reception he would receive from the sickly Comtesse de Vignolles and her wayward husband when he called upon them unannounced.
Chapter Eight
The area between Piccadilly and Oxford Street was indeed one of the most fashionable in London, for here could be found two of the great squares, Hanover and Berkeley. The former was unashamedly a Whig enclave, its inhabitants supporters of the German Kings of England. And just as St Jamesâs Square boasted its own church, so, too, dwellers in Hanover Square worshipped at St Georgeâs. In fact the great Mr Handel maintained his own pew there, into which the blind old man, the most celebrated composer of his time, had to be guided every Sunday. Dwelling on this fact and thinking how depressing were the rigours of old age, John turned into Hanover Square from Great George Street and set about looking for number twelve.
He found it almost at once, so quickly in fact that he stood for a moment or two gathering his wits before daring to approach, for the exterior spoke of the sort of moneyed people who would not care to be bothered by a passing tradesman, albeit an apothecary bearing physic. Above the fine doorway, with its pilasters and carved pendants, was a resplendent hood bursting with moulded foliage and amorini. While the house itself, though constrained by being part of a terrace, rose to an elevation of four floors below a parapet and stood three windows wide. Feeling decidedly nervous, John climbed the flight of steps leading to the front door and raised the elegant knocker.
A footman answered the summons and, explaining that he had come to see the Comtesse de Vignolles bearing medicament and making it sound very much as if he had an appointment, John found himself being ushered into a narrow hallway dominated by a monumental double staircase. This entrance hall, though small, was lightly decorated in pale green and salmon pink, and such graceful colours, combined with the delicate mouldings, instantly revealed not only that it had been chosen by a woman of taste but also one of considerable charm.
âIf you will wait in the library, Sir,â the footman intoned plummily, âI will see if the Comtesse is able to receive you.â
And that said, John was shown down a slim passageway next to the great staircase to a small comfortable book-lined room beyond. Always of the opinion that books reveal a great deal about the characters of their owners, the Apothecary gazed at the titles. There was a good selection of volumes by Defoe and Swift, together with
The Works of Mr Alexander Pope,
published by Bernard Lintot of Between the Temple Gates, in 1717. There were also several examples of the chief literary innovation of the period, the novel; these included Richardsonâs
Pamela, Clarissa
and
Sir Charles Grandison
, together with Henry Fieldingâs
The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend Parson Adams
and
The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling
. Also on the shelves stood
The History of the Life of the Late Mr Jonathan Wild the Great
, a mock biography of an actual criminal, but in truth Fieldingâs bitingly satirical portrait of Sir Robert Walpole. John found it hard to believe that the author of these works was not only the Blind Beakâs half-brother, but the man who had actually founded the band of law enforcement officers who currently fought against crime in the metropolis.
A noise in the doorway had him wheeling round sharply to see that the footman had returned, grandly announcing, âThe Comtesse de Vignolles will see you now, Sir.â Congratulating himself on getting over the first and most difficult hurdle, the Apothecary followed the servant up the imposing staircase to a drawing room on the first floor. Situated at the back of the house, he was instantly stunned by its beauty, for it was graceful, intricately moulded, having a barrel ceiling and semi-domes decorated with a minute fragility that was breathtaking.
Chapter Eight
The area between Piccadilly and Oxford Street was indeed one of the most fashionable in London, for here could be found two of the great squares, Hanover and Berkeley. The former was unashamedly a Whig enclave, its inhabitants supporters of the German Kings of England. And just as St Jamesâs Square boasted its own church, so, too, dwellers in Hanover Square worshipped at St Georgeâs. In fact the great Mr Handel maintained his own pew there, into which the blind old man, the most celebrated composer of his time, had to be guided every Sunday. Dwelling on this fact and thinking how depressing were the rigours of old age, John turned into Hanover Square from Great George Street and set about looking for number twelve.
He found it almost at once, so quickly in fact that he stood for a moment or two gathering his wits before daring to approach, for the exterior spoke of the sort of moneyed people who would not care to be bothered by a passing tradesman, albeit an apothecary bearing physic. Above the fine doorway, with its pilasters and carved pendants, was a resplendent hood bursting with moulded foliage and amorini. While the house itself, though constrained by being part of a terrace, rose to an elevation of four floors below a parapet and stood three windows wide. Feeling decidedly nervous, John climbed the flight of steps leading to the front door and raised the elegant knocker.
A footman answered the summons and, explaining that he had come to see the Comtesse de Vignolles bearing medicament and making it sound very much as if he had an appointment, John found himself being ushered into a narrow hallway dominated by a monumental double staircase. This entrance hall, though small, was lightly decorated in pale green and salmon pink, and such graceful colours, combined with the delicate mouldings, instantly revealed not only that it had been chosen by a woman of taste but also one of considerable charm.
âIf you will wait in the library, Sir,â the footman intoned plummily, âI will see if the Comtesse is able to receive you.â
And that said, John was shown down a slim passageway next to the great staircase to a small comfortable book-lined room beyond. Always of the opinion that books reveal a great deal about the characters of their owners, the Apothecary gazed at the titles. There was a good selection of volumes by Defoe and Swift, together with
The Works of Mr Alexander Pope,
published by Bernard Lintot of Between the Temple Gates, in 1717. There were also several examples of the chief literary innovation of the period, the novel; these included Richardsonâs
Pamela, Clarissa
and
Sir Charles Grandison
, together with Henry Fieldingâs
The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend Parson Adams
and
The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling
. Also on the shelves stood
The History of the Life of the Late Mr Jonathan Wild the Great
, a mock biography of an actual criminal, but in truth Fieldingâs bitingly satirical portrait of Sir Robert Walpole. John found it hard to believe that the author of these works was not only the Blind Beakâs half-brother, but the man who had actually founded the band of law enforcement officers who currently fought against crime in the metropolis.
A noise in the doorway had him wheeling round sharply to see that the footman had returned, grandly announcing, âThe Comtesse de Vignolles will see you now, Sir.â Congratulating himself on getting over the first and most difficult hurdle, the Apothecary followed the servant up the imposing staircase to a drawing room on the first floor. Situated at the back of the house, he was instantly stunned by its beauty, for it was graceful, intricately moulded, having a barrel ceiling and semi-domes decorated with a minute fragility that was breathtaking.
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