Roland Cashel Volume I Part 18

"He told me," said Miss Kennyf.e.c.k, "that he would n't play with her Ladyship any more; that one had some chance formerly, but that since she has had that touch of the palsy, she does what she likes with the Kings and Aces."

"This is atrocious; never let me hear it again," said the mamma, indignantly; "at all events, old Mr. Moore Hacket will do."

"Poor old man, he is so blind that he has to thumb the cards all over to try and know them by the feel, and then he always washes the King and Queen's faces with a snuffy handkerchief, so that the others are sneezing at every trick they play."

"Caroline, you permit yourself to take the most improper freedoms; I desire that we may have no more of this."

"I rather like old Mr. Hacket," said the incorrigible a.s.sailant; "he mistook Mr. Pottinger's bald and polished head for a silver salver, and laid his teacup on it, the last evening he was here."

If Cashel could not help smiling at Miss Kennyf.e.c.k's sallies, he felt it was in rather a strange spirit of hospitality the approaching entertainment was given, since few of the guests were spared the most slighting sarcasms, and scarcely for any was there professed the least friendship or affection. He was, however, very new to "the world," and the strange understanding on which its daily intercourse, its social life of dinners, visits, and _dejeuners_ subsists, was perfectly unknown to him. He had much to learn; but as his nature was of an inquiring character, he was as equal as he was well inclined to its task. It was then, with less enjoyment of the scene for its absurdity, than actually as an occasion to acquire knowledge of people and modes of living hitherto unknown, he listened gravely to the present discussion, and sat with attentive ears to hear who was to take in Lady Janet, and whether Sir Archy should precede the Chief Justice or not; if a Dragoon Colonel should take the _pas_ of an Attorney-General, and whether it made the same difference in an individual's rank that it did in his comfort, that he was on the half-pay list When real rank is concerned, few things are easier than the arrangement of such details; the rules are simple, the exceptions few, if any; but in a society where the distinctions are inappreciable, where the designations are purely professional, an algebraic equation is simpler of solution than such difficulties.

Then came a very animated debate as to the places at table, wherein lay the extreme difficulty of having every one away from the fire and n.o.body in a draught, except, of course, those little valued guests who really appeared to play the ign.o.ble part of mortar in a great edifice, being merely the cohesive ingredient that averted friction between more important materials. Next came the oft-disputed question as to whether the champagne should be served with the _pet.i.ts pates_, after the fish, or at a remote stage of the second course, the young ladies being eager advocates of the former, Mrs. Kennyf.e.c.k as firmly denouncing the practice as a new-fangled thing, that "the Dean" himself said he had never seen at Christchurch; but the really great debate arose on a still more knotty point, and one on which it appeared the family had brought in various bills, without ever discovering the real remedy. It was by what means--of course, moral force means--it were possible to induce old Lady Blennerbore to rise from table whenever Mrs. Kennyf.e.c.k had decreed that move to be necessary.

It was really moving to listen to Mrs. Kennyf.e.c.k's narratives of signals unnoticed and signs unattended to; that even on the very last day her Ladyship had dined there, Mrs. Kennyf.e.c.k had done little else for three quarters of an hour than half stand and sit down again, to the misery of herself and the discomfort of her neighbors.

"Poor dear old thing," said Olivia, "she is so very nearsighted."

"Not a bit of it," said her sister; "don't tell me of bad sight that can distinguish the decanter of port from the claret, which I have seen her do some half-dozen times without one blunder."

"I 'd certainly stop the supplies," said Cashel; "wouldn't that do?"

"Impossible!" said Miss Kennyf.e.c.k; "you couldn't starve the whole garrison for one refractory subject."

"Mr. Linton's plan was a perfect failure, too," said Mrs. Kennyf.e.c.k. "He thought by the introduction of some topic ladies do not usually discuss that she would certainly withdraw; on the contrary, her Ladyship called out to me, 'I see your impatience, my dear, but I must hear the end of this naughty story.' We tried the French plan, too, and made the gentlemen rise with us; but really they were so rude and ill-tempered the entire evening after, I 'll never venture on it again."

Here the whole party sighed and were silent, as if the wished-for mode of relief were as distant as ever.

"Must we really ask those Claridge girls to sing, mamma?" said Miss Kennyf.e.c.k, after a long pause.

