‘Many joyful returns of this day to you, dearest Laura, and may each find you better and happier than the last. I send you a little piece of velvet, which you may find useful, for I do not think you will value a present only for the money it costs; and I dare say you will agree with me that atriflefrom an affectionate friend is often more valuable than great gifts from those who love you not.‘I hope, dearest Lautie, you may enjoya very particularlyhappy birthday, and that you may have as few sorrows in the year you are just entering as in that you have just passed.—Accept my kindest love, and believe me to be‘Your affectionate friend and sister,‘C. M. T.’
‘Many joyful returns of this day to you, dearest Laura, and may each find you better and happier than the last. I send you a little piece of velvet, which you may find useful, for I do not think you will value a present only for the money it costs; and I dare say you will agree with me that atriflefrom an affectionate friend is often more valuable than great gifts from those who love you not.
‘I hope, dearest Lautie, you may enjoya very particularlyhappy birthday, and that you may have as few sorrows in the year you are just entering as in that you have just passed.—Accept my kindest love, and believe me to be
‘Your affectionate friend and sister,
‘C. M. T.’
This letter may have been some years later than the two copies of verses; but that hardly does away with the difficulty. The style is almost as pedantic for the age of sixteen or seventeen as for the age of ten or twelve.
Side by side with the intense devotion for her sister Laura, there was a considerable degree of reticence in Charlotte’s nature. It may have developed more fully as time went on; yet it must surely have been a part of herself even in childhood. It was not with her a superficial reserve, an acted reticence, such as may sometimes be seen in essentially shallow women. On the surface shewas free, frank, chatty, quick in response, ready to converse, full of liveliness, fun, and repartee. But underlying the freedom and brightness there was a habit of silence about her own affairs—that is to say, about affairs which concerned only and exclusively herself—which to some extent was a life-long characteristic.
Neither Charlotte nor any of her sisters ever went to school. Their father had a very pronounced objection to schools for girls; indeed, he had himself made an early resolution never to marry any girl who had been educated at school, and he kept that resolution. The same idea was followed out with his own daughters. A daily governess came in to superintend their studies; and occasional masters were provided. In reference to the latter Charlotte wrote, many years afterward, to a niece: ‘No one can do as much for us in the way of education as we can do for ourselves. A willing mind is like a steam-engine, and carries one on famously. When I was young my beloved parents did not feel able to give us many masters. We knew that, and it made us more anxious to profit by what we had.’
Twenty-five years of hard toil in India had not made a rich man of Mr. Tucker; nor did his position as a Director bring him wealth. It was his daughter’s pride in after-life to know that he had died comparatively poor, because of his inviolable sense of honour. Not that more money would not have been acceptable! Ten children, including five sons, to be launched in life, are a serious pull upon any purse of ordinary capacity; and Mr. Tucker was of an essentially generous nature. He had many relatives, many friends, and the demands upon his purse were numerous. On a certain occasion he gave away aboutone-quarter of his whole capital, a sum amounting to several thousands of pounds, to help a relative in a great emergency. One who met him immediately afterwardsspoke of his appearing to have suddenly grown into an old man.
In Charlotte’s earlier years anxiety as to money matters was often experienced; and recurring Christmastides saw a repeated difficulty in making both ends meet. This state of things continued up till about the year 1837, when an unlooked-for legacy was left to Mr. Tucker, as a token of great esteem, by a friend, Mr. Brough. Besides the main legacy to Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, the sum of two hundred pounds came to each of the children, and was treated as a ‘nest-egg’ for each. From this date serious pressure ceased, and Mr. Tucker became able to meet the various calls upon him; not indeed without care and economy, but without a perpetual weight of uneasiness. Some few years later another friend, Mr. Maclew, left another legacy in the same kind and unexpected manner.
These facts serve to explain the paucity of masters when Charlotte was young. But the sisters bravely accepted the condition of things, and worked hard to make up for any disadvantages. One distinct gain in such a home education was that at least they were free to develop each in her own natural lines, instead of being all trimmed as far as possible into one shape.
Charlotte’s ‘lines’ were many in number.
She had a marked talent for drawing, and could take likenesses of her friends; good as regarded the salient features, though apt to grow into more of caricatures than the young artist intended. Musical gifts also were hers, including an almost painfully sensitive ear. Though her voice was never really very good, she sang much; and while well able to take a second at sight, she was in after years equally ready to undertake any other part in a glee, inclusive of the bass, which often fell to her share when a man’s voice happened to be lacking.
A gift for teaching showed itself early; and as a childshe would try to impress geographical facts upon her younger brothers and sisters by an original system of her own. In the Park Crescent Gardens, near Portland Place,—their playground; described by one friend in those days as a “jungle,” because of its unkempt condition,—she would name one bed England, another France, another Germany, and so on, and would thus fix in the children’s minds their various positions, though the shapes and sizes of the beds were by no means always what they ought to have been. That the mode of instruction was effective is evident from the fact that her brother, Mr. St. George Tucker, can recall the lessons still, after the lapse of fifty years, and can say, ‘By that means I learnt that England was in the north-west corner of Europe.’
Another direction in which she excelled was that of dancing. Even in walking she possessed a peculiarly springy step, remarked by all who knew her; and this in dancing was a great advantage. She was at home alike in the dignified minuet and in the activegavotte, and she would perform thepas de basquewith much spirit. Indeed dancing was an exercise in which she found immense enjoyment through half a century of life.
At home Charlotte was a leader in the games, herself flowing over with fun and frolic. Her fertile imagination left her never at a loss for schemes of amusement. Naturally eager, impulsive, vehement, she had from beginning to end an extraordinary amount of energy, and in childhood her vigour must have been almost untirable.
One can imagine how the house echoed with the gay voices and laughter of the young people, as they pursued their various games, led by the indefatigable Charlotte. Mr. Tucker loved the sound of those merry voices; and when he could join them he was probably the merriest of the whole party. At one period, heavy and long-continuedwork in ‘clearing up the finances’ of the East India Company kept him much apart from the family circle; and the delight was great when he could leave his big dry books, and be as a boy among the children again.
Bella, the elder girl, was pretty and of gracious manners, with dark eyes, and with a capacity for dressing herself well upon the very moderate allowance which her father was able to bestow. Fanny, the next sister, though not at all handsome, had also soft dark eyes, and a peculiarly sweet disposition; and she too dressed nicely. It was commonly said amongst themselves that Fanny was ‘the gentle sister,’ and that Charlotte was ‘the clever heroic sister.’ But Charlotte was not gifted with the art of dressing well.
In those early days, and for many a year afterwards, it would not appear that gentleness or sweetness were characteristics belonging to Charlotte. They were of far later growth, developing only under long pressure of loss and trial. In her childhood and girlhood, though doubtless shecouldbe both winning and tender to the few whom she intensely loved, yet it was impossible to describe her generally by any such adjectives. She was chiefly remarkable for her spring and energy, her originality and cleverness, her wild spirits, and her lofty determination. With all her liveliness, however, she was in no sense a madcap, being thoroughly a lady.
In appearance Charlotte was never good-looking; and in girlhood she could not have been pretty; though there was always an indescribable charm in the vivid life and the ever-varying expression of her face.
