We succeeded at length in detaching Norah from the scene of her loss, and having left her in the care of my sisters, we repaired again with the dawn to the beach, which we diligently searched for miles along the shore, and found covered with mounds of oar-weed-timber, rope ends, and other indications of the last night's storm. A weather-beaten hat, which bore no mark to ascertain who had been its owner, was all that we picked up which told that human being had been on the seas that night.
The kindest attention was shewn at Glendruid to the unhappy Norah, and as she continued to persist in pleading ignorance of every thing beyond the misfortune which deprived her of all she loved on earth, she was sparedafter the first examination. But the "hundred tongues of rumour," were soon unbound.
In the course of the following day, a report was industriously circulated that Albinia Talbot and Richard Lovett had gone off upon a matrimonial adventure to Gretna Green. The two families affected to be much displeased; and as their consternation was sincere, though not proceeding from the alledged cause, they were enabled to act their part with specious appearance. On pretence of being severely shocked by the event, access was denied to visitors both at Painesville and Ferney, so that all communication was suspended for the present moment. My father, however, though not in the habit of calling at either house, conceived himself called upon as a pastor to offer kind condolence, if he could do no more, and on the third day after the reported elopement, he set out on a ride over the mountain to try whether he might not be able to mitigate the wrath which he heard had been excited against the young people, and prevail with theirrespective families to forgive an act which could not be recalled.
His road lay through Ballymaclashen, where there was a post office at M'Carthy's public house, which he was to pass, and calling for letters, he was presented with an enormous government packet, filled with printed proclamations, which were forwarded to him from the castle, with an official requisition to have them posted in the most conspicuous situations. These printed papers, minutely described by name, dress, and personal appearance, the very young man whom I knew to be my brother Harold's dearest friend and ally, offering a large reward for his apprehension, and stating that he was known to have taken refuge in our mountains, from whence it was supposed that he meant to escape across the seas. My father read the proclamation aloud at the chapel door, as well as that of the church, and ordered the old sexton to get some wafers and stick up the notices throughout this village. Imagining that this new circumstance might throw some light onthe story of the Gretna fugitives, he hastened his steed and pushed forward towards Ferney.
When arrived at Mr. Talbot's, he learned that on the preceding morning, before daylight, the whole family had set off to Dublin in the greatest speed to try and overtake their daughter. This intelligence was received from a cowherd, who seemed the only person left about the place, and my father having expressed his concern that any thing should have occurred to give pain to his neighbours, added a hope that the young gentlemen were all safe.
"We have been uneasy," said he, "lest any fatal accident had happened on Tuesday night, when Mr. Henry's dog, you know, was found at Glendruid. We all feared that he might have been in poor Dan Kelly's boat, when he and his sons were drowned."
"Och no! for what I know they're all safe enough," answered the cowherd: "Croppy follied Dick Lovett, who lost him as he was comen home, and the dog was swamped, they say, among the rocks."
"Good day to you then," said my father; "Ishall call and ask how the family at Painesville are this morning."
"You may spare yourself that throuble, Sir," rejoined Bat Higgins; "all the Lovetts are gone full cry afther the young couple to some place in Scotland; I think where they say that a blacksmidth is all as one as the clargy, and buckles the people as tight as the best of 'em."
As it was growing late, and the country had long been unquiet, my father, fearful of alarming my mother by being out after sunset, turned his horse into the homeward path, little pleased with the gruff, unceremonious manners of the cowherd, and pondered the altered style of the peasantry, and the mysterious departure of his neighbours, as he rode along. In passing again through Ballymaclashen he found that the proclamations were all torn down, in the short period of his absence. He inquired, but could not learn who had shown such disrespect to Government and to him; and observing a sullen uncivil deportment in the people, who neither touched their hats, nor said a courteous word as they had been wont to do, he thought it prudentto advance without irritating them by farther interrogations; so, sighing as he ascended the heathy barrier which lay between the village and his once cheerful home, he ruminated, as he said, on his return, upon the evil days, which it was God's will that he should encounter, and prayed for a divine blessing to sustain him against whatever ills might be yet in store.
As he wound down a rocky pathway, lying between gigantic stones, loosely piled together so as to form a sort of rude wall on either side, a man suddenly glided from behind, and seized his horse's bridle. My father was unarmed, and supposing the person who stopped him to be one of a gang, determined on his destruction, believed his last moment to be at hand; but ere he had power to speak, the man, first looking affectionately at him, and next casting a hasty glance all round, to make sure that he was not observed, whispered softly the following words, as rapidly as possible:
"Plase your Riverence, dont be angry to me for stoppen ye. 'Tis to do ye a good turn, for myself does be in danger of limb and life whileI am spaiken; but sure 'twas you and yours that often kep me and mine from starvation, when we were all lien down togither, in the agee, and why would I see a hair of your Rivirence's head hurted if I could help myself? These are bad times, and your sons ought to take care o' themselves. May be they might be afther knowen more about the boat that was racked the other night, and consarnen them papers too, in your Rivirence's hand, than they ought to do for their own safety and yours. Take the warnen, and God bless your Honour's Rivirence, and never tell to man or mortial who tould you this much, though sure in the main time I tould you nothen at all that would bring any one into throuble. I'd scornthatany how!"
So saying, the apparition vanished, and was out of sight in a moment.
