The Life and Adventures of a Clever Woman. Illustrated with occasional extracts from her diary

Chapter I

Charlotte Morris was the maiden name of the lady whose life and character as maid, wife, and widow, it is my purpose to exhibit to the reader in the foUowing pages. There is nothing very romantic or exciting in her history ; but if it bears the stamp of truth, it may not be altogether without in terest ; for, however widely scattered, or variously placed human h. :,igs may be, they never fad to recognize a famdy likeness to VOL. I. B ADVENTURBS OF their race, whenever a tolerably faithful portrait of one of them is placed before their eyes ; and whenever this occurs, a certain degree of interest is sure to be excited. Mr. Robert Morris, the father of my heroine, who Avas a banker by profession, and a gentleman by courtesy, continued for many years to exercise his caUing with good discretion and with fair success ; but my narrative wdl not begin Avith any preciseness of detad, tdl a year or two after he had quitted business, and then he was Uving in a very comfortable house in Gloucester Place, with an income of fifteen hundred a-year, and one only daughter, Avho had just completed her seventeenth year.

His Avife had then been dead for seA-eral years ; but he had never been tempted to marry again, partly, perhaps, because the reminiscences of his wedded Use were not of the placid, peaceful character Avhich Avould have made him wish for a renewal of that state of existence. For the late Mrs. Morris, though considered by all her acquaintance as a remarkably sensible AA'oman, had not hit upon the right way of managing her husband. Yet he was, in truth, of a nature to be managed very easdy, and without enduring any great suffering in the process, had it been carried on quietly ; but it was not in the nature of Mrs. Morris to do anything quietly, whde, unfortunately, it was not in the nature of her husband to like any thing that was not done quietly; and the consequence of this was, that when Mrs. Morris died, Mr. Morris secretly made a vow that he would never marry again.

And this vow Av-as most religiously kept to the end of his life. After the first emotions which he experienced upon finding himself a widower had, in some degree, subsided, the worthy and tranqud spirited gentleman would have felt himself to be in a condition of more than ordinary ex emption from the cares and vexations of human existence, had it not been for remem bering that he had a tall, stout, flourishing young daughter of nine years old, and that he did not very well know what to do with her. But Mr. Morris was a kind-hearted, con scientious man, and he had not meditated long upon the subject, before a scheme sug gested itself to him, which seemed to unite b more than one advantage, and which, as it pleased him the more, the more he dwelt upon it, had speedily the effect of not only relieving his mind from this great anxiety, but of soothing his kindly feelings by suggesting the very agreeable idea that, whde doing his duty towards his little daughter, he might perform an act of very useful charity towards the sister of his late (God preserve her soul in peace !) and highlyr-respected wife.

This sister-in-law was a Avidow, and a very poor one ; for her worthless husband had spent aU his own fortune, and hers too ; and she was, moreover, chddless. She A^as, also, a very gentle-tempered woman, a fact which Mr. Morris had very satisfactorily ascertained during the life-time of his departed lady, who had by no means confined the demonstrations of her own Uvely temper to himself; and many Avas the time, and oft, that he had wit nessed scenes, between the gentle Mrs. Buck hurst and his spirited AA-ffe, which had left a strong impression upon his mind, that ih?re certainly was no very great moral or mental resemblance between them. Let it not, however, be for a moment supposed, that good Mr. Morris was in the least degree tempted to infringe any law, whether repealed or not, which refused its sanction to a marriage between brothers and sisters-in-law.

Nothing of the kind ever entered his head ; nothing of the kind ever entered his heart. But he thought, and very justly, that she would be likely to make him an excellent housekeeper, and he thought, too, that, with the assistance of abundance of masters, his very important and precious little daughter might be educated to his heart's content, with out his having to submit to the painful pen ance of sending her to school. His fondness for her partook of, and ac corded Avith, the general tone of his character in a very harmonious degree. It was quiet and placid, with no touch of any of that vehement sort of affection, which is so often found to produce more pain than pleasure. He liked very much to be amused, when little or no exertion of his own was necessary to produce the effect ; and the follies and even the wilfulness of the vivacious little heiress were admirably well calculated for the purpose.

