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Title: The Revolt of Man
Author: Besant, Walter
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Revolt of Man" ***
THE REVOLT OF MAN
[Illustration: 'The breaking of fetters, the sudden rush of light.'
R.M.
_Page_ 143.]
[Illustration: _The
Revolt
of
Man_
_Walter Besant_
_Collins' Clear-Type Press_
_London & Glasgow_]
PREFACE
It is now fourteen years since this book appeared anonymously. At first
the story stood cold and shivering, disregarded by the world. Six weeks,
however, after its production a highly appreciative review in one of the
most important journals caused people to inquire after it. Since then it
has gone through many editions.
Every one who has written stories knows the unaccountable difference
there is between the ease and delight of writing some and the
difficulties and troubles which attend the writing of others. The
_Revolt of Man_ was written during a certain summer holiday; day by day
chapter by chapter, was read out, as it was finished, to two ladies. It
is needless to say that their comments on the progress of events were
often most valuable. Above all I may now acknowledge their advice as to
the conclusion of the story. At first it ended in a real battle. 'Let
the _Revolt of Man_ be bloodless,' said my advisers. It _is_ bloodless.
The advice was excellent, and I followed it; and now, after fourteen
years, I take this opportunity of thanking them.
W. B.
UNITED UNIVERSITY CLUB;
_December 1896_.
CONTENTS
CHAP PAGE
I. IN PARK LANE 11
II. THE EARL OF CHESTER 33
III. THE CHANCELLOR 48
IV. THE GREAT DUCHESS 62
V. IN THE SEASON 75
VI. WOMAN'S ENGLAND 92
VII. ON THE TRUMPINGTON ROAD 119
VIII. THE BISHOP 135
IX. THE GREAT CONSPIRACY 150
X. THE FIRST SPARK 160
XI. A MARRIAGE MARRED 179
XII. IN THE CAMP AT CHESTER TOWERS 191
XIII. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE 215
XIV. THE ARMY OF AVENGERS 228
CONCLUSION 241
Collins' 7^{d.} net Modern Fiction
(_In Great Britain Only_)
WITH FRONTISPIECE AND DESIGNED TITLE PAGE
EACH VOLUME HAS AN ATTRACTIVE COLOURED WRAPPER
1 The Great Refusal MAXWELL GRAY
3 The Brown Eyes of Mary MADAME ALBANESI
4 The Golden Butterfly BESANT AND RICE
6 A Weaver of Webs JOHN OXENHAM
7 Saints in Society MRS. BAILLIE-SAUNDERS
8 The Wreck of the Grosvenor W. CLARK RUSSELL
9 Comin' Thro' the Rye HELEN MATHERS
10 The Deemster HALL CAINE
11 The Happy Valley B. M. CROKER
13 New Arabian Nights R. L. STEVENSON
15 American Wives and English Husbands GERTRUDE ATHERTON
18 The Tempestuous Petticoat ROBERT BARR
19 A Ward of the Golden Gate BRET HARTE
21 Under the Greenwood Tree THOMAS HARDY
23 The Firm of Girdlestone A. CONAN DOYLE
25 The School for Saints JOHN OLIVER HOBBES
26 Ready-Money Mortiboy BESANT AND RICE
27 Nature's Comedian W. E. NORRIS
28 The Luck of the Fairfaxes KATHERINE TYNAN
29 Comethup TOM GALLON
30 A Sack of Shakings FRANK T. BULLEN
31 Red Spider S. BARING-GOULD
32 Pretty Polly Pennington MADAME ALBANESI
33 Genevra C. MARRIOTT
35 The Locum Tenens VICTOR L. WHITECHURCH
36 A Princess of Thule WILLIAM BLACK
37 Daireen F. FRANKFORT MOORE
39 A Waif of the Plains BRET HARTE
40 Terence B. M. CROKER
41 The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton WILLIAM BLACK
42 Brendle MARMADUKE PICKTHALL
43 Eve S. BARING-GOULD
44 How to be Happy though Married REV. E. J. HARDY
45 Macleod of Dare WILLIAM BLACK
46 Loaves and Fishes BERNARD CAPES
47 My Little Girl BESANT AND RICE
48 The Light of Scarthey EGERTON CASTLE
49 The Amazing Duke SIR WM. MAGNAY, BART.
50 Diana Harrington. B. M. CROKER
51 Sister Anne MADAME ALBANESI
52 A Gentleman of London MORICE GERARD
53 An English Girl in Paris CONSTANCE E. MAUD
54 Despair's Last Journey D. C. MURRAY
55 Running Water A. E. W. MASON
56 John Holdsworth--Chief Mate W. CLARK RUSSELL
57 The Ivory Gate SIR WALTER BESANT
58 The Tempting of Paul Chester ALICE AND CLAUDE ASKEW
59 A Royal Indiscretion RICHARD MARSH
60 The Cattle-Baron's Daughter HAROLD BINDLOSS
61 A Breach of Promise LADY TROUBRIDGE
62 Harum Scarum ESME STUART
63 The Journal of a Jealous Woman PERCY WHITE
64 The Fowler BEATRICE HARRADEN
65 Count Bunker J. STORER CLOUSTON
66 Robert Orange JOHN OLIVER HOBBES
67 The Parish Nurse MARY E. MANN
68 Eve and the Law ALICE AND CLAUDE ASKEW
69 The Path of a Star MRS EVERARD COTES
(Sara Jeannette Duncan)
70 The Shadow of a Crime HALL CAINE
71 George V., Our Sailor King ROBERT HUDSON
72 My French Friends CONSTANCE E. MAUD
73 Pretty Miss Neville B. M. CROKER
74 Sicilian Lovers DOUGLAS SLADEN
75 Christine of the Hills MAX PEMBERTON
76 Grand Babylon Hotel ARNOLD BENNETT
77 A Prince of Lovers SIR WM. MAGNAY, BART.
78 The Whip Hand KEBLE HOWARD
79 The Suspicions of Ermengarde MAXWELL GRAY
80 The Column CHARLES MARRIOTT
81 Cynthia LEONARD MERRICK
82 Jennifer Pontefracte ALICE AND CLAUDE ASKEW
83 Molly Bawn MRS HUNGERFORD
84 A Sower of Wheat HAROLD BINDLOSS
85 2835 Mayfair FRANK RICHARDSON
86 Two Little Wooden Shoes OUIDA
87 A Bride from the Bush ERNEST W. HORNUNG
_Further Volumes in Preparation_
London and Glasgow: Collins' Clear-Type Press.
CHAPTER I
IN PARK LANE
Breakfast was laid for two in the smallest room--a jewel of a room--of
perhaps the largest house in Park Lane. It was already half-past ten,
but as yet there was only one occupant of the room, an elderly lady of
striking appearance. Her face, a long oval face, was wrinkled and
crow-footed in a thousand lines; her capacious forehead was contracted
as if with thought; her white eyebrows were thick and firmly drawn; her
deep-set eyes were curiously keen and bright; her features were strongly
marked,--it was a handsome face which could never, even in early
girlhood, have been a pretty face; her abundant hair was of a rich
creamy white, the kind of white which in age compensates its owner for
the years of her youth when it was inclined to redness; her mouth was
full, the lower lip slightly projecting, as is often found with those
who speak much and in large rooms; her fingers were restless; her figure
was withered by time. When she laid aside the paper she had been
reading, and walked across the room to the open window, you might have
noticed how frail and thin she seemed, yet how firmly she walked and
stood.
