The Wanderer; or, Female Difficulties (Volume 3 of 5)

by Fanny Burney

  CHAPTER LI

  Juliet could not but be gratified by a circumstance so important to herreputation, with the Brinvilles, and with those among the inhabitants ofBrighthelmstone to whom she was known, as that of being brought home byMiss Joddrel, after an adventure that must unavoidably raise curiosity,and that threatened to excite slander. For with however just a pridewronged innocence may disdain injurious aspersions, female fame, likethe wife of Caesar, ought never to be suspected.

  The celerity of the motions of Elinor, nearly equalled the quickness ofher ideas. Her lackey arrived the next morning, to help to conveyJuliet, and her baggage, immediately to the dwelling of Mrs Ireton; witha note from his mistress, indicating that Mrs Ireton was alreadyprepared to take her for a companion. 'An humble companion,' Elinorwrote, 'I need not add; I had nearly said a pitiful one; for who wouldvoluntarily live with such an antidote to all the comforts of life, thathas spirit, sense, or soul? O envied Ellis! how potent must be thepassion, the infatuation, that can make Harleigh view such meanness asgrace, and adore it as dignity!--O icy Ellis!--but the human heart wouldwant strength to support such pre-eminent honour, were it bestowed upona mind gifted for its appreciation!'

  Then again, wishing her joy of her taste, she assured her that it wasreciprocated; for Mrs Ireton was all impatience to display, to a newdependent, her fortune, her power, and her magnificence.

  Juliet, with her answer of thanks for this service, wrote a few linesfor Mrs Pierson, which she begged the messenger to deliver. They were towarn the imprudent, or deceived mother of the dangerous state of mind inwhich her daughter still continued; and to give her notice that SirLyell Sycamore, who could not be guarded against too carefully, wasstill in the neighbourhood.

  With a mind revolting from a measure which, while prudence, if notnecessity, dictated, choice and feeling opposed, she now quitted hermantua-maker's abode, to set out for her new destination; seeking tocheer herself that, at least, by this step, she should be secured fromthe licentious pursuit of Sir Lyell Sycamore; the envenomed shafts ofcalumny of the enraged Brinvilles; the perpetual terrour of debts; andthe cruel apprehension of want.

  She had not far to go; but the mortifications, for which she preparedherself, began by the very sight of the dwelling into which she was toenter. Mrs Ireton had taken the house of Mrs Howel:--that house in whichJuliet had first, after her arrival in England, received consolation inher distresses; been melted by kindness; or animated by approbation.There, too, indeed, she had experienced the pain which she had felt themost severely; for there all the soothing consideration, so precious toher sorrows, had abruptly been broken off, to give place to an assaultthe most shocking upon her intentions, her probity, her character.

  Here, too, she had suffered the cruel affront, and heartfelt grief, ofseeing the ingenuous, amiable Lord Melbury forget what was due to therights of hospitality; to his own character; and to the respect due tohis sister: and here she had witnessed his sincere and candidrepentance; here had been softened, touched, and penetrated by theimpressive anguish of his humiliation.

  These remembrances, and the various affecting and interesting ideas bywhich they were accompanied, gave a dejection to her thoughts, and asadness to her air, that would have awakened an interest in her favour,in any one whose heart had been open to the feelings of others: but theperson under whose protection she was now to place herself, was astranger to every species of sensation that was not personal. And wherethe calls of self upon sensibility are unremitting, what must be thestock that will gift us, also, with supply sufficient for ourfellow-creatures?

  She found Mrs Ireton reclining upon a sofa; at the side of which, upon agreen velvet cushion, lay a tiny old lap dog, whom a little boy,evidently too wanton to find pleasure but in mischief, was secretlytormenting, by displaying before him the breast bone of a chicken, whichhe had snatched from the platter of the animal; and which, the momentthat he made it touch the mouth of the cur, he hid, with all its fat andits grease, in his own waistcoat pocket.

  Near to these two almost equally indulged and spoilt animals, stood anursery maid, with a duster and an hearth-broom in her hands, who wasevidently incensed beyond her pittance of patience, from clearing away,repeatedly, their joint litter and dirt.

  Scared, and keeping humbly aloof, near a window frame, stood, also, alittle girl, of ten or twelve years of age, who, as Juliet afterwardsheard from the angry nursery maid, was an orphan, that had been put to acharity school by Mrs Ireton, as her particular _protegee_; and who wasnow, for the eighth time, by the direction of her governess, come tosolicit the arrears due from the very beginning of her schoolinstruction.

