Which sloping hills around inclose,
Where many a beech and brown oak grows
Beneath whose dark and branching bowers
Its tides a far-fam'd river pours,
By natures beauties taught to please,
Sweet Tusculan of rural easel
WARTON.
Woodbourne, the habitation which Mannering, by Mr. Mac-Morlan's
mediation, had hired for a season, was a large comfortable mansion,
snugly situated beneath a hill covered with wood, which shrouded the
house upon the north and east; the front looked upon a little lawn
bordered by a grove of old trees; beyond were some arable fields,
extending down to the river, which was seen from the windows of the
house. A tolerable, though old-fashioned garden, a well-stocked
dove-cot, and the possession of any quantity of ground which the
convenience of the family might require, rendered the place in every
respect suitable, as the advertisements have it, 'for the accommodation
of a genteel family.'
Here, then, Mannering resolved, for some time at least, to set up the
staff of his rest. Though an East-Indian, he was not partial to an
ostentatious display of wealth. In fact, he was too proud a man to be a
vain one. He resolved, therefore, to place himself upon the footing of
a country gentleman of easy fortune, without assuming, or permitting
his household to assume, any of the faste which then was considered as
characteristic of a nabob.
He had still his eye upon the purchase of Ellangowan, which Mac-Morlan
conceived Mr. Glossin would be compelled to part with, as some of the
creditors disputed his title to retain so large a part of the
purchase-money in his own hands, and his power to pay it was much
questioned. In that case Mac-Morlan was assured he would readily give
up his bargain, if tempted with something above the price which he had
stipulated to pay. It may seem strange that Mannering was so much
attached to a spot which he had only seen once, and that for a short
time, in early life. But the circumstances which passed there had laid
a strong hold on his imagination. There seemed to be a fate which
conjoined the remarkable passages of his own family history with those
of the inhabitants of Ellangowan, and he felt a mysterious desire to
call the terrace his own from which he had read in the book of heaven a
fortune strangely accomplished in the person of the infant heir of that
family, and corresponding so closely with one which had been strikingly
fulfilled in his own. Besides, when once this thought had got
possession of his imagination, he could not, without great reluctance,
brook the idea of his plan being defeated, and by a fellow like
Glossin. So pride came to the aid of fancy, and both combined to
fortify his resolution to buy the estate if possible.
Let us do Mannering justice. A desire to serve the distressed had also
its share in determining him. He had considered the advantage which
Julia might receive from the company of Lucy Bertram, whose genuine
prudence and good sense could so surely be relied upon. This idea had
become much stronger since Mac-Morlan had confided to him, under the
solemn seal of secrecy, the whole of her conduct towards young
Hazlewood. To propose to her to become an inmate in his family, if
distant from the scenes of her youth and the few whom she called
friends, would have been less delicate; but at Woodbourne she might
without difficulty be induced to become the visitor of a season,
without being depressed into the situation of an humble companion. Lucy
Bertram, with some hesitation, accepted the invitation to reside a few
weeks with Miss Mannering. She felt too well that, however the
Colonel's delicacy might disguise the truth, his principal motive was a
generous desire to afford her his countenance and protection, which his
high connexions, and higher character, were likely to render
influential in the neighbourhood.
About the same time the orphan girl received a letter from Mrs.
Bertram, the relation to whom she had written, as cold and comfortless
as could well be imagined. It inclosed, indeed, a small sum of money,
but strongly recommended economy, and that Miss Bertram should board
herself in some quiet family, either at Kippletringan or in the
neighbourhood, assuring her that, though her own income was very
scanty, she would not see her kinswoman want. Miss Bertram shed some
natural tears over this cold-hearted epistle; for in her mother's time
this good lady had been a guest at Ellangowan for nearly three years,
and it was only upon succeeding to a property of about L400 a year that
she had taken farewell of that hospitable mansion, which otherwise
might have had the honour of sheltering her until the death of its
owner. Lucy was strongly inclined to return the paltry donation, which,
after some struggles with avarice, pride had extorted from the old
lady. But on consideration she contented herself with writing that she
accepted it as a loan, which, she hoped in a short time to repay, and
consulted her relative upon the invitation she had received from
Colonel and Miss Mannering. This time the answer came in course of
post, so fearful was Mrs. Bertram that some frivolous delicacy, or
nonsense, as she termed it, might induce her cousin to reject such a
promising offer, and thereby at the same time to leave herself still a
burden upon her relations. Lucy, therefore, had no alternative, unless
she preferred continuing a burden upon the worthy Mac-Morlans, who were
too liberal to be rich. Those kinsfolk who formerly requested the
favour of her company had of late either silently, or with expressions
of resentment that she should have preferred Mac-Morlan's invitation to
theirs, gradually withdrawn their notice.
