dublin castle by night—the drawing-room—lord wharton and his court.
sir richard ashwoode had set his heart upon having lord aspenly for his son-in-law; and all things considered, his lordship was, perhaps, according to the standard by which the baronet measured merit, as good a son-in-law as he had any right to hope for. it was true, lord aspenly was neither very young nor very beautiful. spite of all the ingenious arts by which he reinforced his declining graces, it was clear as the light that his lordship was not very far from seventy; and it was just as apparent that it was not to any extraordinary supply of bone, muscle, or flesh that his vitality was attributable. his lordship was a little, spindle-shanked gentleman, with the complexion of a consumptive frog, and features as sharp as edged tools. he condescended to borrow from the artistic talents of his valet the exquisite pencilling of his eyebrows, as well as the fine black line which gave effect to a set of imaginary eyelashes, and depth and brilliancy to a pair of eyes which, although naturally not very singularly effective, had, nevertheless, nearly as much vivacity in them as they had ever had. his smiles were perennial and unceasing, very winning and rather ghastly. he used much gesticulation, and his shrug was absolutely parisian. to all these perfections he added a wonderful facility in rounding the periods of a compliment, and an inexhaustible affluence of something which passed for conversation. thus endowed, and having, moreover, the additional recommendation of a handsome income, a peerage, and an unencumbered celibacy, it is hardly wonderful that his lordship was unanimously voted by all prudent and discriminating persons, without exception, the most fascinating man in all ireland. sir richard ashwoode was not one whit more in earnest in desiring the match than was lord aspenly himself. his lordship had for some time begun to suspect that he had nearly sown his wild oats—that it was time for him to reform—that he was ripe for the domestic virtues, and ought to renounce scamp-hood. he therefore, in the laboratory of his secret soul, compounded a virtuous passion, which he resolved to expend upon the first eligible object who might present herself. mary ashwoode was the fortunate damsel who first happened to come within the scope and range of his lordship's premeditated love; and he forthwith in a matrimonial paroxysm applied, according to the good old custom, not to the lady herself, but to sir richard ashwoode, and was received with open arms.
the baronet indeed, as the reader is aware, anticipated many difficulties in bringing the match about; for he well knew how deeply his daughter's heart was engaged, and his misgivings were more sombre and frequent than he cared to acknowledge even to himself. he resolved, however, that the thing should be; and he was convinced, that if his lordship only were firm, spite of fate he would effect it. in order then to inspire lord aspenly with this desirable firmness, he not unwisely believed that his best course was to exhibit him as much as possible in public places, in the character of the avowed lover of mary ashwoode; a position which, when once unequivocally assumed, afforded no creditable retreat, except through the gates of matrimony. it was arranged, therefore, that the young lady, under the protection of lady stukely, and accompanied by lord aspenly and henry ashwoode, should attend the first drawing-room at the castle, a ceremonial which had been fixed to take place a few days subsequently to the arrival of lord aspenly at morley court. those who have seen the castle of dublin only as it now stands, have beheld but the creation of the last sixty or seventy years, with the exception only of the wardrobe tower, an old grey cylinder of masonry, very dingy and dirty, which appears to have gone into half mourning for its departed companions, and presents something of the imposing character of an overgrown, mouldy band-box. at the beginning of the last century, however, matters were very different. the trim brick buildings, with their spacious windows and symmetrical regularity of structure, which now complete the quadrangles of the castle, had not yet appeared; but in their stead masses of building, constructed with very little attention to architectural precision, either in their individual formation or in their relative position, stood ranged together, so as to form two irregular and gloomy squares. that portion of the building which was set apart for state occasions and the vice-regal residence, had undergone so many repairs and modifications, that very little if any of it could have been recognized by its original builder. not so, however, with other portions of the pile: the ponderous old towers, which have since disappeared, with their narrow loop-holes and iron-studded doors looming darkly over the less massive fabrics of the place with stern and gloomy aspect, reminded the passer every moment, that the building whose courts he trod was not merely the theatre of stately ceremonies, but a fortress and a prison.
