The next day, as Captain Montreville sat reading aloud to his daughter,
who was busy with her needle, Mr Warren was announced.
Laura, who concluded that he had business with her father, rose to
retire; but her visitor, intercepting her, took both her hands, saying,
'Pray, Ma'am, don't let me frighten you away.' With a constitutional
dislike to familiarity, Laura coolly disengaged herself, and left the
room, without uttering a syllable; but not before Warren had seen enough
of her to determine, that, if possible, he should see her again. He was
struck with her extraordinary beauty, which was heightened by the little
hectic his forwardness had called to her cheek; and he prolonged his
visit to an unfashionable length, in the hope of her return. He went
over all the topics which he judged proper for the ear of a stranger of
his own sex;--talked of the weather, the news, the emptiness of the
town, of horses, ladies, cock-fights, and boxing-matches. He informed
the Captain, that he had given directions to his agent to examine into
the state of the annuity; inquired how long Miss Montreville was to
grace London with her presence; and was told that she was to leave it
the moment her father could settle the business, on account of which
alone he had left Scotland. When it was absolutely necessary to conclude
his visit, Mr Warren begged permission to repeat it, that he might
acquaint Captain Montreville with the success of his agent; secretly
hoping, that Laura would another time be less inaccessible.
Laura meanwhile thought his visit would never have an end. Having
wandered into every room to which she had access, and found rest in none
of them, she concluded, rather rashly, that she should find more comfort
in the one from which his presence excluded her. That disease of the
mind in which by eager anticipations of the future many are unfitted
for present enjoyment, was new to the active spirit of Laura. The
happiness of her life, (and in spite of the caprices of her mother, it
had, upon the whole, been a happy one), had chiefly arisen from a
constant succession of regular, but varied pursuits. The methodical
sequence of domestic usefulness, and improving study, and healthful
exercise, afforded calm yet immediate enjoyment; and the future pleasure
which they promised was of that indefinite and progressive kind which
provokes no eager desires, no impatient expectation. Laura, therefore,
had scarcely known what it was to long for the morrow; but on this day,
the morrow was anticipated with wishful solicitude,--a solicitude which
banished from her mind even the thoughts of Hargrave. Never did youthful
bridegroom look forward to his nuptial hour with more ardour, than did
Laura to that which was to begin the realization of her prospects of
wealth and independence. The next day was to be devoted to the sale of
her picture. Her father was on that day to visit Mr Baynard at Richmond,
whither he had been removed for the benefit of a purer air; and she
hoped on his return, to surprize her beloved parent with an unlooked-for
treasure. She imagined the satisfaction with which she should spread
before him her newly acquired riches,--the pleasure with which she would
listen to his praises of her diligence;--above all, her fancy dwelt on
the delight which she should feel in relieving her father from the
pecuniary embarrassment, in which she knew him to be involved by a
residence in London so much longer than he had been prepared to expect.
That she might add to her intended gift the pleasure of surprize, she
was resolved not to mention her plan for to-morrow; and with such
subjects in contemplation, how could she rest,--of what other subject
could she speak? She tried to banish it from her mind, that she might
not be wholly unentertaining to her father, who, on her account, usually
spent his evenings at home. But the task of amusing was so laborious,
that she was glad to receive in it even the humble assistance of Miss
Julia Dawkins.
This young lady had thought it incumbent on her to assault our heroine
with a most violent friendship; a sentiment which often made her
sufficiently impertinent, though it was a little kept in check by the
calm good sense and natural reserve of Laura. The preposterous
affectation of Julia sometimes provoked the smiles, but more frequently
the pity of Laura; for her real good nature could find no pleasure in
seeing human beings make themselves ridiculous, and she applied to the
cure of Miss Dawkins's foibles, the ingenuity which many would have
employed to extract amusement from them. She soon found, however, that
she was combating a sort of Hydra, from which, if she succeeded in
lopping off one excrescence, another was instantly ready to sprout.
