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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +THE LUMLEY AUTOGRAPH + +by Susan Fenimore Cooper + + + + +{by Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894), daughter of James +Fenimore Cooper. "The Lumley Autograph" was published in Graham's +Magazine, Volume 38 (January-June 1851), pp. 31-36, 97-101. The +author is identified only in the table of contents for Volume 38, p. iii, +where she is described as "the Author of 'Rural Hours'". + +{Transcribed by Hugh C. MacDougall, Secretary, James Fenimore +Cooper Society; jfcooper@wpe.com. Notes by the transcriber, +including identification of historical characters and translations of +foreign expressions, follow the paragraphs to which they refer, and +are enclosed in {curly brackets}. The spelling of the original has +been reproduced as printed, with unusual spellings identified by +{sic}. Because of the limitations of the the Gutenberg format, italics +and accents (used by the author for some foreign words, and in a few +quotations) have been ignored. A few missing periods and quotation +marks have been silently inserted. + +{A brief introduction to "The Lumley Autograph.": + +{"The Lumley Autograph" was inspired, as Susan's introductory note +states, by the constant stream of letters received by her father, +asking in often importunate terms for his autograph or for pages +from his manuscripts, and even requesting that he supply autographs +of other famous men who might have written to him. He generally +complied with these requests courteously and to the best of his +ability; after his death in 1851, Susan continued to do so, as well as +selling fragments of his manuscripts to raise money for charity during +the Civil War. + +{"The Lumley Autograph" is of interest today primarily because it is a +good story. Its broad satire about the autograph collecting mania of +the mid-nineteenth century is deftly combined with the more serious +irony of a poet's frantic appeal for help becoming an expensive +plaything of the rich, while the poet himself has died of want. Susan +Fenimore Cooper's typically understated expression of this irony +renders it all the more poignant, and the unspoken message of "The +Lumley Autograph" is as relevant today as it was in 1851. + +{Though "The Lumley Autograph" was published in 1851, it was +written as early as 1845, when Susan's father first unsuccessfully +offered it to Graham's Magazine, asking "at least $25" for it. [See +James Fenimore Cooper to Mrs. Cooper, Nov. 30, 1845, in James F. +Beard, ed., "The Letters and Journals of James Fenimore Cooper" +(Harvard University Press, 1960-68), Vol. V, pp. 102-102]. Three +years later he offered it to his London publisher, also without +success [James Fenimore Cooper to Richard Bentley, Nov. 15, 1848, +Vol. V, p. 390; and Richard Bentley to James Fenimore Cooper, July +24, 1849, Vol. VI, p. 53.] What Graham's Magazine finally paid, in +1851, is not known.} + + + + +THE LUMLEY AUTOGRAPH. + +BY THE AUTHOR OF "RURAL HOURS," ETC. + + + + +[Not long since an American author received an application from a +German correspondent for "a few Autographs"--the number of names +applied for amounting to more than a hundred, and covering several +sheets of foolscap. A few years since an Englishman of literary note +sent his Album to a distinguished poet in Paris for his contribution, +when the volume was actually stolen from a room where every other +article was left untouched; showing that Autographs were more +valuable in the eyes of the thief than any other property. Amused +with the recollection of these facts, and others of the same kind, +some idle hours were given by the writer to the following view of this +mania of the day.] + +The month of November of the year sixteen hundred and -- was +cheerless and dark, as November has never failed to be within the +foggy, smoky bounds of the great city of London. It was one of the +worst days of the season; what light there was seemed an +emanation from the dull earth, the heavens would scarce have owned +it, veiled as they were, by an opaque canopy of fog which weighed +heavily upon the breathing multitude below. Gloom penetrated every +where; no barriers so strong, no good influences so potent, as wholly +to ward off the spell thrown over that mighty town by the spirits of +chill and damp; they clung to the silken draperies of luxury, they +were felt within the busy circle of industry, they crept about the +family hearth, but abroad in the public ways, and in the wretched +haunts of misery, they held undisputed sway. + +Among the throng which choked the passage of Temple-Bar toward +evening, an individual, shabbily clad, was dragging his steps wearily +along, his pallid countenance bearing an expression of misery beyond +the more common cares of his fellow-passengers. Turning from the +great thoroughfare he passed into a narrow lane, and reaching the +door of a mean dwelling he entered, ascended a dirty stairway four +stories high, and stood in his garret lodging. If that garret was bare, +cold, and dark, it was only like others, in which many a man before +and since has pined away years of neglect and penury, at the very +moment when his genius was cheering, enriching, enlightening his +country and his race. That the individual whose steps we have +followed was indeed a man of genius, could not be doubted by one +who had met the glance of that deep, clear, piercing eye, clouded +though it was at that moment by misery of body and mind that +amounted to the extreme of anguish. The garret of the stranger +contained no food, no fuel, no light; its occupant was suffering from +cold, hunger, and wretchedness. Throwing himself on a broken chair, +he clenched his fingers over the manuscript, held within a pale and +emaciated hand. + +"Shall I die of hunger--or shall I make one more effort?" he +exclaimed, in a voice in which bitterness gave a momentary power to +debility. + +"I will write once more to my patron--possibly--" without waiting to +finish the sentence, he groped about in the dull twilight for ink and +paper; resting the sheet on a book, he wrote in a hand barely +legible: + +"Nov. 20th 16--, +"MY LORD--I have no light, and cannot see to write--no fire and my +fingers are stiff with cold--I have not tasted food for eight and forty +hours, and I am faint. Three times, my lord, I have been at your door +to day, but could not obtain admittance. This note may yet reach you +in time to save a fellow-creature from starvation. I have not a +farthing left, nor credit for a ha'penny--small debts press upon me, +and the publishers refused my last poem. Unless relieved within a +few hours I must perish. +"Your lordship's most humble, +"Most obedient, most grateful servant, +-------- ---------" + +This letter, scarcely legible from the agitation and misery which +enfeebled the hand that wrote it, was folded, and directed, and +again the writer left his garret lodging on the errand of beggary; he +descended the narrow stairway, slowly dragged his steps through the +lane, and sought the dwelling of his patron. + +Whether he obtained admittance, or was again turned from the door; +whether his necessities were relieved, or the letter was idly thrown +aside unopened, we cannot say. Once more mingled with the crowd, +we lose sight of him. It is not the man, but the letter which engages +our attention to-day. There is still much doubt and uncertainty +connected with the subsequent fate of the poor poet, but the note +written at that painful moment has had a brilliant career, a history +eventful throughout. If the reader is partial to details of misery, and +poverty, any volume of general literary biography will furnish him +with an abundant supply, for such has too often proved the lot of +those who have built up the noble edifice of British Literature: like +the band of laborers on the Egyptian pyramid, theirs was too often a +mess of leeks, while milk, and honey, and oil, were the portion of +those for whom they toiled, those in whose honor, and for whose +advantage the monument was raised. Patrons, whether single +individuals or nations, have too often proved but indifferent friends, +careless and forgetful of those whom they proudly pretend to foster. +But leaving the poor poet, with his sorrows, to the regular +biographer, we choose rather the lighter task