Part 30 (1/2)

”All the _prejudice of education_” said D'Almaine, good-humouredly; ”my old uncle, the banker, to whose bounty we are both much indebted, my dear, early inculcated these notions of thrift into the brain of a certain lighthearted young gentleman, whose buoyant spirits sometimes led him a little beyond the _barrier of prudence_, and too often left him environed with difficulties in the _marshes of impediment_. 'Look before you leap,' was a wise saw of the old gentleman's; and 'be just before you're generous,' a proverb that never failed to accompany a temporary supply, or an additional demand upon his generosity.”--”Hang your old uncle!” replied Lady Mary, pouting and trying to look ill-tempered in the face of Lord Henry's good-natured remonstrance,--”I never ask a favour for myself, or solicit you to take the recreation necessary to your own health and that of your family, but I am pestered with the revised musty maxims of your dead old uncle. He has been consigned to the earth these ten years, and ~288~~if it were not for the ten thousand per annum he left us, ought long since to have shared the fate of his ancestry, whose names were never heard more of than the tributary tablet imparts to the eye of curiosity in a country church, and within whose limits all inquiry ends.” ”Grat.i.tude, Lady Mary, if not respect for my feelings, should preserve that good man's name from reproach.” Lord Henry's eye was unusually expressive--he continued:--”The coronet that graces your own soul-inspiring face would lack the l.u.s.tre of its present brilliancy, but for the generous bequest of the old city banker, whose _plum_ was the _sweetest windfall_ that ever dropt into the empty purse of the poor possessor of an ancient baronial t.i.tle. The old battlements of Crackenbury have stood many a siege, 'tis true; but that formidable engine of modern warfare, the _catapulta_ of the auctioneer, had, but for him, proved more destructive to its walls than the battering-ram and hoa.r.s.e cannonades of ancient rebels.”

~288~~When a woman is foiled at argument, she generally has recourse to finesse. Lady Mary had made up her mind to carry her point; finding therefore the right column of her vengeance turned by the smart attack of D'Almaine's raillery, she was determined to out-flank him with her whole park of well-appointed artillery, consisting of all those endearing, solicitous looks and expressions, that can melt the most obdurate heart, and command a victory over the most experienced general.

It was in vain that Lord Henry urged the unusual heavy expenses of the season in town,--the four hundred paid for the box at the opera,--or the seven hundred for the greys and the new barouche,--the pending demand from Messrs. Rundell's for the new service of plate,--and the splendid alterations and additions just made to the old family hall,--with ~289~~numerous other most provoking items which the old steward had conjured up, as if on purpose, to abridge the pleasures of Lady Mary's intended tour. ”It was very _distressing_--she heartily wished there was no such thing as money in the world--it made people very miserable--they were a much happier couple, she contended, when they were merely Honourables, and lived upon a paltry two thousand and the expectancy--there never was any difficulty then about money transactions, and a proposition for a trip to a watering-place was always hailed with pleasure.”--”True, Lady Mary; but then you forget we travelled in a stage coach, with your maid on the outside, while my man servant, with a led-horse, followed or preceded us. Then, we were content with lodgings on the West-cliff, and the use of a kitchen: now, we require a splendid establishment, must travel in our own chariot, occupy half a mews with our horses, and fill half a good-sized barrack with our servants. Then, we could live snug, accept an invitation to dinner with a commoner, and walk or ride about as we pleased, without being pointed at as _lions_ or _raro aves_ just broke loose from the great state aviary at St. James's.” ”We shall scarcely be discovered,”

said Lady Mary, ”among the stars that surround the regal planet.”--”We shall be much mortified then,” said Lord Henry, facetiously.--”You are very provoking, D'Almaine. I know your turf speculations have proved fortunate of late: I witnessed Sir Charles paying you a large sum the other morning; and I have good reason for thinking you have been successful at the club, for I have not heard your usual morning salutation to your valet, who generally on the occasion of your losses receives more checks than are payable at your bankers. You shall advance me a portion of your winnings, in return for which I promise you good health, good society, and, perhaps, if the stars _shoot ~290~~rightly_, a good place for our second son. In these days of peace, the distaff can effect more than the field-marshal's baton.”--”Always provided,” said my sire (clapping his hand upon his _os frontis_), ”that nothing else _shoots out_ of such condescensions.”

