Strathern, or, Life at home and abroad : a story of the present day

Front matter

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Pio we

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Chapter I

We make ourselves a pleasant home, Deck’d out with all that’s rich and rare, As though we thought Death would not come

To tear us from a scene so fair : Or if we know he'll come, we b’lieve

’Twill be when age has bent us low; Ab me; bow we ourselves deceive—

Who knows when he will strike the blow?

Nor gilded hall, nor blooming bow’r,

Can shield us from the Tyrant’s sway; He’s ever near with fatal pow’r

To snatch us from the realms of day, And change our much-lov’d pleasant home For the dark graye—where all must come.

It was a lovely morning towards the end of June, the hour about eleven, ere yet the freshness of early morn had passed from the balmy air, or from the blooming plants and flowers, redolent of perfume, which filled the small garden attached to a noble mansion in Arlington Street, into which the apartment about to be described opened. The said garden was bounded by St. James’s Park, and divided from it only by an ornamental iron railing. Innumerable birds were flitting from the luxuriant laurustinus, which flanked the windows of this mansion, and perching on the white marble border of a limpid fountain which sent up its sparkling showers towards asky unusually blue for our nebulous climate. The notes of these feathered choristers, mingled with the gushing sound of the water, added to the charm of the scene, and almost created a doubt whether one was indeed in the purlieus of St. James’s. Seated in a library, and looking out on the little wilderness of

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sweets before described, sate the owner of the mansion, a handsome young man of about five-and-twenty, only lately returned from an extended tour on the Continent. Glancing occasionally with great complacency from the blooming garden with its sparkling fountain at the exterior of the house, to the tastefully fitted-up and classically arranged library of the interior, he murmured to himself, ‘‘ Yes, even Rhymer, with all the fastidiousness of taste attributed to him, must be satisfied with this apart~ ment.”

And well might Lord Wyndermere, the owner of the said library, think so, for few, however difficult to be pleased, could have found fault with it. The chamber was large and lofty; the ceiling, exquisitely painted, represented a charming group of the Muses, with their different attributes, surrounding Apollo. Bookcases of finely carved oak, the capitals of the columns that supported them, and the cornices richly gilded, were crowned by antique busts of rare beauty and great value. Between each bookcase was a niche, in which, on a pedestal, stood a slatue of Parian marble, the workmanship of the best sculptors of our day ; for Lord Wyndermere, although a warm admirer of the antique, was a most liberal patron of modern art. A large mirror over the low chimney-piece, itself a gem of sculpture, reflected back the garden and fountain, with the bright prismatic hues ofthe stained glass window, which formed a frame to the picture. On each side of this lofty mirror were suspended some of the choicest works of the ancient masters, collected with great judgment, and at a vast expense, by the father of the present Lord Wyndermere, an acknowledged connoisseur in pictures. The curtains were of the richest satin, the precise colour of the oak bookcases, and the chairs and sofas were covered with the same costly material. The uncut velvet pile carpet, of a substance which prevented a footfall from being heard, was of the peculiar tint denominated Raphael green, from the preference evinced for the colour by that glorious artist, and the walls were of similar hue. A déjewner, served on the most delicate and costly Sévres porcelain, was placed on a table near the open window, while dumb-waiters, covered with snowy damask, and piled with plate, forks, and spoons, stood near the two chairs intended for the persons who were to partake the repast. Fruit, which might be likened to the golden produce of the fabled Hesperides, if not from its bloom, at least from the enormous cost of its culture, crowned the breakfast-table, mingled with every description of cake and bread furnished by modern refinement, to stimulate the sated appetite of an epicure.

At length the expected guest arrived; and to the no slight disappointment of his host, who expected some expression of admiration at the really charming scene into which he was ushered, he took his seat at the table, placed his napkin on his knees, and began to discuss the dainties set before him. While doing so, he occasionally glanced around, but no look of satisfaction or approval marked his saturnine countenance.

‘¢ Who is your baker, my good lord?” asked he.

‘*He is one who appertains to my establishment-at Wyndermere Castle, and is considered so good, that I had him up here.”