  Yet another trembler, though not one equally, at this moment, to bepitied, held the handle of the lock of the door; not having receivedintelligible orders to advance, or to depart. This was a young negro,who was the favourite, because the most submissive servant of MrsIreton; and whose trembling was simply from the fear that his lady mightremark a grin which he could not repress, as he looked at the child andthe dog.

  Mrs Ireton herself, though her restless eye roved incessantly fromobject to object, in search of various food for her spleen, wasostensibly occupied in examining, and decrying, the goods of a Mercer;but when Juliet, finding herself unnoticed, was retreating, she calledout, 'O, you are there, are you? I did not see you, I protest. But comethis way, if you please. I can't possibly speak so far off.'

  The authoritative tone in which this was uttered, joined to what Julietobserved of the general tyranny exercised around her, intimidated andshocked her; and she stood still, and nearly confounded.

  Mrs Ireton, holding her hand above her eyes, as if to aid her sight, andstretching forward her head, said, 'Who is that?--pray who's there?--Iimagined it had been a person I had sent for; but I must certainly bemistaken, as she does not come to me. Pray has any body here a spyingglass? I really can't see so far off. I beg pardon for having such badeyes! I hope you'll forgive it. Let me know, however, who it is, I beg.'

  Juliet tried to speak, but felt so confused and disturbed what toanswer, that she could not clearly articulate a word.

  'You won't tell me, then?' continued Mrs Ireton, lowering her voicenearly to a whisper, 'or is it that I am not heard? Has any body got aspeaking trumpet? or do you think my lungs so capacious and powerful,that they may take its place?'

  Juliet, now, though most unwillingly, moved forward; and Mrs Ireton,surveying her, said, 'Yes, yes, I see who you are! I recollect you now,Mrs ... Mrs ... I forget your name, though, I protest. I can't recollectyour name, I own. I'm quite ashamed, but I really cannot call it tomind. I must beg a little help. What is it? What is your name, Mrs ...Mrs ... Hay?--Mrs ... What?'

  Colouring and stammering, Juliet answered, that she had hoped MissJoddrel would have saved her this explanation, by mentioning that shewas called Miss Ellis.

  'Called?' repeated Mrs Ireton; 'what do you mean by called?--who callsyou?--What are you called for?--Why do you wait to be called?--And whereare you called from?'

  The entire silence of Juliet to these interrogatories, gave a moment tothe mercer to ask for orders.

  'You are in haste, Sir, are you?' said Mrs Ireton; 'I have your pardonto beg, too, have I? I am really very unfortunate this morning. However,pray take your things away, Sir, if it's so immensely troublesome to youto exhibit them. Only be so good as to acquaint your chief, whoever hemay be, that you had not time to wait for me to make any purchase.'

  The man offered the humblest apologies, which were all disdained; andself-defending excuses, which were all retorted; he was peremptorilyordered to be gone; with an assurance that he should answer for hisdisrespect to his master; who, she flattered herself, would give him alesson of better behaviour, by the loss of his employment.

  Harassed with apprehension of what she had to expect in this newresidence, Juliet would silently have followed him.

  'Stay, Ma'am, stay!' cried Mrs Ireton; 'give me leave to ask onequestion:--whither are you going, Mrs ... what's your
name?'

  'I ... I feared, Madam, that I had come too soon.'

  'O, that's it, is it? I have not paid you sufficient attention,perhaps?--Nay it's very likely. I did not run up to receive you, Iconfess. I did not open my arms to embrace you, I own! It was very wrongof me, certainly. But I am apt to forget myself. I want a flapperprodigiously. I know nothing of life,--nothing of manners. Perhaps youwill be so good as to become my monitress? 'Twill be vastly kind of you.And who knows but, in time, you may form me? How happy it will be if youcan make something of me!'

  The maid, now, tired of wiping up splash after splash, and rubbing outspot after spot; finding her work always renewed by the mischievouslittle boy, was sullenly walking to the other end of the room.

  'O, you're departing too, are you?' said Mrs Ireton; 'and pray whodismissed you? whose commands have you for going? Inform me, I beg, whoit is that is so kind as to take the trouble off my hands, of orderingmy servants? I ought at least to make them my humble acknowledgements.There's nothing so frightful as ingratitude.'

  The maid, not comprehending this irony, grumblingly answered, that shehad wiped up the grease and the slops till her arms ached; for thelittle boy made more dirt and nastiness than the cur himself.

  'The boy?--The cur?--What's all this?' cried Mrs Ireton; 'who, and what,is the woman talking of? The boy? Has the boy no name?--The cur? Haveyou no more respect for your lady's lap dog?--Greasetoo?--Nastiness!--you turn me sick! I am ready to faint! What horribleimages you present to me! Has nobody any salts? any lavendar-water? Howunfortunate it is to have such nerves, such sensations, when one liveswith such mere speaking machines!'

