Sweet are the uses of adversity;
Which, like the toad, ugly and venemous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head:
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.
AS YOU LIKE IT.
The Duke of Tyrconnel and his family, and particularly the lovely
Adelaide, were delighted with the tranquillity of Brussels, and often,
accompanied by Sir David Bruce, they gladly sojourned at the ancient
chateau of Tervuren, about three leagues distant from Brussels, and
situated in the forest of Soignies, where a cold collation was
frequently prepared for them, and which they not only seemed to relish,
but were happier in its enjoyment than although it had been served to
them on golden plate in palaces of kings.
Upon one of these pleasant excursions the duke, who was riding next Sir
Patricius Placebo, while passing through the forest his Grace said: "I
never, Sir Patricius, felt so happy--so far, at least, as regards my own
personal feelings--as now I do, and always feel upon these our little
expeditions, if I could forget--if indeed I ever could forget that my
royal master is an exile from his dominions! Save this consideration, I
repine not for myself, nor would I exchange social leisure and rural
retirement for all the pomp of camps and courts, and power political."
"I fully concur," rejoined Sir Patricius, "in your Grace's sentiments,
and in the words of a true AMICUS I may thus reply:--
"I would not change it: happy is your Grace
That can translate the stubbornness of fortune
Into so quiet and so sweet a style."
The duke now rode up to the side of the carriage to make some
observations to the duchess, when Sir David said:--
"I think, nevertheless, good Sir Patricius, with old truth-telling
Persius,
'At pulchrum est digito monstrari, et dicier HIC EST!'
that it could not surely have been altogether so very disagreeable to be
pointed out as a distinguished person of rank, who was respected by the
multitude, and one every way so deserving of it; and to hear their
hoarse, but gladdened voices exclaim, 'make way there! room, room for
the duke!"
"Certainly, Sir David, I entirely concur in this opinion with you; for
methinks my good and kind master is somewhat too soon disposed to retire
from this most wicked, sinister, and abominable world, and to be as
sick, forsooth, of pomp and praise as ever _Henri Quatrè_ was of a
partridge!"
The pleasure party for Tervuren Castle and park was thus arranged:--The
duke, Sir Patricius, and Sir David, were on horseback, and led the van.
Then followed one of the duke's carriages, with outriders, in which were
the duke's sisters, the Ladies Letitia and Lucy, accompanied by two
grand nieces of the Duchess Dowager d'Aremberg. Then came on another
coach of the duke's, in which were seated the duchess and Lady Adelaide.
Footmen, mounted, closed the cavalcade. The Duke d'Aremberg had been
invited to the collation; but it appeared that he was gone into Holland,
on a visit at the Hague, for which he had immediately departed, upon his
proposals having been rejected by the Lady Adelaide.
The ancient chateau of Tervuren[50] had been built by the dukes of
Brabant. It was situated in the forest of Soignies, and distant two
leagues and a half from Brussels. It was remarkable for its antiquity,
and all that sombrous magnificence which pertained to those castles,
whose foundations were laid in the days of chivalry. It was
circumvallated by a deep and extensive fosse, broad and deep enough
almost indeed to be dignified with the name of lake. Four several
draw-bridges connected the castle with the park, and pleasure-boats were
stationed on the water. Here too was seen, sailing majestically along,
the mild and gentle swan, the peaceful king of water birds, guarding his
watery realm in tranquil peace, unawed by the bird of Jove, with whom he
dares to combat, and even to conquer, although seeking not the
conflict.[51]
[50] This ancient castle was destroyed in 1784.
[51] See Buffon, vol. IX. p. 1.
Indeed the swans constituted the chief ornament of the artificial lakes
that were dispersed through the park and pleasure-grounds, and besides
animated and adorned the gloomy fosse that sullenly surrounded Tervuren
Castle.
The grand saloon of this once royal residence was of an extraordinary
size and dimensions. The ceiling and wainscot were formed of rich and
beautifully carved oak, which attracted much admiration. There were also
two other state apartments, the walls of which were decorated with
tapestry from designs of Rubens and the younger Teniers. And exclusive
of these three large state apartments, this once royal chateau could
boast of no other internal splendour or decoration. The park, however,
was fine, crowned with lofty woods, and the pleasure grounds adorned
with the united efforts of taste and art, which failed not to yield
delight to the spectator. Here, during the summer months, the duke and
duchess and family, with parties of their friends, frequently visited;
and having partaken of a cold dinner previously prepared, have strolled
forth in the calm of evening, and lingered until a late hour amid the
groves and pleasure grounds, listening with much delight to the warbling
of the nightingale.
