CHAPTER VI.

Youth Full of Beauty and Promise.


There was no man of greater note in England than the late Royston
Carruthers, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Rutsford. He was one of the
ablest statesmen and finest orators in England. He had been returned for
the Borough of Rutsford for many years, without opposition. To hear him
make a speech was a decided treat; a handsome man of stately presence,
he invested every word with new dignity. The grand volume of sound
rolled on in one continuous stream; the ideas he expressed were noble,
the sentiments patriotic and exalted; his gestures were full of
animation and grace.

Royston Carruthers had done great service to his country in his time. He
had advocated several important measures; his eloquence had facilitated
the introduction of several bills; his country thought well of him, and
for a wonder, was grateful to him.

Government offered him the title of Baron Rutsford of Rutsford, and he
had declined it, saying that his ancestors had for years asked no higher
title than that of Lord of the Manor, and he valued his name--Carruthers
of Ulverston--too highly to ever exchange it for another.

In the very pride and zenith of his prosperity he married the Lady
Hildegarde Blenholme, the only daughter of the Duke of Blenholme. She
was a very beautiful and accomplished woman--proud to a fault, but
generous and noble in disposition. They had one child, Basil, and while