CHAPTER XVII. LADY DOROTHEA'S LETTER
Though it was late when Repton took his departure, Mary Martin feltno inclination for sleep, but addressed herself at once to examine theletter bag, whose contents seemed more than usually bulky. Amid a massof correspondence about the estate, she came at length upon the foreignletters, of which there were several from the servants to their friendsor relations at Cro' Martin,--all, as usual, under cover to Miss Martin;and at last she found one in Lady Dorothea's own hand, for herself,--avery rare occurrence; nay, indeed, it was the first epistle her Ladyshiphad favored her with since her departure.
It was not, then, without curiosity as to the cause that Mary broke thelarge seal and read as follows:--
"Carlsruhe, Saturday Evening, Cour de Bade.
"My dear Niece,--It was only yesterday, when looking over your uncle'spapers, I chanced upon a letter of yours, dated some five or six weeksback, and which, to my great astonishment, I discovered had never beencommunicated to me,--though this mark of deficient confidence willdoubtless seem less surprising to _you_.
"To bring your letter to your mind, _I_ may observe it is one in whichyou describe the condition of the people on the estate, and the fatalinroads then making upon them by famine and pestilence. It is not myintention here to advert to what may possibly be a very natural errorin your account,--the exaggerated picture you draw of their sufferings;your sympathy with them, and your presence to witness much of what theyare enduring, will explain and excuse the highly colored statement oftheir sorrows. It were to be wished that an equally valid apology couldbe made for what I am forced to call the importunity of your demands intheir favor. Five of your six last letters now before me are filledwith appeals for abatements of rent, loans to carry out improvements,stipends for schoolmasters, doctors, scripture-readers, and a tribe ofother hangers-on, that really seem to augment in number as the pauperismof the people increases. However ungracious the task of disparaging theaccuracy of your view, I have no other alternative but to accept it, andhence I am forced to pen these lines myself in preference to committingthe office to another.
"It really seems to me that you regard our position as landedproprietors in the light of a mere stewardship, and that it is ourbounden duty to expend upon the tenantry the proceeds of the estate,reserving a scanty percentage, perhaps, for ourselves to live upon. Howyou came to this opinion, and whence you acquired it, I have no means ofknowing. If, however, it has been the suggestion of your own genius, itis right you should know that you hold doctrines in common with the mostdistinguished communists of modern times, and are quite worthy of a seatof honor beside those who are now convulsing society throughout Europe.
"I am unwilling to utter anything like severity towards errors, manyof which take their rise in a mistaken and ill-directed benevolence,because the original fault of committing the management of this propertyto your hands was the work of another. Let me hope that sincere sorrowfor so fatal a mistake may not be the primary cause of his presentattack--"
When Mary read so far, she started with a sudden fear; and turning overthe pages of the long letter, she sought for some allusion to her uncle.At length she found the following lines:--"Your cousin would haveleft this for Ireland, but for the sudden seizure your poor uncle hassuffered from, and which came upon him after breakfast, in apparentlyhis ordinary health. The entire of the left side is attacked,--the faceparticularly,--and his utterance quite inarticulate."
For some minutes she could read no more; the warm tears rolled down hercheeks and dropped heavily on the paper, and she could only mutter toherself, "My poor, dear uncle,--my last, my only friend in the world!"Drying her eyes, with a great effort she read on:--
"The remedies have been so far successful as to arrest the progressof the malady, and his appetite is good, and his spirits, everythingconsidered, are excellent. Of course, all details of business arestrictly excluded from his presence; and your cousin has assumedwhatever authority is necessary to the management of the property. Wethought at one time your presence here might have been desirable, but,considering the distance, the difficulty of travelling without suitablecompanionship, and other circumstances, it would, on the whole, be astep we should not recommend; and, indeed, your uncle himself has notexpressed any wishes on the subject."
