Helen Erskine

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Chapter I

"Nay, mother, is there no discrimination in circumstances, such as difference of temperament, social claims, and rank of life ? ' The person you hold up to my imitation is opposite to me in all these. From birth itself our paths have widely diverged. I am, by nature, .buoyant, alive to enjoyment, delighting in society, "of active rather than contemplative habits. As Well try to turn back the stream in its onward course as reverse natural tastes and aptitudes, or create them anew. May we not enjoy life as it presents itself, and await mature years before we don the raiment of gravity, and cheek the gaiety that pertains to the season of youth ?"

"Assuredly, Everard, there is discrimination; but your fancv traces the outlines too faintly, and with too narrow a scope. That you have rank and station entitles yon to no merit, but greatly enhances your responsibility as an example to others less favored in this ; natural temperament, unrestrained because natural, opens a flood-gate of countless errors, and social claims need guards lest we barter, for trifles, that inestimable talent, time, whose ravages nothing can repair, and for whose just improvement we must render strict account. You will not, I think, dissent from my proposition, that a man who resolutely stems the tide of existing disadvantages, is unflinching in self-denial, unmoved by the lures or ridicule of the world around, sedulously improving whatever gifts he may possess, with a standard of honor and virtue not lower than the Gospel has established, such a man, I say, not only is entitled to, but commands and receives the esteem and respect of his fellows, and may be pronounced worthy the imitation of a prince, much less the Hon. Everard Faulkner of Knowlton.".

"I do not deny that your picture, if not rather highly colored for Hugh Bolton, is a noble one, if attainable in practice; but, may not some of these exertions have their origin in a desire to reach certain advantages I already possess, such as a more elevated station, associations above his sphere, and the like ? You do not reckon, ambition among the virtues of your model, my dear mother. Had he inherited what he, doubtless, covets, would he have developed those traits that have obtained from you so warm a panegyric ?"

" Speculation on such possibilities is vain and profitless; but I will only suppose that, with the just appreciation of life and its aims, developed m the consistent practice of the person we are considering, a more elevated position would rather have served to a wider range of virtuous illustration. The natural tendency of expanding intellect is upward, and it can DO more be checked than a tree in its growth. Genius, if allowed due culture, will from the sapling become the oak, shoot forth wide-spreading branches, and tower above the plantings of a more luxuriant soil and less hardy germ."

" Genius I ay, mother, but genius is a gift vouchsafed to few. It is a native endowment, whose impetus demands less effort for attainment than is necessary for less gifted mortals. En passant, while quite content to award Hugh Bolton his meed of praise, for he is, in truth, a fine fellow, I am not sure that he is such a rara avis as to claim a niche in that illustrious galaxy."

" Nor do I claim for him so lofty a height. He is yet but the sturdy sapling, and we know not what the branches of tender green may become under genial, ripening sun and shower. Whatever intellectual powers he may possess, meanwhile, should be reckoned as gifts, as they certainly come not by inheritance. And I incline to the opinion, that the perception he manifests of genius in others, by his bent of study and choice of authors, has too much of a kindred principle not to have ties of relationship which the family of that royal lineage will not wholly disdain. But, my dear Everard, it is not his intellectual gifts, nor his taste for literature, nor his ambition that I am coi^imending: it is his steadfast purpose in the employment of time, his courage in the maintenance of religious observance amid countervailing obstacles, and the consequent virtue and purity of his daily life. Acknowledge that there is reflected in the calm face of this young man the peace of a good conscience, the simple dignity of one that rules himself after God's word, rather than the fickle statutes of man's creating."

1*

" DiflFerence of temperament, mother, and diflference of taste — Hugh Bolton, I confess, is somewhat grave for me. At college, he was called the * Parson,' and I am surprised that he did not go into the Church, — his mien, appearance, and mode of life seem so fitted for the vocation. He seldom sought companionship in our rollicking set ; and if, by chance, thrown among us, was so evidently out of place as to be almost amusing. But, in truth, though we dubbed him Prig and Parson, and thought him righteous overmuch, yet the genuine respect he elicited always forbade the least approach to ridicule. And yet his calm face, as you call it, could be moved to anger, as I can testify. One day, fatigued by a long cricket-match, Egmont and I strolled off into a grove, at some distance from the play-ground, and in a sequestered spot, we discovered Bolton so deep in a book as to be unaware of our approach till at his side.