This wrinkled face, this frail form, belonged to the foremost intellect
of England; the lady was none other than Dorothy Ingleby, Professor of
Ancient and Modern History in the University of Cambridge.
It would be difficult, without going into great detail, and telling many
anecdotes, to account for her great reputation and the weight of her
authority. She had written little; her lectures were certainly not
popular with undergraduates, partly because undergraduates will never
attend Professors' lectures, and partly because the University would not
allow her to lecture at all on the history of the past, and the story of
the present was certainly neither interesting nor enlivening.
As girls at school, everybody had learned about the Great Transition,
and the way in which the transfer of Power, which marked the last and
greatest step of civilisation, had been brought about: the gradual
substitution of women for men in the great offices; the spread of the
new religion; the abolition of the monarchy; the introduction of pure
theocracy, in which the ideal Perfect Woman took the place of a personal
sovereign; the wise measures by which man's rough and rude strength was
disciplined into obedience,--all these things were mere commonplaces of
education. Even men, who learned little enough, were taught that in the
old days strength was regarded more than mind, while the father actually
ruled in the place which should have been occupied by the mother; these
things belonged to constitutional history--nobody cared much about
them; while, on the other hand, they would have liked to know--the more
curious among them--what was the kind of world which existed before the
development of culture gave the reins to the higher sex; and it was well
known that the only person at all capable of presenting a faithful
restoration of the old world was Professor Ingleby.
Again, there was a mystery about her: although in holy orders, she had
always refused to preach; it was whispered that she was not orthodox.
She had been twice called upon to sign the hundred and forty-four
Articles, a request with which, on both occasions, she cheerfully
complied, to the discomfiture of her enemies. Yet her silence in matters
of religion provoked curiosity and surmise--a grave, woman, a woman with
all the learning of the University Library in her head, a woman who,
alone among women, held her tongue, and who, when she did speak, spoke
slowly, and weighed her words, and seemed to have written out her
conversation beforehand, so pointed and polished it was. In religion and
politics, however, the Professor generally maintained silence absolute.
Now, if a woman is always silent on those subjects upon which other
women talk oftenest and feel most deeply, it is not wonderful if she
becomes suspected of heterodoxy. It was known positively, and she had
publicly declared, that she wished the introduction--she once said,
mysteriously, the return--of a more exact and scientific training than
could be gained from the political, social, and moral economy which
formed the sole studies of Cambridge. Now, the Heads of Houses, the
other professors, the college lecturers, and the fellows, all held the
orthodox doctrine that there is no other learning requisite or desirable
than that contained in the aforesaid subjects. For these, they
maintained, embrace all the branches of study which are concerned with
the conduct of life.
* * * * *
The Professor threw aside the _Gazette_, which contained as full a
statement as was permitted of last night's debate, with an angry
gesture, and walked to the open window.
'Another defeat!' she murmured. 'Poor Constance! This time, I suppose,
they must resign. These continual changes of ministry bring contempt as
well as disaster upon the country. Six months ago, all the Talents!
Three months ago, all the Beauties! Now, all the First-classes! And what
a mess--what a mess--they make between them! Why do they not come to me
and make me lecture on ancient history, and learn how affairs were
conducted a hundred years ago, when man was in his own place, and'--here
she laughed and looked around her with a certain suspicion--'and woman
was in hers?'
Then she turned her eyes out to the park below her. It was a most
charming morning in June; the trees were at their freshest and their
most beautiful: the flowers were at their brightest, with great masses
of rhododendron, purple lilac, and the golden rain of the laburnum. The
Row was well filled: young men were there, riding bravely and gallantly
with their sisters, their mothers, or their wives; girls and ladies were
taking their morning canter before the official day began; and along the
gravel-walks girls were hastening quickly to their offices or their
lecture-rooms; older ladies sat in the shade, talking politics; idlers
of both sexes were strolling and sitting, watching the horses or talking
to each other.
'Youth and hope!' murmured the Professor. 'Every lad hopes for a young
wife; every girl trusts that success will come to her while she is still
young enough to be loved. Age looks on with her young husband at her
side, and prides herself in having no illusions left. Poor creatures!
You destroyed love--love the consoler, love the leveller--when you, who
were born to receive, undertook to give. Blind! blind!'
She turned from the window and began to examine the pictures hanging on
the walls. These consisted entirely of small portraits copied from
larger pictures. They were arranged in chronological order, and were in
fact family portraits. The older pictures were mostly the heads of men,
taken in the fall of life, gray-bearded, with strong, steadfast eyes,
and the look of authority. Among them were portraits of ladies, chiefly
taken in the first fresh bloom of youth.
'They knew,' said the Professor, 'how to paint a face in those days.'
Among the modern pictures a very remarkable change was apparent. The men
were painted in early manhood, the women at a more mature age; the
style was altered for the worse, a gaudy conventional mannerism
prevailed; there was weakness in the drawing and a blind following in
the colour: as for the details, they were in some cases neglected
altogether, and in others elaborated so as to swamp and destroy the
subject of the picture. The faces of the men were remarkable for a
self-conscious beauty of the lower type: there was little intellectual
expression; the hair was always curly, and while some showed a bull-like
repose of strength, others wore an expression of meek and gentle
submissiveness. As for the women, they were represented with all the
emblems of authority--tables, thrones, papers, deeds, and pens.
'As if,' said the Professor, 'the peeresses' right divine to rule was in
their hearts! But, in these days, the painter's art is a rule of thumb.'
There was a small stand full of books, chiefly of a lighter kind,
prettily bound and profusely gilt. Some were novels, with such titles as
_The Hero of the Cricket Field_, _The Long Jump_, _The Silver Racket_,
and so on. Some were apparently poems, among them being Lady Longspin's
_Vision of the Perfect Knight_, with a frontispiece, showing the Last
Lap of the Seven-Mile Race; Julia Durdle's poems of the _Young Man's
Crown of Glory_, and Aunt Agatha's _Songs for Girls at School or
College_. There were others of a miscellaneous character, such as _Guide
to the Young Politician_, being a series of letters to a peeress at
Oxford; _Meditations in the University Church_; _Hymns for Men_; the
_Sacrifice of the Faithful Heart_; _The Womanhood of Heaven; or, the
Light and Hope of Men_, with many others whose title proclaimed the
nature of their contents. The appearance of the books, however, did not
seem to show that they were much read.
'I should have thought,' said the Professor, 'that Constance would have
turned all this rubbish out of her breakfast-room. After all, though,
what could she put in its place here?'
As the clock struck eleven, the door opened, and the young lady whom the
Professor spoke of as Constance appeared.
