The Martins Of Cro' Martin Volume I Part 58

While Martin was pondering over this speech, a servant entered to say that Mr. Crow was without, and begged to know if he might pay his respects. "Ay, by all means. Tell him to come in," said Martin. And the words were scarcely uttered when the artist made his appearance, in full dinner costume, and with a certain unsteadiness in his gait, and a restless look in his eyes, that indicated his having indulged freely, without, however, having pa.s.sed the barrier of sobriety.

"You heard of our arrival, then?" said Martin, after the other had paid his respects, and a.s.sumed a seat.

"Yes, sir. It was mentioned to-day at dinner, and so I resolved that, when I could manage to step away, I'd just drop in and ask how her Ladyship and yourself were."

"Where did you dine, Crow?"

"At the Chief Secretary's, sir, in the Park," replied Crow, with a mixture of pride and bash fulness.

"Ah, indeed. Was your party a large one?"

"There were fourteen of us, sir, but I only knew three or four of the number."

"And who were they, Crow?" said Repton, whose curiosity on all such topics was extreme.

"Young Nelligan was one. Indeed, it was through him I was asked myself.

Colonel Ma.s.singbred was good enough to come over and have a look at my Moses,--a favor I humbly hope you 'll do me, gentlemen, any spare morning; for it's a new conception altogether, and I make the light come out of the bulrushes, just as Caravaggio did with his Lazarus."

"Never mind Lazarus, Crow, but tell us of this dinner. Who were the others?"

"Well, sir, there was Nelligan and me,--that's one; and Tom Magennis,--two--"

"Our neighbor of Barnagheela?" exclaimed Martin, in amazement.

"The same, sir. I left him there at the port wine, and my word for it, but they 'll not get him away easily, though Father Rafferty will do his best--"

"And was the priest also of the party?"

"He was, sir; and sat at the Colonel's left, and was treated with every honor and distinction."

"Eh, Martin, am I a true prophet?--answer me that. Has Val Repton foretold the course of events we are entering upon, or has he not?"

"But this is a regular outrage,--an open insult to us!" cried Martin.

"Here is a leading member of the Government entertaining the very men who opposed and defeated us,--actually caressing the very party which they enlisted us to crush?"

"This game is within every child's comprehension!" said Repton. "If _you_, and men of your stamp and fortune, could have secured them a parliamentary majority, they 'd have preferred you. You 'd be pleasanter to deal with, less exacting, more gentlemanly in fact; but as you failed to do this,--as it was plain and clear you had not the people with you,--why, they 've thrown you over without a scruple, and taken into their favor the men who can and will serve them. I don't mean to say that the bargain is a good one,--nay, I believe the price of such aid will be very costly; but what do they care? It is one of the blessings of a representative government that Tories have to pay Whig debts, and Whigs are heirs to Tory defalcations."

"Were politics discussed at table?" asked Martin, half impatiently.

"All manner of subjects. We had law, and the a.s.sizes, and the grand-jury lists, and who ought to be high sheriffs, and who not. And young Ma.s.singbred made a kind of a speech--"

"Was he there also?"

"That he was; and did the honors of the foot of the table, and made it the pleasantest place too! The way he introduced a toast to the independent and enlightened electors of Oughterard was as neat a thing as ever I heard."

"The devil take the whole batch of them!" cried Martin. "To think that I 've spent nearly three thousand pounds for such a set of scoundrels is past endurance. I 'll never set foot amongst them again; as long as I live I 'll never enter that town."

"Father Neal's own words," cried Crow. "'We done with Martin forever,'

said he. 'This election was his Waterloo. He may abdicate now!'"

"And that sentiment was listened to by the Chief Secretary?" exclaimed Martin.

"If he wasn't deaf he couldn't help hearing it, for we all did; and when I ventured to observe that a country was never the better for losing the patrons of art, and the great families that could encourage a genius, young Ma.s.singbred, said, 'Give up Moses, Mr. Crow,--give up Moses, and paint Daniel O'Connell, and you 'll never want admirers and supporters!'