of relating the history +of the letter itself; a man's works are often preferred before himself, +and it is believed that in this, the day of autographs, no further +apology will be needed for the course taken on the present occasion. +We hold ourselves, indeed, entitled to the especial gratitude of +collectors for the following sketch of a document maintaining so high +a rank in their estimation. + +And justly might the Lumley Letter claim a full share of literary +homage. Boasting a distinguished signature, it possessed the first +essential of a superior autograph; for, although a rose under any +other name may smell as sweet, yet it is clear that with regard to +every thing coming from the pen, whether folio or billet doux, +imaginative poem, or matter-of-fact note of hand, there is a vast +deal in this important item, which is often the very life and stamina +of the whole production. Then again, the subject of extreme want is +one of general interest, while the allusion to the unpublished poem +must always prove an especial attraction to the curious. Such were +the intrinsic merits of the document, in addition to which, sober Time +lent his aid to enhance its value, and capricious Fortune added a +peculiar charm of mystery, which few papers of the kind could claim +to the same extent. The appearance also of this interesting paper +was always admitted to be entirely worthy of its fame. The hand- +writing fully carried out the idea of extreme debility and agitation +corresponding with its nature, while a larger and a lesser blot bore +painful testimony to that recklessness of propriety which a starving +man might be supposed to feel; one corner had been ruthlessly +abstracted at the time it was seen by the writer of this notice, and +with it the last figures of the date; a considerable rent crossed the +sheet from right to left, but happily without injuring its contents; +several punctures were also observed, one of these encroaching very +critically upon the signature. But I need not add that these marks of +age and harsh treatment, like the scars on the face of a veteran, far +from being blemishes, were acknowledged to be so many additional +embellishments. The coloring of the piece was of that precious hue, +verging here and there on the dingy, the very tint most charming in +the eyes of an antiquary, and which Time alone can bestow. In fact, +one rarely sees a relic of the kind, more perfect in color, more +expressive in its general aspect, or more becoming to an album, from +the fine contrast between its poverty-stricken air, torn, worn, and +soiled, and the rich, embossed, unsullied leaf on which it reposed, +like some dark Rembrandt within its gilded frame. In short, it was +the very Torso of autographs. Happily the position which it finally +attained was one worthy of its merits, and we could not have wished +it a more elegant shrine than the precious pages of the Holberton +Album, a volume encased in velvet, secured with jeweled clasps, +reposing on a tasteful etagere. + +{etagere = small table or shelf for displaying curios (French)} + +But I proceed without further delay to relate some of the more +important steps in the progress of this interesting paper, from the +garret of the starving poet to the drawing-rooms of Holberton House, +merely observing by way of preface that the following notice may be +relied on so far as it goes, the writer--Colonel Jonathan Howard of +Trenton, New Jersey,--having had access to the very best authorities, +and having also had the honor of being enlisted in the service of the +Lumley Autograph upon an occasion of some importance, as will be +shown by the narrative. + +It was just one hundred years since, in 1745, that this celebrated +letter was first brought to light, from the obscurity in which it had +already lain some half a century, and which no subsequent research +has been able fully to clear away. In the month of August of that +year, the Rev. John Lumley, tutor to Lord G-----, had the honor of +discovering this curious relic under the following circumstances. + +Mr. Lumley was one day perched on the topmost step of a library +ladder, looking over a black letter volume of Hollinshed, from the +well filled shelves of his pupil. Suddenly he paused, and his +antiquarian instincts were aroused by the sight of a sheet of paper, +yellow and time worn. He seized it with the eagerness of a book- +worm, and in so doing dropped the volume of Hollinshed alarmingly +near the wig-covered head of his youthful pupil, who with closed +eyes, and open mouth, lay reclining on a sofa below. The book, +grazing the curls of the young lord's wig, he sprang up from his nap, +alive and sound, though somewhat startled. + +{Hollinshed = Raphael Holinshed (d. 1580), famous writer of British +historical chronicles, used by Shakespeare as source for some of his +plays} + +"Hang it Lumley, what a rumpus you keep up among the books! You +well nigh drove that old volume into my head by a process more +summary than usual." + +The learned tutor made a thousand apologies, as he descended the +ladder, but on touching the floor his delight burst forth. + +"It was this paper, my lord, which made me so awkward--I have +lighted on a document of the greatest interest!" + +"What is it?" asked the pupil looking askance at letter, and tutor. + +"An original letter which comes to hand, just in time for my lives of +the tragedians--the volume to be dedicated to your lordship--it is a +letter of poor Otway." + +{Otway = Thomas Otway (1652-1685), English playwright who wrote +a number of important tragedies in verse, but who died destitute at +the age of 33. The Coopers were familiar with his work; James +Fenimore Cooper used quotations from Otway's "The Orphan" for +three chapter heading epigraphs in his 1850 novel, "The Ways of the +Hour"} + +"Otway?--What, the fellow you were boring me about last night?" + +"The same my lord--the poet Otway--you may remember we saw his +Venice Preserved last week. It is a highly interesting letter, written +in great distress, and confirms the story of his starvation. You see +the signature." + +{Venice Preserved = a well-known play by Otway, written in 1682} + +"That name, Otway?--Well, to my mind it is as much like Genghis +Khan." + +"Oh, my lord!--Thomas Otway clearly--signatures are always more or +less confused. + +"Well, have it your own way.--It may be Tom, Dick, or Harry for all I +care," said the youth, stretching himself preparatory to a visit to his +kennels; and such was his indifference to this literary treasure that +he readily gave it to his tutor. In those days, few lords were literary. + +Mr. Lumley's delight at this discovery, was very much increased by +the fact that he was at that moment anxious to bring out an edition +of the English Tragedians of the seventeenth century. The lives of +several of these authors had been already written by him, and he +was at that moment engaged on that of Otway. A noted publisher +had taken the matter into consideration, and if the undertaking gave +promise of being both palatable to the public, and profitable to +himself, a prospectus was to be issued. Now here was a little tit-bit +which the public would doubtless relish; for it was beginning to feel +some interest in Otway's starvation, the poet having been dead half +a century. It is true that the signature of the poor starving author, +whoever he may have been, was so illegible that it required some +imagination to see in it, the name of Otway, but Mr. Lumley had +enough of the true antiquarian spirit, to settle the point to his own +entire satisfaction. The note was accordingly introduced into the life +of Otway, with which the learned tutor was then engaged. The work +itself, however, was not destined to see the light; its publication +was delayed, while Mr. Lumley accompanied his pupil on the usual +continental tour, and from this journey the learned gentleman never +returned, dying at Rome, of a cold caught in the library of the +Vatican. By his will, the MS. life of Otway with all his papers, passed +into the hands of his brother, an officer in the army. Unfortunately, +however, Captain Lumley, who was by no means a literary character, +proved extremely indifferent to this portion of his brother's +inheritance, which he treated with contemptuous neglect. + +After this first stage on the road to fame, twenty more years passed +away and the letter of the starving poet was again forgotten. At +length the papers of the Rev. Mr. Lumley, fell into the hands of a +nephew, who inherited his uncle's antiquarian tastes, and clerical +profession. In looking over the MSS., he came to the life of Otway, +and was struck with the letter given there, never having met with it +in print; there was also a note appended to it with an account of the +manner in which it had been discovered by the editor, in the library +of Lord G-----, and affirming that it was still in his own possession. +The younger Lumley immediately set to work to discover the original +letter, but his search was fruitless; it was not to be found either +among the papers of his uncle, or those of his father. It was gone. +He was himself a tutor at Cambridge at the time, and returning to +the university, he carried with him his uncle's life of Otway, in MS. +Some little curiosity was at first excited among his immediate +companions by these facts, but it soon settled down into an opinion +unfavorable to the veracity of the late Mr. Lumley.