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Little Lord Fauntleroy Chapter 5 · The Frances Hodgson Burnett Library

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Speaker 1: CHAPTER V. It was late in the afternoon when the
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Speaker 1: carriage containing little Lord Fauntleroy and Mr. Havisham drove up
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Speaker 1: the long avenue which led to the castle. The Earl
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Speaker 1: had given orders that his grandson should arrive in time
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Speaker 1: to dine with him, and for some reason best known
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Speaker 1: to himself, he had also ordered that the child should
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Speaker 1: be sent alone into the room in which he intended
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Speaker 1: to receive him. As the carriage rolled up the avenue,
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Speaker 1: Lord Fauntleroy sat leaning comfortably against the luxurious cushions. and
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Speaker 1: regarded the prospect with great interest. He was, in fact,
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Speaker 1: interested in everything he saw. He had been interested in
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Speaker 1: the carriage with its large splendid horses and their glittering harness.
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Speaker 1: He had been interested in the tall coachmen and footmen
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Speaker 1: with their resplendent livery. And he had been especially interested
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Speaker 1: in the coronet on the panels, and had struck up
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Speaker 1: an acquaintance with the footmen for the purpose of inquiring
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Speaker 1: what it meant. When the carriage reached the great gates
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Speaker 1: of the park, he looked out of the window to
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Speaker 1: get a good view of the huge stone lions ornamenting
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Speaker 1: the entrance. The gates were opened by a motherly, rosy-looking woman,
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Speaker 1: who came out of a pretty, ivy-covered lodge. Two children
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Speaker 1: ran out of the door of the house and stood
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Speaker 1: looking with round, wide-open eyes at the little boy in
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Speaker 1: the carriage, who looked at them also. Their mother stood
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Speaker 1: curtsying and smiling, and the children, on receiving a sign
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Speaker 1: from her, made bobbing little courtesies, too. Does she know me?
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Speaker 1: asked Lord Fauntleroy. I think she must think she knows me.
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Speaker 1: And he took off his black velvet cap to her
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Speaker 1: and smiled.
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Speaker 2: How do you do?
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Speaker 1: He said brightly. Good afternoon. The woman seemed pleased, he thought.
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Speaker 1: The smile broadened on her rosy face, and a kind
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Speaker 1: look came into her blue eyes. God bless your lordship,
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Speaker 1: she said. God bless your pretty face. Good luck and
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Speaker 1: happiness to your lordship. Welcome to you! Lord Fauntleroy waved
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Speaker 1: his cap and nodded to her again as the carriage
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Speaker 1: rolled by her. I like that woman, he said. She
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Speaker 1: looks as if she liked boys. I should like to
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Speaker 1: come here and play with her children. I wonder if
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Speaker 1: she has enough to make up a company. Mr. Havisham
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Speaker 1: did not tell him that he would scarcely be allowed
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Speaker 1: to make playmates of the gatekeeper's children. The lawyer thought
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Speaker 1: there was time enough for giving him that information. The
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Speaker 1: carriage rolled on and on between the great beautiful trees
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Speaker 1: which grew on each side of the avenue, and stretched
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Speaker 1: their broad swaying branches in an arch across it. Cedric
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Speaker 1: had never seen such trees. They were so grand and stately,
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Speaker 1: and their branches grew so low down on their huge trunks.
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Speaker 1: He did not then know that Dorincourt Castle was one
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Speaker 1: of the most beautiful in all England, that its park
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Speaker 1: was one of the broadest and finest, and its trees
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Speaker 1: and avenue almost without rivals. but he did know that
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Speaker 1: it was all very beautiful. He liked the big, broad-branched trees,
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Speaker 1: with the late afternoon sunlight striking golden lances through them.
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Speaker 1: He liked the perfect stillness which rested on everything. He
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Speaker 1: felt a great, strange pleasure in the beauty of which
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Speaker 1: he caught glimpses under and between the sweeping boughs, the great,
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Speaker 1: beautiful spaces of the park, with still other trees standing,
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Speaker 1: sometimes stately and alone, and sometimes in groups. Now and
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Speaker 1: then they passed places where tall ferns grew in masses,
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Speaker 1: and again and again the ground was azure with the
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Speaker 1: bluebell swaying in the soft breeze. Several times he started
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Speaker 1: up with a laugh of delight as a rabbit leaped
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Speaker 1: up from under the greenery and scudded away with a
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Speaker 1: twinkle of short white tail behind it. Once a covey
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Speaker 1: of partridges rose with a sudden whirr and flew away,
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Speaker 1: and then he shouted and clapped his hands. It's a
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Speaker 1: beautiful place, isn't it? he said to Mr. Havisham. I
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Speaker 1: never saw such a beautiful place. It's prettier even than
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Speaker 1: Central Park. He was rather puzzled by the length of
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Speaker 1: time they were on their way. How far is it,
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Speaker 1: he said at length, from the gate to the front door?
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Speaker 1: It is between three and four miles, answered the lawyer.
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Speaker 1: That's a long way for a person to live from
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Speaker 1: his gate, remarked his lordship. Every few minutes he saw
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Speaker 1: something new to wonder at and admire. When he caught
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Speaker 1: sight of the deer, some couched in the grass, some
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Speaker 1: standing with their pretty antlered heads turned with a half-startled
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Speaker 1: air toward the avenue as the carriage wheels disturbed them,
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Speaker 1: he was enchanted.' Has there been a circus?' he cried.'