She dropped the letter at these words, and, covering her face with herhands, sobbed bitterly and long; at length, and with an effort whichtaxed her strength to the utmost, she read on:--
"Although, however, you are to remain at Cro' Martin, it will be morethan ever imperative you should reduce the establishment there withinthe very strictest possible limits; and to begin this-reform, I 'm fullyassured it is necessary you should depose old Mrs. Broon, who is reallyincapable of her duties, while her long-acquired habits of expenserender her incompatible with any new regulations to enforce economy. Amoderate pension--something, however, in accordance with her realwants and requirements, rather than what might be called herexpectations--should be settled upon her, and there are several farmerson the estate, any one of whom would gladly take charge of her. Thegardens still figure largely in the account, and considering the verylittle probability of our makings the place a residence again, mightbe turned to more profitable use. You will confer with Henderson onthe subject, and inquire how far it might be advisable to cultivatevegetables for market, or convert them into paddocks for calves, or,in short, anything which, if less remunerative, should still save theenormous outlay we now hear of I scarcely like to allude to the stable,knowing how much you lean to the enjoyment of riding and driving; butreally these are times when retrenchment is called for at every hand;and I am persuaded that for purposes of health walking is infinitelybetter than carriage exercise. I know myself, that since I have taken tothe habit of getting out of the carriage at the wells, and walking twiceround the parterre, I feel myself braced and better for the day.
"It is not improbable but when the changes I thus suggest, and otherssimilar to them, are enacted, that you will see to what little purposea large house is maintained for the mere accommodation of a singleindividual, without suitable means, or indeed any reason whatever, todispense them. If then, I say, you should come to this conviction,--atwhich I have already arrived,--a very great saving might be effectedby obtaining a tenant for Cro' Martin, while you, if still desirous ofremaining in the county, might be most comfortably accommodated at theHendersons'."
Three times did Mary Martin read over this passage before she couldbring herself to believe in its meaning; and hot tears of sorrow courseddown her cheeks as she became assured of its import.
"It is not," went on the epistle--"it is not in your uncle's presentmost critical state that I could confer with him on this project,nor strengthen my advice by what most probably would be _his_ also. Itherefore make the appeal simply to your own sense of what you maythink in accordance with our greatly increased outlay and your ownrequirements. Should you receive this suggestion in the spirit in whichit is offered, I think that both for your uncle's satisfaction and yourown dignity, the proposal ought to come from yourself. You could make itto me in a letter, stating all the reasons in its favor, and of coursenot omitting to lay suitable stress upon the isolation of your presentlife, and the comfort and security you would derive from the protectionof a family. Mrs. H. is really a very nice person, and her tastes andhabits would render her most companionable; and she would, of course,make you an object of especial attention and respect. It is, besides,not impossible that the daughter may soon return--though this is a pointI have not leisure to enter upon at present. A hundred a year would he avery handsome allowance for Henderson, and indeed for that sum he oughtto keep your pony, if you still continue your taste for equipage. Youwould thus be more comfortable, and really richer,--that is, havemore disposable means--than you have hitherto had. I forbear to insistfurther upon what--till it has your own approval--may be a vain advocacyon my part. I can only say, in conclusion, that in adopting this planyou would equally consult what is due
to your own dignity, as what isrequired by your uncle's interests. Your cousin, I am forced to avow it,has been very silly, very inconsiderate, not alone in contracting heavydebts, but in raising large sums to meet them at fabulous rates ofinterest. The involvements threaten, from what I can gather, to imperila considerable part of the estate, and we are obliged to send forScanlan to come out here, and confer with him as to the means ofextrication. I feel there is much to be said in palliation of errorswhich have their origin in high and generous qualities. Plantagenetwas thrown at a very early age into the society of a most expensiveregiment, and naturally contracted the tastes and habits around him.Poor fellow, he is suffering severely from the memory of these earlyindiscretions, and I see that nothing but a speedy settlement of hisdifficulties will ever restore him to his wonted spirits. You will thusperceive, that if my suggested change of life to you should not conformentirely to your wishes, that you are in reality only accepting yourshare of the sacrifices called for from each of us.
"There are a great number of other matters on which I wished totouch,--some, indeed, are not exactly within your province, such asthe political fortunes of the borough, whose seat Mr. Massingbred hasdetermined to vacate. Although not admitting the reason for his conduct,I am strongly convinced that the step is a mere acknowledgment ofan error on his part, and an effort, however late, at the _amendehonorable_. The restitution, for so I am forced to regard it, comes mostinopportunely, since it would be a most ill-chosen moment in which toincur the expense of a contested election; besides that, really yourcousin has no desire whatever for Parliamentary honors. Plantagenet,however, would seem to have some especial intentions on the subjectwhich he keeps secret, and has asked of Massingbred not to send offhis farewell address to the constituency for some days. But I will notcontinue a theme so little attractive to you.