" * Ha, Bolton I' exclaimed my friend, * what have you there so interesting as to preclude observation of two victorious knights of the cricket tournament? Pry thee, man, rouse thyself and tell of thy study.'

**The student looked up, surprise mingling with a slight expression of annoyance on his countenance, at the intrusion on his rapt absorption, and replied by handing the book to his interlocutor.

'' It was a small Italian Testament. Egmont is well versed in ancient languages, and a proficient especially in Greek, of which he is proud ; affecting at the same time rather to despise modern tongues, as respects their literature, in comparison with the massive tomes of antiquity.

"*Ah,' said he, *Nuovo Testamento! I should have supposed one so conversant with the noble original in which this sacred book was written, could scarcely have been content with anything inferior to the stately language of Homer. This modern costume, into which the flowing toga of Cicero has been transformed, is, I think, better suited to the minstrel Inamorato, beneath his lady's lattice, or the Cantatrice of the St. Carlo, than the solemn recital of the divine miracles.'

" * This inspired volume,' replied Bolton, his features kindling with feeling and enthusiasm, ' must, of necessity, infuse its divine essence into whatsoever medium is employed for transmission to our understanding. An arbitrary judgment, after mere cursory, or, perchance, no examination of its beauties, you will have the candor to acknowledge, is not a fair test of force or adaptation. The mellifluous pathos of the Italian language is not unworthy the history of the life of Christ, from the cradle to the cross. Nor should I have expected to hear a belles-lettres scholar like Lord Egmont so contemn the tongue that has illustrated the genius of a Dante and a Tasso.'

"My friend pursued the argument partly from a desire to tease Bolton, whom he considered as inclined to exclusiveness in his mode of life, and not sufficiently impressed with his privilege of association with his superiors in rank.

"'Dante and Tasso,' he continued, 'wrote in their native tongue, and the New Testament is rendered into the same for his countrymen, as for us in English, and it is meet and needful ; but, in comparison With the Greek, it is like the pretty flowers that carpet our meadows, aspiring to emulate the spreading elm with its countless leaves and hardv roots and trunk.' And then, suddenly opening the volume, he added, ' Listen, and be convinced,' and with bantering, if not sarcastic tone, he read the words from St. John, YZ huon Pastore mette la svu vita per le pecore — * The good Shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.'

" The next instant Bolton was on his feet, and with flushed face, and agitated voice, he exclaimed, —

" * Restore me the book, my lord ! I' cannot permit a truth so sacred, so endearing, so touching to us all, if duly susceptible of its momentous import, to be made the theme of light criticism or irreverent discussion.'

"And before Egmont had recovered from bis astonishment at the unwonted animation he had provoked, Bolton, with his Nuovo Testamento, had, with rapid steps, gained considerable space toward his chambers.

" * What a confounded prig goes there I' said Egmont, as we threw ourselves on the grass; and our conversation quickly taking another turn, he soon forgot the brief interview; but my memory still retains the sudden transformation of the calm, contemplative student into the« indignant defender of a cherished principle."

Here the discussion was abruptly terminated by a summons to the mother on domestic concerns, when the son, whistling to his dog, sallied forth into the park of the noble demesne to which he was lineal heir, perchance to muse upon the wise and gentle counsels of his only remaining parent, at least until some fresh enticement of pleasure or solicitation of a gay companion should supersede them in his memory.

HELEN ERSKINE, ft

CHAPTER 11.