She was by no means a crying child ; if she had been, she Avould probably have been sent to school as soon after the funeral of her mother as convenient; but, as instead of crying she strutted about in her new black frock with infinite glee, and declared that she liked it better than aU her other frocks, be cause it made her look so old and womanly, her surviving parent felt that his departed spouse had decidedly left him a treasure, and one that he would keep as long as he possibly could, or at any rate tdl some splendid marriage should come in her Avay. My heroine's father was not what could be properly caUed a proud man, but he might have been fairly classed as a vain one. He was vain of his good house, of his well-furnished draw ing-rooms, of the goodness of the wine with which he regaled his guests, whenever he had obtained permission to inAdte any ; and he was vain of the comfortably clear fifteen hundred a-year which his industry and prudence had enabled him to realize.

The sensations pro duced by all this were very pleasant, now that he found himself in a sufficiently tranqud state of mind to dwell upon them ; and the vivacity and rosy cheeks of his now unscolded little girl seemed to open to him a prospect of enjoyment of the same gratifying kind. The consequence of all these pleasant medi tations was his setting off exactly twenty-four hours after his daughter's lively observation on her black frock, to make a morning visit to the widow Buckhurst. Nature never, perhaps, produced a more capricious contrast of character in one famdy, than when she gave Mrs. Buckhurst to be sister to Mrs. Morris. Having said this, no further description of her temper and manners can be necessary, as whatever else remains to be known concerning her, is sure to be developed in the foUowing pages ; for Mr. Morris's civd proposal that she should for the future take up her abode with him, was received with unaffected, and very earnest gratitude ; and all preliminaries re specting her immediate removal from her com fortless lodging, on the second floor of a small house in Store Street, to the thoroughly com fortable apartment proposed for her in the house of her brother-in-law, were got through with a degree of celerity, which clearly proved that the parties concerned in the business, OP were very sincerely desirous to have the change effected with as Uttle loss of time as possible.

" Is aunt Buckhurst going to be here always, papa?" said Charlotte, on seeing the large heavy box, which looked more Uke a venerable " old oak chest," than a travelhng trunk, con veyed into the apartment prepared for its owner. " Yes, my dear ; she is going to stay here always," replied her father, " and I hope you are glad to hear it." "Glad? What should I be glad about? She never gave me any thing pretty in her Use, and I don't think she knows what cake means ; and she has no more cleverness abcut playing at anything, than if she were your great arm-chair. No, indeed, I am not at aU glad." " But you are not very sorry, I hope, are you, my dear ?" said her father coaxingly. "Sorry? Wdiat for? Good gracious! no, papa ! I don't care at aU about it, one way or the other," she repUed, with rather a majestic toss of the head.

" I shan't mind her any more than if she AATas the table. I never do." The peace-loving Avidower had acquired so strong an aversion for any thing and everything that seemed to threaten discussion and consequent dispute, that the only sign of dis approbation which he ventured to display upon hearing this rather alarming declaration, was a very gentle shake of the head ; but he just ventured to say, by way of a hint : " Well, well, my pretty Charlotte ! I dare say you will always be a very good girl, and then everything wiU go on smoothly and well." OF

Chapter II

During the five or six important years which foUowed, the education of my heroine appeared to be going on very prosperously ; that is to say, she learned to read and to spell with facility, had become a desperately indefatigable Uttle dancer, and a rapid and indiscriminate reader of every thing that came in her way. Moreover, she had learned the catechism, and the multiplication tables by rote, and could both write and cast up a sum correctly. This is a fuU and true catalosrue'of her accom plishments, for she had stoutly and steadfastly resisted aU attempts to]teach her music or drawing ; but, nevertheless, she so speedUy acquired and so steadily retained the reputation of being a remarkably clever young woman, that, whde studying her character, one might have been led to doubt the advantage of a more ex tended and more varied system of study.

