My Good for nothing Brother. A novel

Chapter I

" Ho ! ho ! my puppet show ! Ladies and gentlemen, see my show !— Life and the world : look here, in troth, Though hut in parto, I promise ye both ! The world and life— they shall both appear ; But both are best seen when you're not too near ; And every lamp, from the stage to the porch, Must be lighted by Venus, from Cupid's torch ; Never a moment, "if rules can tempt ye, Never a moment my scene is empty."— Schillek. It was early in the London season, and, though poor pedestrians were in danger of being knocked down at every crossing, the elite protested against the emptiness of town, speculators drove hard bargains, and disconsolate mibiners predicted a brief and scanty harvest. Mr. Chester had gone to the House, resolved to pour forth such a flood of eloquence as should awake the shades of Burke and Peel.

He longed to create a sensation, being haunted with the idea that the national wheel must stop if it received no aid from lus hand. He said nothing could be on "a proper footing" until the Commons were enlightened by his genius. In framing this appeal, many a fair sheet of foolscap lost its pm-ity. Though fired with patriotic zeal at home, an in voluntary dumbness sealed his lips in the presence of his fellows. Amended, delayed, and re-constructed, we fear the maiden speech will be still-bom. A He departed, leaving his better half prepared for a lonely evening, to be varied only by a faint bow-wow from Tasso — her Italian greyhound — Mr. Mudie's last novel, and some embroidery. Mrs. Chester was a vivacious little woman ; and, though suffering under concealed illness and many anxieties, her gaiety remained unquenched.

" I must talk," she would remark ; " and, if Tasso is not here, I chatter to myself, and laugh at my own thoughts." This was no exaggeration ; a little humming tune pre faced her ebullitions — a tune without music, but a true song of Nature, and very characteristic of Mrs. Chester. Having exhausted the prelude on the evening in question, she exclaimed, " I detest east winds ! why are not cold days always short and dark 1 I would not rise until lamp-light ; nothing external is cheerful or enticing. How fat I should become ! Great A's abuse could hardly be measured ! " (A merry laugh.) " The sunny side of life is all dreamland ! " Mrs. Chester worked hard, putting crimson, gold, and purple threads in brilliant contrast ; afterwards, studying effect at arm's-length, and admiring the progress of her invention."

"'Wonderful,'" she said, "I hear the dear duchess exclaim ; ' too beautiful, Chad. Old eyes are easily dazzled ; keep it for your own boudoir.' Gentle creature ! If Great A would be civil to her, and permit me to prove my love and gratitude for all past kindness, what endless circumvolution and heartache it would spare me ! " Mrs. Chester's courage ebbed during these reflections. Tasso pressed nearer, shivering and moaning, as if he also had painful regrets. Rolling up the embroidery, she stored it away in an elegant work-box, and seized a book. That stitching process is admirable, if the mind wants calming ; it is a very tread-mill, upon wlbch old thoughts may fret themselves threadbare ; but new ideas are seldom originated amidst the endless shades of wool and varieties of beads. As Mrs. Chester lost reality in the intricacies of romance, the wrinkles vanished from her brow, her restless eyes fixed on the page, and when, an hour after wards, a servant entered with a letter, she did not even glance at the contents.

" It is immediate, madam ; the bearer waits." Whilst occupied in its perusal, her colour, always high, rose to vermilion ; and, clasping her hands tightly together, she paused to consider her future conduct. " Order the carriage, Bolton ; Lady Musgrave is at the ' Clarendon,' and requires my presence. Convey this letter to your master without delay, and inform him where you have left me." Whilst her orders were executed by the tardy coach man, she lamented, in a low voice, the sudden distraction. " What a sad affair ! — selfish, wayward girl ! Great A has grounds for being out of humour ; and, on this excuse, will drag me abroad, in a vain search for the peace we ought to insure at home. I weary of strife and contention ! Give me Chesterly Park, the dear Lans dales, and Nature; I should envy no one society and its burdens !