She was a girl of twenty, singularly beautiful, her face was one of
those very rare faces which seem as if nature, after working steadily in
one mould for a good many generations, has at last succeeded in
perfecting her idea. Most of our faces, somehow, look as if the mould
had not quite reached the conception of the sculptor. Unfortunately,
while such faces as that of Constance, Countess of Carlyon, are rare,
they are seldom reproduced in children. Nature, in fact, smashes her
mould when it is quite perfect, and begins again upon another. The hair
was of that best and rarest brown, in which there is a touch of gold
when the sun shines upon it. Her eyes were of a dark, deep blue; her
face was a beautiful and delicate oval; her chin was pointed; her cheek
perhaps a little too pale, and rather thin; and there was a broad edging
of black under her eyes, which spoke of fatigue, anxiety, or
disappointment. But she smiled when she saw her guest.
'Good morning, Professor,' she said, kissing the wrinkled cheek. 'It
was good indeed of you to come. I only heard you were in town last
night.'
'You are well this morning, Constance?' asked the Professor.
'Oh, yes!' replied the girl wearily. 'I am well enough. Let us have
breakfast. I have been at work since eight with my secretary. You know
that we resign to-day.'
'I gathered so much,' said the Professor, 'from the rag they call the
_Official Gazette_. They do not report fully, of course, but it is clear
that you had an exciting debate, and that you were defeated.'
The Countess sighed. Then she reddened and clenched her hands.
'I cannot bear to think of it,' she cried. 'We had a _disgraceful_
night. I shall never forget it--or forgive it. It was not a debate at
all; it was the exchange of unrestrained insults, rude personalities,
humiliating recrimination.'
'Take some breakfast first, my dear,' said the Professor, 'and then you
shall tell me as much as you please.'
Most of the breakfast was eaten by the Professor herself. Long before
she had finished, Constance sprang from the table and began to pace the
room in uncontrollable agitation.
'It is hard--oh! it is very hard--to preserve even common dignity, when
such attacks are made. One noble peeress taunted me with my youth. It is
two years since I came of age--I am twenty,--but never mind that.
Another threw in my teeth my--my--my cousin Chester,'--she blushed
violently; 'to think that the British House of Peeresses should have
fallen so low! Another charged me with trying to be thought the
loveliest woman in London; can we even listen to such things without
shame? And the Duchesse de la Vieille Roche'--here she laughed
bitterly--'actually had the audacity to attack my Political
Economy--mine; and I was Senior in the Tripos! When they were tired of
abusing me, they began upon each other. No reporters were present. The
Chancellor, poor lady! tried in vain to maintain order; the scene--with
the whole House, as it seemed, screeching, crying, demanding to be
heard, throwing accusations, innuendoes, insinuations, at each
other--made one inclined to ask if this was really the House of
Peeresses, the Parliament of Great Britain, the place where one would
expect to find the noblest representatives in the whole world of culture
and gentlehood.'
Constance paused, exhausted but not satisfied. She had a good deal more
to say, but for the moment she stood by the window, with flashing eyes
and trembling lips.
'The last mixed Parliament,' said the Professor, thoughtfully--'that in
which the few men who were members seceded in a body--presented similar
characteristics. The abuse of the liberty of speech led to the abolition
of the Lower House. _Absit omen!_'
'Thank Heaven,' replied the Countess, 'that it was abolished! Since then
we have had--at least we have generally had--decorum and dignity of
debate.'
'Until last night, dear Constance, and a few similar last nights. Take
care.'
'They cannot abolish us,' said Constance, 'because they would have
nothing to fall back upon.'
The Professor coughed dryly, and took another piece of toast.
The Countess threw herself into a chair.
'At least,' she said, 'we have changed mob-government for divine right.'
'Ye--yes.' The Professor leaned back in her chair. 'James II., in the
old time, said much the same thing; yet they abolished him. To be sure,
in his days, divine right went through the male line.'
'Men said so,' said the Countess, 'to serve their selfish ends. How can
any line be continued except through the mother? Absurd!'
Then there was silence for a little, the Professor calmly eating an egg,
and the Home Secretary playing with her tea-spoon.
'We hardly expected success,' she continued, after a while; 'it was only
in the desperate condition of the Party that the Cabinet gave way to my
proposal. Yet I did hope that the nature of the Bill would have awakened
the sympathy of a House which has brothers, fathers, nephews, and male
relations of all kinds, and does not consist entirely of orphaned only
daughters.'
'That is bitter, Constance,' sighed the Professor. 'I hope you did not
begin by saying so.'
'No, I did not. I explained that we were about to ask for a Commission
into the general condition of the men of this country. I set forth, in
mild and conciliating language, a few of my facts. You know them all; I
learned them from you. I showed that the whole of the educational
endowments of this country have been seized upon for the advantage of
women. I suggested that a small proportion might be diverted for the
assistance of men. Married men with property, I showed, have no
protection from the prodigality of their wives. I pointed out that the
law of evidence, as regards violence towards wives, presses heavily on
the man. I showed that single men's wages are barely sufficient to
purchase necessary clothing. I complained of the long hours during which
men have to toil in solitude or in silence, of the many cases in which
they have to do housework and attend to the babies, as well as do their
long day's work. And I ventured to hint at the onerous nature of the
Married Mother's Tax--that five per cent. on all men's earnings.'
'My dear Constance,' interrupted the Professor, 'was it judicious to
show your whole hand at once? Surely step by step would have been
safer.'
'Perhaps. I ventured next to call the serious attention of the House to
the grave discontent among the younger women of the middle classes who,
by reason of the crowded state of the professions, are unable to think
of marriage, as a rule, before forty, and often have to wait later. This
was received with cold disapprobation: the House is always touchy on the
subject of marriage. But when I went on to hint that there was danger
to the State in the reluctance with which the young men entered the
married state under these conditions, there was such a clamour that I
sat down.'
The Professor nodded.
'Just what one would have expected. Talk the conventional commonplace,
and the House will listen; tell the truth, and the House will rise with
one consent and shriek you down. Poor child! what did you expect?'
'A dozen rose together. Lady Cloistertown caught the Chancellor's eye. I
suppose you know her extraordinary command of commonplaces. She asked
whether the House was prepared to place man on an equality with woman;
she supposed we should like to see him sitting with ourselves, voting
with the rudeness of his intellect, even speaking with the bluntness of
the masculine manner. And then she burst into a scream. "Irreligion,"
she cried, "was rampant; was this a moment for bringing forward such a
motion? Not only women, but even men, had begun to doubt the Perfect
Woman; the rule of the higher intellect was threatened; the new
civilisation was tottering; we might even expect an attempt to bring
about a return of the reign of brute force-" Heavens! and that was only
a beginning. Then followed the weary platitudes that we know so well.
Can no one place truth before us in words of freshness?'
'If you insist upon every kind of truth being naked,' said the
Professor, 'you ought not to grumble if her limbs sometimes look
unlovely.'
'Then let us for a while agree to accept truth in silence.'