My father, as may be concluded, returned home in great agitation. We sat down to dinner, and immediately after the cloth was removed, he detailed the particulars which I have related in the presence of my mother and sisters; andmaking a solemn appeal to our sincerity, calmly and affectingly called upon my brothers and me, by all that we held most sacred, to reveal truly and without prevarication, all that we knew respecting the events of Tuesday night. It happened, as I have already stated, that though deeply implicated in other matters, we were really ignorant of this sad story, and not thinking it necessary to volunteer in answering to any thing beyond the scope of the precise interrogatory, we replied with that degree of boldness and promptitude which bespeaks truth, that we were not acquainted with a single circumstance relating to the catastrophe of the storm, which was not equally known to all the country, and as to the proclamations, we had never heard of their contents till my father brought them home, and could not afford any clue to the discovery of the person sought for.
When we had given this assurance, my mother, in tears, threw her arms about our necks, and I shall never forget the thrilling tenderness with which she exclaimed, "My beloved children, let the dangers by which we are encompassedbe a bond of union amongst us—let the warnings of this day teach us wisdom—let domestic love bless our family circle—and let us pray earnestly for the protection of Him who can alone guard us through the perils which seem to beset our path. If happiness and peace be in store for us, will they not be doubly enjoyed in concert? If misfortune be our doom, what care or sorrow is not alleviated by sympathy?"
Alas! Isufferedmy mother's embrace. I did not repay it; and from the cold demeanour of Harold and Charles, it appeared that her maternal affection met with no kinder reception from them. We were metamorphosed by the spirit of theTimes, and pride would not permit even a tacit acknowledgment that we had been in the wrong. A retractation of the opinion which had been adopted in our school would have been considered unpardonable weakness. My mother looked chilled to the heart. Her fond love was repelled, and the returned tide seemed almost to deprive her of breath. Yet she upbraided not, but shook her head in silence. My father said something to which I paid littleattention, and the group dispersed as was their usual custom.
The stimulus of late events began to wear off. Day after day glided by in gloomy stillness, rendered oppressive by the anxiety which was common to us all. The dark reports in circulation—the mysterious departure of the Talbots and Lovetts, perplexed us painfully. Yet, at the present juncture, to have indulged curiosity by taking such steps as might lead to information, was full of peril, and the restraint which we found it necessary to impose upon ourselves became intolerable. I had an additional torment to endure, which was exclusively my own, and I suffered the most intense mortification which wounded self-love could experience.
Jealousy was a strong feature of my character. I had attached myself with enthusiasm to Albinia Talbot, and now felt roused like a lion from its den, and could find no solace except in perpetually wandering along the shore, and gazing on the ocean, as if I expected that the waves of the sea would speak and divulge all that I desired to learn. A sort of invincibleattraction led me continually to the cliffs, there to muse on the faithless Albinia. It was certain that, under other circumstances than those in which I had been placed, she would not have been the goddess of my adoration. Her beauty was dazzling, but it wanted softness. She might have represented Bellona, and seemed formed to command—to conquer—but with the gentle graces of female loveliness Albinia had no relation. The limited circle however of my acquaintance afforded very slender means of comparison, and imagination supplied all that reality denied to decorate the object of my devotion with perfections which only exist in the Poet's dream.
I made verses, and used to "mar every tree" with writing love-songs in their bark. The name of Albinia had mounted on every breeze, and was returned by the echoes of our caverned beach. I had never, it is true,toldmy love, and had therefore no right to conclude that it was reciprocal; but youth is full of confidence and credulity. Albinia's manners were abrupt, but then she was apatriot, and her mind wasengrossed by the wrongs of her country. "When the public ferment subsides," thought I, "will be fit time for disclosing my sentiments. I shall then,
'—————tell my taleUnder the hawthorn in the vale,'
'—————tell my taleUnder the hawthorn in the vale,'
and no doubt be favourably received." In the mean time I excused all the coldness, rudeness, and undutifulness of my own conduct at home on the plea of this delirium of my brain. I dignified the exclusive surrender of my affection to Miss Talbot by the character ofconcentration, and rather piqued myself upon being savage to all beside.
"Great souls," said I, "disdain the paltry interchange of mere civility and benevolence. They soar above such tame observances, and refusing to be bound by the slavish ties of kindred—love and hategrandly."
How little did I then know of that ennobling passion, which softens and refines while it occupies the heart—or reflect that brutality to parents, and neglect of sisters, evinced the spurious nature of my attachment for Albinia!But could it be possible that this queen of my homage—this theme of my muse—this idol of my devotion; she who nerved my arm to anticipated deeds of glory—who absorbed my thoughts by day, and stole upon my nightly visions, had eloped with the unpoetical Richard Lovett, who had nothing but a handsome face and form to recommend him; Lovett, who had never held a "descant to the moon," nor breathed a "sonnet to a lady's eye-brow." Unheedful of my feelings, ungrateful for my worship, had Albinia laughed at my woes, and deceived my penetration?
Fevered by these questions which I could not solve, I used to seek the cooling zephyrs from the bay, and withdraw from the scrutinizing observation of my father and mother, who were, I remarked, at this time anxiously watching the post in expectation of letters; but I was too much engrossed by my own affairs to make inquiry, or feel any solicitude which did not come home to self.
It was just a fortnight after the fatal hurricane, when one grey and lowering morning Isought my usual haunt, and hastened after breakfast to leave the house, and brood over my misfortunes in the solitude of my favourite cave, amongst the rocks. As I sat, more than commonly depressed, "chewing the cud of sweet and bitter fancy," and like all selfish natures believing that my lot was marked by peculiar and unmerited severity—that I was decreed by fate, or providence, or whatever power ruled the destinies of men, to suffer more than any of my fellow beings; I wasted many precious moments in angry repinings, while a volume of Homer, which I never opened, lay at my side, to give me an air of occupation should I be surprised in my retreat. I gazed vacantly on the sea, and know not how long my reverie might have wrapped every sense in forgetfulness of passing time, if my attention had not been caught by some unusual appearance floating on the surface of the water. At first I took it for a mass of oar-weed, but as it approached the shore a vague apprehension crossed my mind that it was a human form; and, hastily descending the rocks, I watched with breathlessemotion till the tide washed it slowly into the creek, directly beneath my feet. What language is capable of conveying, even in the faintest degree, an idea of the horror which thrilled through my frame at the sight of Albinia Talbot so changed, so disfigured, that her dress alone proclaimed her identity!
