Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges

by William Makepeace Thackeray

  Chapter XI. Our Guest Quits Us As Not Being Hospitable Enough

  Beatrix's departure took place within an hour, her maid going with her inthe post-chaise, and a man armed on the coach-box to prevent any danger ofthe road. Esmond and Frank thought of escorting the carriage, but sheindignantly refused their company, and another man was sent to follow thecoach, and not to leave it till it had passed over Hounslow Heath on thenext day. And these two forming the whole of Lady Castle wood's maledomestics, Mr. Esmond's faithful John Lockwood came to wait on hismistress during their absence, though he would have preferred to escortMrs. Lucy, his sweetheart, on her journey into the country.

  We had a gloomy and silent meal; it seemed as if a darkness was over thehouse, since the bright face of Beatrix had been withdrawn from it. In theafternoon came a message from the favourite to relieve us somewhat fromthis despondency. "The queen hath been much shaken," the note said; "sheis better now, and all things will go well. Let _my Lord Castlewood_ beready against we send for him."

  At night there came a second billet: "There hath been a great battle inCouncil; lord treasurer hath broke his staff, and hath fallen never torise again; no successor is appointed. Lord B---- receives a great Whigcompany to-night at Golden Square. If he is trimming, others are true; thequeen hath no more fits, but is abed now, and more quiet. Be ready againstmorning, when I still hope all will be well."

  The prince came home shortly after the messenger who bore this billet hadleft the house. His royal highness was so much the better for the bishop'sliquor, that to talk affairs to him now was of little service. He washelped to the royal bed; he called Castlewood familiarly by his own name;he quite forgot the part upon the acting of which his crown, his safety,depended. 'Twas lucky that my Lady Castlewood's servants were out of theway, and only those heard him who would not betray him. He inquired afterthe adorable Beatrix, with a royal hiccup in his voice; he was easily gotto bed, and in a minute or two plunged in that deep slumber andforgetfulness with which Bacchus rewards the votaries of that god. Wewished Beatrix had been there to see him in his cups. We regretted,perhaps, that she was gone.

  One of the party at Kensington Square was fool enough to ride to Hounslowthat night, _coram latronibus_, and to the inn which the family usedordinarily in their journeys out of London. Esmond desired my landlord notto acquaint Madam Beatrix with his coming, and had the grim satisfactionof passing by the door of the chamber where she lay with her maid, and ofwatching her chariot set forth in the early morning. He saw her smile andslip money into the man's hand who was ordered to ride behind the coach asfar as Bagshot. The road being open, and the other servant armed, itappeared she dispensed with the escort of a second domestic; and thisfellow, bidding his young mistress adieu with many bows, went and took apot of ale in the kitchen, and returned in company with his brotherservant, John Coachman, and his horses, back to London.

  They were not a mile out of Hounslow when the two worthies stopped formore drink, and here they were scared by seeing Colonel Esmond gallop bythem. The man said in reply to Colonel Esmond's stern question, that hisyoung mistress had sent her duty; only that, no other message: she had hada very good night, and would reach Castlewood by nightfall. The colonelhad no time for further colloquy, and galloped on swiftly to London,having business of great importance there, as my reader very well knoweth.The thought of Beatrix riding away from the danger soothed his mind not alittle. His horse was at Kensington Square (honest Dapple knew the waythither well enough) before the tipsy guest of last night was awake andsober.

  The account of the previous evening was known all over the town early nextday. A violent altercation had taken place before the queen in theCouncil-chamber; and all the coffee-houses had their version of thequarrel. The news brought my lord bishop early to Kensington Square, wherehe awaited the waking of his royal master above stairs, and spokeconfidently of having him proclaimed as Prince of Wales and heir to thethrone before that day was over. The bishop had entertained on theprevious afternoon certain of the most influential gentlemen of the trueBritish party. His royal highness had charmed all, both Scots and English,Papists and Churchmen: "Even Quakers," says he, "were at our meeting; and,if the stranger took a little too much British punch and ale, he will soongrow more accustomed to those liquors; and my Lord Castlewood," says thebishop, with a laugh, "must bear the cruel charge of having been for oncein his life a little tipsy. He toasted your lovely sister a dozen times,at which we all laughed," says the bishop, "admiring so much fraternalaffection.--Where is that charming nymph, and why doth she not adorn yourladyship's tea-table with her bright eyes?" Her ladyship said, drily, thatBeatrix was not at home that morning; my lord bishop was too busy withgreat affairs to trouble himself much about the presence or absence of anylady, however beautiful.

