Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times

by Charles Carleton Coffin

  XI.

  SOCIETY LIFE IN LONDON.

  On a pleasant afternoon Lord Upperton was once more ushered into theNewville mansion. Mrs. Newville being absent, he was graciouslyreceived by Ruth.

  "I had such a delightful time in your hospitable home, Miss Newville,the other evening, that I could no longer refrain from paying myrespects."

  "It is certainly very kind of you, my lord."

  "I cannot tell you how delighted I was when you told me about yourrecreations. How charming it must be to go riding in a pung, with alot of ladies and gentlemen. I was wondering if I could not get up apung-ride."

  "We only do that in winter, when snow is on the ground, my lord," Ruthreplied, hardly able to repress a smile.

  "Oh, dear me! how stupid I am! Of course not," and his lordshiplaughed heartily at his blunder.

  "Do you not have snow in London, my lord?"

  "Yes, sometimes; but then we haven't any pungs. I don't know what theyare. Maybe they are a sort of hackney or chariot?"

  "We have no hackney coaches here, as yet, my lord, but Mr. Hancock andthe governor and a few of our citizens have coaches. A pung is not atall like a coach. It is, instead, a sort of box on runners."

  "Oh, indeed, how interesting!"

  "May I ask, my lord, what recreations you have in London?"

  "We have quite a variety, I assure you, Miss Newville. We have cardparties, where we play high or low, just as we feel. We haveassemblies, where we tittle-tattle and gossip. We gentlemen lay betson the winning horse at the next Derby. We go to Drury Lane or CoventGarden, and clap our hands at the acting of Davy Garrick or JimmyQuin. At the opera we go wild when Mademoiselle Truffi soars like anightingale up to high C. We dance at balls, array ourselves asharlequins and imps at masquerades, and see who can carry off the mostbottles of port or sherry at dinner," said his lordship, againlaughing.

  "Are you not jesting, my lord?"

  "Oh no, Miss Newville; I am telling you sober truth. It is notexaggeration at all. For instance, the masquerade which the Duke andDuchess of Richmond gave on the king's last birthday was so gay that Ican hardly hope to picture it. The duke's villa is on the banks of theThames. The willows, elms, and oaks in the park were hung withlanterns, the house was all ablaze--lights in every room. Dukes,duchesses, earls, barons, lords, and ladies--more than sixhundred--assembled in masquerade dress. The Duchess of Hamilton andArgyle was hostess. She appeared as Night, with a black trailing robeilluminated with silver stars, while her father was dressed as afootman, with the portrait of his other daughter dangling from aribbon tied to a button of his jacket."

  "Was it not rather out of character for a man old enough to be graveand dignified to take such a part?" Miss Newville asked.

  "Perhaps so, but then we are expected to do absurd things inmasquerade. Her grace the Duchess of Richmond, for instance, appearedas the Sultana of Persia, in a costume purchased in the bazaar ofBagdad. The Duchess of Grafton displayed her charms as Cleopatra. Nowwhen we remember that Egypt and the Orient have a climate in which aperson can get along without any great amount of clothing, it reallydoes seem somewhat absurd for a lady, in a country with a climate likethat of England, to attempt to imitate in dress, or undress, thatcelebrated queen of the East."

  Lord Upperton laughed again. "Miss Fitzroy," he continued, "undertookto represent the Sultana of Turkey. If I remember rightly, sheappeared in baggy silk trousers, high-heeled pink slippers, crimsonjacket, embroidered with gold, and a white turban. Her bewitching eyespeeped through two holes in a muslin yashmak spangled with silverstars. Among the gentlemen I recall Lord Augustus Hervey, whodisguised himself so completely as a jester that no one could make outwho he was. He said saucy things as a court fool. He even guyed hisown wife, and she never mistrusted she was flirting with her ownhusband, but then, as she was ready to flirt with anybody, it made nodifference."

  Miss Newville hardly knew what reply to make as his lordship laughedagain, and so remained silent.

  "May I ask what character Lord Upperton assumed," she asked.

  "Oh, certainly. I appeared as a young devil, with hoofs, horns, and aforked tail. His satanic majesty, you know, is supposed to whisperthings in people's ears, and you may be sure I acted out the characterI assumed. I did it so well that Lady Lucy Hastings said I was aperfect imp of darkness."

  "Have you any other recreations?" Miss Newville inquired.

