Percival Keene

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

  I must say that I was very much excited; I was now arriving at the siteof my birth, and it brought to my mind the details given me by my poormother, when, finding she could no longer conceal the truth from me, sheentered into a narrative to extenuate her conduct, pointing out hertemptations, and how fatal to her were opportunity and seclusion. Herform was before me with the tears running down her cheeks as she madeher humiliating confession to her own son, and I could not helpexclaiming, as I cast my eye upon the beautiful grounds, "My poormother!"

  The chaise stopped, and the boys dismounted and rang the bell. In aminute three or four servants made their appearance, and on inquiring, Ifound 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 ifrecollecting 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 herknitting needle, and another, almost equally ancient, sitting on a lowstool beside her.

  As I advanced, the old lady made me a bow as she remained in in herchair, and looked at me through her spectacles. She certainly was thebeau-ideal of old age. Her hair, which was like silver, was parted inbraid, 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 youfeel reverence for her at first sight. As I approached to take thechair offered to me, the other person, who appeared to be a sort ofattendant, was shuffling her feet to rise; but as soon as Mrs Delmarhad said, "You are welcome, Captain Keene; sit still," she continued,"my child, there is no occasion to go away." I could scarcely helpsmiling at the old lady calling a woman of past sixty, if not evenfurther advanced, a child; but the fact was, that Phillis had been herattendant as lady's maid for many years, and subsequently promoted tothe position of humble companion.

  As for Miss Delmar, as I afterwards found out from her own lips, she wasupwards of eighty-seven years old, but still in perfect good health, andin full possession of all her faculties; Phillis therefore was muchyounger, and as the old lady had had her in her employ ever since shewas 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 toherself; indeed I have no doubt but that the old lady, following up herassociation of former days, and forgetting the half-century that hadintervened, did consider her as a mere child. The old lady was verychatty and very polite, and as our conversation naturally turned on Lordde Versely, of whom I spoke in terms of admiration and gratitude, I hadsoon established myself in her good graces. Indeed, as I subsequentlydiscovered, her nephew was the great object of her affections. Hisyounger brother had neglected her, and was never mentioned except whenshe regretted that Lord de Versely had no children, and that the titlewould descend to his brother.

  She requested me to stay for dinner, which I did not refuse, and beforedinner was over I had made great progress in the old lady's esteem. As,when dinner was announced, her companion disappeared, we were thenalone. She asked me many questions relative to Lord de Versely, andwhat had occurred during the time that I was serving with him; and thiswas a subject on which I could be eloquent. I narrated several of ouradventures, particularly the action with the Dutch frigate, and otherparticulars in which I could honestly do credit to his lordship, and Ioften referred to his kindness for me.

  "Well, Captain Keene, my nephew has often spoken to me about you, andnow you have done him credit in proving that he had made you a goodofficer; and I have heard how much you have distinguished yourself sinceyou have left him."

  "Or rather he left me, madam," replied I, "when he was summoned to theHouse of Peers."

  "Very true," replied the old lady. "I suppose you know that you wereborn 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 theold lady sighed); and I held you in my arms, Captain Keene, when youwere 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 invitationfrom the old lady to come and spend some time at Madeline Hall, and tocome a few days before the first of September, that I might join theshooting party. "I expect my nephew, Lord de Versely," said she, "andthere is Colonel Delmar of the Rifles, a cousin of Lord de Versely, alsocoming, 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. Thechaise drove off, and I was soon in a deep reverie; I called to mind allmy mother had told me, and I longed to return to the Hall, and visitthose scenes which had been referred to in my mother's narrative; andmore than that, I wished to meet Lord de Versely on the spot which couldnot 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 hisinterests, and how sacred the debt of obligation, which he could onlyrepay by his conduct towards me.

  On my return to Portsmouth, I found that orders had come down for thepaying off the Diligente, and re-commissioning her immediately. As themen would now be free (until again caught by the impress, which wouldnot be long), I turned up the ship's company, and asked how many of themwould enter for the Circe. I pointed out to them that they would beimpressed for other vessels before long, but that I could give them eachthree months of absence, upon which they would not be molested, and thatby three months all their money would be gone, and if it were gonebefore that time, the guard-ship would receive them when they had hadenough of the shore. By this method I proposed to myself to obtain thefoundation of a good ship's company. I was not disappointed. Every manI wished to take with me volunteered, and I wrote leave of absencetickets 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 someslight 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 alittle change, I would pass a few days at the Isle of Wight; for thiswas the yachting season, and I had made the acquaintance of many of thegentlemen who belonged to the club. That I had no difficulty in gettinginto society may easily be imagined. A post-captain's commission in hisMajesty's navy is a certain passport with all liberal and reallyaristocratical people; and, as it is well known that a person who hasnot had the advantage of interest and family connections to advance inthe service, must have gained his promotion by his own merits, his rankis sufficient to establish his claims to family connections or personalmerit, either of which is almost universally acknowledged; I say almostuniversally, because, strange to say, for a succession of reigns, thenavy never has been popular at court. In that region, where merit ofany kind is seldom permitted to intrude, the navy have generally been ata discount. Each succession of the House of Hanover has been hailed byits members with fresh hopes of a change in their favour, which hopeshave ended in disappointment; but perhaps it is as well. The navyrequire no prophet to tell it, in the literal sense of the word, thatone cannot touch pitch without being defiled; but there is a moralpitch, 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 upin consequence of a gentleman who had paid me every attention at a largeclub down at Cowes, to which I had been invited, inquiring of me, acrossthe table, if I were connected with the Ke
enes of ---? My reply wasready: "I did not think that I was; my father had died a young man inthe 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 hadquitted at an early age; since that I had been educated and broughtforward 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 beingstrictly true, of course without hesitation on my part. It was quitesufficient; I had noble patronage, and it was therefore to be presumedthat I was somebody, or that patronage would not have been extended. Imention this, because it was the only time that I was ever questionedabout my family; it was therefore to be presumed that my reply wasconsidered satisfactory.

  I accepted an invitation on board of the yacht and sailed about forseveral days, very much amused and flattered by the attention shown tome by the noble commodore and others. One day I fell in with an oldacquaintance. A small vessel, of about twenty tons, cutter-rigged, camedown under the stern of the commodore's yacht; it was then very smoothwater, very light wind, and, moreover, very hot weather; and one of thesquadron, who was standing by me on the taffrail, said, "Keene, do lookat this craft coming down under our stern--there's quite a curiosity init. It is a yacht belonging to an Irish Major O'Flinn, as he callshimself; why the O, I don't know; but he's a good fellow, and veryamusing; 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 thesquare 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-downfair."

  As the vessel neared, I did behold a most enormous woman in a sky-bluesilk dress, and a large sky-blue parasol over her head; the bonnethaving been taken off, I presume, on account of the heat. "She is amonster," replied I; "the major was a bold man; I think I have seen theface before."

  "I am told that she was the daughter of a purser, and had a lot ofmoney," continued my friend.

  I recollected then, and I replied, "Yes; I know now, her name wasCulpepper."

  "That was the name," replied he; "I recollect now."

  The reader may probably recollect Miss Medea, who knew so well how toput that and that together; and her mother, who I presumed had long agobeen suffocated in her own fat, a fate which I thought that Mrs O'Flinnwould 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. Iwalked forward, and my thoughts reverted to the time when my motherfirst 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 athis wedding, and that it was to take place on the following day, which Ihad 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 herappearance, sailing along like an elephantine Cleopatra.