"Be patient, gentle Nell, forget this grief."
Henry VI.
{William Shakespeare, "2 Henry VI", II.iv.26}
THE Wyllyses remained later than they had intended in the
country. Elinor, indeed, proposed to her aunt that they should
pass the winter at Wyllys-Roof, but Miss Agnes and her
grandfather were unwilling to do so. The variety of a life in
town would be preferable for her sake to the quiet monotony of a
country winter. They knew she had too much sense to wish to play
the victim; but it was only natural to believe, that in a
solitary country life, painful recollections would force
themselves upon her oftener than among her friends in town, where
she would he obliged to think less of herself, and more of
others.
It had been a great relief to her to find, that Jane had not
acted as unworthily as Miss Agnes had at first feared; in spite
of what she herself had overheard at Miss Hubbard's party, Elinor
threw off all suspicion of her cousin, as soon as she learned
that Jane denied any previous knowledge of the change in Harry's
feelings. Hazlehurst, himself, had said in his letter that she
was blameless.
"Then," she exclaimed, "I shall at least be able to love Jane as
before!" She immediately sat down, and wrote her cousin a short,
but affectionate letter, containing only a slight allusion to
what had passed. Jane's answer, of course, avoided wounding her
feelings, and their intercourse was resumed.
"The time will come, I trust," she thought, "when Harry, too,
will be a friend again." But she felt the hour had not yet
arrived. She could not so soon forget the past. It was no easy
task, suddenly to change the whole current of feeling which had
filled her mind during the last two years. In spite of her
earnest resolutions, during the first few weeks, thoughts and
feelings of the past would recur too often. For some time Elinor
was very unhappy; she felt that the strongest and deepest
affections of her heart had been neglected, rejected,
undervalued, by one whose opinion she had learned to prize too
highly. She wept and blushed to think how much she had become
attached to Harry, since she had looked upon him as her affianced
husband. She could not but feel herself free from all reproach
towards him; it was he who, unsought by her, had wished to draw a
closer tie between them. He had succeeded but too well, and then
he had forgotten her. The temptation which had proved too strong
for him, would not have deserved the name, had the case been
reversed, had she been exposed to it. And yet she did not
reproach him; men think so much of beauty, and she was so very
plain! It was but natural at such a moment, that she should be
oppressed by an over-wrought humility. She accused herself of
vanity, for having at one time believed it possible Harry could
love one like herself. But how happy was Jane!
Her efforts to struggle against low spirits were the greater, for
the sake of her aunt and her grandfather. She made it a duty to
neglect no regular task, and much of her time was occupied as
usual; but the feelings which she carried about to her
employment, were very different from what they had been
heretofore. It was her first taste of sorrow; well might her aunt
deeply reproach Hazlehurst for his versatile conduct towards her
beloved child. Elinor flattered herself that Miss Agnes knew not
half of what she felt. In general she succeeded in being quite
calm, and attentive to others; she was always sweet-tempered, and
unrepining. But she could not read, herself, the expression of
her own countenance, so tenderly watched by her aunt. She was not
aware that the musical tones of her voice were no longer
cheerful; that instead of the gay, easy conversation in which she
used to bear her part, she was now at times absent, often silent;
she whose graceful wit and youthful spirits had been until lately
the joy of her family. Mr. Wyllys's indignation against
Hazlehurst would have been boundless, if he could have seen him
at such moments, as was often now the case, sitting by the side
of Jane, admiring the length of her eye-lashes, the pearly
smoothness of her complexion, and the bright colour of her lips,
as she uttered some very common-place remark. Such had now become
Hazlehurst's daily pleasure, his daily habit.
["versatile" = inconstant, fickle}
Miss Agnes purposely left to her niece, this year, all the
arrangements for their removal to town; and Elinor was obliged to
be very busy. It happened too, quite opportunely, perhaps, that
just at that time Mrs. George Wyllys was coming over oftener than
usual, to consult her father-in-law and Miss Agnes. Against Mr.
