I must say that I was very much excited; I was now arriving at the site
of my birth, and it brought to my mind the details given me by my poor
mother, when, finding she could no longer conceal the truth from me, she
entered into a narrative to extenuate her conduct, pointing out her
temptations, and how fatal to her were opportunity and seclusion. Her
form was before me with the tears running down her cheeks as she made
her humiliating confession to her own son, and I could not help
exclaiming, as I cast my eye upon the beautiful grounds, "My poor
mother!"
The chaise stopped, and the boys dismounted and rang the bell. In a
minute three or four servants made their appearance, and on inquiring, I
found that the Honourable Miss Delmar was at home, and visible.
"Colonel Delmar, I presume, sir?" said the old butler.
"No," replied I--"Captain Keene."
The butler looked me full in the face, and earnestly; and then, as if
recollecting himself, he bowed and went on.
"Captain Keene, madam," said he, as he introduced me into a large room,
at the end of which sat a venerable-looking old lady, very busy with her
knitting needle, and another, almost equally ancient, sitting on a low
stool beside her.
As I advanced, the old lady made me a bow as she remained in in her
chair, and looked at me through her spectacles. She certainly was the
beau-ideal of old age. Her hair, which was like silver, was parted in
braid, and was to be seen just peeping from under her cap and pinners;
she was dressed in black silk, with a snow-white apron and handkerchief,
and there was an air of dignity and refinement about her which made you
feel reverence for her at first sight. As I approached to take the
chair offered to me, the other person, who appeared to be a sort of
attendant, was shuffling her feet to rise; but as soon as Mrs Delmar
had said, "You are welcome, Captain Keene; sit still," she continued,
"my child, there is no occasion to go away." I could scarcely help
smiling at the old lady calling a woman of past sixty, if not even
further advanced, a child; but the fact was, that Phillis had been her
attendant as lady's maid for many years, and subsequently promoted to
the position of humble companion.
As for Miss Delmar, as I afterwards found out from her own lips, she was
upwards of eighty-seven years old, but still in perfect good health, and
in full possession of all her faculties; Phillis therefore was much
younger, and as the old lady had had her in her employ ever since she
was twenty-two, it was not surprising that she continued to address her,
as she had done for so many years, as a young person compared to
herself; indeed I have no doubt but that the old lady, following up her
association of former days, and forgetting the half-century that had
intervened, did consider her as a mere child. The old lady was very
chatty and very polite, and as our conversation naturally turned on Lord
de Versely, of whom I spoke in terms of admiration and gratitude, I had
soon established myself in her good graces. Indeed, as I subsequently
discovered, her nephew was the great object of her affections. His
younger brother had neglected her, and was never mentioned except when
she regretted that Lord de Versely had no children, and that the title
would descend to his brother.
She requested me to stay for dinner, which I did not refuse, and before
dinner was over I had made great progress in the old lady's esteem. As,
when dinner was announced, her companion disappeared, we were then
alone. She asked me many questions relative to Lord de Versely, and
what had occurred during the time that I was serving with him; and this
was a subject on which I could be eloquent. I narrated several of our
adventures, particularly the action with the Dutch frigate, and other
particulars in which I could honestly do credit to his lordship, and I
often referred to his kindness for me.
"Well, Captain Keene, my nephew has often spoken to me about you, and
now you have done him credit in proving that he had made you a good
officer; and I have heard how much you have distinguished yourself since
you have left him."
"Or rather he left me, madam," replied I, "when he was summoned to the
House of Peers."
"Very true," replied the old lady. "I suppose you know that you were
born in this house, Captain Keene?"
"I have been told so, madam."
"Yes, I have no doubt your poor mother that's gone must have told you.
I recollect her--a very clever, active, and pretty young woman (here the
old lady sighed); and I held you in my arms, Captain Keene, when you
were only a few days old."
"You did me great honour, madam," replied I.
Here the conversation took another channel, which I was not sorry for.
After tea, I rose to take my leave, and then I received an invitation
from the old lady to come and spend some time at Madeline Hall, and to
come a few days before the first of September, that I might join the
shooting party. "I expect my nephew, Lord de Versely," said she, "and
there is Colonel Delmar of the Rifles, a cousin of Lord de Versely, also
coming, and one or two others. Indeed I expect the colonel every day.
He is a very pleasant and gentleman-like man."
I accepted the invitation with pleasure, and then took my leave. The
chaise drove off, and I was soon in a deep reverie; I called to mind all
my mother had told me, and I longed to return to the Hall, and visit
those scenes which had been referred to in my mother's narrative; and
more than that, I wished to meet Lord de Versely on the spot which could
not fail to call to his mind my mother, then young, fond, and confiding;
how much she had sacrificed for him; how true she had proved to his
interests, and how sacred the debt of obligation, which he could only
repay by his conduct towards me.
