Since the last trouble I gave you, I have met with a variety of
incidents, some of them of a singular nature, which I reserve as a fund
for conversation; but there are others so interesting, that they will
not keep in petto till meeting.
Know then, it was a thousand pounds to a sixpence, that you should now
be executing my will, instead of perusing my letter! Two days ago, our
coach was overturned in the midst of a rapid river, where my life was
saved with the utmost difficulty, by the courage, activity, and
presence of mind of my servant Humphry Clinker--But this is not the
most surprising circumstance of the adventure--The said Humphry Clinker
proves to be Matthew Loyd, natural son of one Matthew Loyd of Glamorgan,
if you know any such person--You see, Doctor, that notwithstanding all
your philosophy, it is not without some reason that the Welchmen ascribe
such energy to the force of blood--But we shall discuss this point on
some future occasion.
This is not the only discovery which I made in consequence of our
disaster--We happened to be wrecked upon a friendly shore--The lord
of the manor is no other than Charles Dennison, our fellow-rake at
Oxford--We are now happily housed with that gentleman, who has really
attained to that pitch of rural felicity, at which I have been aspiring
these twenty years in vain. He is blessed with a consort, whose
disposition is suited to his own in all respects; tender, generous, and
benevolent--She, moreover, possesses an uncommon share of understanding,
fortitude, and discretion, and is admirably qualified to be his
companion, confidant, counsellor, and coadjutrix. These excellent
persons have an only son, about nineteen years of age, just such a
youth as they could have wished that Heaven would bestow to fill up the
measure of their enjoyment--In a word, they know no other allay to
their happiness, but their apprehension and anxiety about the life and
concerns of this beloved object.
Our old friend, who had the misfortune to be a second brother, was bred
to the law, and even called to the bar; but he did not find himself
qualified to shine in that province, and had very little inclination for
his profession--He disobliged his father, by marrying for love, without
any consideration of fortune; so that he had little or nothing to
depend upon for some years but his practice, which afforded him a bare
subsistence; and the prospect of an increasing family, began to give
him disturbance and disquiet. In the mean time, his father dying, was
succeeded by his elder brother, a fox-hunter and a sot, who neglected
his affairs, insulted and oppressed his servants, and in a few years had
well nigh ruined the estate, when he was happily carried off by a fever,
the immediate consequence of a debauch. Charles, with the approbation of
his wife, immediately determined to quit business, and retire into the
country, although this resolution was strenuously and zealously opposed
by every individual, whom he consulted on the subject. Those who had
tried the experiment, assured him that he could not pretend to breathe
in the country for less than the double of what his estate produced;
that, in order to be upon the footing of a gentleman, he would be
obliged to keep horses, hounds, carriages, with a suitable number of
servants, and maintain an elegant table for the entertainment of his
neighbours; that farming was a mystery, known only to those who had been
bred up to it from the cradle, the success of it depending not only
upon skill and industry, but also upon such attention and oeconomy as
no gentleman could be supposed to give or practise; accordingly, every
attempt made by gentlemen miscarried, and not a few had been ruined by
their prosecution of agriculture--Nay, they affirmed that he would find
it cheaper to buy hay and oats for his cattle, and to go to market
for poultry, eggs, kitchen herbs, and roots, and every the most
inconsiderable article of house-keeping, than to have those articles
produced on his own ground.
These objections did not deter Mr Dennison, because they were chiefly
founded on the supposition, that he would be obliged to lead a life of
extravagance and dissipation, which he and his consort equally detested,
despised, and determined to avoid--The objects he had in view, were
health of body, peace of mind, and the private satisfaction of domestic
quiet, unallayed by actual want, and uninterrupted by the fears of
indigence--He was very moderate in his estimate of the necessaries, and
even of the comforts of life--He required nothing but wholesome air,
pure water, agreeable exercise, plain diet, convenient lodging, and
decent apparel. He reflected, that if a peasant without education, or
any great share of natural sagacity, could maintain a large family, and
even become opulent upon a farm, for which he payed an annual rent of
two or three hundred pounds to the landlord, surely he himself might
hope for some success from his industry, having no rent to pay, but,
on the contrary, three or four hundred pounds a year to receive. He
considered, that the earth was an indulgent mother, that yielded her
fruits to all her children without distinction. He had studied the
theory of agriculture with a degree of eagerness and delight; and he
could not conceive there was any mystery in the practice, but what he
should be able to disclose by dint of care and application. With respect
to houshold expence, he entered into a minute detail and investigation,
by which he perceived the assertions of his friends were altogether
erroneous--He found he should save sixty pounds a year in the
single article of house-rent, and as much more in pocket-money and
contingencies; that even butcher’s-meat was twenty per cent cheaper in
the country than in London; but that poultry, and almost every other
circumstance of house-keeping, might be had for less than one-half of
what they cost in town; besides, a considerable saving on the side of
dress, in being delivered from the oppressive imposition of ridiculous
modes, invented by ignorance, and adopted by folly.
