May and Amy Mary Gaskell, Her Daughter Amy, and Edward Burne-Jones

Chapter one:Romance in Oxford In 1840, two young irish sisters left their strict protestant home in County Down for the first time. Their father, Captain Samuel Hill, was agent to Lord Roden's estates. Lord Roden was a staunch Orangeman, who had been made Grand Master of the Orange Order in 1837. Helen and Emma Hill crossed the Irish Sea and arrived in Oxford by coach to stay for six months with their uncle, who was a don at the university. They were unsophisticated but very pretty girls, sweet natured and musical. With well-trained, beautiful voices, they used to sing traditional Irish duets together. Both girls were petite, with delicate features; but Emma, the younger sister, had a striking combination of rich brown hair and eyes of the palest blue, made even more remarkable by a dark blue rim round the pupils. Her complexion was creamy smooth, her neck graceful, and her pretty figure and tiny feet were envied by other women, and admired by men. It was not long before the Hill sisters were noticed in Oxford. One day their uncle took his nieces to a commemorative ceremony in one of the college halls. The girls wore new blue bonnets, which their mother had given them before they left Ireland. While they waited for the ceremony to begin, the rumbustious undergraduates in the upper gallery called out the names of young women they recognized in the hall below and then cheered or blew kisses as they felt inclined. Finally, a voice from the gallery called out, "The two blue bonnets," which prompted a storm of applause. From then on the pair of sisters captivated many hearts in Oxford. Decades later, this story was told to my great-grandmother, May Gaskell, by her mother, who had been the young Emma Hill. Emma had blushed as she remembered it. Shortly after the incident in the college hall, Emma told her daughter, she was taken to see the gardens of Worcester College. "Look," said her companion, "there is Long Melville rolling down the walk." Emma saw an extremely tall, thin man coming toward her, with dark brown, wavy hair, a high, strong brow and clear-cut features. "Who is Long Melville?" she asked. "One of the most agreeable, charming and clever men in Oxford," was the reply. As he came nearer, Emma noticed Long Melville's large gray eyes with heavy lids within deep eye sockets, and his distinguished aquiline nose. She remarked that his hands were "most beautiful" and that though his mouth was mobile, his chin remained firm when he talked. She would later tell May that he had "a brilliant and ever-changing expression." His remarkably mellifluous voice made him all the more mesmerizing. Emma soon learned that David Melville was already known in Oxford as a stimulating speaker, with an entertaining and satirical view on men and events. This notable man was to become May's father. David Melville had studied theology at Oxford on a scholarship to Brasenose College. After graduating, penniless due to his father's bankruptcy, he was ordained as a clergyman and became a don at the university. He was tutor, among others, to Lord Ward, the young heir to the immense wealth of the industrialist Dudley family; it was said years later in an obituary of David Melville that Lord Ward had been "erratic, clever, wild, and fascinating." William Humble Ward was charmed by his scintillating tutor and an intimate and lifelong friendship ensued between the two men. Later, as David Melville's patron, William was to shape his life. And when David Melville's first son was born, he named him William Ward. During her time in Oxford, Emma Hill saw Long Melville regularly. They used to walk together through the historic streets and along the river. They must have lDimbleby, Josceline is the author of 'May and Amy Mary Gaskell, Her Daughter Amy, and Edward Burne-Jones', published 2005 under ISBN 9780609609996 and ISBN 0609609998.