I would view this explosion' from the dome of St. Paul's, even if I broke my neck in descending." She laughed again, but her eyes were blinded by tears ! Lady Musgrave did not rise to meet her sister-in-law when she entered the hotel. Glancing upwards, she buried her face on her beautiful folded arms. Around fell the silken hair in disordered masses, whilst the whole aspect of form and costume denoted a combination of neglect and fashion. Her years might number two-and-twenty, but woman hood had not impaired the bloom and freshness of youth. " Estella, what have you done ? " inquired Mrs. Chester. " So recently married, is it possible a quarrel has occurred, or any event to justify an act of desertion and disobedience 1 Already do you invite a cruel and calumniating world to arbitrate between you and your husband % Before God and a multitude you vowed to honour and obey him.

Where is Sir Charles 1 " " At Vienna," she replied. a " Ella, dear Ella, you are young. A long bfe is pro bably before you ; beware how you drag reputation and peace into publicity. Married misery is double misery." "Just so, Charlotte; unequal to its bitterness, I fled. My youth passed without clouds and shadows, and I prefer returning to mamma ! " " Alas ! had I been near, I would have knelt, im ploring you to bear harsh words, exaction, neglect ; but to let no man put ye asunder !" "Rivalry, also, Chad?" " All, Ella, that man in his caprice and selfishness can heap on woman ! There is scum on every cauldron for Time, the great refiner, to purify. Let him prove you humble, meek, and loving ; till death you promised to be so — not until provocation and anger arose. As life ad vances, your husband will count your outlay and his own prodigality ; collecting the scattered gold he de spised, as the cherished wealth of his better heart."

" Charlotte, forbear ; you kill me. I see your wretched bfe and its mortifications mapped out for myself. You have so toiled, and show me your harvest — tyranny for gentleness." Esteba laughed mockingly, and rose with the air of one bom to subjugate, but not to serve. " My soul abhors selfishness ! I must be courted, admired, adored, or all self-esteem would sink in servile humiliation." " Self-esteem ! — alas, if your bark is freighted with this, in the most tranquil waters it must go down. Be ambitious for your husband — let your self-esteem support his — and in the hour of danger he will be your true pilot." " My dear Chad, you talk like a book. Nature rebels against compulsion, and humdrum life is intolerable, even in anticipation, though decorated with evergreens. Give me freedom again !

I married for liberty, and increased luxury. The lawyers have remedies for these mistakes ; and if I lose the privilege of choosing another gaoler, my right is fairly forfeited for not having displayed more penetration. Where is my brother Ernest 1 I wrote, bidding him come." " Of his movements I am entirely ignorant. I sent for Chester, who will join us shortly ; meantime, Estella, calmly explain the cause of this sudden separation. We formed the most favourable opinion of Charles Musgrave' s temper and character." " I married wholly without consideration, Chad, for Sir Charles had two grand essentials — wealth and position. I detest him ! For everything inferior he has a perverse inclination. He should be united to an artist's daughter or a novel writer — creatures who are bke a pack of cards, and can .see kings, queens, and knaves herding together with spades and diamonds.

Sir Charles would be per fectly indifferent to caste if he could enjoy his trifling jokes." " And should you consider he complimented you by seclusion ? " " No fear of that, Chad. I live in society, but I ask equals as my associates. Musgrave offered an actress ! For a time I was ignorant of the insult, and encouraged her visits." " Certainly, your penetration aided you little, Ella, in discovering her vast inferiority." " She appeared modest, Chad, and I suspected nothing. When informed that she earned her daily bread by singing, I raved ! Infamous ! I felt sadly humbled to think I had sacrificed myself in consenting to be the wife of a man who could entertain at his own table a public singer." " Is she beautiful 1 " " Not the least attractive— a sallow, waddling, web footed creature : probably amphibious ; her eyes are pale green, and fishy."

" What a satisfactory description of your rival, Ella ! Why are you jealous and angry? " " Chad, you never felt the power of her wonderful voice — Ernest's point of fascination perfected. He would have succumbed beneath such a temptation." " Ernest is metal of sterner mould — all iron or flint, regarding women separately. The game has been too easy ; he cares for nothing when the outlay is not great. You were stating the cause of your quarrel. Surely you had something more of offence than the presence of the sweet-voiced lady at dinner?" "Chad, you are twice my age, and my brother's temper is so perverse and tyrannical, that you have lost your just appreciation of the littlenesses rendering life happy and gay. I fell in love with a set of emeralds — don't laugh. They were, of course, extremely expensive, and Sir Charles said he could not afford to purchase jewels.

