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Four
days
after
these
curious
incidents
,
a
funeralstarted
from
Canterville
Chase
at
about
eleven
o'clock
at
night
.
The
hearse
was
drawn
by
eight
black
horses
,
each
of
which
carried
on
its
head
a
great
tuft
of
nodding
ostrich-plumes
,
and
the
leaden
coffin
was
covered
by
a
rich
purple
pall
,
on
which
was
embroidered
in
gold
the
Canterville
coat-of-arms
.
By
the
side
of
the
hearse
and
the
coaches
walked
the
servants
with
lighted
torches
,
and
the
whole
procession
was
wonderfully
impressive
.
Lord
Canterville
was
the
chief
mourner
,
having
come
up
specially
from
Wales
to
attend
the
funeral
,
and
sat
in
the
first
carriage
along
with
little
Virginia
.
Then
came
the
United
States
Minister
and
his
wife
,
then
Washington
and
the
three
boys
,
and
in
the
last
carriage
was
Mrs.
Umney
.
It
was
generally
felt
that
,
as
she
had
been
frightened
by
the
ghost
for
more
than
fifty
years
of
her
life
,
she
had
a
right
to
see
the
last
of
him
.
A
deep
grave
had
been
dug
in
the
corner
of
the
churchyard
,
just
under
the
old
yew-tree
,
and
the
service
was
read
in
the
most
impressive
manner
by
the
Rev.
Augustus
Dampier
.
When
the
ceremony
was
over
,
the
servants
,
according
to
an
old
custom
observed
in
the
Canterville
family
,
extinguished
their
torches
,
and
,
as
the
coffin
was
being
lowered
into
the
grave
,
Virginia
stepped
forward
,
and
laid
on
it
a
large
cross
made
of
white
and
pink
almond-blossoms
.
As
she
did
so
,
the
moon
came
out
from
behind
a
cloud
,
and
flooded
with
its
silent
silver
the
little
churchyard
,
and
from
a
distant
copse
a
nightingale
began
to
sing
.
She
thought
of
the
ghost
's
description
of
the
Garden
of
Death
,
her
eyes
became
dim
with
tears
,
and
she
hardly
spoke
a
word
during
the
drive
home
.
The
next
morning
,
before
Lord
Canterville
went
up
to
town
,
Mr.
Otis
had
an
interview
with
him
on
the
subject
of
the
jewels
the
ghost
had
given
to
Virginia
.
They
were
perfectly
magnificent
,
especially
a
certain
ruby
necklace
with
old
Venetian
setting
,
which
was
really
a
superb
specimen
of
sixteenth-century
work
,
and
their
value
was
so
great
that
Mr.
Otis
felt
considerable
scruples
about
allowing
his
daughter
to
accept
them
.
"
My
lord
,
"
he
said
,
"
I
know
that
in
this
country
mortmain
is
held
to
apply
to
trinkets
as
well
as
to
land
,
and
it
is
quite
clear
to
me
that
these
jewels
are
,
or
should
be
,
heirlooms
in
your
family
.
I
must
beg
you
,
accordingly
,
to
take
them
to
London
with
you
,
and
to
regard
them
simply
as
a
portion
of
your
property
which
has
been
restored
to
you
under
certain
strange
conditions
.
As
for
my
daughter
,
she
is
merely
a
child
,
and
has
as
yet
,
I
am
glad
to
say
,
but
little
interest
in
such
appurtenances
of
idle
luxury
.
I
am
also
informed
by
Mrs.
Otis
,
who
,
I
may
say
,
is
no
mean
authority
upon
Art
,
--
having
had
the
privilege
of
spending
several
winters
in
Boston
when
she
was
a
girl
,
--
that
these
gems
are
of
great
monetary
worth
,
and
if
offered
for
sale
would
fetch
a
tall
price
.
Under
these
circumstances
,
Lord
Canterville
,
I
feel
sure
that
you
will
recognize
how
impossible
it
would
be
for
me
to
allow
them
to
remain
in
the
possession
of
any
member
of
my
family
;
and
,
indeed
,
allsuch
vain
gauds
and
toys
,
however
suitable
or
necessary
to
the
dignity
of
the
British
aristocracy
,
would
be
completely
out
of
place
among
those
who
have
been
brought
up
on
the
severe
,
and
I
believe
immortal
,
principles
of
Republican
simplicity
.
Perhaps
I
should
mention
that
Virginia
is
very
anxious
that
you
should
allow
her
to
retain
the
box
,
as
a
memento
of
your
unfortunate
but
misguided
ancestor
.
As
it
is
extremely
old
,
and
consequently
a
good
deal
out
of
repair
,
you
may
perhaps
think
fit
to
comply
with
her
request
.
For
my
own
part
,
I
confess
I
am
a
good
deal
surprised
to
find
a
child
of
mine
expressing
sympathy
with
medievalism
in
any
form
,
and
can
only
account
for
it
by
the
fact
that
Virginia
was
born
in
one
of
your
London
suburbs
shortly
after
Mrs.
Otis
had
returned
from
a
trip
to
Athens
.
