----A wife whose words all ears took captive,
Whose dear perfections hearts that scorn’d to serve,
Humbly called Mistress.
SHAKSPEARE.
Lady Latimer and her protégée were left retiring to dress, and
according to generally-established precedent, a full and detailed
account ought to be given of the successful result of their labours.
But will my fair readers pardon a poor author who owns that it is the
dread of their disgust which makes him shun an attempt by which some
ignorantly suppose that their favour is easiest won? For though he
hopes that, utterly unskilled as he is in these mysteries, he still
might manage to avoid such glaring mistakes as those made by some
self-constituted authorities on these subjects, who have scandalized
the taste of the sex, and volunteered a display of their own ignorance
by a description of their heroine either by daylight in the dog-days
in a superb dress of rich black velvet, or shining amid December snows
in flowing drapery of the finest white muslin; yet even avoiding this
Scylla and Charybdis, the writer of these pages is aware he is on
dangerous ground. Though he might escape any such flagrant error at the
present moment, many months may yet intervene before this meets the
public eye; and as he has, like other such ephemeral creatures, his own
little unacknowledged hopes of a sort of indefinite immortality, he
cannot bear the idea that if he should now so commit himself, when the
next return of spring shall enable the universally admitted arbitress
of taste to hold her annual court at Longchamp, even on that very day
every pretty pair of Parisian eyes would be averted in contempt from
this antiquated and old-fashioned page, and as a necessary consequence,
as fast as the post could convey the Journal des Modes, that contempt
would become universal, not falling alone, as it ought, on his devoted
head, but what is of infinitely more consequence, being unjustly shared
by the ladies whom he would have thus arbitrarily condemned still to
wear the fashions of the bygone year.
He hopes therefore that no more will be expected of him than vaguely
to assure his readers that when Lady Latimer had exchanged her
travelling-dress, the success of her toilet was justly the admiration
of the brilliant circle she found re-assembled to meet her; and that
as she was far above any low idea of rivalry, much more than the care
which she had bestowed upon her own appearance, had been lavished upon
that of the pretty interesting girl who accompanied her, and upon whom
she had forced many of her own newest and most becoming ornaments.
Fitzalbert loudly protested that it quite refreshed him to see for the
first time any thing so singularly attractive as Miss Mordaunt; but
Germain had eyes for no one but Lady Latimer; he had predetermined
that she would be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Nature
certainly had been a party to this predetermination, and the charm of
those perfections which she had borne from her birth was enhanced by
that allurement of manner which cannot be described. Combined with the
most perfect propriety of deportment, there was, when she pleased, a
softened expression in her bright eye, a subdued tone in her musical
voice, which, unmarked by all else, conveyed to him whom she addressed,
an irresistible impression of interest.
The effect of this was not lost upon Germain, to whose evident
admiration she was by no means insensible. He was good-looking,
agreeable, and well-informed, and his newness in the ways of the world
was rather an additional merit, when freed from the first incrustation
of _mauvaise honte_, which her easy, gentle manners soon contrived to
remove.
He was a welcome neighbour to her at dinner, for from the first she had
looked forward to her visit to the Boretons as an unpleasant duty, and
the set she had found assembled had, with few exceptions, confirmed
that expectation. Fitzalbert to be sure was one of her intimates, but
then it was the intimacy of indifference. He too seemed for the present
very sufficiently occupied in attempting to overcome the diffidence of
her young friend, Miss Mordaunt.
Meantime Lady Latimer’s rapidly-ripening acquaintance with Germain
suffered no check from her other neighbour, Sir John, who, after he
had asked her whether she drank wine or liked a screen, offered no
further interruption. Where all this while was the anxious eye of Lady
Flamborough, whose worst fears seemed confirmed as to the engrossing
nature of her daughter Louisa’s love of admiration? It reposed with
some sort of consolation upon the juxtaposition of Lady Caroline and
Sir Gregory Greenford, whose unexpected arrival that day had already,
as has been noted above, cost him a _poney_, and now seemed to have
exposed him to a renewal of these manœuvres on Lady Flamborough’s part,
which the abrupt termination of the London season had inopportunely
interrupted.
