CHAPTER LX
NO DANGER, GENTLEMEN
The little dinner at Springhaven Hall, appointed for that same Saturday,had now grown into a large one. Carne had refused Dolly's offer to gethim an invitation, and for many reasons he was not invited. He oughtto have been glad of this, because he did not want to be there; but hisnature, like a saw's, was full of teeth, and however he was used, hegrated. But without any aid of his teeth, a good dinner, well plannedand well served, bade fair in due course to be well digested also byforty at least of the forty-two people who sat down to consider it.For as yet the use of tongue was understood, and it was not allowed toobstruct by perpetual motion the duties of the palate. And now everyperson in the parish of high culture--which seems to be akin to theLatin for a knife, though a fork expels nature more forcibly--as wellas many others of locality less favoured, joined in this muster of goodpeople and good things. At the outset, the Admiral had intended nothingmore than a quiet recognition of the goodness of the Lord in bringinghome a husband for the daughter of the house; but what Englishman canforbear the pleasure of killing two birds with one stone?
It was Stubbard who first suggested this, and Sir Charles at oncesaw the force of it, especially with the Marquis of Southdown coming.Captain Stubbard had never admired anybody, not even himself--withoutwhich there is no happiness--much less Mr. Pitt, or Lord Nelson, or theKing, until justice was done to the race of Stubbard, and their handswere plunged into the Revenue. But now, ever since the return of the warto its proper home in England, this Captain had been paid well for doingthe very best thing that a man can do, i. e., nothing. He could not helpdesiring to celebrate this, and as soon as he received his invitation,he went to the host and put it clearly. The Admiral soon entered intohis views, and as guests were not farmed by the head as yet at tablesentertaining self-respect, he perceived the advantage of a good dinnerscored to his credit with forty at the cost of twenty; and Stubbard'sproposal seemed thoroughly well timed, so long was it now since theleaders of Defence had celebrated their own vigilance. Twenty-two,allowing for the ladies needful, were thus added to the score of chairsintended, and the founder of the feast could scarcely tell whetherthe toast of the evening was to be the return of the traveller, or thediscomfiture of Boney. That would mainly depend upon the wishes of theMarquis, and these again were likely to be guided by the treatmenthe had met with from the government lately and the commanders of hisDivision.
This nobleman was of a character not uncommon eighty years ago, but nowvery rare among public men, because a more flexible fibre has chokedit. Steadfast, honourable, simple, and straightforward, able to laughwithout bitterness at the arrogant ignorance of mobs, but never to smileat the rogues who led them, scorning all shuffle of words, foul haze,and snaky maze of evasion, and refusing to believe at first sight thathis country must be in the wrong and her enemies in the right, headded to all these exterminated foibles a leisurely dignity now equallyextinct. Trimmers, time-servers, and hypocrites feared him, as thievesfear an honourable dog; and none could quote his words against oneanother. This would have made him unpopular now, when perjury meanspopularity. For the present, however, self-respect existed, and no onethought any the worse of his lordship for not having found him a liar.Especially with ladies, who insist on truth in men as a pleasant proofof their sex, Lord Southdown had always been a prime favourite, and anauthority largely misquoted. And to add to his influence, he possesseda quick turn of temper, which rendered it very agreeable to agree withhim.
Lord Southdown was thinking, as he led Miss Darling to her chair at thehead of the table, that he never had seen a more pleasing young woman,though he grieved at her taste in preferring the brown young man on herleft to his elegant friend Lord Dashville. Also he marvelled at hearingso much, among the young officers of his acquaintance, concerning thebeauty of the younger sister, and so little about this far sweeter youngperson--at least in his opinion. For verily Dolly was not at her best;her beautiful colour was gone, her neck had lost its sprightly turn, andher gray eyes moved heavily instead of sparkling. "That girl has someburden upon her mind," he thought as he watched her with interest andpity; "she has put on her dress anyhow, and she does not even look tosee who is looking at her!"
For the "Belle of all Sussex," as the young sparks entitled her, wasill at ease with herself, and ready to quarrel with every one exceptherself. She had conscience enough to confess, whenever she could notget away from it, that for weeks and months she had been slipping farand further from the true and honest course. Sometimes, with a pain likea stitch in the side, the truth would spring upon her; and perhaps for amoment she would wonder at herself, and hate the man misleading her. Butthis happened chiefly when he was present, and said or did something tovex her; and then he soon set it to rights again, and made everythingfeel delightful. And this way of having her misgivings eased made themeasier when they came again with no one to appease them. For she beganto think of what he had done, and how kind and considerate his mind mustbe, and how hard it must seem to mistrust him.
