""I "ll join you before the end of the week," said Repton; "by that time Mr. Ma.s.singbred will have expended all his borough blandishments and be free to give us his society."
"Though the old lawyer now tried, and tried cleverly, to lead us away to lighter, pleasanter themes, the attempt was a failure; each felt, I suspect, some oppressive weight on his spirits that indisposed him to less serious talk; and again we came back to the Martins, the stranger evidently seeking to learn all he could of the disposition and temper of the young man.
""It is as I thought," said he, at last. "It is the weak, sickly tone of the day has brought all this corruption upon us! Once upon a time the vices and follies of young men took their rise in their several natures,--this one gambled, the other drank, and so on,--the ma.s.s, however, was wonderfully sound and healthy; the present school, however, is to ape a uniformity, so that each may show himself in the livery of his fellows, thus imbibing wickedness he has no taste for, and none be less depraved and heartless than those around him. Let the women but follow the fashion, and there "s an end of us, as the great people we boasted to be!"
"I give you, so well as I can trust my memory, his words, Harry, but I cannot give you a certain sardonic bitterness,--a tone of mingled scorn and sorrow, such as I never before witnessed. He gave me the impression of being one who, originally frank, generous, and trustful, had, by intercourse with the world and commerce with mankind, grown to suspect every one and disbelieve in honesty, and yet could not bring his heart to acknowledge what his head had determined. In this wise, at least, I read his character from the opportunities I had of conversing with him on our journey. It was easy to see that he was a gentleman,--taking the word in the widest of its acceptations,--but from things that dropped from him, I could gather that his life had been that of an adventurer.
He had been in the sea and land services of many of those new states of Southern America, had even risen to political importance in some of them; had possessed mines and vast tracts of territory one day, and the next saw himself "without a piastre." He had conducted operations against the Indians, and made treaties with them, and latterly had lived as the elected chief of a tribe in the west of the Rocky Mountains. But he knew civilized as well as savage life, had visited Spain in the rank of an envoy, and was familiar with all the great society of Rome, and the intrigues of its prince-bishops. The only theme, however, on which he really warmed was sport. The prairies brought out all his enthusiasm, and then he spoke like one carried away by glorious recollections of a time when, as he said himself, "heart and hand and eye never failed him."
"When he spoke of family ties or home affections, it was in a spirit of almost mockery, which puzzled me. His reasoning was that the attachments we form are only emanations of our own selfishness. We love, simply to be loved again. Whereas, were we single-hearted, we should be satisfied to know that those dear to us were well and happy, and only seek to serve them without demonstration or display.
"Am I wearying you, Harry, by dwelling on the traits of a man who, for the brief s.p.a.ce I have known him, has made the most profound impression upon me? Even where I dissent--as is often the case--from his views, I have to own to myself that were I _he_, I should think and reason precisely as he does. I fancied at first that, like many men who had quitted civilized life for the rude ways of the "bush," he would have contrasted the man of refinement unfavorably with the savage, but he was too keen and acute for such a sweeping fallacy; he saw the good and evil in both, and sensibly remarked how independent of all education were the really strong characteristics of human nature. "There is not a great quality of our first men," said he, "that I have not found to exist among the wild tribes of the Far West, nor is there an excellence of savage nature I have not witnessed amidst the polished and the pampered."
"From what I can collect, he is only here pa.s.singly; some family matter has brought him over to this country; but he is already impatient to be back to his old haunts and a.s.sociates, and his home beside the Orinoco.
He has even asked me to come and visit him there; and from all I can see I should be as likely to attain distinction among the Chaymas as in the House of Commons, and should find the soft turf of the Savannahs as pleasant as the Opposition benches. In fact, Harry, I have half promised to accept his invitation; and if he renew it with anything like earnestness, I am resolved to go.
"I am just setting out for the Hendersons", and while the horses are being harnessed I have re-read your letter. Of course I have "counted the cost,"--I have weighed the question to a pennyweight! I could already write down the list of those who will not know me at all, those who will know me a little, and the still fewer who will know my wife!
Can you not see, my dear friend, that where one drags the anchor so easily, the mooring-ground was never good? The society to which you belong by such slender attachments gives no wound by separation from it.