Thb majority of the Hon. Everard Faulkner had "been attained ; but a few weeks had past, since, amid brilliant fetes and rejoicings of friends and tenantry, he had been publicly disenthralled from the restraints t)f guardians to which his father's death had consigned him ; and now, sole master of a long-descended inheritance, there rests no cloud on his buoyant, joyous spirit, and tie world, at his feet, invites acceptance of the thousand allurements her siren voice pronounces unfailing in their enchantment, and well befitting his youthful prime and rank in life. Endowed by nature with a mind of no ordinary calibre, to which every means of culture had been sedulously applied, with a temper naturally fine, and little subject to irritation in the atmosphere of love and ease wherein he had been nurtured, overflowing with generous feeling and good impulses, his lot in life was enviable indeed, promising a bright career of happiness, and an exemption from its ordinary ills. But what, save the Omniscient eye, shall penetrate the obscure vista of future years, discern the foe lurking among the outer defenses, seemingly, to mortal ken, secure and impervious, or perceive the stealthy instrument burrowing at the very base of the citadel, while the warden at the mailed portal wots not of danger ? Amid the light that illumined his far-stretching path, the halo that encircled the pinnacle on which he vainly thought himself immovable, there was emitted, from within him, an element that foreboded imminent destruction, as a spiral column of smoke from a palace-roof portends the downfall of its splendor. A phantom decked in the ephemera of innocent hilarity and ready mirth, indomitable in its power, was his constant shadow, watching occasion to break asunder every purpose of good, to dissipate every reproof of conscience for wasted hours, to whisper promise of coming pleasure, and substitute frivolous counsels for words of soberness and truth I Levity was his besetting sin, infirmity of purpose, subverting the best-formed resolves, putting to flight wholesome reflection or the proper use of time, crumbling well-arranged plans, like a house of cards, at a touch, and making repentance for failure or neglect short-lived and evanescent as the hues of a summer-cloud. With hosts of friends, as it ever is with favorites of fqrtune, his elegant person, social qualities, high rank, and unincumbered estate, awarded him the perilous distinction of unrivalled popularity and a horizon of future prosperity whose sun should never go down.

His father, obliged for many successive winters, by pulmonary weakness, to exchange the humid air of England for the balmy clime of foreign lands, chose rather to forego the companionship of his only son than deprive him of advantages he deemed both necessary and unparalleled, of inhaling with his native atmosphere the feelings, sentiments, and nationality of an Englishman, and the education of an English university. From this decision there was no appeal, though the fond mother, in the short intervals the seasons allowed them to remain in their beautiful home, discerned with anxious alarm the germ of that fickleness in her darling which demanded the watchful, sleepless vigilance of parental effort ; but called bjr duty and affection to accompany her frail and suffering husband to distant lands, she could only, with earnest entreaties to watch over and counsel, commend him to the guardianship appointed by his father, and with tearful prayers, pray God to have him in His holy ^fceeping. At length the insidious disease that had been preying on his vitals by inches, finished its allotted work; and beside the sparkling waters of the blue Mediterranean, amid the glowing beauty of nature and careless gaiety of passing multitudes, the Hon. Philip Faulkner sank quietly to rest, leaving his son near the close of his minority, and scarcely more an orphan than his father's long decline of ten years had already rendered him.

This brief record will suffice to elucidate the colloquy with which our story opens, the mother endeavoring, by judicious eulogy, to demonstrate the nobleness and dignity of a self-reliant character, forming itself a standard of true greatness according to the moral grandeur of divine maxims, the unflinching pursuit of lofty aims, the real purpose of being, and the priceless value of time, in contrast with the pygmy status of man's creating, the giddy expenditure of fleeting hours and persistent devotion to pleasure which passes with the using, or, in vanishing, leaves the sting of unavailing remorse.

Chapter III

It was a wintry December day in the great metropolis of England, a cold, driving sleet, blinding ta

the eyes and perilous to pedestrians, when in D

Street a yoang gentleman was dauntlessly pursuing his way, little heeding the pitiless storm that resisted^ his progress, his very tread betokening a firm resolu^ tion, not wont to yield to obstacle or discouragement. A well-knit' frame, stature scarcely above medium height, features more intellectual in expression than regular in outline, large hazel eyes, filled, as it were, with the repose of a quiet spirit within, and more of manly dignity than ordinary at the age of twenty^four. The closely-buttoned coat developed a figure of symmetrical proportions, while the collar, left open with the fearless confidence of youthful vigor, presented a throat which might, perchance, have excited the. jealousy of Ghilde Harold himself.

