants adore her.
19:07
Speaker 1: Already they adore him, said the Earl, nodding toward Fauntleroy,
19:14
Speaker 1: as to missus Errol. You'll find her a pretty little woman.
19:17
Speaker 1: I'm rather in debt to her for giving some of
19:19
Speaker 1: her beauty to the boy. And you can go see
19:21
Speaker 1: her if you like. All I ask is that she
19:24
Speaker 1: will remain at court Lodge, and that you will not
19:27
Speaker 1: ask me to go and see her. And he scowled
19:30
Speaker 1: a little again. But he doesn't hate her as much
19:33
Speaker 1: as he used to. That is plain enough to me.
19:36
Speaker 1: Her ladyship said to Sir Harry afterward, and he is
19:40
Speaker 1: a changed man in a measure, And incredible as it
19:43
Speaker 1: may seem, Harry, it is my opinion that he is
19:46
Speaker 1: being made into a human being through nothing more nor
19:50
Speaker 1: less than his affection for that innocent, affectionate little fellow.
19:54
Speaker 1: Why the child actually loves him, leans on his chair
19:58
Speaker 1: and against his knee. His his own children would as
20:00
Speaker 1: soon have thought of nestling up to a tiger. The
20:05
Speaker 1: very next day, she went to call upon missus Errol.
20:08
Speaker 1: When she returned, she said to her brother, Mollie, you
20:12
Speaker 1: she is the loveliest little woman I ever saw. She
20:15
Speaker 1: has a voice like a silver bell, and you may
20:18
Speaker 1: thank her for making the boy what he is. She
20:21
Speaker 1: has given him more than her beauty, and you make
20:24
Speaker 1: a great mistake in not persuading her to come and
20:26
Speaker 1: take charge of you. I shall invite her to Loradale.
20:30
Speaker 1: She'll not leave the boy, replied the Earl. I must
20:34
Speaker 1: have the boy too, said Lady Lourdale, laughing. But she
20:39
Speaker 1: knew Fauntleroy would not be given up to her, And
20:42
Speaker 1: each day she saw more clearly how closely those two
20:45
Speaker 1: had grown to each other, and how all the proud,
20:48
Speaker 1: grim old man's ambition and love and hope centered themselves
20:51
Speaker 1: in the child, and how the warm, innocent nature returned
20:55
Speaker 1: his affection with most perfect trust and good faith. She
21:00
Speaker 1: knew too that the prime reason for the great dinner
21:02
Speaker 1: party was the Earl's secret desire to show the world
21:05
Speaker 1: his grandson and heir, and to let people see that
21:09
Speaker 1: the boy who had been so much spoken of and
21:11
Speaker 1: described was even a finer little specimen of boyhood than
21:15
Speaker 1: rumor had made him. Bethis and Morris were such a
21:20
Speaker 1: bitter humiliation to him, she said to her husband. Every
21:24
Speaker 1: one knew it. He actually hated them. His pride has
21:28
Speaker 1: full sway here. Perhaps there was not one person who
21:33
Speaker 1: accepted the invitation without feeling some curiosity about little Lord Fauntleroy,
21:38
Speaker 1: and wondering if he would be on view. And when
21:41
Speaker 1: the time came he.
21:42
Speaker 2: Was on view.
21:44
Speaker 1: The lad has good manners, said the Earl. He will
21:47
Speaker 1: be in no one's way. Children are usually idiots or boores.
21:52
Speaker 1: Mine were both. But he can actually answer when he's
21:55
Speaker 1: spoken to, and be silent when he is not. He
21:59
Speaker 1: is never a offensive. But he was not allowed to
22:03
Speaker 1: be silent very long. Everyone had something to say to him.
22:07
Speaker 1: The fact was they wished to make him talk. The
22:10
Speaker 1: ladies petted him and asked him questions, and the men
22:13
Speaker 1: asked him questions too, and joked with him, as the
22:16
Speaker 1: men on the steamer had done when he crossed the Atlantic.