Having no character of her own, Julia was always, as nearly as she was
able, the heroine whom the last read novel inclined her to personate.
But as those who forsake the guidance of nature are in imminent danger
of absurdity, her copies were always caricatures. After reading Evelina,
she sat with her mouth extended in a perpetual smile, and was so very
timid, that she would not for the world have looked at a stranger. When
Camilla was the model for the day, she became insufferably rattling,
infantine, and thoughtless. After perusing the Gossip's story, she, in
imitation of the rational Louisa, suddenly waxed very wise--spoke in
sentences--despised romances--sewed shifts--and read sermons. But, in
the midst of this fit, she, in an evil hour, opened a volume of the
Nouvelle Eloise, which had before disturbed many wiser heads. The shifts
were left unfinished, the sermons thrown aside, and Miss Julia returned
with renewed _impetus_ to the sentimental. This afternoon her studies
had changed their direction, as Laura instantly guessed by the lively
air with which she entered the room, saying that she had brought her
netting, and would sit with her for an hour. 'But do, my dear,' added
she, 'first shew me the picture you have been so busy with; Mamma says
it is beautiful, for she peeped in at it the other day.'
It must be confessed, that Laura had no high opinion of Miss Dawkins's
skill in painting; but she remembered Moliere's old woman, and went with
great good will to bring her performance. 'Oh charming,' exclaimed Miss
Julia, when it was placed before her; 'the figure of the man is quite
delightful; it is the very image of that bewitching creature Tom Jones.'
'Tom Jones?' cried Laura, starting back aghast. 'Yes, my dear,'
continued Julia; 'just such must have been the graceful turn of his
limbs--just such his hair, his eyes, those lips, that when they touched
her hand, put poor Sophia into such a flutter.' The astonishment of
Laura now gave way to laughter, while she said, 'Really Miss Dawkins you
must have a strange idea of Tom Jones, or I a very extraordinary one of
Leonidas.' 'Leonce, you mean, in Delphine,' said Julia; 'Oh, he is a
delightful creature too.' 'Delphine!' repeated Laura, to whom the name
was as new as that of the Spartan was to her companion. 'No, I mean this
for the Greek general taking his last leave of his wife.' 'And I
think,' said Captain Montreville, approaching the picture, 'the
suppressed anguish of the matron is admirably expressed, and contrasts
well with the scarcely relenting ardour of the hero.' Miss Julia again
declared, that the picture was charming, and that Leontine, as she was
pleased to call him, was divinely handsome; but having newly replenished
her otherwise empty head with Fielding's novel, she could talk of
nothing else; and turning to Laura said, 'But why were you so offended,
that I compared your Leontine to Tom Jones?--Is he not a favourite of
yours?' 'Not particularly so,' said Laura. 'Oh why not?--I am sure he is
a delightful fellow--so generous--so ardent. Come, confess--should you
not like of all things to have such a lover?' 'No, indeed,' said Laura,
with most unusual energy; for her thoughts almost unconsciously turned
to one whose character she found no pleasure in associating with that of
Fielding's hero. 'And why not?' asked Miss Julia. 'Because,' answered
Laura, 'I could not admire in a lover qualities which would be odious in
a husband.' 'Oh goodness!' cried Miss Julia, 'do you think Tom Jones
would make an odious husband?' 'The term is a little strong,' replied
Laura; 'but he certainly would not make a pleasant yoke-fellow. What is
your opinion, Sir?' turning to her father. 'I confess,' said the
Captain, 'I should rather have wished him to marry Squire Western's
daughter than mine. But still the character is fitted to be popular.' 'I
think,' said Laura, 'he is indebted for much of the toleration which he
receives, to a comparison with the despicable Blifil.' 'Certainly,' said
the Captain; 'and it is unfortunate for the morality of the book, that
the reader is inclined to excuse the want of religion in the hero, by
seeing its language made ridiculous in Thwackum, and villanous in
Blifil. Even the excellent Mr Alworthy excites but feeble interest; and
it is not by the character which we respect, but by that in which we are
interested, that the moral effect on our minds is produced.' 'Oh,' said
Miss Julia, who very imperfectly comprehended the Captain's observation,
'he might make a charming husband without being religious; and then he
is so warm-hearted--so generous.' 'I shall not dispute that point with
you just now,' replied Laura, 'though my opinion differs materially from
yours; but Tom Jones's warmth of heart and generosity do not appear to
me of that kind which quality a man for adorning domestic life. His
seems a constitutional warmth, which in his case, and I believe, in most
others, is the concomitant of a warm temper,--a temper as little
favourable to gentleness in those who command, as to submission in
those who obey. If by generosity you mean the cheerful relinquishing of
something which we really value, it is an abuse of the term to apply it
to the profusion with which your favourite squanders his money.'