As to the danger of vying with the rich in pomp and equipage, it never
gave him the least disturbance. He was now turned of forty, and, having
lived half that time in the busy scenes of life, was well skilled in the
science of mankind. There cannot be in nature a more contemptible figure
than that of a man, who, with five hundred a year, presumes to rival
in expence a neighbour who possesses five times that income--His
ostentation, far from concealing, serves only to discover his indigence,
and render his vanity the more shocking; for it attracts the eyes of
censure, and excites the spirit of inquiry. There is not a family in the
county nor a servant in his own house, nor a farmer in the parish, but
what knows the utmost farthing that his lands produce, and all
these behold him with scorn or compassion. I am surprised that these
reflections do not occur to persons in this unhappy dilemma, and produce
a salutary effect; but the truth is, of all the passions incident
to human nature, vanity is that which most effectually perverts the
faculties of the understanding; nay, it sometimes becomes so incredibly
depraved, as to aspire at infamy, and find pleasure in bearing the
stigmas of reproach.
I have now given you a sketch of the character and situation of Mr
Dennison, when he came down to take possession of this estate; but as
the messenger, who carries the letters to the next town, is just setting
off, I shall reserve what further I have to say on this subject, till
the next post, when you shall certainly hear from
Yours always, MATT. BRAMBLE Oct. 8.
To Dr LEWIS.
Once more, dear doctor, I resume the pen for your amusement. It was
on the morning after our arrival that, walking out with my friend, Mr
Dennison, I could not help breaking forth into the warmest expressions
of applause at the beauty of the scene, which is really inchanting; and
I signified, in particular, how much I was pleased with the disposition
of some detached groves, that afforded at once shelter and ornament to
his habitation.
‘When I took possession of these lands, about two and twenty years ago
(said he), there was not a tree standing within a mile of the house,
except those of an old neglected orchard, which produced nothing
but leaves and moss.--It was in the gloomy month of November, when I
arrived, and found the house in such a condition, that it might have
been justly stiled the tower of desolation.--The court-yard was covered
with nettles and docks, and the garden exhibited such a rank plantation
of weeds as I had never seen before;--the window-shutters were falling
in pieces,--the sashes broken;--and owls and jack-daws had taken
possession of the chimnies.--The prospect within was still more
dreary--All was dark, and damp, and dirty beyond description;--the rain
penetrated in several parts of the roof;--in some apartments the very
floors had given way;--the hangings were parted from the walls, and
shaking in mouldy remnants; the glasses were dropping out of their
frames;--the family-pictures were covered with dust and all the chairs
and tables worm-eaten and crazy.--There was not a bed in the house that
could be used, except one old-fashioned machine, with a high gilt tester
and fringed curtains of yellow mohair, which had been, for aught I know,
two centuries in the family.--In short, there was no furniture but the
utensils of the kitchen; and the cellar afforded nothing but a few empty
butts and barrels, that stunk so abominably, that I would not suffer
any body to enter it until I had flashed a considerable quantity of
gunpowder to qualify the foul air within.
‘An old cottager and his wife, who were hired to lie in the house, had
left it with precipitation, alledging, among other causes of retreat,
that they could not sleep for frightful noises, and that my poor
brother certainly walked after his death.--In a word, the house appeared
uninhabitable; the barn, stable, and outhouses were in ruins; all the
fences broken down, and the fields lying waste.
‘The farmer who kept the key never dreamed I had any intention to live
upon the spot--He rented a farm of sixty pounds, and his lease was just
expiring.--He had formed a scheme of being appointed bailiff to the
estate, and of converting the house and the adjacent grounds to his own
use.--A hint of his intention I received from the curate at my first
arrival; I therefore did not pay much regard to what he said by way of
discouraging me from coming to settle in the country; but I was a little
startled when he gave me warning that he should quit the farm at the
expiration of his lease, unless I could abate considerably in the rent.
