a silent observer of the group by which I am encircled. I had
prepared my dear Frederick and his sisters to find their cousin
frank and amiable, but sadly led astray by the tyranny of fashion;
and it is really more interesting than I can express, to behold the
sweet assiduities of these beloved children in administering to his
wants, endeavouring to promote his amusement, and softening his
prejudices by the most endearing kindness, and gentle, judicious
opposition. So nice is the tact which singleness of heart, and
affection inspire, that I have not had once to animadvert upon
any part of their manners towards our young guest since he came
amongst us, and as all their innocent projects for his reformation,
and delicate remarks upon the progress or failure of their little
schemes are imparted with the glow of confiding sympathy to me, I
am charmed with the discoveries which I am thus enabled to make in
the dispositions of my children, through circumstances calculated
to place them in new lights to my view.
My mind undergoes variety of emotion in considering Arthur, whose
conflicts of spirit I can clearly penetrate. Sometimes diverted
beyond measure by his rising indignation, I can scarcely preserve
my gravity when I see his choler ready to burst into furious
invective against the many pursuits in which my girls are occupied
_so new_ to him; then checked ere it has exploded by some sprightly
sally on their part, or by his own evidently growing attachment
to their pleasant society. Emily reasons with him, Charlotte
expostulates, and Fanny banters so playfully with her cousin,
that her merriment seems always with a magic touch to restore his
temper to its equipoise. Arthur you know has been bred up in the
school of _the world_, and holds all its doctrines with tenacity.
Accomplishments make up all his idea of female education. To sing,
play on the harp and piano-forte, speak French, and know enough of
Italian to quote a line from Metastasio, are the utmost extent to
which he would permit a woman's lore to extend. Any thing more
than this, every degree of literary information beyond the poems of
Lord Byron or an Album, is voted _blue_, and Arthur's eloquence is
in continual exercise upon the absurdity, inutility, and vulgarity
of _learning in a lady_. His tirades are met with such perfect good
humour, and he is so frequently indebted to those resources in
his cousins which he affects to despise for varying the pleasures
of his day, that I prophesy a change in his opinions, but it will
not be wrought all at once. We must patiently endure some more
reproach, ere our young man of fashion will declare himself a
convert, but such is the charm of _mind over matter_, that I think
we shall conquer in the end.
My dears all unite in most affectionate loves to you and yours with
my Elizabeth's
Attached friend,
CAROLINE DOUGLAS.
Mr. Oliphant returns from his northern trip next week.
LETTER V.
ARTHUR HOWARD TO CHARLES FALKLAND.
My dear Falkland,
Here comes the day for sealing my promised packet, which you will
find to contain the last week's register of matters and things
as time glides on at Glenalta.--Well; shall I begin by giving
you this day's impression, or travel, like a crab, backwards, in
order to get forward? As the latter will be in the Irish style,
and also conformable to my promise, I suppose that I must give it
the preference. To return then--I made up my budget on Wednesday
night, went to bed, tossed about rather feverishly for an hour or
two, partly from this plaguy cough, which was, I conclude, excited
by my journey, and partly, no doubt, from the irritation of my
temper. Sleep, however, that "sweet restorer," as _our_ poet so
beautifully calls it, came ere long to my aid, and my eyes were
closed until they opened at once upon Lewis, and the most brilliant
sunshine I ever beheld!
"Lewis, I will get up before the family are stirring--I want to
look about me, and see something of this place before breakfast."
"Lord, sir," replied my squire, "the people of this house I believe
live without sleep, at least if I may judge by what I have seen as
yet. I was up myself at half past six, and the young ladies were
coming then from the sea when I went down stairs. They are off upon
some other prank now, for I saw two of them on donkies, and Mr.
Frederick is, I know not where, but certainly not in his room, for
the door and windows of it are wide open."
I jumped up, and at eight o'clock sallied forth in quest of
adventures. The Glen, in which my aunt's dwelling is situated,
is most assuredly quite lovely; and this time of the year is so
charming in itself, that it is provoking that all things here
should not be in harmony. Just conceive a set of Blue Stockings
in a scene fit for nothing but love-music and romance,--faith it
is mortifying; not that I am near so angry as I was when I last
wrote. No; they are all very prudent, I must own; but the accursed
thing is _there_, and only waiting for an opportunity to overwhelm
me;--but to my diary.