--This nettled the +nephew; and as Lord G-----, was still living, a gouty bloated roue, he +at length wrote to inquire if his lordship knew any thing of the +matter. His lordship was too busy, or too idle, to answer the inquiry. +Some time later, however, the younger Lumley, then a chaplain in +the family of a relative of Lord G-----'s, accidentally met his uncle's +former pupil, and being of a persevering disposition, he ventured to +make a personal application on the subject. + +"Now you recall the matter to me, Mr. Lumley, I do recollect +something of the kind. I remember one day, giving my tutor some +musty old letter he found in the library at G-----; and by the bye he +came near cracking my skull on the same occasion!" + +Mr. Lumley was not a little pleased by this confirmation of the story, +though he found that Lord G----- had not even read the letter, nor +did he know any thing of its subsequent fate; he only remembered +looking at the signature. Not long after the meeting at which this +explanation had taken place, Mr. Lumley received a visit from a +stranger, requesting to see the MS. Life of Otway in his possession. +It was handed to him; he examined it, and was very particular in his +inquiries on the subject, giving the chaplain to understand that he +was the agent of a third person who wished to purchase either the +original letter if possible, or if that could not be found, the MS. +containing the copy. Mr. Lumley always believed that the employer of +this applicant was no other than that arch-gatherer, Horace Walpole, +who gave such an impulse to the collecting mania; he declined +selling the work, however, for he had thoughts of printing it himself. +The application was mentioned by him, and, of course, the +manuscript gained notoriety, while the original letter became a +greater desideratum than ever. The library at G----- was searched +most carefully by a couple of brother book-worms, who crept over it +from cornice to carpeting; but to no purpose. + +{Horace Walpole = Horace Walpole (1717-1797), a prolific writer, +connoisseur, and collector, best known for his extensive +correspondence; he established a taste for literary collecting by +would-be cultured gentlemen in England} + +Some ten years later still--about the time, by the bye, when +Chatterton's career came to such a miserable close in London, and +when Gilbert was dying in a hospital at Paris--it happened that a +worthy physician, well known in the town of Southampton for his +benevolence and eccentricity, was on a professional visit to the child +of a poor journeyman trunk-maker, in the same place. A supply of old +paper had just been brought in for the purpose of lining trunks, +according to the practice of the day. A workman was busy sorting +these, rejecting some as refuse, and preserving others, when the +doctor stopped to answer an inquiry about the sick child. + +{Chatterton = Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770), British poet, who +created an imaginary Thomas Rowley, a supposed medieval monk, to +whom he ascribed some of his poems. Chatterton committed suicide +at the age of 18 when a poem of his, allegedly by Rowley, was +rejected; he was buried in a pauper's grave. Susan Fenimore Cooper +no doubt has this in mind in naming a character in this story +Theodosia Rowley. + +{Gilbert = Nicolas Gilbert (1751-1780), French poet, who died in +Paris at the age of 29. The French writer Count Alfred de Vigny +(1797-1863), in his book of essays "Stello" (1832), popularized a +legend that Gilbert had died insane and in abject poverty at the +charity hospital of the Hotel Dieu in Paris, and compared his +miserable end with that of Chatteron; it seems likely that Vigny, +whose book appeared while Susan Fenimore Cooper was studying in +Paris, was her source for this reference to Gilbert. In fact, Gilbert +was not impoverished, and died of injuries after falling from his +horse} + +"Better, Hopkins--doing well. But what have you here? I never see +old papers but I have an inclination to look them over. If a man has +leisure, he may often pick up something amusing among such +rubbish. Don't you ever read the papers that pass through your +hands?" + +"No, sir--I 'as no time for that, sir. And then I was never taught to +read writing, and these 'ere papers is all written ones. We puts them +that's written for one trunk, and them that's printed for another, as +you see, sir; one must have a heye to the looks of the work." + +"Why yes--you seem to manage the job very well; and I have a +trunk, by the bye, that wants patching up before my boy carries it off +with him; I'll send it round to you; Hopkins. But stay--what's this?" +and the doctor took up a soiled, yellow sheet of paper, from the +heap rejected by the workman; it contained a scrawl which proved to +be the identical letter of the poor poet, the Lumley autograph, +though in what manner it became mingled with that heap of rubbish +has never been satisfactorily ascertained. + +"Here's a poor fellow who had a hard fate, Hopkins," said the +benevolent man, thoughtfully. "It is as good as a sermon on charity +to read that letter." + +The trunk-maker begged to hear it. + +"Well, poor journeyman as I be, I was never yet in so bad a way as +that, sir." + +"And never will be, I hope; but this was a poet, Hopkins--and that's +but an indifferent trade to live by. I'll tell you what, my good friend," +said the doctor, suddenly, "that letter is worth keeping, and you may +paste it in the trunk I'll send round this afternoon--put it in the lid, +where it can be read." + +The trunk was sent, and the letter actually pasted in it as part of the +new lining. Dr. H-----, who, as we have observed, was rather +eccentric in his ways, had a son about to commence his career as a +soldier; and the worthy man thought the letter might teach the youth +a useful lesson of moderation and temperance, by showing him every +time he opened his trunk, the extreme of want to which his fellow +beings were occasionally reduced. What success followed the plan +we cannot say. The trunk, however, shared the young soldier's +wandering life; it carried the cornet's uniform to America; it was +besieged in Boston; and it made part of the besieging baggage at +Charleston. It was not destined, however, to remain in the new +world, but followed its owner to the East Indies, carrying on this +second voyage, a lieutenant's commission. At length, after passing +five-and-twenty years in Bengal, the trunk returned again to +Southampton, as one among some dozen others which made up the +baggage of the gallant Colonel H-----, now rich in laurels and rupees. +The old trunk had even the honorable duty assigned it of carrying its +master's trophies, doubtless the most precious portion of the +colonel's possessions, though at the same time the lightest; as for +the rupees, the old worn-out box would have proved quite unequal to +transporting a single bag of them, for it was now sadly unfit for +service, thanks to the ravages of time and the white ants; and, +indeed, owed its preservation and return to its native soil solely to +the letter pasted in the lid, which, in the eyes of Colonel H-----, was +a memento of home, and the eccentric character of a deceased +parent. + +{cornet = the lowest officer rank in a