This, too, was the only son of a mother who was a widow, but his were not the gifts of high lineage, or broad domain, or aristocratic titles. He entered life, not amid stately avenues sheltered from heat and storm by centenary oaks and bordered by primrose, and purple heart's-ease, but at the outset of an unhewn path, its growth, the wild tangle of the forest, whose uprooting must bear the burden and heat of the day.

His father was born in respectable middle-life, which coilld not aspire to be classed among English gentry, and, placed early in a London banking-bouse, bad, by bis assiduity, spotless integrity, and aptitude in tbe routine of tbe institution, been elevated to a partnersbip in the prosperous and honorable firm but two or three years, when death suddenly cut short his career, leaving his widow sole guardian of bis young son, then only nine years of age, with a moderate competency and an unsullied name, whose memory should raise no blush to the cheek, as their inheritance.

His mother, in worldly parlance, came of gentler blood, being the penniless daughter of a Scotch laird, and reared in the heart of the brown Highlands. In a chance encounter in Auld Reekie, whither he bad gone as confidential emissary of the banking-house, and where Jessie Bournlee was diligently giving the last polish to a retired education, her artless beauty and shrinking modesty captivated the heart of tbe elder Bolton, already of mature years, though still a subordinate in office. Transferred from the invigorating gales of the free Highlands to the narrow limits of a small house in the murky atmosphere of crowded London, the blooming cheek of the Scottish blue-bell began to pale and her spirit to pine for the mountain breeze. To counteract this effect as far as practicable, Mr. Bolton removed to a cottage in the suburbs, with a garden and a portion of ground attached, and here the little Hugh first saw the light. After his elevation in the institution and corresponding increase of income, Mr. Bolton exchanged his modest habitation in the suburbs for a manor-house, more retired, but still, by modern facilities of locomotion, quite accessible to the city, of ampler dimensions, and, though

14 BEL EN ERSKINE,

somewhat dilapidated by long absenteeism, with gardens and shrubberies, almost invisible amid the rank grass that had rioted unchecked in wild luxuriance for years ; yet the beauty of the situation, the fine old trees, and capability of restoration, tempted him to embrace the opportunity of its being thrown upon the market by a needy spendthrift to become the purchaser at half its value. There, by diligent effort, ravages of time and neglect were repaired, scythe and pruning-knife made smooth the lawn and rendered the clustering vines and shrubberies their due proportions, so that soon the Manor, as it was called, became as remarkable for its beauty and preservation as it had been for its appearance of ruinous neglect. Uhomme propose , mats Dieu dispose. While, on his daily return from his duties, the eye of Mr. Bolton looked with such fulness of content at the rose again coloring the cheek of the wife he had translated from the Scottish Highlands, as it seemed, for a time, to wither in the close precincts of foggy London, and with internal gratulation viewed the beautiful retreat he had acquired at so little cost, and beheld in imagination a broad landscape of many years to come, replete with happy enjoyment underneath the lofty trees he had not planted, inhaling the perfume of flowering vines hands had trained, now crumbled into dust beneath old tombs in yonder church-yard whose sculptured insignia his unskilled eye could neither ken nor unravel, already was the bow bent and the arrow pointed by the unerring Archer, that was destined to break the golden bowl. London was his world, and, like Owen and the house of Osbaldistone, he conceived no aspiration higher than the attainment of a voice in the administration of the institution in which he had spent his life. Naturally, therefore, ambition for his son centred in his accession to the post he had himself gained, after passing the flower of his days in the plodding routine of unvaried mechanical offices. But, whether or no this object would have been attained had he survived to rear the youthful scion, and, by dint of love and parental authority, bend the twig in that chosen path, must forever remain uncertain. A devout member of the Established Church, funeral rites according to its solemn ritual were administered at his decease ; and it was during visits of condolence by the rector of their parish church that the influence had its first origin which constituted the tide of the young Hugh's fortunes. The boy's remarkable sobriety of mien, his filial piety, and sensible answers, excited the interest of the good clergyman, and he, one day in his absence at school, inquired minutely into his mQther's purpose and prospects in respect to him. She communicated his father's design that he should follow his own vocation, and hereafter enrol his name in the banking company as his successor.

