Palestrina and I live in the country, and whenever we are dull or sad,
like the sailors in Mr. Gilbert's poem, we decide that our
neighbourhood is too deadly uninteresting, and then we go and see the
Jamiesons. They are our nearest neighbours, as they are also amongst
our greatest friends, and the walk to their house is a distance that I
am able to manage. I believe that our visits to the Jamiesons are most
often determined by the state of the weather. If we have passed a long
wet day indoors I feel that it is going to be a Jamieson day, and I
know that my sister will say to me after tea, "Suppose we go over and
see the Jamiesons;" and she generally adds that it is much better than
settling down for the evening at five o'clock in the afternoon.
I do not think that Palestrina was so sociable a young woman, nor did
she see so much of her neighbours, before I came home an invalid from
South Africa--I got hit in the legs at Magersfontein, and had the left
one taken off in the hospital at Wynberg--but she believes, no doubt
rightly, that the variety that one gets by seeing one's fellow-men is
good for a poor lame dog who lies on a sofa by the fire the greater
part of the day, wishing he could grow another leg or feel fit again.
Acting upon this unalterable conviction of my sister, we drive about in
the afternoon and see people, and they come and see me and suggest
occupations for me. In Lent I had a more than usual number of callers,
which says much for the piety of the place, as well as for the goodness
of heart of its inhabitants.
There is a slight coolness between what is known as the "County" and
the Jamiesons, and their name is never mentioned without the
accompanying piece of information, "You know, old Jamieson married his
cook!" To be more exact, Mrs. Jamieson was a small farmer's daughter,
and Captain Jamieson fell in love with her when, having left the army,
he went to learn practical farming at old Higgins's, and he loved her
faithfully to the day of his death. She is a stout, elderly woman who
speaks very little, but upon whom an immense amount of affection seems
to be lavished by her family of five daughters and two sons. And it
has sometimes seemed to my sister and me that her good qualities are of
a lasting and passive sort, which exist in large measure in the hearts
of those who bestow this boundless affection. Mrs. Jamieson's form of
introducing herself to any one she meets consists in giving an account
of the last illness and death of her husband. There is hardly a
poultice which was placed upon that poor man which her friends have not
heard about. And when she has finished, in her flat, sad voice, giving
every detail of his last disorder, Mrs. Jamieson's conversation is at
an end. She has learned, no doubt unconsciously, to gauge the
characters of new acquaintances by the degree of interest which they
evince in Captain Jamieson's demise. It is Mrs. Jamieson's test of
their true worth.
Of the other sorrow which saddened a nature that perhaps was never very
gay, Mrs. Jamieson rarely speaks. Possibly because she thinks of it
more than of anything else in the world. Among her eight children
there was only one who appeared to his mother to combine all perfection
in himself. He was killed by an accident in his engineering works
seven years ago, and although his friends will, perhaps, only remember
him as a stout young fellow who sang sea-songs with a distended chest,
his mother buried her heart with him in his grave, and even the voice
of strangers is lowered as they say, "She lost a son once."
The late Captain Jamieson, a kindly, shrewd man and a Scotchman withal,
was agent to Mrs. Fielden, widow of the late member for Stanby, and
when he died his income perished with him, and The Family of
Jamieson--a large one, as has been told--were thankful enough to
subsist on their mother's inheritance of some four or five hundred a
year, bequeathed to her by the member of the non-illustrious house of
Higgins, late farmer deceased. It is a hospitable house, for all its
narrow means, and there live not, I believe, a warmer-hearted or more
generous family than these good Jamiesons. The girls are energetic,
bright, and honest; their slender purses are at the disposal of every
scoundrel in the parish; and their time, as well as their boundless
energy, is devoted to the relief of suffering or to the betterment of
mankind.
Mrs. Fielden is of the opinion that nothing gives one a more perfect
feeling of rest than going to Belmont, as the Jamiesons' little house
is called, and watching them work. She calls it the "Rest Cure."
Every one of the five sisters, except Maud, who is the beauty of the
family, wears spectacles, and behind these their bright, intelligent
small eyes glint with kindness and brisk energy. The worst feature of
this excellent family is their habit of all talking at the same time,
in a certain emphatic fashion which renders it difficult to catch what
each individual is saying, and this is especially the case when three
of the sisters are driving sewing-machines simultaneously. They have a
genius for buying remnants of woollen goods at a small price, and
converting them into garments for the poor; and their first question
often is, as they hold a piece of flannel or serge triumphantly aloft,
"What do you think I gave for that?" Palestrina always names at least
twice the sum that has purchased the goods, and has thereby gained a
character for being dreadfully extravagant but sympathetic.