‘*Umph,” uttered Rhymer, in a sound half-groan, half-sigh, laying down the delicate roll he had tasted.

‘‘] fear you do not like the rolls, will you try these breakfast-

cakes? I think you vill find them good.”

‘The breakfast-cake was cut, tasted, and almost as quickly relinquished as the roll, Mr. Rhymer’s countenance becomingconsiderably lengthened, after the unsuccessful experiment. Anew-laid egg was recommended by the host, and, having been broken, was pro~ nounced to have the odour of the stable. A delicate slice of cold chicken was found to be tough. A Pdté de Périgord was declined somewhat disdainfully. The offer ofcold ham or tongue met no better chance; and the chocolate was discovered to have a peculiar and not agreeable flavour. Marmalade was then tried, and with this derniére ressource a slight déjeuner was effected, to the no small discomfiture of the kind host, who saw with regret that his luxuriously-served board afforded nothing to satisfy the fastidious taste of his guest.

“¢ What an agreeable day we had at Strathern’s !” observed Lord Wyndermere, anxious to dispel the awkwardness occasioned by the total failure of his recherché breakfast.

“¢ Do you think so?” was the laconic reply of Mr. Rhymer. ‘‘ For my part,” continued he, ‘‘ I saw little to admire in the féte. There was, it is true, the same ostentatious display of splendour which always pe that gentleman’s fétes, but the evident effort to make the thing go off well, and the superabundant appliances for amusement, in my opinion, defeated the endaimedat. It was like the apple-pie, with too many quinces.”,

‘¢ You must, indeed, be difficult to be pleased; for surely nothing was left undone to contribute to the pleasure of the guests?”

‘‘Except the host’s concealing his self-complacency on the occasion. The too visible display of that, I confess, interfered very much with mine, as he moved about smiling on all, saying something civil to everybody—ay, even to those paid for exhibiting their talents to the company.”

‘There is no satisfying you, Mr. Rhymer. It was only a few days ago that heard you find fault with Melbrook for being a careless Amphitryon, and wandering among his convives, as if he were only a visiter, like the rest.”

“Yes, my good lord, I did find fault, for I thought that the nonchalance of Melbrook towards his aristocratic guests, a mere parvenu as he is known to be, amounted to little short of insolence. With Strathern, who is a man of high family, it is quite different. Nonchalance would in him have been much more comme il faut , in my opinion, than the empressement he displayed, reminding one of a provincial Boniface, ‘on hospitable thoughts intent,’ thinking of every-one’s comfort but his own.”

‘© observed nothing of all this. 4u contraire, I consider Strathern to be the best bred, as well as the most hospitable man I know.”

*¢ And so, I dare say, think many others; for people are too indolent to differ from the herd; and when a peculiarly indulgent person like your lordship has pronounced such an opinion, others will not be found wanting to adopt it.”

“‘T disclaim all right to indulgence with regard to Strathern and his féte,’” observed Lord Wyndermere, ‘‘ for neither require it. How well the Diva sang there ; I thought I never heard her in such good voice.”

‘« Strange to say, it struck me—but it must have been only fancy —that she sang terribly oui of tune. The ballet, too, went off flatly ; the danseuses could not leave the earth, of which they seemed to me to form too palpable a portion to give any pleasure by their evolutions. It was a great mistake in Strathern to adopt this innovation, unless, indeed, he had constructed an inclined plane on the principle of the theatres, where these odalisques exhibit their feats, and sleight of feet, and by the elasticity of which they are enabled to ascend into air for a brief moment. On this ascent depends all the poetry of dancing, and consequently its charm—at least for refined minds. Without it the best dansewse appears to no greater advantage than the Blowsabellas who figure in barbarous Scots reels and Irish jigs, and so, tomy eyes, appeared the graceful Taglioni, and the bounding Cerito at Strathern’s féte.”

‘1 see that you are determined to discover faults; but ought not ihe intention of the giver of the entertainment to find favour with you! Consider the lavish expense to furnish amusement.”

‘* | have considered it, and the motive too, as I formerly stated— Ostentation.”

‘*{ differ with you in opinion, Mr. Rhymer.”