I grew sick, and staggered unconsciously to a projecting point of the cliff, for support. My head seemed to turn round, my sight failed me; and fully a quarter of an hour elapsed before I recovered my senses sufficiently to make farther examination. At last I ventured once more to approach the body, round which the well known green habit, her beautiful hair, and the tangled sea weed, interlaced, to form Albinia's shroud. So terrible to the mind of man is the awful transformation wrought by death, that a cold dew crept over me as I attempted to clear away the sedge from features so lately lighted up by the fire of health and animation. Good God, what a spectacle was unfolded to my view!
But I will arrest the shocking description, and not press on any other memory than myown that appalling recollection which will only be erased with my latest breath. As I took a half averted glance at the deceased object of my affection, I perceived a ribbon which passed round the neck, and to which some trinket appeared to be suspended. I disengaged the band with desperate resolution, and pulling it from the habit which adhered closely to poor Albinia's breast, drew out a small flat enameled case, which opened with a spring. A ring, swivel-seal, and little piece of folded paper, fell upon the ground. I hastily collected these reliques, and retiring from the water's edge, hid myself behind the rocks to examine them more attentively.
The ring was of gold, with a plait of hair, and the letter P. carefully concealed within a simple hoop. The seal was of a beautiful Irish amethyst, and finely engraved; its device, Hibernia dashing down a crown with one hand, and receiving a dagger from heaven with the other, while a harp, with some of its strings broken, stood by her. On unfolding the paper which had on one side two or three monograms, and analphabet in cipher, I read on the other the following words, in an unknown and apparently feigned hand writing: "I hope that you will not be mad enough to think of seeing me on board the——. The weather is threatening, and the sea-faring people expect a gale. I implore you to beware of risking your safety. I send you thekey. Give the ring which accompanies it to Ladhor. You will forward the seal according to our arrangement. Farewell. I trust that ere long we shall meet again. Though clouds may occasionally obscure the horizon of our hopes, the cause in which we are engaged must finally triumph."
The whole mystery appeared now unravelled. The possession of that seal which I knew to be the one used in sealing the rebel despatches sent to France, marked achief, and I had no doubt that it was consigned to Albinia's care by the person described in the late proclamation. I discovered him also to be no other than the friend of my eldest brother, by decyphering the name of Harold in the transposition of the letters which formed Ladhor. It also seemedevident that the necessity for rapid flight had prevented my brother from either meeting or hearing from his friend, whom, by the bye, I had never seen, and who it would appear, had in some accidental manner met with Albinia, and entrusted her with these commissions, to be executed after his departure.
Here, then, was the melancholy truth, and the Gretna-green expedition was a mere feint, to cover the mournful reality, and prevent suspicion from attaching to the families of Ferney and Painesville. Whether Richard Lovett had been on board the boat or not, seemed uncertain, but whoever accompanied the ill-fated Albinia had probably shared her sorrowful fate. The object had plainly been to put a rebel leader safely out of the reach of those emissaries who were endeavouring to apprehend him, and those strenuous partizans in the cause of freedom had lost their lives in accomplishing the enterprize.
My jealousy was now for ever hushed to sleep. Alas! had I not been enabled to explain the conduct of her who had excited it, the sighton which my eyes had rested, furnished an all-powerful remedy for the passion which had been an inmate of my bosom. I have since learned by experience, that the tenderest affection may survive, after the tomb has closed upon those beings most dear to our souls; but the hand of death, in common cases, deals gently with our sorrows, and casts a veil over the objects of whom he deprives us ere yet the living memory of the beloved form is impaired. No love could stand the test by which mine was now tried; nor outlive the shock which it had just sustained. No impression remained to mingle with my pity except that of horror and amazement. I lingered for some time, unable to remove myself from the scene which had nearly deprived me of power to exert a muscle. At length I wrapped up the enamel-case, and its contents, in my handkerchief, which, putting into my pocket, I resolved to keep secret. If I spoke of finding these things, I should be obliged to bring them forward at an inquest. I therefore determined to mention the body only, without farther particulars, and at a distant day I might contrivesome unsuspected mode of conveying the ring, which was his property, to Harold.
My next step was to place a great stone on the extremity of poor Albinia's outer garment, to secure the corpse from being carried out again to sea with the ebbing tide. After this precaution, I ran as quickly as I could; pale and faint; to tell my story at the house.
My father lost no time in taking measures for the usual form of inquiry, but no witnesses appeared to give additional information. "Accidental death" was returned by the coroner; and poor Albinia's earthly remains were attended to the grave by all the family of Glendruid, who, in this act of tender feeling towards the dead, forgot how little they had ever approved her living conduct. Norah was a principal figure in the melancholy procession, and bewailed her misfortunes afresh; but as nothing appeared to contradict the story of a clandestine union, the rumour still maintained its ground, and it was conjectured that the parties, desirous to elude pursuit, instead of proceedingdirectly by land, intended to cross the bay, and make their way through bye roads to Dublin.
The political ferment was daily increasing, and indications of rebellion were continually alarming the well affected.