22:20
Speaker 1: Fauleroy did not quite understand why they laughed so sometimes
22:23
Speaker 1: when he answered them, But he was so used to
22:26
Speaker 1: seeing people amused when he was quite serious that he
22:29
Speaker 1: did not mind. He thought the whole evening delightful. The
22:34
Speaker 1: magnificent rooms were so brilliant with lights, there were so
22:38
Speaker 1: many flowers. The gentlemen seemed so gay, and the ladies
22:41
Speaker 1: wore such beautiful, wonderful dresses, and such sparkling ornaments in
22:45
Speaker 1: their hair and on their necks. There was one young lady,
22:49
Speaker 1: who he heard them say, had just come down from London,
22:53
Speaker 1: where she had spent the season, and she was so
22:56
Speaker 1: charming that he could not keep his eyes from her.
22:59
Speaker 1: She was a rather tall young lady, with a proud
23:02
Speaker 1: little head, and very soft dark hair, and large eyes,
23:06
Speaker 1: the color of purple pansies, and the color on her
23:09
Speaker 1: cheeks and lips was like that of a rose. She
23:13
Speaker 1: was dressed in a beautiful white dress and had pearls
23:16
Speaker 1: around her throat. There was one strange thing about this
23:19
Speaker 1: young lady. So many gentlemen stood near her and seemed
23:23
Speaker 1: so anxious to please her, that Fauntleroy thought she must
23:26
Speaker 1: be something like a princess. He was so much interested
23:30
Speaker 1: in her that, without knowing it, he drew nearer and
23:34
Speaker 1: nearer to her, And at last she turned and spoke
23:37
Speaker 1: to him. Come here, Lord Fauntleroy, she said, smiling, and
23:42
Speaker 1: tell me why you look at me so I was thinking,
23:46
Speaker 1: how beautiful you are, his young lordship replied. Then all
23:51
Speaker 1: the gentlemen laughed outright, and the young lady laughed a
23:54
Speaker 1: little too, and the rose color in her cheeks brightened. Ah, Fauntleroy,
23:59
Speaker 1: said one of the gentleman, who had laughed most heartily.
24:02
Speaker 1: Make the most of your time. When you are older,
24:05
Speaker 1: you will not have the courage to say that. But
24:08
Speaker 1: nobody could help saying it, said Fauntleroy sweetly, could you
24:12
Speaker 1: help it? Don't you think she is pretty too? We
24:17
Speaker 1: are not allowed to say what we think, said the gentleman,
24:20
Speaker 1: while the rest laughed more than ever. But the beautiful
24:23
Speaker 1: young lady, her name was Miss Vivian Herbert, put out
24:27
Speaker 1: her hand and drew Cedric to her side, looking prettier
24:30
Speaker 1: than before. If possible, Lord Fauntleroy shall say what he thinks,
24:35
Speaker 1: she said, and I am much obliged to him. I
24:38
Speaker 1: am sure he thinks what he says, and she kissed
24:41
Speaker 1: him on his cheek. I think you are prettier than
24:45
Speaker 1: any one I ever saw, said Fauntleroy, looking at her
24:49
Speaker 1: with innocent admiring eyes, except Dearest, of course, I couldn't
24:54
Speaker 1: think anyone quite as pretty as dearest. I think she
24:58
Speaker 1: is the prettiest person in the world. I am sure
25:02
Speaker 1: she is, said Miss Cynthian Herbert, and she laughed and
25:05
Speaker 1: kissed his cheek again. She kept him by her side
25:08
Speaker 1: a great part of the evening, and the group of
25:11
Speaker 1: which they were the cinder was very gay. He did
25:14
Speaker 1: not know how it happened, but before long he was
25:17
Speaker 1: telling them all about America and the Republican Rally and
25:21
Speaker 1: mister Hobbs and Dick. And in the end he proudly
25:25
Speaker 1: produced from his pocket Dick's parting gift, the red silk handkerchief.