The fate of Dominie Sampson would have been deplorable had it depended
upon any one except Mannering, who was an admirer of originality, for a
separation from Lucy Bertram would have certainly broken his heart.
Mac-Morlan had given a full account of his proceedings towards the
daughter of his patron. The answer was a request from Mannering to know
whether the Dominie still possessed that admirable virtue of
taciturnity by which he was so notably distinguished at Ellangowan.
Mac-Morlan replied in the affirmative. 'Let Mr. Sampson know,' said the
Colonel's next letter, 'that I shall want his assistance to catalogue
and put in order the library of my uncle, the bishop, which I have
ordered to be sent down by sea. I shall also want him to copy and
arrange some papers. Fix his salary at what you think befitting. Let
the poor man be properly dressed, and accompany his young lady to
Woodbourne.'
Honest Mac-Morlan received this mandate with great joy, but pondered
much upon executing that part of it which related to newly attiring the
worthy Dominie. He looked at him with a scrutinising eye, and it was
but too plain that his present garments were daily waxing more
deplorable. To give him money, and bid him go and furnish himself,
would be only giving him the means of making himself ridiculous; for
when such a rare event arrived to Mr. Sampson as the purchase of new
garments, the additions which he made to his wardrobe by the guidance
of his own taste usually brought all the boys of the village after him
for many days. On the other hand, to bring a tailor to measure him, and
send home his clothes, as for a school-boy, would probably give
offence. At length Mac-Morlan resolved to consult Miss Bertram, and
request her interference. She assured him that, though she could not
pretend to superintend a gentleman's wardrobe, nothing was more easy
than to arrange the Dominie's.
'At Ellangowan,' she said, 'whenever my poor father thought any part of
the Dominie's dress wanted renewal, a servant was directed to enter his
room by night, for he sleeps as fast as a dormouse, carry off the old
vestment, and leave the new one; nor could any one observe that the
Dominie exhibited the least consciousness of the change put upon him on
such occasions.'
Mac-Morlan, in conformity with Miss Bertram's advice, procured a
skilful artist, who, on looking at the Dominie attentively, undertook
to make for him two suits of clothes, one black and one raven-grey, and
even engaged that they should fit him--as well at least (so the tailor
qualified his enterprise) as a man of such an out-of-the-way build
could be fitted by merely human needles and shears. When this fashioner
had accomplished his task, and the dresses were brought home,
Mac-Morlan, judiciously resolving to accomplish his purpose by degrees,
withdrew that evening an important part of his dress, and substituted
the new article of raiment in its stead. Perceiving that this passed
totally without notice, he next ventured on the waistcoat, and lastly
on the coat. When fully metamorphosed, and arrayed for the first time
in his life in a decent dress, they did observe that the Dominie seemed
to have some indistinct and embarrassing consciousness that a change
had taken place on his outward man. Whenever they observed this dubious
expression gather upon his countenance, accompanied with a glance that
fixed now upon the sleeve of his coat, now upon the knees of his
breeches, where he probably missed some antique patching and darning,
which, being executed with blue thread upon a black ground, had
somewhat the effect of embroidery, they always took care to turn his
attention into some other channel, until his garments, 'by the aid of
use, cleaved to their mould.' The only remark he was ever known to make
on the subject was, that 'the air of a town like Kippletringan seemed
favourable unto wearing apparel, for he thought his coat looked almost
as new as the first day he put it on, which was when he went to stand
trial for his license as a preacher.'
When the Dominie first heard the liberal proposal of Colonel Mannering,
he turned a jealous and doubtful glance towards Miss Bertram, as if he
suspected that the project involved their separation; but when Mr.
Mac-Morlan hastened to explain that she would be a guest at Woodbourne
for some time, he rubbed his huge hands together, and burst into a
portentous sort of chuckle, like that of the Afrite in the tale of 'The
Caliph Vathek.' After this unusual explosion of satisfaction, he
remained quite passive in all the rest of the transaction.
It had been settled that Mr. and Mrs. Mac-Morlan should take possession
of the house a few days before Mannering's arrival, both to put
everything in perfect order and to make the transference of Miss
Bertram's residence from their family to his as easy and delicate as
possible. Accordingly, in the beginning of the month of December the
party were settled at Woodbourne.