'I would we could!' echoed the elder lady. 'I know the weariness of the
commonplace. When we are every year invaded by gentlemen at
Commemoration, I have to go through the same dreary performance. The
phrases about the higher intellect, the sex which is created to carry on
the thought, while the other executes the work of this world; the
likeness and yet unlikeness between us due to that beautiful arrangement
of nature; the extraordinary success we are making of our power; the
loveliness of the new religion, revealed bit by bit, to one woman after
another, until we were able to reach unto the conception, the vision,
the realisation of the Perfect Woman----'
'Professor,' interrupted Constance, laying her hand on her friend's
shoulder, 'do not talk so. Strengthen my faith; do not destroy what is
left of religion by a sneer. Alas! everything seems falling away;
nothing satisfies; there is no support anywhere, nor any hope. I suppose
I am not strong enough for my work; at least I have failed. The whole
country is crying out with discontent. The Lancashire women cannot sell
their husband's work. I hear that they are taking to drink. Wife-beating
has broken out again in the Potteries. It is reported that secret
associations are again beginning to be formed among the men; and then
there are these county magistrates with their unjust sentences. A man at
Leicester has been sentenced to penal servitude for twenty years because
his wife says he swore at her and threatened her. I wrote for
information; the magistrate says she thought an example was needed. And,
innocent or guilty, the husband is not allowed to cross-examine his
wife. Then look at the recent case at Cambridge.'
'Yes,' said the Professor; 'that is bad indeed.'
'The husband--a man of hitherto blameless character,--young, well-born,
handsome, good at his trade, and with some pretensions to the higher
culture--sentenced to penal servitude for life for striking his wife,
one of the senior fellows of Trinity!'
The Professor's eyes flashed.
'As you are going out of office to-day, my Lady Home Secretary, and can
do no more justice for a while, I will tell you the truth of that case.
The wife was tired of her husband. It was a most unhappy match. She
wanted to marry another man, so she trumped up the charge; that is the
disgraceful truth. No fishwife of Billingsgate could have lied more
impudently. He, in accordance with our, no doubt most just and
well-intentioned, laws, becomes a convict for the rest of his days; she
marries again. Everybody knows the truth, but nobody ventures to state
it. She banged her own arm black and blue herself with the poker, and
showed it in open court as the effects of his violence. As for her
husband, I visited him in prison. He was calm and collected. He says
that he is glad there are no children to lament his disgrace, that
prison life is preferable to living any longer with such a woman, and
that, on the whole, death is better than life when an innocent man can
be so treated in a civilised country.'
'Poor man!' groaned Constance. 'Stay; I have a few hours yet of power.
His name? she sprang to her desk.
'John Phillips--no; Phillips is the wife's name. I forgot that the
sentence itself carries divorce with it. His bachelor name was Coryton.'
Constance wrote rapidly.
'John Coryton. He shall be released. A free pardon from the Home
Secretary cannot be appealed against. He is free.'
She sprang from the table and rang the bell. Her private secretary
appeared.
'This despatch to be forwarded at once,' she said. 'Not a moment's
delay.'
'Constance!' The Professor seized her hand. 'You will have the thanks of
every woman who knows the truth. All those who do not will curse the
weakness of the Home Secretary.'
'I care not,' she said. 'I have done one just action in my short term of
office. I--who looked to do so many good and just actions!'
'It is difficult, more difficult than one ever suspects, for a Minister
to do good. Alas! my dear, John Coryton's case is only one of many.'
'I know,' replied Constance sighing. 'Yet what can I do! Our greatest
enemies are--ourselves. Oh, Professor! when I think of the men working
at their looms from morning until night, cooking the dinners and looking
after the children, while the women sit about the village pump or in
their clubs, to talk unmeaning politics--Tell me, logician, why our
theories are all so logical, and our practice is so bad?'
'Everything,' said the Professor, 'in our system is rigorously logical
and just. If it could not be proved scientifically--if it were not
absolutely certain--the system could never be accepted by the exact
intellect of cultivated women. Have not Oxford and Cambridge proclaimed
this from a hundred pulpits and in a thousand text-books? My dear Lady
Carlyon, you yourself proved it when you took your degree in the most
brilliant essay ever written.'
The Countess winced.
'Must we, then,' she asked, 'cease to believe in logic?'
'Nay,' replied Professor Ingleby; 'I said not that. But every conclusion
depends upon the minor premiss. That, dear Countess, in the case of our
system, appears to me a little uncertain.'
'But where is the uncertainty? Surely you will allow me, my dear
Professor,'--Constance smiled,--'although I am only a graduate of two
years' standing, to know enough logic to examine a syllogism?'
'Surely, Constance. My dear, I do not presume to doubt your reasoning
powers. It was only an expression of perplexity. We are so right, and
things go so wrong.'
Both ladies were silent for a few moments, and Constance sighed.
'For instance,' the Professor went on, 'we were logically right when we
suppressed the Sovereignty. In a perfect State, the head must also be
perfect. Whom, then, could we acknowledge as head but the Perfect
Woman? So we became a pure theocracy. Then, again, we were right when we
abolished the Lower House; for in a perfect State, the best rulers must
be those who are well-born, well-educated, and well-bred. All this
requires no demonstration. Yet----'
But the Countess shook her head impatiently, and sprang to her feet.
'Enough, Professor! I am tired of debates and the battles of phrase. The
House may get on without me. And I will inquire no more, even of you,
Professor, into the foundations of faith, constitution, and the rest of
it. I am brave, when I rise in my place, about the unalterable
principles of religious and political economy: brave words do not mean
brave heart. Like so many who are outspoken, which I cannot be--at least
yet--my faith is sapped, I doubt.'
'She who doubts,' said the Professor, 'is perhaps near the truth.'
'Nay; for I shall cease to investigate; I shall go down to the country
and talk with my tenants.'
'Do you learn much,' asked the Professor, 'of your country tenants?'
The Countess laughed.
'I teach a great deal, at least,' she replied. 'Three times a-week I
lecture the women on constitutional law, and twice on the best
management of husbands, sons, and farm-labourers, and so forth.'
'And you are so much occupied in teaching that you never learn? That is
a great pity, Constance. Do you observe?'
'I suppose I do. Why, Professor?'
'Old habits linger longest in country places. What do you find to remark
upon, most of all?'
'The strange and unnatural deference,' replied the girl, with a blush of
shame, 'paid by country women to the men. Yes, Professor, after all our
teaching, and in spite of all our laws, in the country districts the old
illogical supremacy of brute force still obtains, thinly disguised.'
'My dear, who manages the farm?'
'Why,' said the Countess, 'the wives are supposed to manage, but their
husbands really have the whole management in their own hands.'
'Who drives the cattle, sows the seed, reaps, ploughs?'
'The husband, of course. It is his duty.'
'It is,' said the Professor. 'Child, a few generations ago he did all
this as the acknowledged head of the house. _He does not forget._'
'What do you mean?'
'I mean, my dear Countess, that things are never so near their end as
when they appear the firmest. Now, if you please, tell me something more
of this great speech of yours, which so roused the wrath of assembled
and hereditary wisdom. What did you intend to say?'
Constance began, in a quick, agitated way, nervously pacing the room, to
run through the main points of the speech which she had prepared but had
not been allowed to deliver. It was a plea for the intellectual
elevation of the other sex. She pointed out that, although there was
legislation in plenty for their subjection,--although the greatest care
was taken to prevent men from working together, conspiring, and meeting,
so that most work was done in solitude or at home--and when that was not
the case, a woman was always present to enforce silence--although laws
had been passed to stamp out violence, and to direct the use of brute
strength into useful channels,--little or nothing had been done, even by
private enterprise, for the education of men. She showed that the
prisons were crammed with cases of young men who had 'broken out'; that
very soon they would have no more room to hold their prisoners; that the
impatience of men under the severe restrictions of the law was growing
greater every day, and more dangerous to order; and that, unless some
remedy were found, she trembled for the consequences.
