What is here?--
Gold?
Thus much of this will make black white, foul fair.
Timon of Athens.
Came there a certain lord, neat, trimly drest,
Fresh as a bridegroom.
Henry the Fourth.
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius!
He reads much. He is a great observer; and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men.
Often he smiles; but smiles in such a sort,
As if he mocked himself or scorned his spirit,
That could be moved to smile at anything.
Julius Caesar.
The next day, late at noon, as Lucy was sitting with her father, not as
usual engaged either in work or in reading, but seemingly quite idle,
with her pretty foot upon the squire's gouty stool, and eyes fixed on
the carpet, while her hands (never were hands so soft and so small as
Lucy's, though they may have been eclipsed in whiteness) were lightly
clasped together and reposed listlessly on her knees,--the surgeon of
the village abruptly entered with a face full of news and horror. Old
Squire Brandon was one of those persons who always hear news, whatever
it may be, later than any of their neighbours; and it was not till all
the gossips of the neighbourhood had picked the bone of the matter quite
bare, that he was now informed, through the medium of Mr. Pillum,
that Lord Mauleverer had on the preceding night been stopped by three
highwaymen in his road to his country-seat, and robbed to a considerable
amount.
The fame of the worthy Dr. Slopperton's maladventure having long ere
this been spread far and wide, the whole neighbourhood was naturally
thrown into great consternation. Magistrates were sent to, large dogs
borrowed, blunderbusses cleaned, and a subscription made throughout the
parish for the raising of a patrol. There seemed little doubt but that
the offenders in either case were members of the same horde; and Mr.
Pillum, in his own mind, was perfectly convinced that they meant to
encroach upon his trade, and destroy all the surrounding householders
who were worth the trouble.
The next week passed in the most diligent endeavours, on the part of the
neighbouring magistrates and yeomanry, to detect and seize the robbers;
but their labours were utterly fruitless; and one justice of peace, who
had been particularly active, was himself entirely “cleaned out” by an
old gentleman who, under the name of Mr. Bagshot,--rather an ominous
cognomen,--offered to conduct the unsuspicious magistrate to the very
spot where the miscreants might be seized. No sooner, however, had he
drawn the poor justice away from his comrades into a lonely part of
the road than he stripped him to his shirt. He did not even leave his
worship his flannel drawers, though the weather was as bitter as the
dog-days of 1829.
“It is not my way,” said the hoary ruffian, when the justice petitioned
at least for the latter article of attire,--“'t is not my way. I be 's
slow about my work, but I does it thoroughly; so off with your rags, old
un.”
This was, however, the only additional instance of aggression in the
vicinity of Warlock Manor-house; and by degrees, as the autumn declined,
and no further enormities were perpetrated, people began to look out
for a new topic of conversation. This was afforded them by a piece of
unexpected good fortune to Lucy Brandon:
Mrs. Warner--an old lady to whom she was slightly related, and with whom
she had been residing during her brief and only visit to London--died
suddenly, and in her will declared Lucy to be her sole heiress. The
property, which was in the Funds, and which amounted to L60,000, was to
be enjoyed by Miss Brandon immediately on her attaining her twenty-first
year; meanwhile the executors to the will were to pay to the young
heiress the annual sum of L600. The joy which this news created in
Warlock Manor-house may easily be conceived. The squire projected
improvements here, and repairs there; and Lucy, poor girl, who had no
idea of money for herself, beyond the purchase of a new pony, or a
gown from London, seconded with affectionate pleasure all her father's
suggestions, and delighted herself with the reflection that those fine
plans, which were to make the Brandons greater than the Brandons ever
were before, were to be realized by her own, own money! It was at this
identical time that the surrounding gentry made a simultaneous and grand
discovery,--namely, of the astonishing merits and great good-sense of
Mr. Joseph Brandon. It was a pity, they observed, that he was of so
reserved and shy a turn,--it was not becoming in a gentleman of so
ancient a family; but why should they not endeavour to draw him from
his retirement into those more public scenes which he was doubtless well
calculated to adorn?