”But why has Brighton the preference as a watering place?” said Lord Henry: ”the Isle of Wight is, in my opinion, more retired; Southampton more select; Tunbridge Wells more rural; and Worthing more social.”--”True, D'Almaine; but I am not yet so old and woe-begone, so out of conceit with myself, or misanthropic with the world, to choose either the retired, the select, the rural, or the social. I love the bustle of society, enjoy the promenade on the Steyne, and the varied character that nightly fills the libraries; I read men, not books, and above all I enjoy the world of fas.h.i.+on. Where the King is, there is concentrated all that is delightful in society. Your retired dowagers and Opposition peers may congregate in rural retirement, and sigh with envy at the enchanting splendour of the court circle; those only who have felt its cheering influence can speak of its inspiring pleasures; and all who have partic.i.p.ated in the elegant scene will laugh at the whispers of malignity and the innuendoes of disappointment, which are ever pregnant with some newly invented _on dit_ of scandalous tendency, to libel a circle of whom they know nothing but by report; and that report, in nine instances out of ten, 'the weak invention of the enemy.'” ”Bravo, Lady Mary; your spirited defence of the Pavilion party does honour to your heart, and displays as much good sense as honest feeling; but a little interest, methinks, lurks about it for all that: I have not forgotten the honour we received on our last visit; and you, I can perceive, antic.i.p.ate a renewal of the same gratifying condescension; so give James his instructions, and let him proceed to Brighton to-morrow to make the necessary arrangements for our arrival.”

~291~~Thus ended the colloquy in the usual family manner, when well-bred men entertain something more than mere respect for their elegant and accomplished partners.

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SKETCHES AT BRIGHTON.

_The Pavilion Party--Interior described--Royal and n.o.ble Anecdotes--King and Mathews_.

~292~~I had preceded D'Almaine and the Countess only a few hours in my arrival at Brighton; you know the vivacity and enchanting humour which ever animates that little divinity, and will not therefore be surprised to hear, on her name being announced at the Pavilion, we were honoured with a royal invitation to an evening party. I had long sighed for an opportunity to view the interior of that eccentric building; but to have enjoyed such a treat, made doubly attractive by the presence of the King, reposing from the toils of state in his favourite retreat, and surrounded by the select circle of his private friends, was more than my most sanguine expectations could have led me to conjecture. Suspending, therefore, my curiosity until the morrow, relative to the Steyne, the beach, the libraries, and the characters, I made a desperate effort in embellis.h.i.+ng, to look unusually stylish, and as usual, never succeeded so ill in my life. Our residence on the Grand Parade is scarcely a hundred yards from, and overlooks the Pavilion--a circ.u.mstance which had quite escaped my recollection; for with all the natural anxiety of a young and ardent mind, I had fully equipped myself before the Count had even thought of entering his dressing-room. Half-an-hour's lounge at the projecting window of our new habitation, on a tine summer's evening, gave me an opportunity of remarking the ~293~~singular appearance the front of this building presents:

”If minarets, rising together, provoke From the lips of the vulgar the old-fas.h.i.+oned joke--

'_De gustibus non est_ (I think) _disputandum_'

The taste is plebeian that quizzes at random.”

There is really something very romantic in the style of its architecture, and by no means inelegant; perhaps it is better suited for the peculiar situation of this marine palace than a more cla.s.sical or accredited order would be. It has been likened, on its first appearance, to a chess-board; but, in my thinking, it more nearly resembles that soul-inspiring scene, the splendid banquet table, decorated in the best style of modern grandeur, and covered with the usual plate and gla.s.s enrichments: for instance, the central dome represents the water magnum, the towers right and left, with their pointed spires, champagne bottles, the square compartments on each side are exactly like the form of our fas.h.i.+onable liqueur stands, the clock tower resembles the centre ornament of a plateau, the various small spires so many enriched _candelabra_, the gla.s.s dome a superb dessert dish; but

”Don't expect, my dear boy, I can similies find For a heap of similitudes so undefined.

