The Old English Baron: a Gothic Story

by Clara Reeve

die with you!"

  They embraced with tears of affection, and Edmund was all joy andgratitude.

  "My good Lord," said Sir Philip, "you have disposed of two houses, andhave none ready to receive you; will you accept of mine? It is much atyour service, and its being in the same county with your eldest son,will be an inducement to you to reside there."

  The Baron caught Sir Philip's hand.

  "Noble sir, I thank you, and I will embrace your kind offer; I will beyour tenant for the present; my castle in Wales shall be put in repair,in the meantime; if I do not reside there, it will be an establishmentfor one of my younger sons."

  "But what will you do with your old soldiers and dependants?"

  "My lord, I will never cast them off. There is another house on myestate that has been shut up many years; I will have it repaired andfurnished properly for the reception of my old men: I will endow it witha certain sum to be paid annually, and will appoint a steward tomanage their revenue; I will continue it during the lives of the firstinhabitants, and after that I shall leave it to my son here, to do as hepleases."

  "Your son," said Edmund, "will make it the business of his life to actworthy of such a father."

  "Enough," said Sir Philip, "I am satisfied that you will. I purpose toreside myself in that very apartment which my dear friend your fatherinhabited; I will tread in his footsteps, and think he sees me actinghis part in his son's family. I will be attended by my own servants;and, whenever you desire it, I will give you my company; your joys, yourgriefs shall be mine; I shall hold your children in my arms, and theirprattle shall amuse my old age; and, as my last earthly wish, your handsshall close my eyes."

  "Long, very long," said Edmund, with eyes and hands lifted up, "may itbe ere I perform so sad a duty!"

  "Long and happily may you live together!" said the Baron; "I will hopeto see you sometimes, and to claim a share in your blessings. But letus give no more tears to sorrow, the rest shall be those of joy andtransport. The first step we take shall be to marry our Edmund; I willgive orders for the celebration, and they shall be the last orders Ishall give in this house." They then separated, and went to prepare forthe approaching solemnity.

  Sir Philip and the Baron had a private conference concerning Edmund'sassuming the name and title of Lovel. "I am resolved," said Sir Philip,"to go to the king; to acquaint him briefly with Edmund's history; Iwill request that he may be called up to parliament by a writ, for thereis no need of a new patent, he being the true inheritor; in the meantime he shall assume the name, arms, and title, and I will answer anyone that shall dispute his right to them.["] Sir Philip then declaredhis resolution to set out with the Baron at his departure, and to settleall his other affairs before he returned to take up his residence at theCastle.

  A few days after, the marriage was celebrated, to the entiresatisfaction of all parties. The Baron ordered the doors to be thrownopen, and the house free for all comers; with every other token of joyand festivity. Edmund appeared full of joy without levity, of mirthwithout extravagance; he received the congratulations of his friends,with ease, freedom, and vivacity. He sent for his foster father andmother, who began to think themselves neglected, as he had been sodeeply engaged in affairs of more consequence that he had not beenparticularly attentive to them; he made them come into the great hall,and presented them to his lady.

  "These," said he, "are the good people to whom I am, under God, indebtedfor my present happiness; they were my first benefactors; I was obligedto them for food and sustenance in my childhood, and this good womannourished my infancy at her own breast." The lady received themgraciously, and saluted Margery. Andrew kneeled down, and, with greathumility, begged Edmund's pardon for his treatment of him in hischildhood. "I heartily forgive you," said he, "and I will excuse you toyourself; it was natural for you to look upon me as an intruder thatwas eating your children's bread; you saved my life, and afterwardsyou sustained it by your food and raiment: I ought to have maintainedmyself, and to have contributed to your maintenance. But besides this,your treatment of me was the first of my preferment; it recommendedme to the notice of this noble family. Everything that happened to mesince, has been a step to my present state of honour and happiness.Never man had so many benefactors as myself; but both they, and myself,have been only instruments in the hands of Providence, to bring aboutits own purposes; let us praise God for all! I shared your poverty, andyou will share my riches; I will give you the cottage where you dwell,and the ground about it; I will also pay you the annual sum of tenpounds for the lives of you both; I will put out your children to manualtrades, and assist you to provide for them in their own station; and youare to look upon this as paying a debt, and not bestowing a gift; I oweyou more than I can ever pay; and, if there be any thing further in mypower that will contribute to your happiness, you can ask nothing inreason that I will deny you."