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Speaker 1: Or do they live here always? Whose are they?'' They
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Speaker 1: live here,' Mr. Havisham told him.' They belong to the Earl,
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Speaker 1: your grandfather.' It was not long after this that they
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Speaker 1: saw the castle. It rose up before them stately and
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Speaker 1: beautiful and gray, the last rays of the sun casting
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Speaker 1: dazzling lights on its many windows. It had turrets and
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Speaker 1: battlements and towers. A great deal of ivy grew upon
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Speaker 1: its walls. All the broad open space about it was
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Speaker 1: laid out in terraces and lawns and beds of brilliant flowers.
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Speaker 1: It's the most beautiful place I ever saw, said Cedric,
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Speaker 1: his round face flushing with pleasure. It reminds anyone of
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Speaker 1: a king's palace. I saw a picture of one once
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Speaker 1: in a fairy book. He saw the great entrance door
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Speaker 1: thrown open, and many servants standing in two lines looking
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Speaker 1: at him. He wondered why they were standing there, and
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Speaker 1: admired their liveries very much. He did not know that
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Speaker 1: they were there to do honor to the little boy
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Speaker 1: to whom all this splendor would one day belong. the
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Speaker 1: beautiful castle like the fairy king's palace, the magnificent park,
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Speaker 1: the grand old trees, the dells full of ferns and
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Speaker 1: bluebells where the hares and rabbits played, the dappled large-eyed
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Speaker 1: deer couching in the green grass. It was only a
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Speaker 1: couple of weeks since he had sat with Mr. Hobbs
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Speaker 1: among the potatoes and canned peaches, with his legs dangling
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Speaker 1: from the high stool. It would not have been possible
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Speaker 1: for him to realize that he had very much to
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Speaker 1: do with all this grandeur, At the head of the
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Speaker 1: line of servants there stood an elderly woman in a
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Speaker 1: rich plain black silk gown. She had gray hair and
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Speaker 1: wore a cap. As he entered the hall she stood
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Speaker 1: nearer than the rest, and the child thought from the
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Speaker 1: look in her eyes that she was going to speak
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Speaker 1: to him. Mr. Havisham, who held his hand, paused a moment.'
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Speaker 1: This is Lord Fauntleroy, Mrs. Mellon,' he said.' Lord Fauntleroy,
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Speaker 1: this is Mrs. Mellon, who is the housekeeper.' Cedric gave
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Speaker 1: her his hand, his eyes lighting up.' Was it you
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Speaker 1: who sent the cat?' he said.' I' m much obliged to you, ma'am.' Mrs.
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Speaker 1: Mellon's handsome old face looked as pleased as the face
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Speaker 1: of the lodge-keeper's wife had done.' I should know his
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Speaker 1: lordship anywhere,' she said to Mr. Havisham.' He has the
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Speaker 1: captain's face and way. It's a great day, this, sir.'
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Speaker 1: Cedric wondered why it was a great day. He looked
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Speaker 1: at Mrs. Mellon curiously. It seemed to him for a
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Speaker 1: moment as if there were tears in her eyes, and
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Speaker 1: yet it was evident she was not unhappy. She smiled
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Speaker 1: down at him. The cat left two beautiful kittens here,
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Speaker 1: she said. They shall be sent up to your lordship's nursery. Mr.
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Speaker 1: Havisham said a few words to her in a low voice.
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Speaker 1: In the library, sir, Mrs. Mellon replied. His lordship is
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Speaker 1: to be taken there alone. A few minutes later, the
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Speaker 1: very tall footman in livery who had escorted Cedric to
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Speaker 1: the library door, opened it and announced, Lord Fauntleroy, my lord,
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Speaker 1: in quite a majestic tone. If he was only a footman,
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Speaker 1: he felt it was rather a grand occasion when the
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Speaker 1: heir came home to his own land and possessions, and
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Speaker 1: was ushered into the presence of the old earl, whose
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Speaker 1: place and title he was to take. Cedric crossed the
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Speaker 1: threshold into the room. It was a very large and
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Speaker 1: splendid room, with massive carven furniture in it, and shelves
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Speaker 1: upon shelves of books. The furniture was so dark, and
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Speaker 1: the draperies so heavy, the diamond-paned windows were so deep,
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Speaker 1: and it seemed such a distance from one end of
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Speaker 1: it to the other, that, since the sun had gone down,
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Speaker 1: the effect of it was all rather gloomy. For a
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Speaker 1: moment Cedric thought there was nobody in the room, but
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Speaker 1: soon he saw that by the fire burning in the
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Speaker 1: wide hearth there was a large easy-chair, and that in
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Speaker 1: that chair someone was sitting, someone who did not at
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Speaker 1: first turn to look at him. But he had attracted
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Speaker 1: attention in one quarter at least. On the floor by
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Speaker 1: the armchair lay a dog, a huge tawny mastiff, with
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Speaker 1: body and limbs almost as big as a lion's. And
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Speaker 1: this great creature rose majestically and slowly and marched toward
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Speaker 1: the little fellow with a heavy step. Then the person
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Speaker 1: in the chair spoke. doogle he called come back sir
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Speaker 1: but there was no more fear in little lord fauntleroy's
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Speaker 1: heart than there was unkindness he had been a brave
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Speaker 1: little fellow all his life he put his hand on
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Speaker 1: the big dog's collar in the most natural way in
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Speaker 1: the world, and they strayed forward together, Dougal sniffing as
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Speaker 1: he went. And then the Earl looked up. What Cedric
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Speaker 1: saw was a large old man with shaggy white hair
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Speaker 1: and eyebrows, and a nose like an eagle's beak between
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Speaker 1: his deep fierce eyes. What the earl saw was a graceful,
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Speaker 1: childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar,
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Speaker 1: and with love locks, waving about the handsome, manly little face,
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Speaker 1: whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good fellowship.
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Speaker 1: If the castle was like the palace in a fairy story,
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Speaker 1: it must be owned that little Lord Fauntleroy was himself
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Speaker 1: rather like a small copy of the fairy prince, though
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Speaker 1: he was not at all aware of the fact. and
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Speaker 1: perhaps was rather a sturdy young model of a fairy.