Her copious and very general reading, doubtless, did a good deal towards obtaining this reputation for her ; but her keen look-out upon the world, probably, did more still. But we must not thus forestaU the result of her education, in describing its progress. When Mrs. Buckhurst had quietly established herself in her new home, and made herself practically acquainted with all the little detads in the management of the house, towards which Mr. Morris particularly wished to direct her attention, she ventured to ask Miss Char lotte whether it Avould not be a good plan for her to spend an hour or two the first thing after breakfast, every morning, in doing her lessons in the library, instead of lying upon the drawing-room sofa reading story books. In return to this gentle question, Miss Char lotte very unceremoniously replied : " No, aunt Buckhurst, I think it would be a very bad plan indeed ; and what's more, I won't." Any rejoinder to so spirited a reply was OP quite beyond the power of Mrs. Buckhurst, and a day or two passed without any further aUu sion to the subject.

But the worthy woman did not feel quite at rest in her conscience, as she saw day after day pass away without any re-appearance of the slates and copy-books, which she kneAv used to be in daily requisition (though the theme of incessant scolding) during the life-time of her sister; and at length she screwed her courage to the task of begging Mr. Morris to let her have a few minutes' conversation with him, some morning, before he went to the bank. Mr. Morris stared at her Avith a mingled expression of surprise and alarm. It had been a pretty nearly dady practice with his departed Avife, to request " a few minutes' conversation with him before he went to the bank ;" and as these parting conversa tions were invariably devoted to grumbling on every theme she could think of, and to re proaches for pretty nearly every fault which it was possible for any man, not within danger of hanging or transportation, to commit, it is not wonderfid that he should be a good deal startled, and not a Uttle alarmed by these wellknown words of evil omen, addressed to him by an individual whom he had rashly attached to his household, chiefly because he believed that she was the very least likely of all woman kind so to address him. ■ For a moment he stood doubtful whether tc escape by flight, or more manfully to avoid all such hateful and ghost-like visita tions for the future, by letting the requested interview end by giving Mrs. Buckhurst notice that he had reason to think the scheme of their Uving together was not likely to answer, and that the sooner it was brought to a conclusion the better.

No sooner had this effectual remedy sug gested itself, than he civilly told his meek sister-in-law, he was at her service that moment, if she had anything which she wished to communicate to him ; and, thereupon, she at once led the way to the library, and having closed the door, proceeded with a de gree of timidity which very effectuaUy removed his alarm, to explain her fears lest the hours of his absence from home were not passed by his daughter exactly in the manner he would approve. Mr. Morris was not particularly weU acquainted with the ordinary routine of young ladies' education, but he knew enough to make him aware that his Uvely, clever little Charlotte might certainly pass her time more advantageously than by lying on the sofa, and reading story-books. He remembered that she was his heiress, and that he intended her to make a great marriage; and that if she were not taught to do something besides lying about and reading story-books, this great marriage might be verydifficult to bring about.

He, therefore, not only listened to Mrs. Buckhurst's statement A\dth great attention, but thanked her cordiady for giAing him so useful a hint. Sending her to school he had made up his mind to consider as absolutely impossible ; and he now confessed to his re spectful listener, that the having a governess to live in his house would be very particularly disagreeable to him. t " What on earth, then, am I to do, to set all this right ?" he exclaimed, so despondingly, as greatly to touch the kind heart of Mrs. Buckhurst, adding, in a tone which expressed more of despair than hope : "Don't you think that if you were to take courage and try — don't you think, Mrs. Buckhurst, that you could at last make her mind you?" Had the nature of the worthy woman he thus addressed been a little less scrupulously honest, she would assuredly have given him an encouraging answer, merely from pity, but not even for pity could she say what was not true, and she therefore replied with a deep sigh, and with her eyes meekly fixed upon the carpet, " No, sir, I do not."