  Andrew hid his face; "I cannot bear it!" said he; "oh what a brute wasI, to abuse such a child as this! I shall never forgive myself!"

  "You must indeed, my friend; for I forgive and thank you."

  Andrew retired back, but Margery came forward; she looked earnestly onEdmund, she then threw her arms about his neck, and wept aloud.

  "My precious child! my lovely babe! thank God, I have lived to see thisday! I will rejoice in your good fortune, and your bounty to us, butI must ask one more favour yet; that I may sometimes come hither andbehold that gracious countenance, and thank God that I was honoured sofar as to give thee food from my own breast, and to bring thee up to bea blessing to me, and to all that know thee!"

  Edmund was affected, he returned her embrace; he bade her come to theCastle as often as she pleased, and she should always be received as hismother; the bride saluted her, and told her the oftener she came, themore welcome she should be.

  Margery and her husband retired, full of blessings and prayers for theirhappiness; she gave vent to her joy, by relating to the servants andneighbours every circumstance of Edmund's birth, infancy, and childhood.Many a tear was dropped by the auditors, and many a prayer wafted toHeaven for his happiness. Joseph took up the story where she left it:he told the rising dawn of youth and virtue, darting its ray through theclouds of obscurity, and how every stroke of envy and malignity brushedaway some part of the darkness that veiled its lustre. He told the storyof the haunted apartment, and all the consequences of it; how he andOswald conveyed the youth away from the Castle, no more to return tillhe came as master of it. He closed the tale with praise to Heaven forthe happy discovery, that gave such an heir to the house of Lovel;to his dependants such a Lord and Master; to mankind a friend andbenefactor. There was truly a house of joy; not that false kind, inthe midst of which there is heaviness, but that of rational creatures,grateful to the Supreme Benefactor, raising their minds by a dueenjoyment of earthly blessings to a preparation for a more perfect statehereafter.

  A few days after the wedding, the Lord Fitz-Owen began to preparefor his journey to the north. He gave to Edmund the plate, linen, andfurniture of the Castle, the farming stock and utensils; he would haveadded a sum of money, but Sir Philip stopped his hand.

  "We do not forget," said he, "that you have other children, we will notsuffer you to injure them; give us your blessing and paternal affection,and we have nothing more to ask. I told you, my Lord, that you and Ishould one day be sincere friends."

  "We must be so," answered the Baron; "it is impossible to be long yourenemy. We are brothers, and shall be to our lives' end."

  They regulated the young man's household; the Baron gave leave to theservants to choose their master; the elder ones followed him (exceptJoseph, who desired to live with Edmund, as the chief happiness of hislife); most of the younger ones chose the service of the youthful pair.There was a tender and affectionate parting on all sides. Edmundbesought his beloved William not to leave him. The Baron said, he mustinsist on his being at his brother's wedding, as a due attention to him,but after that he should return to the Castle for some time.

  Th
e Baron and Sir Philip Harclay, with their train, set forward. SirPhilip went to London and obtained all he desired for his Edmund; fromthence he went into Yorkshire, and settled his affairs there, removinghis pensioners to his other house, and putting Lord Fitz-Owen inpossession of his own. They had a generous contention about the terms;but Sir Philip insisted on the Baron's accepting the use of everythingthere.

  "You hold it in trust for a future grandchild," said he, "whom I hope tolive to endow with it."

  During Sir Philip's absence, the young Lord Lovel caused the hauntedapartment to be repaired and furnished for the reception of his fatherby adoption. He placed his friend Joseph over all his men-servants,and ordered him to forbear his attendance;