Accordingly, as soon as the first month of mourning had expired, several
coaches, chariots, chaises, and horses which had never been seen at
Warlock Manor-house before, arrived there one after the other in the
most friendly manner imaginable. Their owners admired everything,--the
house was such a fine relic of old times!--for their parts they liked
an oak staircase!--and those nice old windows!--and what a beautiful
peacock!--and, Heaven save the mark! that magnificent chestnut-tree
was worth a forest! Mr. Brandon was requested to make one of the county
hunt, not that he any longer hunted himself, but that his name would
give such consequence to the thing! Miss Lucy must come to pass a week
with her dear friends the Honourable Misses Sansterre! Augustus, their
brother, had such a sweet lady's horse! In short, the customary change
which takes place in people's characters after the acquisition of a
fortune took place in the characters of Mr. and Miss Brandon; and
when people become suddenly amiable, it is no wonder that they should
suddenly gain a vast accession of friends.
But Lucy, though she had seen so little of the world, was not quite
blind; and the squire, though rather obtuse, was not quite a fool.
If they were not rude to their new visitors, they were by no means
overpowered with gratitude at their condescension. Mr. Brandon declined
subscribing to the hunt, and Miss Lucy laughed in the face of the
Honourable Augustus Sansterre. Among their new guests, however, was one
who to great knowledge of the world joined an extreme and even
brilliant polish of manners, which at least prevented deceit from
being disagreeable, if not wholly from being unseen this was the new
lieutenant of the county, Lord Mauleverer.
Though possessed of an immense property in that district, Lord
Mauleverer had hitherto resided but little on his estates. He was one
of those gay lords who are now somewhat uncommon in this country after
mature manhood is attained, who live an easy and rakish life, rather
among their parasites than their equals, and who yet, by aid of an
agreeable manner, natural talents, and a certain graceful and light
cultivation of mind (not the less pleasant for its being universally
coloured with worldliness, and an amusing rather than offensive regard
for self), never lose their legitimate station in society; who are
oracles in dress, equipages, cookery, and beauty, and, having no
character of their own, are able to fix by a single word a character
upon any one else. Thus, while Mauleverer rather lived the dissolute
life of a young nobleman, who prefers the company of agreeable demireps
to that of wearisome duchesses, than maintained the decorous state
befitting a mature age, and an immense interest in the country, he was
quite as popular at court, where he held a situation in the household,
as he was in the green-room, where he enchanted every actress on the
right side of forty. A word from him in the legitimate quarters of power
went further than an harangue from another; and even the prudes--at
least, all those who had daughters--confessed that his lordship was a
very interesting character. Like Brandon, his familiar friend, he had
risen in the world (from the Irish baron to the English earl) without
having ever changed his politics, which were ultra-Tory; and we need not
observe that he was deemed, like Brandon, a model of public integrity.
He was possessed of two places under government, six votes in the House
of Commons, and eight livings in the Church; and we must add, in justice
to his loyal and religious principles, that there was not in the three
kingdoms a firmer friend to the existing establishments.
Whenever a nobleman does not marry, people try to take away his
character. Lord Mauleverer had never married. The Whigs had been
very bitter on the subject; they even alluded to it in the House of
Commons,--that chaste assembly, where the never-failing subject of
reproach against Mr. Pitt was the not being of an amorous temperament;
but they had not hitherto prevailed against the stout earl's celibacy.
It is true that if he was devoid of a wife, he had secured to himself
plenty of substitutes; his profession was that of a man of gallantry;
and though he avoided the daughters, it was only to make love to the
mothers. But his lordship had now attained a certain age, and it was
at last circulated among his friends that he intended to look out for a
Lady Mauleverer.
“Spare your caresses,” said his toady-in-chief to a certain duchess, who
had three portionless daughters; “Mauleverer has sworn that he will not
choose among your order. You know his high politics, and you will not
wonder at his declaring himself averse in matrimony as in morals to a
community of goods.”
The announcement of the earl's matrimonial design and the circulation of
this anecdote set all the clergymen's daughters in England on a blaze
of expectation; and when Mauleverer came to shire, upon obtaining the
honour of the lieutenancy, to visit his estates and court the friendship
of his neighbours, there was not an old-young lady of forty, who worked
in broad-stitch and had never been to London above a week at a time, who
did not deem herself exactly the sort of person sure to fascinate his
lordship.
