"All is not empty whose low sound
Reverbs no hollowness."
KING LEAR.
The excuse, which Mordaunt had made for his abrupt departure from Deane
Hall, was not, in truth, totally devoid of foundation: for he had really
received an invitation to join a party of college friends, on a tour to
the Lakes; though such a cause would not alone have been sufficient to
tear him from a scene, in which all his hopes and wishes were centred.
Notwithstanding his being an enthusiastic admirer of the beauties of
nature, and moreover a proficient in drawing, all the charms of the wild
country he then visited were insufficient long to rivet his attention;
and with an agitated mind and aching heart, he returned early in
September to Oxford, of which he meant to take his final leave at the
end of the following term. No profession had yet been determined on for
him, for his uncle, Lord Osselstone, whose title he was one day to
inherit, had never, in the least degree, interfered on the subject of
his education; and the habit of procrastination, which was one of the
principal failings of Sir Henry Seymour's character, had hitherto
prevented his making the important choice. Thus the period of Mr.
Mordaunt's minority had expired, before his guardian could be prevailed
on to come to any final determination; and Augustus now deferred his own
decision till the period, which would speedily arrive, of his quitting
the University of Oxford.
The indolence of disposition, which had rendered Sir Henry Seymour's
judgment inert, had not extended its torpid influence to his feelings;
and a considerable degree of resentment was produced in his mind by the
indifference, indeed total alienation of all regard, which seemed to
mark Lord Osselstone's conduct to his nephew. Once, and once only,
before his going to Oxford, had Augustus met his uncle. For, when Mr.
Temple was deputed by Sir Henry, to conduct Mordaunt on his first
entering college, they had, on their way, passed through London, for the
express purpose of paying their respects to his Lordship. But his
reception of them had been so cold, so ostentatiously polite, that
Mordaunt felt by no means anxious to improve the acquaintance: and yet
it might have been supposed, that opportunity of cultivating the
friendship of Lord Osselstone would have been rather sought for than
declined by his nephew. For all the Earl's estates, which were
considerable, were in his own power; and it was the general opinion of
those who professed to know him best, that he intended to make a Mr.
Davis his heir, who was a distant relation, and had been for many years
as unremitting in his attentions to Lord Osselstone, as Mordaunt had
been the reverse. Not that Augustus was unaware of the consequence such
a disposition of this property might prove to him; for all he inherited
from his father was a few thousand pounds, the little that remained of a
younger brother's portion, after a life spent and finally sacrificed to
the excess of dissipation. But perhaps this conviction on both sides
served to make the barrier between them stronger. Lord Osselstone seemed
prepared to think, that any attention his nephew could pay him must
proceed from interested motives; and Mordaunt was fearful of showing
even the little natural affection, that remained in his breast towards
him, lest it might be construed into dissimulation.
One of Lord Osselstone's estates was situated within a few miles of
Oxford, where he generally spent a few months every summer;--for he was
an upright and considerate landlord, and usually made it a point to
visit all his estates in the course of the year, for the purpose of
inquiring into the actual state of his tenantry--not that he was ever
known to lower a rent or remit a debt: no entreaty, no representation,
could ever persuade him either to break an agreement himself, or to
suffer it to be broken by another. And if ever he found his rights
invaded, or even disputed, there was no extremity or expense he declined
in the defence or prosecution of them. He had often heard, unmoved, a
tale that might have pierced a heart of stone; and seen, with relentless
eyes, the poor man's "one ewe lamb" sold to pay the arrears of rent. But
it not unfrequently happened, that the iron-hearted creditor was himself
the purchaser of the stock at a price much beyond its value; and the
tenant, if deserving, would probably find his Lord's steward inclined,
the next year, to let him have his seed-wheat, not gratis, but nearly
so.