25:31
Speaker 1: I put it in my pocket to night because it
25:33
Speaker 1: was a party, he said. I thought Dick would like
25:36
Speaker 1: me to wear it at a party. And queer as
25:39
Speaker 1: the big flaming spotted thing was, there was a serious
25:43
Speaker 1: affectionate look in his eyes, which prevented his audience from
25:46
Speaker 1: laughing very much. You see, I like it, he said,
25:51
Speaker 1: because Dick is my friend. But though he was talked
25:55
Speaker 1: to so much, as the Earl had said, he was
25:57
Speaker 1: in no one's way. He he could be quiet and
26:01
Speaker 1: listen when others talked, and so no one found him tiresome.
26:05
Speaker 1: A slight smile crossed more than one face when several
26:08
Speaker 1: times he went and stood near his grandfather's chair or
26:11
Speaker 1: sat on a stool close to him, watching him and
26:14
Speaker 1: absorbing every word he uttered with the most charmed interest.
26:18
Speaker 1: Once he stood so near the chair's arm that his
26:21
Speaker 1: cheek touched the Earl's shoulder, and his Lordship, detecting the
26:24
Speaker 1: general's smile, smiled a little himself. He knew what the
26:29
Speaker 1: lookers on were thinking, and he felt some secret amusement
26:32
Speaker 1: in their scene. What good friends he was with this
26:34
Speaker 1: youngster who might have been expected to share the popular
26:37
Speaker 1: opinion of him. Mister Havisham had been expected to arrive
26:43
Speaker 1: in the afternoon, but strange to say, he was late.
26:47
Speaker 1: Such a thing had really never been known to happen
26:50
Speaker 1: before during all the years in which he had been
26:52
Speaker 1: a visitor at Dorincourt Castle. He was so late that
26:56
Speaker 1: the guests were on the point of rising to go
26:58
Speaker 1: into dinner when he arrived. When he approached his host,
27:02
Speaker 1: the Earl regarded him with amazement. He looked as if
27:06
Speaker 1: he had been hurried or agitated. His dry, keen old
27:09
Speaker 1: face was actually pale. I was detained, he said in
27:14
Speaker 1: a low voice to the Earl by an extraordinary event.
27:21
Speaker 1: It was as unlike the methodical lawyer to be agitated
27:24
Speaker 1: by anything as it was to be late. But it
27:27
Speaker 1: was evident that he had been disturbed. At dinner. He
27:30
Speaker 1: ate scarcely anything, and two or three times when he
27:34
Speaker 1: was spoken to he started as if his thoughts were
27:36
Speaker 1: far away. At dessert, when Fauntleroy came in, he looked
27:42
Speaker 1: at him more than once, nervously and uneasily. Fauntleroy noted
27:46
Speaker 1: the look and wondered at it. He and mister Havisham
27:49
Speaker 1: were on friendly terms, and they usually exchanged smiles. The
27:54
Speaker 1: lawyer seemed to have forgotten to smile that evening. The
27:58
Speaker 1: fact was, he forgot everything but the strange and painful
28:01
Speaker 1: news he knew he must tell the Earl before the
28:04
Speaker 1: night was over, the strange news which he knew would
28:07
Speaker 1: be so terrible a shock, and which would change the
28:10
Speaker 1: face of everything. As he looked about at the splendid rooms,
28:14
Speaker 1: and the brilliant company, and the people gathered together, he
28:17
Speaker 1: knew more that they might see the bright haired little
28:20
Speaker 1: fellow near the Earl's chair than for any other reason.
28:23
Speaker 1: As he looked at the proud old man and at
28:26
Speaker 1: little Lord Fauntleroy smiling at his side, he really felt
28:29
Speaker 1: quite shaken, notwithstanding that he.
28:32
Speaker 2: Was a hardened old lawyer.