Another thing that urged her to keep on now, without making any fussabout it, was the wonderful style her sister Faith had shown since thathairy monster came back again. It was manifest that the world containedonly one man of any high qualities, and nobody must dare to think eventwice about any conclusion he laid down. He had said to her, with apenetrating glance--and it must have been that to get through such athicket--that dangerous people were about, and no girl possessing anyself-respect must think of wandering on the shore alone. The more shewas spied upon and admonished, the more she would do what she thoughtright; and a man who had lived among savages for years must be a queerjudge of propriety. But, in spite of all these defiant thoughts, herheart was very low, and her mind in a sad flutter, and she couldnot even smile as she met her father's gaze. Supposing that she wasfrightened at the number of the guests, and the noise of many tongues,and the grandeur of the people, the gentle old man made a little signalto her to come and have a whisper with him, as a child might do, undercourtesy of the good company. But Dolly feigned not to understand, atthe penalty of many a heart-pang.
The dinner went on with a very merry sound, and a genuine strength ofenjoyment, such as hearty folk have who know one another, and are mettogether not to cut capers of wit, but refresh their goodwill and fineprinciples. And if any dinner party can be so arranged that only fiveper cent. has any trouble on its mind, the gentleman who whips away theplates, at a guinea a mouth, will have to go home with a face of willowpattern.
The other whose mind was away from her food, and reckless of its ownnourishment, was Blyth Scudamore's mother, as gentle a lady as evertried never to think of herself. In spite of all goodness, and faith inthe like, she had enough to make her very miserable now, whenever sheallowed herself to think about it, and that was fifty-nine minutesout of sixty. For a brief account of her son's escape from Etaples hadreached her, through the kindness of Captain Desportes, who found meansto get a letter delivered to the Admiral. That brave French officerspoke most highly of the honourable conduct of his English friend, buthad very small hope of his safety. For he added the result of his owninquiries to the statement of M. Jalais, and from these it was clearthat poor Scuddy had set forth alone in a rickety boat, ill found andill fitted to meet even moderate weather in the open Channel. Anotheryoung Englishman had done the like, after lurking in the forest ofHardelot, but he had been recaptured by the French at the outset of hishopeless voyage. Scudamore had not been so retaken; and the Captain(who had not received his letter until it was too late to interfere,by reason of his own despatch to Dieppe) had encountered a sharp summergale just then, which must have proved fatal to the poor old boat.The only chance was that some English ship might have picked up thewanderer, and if so the highly respected Admiral would have heard of itbefore he received this letter. As no such tidings had been received,there could be little doubt about the issue in any reasonable mind. Butthe heart of a woman is not a mind, or the man that is born of he
r mightas well forego the honour.
However, as forty people were quite happy, the wisest course is torejoin them. The ladies were resolved upon this occasion to storm thelaws of usage which required their withdrawal before the toasts began;and so many gentle voices challenged the garrison of men behind theirbottles that terms of unusual scope were arranged. It was known that theMarquis would make a fine speech--short, and therefore all the finer--inproposing the toast of the evening, to wit, "Our King, and our Country."Under the vigorous lead of Mrs. Stubbard, the ladies demanded to hearevery word; after which they would go, and discuss their own affairs, orpossibly those of their neighbours. But the gentlemen must endure theirpresence till his lordship had spoken, and the Admiral replied. Faithwas against this arrangement, because she foresaw that it would makethem very late; but she yielded to the wishes of so many of her guests,consoled with the thought that she would be supported by some one on herleft hand, who would be her support for life.
When all had done well, except the two aforesaid, and good-will born ofgood deeds was crowning comfort with jocund pleasure, and the long oaktable, rich of grain and dark with the friction of a hundred years,shone in the wavering flow of dusk with the gleam of purple and goldenfruit, the glance of brilliant glass that puzzles the light with itsclaim to shadow, and the glow of amber and amethyst wine decanted tosettle that question--then the bold Admiral, standing up, said, "Bringin the lights, that we may see his lordship."
"I like to speak to some intelligence," said the guest, who was shrewdat an answer. And Dolly, being quick at occasion, seized it, and in theshifting of chairs left her own for some one else.