"Dr. Schubart has just called to see your uncle. He is not altogetherso satisfied with his state as I could have hoped; he advises change ofscene, and a little more intercourse with the world, and we have somethought of Nice, if we cannot get on to Naples. Dr. S., to whom I spokeon the subject of your Irish miseries, tells me that cholera is nowthe most manageable of all maladies, if only taken early; that you mustenjoin the persons attacked to a more liberal diet, no vegetables, anda sparing use of French wines, excepting, he says, the generous 'Vins duMidi.' There is also a mixture to be taken--of which he promised methe prescription--and a pill every night of arnica or aconite--I 'm notquite certain which--but it is a perfect specific. He also adds, whatmust be felt as most reassuring, that the disease never attacks but thevery poorest of the population. As to typhus, he smiled when I spokeof it. It is, he says, a mere 'Gastrite,' a malady which modern scienceactually despises. In fact, my dear niece, these would seem, like allother Irish misfortunes, the mere offshoots of her own dark ignoranceand barbarism. If it were not for the great expense--and of course thatconsideration decides the question--I should have requested you to sendover your doctor here to confer with Dr. Schubart. Indeed, I thinkit might be a very reasonable demand to make of the Government, butunhappily my present 'relations' with my relative Lord Reckingtonpreclude any advances of mine in that quarter.
"I was forgetting to add that, with respect to cholera, and indeed fevergenerally, that Dr. S. lays great stress upon what he calls the moraltreatment of the people, amusing their minds by easily learned games andsimple pleasures. I fear me, however, that the coarser natures of ourpopulation may not derive adequate amusement from the resources whichwould have such eminent success with the enlightened peasant of theRhine land. Dr. S., I may remark, is a very distinguished writer onpolitics, and daily amazes us with the astounding speculations he isforming as to the future condition of Europe. His conviction is that ourgreat peril is Turkey, and that Mohammedanism will be the religionof Europe before the end of the present century. Those new bathsestablished at Brighton by a certain Hamet are a mere political agency,a secret propaganda, which his acuteness has alone penetrated. MissHenderson has ventured to oppose these views with something not very farfrom impertinent ridicule, and for some time back, Dr. S. only discussesthem with myself alone.
"I had left the remainder of the sheet for any intelligence that mightoccur before post hour, but I am suddenly called away, and shall closeit at once. When I was sitting with your uncle awhile ago, I _half_broached the project I was suggesting to you, and he seemed highly toapprove of so much as I ventured to tell him. Nothing then is wantingbut your own concurrence to make it as practicable as it is deemedadvisable by your affectionate aunt,
"Dorothea Martin."
The eccentricities of her aunt's character had always served asextenuating circumstances with Mary Martin. She knew the violence ofher prejudices, the enormous amount of her self-esteem, and the facilitywith which she was ever able to persuade herself that whatever shewished to do assumed at once all the importance and gravity of a duty!This thorough appreciation of her peculiarities enabled Mary to bearup patiently under many sore trials and some actual wrongs. Where theoccasion was a light one, she could afford to smile at such trials, and,even in serious cases, they palliated the injustice; but here was aninstance wherein all her forgiveness was in vain. To take the moment ofher poor uncle's illness--that terrible seizure, which left him withoutself-guidance, if even a will--to dictate these hard and humiliatingterms, was a downright cruelty. Nor did it diminish the suffering whichthat letter cost her that its harsh conditions seemed dictated by aspirit of contempt for Ireland and its people. As Mary re-read theletter, she felt that every line breathed this tone of depreciation. Itwas to her Ladyship a matter of less than indifference what became ofthe demesne, who inhabited the house,--the home of "the Martins" forcenturies! She was as little concerned for the prestige of "the oldfamily," as she was interested for the sorrows of the people. If Maryendeavored to treat these things dispassionately to her own heart,by dwelling upon all the points which affected others, still, her ownindividual wrong would work to the surface, and the bitter and insultingsuggestion made to her rose up before her in all its enormity.
She did her very best to turn her thoughts into some other channel,--tofix them upon her poor uncle, on his sick-bed, and sorrowing as hewas sure to be; to think of her cousin Harry, struggling against theembarrassments of his own imprudence; of the old housekeeper, CattyBroon, to whom she could not summon courage to speak the cruel tidingsof her changed lot,--but all, all in vain; back she would come to thehumiliation that foreshadowed her own fortune, and threatened to deposeher from her station forever.