'If it is not generous to part with one's money,' said Miss Julia, 'I am
sure I don't know what is.'
'The quiet domestic generosity which is of daily use,' replied Laura,
'is happily not confined to those who have money to bestow;--but may
appear in any of a thousand little acts of self-denial.' Julia, whose
ideas of generosity, culled from her favourite romances, were on that
gigantic kind of scale that makes it unfit for common occasions, and
therefore in danger of total extinction, was silent for some moments,
and then said, 'I am sure you must allow that it was very noble in Jones
to bury in his own miserable bosom his passion for Sophia, after he knew
that she felt a mutual flame.' 'If I recollect right,' said Laura,
smiling at the oddity of Julia's phrases, 'he broke that resolution; and
I fancy the merely _resolving_ to do right, is a degree of virtue, to
which even the most profligate attain many times in their lives.'
Miss Dawkins, by this time more than half-suspected her companion of
being a Methodist. 'You have such strict notions,' said she, 'that I see
Tom Jones would never have done for you.' 'No,' said Captain
Montreville, 'Sir Charles Grandison would have suited Laura infinitely
better.' 'Oh no, papa,' said Laura, laughing; 'if two such formal
personages as Sir Charles and I had met, I am afraid we should never
have had the honour of each other's acquaintance.'
'Then, of all the gentlemen who are mentioned in novels,' said Miss
Julia, 'tell me who is your favourite?--Is it Lord Orville, or Delville,
or Valancourt, or Edward, or Mortimer, or Peregrine Pickle, or'--and she
ran on till she was quite out of breath, repeating what sounded like a
page of the catalogue of a circulating library.
'Really,' said Laura, when a pause permitted her to speak, 'my
acquaintance with these accomplished persons is so limited that I can
scarcely venture to decide; but, I believe, I prefer the hero of Miss
Porter's new publication--Thaddeus of Warsaw. Truly generous, and
inflexibly upright, his very tenderness has in it something manly and
respectable; and the whole combination has an air of nature that
interests one as for a real friend.' Miss Dawkins had never read the
book, and Laura applied to her father for a confirmation of her opinion.
'Yes, my dear,' said the Captain, 'your favourite has the same
resemblance to a human character which the Belvidere Appollo has to a
human form. It is so like man that one cannot absolutely call it divine,
yet so perfect, that it is difficult to believe it human.'
At this moment Miss Julia was seized with an uncontrollable desire to
read the book, which, she declared, she should not sleep till she had
done; and she went to dispatch a servant in quest of it.
Laura followed her down stairs, to ask from Mrs Dawkins a direction to a
picture-dealer, to whom she might dispose of her performance. Mrs
Dawkins said she knew of no such person; but directed Laura to a
printshop, the master of which was her acquaintance, where she might get
the intelligence she wanted.