28:34
Speaker 1: What a blow it was that he must deal them.
28:38
Speaker 1: He did not exactly know how the long, superb dinner ended.
28:42
Speaker 1: He sat through it as if he were in a dream,
28:45
Speaker 1: and several times he saw the Earl glance at him
28:47
Speaker 1: in surprise. But it was over at last, and the
28:51
Speaker 1: gentlemen joined the ladies in the drawing room. They found
28:55
Speaker 1: Fauntleroy sitting on the sofa with Miss Vivian Herbert, the
28:58
Speaker 1: great beauty of the last Linden season. They had been
29:01
Speaker 1: looking at some pictures, and he was thanking his companion
29:04
Speaker 1: as the door opened. I am ever so much obliged
29:09
Speaker 1: to you for being so kind to me, he was saying,
29:12
Speaker 1: I never was at a party before, and I've enjoyed
29:15
Speaker 1: myself so much. He had enjoyed himself so much that
29:20
Speaker 1: when the gentleman gathered about Miss Herbert again and began
29:23
Speaker 1: to talk to her. As he listened and tried to
29:25
Speaker 1: understand their laughing speeches, his eyelids began to droop. They
29:29
Speaker 1: drooped until they covered his eyes two or three times,
29:33
Speaker 1: and then the sound of Miss Herbert's low, pretty laugh
29:36
Speaker 1: would bring him back and he would open them again.
29:38
Speaker 1: For about two seconds, he was quite sure he was
29:42
Speaker 1: not going to sleep, But there was a large yellow
29:45
Speaker 1: satin cushion behind him, and his head sank against it,
29:49
Speaker 1: and after a while his eyelids drooped for the last time.
29:53
Speaker 1: They did not even quite open, when, as it seemed
29:56
Speaker 1: a long time after, some one kissed him whitely on
29:58
Speaker 1: the cheek. It was Miss Vivie and Herbert, who was
30:02
Speaker 1: going away, and she spoke to him softly. Good night,
30:06
Speaker 1: Little Lord Fauntleroy, she said, sleep well. And in the
30:11
Speaker 1: morning he did not know that he had tried to
30:13
Speaker 1: open his eyes and had murmured sleepily good night. I'm
30:18
Speaker 1: so glad I saw you.
30:21
Speaker 2: You are so pretty.
30:24
Speaker 1: He only had a very faint recollection of hearing the
30:27
Speaker 1: gentleman laugh again, and of wondering why.
30:30
Speaker 2: They did it.
30:32
Speaker 1: No sooner had the last guest left the room than
30:35
Speaker 1: mister Havisham turned from his place by the fire and
30:38
Speaker 1: stepped nearer the sofa, where he stood looking down at
30:41
Speaker 1: the sleeping occupant. Little Lord Fauntleroy was taking his ease luxuriously.
30:47
Speaker 1: One leg crossed the other and swung over the edge
30:50
Speaker 1: of the sofa. One arm was flung easily above his head.
30:54
Speaker 1: The warm flush of healthful, happy, childish sleep was on
30:57
Speaker 1: his quiet face. His wave tangle of bright hair strayed
31:01
Speaker 1: over the yellow satin cushion. He made a picture well
31:05
Speaker 1: worth looking at. As mister Havisham looked at it, he
31:09
Speaker 1: put his hand up and rubbed his shaven chin with
31:12
Speaker 1: a harassed countenance. Well, Havisham, said the Earl's harsh voice
31:18
Speaker 1: behind him.
31:19
Speaker 2: What is it?
31:20
Speaker 1: It is evident something has happened. What was the extraordinary event?