On my return to Portsmouth, I found that orders had come down for the
paying off the Diligente, and re-commissioning her immediately. As the
men would now be free (until again caught by the impress, which would
not be long), I turned up the ship's company, and asked how many of them
would enter for the Circe. I pointed out to them that they would be
impressed for other vessels before long, but that I could give them each
three months of absence, upon which they would not be molested, and that
by three months all their money would be gone, and if it were gone
before that time, the guard-ship would receive them when they had had
enough of the shore. By this method I proposed to myself to obtain the
foundation of a good ship's company. I was not disappointed. Every man
I wished to take with me volunteered, and I wrote leave of absence
tickets for three months for them all as belonging to the Circe,
reporting what I had done to the Admiralty. The brig was then paid off,
and the next day re-commissioned by a Captain Rose, with whom I had some
slight acquaintance.
As I was now my own master again,--for although appointed to the Circe,
I had nothing but my pennant to look at,--I thought that, by way of a
little change, I would pass a few days at the Isle of Wight; for this
was the yachting season, and I had made the acquaintance of many of the
gentlemen who belonged to the club. That I had no difficulty in getting
into society may easily be imagined. A post-captain's commission in his
Majesty's navy is a certain passport with all liberal and really
aristocratical people; and, as it is well known that a person who has
not had the advantage of interest and family connections to advance in
the service, must have gained his promotion by his own merits, his rank
is sufficient to establish his claims to family connections or personal
merit, either of which is almost universally acknowledged; I say almost
universally, because, strange to say, for a succession of reigns, the
navy never has been popular at court. In that region, where merit of
any kind is seldom permitted to intrude, the navy have generally been at
a discount. Each succession of the House of Hanover has been hailed by
its members with fresh hopes of a change in their favour, which hopes
have ended in disappointment; but perhaps it is as well. The navy
require no prophet to tell it, in the literal sense of the word, that
one cannot touch pitch without being defiled; but there is a moral
pitch, the meanness, the dishonesty, and servility of Court, with which,
I trust, our noble service will never be contaminated.
I have, however, somewhat wandered from my subject, which was brought up
in consequence of a gentleman who had paid me every attention at a large
club down at Cowes, to which I had been invited, inquiring of me, across
the table, if I were connected with the Keenes of ---? My reply was
ready: "I did not think that I was; my father had died a young man in
the East Indies. I knew that he was of Scotch descent (which he was),
but I was too young to know anything about his connections, whom he had
quitted at an early age; since that I had been educated and brought
forward by Lord de Versely, who had, since the death of my mother,
treated me as if I were his own son." This was said openly, and being
strictly true, of course without hesitation on my part. It was quite
sufficient; I had noble patronage, and it was therefore to be presumed
that I was somebody, or that patronage would not have been extended. I
mention this, because it was the only time that I was ever questioned
about my family; it was therefore to be presumed that my reply was
considered satisfactory.
I accepted an invitation on board of the yacht and sailed about for
several days, very much amused and flattered by the attention shown to
me by the noble commodore and others. One day I fell in with an old
acquaintance. A small vessel, of about twenty tons, cutter-rigged, came
down under the stern of the commodore's yacht; it was then very smooth
water, very light wind, and, moreover, very hot weather; and one of the
squadron, who was standing by me on the taffrail, said, "Keene, do look
at this craft coming down under our stern--there's quite a curiosity in
it. It is a yacht belonging to an Irish Major O'Flinn, as he calls
himself; why the O, I don't know; but he's a good fellow, and very
amusing; there he is abaft; he has the largest whiskers you ever saw;
but it is not of him I would speak. Wait a little, and as soon as the
square sail is out of the way, you will see his wife. Such a whapper!
I believe she weighs more than the rhinoceros did which was at Post-down
fair."
As the vessel neared, I did behold a most enormous woman in a sky-blue
silk dress, and a large sky-blue parasol over her head; the bonnet
having been taken off, I presume, on account of the heat. "She is a
monster," replied I; "the major was a bold man; I think I have seen the
face before."
"I am told that she was the daughter of a purser, and had a lot of
money," continued my friend.
I recollected then, and I replied, "Yes; I know now, her name was
Culpepper."
"That was the name," replied he; "I recollect now."
The reader may probably recollect Miss Medea, who knew so well how to
put that and that together; and her mother, who I presumed had long ago
been suffocated in her own fat, a fate which I thought that Mrs O'Flinn
would meet with as well as her mother. The lady did not recognise me,
which I was not sorry for. I certainly should have cut her dead. I
walked forward, and my thoughts reverted to the time when my mother
first brought me down to embark, and I was taken care of by Bob Cross.
This recollection of Bob Cross reminded me that I had promised to be at
his wedding, and that it was to take place on the following day, which I
had quite forgotten. So that Mrs O'Flinn did me a good turn at last,
as I should have neglected my promise, if she had not made her
appearance, sailing along like an elephantine Cleopatra.