On the following morning, as soon as Captain Montreville had set out for
Richmond, his daughter, sending for a hackney coach, departed on the
most interesting business she had ever undertaken. Her heart fluttered
with expectation--her step was buoyant with hope, and she sprung into
the carriage with the lightness of a sylph. Stopping at the shop which
her landlady recommended, she was there directed to several of the
professional people for whom she was enquiring, and she proceeded to the
habitation of the nearest. As she entered the house, Laura changed
colour, and her breath came quick. She stopped a moment to recover
herself, and then followed her conductor into the presence of the
connoisseur. Struck with the sight of so elegant a woman, he rose, bowed
very low, and supposing that she came to make some addition to her
cabinet, threw open the door of his picture-room, and obsequiously hoped
that she might find something there worthy of her attention. Laura
modestly undeceived him, saying, that she had brought in the carriage
which waited for her, a picture which she wished to dispose of. This
statement instantly put to flight the servility of her hearer; who, with
completely recovered consequence, inquired the name of the artist; and
being answered, that the picture was not the work of a professional man,
wrinkled his nose into an expression of ineffable contempt, and said--'I
make it a rule never to buy any of these things--they are generally such
vile daubs. However to oblige so pretty a lady,' added he, (softening
his contumelious aspect into a leer), 'I may look at the thing, and if
it is at all tolerable'--'There is no occasion to give you that
trouble,' said Laura, turning away with an air which again half
convinced the man that she must be a person of consequence. He muttered
something of 'thinking it no trouble;' to which she gave no attention,
but hastened to her carriage, and ordered the coachman to drive to the
show-room of an Italian.
Laura did not give him time to fall into the mistake of the other, but
instantly opened her business; and Mr Sonini was obligingly running
himself to lift the picture from the carriage, when it was brought in by
Mrs Dawkins' maid, whom Laura had requested to attend her. Having placed
the picture, the Italian retreated a few paces to examine the effect,
and then said--'Ah! I do see--dis is leetle after de manner of
Correggio--very pretty--very pretty, indeed.' The hopes of Laura rose
high at these encouraging words; but suffered instantaneous depression,
when he continued, with a shake of his head, 'but 'tis too new--quite
moderne--painted in dis contri.--Painter no name--de picture may be all
so good as it vil--it never vil sell. Me sorry,' added he, reading
Laura's look of disappointment, 'me sorry displease such bell angela;
but cannot buy.' 'I am sorry for it,' said Laura, and sighing heavily,
she courtesied and withdrew.
Her next attempt was upon a little pert-looking man, in a foreign dress,
and spectacles. 'Hum,' said he, 'a picture to sell--well, let us
see't.--There, that's the light. Hum--a poor thing enough--no
keeping--no costûme. Well, Ma'am, what do you please to ask for this?'
'I should be glad, Sir, that you would fix a price on it.'
'Hum--well--let me think--I suppose five guineas will be very fair.' At
this proposal, the blood mounted to the cheeks of Laura; and she raised
her eyes to examine whether the proposer really had the confidence to
look her in the face. But finding his eye steadily fixed on her, she
transferred her suspicions from the honesty of the bidder to the merits
of her piece, and mildly answering, 'I shall not, I think, be disposed
to part with it at that price,' she motioned to the servant to carry it
back to the coach.
One trial still remained; and Laura ordered her carriage to an obscure
street in the city. She was very politely received by Mr Collins,--a
young man who had himself been an artist; but whom bad health had
obliged to relinquish a profession which he loved. 'This piece has
certainly great merit,' said he, after examining it, 'and most gladly
would I have made the purchase; but my little room is at present
overstocked, and, to own the truth to you, the picture is worth more
than my wife and four little ones can afford to venture upon
speculation, and such is the purchase of the work, however meritorious,
of an unknown artist. But if you were to place it in the exhibition, I
have no doubt that it would speedily find a purchaser.' The prospect
which the Exhibition held forth, was far too distant to meet the present
exigency; for Laura well knew that her father would find almost
immediate occasion for the price of her labours; and with a heavy sigh
she returned to her carriage.