One friend remembers hearing her tell a story of her young days, bearing upon this question of personal appearance. With a mirror and a hand-glass she examined her own face, the profile as well as the full face,and evidently she was not satisfied with the result. A wise resolution followed. Since she ‘could never be pretty,’ she determined that she ‘would try to be good, and to do all the good in the world that she could.’ It was a resolve well carried out.
This sounds like a curious echo of an early experience of her father. When a boy of about ten, he caught smallpox, and ‘came forth,’ as he related of himself long after, ‘most wofully disfigured.... “Well,” observed one of my aunts, “you have now, Henry, lost all your good looks, and you have nothing for it but to make yourself agreeable by your manners and accomplishments.” Here was cold comfort; but the words made an impression upon my mind, and may possibly have had some influence on my future life.’
And much the same thought is reproduced in Charlotte Tucker’s own clever and amusing little book,My Neighbour’s Shoes,—when, as Archie gazes into the mirror, he says of himself, ‘One thing is evident; as I can’t be admired for my beauty, I must make myself liked in some other way. I’ll be a jolly good-natured little soul.’
In girlish days it may have been a prominent idea with Charlotte. By nature she not only was impulsive, but she no doubt inherited some measure of her great-grandfather Bruere’s irascible temper; and the amount of self-control speedily developed by one of so impetuous a temperament is remarkable. High principle had sway at a very early age; but this thought, that her lack of good looks might be compensated for by good humour and kindness to others, may also have been a motive of considerable power in the formation of her character.
It must be added that not all thought so ill of her looks as Charlotte herself did. An artist of repute, who saw her in the later days of her Indian career, has saidunhesitatingly, in reply to a query on this subject,—‘Plain! No! A face with such a look of intellect as Miss Tucker’s could never be plain.’ If matters were thus in old age, the same might surely have been said when she was young. But beauty of feature she did not possess.
In addition to her other gifts, Charlotte had something at least of dramatic power, and in her own home-circle she was a spirited actress.
Mr. Tucker’s published volume of plays and enigmas has been already named. BothHaroldandCamoenswere acted by the young folk of the family, with the rest of their number for audience. It is uncertain whether any outside friends were admitted on these occasions.
In the second play Charlotte took the part of the heroine, Theodora; and her brother, St. George, took the part of Ferdinand. Camoens, the hero, is betrayed to the Inquisition by Theodora; the betrayal being caused by a fit of fierce jealousy on the part of Theodora, who loves, and is apparently loved by, Camoens. The jealousy has some foundation, since Camoens decides to marry, not Theodora but Clara. Theodora in her wrath is helped by another lover, Ferdinand, to carry out her plot, and together they bring a false charge against Ferdinand, who is speedily landed in the dungeons of the Inquisition. Theodora then, finding that Clara does not love Camoens, and repenting too late her deed, goes mad with remorse. Camoens is after all set at liberty, none the worse for his imprisonment; but the distracted Theodora, meeting her other lover and her companion in evil-doing, Ferdinand, attacks him vehemently, with these words—
‘Theod.Ha! Ferdinand!Thou hast recalled a name!It brings some dreadful recollections.’Twas he who basely did betray my husband.Go, wretched man! bring back the murdered Camoens!Go, make thy peace. (She stabs him.)Bian.Oh! help!Ferd.I bless the hand that gave the wound.Thou hast redeemed me from a deadly sin,Or mortal suffering.Farewell, beloved unhappy Theodora.Guard her, ye pitying angels!Theod.Where am I?What have I done?I have some strange impression of a dream—A fearful dream of death.Young Ferdinand, who loved me!Dead—dead—and by this desperate hand!’
‘Theod.Ha! Ferdinand!Thou hast recalled a name!It brings some dreadful recollections.’Twas he who basely did betray my husband.Go, wretched man! bring back the murdered Camoens!Go, make thy peace. (She stabs him.)Bian.Oh! help!Ferd.I bless the hand that gave the wound.Thou hast redeemed me from a deadly sin,Or mortal suffering.Farewell, beloved unhappy Theodora.Guard her, ye pitying angels!Theod.Where am I?What have I done?I have some strange impression of a dream—A fearful dream of death.Young Ferdinand, who loved me!Dead—dead—and by this desperate hand!’
‘Theod.Ha! Ferdinand!Thou hast recalled a name!It brings some dreadful recollections.’Twas he who basely did betray my husband.Go, wretched man! bring back the murdered Camoens!Go, make thy peace. (She stabs him.)
‘Theod.Ha! Ferdinand!
Thou hast recalled a name!
It brings some dreadful recollections.
’Twas he who basely did betray my husband.
Go, wretched man! bring back the murdered Camoens!
Go, make thy peace. (She stabs him.)
Bian.Oh! help!
Bian.Oh! help!
Ferd.I bless the hand that gave the wound.Thou hast redeemed me from a deadly sin,Or mortal suffering.Farewell, beloved unhappy Theodora.Guard her, ye pitying angels!
Ferd.I bless the hand that gave the wound.
Thou hast redeemed me from a deadly sin,
Or mortal suffering.
Farewell, beloved unhappy Theodora.
Guard her, ye pitying angels!
Theod.Where am I?What have I done?I have some strange impression of a dream—A fearful dream of death.Young Ferdinand, who loved me!Dead—dead—and by this desperate hand!’
Theod.Where am I?
What have I done?
I have some strange impression of a dream—
A fearful dream of death.
Young Ferdinand, who loved me!
Dead—dead—and by this desperate hand!’
After which Clara enters, and Theodora dies, completing the tragedy. One can picture the force and energy with which Charlotte would have poured forth her reproaches upon the head of Ferdinand, before giving him the fatal stab.
It may have been somewhere about this time—it was at all events before the year 1842—that Charlotte had once a scientific fit, and for several weeks threw herself with ardour into the study of Chemistry. At intervals in her life a marked interest is shown in certain scientific facts or subjects; sufficient, perhaps, to indicate that, had the bent been cultivated, she might possibly have shown some measure of power in that direction also. Books on Natural History always proved an attraction to her; and many little Natural History facts come incidentally into her correspondence, sometimes given from her own observation. In later years she even wrote two or three little books for children on semi-scientific subjects,—not without making mistakes, from the common error of trusting to old instead of to new authorities. But the early influences with which she was surrounded were not of a kind to call forth this tendency, if indeed it existed inany but a very slight degree. Her Father’s bent was strongly poetical and classical; and probably his influence over her mind in girlhood was stronger than any other. The poetic and the scientific may, and sometimes do, exist side by side; but the combination is not very usual.
A great event of Charlotte’s young days was the fancy-dress ball given by her parents in the spring of 1835. The Duke of Wellington himself was present; prominent still in the minds of men as the Deliverer of Europe, only twenty years earlier, from a tyrant’s thraldom. All the young Tuckers, not to speak of their parents, were ardent admirers of the Duke. Laura, still a mere child, in her enthusiasm slipped close up behind, when the Duke was ascending the stairs, and gently abstracted a fallen hair from the shoulder of the hero, which hair she preserved ever after among her choicest treasures; and Charlotte was no whit behind Laura in this devotion.