Here the Professor raised her eyes, and laughed gently.
The Countess went on with her speech. 'I am not advocating, before this
august assembly, the adoption of unconstitutional and revolutionary
measures,--I claim only for men such an education of their reasoning
faculties as will make them reasoning creatures. I would teach them
something of what we ourselves learn, so that they may reason as we
reason, and obey the law because they cannot but own that the law is
just. I know that we must first encourage the young men to follow a
healthy instinct which bids them be strong; yet there is more in life
for a man to do than to work, to dig, to carry out orders, to be a good
athlete, an obedient husband, and a conscientious father.'
Here the Professor laughed again.
'Why do you laugh, Professor?'
'Because, my dear, you are already in the way that leads to
understanding.'
'You speak in parables.'
'You are yet in twilight, dear Constance.' The Professor rose and laid
her hand on the young Countess's arm. 'Child, your generous heart has
divined what your logic would have made it impossible for you to
perceive--a great truth, perhaps the greatest of truths. Go on.'
'Have I? The House would not allow me to say it, then; my own friends
deserted me; a vote of want of confidence was hurriedly passed by a
majority of 235 to 22; and'--the young Minister laughed bitterly--'there
is an end of my great schemes.'
'For a time--yes,' said the Professor. 'But, Constance, there is a
greater work before you than you suspect or dream. Greatest of the women
of all time, my child, shall you be--if what I hope may be brought to
pass. Let not this little disappointment of an hour vex you any longer.
Go--gain strength in the country--meditate--and read.'
'Oh, read!' cried the girl, impatiently; 'I am sick of reading.'
'Read,' continued the Professor; 'read--with closed doors--the
_forbidden books_. They stand in your own castle, locked up in cases;
they have not been destroyed because they are not known to exist. Read
Shakespeare.'
Events which followed prevented the Countess from undertaking this
course of study; for she remained in town. From time to time the
Professor was wont to startle her by reading or quoting some passage
which appealed to her imagination as nothing in modern poetry seemed
able to do. She knew that the passage came from one of the old books
which had been put away, locked up, or destroyed. It was generally a
passage of audacity, clothing a revolutionary sentiment in words which
burned themselves into her brain, and seemed alive. She never forgot
these words, but she dared not repeat them. And she knew herself that
the very possession of the sentiments, the knowledge that they existed,
made her 'dangerous,' as her enemies called her; for most of them were
on the attributes of man.
The conversation was interrupted by a servant, who brought the Countess
a note.
'How very imprudent!' cried Constance, reddening with vexation. 'Why
will the boy do these wild things? Help me, Professor. My cousin, Lord
Chester, wants to see me, and is coming, _by himself_, to my
house--here--immediately.'
'Surely I am sufficient guardian of the proprieties, Constance. We will
say, if you like, that the boy came to see his old tutor. Let him come,
and, unless he has anything for your ear alone, I can be present.'
'Heaven knows what he has to say,' his cousin sighed. 'Always some
fresh escapade, some kicking over the limits of convention.' She was
standing at the window, and looked out. 'And here he comes, riding along
Park Lane as if it were an open common.'
CHAPTER II
THE EARL OF CHESTER
'Edward!' cried Constance, giving her cousin her hand, 'is this prudent?
You ride down Park Lane as if you were riding after hounds, your unhappy
attendant--poor girl!--trying in vain to keep up with you; and then you
descend openly, and in the eyes of all, alone, at my door--the door of
your unmarried cousin. Consider me, my dear Edward, if you are careless
about your own reputation. Do you think I have no enemies? Do you think
young Lord Chester can go anywhere without being seen and reported? Do
you think all women have kind hearts and pleasant tongues?'
The young man laughed, but a little bitterly.
'My reputation, Constance, may just as well be lost as kept. What do I
care for my reputation?'
At these terrible words Constance looked at him in alarm.
He was worth looking at, if only as a model, being six feet high,
two-and-twenty years of age, strongly built, with crisp, curly brown
hair, the shoulders of a Hercules, and the face of an Apollo. But to-day
his face was clouded, and as he spoke he clenched his fist.
'What has happened now, Edward?' asked his cousin. 'Anything important?
The new groom?'
'The new groom has a seat like a sack, is afraid to gallop, and can't
jump. As for her nerve, she's got none. My stable-boy Jack would be
worth ten of her. But if a man cannot be allowed--for the sake of his
precious reputation--to ride without a girl trailing at his heels, why,
I suppose there is no more to be said. No, Constance; it is worse than
the new groom.'
'Edward, you are too masterful,' said his cousin, gravely. 'One cannot,
even if he be Earl of Chester, fly in the face of all the _convenances_.
Rules are made to protect the weak for their own sake; the strong obey
them for the sake of the weak. You are strong; be therefore considerate.
Suppose all young men were allowed to run about alone?'
The Professor shook her head gravely.
'It would be a return,' she said, 'to the practice of the ancients.'
'The barbarous practice of the ancients,' added Constance.
'The grooms might at least be taught how to ride,' grumbled the young
man.
'But about this disaster, Edward; is it the postponement of a cricket
match, the failure of a tennis game----'
'Constance,' he interrupted, 'I should have thought you capable of
believing that I should not worry you at such a moment with trifles. I
have got the most serious news for you--things for which I want your
help and your sympathy.'
Constance turned pale. What could he have to tell her except one
thing--the one thing which she had been dreading for two or three years?
Edward, Earl of Chester in his own right, held his title by a tenure
unique in the peerage. For four generations the Countesses of Chester
had borne their husbands one child only, and that a son; for four
generations the Earls of Chester had married ladies of good family,
certainly, but of lower rank, so that the title remained. He
represented, by lineal descent through the male line, the ancient Royal
House; and though there were not wanting ladies descended through the
female line from old Kings of England, by this extraordinary accident he
possessed the old royal descent, which was more coveted than any other
in the long lists of the Red Book. It was objected that its honours were
half shorn by being transmitted through so many males; but there were
plenty to whisper that, according to ancient custom, the young Earl
would be none other than the King of England. So long a line of only
children could not but result in careful nursing of the estate, which
was held in trust and ward by one Countess after another, until now it
was one of the greatest in the country; and though there were a few
peeresses whose acres exceeded those of the Earl of Chester, there was
no young man in the matrimonial market to be compared with him. His hand
was at the disposal--subject, of course, to his own agreement, which was
taken for granted--of the Chancellor, who, up to the present time, had
made no sign.
Young, handsome, the holder of a splendid title, the owner of a splendid
rent-roll, said to be of amiable disposition, known to be proud of his
descent--could there be a husband more desirable? Was it to be wondered
at if every unmarried woman in a certain rank of life, whether maid or
widow, dreamed of marrying the Earl of Chester, and made pictures in her
own mind of herself as the Countess, sitting in the House, taking
precedence as Première, after the Duchesses, holding office, ruling
departments, making eloquent speeches, followed and reported by the
society papers, giving great entertainments, actually being and doing
what other women can only envy and sigh for?