What now remained but to return home with the subject of so much
fruitless toil. Still, however, she determined to make one effort more,
and returned to inquire of the printseller, whether he knew any other
person to whom she could apply? He had before given his whole list, and
could make no addition to it. But observing the expression of blank
disappointment which overcast her face, he offered, if she would trust
him with the picture, to place it where it would be seen by his
customers, and expressed a belief that some of them might purchase it.
Laura thankfully accepted the offer, and after depositing with him her
treasure, which had lost much of its value in her eyes, and naming the
price she expected, she returned home; making on her way as many
sombrous reflections on the vanity and uncertainty of all sublunary
pursuits, as ever were made by any young lady in her eighteenth year.
She sat down in her now solitary parlour--suffered dinner to be placed
before her and removed, without knowing of what it consisted; and when
the servant who brought it disappeared, began, like a true heroine, to
vent her disappointment in tears. But soon recollecting that, though she
had no joyful surprize awaiting her father, she might yet gladden it
with a smiling welcome, she started up from her melancholy
posture--bathed her eyes--placed the tea equipage--ordered the first
fire of the season to displace the faded fennel in the chimney--arranged
the apartment in the nicest order--and had just given to everything the
greatest possible appearance of comfort, when her father arrived. She
had need, however, of all her firmness, and of all the elation of
conscious self-control, to resist the contagious depression of
countenance and manner with which Captain Montreville accosted her. He
had good reason for his melancholy. Mr Baynard, his early acquaintance,
almost the only person known to him in this vast city, had that morning
breathed his last. All access to his papers was of course at present
impossible; and until a person could be chosen to arrange his affairs,
it would be impracticable for Captain Montreville to ascertain whether
there existed any voucher for the payment of the price of the annuity.
Harassed by his repeated disappointments, and unendowed by nature with
the unbending spirit that rises in disaster, he now declared to Laura
his resolution to remain in London only till a person was fixed upon for
the management of Mr Baynard's affairs--to lay before him the
circumstances of his case--and then to return to Scotland, and trust to
a correspondence for concluding the business.
At this moment nothing could have been further from Laura's wish than to
quit London. She was unwilling to forfeit her remaining hope that her
picture might find a purchaser, and a still stronger interest bound her
to the place which was so soon to be the residence of Hargrave. But she
saw the prudence of her father's determination--she felt the necessity
of relinquishing a mode of life so unsuitable to his scanty income, and
she cheerfully acquiesced in his proposal of returning home. Still some
time must elapse, before their departure; and she indulged a hope, that
ere that time expired, the produce of her labours might lighten their
pecuniary difficulties.
Captain Montreville retired early; and Laura, wearied out with the toils
and the disappointments of the day, gladly resigned herself to the sleep
of innocence.
Laura was indebted partly to nature, but more to her own exertion, for
that happy elasticity of spirit which easily casts off lighter evil,
while it readily seizes, and fully enjoys, pleasure of moderate
intensity, and of frequent attainment. Few of the lesser sorrows of
youth can resist the cheering influence of early morn; and the petty
miseries which, in the shades of evening, assume portentous size and
colour, diminish wonderfully in the light of the new-risen sun. With
recovered spirits, and reviving hopes, Laura awoke to joys which the
worldly know not,--the joys of pious gratitude--of devout
contemplation--of useful employment; and so far was her persevering
spirit from failing under the disappointments of the preceding day, that
she determined to begin a new picture from the moment she was settled at
Glenalbert, to compose it with more care, and finish it with greater
accuracy, than the former; and to try its fate at the exhibition. She
did not think the season of her father's depression a fit one for
relating her mortifying adventures, and she found means to amuse him
with other topics till he left her, with an intention to call in
Portland Street.
