THE BERTRAMS.
CHAPTER I.
THE NEW MEMBER FOR THE BATTERSEA HAMLETS.
I must now ask my readers to pass over two years with me. It is aterrible gap in a story; but in these days the unities are not muchconsidered, and a hiatus which would formerly have been regarded as afault utterly fatal is now no more than a slight impropriety.
But something must be told of the occurrences of these two years.In the first place, no marriage had taken place--that is, among ourpersonages; nor had their ranks been thinned by any death. In ourretrospective view we will give the _pas_ to Mr. Harcourt, for he hadtaken the greatest stride in winning that world's success, which isthe goal of all our ambition. He had gone on and prospered greatly;and nowadays all men at the bar said all manner of good things ofhim. He was already in Parliament as the honourable member for theBattersea Hamlets, and was not only there, but listened to whenit suited him to speak. But when he did speak, he spoke only as alawyer. He never allowed himself to be enticed away from his ownprofession by the meretricious allurements of general politics.On points of law reform, he had an energetic opinion; on mattersconnected with justice, he had ideas which were very much his own--orwhich at least were stated in language which was so; being a denizenof the common law, he was loud against the delays and cost ofChancery, and was supposed to have supplied the legal details of avery telling tale which was written about this time with the objectof upsetting the lord-chancellor as then constituted.
But though he worked as a member only in legal matters, of course hewas always ready to support his party with his vote in all matters.His party! here had been his great difficulty on first entering theHouse of Commons. What should be his party?
He had worked hard as a lawyer. In so doing no party had beennecessary to him. Honest hard work--honest, that is, as regarded thework itself, if not always so as regarded the object. Honest hardwork, and some cunning in the method of his eloquence, had at firstsufficed him. He was not called upon to have, or at any rate tostate, any marked political tenets. But no man can rise to great noteas a lawyer without a party. Opulence without note would by no meanshave sufficed with Mr. Harcourt.
When, therefore, he found it expedient in the course of hisprofession to go into Parliament, and with this object presentedhimself to the inhabitants of the Battersea Hamlets, it was necessarythat he should adopt a party. At that time the political watchwordof the day was the repeal of the corn laws. Now the electors of theBattersea Hamlets required especially to know whether Mr. Harcourtwas or was not for free trade in corn.
To tell the truth, he did not care two straws about corn. He caredonly for law--for that and what was to be got by it. It was necessarythat he should assume some care for corn--learn a good deal aboutit, perhaps, so as to be able, if called on, to talk on the subjectby the hour at a stretch; but it was not a matter on which he waspersonally solicitous a fortnight or so before he began his canvass.
The Conservatives were at that time in, and were declared foesto free trade in corn. They were committed to the maintenanceof a duty on imported wheat--if any men were ever politicallycommitted to anything. Indeed, it had latterly been their greatshibboleth--latterly; that is, since their other greater shibbolethshad been cut from under their feet.
At that time men had not learnt thoroughly by experience, as now theyhave, that no reform, no innovation--experience almost justifiesus in saying no revolution--stinks so foully in the nostrils of anEnglish Tory politician as to be absolutely irreconcilable to him.When taken in the refreshing waters of office any such pill canbe swallowed. This is now a fact recognized in politics; and itis a great point gained in favour of that party that their powerof deglutition should be so recognized. Let the people want whatthey will, Jew senators, cheap corn, vote by ballot, no propertyqualification, or anything else, the Tories will carry it for themif the Whigs cannot. A poor Whig premier has none but the Liberalsto back him; but a reforming Tory will be backed by all theworld--except those few whom his own dishonesty will personally havedisgusted.
But at that time--some twelve or fifteen years since--all this wasnot a part of the political A B C; and Harcourt had much doubt inhis own mind as to the party which ought to be blessed with hisadherence. Lord chancellorships and lord chief-justiceships, thoughnot enjoyed till middle life, or, indeed, till the evening of alawyer's days, must, in fact, be won or lost in the heyday of hiscareer. One false step in his political novitiate may cost himeverything. A man when known as a recognized Whig may fight battleafter battle with mercenary electors, sit yawning year after yeartill twelve o'clock, ready to attack on every point the tactics ofhis honourable and learned friend on the Treasury seats, and yet seejunior after junior rise to the bench before him--and all because atstarting he decided wrongly as to his party.