And why should I censure tastes not my concern?

'Tis as well for the arts that all tastes have their turn.”

If I had written for three hours on the subject, I could not have been more explicit; you have only to arrange the articles in the order enumerated, and you have a model of the upper part of the building before you. At nine o'clock we made our _entre_ into the Pavilion, westward, pa.s.sing through the vestibule and hall, when we entered one of the most superb apartments that art or fancy can devise, whether for richness of effect, decoration, and design: this is ~294~~called the _Chinese Gallery_, one hundred and sixty-two feet in length by seventeen feet in breadth, and is divided into five compartments, the centre being illumined with a light of stained gla.s.s, on which is represented the G.o.d of Thunder, as described in the Chinese mythology, surrounded by the imperial five-clawed dragons, supporting pendent lanterns, ornamented with corresponding devices. The ceiling or cove is the colour of peach blossom; and a Chinese canopy is suspended round from the lower compartment with ta.s.sels, bells, &c.: the furniture and other decorations, such as cabinets, chimney-piece, trophies, and banners, which are in the gallery, are all in strict accordance with the Chinese taste; while on every side the embellishments present twisted dragons, paG.o.das, and mythological devices of birds, flowers, insects, statues, formed from a yellow marble; and a rich collection of Oriental china.

The extreme compartments north and south are occupied by chased bra.s.s staircases, the lateral ornaments of which are serpents, and the bal.u.s.ters resemble bamboo. In the north division is the _fum_{1} or Chinese bird of royalty: this gallery opens into the music room, an apartment forty-two feet square, with two recesses of ten feet each, and rising in height forty-one feet, to a dome thirty feet in diameter. The magnificence and imposing grandeur of effect surpa.s.ses all effort at detail. It presented a scene of enchantment which brought to recollection the florid descriptions, in the Persian Tales, of the palaces of the genii: the prevailing decoration is executed in green gold, and produces a most singularly splendid effect. On the walls are twelve highly finished paintings, views in China, princ.i.p.ally near Pekin, imitative of the crimson j.a.pan.

1 The fum is said to be found in no part of the world but China. It is described as of most admirable beauty; and their absence for any time from the imperial city regarded as an omen of misfortune to the royal family. The emperor and mandarins have the semblance of these birds embroidered on their vestments.

~295~~The dome appears to be excavated out of a rock of solid gold, and is supported by an octagonal base, ornamented with the richest Chinese devices; at each angle of the room is a paG.o.da-tower, formed of the most costly materials in gla.s.s and china, with lamps attached; beneath the dome and base is a splendid canopy, supported by columns of crimson and gold, with twisted serpents of enormous size, and terrific expression surrounding them. A magnificent organ, by Sinclair, the largest and best in the kingdom, occupies the north recess, twenty feet in width, length, and height: there are two entrances to this room, one from the _Egyptian gallery_, and another from the yellow drawing-room, each under a rich canopy, supported by gold columns. A beautiful chimney-piece of white statuary marble, and an immense mirror, with splendid draperies of blue, red, and yellow satin, rare china jars, and ornaments in ormolu, increase the dazzling brilliancy of the apartment. As this was my first appearance in the palace, the Countess, very considerately, proposed to Sir H----T----, who conducted us, that we should walk through the other public apartments, before we were ushered into the presence chamber--a proposition the good-natured equerry very readily complied with.

