It was a cabinet council; they were met in Lady Dorothea's boudoir,
Martin and Mr. Repton being summoned to her presence. A letter had that
morning reached her Ladyship from a very high quarter; the writer was
the Marquis of Reckington, a very distant connection, who had suddenly
been graciously pleased, after a long interval of utter obliviousness,
to remember that Lady Dorothea was his relative, and yet living!
Whatever pride her Ladyship might have summoned to her aid to repel the
slights or impertinences of the vulgar, she displayed a most Christian
forgiveness as she broke the seal of an epistle from one who had left
several of her own without answers, and even replied to her application
for a staff appointment for her son, by a cold assurance that these were
times when “nothing but fitness and superior qualifications entitled any
man to advancement in the public service.” Oh dear, were there ever any
other times since the world was made! Is not merit the only passport to
place, and high desert and capacity the sole recommendation to favor? Of
all the immense advantages of a representative government, is there any
more conspicuous than the unerring certainty with which men of ability
rise to eminence without other aid than their own powers; and that, in
a system like ours, family influence, wealth, name, connections,
and parliamentary support are just so much mere dross? If any one be
incredulous of the virtue of public men, let him only ask for a place;
let him entreat his great friend--everybody has at least one
great friend--mine is a coroner--to make him a Junior Lord, or a
Vice-Something, and see what the answer will be. Polite, certainly;
nothing more so; but what a rebuke to self-seeking!--what a stern
chastisement to the ignorant presumption that places are awarded by
means of favor, or that the public service is ever filled through the
channels of private influence! Far from it. He is told that our age is
an incorruptible one, that ministers pass sleepless nights in balancing
the claims of treasury clerks, and that Lord Chancellors suffer agonies
in weighing the merits of barristers of six years' standing. “We have
but one rule for our guidance: the best man in the best place.” A
high-sounding maxim, which it would be excessively uncivil to disparage
by asking what constitutes “a best man.” Is he some unscrupulous
partisan, who first gave his fortune, and afterwards his fame, to the
support of a party? Is he the indisputable disposer of three, or perhaps
four votes in the House? Is he a floating buoy to be anchored in
either roadstead of politics, and only to be secured to either, for
a consideration? Is he the dangerous confidant of some damaging
transaction? Or is he the deserter from a camp, where his treason may
sow disaffection? These several qualifications have ere this served to
make up “a best man;” and strangely enough, are gifts which fit him for
the Army, the Navy, the Home Service, or the Colonies.
Let us turn from this digression, into which we have fallen half
inadvertently, and read over some parts of Lord Reckington's letter. It
was somewhat difficult to decipher, as most great men's letters are, and
displayed in more than one place the signs of correction. Although it
had been, as we have said, a very long time since any correspondence had
occurred between the “cousins,” his Lordship resumed the intercourse as
though not a week had intervened. After a little playful chiding over
the laxity of her Ladyship's writing habits,--three of hers had been
left unreplied to,--and some of that small gossip of family changes and
events, never interesting to any but the direct actors, his Lordship
approached the real topic of his letter; and, as he did so, his writing
grew firmer, and larger and bolder, like the voice of a man who spoke of
what truly concerned him.
“I thought, my dear Dora, I had done with it all. I flattered myself
that I had served my time in public capacities, and that neither
the Crown nor its advisers could reasonably call upon me for further
sacrifices. _You_ know how little to my taste were either the cares or
ambitions of office. In fact, as happens to most men who are zealous for
the public service, my official career imposed far more of sacrifices
than it conferred privileges. Witness the occasions in which I was
driven to reject the claims of my nearest and dearest friends, in
compliance with that nervous terror of imputed favoritism so fatal to
all in power! I thought, as I have said, that they had no fair claim
upon me any longer. I asked nothing; indeed, many thought I was wrong
there. But so it was; I quitted office without a pension, and without
a ribbon! It was late on a Saturday evening, however, when a Cabinet
messenger arrived at 'Beech Woods' with an order for me to repair
at once to Windsor. I was far from well; but there was no escape.