It was whispered that Lady Carlyon would ask her cousin's hand; it was
also whispered that the Chancellor (now a permanent officer of the
State) would never grant her request on account of her politics; it was
also whispered that a certain widow, advanced in years, of the highest
rank, had been observed to pay particular attention to the young Earl in
society and in the field. This report, however, was received with
caution, and was not generally believed.
'Serious news!' Constance for a moment looked very pale. The Professor
glanced at her with concern and even pity. 'Serious news!' She was going
to add, 'Who is it?' but stopped in time. 'What is it?' she said
instead.
'You have not yet heard, then,' the Earl replied, 'of the great honour
done to me and to my house?'
Constance shook her head. She knew now that her worst fears were going
to be realised.
'Tell me quickly, Edward.'
'No less a person than her Grace the Duchess of Dunstanburgh has offered
me, through the Chancellor, the support and honour of her hand.'
Constance started. This was the worst, indeed. The Duchess of
Dunstanburgh! Sixty-five years of age; already thrice a widow; the
Duchess of Dunstanburgh! She could not speak.
'Have you nothing to say, Constance?' asked the young man. 'Do you not
envy me my happy lot? My bride is not young to be sure, but she is a
Duchess; the old Earldom will be lost in the new Duchy. She has buried
three husbands already; one may look forward with joy to lying beside
them in her gorgeous mausoleum. Her country house is finer than mine,
but it is not so old. She is of rank so exalted that one need not
inquire into her temper, which is said to be evil; nor into the little
faults, such as jealousy, suspicion, meanness, greed, and avarice, with
which the wicked world credits her.'
'Edward! Edward!' cried his cousin.
'Then, again, one's religion will be so beautifully brought into play.
We are required to obey--that is the first thing taught in the Church
catechism; all women are set in authority over us. I must therefore obey
the Chancellor.'
His hearers were silent.
'Again, what says the text?--"It is man's chiefest honour to be chosen:
his highest duty to give, wherever bidden, his love, his devotion, and
his loyalty."'
The Professor nodded her head gravely.
'What martyrs of religion would ask for a more noble opportunity,' he
asked, 'than to marry this old woman?'
'Edward!' Constance could only warn. She sees no way to advise. 'Do not
scoff.'
'Let us face the position,' said the Professor. 'The Chancellor has gone
through the form of asking your consent to this marriage. When?'
'Last night.'
'And when do you see her?'
'I am to see her ladyship this very morning.'
'To inform her of your acquiescence. Yes; it is the usual form. The time
is very short.'
'My acquiescence?' asked the Earl. 'We shall see about that presently.'
'Patience, my lord!' The Professor was thinking what to advise for the
best. 'Patience! Let us have no sudden and violent resolves. We may get
time. Ay--time will be our best friend. Remember that the Chancellor
_must_ be obeyed. She may, for the sake of courtesy, go through the form
of proposing a suitable alliance for your consideration, but her
proposition is her order, which you must obey. Otherwise it is contempt
of court, and the penalty----'
'I know it,' said the Earl, 'already. It is imprisonment.'
'Such contempt would be punished by imprisonment for life. Imprisonment,
hopeless.'
'Nay,' he replied. 'Not hopeless, because one could always hope in the
power of friends. Have I not Constance? And then, you see, Professor, I
am two-and-twenty, while the Chancellor and the Duchess are both
sixty-five. Perhaps they may join the majority.'
The Professor shook her head. Even to speak of the age of so great a
lady, even to hint at her death as an event likely to happen soon, was
an outrage against propriety--which is religion.
'My determination is this,' he went on, 'whatever the consequence, I
will never marry the Duchess. Law or no law, I will never marry a woman
unless I love her.' His eye rested for a moment on his cousin, and he
reddened. 'I may be imprisoned, but I shall carry with me the sympathy
of every woman--that is, of every young woman--in the country.'
'That will not help you, poor boy,' said the Professor. 'Hundreds of men
are lying in our prisons who would have the sympathies of young women,
were their histories known. But they lie there still, and will lie there
till they die.'
'Then I,' said the Earl proudly, 'will lie with them.'
There were moments when this young man seemed to forget the lessons of
his early training, and the examples of his fellows. The meekness,
modesty, submission, and docility which should mark the perfect man
sometimes disappeared, and gave place to an assumption of the authority
which should only belong to woman. At such times, in his own castle, his
servants trembled before him; the stoutest woman's heart failed for
fear: even his guardian, the Dowager Lady Boltons, selected carefully by
the Chancellor on account of her inflexible character, and because she
had already reduced to complete submission a young heir of the most
obstinate disposition, and the rudest and most uncompromising material,
quailed before him. He rode over her, so to speak. His will conquered
hers. She was ashamed to own it; she did not acquaint the Chancellor
with her ward's masterful character, but she knew, in her own mind, that
her guardianship had been a failure. Nay, so strange was the personal
influence of the young man, so infectious among the men were such
assertions of will, that any husband who happened to witness one of
them, would go home and carry on in fashion so masterful, so
independent, and so self-willed, even those who had previously been the
most submissive, that they were only brought to reason and proper
submission by threats, remonstrances, and visits of admonition from the
vicar--who, poor woman, was always occupied in the pulpit, owing to the
Earl's bad example, with the disobedience of man and its awful
consequences here and hereafter. Sometimes these failed. Then they
became acquainted with the inside of a prison and with bread and water.
'Let us get time,' said the Professor. 'My lord, I hope,'--here she sunk
her voice to a whisper--'that you will neither lie in a prison nor marry
any but the woman you love.'
Again the young man's eyes boldly fell upon Constance, who blushed
without knowing why.
Then the Professor, without any excuse, left them alone.
'You have,' said Lord Chester, 'something to say to me, Constance.'
She hesitated. What use to say now what should have been said at another
time and at a more fitting opportunity?
'I am no milky, modest, obedient youth, Constance. You know me well.
Have you nothing to say to me?'
In the novels, the young man who hears the first word of love generally
sinks on his knees, and with downcast eyes and blushing face
reverentially kisses the hand so graciously offered to him. In ordinary
life they had to wait until they were asked. Yet this young man was
actually asking--boldly asking--for the word of love--what else could he
mean?--and instead of blushing, was fixedly regarding Constance with
fearless eyes.
'It seems idle now to say it,' she replied, stammering and
hesitating--though in novels the woman always spoke up in a clear, calm,
and resolute accents; 'but, Edward, had the Chancellor not been
notoriously the personal friend and creature of the Duchess, I should
have gone to her long ago. They were schoolfellows; she owes her
promotion to the Duchess; she would most certainly have rewarded her
Grace by refusing my request.'
'Yet you are a Carlyon and I am a Chester. On what plea?'
'Cousinship, incompatibility of temper, some legal quibble--who knows?
However, that is past; forget, my poor Edward, that I have told what
should have been a secret. You will marry the Duchess--you----'
He interrupted her by laughing--a cheerfully sarcastic laugh, as of one
who holds the winning cards and means to play them.
'Fair cousin,' he said, 'I have something to say to you of far more
importance than that. You have retired before an imaginary difficulty. I
am going to face a real difficulty, a real danger. Constance,' he went
on, 'you and I are such old friends and playfellows, that you know me as
well as a woman can ever know a man who is not her husband. We played
together when you were three and I was five. When you were ten and I was
twelve, we read out of the same book until the stupidity and absurdity
of modern custom tried to stop me from reading any more. Since then we
have read separately, and you have done your best to addle your pretty
head with political economy, in the name and by the aid of which you and
your House of Lawmakers have ruined this once great country.'