One peculiarity in the Earl's character was an extraordinary disposition
to disbelieve even the most natural expressions of gratitude, and to
doubt any testimony whatever of affection to himself. No way was so sure
of losing any claim on his favour, as to make the least allusion to his
former kindness; and one of the few domestics, that had at any time
remained long in his service, was an old grey-headed valet, who had
attended him faithfully from his youth; and had scarcely ever been known
to agree with him in opinion, or to hesitate in expressing, in the
strongest terms, his disapprobation. Yet even Lord Chesterfield could
not better understand the perfection of politeness than did Lord
Osselstone, or make it more his constant practice in his intercourse
with the world in general. However his real sentiments might differ
from those of his associates, he always took care to soften down so well
the sharp angles of dissent, that no cutting point was left to wound the
feelings of others; while his own remained impervious to every eye. All
acknowledged he was a just man, and every body _felt_ he was a proud
one; but, however dignified his manners were to his equals, to his
inferiors his pride was silvered over with an affability, that, whilst
it made it still more conspicuous, served almost to purchase its
forgiveness.
To those who reflected on the various qualities of his mind, the picture
it presented seemed to be composed of a variety and contrast of colours
rarely to be met with, but all so highly varnished, that their very
brightness confounded. It seemed a mass of contradiction, by some
extraneous power compressed into an indefinable whole. His virtues and
his vices trod so closely on each other, that it was difficult to draw
the line of separation between them, and both appeared to owe their
origin either to the temporary error, or general superiority of his
judgment; all his actions seemed to proceed only from his head--his
heart was never called into play. It was difficult to decide whether the
finer feelings were really extinct in his breast; or whether, dreading
the power passion might usurp, he never for one moment permitted it to
assume the reins. In his general establishment he was magnificent;--in
the detail of its arrangements almost parsimonious. His charity was
ostentatious rather than benign; for, though his name graced every list
of public contribution, he never came forward in his own person as the
poor man's benefactor. None who experienced the urbanity of Lord
Osselstone's manners could believe him to be his own individual enemy;
and yet no person could repose in the calm confidence, that Lord
Osselstone was his friend. It was evident, that, had he not been a
courtier, he would have been a misanthropist.
In conversation he was generally reserved; but, if circumstances called
upon him for exertion, his abilities seemed to rise with the occasion,
and his variety of information, his elegance of language, and even the
occasional playfulness of his imagination, made him one of the most
agreeable of companions. In all Lord Osselstone did, in all Lord
Osselstone said, in all he looked, there might be discovered an
intensity of thought; which, far from being confined to the surface,
seemed to increase in profundity the deeper it was examined. His
character, like his manner, was not to be deciphered by vulgar eyes. He
was generally serious--never dull; and at times his wit was even
sportive. Yet Lord Osselstone, when most gay, could scarcely be deemed
cheerful. At the moments of his greatest exhilaration, when an admiring
audience hung upon his words, or a more favoured few caught the sparks
of animation from the meteor that flashed before them, deriving all
their temporary brilliancy from the electric fire of his talents; even
at those moments, Lord Osselstone seemed scarcely happy;--the brightness
of the emanation was for them;--the dark body remained his own; and few
had skill or inclination to penetrate the dense medium that seemed still
to surround and obscure his soul.
The first year that Mordaunt had been at college, Lord Osselstone had
made no advance towards cultivating the acquaintance that had so
inauspiciously commenced; for, except a very slight salutation in an
accidental meeting in the street, Augustus had received no mark whatever
even of recognizance. And perhaps this inattention was rendered still
more mortifying, as whenever Lord Osselstone was in the neighbourhood of
Oxford, he generally received a great deal of company at his house; and
several of the young men there, whose connections were amongst his
Lordship's associates in London, procured introductions to him, and
frequently partook of the elegant hospitality, that always graced his
table. Nay, many members of the very college Augustus was in, and some
of his own particular friends, received constant invitations to
Osselstone Park, from which he alone seemed to be invidiously excluded.
On Mordaunt's return to college the following year, he had been much
surprised by receiving, in the course of the last week of a term, a
formal but polite card of invitation to dinner, to which he sent a still
more formal apology, being most happy to have it in his power to allege
his intended return to Deane Hall as his excuse; and accordingly he left
Oxford the very day, that had been named by his uncle for receiving him.
