_Sir Bash_.
This idol of my heart is--my own wife!
_Love_.
Your own wife?
_Sir Bash_.
Yes, my own wife. 'Tis all over with me: I am undone.
THE WAY TO KEEP HIM.
"Show us something new." Such was the cry of men at the time of the
Prophet, and such it will continue until all prophecies are
accomplished, all revelations confirmed. Man is constant in nought but
inconsistency. He is directed to take pattern from the industrious bee,
and lay up the sweet treasures which have been prepared for his use; but
he prefers the giddy flight of the butterfly, pursuing his idle career
from flower to flower, until, fatigued with the rapidity of his motions,
he reposes for a time, and revolves in his mind where he shall bend his
devious way in search of "something new."
This is the fatal propensity by which our first parents fell, and which,
inherited by us, is the occasion of our follies and our crimes. "Were
man but constant, he were perfect;" but that he cannot be. He is aware
of the dangers, the hardships of travel--of the difference between
offices performed by an interested and heartless world, and the sweet
ministering of duty and affection. He feels that home, sweet home, is
the heaven of such imperfect bliss as this world can bestow; yet, wander
he must, that he may appreciate its value: and although he hails it with
rapture, soon after his return it palls upon him, and he quits it again
in search of variety. Thus is man convinced of the beauty of Virtue,
and acknowledges the peace that is to be found in her abode yet,
propelled by the restless legacy of our first parents, he wanders into
the entangled labyrinths of vice--until, satisfied that all is vexation,
he retraces his steps in repentance and disgust. Thus he passes his
existence in sinning, repenting, and sinning again, in search of
"something new."
When Mr Rainscourt was first separated from his wife, he felt himself
released from a heavy burthen, which had oppressed him for years; or as
if fetters, which had been long riveted, had been knocked off; and he
congratulated himself upon his regained liberty. Plunging at once into
the depths of vice and dissipation, he sought pleasure after pleasure,
variety upon variety,--all that life could offer, or money purchase; and
for a time thought himself happy. But there are drawbacks which cannot
be surmounted; and he who wholly associates with the vicious, must, more
than any other, be exposed to the effects of depravity. He found man
more than ever treacherous and ungrateful--woman more than ever
deceiving--indulgence, cloying--debauchery, enervating and his
constitution and his spirits exhausted by excess. Satiated with
everything, disgusted with everybody, he sought for "something new."
For more than two years he had not seen, and had hardly bestowed a
thought upon his wife and daughter, who still continued to reside at the
mansion at ---. Not knowing what to do with himself, it occurred to him
that the country air might recruit his health; and he felt a degree of
interest, if not for his wife, at least for his daughter. He
determined, therefore, to pay them a visit. The horses were ordered;
and, to the astonishment of Mrs Rainscourt, to whom he had given no
intimation of his whim, and who looked upon a visit from her husband, in
her retirement, as a visionary idea, Rainscourt made his appearance,
just as she was about to sit down to dinner, in company with the
McElvinas, and the vicar, who had become one of her most intimate
associates.
If Rainscourt was pleased with the improvement of Emily, who was now
more than fourteen years old, how much more was he astonished at the
appearance of his wife, who, to his eyes, seemed even handsomer, if
possible, than on the day when he had led her to the altar. For more
than two years, content, if not perfect happiness, had been Mrs
Rainscourt's lot. She had recovered her health, her bloom, and her
spirits, and not having had any source of irritation, her serenity of
temper had been regained; and Mrs Rainscourt, to whose extreme beauty,
from assuetude, he had before been blind, now appeared to him, after so
long an absence, quite a different person from the one whom he had
quitted with such indifference; and as he surveyed her, he seemed to
feel that freshness of delight unknown to vitiated minds, except when
successful in their search after "something new."
But Rainscourt was not altogether wrong in his idea that his wife was
quite a different personage from the one which he had quitted. The
vicar, who was acquainted with her situation had not failed in his
constant exertions for the improvement of mankind; he had, by frequent
conversation, and inculcation of our Christian duties, gradually
softened her into a charitable and forgiving temper: and, now that she
had no opportunity of exercising them, she had been made acquainted with
the passive forbearance and humility constituting a part of the duties
of a wife. She met her husband with kindness and respect while his
daughter, who flew into his arms, proved that she had not been
prepossessed against him, as he anticipated. Pleased with his
reception, and with the company that he happened to meet, Rainscourt
experienced sensations which had long been dormant; and it occurred to
him, that an establishment, with such an elegant woman as Mrs
Rainscourt at the head, and his daughter's beauty to grace it, would not
only be more gratifying, but more reputable, than the course of life
which he had lately pursued. He made himself excessively agreeable--was
pleased with the benevolent demeanour of the vicar--thought Susan a
lovely young woman, and McElvina a delightful companion; and, when he
retired to the chamber prepared for his reception, wondered that he had
never thought of paying them a visit before.
