by James Payn
CHAPTER XVI.
I DO SIR MASSINGBERD A LITTLE FAVOUR.
Upon my return to Fairburn, I became the object of immense curiosity andattraction. I was stared at in the rector's pew at church, and, in mysolitary rides, whithersoever I went, as the repository of the greatsecret of the disruption between Sir Massingberd and his nephew. It waseven whispered that I was the prime mover of the young man's rebellion,and had planned the very manner of his escape upon Panther, includingthe accident. At all events, I knew all that had happened, which nobodyelse knew, except my tutor himself. Now Mr. Long was as close as wax.Many an invitation had Mrs. Myrtle obtained of late to take a dish oftea upon grounds which her hosts had since stigmatized as falsepretences. As the housekeeper and confidential servant of the rector,she had been asked by Mrs. Arabel of the Grange Farm to take eveningrefreshment with her in a friendly way; also by Mrs. Remnants, who keptthat extensive emporium in the village which supplied snuff to the agedof both sexes (though not gratuitously), becoming cambrics to the young,and lollipops to those who had not yet reached that period of lifewherein outward adornment is preferred to inward gratification; also bythe exciseman's wife; nay, there was not anybody's wife in Fairburn,having the wherewithal to make a tea-table alluring, and being in asufficiently high position in life to venture upon the step, who did notinvite Mrs. Myrtle to visit her, and proceed to treat her like arefractory pump; they poured a little down, in hopes to be more thanremunerated for the outlay. But, alas, although the dear good lady waswilling enough, being indeed a gossip born, she had nothing to tellthem. She was not equal to the task of Invention, and of facts, even totrade upon in tea and toast, she had absolutely none.
Conceive, then, how every face was turned interrogatively towards MasterMeredith--no, Mr. Meredith, now that the object of everybody was toplease him. How the dames dropped courtesies, and hoped my honour waswell; and my honour's friend too, Mr. Marmaduke, he was well too, theytrusted--Heaven bless him; and he was staying away from Fairburn a goodbit, was he not? and how did has uncle like that, who had always kepthim at home so strict?--and was it true that he was residing with Mr.Harvey Gerard? well, dear me, and how odd that was; an atheist and ademocrat, people did say; but there, there were some again as spoke wellof him.
Sedate Mr. Arabel, set on, without doubt, by his inquisitive lady, evenwaylaid me in a narrow lane, and insisted upon my looking in at thefarm, and partaking of casual hospitality. "Ye'll just have three drarsand a spet," said he (meaning by that farm of expression a few whiffs ofa pipe), "and take a glass of ale;" and when I declined the first offerupon the ground of not being a smoker, and the second on the plea thatit was only eleven o'clock, A.M., and consequently rather early for ale,he confessed that his missus was a-waiting for me with a bottle ofcowslip wine, and a seed-cake of her own making. It was rather difficultto escape from hospitable snares of this kind, but I revealed as littleas possible without giving absolute offence. On the other hand, Ireceived some information, the details of which had not been confided tome by Mr. Long.
"Well, sir," remarked Mrs. Arabel, after I had told her all I meant totell, which was not much, "and it's no wonder as Mr. Marmaduke shouldhave run away, I'm sure."
"My good lady," observed I, "pray, be particular; I never said he ranaway; I said his horse ran away."
"Yes, of course, sir," responded the mistress of the Grange, winking ina manner that made me quite uncomfortable; "you are very right to saythat, Mr. Meredith, very right. But Sir Massingberd's opinion is, thatit was all planned from first to last, only he says you nearly overdidit."
"Ah, indeed," said I; "how was that?"
"Well, it seems Sir Massingberd was quite deceived about that horse hebought for his nephew; instead of being quiet, and fit for the lad, itwas a perfect demon; and it was sheer madness of you young gentlemen togo racing in order to make it run away; then, to arrange with Mr. Gerardall beforehand; well, I must say I shouldn't have thought that either ofyou would have had the depth."
"Thank you, Mrs. Arabel," said I, laughing; "I am sorry you entertainedso low an idea of our intelligence."