I had not gone ten yards from the hall door, along a winding
pathway that leads through a wood to the sea, when, fascinated
by the beauty of every thing around me, I thought that I would
run back for my sketch-book, and try if I could not at least take
_notes_ of the view near the house, particularly as I shall leave
it so soon, before I joined the family party. Just as I regained my
own room, I met pretty Fan, looking like a rose-bud. "Fred. and I
have been searching every where for you, Arthur, to give you your
little _dose_ of milk warm from the cow, which I am determined
shall cure your cough, and make you as fat as my Flora." So saying,
off she skipped, desiring me to wait for her return, and in a few
seconds she came back in the character of Hebe, bearing a goblet
of high-frothed milk instead of nectar, not for Jupiter, but your
humble servant. Never having been paid such an attention in all my
life before, I felt rather at a nonplus. Not a line from Scott,
Byron, or any of our British bards!--no, not even the "Thought
upon new milk," at which you and I have laughed in the Rolliad,
came to my relief. Not intimate enough to be thus served by a
princess of the castle, without returning _some_ acknowledgment,
and nothing either chivalric or poetical starting to my _rescue_,
I was completely _at fault_, and looked, perhaps for the first
time, something like Simon Pure. Fanny, however, did not seem to
observe any thing but the main point of whether the draught were
honestly dregged to the very bottom.--"Drink it all; the conserve
of roses, I dare say, will reward the last gulp,--there, that is a
dear boy--it will do you good;" and away flitted my nymph of the
mountain, saying, as she sped along, that she would come and walk
with me in a moment. Scarcely had I lost sight of her, before she
was back again; and all animation, with youth, health, and good
humour, she ran up to me and said--"Old Lawrence does not treat me
so formally as you do; _he_ does not look surprised when I offer
him a glass of milk; but smiles kindly, with a 'bless you, missy,'
as my reward."
"What," answered I, "have you been meting out your favors this
morning to a set of pensioners, amongst whom I have the honour
to be classed? If that be the case, _my_ gratitude might be
taken from the general tribute, and hardly missed."--"Oh, then,
I see how it is," replied my little coz, "you are offended at me
for having taken care of a helpless old man in company with a
smart and fashionable young one; but you will not be angry when
I tell you, that this dear old soul is the precious mother's
foster-father." "And pray, my amiable Fan, what is the meaning of
_foster_-father, for in my life I never happened to hear of such a
relation."--"Well, you astonish me, Arthur; I find that you have a
great deal to learn. Old Lawrence, or Lorry, as you will soon be
taught to call him, was husband to mamma's nurse. Nanny is dead,
and much did we grieve for her; but it is a great consolation
for her loss, that we are enabled to make her excellent and aged
partner so happy and comfortable as he is at Glenalta. Remember,
too, that the blessed sun does not shine less brightly upon you,
dear Arthur, because it warms our poor old man: and when you think
of this, you will never grudge him a share of Drimindhu's milk."
"And who, may I ask, is Drimindhu?" rejoined I. "A favourite cow.
Our Kerry cows are beautiful, and not unlike those of Alderney; but
Drim is my own property, and her milk is better than any other;
at least, _I_ think so, or I would not give it to you and Lorry.
Have your sisters _pets_ of this kind at Selby?" "No, indeed, _my_
sisters know very little of cows; and I question whether they
ever heard that it is these animals which supply us with milk.
Louisa and Adelaide live for a great part of every year in town,
and when they go down into Buckinghamshire, or to Brighton, or
elsewhere, they ride and drive, but never take any part in domestic
affairs."--"Well, then," answered Fanny, "I am sorry for it--they
lose a very great pleasure by not cultivating a love for the
country and its pursuits. The act of loving is so delightful, that
it always seems like the soul's sunshine; and I never understand
the character of the Deity so well as when I think of Him as a God
of Love."
Though I could not refrain from smiling, I felt for the time that
Fanny's view of things was very contagious. The splendor of a May
morning, the freshness of Nature, and the concert of singing birds,
had put me into a disposition to be pleased, and the simplicity of
this dear little girl had all the stimulating effect of novelty on
my senses.