"I do not believe," I said to Palestrina the other day, "that these
good Jamiesons have a thought beyond making other people happy."
"That and getting married are the sole objects of their existence,"
said Palestrina.
"It is very odd," I said, "that women so devoid of what might be called
sentiment are yet so bent upon this very thing."
"Eliza told me to-day," said Palestrina, "that as Kate has not
mentioned one single man in her letters home, they cannot help thinking
that there is something in it."
The Jamiesons have the same vigorous, energetic ideas about matrimony
that they have about everything else, and almost their sole grievance,
naively expressed, is that Maud, "who gets them all"--meaning, I
believe, offers of marriage--is the only one of the family who is
unable to make up her mind clearly on this momentous question.
"We should not mind," say the conclave of sisters during one of the
numerous family discussions on this subject, "even if she does get all
the admirers--for of course she is the pretty one--if only she would
accept one of them. But she always gets undecided and silly as soon as
they come to the point."
It should be observed in passing that the different stages of
development in love affairs are shrewdly noted and commented upon by
the Jamiesons. The first evidence of a man's preference is that he "is
struck;" and the second, when he begins to visit at the house, is known
as "hovering." An inquiry after Maud's health will sometimes elicit
the unexpected reply that another admirer is hovering at present. The
third stage is reached when the lover is said to be "dangling;" and the
final triumph, when Maud has received a proposal, is noted as having
"come to the point."
If Maud's triumphs are watched with small sighs of envy by her sisters,
they are a source of nothing but gratification to them to retail to the
outside world. There is a strict account kept of Maud's "conquests" in
the letters sent to relatives, and the evening's post will sometimes
contain the startling announcement that Maud has had a fourth in one
year.
"Of course, you know how fond we all are of each other," said Eliza
Jamieson to me one day with one of those unexpected confidences which
the effeminacy of sickness seems to warrant, if not actually to invite,
"but we can't help thinking that, humanly speaking, we should all have
a better chance if only Maud would marry. No one would wish her to
marry without love, but we fear she is looking for perfection, and
_that_ she will never get; and it was really absurd of her to be so
upset when she discovered, after nearly getting engaged to Mr. Reddy,
that he wore a wig. After all, a man may be a good Christian in spite
of having no hair."
"That is undoubtedly a fact," I said warmly.
"And Mr. Reddy had excellent prospects," said Eliza, "although perhaps
nothing very tangible at present. Then there was Albert Gore, to whom,
one must admit, Maud gave every encouragement, and we had begun to
think it quite hopeful; but just at the end she discovered that she
could not care for any one called Albert, which was too silly."
"She might have called him Bertie," I suggested.
"Yes," said Eliza eagerly; "and you see, none of us hope or expect to
marry a man who has not some of these little drawbacks, so I really do
not see why Maud should expect it."
Five matrimonial alliances in one house are, perhaps, not easily
arranged in a quiet country neighbourhood, yet there is always a
hopeful tone about these family discussions, and it is very common to
hear the Miss Jamiesons relate at length what they intend to do when
they are married.
And there is yet another maiden to be arranged for in the little house;
Mettie is the Jamiesons' cousin who lives with them, and I believe that
what appeals to me most strongly in this unknown provincial family is
their kindness to the little shrunken, tiresome cousin who shares their
home. Mettie is like some strange little bright bird, utterly devoid
of intelligence, and yet with the alertness of a sparrow. Her beady
eyes are a-twinkle in a restless sort of way all day long, and her
large thin nose has always the appearance of having the skin stretched
unpleasantly tightly across it. The good Jamiesons never seem to be
ruffled by her presence among them, and this forbearance certainly
commands one's respect. Mettie travesties the Jamiesons in every
particular. She has adopted their matrimonial views with interest, and
she utters little platitudes upon the subject with quite a surprising
air of sapience. One avoids being left alone with Mettie whenever it
is possible to do so, for, gentle creature though she is, her remarks
are so singularly devoid of interest that one is often puzzled to
understand why they are made. Yet I see one or other of the Jamiesons
walk to the village with her every day--her little steps pattering
beside their giant strides, while the bird-like tongue chirps gaily all
the way.
