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135 pages

English

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Description

Told via a series of diary entries and letters, the short novel Passing By paints a compelling portrait of the family ties binding together a young diplomat just getting started in his career, Guy Cunninghame, and his cousin, Lord Ayton, a rising politician who is the protagonist of the tale.

Informations

Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 décembre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776596652
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

PASSING BY
* * *
MAURICE BARING

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Passing By First published in 1921 Epub ISBN 978-1-77659-665-2 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77659-666-9 © 2014 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to His Cousin, Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letters from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor Letter from Guy Cunninghame to Mrs Caryl From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor
From the Diary of Godfrey Mellor
*
Friday, December 18 th , 1908. Gray's Inn .
I went to the station this morning to see the Housmans off. They areleaving for Egypt and intend to stay there a month or perhaps twomonths. They are stopping a few days at Paris on the way.
Saturday, December 19 th .
My Christmas holidays begin. I am spending Christmas with Uncle Arthurand Aunt Ruth. I have to be back at the office on the first of January.
Thursday, January 1 st , 1909. Gray's Inn .
Received a post-card from Mrs Housman, from Cairo.
Monday, February 2 nd .
Received a letter from Mrs Housman. They are returning to London.
Sunday, February 8 th .
The Housmans return to-morrow. They have been away one month andtwenty-one days.
Monday, February 9 th .
Went to meet the Housmans at the station. They are going straight intotheir new house at Campden Hill and are giving a house-warming dinnernext Monday, to which I have been invited.
Tuesday, February 10 th.
Lord Ayton has been made Parliamentary Under-Secretary. I do not knowhim but I remain in the office. He is taking me on.
Monday, February 16 th. Gray's Inn .
The Housmans had their house-warming in their new house at Campden Hill.I was the first to arrive.
On one of the walls in the drawing-room there is the large portrait ofMrs Housman by Walter Bell, which I had never seen since it wasexhibited in the New Gallery ten years ago. It was always being lent forexhibitions when I went to the old house in Inverness Terrace. While Iwas looking at this picture Housman joined me and apologised for beinglate. He said the portrait of Mrs Housman was Bell's chef-d'oeuvre .He liked it now. Then he said: "We are having some music to-night.Solway is dining with us and will play afterwards. He plays for nothinghere, an old friend; you know him? Miss Singer is coming too. You knowher? She writes. I don't read her."
At that moment Mrs Housman came in and almost immediately Mr and MrsCarrington-Smith were announced. Mr Carrington-Smith is Housman'spartner, an expert in deep-breathing besides being rich. MrsCarrington-Smith had lately arrived from Munich. The other guestswere—Miss Housman (Housman's sister), Lady Jarvis, Miss Singer, whom Iwas to take in to dinner, a city friend of Mr Housman's, Mr JamesRandall, a little man with a silk waistcoat, and, the last to arrive,Solway. I sat on Mrs Housman's left, next to Miss Singer.Carrington-Smith sat on Mrs Housmans right; Housman sat at the head ofthe table, between Mrs Carrington-Smith and Lady Jarvis. Miss Singertalked to me earnestly at first. She is writing on the ItalianRenaissance. I told her I was ignorant of the subject, upon which herearnestness subsided, and she smiled. Then we talked of music, where Ifelt more at home. She had been to all Solway's concerts. She is not aWagnerite. Just as we were beginning to get on smoothly there was ashuffle in the conversation and Mrs Housman turned to me.
I told her we had a new chief at the office—Lord Ayton.
"We met him in Egypt," she said. "He had been big-game shooting. I hadno idea he was an official."
I told her he was only a Parliamentary Under-Secretary. At that momentthere was a lull in the general conversation and Housman overheard us.
"Ayton," he broke in. "A pleasant fellow, not too much money, some finethings, furniture, at his place, but he won't go far, no grit."
I asked Mrs Housman what he was like. She said they had made greatfriends at Cairo but she did not think they would ever meet again.
"You know," she said, "these great friends one makes travelling, people,you know, who are just passing by."
Miss Singer said he had an old house in Sussex. She had been over it. Itwas let; there were some fine old things there.
"But he won't sell," said Housman. "He's not a man of business."
Mrs Carrington-Smith said she preferred impressionist pictures,especially the Danish school. Housman laughed at her and said there wasno money in them. Miss Housman said she had heard from a dealer thatLord Ayton had a remarkable set of Charles II. chairs and that shewished he would sell them. Solway took no part in the conversation butdiscussed music with Miss Singer. I caught the phrase, "trombones asgood as Baireuth." Mrs Housman asked me whether I had seen Ayton yet. Itold her he had not been to the office.
"I think you will like him," she said. Then, as an afterthought, "He'snot a musician."
She asked me whether there were any changes in the staff. I told hernone except for the arrival of a new Private Secretary (unpaid) whomLord Ayton is bringing with him, called Cunninghame. She had never heardof him. We stayed a long time in the dining-room. Housman was proud ofhis Madeira and annoyed with us for not drinking enough. Mr Randall saidhe was sorry but he never mixed his wines, and he had some morechampagne. Randall, Carrington-Smith and Housman talked of theinternational situation. Solway explained to me why portions of theNinth Symphony were always played too fast. He was most illuminating.Then we went upstairs. More guests had arrived. A few people I knew, agreat many I had not seen before, Solway played some Bach preludes andthe Waldstein Sonata. The unmusical went downstairs. There were about adozen people left in the drawing-room.
Afterwards there were some refreshments downstairs. I got away abouthalf-past twelve.
Tuesday, February 17 th. Gray's Inn .
Our first day under the new regime. The new chief came to the officeto-day. He looks young, and was friendly and unofficial. The new PrivateSecretary came too, Mr Guy Cunninghame, an affable young man. He wears abeautifully tied bow tie. I wonder how it is done and whether it takes along time or not. He is well dressed, but when it comes to describinghim he is dressed like anyone else, and yet he gives the impression ofbeing well dressed. I don't know why. I suppose it is an art like anyother. I could not tie a tie like that to save my life. Equidem noninvideo magis miror .
He seems to have been everywhere, to have read everything and to knoweveryone. He is not condescending, he is just naturally agreeable.
I had to go over to the Foreign Office in the morning to see someone inthe Eastern Department. When I came back Cunninghame told me that a MrsHousman had been to see Ayton, about some billet for her brother-in-law.She talked to him first. Cunninghame said he thought she did not likecoming on such an errand. She then saw A., who said he would do what hecould. He told C. afterwards he was sure he couldn't do anything for thefellow. C. had never met her nor heard of her, but curiously enough hesaid he recognised her from her picture which he had seen, Walter Bell'spicture. I asked him if he had seen it at the