'Edward! this is the wildest treason. Where, oh, where, did you learn to
talk--to think--to dare such dreadful things?'
'Never mind where, Constance. In those days--in those years of daily
companionship--a hope grew up in my heart,--a flame of fire which kept
me alive, I think, amidst the depression and gloom of my fellow men. Can
you doubt what was that hope?'
Constance trembled--the Countess of Carlyon, the Home Secretary,
trembled. Had she ever before, in all her life, trembled? She was
afraid. In the novels, it was true, many a young man, greatly daring,
by a bold word swept away a cloud of misunderstanding and reserve. But
this was in novels written by women of the middle class, who can never
hope to marry young, for the solace of people of their own rank. It was
not to be expected that in such works there should be any basis of
reality--they were in no sense pictures of life; for, in reality, as was
deplored almost openly, when these elderly ladies were rich enough to
take a husband and face the possibilities of marriage, though they
always chose the young men, it was rare indeed that they met with more
than a respectful acquiescence. Nothing, ladies complained, among each
other, was more difficult to win and retain a young man's love. But here
was this headstrong youth, with love in his eyes--bold, passionate,
masterful love--overpowering love--love in his attitude as he bent over
the girl, and love upon his lips. Oh, dignity of a Home Secretary! Oh,
rules and conventions of life! Oh, restraints of religion! Where were
they all at this most fatal moment?
'Constance,' he said taking her hand, 'all the rubbish about manly
modesty is outside the door: and that is closed. I am descended from a
race who in the good old days wooed their brides for themselves, and
fought for them too, if necessary. Not toothless, hoary old women, but
young, sunny, blooming girls, like yourself. And they wooed them thus,
my sweet.' He seized her in his strong arms and kissed her on the lips,
on the cheeks, on the forehead. Constance, frightened and moved, made no
resistance, and answered nothing. Once she looked up and met his eyes,
but they were so strong, so burning, so determined, that she was fain to
look no longer. 'I love you, my dear,' the shameless young man went
on,--'I love you. I have always loved you, and shall never love any
other woman; and if I may not marry you, I will never marry at all. Kiss
me yourself, my sweet; tell me that you love me.'
Had he a spell? was he a wizard, this lover of hers? Could Constance,
she thought afterwards, trying to recall the scene, have dreamed the
thing, or did she throw her arms about his neck and murmur in his ears
that she too loved him, and that if she could not marry him, there was
no other man in all the world for her?
To recall those five precious minutes, indeed, was afterwards to
experience a sense of humiliation which, while it crimsoned her cheek,
made her heart and pulse to beat, and sent the blood coursing through
her veins. She felt so feeble and so small, but then her lover was so
strong. Could she have believed it possible that the will of a man
should thus be able to overpower her? Why, she made no resistance at all
while her cousin in this unheard-of manner betrayed a passion which ...
which ... yes, by all the principles of holy religion, by all the rules
of society, by all the teaching which inculcated submission, patience,
and waiting to be chosen, caused this young man to deserve
punishment--condign, sharp, exemplary. And yet--what did this mean?
Constance felt her heart go forth to him. She loved him the more for
his masterfulness; she was prouder of herself because of his great
passion.
That was what she thought afterwards. What she did, when she began to
recover, was to free herself and hide her burning face in her hands.
'Edward,' she whispered, 'we are mad. And I, who should have known
better, am the more culpable. Let us forget this moment. Let us respect
each other. Let us be silent.'
'Respect?' he echoed. 'Why, who could respect you, Constance, more than
I do? Silence? Yes, for a while. Forget? Never!'
'It is wrong, it is irreligious,' she faltered.
'Wrong! Oh, Constance, let us not, between ourselves, talk the foolish
unrealities of school and pulpit.'
'Oh, Edward!'--she looked about her in terror--'for Heaven's sake do not
blaspheme. If any were to hear you. For words less rebellious men have
been sent to the prisons for life.'
He laughed. This young infidel laughed at law as he laughed at religion.
'Have patience,' Constance went on, trying to get into her usual frame
of mind; but she was shaken to the very foundation, and at the moment
actually felt as if her religion was turned upside down and her
allegiance transferred to the Perfect Man. 'Have patience, Edward; you
will yet win through to the higher faith. Many a young man overpowered
by his strength, as you have been, has had his doubts, and yet has
landed at last upon the solid rock of truth.'
Edward made no reply to this, not even by a smile. It was not a moment
in which the ordinary consolations of religion, so freely offered by
women to men, could touch his soul. He took out his watch and remarked
that the time was getting on, and that the Chancellor's appointment must
be kept.
'With her ladyship, I suppose,' he said, 'we shall find the painted,
ruddled, bewigged old hag who has the audacity to ask me--_me_--in
marriage.'
Constance caught his hand.
'Edward! cousin! are you mad? Are you proposing to seek a prison at
once? Hag? old? painted? ruddled? And this of the Duchess of
Dunstanburgh? Are you aware that the least of these charges is
actionable at common law? For my sake, Edward, if not your own, be
careful.'
'I will, sweet Constance. And for your sake, just to our two selves, I
repeat that the painted----'
'Oh!'
'The ruddled----'
'Oh, hush!'
'The bewigged----'
'Edward!'
'Old hag--do you hear?--OLD HAG shall never marry me.'
Once more this audacious and unmanly lover, who respected nothing,
seized her by the waist and kissed her lips. Once more Lady Carlyon felt
that unaccountable weakness steal upon her, so that she was bewildered,
faint, and humiliated. For a moment she lay still and acquiescent in his
arms. Worse than all, the door opened and Professor Ingleby surprised
her in this compromising situation.
'Upon my word!' she said, with a smile upon her lips; 'upon my word, my
lord--Constance--if her Grace of Dunstanburgh knew this! Children,
children!'--she laid her withered hand upon Constance's head--'I pray
that this thing may be. But we want time. Let us keep Lord Chester's
appointment. And, as far as you can, leave to me, my lord, your old
tutor, the task of speech. I know the Duchess, and I know the
Chancellor. It may be that the oil of persuasion will be more
efficacious than the lash of contradiction. Let me try.'
They stood confused--even the unblushing front of the lover reddened.
'I have thought of a way of getting time. Come with us, Constance, as
Lord Chester's nearest female relation; I as his tutor, in absence of
Lady Boltons, who is ill. When the Chancellor proposes the Duchess, do
you propose--yourself. She will decide against you on the spot. _Appeal
to the House_; that will give us three months' delay.'
CHAPTER III
THE CHANCELLOR
The Chancellor, a lady now advanced in years, was of humble origin--a
fact to which she often alluded to at public meetings with a curious
mixture of humility and pride: the former, because it did really
humiliate her in a country where so much deference was paid to
hereditary rank, to reflect that she could not be proud of her
ancestors; the latter, because her position was really so splendid, and
her enemies could not but acknowledge it. She had plenty of enemies--as
was, of course, the case with every successful woman in every line of
life--and these were unanimous in declaring that she proclaimed her
humble origin only because, if she attempted to conceal it, other people
would proclaim it for her. And, indeed, without attributing
extraordinary malice to these ladies, the Chancellor's unsuccessful
rivals and enemies, this statement was probably true--nothing being more
common, during an animated debate, than for the ladies to hurl at each
other's heads all such facts procurable as might be calculated to damage
the reputation of a family: and this so much so, that after a lively
night the family trees were as much scotched, broken, and lopped as a
public pleasure-garden in the nineteenth century after the first Monday
in August.