  We were yet at table when Dr. A---- came from the Palace with a look ofgreat alarm; the shocks the queen had had the day before had acted on herseverely; he had been sent for, and had ordered her to be blooded. Thesurgeon of Long Acre had come to cup the queen, and her Majesty was nowmore easy and breathed more freely. What made us start at the name of Mr.Ayme? "_Il faut etre aimable pour etre aime_," says the merry doctor;Esmond pulled his sleeve, and bade him hush. It was to Ayme's house, afterhis fatal duel, that my dear Lord Castlewood, Frank's father, had beencarried to die.

  No second visit could be paid to the queen on that day at any rate; andwhen our guest above gave his signal that he was awake, the doctor, thebishop, and Colonel Esmond waited upon the prince's levee, and brought himtheir news, cheerful or dubious. The doctor had to go away presently, butpromised to keep the prince constantly acquainted with what was takingplace at the palace hard by. His counsel was, and the bishop's, that assoon as ever the queen's malady took a favourable turn, the prince shouldbe introduced to her bedside; the Council summoned; the guard atKensington and St. James's, of which two regiments were to be entirelyrelied on, and one known not to be hostile, would declare for the prince,as the queen would before the lords of her Council, designating him as theheir to her throne.

  With locked doors, and Colonel Esmond acting as secretary, the prince andhis lordship of Rochester passed many hours of this day composingProclamations and Addresses to the Country, to the Scots, to the Clergy,to the People of London and England; announcing the arrival of the exiledescendant of three sovereigns, and his acknowledgement by his sister asheir to the throne. Every safeguard for their liberties the Church andPeople could ask was promised to them. The bishop could answer for theadhesion of very many prelates, who besought of their flocks and brotherecclesiastics to recognize the sacred right of the future sovereign, andto purge the country of the sin of rebellion.

  During the composition of these papers, more messengers than one came fromthe Palace regarding the state of the august patient there lying. Atmidday she was somewhat better; at evening the torpor again seized her,and she wandered in her mind. At night Dr. A---- was with us again, with areport rather more favourable: no instant danger at any rate wasapprehended. In the course of the last two years her Majesty had had manyattacks similar, but more severe.

  By this time we had finished a half-dozen of Proclamations (the wording ofthem so as to offend no parties, and not to give umbrage to Whigs orDissenters, required very great caution), and the young prince, who hadindeed shown, during a long day's labour, both alacrity at seizing theinformation given him, and ingenuity and skill in turning the phraseswhich were to go out signed by his name, here exhibited a good humour andthoughtfulness that ought to be set down to his credit.

  "Were these papers to be mislaid," says he, "or our scheme to come tomishap, my Lord Esmond's writing would bring him to a place where Iheartily hope never to see him; and so, by your leave, I will copy thepapers myself, though I am not very strong in spelling; and if they arefound they will implicate none but the person they most concern;" and so,having carefully copied the Proclamations out, the prince burned those inColonel Esmond's handwriting: "And now, and now, gentlemen," sa
ys he, "letus go to supper, and drink a glass with the ladies. My Lord Esmond, youwill sup with us to-night; you have given us of late too little of yourcompany."

  The prince's meals were commonly served in the chamber which had beenBeatrix's bedroom, adjoining that in which he slept. And the dutifulpractice of his entertainers was to wait until their royal guest bade themtake their places at table before they sat down to partake of the meal. Onthis night, as you may suppose, only Frank Castlewood and his mother werein waiting when the supper was announced to receive the prince; who hadpassed the whole of the day in his own apartment, with the bishop as hisminister of state, and Colonel Esmond officiating as secretary of hisCouncil.

  The prince's countenance wore an expression by no means pleasant; whenlooking towards the little company assembled, and waiting for him, he didnot see Beatrix's bright face there as usual to greet him. He asked LadyEsmond for his fair introducer of yesterday: her ladyship only cast hereyes down, and said quietly, Beatrix could not be of the supper thatnight; nor did she show the least sign of confusion, whereas Castlewoodturned red, and Esmond was no less embarrassed. I think women have aninstinct of dissimulation; they know by nature how to disguise theiremotions far better than the most consummate male courtiers can do. Is notthe better part of the life of many of them spent in hiding theirfeelings, in cajoling their tyrants, in masking over with fond smiles andartful gaiety their doubt, or their grief, or their terror?

  Our guest swallowed his supper very sulky; it was not till the secondbottle his highness began to rally. When Lady Castlewood asked leave todepart, he sent a message to Beatrix, hoping she would be present at thenext day's dinner, and applied himself to drink, and to talk afterwards,for which there was subject in plenty.

  The next day, we heard from our informer at Kensington that the queen wassomewhat better, and had been up for an hour, though she was not wellenough yet to receive any visitor.

