CHAPTER IV. THE DINNER-PARTY
It was late on the following day when Forester awoke, nor was it forsome time that he could satisfy himself how far he had been an actor, ora mere spectator in the scene he had witnessed the preceding night.The room and the guests were vividly impressed upon his memory, and theexcitement of the party, so different in its character from anything hehad seen in his own country, convinced him that the sea, narrow as itwas, separated two races very unlike in temperament.
What success should he have in this, his first, mission? was thequestion ever rising to his mind; how should he acquit himself amongpersons to whose habits of life, thought, and expression he felt himselfan utter stranger? Little as he had seen of the party, that littleshowed him that the anti-Union feeling was in the ascendant, and that,if a stray convert to the Ministerial doctrines was here and there tobe found, he was rather ashamed of his new convictions than resolute touphold and defend them. From these thoughts he wandered on to others,about the characters of the party, and principally of the host himself,who in every respect was unlike his anticipations. He opened his friendLionel's letter, and was surprised to find how filial affection hadblinded his judgment,--keen enough when exercised without the trammelsof prejudice. "If this," thought he, "be a fair specimen of Lionel'sportrait-painting, I must take care to form no high-flown expectationsof his mother and sister; and as he calls one somewhat haughty andreserved in manner, and the other a blending of maternal pride with adash of his father's wilful but happy temperament, I take it for grantedthat Lady Eleanor is a cold, disagreeable old lady, and her daughterHelen a union of petted vanity and capriciousness, pretty much what mygood friend Lionel himself was when he joined us, but what he had thegood sense to cease to be very soon after."
Having satisfied himself that he fairly estimated the ladies of thehouse, he set himself, with all the ingenuity of true speculation, toaccount for the traits of character he had so good-naturedly conferredon them. "Living in a remote, half-civilized neighborhood," thought he,"without any intercourse save with some country squires and their wivesand daughters, they have learned, naturally enough, to feel their ownsuperiority to those about them; and possessing a place with such claimsto respect from association, as well as from its actual condition, they,like all people who have few equals and no superiors, give themselvesa license to think and act independent of the world's prescription,and become, consequently, very intolerable to every one unaccustomedto acknowledge their sovereignty. I heartily wish Lionel had left theseworthy people to my own unassisted appreciation of them; his flourishof trumpets has sadly spoiled the effect of the scene for me;" and withthis not over gracious reflection he proceeded to dress for the day.
"The squire has been twice at the door this morning, sir," said Linwood, as he arranged the dressing apparatus on the table; "he wouldnot let me awake you, however, and at last said, 'Present my cordialrespects to Mr. Forester, and say, that if he should like to ride withthe hounds, he'll find a horse ready for him, and a servant who willshow him the way.'"
"And are they out already?" said Forester.
"Yes, sir, gone two hours ago; they breakfasted at eight, and I heard awhipper-in say they 'd twelve miles to go to the first cover."
"Why, it appeared to me that they were up all night."
"They broke up at four, sir, and except two gentlemen that are gone overto Westport on business, but to be back for dinner, they're all mountedto-day."
"And what is the dinner-hour, Linwood?"
"Six, sir, to the minute."
"And it's now only eleven," said Forester to himself, with a weariedsigh; "how am I to get through the rest of the day? Are the ladies inthe drawing-room, Linwood?"
"Ladies! no, sir; there are no ladies in the house as I hear of."
"So much the better, then," thought his master; "passive enduranceis better any day than active boredom, and with all respect for LadyEleanor and her daughter, I 'd rather believe them such as Lionel paintsthem, than have the less flattering impression nearer acquaintance wouldas certainly leave behind it."
"The old butler wishes to know if you will breakfast in the library,sir?" asked Linwood.
"Yes, that will do admirably; delighted I am to hear there is such athing here," muttered he; for already he had suffered the disappointmentthe host's appearance had caused him to tinge all his thoughts withbitterness, and make him regard his visit as an act of purgatorialendurance.
