The Eve of All-Hallows Volume Ii Part 12

"Indeed," rejoined the stranger, "so may it please your Grace, it was entirely as unexpected as it is now hailed and welcomed by me! And most happy too am I to remark that no change, no vicissitude of war, nor variance of politics, nor all the fleeting circ.u.mstances of these most eventful times, have had effect or influence upon your Grace, whom I am truly happy to observe are still the same, unchanged by circ.u.mstance or time--another Aristippus, whom every situation becomes and every fortune adorns, be it prosperous or adverse!"

"With equal joy," replied the duke, "I behold thee too unchanged--the same. Welcome, thrice welcome! my friend, my preserver! Although when first we met it was the meeting of foes upon the hostile plain, I wearing the badge of green, and thou the orange scarf of William. We met as direful foes, but we parted with mutual regard and veneration. The bow of heaven, which the Creator hath placed on high, is formed of those glorious tints. It was in the shades of colour only in which we differed. Ere long may the glorious bow of promise, of hope, and of peace, irradiate Erin's western sky, until the glowing orange and the glaring green shall melt and blend, and the primitive colours of the arc of promise be softened down and subdued into the arc of peace!"[45]

[45]

"Till, like the rainbow's light, Thy various tints unite, And form in heaven's sight One arch of peace!"

THOMAS MOORE.

"Amen, my lord, I say and repeat it most fervently from my heart; and may heaven yet, in its kindest mercy, grant that some future great, wise, and liberally-minded monarch of England, forsaking his ease and quiet, may yet graciously visit the sh.o.r.es of your n.o.ble island, as the harbinger of peace, crowned with the olive and the bay; and without the aid of the _camera-obscura_ of his courtiers, view with his own royal eye the wants and sufferings of your poor islanders; and may his royal and munificent heart heal the wounds and redress the sufferings of those who can never cease to love him!--for the hearts of your countrymen are grateful as they are brave. May they yet be placed within the pale of that Const.i.tution from which they are now debarred!"

"That, gallant Sir, indeed I devoutly wish; and most fully join and concur in your philanthropic prayer! Wherever a contrary tendency to what you a.s.sert has occurred in Ireland, it has arisen from oppression, distress, and poverty. For wherever there is no home to be found there can be no happiness; and it will be too surely found that an oppressed and starving population are ever fatally prompt to join the standard of rebellion; for surely the noise and bustle of a camp and the soul-stirring trumpet are less appalling than the cries of starving infants in their parent's wretched hovel, open and exposed to all the winds of heaven, where can be found nor raiment, nor fuel, nor food! But come, let us change to a more pleasing subject. There," holding up his hand, "there, n.o.ble stranger, is your parting present which you gave me, your ruby cameo ring of victory. By night and by day, I have never since ceased to wear it in remembrance of him who gave it."

"And see," said the gallant stranger, (opening his waistcoat,) there is the diamond star with which you so graciously presented me. It has never been taken from my heart, where I placed it at the moment when you gave it me!"

"I feel with force and with grat.i.tude this kind expression of your feeling; and now I needs must insist that you take back your own n.o.ble steed--he is yours again! He has become, I fain must own, like myself, somewhat older--I will not say how long!--since last we parted, but it is no matter! However the n.o.ble animal is still in his prime; he is spirited, and you may observe he looks sleek, his coat is smooth, and withal in good condition. Meantime, from this you may safely infer that he hath had no severe master in me; and now I justly restore him to his rightful owner."

"Nay, nay, my Lord Duke, that cannot be! What once I have presented I never can consent to receive back again--never! My Lord, it is utterly impossible! But still I am not unwilling to compromise this mooted point between us. If so your Grace be inclined, I shall feel much pleasure in accompanying you occasionally in your equestrian excursions, and then I will mount once more my _quondam_ war-horse."

"With all my heart, most gracious Sir! And now, gallant and courteous stranger, having redeemed my gage, I must, without further parley, beseech to know thy name and rank, for such I am a.s.sured belongs to thee, to learn the name of him to whom I am so vastly--so deeply indebted, and one whom I so duly estimate and honour!"

"That, my Lord Duke, is easily told, and in a very few words, if worthy the inquiry.--My name is David Bruce, of Turnberry Castle, in Ayrshire, a Baronet of Nova-Scotia, whom chance, or fate, or circ.u.mstances, all combined, placed me a volunteer in the Brandenburgh hussars, where I arose from that humble station to command the regiment, by merits not my own."

"Pardon my interruption, Sir David Bruce," rejoined the duke, "that is, in sooth, the only part of thy reply upon which I must put a decided negative!"

"Well," replied the baronet, with a cheering smile, "your too favourable construction, my Lord Duke, I may not be prepared to gainsay."