  At dinner a single cover was laid for his royal highness; and the twogentlemen alone waited on him. We had had a consultation in the morningwith Lady Castlewood, in which it had been determined that, should hishighness ask further questions about Beatrix, he should be answered by thegentlemen of the house.

  He was evidently disturbed and uneasy, looking towards the doorconstantly, as if expecting some one. There came, however, nobody, excepthonest John Lockwood, when he knocked with a dish, which those within tookfrom him; so the meals were always arranged, and I believe the council inthe kitchen were of opinion that my young lord had brought over a priest,who had converted us all into Papists, and that Papists were like Jews,eating together, and not choosing to take their meals in the sight ofChristians.

  The prince tried to cover his displeasure; he was but a clumsy dissemblerat that time, and when out of humour could with difficulty keep a serenecountenance; and having made some foolish attempts at trivial talk, hecame to his point presently, and in as easy a manner as he could, sayingto Lord Castlewood, he hoped, he requested, his lordship's mother andsister would be of the supper that night. As the time hung heavy on him,and he must not go abroad, would not Miss Beatrix hold him company at agame of cards?

  At this, looking up at Esmond, and taking the signal from him, LordCastlewood informed his royal highness(20) that his sister Beatrix was notat Kensington; and that her family had thought it best she should quit thetown.

  "Not at Kensington!" says he; "is she ill? she was well yesterday;wherefore should she quit the town? Is it at your orders, my lord, orColonel Esmond's, who seems the master of this house?"

  "Not of this, sir," says Frank very nobly, "only of our house in thecountry, which he hath given to us. This is my mother's house, and Walcoteis my father's, and the Marquis of Esmond knows he hath but to give hisword, and I return his to him."

  "The Marquis of Esmond!--the Marquis of Esmond," says the prince, tossingoff a glass, "meddles too much with my affairs, and presumes on theservice he hath done me. If you want to carry your suit with Beatrix, mylord, by blocking her up in gaol, let me tell you that is not the way towin a woman."

  "I was not aware, sir, that I had spoken of my suit to Madam Beatrix toyour royal highness."

  "Bah, bah, monsieur! we need not be a conjurer to see that. It makesitself seen at all moments. You are jealous, my lord, and the maid ofhonour cannot look at another face without yours beginning to scowl. Thatwhich you do is unworthy, monsieur; is inhospitable--is, is _lache_, yes_lache_:" (he spoke rapidly in French, his rage carrying him away witheach phrase:) "I come to your house; I risk my life; I pass it in ennui; Irepose myself on your fidelity; I have no company but your lordship'ssermons or the conversations of that adorable young lady, and you take herfrom me; and you, you rest! _Merci, monsieur!_ I shall thank you when Ihave the means; I shall know to recompense a devotion a littleimportunate, my lord--a little importunate. For a month past your airs ofprotector have annoyed me beyond measure. You deign to offer me the crown,and bid me take it on my knees like King John--eh! I know my history,monsieur, and mock myself of frowning barons. I admire your mistress, andyou send her to a Bastile of the Province; I enter your house, and youmistrust me. I will leave it, monsieur; from to-night I will leave it. Ihave other friends whose loyalty will not be so ready to question mine. IfI have Garters to give away, 'tis to noblemen who are not so ready tothink evil. Bring me a coach and let me quit this place, or let the fairBeatrix return to it. I will not have your hospitality at the expense ofthe freedom of that fair creature."

  This harangue was uttered with rapid gesticulations such as the Frenchuse, and in the language of that nation. The prince striding up and downthe room; his face flushed, and his hands trembling with anger. He wasvery thin and frail from repeated illness and a life of pleasure. EitherCastlewood or Esmond could have broke him across their knee, and in half aminute's struggle put an end to him; and here he was insulting us both,and scarce deigning to hide from the two, whose honour it most concerned,the passion he felt for the young lady of our family. My Lord Castlewoodreplied to the prince's tirade very nobly and simply.

  "Sir," says he, "your royal highness is pleased to forget that others risktheir lives, and for your cause. Very few Englishmen, please God, woulddare to lay hands on your sacred person, though none would ever think ofrespecting ours. Our family's lives are at your service, and everything wehave except our honour."

  "Honour! bah, sir, who ever thought of hurting your honour?" says theprince, with a peevish air.

  "We implore your royal highness never to think of hurting it," says LordCastlewood, with a low bow. The night being warm, the windows were openboth towards the gardens and the square. Colonel Esmond heard through theclosed door the voice of the watchman calling the hour, in the square onthe other side. He opened the door communicating with the prince's room;Martin, the servant that had rode with Beatrix to Hounslow, was just goingout of the chamber as Esmond entered it, and when the fellow was gone, andthe watchman again sang his cry of "Past ten o'clock, and a starlightnight," Esmond spoke to the prince in a low voice, and said--"Your royalhighness hears that man?"

