Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott Volume I Part 18

[Footnote 136: See the Introduction to this novel in the edition of 1830.]

[Footnote 137: I owe this circ.u.mstance to the recollection of Mr. Claud Russell, accountant in Edinburgh, who was one of the party. Previously I had always supposed these verses to have been inspired by Miss Carpenter.]

But this was only a pa.s.sing glimpse of flirtation. A week or so afterwards commenced a more serious affair.

Riding one day with Ferguson, they met, some miles from Gilsland, a young lady taking the air on horseback, whom neither of them had previously remarked, and whose appearance instantly struck both so much that they kept her in view until they had satisfied themselves that she also was one of the party at Gilsland. The same evening there was a ball, at which Captain Scott produced himself in his regimentals, and Ferguson also thought proper to be equipped in the uniform of the Edinburgh Volunteers. There was no little rivalry among the young travellers as to who should first get presented to the unknown beauty of the morning's ride; but though both the gentlemen in scarlet had the advantage of being dancing partners, their friend succeeded in handing the fair stranger to supper--and such was his first introduction to Charlotte Margaret Carpenter.

Without the features of a regular beauty, she was rich in personal attractions; "a form that was fashioned as light as a fay's;" a complexion of the clearest and lightest olive; {p.247} eyes large, deep-set and dazzling, of the finest Italian brown; and a profusion of silken tresses, black as the raven's wing; her address hovering between the reserve of a pretty young Englishwoman who has not mingled largely in general society, and a certain natural archness and gayety that suited well with the accompaniment of a French accent. A lovelier vision, as all who remember her in the bloom of her days have a.s.sured me, could hardly have been imagined; and from that hour the fate of the young poet was fixed.[138]

[Footnote 138: ["You may perhaps have remarked Miss Carpenter at a Carlisle ball, but more likely not, as her figure is not very _frappant_. A smart-looking little girl with dark brown hair would probably be her portrait if drawn by an indifferent hand. But I, you may believe, should make a piece of work of my sketch, as little like the original as Hercules to me."--Scott to P. Murray, December, 1797.--_Familiar Letters_, vol. i. p. 10.]]

She was the daughter of Jean Charpentier, of Lyons, a devoted royalist, who held an office under Government,[139] and Charlotte Volere, his wife. She and her only brother, Charles Charpentier, had been educated in the Protestant religion of their mother; and when their father died, which occurred in the beginning of the Revolution, Madame Charpentier made her escape with her children, first to Paris, and then to England, where they found a warm friend and protector in the late Marquis of Downshire, who had, in the course of his travels in France, formed an intimate acquaintance with the family, and, indeed, spent some time under their roof. M. Charpentier had, in his first alarm as to the coming Revolution, invested 4000 in English securities--part in a mortgage upon Lord Downshire's estates. On the mother's death, which occurred soon after her arrival in London, this n.o.bleman took on himself the character of sole guardian to her children; and Charles Charpentier received in due time, through his interest, an appointment in {p.248} the service of the East India Company, in which he had by this time risen to the lucrative situation of Commercial Resident at Salem. His sister was now making a little excursion, under the care of the lady who had superintended her education, Miss Jane Nicolson, a daughter of Dr. Nicolson, Dean of Exeter, and granddaughter of William Nicolson, Bishop of Carlisle, well known as the editor of The English Historical Library. To some connections which the learned prelate's family had ever since his time kept up in the diocese of Carlisle, Miss Carpenter owed the direction of her summer tour.

[Footnote 139: In several deeds which I have seen, M.

Charpentier is designed "ecuyer du Roi;" one of those purchasable ranks peculiar to the latter stages of the old French Monarchy. What the post he held was, I never heard.]

Scott's father was now in a very feeble state of health, which accounts for his first announcement of this affair being made in a letter to his mother; it is undated;--but by this time the young lady had left Gilsland for Carlisle, where she remained until her destiny was settled,

TO MRS. SCOTT, GEORGE'S SQUARE, EDINBURGH.

MY DEAR MOTHER,--I should very ill deserve the care and affection with which you have ever regarded me, were I to neglect my duty so far as to omit consulting my father and you in the most important step which I can possibly take in life, and upon the success of which my future happiness must depend. It is with pleasure I think that I can avail myself of your advice and instructions in an affair of so great importance as that which I have at present on my hands. You will probably guess from this preamble that I am engaged in a matrimonial plan, which is really the case. Though my acquaintance with the young lady has not been of long standing, this circ.u.mstance is in some degree counterbalanced by the intimacy in which we have lived, and by the opportunities which that intimacy has afforded me of remarking her conduct and sentiments on many different occasions, some of which were rather of a delicate nature, so that in fact I have seen more of her during the few weeks we have {p.249} been together than I could have done after a much longer acquaintance, shackled by the common forms of ordinary life. You will not expect from me a description of her person--for which I refer you to my brother, as also for a fuller account of all the circ.u.mstances attending the business than can be comprised in the compa.s.s of a letter. Without flying into raptures, for I must a.s.sure you that my judgment as well as my affections are consulted upon this occasion--without flying into raptures, then, I may safely a.s.sure you that her temper is sweet and cheerful, her understanding good, and, what I know will give you pleasure, her principles of religion very serious. I have been very explicit with her upon the nature of my expectations, and she thinks she can accommodate herself to the situation which I should wish her to hold in society as my wife, which, you will easily comprehend, I mean should neither be extravagant nor degrading. Her fortune, though partly dependent upon her brother, who is high in office at Madras, is very considerable--at present 500 a year. This, however, we must, in some degree, regard as precarious--I mean to the full extent; and indeed, when you know her, you will not be surprised that I regard this circ.u.mstance chiefly because it removes those prudential considerations which would otherwise render our union impossible for the present.