Not, however, that he returned immediately to the Hall. Augustus, though
abhorring the excesses into which so many of his contemporaries
thoughtlessly plunged, was still not averse to taste slightly the cup of
pleasure, if placed within his reach; and, therefore, usually adopted
the geography most in fashion at Oxford, by which it is ascertained to a
demonstration, that London is the direct road from thence to every other
place in England. He had not then been taught, that the deprivation of
Selina Seymour's society for a little fortnight was an irreparable loss;
and the theatres and the delights of London were sufficiently new to
him, to beguile that, and even a longer time. It was just that season of
the year when a London winter begins to subside, not into a healthy
spring, but into an unwelcome summer, and when the dying embers of
gaiety are only kept alive by a few forced sparks of unwearied
dissipation. But to Augustus, who had not glared in the full flame, even
these had charms; and he frequented, with unsatiated pleasure, all the
places of public amusement then open.
One night at the opera, whither he had repaired with some of his college
friends in a state of exhilaration, that, though it fell far short of
intoxication, was equally different from his usual tone of spirits,
while he was standing in the outer room laughing rather vociferously at
some ridiculous observation of his companions, his eye suddenly rested
on the face of Lord Osselstone, who, with an unmoved countenance and
steady gaze, had been scrutinizing the groupe with minute attention,
while they were totally unconscious of his proximity. Augustus's colour
rose; and a confused idea that he was the peculiar object of his uncle's
observation crossing his mind, he rather increased than restrained the
vivacity of his manner. "Lord Osselstone's carriage stops the way," was
repeated from stage to stage of the echoing stair-case; and, while the
Earl passed close to Mordaunt as he proceeded to obey the clamorous
summons, he stopped deliberately, and observing that "Mr. Mordaunt's
visit to Sir Henry Seymour had been a much shorter one than usual," made
him a low bow, and pursued his way without waiting for a reply; which,
in Mordaunt's then state of mind, would probably not have been an
amicable one, indignant as he felt at Lord Osselstone's conveying his
only acknowledgement of him in the form of an implied reproof. Here
then, once more, ended all intercourse between uncle and nephew; for,
when Augustus again returned to college, the invitation had not been
renewed; and though in the last examination he had received three
several prizes, and with them the compliments of all his friends, Lord
Osselstone had witnessed his triumph in silence, though it happened he
was in Oxford, nay, even in the school, that very day.
On Mordaunt's arrival at Oxford, at the conclusion of his late northern
tour, his thoughts were so completely preoccupied, that he did not even
take the trouble of inquiring whether the Earl was then in the
neighbourhood. But as he was one evening sauntering along a retired road
on the banks of the river, attending more to the painful reflections of
his own mind than to a book which he mechanically held in his hand, he
was suddenly roused from his meditations by the sound of a carriage
coming furiously behind him; and, turning round, perceived a gentleman
alone in a curricle, the horses of which were approaching at their
utmost speed, and evidently ungovernable. The furious animals were
making directly towards the river, and, if their course was not impeded,
immediate destruction inevitably awaited their unfortunate driver. This
reflection, and his consequent determination, was but a momentary effort
of Augustus's mind. Throwing away his book, he sprang into the middle of
the road; and, though the gentleman loudly exclaimed, "Take care of
yourself--I cannot manage them," he deliberately kept his stand, and,
at the moment the horses reached the spot, dexterously succeeded in
grasping the reins, and stopping the carriage. The suddenness of the
jolt, however, unfortunately broke the axle-tree, and threw the
gentleman at a little distance on the road. A deep groan instantaneously
followed his fall; and Augustus felt a painful conviction, that though
his presence of mind had certainly saved the stranger's life at the
imminent risk of his own, yet the very act had been the cause of much
apparent suffering to him. He hesitated what to do:--the horses, still
more frightened by the noise made by the breaking of the carriage, were
almost furious; and it was as much as he could do to retain his hold,
while the poor suffering man lay helplessly on the road. At length two
grooms appeared, rapidly pursuing each other, with marks of the utmost