It had been the intention of Rainscourt to have trespassed upon his
wife's hospitality for one night only, and then have taken his departure
for some fashionable watering place; but there seemed to be such an
appearance of renewed friendship between him and Mrs Rainscourt, that
an invitation was given by the vicar, for the whole party, on the
ensuing day, to meet at the vicarage; and this was followed up by
another from McElvina, for the day afterwards, at his cottage. This
decided Mr Rainscourt to remain there a day or two longer. But when
the time of his departure arrived, Rainscourt was so pleased with his
new acquaintance, so delighted with his daughter, and, to his
astonishment, so charmed by his wife, that he could not tear himself
away.
Women are proverbially sharp-sighted in all where the heart is
concerned, and Mrs Rainscourt soon perceived that the admiration of her
husband was not feigned. Gratified to find that she had not yet lost
her attractions, and, either from a pardonable feeling of revenge at his
desertion, or to prove to him that he was not aware of what he had
rejected, she exerted all her powers to please; she was not only
amiable, but fascinating; and after a sojourn of three weeks, which
appeared but as many days, Rainscourt was reluctantly compelled to
acknowledge to himself, that he was violently enamoured of his discarded
wife. He now felt that he should assume a higher station in society by
being at the head of his own establishment, and that his consequence
would be increased, by the heiress of so large a property residing under
his protection; and he thought that, if he could persuade Mrs
Rainscourt to live with him again, he could be happy, and exercise with
pleasure the duties of a father and a husband. Neither the vicar nor
McElvina were ignorant of his feelings; and the former, who recollected
that those whom God has joined no man should put asunder, had made up
his mind to bring the affair, if possible, to a happy issue; and
Rainscourt, who perceived the influence which the vicar possessed over
his wife, determined to request that he would act as a mediator.
The vicar was delighted when Rainscourt called upon him one morning, and
unfolded his wishes. To reconcile those who had been at variance, to
restore a husband to his wife, a father to a daughter, was the earnest
desire of the good man's heart. He accepted the office with pleasure;
and in the course of the afternoon, while Rainscourt called upon the
McElvinas, that he might be out of the way, proceeded upon his mission
of peace and good-will.
Mrs Rainscourt, who was not surprised at the intelligence, listened to
the vicar attentively, as he pointed out the necessity of forgiveness,
if she hoped to be forgiven--of the conviction, in his own mind, that
her husband was reformed--of the unpleasant remarks to which a woman who
is separated from her husband must always be subjected--of the
probability that the faults were not all on his side, and of the
advantage her daughter would derive from their reunion: to which he
entreated her to consent.
Mrs Rainscourt was moved to tears. The conflict between her former
love and her outraged feelings--the remembrance of his long neglect,
opposed to his present assiduities the stormy life she had passed in his
company, and her repose of mind since their separation--weighed and
balanced against each other so exactly, that the scale would turn on
neither side. She refused to give any decided answer, but requested a
day or two for reflection; and the vicar, who recollected the adage,
that, in an affair of the heart, "the woman who deliberates is lost,"
left her with a happy presage that his endeavours would be crowned with
success. But Mrs Rainscourt would not permit her own heart to decide.
It was a case in which she did not consider that a woman was likely to
be a correct judge; and she had so long been on intimate terms with
McElvina, that she resolved to lay the case before him, and be guided by
his opinion.
The next day, Mrs Rainscourt went to the cottage alone, and having
requested Susan to exclude all visitors, entered into a full detail of
all the circumstances which had occurred previous to her separation from
her husband, and the decision that she was now called upon to make, from
his importunity.
Susan, who felt that she was unable to advise, in a case of such
importance to Mrs Rainscourt's future happiness, immediately referred
the matter to McElvina.
His answer was decided. "I should be sorry, Mrs Rainscourt, to give an
opinion in opposition to that of the worthy vicar, did I not conceive
that his slight knowledge of the world would, in this instance, tend to
mislead both himself and you. Before Mr Rainscourt had remained here a
week, I prophesied, as Susan will corroborate, that this proposal would
be made. Aware of his general character, and of the grounds of your
separation, I took some pains to ingratiate myself, that I might
ascertain his real sentiments; and, with regret I express my conviction,
that his prepossession in your favour, strong as it really is at
present, will but prove transitory, and that possession would only
subject you to future insults. He is _not_ reformed; but, satiated with
other enjoyments, and fascinated with your attractions, his feelings
towards you are those of renewed inclination, and not arising from
conviction, or remorse at his unprincipled career. You are happy at
present--your refusal may, by stimulating his attentions, increase your
happiness: but if you yield, it will only be a source of misery to you
both. Such is my opinion. Do not let him know that I have influenced
you, or it will interrupt an intimacy, which I shall follow up, I trust,
to your advantage; therefore, give no answer at present, nor while he
remains here: for I perceive that he is a violent man when thwarted in
his wishes. Demand a fortnight's consideration after he is gone, and
then you will be able to decide from reflection, without being biassed
against your own judgment, by his workings upon feelings which, to the
honour of women, when the heart is concerned, spurn at the cold
reasonings of prudence and worldly wisdom."
The advice of the man of the world prevailed over that of the man of
God; and Rainscourt, after waiting in town, with impatience, for the
answer, received a decided but kind refusal. He tore the letter into
fragments, with indignation, and set off for Cheltenham, more violently
in love with his wife than he was before her rejection of him.