Betwixt her income and my own professional exertions, I have little doubt we will be enabled to hold the rank in society which my family and situation ent.i.tle me to fill.

My dear mother, I cannot express to you the anxiety I have that you will not think me flighty nor inconsiderate in this business.

Believe me, that experience, in one instance--you cannot fail to know to what I allude--is too recent to permit my being so hasty in my conclusions as the warmth of my temper might have otherwise prompted. I am also most anxious that you should be prepared to show her kindness, which I know the goodness {p.250} of your own heart will prompt, more especially when I tell you that she is an orphan, without relations, and almost without friends. Her guardian is--I should say _was_, for she is of age--Lord Downshire, to whom I must write for his consent,--a piece of respect to which he is ent.i.tled for his care of her,--and there the matter rests at present. I think I need not tell you that if I a.s.sume the new character which I threaten, I shall be happy to find that in that capacity I may make myself more useful to my brothers, and especially to Anne, than I could in any other. On the other hand, I shall certainly expect that my friends will endeavor to show every attention in their power to a woman who forsakes for me prospects much more splendid than what I can offer, and who comes into Scotland without a single friend but myself. I find I could write a great deal more upon this subject, but as it is late, and as I must write to my father, I shall restrain myself. I think (but you are best judge) that in the circ.u.mstances in which I stand, you should write to her, Miss Carpenter, under cover to me at Carlisle.

Write to me very fully upon this important subject--send me your opinion, your advice, and, above all, your blessing; you will see the necessity of not delaying a minute in doing so, and in keeping this business _strictly private_, till you hear farther from me, since you are not ignorant that even at this advanced period an objection on the part of Lord Downshire, or many other accidents, may intervene; in which case, I should little wish my disappointment to be public.

Believe me, my dear Mother, Ever your dutiful and affectionate son, WALTER SCOTT.

Scott remained in c.u.mberland until the Jedburgh a.s.sizes recalled him to his legal duties. On arriving in that town, he immediately sent for his friend Shortreed, whose {p.251} _memorandum_ records that the evening of the 30th September, 1797 was one of the most joyous he ever spent. "Scott," he says, "was _sair_ beside himself about Miss Carpenter;--we toasted her twenty times over--and sat together, he raving about her, until it was one in the morning." He soon returned to c.u.mberland; and the following letters will throw light on the character and conduct of the parties, and on the nature of the difficulties which were presented by the prudence and prejudices of the young advocate's family connections. It appears, that at one stage of the business, Scott had seriously contemplated leaving the Bar at Edinburgh, and establishing himself with his bride (I know not in what capacity) in one of the colonies.

TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ., ADVOCATE, EDINBURGH.

CARLISLE, October 4, 1797.

It is only an hour since I received Lord Downshire's letter. You will say, I hope, that I am indeed very good to write so soon, but I almost fear that all my goodness can never carry me through all this plaguy writing. Lord Downshire will be happy to hear from you. He is the very best man on earth--his letter is kind and affectionate, and full of advice, much in the style of _your last_. I am to consult _most carefully my heart_. Do you believe I did not do it when I gave you my consent? It is true, I don't like to reflect on that subject. I am afraid. It is very awful to think it is for life. How can I ever laugh after such tremendous thoughts? I believe never more. I am hurt to find that your friends don't think the match a prudent one. If it is not agreeable to them all, you must then forget me, for I have too much pride to think of connecting myself in a family were I not equal to them. Pray, my dear sir, write to Lord D.

immediately--explain yourself to him as you would to me, and he will, I am sure, do all he can to serve us. If you {p.252} really love me, you must love him, and write to him as you would to a friend.

Adieu,--au plaisir de vous revoir bientot.

C. C.

TO ROBERT SHORTREED, ESQ., SHERIFF-SUBSt.i.tUTE, JEDBURGH.

SELKIRK, 8th October, 1797.

DEAR BOB,--This day a long train of anxieties was put an end to by a letter from Lord Downshire, couched in the most flattering terms, giving his consent to my marriage with his ward. I am thus far on my way to Carlisle--only for a visit--because, betwixt her reluctance to an immediate marriage and the imminent approach of the session, I am afraid I shall be thrown back to the Christmas holidays. I shall be home in about eight days.