31:24
Speaker 1: If I may ask? Mister Havisham turned from the sofa,
31:28
Speaker 1: still rubbing his chin. It was bad news, he answered,
31:33
Speaker 1: distressing news, my lord, the worst of news. I am
31:37
Speaker 1: sorry to be the bearer of it. The Earl had
31:40
Speaker 1: been uneasy for some time during the evening as he
31:43
Speaker 1: glanced at mister Havisham, and when he was uneasy, he
31:46
Speaker 1: was always ill tempered. Why do you look so at
31:49
Speaker 1: the boy, he exclaimed irritively. You have been looking at
31:53
Speaker 1: him all the evening as if see here now? Why
31:56
Speaker 1: should you look at the boy Havisham and hang over
31:59
Speaker 1: him like some bird ofville omen. What has your news
32:02
Speaker 1: to do with Lord Fauntleroy, my lord, said mister Havisham.
32:07
Speaker 2: I will waste no words.
32:09
Speaker 1: My news has everything to do with Lord Fauntleroy, And
32:12
Speaker 1: if we are to believe it, it is not Lord
32:14
Speaker 1: Fauntleroy who lies sleeping before us, but only the son
32:17
Speaker 1: of Captain Errol, and the present Lord Fauntleroy is the
32:21
Speaker 1: son of your son Bevis, and is at this moment
32:24
Speaker 1: in a lodging house in London. The Earl clutched the
32:29
Speaker 1: arms of his chair with both his hands until the
32:31
Speaker 1: veins stood out upon them. The veins stood out upon
32:34
Speaker 1: his forehead too. His fierce old face was almost livid.
32:39
Speaker 2: What do you mean, he cried out, You are mad?
32:42
Speaker 2: Whose lie is this?
32:45
Speaker 1: If it is a lie, answered mister Havisham, it is
32:48
Speaker 1: painfully like the truth. A woman came to my chambers
32:51
Speaker 1: this morning. She said, your son Bevis married her six
32:55
Speaker 1: years ago in London. She showed me her marriage certificate.
33:00
Speaker 1: They quarreled a year after the marriage, and he paid
33:02
Speaker 1: her to keep away from him. She has a son
33:05
Speaker 1: five years old. She is an American of the lower classes,
33:09
Speaker 1: an ignorant person, and until lately she did not fully
33:13
Speaker 1: understand what her son could claim. She consulted a lawyer
33:17
Speaker 1: and found out that the boy was really Lord Fauntleroy
33:20
Speaker 1: and the heir to the Earldom of Dorincourt, And she,
33:23
Speaker 1: of course insists on his claims being acknowledged. There was
33:29
Speaker 1: a movement of the curly head on the yellow satin cushion.
33:32
Speaker 1: A soft, long, sleepy sigh came from the parted lips,
33:36
Speaker 1: and the little boy stirred in his sleep, but not
33:38
Speaker 1: at all restlessly or uneasily, not at all, as if
33:42
Speaker 1: his slumber were disturbed by the fact that he was
33:44
Speaker 1: being proved a small impostor, and that he was not
33:47
Speaker 1: Lord Fauntleroy at all, and never would be the Earl
33:50
Speaker 1: of Dorincourt. He only turned his rosy face more on
33:54
Speaker 1: its side, as if to enable the old man, who
33:57
Speaker 1: stared at it so solemnly, to see it better. The handsome,
34:01
Speaker 1: grim old face was ghastly, A bitter smile fixed itself
34:05
Speaker 1: upon it. I should refuse to believe a word of it,
34:09
Speaker 1: he said, if it were not such a low, scoundrelly
34:13
Speaker 1: piece of business, that it becomes quite possible in connection
34:16
Speaker 1: with the name of my son Bevis.
34:18
Speaker 2: It is quite like Bevis. He was always a disgrace
34:22
Speaker 2: to us, always.
34:23
Speaker 1: A weak, untruthful, vicious, young rute with low tastes. My
34:27
Speaker 1: son and heir, Bevis, Lord Fauntleroy. The woman is an ignorant,
34:33
Speaker 1: vulgar person. You say, I am obliged to admit that
34:38
Speaker 1: she can scarcely spell.
34:39
Speaker 2: Her own name. Answered the lawyer.