If Harcourt had predilections, they were with the Whigs; but he wasnot weak enough to let any predilection be a burden to his interests.Where was the best opening for him? The Tories--I still prefer thename, as being without definite meaning; the direct falsehood impliedin the title of Conservative amounts almost to a libel--the Torieswere in; but from the fact of being in, were always liable to beturned out. Then, too, they were of course provided with attorneysand solicitors-general, lords-advocate and legal hangers-on of everysort. The coming chances might be better with the Whigs.
Under these circumstances, he went to his old friend Mr. Die, Mr.Neversaye Die, the rich, quiet, hard-working, old chancery barrister,to whose fostering care he had some time since recommended his friendBertram. Every one has some quiet, old, family, confidential friend;a man given to silence, but of undoubted knowledge of the world,whose experience is vast, and who, though he has not risen in theworld himself, is always the man to help others to do so. Every onehas such a friend as this, and Mr. Neversaye Die was Harcourt'sfriend. Mr. Die himself was supposed to be a Tory, quite of the oldschool, a Lord Eldon Tory; but Harcourt knew that this would in noway bias his judgment. The mind of a barrister who has been for fiftyyears practising in court will never be biassed by his predilections.
Mr. Die soon understood the whole matter. His young friend Harcourtwas going into Parliament with the special object of becoming asolicitor-general as soon as possible. He could so become by meansonly of two moving powers. He must be solicitor-general either tothe Whigs or to the Tories. To which he should be so was a questionmainly indifferent to Mr. Harcourt himself, and also to Mr. Die inframing his advice.
Mr. Die himself of course regarded corn-law repeal as an inventionof the devil. He had lived long enough to have regarded Catholicemancipation and parliamentary reform in the same light. Could youhave opened his mind, you would probably have found there a settledconviction that the world was slowly coming to an end, that end beingbrought about by such devilish works as these. But you would alsohave found a conviction that the Three per Cents. would last histime, and that his fear for the future might with safety be thrownforward, so as to appertain to the fourth or fifth, or, perhaps,even to the tenth or twelfth coming generation. Mr. Die was not,therefore, personally wretched under his own political creed.
"I should be inclined to support the government if I were going intoParliament as a young man," said Mr. Die.
"There are nine seniors of mine in the House who now do so." Byseniors, Mr. Harcourt alluded to his seniors at the bar.
"Yes; but they like young blood nowadays. I think it's the safest."
"I shall never carry the Battersea Hamlets unless I pledge myself onthis corn-law question."
"Well," said Mr. Die--"well; a seat is certainly a great thing, andnot to be had at any moment. I think I should be inclined to yield tothe electors."
"And commit myself to the repeal of the corn laws?"
"Commit yourself!" said Mr. Die, with a gentle smile. "A public manhas to commit himself to many things nowadays. But my opinion is,that--that you may hold the popular opinion about free trade, and benot a whit the less useful to Sir Robert on that account."
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sp; Mr. Harcourt was still a young man, and was, therefore, excusable innot seeing to the depth of Mr. Die's wisdom. He certainly did not seeto the depth of it; but he had come to his oracle with faith, andwisely resolved to be guided by wisdom so much superior to his own.
"Never bind yourself wantonly to an expiring policy," said Mr. Die."The man who does so has surely to unbind himself; and, to say theleast of it, that always takes time."
So Mr. Harcourt presented himself to the electors of the BatterseaHamlets as a man very anxious in their behalf in all things, butanxious in their behalf above all things for free trade in corn. "Isit credible, that now, in this year of grace 184--,--" and so on.Such were the eloquent words which he addressed to the electors onthis subject, and so taken were they by his enthusiasm that theyreturned him by a large majority.
Mr. Dod, therefore, in his remarkably useful little parliamentarycompendium, put down Mr. Harcourt as a liberal: this he had anopportunity of doing immediately after Mr. Harcourt's election: inhis next edition, however, he added, "but supports the general policyof Sir Robert Peel's government."
Mr. Harcourt had altogether managed this little affair so well that,despite his youth, despite also those nine political seniors of his,men began to talk of him as one who might shortly hope to fill highplaces. He made himself very useful in the House, and did so in aquiet, business-like, unexciting manner, very pleasant to the leadingpolitician of the Treasury bench.
