CHAPTER XIII
Let the proud salmon gorge the feather'd hook, Then strike, and then you have him--He will wince; Spin out your line that it shall whistle from you Some twenty yards or so, yet you shall have him-- Marry! you must have patience--the stout rock Which is his trust, hath edges something sharp; And the deep pool hath ooze and sludge enough To mar your fishing--'less you are more careful. _Albion, or the Double Kings._
It is seldom that a day of pleasure, upon review, seems altogetherso exquisite as the partaker of the festivity may have felt it whilepassing over him. Nigel Olifaunt, at least, did not feel it so, and itrequired a visit from his new acquaintance, Lord Dalgarno, to reconcilehim entirely to himself. But this visit took place early afterbreakfast, and his friend's discourse was prefaced with a question, Howhe liked the company of the preceding evening?
"Why, excellently well," said Lord Glenvarloch; "only I should haveliked the wit better had it appeared to flow more freely. Every man'sinvention seemed on the stretch, and each extravagant simile seemed toset one half of your men of wit into a brown study to produce somethingwhich should out-herod it."
"And wherefore not?" said Lord Dalgarno, "or what are these fellows fitfor, but to play the intellectual gladiators before us? He of them whodeclares himself recreant, should, d--n him, be restricted to muddy ale,and the patronage of the Waterman's Company. I promise you, that many apretty fellow has been mortally wounded with a quibble or a carwitchetat the Mermaid, and sent from thence, in a pitiable estate, to Wit'shospital in the Vintry, where they languish to this day amongst foolsand aldermen."
"It may be so," said Lord Nigel; "yet I could swear by my honour, thatlast night I seemed to be in company with more than one man whose geniusand learning ought either to have placed him higher in our company, orto have withdrawn him altogether from a scene, where, sooth to speak,his part seemed unworthily subordinate."
"Now, out upon your tender conscience," said Lord Dalgarno; "and thefico for such outcasts of Parnassus! Why, these are the very leavings ofthat noble banquet of pickled herrings and Rhenish, which lost Londonso many of her principal witmongers and bards of misrule. What would youhave said had you seen Nash or Green, when you interest yourself aboutthe poor mimes you supped with last night? Suffice it, they had theirdrench and their doze, and they drank and slept as much as may savethem from any necessity of eating till evening, when, if they areindustrious, they will find patrons or players to feed them. [Footnote:The condition of men of wit and talents was never more melancholy thanabout this period. Their lives were so irregular, and their means ofliving so precarious, that they were alternately rioting in debauchery,or encountering and struggling with the meanest necessities. Two orthree lost their lives by a surfeit brought on by that fatal banquet ofRhenish wine and pickled herrings, which is familiar to those whostudy the lighter literature of that age. The whole history is a mostmelancholy picture of genius, degraded at once by its own debaucheries,and the patronage of heartless rakes and profligates.] For the rest oftheir wants, they can be at no loss for cold water while the NewRiver head holds good; and your doublets of Parnassus are eternal induration."
"Virgil and Horace had more efficient patronage," said Nigel.
"Ay," replied his countryman, "but these fellows are neither Virgil norHorace; besides, we have other spirits of another sort, to whom I willintroduce you on some early occasion. Our Swan of Avon hath sung hislast; but we have stout old Ben, with as much learning and genius asever prompted the treader of sock and buskin. It is not, however, ofhim I mean now to speak; but I come to pray you, of dear love, to row upwith me as far as Richmond, where two or three of the gallants whom yousaw yesterday, mean to give music and syllabubs to a set of beauties,with some curious bright eyes among them--such, I promise you, as mightwin an astrologer from his worship of the galaxy. My sister leads thebevy, to whom I desire to present you. She hath her admirers at Court;and is regarded, though I might dispense with sounding her praise, asone of the beauties of the time."