Three weeks afterwards I found an invitation from Madame Roscoe addressed to my husband, to meet her menagerie of lions and tigers. Beneath this flatter ing epistle lay the coveted emeralds! We were expecting her to luncheon. I rushed to Sir Charles, upbraiding him for his debased taste, and forbade her the house." "Did he admit the emeralds were intended for Madame Roscoe 1 " " My pride concealed the direct charge. Trash and gewTgaws ! let her groan beneath her gilding ! We quarrelled — he refused to give up the dinner, using hard, improper language towards me. I summoned my maid, and arrived here as rapidly as express trains would permit." " And this is the sad history of your terrible outbreak against your husband and society ! Wilful, spoiled girl ! did not your heart plead that this poor actress shares with Sir Charles a friendship probably extended to fifty others? — in every city a new host of admirers, all flattering, all bowing the knee, and, perhaps, betraying.

I feel sure the emeralds were purchased for you. Ella, you relent ; give way to tears, and ease your brimming heart. Ernest, always generous and forgiving, must take you back to Vienna, and hush the affair." How haughtily the defiant wife dashed from her those drops of weakness ! " / repent ! " she exclaimed ; " never under hombies and sermons. Better adopt mamma's familiar language of early days : ' Nurse, Miss Ella is sorry ; bathe her eyes, and take off her pinafore ; she may return tp the drawing-room.' Mamma wearied of fighting when she never gained a victory. We both knew I experienced no twinges of conscience." " I entreat you once more, Estella, consider your position and your brother's anger." " Ah ! Chester will storm, and enrage me further by sarcasm. Ernest may condescend to argue, and even coax.

To both I ain deaf and blind. The lawyers are my physicians ! " The brothers arrived almost at the same moment, the greeting being sufficiently awkward on both sides. Mrs. Chester retreated a little, thoroughly defeated. The three gazed in uncertainty at each other, as if demanding explanation. They were much alike, excepting for age. All singularly handsome, though their beauty was of a decided order : fair complexions, fine teeth, and grey eyes ; tall in stature, and with that easy dignity of mien we fancy inseparable from high breeding. Mr. Chester's features were classically correct — the chiselled, short upper lip, the thin, fine nostril, and arched brow ; but in Ernest's less striking countenance there was more honest frankness and natural play. He smiled or frowned when inclination dictated, and not on fixed principles, as if expression could be registered.

Mr. Chester put on that debonnaire look with his coat ; few ever saw him without either. Alas ! for Mrs. Chester. "What the Div-vil is ab this about, Ella?" he asked, sternly ; but he spoke the wicked word lower, and much more slowly than the rest, dragging it through his teeth with a peculiar emphasis. " You have left your husband, and expect me to call him out for telling you you are a spoiled, conceited, boarding-school miss. What the Div-vil care I for the matter ? Why am I summoned from the House at the very moment when I was rising to elucidate my great political scheme ? You have ruined my public career, disgraced your husband, your family, and yourself. We must emigrate !" "Æquum licet statuerit, haud œquus est," answered Ernest, gravely ; " be just, Chester." " Idle fellows, such as yourself, may be interested in these matrimonial brawls.

You, perhaps, enjoy seeing your neighbours plunge into the quicksands you have, for the present, escaped. Good for nothing else, pray give your time to Miss Estella." " No, Chester ; 1 should make a poor Inquisitor. I cannot witness torture, much less enjoy it." " When this lady is restored to sanity, we will discuss your dove-like propensities, Mr. Ernest." " Save me, Chester ; hear me ! " Esteba exclaimed, passionately. " Save you, Estella, from whom ? The case is plain ; you have made a desperate, abominable fool of yourself by running away from your husband — you know it ! " and Mr. Chester bit the end of his thumb, making a noise similar to that of rats gnawing a wainscot. His sister did not speak ; her eyes sought the carpet. " Tell me, if you can," he continued, " the cause of this feud.