34:42
Speaker 1: She is absolutely uneducated and openly mercenary. She cares for
34:47
Speaker 1: nothing but the money. She is very handsome in a
34:50
Speaker 1: coarse way. But the fastidious old lawyer ceased speaking and
34:55
Speaker 1: gave a sort of shudder. The veins on the old
34:58
Speaker 1: earl's forehead stood out like chords. Something else stood out
35:03
Speaker 1: upon it, too, cold drops of moisture. He took out
35:07
Speaker 1: his handkerchief and swept them away. His smile grew even
35:10
Speaker 1: more bitter, and I, he said, I objected to to
35:15
Speaker 1: the other woman, the mother of this child, pointing to
35:19
Speaker 1: the sleeping form on the sofa. I refused to recognize her,
35:23
Speaker 1: and yet she could spell her own name.
35:26
Speaker 2: I suppose this is retribution. Suddenly he sprang up.
35:30
Speaker 1: From his chair and began to walk up and down
35:32
Speaker 1: the room. Fierce and terrible words poured forth from his lips.
35:37
Speaker 1: His rage and hatred and cruel disappointment shook him as
35:40
Speaker 1: a storm shakes a tree. His violence was something dreadful
35:44
Speaker 1: to see. And yet mister Havisham noticed that at the
35:47
Speaker 1: very worst of his wrath, he never seemed to forget
35:50
Speaker 1: the little sleeping figure on the yellow satin cushion, and
35:53
Speaker 1: that he never once spoke loud enough to awaken it.
35:57
Speaker 1: I might have known it, he said. They were a
36:01
Speaker 1: disgrace to me from their first hour. I hated them both,
36:05
Speaker 1: and they hated me. Bevis was the worst of the two.
36:09
Speaker 1: I will not believe this yet, though I will contend
36:12
Speaker 1: against it to the last. But it is like Bevis,
36:16
Speaker 1: it is like him. And then he raged again, and
36:21
Speaker 1: asked questions about the woman, about her proofs, and pacing.
36:24
Speaker 1: The room turned first white and then purple in his
36:27
Speaker 1: repressed fury. When at last he had learned all there
36:31
Speaker 1: was to be told and knew the worst, mister Havisham
36:34
Speaker 1: looked at him with a feeling of anxiety. He looked
36:37
Speaker 1: broken and haggard and changed. His rages had always been
36:42
Speaker 1: bad for him, but this one had been worse than
36:45
Speaker 1: the rest, because there had been something more than rage
36:47
Speaker 1: in it. He came slowly back to the sofa at last,
36:51
Speaker 1: and stood near it. If any one had told me
36:55
Speaker 1: I could be fond of a child, he said, his
36:57
Speaker 1: harsh voice, low and unsteady. I should not have believed them.
37:02
Speaker 1: I always detested children my own more than the rest.
37:06
Speaker 1: I am fond of this one. He is fond of
37:10
Speaker 1: me with a bitter smile. I am not popular, I
37:14
Speaker 1: never was. But he is fond of me. He never
37:19
Speaker 1: was afraid of me. He always trusted me. He would
37:22
Speaker 1: have filled my place better than I have filled it.
37:25
Speaker 1: I know that he would have been an honor to
37:28
Speaker 1: the name. He bent down and stood a minute or so,
37:33
Speaker 1: looking at the happy sleeping face. His shaggy eyebrows were
37:37
Speaker 1: knitted fiercely, and yet somehow he did not seem fierce
37:40
Speaker 1: at all. He put up his hand, pushing the bright
37:44
Speaker 1: hair back from the forehead, and then turned away and
37:47
Speaker 1: rang the bell. When the largest footman appeared, he pointed
37:51
Speaker 1: to the sofa. Take, he said, and then his voice
37:55
Speaker 1: changed a little. Take Lord Fauntleroy to his room. End
38:02
Speaker 1: of Chapter ten.