consternation in their countenances; and while one jumped off his horse
to assist his master, the other relieved Augustus from his troublesome
charge. The Osselstone liveries proclaimed the stranger's name, as
Augustus had not yet seen his face, and the discovery but increased his
distress:--"Good God, my uncle! Are you much hurt, dear sir?" exclaimed
he, in a tone of commiseration, almost of affection. At the sound of his
voice the Earl languidly turned his head as his servant supported him;
and, stretching out one hand, grasped that of Augustus, expressing
tacitly, but not ineloquently, his gratitude to his preserver. Augustus
flew to the side of the river, and bringing some water in his hat,
sprinkled it over his face, which in a few moments so revived him, that
he was able to articulate thanks, which Augustus, with looks of kindest
anxiety, interrupted, with inquiries as to the injury he had evidently
received in his fall. He soon found that one arm was broken, and Lord
Osselstone otherwise so much hurt, that it was difficult to move him
from the position in which he lay. Without, therefore, an instant's
deliberation, and scarcely explaining his design, he sprang on one of
the groom's horses, and was in a few moments out of sight. Indeed, so
rapid were his movements, that before it could be conjectured that he
had even reached Oxford, he was seen returning in a hired chaise and
four, accompanied by one of the first surgeons of that town, bringing
with him every thing necessary for the accommodation of his uncle.
Before they attempted to remove Lord Osselstone, the fractured bone was
set; and the attendants then carefully assisting him into the carriage,
the surgeon took his place at one side of him, while Mordaunt,
uninvited, supported him on the other; and then desiring the drivers to
proceed carefully to Osselstone Park, left the grooms to take charge of
the broken equipage.
Though Augustus had never been before within the gates of this
residence of his ancestors, its magnificent scenery had not the power to
withdraw his attention, for one moment, from its suffering master. In
addition to the natural benevolence of his heart, which would have led
him to pity any fellow-creature in a similar situation, from a
refinement of feeling, he experienced an additional though certainly an
unnecessary pang, from having been in any degree accessary to the
present pain; and his judicious and unremitting care resembled that of a
son to a beloved father. He watched by his uncle's bed all night, and
could scarcely be prevailed upon to leave it to take any nourishment,
till the surgeon, on the third day, pronounced the Earl out of danger.
Meantime Lord Osselstone, from whose lips no complaint ever escaped,
however painful the operations he underwent, observed every change of
his nephew's countenance with a scrutinizing attention; and when in a
few days he was able to sit up, and enter into discourse, the modest
good sense of Augustus's remarks, animated as they sometimes were by
occasional bursts of a genius not quite dissimilar to his own, seemed
not entirely to escape his Lordship's observation. As soon, however, as
the Earl was able to leave his room, Augustus took his leave, alleging
as his excuse for not accepting Lord Osselstone's polite invitation to
protract his stay, that his services could be no longer useful; which
was indeed his only motive for so soon separating from his uncle, of
whom he now thought with far different feelings than he had done
formerly--so natural is it to the human mind, to imbibe a partiality for
those we have had it in our power to benefit.
These feelings were, however, soon damped by the receipt of the
following note, accompanied by a beautiful edition of Horace, and some
other of the classics:--
"Lord Osselstone presents his compliments to Mr. Mordaunt, and has the
honour of sending him a few books, of which he requests his acceptance,
in return for his late obliging attentions."
"My attentions are not to be purchased," exclaimed Augustus, as he,
perhaps too indignantly, tore the note. "Nor," added he, with a sigh,
"are my affections likely to be gained by my noble uncle." Then hastily
writing the following answer, he returned with it the books by the
servant who brought them:--
"Mr. Mordaunt presents his compliments to Lord Osselstone, and begs to
assure him, that any attentions he had it in his power to show his
Lordship were at the moment sufficiently repaid by the belief, that he
in any degree contributed to the comfort of his uncle."
The first time the Earl was able to venture out in his carriage, he
called at Mordaunt's apartments. But as he did not then happen to be at
home, they did not meet previous to his Lordship's leaving the
country--a circumstance which Augustus by no means regretted.