There was no refusing an engagement, where the presence of the partyinvited, late so low in his own regard, was demanded by a lady ofquality, one of the choice beauties of the time. Lord Glenvarlochaccepted, as was inevitable, and spent a lively day among the gayand the fair. He was the gallant in attendance, for the day, upon hisfriend's sister, the beautiful Countess of Blackchester, who aimed atonce at superiority in the realms of fashion, of power, and of wit.
She was, indeed, considerably older than her brother, and had probablycompleted her six lustres; but the deficiency in extreme youth was morethan atoned for, in the most precise and curious accuracy in attire,an early acquaintance with every foreign mode, and a peculiar giftin adapting the knowledge which she acquired, to her own particularfeatures and complexion. At Court, she knew as well as any lady in thecircle, the precise tone, moral, political, learned, or jocose, in whichit was proper to answer the monarch, according to his prevailing humour;and was supposed to have been very active, by her personal interest,in procuring her husband a high situation, which the gouty old viscountcould never have deserved by any merit of his own commonplace conductand understanding.
It was far more easy for this lady than for her brother, to reconcileso young a courtier as Lord Glenvarloch to the customs and habits ofa sphere so new to him. In all civilised society, the females ofdistinguished rank and beauty give the tone to manners, and, throughthese, even to morals. Lady Blackchester had, besides, interest eitherin the Court, or over the Court, (for its source could not be welltraced,) which created friends, and overawed those who might have beendisposed to play the part of enemies.
At one time, she was understood to be closely leagued with theBuckingham family, with whom her brother still maintained a greatintimacy; and, although some coldness had taken place betwixt theCountess and the Duchess of Buckingham, so that they were little seentogether, and the former seemed considerably to have withdrawn herselfinto privacy, it was whispered that Lady Blackchester's interest withthe great favourite was not diminished in consequence of her breach withhis lady.
Our accounts of the private Court intrigues of that period, and of thepersons to whom they were intrusted, are not full enough to enable us topronounce upon the various reports which arose out of the circumstanceswe have detailed. It is enough to say, that Lady Blackchester possessedgreat influence on the circle around her, both from her beauty, herabilities, and her reputed talents for Court intrigue; and that NigelOlifaunt was not long of experiencing its power, as he became a slave insome degree to that species of habit, which carries so many men into acertain society at a certain hour, without expecting or receiving anyparticular degree of gratification, or even amusement.
His life for several weeks may be thus described. The ordinary was nobad introduction to the business of the day; and the young lord quicklyfound, that if the society there was not always irreproachable, stillit formed the most convenient and agreeable place of meeting with thefashionable parties, with whom he visited Hyde Park, the theatres, andother places of public resort, or joined the gay and glittering circlewhich Lady Blackchester had assembled around her. Neither did heentertain the same scrupulous horror which led him originally even tohesitate entering into a place where gaming was permitted; but, on thecontrary, began to admit the idea, that as there could be no harm donein beholding such recreation when only indulged in to a moderate degree,so, from a parity of reasoning, there could be no objection to joiningin it, always under the same restrictions. But the young lord was aScotsman, habituated to early reflection, and totally unaccustomed toany habit which inferred a careless risk or profuse waste of money.Profusion was not his natural vice, or one likely to be acquired inthe course of his education; and, in all probability, while his fatheranticipated with noble horror the idea of his son approaching thegaming-table, he was more startled at the idea of his becoming a gainingthan a losing adventurer. The second, according to his principles, hada termination, a sad o
ne indeed, in the loss of temporal fortune--thefirst quality went on increasing the evil which he dreaded, and perilledat once both body and soul.
However the old lord might ground his apprehension, it was so farverified by his son's conduct, that, from an observer of the variousgames of chance which he witnessed, he came, by degrees, by moderatehazards, and small bets or wagers, to take a certain interest in them.Nor could it be denied, that his rank and expectations entitled him tohazard a few pieces (for his game went no deeper) against persons, who,from the readiness with which they staked their money, might be supposedwell able to afford to lose it.