It was late in the afternoon when the travelling-chariot of this
distinguished person, preceded by two outriders, in the earl's undress
livery of dark green, stopped at the hall door of Warlock House. The
squire was at home, actually and metaphorically; for he never dreamed of
denying himself to any one, gentle or simple. The door of the carriage
being opened, there descended a small slight man, richly dressed (for
lace and silk vestments were not then quite discarded, though gradually
growing less the mode), and of an air prepossessing and distinguished
rather than dignified. His years--for his countenance, though handsome,
was deeply marked, and evinced the tokens of dissipation--seemed more
numerous than they really were; and though not actually past middle age,
Lord Mauleverer might fairly have received the unpleasing epithet of
elderly. However, his step was firm, his gait upright, and his
figure was considerably more youthful than his physiognomy. The first
compliments of the day having passed, and Lord Mauleverer having
expressed his concern that his long and frequent absence from the county
had hitherto prevented his making the acquaintance of Mr. Brandon, the
brother of one of his oldest and most esteemed friends, conversation
became on both sides rather an effort. Mr. Brandon first introduced the
subject of the weather, and the turnips; inquired whether his lordship
was not very fond (for his part he used to be, but lately the rheumatism
had disabled him; he hoped his lordship was not subject to that
complaint) of shooting!
Catching only the last words,--for, besides the awful complexity of the
squire's sentences, Mauleverer was slightly affected by the aristocratic
complaint of deafness,--the earl answered, with a smile,--
“The complaint of shooting! Very good indeed, Mr. Brandon; it is seldom
that I have heard so witty a phrase. No, I am not in the least troubled
with that epidemic. It is a disorder very prevalent in this county.”
“My lord!” said the squire, rather puzzled; and then, observing that
Mauleverer did not continue, he thought it expedient to start another
subject.
“I was exceedingly grieved to hear that your lordship, in travelling
to Mauleverer Park (that is a very ugly road across the waste land; the
roads in this country are in general pretty good,--for my own part, when
I was a magistrate I was very strict in that respect), was robbed. You
have not yet, I believe, detected (for my part, though I do not profess
to be much of a politician, I do think that in affairs of robbery there
is a great deal of remissness in the ministers) the villains!”
“Our friend is disaffected!” thought the lord-lieutenant, imagining
that the last opprobrious term was applied to the respectable personages
specified in the parenthesis. Bowing with a polished smile to the
squire, Mauleverer replied aloud, that he was extremely sorry that
their conduct (meaning the ministers) did not meet with Mr. Brandon's
approbation.
“Well,” thought the squire, “that is playing the courtier with a
vengeance!--Meet with my approbation!” said he, warmly; “how could your
lordship think me (for though I am none of your saints, I am, I hope, a
good Christian; an excellent one, judging from your words, your lordship
must be!) so partial to crime!”
“I partial to crime!” returned Mauleverer, thinking he had stumbled
unawares on some outrageous democrat, yet smiling as softly as usual;
“you judge me harshly, Mr. Brandon! You must do me more justice, and you
can only do that by knowing me better.”
Whatever unlucky answer the squire might otherwise have made was cut
off by the entrance of Lucy; and the earl, secretly delighted at the
interruption, rose to render her his homage, and to remind her of the
introduction he had formerly been so happy as to obtain to her through
the friendship of Mr. William Brandon,--a “friendship,” said the gallant
nobleman, “to which I have often before been indebted, but which was
never more agreeably exerted on my behalf.”
Upon this Lucy, who though she had been so painfully bashful during
her meeting with Mr. Clifford, felt no overpowering diffidence in the
presence of so much greater a person, replied laughingly, and the earl
rejoined by a second compliment. Conversation was now no longer an
effort; and Mauleverer, the most consummate of epicures, whom even
royalty trembled to ask without preparation, on being invited by the
unconscious squire to partake of the family dinner, eagerly accepted
the invitation. It was long since the knightly walls of Warlock had been
honoured by the presence of a guest so courtly. The good squire heaped
his plate with a profusion of boiled beef; and while the poor earl was
contemplating in dismay the Alps upon Alps which he was expected to
devour, the gray-headed butler, anxious to serve him with alacrity,
whipped away the overloaded plate, and presently returned it, yet more
astoundingly surcharged with an additional world of a composition
of stony colour and sudorific aspect, which, after examining in mute
attention for some moments, and carefully removing as well as he was
able to the extreme edge of his plate, the earl discovered to be suet
pudding.
“You eat nothing, my lord,” cried the squire; “let me give you--this is
more underdone;” holding between blade and fork in middle air abhorrent
fragment of scarlet, shaking its gory locks,--“another slice.”