the viceroyalty of the earl of wharton was within a few weeks of its abrupt termination; the approaching discomfiture of the whigs was not, however, sufficiently clearly revealed, to thin the levees and drawing-rooms of the whig lord-lieutenant. the castle yards were, therefore, upon the occasion in question, crowded to excess with the gorgeous equipages in which the irish aristocracy of the time delighted. the night had closed in unusual darkness, and the massive buildings, whose summits were buried in dense and black obscurity, were lighted only by the red reflected glow of crowded flambeaux and links—which, as the respective footmen, who attended the crowding chairs and coaches flourished them according to the approved fashion, scattered their wide showers of sparks into the eddying air, and illumined in a broad and ruddy glare, like that of a bonfire, the gorgeous equipages with which the square was now thronged, and the splendid figures which they successively discharged. there were coaches-and-four—out-riders—running footmen and hanging footmen—crushing and rushing—jostling and swearing—and burly coachmen, with inflamed visages, lashing one another's horses and their own. lackeys collaring and throttling one another, all "for their master's honour," in the hot and disorderly dispute for precedence, and some even threatening an appeal to the swords—which, according to the barbarous fashion of the day, they carried, to the no small peril of the public and themselves. others dragging the reins of strangers' horses, and backing them to make way for their own—a proceeding which, of course, involved no small expenditure of blasphemy and vociferation. on the whole, it would not be easy to exaggerate the scene of riot and confusion which, under the very eye of the civil and military executive of the country, was perpetually recurring, and that, too, ostensibly in honour of the supreme head of the irish government.
through all this crash, and clatter, and brawling, and vociferation, the party whom we are bound to follow made their way with some difficulty and considerable delay.
the earl of wharton with his countess, surrounded by a brilliant staff, and amid all the pomp and state of vice-regal dignity, received the distinguished courtiers who thronged the castle chambers. at the time of which we write, lord wharton was in his seventieth year. few, however, would have guessed his age at more than sixty, though many might have supposed it under that. he was rather a spare figure, with an erect and dignified bearing, and a countenance which combined vivacity, good-humour, and boldness in an eminent degree. his manners were, to those who did not know how unreal was everything in them that bore the promise of good, singularly engaging, and that in spite of a very strong spice of coarseness, and a very determined addiction to profane swearing. he had, however, in his whole air and address a kind of rollicking, good-humoured familiarity, which was very generally mistaken for the quintessence of candour and good-fellowship, and which consequently rendered him unboundedly popular among those who were not aware of the fact that his complimentary speeches meant just nothing, and were very often followed, the moment the object of them had withdrawn, by the coarsest ridicule, and even by the grossest abuse. for the rest, he was undoubtedly an able statesman, and had clearly discerned and adroitly steered his way through the straits and perils of troublous and eventful times. he was, moreover, a steady and uncompromising whig, upon whom, throughout a long and active life, the stain of inconsistency had never rested; a thorough partisan, a quick and ready debater, and an unscrupulous and daring political intriguer. in private, however, entirely profligate—a sensualist and an infidel, and in both characters equally without shame.
through the rooms there wandered a very wild, madcap boy of some ten or eleven years, venting his turbulent spirits in all kinds of mischievous pranks—sometimes planting himself behind lord wharton, and mimicking, with ludicrous exaggeration, which the courtly spectators had enough to do to resist, the ceremonious gestures and gracious nods of the viceroy; at other times assuming a staid and manly carriage, and chatting with his elders with the air of perfect equality, and upon subjects which one would have thought immeasurably beyond his years, and this with a sound sense, suavity, and precision which would have done honour to many grey heads in the room. this strange, bold, precocious boy of eleven was philip, afterwards duke of wharton, the wonder and the disgrace of the british peerage.
"ah! mr. morris," exclaimed his excellency, as a middle-aged gentleman, with a fluttered air, a round face, and vacant smile, approached, "i am delighted to see you—by —— almighty i am—give me your hand. i have written across about the matter we wot of: but for these cursed contrary winds, i make no doubt i should have had a letter before now. is the young gentleman himself here?"