  She then cast around her eyes, with a look of silent, but patheticappeal to the sensibility of all who were within sight, against thisunheard of indignity; but her speech was soon restored, from mingledwrath and surprise, upon perceiving her favourite young negro nearlysuffocating with stifled laughter, though thrusting both his knucklesinto his capacious mouth, to prevent its loud explosion.

  'So this amuses you, does it, Sir? You think it very comical? You are sokind as to be entertained, are you? How happy I am to give you so muchpleasure! How proud I ought to be to afford you such diversion! I shallmake it my business to shew my sense of my good fortune; and, to giveyou a proof, Sir, of my desire to contribute to your gaiety, to-morrowmorning I will have you shipped back to the West Indies. And there, thatyour joy may be complete, I shall issue orders that you may be stripedtill you jump, and that you may jump,--you little black imp!--betweenevery stripe!'

  The foolish mirth of poor Mungo was now converted into the fearfulestdismay. He dropt upon his knees to implore forgiveness; but he wasperemptorily ordered to depart, with an assurance that he should keep uphis fine spirits upon bread and water for a fortnight.

  If disgust, now, was painted upon every feature of the face of Juliet,at this mixture of forced derision with but too natural inhumanity, thefeeling which excited that expression was by no means softened, byseeing Mrs Ireton turn next to the timid young orphan, imperiouslysaying, 'And you, Ma'am, what may you stand there for, with your handsbefore you? Have you nothing better to do with them? Can't you find outsome way to make them more useful? or do you hold it more fitting toconsider them as only ornamental? They are very pretty, to be sure. Isay nothing to the contrary of that. But I should suppose you don'tquite intend to reserve them for mere objects of admiration? You don'tabsolutely mean, I presume, to devote them to the painter's eye? or todestine them to the sculptor's chisel? I should think not, at least. Ishould imagine not. I beg you to set me right if I am wrong.'

  The poor little girl, staring, and looking every way around to find somemeaning for what she did not comprehend, could only utter a faint'Ma'am!' in a tone of so much fear and distress, that Juliet, unable,silently, to witness oppression so wanton, came forward to say, 'Thepoor child, Ma'am, only wishes to understand your commands, that she mayobey them.'

  'O! they are not clear, I suppose? They are too abstruse, I imagine?'contemptuously replied Mrs Ireton. 'And you, who are kind enough tooffer yourself for my companion; who think yourself sufficientlyaccomplished to amuse,--perhaps instruct me,--you, also, have not thewit to find out, what a little chit of an ordinary girl can do betterwith her hands, than to stand still, pulling her own fingers?'

  Juliet, now, believing that she had discovered what was meant, kindlytook the little girl by the arm, and pointed to the just overturnedwater-bason of the dog.

  'But I don't know where to get a cloth, Ma'am?' said the child.

  'A cloth?--In my wardrobe, to be sure!' cried Mrs Ireton; 'amongst mygowns, and caps, and hats. Where else should there be dirty cloths, anddusters, and dish-clouts? Do you know of any other place where they arelikely to be found? Why don't you answer?'

  'Ma'am?'

  'You never heard, perhaps, of such a place as a kitchen? You don't knowwhere it is? nor what it means? You have only heard talk ofdrawing-rooms, dressing-rooms, boudoirs? or, perhaps, sometimes, of acorridor, or a vestibule, or an anti-chamber? But nothing beyond!--Akitchen!--O, fie, fie!'

  Juliet now hurried the little girl away, to demand a cloth of the housemaid; but the moment that she returned with it, Mrs Ireton called out,'And what would you do, now, Ma'am? Make yourself all dirt and filth,that you may go back to your school, to shew the delicate state of myhouse? To make your mistress, and all her brats, believe that I live ina pig-stie? Or to spread abroad that I have not servants enough to do mywork, and that I seize upon you to supply their place? But I beg yourpardon; perhaps that may be your way to shew your gratitude? To manifestyour sense of my saving you from the work-house? to reward me forsnatching you from beggary, and want, and starving?'

  The poor little girl burst into tears, but courtsied, and quitted theroom; while Mrs Ireton called after her, to desire that she wouldacquaint her governess, that she should certainly be paid the followingweek.

  Juliet now stood in scarcely less dismay than she had been witnessingall around her; panic-struck to find herself in the power of a personwhose character was so wantonly tyrannic and irascible.

  The fortunate entrance of some company enabled her, for the present, toretreat; and to demand, of one of the servants, the way to her chamber.