"Of course you must. They were taught by Costa, and they are always asked wherever they go."

"As a matter of curiosity, Mr. Cashel, the thing is worth hearing.

Paganini's monocorde was nothing to it, for they 'll go through a whole scena of Donizetti with only one note in their voice. Oh dear! how very tiresome it all is; the same little scene of pressings and refusals and entreaties and rejections, and the oft-repeated dispute of the sisters between 'Notte divina' and 'Non vedro mai,' ending in that Tyrolese thing, which is on every organ in the streets, and has not the merit of the little shaved dog with the hat in his mouth, to make it droll. And then"--here Miss Kennyf.e.c.k caught a side glance of a most rebuking frown on her mother's face, so that adroitly addressing herself to Cashel, she seemed unaware of it,--"and then, when the singing is over, and those who detest music are taking their revenge by abusing the singers, and people are endeavoring to patch up the interrupted chattings,--then, I suppose, we are quite suddenly, without the slightest premeditation, to suggest a quadrille or carpet-dance. This is to be proposed as a most new and original idea that never occurred to any one before, and is certain to be hailed with a warm enthusiasm; all the young ladies smiling and smirking, and the gentlemen fumbling for their soiled kid gloves,--clean ones would destroy the merit of the impromptu."

"I 'm certain Mr. Cashel's impression of our society here will scarcely be flattering, from what he has heard this evening," said Mrs.

Kennyf.e.c.k, rising.

"He'll see with his own eyes to-morrow night," said Miss Kennyf.e.c.k, coolly.

"Will you favor me with a little of your time in the morning?" said Mr.

Kennyf.e.c.k to Cashel. "I find that I cannot avoid troubling you; there are several doc.u.ments for signature, and if you could devote an hour, or, if possible, two--"

"I am perfectly at your orders," said Cashel; "the ladies say that they will not ride, and therefore dispose of me as you like."

A hearty good-night followed, and the party broke up.

CHAPTER XI. A DRIVE WITH THE LADIES.

Geld kann vieles in der Welt.

--Wiener Lied.

(Money can do much in this world.)

When Cashel descended the stairs to breakfast, he took a peep into the drawing-room as he went, some slight hope of seeing Olivia, perhaps, suggesting the step. He was disappointed, however; except a servant arranging candies in the l.u.s.tres, the room was empty. The same fate awaited him in the breakfast-room, where a small table, most significantly laid for two, showed that a _tete-a-tete_ with his host was in store for him. No wonder, then, if Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k saw something of impatience in the air of his young guest, whose eyes turned to the door each time it opened, or were as hastily directed to the garden at each stir without,--evident signs of thoughts directed in channels different from the worthy solicitor's.

Confess, my dear reader,--if you be of the s.e.x to judge of these matters,--confess it is excessively provoking when you have prepared your mind, sharpened your wit--perhaps, too, curled your whiskers--with a latent hope that you are to meet and converse with two very handsome and sprightly girls, that the interview is converted into a scene with "Papa." For ourselves, who acknowledge to have a kind of Catholicism in these affairs, who like the dear creatures in all the flaunting dash of a riding-hat and habit, cantering away of a breezy day, with laughing voice and half-uncurled hair; who delight to see them lounging in a britzska or lolling in a phaeton; who gaze with rapture on charms heightened by the blaze of full-dress, and splendid in all the brilliancy of jewels and flowers,--we own that we have a kind of fondness, almost amounting to a preference, for the prim coquettishness of a morning-dress--some light muslin thing, floating and gauzy--showing the figure to perfection, and in its simplicity suiting well the two braids of hair so innocently banded on the cheeks. There is something of conscious power in the quiet garb, a sense of trustfulness; it is like the warrior advancing without his weapons to a conference that is exceedingly pleasing, seeming to say, You see that I am not a being of tulle, and gauze, and point de Bruxelles, of white satin, and turquoise, and pink camellias, but a creature whose duties may be in the daily round of life, meant to sit beside on a gra.s.sy slope as much as on a velvet ottoman, to talk with as well as flirt with.

We have no means of knowing if Cashel was of our mind, and whether these demi-toilette visions were as suggestive to his as they are to our imagination, but that he bore his disappointment with a very bad grace we can perfectly answer for, and showed, by his distracted manner and inattentive air, that the papa's companionship was a very poor subst.i.tute for the daughters'.