At this moment, turning round a wooded knoll which we had been
skirting while thus engaged in a sort of conversation so unlike
what I had ever been accustomed to, a group of three donkies
appeared in view. "Here they come," exclaimed Fanny; and, darting
with the fleetness of a greyhound, she flew to meet her sisters,
who were attended by a peasant-boy, carrying a basket before
him. Nothing could be more picturesque than the scene, and it
was much heightened by the approach of these rustic equestrians.
While I was moving towards them, a fine pointer passed me by at
full speed, and a tap on my shoulder announced Frederick, who came
running across the grass to join the party. A few moments brought
us together, and, to my amazement, the brother and sisters met with
as much demonstration of gladness at sight of each other as Louisa,
Adelaide, and I could have mustered after a year's separation.
The effect was pleasant; and, if _sincere_, this affection which
the people here discover towards each other has something very
_comfortable_ in it; but it is only calculated for this sort of
place, and, like hospitality, naturally flies into these recesses
of the earth, where the objects are scarce upon which one's
practice can be exercised. Politeness is necessary to a _certain_
degree in the world, and even _that_ may be overdone; but beyond
this how little of the heart does one see brought into play, and
indeed on a great theatre the thing would be impracticable, if it
were not such a bore as to render an attempt to love every one that
a man meets as absurd as it is impossible. But I digress.--Large
coarse straw hats shaded my pretty cousins from the sun, which
shone brightly. The eldest has a peculiar expression, made up
of the intellectual and pensive, which is singularly agreeable,
though her features are not regular enough for what requires no
periphrasis to describe, but is at once called beauty. Charlotte
is very pleasing also; her countenance is less strongly marked
than Emily's by reflection, but it is quick as lightning--and full
of sensibility; while Fanny's face exhibits a mixture of all the
varied characteristics of both her sisters', or may perhaps be more
properly denominated a mirror, in which every movement of _their_
minds that makes it way to the surface, is shadowed with fidelity.
All were in a hurry to get home lest my aunt should be kept
waiting a moment; and so quick were the subsequent operations,
that Frederick has assisted the two damsels from their donkies,
the riding costume was _doffed_, as if by magic; and ere it
seemed possible to have gone through half the preliminary work of
preparation for breakfast, a bell tingled, and hastily pocketing
my sketch-book, I quitted my station near the house, where I had
lingered to make a memorandum of the spot, and was met at the door
by Fred. who stopped my entrance, saying, "Arthur, my mother fears
it may not be agreeable to you to attend family prayers; and,
as you are an invalid, I am desired to say, that you are not to
consider yourself bound to our hours, or observances; therefore, my
dear fellow, as you have of course said your own prayers, do not
think it necessary to join us; but Lewis has been asked, and as it
is pleasant to be _sure_ of religious instruction for the servants,
I came to mention the circumstance, lest you should want your
_valet_."
Now the fact was, that though you know I _do_ say my prayers
generally, and think the practice a right one, I had not knelt down
on that morning. The stimulus of a new place, the vexation of the
preceding evening, and a sort of restless curiosity to look about
me, and make my observations while I had an opportunity of being
alone; all excited me to quit my room as fast as I could, and I did
so without a syllable of devotion: behold me, then, again caught in
the trap; and having blundered out something of being "very happy,
&c. &c." Frederick led the way, and in a small room where there was
no appearance of eatables, I found Mrs. Douglas and her daughters.
My aunt, who is about forty, is a heavenly looking being, without
being handsome in the _common_ sense of the word. Her character of
countenance, manner, dress, is entirely and exclusively _her own_,
without conveying in any thing the idea of eccentric. Her smile is
lovely, and seems to warm into life and serenity whatever it rests
upon.
"At length her sorrows drew a line of care
Across her brow, and sketch'd her story there.
Years of internal suffering dried the stream
That lent her youthful eye its liquid beam;
A mild composure to its glance succeeds,
The gayest look still spoke of widow's weeds."
The exquisite lines, written by I know not whom, from which I
have made this extract, seem to have been drawn for my aunt. The
portraiture is perfect; but I must not forget that we are all
_fasting_. I was received with "welcome, _my_ Arthur," which I do
not know _why_, gave me a lump in my throat--a mixed sensation
of pain and pleasure, which I have very seldom experienced. The
servants, neatly dressed, and decorously arranged, lined the room.