Immediately on arriving I was summoned to the presence, and before I had
paid my respects, his Majesty, who was much excited, said, 'Reckington,
we want you. You must go to Ireland!' I believe I started, for he went
on, 'I 'll have no refusal. There is but one settlement of this question
that I will accept of. You shall go to Ireland!' The King then entered
with considerable warmth, but with all his own remarkable perspicuity,
into a detail of late changes and events in the Cabinet. He was
excessively irritated with B------, and spoke of G------as one whom he
never could forgive. He repeatedly said, 'I have been duped; I have been
tricked;' and, in fact, exhibited a degree of emotion which, combined
with the unbounded frankness of his manner towards me, affected me
almost to tears. Of course, my dear Dora, personal considerations ceased
at once to have any hold upon me; and I assured his Majesty that the
remainder of my life was freely at his disposal, more than requited, as
it already was, by the precious confidence he had that day reposed in
me. I must not weary you with details. I accepted and kissed hands as
Viceroy on Monday morning; since that I have been in daily communication
with G------, who still remains in office. We have discussed Ireland
from morning to night, and I hope and trust have at last come to a
thorough understanding as to the principles which must guide the future
administration. These I reserve to talk over with you when we meet; nor
do I hesitate to say that I anticipate the very greatest benefit in the
fruits of your long residence and great powers of observation of this
strange people.” The letter here went off into a somewhat long-winded
profession of the equal-handed justice which was to mark the acts of
the administration. It was to be, in fact, a golden era of equity and
fairness; but, somehow, as codicils are occasionally found to revoke the
body of the testament, a very suspicious little paragraph rather damaged
this glorious conclusion. “I don't mean to say, my dear coz., that we
are to neglect our followers,--the Government which could do so never
yet possessed, never deserved to possess, able support; but we must
discriminate,--we must distinguish between the mere partisan who trades
on his principles, and that high-minded and honorable patriot who gives
his convictions to party. With the noisy declaimer at public meetings,
the mob-orator or pamphleteer, we shall have no sympathy. To the worthy
country gentleman, independent by fortune as well as by principle,
extending the example of a blameless life to a large neighborhood,
aiding us by his counsels as much as by the tender of his political
support,--to him, I say, we shall show our gratitude, not grudgingly nor
sparingly, but freely, openly, and largely. You now know in what ranks
we wish to see our friends, in the very van of which array I reckon upon
yourself.” We shall again skip a little, since here the writer diverged
into a slight dissertation on the indissoluble ties of kindred, and the
links, stronger than adamant, that bind those of one blood together.
After a brief but rapid survey of the strong opposition which was to
meet them, he went on: “Of course all will depend upon our parliamentary
support; without a good working majority we cannot stand, and for this
must we use all our exertions.” A few generalities on the comfort and
satisfaction resulting from “safe divisions” ensued, and then came the
apparently careless question, “What can _you_ do for us? Yes, my dear
Dora, I repeat, what can _you_ do for us? What we need is the support of
men who have courage enough to merge old prejudices and old convictions
in their full trust in us; who, with the intelligence of true
statesmanship, will comprehend the altered condition of the country, and
not endeavor to adapt the nation to _their_ views, but rather _their_
views to the nation. In a word, a wise and liberal policy, not based
upon party watchwords and antiquated symbols, but on the prospect of
seeing Ireland great and united. Now, will Martin come to our aid in
this wise? He ought to be in Parliament for his county. But if he be too
indolent, or too happy at home, whom can he send us? And again, what of
the borough? They tell me that Kilcock, seeing his father's great age,
will not stand where a contest might be expected, so that you must
necessarily be prepared with another.”
