"Strange is it, that our bloods,
Of colour, weight, and heat, poured all together,
Would quite confound distinction, yet stand off
In differences so mighty."
SHAKSPEARE
Randolph Trevethlan was just of age when his father died; his sister,
two years younger. Their singular education had impressed
peculiarities upon each of them; but, trained so entirely together,
their habits and dispositions had grown into a conformity almost
perfect. Their pursuits, their wishes, their attachments were always
the same. Their father never allowed them to set foot on any ground
which had been alienated from the castle; and as such surrounded it at
a short distance, their inland walks were restricted within a very
narrow cordon. But the beach, no man's land, was open to their
rambles: a winding stair led from the castle to a portal cut in the
face of the rock on which it stood, and a flight of steps descended
from this doorway to the shingles, washed by the waves which rolled
eternally from the farthest Atlantic. Not far to the south, the rock
formed a narrow promontory of inconsiderable height, but running out
some distance into the sea. The rough granite afforded good footing,
and with a little exertion, it was not difficult to reach the
extremity, where there was a small cave. Randolph smoothed the
ruggedness of the way, and this recess, which they called Merlin's
Cave, became the favourite resort of himself and Helen. From it, they
looked straightforward past Mousehole and the Logan Rock to the
meeting of sea and sky, while a turn to the right, showed them St.
Michael's Mount and the beautiful woods over Penzance. Here, in the
warm season, they often sat for many hours together, reading the
legends of Cornubia, and of Armorica across the waters. Here, in the
winter, when the wind blew heavily from the west, they came to admire
the huge swell of the ocean thundering idly on the granite beneath
their feet. It might be thought that such a life would produce a
dreamy and feeble turn of mind, ill-calculated to withstand the
buffets of the world. And it will be found, in fact, that this result
did in some degree follow. But the lessons and conversation of
Polydore Riches, and the cold cynicism of Mr. Trevethlan, furnished a
partial antidote to its enervating tendency. It made the brother and
sister highly enthusiastic, but it did not entirely substitute romance
for reality. They knew very little of the world, yet the castles which
they built in the air, were of brick and mortar, not of crystal and
vapour. The plan which Randolph disclosed to his dying father, had
been often discussed between himself and Helen. An old edition of
Blackstone's Commentaries, and one, equally out of date of Burn's
Justice, which he found in the library, attested by their wear and
tear, the diligence of the young student, who little thought of the
depth to which he must dive, to find the sands of the legal Pactolus.
To go to London, to take some suburban lodging, to dwell in frugal
retirement, was the scheme arranged by Randolph and Helen _Morton_.
Mr. Griffith and Polydore would be their only confidants; the former
would introduce Randolph to the family lawyer, of course in his
feigned name, who would procure his admission at an Inn of Court; five
years--that was the bitter in the cup--five long years would qualify
him for the bar: and then, he should stretch forth his hand and
collect the golden grains. When a sufficiency of the commodity was
stored up, Randolph and Helen _Trevethlan_ would arrive one fine day
at Trevethlan Castle, which would have been gradually restored to
receive them, and there would be ringing of bells and firing of
cannon; a new flag would fly from the lofty watch-tower; Griffith and
his wife would weep for joy; Polydore would give them his blessing;
and the sun of Trevethlan, long hidden by clouds, would shine out with
a glory never to be again obscured.
These visions were interrupted by Mr. Trevethlan's illness and death.
The preparations necessary for the funeral devolved upon the steward
and his wife. Mrs. Griffith produced some velvet which had once been
black, wherewith to hang the state chamber, and a few tapers lighted
up the solemn mockery. The orphan brother and sister sat afar in those
rooms, which have been already described as overlooking a small flower
garden. The blinds, lowered reverentially, debarred the occupants from
beholding the prospect, and seemed to sever them from all communion
with the world. They leant against each other in sad silence, as if
they were too feeble to sustain themselves apart, and required mutual
support. Little had they thought how much the loss, even of their
father, could add to the loneliness of Trevethlan Castle. And the
scheme on which they had so long and so often dwelt in Merlin's Cave,
and which then seemed so simple and feasible, now assumed a hard and
perplexing aspect. The edifice, which at a distance looked fair and
stately, presented on a nearer view the whited wall of the sepulchre.
Wrapped in such reverie, with their arms twined around each other,
they were sitting side by side, the day preceding that appointed for
the funeral, when the chaplain entered with a letter in his hand. Very
rare, indeed, was the arrival of such a missive at the castle, and
Polydore's appearance roused the mourners from their lethargy. He
delivered the epistle to Randolph, and retired with delicate
kindness. It was dated from May Fair, London, and was to the following
effect:--
"MY DEAR NEPHEW,
"The estrangement, which has so long and so unhappily divided our
families, cannot deter me from offering you and my niece, the
sincere condolence both of Mrs. Trevethlan Pendarrel and of myself,
on the recent melancholy event.