Repa.s.sing, therefore, the whole length of the Chinese gallery, the southern extremity communicates with the _Royal Banqueting Room_, sixty feet in length, by forty-two in breadth: the walls are bounded at the height of twenty-three feet by a cornice, apparently inlaid with pearls and gold, from which spring four ecliptic arches, supported by golden columns, surmounted with a dome, rising to a height of forty-five feet, and constructed to represent an eastern sky; beneath which is seen spreading the broad umbrageous foliage of the luxuriant plantain, bearing its fruit and displaying, in all the progressive stages, ~296~~the different varieties, from the early blossom to maturity: curious Chinese symbols are suspended from the trunk, and connect themselves with a grand l.u.s.tre, rising to a height of thirty feet, and reflecting the most varied and magical effect, being multiplied by other l.u.s.tres, in the several angles adjoining. The walls are decorated with groups of figures, nearly the size of life, portraying the costume of the higher cla.s.ses of the Chinese; domestic episodes, painted on a ground of imitative pearl, richly wrought, in all the varied designs of Chinese mythology. The furniture is of the most costly description--rose-wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and enriched with _or molu_ chasings of the most elegant design; the effect of which is admirably contrasted with the rich glossy jars of blue porcelain, of English manufacture, and magnificent brilliancy. Centrally, between these magnificent apartments, is the Rotunda or Saloon; an oblong interior of fifty-five feet in length, the decoration chaste and cla.s.sical in the extreme, being simply white and gold, the enriched cornice being supported by columns and pilasters, and the whole decoration uniting coolness with simplicity. The pa.s.sages to some of the minor apartments are unique in their style of embellishment, which appears to be of polished white marble, but is, in fact, nothing but a superior Dutch tile, cemented smoothly, in plaster of Paris, and highly varnished. There are many other private and anterooms to the west of the Chinese gallery, the decorations of which are more simple, but in a corresponding style. We had now arrived at the _Yellow Room (see Plate_), where we understood his Majesty would receive his evening party.

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The apartment is fifty-six feet in length, by twenty in breadth, and is hung round with a rich fluted drapery of yellow satin, suspended from the ceiling, and representing a magnificent Chinese tent, from the centre of which hangs a chandelier of ~237~~the most splendid design, the light of which is diffused through painted gla.s.ses, resembling in shape and colour every variety of the tulip, exciting the greatest admiration. The chimney-piece is Chinese, the stove formed by _chimera_ chased in _or molu_, the figures above being models or automatons, of nearly the size of life, dressed in splendid costume, occasionally moving their heads and arms. The furniture of the room is of a similar character to those already described, except the seats, which are ottomans of yellow velvet, the window draperies being of the same splendid material. It was in this truly royal apartment we had the honour of waiting the approach of his Majesty, who entered, at about a quarter before ten, apparently in the enjoyment of the most excellent health and highest spirits. He was preceded by Sir A. F. Barnard and Lord Francis Conyngham, the grooms in waiting, and entered with the Princess Augusta leaning on his arm, the left of her royal highness being supported by the Duke of York; the Marquis of Conyngham followed, leading in his Marchioness; and the beautiful and accomplished Lady Elizabeth honoured Sir William Knighton as her conductor. The old Earl of Arran came hobbling on his crutches, dreadfully afflicted with the gout. Sir C. Paget, that merry son of Neptune, with Sir E. Nagle, followed; the rear being brought up by the fascinating Countess of Warwick and her ever constant earl. _(See Plate.)_ Do not imagine, my dear Bernard, that I shall so far outrage the honourable feelings of a gentleman as to relate every word, look, or action, of this ill.u.s.trious party, for the rude ear of eager curiosity. Those only who have witnessed the Monarch in private life, freed from the weight of state affairs, and necessary regal accompaniments, can form a correct judgment of the unaffected goodness of his heart; the easy affability, and pliant condescension, with which he can divest ~298~~every one around him of any feeling of restraint--the uncommon sprightliness and vivacity he displays in conversation--the life and soul of all that is elegant and cla.s.sical, and the willing partic.i.p.ator and promoter of a good joke.

Suffice it to say, the reception was flattering in the extreme, the entertainment conversational and highly intellectual. The moments flew so quickly, that I could have wished the hour of eleven, the period of the King's retiring, had been extended to the noontide of the morrow.

But is this all, I think I can hear you say, this friend of my heart dares to repose with me on a subject so agreeable? No--you shall have a few _on dits_, but nothing touching on the scandalous; gleanings, from Sir E---- and Sir C----, the jesters of our sovereign lord the King; but nothing that might excite a blush in the cheek of the lovely Countess, to whom I was indebted for the honour and delight I on that occasion experienced. Imprimis:--I know you are intimate with that inimitable child of whim, Charles Mathews. He is in high estimation with royalty, I a.s.sure you; and annually receives the King's command to deliver a selection from his popular entertainments before him--an amus.e.m.e.nt of which his Majesty speaks in terms of the warmest admiration. On the last occasion, a little _scena_ occurred that must have been highly amusing; as it displays at once the kind recollections of the King, and his amiable disposition. As I had it from Sir C----, you may depend upon its authenticity. I shall denominate it the King at Home, or Mathews in Carlton Palace. _(See Plate.)_

