A month now passed in the ordinary occupations and amusements of a
country life, during which both Lady Moseley and Jane manifested a
desire to keep up the deanery acquaintance, that surprised Emily a
little, who had ever seen her mother shrink from communications with
those whose breeding subjected her own delicacy, to the little shocks
she could but ill conceal. In Jane this desire was still more
inexplicable; for Jane had, in a decided way very common to her, avowed
her disgust of the manners of their new associates at the commencement
of the acquaintance; and yet Jane would now even quit her own society
for that of Miss Jarvis, especially if Colonel Egerton happened to be of
the party. The innocence of Emily prevented her scanning the motives for
the conduct of her sister; and she set seriously about an examination
into her own deportment to find the latent cause, in order, wherever an
opportunity should offer, to evince her regret, had it been her
misfortune, to have erred by the tenderness of her own manner.
For a short time the colonel seemed at a loss where to make his choice;
but a few days determined him, and Jane was evidently the favorite. It
is true, that in the presence of the Jarvis ladies he was more guarded
and general in his attentions; but as John, from a motive of charity,
had taken the direction of the captain's sports into his own hands; and
as they were in the frequent habit of meeting at the Hall preparatory to
their morning excursion, the colonel suddenly became a sportsman. The
ladies would often accompany them in their morning excursions; and as
John would certainly be a baronet, and the colonel might not if his
uncle married, he had the comfort of being sometimes ridden, as well as
of riding.
One morning, having all prepared for an excursion on horseback, as they
stood at the door ready to mount, Francis Ives drove up in his father's
gig, and for a moment arrested the party. Francis was a favorite with
the whole Moseley family, and their greetings were warm and sincere. He
found they meant to take the rectory in their ride, and insisted that
they should proceed. "Clara would take a seat with him." As he spoke,
the cast of his countenance brought the color into the cheeks of his
intended; she suffered herself, however, to be handed into the vacant
seat in the gig, and they moved on. John, who was at the bottom good-
natured, and loved both Francis and Clara very sincerely, soon set
Captain Jarvis and his sister what he called "scrub racing," and
necessity, in some measure, compelled the rest of the equestrians to
hard riding, in order to keep up with the sports.
"That will do, that will do," cried John, casting his eye back, and
perceiving they had lost sight of the gig, and nearly so of Colonel
Egerton and Jane, "why you carry it off like a jockey, captain; better
than any amateur I have ever seen, unless indeed it be your sister."
The lady encouraged by his commendations, whipped on, followed by her
brother and sister at half speed.
"There, Emily," said John, quietly dropping by her side "I see no reason
you and I should break our necks, to show the blood of our horses. Now
do you know I think we are going to have a wedding in the family soon?"
Emily looked at him in amazement.
"Frank has got a living; I saw it the moment he drove up. He came in
like somebody. Yes, I dare say he has calculated the tithes already a
dozen times."
John was right. The Earl of Bolton had, unsolicited, given him the
desired living of his own parish; and Francis was at the moment pressing
the blushing Clara to fix the day that was to put a period to his long
probation. Clara, who had not a particle of coquetry about her, promised
to be his as soon as he was inducted, an event that was to take place
the following week; and then followed those delightful little
arrangements and plans with which youthful hope is so fond of filling up
the void of life.
"Doctor," said John, as he came out of the rectory to assist Clara from
the gig, "the parson here is a careful driver; see, he has not turned a
hair."
He kissed the burning cheek of his sister as she touched the ground, and
whispered significantly.
"You need tell me nothing, my dear--I know all--I consent."
Mrs. Ives folded her future daughter to her bosom; and the benevolent
smile of the good rector, together with the kind and affectionate manner
of her sisters, assured Clara the approaching nuptials were anticipated,
as a matter of course. Colonel Egerton offered his compliments to
Francis on his preferment to the living, with the polish of high
breeding, and not without an appearance of interest; and Emily thought
him for the first time as handsome as he was generally reputed to be.