"My anxiety now is on a very different score: it is that she will still refuse me. The hope I cling to is that she will see in my persistence a proof of sincerity. I would not, if I could, bring any family influence to my aid, and yet, short of this, there is nothing I would not do to insure success.
"I wish I had never re-opened your letter; that vein of sarcastic coolness which runs through it will never turn me from my purpose. You seem to forget, besides, that you are talking to a man of the world, just as hackneyed, just as "used up" as yourself. I should like to see you a.s.sume this indolent dalliance before La Henderson! Take my word for it, Harry, you "d be safer with the impertinence amongst some of your d.u.c.h.esses in Pall Mall. You say that great beauty in a woman, like genius in a man, is a kind of brevet n.o.bility, and yet you add that the envy of the world will never weary of putting the possessor "on his t.i.tle." How gladly would I accept this challenge! Ay, Harry, I tell you, in all defiance, that your proudest could not vie with her!
"If I wanted a proof of the va.s.salage of the social state we live in, I have it before me in the fact that a man like yourself, wellborn, young, rich, and high-hearted, should place the judgments and prejudices of half a dozen old tabbies of either s.e.x above all the promptings of a n.o.ble ambition--all the sentiments of a generous devotion. Your starling cry of "the Steward"s daughter," then, does not deter, it only determines the purpose
"Of yours faithfully,
"Jack Ma.s.singbred."
"You "ll see by the papers that I have accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.
This is the first step.--now for the second!"
CHAPTER x.x.xIII. A DINNER AT "THE LODGE"
While the "Morning Post" of a certain day, some twenty years ago, was chronicling the ill.u.s.trious guests who partook of his Majesty"s hospitalities at Windsor, the "Dublin Evening Mail," under the less pretentious heading of "Viceregal Court," gave a list of those who had dined with his Excellency at the Lodge.
There was not anything very striking or very new in the announcement.
Our _dramatis personae,_ in this wise, are limited; and after the accustomed names of the Lord Chancellor and Mrs. Dobbs, the Master of the Rolls and Mrs. Wiggins, Colonel Somebody of the 105th, Sir Felix and Miss Slasher, you invariably find the catalogue close with an un-der-secretary, a king-at-arms, and the inevitable Captain Lawrence Belcour, the aide-de-camp in waiting!--these latter recorded somewhat in the same spirit that the manager of a provincial theatre swells the roll of his company, by the names of the machinist, the scene-painter, and the leader of the band! We have no peculiar concern, however, with this fact, save that on the day in question our old friend Joseph Nelligan figured as a vice-regal guest. It was the first time he had been so honored, and, although not of a stamp to attach any great prize to the distinction, he was well aware that the recognition was intended as an honor; the more, when an aide-de-camp signified to him that his place at table was on one side of his Excellency.
When this veracious history first displayed young Nelligan at a dinner-party, his manner was shy and constrained; his secluded, student-like habits had given him none of that hardihood so essential in society. If he knew little of pa.s.sing topics, he knew less of the tone men used in discussing them; and now, although more conversant with the world and its ways, daily brought into contact with the business of life, his social manner remained pretty nearly the same cold, awkward, and diffident thing it had been at first. Enlist him in a great subject, or call upon him on a great occasion, and he could rise above it; place him in a position to escape notice, and you never heard more of him.
The dinner company on this day contained nothing very formidable, either on the score of station or ability,--a few bar celebrities with their wives, an eccentric dean with a daughter, a garrison colonel or two, three country squires, and a doctor from Merrion Square. It was that interregnal period between the time when the castle parties included the first gentry of the land, and that later era when the priest and the agitator became the favored guests of vice-royalty. It is scarce necessary to say it was, as regards agreeability, inferior to either.
There was not the courtly urbanity and polished pleasantry of a very accomplished cla.s.s; nor was there the shrewd and coa.r.s.e but racy intelligence of Mr. O"Connell"s followers.
The Marquis of Reckington had come over to Ireland to "inaugurate," as the newspapers called it, a new policy; that is, he was to give to the working of the relief bill an extension and a significance which few either of its supporters or opposers in Parliament ever contemplated.
The inequality of the Romanist before the law he might have borne; social depreciation was a heavier evil, and one quite intolerable. Now, as the change to the new system required considerable tact and address, they intrusted the task to a most accomplished and well-bred gentleman; and were Ireland only to be won by dinner-parties, Lord Reckington must have been its victor.