Fanny placed old Lawrence's cushion, and a psalm, which was read by
Frederick, was succeeded by a prayer from his mother, pronounced
with such a thrilling pathos, that I felt it "_knock_ at my heart,"
as our friend Russell said one day of an Irish melody. I admire
not only my aunt's selection, but since she _must_ have family
devotion, her judgment in limiting the time which it occupies to
so short a period. Nobody seems either tired or inattentive; but
the petition is so simple, so energetic, and so reasonable in point
of duration, that really one cannot say much against the practice,
after all: custom, too, familiarizes one in a day or two to
kneeling down among the servants, so that on the whole I have no
right to complain; and as I shall not describe our _genuflections_
again, you may fancy me performing my matins and vespers with
monastic regularity. The Roman Catholic servants here attend as
punctually as the Protestants, and of their own free will, as
my aunt dreads hypocrisy, and therefore deprecates the idea of
_compelling_ her household to a mere lip-worship; but _her_ prayers
include all who require divine assistance, of whatever kind; and
the people seem to feel that she is truth itself.
Well, we went to breakfast, and a very nice one it was. The soil
of this country and its humid atmosphere appear favourable to
grass, and all the dairy department is much better managed than
in England, at least as to the excellence of the milk, cream, and
butter, when brought upon the table; for I do not profess to be
acquainted, as yet, with the manipulations which they undergo.
"My children, have you been fortunate in your ramble this morning?
What plants have you brought me?" asked Mrs. Douglas. I now
expected a first dissertation upon stamens and pistils--felt myself
starching my countenance involuntarily into a most repellent
expression, and was hastening to swallow a bit of toast that I
might turn to Frederick while the Linnæan lecture continued, when
Emily quickly, but joyously answered, "Oh, I am delighted to tell
you, that we found every thing you want except the club-moss."
Much pleased, as well as surprised, I ventured now to hint about
the botanical books which I had glanced at, adding, "I thought
that you were all learned in botany as well as the whole circle of
sciences." A hearty laugh went round the table, and Emily replied,
"We know a few plants, and it is very amusing to go in search of
them in our mountain walks."--"And pray," I asked, "have they not
all long Latin teeth-breaking names? I dare say you know some
scientific title for club-moss." "I _do_ know another name," said
Emily, "but the English is always the easiest and pleasantest,
when one does not want to be precise." "Then, Emmy, we may set
about our recipe to-day, I think," half whispered little Fan.
Growing bold, now that I had broken the ice, I proceeded to say,
"So then you are _doctors_, too. Upon my word, it is somewhat
formidable to come into the midst of an academy in this unprepared
manner. You should all put on wigs, and write treatises; and you
should inform your friends what course is necessary to be read
before they come to examination."
What answer I should have received to this sally, I cannot tell,
for in the moment of uttering it, the door opened, and my aunt's
dear friend, Mr. Otway, made his appearance. The vivid joy with
which he was greeted was quite unlike any thing that I had ever
seen, before my acquaintance here; but it was neither noisy nor
overwhelming, and though certainly very _unfashionable_, I could
not for the life of me help feeling how very delightful it must be
to excite so much lively emotion of a pleasurable kind by one's
presence. Mr. Otway's presence was welcomed with rapture by the
whole group, though in the expression of each _bien venu_ there
was something individually characteristic. My aunt's reception of
a person for whom she feels affection, is touchingly kind; and
while the bright glow of hospitality lights up her whole manner
and appearance, the gleam is accompanied by a sort of tender
melancholy, which would evidently conceal itself were it possible,
but which, when interpreted, seems to say, "there _was_ a time when
you would have been doubly welcome, for then I was not alone."
Her smile brings that beautiful image in Ossian to my mind, which
you and I have admired, "It was like a sun-beam on the dark side
of a wave." Fanny's exclamation, upon Mr. Otway's entrance, was,
"Oh, dearest _Phil._ can this indeed be you?" To expound this
extraordinary salutation would have been difficult when first I
heard it; but I am now enabled to say, that this gay assembly
christened him "The Philosopher," because of his extensive
knowledge, to which all the family are in the habit of appealing
as to a great bank of deposit; and it appears, that no letter of
credit drawn upon it has ever been dishonored. _Phil._ then, is
short-hand for philosopher, and my ear is now familiar with this
playful abbreviation.