"Well, sir," returned the farmer's wife, with an air of excessivecandour, "my husband, you see, he often has said to me, says he, 'Thatyoung squire Marmaduke, I'm darned if he ain't little better than afool; he don't know what shot to use for rabbits, that he don't; Inever saw his equal for ignorance. And as for that lad from theIngies--that was you, you know, sir--well, of all the young fellowsturned of seventeen as I ever saw, he's the'--"
Here Mrs. Arabel crimsoned, and stopped short, as if she had been verynearly betrayed into saying something which was not entirelycomplimentary.
"Pray, go on, my dear madam," said I; "'of all the young fellows turnedof seventeen whom he had ever seen, I was the'--"
"Well, sir, he'd just the same opinion of you as he had of MasterMarmaduke; but, for my part, I always said, that although you mightneither on you know so much as you ought to, and though you might seem,as it were--"
"Ay, you always stood our friend, and said we were not such fools as welooked; did you?"
"Just so," replied Mrs. Arabel, simply; "and so you see it has turnedout. If Mr. Marmaduke can only live elsewhere till something happens toSir Massingberd--although, indeed, he looks as if nothing ever couldhurt him--his life will doubtless be much pleasanter than at the Hall;it is no place for a young gentleman like him, surely, although,indeed, things are better there than they were. The dark-eyedforeigneering-looking young person, although, indeed, she was old enoughto know better; well, she's gone."
"So I have heard," said I drily.
"Yes, she went away in a whirlwind, she did," continued Mrs. Arabel,reflectively.
"Dear me," replied I, "I never heard that."
"Ah, indeed, I daresay not; why, you see, Mr. Long was a little mixed upin it. Perhaps he thought it better not to tell you. Take another glassof cowslip wine, sir; it has been more than ten years in bottle; and thecake is as good a cake as you will put teeth into in all Midshire,though I say it as shouldn't say it. Well; the thing happened in thisway, you see. The foreigneering female, she used to throw things atfolks; dishes, plates, whatever came first to hand, whenever she was inher tantrums. Mr. Gilmore he had his head opened with a slop-basin, sothat you could lay your finger in it; and Oliver Bradford, I believe shefired a gun at him, charged with swan-shot. However, at times, she wasquite otherwise, crying and submissive as a child. They said it wasReligion up at the Hall; but they knows nothing about that; how shouldthey? It was hysterics, I daresay, and serve her right too. Well, whoshould come here, the very Sunday after Mr. Marmaduke had run away, andwhen Sir Massingberd was like a wild man with rage, and couldn't speakwithout blaspheming, but one of them Methodee preachers as sometimeshold forth upon our common. Now the foreigneering female was a-walkingin the park shrubbery, with one of her hysterical fits upon her, Isuppose, and what does she hear through the palings but words as Isuppose the poor creature never listened to before; and presently outshe comes upon the common, and stands up among all the people, with hergreat eyes swollen with weeping, and her painted cheeks--and I alwayssaid they were painted--daubed and smeared with tears. Carter John, whois very much given to that sort of worship, he was there; and he told meshe looked for all the world like the woman in the great picture overthe communion-table in Crittenden Church, who is wiping the feet of ourLord with her hair.
"Then the preacher, he bade her repent while there was yet time, andfear nothing but only God. But Sir Massingberd, he came out, and draggedher in from the very preacher's hand, and presently back again he comeswith a horse-whip, and swears there shall be no Methodees in his parish,and if he caught the hypocritical ranter--as he called him--withinhearing again, he'd split his ears. Now, I don't go with him there,"pursued Mrs. Arabel, gravely. "It isn't for us, Mr. Meredith, to say asnobody can't pick up good, unless it's in church; and least of allshould such things be said by Sir Massingberd, who lets that beautifulfamily pew get damp and mouldy, w
ith the fireplace always empty all thewinter long, and never puts his nose into it from year's end to year'send. However, what does the foreigneering female do, but declare shewould starve herself to death, before she would eat the bread ofunrighteousness any longer; and not one morsel of food would she take,though they locked her up, and tried to tempt her with her mostfavourite dishes. So Sir Massingberd, being at his wits' end, came overto the parson, and begged him to come and persuade the woman to bereasonable, and take some refreshment; and Mr. Long--he at firstdeclined to interfere in such a matter at all, but presently thinkingthe poor creature might be really penitent, although it came aboutthrough a Methodee, and hoping to do her some good, although not in theway Sir Massingberd intended, he accompanied him to the Hall; and whatdo you think? Why, they found the poor woman was in such earnest, thatshe had cut off the whole of her beautiful black hair, and there it layon the carpet, like so much rubbish. So the Squire he swore that hedidn't care now whether she starved or not, and turned her out of thehouse, as I said at first, in a whirlwind. She was very faint and weak;and Mr. Long, who would never exchange a syllable with her before, madeMrs. Myrtle give her a good meal, and gave her some good words himself,and sent her away to her friends--for it seems she had some friends,poor wretch; and this has made Sir Massingberd wilder than ever againstthe rector, whom he had already accused of aiding and abetting young Mr.Marmaduke in his running away; so that altogether the Squire is ready tomake an end of everybody."