British cavalry regiment, below +that of Lieutenant; now obsolete} + +The time had now come, however, when the Lumley autograph was +about to emerge forever from obscurity, and receive the full homage +of collectors; the hour of triumph was at hand, the neglect of a +century was to be fully repaid by the highest honors of fame. The +eye of beauty was about to kindle as it rested on the Lumley +autograph; jeweled fingers were to be raised, eager to snatch the +treasure from each other; busy literati stood ready armed for a war +of controversy in its behalf. + +It happened that Colonel H----- was invited to a fancy ball; and it +also happened that the lady whom he particularly admired, was to be +present on the occasion. Such being the case, the most becoming +costume was to be selected for the evening. What if the locks of the +gallant colonel were slightly sprinkled with gray? He was still a +handsome man, and knew very well that the dress of an eastern +aymeer was particularly well suited to his face and figure. This dress, +preserved in a certain old trunk in the garret, was accordingly +produced. The trunk was brought down to the dressing-room, the +costume examined piece by piece, pronounced in good condition by +the valet, and declared very becoming by the military friend called in +as counsellor. + +{aymeer = Emir; a Muslim title signifying commander in Arabic} + +"But what a queer old box this is, H-----," said Major D-----, eyeing +the trunk through his glass. + +"It's one I've had these hundred years," replied the colonel. "So you +think this trumpery will do, D-----?" + +"Do? To be sure it will, my dear fellow--it gives your Milesian skin +the true Nawaub dye. But I was just trying to make out an old letter +pasted in the lid of your trunk, under my nose here. Is this the way +you preserve your family archives?" + +{Milesian = slang term for Irish, from Milesius, mythical Spanish +conqueror of Ireland; Nawaub = from Nabob, Anglo-Indian slang for +one who has returned home from India with a large fortune} + +"That letter is really a curiosity in its way," said the colonel, turning +from the glass and relating its history, so far at least as it was +known to himself. + +His friend spelt it through. + +"My dear fellow, why don't you give this letter to the father of your +fair Louisa; he's quite rabid on such points; you'll make him a friend +for life by it!" + +The advice was followed. The letter was cut from its old position in +the lid of the trunk, and presented to Sir John Blank, the father of +the lovely Louisa, who, in his turn, soon placed the hand of his +daughter in that of Colonel H-----. + +Sir John, a noted follower in the steps of Horace Walpole, had no +sooner become the owner of this interesting letter, than he set to +work to find out its origin, and to fill up its history. Unfortunately, +the sheet had received some wounds in the wars, as well as the +gallant colonel. One corner had been carried away by an unlucky +thrust from a razor--not a sword; while the date and signature had +also been half eaten out by the white ants of Bengal. But such +difficulties as these were only pleasing obstacles in the way of +antiquarian activity. Sir John had soon formed an hypothesis +perfectly satisfactory to himself. His mother's name was Butler, and +he claimed some sort of affinity with the author of Hudibras; as the +Christian name of the poor poet had been almost entirely devoured +by the ants, while the surname had also suffered here and there, Sir +John ingeniously pursuaded {sic} himself that what remained had +clearly belonged to the signature of the great satirist; as for the +date, the abbreviation of "Nov. 20th." and the figures 16-- marking +the century, were really tolerably distinct. Accordingly, Sir John wrote +a brief notice of Butler's Life, dwelling much upon his well-known +poverty, and quoting his epitaph, with the allusion to his indigence +underscored, "lest he who living wanted all things, should, when +dead, want a tomb," and placed these remarks opposite the letter of +our starving poet, which was registered in the volume in conspicuous +characters as an "Autograph of Samuel Butler, author of Hudibras, +showing to what distress he was at one time reduced." + +{Samuel Butler (1612-1680), another English author popularly +believed to have died in great poverty; he is best known for his long +satiric mock-epic poem, "Hudibras" (1663-1678)} + +Here the sheet remained several years, until at length it chanced +that Sir John's volume of autographs was placed in the hands of a +gentleman who had recently read Mr. Lumley's MS. Life of Otway. The +identity of this letter, with that copied by Mr. Lumley, immediately +suggested itself; and now the first sparks of controversy between +the Otwaysians and the Butlerites were struck in Sir John's library. +>From thence they soon spread to the four winds of heaven, falling on +combustible materials wherever they lighted on a literary head, or +collecting hands. + +By the bye, the rapidity with which this collecting class has increased +of late years is really alarming; who can foresee the state of things +likely to exist in the next century, should matters go on at the same +rate? Reflect for a moment on the probable condition of +distinguished authors, lions of the loudest roar, if the number of +autograph-hunters were to increase beyond what it is at present. Is +it not to be feared that they will yet exterminate the whole race, +that the great lion literary, like the mastodon, will become extinct? +Or, perhaps, by taming him down to a mere producer of autographs, +his habits will change so entirely that he will no longer be the same +animal, no longer bear a comparison with the lion of the past. On the +other hand should the great race become extinct, what will be the +fate of the family of autograph-feeders? What a fearful state of +things would ensue, even in our day, were the supply to be reduced +but a quire! The heart sickens at the picture which would then be +presented--collectors turning on each other, waging a fierce war over +every autographic scrap, making a battle-field of every social circle. +Happily, nature seems always to keep up the balance in such +matters, and it is a consoling reflection that if the million are now +consumers, so have they become producers of autographs; it is +therefore probable that the evil will work its own remedy; and we +may hope that the great writers of the next century will be shielded +in some measure by the diversion made in their favor through the +lighter troops of the lion corps. + +As for the full merits of the controversy so hotly waged over the +Lumley autograph between the Otwaysians and the Butlerites, +dividing the collecting world into two rival parties, we shall not here +enter into it. In all such matters it is better to go at once to the +fountain head; if the reader is curious on the subject, as doubtless +he must be, he is referred to one octavo and five duodecimo +volumes, with fifty pamphlets which have left little to say on the +point. Let it not be supposed, however, for an instant, that the +writer of this article is himself undecided in his opinion on this +question. By no means; and he hastens to repel the unjust +suspicion, by declaring himself one of the warmest Otwaysians. It is +true that he has some private grounds for believing that a +dispassionate inquiry might lead one to doubt whether Otway or +Butler ever saw the Lumley autograph; but what of that, who has +time or inclination for dispassionate investigation in these stirring +days! In the present age of universal enlightenment, we don't +trouble ourselves to make up our opinions--we take and give them, +we beg, borrow, and steal them. True, there are controversies +involving matters so important in their consequences, so serious in +their nature, that one might conceive either indifference or +fanaticism equally inexcusable with regard to them; but there are +also a thousand other subjects of discussion, at the present day, of +that peculiar character which can only thrive when supported by +passion and prejudice, and falling in with a dispute of this nature, it +is absolutely necessary to jump at once into fanaticism. Accordingly, +I had no sooner obtained a glimpse of the letter of the starving poet, +embalmed within the precious leaves of one of the most noted +albums