Chapter XXV
"----they boast Their noble birth: conduct us to the tombs Of their forefathers, and from age to age Ascending, trumpet their illustrious race." COWPER.
Devoted as he was to the instruction of his adopted child, Edward Forsterwas nevertheless aware that more was required in the education of a femalethan he was competent to fulfil. Many and melancholy were his reveries onthe forlorn prospects of the little girl (considering his own precariouslife and the little chance that appeared of restoring her to her friendsand relations), still he resolved that all that could should be done; theissue he left to Providence. That she might not be cast wholly unknown uponthe world, in case of his death, he had often taken Amber to a neighbouringmansion, with the owner of which, Lord Aveleyn, he had long been onfriendly terms; although, until latterly, he had declined mixing with thesociety which was there collected. Many years before, the possessor hadentered the naval service, and had, during the few months that he hadserved in the capacity of midshipman, been intrusted to the charge ofEdward Forster.
It is a curious fact, although little commented upon, how much societyin general is affected by the entailment of property in aristocraticalfamilies upon the male heir; we may add, how much it is demoralised. Theeldest son, accustomed from his earliest days to the flattery andadulation of dependents, is impressed with but one single idea, namely,that he is the fortunate person deputed by chance to spend so manythousands per annum, and that his brothers and sisters, with equalclaims upon their parent, are to be almost dependent upon him forsupport. Of this, the latter are but too soon made conscious, by thedifference of treatment which they experience from those around them;and feelings of envy and ill-will towards their eldest brother are buttoo often the result of such inequality. Thus, one of the greatestcharms of life, unity between brethren, is destroyed.
The possessor of the title and the estates is at last borne to his longhome, there to lie until summoned before that Presence where he, andthose who were kings, and those who were clowns, will stand trembling aserring men, awaiting the fiat of eternal justice. In his turn, the younglord revels in his youth.
Then how much more trying is the situation of the younger brothers.During their father's lifetime they had a home, and were brought up inscenes and with ideas commensurate with the fortune which had beenentailed. Now, they find themselves thrown upon the world, without themeans of support, even adequate to their wants. Like the steward in theparable, "They cannot dig, to beg they are ashamed;" and, like him, theytoo often resort to unworthy means to supply their exigencies.
Should the young heir prove sickly, what speculations on his demise! Theworldly stake is so enormous that the ties of nature are dissolved, anda brother rejoices at a brother's death! One generation is notsufficient to remove these feelings; the barrenness of his marriage-bed,or the weakly state of his children, are successively speculated upon bythe presumptive heir. Let it not be supposed that I would infer thisalways to be the fact. I have put the extreme case, to point out whatmust ensue, according to the feelings of our nature, if care is nottaken to prevent its occurrence. There is a cruelty, a more thancruelty, in parents bringing up their children with ideas which seldomcan be realised, and rendering their future lives a pilgrimage of miseryand discontent, if not of depravity.
But the major part of our aristocracy are neither deficient in talentnor in worth. They set a bright example to the nobles of othercountries, and very frequently even to the less demoralised society ofour own. Trammelled by the deeds of their forefathers, they employ everymeans in their power to remedy the evil; and a large proportion oftheir younger branches find useful and honourable employment in thearmy, the navy, or the church. But their numbers cannot all be providedfor by these channels; and it is the country at large which is taxed tosupply the means of sustenance to the younger scions of nobility--taxeddirectly in the shape of place and sinecure, indirectly in various ways;but in no way so heavily as by the monopoly of the East India Company,which has so long been permitted to oppress the nation, that these_detrimentals_ (as they have named themselves), may be provided for. Itis a well-known fact, that there is hardly a peer in the Upper House, ormany representatives of the people in the lower, who are not, or whoanticipate to be, under some obligation to this Company, by theirrelations or connections being provided for in those distant climes; andit is this bribery (for bribery it is, in whatever guise it may appear)that upholds one of the most glaring, the most oppressive of allmonopolies, in the face of common sense, common justice, and commondecency. Other taxes are principally felt by the higher and middlingclasses; but this most odious, this most galling tax, is felt even inthe cottage of the labourer, who cannot return to refresh himself afterhis day of toil with his favourite beverage, without paying twice itsvalue out of his hard-earned pittance, to swell the dividend of theCompany, and support these _pruriencies_ of noble blood.
And yet, deprecating the evils arising from the system of entail, I mustacknowledge that there are no other means by which (in a monarchicalgovernment) the desirable end of upholding rank is to be obtained. Iremember once, when conversing with an American, I inquired after one ortwo of his countrymen, who, but a few years before, were of great wealthand influence. To one of my remarks he answered, "In our country, allthe wealth and power at the time attached to it does not prevent a namefrom sinking into insignificance, or from being forgotten soon after itspossessor is dead, for we do not entail property. The distributionscatters the amassed heap, by which the world around him had beenattracted; and although the distribution tends to the generalfertilisation of the country, yet with the disappearance, the influenceof the possessor, and even his name, are soon forgotten."
These remarks, as will appear in the sequel, are apposite to the partieswhom I am about to introduce to the readers. As, however, they arepeople of some consequence, it may appear to be a want of due respect onmy part, if I were to introduce them at the fag-end of a chapter.