This last statement, although a little highly coloured, as Mrs. Arabel'sdescriptions usually were, was really not far from the truth. It didalmost seem as if the baronet was so transported with passion as to becapable of any enormity. What the law permitted him to do in the way ofoppression, that, of course, he practised to the uttermost; hismorality, never very diffuse, had concentrated itself upon oneposition--the defence of the game and trespass laws. His keepers wereexhorted to increased vigilance; the worst characters in the parish wereconstituted his spies. Every night, it was now the custom of their lordand master to go the rounds in his own preserves, and visit theoutposts, to see that the sentinels did their duty. He employed noWarnings or Trespass Boards in Fairburn Park; his object was not todeter, but to catch the contemners of the sacred rights of property inthe very act. The pursuit of his life had become man-hunting. I writethat word without any reference to Marmaduke Heath, for, indeed, at thattime I thought that Sir Massingberd had given up all hope of recoveringpossession of his nephew. A considerable period had now elapsed sincethe young man's convalescence; and yet the baronet had taken no steps tocompel his return. He had written, indeed, to Marmaduke a letter ofanything but a conciliatory character, and calculated to re-arouse thelad's most morbid fears; but Mr. Harvey Gerard had intercepted thedispatch, and returned it with an answer of his own composition. He hadstated briefly the results of the late conference at the Dovecotrespecting his young guest; he had reiterated his intention of bringing,in a court of justice, the gravest charges against the baronet, in caseof any legal molestation from him; and he had finished with a personalrecommendation to that gentleman to rest satisfied with the enjoyment ofthe allowance that was supposed to go to the maintenance of his nephew.Epistolary communication by hand was rendered impracticable, on the partof the baronet, by the removal of the Dovecot household to town.
This was a bitter blow to the lord of Fairburn; he knew so well theabject fear which he had inspired in my unhappy friend, that,notwithstanding all that had come and gone yet, he did not doubt that afew words in his own handwriting would bring the truant back, howeverloath. We are living now in such quiet times, and under the protectionof such equal laws, that I am aware my younger readers will have adifficulty in conceiving how one human being, however powerful, could beheld in such terror by others. I was aware, from the first, that thepresent universal security would give my narrative an air ofimprobability, and I fear that this must increase as it proceeds. I haveonly to say, that at the period of which I write, there was no poor manin Fairburn parish, however honest, however prudent, who might not havebeen lodged in jail at the instance of his squire, and would have foundit difficult to clear himself; or who might not, on a hint from the samequarter, have been pressed, if he did but give the opportunity, on boarda man-of-war. I am likewise certain that had Sir Massingberd venturedupon such a step, he might have recovered possession of his nephew, orat least withdrawn him from his protector, by the strong hand of thelaw, upon the ground of Mr. Gerard's professing revolutionaryprinciples. In these days of Palmerston and Derby, of Tweedledum andTweedledee, it is impossible for those who are not old enough to havewitnessed it, to imagine the rancour of political parties half a centuryago, or the despotism and flagrant injustice that were sanctioned underthe convenient name of Order.
For the haughty baronet to be thus cut off from all intercourse with hisvictim, was to be foiled indeed. At first, he stung himself well-nigh tofrenzy, like a scorpion within its circle of flame; but after a time thewhite heat of his wrath began apparently to abate. He seemed to havemade up his mind to sit down quietly under his defeat, and to contenthimself with tyrannizing over those who were yet in his power. Thiscomparatively peaceful state of things was looked upon by Mr. Long andmyself at first with suspicion, but at last with real satisfaction. WhenSir Massingberd sent over five pine-apples and some splendid grapes tothe Rectory with his compliments (for the first time within twentyyears), we shook our heads, and my tutor addressed the messenger of hisbounty in these words; "Tell your master I am exceedingly obliged to himfor his kindness. 'Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.'"