To very high rank and great personal advantages he united a manner of the most perfect kind. Dignified enough always to mark his station and his own consciousness of it, it was cordial without effort, frank and easy without display. If he could speak with all the weight of authority, he knew how to listen with actual deference; and there was that amount of change and "play" in his demeanor that made his companion, whoever for the moment he might be, believe that his views and arguments had made a deep impression on the Viceroy. To those unacquainted with such men, and the school to which they belong, there might have appeared something unreal, almost dramatic, in the elegant gracefulness of his bow, the gentle affability of his smile, the undeviating courtesy which he bestowed on all around him; but they were all of the man himself,--his very instincts,--his nature.
It had apparently been amongst his Excellency"s instructions from his government to seek out such rising men of the Roman Catholic party as might be elevated and promoted on the just claims of their individual merits,--men, in fact, whose conduct and bearing would be certain to justify their selection for high office. It could not be supposed that a party long proscribed, long estranged from all partic.i.p.ation in power, could be rich in such qualifications. At the bar, the ablest men usually threw themselves into the career of politics, and of course by strong partisanship more or less prejudiced their claims to office. It was rare indeed to find one who, with the highest order of abilities, was satisfied to follow a profession whose best rewards were denied him.
Such was Joseph Nelligan when he was first "called," and such he continued to the very hour we now see him. Great as had been his college successes, his triumphs at the bar overtopped them all. They who remembered his shy and reserved manner wondered whence he came by his dignity; they who knew his youth could not imagine how he came by his "law."
Mr. M"Casky, the castle law-adviser, an old recruiting-serjeant of capacities, who had "tipped the shilling" to men of every party, had whispered his name to the Under-Secretary, who had again repeated it to the Viceroy. He was, as M"Casky said, "the man they wanted, with talent enough to confront the best of the opposite party, and wealthy enough to want nothing that can figure in a budget." Hence was he, then, there a favored guest, and seated on his Excellency"s left hand.
For the magic influence of that manner which we have mentioned as pertaining to the Viceroy, we ask for no better evidence than the sense of perfect ease which Joe Nelligan now enjoyed. The _suave_ dignity of the Marquis was blended with a something like personal regard, a mysterious intimation that seemed to say, "This is the sort of man I have long been looking for; how gratifying that I should have found him at last!" They concurred in so many points, too, not merely in opinions, but actually in the very expressions by which they characterized them; and when at last his Excellency, having occasion to quote something he had said, called him "Nelligan," the spell was complete.
Oh dear! when we torture our brains to legislate for apothecaries, endeavoring in some way or other to restrict the sale of those subtle ingredients on every grain or drop of which a human life may hang, why do we never think of those far more subtle elements of which great people are the dispensers,--flatteries more soothing than chloroform, smiles more lulling than poppy-juice! Imagine poor Nelligan under a course of this treatment, dear reader; fancy the delicious poison as it insinuates itself through his veins, and if you have ever been so drugged yourself, picture to your mind all the enjoyment he experienced.
By one of those adroit turns your social magician is master of, the Viceroy had drawn the conversation towards Nelligan"s county and his native town.
"I was to have paid a visit to poor Martin there," said he, "and I certainly should have looked in upon _you_."
Nelligan"s cheek was in a flame; pride and shame were both there, warring for the mastery.
"Poor fellow!" said his Excellency, who saw the necessity of a diversion, "I fear that he has left that immense estate greatly embarra.s.sed. Some one mentioned to me, the other day, that the heir will not succeed to even a fourth of the old property."
"I have heard even worse, my Lord," said Nelligan. "There is a rumor that he is left without a shilling."
"How very shocking! They are connections of my own!" said the Viceroy; as though what he said made the misery attain its climax.
"I am aware, my Lord, that Lady Dorothea is related to your Excellency, and I am surprised you have not heard the stories I allude to."
"But perhaps I am incorrect," said the Marquis. "It may be that I _have_ heard them; so many things pa.s.s through one"s ears every day. But here is Colonel Mas-singbred; he "s sure to know it. Ma.s.singbred, we want some news of the Martins--the Martins of--what is it called?"
"Cro" Martin, my Lord," said Nelligan, reddening.
"I hold the very latest news of that county in my hand, my Lord,"
replied the Secretary. "It is an express from my son, who writes from Oughterard."