The ladies undertook to say something civil in their turn, and John put
the captain, by a hint, on the same track.
"You are quite lucky, sir," said the captain, "in getting so good a
living with so little trouble; I wish you joy of it with all my heart:
Mr. Moseley tells me it is a capital thing now for a gentleman of your
profession. For my part. I prefer a scarlet coat to a black one, but
there must be parsons you know, or how should we get married or say
grace?"
Francis thanked him for his good wishes, and Egerton paid a handsome
compliment to the liberality of the earl; "he doubted not he found that
gratification which always attends a disinterested act;" and Jane
applauded the sentiment with a smile.
The baronet, when he was made acquainted with the situation of affairs,
promised Francis that no unnecessary delay should intervene, and the
marriage was happily arranged for the following week. Lady Moseley, when
she retired to the drawing-room after dinner, commenced a recital of the
ceremony and company to be invited on the occasion. Etiquette and the
decencies of life were not only the forte, but the fault of this lady;
and she had gone on to the enumeration of about the fortieth personage
in the ceremonials, before Clara found courage to say, that "Mr. Ives
and myself both wish to be married at the altar, and to proceed to
Bolton Rectory immediately after the ceremony." To this her mother
warmly objected; and argument and respectful remonstrance had followed
each other for some time, before Clara submitted in silence, with
difficulty restraining her tears. This appeal to the better feelings of
the mother triumphed; and the love of parade yielded to love of her
offspring. Clara, with a lightened heart, kissed and thanked her, and
accompanied by Emily left the room; Jane had risen to follow them, but
catching a glimpse of the tilbury of Colonel Egerton she reseated
herself.
He had merely driven over at the earnest entreaties of the ladies to beg
Miss Jane would accept a seat back with him; "they had some little
project on foot, and could not proceed without her assistance."
Mrs. Wilson looked gravely at her sister, as she smiled acquiescence to
his wishes; and the daughter, who but the minute before had forgotten
there was any other person in the world but Clara, flew for her hat and
shawl, in order, as he said to herself, that the politeness of Colonel
Egerton might not keep him waiting. Lady Moseley resumed her seat by the
side of her sister with an air of great complacency, as she returned
from the window, after having seen her daughter off. For some time each
was occupied quietly with her needle, when Mrs. Wilson suddenly broke
the silence by saying:
"Who is Colonel Egerton?"
Lady Moseley looked up for a moment in amazement, but recollecting
herself, answered,
"The nephew and heir of Sir Edgar Egerton, sister."
This was spoken in a rather positive way, as if it were unanswerable;
yet as there was nothing harsh in the reply, Mrs. Wilson continued,
"Do you not think him attentive to Jane?"
Pleasure sparkled in the still brilliant eyes of Lady Moseley, as she
exclaimed--
"Do you think so?"
"I do; and you will pardon me if I say improperly so. I think you were
wrong in suffering Jane to go with him this afternoon."
"Why improperly, Charlotte? If Colonel Egerton is polite enough to show
Jane such attentions, should I not be wrong in rudely rejecting them?"
"The rudeness of refusing a request that is improper to grant is a very
venial offence. I confess I think it improper to allow any attentions to
be forced on us that may subject us to disagreeable consequences; but
the attentions of Colonel Egerton are becoming marked, Anne."
"Do you for a moment doubt their being honorable, or that he dares to
trifle with a daughter of Sir Edward Moseley?"
"I should hope not, certainly, although it may be well to guard even
against such a misfortune. But I am of opinion it is quite as important
to know whether he is worthy to be her husband as it is to know that he
is in a situation to become so."
"On what points, Charlotte, would you wish to be more assured? You know
his birth and probable fortune--you see his manners and disposition; but
these latter are things for Jane to decide on; she is to live with him,
and it is proper she should be suited in these respects."
"I do not deny his fortune or his disposition, but I complain that we
give him credit for the last, and for still more important requisites,
without evidence of his possessing any of them. His principles, his
habits, his very character, what do we know of them? I say we, for you
know, Anne, your children are as dear to me as my own would have been."