It chanced, or, perhaps, according to the common belief, his evil geniushad so decreed, that Nigel's adventures were remarkably successful. Hewas temperate, cautious, cool-headed, had a strong memory, and a readypower of calculation; was besides, of a daring and intrepid character,one upon whom no one that had looked even slightly, or spoken tothough but hastily, would readily have ventured to practise any thingapproaching to trick, or which required to be supported by intimidation.While Lord Glenvarloch chose to play, men played with him regularly,or, according to the phrase, upon the square; and, as he found hisluck change, or wished to hazard his good fortune no farther, the moreprofessed votaries of fortune, who frequented the house of Monsieur leChevalier de Saint Priest Beaujeu, did not venture openly to expresstheir displeasure at his rising a winner. But when this happenedrepeatedly, the gamesters murmured amongst themselves equally at thecaution and the success of the young Scotsman; and he became far frombeing a popular character among their society.
It was no slight inducement to the continuance of this most evil habit,when it was once in some degree acquired, that it seemed to placeLord Glenvarloch, haughty as he naturally was, beyond the necessity ofsubjecting himself to farther pecuniary obligations, which his prolongedresidence in London must otherwise have rendered necessary. He had tosolicit from the ministers certain forms of office, which were to renderhis sign-manual effectually useful; and these, though they could not bedenied, were delayed in such a manner, as to lead Nigel to believe therewas some secret opposition, which occasioned the demur in his business.His own impulse was, to have appeared at Court a second time, with theking's sign-manual in his pocket, and to have appealed to his Majestyhimself, whether the delay of the public officers ought to render hisroyal generosity unavailing. But the Lord Huntinglen, that good oldpeer, who had so frankly interfered in his behalf on a former occasion,and whom he occasionally visited, greatly dissuaded him from a similaradventure, and exhorted him quietly to await the deliverance of theministers, which should set him free from dancing attendance in London.
Lord Dalgarno joined his father in deterring his young friend from asecond attendance at Court, at least till he was reconciled with theDuke of Buckingham--"a matter in which," he said, addressing his father,"I have offered my poor assistance, without being able to prevail onLord Nigel to make any--not even the least--submission to the Duke ofBuckingham."
"By my faith, and I hold the laddie to be in the right on't, Malcom!"answered the stout old Scots lord.--"What right hath Buckingham, or,to speak plainly, the son of Sir George Villiers, to expect homage andfealty from one more noble than himself by eight quarters? I heard himmyself, on no reason that I could perceive, term Lord Nigel his enemy;and it will never be by my counsel that the lad speaks soft word to him,till he recalls the hard one."
"That is precisely my advice to Lord Glenvarloch," answered LordDalgarno; "but then you will admit, my dear father, that it would be therisk of extremity for our friend to return into the presence, the dukebeing his enemy--better to leave it with me to take off the heat of thedistemperature, with which some pickthanks have persuaded the duke toregard our friend."
"If thou canst persuade Buckingham of his error, Malcolm," said hisfather, "for once I will say there hath been kindness and honesty inCourt service. I have oft told your sister and yourself, that in thegeneral I esteem it as lightly as may be."
"You need not doubt my doing my best in Nigel's case," answered LordDalgarno; "but you must think, my dear father, I must needs use slowerand gentler means than those by which you became a favourite twentyyears ago."
"By my faith, I am afraid thou wilt," answered his father.--"I tellthee, Malcolm, I would sooner wish myself in the grave, than doubtthine honesty or honour; yet somehow it hath chanced, that honest,ready service, hath not the same acceptance at Court which it has in myyounger time--and yet you rise there."