And then there came the Irish famine, and all the bindings of allthe Tories were scattered to the winds like feathers. The Irishman'spotato-pot ceased to be full, and at once the great territorialmagnates of England were convinced that they had clung to the hornsof a false altar. They were convinced; or at least had to acknowledgesuch conviction. The prime minister held short little debates withhis underlings--with dukes and marquises, with earls and viscounts;held short debates with them, but allowed to no underling--to noduke, and to no viscount--to have any longer an opinion of his own.The altar had been a false altar: it was enough for them that theywere so told. With great wisdom the majority of them considered thatthis _was_ enough; and so the bill for the repeal of the corn lawswas brought before the House, and the world knew that it would becarried.
And now there was a great opportunity for Mr. Harcourt. He couldsupport the prime minister and merit all manner of legal generalshipswithout any self-unbinding. Alas! such comfort as this can onlybelong to the young among politicians! Up to this period he hadmeddled only with law questions. Now was the time for him to comeout with that great liberal speech, which should merit the eternalgratitude of the Tory leader. Just at the time at which we recommenceour tale he did come out with a very great liberal speech, in which,as an independent member, he vehemently eulogized the daring policyof that great man who, as he said, was brave enough, and wise enough,and good enough to save his country at the expense of his party.Whether there were not men who could have saved their country withoutbetraying their friends--who would have done so had not Sir Robertbeen ready with his apostacy; who in fact did so by forcing SirRobert to his apostacy--as to that, Mr. Harcourt then said nothing.What might not be expected from the hands of a man so eulogized? of aman who was thus able to keep the votes of the Tories and carry themeasures of the Liberals? of a man of whom it might now be predicatedthat his political power would end only with his political life? Weshould be going on too fast were we to declare in how few monthsafter this triumph that great political chieftain was driven from theTreasury bench.
Mr. Harcourt's name was now mentioned in all clubs and alldining-rooms. He was an acute and successful lawyer, an eloquentdebater, and a young man. The world was at his feet, and Mr. Die wasvery proud of him. Mr. Die was proud of him, and proud also of hisown advice. He said nothing about it even to Harcourt himself, forto Mr. Die had been given the gift of reticence; but his old eyetwinkled as his wisdom was confessed by the youth at his feet. "Inpolitics one should always look forward," he said, as he held up tothe light the glass of old port which he was about to sip; "in reallife it is better to look back,--if one has anything to look backat." Mr. Die had something to look back at. He had sixty thousandpounds in the funds.
And now we must say a word of Mr. Harcourt, with reference to theother persons of our story. He was still very intimate with Bertram,but he hardly regarded him in the same light as he had done twoyears before. Bertram had not hitherto justified the expectation ofhis friends. This must be explained more at length in the next twochapters; but the effect on Harcourt had been that he no longerlooked up with reverence to his friend's undoubted talents. He hada lower opinion of him than formerly. Indeed, he himself had risenso quickly that he had left Bertram immeasurably below him, and thedifference in their pursuits naturally brought them together lessfrequently than heretofore.
But if Harcourt was less concerned than he had been with GeorgeBertram junior, he was much more concerned than he had been withGeorge Bertram senior. He had in former days known nothing of the oldmerchant; now he was, within certain bounds, almost intimate withhim; occasionally dined down at Hadley, and frequently consulted himon money matters of deep import.
With Miss Baker, also, and Caroline Waddington, Mr. Harcourt wasintimate. Between him and Miss Baker there existed a warm friendship,and with Caroline, even, he was on such terms that she often spoketo him as to the deep troubles of her love and engagement. For thesewere deep troubles, as will be seen also in the coming chapters.
George Bertram had been told by Miss Baker that Caroline was thegranddaughter of old Mr. Bertram, and George in his confidence withhis friend had told him the secret. Indeed, there had been hardly anyalternative, for George had been driven to consult his friend morethan once as to this delay in his marriage; and who can ever consulta friend with advantage on any subject without telling him all thecircumstances?
It was after this that Harcourt and Miss Baker became so intimate.The ladies at Littlebath had many troubles, and during those troublesthe famous young barrister was very civil to them. In the latter ofthose two years that are now gone, circumstances had brought them upto London for a couple of months in the spring; and then they sawmuch of Mr. Harcourt, but nothing of George Bertram, though Georgewas still the affianced husband of Miss Waddington.