And they drowned me in a roar of laughter."

"I wish my Lady could only hear all this," said Rep ton, in a whisper to Martin.

"Always provided that I were somewhere else!" answered Martin. "But to be serious, Repton, I 'll hold no intercourse with men who treat us in this fashion. It is absurd to suppose that the Secretary could receive at his table this rabble,--this herd of low, vulgar--"

"Eh--what!" broke in Crow, with an expression of such truly comic misery as made Repton shake with laughter.

"I didn't mean _you_, Crow--I never thought of including you in such company,--but if these be Colonel Ma.s.singbred's guests, I 'll swear that G.o.dfrey Martin shall not be my Lord Reckington's!" And with this bold resolve, uttered in a voice and manner of very unusual firmness, Martin arose and left the room.

"On the whole, then, your party was a pleasant one?" said Repton, anxious to lead Crow into some further details of the late dinner.

"Well, indeed it was, and it was not," said the artist, hesitatingly.

"It was like a picture with some fine bits in it,--a dash of rich color here and there,--but no keeping! no general effect! You understand? I myself took no share in the talk. I never understood it; but I could see that they who did were somehow at cross-purposes,--all standing in adverse lights,--if I may use the expression. Whenever the Colonel himself, or one of the 'swells' of the company, came out with a fine sentiment about regenerated Ireland, happy and prosperous, and so forth, Magennis was sure to break in with some violent denunciation of the infernal miscreants, as he called the landlords, or the greatest curse of the land,--the Law Church!"

"And how did Father Neal behave?"

"With great decorum,--the very greatest. He moderated all Tom's violence, and repeatedly said that he accepted no partic.i.p.ation in such illiberal opinions. 'We have grievances, it is true,' said he, 'but we live under a Government able and willing to redress them. It shall never be said of us that we were either impatient or intolerant.' 'With such support, no Government was ever weak!' said the Colonel, and they took wine together."

"That was very pleasant to see!" said Repton.

"So it was, sir," rejoined Crow, innocently; "and I thought to myself, if there was only an end of all their squabbling and fighting, they 'd have time to cultivate the arts and cherish men of genius,--if they had them!" added he, after a pause.

"Father Neal, then, made a favorable impression, you 'd say?" asked Repton, half carelessly.

"I'd say, very favorable,--very favorable, indeed. I remarked that he always spoke so freely, so liberally. Twice or thrice, too, he said, 'If the Papists do this, that, or t' other;' and when the Colonel asked whether the Catholics of Ireland submitted implicitly to Rome in all things, he laughed heartily, and said, 'About as much as we do to the Cham of Tartary!'

"'I 'd like to examine our friend there before the Committee,' whispered an old gentleman at the Colonel's right hand.

"'It was the very thing was pa.s.sing through my own mind at the minute,'

said the Colonel.

"'That's exactly the kind of thing we want,' said the old gentleman again,--'a bold, straightforward denial; something that would tell admirably with the House! Present me to your friend, Ma.s.singbred!'

And then the Chief Secretary said, 'The Member for Strudeham--Mr.

Crutch-ley--is very desirous of being known to you, Mr. Rafferty.' And there was great smiling, and bowing, and drinking wine together after that."

Martin now re-entered the room, and taking his place at the table, sat for some minutes in moody silence.

"Well," said Repton, "what does my Lady think of your tidings?"

"She says she does n't believe it!"

"Does n't believe that these people dined with Ma.s.singbred; that Crow saw them, heard them, dined with them?"

"No, no,--not that," said Martin, gently, and laying his hand familiarly on Crow's arm. "Don't mistake me; nor don't let Repton play the lawyer with us, and pervert the evidence. Lady Dorothea can't believe that her distinguished relative, the Viceroy, would ever countenance this game; that--that--in fact, we're to dine there, Repton, and see for ourselves!

Though," added he, after a brief pause, "what we are to see, or what we are to do when we 've seen it, I wish anybody would tell me!"