"O, the time permits not your old-world service," said LordDalgarno; "we have now no daily insurrections, no nightly attempts atassassination, as were the fashion in the Scottish Court. Your promptand uncourteous sword-in-hand attendance on the sovereign is nolonger necessary, and would be as unbeseeming as your old-fashionedserving-men, with their badges, broadswords, and bucklers, would be at acourt-mask. Besides, father, loyal haste hath its inconveniences. I haveheard, and from royal lips too, that when you stuck your dagger into thetraitor Ruthven, it was with such little consideration, that the pointran a quarter of an inch into the royal buttock. The kingnever talks of it but he rubs the injured part, and quotes his_'infandum-------renovare dolorem.'_ But this comes of old fashions, andof wearing a long Liddesdale whinger instead of a poniard of Parma. Yetthis, my dear father, you call prompt and valiant service. The king, Iam told, could not sit upright for a fortnight, though all the cushionsin Falkland were placed in his chair of state, and the Provost ofDunfermline's borrowed to the boot of all."
"It is a lie," said the old earl, "a false lie, forge it who list!--Itis true I wore a dagger of service by my side, and not a bodkin likeyours, to pick one's teeth withal--and for prompt service--Odds nouns!it should be prompt to be useful when kings are crying treason andmurder with the screech of a half-throttled hen. But you young courtiersknow nought of these matters, and are little better than the green geesethey bring over from the Indies, whose only merit to their masters is torepeat their own words after them--a pack of mouthers, and flatterers,and ear-wigs.--Well, I am old and unable to mend, else I would break alloff, and hear the Tay once more flinging himself over the Campsie Linn."
"But there is your dinner-bell, father," said Lord Dalgarno, "which, ifthe venison I sent you prove seasonable, is at least as sweet a sound."
"Follow me, then, youngsters, if you list," said the old earl; andstrode on from the alcove in which this conversation was held, towardsthe house, followed by the two young men.
In their private discourse, Lord Dalgarno had little trouble indissuading Nigel from going immediately to Court; while, on the otherhand, the offers he made him of a previous introduction to the Dukeof Buckingham, were received by Lord Glenvarloch with a positive andcontemptuous refusal. His friend shrugged his shoulders, as one whoclaims the merit of having given to an obstinate friend the bestcounsel, and desires to be held free of the consequences of hispertinacity.
As for the father, his table indeed, and his best liquor, of whichhe was more profuse than necessary, were at the command of his youngfriend, as well as his best advice and assistance in the prosecution ofhis affairs. But Lord Huntinglen's interest was more apparent than real;and the credit he had acquired by his gallant defence of the king'sperson, was so carelessly managed by himself, and so easily eluded bythe favourites and ministers of the sovereign, that, except upon one ortwo occasions, when the king was in some measure taken by surprise, asin the case of Lord Glenvarloch, the royal bounty was never efficientlyextended either to himself or to his friends.
"There never was a man," said Lord Dalgarno, whose shrewder knowledge ofthe English Court saw where his father's deficiency lay, "that had it soperfectly in his power to have made his way to the pinnacle of fortuneas my poor father. He had acquired a right to build up a staircase, stepby step, slowly and surely, letting every boon, which he begged yearafter year, become in its turn the resting-place for the next annualgrant. But your fortunes shall not shipwreck upon the same coast,Nigel," he would conclude. "If I have f
ewer means of influence than myfather has, or rather had, till he threw them away for butts of sack,hawks, hounds, and such carrion, I can, far better than he, improve thatwhich I possess; and that, my dear Nigel, is all engaged in your behalf.Do not be surprised or offended that you now see me less than formerly.The stag-hunting is commenced, and the prince looks that I should attendhim more frequently. I must also maintain my attendance on the duke,that I may have an opportunity of pleading your cause when occasionshall permit."
"I have no cause to plead before the duke," said Nigel, gravely; "I havesaid so repeatedly."
"Why, I meant the phrase no otherwise, thou churlish and suspiciousdisputant," answered Dalgarno, "than as I am now pleading the duke'scause with thee. Surely I only mean to claim a share in our royalmaster's favourite benediction, _Beati Pacifici_."