Again the writer launched out upon the happiness he felt at being able
to appeal thus candidly and freely to his own “dearest kinswoman,”
inviting her to speak as frankly in return, and to believe that no
possible difference of political opinion should ever throw a coldness
between those whose veins were filled with the same blood, and whose
hearts throbbed with the same affections. Her Ladyship's voice slightly
faltered as she read out the concluding paragraph, and when she laid the
letter down, she turned away her head and moved her handkerchief to her
eyes.
As for Martin, he sat still and motionless, his gaze firmly directed
to Repton, as though seeking in the impassive lines of the old lawyer's
face for some clew to guide and direct him.
“You used to be a Tory, Martin?” said Repton, after a pause.
“Yes, to be sure, we were always with that party.”
“Well, there's an end of them now,” said the other. “What's to follow
and fill their place, my Lord Reckington may be able to say; I cannot.
I only know that _they_ exist no longer; and the great question for
you--at least, one of the great questions--is, have you spirit enough to
join a travelling party without knowing whither they 're journeying?”
“And what may be the other great question, sir?” asked Lady Dorothea,
haughtily.
“The other is, what will it cost in money--ay, my Lady, in money;
because any other outlay will not require searches nor title-deeds,
loans, mortgages, nor bond-debts.”
“To contest the county would cost ten thousand pounds; Scanlan says so,”
rejoined Martin.
“And the borough?” asked Repton.
“A few hundreds would suffice; at least, they have done so hitherto.”
“Then remain content with the cheap luxury of the borough,” said Repton.
“You don't want anything from these people, Martin. You don't covet a
peerage; you would n't accept a baronetcy. You remember what Langton
said when told that the King was going to give him the 'Red Hand.' 'If I
have been unfortunate enough to incur his Majesty's displeasure, I must
deplore it deeply; but surely my innocent son should not be included
in the penalty of my offence. Therefore, in all humility, I beseech and
entreat the royal favor to commute the sentence into knighthood, so that
the disgrace may die with me.'”
“There were times when such insolence would have cost him dearly,” said
her Ladyship, sternly.
“I am not sorry that we don't live in them, my Lady,” replied Repton.
“But to return: as I was saying, you ask for no favors; why should
you expend ten or fifteen thousand pounds to advocate views of whose
tendencies you know nothing, and principles whose very meaning you are
in ignorance of?”
“I anticipated every word of this,” said Lady Dorothea. “I told Mr.
Martin, this morning, almost literally, the exact advice you'd proffer.”
“I am proud that your Ladyship should have read me so justly,” said
Repton, bowing.
An insolent toss of her head was the significant answer to this speech.
“But were I to speak my mind more candidly, I 'd even say, let the
borough go after the county; and for this plain reason,” said Repton,
speaking with increased firmness and animation, “you neither seek
for the ambition of political life, nor want to make a trade of its
casualties.”
“Is it not possible, sir, that we might desire the natural influence
that should arise out of our station in society and our rank in this
county?” said Lady Dorothea, proudly.
“And your Ladyship has it, and can never lose it. Having a vote or
two to throw into a Ministerial division would never repay you for the
anxieties and cares of contested elections. Ah, my Lady, what do _you_
care for the small flatteries of London attentions?”
“We should have these, sir, as our right,” broke she in.
“To be sure you would, and much happiness do I hope they would confer,”
added he, in a tone only overheard by Martin; then continued aloud: “As
to the patronage at your disposal, would you take a present of it? Whom
do you want to make tide-waiters, gaugers, barony-constables, or
even clerks of the peace? Of all men living, who is so free of hungry
dependants or poor relations!”
“I must say, sir, that you reduce the question of political support to
a very intelligible one of material benefit,” said her Ladyship, with a
sneer; “but, just for argument sake, imagine that there should be such a
thing as a little principle in the matter.”