It must be owned, too, that Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k was scarcely a brilliant converser, nor, had he been so, was the matter under consideration of a kind to develop and display his abilities. The worthy solicitor had often promised himself the pleasure he now enjoyed of recounting the whole story of the law proceedings. It was the great event of his own life, "his Waterloo," and he dwelt on every detail with a prosy dalliance that was death to the listener. Legal subtleties, shrewd and cunning devices of crafty counsellors, all the artful dodges of the profession, Cashel heard with a scornful indifference or a downright apathy, and it demanded all Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k's own enthusiasm in the case to make him persist in a narrative so uninteresting to its only auditor.

"I fear I weary you, Mr. Cashel," said the solicitor, "with these details, but I really supposed that you must feel desirous of knowing not only the exact circ.u.mstances of your estate, but of learning the very singular history by which your claim was substantiated."

"If I am to be frank," said Cashel, boldly, "I must tell you that these things possess not the slightest interest for me. When I was a gambler--which, unfortunately, I was at one time--whether I won or lost, I never could endure to discuss the game after it was over. So long as there was a goal to reach, few men could feel more ardor in the pursuit.

I believe I have the pa.s.sion for success as strong as my neighbors, but the struggle over, the prize won, whether by myself or another it mattered not, it ceased to have any hold upon me. I could address myself to a new contest, but never look back on the old one."

"So that," said Kennyf.e.c.k, drawing a long breath to conceal a sigh, "I am to conclude that this is a topic you would not desire to renew.

Well, I yield of course; only pray how am I to obtain your opinion on questions concerning your property?"

"My opinions," said Cashel, "must be mere arbitrary decisions, come to without any knowledge; that you are well aware of. I know nothing of this country,--neither its interests, its feelings, nor its tastes. I know just as little of what wealth will do, and what it will not do.

Tell me, therefore, in a few words, what other men, situated as I am, would pursue,--what habits they would adopt, how live, and with whom. If I can conform, without any great sacrifice of personal freedom, I 'll do so, because I know of no slavery so bad as notoriety. Just then give me your counsel, and I ask, intending to follow it."

Few men were less able than Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k to offer a valuable opinion on these difficult subjects, but the daily routine of his professional life had made him acquainted with a certain detail that seemed, to himself at least, an undeviating rule of procedure. He knew that, to the heir of a large estate coming of age, a wife and a seat in Parliament were the two first objects. He had so often been engaged in drawing up settlements for the one, and raising money for the other contingency, that they became as a.s.sociated in his mind with one-and-twenty years of age as though intended by Nature to denote it.

With some reserve, which we must not scrutinize, he began with the political object.

"I suppose, sir," said he, "you will desire to enter Parliament?"

"I should like it," said Cashel, earnestly, "if a sense of inferiority would not weigh too heavily on me to compensate for the pleasure. With an education so neglected as mine, I should run the hazard of either unjustly depreciating my own judgment, or what is worse, esteeming it at more than its worth. Now, though I suspect that the interest of politics would have a great attraction for me, I should always occupy too humble a station regarding them, to make that interest a high one. Omit Parliament, then, and what next?"

"The duties of a country gentleman are various and important--the management of your estates--"

"This I must leave in your hands," said Cashel, abruptly. "Suggest something else."

"Well, of course, these come in a far less important category; but the style of your living, the maintenance of a house befitting your rank and property, the reception of your country neighbors,--all these are duties."

"I am very ignorant of forms," said Cashel, haughtily; "but I opine that if a man spare no money, with a good cook, a good cellar, a good stable, and _carte blanche_ from the owner to make free with everything, these duties are not very difficult to perform."

Had Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k known more of such matters, he might have told him that something was still wanting,--that something which can throw its perfume of good-breeding and elegance over the humble dinner-party in a cottage, and yet be absent from the gorgeous splendor of a banquet in a palace. Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k did not know this, so he accorded his fullest a.s.sent to Cashel's opinion.

"What comes next?" said Roland, impatiently, "for as I am neither politician nor country gentleman, nor can I make a pursuit of mere hospitality, I really do not see what career is open to me."

Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k had been on the eve of introducing the topic of marriage, when this sally suddenly routed the attempt. The man who saw nothing to occupy him in politics, property, or social intercourse would scarcely deem a wife an all-sufficient ambition. Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k was posed.