"I believe you sincerely, but the things you mention are points for Jane
to decide on. If she be pleased, I have no right to complain. I am
determined never to control the affections of my children."
"Had you said, never to force the affections of your children, you would
have said enough, Anne; but to control, or rather to guide the
affections of a child, especially a daughter, is, in some cases, a duty
as imperative as it would be to avert any other impending calamity.
Surely the proper time to do this is before the affections of the child
are likely to endanger her peace of mind."
"I have seldom seen much good result from the interference of parents,"
said Lady Moseley, a little pertinaciously.
"True; for to be of use, unless in extraordinary cases, it should not be
seen. You will pardon me, Anne, but I have often thought parents are too
often in extremes--determined to make the election for their children,
or leaving them entirely to their own vanity and inexperience, to govern
not only their own lives, but, I may say, to leave an impression on
future generations. And, after all, what is this love? In nineteen cases
in twenty of what we call affairs of the heart, it would be better to
term them affairs of the imagination."
"And is there not a great deal of imagination in all love?" inquired
Lady Moseley, smiling.
"Undoubtedly, there is some; but there is one important difference: in
affairs of the imagination, the admired object is gifted with all those
qualities we esteem, as a matter of course, and there is a certain set
of females who are ever ready to bestow this admiration on any applicant
for their favors who may not be strikingly objectionable. The necessity
of being courted makes our sex rather too much disposed to admire
improper suitors."
"But how do you distinguish affairs of the heart, Charlotte, from those
of the fancy?"
"When the heart takes the lead, it is not difficult to detect it. Such
sentiments generally follow long intercourse, and opportunities of
judging the real character. They are the only attachments that are
likely to stand the test of worldly trials."
"Suppose Emily to be the object of Colonel Egerton's pursuit, then,
sister, in what manner would you proceed to destroy the influence I
acknowledge he is gaining over Jane?"
"I cannot suppose such a case," said Mrs. Wilson, gravely; and then,
observing that her sister looked as if she required an explanation, she
continued--
"My attention has been directed to the forming of such principles, and
such a taste, if I may use the expression, under those principles, that
I feel no apprehension Emily will ever allow her affections to be
ensnared by a man of the opinions and views of Colonel Egerton. I am
impressed with a twofold duty in watching the feelings of my charge. She
has so much singleness of heart, such real strength of native feeling,
that, should an improper man gain possession of her affections, the
struggle between her duty and her love would be weighty indeed; and
should it proceed so far as to make it her duty to love an unworthy
object, I am sure she would sink under it. Emily would die in the same
circumstances under which Jane would only awake from a dream, and be
wretched."
"I thought you entertained a better opinion of Jane, sister," said Lady
Moseley, reproachfully.
"I think her admirably calculated to make an invaluable wife and mother;
but she is so much under the influence of her fancy, that she seldom
gives her heart an opportunity of displaying its excellences; and again,
she dwells so much upon imaginary perfections, that adulation has become
necessary to her. The man who flatters her delicately will be sure to
win her esteem; and every woman might love the being possessed of the
qualities she will not fail to endow him with."
"I do not know that I rightly understand how you would avert all these
sad consequences of improvident affections?" said Lady Moseley.
"Prevention is better than cure--I would first implant such opinions as
would lessen the danger of intercourse; and as for particular attentions
from improper objects, it should be my care to prevent them, by
prohibiting, or rather impeding, the intimacy which might give rise to
them. And least of all," said Mrs. Wilson, with a friendly smile, as she
rose to leave the room, "would I suffer a fear of being impolite to
endanger the happiness of a young woman intrusted to my care."
Chapter
VIII.