The entertainment given this day was at the sole expense of Sir
Patricius Placebo, who felt exceedingly gratified thereat, as he
expressed himself, for the permission thus granted him by his noble
patron, and said:
"Accredit me, noble Sir, under your sage decidement, I flatter myself
that this day's entertainment will sufficiently prove that there are
those living who fully understand the _scavoir vivre_--ay, critically
well as ever Lucullus or Apicius did; for, ahem,
DOSS MOI TANE STIGMEN!
as doubtless, when the important hour of dinner arrives, I trust that
your Grace will be free to----But _tempus et hora_--let the time and
season tell! I shall not boast too soon, but leave it to your Grace's
discreet arbitrament! That will be, my Lord, the _tempus opportunum_
perfectly to illustrate _the noble theory of luxury_! at which methinks
your Grace shall marvel much."
"For me to dissent," rejoined the duke, "my good Sir Patricius, from the
two high authorities whom you have cited, would be somewhat too like
Diogenes, surrounded with sunshine, yet growling in his tub; and treason
prepense _certes_ against the noble culinary art!--besides ingratitude
to mine honoured host of Tervuren!
"I know full well that Apicius Cælius, whom you quote as an authority,
Sir Patricius, wrote a learned essay, _de Arte Coquinaria_--a treatise
on the culinary art; and that he may well be considered as the _Pontifex
maximus Epicuri_. But respecting and regarding the great Lucullus,
whose distinction arose from a higher flight than a mere knowledge of
the culinary art, I must observe, _en passánt_, that I flatter myself I
do somewhat resemble that great character, namely, in my fondness for
retirement, which I only regret I had not sooner cultivated, as it would
have placed me above the reach of ambition, and beyond the pangs of
care!
"Indeed had I been born in Belgium, I am tolerably certain that my past
life, instead of being occupied and engrossed in the turmoil of courts
and camps, would tranquilly have passed over in pastoral seclusion; for
man, Sir Patricius, say what we may,
'Proud man! though dressed in little brief authority,'
is after all but at best the poor and passive creature of time, place,
period, and circumstance!--and, under this firm conviction, I know I
should have wielded the shepherd's crook, and not the marshal's
truncheon!"
"My Lord Duke, there is no gainsaying your Grace's _dictum_, which, in
sooth, is fully illustrated by the beautiful lines of gentle Master
Waller:--
'Great Julius on the mountains bred,
His flocks, perhaps, or herds had led;
And he who subdued the world had been
But the best wrestler on the green!'"
The shaft duly struck its intended mark, and the duke evidently seemed
pleased, for flattery, although, generally speaking, it is often rather
coarsely served up,
"Yet oft we find that men of wit
still condescend to pick a bit."
The moment so important to Sir Patricius had now arrived--the time of
dinner. The castle clock chimed forth the second hour, the baronet's eye
sparkling with delight as he beheld the long extended commissary train
of eatable artillery enter the _salle de manger_; many an ahem! and
DOSS MOI TANE STIGMEN!
were exultingly ejaculated forth when the dinner was duly arranged; and
with delight he beheld the delicious banquet that lay before him, while
gladly he observed the numerous delicacies which were duly recorded in
his _carte du jour_, along with the choicest wines, from _Malvoisie de
Madere_ to "imperial Tokay." Various choice _hors d'oeuvres_ were
served up, and succeeded by a splendid course of _entremets_, which
concluded with a grand dessert.
Since the royal times of the Dukes of Brabant such an entertainment had
not been witnessed in Tervuren Castle.
But there were luxuries this day produced which are not to be found in
the _carte du jour_ of either the famous _restaurateurs_ Very, or
Beauvillier, or at the celebrated _Rocher de Cancale_ of modern Paris:
_videlicet_--ortolan pies, the celebrated _pâtes des foies gross_[52] of
Strasburgh, and the no less famed _pâtés à croute de seigle des
perdreaux rouges aux truffes_, the far-famed Perigord pies, made of the
red-legged partridge, and constructed by the confectionary skill and
tact of the scientific _pattissiers_ of Perigeux, the capital of the
province of Perigord, in France,[53] a luxury well known, and often sent
as acceptable presents to peers and princes.