At the ball Frances made her appearance dressed as Queen Elizabeth,—‘very neat and very stately,’—while Charlotte represented ‘the star of the morning,’ in a dress of pure muslin, full and well starched, so nicely made and so beautifully white that the impression of it lasts still in the mind of a brother, after the lapse of more than half a century. The prettiness of her dress on that particular occasion was no doubt accentuated by the fact that in general Charlotte didnotattire herself becomingly; and also by the fact of another young lady being present as a second ‘star of the morning.’ For the other ‘star’ had hired a dress for the evening; a muslin dress, which was by no means white, but dingy and tumbled. In contrast, Charlotte’s pure whiteness, relieved by a star upon her forehead, drew much attention. Since she was then only a girl of about fourteen, it appears that a close distinction was not drawn in those days, as in these, between girls ‘out’ and girls ‘not out.’ Her brother, St.George, a boy of twelve or thirteen, was also present, wearing a Highland costume.
The hero of the day appeared in evening dress, according to the then fashion, with a star on his breast. Frances, in her queenly apparel, presented him with a bag which contained a Commission to defend England,—a business which, one is disposed to think, he had already pretty well accomplished! The Duke received this offering graciously; and a day or two later the following playful letter arrived from him to Mr. Tucker:—
‘Strathfieldsaye.Ap. 26, 1835.‘My dear Sir,—When Queen Elizabeth gave me that beautiful bag on Friday night, I was not aware that it contained a Letter Patent which I prize highly; and for which I ought to have returned my grateful acknowledgment at the time it was delivered.‘I beg you to present my thanks; and to express my hopes that her Majesty continued to enjoy the pleasures of the evening; and that she has not been fatigued by them.‘Ever, my dear Sir,‘Your most faithful humble servant,(Signed) ‘Wellington.‘H. St. George Tucker, Esq., etc.’
‘Strathfieldsaye.Ap. 26, 1835.
‘My dear Sir,—When Queen Elizabeth gave me that beautiful bag on Friday night, I was not aware that it contained a Letter Patent which I prize highly; and for which I ought to have returned my grateful acknowledgment at the time it was delivered.
‘I beg you to present my thanks; and to express my hopes that her Majesty continued to enjoy the pleasures of the evening; and that she has not been fatigued by them.
‘Ever, my dear Sir,
‘Your most faithful humble servant,
(Signed) ‘Wellington.
‘H. St. George Tucker, Esq., etc.’
The delight and enthusiasm amongst the young people, aroused by this letter, may be imagined. It seems to have come later into the possession of Charlotte; and when she went to India it was presented by her to her sister Laura,—the envelope which contained it having in Charlotte’s handwriting the following inscription:—
‘What I consider one of my most valuable possessions, and therefore send to my beloved Laura, to whom it will recall past days.’
One after another the brothers of Charlotte went out to India. Henry Carre, the eldest, well known in Indian story, had left in 1831, when she was only ten years old; and in 1835 her particular companion, Robert, went also. He was a tall, handsome young fellow; and though only eighteen years old, he had already done well in his studies. At Haileybury his remarkable abilities won him the admiration of the Professors; and at his last examination for the Civil Service he signalised himself by actually carrying offfourgold medals.
Among other gifts he had a keen touch of satire, and a power of easy versification. Some of the early verses preserved show considerable power, and are very spirited as well as amusing. A main feature of his character was, however, his intense earnestness. He was of the same stern and heroic cast of mind as Charlotte herself; with perhaps less fun and sparkle to lighten the sternness. Like her, he was markedly self-reliant, and was never known to lean upon the opinion of others.
With all Charlotte’s gaiety and merriment, her delight in dancing and acting, and her love of games, there was a stern side, even in those early days, to her girlish nature; and in this respect she and Robert were well suited the one to the other. She was, as one says who knew her well,‘a born heroine’; indeed, both she and Robert were of the stuff of which in former centuries martyrs have been made.
At what date Charlotte first began to think seriously upon religious questions it is not possible to say. Probably at a very early age. Underlying her high spirits was a stratum of deep thought; and strong principle seems almost from the beginning to have held control over her life. One of her brothers speaks of her as ‘always religious.’ She may have thought and may have felt to any extent, without expression in words of what she thought or felt. The innate reticence, which veiled so much of herself from others, would naturally in early years extend itself to matters of religion. Later in life reserve broke down in that direction; but silence in girlhood was no proof whatever of indifference.
An undated letter to her niece, Miss Laura Veronica Tucker, written in middle life, gives us something of a clue here.
‘I am much interested in hearing from your dear Mother that you are so soon to take upon you the vows made for you in Baptism, and I wish specially to remember you, my love, in prayer on the 18th.‘To-morrow, too, you attain the age of fifteen.... I was about your age, dear Laura, when the feeling of being His—of indeed having the Saviour asmy ownSaviour, came upon me like a flood of daylight. I was so happy! This was a little time before my Confirmation. Though I have often often done wrong since, and shed many many tears, I have neverquitelost the light shed on me then, and now it brightens all the future, so that I can scarcely say that I have any care as regards myself—the Lord will take care of me in advancing age—in the last sickness—in what is called death, (it is only its shadow).’
‘I am much interested in hearing from your dear Mother that you are so soon to take upon you the vows made for you in Baptism, and I wish specially to remember you, my love, in prayer on the 18th.
‘To-morrow, too, you attain the age of fifteen.... I was about your age, dear Laura, when the feeling of being His—of indeed having the Saviour asmy ownSaviour, came upon me like a flood of daylight. I was so happy! This was a little time before my Confirmation. Though I have often often done wrong since, and shed many many tears, I have neverquitelost the light shed on me then, and now it brightens all the future, so that I can scarcely say that I have any care as regards myself—the Lord will take care of me in advancing age—in the last sickness—in what is called death, (it is only its shadow).’
To the majority of people religious conviction and experience come as daylight comes; not in one sudden burst, but gradually, heralded by grey dawn, slowly unfolding into brightness. Brought up as Charlotte was inan atmosphere of kindness, of gentleness, of unselfish thought for others, of generosity, of high principle, and of most real religion, albeit not much talked about, she would naturally imbibe the latter almost unconsciously, and as naturally would say little. The spiritual life, begun early in her, would expand and develop year by year, as fresh influences came, each in turn helping to shape the young ardent nature.
She was essentially independent; one who would of necessity think questions out for herself, and form her own opinions; and when an opinion was once formed, she would act in accordance with that opinion, fearlessly and conscientiously. All this came as a logical result of what she was in herself. But the very independence was of gradual growth; and side by side with it existed always a spirit of beautiful and reverent submission to her Father and Mother.
Although she never published anything during her Father’s lifetime—whether because she was slow to recognise her own capabilities, or because he failed to encourage the idea, does not distinctly appear,—her pen was often busy. A small magazine or serial in manuscript, for family use, was early started among the brothers and sisters, and to this, as might be expected, Charlotte was a frequent contributor.
She also wrote several plays, following in her Father’s footsteps; and some of these are extant, notwrittenbut exquisitely printed by her own hand. She was indeed an adept at such printing, as at many other things; and one amusing story is told anent this particular gift. About 1840, when her brother St. George was at Haileybury College, the latter wrote an essay, which was copied for him by Charlotte in small printed characters. Whereupon a rumour went through the College that one of the competitors had actually had his essay printed forthe occasion. Inquiries were made; and the ‘printed copy’ was discovered to be the essay of Mr. St. George Tucker.