"a—a—not quite, your excellency. that is, not at—all," stammered the gentleman, in mingled delight and alarm. "he is, my lord, a—a—laid up. he—a—it is a sore throat. your excellency is most gracious."
"tell him from me," rejoined wharton, "that he must get well as quickly as may be. we don't know the moment he may be wanted. you understand me?"
"i—a—do indeed," replied mr. morris, retiring in graceful confusion.
"a d——d impudent booby," whispered wharton to addison, who stood beside him, uttering the remark without the change of a single muscle. "he has made some cursed unconscionable request about his son. i'gad, i forget what; but we want his vote on tuesday; and civility, you know, costs no coin."
addison smiled faintly, and shook his head.
"may the lord pardon us all," exclaimed a country clergyman in a rusty gown and ill-dressed wig, with a pale, attenuated, eager face, which told mournful tales of short commons and hard work; he had been for some time an intense and a grieved listener to the lord-lieutenant's conversation, and was now slowly retiring with a companion as humble as himself from the circle which surrounded his excellency, with simple horror impressed upon his pale features—"may the lord preserve us all, how awful it is to hear one so highly trusted by him, take his name thus momentarily in vain. lord wharton is, i fear me much, an habitual profane swearer."
"believe me, sir, you are very simple," rejoined a young clergyman who stood close to the position which the speaker now occupied. "his excellency's object in swearing by the different persons of the trinity is to show that he believes in revealed religion—a fact which else were doubtful; and this being his main object, it is manifestly a secondary consideration to what particular asseveration or promises his excellency happens to tack his oaths."
the lank, pale-faced prebendary looked suddenly and earnestly round upon the person who had accosted him, with an expression of curiosity and wonder, evidently in some doubt as to the spirit in which the observation had been made. he beheld a tall, stalwart man, arrayed in a clerical costume as rich as that of a churchman who has not attained to the rank of a dignitary in his profession could well be, and in all points equipped with the most perfect neatness. in the face he looked in vain for any indication of jocularity. it was a striking countenance—striking for the extreme severity of its expression, and for its stern and handsome outline. the eye which encountered the inquiring glance of the elder man was of the clearest blue, singularly penetrating and commanding—the eyebrow dark and shaggy—the lips full and finely formed, but in their habitual expression bearing a character of haughty and indomitable determination—the complexion of the face was dark; and as the country prebendary gazed upon the countenance, full, as it seemed, of a scornful, stern, merciless energy and decision, something told him, that he looked upon one born to lead and to command the people. all this he took in at a glance: and while he looked, addison, who had detached himself from the vice-regal coterie, laid his hand upon the shoulder of the stern-featured young clergyman.
"swift," said he, drawing him aside, "we see you too seldom here. his excellency begins to think and to hope you have reconsidered what i spoke about when last we met. believe me, you wrong yourself in not rendering what service you can to men who are not ungrateful, and who have the power to reward. you were always a whig, and a pamphlet were with you but the work of a few days."
"were i to write a pamphlet," rejoined swift, "it is odds his excellency would not like it."
"have you not always been a whig?" urged addison.
"sir, i am not to be taken by nicknames," rejoined swift. "i know godolphin, and i know lord wharton. i have long distrusted the government of each. i am no courtier, mr. secretary. what i suspect i will not seem to trust—what i hate i hate entirely, and renounce openly. i have heard of my lord wharton's doing, too. when i refused before to understand your overtures to me to write a pamphlet for his friends, he was pleased to say i refused because he would not make me his chaplain—in saying which he knowingly and malignantly lied; and to this lie he, after his accustomed fashion, tacked a blasphemous oath. he is therefore a perjured liar. i renounce him as heartily as i renounce the devil. i am come here, mr. secretary, not to do reverence to lord wharton—god forbid!—but to offer my homage to the majesty of england, whose brightness is reflected even in that cracked and battered piece of pinchbeck yonder. believe me, should his excellency be rash enough to engage me in talk to-night, i shall take care to let him know what opinion i have of him."