Swift at the word dropped upon Mauleverer's plate the harpy finger and
ruthless thumb of the gray-headed butler. “Not a morsel more,” cried the
earl, struggling with the murderous domestic. “My dear sir, excuse me; I
assure you I have never ate such a dinner before,--never!”
“Nay, now!” quoth the squire, expostulating, “you really (and this
air is so keen that your lordship should indulge your appetite, if you
follow the physician's advice) eat nothing!”
Again Mauleverer was at fault.
“The physicians are right, Mr. Brandon,” said he, “very right, and I am
forced to live abstemiously; indeed I do not know whether, if I were to
exceed at your hospitable table, and attack all that you would bestow
upon me, I should ever recover it. You would have to seek a new
lieutenant for your charming county, and on the tomb of the last
Mauleverer the hypocritical and unrelated heir would inscribe, 'Died of
the visitation of Beef, John, Earl, etc.'”
Plain as the meaning of this speech might have seemed to others, the
squire only laughed at the effeminate appetite of the speaker, and
inclined to think him an excellent fellow for jesting so good-humouredly
on his own physical infirmity. But Lucy had the tact of her sex, and,
taking pity on the earl's calamitous situation, though she certainly
never guessed at its extent, entered with so much grace and ease
into the conversation which he sought to establish between them, that
Mauleverer's gentleman, who had hitherto been pushed aside by the zeal
of the gray-headed butler, found an opportunity, when the squire was
laughing and the butler staring, to steal away the overburdened plate
unsuspected and unseen.
In spite, however, of these evils of board and lodgement, Mauleverer was
exceedingly well pleased with his visit; nor did he terminate it till
the shades of night had begun to close, and the distance from his own
residence conspired with experience to remind him that it was possible
for a highwayman's audacity to attack the equipage even of Lord
Mauleverer. He then reluctantly re-entered his carriage, and, bidding
the postilions drive as fast as possible, wrapped himself in his
roquelaire, and divided his thoughts between Lucy Brandon and the homard
au gratin with which he proposed to console him self immediately on
his return home. However, Fate, which mocks our most cherished hopes,
ordained that on arriving at Mauleverer Park the owner should be
suddenly afflicted with a loss of appetite, a coldness in the limbs, a
pain in the chest, and various other ungracious symptoms of portending
malady. Lord Mauleverer went straight to bed; he remained there for some
days, and when he recovered his physicians ordered him to Bath. The Whig
Methodists, who hated him, ascribed his illness to Providence; and his
lordship was firmly of opinion that it should be ascribed to the beef
and pudding. However this be, there was an end, for the present, to
the hopes of young ladies of forty, and to the intended festivities at
Mauleverer Park.
“Good heavens!” said the earl, as his carriage wheels turned from his
gates, “what a loss to country tradesmen may be occasioned by a piece of
underdone beef, especially if it be boiled!”
About a fortnight had elapsed since Mauleverer's meteoric visit to
Warlock House, when the squire received from his brother the following
epistle:--
MY DEAR JOSEPH,--You know my numerous avocations, and, amid the
press of business which surrounds me, will, I am sure, forgive me
for being a very negligent and remiss correspondent. Nevertheless,
I assure you, no one can more sincerely sympathize in that good
fortune which has befallen my charming niece, and of which your last
letter informed me, than I do. Pray give my best love to her, and
tell her how complacently I look forward to the brilliant sensation
she will create, when her beauty is enthroned upon that rank which,
I am quite sure, it will one day or other command.
You are not aware, perhaps, my dear Joseph, that I have for some
time been in a very weak and declining state of health. The old
nervous complaint in my face has of late attacked me grievously, and
the anguish is sometimes so great that I am scarcely able to bear
it. I believe the great demand which my profession makes upon a
frame of body never strong, and now beginning prematurely to feel
the infirmities of time, is the real cause of my maladies. At last,
however, I must absolutely punish my pocket, and indulge my
inclinations by a short respite from toil. The doctors--sworn
friends, you know, to the lawyers, since they make common cause
against mankind--have peremptorily ordered me to lie by, and to try
a short course of air, exercise, social amusements, and the waters
of Bath. Fortunately this is vacation time, and I can afford to
lose a few weeks of emolument, in order, perhaps, to secure many
years of life. I purpose, then, early next week, repairing to that
melancholy reservoir of the gay, where persons dance out of life and
are fiddled across the Styx. In a word, I shall make one of the
adventurers after health who seek the goddess at King Bladud's pump-
room. Will you and dear Lucy join me there? I ask it of your
friendship, and I am quite sure that neither of you will shrink
aghast at the proposal of solacing your invalid relation. At the
same time that I am recovering health, my pretty niece will be
avenging Pluto, by consigning to his dominions many a better and
younger hero in my stead. And it will be a double pleasure to me to
see all the hearts, etc.--I break off, for what can I say on that
subject which the little coquette does not anticipate? It is high
time that Lucy should see the world; and though there are many--at
Bath, above all places, to whom the heiress will be an object of
interested attentions, yet there are also many in that crowded city
by no means undeserving her notice. What say you, dear Joseph? But
I know already: you will not refuse to keep company with me in my
little holiday; and Lucy's eyes are already sparkling at the idea of
new bonnets, Milsom Street, a thousand adorers, and the pump-room.