An indignant appeal to her uncle--her own father's brother--was herfirst resolve. "Let me learn," said she to herself, "from his own lips,that such is the destiny he assigns me; that in return for my triedaffection, my devotion, he has no other recompense than to lower me inself-esteem and condition together. Time enough, when assured ofthis, to decide upon what I shall do. But to whom shall I address thisdemand?" thought she again. "That dear, kind uncle is now struck downby illness. It were worse than cruelty to add to his own sorrows anythought of _mine_. If he have concurred in Lady Dorothea's suggestion,who knows in what light it may have been presented to him, by whatarguments strengthened, with what perils contrasted? Is it impossible,too, that the sacrifice may be imperative? The sale of part of theproperty, the pressure of heavy claims,--all show that it may benecessary to dispose of Cro' Martin. Oh," exclaimed she, in agony,"it is but a year ago, that when Mr. Repton hinted vaguely at such acasualty, how stoutly and indignantly did I reject it!
"'Your uncle may choose to live abroad,' said he; 'to sell the estate,perhaps.' And I heard him with almost scornful defiance; and now thehour is come! and even yet I cannot bring myself to believe it. WhenRepton drew the picture of the tenantry, forsaken and neglected, thepoor unnoticed, and the sick uncared for, he still forgot to assign memy place in the sad 'tableau,' and show that in destitution my lot wasequal to their own; the very poorest and meanest had yet some spot, poorand mean though it were, they called a home, that
Mary Martin was theonly one an outcast!"
These gloomy thoughts were darkened as she bethought her that of herlittle fortune--on which, by Scanlan's aid, she had raised a loan--amere fragment remained,--a few hundred pounds at most. The outlay onhospitals and medical assistance for the sick had more than quadrupledwhat she had estimated. The expense once begun, she had persevered withalmost reckless determination. She had despatched to Dublin, one by one,the few articles of jewelry and value she possessed for sale; she hadlimited her own expenditure to the very narrowest bounds, nor was ittill driven by the utmost urgency that she wrote the appeal to her uncleof which the reader already knows.
"How I once envied Kate Henderson," cried she, aloud, "the brilliantaccomplishments she possessed, the graceful charm that her cultivationthrew over society, and the fascination she wielded, by acquirements ofwhich I knew nothing; but how much more now do I envy her, that in thosesame gifts her independence was secured,--that, high above the chancesof the world, she could build upon her own efforts, and never descend toa condition of dependence!"
Her diminished power amongst the people had been fully compensated bythe sincere love and affection she had won from them by acts of charityand devotion. Even these, however, owed much of their efficacy to theprestige of her station. No peasant in Europe puts so high a value onthe intercourse with a rank above his own as does the Irish. The mostpleasant flattery to his nature is the notice of "the gentleman," andit was more than half the boon Mary bestowed upon the poor, that shewho sat down beside the bed, who heated the little drink, who raised thehead to swallow it, was the daughter of the Great House! Would not heraltered fortune destroy this charm? was now her bitter reflection. Upto this hour, greatly reduced as were the means she dispensed, and theinfluence she wielded, she still lived in the proud home of her family,and all regarded her as the representative of her honored name. Butnow--No, she could not endure the thought! "If I must descend to furtherprivations," said she to herself, "let me seek out some new scene,--somespot where I am unknown, have never been heard of; there, at least, Ishall be spared the contrast of the past with the present, nor see inevery incident the cruel mockery of my former life.
"And yet," thought she, "how narrow-minded and selfish is all this, howmean-spirited, to limit the question to my own feelings! Is there noduty involved in this sacrifice? Shall I not still--reduced though I bein fortune--shall I not still be a source of comfort to many here? Willnot the very fact of my presence assure them that they are not deserted?They have seen me under some trials, and the lesson has not beenfruitless. Let them then behold me, under heavier ones, not dismayed norcast down. What I lose in the prestige of station I shall more than gainin sympathy; and so I remain!" No sooner was the resolve formed thanall her wonted courage came back. Rallying with the stimulus of actionbefore her, she began to plan out a new life, in which her relationto the people should be closer and nearer than ever. There was a smallornamental cottage on the demesne, known as the Chalet, built byLady Dorothea after one she had seen in the Oberland; this Mary nowdetermined on for her home, and there, with Catty Broon alone, sheresolved to live.
"My aunt," thought she, "can scarcely be so wedded to the Hendersonscheme but that this will equally satisfy her wishes; and while itsecures a home and a resting-place for-poor Catty, it rescues _me_ fromwhat I should feel as a humiliation."