‘At this period I accidentally became acquainted with a person, whose
friendship laid the foundation of all my prosperity. In the next
market-town I chanced to dine at an inn with a Mr Wilson, who was lately
come to settle in the neighbourhood.--He had been lieutenant of a man of
war, but quitted the sea in some disgust, and married the only daughter
of farmer Bland, who lives in this parish, and has acquired a good
fortune in the way of husbandry.--Wilson is one of the best natured
men I ever knew; brave, frank, obliging, and ingenuous--He liked my
conversation, I was charmed with his liberal manner; and acquaintance
immediately commenced, and this was soon improved into a friendship
without reserve.--There are characters which, like similar particles of
matter, strongly attract each other.--He forthwith introduced me to his
father-in-law, farmer Bland, who was well acquainted with every acre
of my estate, of consequence well qualified to advise me on this
occasion.--Finding I was inclined to embrace a country life, and even
to amuse myself with the occupation of farming, he approved of my
design--He gave me to understand that all my farms were underlett; that
the estate was capable of great improvement; that there was plenty of
chalk in the neighbourhood; and that my own ground produced excellent
marle for manure.--With respect to the farm, which was like to fall into
my hands, he said he would willingly take it at the present rent; but
at the same time owned, that if I would expend two hundred pounds in
enclosure, it would be worth more than double the sum.
‘Thus encouraged, I began the execution of my scheme without further
delay, and plunged into a sea of expence, though I had no fund in
reserve, and the whole produce of the estate did not exceed three
hundred pounds a year--In one week, my house was made weather-tight, and
thoroughly cleansed from top to bottom; then it was well ventilated by
throwing all the doors and windows open, and making blazing fires of
wood in every chimney from the kitchen to the garrets. The floors were
repaired, the sashes new glazed, and out of the old furniture of the
whole house, I made shift to fit up a parlour and three chambers in
a plain yet decent manner.--The court-yard was cleared of weeds and
rubbish, and my friend Wilson charged himself with the dressing of
the garden; bricklayers were set at work upon the barn and stable; and
labourers engaged to restore the fences, and begin the work of
hedging and ditching, under the direction of farmer Bland, at whose
recommendation I hired a careful hind to lie in the house, and keep
constant fires in the apartments.
‘Having taken these measures, I returned to London, where I forthwith
sold off my household-furniture, and, in three weeks from my first
visit, brought my wife hither to keep her Christmas.--Considering the
gloomy season of the year, the dreariness of the place, and the decayed
aspect of our habitation, I was afraid that her resolution would sink
under the sudden transition from a town life to such a melancholy state
of rustication; but I was agreeably disappointed.--She found the reality
less uncomfortable than the picture I had drawn.--By this time indeed,
things were mended in appearance--The out-houses had risen out of their
ruins; the pigeon-house was rebuilt, and replenished by Wilson, who also
put my garden in decent order, and provided a good stock of poultry,
which made an agreeable figure in my yard; and the house, on the whole,
looked like the habitation of human creatures.--Farmer Bland spared me a
milch cow for my family, and an ordinary saddle-horse for my servant to
go to market at the next town.--I hired a country lad for a footman, the
hind’s daughter was my house-maid, and my wife had brought a cook-maid
from London.
‘Such was my family when I began house-keeping in this place, with three
hundred pounds in my pocket, raised from the sale of my superfluous
furniture.--I knew we should find occupation enough through the day to
employ our time; but I dreaded the long winter evenings; yet, for those
too we found a remedy: The curate, who was a single man, soon became so
naturalized to the family, that he generally lay in the house; and his
company was equally agreeable and useful. He was a modest man, a good
scholar, and perfectly well qualified to instruct me in such country
matters as I wanted to know.--Mr Wilson brought his wife to see us, and
she became so fond of Mrs Dennison, that she said she was never so happy
as when she enjoyed the benefit of her conversation.--She was then a
fine buxom country lass, exceedingly docile, and as good-natured as her
husband Jack Wilson; so that a friendship ensued among the women, which
hath continued to this day.
‘As for Jack, he hath been my constant companion, counsellor, and
commissary.--I would not for a hundred pounds you should leave my house
without seeing him.--Jack is an universal genius--his talents are really
astonishing:--He is an excellent carpenter, joiner, and turner, and
a cunning artist in iron and brass.--He not only superintended my
oeconomy, but also presided over my pastimes--He taught me to brew
beer, to make cyder, perry, mead, usquebaugh, and plague-water; to cook
several outlandish delicacies, such as ollas, pepper-pots, pillaws,
corys, chabobs, and stufatas.--He understands all manner of games from
chess down to chuck-farthing, sings a good song, plays upon the violin,
and dances a hornpipe with surprising agility.--He and I walked, and
rode, and hunted, and fished together, without minding the vicissitudes
of the weather; and I am persuaded, that in a raw, moist climate, like
this of England, continual exercise is as necessary as food to the
preservation of the individual.--In the course of two and twenty
years, there has not been one hour’s interruption or abatement in the
friendship subsisting between Wilson’s family and mine; and, what is
a rare instance of good fortune, that friendship is continued to our
children.--His son and mine are nearly of the same age and the same
disposition; they have been bred up together at the same school and
college, and love each other with the warmest affection.