of Europe, than I immediately enlisted under Lady +Holberton's colors as a faithful Otwaysian. With that excellent lady I +take a tragical view of the Lumley Letter, conceiving that a man +must be blind as a bat, not to see that it was written by the author +of Venice Preserved, and this in spite of other celebrated collectors, +who find in the same sheet so much that is comical and Hudibrastic. +Strange that any man in his senses should hold such an opinion--yet +the Butlerites number strong, some of them are respectable people, +too; more's the pity that such should be the case. + +As we have already observed, the controversy began in the library of +Sir John Blank, and it continued throughout the life-time of that +excellent and well-known collector. At his death, a few years since, it +passed into the hands of his daughter, the widow of Colonel H-----; +and it will be readily imagined that although the main question is +still as much undecided as ever, yet the value of the document itself +has been immeasurably increased by a controversy of twenty years +standing, on its merits. I wish I could add that the fortune of Colonel +H----- had augmented in the same proportion; but, unhappily for his +widow, the reverse was the case; and it was owing to this +combination of circumstances that Lady Holberton at length obtained +possession of the Lumley Autograph. Mrs. H----- became very +desirous of procuring for her eldest son a cornetcy in the regiment +once commanded by his father; as she was now too poor to +purchase, the matter required management and negotiation. How it +was brought about I cannot exactly say. Suffice it to declare that the +young man received his commission, through the influence of Lady +Holberton, in a high military quarter, while the Lumley Autograph +was placed on a distinguished leaf of that lady's velvet-bound, +jewel-clasped album. + +It so happened that I dined at Holberton-House on the eventful day +upon which the Lumley letter changed owners. I saw immediately, on +entering the drawing-room, that Lady Holberton was in excellent +spirits; she received me very graciously, and spoke of her son, with +whom I had just traveled between Paris and Algiers. + +"Wish me joy, Mr. Howard!" exclaimed the lady after a short +conversation. + +Of course I was very happy to do so, and replied by some remarks on +the recent success of her friends in a parliamentary measure, just +then decided--Lady Holberton being a distinguished politician. But I +soon found it was to some matter of still higher moment she then +alluded. + +"I never had a doubt as to our success in the house, last night--no; +rather wish me joy that I have at last triumphed in a negotiation of +two years standing. The Lumley Autograph is mine, Mr. Howard! The +letter of poor Otway, actually written in the first stages of +starvation--only conceive its value!" + +Other guests arriving I was obliged to make way, not however, +before Lady Holberton had promised me a sight of her recent +acquisition, in the evening. In the mean time I fully entered into her +satisfaction, for I had already seen her album in Paris, and heard her +sigh for this very addition to its treasures. During dinner the +important intelligence that the Lumley letter was her own, was +imparted to the company generally. + +"I knew it! I was sure of it from her smile, the moment I entered the +room!" exclaimed Mr. T----- the distinguished collector, who sat next +me. + +Another guest, Miss Rowley, also a collecting celebrity, was sitting +opposite, and turned so pale at the moment, that I was on the point +of officiously recommending a glass of water. + +"Have you albums in America, Mr. Howard?" inquired a charming +young lady on my right. + +"There is no lack of them, I assure you,"--I replied. + +"Really! Adela, Mr. Howard tells me they have albums in America!" +repeated the young lady to a charming sister, near her; while on my +left I had the satisfaction of hearing some gratifying remarks from +Mr. T-----, as to the state of civilization in my native country, as +shown by such a fact. + +"And what are your albums like?" again inquired my lovely neighbor. + +"Not like Lady Holberton's, perhaps--but pretty well for a young +nation." + +"Oh dear--not like Lady Holberton's of course--hers is quite unique-- +so full of nice odd things. But are your albums in America at all like +ours?" + +"Why yes! we get most of them from Paris and London." + +"Oh dear! how strange--but don't you long to see this new treasure +of Lady Holberton's--that dear nice letter of Otway's, written while +he was starving?" inquired the charming Emily, helping herself to a +bit of pate de Perigord. + +{pate de Perigord = an expensive French delicacy: goose liver pate +with truffles.} + +"Yes, I am exceedingly curious to see it." + +"You don't believe it was written by that coarse, vulgar Butler, do +you?" + +"No, indeed,--it is the pathetic Otway's, beyond a doubt!" + +My neighbor, the Butlerite, gave a contemptuous shrug, but I paid +him no attention, preferring to coincide with the soft eyes on my +right, rather than dispute with the learned spectacles to the left. + +After dinner when we had done full justice to the bill of fare, +concluding with pines, grapes, and Newtown pippins, we were all +gratified with a sight of the poor poet's letter, by way of bonne +bouche. A little volume written by Lady Holberton--printed but not +published--relating its past history from the date of its discovery in +the library of Lord G-----, her grandfather, to the present day, passed +from hand to hand, and this review of its various adventures of +course only added force to the congratulations offered upon the +acquisition of this celebrated autograph. + +{pine = pineapple. Newtown pippin = a green, tart, tangy American +apple, originally from Long Island, a favorite of George Washington +and Thomas Jefferson; bonne bouche = a tasty morsel (French)} + +While the company were succeeding each other in offering their +homage to the great album, my attention was called off by a tap on +the shoulder from a friend, who informed me that Miss Rowley, a +very clever, handsome woman of a certain age, had expressed a wish +to make my acquaintance. I was only too happy to be presented. +After a very gracious reception, and an invitation to a party for the +following evening, Miss Rowley observed: + +"You have Autographs, in America, I understand, Mr. Howard." + +"Both autographs and collectors," I replied. + +"Really! Perhaps you are a collector yourself?" continued the lady, +with an indescribable expression, half interest, half disappointment. + +"No--merely a humble admirer of the labors of others." + +"Then," added the lady, more blandly, "perhaps you will be good- +natured enough to assist me." + +And, after a suspicious glance toward the spot where Lady Holberton +and Mr. T----- were conversing together, she adroitly placed herself +in a position to give to our conversation the privacy of a diplomatic +tete-a-tete. + +"Could you possibly procure me some American autographs for my +collection? I find a few wanting under the American head--perhaps a +hundred or two." + +I professed myself ready to do any thing in my power in so good a +cause. + +"Here is my list; I generally carry it about me. You will see those +that are wanting, and very possibly may suggest others." + +And as the lady spoke she drew from her pocket a roll of paper as +long, and as well covered with names as any minority petition to +Congress. However, I had lived too much among collectors of late to +be easily dismayed. The list was headed by Black Hawk. I expressed +my fears that the gallant warrior's ignorance of letters might prove +an obstacle to obtaining any thing from his pen. I volunteered +however to procure instead, something from a Cherokee friend of +mine, the editor of a newspaper. + +{Black Hawk = Black Hawk (1767-1838), an American Indian (Sac) +chieftain, defeated by the U.S. Army in 1832, whose "Autobiography" +(1833) became an American classic.