In about a week after the funeral of Albinia, a packet of letters arrived one morning by the bare-footed messenger who acted as post-boy at Glendruid. As my father had written to Mr. Talbot informing him of all that had happened, directing his letter to Dublin, on the chance of its reaching its destination, I thought it probable that the packet just arrived might be from my Ferney friends, and loitered accordingly in the room where we had breakfasted, hoping to hear some tidings of the absentees.
None being communicated, however, I stole away as usual to the sea side. My heart was dreadfully oppressed. Restless and aspiring by nature, I had no means of gratifying either my activity or my ambition. The transient dream of love which had filled my imagination, and furnished materials for many an air-built castle, which served to beguile the passing hours, hadvanished. The blank which my mind experienced was insupportable. I would willingly have done any thing to change the scene, and give a new current to my thoughts. I envied the weather-beaten ploughman who toiled for his daily bread, and would gladly have engaged in the most laborious occupation which might detach my memory from recent events. The spectre of Albinia, arrayed in all the horrors of the deep, was present everywhere; and the particulars of that frightful picture disturbed my sleep. I could not read; if I fixed my eyes but for a moment on a book, I found them wandering; and if I compelled myself to finish a page, I had no impression of its contents, on which the outward sense had only been employed, while attention strayed and resisted all control. Sadly and listlessly lounging in my rocky recess, I heard M'Farlane's voice calling my name. I started up, and advancing to meet him, was informed that my father and mother had gone to the Glyn, whither they desired that I should follow.
I felt little satisfaction in obeying thissummons, conscious as I was of not meriting any agreeable communication at the meeting, and always fearful of scrutiny into my conduct.
What misery is the portion of those who quit the path of duty! but I made no such commentthen, though I practically experienced its truth, and writhed under its influence.
When I reached the rustic seat in the Glyn, where my parents awaited my coming, a mingled sensation of sullenness and shame produced awkwardness on my part, the pain of which I still remember. How beautiful the youthful glow of artlessness and affection! I could not look up, yet disdained to cast down my eyes, and attempting to brave feelings which I could not escape, sent round a furtive unmeaning glance, which dared not rest on any object, but spoke the perturbation of my soul, while it affected the ease of indifference. My mother's eyes were swollen with weeping, and my father's cheek was blanched with inward corrosion of heart.
"Albert," said he, "sit down, and listen to a determination which concerns you. Yourmother and I have resolved on accepting the kind offer of your uncle, who long since desired to have one of our sons sent to Quebec; but we declined the proposal. There was a time in which we fondly hoped to see our children provided for nearer home. None of you wished to engage in commerce, and your happiness"—here my poor father's voice faltered—"having ever been our dearest earthly object, you were indulged at the expense of worldly prudence, and I gratefully refused for you all, my brother's kind invitation. Your uncle remonstrated; censured my weakness; and foretold that a day of repentance would come. Such a day has arrived, but to propitiate a near and dear relation who felt wounded by the rejection of his services, appeared a difficult task. It was very doubtful too, whether in times like these, he would incur the hazard of taking into his house a person of your age, who might not be found easily trainable, and who might also, perhaps, carry along with him the unwelcome contagion of that fatal epidemic which is desolating Ireland. The matter, however, is accomplished;your mother has succeeded; the lot falls on you, and we shall lose no time in making the necessary preparations for your departure to Liverpool, whence you are to embark for Canada. I do not give you any option. You have ceased to be a child, it is true, but you have acted too like a mischievous one to be allowed any farther latitude. We have no fortune. Our sons must depend upon their own exertions for independence. Though I fear that you care no longer for our affection, you will nevertheless have our prayers; and may He who alone can soften your heart make you sensible of your errors, and guide you in the paths of virtue."
My mother could not utter a word, but she held her hand to me; I took, and pressed it with some energy, but my sudden animation was caused by the joy of seeing a prospect opened for quitting home. This was truly emancipation, let it come in what form it might, as the breaking up of Painesville and Ferney had destroyed the local interests, which I had mistaken for a more comprehensive principle; and the tragical termination of my romancewith poor Albinia, had left a chasm impossible to be described. I hated the idea of being a merchant, but the distant evil merged in the present good. My fears for the future were undefined, while the rapture of leaving Glendruid was certain. Hope was soon busy in weaving a gay tissue of things to come. The deep affront which had been conveyed in the paper discovered by Macfarlane, rankled in my breast, and in fact had served to turn me from the party who had acted with such dissimulation as disgusted my self-love, though it had not the effect of converting me to better views.
My uncle was a stranger to me; I had never seen him, but he was accounted a sensible man. No doubt he was a modern philosopher, or if not, my eloquence would soon persuade him. America was a soil in which the tree of liberty already flourished. I should breathe an atmosphere of inspiration, I should detail with all the ardour of young enthusiasm those scenes which I left behind, and paint with raptured glow the noble struggle for freedom which was in progress. Unfettered, unconstrained, I shouldrevel in the wilds of intellectual expansion; and if catching fire from the reflection of my own fervor, I were to transgress the dull limits ofmere fact, and embellish my story in a good cause, there would be no troublesome truth-teller at hand to shake his head at me. Listening crowds would admire, and my uncle, proud of his nephew, would encourage the exhibition of my powers. My fame would extend. It would soon be discovered that talents like mine were suited to higher purposes than penning consignments of cotton and indigo; and that my abilities were somewhat above the farrago of "sugars dull, rums looking up, pimento flat, coffees lively, tobacco smart," and all the vulgar gibberish of trade. I should first be my uncle's idol, next his heir, and conclude by performing a conspicuous part when I returned on the theatre of Europe.
These idle fantasies are tedious to record, but passed with such rapidity through my mind, that after a short pause, during which my silence was perhaps attributed to contrition for the past, I assured my parents of my entire willingnessto acquiesce in their plans; and arrangements were immediately commenced.