‘* Very naturally. Iam, as every body will tell you, very old, and my opinions are influenced by my age, while your lordship is young, very young indeed,” said the speaker, more as if in pity than in approval.

‘* | hear we are to have a fine concert at the Duke of Aberfield’s.”

‘‘T dare say it will be a failure, as all his Grace of Aberfield’s concerts are. The Duke seems never to lose the consciousness of his rank, and wishes that the weight of his ducal coronet should oppress others as much as it evidently does himself, poor vain man! Would you believe it ?—when he writes to me, he commences with ‘My good Sir’—yes, positively, My good Sir—ay, and ends in the same style.”

‘* | believe that he writes ‘My good Lord,’ to me,” said Lord Wyndermere, who, never haying attached the slightest importance to the point, remembered not, at the moment, what were the precise words in which the Duke of Aberfield usually addressed him, but who, observing that the amour-propre of Mr. Rhymer was wounded by the imagined slight, wished to soothe it by the assertion.

‘* Could you refer to a note from his ungracious grace, to satisfy me that he uses peers as disdainfully as he does commoners ?” said the cynic.

‘* Yes, I think there is one in this drawer,” replied Lord Wyndermere, opening one in the library-table, from which he drew a note from the Duke, and handed it to Mr. Rhymer. i

‘‘ T was right,” said the latter, with bitterness, as he glanced over the note; he writes to you ‘My dear Lord;’ it is only to persons like me that he uses the word good instead of dear. But how could a plain ‘ Mr.’, whatever might be his claims to notice, be dear to the Duke of Aberfield, unless, indeed, he was sufficiently skilled in antiquarian lore to discover in what degree of consanguinity his grace stands to the first of the Scottish kings?”

‘* You are severe on him,” observed Lord Wyndermere ; ‘‘ I never noticed anything offensive in the manners or bearing of the Duke; both are stately, I own, but no one can be more courteous.”

** Again you are too indulgent, my lord, indeed you are. You will spoil society, as children are spoilt, by too much kindness. It won’t do, it will not, | assure you. J am an old man, though not nearly so old as some of my kind friends would wish to make me out, and I know by experience that the good-natured are trifled with and laughed at, while the fastidious and severe are feared and respected.”

“* Your experience has, I should think, not been much exercised in the good-natured line,” said Lord Wyndermere, laughing. ‘‘ Or was it, after having tried its inefficacy, as a means of acquiring popularity in society, that you had recourse to...”

“¢ Tl-nature, you would say,” resumed Mr. Rhymer. ‘* Well, be it so; call me morose, cynic, what you will, but defend me from being confounded with the grinning herd who flock from house to house, bepraising all and every thing, pleased with every body, and most with self. 4 propos of being pleased, as you have wished for my opinion of your new house, may I tell you candidly that I don’t like it.”

‘* Indeed, I am sorry for that.”

‘¢ This library, par exemple, is not fitted up tomy taste. Oak and goldis bad. Gilding should only be used in bookcases for ladies ; they like glitter and show ; but a man’s library should be grave and plain. Then your books are too richly bound; they look as if they belonged to a petit-maitre, or a retired citizen. Books, when very finely bound, convey the notion that they are not meant to be much read. The room altogether looks too gay for a place to study in. The hangings, too, are not sufficiently subdued; the frames of the mirrors and pictures are too rich. In short, my dear lord, the ensemble is not precisely such asa man ofrefined taste could approve.”

Having rendered his host thoroughly dissatified with all that had previously pleased him in the arrangement of his house, Mr. Rhymer wished him good morning, saying that he must call on the Duchess of Rochdale, who wanted to consult him ona matter of taste.

‘¢ And this is the man whom I heard last night uttering the most flattering compliments to Strathern about his féte,” said Lord Wyndermere to himself. ‘‘ Where are we to look for truth, if notamong those whose position and age should exempt them from the incentive to deception? I wish I had not asked the old cynic to come and see my house; he will now go and decry it to every one he meets, and, after having incurred a heavy expense in furnishing it, I shall be considered a man of bad taste. The only person who is really frank and kind is Strathern, and yet how old Rhymer abused his taste! I thought this room perfection, and now—yet what a fool I am to be put out of conceit with it, because it happens not to please that ill-natured old man, who has always something spiteful to say of every thing and every body! I wonder people tolerate him, for 1 am sure I can see no reason.”