"No, no;" continued the Duke of Tyrconnel, "you could not--you cannot--it is too palpable--it is too self-evident! Your courage and powerful arm in the day of battle are strong as your lofty adamantine mountains, while in peace your heart is soft and tender as the thistle-down of your own dear native land! Come, come, no reply, young baronet, you must needs gang with me, as you say in Scotland; and we must indeed be better acquainted!--You surely will not refuse to dine with me to-day, when I shall have great pleasure to present you to my d.u.c.h.ess and my daughter as my friend, and the gallant preserver of my life! Come, Sir David, no ambages, no circ.u.mlocution, no apology will I take! Nay, nay, you must not hide behind the screen of modesty, and denied or refused I must not be!--So I shall certainly expect you."

"Your Grace's invitation carries with it so much of interest and of kindness, that it is not for me to refuse such inducements, and I gratefully and willingly accede to it. My Lord Duke, I shall duly obey your kind and hospitable summons."

"At three o'clock then," added the duke, "I shall hope for the pleasure of seeing you at my mansion in the _Rue Ducale_."

Here the duke and the baronet cordially shook hands, and parted; the duke to resume his ride, and Sir David Bruce to complete his morning's promenade.

Sir David Bruce, punctual to the hospitable summons, was the first guest to arrive in due time at the _Maison de Tyrconnel_. As he entered the drawing-room--"The knight of Chester walls, _le chevalier inconnu_," was inadvertently vociferated by the d.u.c.h.ess, accompanied by the all wondering chorus of all that were present--"It is astonishing----indeed it is most astonishing!"

"Amazing, and quite surpa.s.singly strange!" exclaimed Sir Patricius Placebo, aided with one or two plentiful accompaniments of his accustomed _recipe_ from his magnificent Carolus snuff-box, which we often noticed before.

"DOSS MOI, TANE STIGMEN!

A hem!--Indeed quite astonishing!--most surpa.s.singly strange!"

Most true it is that Sir David Bruce was the unknown stranger who encountered the d.u.c.h.ess of Tyrconnel and family while promenading the walls of Chester; and he it was who so generously and disinterestedly had relinquished the packet-boat which had conveyed them to Calais.

The duke said, introducing Sir David Bruce to his d.u.c.h.ess, "permit me, my dear, to present to you and the circle of my family, the n.o.ble gentleman who now stands before you, Sir David Bruce of Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, to whose n.o.ble courage and generosity of heart I am indebted for my life in the fatal battle of the Boyne, for such _I_ must ever consider it. Greet, then, I beseech you, and welcome him! in him you behold the gallant preserver of my life, and him I hold and shall reverence as my sincere friend so long as I shall exist!"

"My Lord Duke, I shall most faithfully obey your injunctions," added the d.u.c.h.ess; "but there I must not pause--there remains yet another account of grat.i.tude beside.--For exclusive of being the protector, my Lord, of your life, to which, in the first instance, we all owe and duly feel the deepest grat.i.tude, yet still another debt of obligation remains to be discharged--I speak of the truly generous relinquishment of the packet which had been engaged by Sir David Bruce to convey him to Calais, and which he so n.o.bly and generously relinquished to us! This can never be forgotten, at least by us, although it possibly may not be so accounted by Sir David Bruce."

"I really can see no very great merit, my Lady d.u.c.h.ess, in all this; I conceive I only did what I ought to do, and that any one would have done for ladies placed under similar embarra.s.sments as you all were circ.u.mstanced. Permit me to inquire how your Grace likes Brussels?"

"Why, well, Sir David, pa.s.sing well, it is sometimes just a little _triste_, and the atmosphere, to be sure, is somewhat humid, but----"

"And yet," said Lady Aylesbury, (who had just then arrived,) with a malicious smile, rudely interrupting her; "and yet, Madam, it has, methinks, proved a very convenient _sejour_ for some _gens de condition_, who have for some years availed themselves of the privilege, when it would not have proved altogether so prudent----yes, Madam; altogether so prudent, to have ventured elsewhere!"

"Oh, true, quite true, Lady Aylesbury, I had nearly forgotten it quite; but for the verity of your remark, _your_ spouse, as well as my own, can fully attest, as both are placed in the same state of peric.l.i.tation!"

Lady Aylesbury looked extremely awkward and mortified at this just rebuke; she bit her nether lip, and hung down her silly head, writhing under the deserved lash which her malicious remark had provoked.

Sir David Bruce, who happened to be at the other end of the room, and seated next to Lady Adelaide, said to her in an under tone, "Lady Aylesbury is so spiteful and malicious, that I am certain she must be nearly related to Euryale, one of the Gorgons, own-sister to Medusa, who was subject neither to old age nor death!"

"It would indeed appear so, Sir David," said Lady Adelaide, with a sportive smile.

The Duke of d'Aremberg at this moment entered the room, who was introduced in due form to Sir David Bruce; they conversed together, and seemed mutually pleased with each other.