"
Lord
Canterville
listened
very
gravely
to
the
worthy
Minister
's
speech
,
pulling
his
grey
moustache
now
and
then
to
hide
an
involuntary
smile
,
and
when
Mr.
Otis
had
ended
,
he
shook
him
cordially
by
the
hand
,
and
said
:
"
My
dear
sir
,
your
charming
little
daughter
rendered
my
unlucky
ancestor
,
Sir
Simon
,
a
very
important
service
,
and
I
and
my
family
are
much
indebted
to
her
for
her
marvellous
courage
and
pluck
.
The
jewels
are
clearly
hers
,
and
,
egad
,
I
believe
that
if
I
were
heartless
enough
to
take
them
from
her
,
the
wicked
old
fellow
would
be
out
of
his
grave
in
a
fortnight
,
leading
me
the
devil
of
a
life
.
As
for
their
being
heirlooms
,
nothing
is
an
heirloom
that
is
not
so
mentioned
in
a
will
or
legal
document
,
and
the
existence
of
these
jewels
has
been
quite
unknown
.
I
assure
you
I
have
no
more
claim
on
them
than
your
butler
,
and
when
Miss
Virginia
grows
up
,
I
dare
say
she
will
be
pleased
to
have
pretty
things
to
wear
.
Besides
,
you
forget
,
Mr.
Otis
,
that
you
took
the
furniture
and
the
ghost
at
a
valuation
,
and
anything
that
belonged
to
the
ghost
passed
at
once
into
your
possession
,
as
,
whatever
activity
Sir
Simon
may
have
shown
in
the
corridor
at
night
,
in
point
of
law
he
was
really
dead
,
and
you
acquired
his
property
by
purchase
.
"
Mr.
Otis
was
a
good
deal
distressed
at
Lord
Canterville
's
refusal
,
and
begged
him
to
reconsider
his
decision
,
but
the
good-natured
peer
was
quite
firm
,
and
finally
induced
the
Minister
to
allow
his
daughter
to
retain
the
present
the
ghost
had
given
her
,
and
when
,
in
the
spring
of
1890
,
the
young
Duchess
of
Cheshire
was
presented
at
the
Queen
's
first
drawing-room
on
the
occasion
of
her
marriage
,
her
jewels
were
the
universal
theme
of
admiration
.
For
Virginia
received
the
coronet
,
which
is
the
reward
of
all
good
little
American
girls
,
and
was
married
to
her
boy-lover
as
soon
as
he
came
of
age
.
They
were
both
so
charming
,
and
they
loved
each
other
so
much
,
that
every
one
was
delighted
at
the
match
,
except
the
old
Marchioness
of
Dumbleton
,
who
had
tried
to
catch
the
Duke
for
one
of
her
seven
unmarried
daughters
,
and
had
given
no
less
than
three
expensive
dinnerparties
for
that
purpose
,
and
,
strange
to
say
,
Mr.
Otis
himself
.
Mr.
Otis
was
extremely
fond
of
the
young
Duke
personally
,
but
,
theoretically
,
he
objected
to
titles
,
and
,
to
use
his
own
words
,
"
was
not
without
apprehension
lest
,
amid
the
enervating
influences
of
a
pleasure-loving
aristocracy
,
the
true
principles
of
Republican
simplicity
should
be
forgotten
.
"
His
objections
,
however
,
were
completely
overruled
,
and
I
believe
that
when
he
walked
up
the
aisle
of
St.
George
's
,
Hanover
Square
,
with
his
daughter
leaning
on
his
arm
,
there
was
not
a
prouder
man
in
the
whole
length
and
breadth
of
England
.
The
Duke
and
Duchess
,
after
the
honeymoon
was
over
,
went
down
to
Canterville
Chase
,
and
on
the
day
after
their
arrival
they
walked
over
in
the
afternoon
to
the
lonely
churchyard
by
the
pine-woods
.
There
had
been
a
great
deal
of
difficulty
at
first
about
the
inscription
on
Sir
Simon
's
tombstone
,
but
finally
it
had
been
decided
to
engrave
on
it
simply
the
initials
of
the
old
gentleman
's
name
,
and
the
verse
from
the
library
window
.
The
Duchess
had
brought
with
her
some
lovely
roses
,
which
she
strewed
upon
the
grave
,
and
after
they
had
stood
by
it
for
some
time
they
strolled
into
the
ruined
chancel
of
the
old
abbey
.
There
the
Duchess
sat
down
on
a
fallen
pillar
,
while
her
husband
lay
at
her
feet
smoking
a
cigarette
and
looking
up
at
her
beautiful
eyes
.
Suddenly
he
threw
his
cigarette
away
,
took
hold
of
her
hand
,
and
said
to
her
,
"
Virginia
,
a
wife
should
have
no
secrets
from
her
husband
.
"
"
Dear
Cecil
!
I
have
no
secrets
from
you
.
"
"
Yes
,
you
have
,
"
he
answered
,
smiling
,
"
you
have
never
told
me
what
happened
to
you
when
you
were
locked
up
with
the
ghost
.
"