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Speaker 1: But there was a sudden glow of triumph and exultation
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Speaker 1: in the fiery old earl's heart as he saw what
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Speaker 1: a strong, beautiful boy this grandson was, and how unhesitatingly
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Speaker 1: he looked up as he stood with his hand on
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Speaker 1: the big dog's neck. It pleased the grim old nobleman
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Speaker 1: that the child should show no shyness or fear, either
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Speaker 1: of the dog or of himself. Cedric looked at him
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Speaker 1: just as he had looked at the woman at the
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Speaker 1: lodge and at the housekeeper, and came quite close to him.
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Speaker 1: Are you the Earl? he said. I'm your grandson, you know,
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Speaker 1: that Mr. Havisham brought. I'm Lord Fauntleroy. He held out
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Speaker 1: his hand because he thought it must be the polite
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Speaker 1: and proper thing to do, even with earls. I hope
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Speaker 1: you are very well, he continued, with the utmost friendliness.
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Speaker 1: I'm very glad to see you. The earl shook hands
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Speaker 1: with him with a curious gleam in his eyes. Just
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Speaker 1: at first he was so astonished that he scarcely knew
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Speaker 1: what to say. He stared at the picturesque little apparition
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Speaker 1: from under his shaggy brows and took it all in
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Speaker 1: from head to foot.' Glad to see me, are you?'
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Speaker 1: he said.' Yes,' answered Lord Frontleroy.' Very!' There was a
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Speaker 1: chair near him, and he sat down on it. it
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Speaker 1: was a high-backed rather tall chair and his feet did
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Speaker 1: not touch the floor when he had settled himself in
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Speaker 1: it but he seemed to be quite comfortable as he
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Speaker 1: sat there and regarded his august relative intently but modestly
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Speaker 1: i've kept wondering what you would look like he remarked
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Speaker 1: i used to lie in my berth in the ship
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Speaker 1: and wonder if you would be anything like my father
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Speaker 1: am i asked the earl well cedric replied i was
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Speaker 1: very young when he died and I may not remember
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Speaker 1: exactly how he looked, but I don't think you are
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Speaker 1: like him. You are disappointed, I suppose, suggested his grandfather. Oh, no,
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Speaker 1: responded Cedric politely. Of course you would like anyone to
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Speaker 1: look like your father, but of course you would enjoy
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Speaker 1: the way your grandfather looked, even if he wasn't like
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Speaker 1: your father. You know how it is yourself about admiring
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Speaker 1: your relations. The earl leaned back in his chair and stared.
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Speaker 1: he could not be said to know how it was
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Speaker 1: about admiring his relations. He had employed most of his
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Speaker 1: noble leisure in quarrelling violently with them, in turning them
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Speaker 1: out of his house, and applying abusive epithets to them,
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Speaker 1: and they all hated him cordially. Any boy would love
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Speaker 1: his grandfather, continued Lord Fauntleroy, especially one that had been
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Speaker 1: as kind to him as you have been. Another queer
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Speaker 1: gleam came into the old nobleman's eyes. Oh, he said,
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Speaker 1: I've been kind to you, have I? Yes, answered Lord
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Speaker 1: Fauntleroy brightly. I'm ever so much obliged to you about
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Speaker 1: Bridget and the Apple Woman and Dick. Bridget, exclaimed the earl. Dick,
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Speaker 1: the Apple Woman? Yes, explained Cedric. The ones you gave
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Speaker 1: me all that money for. The money you told Mr.
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Speaker 1: Havisham to give me if I wanted it. Ha! ejaculated
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Speaker 1: his lordship. That's it, is it? The money you were
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Speaker 1: to spend as you liked. What did you buy with it?
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Speaker 1: I should like to hear something about that. He drew
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Speaker 1: his shaggy eyebrows together and looked at the child sharply.
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Speaker 1: He was secretly curious to know in what way the
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Speaker 1: lad had indulged himself. Oh, said Lord Fauntleroy, perhaps you
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Speaker 1: didn't know about Dick and the Apple Woman and Bridget.
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Speaker 1: I forgot you lived such a long way off from them.
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Speaker 1: They are particular friends of mine. And you see, Michael
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Speaker 1: had the fever. Who's Michael? asked the Earl. Michael is
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Speaker 1: Bridget's husband, and they were in great trouble. When a
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Speaker 1: man is sick and can't work and has twelve children,
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Speaker 1: you know how it is. And Michael has always been
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Speaker 1: a sober man. And Bridget used to come to our
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Speaker 1: house and cry. And the evening Mr. Havisham was there,
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Speaker 1: she was in the kitchen crying, because they had almost
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Speaker 1: nothing to eat and couldn't pay the rent. and I
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Speaker 1: went in to see her. And Mr. Havisham sent for me,
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Speaker 1: and he said you had given him some money for me.
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Speaker 1: And I ran as fast as I could into the
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Speaker 1: kitchen and gave it to Bridget. And that made it
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Speaker 1: all right. And Bridget could scarcely believe her eyes. That's
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Speaker 1: why I'm so obliged to you. Oh, said the Earl
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Speaker 1: in his deep voice. That was one of the things
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Speaker 1: you did for yourself, was it? What else? Dougal had
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Speaker 1: been sitting by the tall chair. The great dog had
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Speaker 1: taken its place there when Cedric sat down. Several times
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Speaker 1: it had turned and looked up at the boy, as
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Speaker 1: if interested in the conversation. Dougal was a solemn dog,
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Speaker 1: who seemed to feel altogether too big to take life's
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Speaker 1: responsibilities lightly. The old Earl, who knew the dog well,
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Speaker 1: had watched it with secret interest. Dougal was not a
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Speaker 1: dog whose habit it was to make acquaintances rashly. and
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Speaker 1: the earl wondered somewhat to see how quietly the brute
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Speaker 1: sat under the touch of the childish hand. And, just
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Speaker 1: at this moment, the big dog gave little Lord Fauntleroy
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Speaker 1: one more look of dignified scrutiny and deliberately laid its
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Speaker 1: huge lion-like head on the boy's black velvet knee. The
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Speaker 1: small hand went on stroking this new friend as Cedric answered.' Well,
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Speaker 1: there was Dick,' he said.' You' d like Dick. He's so square.'