The day was already beginning to dawn as Mary sat down to answer LadyDorothea's letter. Most of her reply referred to her uncle, to whoseaffection she clung all the more as her fortunes darkened. She saw allthe embarrassment of proffering her services to nurse and tend him,living, as he was, amidst his own; but still, she said that of thejourney or its difficulties she should never waste a thought, if herpresence at his sick-bed could afford him the slightest satisfaction."He knows me as a nurse already," said she. "But tell him that I havegrown, if not wiser, calmer and quieter than he knew me formerly; thatI should not disturb him by foolish stories, but sit patiently save whenhe would have me to talk. Tell him, too, that if changed in many things,in my love to_ him_ I am unaltered." She tried to add more, but couldnot. The thought that these lines were to be read to her uncle by LadyDorothea chilled her, and the very tones of that supercilious voiceseemed to ring in her ears, and she imagined some haughty or insolentcomment to follow them as they were uttered.
With regard to her own future, she, in a few words, remarked upon theunnecessary expense of maintaining a large house for the accommodationof a single person, and said that, if her Ladyship concurred in theplan, she would prefer taking up her home at the Chalet with old Cattyfor companion and housekeeper.
She pointed out the advantages of a change which, while securing acomfortable home to them, would equally suggest to their dependantslessons of thrift and self-sacrifice, and added, half sportively, "Asfor me, when I find myself _en Suisse_, I 'm sure I shall less regrethorses and dogs, and such-like vanities, and take to the delights ofa dairy and cream cheeses with a good grace. Indeed, I 'm not quitecertain but that Fortune, instead of displacing, will in reality beonly installing me in the position best suited to me. Do not, then, besurprised, if at your return you find me in sabots and an embroideredbodice, deep in the mystery of all cottage economics, and well contentto be so.
"You are quite right, my dear aunt," she continued, "not to entertainme with politics. The theme is as much above as it is distasteful tome; and so grovelling are my sentiments, that I 'd rather hear ofthe arrival of a cargo of oatmeal at Kilkieran than learn that theprofoundest statesman of Great Britain had condescended to stand forour dear borough of Oughterard. At the same time, if Cousin Harry shouldchange his mind, and turn his ambition towards the Senate, tell him I'm quite ready to turn out and canvass for him to-morrow, and that thehospitalities of the Chalet shall do honor to the cause. As you speakof sending for Mr. Scanlan, I leave to him to tell you all the events ofour late assizes here,--a task I escape from the more willingly, sinceI have no successes to record. Mr. Repton, however,--he paid me a visityesterday, and stopped here to dinner,--says that he has no fears forthe result at the next trial, and honestly confesses that our presentdefeat was entirely owing to the skill and ability of the counselopposed to us. By some delay or mistake, I don't exactly know which,Scanlan omitted to send a retainer to young Mr. Nelligan, and who, beingemployed for the other side, was the chief cause of our failure. Myuncle will be pleased to learn that Mr. N.'s address to the jury wasscrupulously free from any of that invective or attack so frequentlylevelled at landlords when defending the rights of property. Reptoncalled it 'a model of legal argument, delivered with the eloquence of afirst-rate speaker, and the taste and temper of a gentleman.' Indeed,I understand that the tone of the speech has rendered all the ribaldryusual on such occasions in local journals impossible, and that the youngbarrister has acquired anything but popularity in consequence. Evenin this much, is there a dawn of better things; and under suchcircumstances a defeat may be more profitable than a victory."
With a few kind messages to her uncle, and an earnest entreaty forearly tidings of his state, Mary concluded a letter in which her greatdifficulty lay in saying far less than her thoughts dictated, andconveying as much as she dare trust to Lady Dorothea's interpretation.The letter concluded and sealed, she lay down, dressed as she was, onher bed, and fell a-thinking over the future.
There are natures to whom the opening of any new vista in life suggestsfully as much of pleasure as anxiety. The prospect of the unknown andthe untried has something of the adventurous about it which more thancounterbalances the casualties of a future. Such a temperament was hers;and the first sense of sorrowful indignation over, she really beganto speculate upon her cottage life with a certain vague and dreamyenjoyment. She foresaw, that when Cro' Martin Castle fell into otherhands, that her own career ceased, her occupation was gone, and thatshe should at once fashion out some new road, and conform herself to newhabits. The cares of her little household would probably not suffice toengage one whose active mind had
hitherto embraced so wide a field ofaction, and Mary then bethought her how this leisure might be devoted tostudy and improvement. It was only in the eager enthusiasm of her manypursuits that she buried her sorrows over her neglected and imperfecteducation; and now a time was approaching when that reflection could nolonger be resisted. She pondered long and deeply over these thoughts,when suddenly they were interrupted; but in what way, deserves a chapterof its own,--albeit a very brief one.