The earliest in date of these unpublished plays, composed for the entertainment of the home-circle, appears to have beenThe Iron Mask; achieved in 1839, when Charlotte was about eighteen years old. It was ‘Dedicated, with the fondest esteem and affection, to her beloved Father, Henry St. George Tucker, to whom she is indebted for the outline of the characters and plot, by the Author, Charlotte Maria Tucker.’ By which Dedication may be plainly seen that Mr. Tucker encouraged his daughter’s literary bent, so far as actual writing went, though he does not seem to have helped her into print. The Preface to this early work is quaint enough to be worth quoting. The young Author had evidently studied Miss Edgeworth’s style.
‘I cannot pretend to offer that most common excuse of Authors that their works have been written in great haste and consequently under great disadvantages. I have been a considerable time about my little performance, and its defects are not owing to want of care or attention on my part.‘I once had thoughts of myself writing a Critique onThe Iron Mask, to show that I am sensible of its faults, though I do not think I havethe powerto remove at least all of them. But I have dropped the idea, and am determined to leave them to be found out, or perhaps overlooked, by the eye of partiality and affection.’
‘I cannot pretend to offer that most common excuse of Authors that their works have been written in great haste and consequently under great disadvantages. I have been a considerable time about my little performance, and its defects are not owing to want of care or attention on my part.
‘I once had thoughts of myself writing a Critique onThe Iron Mask, to show that I am sensible of its faults, though I do not think I havethe powerto remove at least all of them. But I have dropped the idea, and am determined to leave them to be found out, or perhaps overlooked, by the eye of partiality and affection.’
The play is, of course, historical, and is of considerable length. One short quotation may be given as a specimen of her girlish powers, taken from SceneII.
‘Apartment in the Castle of Chateaurouge: a grated window seen in the background.The Iron Mask.‘The glorious Sun hath reached the farthest west,And clouds transparent tipt with living fireHang o’er his glory, bright’ning to the close.Now gently-falling dews refresh the earth,And pensive Silence, hand in hand with Night,Already claims her reign.Another dayHas past! another weary weary day,And I am so much nearer to my grave!Oh that I could, like yon broad setting Sun,For one day tread the path of Liberty,For one day shine a blessing to my Country,Then, like him, set in glory!Still come they not?—then Chateaurouge deceived me!He said e’er sunset that they must be here,And I have watched from the first blush of morn,Before the lark his cheerful matins sung,Before the glorious traveller of the skiesHad with one ray of gold illumed the east,And still they come not!—’Tis in vain to watch,They will not come to-night!—my sinking heartFor one day more must sicken in suspense.’
‘Apartment in the Castle of Chateaurouge: a grated window seen in the background.
The Iron Mask.‘The glorious Sun hath reached the farthest west,And clouds transparent tipt with living fireHang o’er his glory, bright’ning to the close.Now gently-falling dews refresh the earth,And pensive Silence, hand in hand with Night,Already claims her reign.Another dayHas past! another weary weary day,And I am so much nearer to my grave!Oh that I could, like yon broad setting Sun,For one day tread the path of Liberty,For one day shine a blessing to my Country,Then, like him, set in glory!Still come they not?—then Chateaurouge deceived me!He said e’er sunset that they must be here,And I have watched from the first blush of morn,Before the lark his cheerful matins sung,Before the glorious traveller of the skiesHad with one ray of gold illumed the east,And still they come not!—’Tis in vain to watch,They will not come to-night!—my sinking heartFor one day more must sicken in suspense.’
The Iron Mask.‘The glorious Sun hath reached the farthest west,And clouds transparent tipt with living fireHang o’er his glory, bright’ning to the close.Now gently-falling dews refresh the earth,And pensive Silence, hand in hand with Night,Already claims her reign.Another dayHas past! another weary weary day,And I am so much nearer to my grave!Oh that I could, like yon broad setting Sun,For one day tread the path of Liberty,For one day shine a blessing to my Country,Then, like him, set in glory!Still come they not?—then Chateaurouge deceived me!He said e’er sunset that they must be here,And I have watched from the first blush of morn,Before the lark his cheerful matins sung,Before the glorious traveller of the skiesHad with one ray of gold illumed the east,And still they come not!—’Tis in vain to watch,They will not come to-night!—my sinking heartFor one day more must sicken in suspense.’
The Iron Mask.
‘The glorious Sun hath reached the farthest west,And clouds transparent tipt with living fireHang o’er his glory, bright’ning to the close.Now gently-falling dews refresh the earth,And pensive Silence, hand in hand with Night,Already claims her reign.
‘The glorious Sun hath reached the farthest west,
And clouds transparent tipt with living fire
Hang o’er his glory, bright’ning to the close.
Now gently-falling dews refresh the earth,
And pensive Silence, hand in hand with Night,
Already claims her reign.
Another dayHas past! another weary weary day,And I am so much nearer to my grave!Oh that I could, like yon broad setting Sun,For one day tread the path of Liberty,For one day shine a blessing to my Country,Then, like him, set in glory!Still come they not?—then Chateaurouge deceived me!He said e’er sunset that they must be here,And I have watched from the first blush of morn,Before the lark his cheerful matins sung,Before the glorious traveller of the skiesHad with one ray of gold illumed the east,And still they come not!—’Tis in vain to watch,They will not come to-night!—my sinking heartFor one day more must sicken in suspense.’
Another day
Has past! another weary weary day,
And I am so much nearer to my grave!
Oh that I could, like yon broad setting Sun,
For one day tread the path of Liberty,
For one day shine a blessing to my Country,
Then, like him, set in glory!
Still come they not?—then Chateaurouge deceived me!
He said e’er sunset that they must be here,
And I have watched from the first blush of morn,
Before the lark his cheerful matins sung,
Before the glorious traveller of the skies
Had with one ray of gold illumed the east,
And still they come not!—’Tis in vain to watch,
They will not come to-night!—my sinking heart
For one day more must sicken in suspense.’
The writing of the play as a whole is unequal,—what girl of eighteen is not unequal?—but in these lines,as well as elsewhere, there are tokens of genuine power, alike poetical and dramatic.
Next came, in the year 1840,The Fatal Vow; a Tragedy in Three Acts; on the title-page of which is found a dedication—‘To Jane Tucker; the Mother who in the bloom of youth and beauty devoted herself to her children, and whose tender care can never by them be repaid.’ The play was written in less than two months; its scene being laid in Arabia, while the characters are of Arabian nationality. It is an ambitious and spirited effort for a girl under twenty.
Two years later she wrote another,The Pretender; a Farce in Two Acts; respectfully dedicated to ‘Fair Isabella, the Flower of the East.’ This witty and amusing little farce shall be given entire in the next chapter, as a fair example of what she was able to accomplish at theage of twenty-one. It also shows conclusively her love of fun, and the manner in which she delighted in any play upon words.
In 1842, the same year which saw her produceThe Pretender, her brother St. George went out to India; and two years later a paper of extracts from different letters, in her handwriting, records the sister’s loving pride in the warm opinions sent home about that brother. Also the same paper contains an account of an affair in which he was engaged; but the said account not being correct in all details, I give it in different words.