In a large and well-furnished library, with a projecting windowoffering a view over the entire of Clue Bay, Forester found a smallbreakfast-table laid beside the fireplace. From the aspect of comfortin everything around, to the elegance of the little service of Dresden,with its accompaniment of ancient silver, the most fastidious criticwould not have withheld his praise, and the young Englishman fell intoa puzzled revery how so much of taste for the refinements of daily lifecould consort with the strange specimen of society he had witnessedthe preceding evening. The book-shelves, too, in all their lateracquisitions, exhibited judgment in the works selected, and as Foresterran his eye over the titles, he was more than ever at fault to reconcilesuch readings with such habits. On the tables lay scattered the latestof those political pamphlets which the great contested question of theday evoked, many of them ably and powerfully written, and aboundingin strong sarcasm; of these, the greater number were attacks on themeditated Union; some of them, too, bore pencil-marks and annotations,from which Forester collected that the Knight's party leanings were byno means to the Government side of the question.
"It will be hard, however," thought he, "but some inducement may befound to tempt a man whose house and habits evidence such a taste forenjoyment; he must have ambitions of one kind or other, and if notfor himself, his son, at least, must enter into his calculations. Yourascetic or your anchorite may be difficult to treat with, but show methe man with a good cook, a good stable, a good cellar, and the odds arethere is a lurking void somewhere in his heart, to discover which is tohave the mastery over him forever." Such were the conclusions the youngaide-de-camp came to after long and mature thought, nor were they veryunnatural in one whose short experience of life had shown him few, ifany, exceptions to his theory. He deemed it possible, besides, that,although the Knight's politics should incline to the side of Opposition,there might be no very determined or decided objection to the plansof Government, and that, while proof against the temptations of vulgarbribery, he might be won over by the flatteries and seductions of whicha Ministry can always be the dispensers. To open the negotiation withthis view was then the great object with Forester, to sound the depth ofthe prejudices with which he had to deal, to examine their bearingsand importance, to avoid even to ruffle the slightest of nationalsusceptibilities, and to make it appear that, while Government couldhave little doubt of the justice of their own views, they would notpermit a possibility of misconstruction to interfere with the certaintyof securing the adhesion of one so eminent and influential as the Knightof Gwynne.
The old adage has commemorated the facility of that arithmetic whichconsists in reckoning "without one's host," and there are few men ofwarm and generous temperament who have not fallen, some time or other,into the error. Forester was certainly not the exception; and sothoroughly was he imbued with the spirit of his mission, and socompletely captivated by the force of his own argument, that hewalked up and down the ample apartment, repeating aloud, in broken anddisjointed sentences, some of those irrefutable positions and plausibleinducements by which he speculated on success. It was already the duskof the evening, the short hours of a wintry day had hurried to a close,and, except where the bright glare of the wood fire was reflected on thepolished oaken floor, all was shrouded in shadow within that spaciouslibrary. Now pushing aside some great deep-cushioned chair, now removingfrom his path the projecting end of a table, Forester succeeded inclearing a space in which, as he walked, he occasionally gave vent tosuch reflections as these:--
"The necessities of the Empire, growing power and in
fluence of England,demand a consolidation of her interests and her efforts--this only tobe effected by the Act of Union--an English Parliament, the real seatof legislation, and, as such, the suitable position for you, Sir Knight,whose importance will now increase with the sphere in which you exerciseyour abilities. I do not venture," said he, aloud, and with a voiceattuned to its most persuasive accents,--"I do not venture to discusswith you a question in which your opportunities and judgment have givenyou every advantage over me; I would merely direct your attention tothose points on which my relative, Lord Castlereagh, founds the hopes ofobtaining your support, and those views by which, in the success of themeasure, a more extended field of utility will open before you. If I donot speak more fully on the gratitude which the Ministry will feel foryour co-operation, and the pledges they are most ready and willing toadvance, it is because I know--that is, I am certain that you--in fact,it is the conviction that--in short--"
"In short, it is because bribery is an ugly theme, sir, and, like a badpicture, only comes out the worse the more varnish you lay on it." Thesewords, uttered in a low, solemn voice from a corner of the apartment,actually stunned Forester, who now stood peering through the gloom towhere the indistinct figure of a man was seen seated in the recess of alarge chair.
"Excuse me, Captain Forester," said he, rising, and coming forward withhis hand out; "but it has so seldom been my fortune to hear any argumentin defence of this measure that I could not bring myself to interruptyou before. Let me, however, perform a more pleasing task, in biddingyou welcome to Gwynne Abbey. You slept well, I trust, for I left you ina happy unconsciousness of this world and its cares." It required allForester's tact to subdue the uncomfortable sensations his surpriseexcited, and receive the proffered welcome with becoming cordiality. Butin this he soon succeeded, not less from his own efforts than from theeasy and familiar tone of the speaker. "I have to thank you for a verypleasant note you were kind enough to bring me," continued he, as heseated himself beside the fire. "And how have you left Dublin? Isthe popular excitement as great as some weeks ago? or are the peoplebeginning to see that they have nothing to say to a measure which, likevenison and turtle, is a luxury only to be discussed by their betters?"