Every one in our little neighbourhood walks into the village every day;
it is our daily dissipation; and frivolous persons have been known to
go twice or three times. On days when Palestrina thinks that I am
getting moped she steals the contents of my tobacco-jar, and then says,
without blushing, that she has discovered that my tobacco is all
finished, and that we had better walk into the village together and get
some more. When I am in a grumpy mood, I reply: "It's all right, thank
you; I have plenty upstairs." But it generally ends in my taking the
walk with my sister.
Our house is pleasantly situated where, by peeping through a tangle of
shrubs and trees, we can see the lazy traffic of the highroad that
leads to the village. Strangers pause outside the screen of evergreens
sometimes and peep between the branches to see the quaint gables of the
old house. Its walls have turned to a soft yellow colour with old age,
and its beams are of oak, gray with exposure to the storms of many
winters.
"This old hall of yours is much too dark," Mrs. Fielden said, when she
came to call the other day muffled up in velvet and fur. She lighted
the dull afternoon by something that is radiant and holiday-like about
her, and left us envying her for being so pretty and so young and gay.
"Oh, I know," she said in her whimsical way, "that it is Jacobean and
early Tudor and all sorts of delightful things, but it isn't very
cheerful, you know. I'm so glad it is near the road; I think if I
built a house I should like it to be in Mansion House Square, or inside
a railway station. Don't you love spending a night at a station hotel?
I always ask for a room overlooking the platform, for I like the
feeling of having the trains running past me all night. I love your
house really," she said, "only I'm afraid it preaches peace and
resignation and all those things which I consider so wrong."
Since I have been laid up I have been recommended to carve wood, to
beat brass, to stuff sofa-cushions, and to play the zither; but these
things do not amuse me much. It was Mrs. Fielden who suggested that I
should write a diary.
"You must grumble," she said, raising her pretty eyebrows in the
affected way she has. "It wouldn't be human if you didn't; so why not
write a diary, and have a real good grumble on paper every night before
you go to bed. Of course, if I were in your place I should grumble all
day instead, and go to sleep at night. But I'm not the least bit a
resigned person. If anything hurts me I scream at once; and if there
is anything I don't like doing I leave it alone. Palestrina," she said
to my sister, "don't let him be patient; it's so bad for him."
Palestrina smiled, and said she was afraid it was very dull for me
sometimes.
"But if one is impatient enough, one can't be dull," said Mrs. Fielden.
"It's like being cross----"
"I am constitutionally dull," I said. "I used to be known as the
dullest man in my regiment."
"You studied philosophy, didn't you?" said Mrs. Fielden. "That must be
so depressing."
I was much struck by this suggestion. "I dare say you are quite
right," I said, "although I had not seen it in that light before. But
I'm afraid it has not made me very patient, nor given me a great mind."
"Of course, what you want just now," said Mrs. Fielden gravely, "is a
little mind. You must lie here on your sofa, and take a vivid interest
in what all the old ladies say when they come to call on Palestrina.
And you must know the price of Mrs. Taylor's last new hat, and how much
the Traceys spend on their washing-bill, and you must put it all down
in your diary. I'll come over and help you sometimes, and write all
the wicked bits for you, only I'm afraid no one ever is wicked down
here.
"Good-bye," she said, holding out the smallest, prettiest, most
useless-looking little hand in the world. "And please," she added
earnestly, "get all this oak painted white, and hang some nice muslin
curtains in the windows."
Kindly folk in Stowel are always ingenuously surprised at any one's
caring to live in the country; and although it is but a mile from here
to the vestry hall, and much less by the fields, they often question us
whether we do not feel lonely at night-time, and they are of the
opinion that we should be better in "town." They frequently speak of
going into the country for change of air, or on Bank Holidays; but
considering that the last house in the village--and, like the City of
Zoar, it is but a little one--is built amongst fields, it might be
imagined that these rural retreats could readily be found without the
trouble of hiring the four-wheeled dog-cart from the inn, or of taking
a journey by train. Yet an expedition into the country is often talked
of as being a change, and friends and relations living outside the town
are considered a little bit behindhand in their views of
things--"old-feshioned" they call it in Stowel--and these country
cousins are visited with just a touch of kindly condescension by the
dwellers in a flower-bordered, tree-shadowed High Street.
One is brought rather quaintly into immediate correspondence with the
domestic concerns of every one in Stowel, and Palestrina has been
coaching me in the etiquette of the place. It is hardly correct to do
any shopping at dinner-time, when the lady of the house, busy feeding
her family, has to be called from the inner parlour, where that family
may all be distinctly seen from the shop. Driving or walking through
Stowel at the hour thus consecrated by universal consent to gastronomy,
one might almost imagine it to be a deserted village. Even the dogs
have gone inside to get a bone; and one says, as one walks down the
empty streets, "Stowel dines."
