Meanwhile, in a point of so much moment, I was not hasty to determine.
My delay seemed to be, by no means, unacceptable to Ludloe, who
applauded my discretion, and warned me to be circumspect. My attention
was chiefly absorbed by considerations connected with this subject, and
little regard was paid to any foreign occupation or amusement.
One evening, after a day spent in my closet, I sought recreation by
walking forth. My mind was chiefly occupied by the review of incidents
which happened in Spain. I turned my face towards the fields, and
recovered not from my reverie, till I had proceeded some miles on the
road to Meath. The night had considerably advanced, and the darkness was
rendered intense, by the setting of the moon. Being somewhat weary, as
well as undetermined in what manner next to proceed, I seated myself
on a grassy bank beside the road. The spot which I had chosen was aloof
from passengers, and shrowded in the deepest obscurity.
Some time elapsed, when my attention was excited by the slow approach
of an equipage. I presently discovered a coach and six horses, but
unattended, except by coachman and postillion, and with no light to
guide them on their way. Scarcely had they passed the spot where I
rested, when some one leaped from beneath the hedge, and seized the
head of the fore-horses. Another called upon the coachman to stop, and
threatened him with instant death if he disobeyed. A third drew open the
coach-door, and ordered those within to deliver their purses. A shriek
of terror showed me that a lady was within, who eagerly consented to
preserve her life by the loss of her money.
To walk unarmed in the neighbourhood of Dublin, especially at night, has
always been accounted dangerous. I had about me the usual instruments
of defence. I was desirous of rescuing this person from the danger which
surrounded her, but was somewhat at a loss how to effect my purpose. My
single strength was insufficient to contend with three ruffians. After
a moment's debate, an expedient was suggested, which I hastened to
execute.
Time had not been allowed for the ruffian who stood beside the carriage
to receive the plunder, when several voices, loud, clamorous, and eager,
were heard in the quarter whence the traveller had come. By trampling
with quickness, it was easy to imitate the sound of many feet. The
robbers were alarmed, and one called upon another to attend. The sounds
increased, and, at the next moment, they betook themselves to flight,
but not till a pistol was discharged. Whether it was aimed at the lady
in the carriage, or at the coachman, I was not permitted to discover,
for the report affrighted the horses, and they set off at full speed.
I could not hope to overtake them: I knew not whither the robbers had
fled, and whether, by proceeding, I might not fall into their hands.....
These considerations induced me to resume my feet, and retire from the
scene as expeditiously as possible. I regained my own habitation without
injury.
I have said that I occupied separate apartments from those of Ludloe. To
these there were means of access without disturbing the family. I hasted
to my chamber, but was considerably surprized to find, on entering my
apartment, Ludloe seated at a table, with a lamp before him.
My momentary confusion was greater than his. On discovering who it was,
he assumed his accustomed looks, and explained appearances, by saying,
that he wished to converse with me on a subject of importance, and had
therefore sought me at this secret hour, in my own chamber. Contrary
to his expectation, I was absent. Conceiving it possible that I might
shortly return, he had waited till now. He took no further notice of
my absence, nor manifested any desire to know the cause of it, but
proceeded to mention the subject which had brought him hither. These
were his words.
You have nothing which the laws permit you to call your own. Justice
entitles you to the supply of your physical wants, from those who are
able to supply them; but there are few who will acknowledge your claim,
or spare an atom of their superfluity to appease your cravings. That
which they will not spontaneously give, it is not right to wrest from
them by violence. What then is to be done?
Property is necessary to your own subsistence. It is useful, by enabling
you to supply the wants of others. To give food, and clothing, and
shelter, is to give life, to annihilate temptation, to unshackle virtue,
and propagate felicity. How shall property be gained?
You may set your understanding or your hands at work. You may weave
stockings, or write poems, and exchange them for money; but these are
tardy and meagre schemes. The means are disproportioned to the end, and
I will not suffer you to pursue them. My justice will supply your wants.
But dependance on the justice of others is a precarious condition. To be
the object is a less ennobling state than to be the bestower of benefit.
Doubtless you desire to be vested with competence and riches, and
to hold them by virtue of the law, and not at the will of a
benefactor...... He paused as if waiting for my assent to his positions.
I readily expressed my concurrence, and my desire to pursue any means
compatible with honesty. He resumed.
There are various means, besides labour, violence, or fraud. It is right
to select the easiest within your reach. It happens that the easiest is
at hand. A revenue of some thousands a year, a stately mansion in
the city, and another in Kildare, old and faithful domestics, and
magnificent furniture, are good things. Will you have them?
A gift like that, replied I, will be attended by momentous conditions. I
cannot decide upon its value, until I know these conditions.
The sole condition is your consent to receive them. Not even the airy
obligation of gratitude will be created by acceptance. On the contrary,
by accepting them, you will confer the highest benefit upon another.
I do not comprehend you. Something surely must be given in return.
Nothing. It may seem strange that, in accepting the absolute controul of
so much property, you subject yourself to no conditions; that no claims
of gratitude or service will accrue; but the wonder is greater still.
The law equitably enough fetters the gift with no restraints, with
respect to you that receive it; but not so with regard to the unhappy
being who bestows it. That being must part, not only with property
but liberty. In accepting the property, you must consent to enjoy the
services of the present possessor. They cannot be disjoined.