Ever, dear Joseph, yours affectionately,
WILLIAM BRANDON.
P. S. I find that my friend Lord Mauleverer is at Bath; I own that
is an additional reason to take me thither; by a letter from him,
received the other day, I see that he has paid you a visit, and he
now raves about his host and the heiress. Ah, Miss Lucy, Miss Lucy!
are you going to conquer him whom all London has, for years more
than I care to tell (yet not many, for Mauleverer is still young),
assailed in vain? Answer me!
This letter created a considerable excitement in Warlock House. The old
squire was extremely fond of his brother, and grieved to the heart to
find that he spoke so discouragingly of his health. Nor did the
squire for a moment hesitate at accepting the proposal to join his
distinguished relative at Bath. Lucy also--who had for her uncle,
possibly from his profuse yet not indelicate flattery, a very great
regard and interest, though she had seen but little of him--urged the
squire to lose no time in arranging matters for their departure, so as
to precede the barrister, and prepare everything for his arrival. The
father and daughter being thus agreed, there was little occasion for
delay; an answer to the invalid's letter was sent by return of post, and
on the fourth day from their receipt of the said epistle, the good old
squire, his daughter, a country girl by way of abigail, the gray-headed
butler, and two or three live pets, of the size and habits most
convenient for travelling, were on their way to a city which at that
time was gayer at least, if somewhat less splendid, than the metropolis.
On the second day of their arrival at Bath, Brandon (as in future, to
avoid confusion, we shall call the younger brother, giving to the elder
his patriarchal title of squire) joined them.
He was a man seemingly rather fond of parade, though at heart he
disrelished and despised it. He came to their lodging, which had not
been selected in the very best part of the town, in a carriage and six,
but attended only by one favourite servant.
They found him in better looks and better spirits than they had
anticipated. Few persons, when he liked it, could be more agreeable than
William Brandon; but at times there mixed with his conversation a bitter
sarcasm, probably a habit acquired in his profession, or an occasional
tinge of morose and haughty sadness, possibly the consequence of his
ill-health. Yet his disorder, which was somewhat approaching to that
painful affliction the tic douloureux, though of fits more rare in
occurrence than those of that complaint ordinarily are, never seemed
even for an instant to operate upon his mood, whatever that might be.
That disease worked unseen; not a muscle of his face appeared to quiver;
the smile never vanished from his mouth, the blandness of his voice
never grew faint as with pain, and, in the midst of intense torture, his
resolute and stern mind conquered every external indication; nor could
the most observant stranger have noted the moment when the fit attacked
or released him. There was something inscrutable about the man. You felt
that you took his character upon trust, and not on your own knowledge.
The acquaintance of years would have left you equally dark as to his
vices or his virtues. He varied often, yet in each variation he was
equally undiscoverable. Was he performing a series of parts, or was it
the ordinary changes of a man's true temperament that you beheld in him?
Commonly smooth, quiet, attentive, flattering in social intercourse,
he was known in the senate and courts of law for a cold asperity, and a
caustic venom,--scarcely rivalled even in those arenas of contention.