} + +"How charming!" exclaimed Miss Rowley, clasping her hands. "How +very obliging of you, Mr. Howard. Are you fond of shooting? My +brother's preserves are in fine order--or perhaps you are partial to +yachting--" + +Bowing my thanks for these amiable hints, I carelessly observed that +the letter of the Cherokee editor was no sacrifice at all, for the chief +and myself were regular correspondents; I had a dozen of his letters, +and had just given one to Mr. T-----. This intelligence evidently +lessened Miss Rowley's excessive gratitude. She continued her +applications, however, casting an eye on her list. + +"Perhaps you correspond also with some rowdies, Mr. Howard? Could +you oblige me with a rowdy letter?" + +{rowdies = in the mid-nineteenth century, an American slang term +for backwoodsmen or other rough and disorderly types} + +I drew up a little at this request; my correspondents, I assured the +lady, were generally men of respectability, though one of them was +of a savage race. + +"No doubt; but in the way of autographs, you know, one would +correspond with--" + +The sentence remained unfinished, for the lady added, + +"I wrote myself to Madame Laffarge, not long since. I am sorry to +say Lady Holberton has two of hers; but although an excellent +person in most respects, yet it cannot be denied that as regards +autographs, Lady Holberton is very illiberal. I offered her Grizzel +Baillie, two Cardinals, William Pitt, and Grace Darling, for one of her +Laffarges; but she would not part with it. Yet the exchange was very +fair, especially as Madame Laffarge is still living." + +{Madame Laffarge = Marie Lafarge (1816-1853), French woman +convicted in 1840 for poisoning her husband; later pardoned. Grizzel +Baillie = Lady Grizel Baillie (1665-1746), Scottish poet. William Pitt += either William Pitt "the Elder" (1708-1778) or William Pitt "the +Younger" (1759-1806), both British Prime Ministers. Grace Darling = +Grace Darling (1815-1842), English heroine and lighthouse keeper's +daughter, famous for her rescue of castaways in 1838.} + +I bowed an assent to the remark. + +"And then she herself actually once made proposals for +Schinderhannes, to a friend of mine, offering Howard, the +philanthropist, Talma, William Penn, and Fenelon for him--all +commonplace enough, you know--and Schinderhannes quite unique. +My friend was indignant!" + +{Schinderhannes = German bandit chief, executed in 1803. Howard = +John Howard (1726-1790), English philanthropist and prison reformer. +Talma = Francois Talma (1763-1826), popular French playwright. +William Penn (1644-1718), Quaker founder of Pennsylvania. Fenelon += Francois Fenelon (1651-1715), French Archbishop and writer} + +I ventured to excuse Lady Holberton by suggesting that probably at +the time her stock of notabilities was low. + +Miss Rowley shook her head, and curled her lip, as if she fancied the +lady had only been seeking to drive a hard bargain. + +"On one point, however, I have carried the day, Mr. Howard. Lady +Holberton is not a little proud of her Vidocq; but I have obtained one +far superior to hers, one addressed to myself so piquant and gallant +too. I called on the dear old burglar on purpose to coax him into +writing me a note." + +{Vidocq = Francois Vidocq (1775-1857), French police detective who +turned robber, and was exposed in 1832.} + +I wondered, in petto, whether I should meet any illustrious convicts +at Miss Rowley's party the next evening; but remembering to have +heard her called an exclusive, it did not seem very probable. + +{in petto = silently, to oneself (Latin)} + +After running her eye over the list again, Miss Rowley made another +inquiry. + +"Mr. Howard, could you get me something from an American +Colonel?" + +I assured the lady we had colonels of all sorts, and begged to know +what particular variety she had placed on her catalogue--was it an +officer of the regular service, or one of no service at all? + +"Oh, the last, certainly--officers who have seen service are so +commonplace!" + +My own pen was immediately placed at Miss Rowley's disposal, as +my sword would have been, had I owned one. As I had been called +colonel a hundred times without having commanded a regiment once, +my own name was as good as any other on the present occasion. + +"You are very obliging. Since you are so good, may I also trouble you +to procure me a line from a very remarkable personage of your +country--a very distinguished man--he has been President, or +Speaker of the Senate, or something of that sort." + +To which of our head men did Miss Rowley allude? + +"He is called Uncle Sam, I believe." + +{Uncle Sam = "Uncle Sam" became a popular personification of the +United States during the War of 1812, replacing Brother Jonathan, +and was often used in contradistinction to the British "John Bull"} + +This was not so easy a task, for though we have thousands of +colonels, there is but one Uncle Sam in the world. On hearing that +such was the case, Miss Rowley's anxiety on the subject increased +immeasurably; but I assured her the old gentleman only put his +name to treaties, and tariffs; and although his sons were wonderfully +gallant, yet he himself had never condescended to notice any woman +but a queen regnant: and I further endeavored to give some idea of +his identity. Miss Rowley stopped me short, however. + +"Only procure me one line from him, Mr. Howard, and I shall be +indebted to you for life. It will be time enough to find out all about +him when I once have his name--that is the essential thing." + +I shrunk from committing myself, however; declaring that I would as +soon engage to procure a billet-doux from Prester John. + +{Prester John = Mythical ruler believed in the Middle Ages to head a +powerful Christian Kingdom somewhere in Asia; later identified with +the Christian Kings of Ethiopia in Africa} + +"Prester John! That would, indeed, be quite invaluable!" + +This Asiatic diversion was a happy one, and came very apropos, for it +carried Miss Rowley into China; she inquired if I had any Chinese +connections. + +"Though altogether, I am pretty well satisfied with my Chinese +negotiations; as soon as the Celestial Empire was opened to the +civilized world, I engaged an agent there to collect for me. But, could +you put me on the track of a Confucius?" + +{opened to the civilized world = following the so-called Opium War, +Britain had in 1842 forced China to open trade with her} + +I was obliged to admit my inability to do so; and at the same +moment the collecting instincts of Lady Holberton and Mr. T-----, +drew their attention to the corner where Miss Rowley and myself +were conversing; as they moved toward us, Miss Rowley pocketed +her list, throwing herself upon my honor not to betray the +deficiencies in her role d'equipage, or the collecting negociations just +opened between us. Lady Holberton, as she advanced, invited Miss +Rowley, with an ill-concealed air of triumph, to feast her eyes once +more on the Lumley autograph, and not long after the party broke +up. + +{role d'equipage = muster roll (French); here, Miss Rowley's list of +her autographs} + +The next day, in passing Holberton-House, I observed the chariot of +a fashionable physician before the door; and at Miss Rowley's party +in the evening learned from Mr. T----- that Lady Holberton was quite +unwell. The following morning I called to inquire, and received for +answer that "her ladyship was very much indisposed." It was not +until a week later that I saw Lady Holberton herself, taking the air in +Hyde Park. She looked wretchedly--thin and pale. I inquired from the +English friend with whom I was riding, if there was any probability of +a change of ministry? He looked surprised; and then catching the +direction of my eye, he observed, + +"You ask on Lady Holberton's account; but Sir A----- B----- tells me +her illness was caused by the loss of the Lumley Autograph." + +This unexpected intelligence proved only too true. On returning to my +lodgings, I found a note from Lady Holberton, requesting to see me, +and, of course, immediately obeyed the summons. + +"Lost!--lost!