  "_Apres, monsieur?_" says the prince.

  "I have but to beckon him from the window, and send him fifty yards, andhe returns with a guard of men, and I deliver up to him the body of theperson calling himself James the Third, for whose capture Parliament hathoffered a reward of 5,000_l._, as your royal highness saw on our ride fromRochester. I have but to say the word, and, by the Heaven that made me, Iwould say it if I thought the prince, for his honour's sake, would notdesist from insulting ours. But the first gentleman of England knows hisduty too well to forget himself with the humblest, or peril his crown fora deed that were shameful if it were done."

  "Has your lordship anything to say," says the prince, turning to FrankCastlewood, and quite pale with anger; "any threat or any insult, withwhich you would like to end this agreeable night's entertainment?"

  "I follow the head of our house," says Castlewood, bowing gravely. "Atwhat time shall it please the prince th
at we should wait upon him in themorning?"

  "You will wait on the Bishop of Rochester early, you will bid him bringhis coach hither; and prepare an apartment for me in his own house, or ina place of safety. The king will reward you handsomely, never fear, forall you have done in his behalf. I wish you a good night, and shall go tobed, unless it pleases the Marquis of Esmond to call his colleague, thewatchman, and that I should pass the night with the Kensington guard. Fareyou well, be sure I will remember you. My Lord Castlewood, I can go to bedto-night without need of a chamberlain." And the prince dismissed us witha grim bow, locking one door as he spoke, that into the supping-room, andthe other through which we passed, after us. It led into the small chamberwhich Frank Castlewood or _Monsieur Baptiste_ occupied, and by whichMartin entered when Colonel Esmond but now saw him in the chamber.

  At an early hour next morning the bishop arrived, and was closeted forsome time with his master in his own apartment, where the prince laid opento his counsellor the wrongs which, according to his version, he hadreceived from the gentlemen of the Esmond family. The worthy prelate cameout from the conference with an air of great satisfaction; he was a manfull of resources, and of a most assured fidelity, and possessed ofgenius, and a hundred good qualities; but captious and of a most jealoustemper, that could not help exulting at the downfall of any favourite; andhe was pleased in spite of himself to hear that the Esmond ministry was atan end.

  "I have soothed your guest," says he, coming out to the two gentlemen andthe widow, who had been made acquainted with somewhat of the dispute ofthe night before. (By the version we gave her, the prince was only made toexhibit anger because we doubted of his intentions in respect to Beatrix;and to leave us, because we questioned his honour.) "But I think, allthings considered, 'tis as well he should leave this house; and then, myLady Castlewood," says the bishop, "my pretty Beatrix may come back toit."

  "She is quite as well at home at Castlewood," Esmond's mistress said,"till everything is over."

  "You shall have your title, Esmond, that I promise you," says the goodbishop, assuming the airs of a prime minister. "The prince hath expressedhimself most nobly in regard of the little difference of last night, and Ipromise you he hath listened to my sermon, as well as to that of otherfolks," says the doctor archly; "he hath every great and generous quality,with perhaps a weakness for the sex which belongs to his family, and hathbeen known in scores of popular sovereigns from King David downwards."

  "My lord, my lord," breaks out Lady Esmond, "the levity with which youspeak of such conduct towards our sex shocks me, and what you callweakness I call deplorable sin."

  "Sin it is, my dear creature," says the bishop, with a shrug, takingsnuff; "but consider what a sinner King Solomon was, and in spite of athousand of wives too."

  "Enough of this, my lord," says Lady Castlewood, with a fine blush, andwalked out of the room very stately.

  The prince entered it presently with a smile on his face, and if he feltany offence against us on the previous night, at present exhibited none.He offered a hand to each gentleman with great courtesy. "If all yourbishops preach so well as Dr. Atterbury," says he, "I don't know,gentlemen, what may happen to me. I spoke very hastily, my lords, lastnight, and ask pardon of both of you. But I must not stay any longer,"says he, "giving umbrage to good friends, or keeping pretty girls awayfrom their homes. My lord bishop hath found a safe place for me, hard byat a curate's house, whom the bishop can trust, and whose wife is so uglyas to be beyond all danger; we will decamp into those new quarters, and Ileave you, thanking you for a hundred kindnesses here. Where is myhostess, that I may bid her farewell? to welcome her in a house of my own,soon I trust, where my friends shall have no cause to quarrel with me."

  Lady Castlewood arrived presently, blushing with great grace, and tearsfilling her eyes as the prince graciously saluted her. She looked socharming and young, that the doctor, in his bantering way, could not helpspeaking of her beauty to the prince; whose compliment made her blush, andlook more charming still.