** Far be it from me, madam," said the rector, Mr. Boynton, " to interpose any obstacle to the wishes of his deceased father, to which he should award all due and reasonable homage, but to impose a profession on one so young seems at least more arbitrary than just What appears to be the bent of his mind and inclination, as far as developed ?"

" Study, sir, a passion for books, thirst for knowledge not easy for us to satisfy, for our library is but scanty, save with records of baDking; and such reading as the child could procure, he would go over and over again. He never tired, from earliest childhood, of listening to my old Scottish lore and Highland legends ; and for a birthday gift or reward for an action that pleased his father, always chose historic tales of Scotland or England, and will now sit poring for hours over the Border Minstrelsy, the Cotter's Saturday Night, or such like."

*' He is a pupil of the neighboring academy ?"

"Yes, sir.'^

** And what are his studies there ?"

A footstep behind her caused the mother to turn hen head, and she replied, —

" Hugh is here, sir, to answer for himself."

After a greeting, returned by the boy with modest reverence, Mr. Boynton propounded the question to him.

The course denoted what is termed a substantial education for commercial life, especial attention^by his father's direction, being given to arithmetic and mathematics, to ground him in the knowledge necessary for his future calling as banker.

"And you like these useful studies, Hugh ?"

The boy blushed, as if rather embarrassed at the question, but answered, with the candid simplicity natural to him, —

** No, sir, I do not."

The minister smiled at the decided tone of the reply, and then inquired what he preferred to them.

** Those the boys call the higher branches, sir, — the classics and histories of chivalry ; but my father said

HELEN ERSKIKE. lY

such studies were for gentlemen of rank who had nothing to think of but pleasure, and not for such as had a name and fortune to make in the world."

" What book is that vou have now ?"

"The Knights of the Round Table, sir, lent me by one of my companions. I hope you will not think it wrong for me, sir, I have so few books of my own and have read them all so often."

" Not precisely wrong, Hugh, but I believe my library will aflFord something more suitable for you, at present, and more instructive. If you will permit me to select, I can supply you with reading for a long time to come — what say you ?"

The boy, in a transport of delight at such an offer, rushed forward to the good clergyman, his whole face lighted up with such rapturous emotion as to change its usual character of repose for one of brightness and animation, and in an impulse of gratitude threw his arms around Mr. Boynton, but the next moment, abashed at the freedom, withdrew in confusion.

The rector was deeply touched by the artless acknowledgment of the gift he had conferred, one which had cost him nothing; and a fervid sympathy sprung up in his heart for the friendless orphan, imbued with tastes whose gratification had been denied him, and which his own cultivated mind could so well appreciate';* and he, from that instant, resolved to bring him under his critical eye and determine his cotirse according to future development.

'* The parsonage, you know, Hugh," he resumed, *' is but half a mile distant, and I offer you free access to my library at all leisure hours. Suppose you make

2* a d^but there next Saturday morning, and remain the day among the books and in the grounds, eh ?"

The mines of Golconda would have been as dross compared to the idea of the treasure a library at his disposal conveyed to the excited imagination of his listener ; but, on the point of joyful assent to so brilliant a proposition, he remembered his widowed mother, and fondly approaching her, replied, —

" I thank you, sir, from my heart, — but my mother would be alone."

Mrs. Bolton, who had sat a pleased and interested auditor of the colloquy, interposed by saying, —

" No, darling, you know, my Cousin Anne is expected from Edinbro' to-morrow, and I shall have her for company, and too many things to talk of to miss you for the day. I will not let you refuse the minister's kindness."