  "Oh, yes, a great many. One diversion I am sure would charm you,--theclub at Almack's, in which the ladies nominate gentlemen to membershipand gentlemen the ladies. Only a few days before leaving London Iattended a grand masquerade ball at Almack's, where my Lady Archerappeared as a boy wearing a postman's blue coat. Lord Edgecombeassumed the character of an old washerwoman. Sir Watkins Wynne rodeinto the hall on a goat, assuming the character of holy Saint David.The goat, more accustomed to browse in the pastures than take part insuch high jinks, frightened by the blare of trumpets, the scraping offiddles, and the whisking of the ladies' skirts as they went round inthe dance, capered like mad, butted my Lady Winchester so that shefell flat upon the floor, upset holy Saint David, and kept the room inan uproar until a waiter seized the animal by the horns and another bythe tail and led him from the hall."

  Lord Upperton roared with laughter, and Miss Newville could but joinhim in the merriment.

  "It was a picturesque scene, I assure you, with peddlers, haymakers,shepherdesses, gypsies, chimney-sweeps, and nymphs," his lordshipsaid.

  "May I ask, my lord, what a masquerade is supposed to represent?" MissNewville inquired.

  "Well, really now, I never thought of it. I suppose it meanssomething, but just what, upon my soul, I cannot tell you, except tohave a jolly good time and appear to be what we are not."

  "Are such masquerade balls usually attended by noble lords andladies?"

  "Oh, yes. They are almost the exclusive patrons. I attended one alittle while ago at Carlisle House. It was intended the king and queenshould be patrons. Tickets were sent to his most gracious majesty,and, of course, there was a great crush. The king and queen returnedthe tickets, but everybody else was there. I remember that the Duke ofCleveland appeared as Henry VIII.; the Duke of Gloucester as a fineold English gentleman; the Duchess of Buccleugh as the Witch of Endor;Lady Edgecombe as a nun; the Duchess of Bolton as the goddess Diana;Lady Stanhope as Melopomene; the Countess of Waldegrave as Jane Shore;Lord Galway's daughter, Mrs. Monckton, as an Indian princess, in agolden robe, embroidered with diamonds, opals, and pearls worth thirtythousand pounds. One of the gentlemen came as a Swiss ballad-singerwith a hurdy-gurdy, leading a tame bear with a muzzle on his nose. Hehad been stopped by the gate-keeper, because he had only a ticket anda half--the half ticket for the bear; but it being a she-bear andladies being admitted at half price, the hurdy-gurdy man won the day.Everybody laughed and said it was the best joke of the season."

  Lord Upperton saw a troubled look upon Miss Newville's face, as if shehad heard quite enough about masquerades.

  "The recreations of court life, I would not have you think, MissNewville, are masquerades and balls, and nothing else. We have supperswhich are quite different affairs, where we do not try to be what weare not. After the theatres are out we go to the banquet halls, wherewine and wit flow together. We gossip, sing songs, and flirt with theMacaroni ladies. The opera girls sing to us if they are not too tipsy,and we have gay larks till the wagons begin to rumble around CoventGarden Market, and the greengrocers are displaying their onions andcabbages for the early morning sale."

  "Who are the Macaroni ladies?" Miss Newville asked.

  Lord Upperton laughed.

  "I don't wonder that you inquire. We call them Macaronies, ladies andgentlemen alike, who have traveled on the Continent, flirted atVersailles, in Paris, or in the Palace Barberini in Rome; who haveeaten macaroni in Naples, and who have come home with all the follies,to say nothing of some of the vices of the nobility of othercountries, in addition to what they had before they started on theirtravels. The
gentlemen wear their hair in long curls; the ladiespatch and paint their faces. If they haven't a pimple or a wart theymake one. They wear gorgeous dresses. The gentlemen twiddle canesornamented with dogs' heads or eagles' beaks, with gold tassels; carryattar of rose bottles in their gloved hands, and squirt rosewater ontheir handkerchiefs. They ogle the ladies through their quizzingglasses, wear high-heeled slippers, and diddle along on their toeslike a French dancing-master teaching his pupils the minuet. Theladies simper and giggle and wink at the gentlemen from behind theirfans, and leave you to imagine something they don't say."

  Again Lord Upperton saw a troubled look upon Miss Newville's face.

  "We have convivial parties," he continued. "If you like cards, you cantry your hand at winning or losing. We play for fifty-pound rouleaux.There is always a great crowd, and not infrequently you may see tenthousand pounds on the table. Some play small; others plunge inregardless of consequences. My young friend, Lord Stravendale, beforehe was of age, one night lost eleven thousand pounds, but nothingdaunted he played again, and as luck would have it got it all back atone hazard. He lamented he had not made the stakes larger, and said ifhe had been playing deep he might have made a million. It was reallyvery clever in Stravendale."

  Again his lordship laughed, but Miss Newville could not see anythingin the narrative to cause her to smile.