Upon several occasions, Lord Glenvarloch's conversations, both with theold earl and his son, took a similar turn and had a like conclusion. Hesometimes felt as if, betwixt the one and the other, not to mention themore unseen and unboasted, but scarce less certain influence of LadyBlackchester, his affair, simple as it had become, might have beensomehow accelerated. But it was equally impossible to doubt the roughhonesty of the father, and the eager and officious friendship of LordDalgarno; nor was it easy to suppose that the countenance of the lady,by whom he was received with such distinction, would be wanting, couldit be effectual in his service.
Nigel was further sensible of the truth of what Lord Dalgarno oftenpointed out, that the favourite being supposed to be his enemy, everypetty officer, through whose hands his affair must necessarily pass,would desire to make a merit of throwing obstacles in his way, whichhe could only surmount by steadiness and patience, unless he preferredclosing the breach, or, as Lord Dalgarno called it, making his peacewith the Duke of Buckingham.
Nigel might, and doubtless would, have had recourse to the advice of hisfriend George Heriot upon this occasion, having found it so advantageousformerly; but the only time he saw him after their visit to Court, hefound the worthy citizen engaged in hasty preparations for a journey toParis, upon business of great importance in the way of his profession,and by an especial commission from the Court and the Duke of Buckingham,which was likely to be attended with considerable profit. The good mansmiled as he named the Duke of Buckingham. He had been, he said, prettysure that his disgrace in that quarter would not be of long duration.Lord Glenvarloch expressed himself rejoiced at that reconciliation,observing, that it had been a most painful reflection to him, thatMaster Heriot should, in his behalf, have incurred the dislike, andperhaps exposed himself to the ill offices, of so powerful a favourite.
"My lord," said Heriot, "for your father's son I would do much; and yettruly, if I know myself, I would do as much and risk as much, for thesake of justice, in the case of a much more insignificant person, as Ihave ventured for yours. But as we shall not meet for some time, I mustcommit to your own wisdom the farther prosecution of this matter."
And thus they took a kind and affectionate leave of each other.
There were other changes in Lord Glenvarloch's situation, which requireto be noticed. His present occupations, and the habits of amusementwhich he had acquired, rendered his living so far in the city aconsiderable inconvenience. He may also have become a little ashamed ofhis cabin on Paul's Wharf, and desirous of being lodged somewhatmore according to his quality. For this purpose, he had hired a smallapartment near the Temple. He was, nevertheless, almost sorry for whathe had done, when he observed that his removal appeared to give somepain to John Christie, and a great deal to his cordial and officiouslandlady. The former, who was grave and saturnine in every thing he did,only hoped that all had been to Lord Glenvarloch's mind, and that he hadnot left them on account of any unbeseeming negligence on their part.But the tear twinkled in Dame Nelly's eye, while she recounted thevarious improvements she had made in the apartment, of express purposeto render it more convenient to his lordship.
"There was a great sea-chest," she said, "had been taken upstairs to theshopman's garret, though it left the poor lad scarce eighteen inchesof opening to creep betwixt it and his bed; and Heaven knew--she didnot--whether it could ever be brought down that narrow stair again. Thenthe turning the closet into an alcove had cost a matter of twenty roundshillings; and to be sure, to any other lodger but his lordship, thecloset was more convenient. There was all the linen, too, which she hadbought on purpose--But Heaven's will be done--she was resigned."
Everybody likes marks of personal attachment; and Nigel, whose heartreally smote him, as if in his rising fortunes he were disdaining thelowly accommodations and the civilities of the humble friends which hadbeen but lately actual favours, failed not by every assurance in hispower, and by as liberal payment as they could be prevailed upon toaccept, to alleviate the soreness of their feelings at his departure;and a parting kiss from the fair lips of his hostess sealed hisforgiveness.
Richie Moniplies lingered behind his master, to ask whether, in case ofneed, John Christie could help a canny Scotsman to a passage back to hisown country; and receiving assurance of John's interest to that effect,he said at parting, he would remind him of his promise soon.--"For,"said he, "if my lord is not weary of this London life, I ken one thatis, videlicet, mysell; and I am weel determined to see Arthur's Seatagain ere I am many weeks older."