He had not been gone long, when Mr Warren's curricle stopped at the
door, and the young gentleman, on being informed that the Captain was
abroad, inquired for Miss Montreville. After paying his compliments like
one secure of a good reception, he began--'How could you be so cruel as
to refuse me the pleasure of seeing you the other day--do you know I
waited here a devilish long time just on purpose, though I had promised
to take the Countess of Bellamer out an airing, and she was off with
Jack Villars before I came.' 'I am sorry,' said Laura, 'that I deprived
her Ladyship of your company.' 'I should not have minded it much, if you
had but come at last--though the Countess is the prettiest creature in
London--curse me if she isn't--the present company always excepted.' 'Do
you mean the exception for me, or for yourself?' said Laura. 'Oh now,
how can you ask such a question?--I am sure you know that you are
confoundedly handsome.' Laura gravely surveyed her own face in an
opposite looking-glass, and then, with the nonchalance of one who talks
of the most indifferent thing in nature, replied,--'Yes, I think my
features are uncommonly regular.' Warren was a little embarrassed by so
unusual an answer to what he intended for a compliment. 'The girl,'
thought he, 'must be quite a fool to own that she thinks herself so
handsome.' However, after some consideration, he said,--'It is not so
much the features, as a certain _je ne sçai quoi_--a certain charm--one
does not know well what to call it, that makes you look so divine.' 'I
should suppose,' said Laura, 'from the subject you have chosen to amuse
me, that the charm, whatever it is, has no great connection with
intellect.' Warren hesitated; for he began to have some suspicions that
she was laughing at him, in spite of the immoveable gravity of her
countenance. 'It--it isn't--Demme, it isn't so much to amuse you; but
when I see a pretty woman, I never can help telling her of it--curse me
if I can.' 'And do you often find that your intelligence has the
advantage of novelty?' said Laura; an arch smile beginning to dimple her
cheek. 'No, 'pon honour,' replied the beau, 'the women are getting so
insufferably conceited, they leave one nothing new to tell them.' 'But
some gentlemen,' said Laura, 'have the happy talent of saying old things
so well, that the want of novelty is not felt.' The moment the words had
passed her lips, she perceived, by the gracious smile which they
produced, that Mr Warren had applied them to himself; and the thought of
being guilty of such egregious flattery, brought the colour to her face.
Any explanation, however, would have been actual rudeness; and while the
consciousness of her involuntary duplicity kept her silent, her
companion enjoyed her confusion; which, together with the compliment, he
interpreted in a way most satisfactory to his vanity, and thankfully
repaid with a torrent of praises in his very best style.
So little value did Laura affix to his commendations, that she was
beginning to find extreme difficulty in suppressing a yawn, when it
occurred to her that it might save her father a journey to Portland
Street, if she could detain Mr Warren till he arrived. Having made an
observation, which has been more frequently made than profited by, that
most people prefer talking to listening, she engaged her companion in a
description of some of the fashionable places of public resort, none of
which she had seen; in which he acquitted himself so much to his own
satisfaction, that, before they separated, he was convinced that Laura
was one of the most penetrating judicious women of his acquaintance; and
having before remarked, that, with the help of a little rouge, and a
fashionable riding-habit, she would look better in a curricle than any
woman in London, he resolved, that if it depended on him, her residence
in town should not be a short one. In this laudable resolution, he was
confirmed by a consideration of the insolence and extravagance of a
certain female, to whose place in his establishment he had some vague
idea of advancing Miss Laura, though there was a stateliness about both
her and her father, which he suspected might somewhat interfere with his
designs in her favour. Soon after the Captain arrived, he took his
leave, having no new intelligence to communicate, nor indeed any other
purpose in his visit, except that which had been served by his interview
with Laura.
As soon as he was gone, Laura went down stairs to beg that Miss Dawkins
would accompany her after dinner to the print-shop, to inquire what had
been the fate of her picture. More than one person, she was told, had
admired it, and expressed a desire to become the owner; but the price
had been a formidable obstacle, and it remained unsold.
Almost every evening did Laura, with Mrs Dawkins or her daughter for an
escort, direct her steps to the print-shop, and return from her
fruitless walk with fainter and fainter hope.