Time, which had crept slothfully with me, now trimmed his wing. My days were no longer spent in moping along the beach, nor my mind evaporized in fertile reverie; I was employed from sun-rise to sun-set, in examining maps, exploring Gazetteers, collecting whatever newspapers and magazines I could find to aid my future exploits in oratory, and making all the preparation within my slender means for my greatHegira.
At length the welcome day arrived, "big with the fate of Cato and of Rome;" and on a brilliant dawn, the sun shining brightly as though in harmony with all mankind, did I bid adieu to the home of my youth. I was not so completely lost to every good feeling, as to take leave of my mother without emotion. I could not forgive my father for being a clergyman, nor my sisters for not adopting my political speculations, but my mother, that kindest of mothers, was fading sensibly away. Her sinking spirits and wasted form, bespoke a saddened soul; and when I felt her tears bedew my cheek, something like affection glowed at my heart, and I embraced her with a transient gleam of contrite tenderness.
Oh! could I have foreseen that I should never behold that face again, perhaps my obduratenature would have yielded to the softening influence of maternal love; but I broke through the scene, and hurried forward.
I was to cross the Bay, and embark in a little boat from the Black Point of stormy memory. Though I traversed the waters in the same direction which had been fatal to that unfortunate little band, not one of whom it was supposed had survived to relate the terrors of a night which had exchanged for them the warm realities of this busy world for the "cold obstruction" of death, my mind was too elate for reflection. Though I was bidding, perhaps, a last farewell to all that I once loved, the buoyancy of my spirit was more subdued by dread of any obstacle which might impede my flight than by thoughts so naturally calculated to awaken sorrowful remembrance. I pressed onwards with eager speed. Maria had slipped a packet into my hand as I pushed from the shore, and my brief supplies being all comprised in a small portmanteau and a bag, I was soon on board, and gazing with new-born transports on the receding landscape.
Such was my anxiety to quit the scene of early days, that I did not breathe freely till having shaken hands with my brothers, who accompanied me to the opposite side, I saw them splash their oars again, on their return to Glendruid. I then placed my luggage on the shoulders of a bare-legged youth, whom curiosity to see the landing, had attracted to the strand, and set out on foot for the little town, from whence I hoped to find speedy conveyance to the capital.
I walked fifteen miles on that day, and Irish miles are not of the shortest, nor the smoothest, but I felt as if they had been only so many yards. Arrived at the wretched tenement, styled, through courtesy, an inn, I asked for refreshment, and thought a tough fowl, with its accompaniment of rancid bacon, both barbarously dressed, and worse served up, the most delicious morsel I had ever tasted. Exhilarated by my repast, I became more gladsome every moment, and sallying forth into the miserable stable-yard of this obscure place, I collected round me a set of raggamuffins, who are always to be found idle and lounging in such situations, and beginning with a fewof the favourite watch-words of the time, delivered an harangue by way of experiment to the delighted rabble.
I talked with loud voice; expounded political doctrines; praised free trade, and free thinking; abused the Protestant ascendancy; assured the people, who only wanted employment, that they were groaning under a vicious administration; informed them, that though they were free to go to mass every Sunday, and receive every rite of their Church from the hands of their priests, they might, notwithstanding, rely on the fact, that they were suffering martyrdom from persecution on account of their faith, interspersing my oration with such palatable incitements to exertion for the recovery of rights which had, I maintained, been wrested from them by the hand of lawless strength, that my audience became frantic with applause; but I own that I was confounded by a practical illustration of my remarks on the shamefully unequal distribution of property, which now awaited me, and furnished the comment on my text. My new travelling cloak which I could ill replace, had disappeared whileI was addressing the mob. "Ungrateful miscreants," said I to the landlord, "only imagine such an act, at the very moment when I was wearing my lungs out in their cause!"
An old man, who had reached the inn on horseback, with his valise behind him, and enormous spatterdashes buttoned up his legs, just as I arrived, smiled complacently at me as he listened to this apostrophe, and stepping up, said with a kind, yet sarcastic air:
"Young gentleman, you should be proud of your eloquence, which has proved itself so fruitful. No doubt, as you have a coat, which in all likelihood the thief had not, he thought that you might dispense with your cloak, upon the principle of equalization which you had been propounding. If you will do me the favour of drinking tea with me this evening, I will try what I can do for the recovery of your property, through the aid of a few maxims very different from those which you would instil. I am a magistrate, and it is my duty to translate the little wordsmeumandtuumfor the poorest as well as the richest, who come within my jurisdiction."
I would fain have avoided the tea-drinking, but my cloak was not to be relinquished without an effort, and fearing to offend my new acquaintance by a rejection of his invitation, I accompanied him to a little shabby room, with sand-sprinkled floor, where a coarse apparatus of delft covered with all colours of the rainbow, was arranged on a small oak table, while a kettle, black as soot, was singing merrily on a turf fire.
As the reader may imagine, I was not asked to thistête-à -têtefor the pleasure or profit which Mr. Vicars (for that was his name) expected to derive from my company. His benevolent purpose was to admonish me upon the folly of my conduct, which he did with excellent sense and discretion; and though his advice produced no beneficial result at the time when he gave it, I have often thought of his counsel since that accidental meeting. When the clock struck nine, I wished him good night, alleging my intention of being early on the road the next day, as a good excuse for retiring, and getting rid of a conversation for which I had no taste. Mr. Vicar's took from his pocket a little bible, and Ihave not forgotten what he said as he put it into my hand.