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Speaker 1: This was an Americanism the Earl was not prepared for.
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Speaker 1: What does that mean? he inquired. Lord Fauntleroy paused a
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Speaker 1: moment to reflect. He was not very sure himself what
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Speaker 1: it meant. He had taken it for granted as meaning
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Speaker 1: something very creditable, because Dick had been fond of using it.
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Speaker 1: I think it means that he wouldn't cheat anyone, he exclaimed,
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Speaker 1: or hit a boy who was under his size. and
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Speaker 1: that he blacks people's boots very well, and makes them
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Speaker 1: shine as much as he can. He's a professional boot-black.''
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Speaker 1: And he's one of your acquaintances, is he?' said the Earl.'
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Speaker 1: He is an old friend of mine,' replied his grandson.'
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Speaker 1: Not quite as old as Mr. Hobbs, but quite old.
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Speaker 1: He gave me a present just before the ship sailed.'
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Speaker 1: He put his hand into his pocket and drew forth
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Speaker 1: a neatly folded red object, and opened it with an
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Speaker 1: air of affectionate pride. It was the red silk handkerchief
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Speaker 1: with the large purple horseshoes and heads on it. He
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Speaker 1: gave me this, said his young lordship. I shall keep
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Speaker 1: it always. You can wear it round your neck or
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Speaker 1: keep it in your pocket. He bought it with the
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Speaker 1: first money he earned after I bought Jake out and
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Speaker 1: gave him the new brushes. It's a keepsake. I put
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Speaker 1: some poetry in Mr. Hobbs' watch. It was, When this
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Speaker 1: you see, remember me. When this I see, I shall
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Speaker 1: always remember Dick. The sensations of the Right Honourable the
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Speaker 1: Earl of Dorincourt could scarcely be described. He was not
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Speaker 1: an old nobleman who was very easily bewildered, because he
18:13
Speaker 1: had seen a great deal of the world. But here
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Speaker 1: was something he found so novel that it almost took
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Speaker 1: his lordly breath away, and caused him some singular emotions.
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Speaker 1: He had never cared for children. He had been so
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Speaker 1: occupied with his own pleasures that he had never had
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Speaker 1: time to care for them. His own sons had not
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Speaker 1: interested him when they were very young, though sometimes he
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Speaker 1: remembered having thought Cedric's father a handsome and strong little fellow.
18:40
Speaker 1: He had been so selfish himself that he had missed
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Speaker 1: the pleasure of seeing unselfishness in others, and he had
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Speaker 1: not known how tender and faithful and affectionate a kind-hearted
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Speaker 1: little child can be, and how innocent and unconscious are
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Speaker 1: its simple generous impulses. A boy had always seemed to
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Speaker 1: him a most objectionable little animal. Selfish and greedy and
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Speaker 1: boisterous were not under strict restraint. His own two eldest
19:05
Speaker 1: sons had given their tutors constant trouble and annoyance, and
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Speaker 1: of the younger one he fancied he had heard few
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Speaker 1: complaints because the boy was of no particular importance. It
19:16
Speaker 1: had never once occurred to him that he should like
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Speaker 1: his grandson. He had sent for little Cedric because his
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Speaker 1: pride impelled him to do so. If the boy was
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Speaker 1: to take his place in the future, he did not
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Speaker 1: wish his name to be made ridiculous by descending to
19:30
Speaker 1: an uneducated boor. He had been convinced the boy would
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Speaker 1: be a clownish fellow if he were brought up in America.
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Speaker 1: He had no feeling of affection for the lad. His
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Speaker 1: only hope was that he should find him decently well-featured
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Speaker 1: and with a respectable share of sense. He had been
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Speaker 1: so disappointed in his other son and had been made
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Speaker 1: so furious by Captain Errol's American marriage, that he had
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Speaker 1: never once thought that anything creditable could come of it.
19:59
Speaker 1: When the footman had announced Lord Fauntleroy, he had almost
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Speaker 1: dreaded to look at the boy, lest he should find
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Speaker 1: him all that he had feared. It was because of
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Speaker 1: this feeling that he had ordered that the child should
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Speaker 1: be sent to him alone. His pride could not endure
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Speaker 1: that others should see his disappointment, if he was to
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Speaker 1: be disappointed. His proud, stubborn old heart, therefore, had leaped
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Speaker 1: within him when the boy came forward with his graceful,
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Speaker 1: easy carriage, his fearless hand on the big dog's neck.
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Speaker 1: Even in the moments when he had hoped the most,
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Speaker 1: the earl had never hoped that his grandson would look
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Speaker 1: like that. It seemed almost too good to be true
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Speaker 1: that this should be the boy he had dreaded to see,
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Speaker 1: the child of the woman he so disliked, this little
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Speaker 1: fellow with so much beauty and such a brave childish grace.
20:46
Speaker 1: The earl's stern composure was quite shaken by this startling surprise.