‘*He is rich, and that, in this great wilderness of brick and mortar, is the best ofall reasons,” said Strathern, who had entered the library, while Lord Wyndermere was indulging his soliloquy aloud, and was so engrossed by the subject of it that he had not heard the announcement of his visiter’s name by the servant who had ushered him in.

“© And so you not only think, my dear lord—a rare occupation for a man of fashion in London to indulge in—but what is more dangerous, youthink aloud,” resumed Strathern, after the first salutations had past. ‘‘ I met Rhymer, near your door, and he looked so unusually complacent, that I guessed he had been at his old work, endeavouring to render some one dissatisfied. He has in some measure succeeded, if Imay judge from the few words 1 heard you pronounce. Is it not so?”

Lord Wyndermere acknowledged the fact, and repeated the comments made by Mr. Rhymer on his house.

‘* You must not be disconcerted by his remarks,” observed Strathern ; ‘* for, iff may be allowed to parody the observation applied to Charles I., I should say that Rhymer is known never to havesaid a kind thing, or never to have done.an unkind one. He has come to the assistance of many a man of genius in those vicissitudes to which individuals of that class more than any other are liable, when they depend on literature for support. Towards artists, his good word to would-be patrons, possessed of more gold than taste, has never been wanting ; yet, such is his peculiarity, that, while ready to serve, he is seldom willing to ayoid offending, and evidently finds a pleasure in saying disagreeable things. Even his compliments, and they are few and far between, have something in them which leave those present when they are paid in doubt whether they do not admit of another and less kind interpretation, although the individual to whom they are addressed may not be aware of it. Nevertheless, on the whole, perhaps the system of Rhymer, if system it be, is preferable to that of the generality of persons, who make it a point to say civil things, and leave undone kind ones.”

** You take the good-natured side of the question, but so you always do,” replied Lord Wyndermere. ‘‘ I confess that I am less indulgent.”

‘¢ T find it more agreeable to do so. My philosophy has taughtme that indulgence to the foibles of others, and above all to those which characterize society, brings its own exceeding great reward, in an equanimity of humour and cheerfulness, incompatible witha cynical disposition, which discovers evils it cannot hope to amend, and dwells more on the dark than on the bright side of human nature. I know many who can see in Rhymer only the ill-natured satirist, who, by a sneer, or an epigrammatic bon mot, wounds their vanity, while I endeavour to forget this weakness in him, and remember the good he does, not the evil he speaks.”

“* But is there not something egotistical in your philosophy?”

“* Peut-élre, mais dquot bon is that of the cynic? Does is correct the errors it exposes, or does it render the discoverer a better man? Were we all, when detecting defects in our acquaintances, to render justice to the good qualities to which they are frequently allied, be assured the balance would be frequently in favour of the latter, and this conviction, by giving usa better opinion of our species, would ensure us more felicity.”

‘** Yours, my dear Strathern, must be a happy temperament.”

“¢T believe you are right, and there is a great deal in this, more, ay much more, than people imagine. Half the defects of mankind may be traced to an unhappy temperament, while the very victims to this pervading and baneful influence are themselves unconscious of its existence. It supplies gall to the pen of the satirist, and venom to the tongue of the wit. May not Rhymer’s sarcastic bons mots and insidious compliments be accounted for by this constitutional malaise, which, continually preying on him, engenders the bitterness which finds so little indulgence, even from those who are aware of his good qualities? Look at the countenances of those known to be sarcastic, and you will observe the yellow tinge, dull eye, and scornful lip which indicate confirmed derangement of the biliary system, producing one of the greatest and least-pitied of all the evils to which poor humanity is heir, and which, whether leading, as it frequently does, to insanity, or exhibiting itself in bitter satire, is equally entitled to commiseration.”