[52] These pies are made from the large liver of a goose. The
means taken to cause the enlargement of the liver of the victim
are too cruel and horribly disgusting to detail.
[53] Now in the department of Dordogne.
The worthy baronet paid every attention and respect to his honoured
guests, and received much praise for a banquet so _recherchè_, but it
was the opinion of all that it was quite too _magnifique_, and totally
out of character both with time and place.
The repast concluded, the ducal party sallied forth to enjoy their
favourite walk in the delightful groves and gardens of Tervuren; and
entering a summer-house they were agreeably surprised once more with the
unceasing attention of Sir Patricius, for they here found tea, coffee,
refreshments, fruits, liqueurs, &c., all ready for their acceptance. So
soon as tea was over they again resumed their promenade. It was a
charming summer evening in the beginning of June, the sky was clear and
serene, the leaves of the surrounding forest were unruffled by a breath
of air, the very zephyrs seemed at rest; the silent lake lulled to
repose, presented, as in a mirror, each object deeply and distinctly
reflected on its glassy surface; it seemed great Nature's holiday; while
enraptured with delight they listened to the shrill mellow warbling of
the nightingale, increased by the silence of the scene, and the
tranquillity of the evening.
Upon this happy afternoon, enjoyed so rationally amid the tranquil
secluded grounds and pleasure parks of the once royal castle of
Tervuren, Lady Adelaide and Sir David Bruce, having been left aloof from
the party, had taken a seat in one of the numerous summer-bowers which
adorned the grounds, and in the day-time afforded shelter from the
burning blaze of a Belgic sun, where, while the nightingale sweetly
sung, Adelaide said, with a cheerful smile, "My dearest Bruce will not
surely prove jealous if for a moment forgetting him, (for it could only
be for a moment,") she added, with emphasis, "that here I pay the homage
of _my_ song to the sweet nightingale, the nightly songster of the
grove; the lark is the sunny bird of morn, but the sweetly plaintive
nightingale is exclusively the minstrel of the night!"
"Oh, no--oh, no, my dearest, my beloved Adelaide! come, pray, produce
thy tablets, for I too am as much enraptured as thou canst be, with this
sweet vocal minstrel of the night!"
"As soon done as said;--see, here they are, and accept them, for they
are yours;--if they should please my dearest Bruce, I am fully repaid!"
ADDRESS TO THE NIGHTINGALE.
I.
Welcome, melodious nightingale!
Whose warbling thrills thro' wood and dale;
Still lonely songster of the night,
Thy enchanted strains delight
Every list'ner's charmed ear,
Melodious minstrel, thee to hear!
II.
Again repeat thy vesper song,
Echoed these silent woods among;
For ever here I'd fondly stay,
And gladly listen to thy lay.
Is it the force of love so strong
That pours thy woodland notes along?
Or say, the thrill of lost delight
That swells thy song at dismal night!
Whate'er, or grief, or love, be giv'n,
It sounds like choral peal from heav'n.
III.
Sing on, then sweetest songster dear,
Oh still arrest the charmed ear!
Through Soignies' wood Tervuren's grove,
Still chant the elegies of love!
"Thanks, my Adelaide, for thy sweet verses, I like them much, very much
indeed, with the exception, perhaps, of the last line, _the elegies of
love_; pray, my dear, you leave such _larmoyantè_ lucubrations to the
Hero and Leander of romance, or to their own Ovid; but, oh, let all
_his_ 'FASTI' [i. e. festivals] be thine! while succeeding years shall
be noted with chalk in the bright calendar of thy days! _Felices ter et
ampliùs essint!_--'The elegies of love!' Why thou fain then believest,
my Adelaide, that poor Philomela, as the tuneful Maro wrote,[54] pours
forth her nightly plaint, and although she so sweetly sings, yet still
thou fanciest the thorn of the rose rankles in her breast, while she
renews at eve her melancholy song!"
[54] Qualis populeâ moerens Philomela, &c.
VIRG. GEOR. 1. IV.