20:52
Speaker 1: And then their talk began, and he was still more
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Speaker 1: curiously moved, and more and more puzzled. In the first place,
20:59
Speaker 1: he was so used to seeing people rather afraid and
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Speaker 1: embarrassed before him, that he had expected nothing else but
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Speaker 1: that his grandson would be timid or shy. But Cedric
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Speaker 1: was no more afraid of the Earl than he had
21:11
Speaker 1: been of Dougal. He was not bold. He was only
21:15
Speaker 1: innocently friendly. And he was not conscious that there could
21:18
Speaker 1: be any reason why he should be awkward or afraid.
21:22
Speaker 1: The Earl could not help seeing that the little boy
21:24
Speaker 1: took him for a friend and treated him as one,
21:27
Speaker 1: without having any doubt of him at all. It was
21:30
Speaker 1: quite plain, as the little fellow sat there in his
21:33
Speaker 1: tall chair and talked in his friendly way, that it
21:35
Speaker 1: had never occurred to him that this large, fierce-looking old
21:39
Speaker 1: man could be anything but kind to him, and rather
21:42
Speaker 1: pleased to see him there. And it was plain, too, that,
21:46
Speaker 1: in his childish way, he wished to please and interest
21:49
Speaker 1: his grandfather. Cross and hard-hearted and worldly as the old
21:54
Speaker 1: Earl was, he could not help feeling a secret and
21:57
Speaker 1: novel pleasure in this very confidence. After all, it was
22:02
Speaker 1: not disagreeable to meet someone who did not distrust him
22:05
Speaker 1: or shrink from him, or seem to detect the ugly
22:08
Speaker 1: part of his nature, someone who looked at him with clear,
22:11
Speaker 1: unsuspecting eyes, if it was only a little boy in
22:14
Speaker 1: a black velvet suit. So the old man leaned back
22:19
Speaker 1: in his chair and led his young companion on to
22:21
Speaker 1: tell him still more of himself, and with that odd
22:24
Speaker 1: gleam in his eyes watched the little fellow as he talked.
22:28
Speaker 1: Lord Fauntleroy was quite willing to answer all his questions,
22:32
Speaker 1: and chatted on in his genial little way, quite composedly.
22:36
Speaker 1: He told him all about Dick and Jake, and the
22:39
Speaker 1: Apple Woman, and Mr. Hobbs. He described the Republican rally
22:43
Speaker 1: in all the glory of its banners and transparencies, torches
22:46
Speaker 1: and rockets. In the course of the conversation, he reached
22:50
Speaker 1: the Fourth of July and the Revolution, and was just
22:53
Speaker 1: becoming enthusiastic when he suddenly recollected something. and stopped very abruptly.
23:00
Speaker 1: What is the matter? demanded his grandfather. Why don't you
23:03
Speaker 1: go on? Lord Fauntleroy moved rather uneasily in his chair.
23:09
Speaker 1: It was evident to the Earl that he was embarrassed
23:11
Speaker 1: by the thought which had just occurred to him. I
23:15
Speaker 1: was just thinking that perhaps you mightn't like it, he replied.
23:20
Speaker 1: Perhaps someone belonging to you might have been there. I
23:23
Speaker 1: forgot you were an Englishman. You can go on, said
23:28
Speaker 1: my lord. No one belonging to me was there. You
23:31
Speaker 1: forgot you were an Englishman, too. Oh, no, said Cedric quickly.
23:36
Speaker 1: I'm an American. You are an Englishman, said the Earl grimly.
23:41
Speaker 1: Your father was an Englishman. It amused him a little
23:45
Speaker 1: to say this, but it did not amuse Cedric. The
23:49
Speaker 1: lad had never thought of such a development as this.
23:52
Speaker 1: He felt himself grow quite hot up to the roots
23:55
Speaker 1: of his hair. I was born in America, he protested.
24:01
Speaker 1: You have to be an American if you are born
24:03
Speaker 1: in America. I beg your pardon, with serious politeness and delicacy,
24:09
Speaker 1: for contradicting you. Mr. Hobbs told me if there were
24:12
Speaker 1: another war, you know, I should have to be an American.
24:18
Speaker 1: The Earl gave a grim half-laugh. It was short and grim,
24:21
Speaker 1: but it was a laugh. You would, would you, he said.
24:26
Speaker 1: He hated America, and Americans, but it amused him to
24:30
Speaker 1: see how serious and interested this small patriot was. He
24:35
Speaker 1: thought that so good an American might make a rather
24:38
Speaker 1: good Englishman when he was a man. They had not
24:42
Speaker 1: time to go very deep into the revolution again, and indeed,
24:46
Speaker 1: Lord Fauntleroy felt some delicacy about returning to the subject
24:49
Speaker 1: before dinner was announced. Cedric left his chair and went
24:53
Speaker 1: to his noble kinsman. he looked down at his gouty foot.
24:58
Speaker 1: Would you like me to help you? he said politely.
25:01
Speaker 1: You could lean on me, you know. Once, when Mr.
25:04
Speaker 1: Hobbs hurt his foot with a potato barrel rolling on it,
25:07
Speaker 1: he used to lean on me. The big footman almost
25:11
Speaker 1: periled his reputation and his situation by smiling. He was
25:16
Speaker 1: an aristocratic footman who had always lived in the best
25:19
Speaker 1: of noble families, and he had never smiled. Indeed, he
25:23
Speaker 1: would have felt himself a disgraced and vulgar footman if
25:26
Speaker 1: he had allowed himself to be led by any circumstance
25:29
Speaker 1: whatever into such an indiscretion as a smile. But he
25:33
Speaker 1: had a very narrow escape. He only just saved himself
25:38
Speaker 1: by staring straight over the earl's head at a very
25:40
Speaker 1: ugly picture. The earl looked his valiant young relative over
25:45
Speaker 1: from head to foot. Do you think you could do it?