--lost! Mr. Howard!" said the lady, endeavoring to conceal +her emotion, as she gave me the details of her affliction. + +"It must have been stolen--basely stolen--on the evening of my +party. Oh! why did I so foolishly exhibit it among so many people, +and collectors among them, too! Never again will I admit more than +one collector at a time into the room with my album!" she exclaimed +with energy. + +I was shocked; surely Lady Holberton did not conceive it possible +that any of her guests could be guilty of such base conduct? + +"How little you know them! But it is that, Mr. Howard, which has +interested me in your favor--you have so much naivete, and +ignorance of the moral turpitude of the old world, that I feel +convinced you never could be guilty of such an action yourself." + +I assured Lady Holberton that in this respect she only did me justice; +and, in fact, a theft of the kind she alluded to appeared to me all but +incredible. + +"Remember that it was only the other day that ----- lost his +invaluable album; remember that last winter Madame de ----- had all +her notes on botanical subjects stolen from her own portfolio--and I +could mention a dozen instances of the same wickedness." + +These facts were already known to me, but I had forgotten them. I +remarked with a glow of national pride, that we certainly were much +more virtuous in these matters across the ocean; in America we are +much above pilfering autographs; when we do steal, it is by the +volume--we seize all an author's stock in trade at one swoop, and +without condescending to say even, thank ye, for it. + +{author's stock in trade = though ostensibly referring to the stealing +of autographs, Susan Fenimore Cooper is also clearly referring to the +widespread pirating of British and other foreign literary works by +American publishers, in the absence of international copyright laws-- +which not only cheated the authors, but made life difficult for +American authors expecting to be paid for their creations} + +"So I have always understood, Mr. Howard--and I felt that my album +was safe with you," observed Lady Holberton, with tears in her eyes. + +Wishing to relieve this distress, I proposed advertising for the lost +treasure--applying to the police. + +Lady Holberton smiled through her tears, as she assured me that the +police, old and new, had been enlisted in her service an hour after +the discovery of her loss, while communications had been opened +with the municipal governments of Brussels, Paris, and Vienna, on +the same subject. + +{police, old and new = the first modern English police force had been +established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel -- from which the British +nickname of "bobby" for policeman.} + +"And have you no clue, no suspicions?--your servants--your maid?" + +The aspersion on her household was indignantly repelled. + +"You will readily believe, Mr. Howard, that a collector, the owner of +such an album as I have the honor of possessing, is particularly +careful as to whom she admits into her family. I will vouch for all +about me; still I have suspicions--but--" + +I begged her to speak, if she thought I could be of the least +assistance. + +"Yes, I will trust my son's friend. Mr. Howard, I here solemnly accuse +Theodosia Rowley of having stolen the Lumley Autograph!" + +The dignity of manner, the concentrated passion of expression, the +strength of emphasis with which Lady Holberton spoke, would have +done honor to a Siddons. The natural start of horror and amazement +on my part, was also, no doubt, very expressive--for I was +speechless with surprise. + +"I see you do not credit this," continued the lady. + +But thought, like a flash of lightning, had already recalled some +circumstances of the last evening at Holberton-House. I did credit +the accusation, and immediately informed Lady Holberton of what I +had observed, but forgotten, until reminded of the facts by her own +remarks. I had seen Miss Rowley, bending low over the album at a +moment when some one was telling an exceedingly humorous story +which engrossed the attention of the rest of the company. + +"Could she have had an accomplice?" cried the lady, with dashing +eyes. + +I knew nothing on that point. But, I added, that soon after Miss +Rowley had left the room very quietly; and as I followed her to fulfill +another engagement, she had started, turned pale, and betrayed +much nervousness, scarcely allowing me to assist her to her carriage, +although we left the house at the same instant. + +Lady Holberton's suspicions were now confirmed beyond a doubt. + +"And yet it seems incredible that any lady should be guilty of such +conduct!" I exclaimed, almost repenting having allowed the previous +remarks to pass my lips. "Miss Rowley is undoubtedly a woman of +principle--or good moral standing." + +"Moral standing!--principle!" exclaimed Lady Holberton, bitterly. "Yes, +where an autograph is concerned, Theodosia Rowley has all the +principle of a Magpie " + +{Magpie = European bird known for stealing and hiding small bright +objects.} + +Whatever might have been the fact, it was clear at least that Lady +Holberton's opinion was now unalterably made up. + +"Remember, she is a Butlerite!" added the lady, thus putting the last +touch to the circumstantial evidence against Miss Rowley. + +Weeks passed by. The advertisements remained unanswered. The +police could give no information. Lady Holberton was in despair; the +physicians declared that her health must eventually give way under +the anxiety and disappointment consequent upon this melancholy +affair. Much sympathy was felt for the afflicted lady; even Miss +Rowley called often to condole, but she was never admitted. + +"I could not see the crocodile!" exclaimed Lady Holberton, quite +thrown off her guard one day, by the sight of Miss Rowley's card +which she threw into the fire. + +Some consolation, however, appeared to be derived from the +assiduous attentions of Mr. T-----, who personally admired Lady +Holberton; at least he professed to do so, though some persons +accused him of interested views, and aiming at her album rather +than herself. But although his attentions were received, yet nothing +could afford full consolation. At length, all other means failing, at +the end of a month, it was proposed that two persons, mutual +friends of Lady Holberton and Miss Rowley, should call on the latter +lady, and appeal privately to her sense of honor, to restore the +autograph if it were actually in her possession. This plan was finally +agreed on; but the very day it was to have been carried into +execution, Miss Rowley left town for an excursion in Finland. + +As for myself, I was also on the wing, and left London about the +same time. The parting with Lady Holberton was melancholy; she +was much depressed, and the physicians had recommended the +waters of Wiesbaden. Mr. T----- was also preparing for an excursion +to Germany; and he was suspected of vascillating {sic} in his +Butlerite views, brought over by Lady Holberton's tears and logic. + +Returning to London, some three months later, I found many of my +former acquaintainces {sic} were absent; but Lady Holberton, Miss +Rowley, and Mr. T----- were all in town again. The day after I arrived- +-it was Tuesday the 20th of August--as I was walking along +Piccadilly, about five o'clock in the afternoon, my eye fell on the +windows of Mr. Thorpe's great establishment. I was thinking over his +last catalogue of autographs, when I happened to observe a plain, +modest-looking young girl casting a timid glance at the door. There +was something anxious and hesitating in her manner, which +attracted my attention. Accustomed, like most Americans, to assist a +woman in any little difficulty, and with notions better suited perhaps +to the meridian of Yankee-land than that of London, I asked if she +were in any trouble. How richly was I rewarded for the act of good- +nature! She blushed and courtesied {sic}. + +{Tuesday, 20th of August = does this date the final composition of +"The Lumley Autograph" or of its setting? August 20 fell on a +Tuesday in 1844 and 1850} + +"Please, sir, is it true that they pay money for old letters at this +place?" + +"They do--have you any thing of the kind to dispose of?" + +Judge of my gratification, my amazement, when she produced the +Lumley Autograph! + +Of course I instantly took it, at her own price--only half a guinea-- +and I further gave her Lady Holberton's address, that she might +claim the liberal reward promised far the precious letter. Tears came +into the poor child's eyes when she found what awaited her, and I +may as well observe at once that this young girl proved to be the +daughter of a poor bed-ridden artisan of Clapham, who had seen +better days, but was then in great want. It is an ill-wind that blows +no good luck, and the contest for the Lumley Autograph was a great +advantage to the poor artisan and his family. The girl had picked up +the paper