"Young man, you profess your love of independence. Here is a volume, which if you will accept from me, and study with care, will secure you in the possession of that peace which 'the world can neither give nor take away.' Look round you at all the finest schemes of earthly contrivance. They are all rendered abortive without the co-operation of numbers. Of what use is the most ingenious invention, if people will not use it; or the best theory, if men will not reduce it to practice? There is the science of political economy, which is just beginning to emerge from darkness; you will find much evil, if I mistake not, grow hereafter out of the application of its principles, not because the wisdom of Smith and Turgot is no longer wisdom, but because the very besthumanscheme ever devised, carries its own infirmity along with it; and if England cannot prevail on all the countries of Europe to accord with her view's, and join in her reforms, it is in vain for her to set up for free trade. If she should do so, she will onlysucceed so far as she is able to render the adoption of her principle general over the countries in commercial relation with her; but the guide which I give you, will pilot you through the roughest weather, and carry you safely into port, though all around were one universal wreck; here is the only real independence."
I thanked the worthy man for his good intentions, but declined his gift, saying, that as I was born of pious parents, I concluded I should find, when I opened my trunk, that spiritual food had been provided for me.
"Then," resumed Mr. Vicars, "I have only to hope that you may inwardly digest it, and so farewell."
My cloak was irretrievably gone, notwithstanding every effort made to regain it, and I resolved not to harangue the people in a stable-yard again on the equal partition of property, without better securing my own.
Before I went to bed, I broke the seal of the packet which my sister had given me at parting, but seeing that it contained a letter from my mother, which I concluded was a lecture,accompanied only by a note in Maria's hand-writing, I folded them up again, not feeling in a humour for farther exhortation after the dose which I had received from the stranger. The ardour of the morning had been damped, and I was not too well pleased with the latter events of the day; however, a good night's sleep, I thought, would restore my temper, but I had horrible dreams. I saw Albinia's graceful form, her rowan berry wreath, and green habit just as they appeared when she addressed our troop from the Cromlech; I heard shouts of triumph, then a shriek of despair; now lights were flickering along the cliffs, and Kelly's boat next appeared in the act of sinking.
"Hang this web of tangled fancies, the fruit of that prosing man's strong tea," said I, as at break of dawn, I rose from my uneasy mattress.
A common country car, was the only vehicle I could procure, "the chay" being in the hands of a wheelwright five miles off; so ordering this humble conveyance to be tackled, and filled with straw, I desired my luggage to be stowed to the best advantage, which done, themachine was driven on by a stout mountaineer, who sometimes walked, and sometimes sat on the shaft of his car, as circumstances invited. I varied my journey too in like manner, and enjoyed anew the ethereal atmosphere of liberty, when I found myself on the top of a high hill, snuffing the "unchartered air," and free from all human bondage.
"What are the gaudy trappings of wealth but so many shackles imposed by luxury! What the ceremonies of a court but fetters inflicted by tyrant fashion to restrain the will, and destroy mental energy!"
Thus did I reason while crossing the barren waste that lay over the broad heath-covered height, which my rustic charioteer assured me was the nearest short-cut to the great city. The morning was balmy, and the air breathed into my heart. The perfume of Nature was delicious; the song of innumerable birds exhilarated every sense, and I was in such harmony with all terrestrial things, that happiness seemed scarcely capable of increase. The pure, invigorating breezes, which played aroundmy head, appeared to minister a flattering unction to my pride, in giving fresh activity, and imparting added clearness to every faculty of my understanding. The vexations of the preceding day were forgotten, and the world seemed to lie before me glittering in the brightest perspective. I could have addressed a senate, led an army, or done any thing that depended on strength and elasticity, in that hour of inspiration.
But the path was rough, the way was wearisome, my horse grew tired; a few biscuits and water from the spring, afforded but scanty sustenance, and by the evening, as we descended to the beaten track of men, and saw the wide mail coach road stretching before us, the poor peasant, whose uncultivated intellect I had deplored, in comparing his untutored phrase with my own glow of fluent language, had now his moment of triumph. Calm and untired, he plodded over the craggy declivity; smoking his pipe with as little excitement as had accompanied his setting out, while my sand had run down, and I was exhausted with fatigue.Unused to refinements of any kind, my poor driver knew no want beyond what the simplest accommodation might remove, while I had already learned that I wasnottravelling on a bowling-green, and that Iwastravelling in a carriage without springs.
As I approached the high-way, I began to feel something like a sense of shame creeping over me while I contemplated the possibility of meeting any one in my own condition of life. "It is never ungenteel to walk," thought I, and therefore, weary as I am, I will keep at a little distance from my unsightly equipage, and enter the little town at which we are to halt, on foot. Along the king's high road then, I made the best speed that I was able to do, lowered as was the tone of my spirits since first meeting the morning gale on the mountain top. My philosophy, too, had taken a more humble level, and much of my boldness had evaporated.
Proceeding slowly, and with fallen crest, I heard a rumbling noise, and turning round espied a rattling, tattered, post-chaise advance. As it gained upon me, I heard my name roaredfrom one of its broken windows, and stop! stop! shouted from another. Two young men stepped out—a joyous shake hands ensued. They belonged to our mountain muster, and were going up to College examinations. A few minutes settled the transfer of my luggage, and placed me between them. This was a delightful omen, in my mind, of prosperous fortune. All were pleased with the unexpected meeting, and the poor bony beasts that drew us were the only dissentients to the new arrangement. Their opposition was overruled however, and away we went.
Four delectable days were passed in Dublin, with these young men and their associates; but the sinews of pleasure, like those of war, reside in the purse, and mine was too ill provided for longer dalliance. I was obliged to sail most reluctantly, but not till I had laid in a store of sedition, bought all the cheap prints of the day, and established correspondences, by which I was to learn all the news from Ireland.