In 1844, one year and a quarter after the arrival of Mr. St. George Tucker in India, he volunteered to assist his joint magistrate, Mr. Robert Thornhill, to capture the celebrated dacoit,[2]Khansah. Upon the receipt of further orders from his chief magistrate, Mr. Thornhill decided not to make the attempt. Mr. Tucker, however, having volunteered, thought it was his duty to go; and go he did, accompanied by a Thannadar,[3]four horsemen, and some Burkandahs. On a January morning, in early dawn, they reached the village in which the dacoit leader, Khansah, was supposed to be concealed; and after many inquiries they induced an alarmed little native boy to point out silently which hut sheltered Khansah.
Leaving the horsemen and the Burkandahs outside, Mr. Tucker and the Thannadar went into the courtyard of the house. In the darkness of the entry to one of the huts stood Khansah, holding a loaded blunderbuss. At first he was unperceived; but suddenly the Thannadar exclaimed, ‘There he is!’ and as Mr. Tucker turned to the right, Khansah fired off the blunderbuss. The Thannadar dropped dead; and Mr. Tucker’s right arm fell helpless, from a wound in the shoulder. He climbed quickly over the low walls of a roofless hut, then turned about, andwith his left hand steadying the right hand on the top of the outer wall, he fired his pistol at the dacoit,—and missed him. Mr. Tucker then went round the back of the hut to a tree which stood near the entrance; and shortly afterward Khansah came out, calling—‘Kill the Sahib!’ A struggle followed between Khansah and one of the native police, which lasted some three or four minutes. Then Khansah, having apparently had enough, made away on the Thannadar’s pony; and Mr. Tucker, regaining his own horse, rode back to the station, accompanied by the Burkandahs and horsemen, who had carefully kept in the background when most needed, but whose courage returned so soon as the peril was over.
Eighteen months later an offer was made by Government of ten thousand rupees to any one who should give up Khansah,—the dacoit being a very notorious robber and murderer. His own relatives responded promptly to this appeal, and Khansah speedily found himself in durance vile. Mr. Tucker failed to identify the man in Court; but other evidence was forthcoming, and Khansah, being convicted, was hung. Charlotte, when noting down particulars of the above stirring episode, observes: ‘We cannot feel too thankful to a merciful God for my precious George’s preservation.’ The brief account which she copied out from the letter of a friend in India ends with these words: ‘My husband tells me he (Mr. Tucker) acted with great spirit, and showed much cool, determined courage, and deserved great credit; but from being almost a stranger to the habits of this country, he failed in his attempt to capture the dacoit.’
Another paper of copied extracts has a particular interest, because it seems to show, even then, a dawning sense in the mind of Charlotte Tucker of the needs of heathen and semi-heathen lands. The sheet is dated 1844; and the passages are selected from a book of the day, calledSavage Life and Scenes. But probably at that period nothing was further from her dreams than that she herself would ever go out as a missionary to the East.
The following undated letters belong to the years 1846-7. A little sentence in the first, as to the solution of Mr. Tucker’s enigma, is very characteristic of one who through life was always peculiarly ready to give praise to others.
TO MISS D. LAURA TUCKER.‘How sweet, good, and kind you are! I hardly know how to thank you and dearest Mother forsuchnotes as I have received from both, but I truly feel your kindness at my heart....‘My eye is exceedingly improved. Such a fuss has been made about it here by my affectionate Fannies, that one might suppose that, like your friend Polyphemus, I had but one eye, and that as rudely treated as was his by Ulysses.‘We think that the solution of my noble Father’s enigma is “Glass” or “Mirror.” Fanny was the first to imagine this. As for going to Gresford the 3rd of next month, I do not wish to be one of the party at all, at all! I calculate that Robin will then have been on the waves 76 days; and though I do not expect him till October, the S——maybe a fast sailer, and fast sailershaveaccomplished the whole voyage in about that time, I believe. I drink the port wine which Papa brought down, which I hope may serve instead of bark.’
TO MISS D. LAURA TUCKER.
‘How sweet, good, and kind you are! I hardly know how to thank you and dearest Mother forsuchnotes as I have received from both, but I truly feel your kindness at my heart....
‘My eye is exceedingly improved. Such a fuss has been made about it here by my affectionate Fannies, that one might suppose that, like your friend Polyphemus, I had but one eye, and that as rudely treated as was his by Ulysses.
‘We think that the solution of my noble Father’s enigma is “Glass” or “Mirror.” Fanny was the first to imagine this. As for going to Gresford the 3rd of next month, I do not wish to be one of the party at all, at all! I calculate that Robin will then have been on the waves 76 days; and though I do not expect him till October, the S——maybe a fast sailer, and fast sailershaveaccomplished the whole voyage in about that time, I believe. I drink the port wine which Papa brought down, which I hope may serve instead of bark.’
TO MISS SIBELLA J. TUCKER.‘Having concluded my reading of old Russell, how can I do better than employ the interval before the arrival of the Indian letters in sitting down and writing to my fair absent sister? Colonel Sykes let me know last night that Robin would not come bythismail, which was, he says, only from Bombay, so that letters being all we must expect before Saturday fortnight, you need not hurry home on account of Robin’s return.‘Now doubtless you would like to hear a little how the world in Portland Place has been going on since your fair countenance disappeared from our horizon. In the first placeallthe three Misses —— are coming. A comical party we shall have! There has been no letter from Lord Metcalfe yet, that I know of. We had a verynice evening yesterday. I wish that yours may have been equally agreeable. The beginning was by no means the worst part of it. I dressed early, and while Mamma and Fanny were upstairs, Charlie and I enjoyed quite a stream of melody from my dear Father, who sang us more than twenty songs, most of which I had never heard before. I wonder that he did not sing his throat quite dry, particularly after a Wednesday’s work. I must now write Lautie an account of the Ball.’
TO MISS SIBELLA J. TUCKER.
‘Having concluded my reading of old Russell, how can I do better than employ the interval before the arrival of the Indian letters in sitting down and writing to my fair absent sister? Colonel Sykes let me know last night that Robin would not come bythismail, which was, he says, only from Bombay, so that letters being all we must expect before Saturday fortnight, you need not hurry home on account of Robin’s return.
‘Now doubtless you would like to hear a little how the world in Portland Place has been going on since your fair countenance disappeared from our horizon. In the first placeallthe three Misses —— are coming. A comical party we shall have! There has been no letter from Lord Metcalfe yet, that I know of. We had a verynice evening yesterday. I wish that yours may have been equally agreeable. The beginning was by no means the worst part of it. I dressed early, and while Mamma and Fanny were upstairs, Charlie and I enjoyed quite a stream of melody from my dear Father, who sang us more than twenty songs, most of which I had never heard before. I wonder that he did not sing his throat quite dry, particularly after a Wednesday’s work. I must now write Lautie an account of the Ball.’
TO MISS D. L. TUCKER.‘Well, dearest Lautie, we had a nice Ball last night. There were the Vukeels of S——, with their dark intelligent countenances, Colonel Sykes, your friend, who is really becoming quite a friend of mine, and honest, handsome Sir Henry Pottinger, the very look of whom does one good. I chatted with both the latter amusing gentlemen, and heard from Sir Henry a circumstantial account of his attack of gout, when, he said: “I felt as though I could have roared like a bull.” Sir Henry thinks that ladies should have a glass of champagne aftereverydance, quadrille, waltz, or polka! “You would see,” said he, “if my plan were followed, how many ladies would come.” ... Papa has had applications for cadetships from Lord Jocelyn and H—— T——. I suppose that in both cases it will be, “I wish you may get it!”’