early one morning, in a road near Clapham, as she was +going to her work; Lady Holberton gave her a handful of guineas as +the promised reward--a sum by the bye just double in amount what +the poor poet had received for his best poem--and she also +continued to look after the family in their troubles. + +But to return to the important document itself. Never can I forget the +expressive gratitude that beamed on the fine countenance of Lady +Holberton when I restored it once more to her possession. She +rapidly recovered her health and spirits, and it was generally +reported that seizing this favorable moment, Mr. T----- had offered +himself and his collection, and that both had been graciously +accepted. Miss Rowley called and a sort of paix platree was made up +between the ladies. A cargo of American autographs arrived +containing the letter of the Cherokee editor, the sign-manual of +governors and colonels without number, and I even succeeded in +obtaining epistles from several noted rowdies, especially to gratify +the ladies. Lady Holberton made her selection, and the rest were +divided between Miss Rowley and Mr. T-----. Joy at the recovery of +the Lumley Autograph seemed to diffuse an unusual spirit of +harmony among collectors; many desirable exchanges were brought +about and things looked charmingly. Alas, how little were we +prepared for what ensued! + +{paix platree = patched-up peace (French)} + +On the occasion of the presence in London of two illustrious royal +travelers, Lady Holberton gave a large party. So said the papers at +least; but I knew better. It was chiefly to celebrate the recovery of +the Lumley Autograph, and its restoration to her celebrated Album +that the fete was given. The Album was produced, in spite of a half- +formed vow of Lady Holberton to the contrary, but then His Royal +Highness Prince ----- ----- had particularly requested to see the letter +of the poor poet, having heard it mentioned at dinner. The evening +passed off brilliantly, their royal highnesses, came, saw, and +departed. The crowd followed them to another house, while a favored +few, chiefly collectors, remained lingering about the table on which +lay the Album. I should have said earlier, that Lady Holberton had +appointed a new office in her household the very day after the loss +of the Lumley Autograph; this was no other than a pretty little page, +dressed in the old costume of a student of Padua, whose sole duty it +was to watch over the Album whenever it was removed from the rich +and heavy case in which it usually lay enshrined. He was the guard +of the Album, and was strictly enjoined never, for one instant, to +remove his eyes from the precious volume from the moment he was +placed on duty, until relieved. + +Well, there we were, some dozen of us, collected about the table; +Lady Holberton looking triumphant, Mr. T----- very proud; and there +stood the page of the Album, dressed in his Paduasoy gown, with +eyes fastened on the book, according to orders, while he supported +its gorgeous case in his arms. Some remark was made as to the +extraordinary manner in which the precious Autograph had been lost, +and then found again. My blood actually boiled, as one of the +company turned to me and asked in a suspicious tone, if I did not +know more of its history than I chose to confess? My indignation was +boundless; fortunately I could produce the friend walking with me in +Piccadilly, and the artisan's family at Clapham, as witnesses in my +favor. Miss Rowley was standing near me at the moment. + +{Paduasoy = a strong corded or gros-grain silk fabric, traditionally +associated with Padua, Italy} + +"Still, Mr. Howard," observed that lady; "I really cannot see why you +should resent the insinuation so warmly. Now, do you know, I am not +at all sorry to have it in my power to declare that I have some +knowledge of the fate of that paper during its eclipse." + +All eyes were instantly fixed on the speaker. The lady smiled and +continued: + +"Lady Holberton thinks the Lumley Autograph was stolen--I +understand she even thought it was stolen by myself--" + +She here turned deliberately toward our hostess, who looked uneasy. + +"If such were your suspicions, Lady Holberton," continued Miss +Rowley, speaking with great deliberation--"I am happy to say they +were quite correct--you only did me justice--I am proud to declare +the deed was mine--" + +We were all speechless at hearing this sudden and bold avowal. + +"It was I, Theodosia Rowley, who carried off--the word is of little +consequence--who stole, I repeat, that precious paper. So long as +the treasure was mine, the consciousness of possessing it was +sufficient in itself--but having afterward lost it from my pocket by +unpardonable carelessness, I shall at least now glory in the daring +deed which made it once my own." + +Conceive the amazement which these remarks--delivered with calm +enthusiasm--produced among the listening circle. We all know that +high crimes and misdemeanors enough are committed by men, and +women too; but somehow or other the delinquents are not often +given to talking of them; they would just as lief in general that the +act should not be known. The effect of Miss Rowley's words was +different on different individuals. As for myself, I involuntarily felt for +the handkerchief in my pocket. The page of the album drew nearer. +Lady Holberton looked aghast, as though she had seen a cannibal. +Some bit their lips; others opened their eyes. Mr. T-----, however, +who held the album at the moment, and was bending over it when +Miss Rowley began her extraordinary disclosure, raised his eyes, +fixed his glasses on the fair speaker, and sent through them such a +glance as no words can fully describe. It was a glance of intense +admiration. + +"What exalted views! What sublime sentiments!" he exclaimed in an +ecstasy. + +But Mr. T-----'s blaze of admiration was not the only flame at work, +while he was gazing at the heroine of the moment. In the sudden +burst of enthusiasm roused by the fair purloiner, he forgot all else; +the precious volume in his hand drooped, touched the flame of a +wax-light on the table, and in another instant the great Holberton +Album, that Album of European reputation--was burning before our +eyes--its invaluable leaves were curling, and blackening, and +smoking under the devouring flame! + +A shriek from Lady Holberton--an unearthly cry from the page of the +Album--both echoed by the spectators, came too late. The volume +was half consumed. Of the Lumley Autograph not a line remained! + +Such was the ill-fated end of the letter of the poor starving poet. It +was written amid gloom and distress; its career closed in a stormy +hour. The loss of the Album of course broke off the engagement +between Lady Holberton and Mr. T-----. This however could scarcely +have been regretted under the circumstances, for their union, after +the catastrophe must have been one long series of miserable +reproaches. The sudden change in Mr. T-----'s feelings toward Miss +Rowley was not a momentary one; the admiration first kindled by +that lady's bold declaration, grew to be the strongest sentiment of +his heart, and only a few weeks later he was made the happiest of +men by receiving as his own the fair hand which accomplished the +deed. Miss Rowley and Mr. T----- were united in the bands of +matrimony and collectorship. Lady Holberton was still inconsolable +when I left London; she was thinking of traveling among the +Hottentots, or in any other clime where albums are unknown and her +loss could be forgotten. The journey to Kaffirland was however +postponed until the next change of ministry, and I have learned +recently that the lady has so far recovered her spirits as to be +thinking of an 'Omnibus.' The very last packet, indeed, brought a +flattering application to myself; Lady Holberton graciously declaring +that the name of Jonathan Howard is not only valued by herself, as +that of a friend, but interesting to collectors generally, as having +been once connected with that much lamented document, now lost +to the world, the letter of the poor starving poet, known as the +Lumley Autograph. + +{"Omnibus" = in this context, an "omnibus bill" (i.e., one dealing +with a variety of subject) in Parliament} + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext The Lumley Autograph, by Susan F. Cooper + |