The Duke d'Aremberg now approached the d.u.c.h.ess of Tyrconnel: "Pray, has your Grace read the last essay from the pen of----, and what does your Grace think of its merits?"

"As I do, my Lord Duke, of all his writings, which are only calculated to produce mischief, deep, dark, and dangerous; every parent should dread him and his insidious pen--he is the high-priest of infidelity!"

"I knew and antic.i.p.ated this, for I am always certain to obtain a satisfactory and a decided opinion from your Grace, whose just judgment I can so fully rely upon."

When this praise, so deservedly awarded to the d.u.c.h.ess, met the ear of Lady Aylesbury, with a malicious smile she turned her malignant, envious eye on the d.u.c.h.ess, to observe if her Grace was elated by this praise: but she looked in vain. But these looks pa.s.sed not un.o.bserved by the d.u.c.h.ess, who deeply blushed, conscious of the mal-motives which directed them; and conscious too that she every way merited the praise which was so justly bestowed: she felt pleased, but not elated; she felt conscious of the talent she possessed, but both her judgment and her modesty prevented her overrating them.

The dinner pa.s.sed over pleasantly enough, and the gentlemen not tarrying long over their gla.s.s, soon joined the ladies in the drawing-room. Lady Adelaide was solicited to play and sing, and complied by seating herself at the harpsichord, supported on the one side by the Duke d'Aremberg, and on the other by Sir David Bruce, who was most attentive in turning over the leaves of the music book, and he seemed quite charmed and entranced with Lady Adelaide's singing. Indeed it was not difficult to a bye-stander to discover that this day the Lady Adelaide had achieved a double conquest, and that she held captive the hearts of the duke and the baronet.

CHAPTER X.

I know it well, my Lord--and sure the match Were rich and honourable. Besides, the gentleman Is full of virtue, bounty, worth, and qualities, Beseeming such a wife as your fair daughter.

Cannot your Grace win her to fancy him?"

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA.

A constant round of dinner parties in quick succession was briskly kept up between d'Aremberg palace and Tyrconnel house. The anxiety of the dowager d.u.c.h.ess for the union of her son with the Lady Adelaide was exceedingly great, and unremitting were her attentions and exertions for its accomplishment.

"She would, upon that event," she often declared, "contentedly depart from life, resigned in peace, when once her aged eyes had beheld what her soul had so often longed for, the union of an only son with the lovely and transcendently accomplished daughter of the dear and early friend of her youth." And the fact was, that the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Tyrconnel were equally as anxious in their wishes for the union of their daughter with the Duke d'Aremberg, as his n.o.ble and venerable mother, looking upon the marriage as "a consummation devoutly to be wished!"

One morning, at an early hour, the d.u.c.h.ess d'Aremberg despatched a note to Lady Adelaide, requesting that she would favour her G.o.dmother with a visit, so soon as might prove convenient, at the conclusion of breakfast, to the Lady Adelaide. "She was desirous," as her Grace expressed herself, to speak to her dear G.o.d-child upon a subject which was important to her happiness. She requested, therefore, that so soon as it might prove convenient Lady Adelaide would have the goodness to call upon her old friend and G.o.dmother."

An answer acquiescive to the above request was returned, and at the appointed time Adelaide waited upon the d.u.c.h.ess d'Aremberg, whom she found seated on a low settee, that which, now varying in shape and elevation, is in our modern days 'yclept a sofa. Before her Grace was placed a small walnut spider-table. Her occupation was knitting a silk purse: for even with the a.s.sistance of spectacles, she found it difficult to read. At her feet reposed upon a velvet cushion her blind and favourite lapdog Fidelle, who, hearing a stranger's steps to enter the chamber, awoke from her slumbers, and saluted Adelaide with a volley of barking, as loudly as age and infirmities permitted.

"Welcome, my dear Adelaide, my dearest G.o.d-child, whom I now gladly embrace; and happy, too happy should I be to call thee by yet still a dearer name than G.o.d-child: I would like to hear thee called daughter and my son's d.u.c.h.ess, while I the world forgetting, shall long by the world be forgot. Yes, my dearest child, I fain would call thee by the still fonder name of daughter, the wife of my beloved son, who from the first moment in which he beheld thee, my dear Adelaide, could no longer call his heart his own!"

Adelaide felt dreadfully embarra.s.sed. She reddened, and blushed up to the very eyes; and indeed some time had elapsed before she could muster up resolution enough to speak her sentiments.

As soon as she recovered her presence of mind, she replied: "How deeply grateful to the d.u.c.h.ess she felt for her numerous attentions and kindnesses, and above all for the high honour which her Grace had intended for her, but which she must most gratefully, respectfully, but yet most decidedly, decline. She could never--she would never, give her hand, without at the same time that it was in her power to bestow her heart, and that she candidly acknowledged it was not now in her power to give."