‘By Wilson’s means, I likewise formed an acquaintance with a sensible
physician, who lives in the next market-town; and his sister, an
agreeable old maiden, passed the Christmas holidays at our house. Mean
while I began my farming with great eagerness, and that very winter
planted these groves that please you so much.--As for the neighbouring
gentry, I had no trouble from that quarter during my first campaign;
they were all gone to town before I settled in the country; and by the
summer I had taken measures to defend myself from their attacks.--When a
gay equipage came to my gates, I was never at home; those who visited
me in a modest way, I received; and according to the remarks I made on
their characters and conversation, either rejected their advances, or
returned their civility--I was in general despised among the fashionable
company, as a low fellow, both in breeding and circumstances;
nevertheless, I found a few individuals of moderate fortune, who gladly
adopted my stile of living; and many others would have acceded to our
society, had they not been prevented by the pride, envy, and ambition of
their wives and daughters.--Those, in times of luxury and dissipation,
are the rocks upon which all the small estates in the country are
wrecked.
‘I reserved in my own hands, some acres of ground adjacent to the house,
for making experiments in agriculture, according to the directions of
Lyle, Tull, Hart, Duhamel, and others who have written on this subject;
and qualified their theory with the practical observations of farmer
Bland, who was my great master in the art of husbandry.--In short, I
became enamoured of a country life; and my success greatly exceeded my
expectation--I drained bogs, burned heath, grubbed up furze and fern;
I planted copse and willows where nothing else would grow; I gradually
inclosed all my farms, and made such improvements that my estate now
yields me clear twelve hundred pounds a year--All this time my wife
and I have enjoyed uninterrupted health, and a regular flow of spirits,
except on a very few occasions, when our cheerfulness was invaded by
such accidents as are inseparable from the condition of life. I lost
two children in their infancy, by the small-pox, so that I have one son
only, in whom all our hopes are centered.--He went yesterday to visit
a friend, with whom he has stayed all night, but he will be here to
dinner.--I shall this day have the pleasure of presenting him to you
and your family; and I flatter myself you will find him not altogether
unworthy of our affection.
‘The truth is, either I am blinded by the partiality of a parent, or
he is a boy of very amiable character; and yet his conduct has given us
unspeakable disquiet.--You must know, we had projected a match between
him and a gentleman’s daughter in the next county, who will in all
probability be heiress of a considerable fortune; but, it seems, he had
a personal disgust to the alliance. He was then at Cambridge, and tried
to gain time on various pretences; but being pressed in letters by his
mother and me to give a definitive answer, he fairly gave his tutor the
slip, and disappeared about eight months ago.--Before he took this rash
step, he wrote me a letter, explaining his objections to the match,
and declaring, that he would keep himself concealed until he should
understand that his parents would dispense with his contracting an
engagement that must make him miserable for life, and he prescribed
the form of advertising in a certain newspaper, by which he might be
apprized of our sentiments on this subject.
‘You may easily conceive how much we were alarmed and afflicted by this
elopement, which he had made without dropping the least hint to his
companion Charles Wilson, who belonged to the same college.--We resolved
to punish him with the appearance of neglect, in hopes that he would
return of his own accord; but he maintained his purpose till the young
lady chose a partner for herself; then he produced himself, and made his
peace by the mediation of Wilson.--Suppose we should unite our families
by joining him with your niece, who is one of the most lovely creatures
I ever beheld.--My wife is already as fond of her as if she were her own
child, and I have a presentiment that my son will be captivated by her
at first sight.’ ‘Nothing could be more agreeable to all our family
(said I) than such an alliance; but, my dear friend, candour obliges
me to tell you, that I am afraid Liddy’s heart is not wholly
disengaged--there is a cursed obstacle’--‘You mean the young stroller
at Gloucester (said he)--You are surprised that I should know this
circumstance; but you will be more surprised when I tell you that
stroller is no other than my son George Dennison--That was the character
he assumed in his eclipse.’ ‘I am, indeed, astonished and overjoyed
(cried I), and shall be happy beyond expression to see your proposal
take effect.’
He then gave me to understand that the young gentleman, at his emerging
from concealment, had disclosed his passion for Miss Melford, the niece
of Mr Bramble, of Monmouthshire. Though Mr Dennison little dreamed that
this was his old friend Matthew Loyd, he nevertheless furnished his son
with proper credentials, and he had been at Bath, London, and many other
places in quest of us, to make himself and his pretensions known.