"I should say that there is more of moderation in the tone of allparties of late," said Forester, diffidently, for he felt all theawkwardness of alluding to a topic in which his own game had been sopalpably discovered.
"In that case, your friends have gained the victory. Patriotism, as wecall it in Ireland, requires to be fed by mob adulation; and whenthe 'canaille' get hoarse, their idols walk over to the Treasurybenches.--But there 's the bell to dress; and I may as well tell youthat we are the models of punctuality in this house, and you have onlyfifteen minutes for your toilet." With these words the old gentlemanarose and strode out of the room, while Forester hastened, on his side,to prepare for the dinner-hour.
When the aide-de-camp had accomplished his dressing, he found the partyat table, where a vacant place was left for himself at the right hand ofthe host.
"We gave you three minutes' grace, Captain Forester. I knew a candidatelose his election in the county by very little more,"--and here hedropped his voice to a whisper, only audible to Forester,--"and I'drather contract to keep the peace in a menagerie full of tigers thanhold in check the passions of twenty hungry fox-hunters while waitingfor dinner."
Forester cast his eyes over the table, and thought he perceived that hisdelay had not prepossessed the company in his favor. The glances whichmet his own round the board bore an expression of very unmistakabledissatisfaction, and although the conversation was free andunrestrained, he felt all the awkwardness of his position.
There was at the time we speak of--has it quite disappeared even yet?--avery prevalent notion in most Irish circles that Englishmen in general,and English officials in particular, assumed airs of superiority overthe natives of the country, treating them as very subordinate personsin all the relations in which good-breeding and social intercourse areconcerned; and this impression, whether well or ill founded, inducedmany to suspect intentional insult in those chance occurrences whicharise out of thoughtlessness and want of memory.
If the party now assembled manifested any portion of this feeling, itwas not sufficient to interrupt the flow of conversation, which took itscourse in channels the most various and dissimilar. The individuals wereintimate, or, at least, familiar with each other, and, through all thetopics of hunting, farming, politics, and horse-racing, ran a tone offree and easy raillery that kept a laugh moving up and down the table,or occasionally occupying it entirely. The little chill which markedForester's first entrance into the room wore off soon, and ere thedinner was over he had drunk wine with nearly every man of the party,and accepted invitations to hunt, course, and shoot in at least a dozendifferent quarters. Lionel Darcy's friend, as he was soon known to be,was speedily made the object of every attention and civility amongthe younger members of the company, while even the older and lesssusceptible reserved their judgments on one they had at first receivedwith some distrust.
Forester had seen in the capital some specimens of those hard-drinkinghabits which characterized the period, but was still unprepared for thedetermined and resolute devotion to the bottle which at once succeededto the dinner. The claret-jugs coursed round the table with a rapiditythat seemed sleight of hand, and few refrained from filling a bumperevery time. With all his determination to preserve a cool head and acalm judgment, Forester felt that, what between the noisy tumult of thescene, the fumes of wine, and the still more intoxicating excitement ofthis exaggerated conviviality, he could listen to tales of miraculousperformances in the hunting-field, or feats of strength and activitymore than mortal, with a degree of belief, or, at least, sufferance, hecould scarcely have summoned a few hours earlier.
If wine expands the heart, it has a similar influence on the credulity;and belief, when divested of the trammels of cool judgment, takes aflight which even imagination might envy. It was in a frame of mindreduced to something like this, amid the loud voices of some, the louderlaughter of others, strange and absurd bets as eagerly accepted asproffered, that he became suddenly mindful of his own wager made withthe stranger at Kilbeggan, and the result of which he had pledgedhimself to test at the very first opportunity.
No sooner had he mentioned the fact than the interests of the company,directed before into so many different channels, became centred upon thecircumstance, and questions and inquiries were rapidly poured inupon him to explain the exact nature of the wager, which in the thenhallucination of the party was not an over-easy task.
"You are to describe the stranger, Captain Forester, and we are toguess his name: that I take it is the substance of the bet," said athin-faced, dark-eyed man, with a soft silkiness of accent very unlikethe others. This was Mr. Hickman O'Reilly, member for the county, andcolleague of "the Knight" himself.