" Well ! my dear, good woman ! then we must try something else. To tell you the honest truth, I do think that she is much too clever to be easdy managed by any body, and, therefore, as to trying to manage her in little things, I shall vote for our both giving it up altogether; and I don't know that we shall be anv of us much the worse for it, for she is as quick as lightning, and Avould be likely enough to hit upon what was best to be done, before you or I had half done thinking about it. But in the matter of learning ac complishments, that is altogether another question. When I die, Mrs. Buckhurst, she wdl have fifteen hundred per annum, rather more than less, and a girl Avith that fortune must know something beyond just reading, you know, Mrs. Buckhurst. But how I am to set about getting her taught, is the mystery."

" WeU, sir, as to that, I think I do know a way to help you," replied Mrs. Buckhurst, chserfuUy. " I quite agree with you in the notion that a very clever, weU-taught young lady living always in the house might be con sidered as rather an incumbrance. You, my dear sir, would always know your placs a great deal too AveU to amuse yourself, or her either, with learned talk, you know, sir, about a great many things which perhaps you would under stand quite as weU as herself. But as for such a poor ignorant person as I am, I should be sure to appear in her eyes as not cne bit better than the housemaid, and, therefore, it is plain that there could be no very agreeable com panionship for either of us." " Don't say a word more about it, Mrs. Buck hurst," replied Mr. Morris sharply. " I have told you already that nothing should make me submit to having a governess in the house.

It is exactly the sort of thing I most abomi nate, so there's an end, if you please, of all discussion on that subject." " I never wdl name it again, sir !" returned his half-frightened counsellor. " What I was going to mention was altogether a different sort of thing. I am told, sir, that it is becoming very much the fashion, and among the very genteelest people, to have an accomplished lady come in for three or four hours every day to give lessons ; and when the lessons are finished, off she goes again, without plaguing any body, old or young ; and it seems to me, sir, that this would be the very best plan in the world for your dear, clever little Charlotte." Mr. Morris remained silent for a minute or two, and then repUed, in a tone which manifested a very marked improvement in the state of his temper and spirits — "Upon my word, Mrs. Buckhurst, I think that sounds reasonable enough, and at any rate I am quite willing that the scheme should be tried.

If it should not answer, why then you know we must think of something else. All that I shall make a point of is, that Charlotte should never be made to cry. But it is you, my dear, good woman, who must settle it all, for I know no more which way to turn in order to find one vol. I. c OP of those moveable governesses, than how to find a gold field on Salisbury plain." " It wdl be the greatest of all possible plea sures to me, if I can be serviceable to you in any way !" replied Mrs. Buckhurst cheerfully ; " and I do think I may be able to help you here, for I know a lady who has two little girls, the eldest just the age of Charlotte, Avho are receiving their education in this manner, and I heard my friend say the other day, that her governess had lost one of her other pupils, in consequence of the famdy 's going abroad."

" Well then, my worthy sister-in-law, I leave the whole business of the arrangement to you. I avUI beg you to settle about the terms of payment, and the hours of attendance, all of which you must understand a great deal better than I do," said Mr. Morris, with the happy voice and aspect of a man who suddenly finds himself relieved from a great embar rassment. " And now," he added, " I AviU say good bye, till Ave meet at dinner, by Avhich time I flatter myself you may have made some progress in thc negociation." I will do my very best that it shall be all AVOMAN. settled before dinner-time," returned Mrs. Buckhurst, zealously ; " but — but," she added, laying her hand upon the arm of Mr. Morris, to prevent his leaving the room before he had heard the last words, Avhich she was so evi dently anxious to utter — " but it is you, dear sir, and not I, if you please, who must explain all about it to Charlotte ; I don't think the plan will answer if she thinks it is my in vention."