Francis, who labored with the ardor of a lover, soon completed the
necessary arrangements and alterations in his new parsonage. The living
was a good one, and as the rector was enabled to make a very
considerable annual allowance from the private fortune his wife had
brought him, and as Sir Edward had twenty thousand pounds in the funds
for each of his daughters, one portion of which was immediately settled
on Clara, the youthful couple had not only a sufficient, but an abundant
provision for their station in life; and they entered on their
matrimonial duties with as good a prospect of happiness as the ills of
this world can give to health, affection, and competency. Their union
had been deferred by Dr. Ives until his son was established, with a view
to keep him under his own direction during the critical period of his
first impressions in the priesthood; and as no objection now remained,
or rather, the only one he ever felt was removed by the proximity of
Bolton to his own parish, he now joyfully united the lovers at the altar
of the village church, in the presence of his wife and Clara's immediate
relatives. On leaving the church Francis handed his bride into his own
carriage, which conveyed them to their new residence, amidst the good
wishes of his parishioners, and the prayers of their relatives and
friends. Dr. and Mrs. Ives retired to the rectory, to the sober
enjoyment of the felicity of their only child; while the baronet and his
lady felt a gloom that belied all the wishes of the latter for the
establishment of her daughters. Jane and Emily acted as bridesmaids to
their sister, and as both the former and her mother had insisted there
should be two groomsmen as a counterpoise, John was empowered with a
carte-blanche to make a provision accordingly. At first he intimated his
intention of calling on Mr. Benfield, but he finally settled down, to
the no small mortification of the before-mentioned ladies, into writing
a note to his kinsman, Lord Chatterton, whose residence was then in
London, and who in reply, after expressing his sincere regret that an
accident would prevent his having the pleasure of attending, stated the
intention of his mother and two sisters to pay them an early visit of
congratulation, as soon as his own health would allow of his travelling.
This answer arrived only the day preceding that fixed for the wedding,
and at the very moment they were expecting his lordship in proper
person.
"There," cried Jane, in triumph, "I told you it was silly to send so far
on so sudden an occasion; now, after all, what is to be done--it will be
so awkward when Clara's friends call to see her--Oh! John, John, you are
a Marplot."
"Jenny, Jenny, you are a make-plot," said John, coolly taking up his hat
to leave the room.
"Which way, my son?" said the baronet, who met him at the door.
"To the deanery, sir, to try to get Captain Jarvis to act as bridesmaid-
-I beg his pardon, groomsman, to-morrow--Chatterton has been thrown from
a horse and can't come.''
"John!"
"Jenny!"
"I am sure," said Jane, indignation glowing in her pretty face, "that if
Captain Jarvis is to be an attendant, Clara must excuse my acting. I do
not choose to be associated with Captain Jarvis."
"John," said his mother, with dignity, "your trifling is unseasonable;
certainly Colonel Egerton is a more fitting person on every account, and
I desire, under present circumstances, that you ask the colonel."
"Your ladyship's wishes are orders to me," said John, gaily kissing his
hand as he left the room.
The colonel was but too happy in having it in his power to be of service
in any manner to a gentleman he respected as much as Mr. Francis Ives.
He accepted the duty, and was the only person present at the ceremony
who did not stand within the bonds of consanguinity to the parties. He
was invited by the baronet to dine at the hall, as a matter of course,
and notwithstanding the repeated injunctions of Mrs. Jarvis and her
daughters, to return immediately with an account of the dress of the
bride, and with other important items of a similar nature, the
invitation was accepted. On reaching the hall, Emily retired immediately
to her own room, and at her reappearance when the dinner bell rang, the
paleness of her cheeks and the redness of her eyes afforded sufficient
proof that the translation of a companion from her own to another family
was an event, however happy in itself, not unmingled with grief. The
day, however, passed off tolerably well for people who are expected to
be premeditatedly happy, and when, in their hearts, they are really more
disposed to weep than to laugh. Jane and the colonel had most of the
conversation to themselves during dinner: even the joyous and
thoughtless John wearing his gaiety in a less graceful manner than
usual. He was actually detected by his aunt in looking with moistened
eyes at the vacant chair a servant had, from habit, placed at the table,
in the spot where Clara had been accustomed to sit.