‘¢ Then you are disposed to think that,

“«¢ When poor witlings go astray, Their bile is more in fault than they.’ ”

** Even so; and | would recommend a skilful physician, in preference to a moralist, for its cure. I never peruse any of the spiteful diatribes of the day, however witty, without a sentiment of pity for its author, the acuteness of whose sufferings, under his peculiar disease, may be judged by the bitterness of his effusions; and I learn almost to forgive Swift his malice, when I reflect on the physical cause that led to such a moral result. But a truce to philosophy. Let me go over your house, which, from the specimen of it afforded by this library, must, I am persuaded, be arranged with excellent taste.”

**You mean to indemnify me for the disapproval of Rhymer; but now that you have initiated me into the mysteries of physical causes and their effects, while pardoning his censure, I shall be inclined to question the justice of your praise, and attribute it to the happy temperament which enables you to see everything en beau.”

‘* And so turn the arms with which my philosophy has furnished you against myself? You must not, however, mistake me so far as to imagine that I assign an undue weight to physical causes, or that I doubt the efficacy of moral influence to subdue their effects, if powerless to eradicate the cause. Observe the beneficent action often following quickly the unkind word, like the spear of Telephus healing the wound it inflicted. Is not this a convincing proof of the moral influence exercised to atone for the physical?”

‘*You have taught me to feel much more leniently than I was disposed to do towards the failings of the cynical Rhymer, and henceforth, when I encounter persons with a similar taste for saying ill-natured things, I will hope that like him they atone for their words by their deeds.”

‘¢TI|-regulated minds and unhealthy bodies produce more cynics than bad hearts. Nay, wit itself, that ‘lightning of the mind,’ frequently tempts its possessors to give utterance to bons mots bearing the stamp of ill-nature, when that sentiment really had no part in dictating them. The wish to shine in society—and what method of doing this is so easy for a clever person as brilliant sallies and pointed sarcasms?—originates most of the méchancelés spirituelles, which, though they cause a wit to be feared in society, render him also courted, and establish for him a certain reputation, which, in my opinion, is neither to be desired nor envied.”

‘* Yet I have known some men who, though acknowledged wits, seldom, if ever, indulged in the malice supposed to appertain to their craft.”

‘*So have I also, and this self-control impressed me with a very high opinion in their favour. To resist giving expression to the thousand brilliant mots suggested by a lively imagination called into action by some folly or mistake, committed by the less gifted with whom he associates, proves at once that he who practises this restraint possesses three estimable qualities—a fine understanding, a good heart, and a true politeness.”

‘“ It is much to be wished that such examples among men of wit were more common. It would lessen the jealousy and dislike entertained against them by those who are more calculated to dread than to comprehend their intellectual superiority.”

The striking of the pendule on the mantelpiece warned Strathern that his visit had already passed the usual time allowed for morning calls, and that he had not yet seen more than the library of Lord Wyndermere. He therefore proposed to his friend, if not inconvenient, to let him see the dining and drawing-rooms, apologizing, at the same time, for having already so unreasonably trespassed on his leisure.

‘“‘ Far from it, I assure you,” replied Lord Wyndermere. ‘‘ Your visit has given me the greatest pleasure—a pleasure, too, so rarely enjoyed in this noisy, bustling town, where every one seems to be in too great a hurry to pause, to listen, or to converse rationally, that I can duly appreciate a sober hour’s chat, exempt from scandal and ill-nature, and only wish I could more frequently count on such a gratification.”

The salle 4 manger, divided by a large ante-room from the library, opened on one side into an extensive conservatory, filled with the choicest plants and flowers. The walls were encrusted with exquisite fragments of alto and basso rilievo brought from Greece and Italy, and some noble statues by the best of our modern sculptors, formed the sole ornaments. The drawing-rooms, three en suite, were spacious and lofty, and were furnished in the style of Louis X1V. Nothing could be in better keeping. Splendour and taste were happily blended, and the union produced the most charming effect. The admirable collection of pictures which graced the silk-panelled walls entirely engrossed Strathern’s attention. He coul have devoted days instead of hours to their contemplation, and was pleased to find that Lord Wyndermere, with all his reserve of manner, was almost as enthusiastic an admirer of fine paintings as himself, and, what is more rare, an excellent judge. Nothing so soon leads to an agreeable familiarity as the discovery of a similarity of tastes, and the two friends felt, as they conversed on the comparative merits of the different masters whose works were before them, that they had never really felt drawn towards each other so much as during their féfe @ téte visit of that day, and they mutually promised that the pleasure they then enjoyed should often be repeated.