"I don't think it much signifies Avhether I tell her of it, or you. I hope you don't find her rebeUious, Mrs. Buckhurst ?" " RebeUious, Mr. Morris ? Oh dear me ! that is such a very strong word ! What I mean is, that Charlotte is so very clever herself, that she knows, as well as you or I do, how to judge of cleverness in others, and we can neither of us blame her, can Ave, because she thinks you cleverer than me." "It is all very right and proper, perhaps, that girls should look up with more respect to their father, than to any body else," he replied ; " but that is no reason Avhy she should not pay dutiful attention to you. So, on the whole, Mrs. Buckhurst, I think it will be c better for you to teU her of the new plan we have decided upon." And having pronounced these words very much with the air of a man who was speaking his real opinion, Mr. Morris again turned away, and proposed to leave the room.

But Mrs. Buckhurst, in spite of all her natural and habitual timidity, seemed on this occasion to be armed with more than common firmness ; for with a rapid movement, which almost amounted to a spring, she again seized upon the arm of her retreating brother in-laAV, and said, in an accent of resolute determination, which could not be mistaken, " I cannot do it, sir ! indeed, and indeed I cannot !" Whether the faithful Avidower of the late Mrs. Morris had any latent consciousness on his mind that it Avas just possible his clever, lively little Charlotte might inherit some slight shade of character from her mother, mav be doubtful ; but if it was so, he deserved very considerable credit for the sort of courageous firmness with which he replied. — " Very weU, Mrs. Buckhurst ! very well ! you need not say any more about telbng Charlotte, I'll undertake that part of the business myself, and the sooner you set about your part the better."

" I wiU not lose an hour, sir ! " was her earnest reply ; and then they parted, mutually weU pleased ; for good Mr. Morris himself, notAvithstanding his particularly strong anti pathy to aU business-like discussions with the fair sex, was not altogether insensible to the flattering conviction which had been forced upon him, that he teas more likely to have something approaching to authoritative in fluence over his blooming young daughter than any one else. Both the parties to the compact thus made performed their respective tasks promptly and well. The " moveable governess " was found to be fortunately at liberty to dispose of her self, from nine till any hour which might be named not later than two ; upon hearing which agreeable statement, Mrs. Buckhurst immediately and rather eagerly proposed that she should dine with her pupd at half-past one, an arrangement which her timid use of the house keeping authority vested in her might have shrunk from making, had it not been from her conscientious and very weU-founded mistrust of her own influence in restricting the appetite of her flourishing young niece to such regula tions as might be needful for the preservation of health.

But Mr. Morris, though a prudent, was by no means a stingy man ; and so far from objecting to this arrangement, he evidently approved it, even without being enlightened by any hint from the gentle Mrs. Buckhurst as to her private reasons for wishing it. Within a week after this important scheme Avas decided upon, it was put in action ; the steady, stedfast, sturdy, well-drilled Miss Smith was invested vrith full authority to awaken the intellect, and cultivate the talents, of Mr. Morris's heiress in the manner which she thought best calculated to bring her great abilities into action.

Chapter III

The advice of Mrs. Buckhurst was perhaps the very best and most profitable that could have been given, under the circumstances. The abdities of my heroine were exactly such as to profit rapidly by the exertions of a zeal ous and painstaking instructor. Had the temper of the little girl appeared of a softer quality, it is probable that Miss Smith, who was a clear-headed, sensible woman, would have foUowed a very different system with her ; but though stiU an unmarried governess, Miss Smith was far from being a youug woman, and the years which had passed over her since she had entered upon her laborious career, would have been stiU more weari some aud barren of amusement than she had OP actually found them, had she not taken a good deal of interest, partly whimsical, partly phdo sophical, in studying the endless varieties of character exhibited by her successive pupds.