Was it an opera-ticket, or a new bonnet ? " " Neither, sir," she answered, disdainfully ; " your sister was insulted by being forced to associate with a woman of low birth and questionable fame." " By George ! " exclaimed Ernest ; " is Musgrave mad?" " I will repay his courtesy with interest," Mr. Chester coldly repbed. " Such an affront I consider personal." " He insulted you through me," Estella continued ; but Mrs. Chester seized her arm, exclaiming — ■ " Be silent ; you are throwing fire around you like dust. Consider your words, Ella. Great A never forgives, and Emest is quick and impulsive. To what violence would you urge them ? From your recital of events, I could not gather that the lady is low in birth or bearing, much less that slander has assailed her fame. Oil, fie, Estella ! I won't say that Sir Charles has been wise, but you are proving yourself cruelly vindictive.

We are not to make sweeping clauses, dooming a pro fession. My friend, Lady Hilton, was an actress ; Madame Roscoe may be as far beyond reproach as she. And your story regarding the emeralds is wholly un proved." " Thank you, Chad. I am very vindictive, and very obstinate, also. My brothers can act upon counsel's opinion, but I never mean to rejoin Sir Charles Mus grave ! " " Con-founded airs," said Mr. Chester, slowly, studying her mien. " I venture to affirm you are more an actress yourself than the lady you traduce. We should have sent a nurse with you till your babyhood had expired ; these convulsive tits naturally exhaust the brain fever to which you are constitutionally subject. You cannot comprehend that wives are to be obedient to their husbands. Young ladies have all their own way before marriage, and prove it to be so inconsistent with order and reason, that they are not permitted to hold sway again.

Mrs. Chester never ran away I Mrs. Chester never sent for her brothers ! I don't blame Musgrave ; he undertook a shrew to tame, but I despise him for not testing the cord before he used it." " My poor Ella ! " Ernest ejaculated, involuntarily ; " is this your fate ?" and in an instant she was sobbing in his arms, the passion, long concentrated, bursting forth in hysterical cries. Mrs. Chester drew her husband away. " Let us leave them," she said; "by-and-by Ernest will hear all, and we can consider the matter better to-morrow." " Good night," Mr. Chester said, coldly. " We are grateful for this admirable scene. Our opportunities of viewing Estella, La Magnifica, in a flood of tears, have been frequent ; but we anticipated greater dramatic effect from Lady Musgrave — she has not disappointed us.

Good night, ' jYiente piu tosto se secca die lagrime.' " And who is Mr. Chester 1 When very young he entered the army, having little prospect of private fortune. His career had been entirely successful. The youthful soldier fought gallantly, without receiving a single wound. He beheld brave men paying the debt of Nature long ere she demanded the reimburse ment, until Death became too familiar to excite alarm or grief. A rich old uncle mistook this callous hardihood for valour, and a thrifty contrivance, degenerating after wards into parsimony, for noble independence. He was selected from twenty nephews to represent his name and fifteen thousand pounds a year. Perhaps he pitied the widowed sister struggling to give her sons professions, and maintain the dignity of the family, by guarding its outward glitter from tarnish ; perhaps he remembered, sorrowfully, that she had not shared the luxury surrounding the elder and more for tunate members of the family, being the offspring of a second marriage.

To no one he intimated his intention of making Tom Meynell his heir. To the other nephews a few thousands were bequeathed, and the beautiful Estella had a double portion. Captain Meynell quitted active service to become Mr. Chester, of Chesterly Park. From that moment the familiar " Tom " was heard no more ; the exalted relative passed into another existence. He was " Mr. Chester " to the world, " Chester" to his near kindred. Intimates he had none. Ernest Meynell, some ten years younger than his brother, had devoted his energies to the bar. He possessed the mental power necessary for a high standing : steady perseverance, concentration of idea, and clear intellect ; but his health declined under close application. In the first pride of patronage, Mr. Chester com manded his brother to abandon the Temple for a time, and become his travelling companion.

Fatal lure to idleness ! After several years of Con tinental excitement, the superannuated schoolboy could not return to the drudgery of hard law, and iron tech nicalities. The aspect of the dull rooms, the dim windows, rusty grates, and foul carpets of the comfortless inns of court were dreary as pest-houses after the brilliant skies and exhilarating beauty of Messina, Naples, and Vevay. His education was completed ere it reached its practical point. Society had given refinement to his manner, courtly deference to his tone, conversation at will, liberality, almost freedom, of opinion — but had not imparted that vulgar mechanical skill, by which the honest man keeps his household fire alight, and the pot boiling. Caution guided every action in Mr. Chester's life, and lie married cautiously.