The bad success of his enquiry had such an effect upon his spirits, that
immediately at his return he was seized with a dangerous fever, which
overwhelmed his parents with terror and affliction; but he was now
happily recovered, though still weak and disconsolate. My nephew joining
us in our walk, I informed him of these circumstances, with which he
was wonderfully pleased. He declared he would promote the match to the
utmost of his power, and that he longed to embrace young Mr Dennison as
his friend and brother.--Mean while, the father went to desire his wife
to communicate this discovery gradually to Liddy, that her delicate
nerves might not suffer too sudden a shock; and I imparted the
particulars to my sister Tabby, who expressed some surprize, not
altogether unmixed, I believe, with an emotion of envy; for, though
she could have no objection to an alliance at once so honourable and
advantageous, she hesitated in giving her consent on pretence of
the youth and inexperience of the parties: at length, however, she
acquiesced, in consequence of having consulted with captain Lismahago.
Mr Dennison took care to be in the way when his son arrived at the gate,
and, without giving him time or opportunity to make any enquiry about
the strangers, brought him up stairs to be presented to Mr Loyd and his
family--The first person he saw when he entered the room, was Liddy,
who, notwithstanding all her preparation, stood trembling in the utmost
confusion--At sight of this object he was fixed motionless to the floor,
and, gazing at her with the utmost eagerness of astonishment, exclaimed,
‘Sacred heaven! what is this!--ha! wherefore--’ Here his speech failing,
he stood straining his eyes, in the most emphatic silence ‘George (said
his father), this is my friend Mr Loyd.’ Roused at this intimation, he
turned and received my salute, when I said, ‘Young gentleman, if you had
trusted me with your secret at our last meeting, we should have parted
upon better terms.’ Before he could make any answer, Jery came round
and stood before him with open arms.--At first, he started and changed
colour; but after a short pause, he rushed into his embrace, and they
hugged one another as if they had been intimate friends from their
infancy: then he payed his respects to Mrs Tabitha, and advancing to
Liddy, ‘Is it possible, (cried he), that my senses do not play me false!
that I see Miss Melford under my father’s roof--that I am permitted
to speak to her without giving offence--and that her relations have
honoured me with their countenance and protection.’ Liddy blushed,
and trembled, and faltered--‘To be sure, sir (said she), it is a very
surprising circumstance--a great--a providential--I really know not what
I say--but I beg you will think I have said what’s agreeable.’
Mrs Dennison interposing said, ‘Compose yourselves, my dear
children.--Your mutual happiness shall be our peculiar care.’ The son
going up to his mother, kissed one hand; my niece bathed the other with
her tears; and the good old lady pressed them both in their turns to
her breast.--The lovers were too much affected to get rid of their
embarrassment for one day; but the scene was much enlivened by the
arrival of Jack Wilson, who brought, as usual, some game of his own
killing--His honest countenance was a good letter of recommendation. I
received him like a dear friend after a long separation; and I could
not help wondering to see him shake Jery by the hand as an old
acquaintance--They had, indeed, been acquainted some days, in
consequence of a diverting incident, which I shall explain at meeting.
That same night a consultation was held upon the concerns of the lovers,
when the match was formally agreed to, and all the marriage articles
were settled without the least dispute.--My nephew and I promised to
make Liddy’s fortune five thousand pounds. Mr Dennison declared, he
would make over one half of his estate immediately to his son, and
that his daughter-in-law should be secured in a jointure of four
hundred--Tabby proposed, that, considering their youth, they should
undergo one year at least, of probation before the indissoluble knot
should be tied; but the young gentleman being very impatient and
importunate, and the scheme implying that the young couple should live
in the house, under the wings of his parents, we resolved to make them
happy without further delay.
As the law requires that the parties should be some weeks resident
in the parish, we shall stay here till the ceremony is performed.--Mr
Lismahago requests that he may take the benefit of the same occasion; so
that next Sunday the banns will be published for all four together.--I
doubt I shall not be able to pass my Christmas with you at
Brambleton-hall.--Indeed, I am so agreeably situated in this place, that
I have no desire to shift my quarters; and I foresee, that when the day
of separation comes, there will be abundance of sorrow on all sides.--In
the mean time, we must make the most of those blessings which Heaven
bestows.--Considering how you are tethered by your profession, I cannot
hope to see you so far from home; yet the distance does not exceed a
summer-day’s journey, and Charles Dennison, who desires to be remembered
to you, would be rejoiced to see his old compotator; but as I am now
stationary, I expect regular answers to the epistles of
Yours invariably, MATT. BRAMBLE Oct. 11.
To Sir WATKIN PHILLIPS, Bart. at Oxon.