This study, however, had long ceased to be merely the source of speculative amusement ; she had now, and for many years past, made it exceedingly useful to her, and to her pupds too, for it spared both parties from vainly giving time and labour in any direction, where nature forbade all reasonable hope of obtaining the object aimed at. In the present case Miss Smith very speeddy closed the pianoforte, after inducing Mr. Morris to Usten to her plain-spoken assurances — that it was impossible, from the formation of her hearing organs, that Miss Charlotte should ever receive pleasure herself, or impart pleasure to others, by endeavouring to make herself a musician. The study of drawing very speedily followed that of music. Miss Smith possessed both taste and judgment, and greatly as she wished to find profitable occupation for herself during the precious hours from nine till two, it may reasonably be doubted whether she would not have preferred a daily dinner with Duke Hum phrey, to the misery of attempting to engraft the fine arts upon her new pupil.

The task of leading her to improve her faculties, and increase her amusements by reading, was a very different affair. Here she found her apt enough. She acquired the power of reading French too, with more than common facility ; her hand-writing also was very carefully attended to, and prospered well; and it soon became the chief difficulty of the " moveable governess" to keep her pupd from more promiscuous reading, both in French and EngUsh, than she quite approved. But Miss Smith's keen study of incipient character had led her to discover other traits in Charlotte Morris than her inaptitude to acquire music and draAving. The species of sturdy wilfulness which she doubtless inherited from her mother was soon obvious to her new governess ; and for some time (not very long) she meditated a good deal on the subject, and made sundry attempts to soften and control it.

But perceiving that she evidently did more harm, by making herself an object of dislike, than good, by pointing out the faults ADArENTURES OF she Avished to correct, she dehberately gave up the attempt, and confined her efforts to giving as much useful information, both by reading and conversation, as it was in her power to do. In this manner they went on very peaceably together, tdl the young lady had completed her sixteenth year ; and then, although no very strong degree of sympathy existed between them on subjects in general, they both began to be aware, very nearly at the same time, that the one had taught, and that the other had learnt, pretty nearly enough for the at tainment of the objects for which they had been brought together. The young lady had hinted this, with very intelligible plainness, once or twice before Miss Smith had made up her mind to declare to the father and aunt her own persuasion that her pupd was so AveU incUned to study by herself, as no longer to require the attendance of a governess to assist her.

But at length, finding herself accidentady tete-a-tete with Mrs. Buckhurst, the consci entious governess opened the subject by saying, that " Miss Charlotte Avas certainly a very clever girl, and that she did not think she was in need of a governess any longer." Greatly was Miss Smith surprised by the manner ill which this intimation was received by the aunt of her pupil. Mrs. Buckhurst clasped her hands together in a very convulsive sort of manner, gazed silently in the face of the governess for a moment, and then burst into a violent flood of tears. Miss Smith was indeed greatly surprised. Nothing, certainly, could be more perfectly unbroken than the harmony in which these two ladies had met together at the luncheondinner table during the last five years ; nevertheless, as nothing had ever passed between them which could rationally lead the other to suppose she had inspired an attachment likely to produce so violent a burst of grief when their separation was alluded to, Miss Smith felt somewhat at a loss how to receive it ; but she behaved now, as she always did, with great propriety.

She thanked Mrs. Buckhurst quietly, but gratefully, for the interest thus sheAvn for her ; adding, that she trusted she should not lose sight of her entirely, for that she should never cease to remember the uniform kindness Avith which she had been treated by her during the long period of her attendance on Miss Morris. This was said so cordiaUy, and so evidently Avith sincerity, that had the tears flowed from the cause Miss Smith assigned to them, they could scarcely have flowed on so perse veringly. But, in fact, poor Mrs. Buckhurst was too completely overcome by the unexpected shock she had received, to have the power to stop them. Poor, good woman ! she really was very much to be pitied. Her Use had not been a happy one, and very decidedly the last five years had been the most enjoyable part of her existence ; for Mr. Morris had been very kind to her, and she had enjoyed the comfort of feeling that she had been useful to him in return ; for as a housekeeper, she was indeed absolutely perfect — nothing was ever forgotten — no neg ligence ever permitted, nor any scolding ever heard.