  "There is Charley Fox," Lord Upperton continued, "who goes in ratherstrong. He makes grand speeches in the Commons; but almost always getsfleeced at Almack's. The Jews, who are usually on hand in one of theoutside rooms with their shekels, waiting to lend money, chargeexorbitant interest. Charley calls it the Jerusalem Chamber. Sometimeshe gets completely cleaned out, and has to borrow a guinea to pay thewaiter who brings him his brandy. One night at the beginning he woneight thousand pounds, but before morning lost the last sixpence."

  "Do ladies play?" Miss Newville asked.

  "Certainly; they love gaming as well as the men. Her royal highnessthe Duchess of Cumberland not long ago set up card playing and gamingin her drawing-rooms. Her sister, Lady Elizabeth Lutterell, is one ofthe best gamesters in London. It is whispered, though, that she cheatson the sly. Lady Essex gives grand card parties, where there is highgaming. One lady, whom I know, lost three thousand guineas at loo. Itis whispered that two ladies, not long since, had high words at one ofLady Essex's parties; that they rode out to St. Pancras and fought aduel with pistols, and that one was wounded; which shows that ournoble women have real grit."

  "Is what you are saying a fair picture of life among the nobility?"Ruth asked.

  "I would not have you think, Miss Newville, that everybody of noblebirth or high position is a gambler, but every one who plays, ofcourse, wants a stake of some kind."

  "Pardon me, my lord, but I do not see any fun in losing money in theway you speak of."

  "Well, perhaps there isn't any fun in losing, but it is real jollywhen you win. It is like drinking wine; it warms you up."

  "Do you have any other recreations equally attractive and delightful?"Miss Newville inquired.

  "We have gay times at the Derby during the races. Of course you havefelt the excitement of a horse-race, Miss Newville?"

  "No, for we do not have horse-racing here; but I believe they do inVirginia."

  "No racing! I am astonished. Are not your people rather slow?"

  "We have few diversions, my lord; we do not win money by racing."

  "You can have no conception of what a grand sight it is. Everybodygoes to the Derby--dukes, lords, bishops, rectors, ladies, andgentlemen. Before the race begins, we have our lunch parties. All areeating, talking, laughing, or laying bets. The horses come out fromtheir stalls with the jockey boys in red, green, blue, and yellow, intheir saddles. They draw lots to see which shall have the inside, thengo down the track a little distance. The horses understand what theyare to do just as well as we who stake our money. They sniff the air,step lightly, then break into a run, and everybody is on tiptoe. In amoment they are down to the first turn, and come in full view. Thereare four, perhaps, neck and neck. You have staked, say, on yellow. Heloses half a length, and your heart goes down: but he gains a little,is up even once more--half a length ahead, and you yell and doubleyour stakes. They are round the second turn, going like a whirlwind;yellow and blue are ahead of the others, neck and neck.

  "'Two to one on yellow!' you shout.

  "'I'll take it!' roars Lord Pilkington.

  "'Two to one on blue!' he shouts back.

  "'Put me down for it!' you answer.

  "They are on the home run. There is a great hubbub, like the roaringof a tornado, as they sweep under the line, yellow ahead. You swingyour hat, and yell as loud as you can. You are ten thousand in. Oh, itis just the jolliest excitement a man can have!"

  "If you win, my lord, does not somebody else lose?"

  "Of course, Miss Newville."

  "Do they feel equally jolly?"

  "Possibly not. Sometimes we are out of pocket, and do not feel quiteso hilarious, but we swallow a stiff nipper of brandy and draw ourchecks like men. I won five thousand from Lord Pilkington, threethousand from Lady Merryfield, and quite a number of one hundredpounders from the ladies of my set, who bet on the blue, while Iplanked mine on the yellow. You see, Miss Newville, that ladies aresometimes influenced by fancy. Lady Somers, for instance, allowedfancy to get the better of judgment. She likes blue as a color, aboveyellow. She is quite horsey, and thinks she can drive a tandem. I hadexamined blue, felt of his muscles, and made up my mind that by and byhe would have ringbone on his left fore leg. I believed that yellowhad the best wind and bottom; but the ladies followed the lead of LadySomers, and so I raked in their shekels. They all ponied up promptly,though, and paid their outs, like true-born English ladies."

  "I do not think," said Miss Newville, "that I should like to lose orwin money in that way."

  "Why, Miss Newville, once get into it, and you would say it is themost delightful sport in the world. If you think, however, that youwould not like to participate in such pleasures, we have the fox hunt,which is the most charming and innocent diversion imaginable. Youdon't bet any money in that, but have a rollicking good time ridingover the country, ladies and gentlemen--leaping hedges and ditches,following the hounds, running Reynard to cover, and having a lunch atthe close of the hunt."

