In the meantime that dear old Christian dame,
(The bearer of that most appropriate name[209]—
Who never turn’d a beggar from the door
Without a penny and some surplus store,)
Appriz’d dear Jane that dinner-time was near—
If she would be so kind as to prepare;
And waited ’til she wash’d and plann’d her hair;
Whilst Jane made such inquiries which become
So lowly-a stranger to so lordly-a home.
And the blithe bell, diminutive in size,
Sent forth its welcome in the blissful skies—
As though a host of potentates were there
Prebent on turkey, venison, and hare;—
Not so just now, yet shall its merry ting
Continue its accustom’d carolling.—
The time may come again when princely guest
Shall be the bidden-ones unto the feast;
When round the hall the old ancestral cup
By lords and ladies shall be lifted up;
But in the interim there is much to do:
Around its orbit twice the world shall go
Before the ancient dignity’s restored,
And knights and squires admixture at the board:
(Yes, two ’volutions round the sun is plann’d
Ere Jane shall doff the name of “Hollybrand,”
For that of “Mountjoy;” and when that is done
The old festivities shall be begun.)—
“To-day at dinner there will only be,”
Said Toogood, “Arnold, you—my dear, and me:
But, dearest girl, I have a word to say—
You know that Arnold thinks of going away
A fortnight hence for just a year or two,
For—as he says—the benefit of you,—
Yes, dearest Jane,—the benefit of you!—
He’s going, he tells me, to the far-off East—
To Rome, Vienna, Berlin, and Trieste.
In the meantime (please God to grant it so)
Such education as is _apropos_—
For instance: grammar, ’rithmetic, and prose,
Geography, and music, and all those
Embellishments—enrichments of the mind,
And such-like things which make us good and kind,
You’ll learn, dear Jane, from gentlemen of wit;
That with their teaching you may be found fit
To fill the duties which on you will fall
When you are, darling, mistress of the Hall!”
Now this announcement, evidently made
With all affection for the gentle maid
To meliorate the anxiety of mind
Which must accrue, was (doubtless) well design’d;
And equally as well digested, as
Poor Jane, know’ng well how ignorant she was,
Told dear Aunt Toogood of her willingness,
And trusted it would lead to happiness.
[209] Toogood.