"This beef is not done, Saunders," said the baronet to his butler, "or
my appetite is not as good as usual to-day. Colonel Egerton, will you
allow me the pleasure of a glass of sherry?"
The wine was drunk, and the game succeeded the beef; but still Sir
Edward could not eat.
"How glad Clara will be to see us all the day after to-morrow," said
Mrs. Wilson; "your new housekeepers delight in their first efforts in
entertaining their friends."
Lady Moseley smiled through her tears, and turning to her husband said,
"We will go early, my dear, that we may see the improvements Francis has
been making before we dine." The baronet nodded assent, but his heart
was too full to speak; and apologizing to the colonel for his absence,
on the plea of some business with his people, he left the room.
All this time, the attentions of Colonel Egerton to both mother and
daughter were of the most delicate kind. He spoke of Clara as if his
office of groomsman entitled him to an interest in her welfare; with
John he was kind and sociable; and even Mrs. Wilson acknowledged, after
he had taken his leave, that he possessed a wonderful faculty of making
himself agreeable, and she began to think that, under all circumstances,
he might possibly prove as advantageous a connexion as Jane could expect
to form. Had any one, however, proposed him as a husband for Emily,
affection would have quickened her judgment in a way that would have
urged her to a very different decision.
Soon after the baronet left the room, a travelling carriage, with
suitable attendants, drove to the door; the sound of the wheels drew
most of the company to a window. "A baron's coronet!" cried Jane,
catching a glimpse of the ornaments of the harness.
"The Chattertons," echoed her brother, running out of the room to meet
them.
The mother of Sir Edward was a daughter of this family, and the sister
of the grandfather of the present lord. The connexion had always been
kept up with a show of cordiality between Sir Edward and his cousin,
although their manner of living and habits were very different. The
baron was a courtier and a placeman. His estates, which he could not
alienate, produced about ten thousand a year, but the income he could
and did spend; and the high perquisites of his situation under
government, amounting to as much more were melted away year after year,
without making the provision for his daughters that his duty and the
observance of his promise to his wife's father required at his hands. He
had been dead about two years, and his son found himself saddled with
the support of an unjointured mother and unportioned sisters. Money was
not the idol the young lord worshipped, nor even pleasure. He was
affectionate to his surviving parent, and his first act was to settle,
during his own life, two thousand a year on her, while he commenced
setting aside as much more for each of his sisters annually. This
abridged him greatly in his own expenditures; yet, as they made but one
family, and the dowager was really a managing woman in more senses than
one, they made a very tolerable figure. The son was anxious to follow
the example of Sir Edward Moseley, and give up his town house, for at
least a time; but his mother had exclaimed, with something like horror,
at the proposal:
"Chatterton, would you give it up at the moment it can be of the most
use to us?" and she threw a glance at her daughters that would have
discovered her motive to Mrs Wilson, which was lost on her son; he, poor
soul, thinking she found it convenient to support the interest he had
been making for the place held by his father one of more emolument than
service, or even honor. The contending parties were so equally matched,
that this situation was kept, as it were, in abeyance, waiting the
arrival of some acquisition of interest to one or other of the
claimants. The interest of the peer, however, had begun to lose ground
at the period of which we speak, and his careful mother saw new motives
for activity in providing for her children. Mrs. Wilson herself could
not be more vigilant in examining the candidates for Emily's favors than
was the dowager Lady Chatterton in behalf of her daughter. It is true,
the task of the former lady was by far the most arduous, for it involved
a study of character and development of principle; while that of the
latter would have ended with the footing of a rent-roll, provided it
contained five figures. Sir Edward's was well known to contain that
number, and two of them were not ciphers. Mr. Benfield was rich, and
John Moseley was a very agreeable young man. Weddings are the season of
love, thought the prudent dowager, and Grace is extremely pretty.
Chatterton, who never refused his mother anything in his power to grant,
and who was particularly dutiful when a visit to Moseley Hall was in
question, suffered himself to be persuaded his shoulder was well, and
they had left town the day before the wedding, thinking to be in time
for all the gaieties, if not for the ceremony itself.
