Chapter 2

" Is it surprising that I should feel, at approaching thai house from which my husband and myself were exiled — nay, were even denied an entrance ? Can you imagine that I should be unmoved at the thoughts of beholding that family by whom we were rendered out- casts, and whom I have only known as my bitterest enemies ? "

THE INHERITANCE. 13

Mrs St Clair's voice and her colour both rose as she enumerated her injuries.

" Oh ! mamma, do not at such a time suffer your mind to dwell upon those painful recollections ; it is natural that melancholy thoughts should suggest them- selves ; but ah ! there is the castle," cried the

young heiress, forgetting all her mother's wrongs as the stately mansion now burst upon their view ; and again her heart exulted as she looked on its lofty turrets and long range of arched windows glittering in the golden rays of the setting sun. In another moment they found themselves at the entrance ; a train of richly liveried servants were stationed to receive them. Mrs St Clair's agitation increased — she stopped and leant upon her daughter, who feared she would have fainted ; but making an effort, she recovered her self-possession ; and following the servant, who led the way to the pre- sence of his lord, she gracefully presented her daughter to him, saying, " To your lordship's generous protection I commit my fatherless child."

Lord Rossville was a bulky, portentous-looking person, with nothing marked in his physiognomy except a pair of very black elevated eyebrows, which gave an unvarying expression of solemn astonishment to his countenance. He had a husky voice, and a very tedious elocution. He was some little time in pre- paring an answer to this address, but at last he replied, —

" I shall, rest assured, madam, make a point of ful- filling, to the utmost of my power and abilities, the highly important duties of the parental office." cf

He then saluted his sister-in-law and niece ; and, taking a hand of each, led them to a tall thin grey old woman, with a long inquisitive-looking nose, whom he named as Lady Betty St Clair.

Lady Betty rose from her seat with that sort of

14 THE INHERITANCE.

deliberate bustle which generally attends the rising up and the sitting down of old ladies, and may be intended to show that it is not an every- day affair with them to practise such condescension. Having taken off her spectacles, Lady Betty carefully deposited them within a large work-basket, out of which protruded a tiger's head in worsted work, and a volume of a novel. She next lifted a cambric handkerchief from off a fat sleepy lapdog which lay upon her knees, and deposited it on a cushion at her feet. She then put aside a small fly table, which stood before her as a sort of outwork ; and thus freed from all impediments, welcomed her guests ; and after regarding them with looks only expressive of stupid curiosity, she motioned to them to be seated, and replaced herself with even greater commotion than she had risen up. Such a reception was not calculated to call forth feelings of the most pleasurable kind; and Gertrude felt chilled at manners so different from the bland courtesy to which she had been accustomed, and her heart sunk at the thoughts of being domesticated with people who appeared so dull and unpleasing. The very apartment seemed to partake of the character of its inmates ; it had neither the solid magnificence of ancient times, nor the elegant luxury of the present age ; neither the grotesque ornaments of antiquity, nor the amusing litter of fashionable baubles for the eye to have recourse to. Lady Betty's huge work-basket was the only indication that the apartment was inhabited — an air of stiff propriety, of splendid discomfort, reigned through- out.

The usual, and more than the usual questions, were put by the Earl and his sister, as to time and distance, and roads and drivers, and inns and beds, and weather and dust ; and all were answered by Mrs St Clair in the manner most calculated to conciliate those with whom she conversed — till, in the course of half an

THE INHERITANCE. 15

hour, Lord Rossville was of opinion that she was one of the best-bred, best-informed, most sensible, ladylike women he had ever conversed with — and his lordship was not a person who was apt to form hasty opinions upon any subject.

Lord Rossville's character was one of those whose traits, though minute, are as strongly marked as though they had been cast in a large mould. But as not even the powers of the microscope can impart strength and beauty to the object it magnifies, so no biographer could /

have exaggerated into virtues the petty foibles of his V, .-

mind. Yet the predominating qualities were such as often cast a false glory around their possessor — for the love of power and the desire of human applause were the engrossing principles of his soul. In strong capa- cious minds, and in great situations, these incentives often produce brilliant results ; but in a weak, con- tracted mind, moving in the narrow sphere of domestic life, they could only circulate through the thousand little channels that tend to increase or impair domestic happiness. As he was not addicted to any particular vice, he considered himself as a model of perfect virtue ; and having been, in some respects, very prosperous in his fortune, he was thoroughly satisfied that he was a person of the most consummate wisdom. With these ideas of himself, it is not surprising that he should have deemed it his bounden duty to direct and manage every man, woman, child, or animal, who came within his sphere, and that, too, in the most tedious and torment- ing manner. Perhaps the most teazing point in his character was his ambition — the fatal ambition of thousands — to be thought an eloquent and impressive speaker, even on the commonest affairs of domestic life : for this purpose, he always used ten times as many words as were necessary to express his meaning, and those too of the longest and strongest description.

l6 THE INHERITANCE.