"Would you be so good as to write that down, sir?" said the man.
"You may give him the message without the tail," replied the rector, alittle discomfited at his own indiscretion, but congratulating himselfvery much that he had expressed his thoughts so classically.
But when pine-apples and grapes became common presents from the Hall, webegan really to think that the stubborn old baronet had come to theconclusion that it was as pleasant to be on good terms with hisneighbour as not, and that he was genuinely bent on reconciliation. Asoft answer is said to be efficacious to this end, but it is nothingcompared to hothouse dainties out of season; and notwithstanding all Iknew, and all I suspected, I began to regard Sir Massingberd Heath, notindeed with less contempt and dislike, but with less positive loathing,and certainly with less fear. I had not set foot upon his property sinceMarmaduke's departure, and the baronet took occasion to stop me as Irode by his gate one day, and remonstrate upon the incivility of such acourse of conduct.
"It can do me no damage, young gentleman, that you should take yourpleasure in my park, more especially as you are not a sportsman, whowould covet my hares and pheasants; and I cannot but think that youromission to do so is a proof of ill-feeling towards me, which I am notconscious of having deserved at your hands."
He spoke stiffly, and without condescension, as a man might speak to anequal, between himself and whom a misunderstanding existed unexplained,but capable of explanation, and, foolish boy as I was, I felt flatteredby his behaviour.
If the least notion of making myself out to be a hero had existed in mybrain when I began to write these Recollections, it has been dissipatedlong ago. I have been quite as much surprised during this recital as anyof my readers have been, at the contemplation of my own meannesses; if Ihad known how many and how serious they were to be, perhaps I shouldhave hesitated to recall them; but I commenced with as strong adetermination, nothing to extenuate with respect to myself, as to setnothing down in malice with respect to others; and thus I shall proceedto the end.
While, then, matters were on this less antagonistic footing, and whenMarmaduke had been away about a year, business happened to take Mr. Longfrom Fairburn, and I was left a day and a night my own master. He hadnot been gone an hour when Mrs. Myrtle came into the study, where I wasemployed at my books, with a letter in her hand; she looked quite paleand frightened, as she said, "Lor', Mr. Peter, if this note ain't fromSi
r Massingberd hisself for you. I feels all of a tremble, so as youmight knock me down with a peacock's feather."
"Well," said I, forcing a laugh, "but I am not going to use any suchweapon, Mrs. Myrtle. What on earth is there to be afraid of in thesquire's handwriting? It can't bite." But I felt in a cold perspirationnevertheless, and my fingers trembled as they undid the missive. It wasa polite invitation to dine with the baronet that evening.
"You are not going, sir, I do hope!" exclaimed the housekeepereagerly, as soon as I had acquainted her with the contents of the note."Why, such a thing hasn't happened for this quarter of a century. He'llpoison you, as sure as my name's Martha Myrtle. I never saw you andmaster eating his pine-apples without a shudder; the rector wasuncommon ill after one of them, one day."
"Yes, Mrs. Myrtle," said I quietly, "and I have suffered also from thesame cause myself; but I don't think the squire was to blame."
"But you ain't a-going, sir; I am sure as master wouldn't like it. Oh,pray, say you ain't a-going."
"Well, then, I won't go, Mrs. Myrtle. The fact is, I feel one of mycolds coming on; they generally begin with a lump in my throat; so Ishall write to excuse myself."
I really had a lump in my throat; my heart had jumped up and stoppedthere at the mere notion of a tete-a-tete with Sir Massingberd,diversified--no, intensified--by the presence of Grimjaw. I wouldn'thave gone through it for a thousand pounds; so I wrote to decline thehonour upon the ground of indisposition. I was compelled to keep thehouse, I said, for the entire day. Half an hour afterwards, anotherletter arrived from the Hall. Since Sir Massingberd might not enjoy thepleasure of my company at dinner, would I permit him to come over to theRectory that morning, and have a few words of conversation with me upona matter deeply interesting to both of us? There was no getting out ofthis. If I had gone to bed, on plea of illness, I felt that even thatcourse would have been no protection to me. Sir Massingberd would haveforced a dying man to play with him at pitch-and-toss, if so inopportunea game had happened to take his fancy. On the other hand, Mrs. Myrtle'ssuggestion that I should mount my horse, and ride away after Mr. Long,was really too pusillanimous a proceeding; I therefore wrote back to thebaronet a polite falsehood, to the effect that I should be very happy tosee him; and in a very few minutes afterwards, I was face to face withMarmaduke's foe.