"come, come, you must not be so dogged," rejoined addison. "you know lord wharton's ways. he says a good deal more than he cares to be believed—everybody knows that—and all take his lordship's asseverations with a grain of allowance; besides, you ought to consider that when a man unused to contradiction is crossed by disappointment, he is apt to be choleric, and to forget his discretion. we all know his faults; but even you will not deny his merits."
thus speaking, he led swift toward the vice-regal circle, which they had no sooner reached than wharton, with his most good-humoured smile, advanced to meet the young clergyman, exclaiming,—
"swift! so it is, by ——! i am glad to see you—by —— i am."
"i am glad, my lord," replied swift, gravely, "that you take such frequent occasion to remind this godless company of the presence of the almighty."
"well, you know," rejoined wharton, good-humouredly, "the scripture saith that the righteous man sweareth to his neighbour."
"and disappointeth him not," rejoined swift.
"and disappointeth him not," repeated wharton; "and by ——," continued he, with marked earnestness, and drawing the young politician aside as he spoke, "in whatsoever i swear to thee there shall be no disappointment."
he paused, but swift remained silent. the lord-lieutenant well knew that an english preferment was the nearest object of the young churchman's ambition. he therefore continued,—
"on my soul, we want you in england—this is no stage for you. by —— you cannot hope to serve either yourself or your friends in this place."
"very few thrive here but scoundrels, my lord," rejoined swift.
"even so," replied wharton, with perfect equanimity—"it is a nation of scoundrels—dissent on the one side and popery on the other. the upper order harpies, and the lower a mere prey—and all equally liars, rogues, rebels, slaves, and robbers. by —— some fine day the devil will carry off the island bodily. for very safety you must get out of it. by —— he'll have it."
"i am not enough in the devil's confidence to speak of his designs with so much authority as your lordship," rejoined swift; "but i incline to think that under your excellency's administration it will answer his end as well to leave the island where it is."
"ah! swift, you are a wag," rejoined the viceroy; "but by —— i honour and respect your spirit. i know we shall agree yet—by —— i know it. i respect your independence and honesty all the more that they are seldom met with in a presence-chamber. by —— i respect and love you more and more every day."
"if your lordship will forego your professions of love, and graciously confine yourself to the backbiting which must follow, you will do for me to the full as much as i either expect or desire," rejoined swift, with a grave reverence.
"well, well," rejoined the viceroy, with the most unruffled good-humour, "i see, swift, you are in no mood to play the courtier just now. nevertheless, bear in mind what addison advised you to attempt; and though we part thus for the present, believe me, i love you all the better for your honest humour."
"farewell, my lord," repeated swift, abruptly, and with a formal bow he retired among the common throng.
"a hungry, ill-conditioned dog," said wharton, turning to the person next him, "who, having never a bone to gnaw, whets his teeth on the shins of the company."
having vented this little criticism, the viceroy resumed once more the formal routine of state hospitality.
"it is time we were going," suggested mary ashwoode to emily copland. "my lord," she continued, turning to lord aspenly, whose attentions had been just as conspicuous and incessant as sir richard ashwoode could have wished them, "do you know where lady stukely is?"
lord aspenly professed his ignorance.
"have you seen her ladyship?" inquired emily copland of the gallant major o'leary, who stood near her.
"upon my conscience, i have," rejoined the major. "i'm not considered a poltroon; but i plead guilty to one weakness. i am bothered if i can stand fire when it appears in the nose of a gentlewoman; so as soon as i saw her i beat a retreat, and left my valorous young nephew to stand or fall under the blaze of her artillery. she is at the far end of the room."
the major was easily persuaded to undertake the mission, and a word to young ashwoode settled the matter. the party accordingly left the rooms, having, however, previously to their doing so, arranged that major o'leary should pass the next day at morley court, and afterwards accompany them in the evening to the theatre, whither sir richard, in pursuance of his plans, had arranged that they should all repair.