Wyllys's advice, she had to withdraw her eldest boy from the
school where he had been first placed, and now a new choice was
to be made. Mr. Wyllys recommended a small establishment in their
own neighbourhood, recently opened by Miss Patsey's brother; he
thought it equally good with the one she had in view, and with
the additional advantage of more moderate terms, and a smaller
number of boys. But Mrs. Wyllys had a great deal to say on the
opposite side of the question; the low price was an objection in
her eyes.
"There, my dear sir, you must allow me to differ from you. I have
always intended to devote a large portion of my means to the
education of my children; economy in such a case, I cannot look
upon as economy at all."
"Certainly, Harriet, you are perfectly right to secure to your
children every advantage in your power. But this is not a case in
point. Thomas Hubbard, you know, was a principal in the very
school which you have in view, and only withdrew last spring on
account of ill health. He still continues the same system, and
has the same masters, with the advantage of only four boys
besides Evert, to occupy his attention."
This was too plain to be contradicted. "But in my opinion, sir, a
large school is very much to be preferred for a boy. I have
thought a great deal on the subject, since Evert has been of an
age to leave me."
"But what are your reasons for preferring a large school to a
small one?"
"I think it a better preparation for their entrance into life.
And then they have the advantage of choosing their intimates from
a larger number of boys; Evert's disposition will make it
particularly desirable for him. I am sure, if he were shut up
with two or three boys only, he would find it so dull that he
would be disgusted."
"Well, my dear, I view the matter in a different light," replied
Mr. Wyllys, who would never allow himself to be silenced, or
forced to advise anything against his conscience; though many men
would have been worried into it by such a woman. Unfortunately,
Mrs. Wyllys was the only guardian of her children, and Mr. Wyllys
was often obliged to see his daughter-in-law act in a manner that
he thought ill-judged; but though very good-natured, he could
never be talked into being a party to such plans. "It is
precisely on account of Evert's high spirits that I should like a
small school for him. He would be less likely to get himself and
others into scrapes; he would be more under his master's eye."
"I think, sir, from the conversation I had with Mr. Stone, he is
just the man to obtain an influence over Evert."
"You would like Hubbard still better, if you knew him."
"I doubt it very much, sir; I am sick of the very name of
Hubbard. Those Longbridge Hubbards are enough to spoil a
paradise."
"Well, Harriet," said Mr. Wyllys, "you seem to have made up your
mind; so have I; now what is to be done?"
"Of course, sir, your opinion has great weight with me; you know
I am always guided by you."
"Then the matter is settled, and Evert goes to Hubbard's."
Mr. Wyllys thought he had succeeded, on this occasion, in gaining
his point, by taking his daughter-in-law at her word; but the
very next morning she drove over to Wyllys-Roof, with a new view
of the subject; and it was not until after half-a-dozen more
conversations, that the matter was finally settled, by Mr. Wyllys
refusing to give any more advice; when his daughter-in-law, of
her own accord, determined to send her boy to Mr. Hubbard's
school. It must be confessed that some women, endowed too with
certain good qualities, are very trying, and possess a most
vexatious vein of caprice. In the mean time the child was taken
sick; he was ill for several weeks, and Elinor assisted in
nursing him.
Independently of these consultations, and cares about her little
cousin, there were other claims upon Elinor's attention at this
time, and those the least romantic in the world. Within the last
few weeks, all the men of Longbridge seemed to have their heads
full of a new rail-road, one of the first that were made in this
country. All the property Elinor had inherited from her father
was in this village, and so placed as to have its value very much
increased by this intended piece of internal improvement. Mr.
Hubbard was one of those most interested in the project, which
was of some importance to Mr. Wyllys, also. The gentlemen had
many meetings on the subject, and Elinor was obliged to hear a
great deal that was going on; which houses were to be pulled
down, which streets widened, what engineer was to be employed,
where the rails were to come from, at what time they hoped to get
the act through the Assembly. Mr. Taylor, of course, was not the
man to allow anything approaching to speculation, to take place
in his neighbourhood without having something to do with it
himself. He came over to Longbridge expressly to help matters on;
and as Colonnade Manor was shut up, Mr. Wyllys, always hospitably
inclined, asked him to his own house for a day or two. With such
a spirit under their roof, little else was heard of besides
stocks and lots, wharves and stores. Elinor's property was known
to be much interested in the affair, and Mr. Hubbard and Mr.