Nelligan stood, scarcely breathing, with impatience to hear the tidings.
Colonel Ma.s.singbred ran his eyes over the first page of the letter, murmuring to himself the words; then turning over, he said: "Yes, here it is,--"While I write this, the whole town is in a state of intense excitement; the magistrates have sent in for an increased force of police, and even soldiery, to repress some very serious disturbances on the Martin property. It would appear that Merl--the man who a.s.sumes to claim the property, as having purchased the reversion from young Martin--was set upon by a large mob, and pursued, himself and his friends, for several miles across the country. They escaped with their lives, but have arrived here in a lamentable plight. There is really no understanding these people. It was but the other day, and there was no surer road to their favor than to abuse and vilify these same Martins, and now they are quite ready to murder any one who aspires to take their place. If one was to credit the stories afloat, they have already wreaked a fatal vengeance on some fellows employed by Merl to serve notices on the tenantry; but I believe that the outrages have really gone no further than such maltreatment as Irishmen like to give, and are accustomed to take.""
Here his Excellency laughed heartily, and Joe Nelligan looked grave.
Ma.s.singbred read on: ""Without being myself a witness to it, I never could have credited the almost feudal attachment of these people to an "Old House." The Radical party in the borough are, for the moment, proscribed, and dare not show themselves in the streets; and even Magennis, who so lately figured as an enemy to the Martins, pa.s.sed through the town this morning with his wife, with a great banner flying over his jaunting-car, inscribed "The Martins for Ever!" This burst of sentiment on his part, I ought to mention, was owing to a most devoted piece of heroism performed by Miss Martin, who sought out the lost one and brought her safely back, through a night of such storm and hurricane as few ever remember. Such an act, amidst such a people, is sure of its reward. The peasantry would, to a man, lay down their lives for her; and coming critically, as the incident did, just when a new proprietor was about to enforce his claim, you can fancy the added bitterness it imparted to their spirit of resistance. I sincerely trust that the magistrates will not accede to the demand for an increased force. A terrible collision is sure to be the result, and I know enough of these people to be aware of what can be done by a little diplomacy, particularly when the right negotiator is employed. I mean, therefore, to go over and speak to Mr. Nelligan, who is the only man of brains amongst the magistrates here.""
"A relative, I presume," said his Excellency.
"My father, my Lord," replied Joe, blushing.
"Oh! here is the result of his interview," said Ma.s.sing-bred, turning to the foot of the page. ""Nelligan quite agreed in the view I had taken, and said the people would a.s.suredly disarm and perhaps destroy any force we could send against them. He is greatly puzzled what course to adopt; and when I suggested the propriety of invoking Miss Martin"s aid, told me that this is out of the question, since she is on a sick-bed. While we were speaking, a Dublin physician pa.s.sed through on his way to visit her. This really does add to the complication, for she is, perhaps, the only one who could exert a great influence over the excited populace. In any other country it might read strangely, that it was to a young lady men should have recourse in a moment of such peril; but this is like no other country, the people like no other people, the young lady herself, perhaps, like no other young lady!""
By a scarcely perceptible movement of his head, and a very slight change of voice, Colonel Ma.s.singbred intimated to the Viceroy that there was something for his private ear, and Lord Reckington stepped back to hear it. Nelligan, too deeply occupied in his own thoughts to remark the circ.u.mstance, stood in the same place, silent and motionless.
"It is to this pa.s.sage," whispered the Secretary, "I want to direct your Excellency"s attention: "All that I see here," my son writes,--"all that I see here is a type of what is going on, at large, over the island. Old families uprooted, old ties severed; the people, with no other instinct than lawlessness, hesitating which side to take. Their old leaders, only bent upon the political, have forgotten the social struggle, and thus the ma.s.ses are left without guidance or direction. It is my firm conviction that the Church of Rome will seize the happy moment to usurp an authority thus unclaimed, and the priest step in between the landlord and the demagogue; and it is equally my belief that you can only r.e.t.a.r.d, not prevent, this consummation. If you should be of _my_ opinion, and be able to induce his Excellency to think with us, act promptly and decisively. Enlist the Roman Catholic laity in your cause before you be driven to the harder compact of having to deal with the clergy. And first of all, make--for fortunately you have the vacancy,--make young Nelligan your solicitor-general.""