He came in unushered--Mrs. Myrtle not being equal to such anoccasion--filling the doorway with his gigantic form, and well-nightouching the ceiling of the low-roofed room with his head.
"I am sorry to intrude upon an invalid," said he, "but what I had to saywas of a private nature, and I was not sure of finding you alone at anyother time."
I bowed, and begged my visitor to be seated.
"It is something," thought I, "that this man is civil at least." Forthere is this great advantage in being habitually insolent andoverbearing, that when one does condescend to behave decently, peopleappreciate one's good maimers very much.
"I have called upon you," continued the baronet, "with respect to mynephew and your friend, Marmaduke Heath. It is idle to deny that he andI have not been to one another what our mutual relationship should haveled us to be. I am naturally a hard man; losses and poverty havedoubtless rendered me more morose. Marmaduke, on the other hand, is ofan over-sensitive and morbid nature. We did not get on together at allwell. There were faults on both sides; it was six of one, and--"
I shook my head.
"Very well, then," resumed Sir Massingberd, with candour, "let us saythat it was I who was in the wrong. I have not the patience andgentleness requisite for dealing with a character like him; my temper isarbitrary; I have behaved with but little courtesy even to yourself. Youare polite enough to contradict me, but nevertheless it is true. Forthat, however, reparation can be made. I wish that I could as easilymake atonement in the other quarter. This, however, I feel is utterlyimpossible. Things have gone too far. I make no complaint of my nephew'shaving been encouraged in his rebellious course by one whose duty itwas, on the contrary, to reconcile us. I wish to say nothing that couldonly lead to fruitless discussion, and perhaps a disagreement betweenyou and me; that would be most impolitic on my part, since I come hereto solicit your good offices."
"Mine, Sir Massingberd? mine?"
"Yes, I desire your kindly assistance in bringing about a betterunderstanding between Marmaduke and myself."
"Sir," said I, "what you ask is a sheer impossibility. Marmaduke Heathmay be wrong in his estimate of your character, but it will remainunchanged to his dying day. I am as certain of this, as that yonderyellowing tree will presently lose its leaves."
"You speak frankly, Mr. Meredith," returned the baronet, calmly, "and Ido not respect you less upon that account. It is not, however, as amediator that I need your assistance; I ask a much less favour thanthat; I simply wish you to inclose a letter from me to my nephew."
"Sir Massingberd Heath," said I, with some indignation, "you have doneme the favour of calling upon me in my tutor's absence, in theexpectation of finding me so weak as to be unable to refuse whatever youchose to ask, or so treacherous as to be willing to deceive those whoare generously protecting my best friend from one whom he has everycause to fear. I am extremely obliged to you for the compliment;" andwith that I laid my hand upon the bell.
"One moment," observed the baronet, quietly, nay, with suavity, thoughthe letter U upon his forehead deepened visibly, and the veins of hisgreat hand, as it rested on the table, grew big with passion; "onemoment before you ring. I am sorry you should have taken such a view ofmy conduct as you have described; you young men are somewhat hasty inthe imputation of motive. I am a straightforward, rough fellow, and mayhave displeased you; but I am not aware that I have done anything tojustify you in accusing me of meanness and duplicity. Those persons whohave charge of my nephew are, in my judgment, deeply culpable; but I donot wish you to act deceitfully towards them on that account. Mattershave come to that pass, however, that I cannot even communicate with mynephew, even though I have that to say which would give him genuinepleasure. This Mr. Harvey Gerard"--his deep voice shook with hatred ashe mentioned that name--"has taken upon himself to return my letters toMarmaduke unopened. I know not how to convey to him even such a one asthis."