"Most deeply do I regret that a pressure of engagements will prevent
me from attending the last obsequies of my lamented relative; but
Mrs. Trevethlan Pendarrel intends to have the pleasure of calling at
Trevethlan Castle before many days have elapsed, and of making the
acquaintance of her nephew and niece.
"Fearing that circumstances may render the funeral an embarrassment,
and awaiting a satisfactory arrangement for the comfort of yourself
and your sister, I have ventured to direct my bankers, Messrs.----,
to honour the drafts of Mr. Randolph Trevethlan to the amount of
L500.
"Mrs. Trevethlan Pendarrel unites in the regard with which
"I am,
"My dear nephew,
"Yours very affectionately,
"P. TREVETHLAN PENDARREL."
Helen watched her brother's face as he read this effusion of sympathy,
and was almost alarmed at the change which came over it. He held the
letter at arm's length, and gazed upon it: the lessons of the
portrait-gallery crowded thickly upon him, and those of the library
were forgotten.
"May I read it, Randolph?" his sister asked, timidly laying her hand
on his extended arm.
"Read it!" he repeated. "Ay, read it, Helen; read it, and learn what
we have become! Well might our father say that a favour received from
Philip Pendarrel would disturb him in his grave."
"Was it not kindly meant?" Helen said, gently, after perusing the
letter.
"Is insult ever kind?" asked her brother in reply. "Think they the
spirit of our house is extinct, that they come in such hot haste to
exult over its decay? Helen, the letter gives me heart. Why have we
desponded of our scheme? We are not yet absolutely beggars. The last
moveable in the castle shall be sold, the last farthing spent, in the
struggle for independence. And if it fail, we will come back to our
cold hearth, and here, for the last time, our hearts shall beat
together as they do now. But, Helen, my dearest sister, we will not
fail."
"And this promised visit?" his sister said, after a pause.
"Mrs. Pendarrel must return as she comes," said Randolph. "She does
not cross the threshold of Trevethlan Castle while I am its
master.--Come, let us take a turn in the gallery."
Helen sighed as she took her brother's arm for the walk he proposed.
The conflict which restored his spirit, saddened hers. It seemed a
presage of evil, that the first step of the orphans should involve
them in a quarrel with their nearest relations. The rowan bends
wailing under the breeze which the oak defies. Several times had the
length of the gallery been traversed in silence, when Randolph
produced a small miniature, and showed it to his sister.
"See, Helen," he said: "they found this upon him. I imagine it is her
likeness--Mrs. Pendarrel's."
"It is very beautiful," Helen remarked.
"Very beautiful," repeated her brother, "at first sight. But is it not
a beauty rather to fear than to love? There is strong expression in
the face--but of what? Is hatred or affection most apparent in those
inscrutable dark eyes? Is it good-humour or disdain that curls those
lips?"
"And why," Helen asked, "do you think it is a portrait of Mrs.
Pendarrel?"
"Because, my dear sister, our poor father told me she was once very
dear to him: she encouraged him, he said, and refused him. When they
brought me this picture, it recalled his words. There is a key to the
history which we have dimly heard."
Again the orphans made several turns in the gallery, musing in
silence. Then Randolph spoke:--
"Yes, Helen!--that was the beauty destined to be the ruin of our
house. In each successive crash that broke upon his head, our father
hoped to find forgetfulness of the past. But it was too deeply written
on his heart. And when the desolation was complete, he came back here
to hide anguish under pride, to cover tenderness with stern reserve.
Hence that cold demeanour which kept even his children at a distance,
and, seeming to reject their affection, checked, but did not stifle,
its growth. The story has made him more dear to me than ever before.
And now she, who broke his heart and drove him to ruin, insults us
with her sympathy and her wealth."
"She must herself be old," said Helen. "Perhaps she, too, has had
sorrows. I would fain believe you misinterpret that letter."
"Your wish is what it should be," observed Randolph: "I should be glad
to think it well founded. Forgive me, dear sister, if, for once, I
differ from you. We must not see Mrs. Pendarrel."
The next day Randolph Trevethlan followed his father's remains to the
vault in the village churchyard. It was but a short space from the
gates of the base-court, and within the precinct still appertaining to
the castle. Polydore Riches performed the funeral rites, and the
grave closed over the dead.