  "Foxes are plentiful in this country, but we do not run them down withhorses," Miss Newville replied.

  "Do ladies ride horseback in the Colonies?"

  "Oh, yes. Were you to attend meeting in the country on the Sabbath,you would see many ladies riding up to the horse-block, wives onpillions behind their husbands. Do the ladies who hunt foxes attendmeeting on the Sabbath, my lord?"

  "Ha, ha! I suspect what you call going to meeting, with us is going tochurch. Oh, we are very devout. On Sunday we all go to church, kneelon our hassocks, and confess we are miserable sinners, recite thecreed, pray for the king, queen, Prince of Wales, the army and navy.We do our full duty as Christians, and are loyal to the church, aswell as to his majesty. My rector, at Halford, is a very good man. Tobe sure the living isn't much, but he reads the prayers well, preachesa nice little sermon of ten minutes or so, for he knows I don't careto be bored by the hour. He enjoys a fox hunt, says grace at dinner,and makes a point of having a little game of cards with me Saturdayevening. He doesn't know much about cards, so I usually let him win afew shillings, knowing the poor fellow will feel better Sunday morningwhile reading the service if he knows he has a half-crown in hispocket, instead of being out that much. I know how it is, MissNewville. I can be more devout and comfortable on Sunday after winninginstead of losing five or ten thousand at Almack's."

  "Perhaps, my lord, you feel you are not quite such a miserable sinneras you might be after all."

  "You have stated it correctly, Miss Newville," his lordship replied,not discerning the quiet sarcasm. "Of course I am not, for if I lose,I curse my luck, and am ready to punch somebody's head, and rip outsome swear words, but if I
win, I am ready to bless the other fellowfor playing a king when he should have laid down an ace."

  His lordship apologized for having tarried so long, and took hisdeparture.

  "She's a Puritan, through and through. As lovely and pure as an angelin heaven," he said to himself as he walked down the street.

  * * * * *

  While the months were going by, Roger Stanley, student of HarvardCollege, was learning about life in Rumford, as a surveyor of land,spending his evenings in the house of Joshua Walden, with Robert andRachel to keep him company, especially Rachel. He found pleasure intelling her the story of Ulysses and Penelope. Most of the young menof Rumford who came to the Walden home could only talk about oxen,which pair of steers could pull the heaviest load, or whose horsecould out-trot all others. When the surveying was done, Roger acceptedthe invitation of the committeemen to keep the winter school. Neverbefore had there been a master who could keep the big boys in orderwithout using the ferule, but somehow the great strapping fellows, whomight have put the master on his back in a twinkling, could not findit in their hearts to do anything that would trouble him. Othermasters were content if they went through the regular daily stintof reading, writing, spelling, and ciphering, but he told themabout men who made the most of themselves, and who had done greatthings,--Caesar, Augustus, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great.

  It was the schoolmaster who suggested that the people should meet oncea week in the schoolhouse to discuss the great questions affecting thewelfare of the Colonies, and who wrote out the questions to beconsidered:--

  "What are the inalienable rights of the people?"

  "Has Parliament any right to tax the people of America without their consent?"

  "Is it right ever to resist the authority of the king?"

  "Ought the Colonies to unite for self-defense?"

  "Ought the Colonies, in any event, to separate from England?"

  People from the back roads came to hear what Esquire Walden, DeaconKent, Shoemaker Noyes, Blacksmith Temple, and Schoolmaster Stanley hadto say upon these questions before the parliament of the people, inthe schoolhouse, lighted by two tallow candles and the fire blazing onthe hearth. King George and Frederick North might have learned somefundamental principles of government, had they been present.

  Like sitting in heavenly places were the mornings and evenings toRoger Stanley in the Walden home, where he passed the first and thelast two weeks of the term. The food upon the table was appetizing;deft hands had prepared the bannock--Rachel's hands. The plates,knives, and forks had been laid by her. It was she who glided like afairy around the room. How could his eyes help following her? And whenseated at the table, how radiant her face, beaming with health! In theearly morning, long before breakfast-time, he heard her feet trippingdown the stairs. While about her work, he could hear her humming asong which he had sung to her. Very pleasant the "good-morning" thatcame from her lips when he appeared. In the evening it was a pleasureto hold a skein of yarn for her to wind. He was sorry when the lastthread dropped from his wrists, and wished she had another for him tohold.

  It was the old, old story; the growth of mutual respect, honor, andlove, becoming daily more tender and true; the love that needed nopledge, because it was so deep and abiding.