On reaching Liverpool, which was a new world to me, I went in quest of the gentlemanto whom I was consigned. I found him in a princely residence surrounded by all that wealth could purchase. Mr. Arnold received me with most friendly hospitality. He was a man of high character in his dealings, and regarded all things in this sublunary sphere with more or less respect as they were connected with commerce, which in his opinion was thesummum bonumof earth. Considering, as he did, the Hibernian disturbances with the most profound contempt, he was more amused than shocked by details of our civil warfare; and seemed greatly diverted by my pompous accounts of marching and countermarching, attack, and defence. Any attempt at interrupting the established order of Church and State, was, in his eyes, the grossest absurdity, and to be put down,vi et armis, by the strong hand of power. He never troubled himself with history, and therefore was not aware of former revolution, or at least despised the Irish so entirely that he did not apprehend any resistance which millions of them could make. I used to burn with anger at hearing him say, "Sir, I would hang them every one, or, if Icould, I would tie a stone to the Island and sink it like a dog in the sea."
Numbers of people were flocking, about this time, to Liverpool for refuge. Some, through fear of the rebels, and many from dread of being considered such themselves, and treated accordingly. Mr. Arnold was a single man, and of convivial habits. His custom was to give the whole morning to business, and relax at four o'clock, with a few friends, at an excellent dinner, of which several of my countrymen were happy to partake, and pay for "solid pudding with empty praise;" and the most exaggerated descriptions of "hair-breadth scapes, and fights of flood and field," to the great diversion of their host. Some of these men had been obliged to fly with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, but such was the kind feeling excited for the refugees that they were received with the most liberal hospitality, not only by the wealthy traders, but into a society, which at that period could boast of being distinguished for literary taste, talents, and acquirement.
It was wonderful to observe the fascination inwhich a company, composed of highly gifted and enlightened individuals, were often held by the dramatizing mountebanks, who came in droves amongst them; one of whom I particularly recollect, a coarse and vulgar man, but a master in the art of producingeffect. His eye was quick as the lightning's flash, and could discern, with such celerity, the various expressions of countenance around, that he felt, with the rapidity of intuition, who, how, and when he was moving by his eloquence.
I remember his affecting a numerous audience one day by a story which furnished a good specimen of his manner. It was of a boy who had suffered death for treason. The particulars of his trial and execution were similar to other details, of which the orator had recounted so many, that attention ceased to hang upon his words, and he began to feel that eyes and ears were dropping off. When, suddenly rising from his chair, and pointing as if to the fatal tree, he exclaimed,
"Behold, my friends! see the accursed agents of despotism bearing that child to an ignominiousdeath! Look at the little ruffled collar which plays to the breeze on that innocent neck which is presently to feel the hangman's murderous gripe—and sigh over your fallen country!"
The "little ruffled shirt collar" achieved the desired end, and not a cheek in the room remained unbedewed, so well did this man understand the power of minute and incidental circumstances in working on the human soul.
Like grammar rules, which are amassed in the memory long before they are understood or applied, my observations were made, because I had leisure to look on, but without affording any salutary deductions till a far subsequent period. My youth, and the retirement in which I had lived, gave me perhaps an awkward air, and though treated with the utmost good nature, I was not brought forward, which wounded my vanity, and afforded me much more time than I wished, for meditation upon many subjects, though I had not then sense enough to turn the remarks which forced themselves on my view to my own advantage.
One conversation however struck me, andinspired caution, absurd and wrong-headed as I was. A question was asked, in my presence, of the orator to whom I have just alluded, whether, in case that a certain insurrectionary attempt, instead of failing, had succeeded, the persons who had been principals in the design would have been rewarded with the chief situations, civil and military, under a new order of government. The answer imparted a new light to my mind.
"Pooh, pooh! Not at all. Theythoughtso, and therefore worked hard in the cause; but they would neither have become consuls nor dictators I promise you. They were not half bold enough for popular esteem. These half-measure men are very useful; nay, indeed, necessary, in the commencement of a general revolution. While events are doubtful they serve to tranquillize the timid and restrain the impetuous, but when matters are ripe for action, these fair and softly folks are sacrificed, as a forlorn hope, to make way for those who come after, and rush to the battle when a breach is effected. When thepeopleare in commotion nogradual reform will satisfy. The mob, including all violent men of whatever class, do not desire to have grievances redressed; and are disappointed, like Lydia Languish in the play, when, instead of the dear ladder of ropes, chaise and four, and Gretna Green—the consent of parents and friends leaves nothing in prospect but a peaceable hum-drum marriage. Calm tempers, rational purposes, and moral systems, are very well forbeginnersand are valuable instruments. They cajole the unwary, and gain time for the desperate; but the advocates of tame projects will always be sent overboard as soon as they have performed their part. In fact they are nothing more than stepping-stones, and when the factions have, through their aid, safely forded the river, they are voted to be impediments to the free flow of the stream, and removed accordingly."
I was deeply attentive to this exposé, and forcibly impressed with the baseness of men who could requite the services of unsuspecting adherents with cold blooded treachery, using their best friends merely as scaffolding, to bethrown aside on the completion of the building. The scrap of paper found by Macfarlane in Kelly's cottage recurred to my mind, and brought home (comparing small things with greater) a parallel to my remembrance in the conduct of the Talbots and Lovetts towards me and my brothers.
"All men who will not go to every length, are looked upon, I perceive," said I, "as mere tools, and thus do the cunning repay their partizans."