“I'm going to that part of the case, my Lady,” said Repton. “Martin is a
Tory; now, what are the men coming into power? I wish you could tell
me. Here, for instance, is one of their own journals,”--and he opened
a newspaper and ran his eye over the columns,--“ay, here it is: 'With
regard to Ireland, Lord Reckington's appointment as Viceroy is the best
guarantee that the rights of Irishmen of every persuasion and every
denomination will be respected.' So far so good;” and he read on in a
low, humdrum voice for some minutes, till he came to the following: “'No
privileged class will any longer be tolerated; no exceptional loyalty
admitted as an excuse for insufferable oppression and tyranny; the
wishes and benefits of the people--the real people of that country--will
at length enter into the views of an administration; and Ireland as she
is,--not the possible Ireland of factious enthusiasts,--be governed by
men determined to redress her grievances and improve her capacities.'
Now, Martin, you want no augur to interpret that oracle. They are going
to rule you by the people; but the people must be represented.
“Now, who represents them? Not the demagogue; he is merely their tool.
The real representative is the priest; don't laugh, my dear friend, at
such a shadowy possibility; the thing is nearer than you dream of. No
administration ever yet tried to govern Ireland except by intimidation.
The Beresfords were undertakers once, and they did their work very well,
let me tell you; they advanced their friends and whipped their enemies;
and what with peerages for one set, and pitched caps for the other, they
ruled Ireland. Then there came the Orangemen, who rather blundered their
work; there were too many heads amongst them, and the really clever
fellows were overborne by brawling, talkative fools, who always had the
masses with them because they _were_ fools. Still they ruled Ireland.
They preserved the country to the King's crown; and I say once more,
that was no small matter. And now we have arrived at a new era; we
have obtained Emancipation, and must look out for another stamp of
administrators, and I see nothing for it but the priest. Of course you,
and every man of your station, sneer at the notion of being dictated
to by Father Luke, in the greasy leather small-clothes and dirty black
boots,--only, himself, a cottier once removed, a plant of the
wild growth of the fields, cultivated, however, in the hotbeds of
Maynooth,--a forcing-house whose fruits you are yet to taste of! Sneer
away, Martin; but my name is not Val Repton if those men do not rule
Ireland yet! Ay, sir, and rule it in such a fashion as your haughty
Beresfords and Tottenhams, and Tisdalls never dreamed of! They 'll treat
with the Government on equal terms,--so much, for so much; and, what's
more, it won't be higgling for a place here, or a peerage there; but
they'll have the price paid down in hard legislative coin,--Acts of
Parliament, sir; privileges for themselves and their order, benefits to
'the Church;' and, when nothing better or more tempting offers, insults
and slights to their antagonists. You, and all like you, will be passed
over as if you never existed; the minister will not need you; you'll be
so many general officers on the retired list, and only remarked when you
swell the crowd at a levee.”
“So, sir, according to this special prediction of yours, we have nothing
left us but to live on our estates, enjoy what we can of our fortunes,
and leave the interests of the nation to those our inferiors in rank,
station, and property?”
“Such a period as your Ladyship has pictured forth--a little strongly,
perhaps--is before you. Whether the interval be destined to be long or
short, will, in great measure, depend upon yourselves.”
“That agrees with what Scanlan said the other day,” said Martin.
“Scanlan!” echoed her Ladyship, with most profound contempt.
“Who is this Scanlan?” asked Repton.
“There he comes to answer for himself,” said Martin. “The fellow drives
neatly. See how cleverly he swept round that sharp turn! He may be 'at
fault' about the world of politics; but, _my_ word for it! he is a rare
judge of a hack.”
“And, now that you suggest it,” said Repton, musingly, “what an
instinctive shrewdness there is on every subject,--I don't care what it
is,--about fellows that deal in horse flesh. The practice of buying
and selling, searching out flaws here, detecting defects there, gives
a degree of suspectful sharpness in all transactions; besides that,
really none but a naturally clever fellow ever graduates in the stable.
You smile, my Lady; but some of our very first men have achieved the
triumphs of the turf.”