When a shop is closed on Thursday, which is early-closing day, one can
generally "be obliged" by ringing at the house-bell, and, under conduct
of the master of the place, may enter the darkened shop by the side
door, and be accommodated with the purchase that one requires. For the
old custom still holds of living--where it seems most natural for a
merchant to live--in the place where he does his business. There is a
pleasurable feeling of excitement even in the purchase of a pot of
Aspinall's enamel behind closed shutters, and this is mingled with a
feeling of solemnity and privilege, which I can only compare, in its
mixed effect upon me, to going behind the scenes of a theatre, or being
permitted to enter the vestry of a church.
Any purchases except those which may be called necessaries are seldom
indulged in in our little town. A shop which contains anything but
dress and provisions has few customers, and its merchandise becomes
household fixtures. I called at the furniture shop the other day; the
place looked bare and unfamiliar to me, but I did not realize what was
amiss until my sister exclaimed, "Where is the sofa?" The sofa had
been for sale for fifteen years, and had at last been purchased. There
are other things in the shop which I think must have been there much
longer, and I believe their owner would part with them with regret,
even were a very fair profit to be obtained for them. Palestrina tells
me she ordered some fish the other day, and was met with the objection
that "I fear that piece will be too big for your fish-kettle, ma'am,"
although she had never suspected that the size of her fish-kettle was a
matter known to the outside world.
And yet Stowel prides itself more upon its reserve than upon anything
else, except perhaps its gentility. There is a distinct air of mystery
over any and every one of the smallest affairs of daily life in the
little place, and I hardly think that our neighbours would really enjoy
anything if it were "spoken about" before the proper time. There is
something of secrecy in the very air of the town. No one, I am told,
has ever been known to mention, even casually, what he or she intends
to have for dinner; and the butcher has been warned against calling
across the shop to the lady at the desk, "Two pounds of rumpsteak for
Miss Tracey," or, "One sirloin, twelve two, for the Hall." Mr.
Tomsett, who was the first butcher to introduce New Zealand mutton to
the inhabitants of Stowel, lost his custom by this vulgar habit of
assorting his joints in public. And Miss Tracey, who knew him best (he
was still something of a stranger, having been in Stowel only five
years), warned him that that was not the sort of thing we were
accustomed to. "If you must make our private concerns public in this
way," she said, "at least it cannot be necessary to mention in what
country the mutton was raised."
It is even considered a little indelicate to remain in the post-office
when a telegram is being handed in. And parcels addressed and laid on
the counter at the grocer's, although provocative of interest, are not
even glanced at by the best people.
On the authority of my sister, I learn that when the ladies of Stowel
do a little dusting in the morning the front blinds are pulled down.
And keen though the speculation may be as to the extent of our
neighbours' incomes, the subject is, of course, a forbidden one. Poor
though some of these neighbours are, a very kindly charity prevails in
the little town. When the elder Miss Blind was ill--as she very often
is, poor thing!--it might seem a matter of coincidence to the
uninitiated that during that week every one of her friends happened to
make a little strong soup, a portion of which was sent to the
invalid--just in case she might fancy it; while the Miss Traceys, who,
as all the world knew, had inherited a little wine from their father,
the late Vicar of the parish, sent their solitary remaining bottle of
champagne, with their compliments, to Miss Belinda. The champagne
proved flat after many a year of storage in the lower cupboard of Miss
Tracey's pantry, but the two sisters to whom it was sent, not being
familiar with the wine, did not detect its faults, and they left the
green bottle with the gilt neck casually standing about for weeks
afterwards, from an innocent desire to impress their neighbours with
its magnificence.
Palestrina, with the good intention, I believe, of providing me with
what she calls an object for a walk, asked me to call and inquire for
Miss Blind on the day that the bottle of champagne was drawn and
sampled. Miss Lydia was in the sick-room, and Mrs. Lovekin, who had
called to inquire, was sitting in the little parlour when I entered.
"How do you do?" she said. "I suppose you have heard about Belinda and
the champagne?"
The reproachful note in Mrs. Lovekin's voice, which seemed to tax the
invalid with ingratitude, subtly conveyed the impression that the flat
champagne had not agreed with poor Miss Belinda.