It seemed as if the bitterer feelings he checked in private life,
he delighted to indulge in public. Yet even there he gave not way to
momentary petulance or gushing passion; all seemed with him systematic
sarcasm or habitual sternness. He outraged no form of ceremonial or of
society. He stung, without appearing conscious of the sting; and his
antagonist writhed not more beneath the torture of his satire than the
crushing contempt of his self-command. Cool, ready, armed and defended
on all points, sound in knowledge, unfailing in observation, equally
consummate in sophistry when needed by himself, and instantaneous
in detecting sophistry in another; scorning no art, however painful;
begrudging no labour, however weighty; minute in detail, yet not the
less comprehending the whole subject in a grasp,--such was the legal and
public character William Brandon had established, and such was the fame
he joined to the unsullied purity of his moral reputation. But to his
friends he seemed only the agreeable, clever, lively, and, if we may
use the phrase innocently, the worldly man,--never affecting a superior
sanctity, or an over-anxiety to forms, except upon great occasions; and
rendering his austerity of manners the more admired, because he made it
seem so unaccompanied by hypocrisy.
“Well,” said Brandon, as he sat after dinner alone with his relations,
and had seen the eyes of his brother close in diurnal slumber, “tell
me, Miss Lucy, what you think of Lord Mauleverer; do you find him
agreeable?”
“Very; too much so, indeed!”
“Too much so! That is an uncommon fault, Lucy, unless you mean to
insinuate that you find him too agreeable for your peace of mind.”
“Oh, no! there is little fear of that. All that I meant to express was
that he seems to make it the sole business of his life to be agreeable,
and that one imagines he had gained that end by the loss of certain
qualities which one would have liked better.”
“Umph! and what are they?”
“Truth, sincerity, independence, and honesty of mind.”
“My dear Lucy, it has been the professional study of my life to discover
a man's character, especially so far as truth is concerned, in as short
a time as possible; but you excel me in intuition, if you can tell
whether there be sincerity in a courtier's character at the first
interview you have with him.”
“Nevertheless, I am sure of my opinion,” said Lucy, laughing; “and I
will tell you one instance I observed among a hundred. Lord Mauleverer
is rather deaf, and he imagined, in conversation, that my father said
one thing--it was upon a very trifling subject, the speech of some
member of parliament [the lawyer smiled],--when in reality he meant to
say another. Lord Mauleverer, in the warmest manner in the world,
chimed in with him, appeared thoroughly of his opinion, applauded his
sentiments, and wished the whole country of his mind. Suddenly my father
spoke; Lord Mauleverer bent down his ear, and found that the sentiments
he had so lauded were exactly those my father the least favoured.
No sooner did he make this discovery than he wheeled round
again,--dexterously and gracefully, I allow; condemned all that he had
before extolled, and extolled all that he had before abused!”
“And is that all, Lucy?” said Brandon, with a keener sneer on his lip
than the occasion warranted. “Why, that is what every one does; only
some more gravely than others. Mauleverer in society, I at the bar, the
minister in parliament, friend to friend, lover to mistress, mistress to
lover,--half of us are employed in saying white is black, and the other
half in swearing that black is white. There is only one difference, my
pretty niece, between the clever man and the fool: the fool says what is
false while the colours stare in his face and give him the lie; but the
clever man takes as it were a brush and literally turns the black into
white and the white into black before he makes the assertion, which is
then true. The fool changes, and is a liar; the clever man makes the
colours change, and is a genius. But this is not for your young years
yet, Lucy.”
“But I can't see the necessity of seeming to agree with people,” said
Lucy, simply; “surely they would be just as well pleased if you differed
from them civilly and with respect?”
“No, Lucy,” said Brandon, still sneering; “to be liked, it is not
necessary to be anything but compliant. Lie, cheat, make every word a
snare, and every act a forgery; but never contradict. Agree with people,
and they make a couch for you in their hearts. You know the story of
Dante and the buffoon. Both were entertained at the court of the vain
pedant, who called himself Prince Scaliger,--the former poorly, the
latter sumptuously. 'How comes it,' said the buffoon to the poet, 'that
I am so rich and you so poor?' 'I shall be as rich as you,' was the
stinging and true reply, 'whenever I can find a patron as like myself as
Prince Scaliger is like you!'”
“Yet my birds,” said Lucy, caressing the goldfinch, which nestled to
her bosom, “are not like me, and I love them. Nay, I often think I
could love those better who differ from me the most. I feel it so in
books,--when, for instance, I read a novel or a play; and you, uncle, I
like almost in proportion to my perceiving in myself nothing in common
with you.”
“Yes,” said Brandon, “you have in common with me a love for old stories
of Sir Hugo and Sir Rupert, and all the other 'Sirs' of our mouldered
and bygone race. So you shall sing me the ballad about Sir John de
Brandon, and the dragon he slew in the Holy Land. We will adjourn to the
drawing-room, not to disturb your father.”
