I soon found that my new master had a very variable temper. There
were some days when he was as easy, and familiar, and pleasant
with his servants as any gentleman need be. At other times some
devil within him seemed to get possession of his whole nature. He
flew into violent passions, and took wrong ideas into his head,
which no reasoning or remonstrance could remove. It rather amazed
me, considering how gay he was in his tastes, and how restless
his habits were, that he should consent to live at such a quiet,
dull place as Darrock. The reason for this, however, soon came
out. Mr. James Smith was not much of a sportsman; he cared
nothing for indoor amusements, such as reading, music, and so
forth; and he had no ambition for representing the county in
parliament. The one pursuit that he was really fond of was
yachting. Darrock was within sixteen miles of a sea-port town,
with an excellent harbor, and to this accident of position the
Hall was entirely indebted for recommending itself as a place of
residence to Mr. James Smith.
He had such an untiring enjoyment and delight in cruising about
at sea, and all his ideas of pleasure seemed to be so closely
connected with his remembrance of the sailing trips he had taken
on board different yachts belonging to his friends, that I verily
believe his chief object in marrying my mistress was to get the
command of money enough to keep a vessel for himself.
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