The first effervescence over, I was presented to, and met with
a cordial shake of the hand by Mr. Otway, to whom I must now
introduce you. He is about five-and-fifty, tall, and striking in
his appearance, with a fine forehead, remarkably intelligent eyes,
and splendid teeth. His manners are easy and polished: and though
the first _coup d'[oe]il_ was a little in the Robinson Crusoe
style, yet, when he put off a large and shaggy looking cloak, laid
by a prodigious staff, like that of a watchman, which he held in
his hand, and got rid of a cap, the laps of which were folded
over his cheeks when he first came in, I perceived that he was a
remarkably well-looking man; perhaps I should say _distingué_ most
decidedly, and thereby hangs a tale, for my evil genius was at
hand, and I got into a scrape on account of him ere an hour elapsed
after his introduction; but not to anticipate, it seems that a long
illness had confined him for some time, and this was the first
visit that he had made on foot, which was the reason of his being
unusually muffled, and also of the more than common happiness
expressed at sight of him. He sat only a few minutes, but promised
to dine on the following day; and immediately after his departure
my aunt, addressing herself to me, said, "Arthur, my love, we are
a home-spun set of people here, very unlike the world to which you
are accustomed, and instead of passing our mornings in amusement,
we go to our several occupations till two o'clock, at which hour
you will always find luncheon in the breakfast-parlour, and your
cousins ready to ride or walk; but as you must not be expected to
drop all at once into our old-fashioned ways, Frederick and Emily
shall be your companions to-day, Charlotte and Fanny to-morrow. In
this manner, you will be acquainted with our walks, and introduced
to our sunny bowers. When Fred.'s next examinations are over, he
will be a free man; and in the mean time you will, I know, bear
with our stupidity."--So saying, she pressed my hand, and left the
room, followed by the younger girls.
"Shall we walk or ride to-day?" said Emily. "We are your attendant
knights," answered Frederick, "and wait your decision." "Oh,
oh!" quoth I, "Sir Charles Grandison upon our hands:" I did not,
however, say so _aloud_; I thought it better to feel my way a
little, and only replied, "Certainly."--Emily, with perfect ease,
rejoined, that she thought we might perhaps do both, and, turning
to her brother, added, "Suppose that we take him first through the
Glen, then round the coppice to Lisfarne Wood; and after luncheon,
if Arthur is not tired, we may ride up the mountain, and shew him
the bay." Matters were arranged in a moment, and forth we sallied,
Frederick presenting one arm to his sister and the other to me.
"Pooh! what a piece of ceremony you are," said I. "How so?" eagerly
asked Emily; "Fred. is so affectionate, that he _cannot_ be formal:
his heart always serves with him in the place of etiquette, by
suggesting all that the most genuine politeness could dictate: his
attentions are not confined to strangers; but, unlike those of cold
mannerists, are bestowed upon the people whom he loves best."
This savoured of a _sting_, and I felt my colour rising; but in
a second I found that none could have been designed; indeed, how
should it, for they knew nothing of my conduct with my sisters, and
therefore could never have intended a stab in the dark. "Plague
on these _retirements_," thought I to myself, "where there is no
standard for good manners but people's own crude notions of what
is right and wrong! This ponderous machinery of morals, brought to
bear upon every trifle, is as difficult to be at ease with, as the
heavy cross-stitch, long-backed chairs of antiquity which are just
suited to such _buckram_, and it is a pity that the furniture at
Glenalta is not in _keeping_ with these straight-laced puritans who
are its inhabitants."--Thoughts are rapid, and these flew over my
mind so fleetly as not to be fashioned into any sort of utterable
form, when the gay cheerfulness of my companions dispelled the
passing cloud, and we took a delightful walk, which was enlivened
by a great deal of pleasant conversation. We talked of Killarney,
which they tell me I must visit when I cease to _bark_. We planned
some boating parties, which, by the bye, will be just the thing,
and kill two birds with one stone; for the physicians, my mother
tells me in her last letter, desire me to go upon the water, and
as I like it excessively I shall have the credit of being a very
docile patient. They tell me that there are some curious remnants
of antiquity, which I am to see; and, in short, we cut out work
enough to occupy some time, which, if I can spin out in this back
settlement of mankind, _tant mieux_.