At the opposite end of the table Lord Latimer and Lady Boreton were
mutually engaged with equal art in avoiding to say what they really
thought upon a very interesting subject, which had been indiscreetly
brought upon the tapis by the literary gentleman from London, unluckily
ignorant as he was of county politics. This was no less an event
than the long-expected advertisement from Mr. Medium, announcing his
intention, on account of increasing infirmities, of taking the earliest
opportunity of retiring from the representation of the county.
“So,” said the Londoner, “I see that you are likely to have a vacancy
for the county--Who is expected to succeed Mr. Medium?”
This was a most important question, upon which both Lord Latimer and
Lady Boreton had settled in their own minds to meditate much, consult
cautiously, decide deliberately, and after all this to communicate
formally to each other their separate determinations: instead of
which they were summarily required in each other’s presence to
give an off-hand answer. It was impossible to affect deafness, for
though a moment before the clatter and chatter of knives, forks, and
tongues, had seemed eternal, just then there had occurred one of those
unaccountable pauses which sometimes cause a sudden calm, so that much
more gentle tones than those of the pragmatical gentleman who had made
the inquiry would have been very sufficiently audible.
Lord Latimer had just drank a glass of wine with Lady Boreton, so that
even this ready resource to turn the conversation was no longer open.
Luckily, he who had caused the dilemma came to their relief, for not
receiving a ready answer to his question, he proceeded with the subject
for the sake of introducing which he had propounded it, a critical
analysis of poor Mr. Medium’s advertisement; where, to be sure, for so
constitutional a statesman, some sentences were cruelly burdened with a
“dead weight” of adverbs and adjectives: and pronouns were arbitrarily
entrusted with authority over considerable portions of the address,
which are usually supposed in such a case to be themselves governed by
a verb.
“It is,” continued the critic, “a sufficient proof of the inaccuracies
tolerated in our legislative assemblies, that a gentleman who had
passed his whole life there, should at this time, being resigning, not
have learnt to write better.”
Lord Latimer could not help remarking, in an under tone to Lady
Boreton, that a person _being_ criticizing might have learnt to avoid
the worst innovation in the style of modern times. He then continued
aloud for fear the critical gentleman should again become curious:
“Poor Medium, he certainly never was much of a purist.”
“And yet I doubt,” rejoined Lady Boreton, “whether he ever read any
book more at a sitting, than others do of a dictionary.”
“Or even of a newspaper,” added Lord Latimer, “than just to see whether
the stupid editor had made any mistake in the name of the cover where
his hounds were advertised to meet.”
“Well, and what can be more provoking than such a mistake?” said Sir
Gregory. Lord Latimer, and Lady Boreton, both felt satisfied that they
had succeeded in turning the subject--half the party were soon in full
cry with Mr. Medium’s hounds, and engaged in the more interesting
enquiry, who was to succeed to them, as chronic gout, and rheumatism,
were likely to incapacitate the sufferer from his duties as much in
the field as in the House.
But though for the present, the necessity of explanation had been
avoided, it did not the less impress both parties with the conviction
that something ought soon to be settled on the subject. To induce
Oakley to come forward, was, as has been stated before, Lady Boreton’s
best hope, Sir John’s insignificance or nonentity being by none more
feelingly acknowledged than her ladyship. She had already had the
proposal hinted to Oakley, in a manner that she thought the most likely
to be attended with success.