Another of his tormenting peculiarities was his desire of explaining every thing, by which he always per- plexed and mystified the simplest subject. Yet he had his good points ; for he wished to see those around him happy, provided he was the dispenser of their happiness, and that they were happy precisely in the manner and degree he thought proper. He was a sort of petty benevolent tyrant ; and any attempt to enlarge his soul, or open his understanding, would have been in vain. His mind was already full, as full as it could hold, of little thoughts, little plans, little notions, little pre- judices, little whims, and nothing short of regeneration could have made him otherwise. He had a code of laws, a code of proprieties, a code of delicacies, all his own, and he had long languished for subjects to execute them upon. Mrs St Clair and her daughter were therefore no small acquisitions to his family — he looked upon them as two very fine pieces of wax, ready to receive whatever impression he chose to give them ; and the humble confiding manner in which his niece had been committed to him had at once secured both to mother and daughter his favour and protection. Lady Betty's character does not possess materials to furnish so long a commentary. She was chiefly remark- able for the quantity of worsted work she executed, which, for a person of her time of life, was considered no less extraordinary than meritorious. She was now employed on her fifth rug — the colours were orange and blue — the pattern an orange tiger couchant picked out with scarlet upon an azure ground. She also read all the novels and romances which it is presumed are pub- lished for the exclusive benefit of superannuated old women, and silly young ones ; such as " The Enchanted Head"— "The Invisible Hand"— "The Miraculous Nuptials," &c. &c. She was now in the midst of " Bewildered Affections, or All is not Lost," which

THE INHERITANCE. I 7

she was reading, unconsciously, for the third time, with unbroached delight. Lastly, she carefully watched over a fat, pampered, ill-natured lapdog, and asked a great many useless questions which few people thought of answering.

These were the only members of the family who appeared ; but Lord Rossville mentioned that two of his nephews were on a visit in the neighbourhood, and might be expected the following day.

" Since you are now, madam," said he, addressing Mrs St Clair, " become as it were incorporated in the Rossville family, it is proper and expedient that you should be made acquainted with all its members. I do not mean that acquaintance which a personal intro- duction conveys, but that knowledge which we acquire by a preconceived opinion, founded upon the experience of those on whose judgment and accuracy we can rely. I shall therefore give you such information regarding the junior members of this family as observation and opportunity have afforded me, and which, I flatter myself, may not prove altogether unacceptable or un- availing." The Earl paused, hemmed, and proceeded. " The senior of the two juvenile members to whom you will, in all probability, be introduced in the course of a very short period, is Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Delmour, youngest son of the late Lord George Del- mour, who was second son of James Duke of Burlington, by the Marchioness of Effenford, widow of the deceased Charles Chaloner, Marquis of Effenford, who died at an early period, leaving one son, the present Augustus Marquis of Effenford, married to the Lady Isabella Cadrington, daughter of the Duke of Litchfield, and one daughter, the present much-admired Countess of Lymington ; — on the other hand, William Henry, the present Duke of Burlington, espoused the only daughter of that illustrious statesman John Earl of Harleigh, by

1 8 THE INHERITANCE.

whom he has issue one son, the Marquis of Haslingden, now abroad on account of the delicate and precarious state of his health. Thus it happens, and I hope I have made it sufficiently clear, that certain members of this family are at the same time united either by consan- guinity, or by collateral connection of no remote degree, with many — I might say with most — of the illustrious families in the sister kingdom.