TO MISS D. L. TUCKER.
‘Well, dearest Lautie, we had a nice Ball last night. There were the Vukeels of S——, with their dark intelligent countenances, Colonel Sykes, your friend, who is really becoming quite a friend of mine, and honest, handsome Sir Henry Pottinger, the very look of whom does one good. I chatted with both the latter amusing gentlemen, and heard from Sir Henry a circumstantial account of his attack of gout, when, he said: “I felt as though I could have roared like a bull.” Sir Henry thinks that ladies should have a glass of champagne aftereverydance, quadrille, waltz, or polka! “You would see,” said he, “if my plan were followed, how many ladies would come.” ... Papa has had applications for cadetships from Lord Jocelyn and H—— T——. I suppose that in both cases it will be, “I wish you may get it!”’
TO THE SAME.‘We have had such an amusing breakfast. Lord Glenelg was here. And he and Mamma have been making us laugh so,—he with his quiet jokes, and dear Mamma with hernaïveté. Mamma very freely criticised Sir R. Peel’s and Lord John Russell’s manner of speaking, to the great amusement of our guest, who threw out a hint that he might inform, and that Mamma had compromised herself. “It would be rather awkward,” he observed, “if I were to sit beside Sir Robert this evening,[4]after what has passed”; and when he heard that Sir Robert was not to be present, he hinted that Mamma was in the same danger in regard to Lord John Russell. “But if I tell him that he opens his mouth too wide,” said Lord Glenelg, “he may think I mean that he eats too much!”‘I am sure that our guest enjoyed his morning’s gossip, and it gave us all a merry commencement to what I hope may be a very enjoyable though rather anxious day. Tudor is to take luncheon with us, so we have amusement provided for that meal also; and what a business it will be in the evening! Such a phalanx of ladies as dear Mother is to head. The Misses Cotton, two Misses Galloway, two Misses Shepherd, Miss Kensington, and our three selves, all to set off from No. 3! It will look like a nocturnal wedding.‘I have just come in from paying a round of visits, with a card of admission in my hand.... My hand trembles with the heat, for it is warm walking at this hour, and I always walk fast when I walk in the streets alone. I look forward with much pleasure to the evening’s entertainment. I only wish that you and dear Bella could enjoy it too; but I hope thatyourdinner in September may afford you as much gratification as this would have done....‘We ... went to Mrs. Bellasis’ Ball last night. Mamma and I thought it a nice one, but —— considered it very dull. The Eastwicks were not there, but your friend, Colonel Sykes, appeared, with his stern bandit-like countenance. He so reminds me of you! His fair lady and sons were also there.... Sir de Lacy and Lady Evans, the Hinxmans and Galloways were also at the Ball.‘How are the dear little Robins? I hope that we may soon have them with us again. Pray give them plenty of kisses from Auntie Charlotte.... I hope dear Robin got home comfortably.’
TO THE SAME.
‘We have had such an amusing breakfast. Lord Glenelg was here. And he and Mamma have been making us laugh so,—he with his quiet jokes, and dear Mamma with hernaïveté. Mamma very freely criticised Sir R. Peel’s and Lord John Russell’s manner of speaking, to the great amusement of our guest, who threw out a hint that he might inform, and that Mamma had compromised herself. “It would be rather awkward,” he observed, “if I were to sit beside Sir Robert this evening,[4]after what has passed”; and when he heard that Sir Robert was not to be present, he hinted that Mamma was in the same danger in regard to Lord John Russell. “But if I tell him that he opens his mouth too wide,” said Lord Glenelg, “he may think I mean that he eats too much!”
‘I am sure that our guest enjoyed his morning’s gossip, and it gave us all a merry commencement to what I hope may be a very enjoyable though rather anxious day. Tudor is to take luncheon with us, so we have amusement provided for that meal also; and what a business it will be in the evening! Such a phalanx of ladies as dear Mother is to head. The Misses Cotton, two Misses Galloway, two Misses Shepherd, Miss Kensington, and our three selves, all to set off from No. 3! It will look like a nocturnal wedding.
‘I have just come in from paying a round of visits, with a card of admission in my hand.... My hand trembles with the heat, for it is warm walking at this hour, and I always walk fast when I walk in the streets alone. I look forward with much pleasure to the evening’s entertainment. I only wish that you and dear Bella could enjoy it too; but I hope thatyourdinner in September may afford you as much gratification as this would have done....
‘We ... went to Mrs. Bellasis’ Ball last night. Mamma and I thought it a nice one, but —— considered it very dull. The Eastwicks were not there, but your friend, Colonel Sykes, appeared, with his stern bandit-like countenance. He so reminds me of you! His fair lady and sons were also there.... Sir de Lacy and Lady Evans, the Hinxmans and Galloways were also at the Ball.
‘How are the dear little Robins? I hope that we may soon have them with us again. Pray give them plenty of kisses from Auntie Charlotte.... I hope dear Robin got home comfortably.’
Some of the above-mentioned names were of men well and widely known. Lord Metcalfe, at one time Acting Governor-General of India, was a wise and most courteous Indian statesman, whose life has been written by Sir John Kaye. Colonel Sykes was one year Chairman of the Court of Directors. Sir Henry Pottinger was a famous diplomatist. Lord Glenelg, living near, was often in and out, and loved to have a cup of tea at hospitable No. 3.
The habit of the family at this time, while spending the main part of the year at Portland Place, was to go to some country place in the summer, for several weeks, sometimes renting a house where they could stay all together, sometimesbreaking into smaller parties. In 1846 they were at Herne Bay; in 1847 at Gresford; in 1848 at Dover and Walmer. While at Walmer they were a good deal thrown with the Duke of Wellington, and the former acquaintanceship ripened into more of intimacy. Before deciding on Walmer, two or three of the party went to Dover, and they had a somewhat perilous voyage thither, to which the following letter makes allusion:—
TO MISS D. LAURA TUCKER.‘I hope that you will all write us very affectionate letters of congratulation on our escape from the waves. How talented it was in Mamma to manage to send us letters so soon! We had no idea of hearing from home by 6 o’clock on Monday morning. We are all quite well. I was not well yesterday morning,—I imagine from the effects of our adventure; but I am, like the rest of our dear party, quite well to-day.‘We are to set out in a pony-chaise for Walmer, to see about a house. Papa is to drive, and I have no doubt but that we shall have a delightful little excursion.‘The immense cliff is a great objection to Dover. Unless we undergo the great fatigue of getting up it, we should be quite prisoners. Walmer ismuchflatter. We are anxious to hear what has become of the poorEmerald. She landed us here on Saturday morning, and proceeded on her perilous journey at about five in the afternoon. Papa saw the carpenter’s wife, who told him that the leak could not be got at because of the coals, that they would not get to Boulogne, but must return in two hours. The poor woman’s husband was in the vessel. She said that her eyes were tired with looking at the steamer, but philosophically observed that those who are doomed to sup salt water must sup it. TheEmeraldhasnotreturned, however. It is probable that she has put in to some other port. I should like to hear about her fate. I should feel for our kind sailor.‘My darling Papa has rather taken fright at Mamma’s letter. He fears that she is not well, that she has been hysterical at the thought of our danger, and seems anxious to go up to London himself, in order to assist her and see about her. Fanny and I expostulate. He is the best of husbands and fathers. I hope, however, that dearestMamma isnotunwell, and that the sea-air may do her good and strengthen her. Another objection to Dover is that the voyage is likely to be rougher to it than to Walmer. Walmer is not situated so near that terrible South Foreland.... This is Papa’s opinion, but we cannot decide till we see Walmer.’