Lucy agreed, took her uncle's arm, repaired to the drawing-room, and
seating herself at the harpsichord, sang to an inspiriting yet somewhat
rude air the family ballad her uncle had demanded.
It would have been amusing to note in the rigid face of the hardened and
habitual man of peace and parchments a certain enthusiasm which ever
and anon crossed his cheek, as the verses of the ballad rested on some
allusion to the knightly House of Brandon and its old renown. It was an
early prejudice, breaking out despite of himself,--a flash of character,
stricken from the hard fossil in which it was imbedded. One would have
supposed that the silliest of all prides (for the pride of money, though
meaner, is less senseless), family pride, was the last weakness which
at that time the callous and astute lawyer would have confessed, even to
himself.
“Lucy,” said Brandon, as the song ceased, and he gazed on his beautiful
niece with a certain pride in his aspect, “I long to witness your first
appearance in the world. This lodging, my dear, is not fit--But pardon
me! what I was about to say is this: your father and yourself are here
at my invitation, and in my house you must dwell; you are my guests, not
mine host and hostess. I have therefore already directed my servant to
secure me a house and provide the necessary establishment; and I make
no doubt, as he is a quick fellow, that within three days all will be
ready. You must then be the magnet of my abode, Lucy; and meanwhile
you must explain this to my brother, and--for you know his jealous
hospitality--obtain his acquiescence.”
“But--” began Lucy.
“But me no buts,” said Brandon, quickly, but with an affectionate tone
of wilfulness; “and now, as I feel very much fatigued with my journey,
you must allow me to seek my own room.”
“I will conduct you to it myself,” said Lucy, for she was anxious
to show her father's brother the care and forethought which she had
lavished on her arrangements for his comfort. Brandon followed her into
an apartment which his eye knew at a glance had been subjected to that
female superintendence which makes such uses from what men reject as
insignificant; and he thanked her with more than his usual amenity, for
the grace which had presided over, and the kindness which had dictated
her preparations. As soon as he was left alone, he wheeled his armchair
near the clear, bright fire, and resting his face upon his hand, in the
attitude of a man who prepares himself as it were for the indulgence of
meditation, he muttered,--
“Yes! these women are, first, what Nature makes them, and that is good;
next, what use make them, and that is evil! Now, could I persuade myself
that we ought to be nice as to the use we put these poor puppets to, I
should shrink from enforcing the destiny which I have marked for this
girl. But that is a pitiful consideration, and he is but a silly player
who loses his money for the sake of preserving his counters. So the
young lady must go as another score to the fortunes of William Brandon.
After all, who suffers? Not she. She will have wealth, rank, honour.
I shall suffer, to yield so pretty and pure a gem to the coronet
of--Faugh! How I despise that dog; but how I could hate, crush, mangle
him, could I believe that he despised me! Could he do so? Umph! No,
I have resolved myself that is impossible. Well, let me hope that
matrimonial point will be settled; and now let me consider what next
step I shall take for myself,--myself, ay, only myself! With me perishes
the last male of Brandon; but the light shall not go out under a
bushel.”
As he said this, the soliloquist sunk into a more absorbed and silent
revery, from which he was disturbed by the entrance of his servant.
Brandon, who was never a dreamer save when alone, broke at once from his
reflections.
“You have obeyed my orders, Barlow?” said he.
“Yes, sir,” answered the domestic. “I have taken the best house yet
unoccupied; and when Mrs. Roberts [Brandon's housekeeper] arrives from
London, everything will, I trust, be exactly to your wishes.”
“Good! And you gave my note to Lord Mauleverer?”
“With my own hands, sir; his lordship will await you at home all
to-morrow.”
“Very well! and now, Barlow, see that your room is within call [bells,
though known, were not common at that day], and give out that I am gone
to bed, and must not be disturbed. What's the hour?”
“Just on the stroke of ten, sir.”
“Place on that table my letter-case and the inkstand. Look in, to
help me to undress, at half-past one; I shall go to bed at that hour.
And--stay--be sure, Barlow, that my brother believes me retired for the
night. He does not know my habits, and will vex himself if he thinks I
sit up so late in my present state of health.”
Drawing the table with its writing appurtenances near to his master, the
servant left Brandon once more to his thoughts or his occupations.