His wife possessed ample fortune, sound judgment, and good looks — too red always, and inclined to be stout ; but her friends were aristocratic. She was the god-daughter and darling of the Duchess of Wallingford, and entirely unburdened with needy rela tives. If God had blessed her with even a single arrow in that obnoxiously empty quiver, she might have found favour in the eyes of the great Ahasuerus. But the rich man regarded his brother as his sure successor, and, whilst the corn, and the oil, and the wine bicreased, and luxury fattened on fastidious taste, famine consumed his spirit, and overshadowed every enjoyment. The estates were entailed upon Ernest, who had reached his thirty-sixth year, with unpledged hand, and a heart rather the harder for constant breaking.

Chapter II

" Yet wedlock is a very awful thing ! 'Tis something like that feat in the ring, Which requires good nerve to do it, When one of a ' grand equestrian troop ' Makes a jump at a gilded hoop, JNot certain at all Of what may befall After his getting through it ! " W7hen the Gauls surprised the Capitol, the garrison could not have experienced more dismay than Mrs. Meynell felt when informed of Lady Musgrave's abrupt flight from Vienna. She knew, like Brennus, that daughter would make " Vœ victis " her motto ; and that her mild persuasives had always been wrecked on Ella's obstinacy. During their stormy courtship, Sir Charles often termed her "fast " and " strong-minded," but, on the day of her de parture, he declared her "an unreasonable virago !" We are so far creatures of habit, that any sudden change disturbs our equbibrium.

The London residence was given up. Mrs. Meynell, in future, purposed using the world as a mere tonic against the monotony of a strictly country life. She had chosen a farm-house as her place of retirement, and Ernest's scattered effects had been collected and conveyed to Meadow Cottage. Her brow smoothed into a more placid expression as these plans were matured. She had no passions, but some animate and inanimate affections. She liked Mechlin lace, card parties, old china, and her clever housekeeper, Mrs. Gruff. With these, and above these, Ernest. She had lost many children by death, and two by fortune ; for, whilst Mr. Chester honoured her in public by a bow a crowned head might have accepted as homage, her voice never reached his heart, and Ella had ruled her from chbdhood, until submission became habitual slavery.

Ernest's claim on her tenderness was dependence. Meadow Cottage reposed beneath the lordly shadow of Chesterly Park, distant but one mile by crossing a dangerous ferry, and three by the high road. Its ruinous aspect was soon converted into a quaint but ornamental mansion. Mrs. Meynell retained the original name, and all the pride usually lurking around these cottages of gentility. Being situated on the steep slope of a high wooded hill, Nature revelled in the rich alluvial soil. The arbutus, the azalea, and rhododendron flourished in unstunted magnificence. The manor afforded abundance of game, and the treacherous little stream, dividing the grounds from Chesterly Park, teemed with bright speckled trout. Ernest was a keen sportsman ; his own slight pittance defrayed the expenses of horses and dogs, whilst the housekeeping funds were supplied by his mother.

Under Mrs. Gruffs direction, Mrs. Meynell always contrived that both sides of each golden sovereign should be displayed in its expenditure. Some persons bring this system to a science ; they are the multum in parvo di vision of society — all honour to them ! We have, also, the parvum in multo section, if we may transgress so far as to transpose the sentence. Mrs. Meyneb summoned Mrs. Chester for counsel. "What shall I do?" she inquired, mournfully. "At Meadow Cottage we cannot receive Estella ; the rooms are small, and wholly unadapted for her routine of noisy bfe. And the extra expense ! I thought all in order, once more, for my poor remnant of existence. The satin damask, if exposed, will be faded out in one summer ; it is covered with chintz for every-day, and the new carpets with holland.

No, no, no ! " she said, testily ; " when she married, she married , and she separated from me. I don't think she ought to return, when she pleases, as a single woman." Mrs. Chester groaned. " It is a bad affair, though I don't believe there has been wrong-doing. Great A tried to frighten her into an apology ; he censures her conduct unmercifully. Ernest proposed acting as nego tiator ; but Estella exaggerates every statement, and, to compel her brothers to assume the offensive, has unwisely sent for Messrs. Wrench and Cover." " Dear, what a girl she is I Only eight months married ! How thankful I felt to have her off my hands ! The clear starching alone that she requires can never be done in the country. And the milliners — up and down-stairs, trying on this, and altering that ! — we have not a creature for such purposes within forty miles."