“Shall we have Scanlan in and hear the news?” asked Martin.
“Not here. If you please, you may receive him in the library or your own
room.”
“Then, come along, Repton. We can resume this affair in the afternoon or
to-morrow.” And, without waiting for a reply, he passed his arm within
the other's, and led him away. “You have been too abrupt with her,
Repton; you have not made due allowances for her attachment to family
influences,” said he, in a whisper, as they went along.
Repton smiled half contemptuously.
“Oh, it's all very easy for you to laugh, my dear fellow; but, trust me,
there's nothing to be done with my Lady in that fashion.”
“Turn the flank,--eh?” said the old lawyer, slyly. “Ah, Martin, don't
teach _me_ how to deal with humanity. If you have not the courage to
tell your wife that your estate cannot bear fresh encumbrances, new
loans, and new debts--”
“Hush!” said Martin, cautiously.
“Then, I say, let me prevent the casualty, that's all.”
“How are you, Scanlan?” said Martin, as the attorney came, bowing and
smiling, forward to pay his respects. “My friend, Mr. Repton, wishes to
make your acquaintance.”
“I have the honor of being known to Mr. Repton, already, sir, if he has
not forgotten me.”
“Eh,--how? where?” cried the lawyer, sharply.
“In Reeves _versus_ Dockery, and another, sir, in Hilary, 24. It was _I_
supplied the instructions--”
“To be sure,--perfectly right. Maurice Scanlan; isn't that the name?
You did the thing well, sir; and if we failed, we retreated without
dishonor.”
“That was a grand shot you fired at the Bench, sir, when all was over,”
said Scanlan. “I don't suppose they ever got such a complete 'set down'
before.”
“I forget it,” said Repton, but with a bright twinkle of his eye, which
more than contradicted his words.
“Then, sir, it's more than their Lordships ever will,” said Scanlan.
“The Chief Baron it was,” said he, addressing Martin, “that overruled
every objection made by Counsellor Repton, and at last declared that
he would n't hear any more citations whatsoever. 'But I have a stronger
case still, my Lord,' says the Counsellor. 'I 'll not hear it, sir,'
said the Court. 'It is in Crewe and Fust, Term Reports, page 1,438.'
“'I don't care where it is, sir,' was the answer.
“'In a charge delivered by Lord Eldon--'
“'Oh, let us hear my Lord Eldon,' said Plumridge, the Puisne Judge, who
was rather ashamed of the Chief Baron's severity. 'Let us hear my Lord
Eldon.'
“'Here it is, my Lords,' said the Counsellor, opening the volume, and
laying his hand upon the page,--'Crewe and Fust's Pleas of the Crown,
page 1,438. My Lord Eldon says, “I may here observe the Courts of Law
in Ireland are _generally_ wrong! The Court of Exchequer is _always_
wrong!”'”
Repton tried to smother his own delighted laugh at the reminiscence,
but all in vain; it burst from him long and joyously; and as he shook
Scanlan's hand, he said, “The incident loses nothing by your telling,
sir; you have done it admirable justice.”
“You make me very proud, indeed, Counsellor,” said Scanlan, who really
did look overjoyed at the speech.
“Have you any news for us, Scanlan?” said Martin, as they entered the
library.
“Yes, sir; the Ministry is out.”
“We know that already, man!”
“And the Marquis of Reckington comes here as Lord-Lieutenant.”
“That we know also.”
“Colonel Massingbred to be Chief Sec--”
“Moore Massingbred!” cried both, in a breath.
“Yes, sir; he that was a Treasury Lord.”
“Are you quite sure of this, Scanlan?” asked Martin.
“I had it from Groves, sir, at the Castle, yesterday morning, who told
me there would be an immediate dissolution, and showed me a list of
Government candidates.”
“You may talk them all over together, then,” said Martin, “for I 'm
heartily tired of politics this morning.” And so saying, he left them.