"Yes, that is exactly what I mean. If my portrait be recognized, I 'vewon my bet."
"May I ask another question?" said Mr. O'Reilly. "Are we to pronounceonly from the evidence before us, or are we at liberty to guess theparty from other circumstances known to ourselves?"
"Of course, from the evidence only," interrupted a red-faced man ofabout five-and-thirty, with an air and manner which boded no smallreliance on his own opinion; then, mimicking the solemnity of a judge,he addressed the assembled party thus: "The gentlemen of the jury willdismiss from their minds everything they may hear touching the caseoutside this court, and base their verdict solely on the testimonythey shall now hear." These few words were delivered in a pompous andsnuffling tone, and, it was easy to see, from the laughter they excited,were an accurate imitation of some one well known to the company.
Mr. Alexander MacDonough was, however, a tolerably successful mimic, andhad practised as an attorney until the death of an uncle enabled himto exercise his abilities in the not less crafty calling of a squireengentleman; he was admitted by a kind of special favor into the bestcounty s
ociety, for no other reason, as it seemed, than that it neveroccurred to any one to exclude him. He was a capital horseman, neverturned from a fence in his life, and a noted shot with the pistol,in which his prowess had been more than once tried on "the ground."Probably, however, these qualities would scarcely have procured himacceptance where he now sat, if it were not that he was looked upon asthe necessary accompaniment of Mr. Hickman O'Reilly and his son Beecham,not indeed to illustrate their virtues and display their good gifts, butas a species of moral blister, irritating and maddening them eternally.
They had both more money and ambition than MacDonough, had taken higherand wider views of life, and were strenuously working up from the sloughof a plebeian origin to the high and dry soil of patrician security. Tothem, MacDonough was a perfect curse; he was what sailors call "a pointof departure," everlastingly reminding them of the spot from which theyhad sailed, and tauntingly hinting how, with all their canvas spread,they had scarcely gained blue water.
Of the O'Reillys a few words are necessary. Three generations werestill living, each depicting most strikingly the gradations by whichsuccessful thrift and industry transmute the man of humble position intothe influential grade of an estated gentleman: the grandfather was anapothecary of Loughrea; the son, an agent, a money-lender, and an M. P.;and the grandson, an Etonian and a fellow-commoner of Balliol, emerginginto life with the prospect of a great estate, unencumbered with debt,considerable county influence, and, not least of all, the _ricochet_ ofthat favor with which the Government regarded his pliant parent.
To all of these, MacDonough was insupportable, nor was there any visibleescape from the insolent familiarity of his manner. Flattery had beentried in vain; all their blandishments could do nothing with one whowell knew that his own acceptance into society depended on his powers ofannoying; if not performing the part of torturer, he had no share inthe piece; a quarrel with him was equally out of the question, for evensupposing such an appeal safe,--which it was very far from being,--itwould have reflected most disadvantageously on the O'Reillys to havebeen mixed up in altercation with a man so much beneath themselves asAlexander MacDonough of "The Tenement;" for such, in slang phrase, didhe designate his country residence.
Let us now return from this long but indispensable digression to thesubject which suggested it.
So many questions were put, explanations demanded, doubts suggested,and advices thrown out to Forester that it was not until after aconsiderable lapse of time he was enabled to commence his description ofthe unknown traveller, nor even then was he suffered to proceedwithout interruption, a demand being made by MacDonough that the absentindividual was entitled to counsel, who should look after his interests,and, if necessary, cross-examine the evidence. All this was done in thatstyle of comic seriousness to which Forester was so little accustomedthat, what with the effect of wine, heat, and noise, combined with thewell-assumed gravity of the party, he really forgot the absurdity of thewhole affair, and became as eager and attentive as though the event wereone of deep importance.
It was at last decided that MacDonough should act as counsel for theunknown, and the company should vote separately, each writing down on aslip of paper their impression of the individual designated, the resultbeing tested by the majority in favor of any one person.
"Gentlemen of the jury," said the host, in a voice of deep solemnity,"you will hear and well weigh the evidence before you touching thiscase, and decide with truth and conscience on its merits; so fill abumper and let us begin. Make your statement, Captain Forester."
The sudden silence succeeding to the tumultuous uproar, the directedgaze of so many eager faces, and the evident attention with which hisstatement was awaited, conspired to make Forester nervous and uneasy;nor was it without something of an effort that he began the recitalof his adventure at Kilbeggan. Warming as he proceeded, he told ofthe accident by which his acquaintance with the unknown traveller wasopened, and at length, having given so much of preliminary, entered uponthe description of the individual.