25:49
Speaker 1: he asked gruffly. I think I could.
25:53
Speaker 2: Said Cedric.
25:54
Speaker 1: I'm strong. I'm seven, you know. You could lean on
25:58
Speaker 1: your stick on one side and on me on the other.
26:01
Speaker 1: Dick says I've a good deal of muscle for a
26:03
Speaker 1: boy that's only seven. He shut his hand and moved
26:07
Speaker 1: it upward to his shoulder so that the earl might
26:09
Speaker 1: see the muscle Dick had kindly approved of, and his
26:12
Speaker 1: face was so grave and earnest that the footman found
26:15
Speaker 1: it necessary to look very hard indeed at the ugly picture. Well,
26:20
Speaker 1: said the earl, you may try, Cedric gave him his
26:24
Speaker 1: stick and began to assist him to rise. Usually the
26:28
Speaker 1: footman did this, and was violently sworn at when his
26:32
Speaker 1: lordship had an extra twinge of gout. The earl was
26:35
Speaker 1: not a very polite person as a rule, and many
26:38
Speaker 1: a time the huge footmen about him quaked inside their
26:41
Speaker 1: imposing liveries. But this evening he did not swear, though
26:46
Speaker 1: his gouty foot gave him more twinges than one. He
26:49
Speaker 1: chose to try an experiment. He got up slowly and
26:53
Speaker 1: put his hand on the small shoulder presented to him
26:55
Speaker 1: with so much courage. Little Lord Fauntleroy made a careful
26:59
Speaker 1: step forward, looking down at the gouty foot. Just lean
27:03
Speaker 1: on me, he said with encouraging good cheer. I'll walk
27:07
Speaker 1: very slowly. If the Earl had been supported by the footman,
27:12
Speaker 1: he would have rested less on his stick and more
27:14
Speaker 1: on his assistant's arm. And yet it was part of
27:17
Speaker 1: his experiment to let his grandson feel his burden as
27:20
Speaker 1: no light weight. It was quite a heavy weight indeed,
27:24
Speaker 1: and after a few steps his young lordship's face grew
27:27
Speaker 1: quite hot, and his heart beat rather fast, but he
27:30
Speaker 1: braced himself sturdily, remembering his muscle and Dick's approval of it.
27:34
Speaker 2: Don' t be afraid of leaning on me,' he panted.' I' m
27:40
Speaker 2: all right, if it isn't a very long way.' It
27:45
Speaker 2: was not really very far to the dining-room, but it
27:48
Speaker 2: seemed rather a long way to Cedric before they reached
27:50
Speaker 2: the chair at the head of the table. The hand
27:53
Speaker 2: on his shoulder seemed to grow heavier at every step,
27:56
Speaker 2: and his face grew redder and hotter, and his breath shorter.
28:00
Speaker 2: But he never thought of giving up. He stiffened his
28:03
Speaker 2: childish muscles, held his head erect, and encouraged the Earl
28:06
Speaker 2: as he limped along.
28:09
Speaker 1: Does your foot hurt you very much when you stand
28:11
Speaker 1: on it? he asked. Did you ever put it in
28:14
Speaker 1: hot water and mustard? Mr. Hobbs used to put his
28:17
Speaker 1: in hot water. Arnica is a very nice thing, they
28:21
Speaker 1: tell me. The big dog stalked slowly beside them, and
28:26
Speaker 1: the big footman followed. Several times he looked very queer
28:30
Speaker 1: as he watched the little figure making the very most
28:32
Speaker 1: of all its strength and bearing its burden with such goodwill.
28:37
Speaker 1: The Earl, too, looked rather queer once as he glanced
28:40
Speaker 1: sideways down at the flushed little face. When they entered
28:44
Speaker 1: the room where they were to dine, Cedric saw that
28:46
Speaker 1: it was a very large and imposing one. and that
28:49
Speaker 1: the footman who stood beside the chair at the head
28:51
Speaker 1: of the table stared very hard as they came in.
28:55
Speaker 1: But they reached the chair at last. The hand was
28:58
Speaker 1: removed from his shoulder, and the Earl was fairly seated.
29:02
Speaker 1: Cedric took out Dick's handkerchief and wiped his forehead. It's
29:06
Speaker 1: a warm night, isn't it?
29:08
Speaker 2: He said.
29:09
Speaker 1: Perhaps you need a fire because of your foot, but
29:13
Speaker 1: it seems just a little warm to me. His delicate
29:17
Speaker 1: consideration for his noble relative's feelings was such that he
29:20
Speaker 1: did not wish to seem to intimate that any of
29:22
Speaker 1: his surroundings were unnecessary. You have been doing some rather
29:27
Speaker 1: hard work, said the Earl. Oh, no, said Lord Fauntleroy.
29:31
Speaker 1: It wasn't exactly hard, but I got a little warm.