Sir Massingberd threw across to me a folded sheet, directed to hisnephew, and motioned that I should open it. It ran as follows:--
"NEPHEW MARMADUKE,--It seems that you are fully determined never againto seek the shelter of my roof; I am given to understand that the timefor reconciliation has gone by, and that any attempt to effect it wouldonly cause you annoyance, and make the breach wider between us. If so,so be it. I am an old man now, and I wish my last years to be passed inpeace. I wish to make no allusion to the character of the person withwhom you have chosen to reside, further than to express a hope that whenI am gone, and it will be your part to exercise the rights of a greatland-owner, that you will not employ your influence to subvert the lawsand the government. It is as mad in those who possess authority tocountenance revolution, as for a man seated on a lofty branch to lop itoff with his own hands. I do not say this as your uncle, but merely asone of an ancient race with whom we are both connected, and in whosewelfare we should take an equal interest. Mr. Meredith is kind enough toenclose this parting word of advice--the last communication that willprobably ever pass between us--from
"MASSINGBERD HEATH.
"P.S.--Burn this when you have read it, lest your friend should get intotrouble upon my account."
I read and re-read this strange epistle with great care, before I madeany comment upon it. There was nothing, to my mind, objectionable in anyof the contents. I had been twice to Harley Street during the summer,and found Marmaduke as morbidly apprehensive as ever of some course ofconduct to be adopted by his uncle with reference to regaining thecustody of his person; he was haunted still by the shadow of thisterrible man. The words I held before me were certainly calculated toreassure him. No news could be more gratifying than this positiveresigna
tion of the baronet's claim to be his guardian, this final"good-bye" under Sir Massingberd's own hand. As for the politicaladvice, I thought that very healthy. I was then, as now, a staunchconservative, and although I did not sympathize in the least with theharsh acts of the government in respect to poor, misguided men, notwithout their wrongs, yet I did think Mr. Gerard's views both visionaryand dangerous.
"I trust," observed Sir Massingberd, gravely, "that the sentiments whichyou are now perusing are in accordance with your own. I am speaking, Ibelieve, to a gentleman, and consequently to a natural friend oforder."
I bowed in assent. "There certainly seems nothing in this epistle whichMarmaduke might not read," muttered I, musing.
"Seems?" cried the baronet. "Why not say is at once?"
A sudden idea, gleaned from some romance which I had been latelyreading, flashed across my brain. Why did the postscript say, "Burn thiswhen you have read it?" I let my hand, with the letter in it, drop belowmy knee, so that the missive was held close to the fire.
"There is no writing in lemon-juice, I do assure you," observed SirMassingberd, quietly; "you will only scorch the paper."
I coloured at the exposure of my suspicions, and in my confusion it didnot strike me that the speaker must himself have at least entertainedsuch a project, or he never could have unmasked me so readily. I was alittle ashamed of myself, and rather sorry for my incredulity. SirMassingberd saw this, and pressed his point.
"Since there is nothing concealed, and no harm in what is visible, I dohope you will grant the favour I requested, and inclose that note to mynephew."
"Well, sir," said I, after a little hesitation, "I will inclose it. Igive you warning, however, that I shall send a line by the same post tolet Mr. Gerard know that I have done so."
"By all means," responded Sir Massingberd. "I am only anxious that mynephew's own eyes should read what I have written. Have you a taper andwax?" asked he, folding up the sheet. "I might as well stamp it with myseal."
I rose and brought what he required from a writing-table. SirMassingberd sealed the letter, and gave it into my hand.
"Mr. Meredith," said he, rising, "you have done me a great service. Ithink I have said, that the oftener you make use of my grounds thebetter I shall be pleased. Did I add that the bowling-green is entirelyat your service? I am too stiff in the back to have a game with youmyself, but I will give directions to Gilmore to be your antagonist,whenever you may feel inclined."
The baronet took his leave in a stately, but not unfriendly manner. Hecertainly was stiff in the back; but that was his nature. As hesmiled, his lip turned upwards, instead of the usual way; but so italways did. Yet I did not feel quite comfortable, as I stood by myselfover the fire, balancing Sir Massingberd's "good-bye" to his nephew inmy hand, and questioning within myself whether it wouldn't be better toinclose it to Mr. Harvey Gerard, after all. However, in the end I keptmy promise.
END OF VOL. I.