TO MISS D. LAURA TUCKER.
‘I hope that you will all write us very affectionate letters of congratulation on our escape from the waves. How talented it was in Mamma to manage to send us letters so soon! We had no idea of hearing from home by 6 o’clock on Monday morning. We are all quite well. I was not well yesterday morning,—I imagine from the effects of our adventure; but I am, like the rest of our dear party, quite well to-day.
‘We are to set out in a pony-chaise for Walmer, to see about a house. Papa is to drive, and I have no doubt but that we shall have a delightful little excursion.
‘The immense cliff is a great objection to Dover. Unless we undergo the great fatigue of getting up it, we should be quite prisoners. Walmer ismuchflatter. We are anxious to hear what has become of the poorEmerald. She landed us here on Saturday morning, and proceeded on her perilous journey at about five in the afternoon. Papa saw the carpenter’s wife, who told him that the leak could not be got at because of the coals, that they would not get to Boulogne, but must return in two hours. The poor woman’s husband was in the vessel. She said that her eyes were tired with looking at the steamer, but philosophically observed that those who are doomed to sup salt water must sup it. TheEmeraldhasnotreturned, however. It is probable that she has put in to some other port. I should like to hear about her fate. I should feel for our kind sailor.
‘My darling Papa has rather taken fright at Mamma’s letter. He fears that she is not well, that she has been hysterical at the thought of our danger, and seems anxious to go up to London himself, in order to assist her and see about her. Fanny and I expostulate. He is the best of husbands and fathers. I hope, however, that dearestMamma isnotunwell, and that the sea-air may do her good and strengthen her. Another objection to Dover is that the voyage is likely to be rougher to it than to Walmer. Walmer is not situated so near that terrible South Foreland.... This is Papa’s opinion, but we cannot decide till we see Walmer.’
Further particulars of the adventure alluded to are unfortunately not forthcoming.
Characters:—
Scene laid in Northumberland, in and near the house of Mrs. Judith.
EnterCharles.
Charles.A cold, wet, and misty evening, and above all to one whose pockets are not lined! My foolish fancy for the Stage has brought me to a declining stage, if not a stage of decline. Heigh ho! how dark it is getting! Just the sort of place to meet with aghost of Hamlet, not the sort of hamlet that I’m looking after, for I have done with theatrical effects,—I wish that I had done with the effects of cold. How dark and gloomy that church steeple looks over the trees! I’m close to a churchyard, I suppose. And—ey! ey! what on earth are those white things upon the grass? Clothes put out to dry; what an ass I was not to see that before! but fasting makes one nervous. There’s a house. How cheerful the lights look in it! I hear the sound of a piano going. There must be ladies there, and ladies are ever good and kind. What if I were to try my fortune at the door? My poor namesake Prince Charlie must have put wanderers into fashion. Northumberland is near enough to Scotland to have imbibed a little of its spirit of romance. Poor Prince! we are fellows in misfortune as we were partners in ambition. We both sought to play the King, I on the boards, he in Britain; but his frea-king and my moc-king are both changed to aching on the moors, and a skul-king too, which makes us as thin as skeletons. I’ll try and muster up courage for a knock. [Knocks.]
I should not look the worse for a new coat, I think. My knee-ribbons are bleached quite pale with the wind and the rain.Mais n’importe!the man, the man remains the same! These locks have proved the keys to a Lady’s heart e’er now; and then wit and eloquence! When I was flogged at school for affirming that a furbelow must be an article, as I knew it to be an article of dress, my Master observed that all my brains lay at the root of my tongue; and the best position for them too, say I! Who would keep a prompter to bellow to one from the top of the Monument, and where’s the use of carrying one’s brains so high, that one must send a carrier pigeon express for one’s thoughts before one can express them at all? Better have wit to cover ignorance, than silence to conceal sense. One can’t squint into a man’s head to see what it contains. Here comes a light to the door: now for the encounter.
Weaselopens the door.
Is Mrs. [coughs] at home? Pray present my compliments to her, and say that a gentleman who has lost his way entreats the favour of shelter for a night under her hospitable roof.
Weasel.Shall I take up your name, Sir?
Charles.No, Sir, you may take up my words. [ExitWeasel.] Had the fellow been a Constable he might have taken me up also, for in this apparel I look more like a highwayman than a gentleman in a highway. How very cold it is! I wish that the triangular-nosed fellow would make haste; and yet my heart misgives me.I must ‘screw my courage to the sticking point!’ Impudence, impudence is my passport! I hear him shuffling downstairs. Be hardy, bold, and resolute, my heart.
Weaselopens the door.
Weasel.Sir, my Mistress begs you to walk up.
Charles.Go on, go on, I’ll follow thee! [Exeunt.]
Charles.Mrs. Judith.The Misses Sophia, Barbara, andHoratia Rattleton.
Charles.For all this unmerited kindness, most kind and fair ladies, a lonely wanderer can only return you thanks.
[The young Ladies whisper together.]
Sophia.Handsome, isn’t he?
Horatia.Such a flow of eloquence, such a command of language.
Barbara.I wonder, Ratty, who he is.
Mrs. Jud.Do you come from the North, Sir?
Charles.I have spent the last few months there, Madam, though I was not born in Scotland. They were unfortunate months to me. I came to England on my Company’s being broken up.
Horatia.Your Company! did you serve King George?
Charles.No, Miss, I tried to serve myself.
Horatia.[Aside to Barbara.] Strange, is it not?
Sophia.Why was your company broken up?
Charles.Because we were not able to raise a Sovereign amongst us. We were sadly cut up.
Horatia.[Eagerly.] By the Dragoons?
Charles.[Laughing.] Do not inquire too closely, fair Lady.
Mrs. Jud.May I ask your name, Sir?
Charles.Charles Stu— [Aside.] Ass that I am!
Mrs. Jud.I beg your pardon, Sir, I did not hear you.
Charles.[Aside.] The first word that comes! [Aloud.] Dapple, Madam, Dapple. [Aside.] I might have hit on a more romantic name, but my brain seems in a whirl.
Horatia.It is a very curious study to trace the derivations....
Mrs. Jud.Any way related to the Dapples of....
Sophia.Down, Adonis, down! your dirty little paws....
Horatia.One would suppose them sometimes prophetical of future events. Who can deny that Hanover....
Barbara.Our family name of....
Horatia.[Raising her voice.] Who can deny that Hanover has a great resemblance to Hand-over, or that Cumberland is as just a denomination for the bloody Duke as if....
Sophia.Pretty little pet he is, is he not?