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Previous to Mathews leaving this country for America, he exhibited a selection from his popular entertainments, by command of his Majesty, at Carlton Palace.--A party of not more than six or eight persons were present, including the Princess Augusta and the Marchioness of Conyngham. During ~299~~the entertainment (with which the King appeared much delighted), Mathews introduced his imitations of various performers on the British stage, and was proceeding with John Kemble in the Stranger, when he was interrupted by the King, who, in the most affable manner, observed that his general imitations were excellent, and such as no one who had ever seen the characters could fail to recognise; but he thought the comedian's portrait of John Kemble somewhat too boisterous.--”He is an old friend, and I might add, tutor of mine,”

observed his Majesty: ”when I was Prince of Wales he often favoured me with his company. I will give you an imitation of John Kemble,” said the good-humoured monarch. Mathews was electrified. The lords of the bed-chamber eyed each other with surprise. The King rose and prefaced his imitations by observing, ”I once requested John Kemble to take a pinch of snuff with me, and for this purpose placed my box on the table before him, saying 'Kemble, oblige (obleege) me by taking a pinch of snuff' He took a pinch, and then addressed me thus:--(Here his Majesty a.s.sumed the peculiar carriage of Mr. Kemble.) 'I thank your Royal Highness for your snuff, but, in future, do extend your royal jaws a little wider, and say Oblige.'” The anecdote was given with the most powerful similitude to the actor's voice and manners, and had an astonis.h.i.+ng effect on the party present. It is a circ.u.mstance equally worthy of the King and the scholar. Mathews, at the conclusion, requested permission to offer an original anecdote of Kemble, which had some affinity to the foregoing. Kemble had been for many years the intimate friend of the Earl of Aberdeen. On one occasion he had called on that n.o.bleman during his morning's ride, and left Mrs. Kemble in the carriage at the door. John and the n.o.ble earl were closely engaged on some literary subject a very long time, while Mrs. Kemble was ~300~~s.h.i.+vering in the carriage (it being very cold weather). At length her patience being exhausted, she directed her servant to inform his master that she was waiting, and feared the cold weather would bring on an attack of the rheumatism. The fellow proceeded to the door of the earl's study, and delivered his message, leaving out the final letter in rheumatism.--This he had repeated three several times, by direction of his mistress, before he could obtain an answer. At length, Kemble, roused from his subject by the importunities of the servant, replied, somewhat petulantly, ”Tell your mistress I shall not come, and, fellow, do you in future say '_tism_.”

Among the party a.s.sembled on this occasion was the favoured son of Esculapius, Sir W---- K----, the secret of whose elevation to the highest confidence of royalty is one of those mysteries of the age which it is in vain to attempt to unravel, and which, perhaps, cannot be known to more than two persons in existence: great and irresistible, however, must that influence be, whether moral or physical, which could obtain such dominion over the mind as to throw into the shade the claims of rank and courtly _lions_, and place an humble disciple of Esculapius on the very summit of royal favour. Of his gentlemanly and amusing talents in society every one must speak in terms of the highest praise, and equally flattering are the reports of his medical skill; but many are the fleeting causes and conjectures a.s.signed for his supremacy--reports which may not be written here, lest I a.s.sist in the courtly prattle of misrepresentation. Sir W---- was, I believe, the executor of an old and highly-favoured confidential secretary; might not _certain circ.u.mstances_ arising out of that trust have paved the way to his elevation? If the intense merits of the individual have raised him to the dazzling ~301~~height, the world cannot value them too highly, and sufficiently extol the discrimination of the first sovereign and first gentleman of the age who could discover and reward desert with such distinguished honour. But if his elevation is the result of any sacrifice of principle, or of any courtly intrigue to remove a once equally fortunate rival, and pave his path with gold, there are few who would envy the favoured minion: against such suspicion, however, we have the evidence of a life of honour, and the general estimation of society.