" My sister, the Lady Augustus Delmour, widow of the late Lord George Delmour, at present resides in the metropolis with her three daughters — one of whom is, I understand, on the eve of forming a highly honourable and advantageous alliance with the eldest son of a certain Baronet of large fortune and extensive property in the southern extremity of the island — but of this it might not be altogether delicate to say more at present. Colonel Frederick Delmour, then — the sub- ject of our more immediate consideration — is in himself a gentleman of figure, fashion, accomplishments, and of * / very distinguished bravery in his highly honourable V profession. He has already had the honour of being twice slightly wounded in the field of battle, and in being made very honourable mention of in the despatches from the Earl of Marsham to his Royal Highness the Commander-in-chief. In these respects, the dignity and untarnished honour of the noble families to which he belongs have suffered no diminution in his person ; but it is to his elder brother " (and he now turned towards Miss St Clair) " that we — that is, the Duke of Burlington and myself — look as to one who is to add still greater lustre to the coronets with which he is so intimately connected. To all the natural advantages, accomplishments, and acquirements of his brother, he unites address and abilities of the highest order, by means of which he has already acted a most distin- guished part in the senate, and bids fair to become one

THE INHERITANCE. 1 9

of the first, if not the first, statesman of this, or, indeed, of any age." The Earl paused, as if overcome with the prophetic visions which crowded on his mind.

" What time of night is it ? '' asked Lady Betty.

The Earl, recalled from his high anticipations, and reminded of the lapse of time, resumed his discourse, but in a less lofty tone. " The junior member of this family, whom I have now to present to you, is Edward Lyndsay, esquire, of Lynnwood, in this county, only child of the late Edward Lyndsay of Lynnwood, esquire, and my youngest sister, the deceased Lady Jane St Clair. The late Mr Lyndsay was descended from an ancient and highly respectable family, but, by certain ancestral imprudences, was considerably involved and embarrassed during his life, insomuch that he was under the necessity of accepting a situation in one of our colonial settlements, whither he was accompanied by Lady Jane. Both, I lament to say, fell victims, in a short period, to the pestilential effects of the climate, leaving this young man, then an infant of three years and a half old, to my sole protection and guardianship. How these duties were discharged it is not for me to say ; only, in justice to myself, I deem it right and proper to state, that at the expiry of the minority, the estate then was (I say nothing of the means or manage- ment— let these speak for themselves — I simply deem it due to myself to state that the estate was then) free !

If it is so no longer " And the Earl bowed, and

waved his hands in that significant manner which says, " I wash my hands of it." But his lordship took a long time even to wash his hands ; for he still went on — " Had Mr Lyndsay followed the path which, with infinite consideration, I had marked out for him, he might now, by means of those great and noble family connections he possesses, have been on the high road to honour, wealth, distinction, and self-approbation. As

20 THE INHERITANCE.

it is, he has chosen, contrary to my recommendation, to decline the highly advantageous situation offered to him in our Asiatic dominions, assigning as his sole reason that he was satisfied with what he already had, and meant to devote himself to the management and im- provement of his own estate. A young man in his situation in life, scarcely yet twenty-six years of age, highly educated, as I made it a point he should be, and possessed of an ancient family estate, by no means great, and, I much fear, not wholly unincumbered, to refuse a situation of such honour, emolument, and patronage ! — Mr Lyndsay may be a good man ; but it was my most anxious wish and endeavour to have made him more — I would have made him had he submitted to my guidance and control — I would have made him a great man ! ''

The solemn and dignified silence which followed this was happily broken by the announcement of supper. The evening wore slowly away, for each minute seemed like a drop of lead to Miss St Clair, who was more of an age and temperament to enjoy than to endure. At length it ended, and she retired to her apartment with mingled feelings of pleasure and disappointment.

THE INHERITANCE. 21

Chapter it).

O life ! how pleasant in thy morning, Young Fancy's rays thy hills adorning ! Cold-pausing Caution's lessons scorning.

We frisk away, Like schoolboys at th' expected warning,

To joy and play.

Burns.