Barbara.Our family name of Rattleton is said to be derived from a famous Ancestor of ours, a chief of the ancient Britons....
Mrs. Jud.My Cousin by the Mother’s side....
Barbara.Whose head being cleft from his shoulders as he was driving his chariot into the thickest of....
Mrs. Jud.The family of the Goslings....
Horatia.Also passionately fond of Heraldry....
Barbara.His spirit seemed unconquered even by the blow which decapitated him, and he drove on....
Horatia.A Lion rampant over 6 grasshoppers....
Barbara.Whence our name of Rattle-ton or Rattle-on is said to be derived.
Charles.[Aside.] This is beyond endurance. They stun me. What a nest of parrots I am in! I cannot get in a word.
Horatia.Thus, Sir, your name of ... I beg your pardon, Sir, it has slipped my memory.
Charles.[Aside.] Hang me, if it has not fairly bolted from mine!
Mrs. Jud.Mr. Charles Dapple.
Charles.[Aside.] I’ll change the conversation. [To Horatia.] You seem much devoted, Miss, to scientific pursuits.
Horatia.O, they are my delight, my recreation! Ornithology, Mythology, Geology, Conchology, fascinate me. I was first given my taste for the higher branches of these intellectual sciences by....
Sophia.Mr. Dapple, have you remarked my pretty little....
Horatia.My Uncle in the Scilly Isles, whose mind....
Sophia.Have you remarked....
Horatia.A profound genius....
Sophia.My little poodle, Adonis?
Horatia.By-the-by, Mr. Dapple, may I ask your opinion on a much disputed point, where I venture to differ even from my Uncle? What do you think of the Aerolites?
Charles.[Turning to Sophia.] A sweet little dog, indeed: what fine eyes!
Horatia.Do you think them....
Charles.The little pink ribbon round its neck is so becoming.
Horatia.[Raising her voice.] Mr. Dapple, Mr. Dapple, do you think the Aerolites....
Charles.[Aside.] Help me, my mother-wits!
Horatia.Do you agree in the generally received opinion....
Charles.[Aside.] Some political party perhaps!
Horatia.Or do you think them....
Charles.Why, ma’am, I think—I—I am decidedly of opinion—that—that—the....
Horatia.The Aerolites....
Charles.Are nothing more or less than Jacobites.
All the Ladies.Jacobites!
Horatia.Why, Sir, I always thought them a sort of stone....
Charles.Stone-fruit, true, true; I spoke without thinking. Stone-fruit, a species of—of—apricots.
Barbara.Hark, there is a knock at the door. Peep through the shutters, Ratty, and see who it is.
Charles.[Aside.] A little diversion for me. I am growing so hot. Silence to cover sense would in this case....
Horatia.’Tis old Colonel Stumply.
Charles.[Starting up.] Colonel Stumply! I’m dished.
The Ladies.Why—what—who——
Charles.Perhaps you will permit me, ladies, to retire. I feel indisposed—faint! [Exit.]
Mrs. Jud.I must go and welcome my old friend. [Exit.]
Horatia.Bab!
Barbara.Ratty!
Horatia.What a flash of electricity has burst on my intellect!
Sophia.His noble air; his wan features....
Horatia.A fugitive....
Sophia.A wanderer....
Horatia.His sudden alarm....
Sophia.[Rushing into her arms.] O Ratty, Ratty, what a day! what an honour! what a surprise!
Barbara.How now, what’s the matter?
Horatia.Brain of adamant! could not instinct direct you to the feet of your adored Prince?
Barbara.The Prince! Is it possible?
Sophia.Charlie! Charlie! O! what a moment!
Horatia.Did you not hear him describe the ruin of his army....
Sophia.Did you not hear ‘Charles Stew—’ upon his noble tongue....
Horatia.How he started when he recollected himself....
Sophia.And O, how exquisitely pathetic, how touchingly appropriate, the name he gave instead! Dapple; to signify how his fortunes are chequered—Dapple....
Barbara.How the Jacobites were running in his head when he even....
Sophia.Little reason had he to fear us. If Daresby had been here....
Barbara.And this vile Colonel: no wonder he started off!
Sophia.What shall we do to get rid of him?
Horatia.All that woman ever attempted I am ready to perform.
Sophia.I would die for him.
Barbara.And I too.
Sophia.The handsome, brave, dear, darling young Prince! And to think that Daresby’s a Whig!
EnterMrs. JudithandCol. Stumply.
Col.Good evening, young Ladies, good evening. I have just returned from the North, where we are everywhere triumphant, and our laurels should ensure us a welcome from beauty. ‘None but the brave, none but the brave deserve the fair,’ you know. Hey, Miss Sophy?
Sophia.[Aside.] Monster!
Horatia.[Aside.] Traitor!
Barbara.[Aside.] Butcher!
Col.What, all silent and aghast? I shall begin to fear myself unwelcome. Hey, Mrs. Judith? But my Regiment is quartered for the night in the village, and I was sure that I might throw myself on the hospitality of an old friend.
Mrs. Jud.We are delighted to see you.
Col.Is your little room unoccupied to-night?
Mrs. Jud.To tell the truth there is a young....
Horatia.[Aside.] I could beat her! [Aloud.] It is quite unoccupied, Sir, except—except in this cold weather we keep the pigs there.
Col.The pigs!
Mrs. Jud.Why, Ratty....
Horatia.Oh, it is not fit to receive you, Sir. The chimney tumbled in during the last gale....
Mrs. Jud.Why, Ratty....
Horatia.And every pane of glass is broken.
Sophia.[Aside to Barbara.] O Bab, such lying can never thrive.
Mrs. Jud.What strange non....
Horatia.[Aside.] How on earth can I stop her tongue? [Aloud.] Aunt, Aunt, is there any supper prepared for the Colonel?
Col.Anything; anything; the cold ride has sharpened my appetite; but a good blaze like this cheers the heart, and gives me courage to face even the pigs, Miss Ratty!
Mrs. Jud.The pigs! why....
Horatia.Would you like to see that everything is comfortable yourself, Aunt? [Aside.] I am in a fever!
Col.Turn out the pigs, hey, Mrs. Judith?
Mrs. Jud.If I ever....
Horatia.Go, dear Aunt, precious Aunt, do go.
Sophia.A nice little dish of your own making would be so acceptable.
Barbara.We’ll take care of the Colonel.
Mrs. Jud.I cannot com—pre—hend—I—— [The girls half lead, half push her out.]
Col.You will excuse me, young ladies; I always make a point of looking after my horse myself. [Exit.]
Horatia.[Sinking on a chair.] I am exhausted. Stupid sticks, why did you not assist me?
Sophia.I tried, but....
Barbara.What shall we do now?
Sophia.My heart beats so, I shall expire.
Barbara.The Colonel will stay in spite of the pigs.
Sophia.Where can we hide the Prince?
Horatia.[Starting up.] A thought has struck me.
Sophia.What, what?
Horatia.You shall hear—it has been done before. You will aid me in the execution of it.
Sophia.[Throwing herself into her arms.] O my Ratty!
Horatia.We will save him.
Barbara.We will, we will!
Horatia.Or perish with him.
Sophia.We will.
Horatia.Come, come, no time is to be lost; let us fly to his succour.