Disgusted and depressed, I sat ruminating at my fire side instead of retiring to rest. The truth was, that, piqued by the want of attention which I had experienced, I was out of humour, and mistook my chagrin for a fit of moral philosophy. In this mood I took my mother's letter, which, till then, remained unopened, broke the seal, and read as follows:
"Albert, I am going, with a sorrowful heart, to address to you the last lines which you will perhaps ever receive from my pen. I write them for your sake, not my own. My days are drawing to a close, and if you do not destroythis paper, the words which it contains, deriving a sacredness of character from death, may hereafter inspire you with feelings which, while here, I have little hope to see impressed on your heart. Oh! Albert! my once dearly loved, I cannot tear you from this bosom, nor forget that you are my child!
"Though I shall not live to witness a change, I do not despair of its taking place, and if it be permitted to a departed spirit, after its separation, still to mingle in the dearest concerns of earth, mine will hover round my Albert's head, and mark every repentant throe which shall agitate his breast; for repentance will yet have its day, and a time will come, when, throwing off the coils which now entangle, you will think for yourself andbe free. Your soul abhors restraint; yet you have only changed masters, in abandoning the mild legitimate control of your natural protectors for the despotic sway of self-constituted authority, and this you call liberty, and are the dupe of a sound, while in reality you are held under coercion the most enthralling.
"It is the cant of your party, that the world was benighted till now, and is at present emerging into day, from the obscurity of ignorance and barbarism. It is part of the same silly creed that man is capable of "infinite perfectibility," and is in the high road to attain it. It is not so; history supplies us with materials for a juster decision. Man, born to evil thoughts, and following mischief with a tendency inherent in an imperfect nature, will devise unholy schemes, and exercise selfish views in all periods of the world's existence; and one age is often employed in little more than overturning the institutions of that which preceded. In private life, the miser hoards; his son is probably a spendthrift; the third generation, perhaps, suffering by the errors of profusion, takes to amassing again, and so on. Nations are but larger families, still composed of men, imperfect, erring men; some better, some wiser, than the rest, but all liable to mistake, because all seeing through a glass darkly, and all unable to produce any plan in which evil is not a constituent ingredient. One government is established onthe basis of wisdom and virtue, while another is grounded on the brutal law of force. The former becomes corrupt through confidence in its stability; establishments foster indolence; indolence produces luxury, and luxury enervates and debases the species; the latter, resting securely in its power, casts its galling fetters on all who are so unfortunate as to be subject to its domination, and the demons of prerogative and infraction stay not their merciless career till despair inspires resistance, and the yoke is thrown off.
"Reform is wanting in both these instances; but, alas! it is always attempted by the young, the bold, the impetuous, and generally unprincipled; hence it is that improvement is not progressive. Bad passions mingle in, if they do not entirely actuate, new schemes. One man of more impudence or more courage than his fellows assumes to lead, and the multitude, who abhorred the wholesome restraint of the laws, follow the usurper with willing and slavish submission till fresh chains are forged more oppressive than those which had been discarded.
"Even admitting, what is far from being true, that all innovations were the fruit of genuine patriotism, and that common sense, which perceives error, the inventor of new projects is still prone to mistake, as the sparks fly upward. Old prejudices are assailed by youthful theories, in which imagination, which is more active than judgment, and feeling, which is more prompt than discretion, achieve the victory. Whatever are the evils of any given state of society, they operate on those individuals who compose it sufficiently to prevent the reformer from being always competent to rectify the abuses of which he complains; and here is another reason why old errors are so commonly only exchanged for new.
"Providence has so ordered, however, that in thegreatscheme all works together for good: discussion sharpens sagacity, opposition provokes research, heresy kindles devotion, war leads to peace, as storms purify and tranquillize the physical elements; but this is notourdoing: this consequence is the ordinance of Him whooverrules our follies, our eccentricities, our vices; and, giving them free scope within a limited space, precludes them from affecting the balance of the universe by straying beyond the bounds originally prescribed to the exercise of their activity. As the miser is not more benevolent because another gives in charity what his avarice heaped together, neither is an atheist, nor a rebel, a virtuous member of society because the unbelief of the one, and the insubordination of the other, increases the piety or the loyalty of a looker-on. The good of which we are permitted to be the humble instruments comes fromexample; that which the Almighty works out of our vices proceeds fromcontrast. The effect of the former is to sanctify themeansas well as the end, and bless him who teaches virtue to those around; that of the latter is to sacrifice thevehicle, though God may not suffer the brand which it rolls flaming along to consume aught but itself.
"Consider these things, my son. The world is not of yesterday. What you and your companions are fanning as the sparkling scintillationsof genius, now lighting on our globe for the first time to illumine its surface, are only the dying embers of a former age, revived but to perplex mankind with fitful glare. Quit your philanthropic delusions, and be assured, that however paradoxical such a maxim may sound in your ears, it istrue, that he best lovesall, who loves well afew; wide generalities are thin and diluted, whether in religion, politics, or affection, and the charities which profess to be universal are too frequently the offspring of laxity and indifference. It is the sunshine of domestic love which pours its gladdening ray to distant regions; it is the strong nerve of godlikedutywhich braces resolution for grand and comprehensive enterprize. My Albert, begin athome. Happiness and independence may be yours, if you do not reject the means of obtaining them.
"Farewell, my child. Despise not the words of truth because they are breathed by my voice addressed to you by my pen. Neither shall I long remain to molest you: a killing blight has passed over my soul, and scattered the sweet blossomsof hope. But it is good for me to be afflicted. Before I was troubled I went wrong.
"May the Almighty bless you, my Albert; and should you ever discover that there is soothing in a mother's heart, ere mine has ceased to beat, knock, and it shall be opened to you.
"Miranda Fitzmaurice."