" I understand Mr. Wrench leaves for Vienna this evening, empowered to make any terms, combining sepa rate maintenance and ample luxury." " Absurd, Chad ! I wish I could see Sir Charles — a better tempered man I never knew. He does not under stand Estella. For his own peace, he must always give in ; I did. My Mrs. Gruff never thwarted her ; and Ernest would leave the room, or even go from home for a few days, when these wayward fits occurred." " I think she ought to return to your protection at once. Mr. Chester is very angry, because I received her last evening." " I am unable to ask her here at a moment's notice, Charlotte ; we have no extra room in these apartments. I made up the Indian china dinner-service at a great expense — three pounds for the soup-tureen alone, and dirt-cheap. I met with it, quite by accident, at a broker's, in Ports mouth ; and I have burrowed in and out after the plates, like a weasel : she will plant snowdrops and mignonette in them, as before.

Then the linen ; I care more for the abuse of that lovely ' Bear-hunt' than you will credit. It dines eighteen, and the 'Siege of Copenhagen' four-and tweuty; it was used at the christening dinner of every child I have had — even Chester might respect it. My Mrs. Gruff has put them into thorough repair, and they will outlast my life ; but not if Ella orders them into use every week, for my poor Gruff could not see to sine-draw them again." " I quite comprehend your difficulties, Mrs. Meynell." " Not entirely, Chad. You are not fretted with little cares. You are, at least, exempt from money anxieties." " I fancy I could rise above them. But we are apt to magnify our own burden, and diminish the weight we are not obliged to endure. Chester is mortified. Estella will be the subject of popular curiosity and discussion, and he has bade me dismiss Rose, refuse the visit to Wabingford Castle, order the groom to sell my new horse, and prepare for going abroad immediately."

" But why discharge Rose ?" " Don't ask, Mrs. Meynell. I like Rose ; she is a comfort to me, when I am far away. With her I should not sufficiently feel the inroad Ella has made on her brother's peace." Her voice faltered. " I am not quite so strong as I appear ; and this constant giving up of home, and all dear associations, will tell " There was some bustle on the stairs, and before Mrs. Meynell could adjust her cap in the large mirror, and assume a more dignified posture, Miss Chester, a vein of the family gold mine, and Ernest Meynell entered the drawing-room. Miss Chester having assured herself that the couch had stamina to support the shock, and was, moreover, a fixture, dropped upon it. She did not speak for some minutes, and in attempting to do so she wheezed dread fully, as if ab her breath escaped from some illegitimate outlet.

" So ve — ry as — thmatical," she gasped forth. " Such a staircase. I am a ve — ry old wo — man." " Who told you so ?" asked Ernest, laughing. "You and my mother are evergreens. By-the-bye, Aunt Dru, could you spare that dress ? I should so like it for a waistcoat." Aunt Drusilla's garment was the colour of unbaked gingerbread nuts. All over this field, peacocks flouted their fan-like tails, with lidless eyes, until you wished to escape their vacant stare. A few meagre stems and wiry branches, without foliage, invited the wearied birds to roost ; altogether the idea suggested was of a peacock fair. " I shall not part with it probably whilst I live," she replied, gravely. " I wish you to have some remembrance when I depart, and in selecting this, you have saved me trouble. It grieves me that my lamented brother, the admiral, should have bestowed so much of his estate on Tom, and so little on you, as to compel you to beg your wardrobe."

" Dear lady," interposed Ernest, " I cannot dig, and so to beg I am not ashamed. The admiral considered me the second-best man in Rome; in fact, as heir-presump tive, I am already Cæsar. If I had been born twenty years later it would have set the whole matter right." " Well, web — I won't blame my brother. I was bound up in him, as his epitaph tells you. He made a mistake regarding Tom Chester. Order your tailor, Ernest, to make you a waistcoat at my cost, and take care it does not exceed two guineas." " I should prefer your judgment in the purchase, Aunt Dru. I am hardly capable of spending so extravagant a sum discreetly." " You shall have it, Ernest. But enough of this. What were you telling me of Estella ? Oh ! making excuses. I won't hear them. A runaway chit ! Left her husband ? She never deserved one.