Ever yours sincerely,

W. SCOTT.

TO MISS CHRISTIAN RUTHERFORD, ASHESTIEL, BY SELKIRK.

Has it never happened to you, my dear Miss Christy, in the course of your domestic economy, to meet with a drawer stuffed so very, so _extremely_ full, that it was very difficult to pull it open, however desirous you might be to exhibit its contents? In case this miraculous event has ever taken place, you may somewhat conceive from thence the cause of my silence, which has really proceeded from my having a very great deal to communicate; so much so, that I really hardly know how to begin. As for my affection and friendship for you, believe me sincerely, they neither slumber nor sleep, and it is only your suspicions of their drowsiness which incline me to write at this period of a business highly interesting to me, rather than when I could have done so with something like certainty--Hem! Hem! It must come out at once--I am in a very fair way of being married to a very amiable {p.253} young woman, with whom I formed an attachment in the course of my tour. She was born in France--her parents were of English extraction--the name Carpenter. She was left an orphan early in life, and educated in England, and is at present under the care of a Miss Nicolson, a daughter of the late Dean of Exeter, who was on a visit to her relations in c.u.mberland. Miss Carpenter is of age, but as she lies under great obligations to the Marquis of Downshire, who was her guardian, she cannot take a step of such importance without his consent--and I daily expect his final answer upon the subject. Her fortune is dependent, in a great measure, upon an only and very affectionate brother. He is Commercial Resident at Salem in India, and has settled upon her an annuity of 500. Of her personal accomplishments I shall only say that she possesses very good sense, with uncommon good temper, which I have seen put to most severe trials. I must bespeak your kindness and friendship for her. You may easily believe I shall rest very much both upon Miss R. and you for giving her the _carte de pays_, when she comes to Edinburgh. I may give you a hint that there is no _romance_ in her composition--and that, though born in France, she has the sentiments and manners of an Englishwoman, and does not like to be thought otherwise. A very slight tinge in her p.r.o.nunciation is all which marks the foreigner. She is at present at Carlisle, where I shall join her as soon as our arrangements are finally made. Some difficulties have occurred in settling matters with my father, owing to certain prepossessions which you can easily conceive his adopting. One main article was the uncertainty of her provision, which has been in part removed by the safe arrival of her remittances for this year, with a.s.surances of their being regular and even larger in future, her brother's situation being extremely lucrative. Another objection was her birth: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" but as it was _birth merely and solely_, {p.254} this has been abandoned. _You_ will be more interested about other points regarding her, and I can only say that--though our acquaintance was shorter than ever I could have thought of forming such a connection upon--it was exceedingly close, and gave me full opportunities for observation--and if I had parted with her, it must have been forever, which both parties began to think would be a disagreeable thing. She has conducted herself through the whole business with so much propriety as to make a strong impression in her favor upon the minds of my father and mother, prejudiced as they were against her, from the circ.u.mstances I have mentioned.

We shall be your neighbors in the New Town, and intend to live very quietly; Charlotte will need many lessons from Miss R. in housewifery. Pray show this letter to Miss R. with my very best compliments. Nothing can now stand in the way except Lord Downshire, who may not think the match a prudent one for Miss C.; but he will surely think her ent.i.tled to judge for herself at her age, in what she would wish to place her happiness. She is not a beauty, by any means, but her person and face are very engaging.

She is a brunette; her manners are lively, but when necessary she can be very serious. She was baptized and educated a Protestant of the Church of England. I think I have now said enough upon this subject. Do not write till you hear from me again, which will be when all is settled. I wish this important event may hasten your return to town. I send a goblin story, with best compliments to the misses, and ever am, yours affectionately,

WALTER SCOTT.

THE ERL-KING.[140]

(_The Erl-King is a goblin that haunts the Black Forest in Thuringia.--To be read by a candle particularly long in the snuff._)

O, who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?

It is the fond father embracing his child; And {p.255} close the boy nestles within his loved arm, To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.

"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says.

"My boy, upon what doest thou fearfully gaze?"-- "O, 't is the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."-- "No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."

(_The Erl-King speaks._)

"O, come and go with me, thou loveliest child; By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled; My mother keeps for thee full many a fair toy, And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."

"O father, my father, and did you not hear The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"

"Be still, my heart's darling--my child, be at ease; It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."

_Erl-King._

"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?

My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy; She shall bear thee so lightly thro' wet and thro' wild, And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."

"O father, my father, and saw you not plain The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"-- "O yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon; It was the gray willow that danced to the moon."

_Erl-King._

"O, come and go with me, no longer delay, Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."-- "O Father! O father! now, now keep your hold, The Erl-King has seized me--his grasp is so cold!"

Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild, Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child; He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread, But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was _dead_!

You see I have not altogether lost the faculty of rhyming. I a.s.sure you, there is no small impudence in attempting a version of that ballad, as it has been translated by _Lewis_.--All good things be with you.

W. S.

[Footnote 140: From the German of Goethe.]