Of all the various propositions that can be made to a young man in his
situation, there is none as to the motives of which he is so likely
to be deceived, or to overrate the advantages of an offer of support,
should he be induced to come forward as a popular candidate at a
contested election. All Oakley’s defects too, whether of temper or
disposition, which made him feel uncomfortable in many of the relations
of private life, were so many additional incentives to seek distinction
in public, and to make politics his resource. In principle he was a
decided advocate for universal liberty, tempered only so far as common
sense told him restraint was necessary; but as he was prepared to carry
with him, in whatever character he appeared, the same uncompromising
contempt for the opinions of any individuals who differed with him,
he was more likely to acquire the somewhat sterile fame of a most
unbending patriot, than to be a useful partner in promoting any
practical benefit to his country.
However, his exalted station in the county, unblemished character, and
commanding talents, made it obvious that a more eligible candidate
could not be put forward by any party. The zeal and sincerity of his
attachment to the popular side marked him as worthy the choice of the
people, if his reserve, hauteur, and coldness, in the intercourse of
private life, could be so far subdued as to induce him to take the
necessary steps towards obtaining their suffrages. Such as he was,
however, Lady Boreton was determined to do her best to bring him in;
and he had so far acceded to the arrangement, as to consent to join the
present mixed party at Boreton Hall, whose places, as they gradually
dropped off, were to be filled by more decided county partizans; and
the probable success of the attempt, should he come forward, was then
to be discussed amongst them.
As to Lord Latimer, his plans were by no means so far matured as Lady
Boreton’s. Politics were with him by no means so first-rate a pursuit.
He had succeeded to a situation in the world which necessarily entailed
a considerable degree of political influence; this he certainly thought
it his duty not to abandon, but besides that, the overweening indolence
which has been mentioned as obscuring his talents, made him dislike
trouble of any kind: but he was, when he could persuade himself to
think at all on the subject, by no means an illiberal Tory.
When the question was publicly put as to who was to succeed Mr. Medium,
he would have disliked hearing uncontradicted any radical nomination of
Lady Boreton’s, lest he should be supposed tacitly to concur in it; yet
there were many reasons likely to prevent his taking an active part in
thwarting her arrangements.
“Our new neighbour, Mr. Oakley, has promised us the pleasure of his
company to-morrow,” said Lady Boreton, carelessly, to Lord Latimer,
having first carefully so separated this remark from the previous
conversation as to prevent his suspecting that the visit was connected
with the object of that inquiry. But she need not have feared any such
inference on Lord Latimer’s part, for the mention of Mr. Oakley in the
character of their new neighbour gave quite a different turn to his
thoughts, and first brought to his recollection the disputed moors
above Peatburn Lodge, which had lately been out of his mind, partly
from his not having himself been out on the 12th of August, and partly
from his thoughts having till lately been much engrossed by important
annual business at Doncaster races. It now, however, occurred to him,
that in consequence of the transfer of the Rockington property to new
hands, a favourable opportunity was likely to arise of effecting an
exchange which would remove the offensive intrusion of another man’s
ground into one of his best beats.
It so happened, therefore, that though dinner had not promised
much pleasure to any of the party, almost all arose from the table
with agreeable impressions uppermost in their minds. Lady Boreton
anticipated in Oakley an uncompromising patriot; Lord Latimer an
accommodating sportsman; Lady Flamborough’s satisfaction was divided
between the actual presence of Sir Gregory Greenford and the expected
arrival of Oakley, who might, she now thought, do still better for Jane
than Germain. The literary lion had had an opportunity of haranguing,
and Sir John had not been expected to talk, a state of things that was
mutually satisfactory.
Lady Latimer and Germain had been reciprocally pleasing and pleased;
and as for Fitzalbert and Miss Mordaunt, it would be difficult to say
which had most puzzled and perplexed the other. That a young person
like Helen Mordaunt, to whom society was perfectly strange, should be
dazzled and bewildered by Fitzalbert’s flow of conversation, was not
to be wondered at; but on his part he found it difficult to determine
what could be her undeniable attraction. “Is it,” thought he, “merely
because she is a remarkably pretty girl, with a very distinguished
air?” That it partly arose from her being so perfectly natural, never
occurred to him as an additional solution of the difficulty.