There existed but little similarity between the persons and manners of
this young nobleman and the baronet's heir. The beauty of Chatterton was
almost feminine; his skin, his color, his eyes, his teeth, were such as
many a belle had sighed after; and his manners were bashful and
retiring. Yet an intimacy had commenced between the boys at school,
which ripened into friendship between the young men at college, and had
been maintained ever since, probably as much from the contrarieties of
character as from any other cause. With the baron, John was more sedate
than ordinary; with John, Chatterton found unusual animation. But a
secret charm which John held over the young peer was his profound
respect and unvarying affection for his youngest sister, Emily. This was
common ground; and no dreams of future happiness, no visions of dawning
wealth, crossed the imagination of Chatterton in which Emily was not the
fairy to give birth to the one, or the benevolent dispenser of the
hoards of the other.
The arrival of this family was a happy relief from the oppression which
hung on the spirits of the Moseleys, and their reception marked with the
mild benevolence which belonged to the nature of the baronet, and that
impressement which so eminently distinguished the manners of his wife.
The honorable Misses Chatterton were both handsome; but the younger was,
if possible, a softened picture of her brother. There was the same
retiring bashfulness and the same sweetness of temper as distinguished
the baron, and Grace was the peculiar favorite of Emily Moseley. Nothing
of the strained or sentimental nature which so often characterize what
is called female friendships, however, had crept into the communications
between these young women. Emily loved her sisters too well to go out of
her own family for a repository of her griefs or a partaker in her joys.
Had her life been chequered with such passions, her own sisters were too
near her own age to suffer her to think of a confidence in which the
holy ties of natural affection did not give a claim to a participation.
Mrs. Wilson had found it necessary to give her charge very different
views on many subjects from those which Jane and Clara had been suffered
to imbibe of themselves; but in no degree had she impaired the
obligations of filial piety or family concord. Emily was, if anything,
more respectful to her parents, more affectionate to her friends, than
any of her connexions; for in her the warmth of natural feeling was
heightened by an unvarying sense of duty.
In Grace Chatterton she found, in many respects, a temper and taste
resembling her own. She therefore loved her better than others who had
equally general claims on her partiality, and as such a friend she now
received her with cordial and sincere affection.
Jane, who had not felt satisfied with the ordering of Providence for the
disposal of her sympathies, and had long felt a restlessness that
prompted her to look abroad for a confiding spirit to whom to
communicate her--secrets she had none that delicacy would suffer her to
reveal--but to communicate her crude opinions and reflections, she had
early selected Catherine for this person. Catherine, however, had not
stood the test of trial. For a short time the love of heraldry kept them
together; but Jane, finding her companion's gusto limited to the charms
of the coronet and supporters chiefly, abandoned the attempt in despair,
and was actually on the look-out for a new candidate for the vacant
station as Colonel Egerton came into the neighborhood. A really delicate
female mind shrinks from the exposure of its love to the other sex, and
Jane began to be less anxious to form a connexion which would either
violate the sensibility of her nature, or lead to treachery to her
friend.
"I regret extremely, Lady Moseley," said the dowager, as they entered
the drawing-room, "that the accident which befel Chatterton should have
kept us until it was too late for the ceremony: we made it a point to
hasten with our congratulations, however, as soon as Astley Cooper
thought it safe for him to travel."
"I feel indebted for your kindness," replied the smiling hostess. "We
are always happy to have our friends around us, and none more than
yourself and family. We were fortunate in finding a friend to supply
your son's place, in order that the young people might go to the altar
in a proper manner. Lady Chatterton, allow me to present our friend,
Colonel Egerton"--adding, in a low tone, and with a little emphasis,--
"heir to Sir Edgar."
The colonel bowed gracefully, and the dowager dropped a hasty courtesy
at the commencement of the speech; but lower bend followed the closing
remark, and a glance of the eye was thrown in quest of her daughters, as
if she instinctively wished to bring them into what the sailors term
"the line of battle."