Of the true nature and extent of the gift, you should be fully apprized.
Be aware, therefore, that, together with this property, you will
receive absolute power over the liberty and person of the being who now
possesses it. That being must become your domestic slave; be governed,
in every particular, by your caprice.
Happily for you, though fully invested with this power, the degree and
mode in which it will be exercised will depend upon yourself..... You
may either totally forbear the exercise, or employ it only for the
benefit of your slave. However injurious, therefore, this authority may
be to the subject of it, it will, in some sense, only enhance the value
of the gift to you.
The attachment and obedience of this being will be chiefly evident in
one thing. Its duty will consist in conforming, in every instance,
to your will. All the powers of this being are to be devoted to your
happiness; but there is one relation between you, which enables you to
confer, while exacting, pleasure. .... This relation is _sexual_. Your
slave is a woman; and the bond, which transfers her property and person
to you, is .... _marriage_.
My knowledge of Ludloe, his principles, and reasonings, ought to have
precluded that surprise which I experienced at the conclusion of his
discourse. I knew that he regarded the present institution of marriage
as a contract of servitude, and the terms of it unequal and unjust.
When my surprise had subsided, my thoughts turned upon the nature of his
scheme. After a pause of reflection, I answered:
Both law and custom have connected obligations with marriage, which,
though heaviest on the female, are not light upon the male. Their weight
and extent are not immutable and uniform; they are modified by various
incidents, and especially by the mental and personal qualities of the
lady.
I am not sure that I should willingly accept the property and person
of a woman decrepid with age, and enslaved by perverse habits and
evil passions: whereas youth, beauty, and tenderness would be worth
accepting, even for their own sake, and disconnected with fortune.
As to altar vows, I believe they will not make me swerve from equity. I
shall exact neither service nor affection from my spouse. The value of
these, and, indeed, not only the value, but the very existence, of the
latter depends upon its spontaneity. A promise to love tends rather to
loosen than strengthen the tie.
As to myself, the age of illusion is past. I shall not wed, till I find
one whose moral and physical constitution will make personal fidelity
easy. I shall judge without mistiness or passion, and habit will come in
aid of an enlightened and deliberate choice.
I shall not be fastidious in my choice. I do not expect, and scarcely
desire, much intellectual similitude between me and my wife. Our
opinions and pursuits cannot be in common. While women are formed by
their education, and their education continues in its present state,
tender hearts and misguided understandings are all that we can hope to
meet with.
What are the character, age, and person of the woman to whom you allude?
and what prospect of success would attend my exertions to obtain her
favour?
I have told you she is rich. She is a widow, and owes her riches to the
liberality of her husband, who was a trader of great opulence, and who
died while on a mercantile adventure to Spain. He was not unknown to
you. Your letters from Spain often spoke of him. In short, she is the
widow of Benington, whom you met at Barcelona. She is still in the prime
of life; is not without many feminine attractions; has an ardent and
credulent temper; and is particularly given to devotion. This temper it
would be easy to regulate according to your pleasure and your interest,
and I now submit to you the expediency of an alliance with her.
I am a kinsman, and regarded by her with uncommon deference; and my
commendations, therefore, will be of great service to you, and shall be
given.
I will deal ingenuously with you. It is proper you should be fully
acquainted with the grounds of this proposal. The benefits of rank, and
property, and independence, which I have already mentioned as likely to
accrue to you from this marriage, are solid and valuable benefits;
but these are not the sole advantages, and to benefit you, in these
respects, is not my whole view.
No. My treatment of you henceforth will be regulated by one principle.
I regard you only as one undergoing a probation or apprenticeship; as
subjected to trials of your sincerity and fortitude. The marriage I now
propose to you is desirable, because it will make you independent of me.
Your poverty might create an unsuitable bias in favour of proposals, one
of whose effects would be to set you beyond fortune's reach. That bias
will cease, when you cease to be poor and dependent.
Love is the strongest of all human delusions. That fortitude, which
is not subdued by the tenderness and blandishments of woman, may be
trusted; but no fortitude, which has not undergone that test, will be
trusted by us.
This woman is a charming enthusiast. She will never marry but him whom
she passionately loves. Her power over the heart that loves her will
scarcely have limits. The means of prying into your transactions, of
suspecting and sifting your thoughts, which her constant society with
you, while sleeping and waking, her zeal and watchfulness for your
welfare, and her curiosity, adroitness, and penetration will afford her,
are evident. Your danger, therefore, will be imminent. Your fortitude
will be obliged to have recourse, not to flight, but to vigilance. Your
eye must never close.
Alas! what human magnanimity can stand this test! How can I persuade
myself that you will not fail? I waver between hope and fear. Many, it
is true, have fallen, and dragged with them the author of their ruin,
but some have soared above even these perils and temptations, with their
fiery energies unimpaired, and great has been, as great ought to be,
their recompence.
But you are doubtless aware of your danger. I need not repeat the
consequences of betraying your trust, the rigour of those who will Judge
your fault, the unerring and unbounded scrutiny to which your actions,
the most secret and indifferent, will be subjected.
Your conduct, however, will be voluntary. At your own option be it, to
see or not to see this woman. Circumspection, deliberation forethought,
are your sacred duties and highest interest.