29:35
Speaker 1: A person will get warm in summertime. And he rubbed
29:39
Speaker 1: his damp curl rather vigorously with the gorgeous handkerchief. His
29:43
Speaker 1: own chair was placed at the other end of the table,
29:46
Speaker 1: opposite his grandfather's. It was a chair with arms, and
29:50
Speaker 1: intended for a much larger individual than himself. Indeed, everything
29:54
Speaker 1: he had seen so far, the great rooms with their
29:57
Speaker 1: high ceilings, the massive furniture the big footman the big
30:01
Speaker 1: dog the earl himself were all of proportions calculated to
30:05
Speaker 1: make this little lad feel that he was very small
30:08
Speaker 1: indeed but that did not trouble him he had never
30:11
Speaker 1: thought himself very large or important and he was quite
30:15
Speaker 1: willing to accommodate himself even to circumstances which rather overpowered
30:19
Speaker 1: him perhaps he had never looked so little a fellow
30:23
Speaker 1: as when seated now in his great chair at the
30:25
Speaker 1: end of the table notwithstanding his solitary existence the earl
30:30
Speaker 1: chose to live in some state he was fond of
30:33
Speaker 1: his dinner and he dined in formal style cedric looked
30:37
Speaker 1: at him across a glitter of splendid glass and plate
30:40
Speaker 1: which to his unaccustomed eyes seemed quite dazzling a stranger
30:45
Speaker 1: looking on might well have smiled at the picture the
30:48
Speaker 1: great stately room the big liveried servants the bright lights
30:53
Speaker 1: the glittering silver and glass the fierce-looking old nobleman at
30:56
Speaker 1: the head of the table, and the very small boy
30:59
Speaker 1: at the foot. Dinner was usually a very serious matter
31:03
Speaker 1: with the Earl, and it was a very serious matter
31:06
Speaker 1: with the cook if his lordship was not pleased or
31:09
Speaker 1: had an indifferent appetite. Today, however, his appetite seemed to
31:13
Speaker 1: trifle better than usual, perhaps because he had something to
31:16
Speaker 1: think of beside the flavor of the entrees and the
31:19
Speaker 1: management of the gravies. His grandson gave him something to
31:22
Speaker 1: think of, he kept looking at him across the table.
31:27
Speaker 1: He did not say very much himself, but he managed
31:30
Speaker 1: to make the boy talk. He had never imagined that
31:33
Speaker 1: he could be entertained by hearing a child talk, but
31:36
Speaker 1: Lord Fauntleroy at once puzzled and amused him, and he
31:40
Speaker 1: kept remembering how he had let the childish shoulder feel
31:43
Speaker 1: his weight just for the sake of trying how far
31:45
Speaker 1: the boy's courage and endurance would go. And it pleased
31:49
Speaker 1: him to know that his grandson had not quailed, and
31:51
Speaker 1: had not seemed to think even for a moment of
31:54
Speaker 1: giving up what he had undertaken to do. You don't
31:59
Speaker 1: wear your coronet all the time? remarked Lord Fauntleroy respectfully. No,
32:05
Speaker 1: replied the Earl with his grim smile. It is not
32:08
Speaker 1: becoming to me. Mr. Hobbs said you always wore it,
32:12
Speaker 1: said Cedric. But after he thought it over, he said
32:16
Speaker 1: he supposed you must sometimes take it off to put
32:18
Speaker 1: your hat on. Yes, said the Earl. I take it
32:22
Speaker 1: off occasionally. And one of the footmen suddenly turned aside
32:26
Speaker 1: and gave a singular little cough behind his hand. Cedric
32:31
Speaker 1: finished his dinner first, and then he leaned back in
32:33
Speaker 1: his chair and took a survey of the room. You
32:37
Speaker 1: must be very proud of your house, he said. It's
32:40
Speaker 1: such a beautiful house. I never saw anything so beautiful. But,
32:45
Speaker 1: of course, as I'm only seven, I haven't seen much.
32:50
Speaker 1: And you think I must be proud of it, do you?
32:52
Speaker 1: said the Earl. I should think anyone would be proud
32:56
Speaker 1: of it, said Lord Fauntleroy. I should be proud of
32:59
Speaker 1: it if it were my house. Everything about it is beautiful,
33:04
Speaker 1: and the park, and those trees, how beautiful they are,
33:09
Speaker 1: and how the leaves rustle. Then he paused an instant
33:13
Speaker 1: and looked across the table rather wistfully. It's a very
33:18
Speaker 1: big house for just two people to live in, isn't it?
33:22
Speaker 1: he said. It's quite large enough for two, answered the earl.
33:28
Speaker 1: Do you find it too large? His little lordship hesitated
33:32
Speaker 1: a moment. I was only thinking, he said, that if
33:37
Speaker 1: two people lived in it who were not very good companions,
33:41
Speaker 1: they might feel lonely sometimes. Do you think I shall
33:45
Speaker 1: make a good companion? inquired the earl. Yes, replied Cedric,
33:50
Speaker 1: I think you will. Mr. Hobbs and I were great friends.
33:54
Speaker 1: He was the best friend I had, except dearest. The
33:58
Speaker 1: earl made a quick movement of his bushy eyebrows. Who
34:01
Speaker 1: is dearest? She is my mother, said Lord Fauntleroy in
34:07
Speaker 1: a rather low, quiet little voice. Perhaps he was a
34:11
Speaker 1: trifle tired, as his bedtime was nearing. and perhaps after
34:15
Speaker 1: the excitement of the last few days it was natural
34:17
Speaker 1: he should be tired. So perhaps, too, the feeling of
34:21
Speaker 1: weariness brought to him a vague sense of loneliness and
34:24
Speaker 1: the remembrance that to-night he was not to sleep at home,
34:27
Speaker 1: watched over by the loving eyes of that best friend
34:30
Speaker 1: of his. They had always been best friends, this boy
34:34
Speaker 1: and his young mother. He could not help thinking of her,
34:38
Speaker 1: and the more he thought of her, the less he
34:40
Speaker 1: was inclined to talk. And by the time dinner was
34:43
Speaker 1: at an end, the Earl saw that there was a
34:45
Speaker 1: faint shadow on his face. But Cedric bore himself with
34:49
Speaker 1: excellent courage, and when they went back to the library,
34:53
Speaker 1: though the tall footman walked on one side of his master,
34:56
Speaker 1: the Earl's hand rested on his grandson's shoulder, though not
34:59
Speaker 1: so heavily as before. When the footman left them alone,
35:04
Speaker 1: Cedric sat down upon the hearth-rug near Dougal. For a
35:07
Speaker 1: few minutes he stroked the dog's ears in silence and
35:10
Speaker 1: looked at the fire. The Earl watched him, The boy's
35:15
Speaker 1: eyes looked wistful and thoughtful, and once or twice he
35:18
Speaker 1: gave a little sigh. The earl sat still and kept
35:22
Speaker 1: his eyes fixed on his grandson. Fauntleroy, he said at last,
35:27
Speaker 1: what are you thinking of? Fauntleroy looked up with a
35:32
Speaker 1: manful effort at a smile. I was thinking about dearest,
35:36
Speaker 1: he said, and I think I'd better get up and
35:39
Speaker 1: walk up and down the room. He rose up and
35:43
Speaker 1: put his hands in his small pockets and began to
35:45
Speaker 1: walk to and fro. His eyes were very bright, and
35:49
Speaker 1: his lips were pressed together, but he kept his head
35:52
Speaker 1: up and walked firmly. Dougal moved lazily and looked at him,
35:57
Speaker 1: and then stood up. He walked over to the child
36:00
Speaker 1: and began to follow him uneasily. Fauntleroy drew one hand
36:04
Speaker 1: from his pocket and laid it on the dog's head.