Thus, with no shadow on his anticipations, it was arranged that, on the ensuing Saturday morning, he should repair to his enchanted palace ; and the rector took leave, followed by the thanks of a grateful mother, and the blessings of the happiest boy on earth.

Chapter IV

The Scotch cousin, a staid maiden of forty or thereabouts, duly arrived as consoler and companion to the widowed mistress of the Manor; and the long-wishedfor Saturday having at last dawned, Hugh, seeing his mother intent on hospitable thought, and immersed in the exhaustless fund of past associations, with a clear conscience, and after an embrace long enough for a month's separation, bounded forward in the direction of the prospective paradise which had been his thought by day and dream of each night since the eve of Mr. Boynton's visit.

It was a beautiful May morning, and the fragrant thorn hedge on either side of his path, alive with the blackbird, the thrush, bullfinch, and countless other feathered songsters, making the perfumed air vocal with their inspiring music, served to enhance the pleasure that filled the soul of our young pedestrian.

Can there be found in any part of this fair universe which God has made for man's abode, a more perfect image of peace and refined seclusion than the rectories of England present to the eye ?

A stone house of moderate dimensions, but substantial convenience, embowered in old trees, and almost covered with climbing vines of rose, honeysuckle, or that "sweet lingerer after summer-time," the white jasmine, with its starry flowers and dark-green leaves ; or if it chance to rank among the more venerable mansions of older date, with gables, a living mass of time-honored ivy, that defies the snows and rude blasts of winter to dim its gloss or sever its clinging embrace. Few of those homes of merry England could surpass, in calm repose and rural beauty, the rectory of Moreton which the young Hugh was now approaching ; and though ordinarily a lover of nature according to his childish perception, at present, in her most charming array of field and flowers, it must be confessed he was rather preoccupied with anticipations of its internal attractions — his novel position, moreover exciting some trepidation as he entered the gate — than with the rich stores of bloom and sweetness around him.

An ample portico, with its garniture of clustering vines, introduced him to the hall-door, where, to his timid ring, a respectable serving-man appeared quickly, as if expecting him, and at once preceded him to the rector's presence. Mr. Boynton was seated at a table, writing, in the library, and with him was a younger gentleman, in clerical attire, standing within a bow-window gazing in rapt silence on the lovely prospect it opened to view.

The rector lifted his head as Hugh was ushered in, and rising, exclaimed, —

"Ah I my young friend, welcome to Moreton. I must commend your punctual observance of the promise made a few days since. It is a great virtue in my opinion. Stepney," he added, "addressing his companion, " this is the young student of whom I spoke last evening."

Mr. Stepney, who was the curate, advanced, presenting a countenance expressive of intellectual power mingled with benevolence, and grave, dignified mien, well befitting his sacred vocation. He greeted the boy, now quite abashed at finding himself the object of attention from two auch divines, and in a tone of gentle kindness, as if to encourage him, said, —

"It will cheer our solitude to have such a companion. "

After a few inquiries about his mother, his morning walk, and similar topics, Mr. Bojnton bade him amuse himself with the books that filled the shelves of the spacious apartment, and resumed his pen, while the curate stepped out upon the lawn to enjoy, fully, the wealth of nature he had been admiring from within.

Thus was Hugh left to the unrestrained contemplation of treasures such as his imagination had never conceived ; and at the close of a day of perfect happiness to himself, in which Mr. Boynton judiciously used opportunities of learning his tone and temper of mind and character, he returned to the Manor with books, selected by his interested host, and an engagement to return on each ensuing Saturday.

After several of these successive days, "marked with white in the boy's calendar," it chanced that, on one of them, the bishop of the diocese, being on & visitation, was a guest at the rectory, observed him, and inquired who the young visitor was. Mr. Boynton had scarcely concluded his recital in answer when the bishop said quickly, —

" By-the-way, that reminds me of a perplexing commission I received when on the point of leaving home. It is a letter from a cousin of mine on the subject of

22 HELEN BRSKINE.