The chief mourner had been too much absorbed in his own emotions
during the ceremony to notice the bystanders; but when it was over, he
looked round to thank such as were known to him, for their sympathy
and respect. While so engaged, he happened to turn his eye on a
couple, who stood a little apart, beneath the shade of an old yew
tree. They were a young man about his own age, and a decrepit old
woman. They returned his look with an air which might be termed
insolent, and which, under other circumstances, might have provoked
his anger. But the features of the youth, although coarse and
sinister, seemed vaguely to resemble some with which Randolph was
familiar, and as he gazed upon them, he asked the chaplain if he knew
who the stranger was. Before Polydore could reply, the old woman
answered, having seen, not heard, the question.
"Who am I? Thy mother's mother: thy grandmother. Who is this? Thy
mother's sister's son: thy cousin. We were not asked to the burying,
but we came. To weep for a son-in-law? To weep for an uncle? Did he
weep for his wife? Na, na."
Randolph was inexpressibly shocked.
"I dreamt not of this," he said to the chaplain in a low tone.
"Something must be done. Are they in distress?"
"Na, na," said the old woman with a frightful grin, again interpreting
the motion of his lips, "we want nothing of you, Mr. Randolph
Trevethlan. We belong to Pendar'l now. And so will Trevethlan.
'When the castle a bride from the cot shall claim,
Pendar'l and Trevethlan shall own one name.'
Margaret Basset's mother seeks not from a son the help which a husband
refused."
Polydore put his arm through Randolph's, and drew him away. The late
Mr. Trevethlan's marriage had been a prohibited subject at the
castle, and all that his children knew concerning it, was, that their
mother had been of humble birth. So this was his son's first
introduction to his maternal relations. "It is thus," thought the
chaplain, "that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the
children."
The resemblance which Randolph had detected in the young man's
features, was to himself. It was of that vague character which the eye
often discovers in an unknown portrait, depending not on complexion,
or lineaments, or even expression, and difficult, therefore, to make
visible to another's perception. So now a third person would probably
have failed to see the likeness, recognised at once by the heir of
Trevethlan. For while candour and courage distinguished Randolph's
countenance, cunning and meanness lurked in the aspect of Michael
Sinson.
The development of such traits in the peasant might be owing to his
early life. When Margaret Basset sorrowfully obeyed the order which
seemed to make her mistress of Trevethlan Castle, her family conceived
great hopes from her elevation, instead of sympathising in her grief.
Her nephew, Michael, was trained in the habits they fancied most
likely to conciliate the favour of their lord, vulgar obsequiousness
and fawning dissimulation. For some time after Mrs. Trevethlan's
death, he was allowed to hang about the castle, enjoying the benefit
of Polydore's instruction, and encouraged in the idea, that he might
grow to be the confidant and companion of the youthful heir. Those who
thought so, little knew Mr. Trevethlan. Pride hates the sycophancy
which is acceptable to vanity. He was simply disgusted by the offered
homage; and at once perceiving its drift, excluded his wife's
relations from all connexion with his household, and ejected them from
their little farm. They settled upon the neighbouring estates of
Pendarrel, cherishing a natural enmity against their late landlord,
and beholding his ruin with a certain exultation. They also chose to
consider that poor Margaret had been aggrieved by the compulsion in
which they themselves participated, and thus sharpened craft and
malice with the feeling of injury. With such spiteful mind old Maud
Basset came to the funeral, and flung in Randolph's teeth a prophecy,
which had been much recited of late years among the peasantry of the
neighbourhood.
And now Trevethlan Castle re-assumed its usual appearance. One of
Randolph's first cares after the funeral was to warn Jeffrey, the
porter, that all visitors whatsoever who might present themselves at
the gates, were to be informed neither he nor his sister was at home,
and were not to be admitted on any pretence. Archbishop Secker is
reported to have said, that the _first_ person who used this excuse
told a lie. It sorely puzzled old Jeffrey's notions of morality.
"Not at home, Master Randolph," he said; "and are ye and my young lady
to leave us so soon?"
"No, Jeffrey," was the answer; "we are not going away immediately. But
we desire to see no company, and this is the usual mode of saying so."
"Good truth, Master Randolph, 'twill be a strange thing for company to
come to Trevethlan," said the porter. "And where shall I say you are
gone?"
"Nowhere," replied Randolph. "Say no more than that we are not at
home; and do not open the gates, whoever may ask."
"Trust old Jeffrey to obey a Trevethlan," the retainer said as his
master retired; "and faith, we want no fine folks here spying out the
nakedness of the land. Jeffrey will send them away with a flea in
their ear."