THE following morning Gertrude rose early, im- patient to take an unmolested survey of what she already looked upon as her own. The suite of public rooms engaged but little of her attention ; she had already settled, in her own mind, that these must be completely new furnished, and with this sweeping resolution she passed quickly through them, merely stopping to examine the few pictures they contained. An open door, an almost dark passage, and a turnpike stair, at length presented themselves as stimulants to her curiosity, and tempted her to diverge from the straight line she had hitherto followed. It was the original part of the building, to which a modern Gothic front had been affixed, and she soon found herself in all the inextricable maze of long narrow passages, leading only to disappointment, — steps which seemed to have been placed as if on purpose to make people stumble — and little useless rooms, which looked as if they had been contrived solely for the pastime of hide-and-seek. At length she entered one she guessed to be Lord Ross- ville's study, and was hastily retreating, when her eye was caught by an old-fashioned glass door opening upon a shrubbery. She tried to open it, but it was locked ; the prospect from without was alluring, and she felt unwilling to turn away from it ; the windows were but a little distance from the ground, and, having opened

2 2 THE INHERITANCE.

one, and smelt the perfume of the violets that grew beneath, her next impulse was to spring lightly through it into the garden. As she inhaled the fresh morning air, fraught with the sweets of early summer, where " the scent comes and goes like the warbling of music," and looked on the lovely landscape as it shone in the deep calm radiance of the morning sun, her heart, glowing with all the joyousness of youth and health, exulted in the brightness of creation. She wandered to a considerable distance, till, having gained the top of an eminence, she stood to admire the effect of some cottages situated on the green shelving bank which overhung the river. " What a pretty picturesque thing a cottage is," thought she to herself; " how gracefully its smoke rises from among the trees, and contrasts with the clear atmosphere around. When this is mine, I will certainly have some pretty cottages built in sight of the castle, and have the good people to dance on the green sward before their doors in an evening when their work is done. O, how easy it must be to be good, when one has the power of doing good ! "

Ignorant of herself and of the nature of the human heart, Gertrude believed that to nvill and to do were one and the same ; as yet untaught that all vague base- less schemes of virtue, all vain romantic dreams of bene- volence, are as much the cobwebs of imagination as the air-built castles of human happiness, whether of love, glory, riches, or ambition.

The beauty of the morning — the interest each object excited — the songs of the birds — the smell of the open- ing flowers — the sound of the waters — all combined to lull her visionary mind into an Elysium of her own creating ; and as she walked along, in all the ideal enjoyment of her Utopian schemes, she found herself at the door of one of those cottages whose picturesque appearance had charmed her so much at a distance. A

THE INHERITANCE. 23

nearer survey, however, soon satisfied her that the view owed all its charms to distance. Some coarse, lint- haired, mahogany- faced, half naked urchins, with brown legs and black feet, were dabbling in a gutter before the door ; while some bigger ones were pursuing a pig and her litter, seemingly for the sole purpose of amusement.

" What a pity those children are all so ugly ! " thought Miss St Clair; "it would have been so delight- ful to have had them all nicely dressed, and have taught them myself ; but they are so frightful, I could have no pleasure in seeing them." However, she overcame her repugnance so far as to accost them. " Should not you like to be made nice and clean, and have pretty new clothes ? "

" Ay ! " answered one of them with a broad stare, and still broader accent.

" And to go to school, and be taught to read and write, and work ? "

"Naw ! " answered the whole troop with one voice, as they renewed their splashing with fresh vigour. Miss St Clair made no farther attempts in that quarter ; but she entered the cottage, carefully picking her steps, and wrapping her garments close round her, to prevent their contracting any impurities. The smoke, which had figured so gracefully out of doors, had a very different effect within, and she stood a few minutes on the threshold before she could summon courage to pene- trate farther. At length, as her eyes got accustomed to the palpable obscure, she discovered the figure of a man, seated in a wooden chair by the fire in a ragged coat and striped woollen nightcap. "He is ill, poor creature," thought she ; and quickly advancing, she wished him good morning. Her salutation was respect- fully returned ; and the man, making an effort to rise, invited her to be seated with considerable courtesy.

" I am afraid you are ill," said Gertrude, declining

24 THE INHERITANCE.

the invitation, and looking with compassion on his lean sallow visage.

" Oo, Meed he's very ill, my leddy,'* cried a voice from behind ; and presently advanced a stout, blooming, broad-faced dame, clad in a scanty blue flannel petticoat and short gown. She was encompassed by a girr or hoop supporting two stoups,"^ a piece of machinery altogether peculiar to Scotland. Having disengaged herself from this involvement or convolvement, she dropped a courtesy to her guest ; and then wiping down a chair, pressed her to be seated.

" The gudeman's really extraordinar ill, my leddy," continued she in a high key. "I'm sure I ken na what to do wi' him ; it was at first a sutten doon cauld, an' noo he's fa'n in till a sort o' a dwinin like, an' atweel I dinna think he'll e'er get the better o't."