Taylor thought it necessary to congratulate her. Mr. Taylor,
indeed, would have been much shocked had he known how very little
she cared about the matter.
{"a new rail-road" = The Camden and (Perth) Amboy line crossed
New Jersey in 1833, and the Philadelphia and Columbia (Penn.)
line opened in 1834}
"We shall have to consult you, Miss Elinor, in our proceedings,"
said Mr. Hubbard, as they were sitting at the dinner-table;
perhaps you don't know it, but you will be one of our
stockholders, and much interested in our success, I assure you."
"My grandfather tried last night to give me some notions on the
subject, Mr. Hubbard; but I am afraid he was not very
successful."
"Oh, I don't know that," said Mr. Wyllys; "I shall make quite a
business woman of you, yet, Nelly." In fact, her grandfather had
taken the moment to assure Elinor that it was high time she
should have some just ideas on such subjects, and insisted on her
listening to all his explanations, and doing her best to
comprehend them. Elinor tried to be a docile pupil, and really
acquired some useful information, which may appear singular to
romantic young ladies, who set up for broken-hearted; as her only
object, however, was to gratify her grandfather, we hope she will
be forgiven for anything so much out of character in a heroine.
"It is a beautiful speculation, Miss Wyllys," observed Mr.
Taylor. "I suppose you know enough about these things, to be glad
to hear that in a year or two, you will probably realize two
hundred per cent. on your lots in Water-Street, where the depot
is to be built."
"It all sounds very grandly, certainly," said Elinor, smiling.
"We shall make a fortune for you, Miss Elinor," added Mr.
Hubbard. "You will be the great lady of Longbridge."
"I dare say, Nelly, you will find some way of spending the money;
young ladies know very well how to get rid of it, let it come
ever so fast."
"Yes, sir, my daughters are very expert at that; Emmeline thinks
nothing of giving fifty dollars for a flimsy pocket-handkerchief,
and as much for a flighty-looking hat. But I've no objections;
I'll tell you in confidence, that is what we make our money for,
Miss Elinor--for our children to spend," added Mr. Hubbard,
smiling good-naturedly. "I dare say you will find a right use for
some of yours. It will be in good hands, and I hope you may long
enjoy it," said he, making a bow to Elinor, as he drank off a
glass of Madeira.
{"fifty dollars for a flimsy pocket-handkerchief" = this remark
by Mr. Hubbard reflects James Fenimore Cooper's little-known
novelette, "The Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief" (1843),
as do many aspects of the greedy and ostentatious Taylor family
whom Emmeline Hubbard seeks to emulate}
Mr. Taylor, though he joined in the toast with some "affable"
remark, as usual, could not help regretting that so much money,
and consequently the power of making so much more, should not be
in the hands of one who could turn it to better account than Miss
Elinor Wyllys. He had a very poor opinion of Mr. Wyllys's
money-making abilities, and thought him very "unenterprising."
That gentleman, on the contrary, when brought in closer contact
with Mr. Taylor, began to have a clearer insight into his
character, and while he found him uncommonly clever, discovered
that several of his propositions betrayed anything but high
principles. He began to believe that Mr. Graham's dislike was not
ill-founded.
Mr. Hubbard, in the mean time, who had known Elinor from a child,
was thinking how he could say something agreeable about love and
beaux, supposed always to be pleasant subjects to young ladies.
He felt some doubts about hinting at Hazlehurst, for he thought
he had heard the engagement was broken off. Happily for Elinor,
the party rose from table before anything had suggested itself.
At length Mrs. Wyllys's boy recovered, and was sent off to
school; and this rail-road matter was also satisfactorily
settled. As there was nothing more to detain the family in the
country, the Wyllyses went to Philadelphia, and took possession
of their lodgings for the winter.