Whatever Forester's own impression of the stranger, he soon felt howvery difficult a task portrait-painting was, and how very unlike was hisrepresentation of the individual in question. The sure way to fail inany untried career is to suspect a failure; this he soon discovered, andcut short a most imperfect description by abruptly saying, "If youguess him now, gentlemen, I acknowledge the merit is far more in _your_perspicuity than in _my_ powers of description."
"Only a few questions before you leave the table, sir," said MacDonough,addressing him with the mock sternness of a cross-examining barrister."You said the unknown was gifted with a most courteous and prepossessingmanner: pray what is the exact meaning of your phrase? for we uncouthinhabitants of a remote region have very imperfect notions on suchsubjects. My friend Dan Mahon here would call any man agreeable whocould drink fourteen tumblers, and not forget the whiskey in mixing thefifteenth; Tom Callaghan, on the other hand, would test his breedingby what he knew of a wether or a 'short-horn;' Giles, my neighbor here,would ask, Did he lend you any money? and Mr. Hickman O'Reilly wouldwhisper a hope that he came of an old family."
The leer by which these words were accompanied gave them an impertinenceeven greater than their simple signification; but however coarse thesarcasm, it suited well the excited tone of the party, who laughed loudand vociferously as he uttered it.
Strange as he was to the party, Forester saw that the allusion had apersonal application, and was very far from relishing a pleasantrywhose whole merit was its coarseness; he therefore answered in a tone ofrather haughty import, "The person I met, sir, was a gentleman; and theword, so far as I know, has an easy signification, at least to all whohave had opportunities to learn it."
"I have no doubt of that, Captain Forester," replied MacDonough; "butif we divided the house on it here, some of us might differ about thedefinition. Your neighbor there, Mr. Beecham O'Reilly, thinks his owncountrymen very far down in the scale."
"A low fellow,--nobody pays attention to him," muttered young O'Reillyin Forester's ear, as, with a cheek pale as death, he affected to seemtotally indifferent to the continued insolence of his tormentor.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Beecham O'Reilly," interposed MacDonough, with asignificant smile, "but your observation was, I think, meant to apply tome."
The young man made no answer, but proceeded to fill his glass withclaret, while his hand trembled so much that he spilled the wine aboutthe table. Forester stared at him, expecting each instant to hear hisreply to this appeal; but not a word escaped him, nor did he even looktowards the quarter from which the taunt proceeded.
"Didn't I tell you so, sir?" exclaimed MacDonough, with a triumphantlaugh. "There are various descriptions of gentlemen: some are contentedwith qualities of home growth, and satisfied to act, think, and deportthemselves like their neighbors; others travel for this improvement, andbring back habits and customs that seem strange in their own country;now, I don't doubt but in England that young gentleman would be thoughtall that was spirited and honorable."
"I have nothing to say to that, sir!" replied Forester, sternly; "butif you would like to hear the opinion my fellow-countrymen would have ofyourself, I could perhaps favor you."
"Stop, stop! where are you hurrying to? No more of this nonsense," criedthe host, who had suddenly caught the last few words, while conversingwith a person on his left.
"I beg your pardon most humbly, sir," said MacDonough, whose faced wasflushed with passion, and whose lip trembled, notwithstanding all hisefforts to seem calm and collected, "but the gentleman was about tocommunicate a trait of English society. I know you misunderstood him."
"Perhaps so," said the host; "what was it, Captain Forester? I believe Idid not hear you quite accurately."
"A very simple fact, sir," said Forester, coolly, "and one that canscarcely astonish Mr. MacDonough to hear."
"And which is--?" said MacDonough, affecting a bland smile.
"Perhaps you 'd ask for a definition, if I emplo
y a single word."
"Not this time," said MacDonough, still smiling in the same way.
"You are right, sir, it would be affectation to do so; for though youmay feel very natural doubts about what constitutes a gentleman, youought to be pretty sure what makes a blackguard."
The words seemed to fall like a shell in the company; one burst oftumultuous uproar broke forth, voices in every tone and accent ofeagerness and excitement, when suddenly the host cried out, "Lock thedoors; no man leaves the room till this matter is settled; there shallbe no quarrelling beneath this roof so long as Bagenal Daly sits herefor his friend."
The caution came too late--MacDonough was gone.