‘<I see that you, like me, feel that the true way of encouraging art is to live surrounded by the best specimens it can produce,” said Strathern.

“*Those who fill galleries, which they only enter when they wish to exhibit the treasures they contain, are not, in my opinion, real lovers of the fine arts,” observed Lord Wyndermere. ‘‘I like to have statues, pictures, and books, continually within my reach. To be able to look from a book to some beautiful picture or fine statue, until we grow to love these possessions as our household gods, is the way to enjoy them, and thisI have long learned to do. My collection, too, is endeared to me by being associated in my mind with him who selected the greater portion of it, and who loved it as well as I do—my excellent father ; and I seldom look at any of these treasures without thanking him who provided and taught me to appreciate them.”

‘You must come and see me sans cérémonie,” said Strathern, more and more pleased with his host, ‘‘ and we will examine my collection free from interruption. You have only seen my pictures and statues in a crowd; indeed I should be considered exigeant, or, as our countrymen say, a bore, if I asked the generality of people to visit the works of art I possess; but you, who have proved how well you understand these matters, will not consider me so, and will soon come to Strathern House.”

‘* We have some liberal patrons of art in England among the nobility and gentry,” observed Lord Wyndermere, ‘and still more among what are designated the middle classes, men who, having made large fortunes, have the good taste to expend a considerable portion of their wealth in the acquisition of fine pictures. I have been to see many collections in houses, the names of whose owners I had not heard until named to me by some of our best artists as their most generous patrons, and I have been delighted at witnessing the gems they possess, and their just appreciation of them. I confess to you I have felt proud of England when I visited those collections, and was more than ever ready to admit the justice of a celebrated foreigner’s remark, that the middle class in England is, indeed, most estimable, possessing much of the quality of its favourite beverage, beer, having neither the froth attributed to the fe STRATHERN.

fashionable portion of the highest class, nor the dregs which appertain to the lower.”

‘* You are right in agreeing in the opinion, for the more I see of my countrymen, the more am I convinced of the peculiar worth of this portions of them. What good men of business they make in the House of Commons! Their habits of application, and constant contact with the world, give them a great advantage over the generality of country gentlemen, and enable them to discern much more quickly the practical from the theoretical, in the affairs brought before their notice. Education has made great strides in England, much greater than those who look only at the surface of society are prepared to admit, and nowhere can one be made so fully aware of this gratifying fact, as in the houses of commercial and _professional men. Look at their families too. The women with cultivated minds, and highly accomplished, fitted not only to enter the most polished society, but to adorn it; and the young men prepared to distinguish themselves not merely in the professions to which they have been bred, but to acquit themselves in a more elevated sphere whenever they may be called to it.”

‘* How different to the citizens of fifty years ago that we read of, when the accumulation of wealth, and sordid habits of economy, were their peculiar and striking characteristics !”

‘Yes, the march of intellect has been indeed a triumphant one in England; and though some portion of our population may have been dazzled by too much light, as those long kept in darkness are apt to be when first it breaks on them, and may not see their way so clearly as could be wished, every day will bring an amelioration of the few disadvantages peculiar to the rapid transitions from a stage of comparative ignorance to one of civilization and refinement.”

‘* The old adage, ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing,’ is a true one; the draught has now been so freely dispensed, that the danger to be apprehended from superficial knowledge will soon disappear. Good bye, let me see you soon.”

Chapter II

“<The early cultivation of a taste for the Fines Arts is one of the best preventives against the templations to which so many young men of large fortunes fall a prey, when first emerged from the trammels of a college life; for he, who finds pleasure in the contemplation of a fine picture or statue, will be little disposed to enter into the coarse and sensual amusements in which young men with less refined tastes pass their time.”