36:07
Speaker 1: He's a very nice dog, he said. He's my friend.
36:11
Speaker 1: He knows how I feel.'' How do you feel?' asked
36:16
Speaker 1: the earl. It disturbed him to see the struggle the
36:20
Speaker 1: little fellow was having with his first feelings of homesickness,
36:23
Speaker 1: but it pleased him to see that he was making
36:25
Speaker 1: so brave an effort to bear it well. He liked
36:28
Speaker 1: this childish courage.' Come here,' he said. Fauntleroy went to him.'
36:34
Speaker 1: I was never away from my own house before,' said
36:39
Speaker 1: the boy, with a troubled look in his brown eyes.
36:43
Speaker 1: It makes a person feel a strange feeling when he
36:45
Speaker 1: has to stay all night in another person's castle instead
36:48
Speaker 1: of in his own house, but dearest is not very
36:51
Speaker 1: far away from me. She told me to remember that,
36:54
Speaker 1: and I'm seven, and I can look at the picture
36:58
Speaker 1: she gave me. He put his hand in his pocket
37:02
Speaker 1: and brought out a small violet velvet-covered case. This is it,
37:06
Speaker 1: he said. You see, You press this spring, and it opens,
37:10
Speaker 1: and she is in there. He had come close to
37:14
Speaker 1: the earl's chair, and as he drew forth the little case,
37:17
Speaker 1: he leaned against the arm of it, and against the
37:20
Speaker 1: old man's arm, too, as confidingly as if children had
37:23
Speaker 1: always leaned there. There she is, he said as the
37:28
Speaker 1: case opened, and he looked up with a smile. The
37:31
Speaker 1: earl knitted his brows. He did not wish to see
37:34
Speaker 1: the picture, but he looked at it in spite of himself.
37:38
Speaker 1: and there looked up at him from it such a
37:39
Speaker 1: pretty young face, a face so like the child's at
37:42
Speaker 1: his side, that it quite startled him. I suppose you
37:47
Speaker 1: think you are very fond of her, he said. Yes,
37:52
Speaker 1: answered Lord Fauntleroy in a gentle tone, and with simple directness.
37:56
Speaker 1: I do think so, and I think it's true. You see, Mr.
38:01
Speaker 1: Hobbs is my friend, and Dick, and Bridget, and Mary,
38:05
Speaker 1: and Michael, they were my friends too, but dearest. Well,
38:10
Speaker 1: she is my close friend, and we always tell each
38:13
Speaker 1: other everything. My father left her to me to take
38:17
Speaker 1: care of, and when I am a man, I am
38:19
Speaker 1: going to work and earn money for her. What do
38:23
Speaker 1: you think of doing? inquired his grandfather. His young lordship
38:27
Speaker 1: slipped down upon the hearth-rug, and sat there with the
38:30
Speaker 1: picture still in his hand. He seemed to be reflecting
38:34
Speaker 1: seriously before he answered.' I did think perhaps I might
38:39
Speaker 1: go into business with Mr. Hobbs,' he said.' But I
38:42
Speaker 1: should like to be a president!'' We' ll send you to
38:46
Speaker 1: the House of Lords instead,' said his grandfather.' Well,' remarked
38:51
Speaker 1: Lord Fauntleroy,' if I couldn't be a president, and if
38:55
Speaker 1: that's a good business, I shouldn't mind.' The grocery business
38:59
Speaker 1: is dull sometimes.' Perhaps he was weighing the matter in
39:03
Speaker 1: his mind, for he sat very quiet after this, and
39:06
Speaker 1: looked at the fire for some time. The Earl did
39:10
Speaker 1: not speak again. He leaned back in his chair and
39:13
Speaker 1: watched him. A great many strange new thoughts passed through
39:17
Speaker 1: the old nobleman's mind. Dougal had stretched himself out and
39:21
Speaker 1: gone to sleep with his head on his huge paws.
39:24
Speaker 1: There was a long silence. In about half an hour's
39:29
Speaker 1: time Mr. Havisham was ushered in. The great room was
39:32
Speaker 1: very still when he entered. The Earl was still leaning
39:35
Speaker 1: back in his chair. He moved as Mr. Havisham approached
39:39
Speaker 1: and held up his hand in a gesture of warning.
39:42
Speaker 1: It seemed as if he had scarcely intended to make
39:44
Speaker 1: the gesture, as if it were almost involuntary. Dougal was
39:49
Speaker 1: still asleep, and close beside the great dog, sleeping also,
39:53
Speaker 1: with his curly head upon his arm, lay little Lord Fauntleroy.
40:00
Speaker 1: End of chapter 5