"Such, at least, was the opinion of the poets. But come, Sir David, let
us hasten to join our friends, who will wonder what hath become of us."
They now rejoined the duke and duchess, and the carriages and horses
having been brought out, they set forth on their return to fair
Brussels.
But, alas! according to the Flemish proverb,
"Alle wereldsch Goedaardig is Vergankelyk!"
All worldly good is fleeting and transitory! as we now have but too just
occasion to illustrate by facts. The ducal party had scarcely entered
upon the road, which is flanked by the thickest and most densely wooded
part of Soignies forest, the stillness of the solitude disturbed only by
the horse tramps, and the rolling of the duke's carriages, when, upon
the sudden, a shrill and loud re-echoing whistle issued from the forest,
and was instantly chorused by a number of harsh voices fiercely crying
_hui, hieu, huit_; when, almost instantly, a troop of armed horsemen,
unquestionably banditti, collecting from different points, thundered in
full gallop to where the signal was sounded. The banditti amounted in
number to about eleven or twelve, so far indeed as observation could be
made amid the darkness of the night, which was then setting in, and
increased by the deep and gloomy shadows of the surrounding forest; the
confusion too and terror caused by this unexpected appearance, increased
by the clamorous screams, and the many females who fainted, at the
approaching conflict, which was now beyond a doubt. The banditti came up
in full gallop, and forming into ranks, advanced within a few paces of
the cavalcade, and intercepting its progress, presented their
petronels[55] full-cocked; and one, the leader no doubt, meanwhile
fiercely exclaiming in Stentorian voice, '_Basta senors, basta senors!_'
then pulling the triggers, discharged their petronels. Opposed to them
were the noble company on horseback, and the attending footmen and
outriders; these were only armed with long horse-pistols, which,
however, told full well, for Sir David Bruce valiantly brought down a
brace of the banditti, who soon cowered to earth. The duke wounded two
others, who were with difficulty removed. Sir Patricius, albeit, who
would have preferred an old acquaintanceship with his Carolus' snuff-box
at this hour, was equally as successful.
[55] Petronel was a small gun used by the cavalry.
However, we are indeed sorry to narrate that Sir David Bruce was thrown
from his horse in consequence of excessive pain which he suffered from a
wound received in his right shoulder from a ball fired from one of the
petronels of the banditti.
It was all a dreadful scene of noise, darkness, confusion, and
distress! The duchess, Adelaide, and the Ladies Letitia and Lucy, were
infinitely alarmed; but the nieces of the Duchess d'Aremberg fainted,
and it was some time before they could be restored to animation.
Fortunately at this critical point of time a patrole of _Gens
d'Armes_ approached, who had been for some days in search of the said
banditti, when instantly applying their rowels, with small ceremony, to
the ribs of their steeds, the banditti fled, dispersing in every
direction throughout the entanglements of the forest.
Sir David Bruce, who had received a severe gun-shot wound, was, without
delay, placed in the same carriage with the duchess and Lady Adelaide;
every remedy that could on the instant be procured having been applied
as styptics to stop the flowing of blood, and contrary to all his warm
remonstrances; but we will not undertake to say that it was contrary to
his inclination he was placed within the same carriage with Adelaide;
the coachman was enjoined to proceed at a slow pace, the _Gens d'Armes_
meanwhile escorting them, nor quitted the cavalcade until they safely
had entered Brussels by the Namur gate; whence ten minutes, or so,
brought the ducal party, who had so lately enjoyed a scene of pleasure,
so suddenly transmuted into a scene of woe, to Tyrconnel house in the
_Rue Ducale_.
END OF VOL. II.
Transcriber's Note: Most of the apparent printers' errors in spelling
and punctuation have been retained. A few have been changed, including
those listed below. The oe ligature has been expanded.
Line 610 Extra a deleted
Line 1233 Extra " deleted.
Line 1782 Extra " deleted.
Footnote 13 Replaced Poys with Pays and La Clerc with Le Clerc.
Line 2751 Replaced desert with dessert.
Line 2994 Replaced robe with rope.
Line 3473 Replaced desert with dessert.
Line 3491 Replaced l'Angloises with l'Anglaises.
Line 3797 Replaced fell with feel.
Line 5051 Replaced nich with niche.
Line 5343 Replaced desert with dessert.