The curtains were drawn across the western window, to close the conflictbetween God's light and man's, and then this well-known gentleman,having placed his bottle handily--for he never "put wine into twowhites," to use his own expression--arose with his solid frame astranquil as a rock, and his full-fronted head like a piece of it. Everygentleman bowed to his bow, and waited with silent respect for hiswords, because they would be true and simple.
"My friends, I will take it for granted that we all love our country,and hate its enemies. We may like and respect them personally, for theyare as good as we are; but we are bound to hate them collectively,as men who would ruin all we love. For the stuff that is talked aboutfreedom, democracy, march of intellect, and so forth, I have nothing tosay, except to bid you look at the result among themselves. Is there aman in France whose body is his own if he can carry arms, or his soul ifit ventures to seek its own good? As for mind--there is only the mindof one man; a large one in many ways; in others a small one, because itconsiders its owner alone.
"But we of England have refused to be stripped of all that we hold dear,at the will of a foreign upstart. We have fought for years, and we stillare fighting, without any brag or dream of glory, for the rights ofourselves and of all mankind. There have been among us weak-mindedfellows, babblers of abstract nonsense, and even, I grieve tosay--traitors. But, on the whole, we have stood together, and thereforehave not been trodden on. How it may end is within the knowledge of theAlmighty only; but already there are signs that we shall be helped, ifwe continue to help ourselves.
"And now for the occasion of our meeting here. We rejoice most heartilywith our good host, the vigilant Defender of these shores, at therestoration to his arms--or rather, to a still more delightfulembrace--of a British officer, who has proved a truth we knew already,that nothing stops a British officer. I see a gentleman struck so keenlywith the force of that remark, because he himself has proved it, that Imust beg his next neighbour to fill up his glass, and allow nothing tostop him from tossing it off. And as I am getting astray from my text, Iwill clear my poor head with what you can see through."
The Marquis of Southdown filled his glass from a bottle of grand oldChambertin--six of which had been laid most softly in a cupboard ofthe wainscote for his use--and then he had it filled again, and saw hismeaning brilliantly.
"Our second point is the defeat of the French, and of this we may nowassure ourselves. They have not been defeated, for the very good reasonthat they never would come out to fight; but it comes to the same thing,because they are giving it over as a hopeless job. I have seen too manyups and downs to say that we are out of danger yet; but when our fleetshave been chasing theirs all over the world, are they likely to comeand meet us in our own waters? Nelson has anchored at Spithead, andis rushing up to London, as our host has heard to-day, with his usualimpetuosity. Every man must stick to his own business, even the mightyNelson; and he might not meddle with Billy Blue, or anybody else upChannel. Still, Nelson is not the sort of man to jump into a chaise atPortsmouth if there was the very smallest chance of the French comingover to devour us.
"Well, my friends, we have done our best, and have some right to beproud of it; but we should depart from our nature if we even exercisedthat right. The nature of an Englishman is this--to be afraid of nothingbut his own renown. Feeling this great truth, I will avoid offence byhiding as a crime my admiration of the glorious soldiers and sailorshere, yet beg them for once to remember themselves, as having enabledme to propose, and all present to pledge, the welfare of our King andCountry."
The Marquis waved his glass above his head, without spilling a singledrop, although it was a bumper, then drained it at a draught, invertedit, and cleverly snapped it in twain upon the table, with his other handlaid on his heart, and a long low reverence to the company. Thereupon upstood squires and dames, and repeating the good toast, pledged it, witha deep bow to the proposer; and as many of the gentlemen as understoodthe art, without peril to fair neighbours, snapped the glass.
His lordship was delighted, and in the spirit of the moment held uphis hand, which meant, "Silence, silence, till we all sing the NationalAnthem!" In a clear loud voice he led off the strain, Erle Twemlow fromhis hairy depths struck in, then every man, following as he might, andwith all his might, sustained it, and the ladies, according to theirwont, gave proof of the heights they can scale upon rapture.
The Admiral, standing, and beating time now and then with hisheel--though all the time deserved incessant beating--enjoyed theperformance a great deal more than if it had been much better, andjoined in the main roar as loudly as he thought his position as hostpermitted. For although he was nearing the haven now of threescore yearsand ten, his throat and heart were so sea-worthy that he could verysweetly have outroared them all. But while he was preparing just toprove this, if encouraged, and smiling very pleasantly at a friend whosaid, "Strike up, Admiral," he was called from the room, and in theclimax of the roar slipped away for a moment, unheeded, and meaning tomake due apology to his guests as soon as he came back.
Springhaven: A Tale of the Great War Page 60