At this time the Chancellor had arrived at a respectable age--being,
that is to say, in her sixty-sixth year. She was a woman of uneven
temper, having been soured by a long life of struggle against rivals who
lost no opportunity of assailing her public and private reputation. She
had remained unmarried, because, said her foes, no man would consent to
link his lot with so spiteful a person; she was no lawyer, they said,
because her whole desire and aim had been to show herself a lawyer of
the highest rank; she was partial--this they said for the same reason,
because she wanted to be remembered as an upright judge. They alluded in
the House to her ignorance of the higher culture--although the poor lady
had taught herself half-a-dozen languages, and was skilled in many arts;
and they taunted her with her friendship for, meaning her dependence
upon, her patron, the Duchess of Dunstanburgh. The last accusation was
the burr that stuck, because the poor Chancellor could not deny its
truth. She was, in fact, the daughter of a very respectable woman--a
tenant-farmer of the Duchess. Her Grace found the girl clever, and
educated her. She acquired over her, by the force of her personal
character, an extraordinary influence--having made her entirely her own
creature. She found the money for her entrance at the Bar, pushed her at
the beginning, watched her upward course, never let her forget that
everything was owing to her own patronage at the outset, and, when the
greatest prize of the profession was in her grasp, and the farmer's girl
became Chancellor, the Duchess of Dunstanburgh--by one of those acts of
hers which upset the debates and resolutions of years--passed a Bill
which made the appointment tenable for life, and so transferred into her
own hands all the power, all the legal skill of the Chancellor. It was
the most brilliant political _coup_ ever made. Those who knew whispered
that the Chancellor had no voice, no authority, no independent action at
all; her patron regulated everything. While this terrible Duchess lived,
the Court of Chancery belonged to her with all its manifold and
complicated powers. She herself was, save at rare intervals, Prime
Minister, Autocrat, and almost Dictator. Certainly it was notorious that
whatever the Duchess of Dunstanburgh wanted she had; and it was also a
fact not to be disputed, that there were many lawyers of higher repute,
more dignified, more learned, more eloquent, and of better birth, who
had been passed over to make room for this protégée of the Duchess--this
'daughter of the plough.'
Lord Chester, accompanied by the Countess of Carlyon and Professor
Ingleby, arrived at the Law Courts at twelve, the hour of the
Chancellor's appointment, and were shown into an ante-room. Here, with a
want of courtesy most remarkable, considering the rank of the ward in
Chancery whose future was to be decided at this interview, they were
kept waiting for half an hour. When at length they were admitted to the
presence, they were astonished to find that, contrary to all precedent,
the Duchess of Dunstanburgh herself was with the Chancellor. In fact she
had been directing her creature in the line she was to take: she
intended to receive the hand of the Earl from her, and to push on the
marriage without an hour's delay. It was sharp practice; but her Grace
was not a woman who considered herself bound by the ordinary rules. Any
lesser person would have made her petition for the hand of a ward, and
waited until she had received in due course official notification of
acceptance, when an interview would have been arranged and the papers
signed. All this, owing to the delays of Chancery, generally took from a
twelvemonth upwards; and in the case of poor people who had no interest,
perhaps their petitions were never decided at all, so that the
unfortunate petitioner waited in vain, until she died of old age, still
unmarried; and the unlucky ward lived on, hoping against hope, till his
time for marriage went by. The Duchess possessed even more than the
dignity which became her rank. She was rather a tall woman, with
aquiline features; her age was sixty-five, and in her make-up she
studiously affected, not the bloom and elasticity of youth, but the
vigour and strength of middle life--say of fifty. All the resources of
art were lavished upon her with this object: her hair showed a touch of
gray upon the temples, but was still abundant, rich, and glossy, and was
so beautifully arranged that it challenged the admiration even of those
who knew that it was a wig; her eyebrows were dark and well defined--her
enemies said she kept a special artist continually employed in making
new eyebrows; her teeth were of pearly whiteness; her cheeks, just
touched with paint, showed none of the wrinkles of time--though no one
knew how that was managed; her forehead strong and broad, was crossed by
three deep lines which could not be effaced by any artist. Some said
they were caused by the successive deaths of three husbands, and
therefore marked the Duchess's profound grief and the goodness of her
heart, because it was known that one of them at least--the third,
youngest, and handsomest of all, upon whom the fond wife lavished all
her affections--had given her the greatest trouble; indeed, it was even
said that--and that--and that--with many other circumstances showing the
blackest ingratitude, so that women held up their hands and wondered
what men wanted. But her Grace's enemies said that her famous wrinkles
were caused by her three great vices of pride, ambition, and avarice;
and they declared that if she developed another such furrow, it would
represent her other great vice of vanity. As for that third
husband--could one expect the poor young man to fall in love with a
woman already fifty-eight when she married him?
The Duchess was richly but plainly dressed in black velvet and lace; her
figure was still full. As she rose to greet the Chancellor's ward, she
leaned upon a gold-headed stick--being somewhat troubled with gout. Her
smile was encouraging and kind towards the Earl; to Constance, as to a
political enemy who was to be treated with all external courtesy, she
bowed low; and she coldly inclined her head in return to the profound
act of deference paid to her by the Professor. The Chancellor, a fussy
little woman with withered cheeks, wrinkled brow, and thin gray locks,
sat at her table. She hardly rose to greet her ward, whom she motioned
to a chair. Then she looked at Constance, and waited for her to explain
her presence.
'I come with Lord Chester on this occasion,' said Constance, 'as his
nearest female relation. As your ladyship is probably aware, I am his
second cousin.'
The Chancellor bowed. Then the Professor spoke.
'I ask your ladyship's permission to appear in support of my pupil on
this important occasion. His guardian, Lady Boltons, is unfortunately
too ill to be present.'
'There is no reason, I suppose,' said the Chancellor, ungraciously, and
with a glance of some anxiety at the Duchess, 'why you should not be
present, Professor Ingleby;--unless, that is, the Earl of Chester would
rather see me alone. But the proceedings are most formal.'
Lord Chester, who was very grave, merely shook his head. Then the
Chancellor shuffled about her papers for a few moments, and addressed
her ward.
'Your lordship will kindly give me your best attention,' she began, with
some approach to blandness. 'I am glad, in the first place, to
congratulate you on your health, your appearance, and your strength. I
have received the best reports on your moral and religious behaviour,
and your docility, and--and--so on, from your guardian, Lady Boltons,
and I am only sorry that she is not able to be here herself, in order to
receive from me my thanks for the faithful and conscientious discharge
of her duties, and from the Duchess of Dunstanburgh a recognition of her
services in those terms which come from no one with more weight and more
dignity than from her Grace.' The Duchess held up a hand in deprecation;
the Professor nodded, and lifted up her hands and smiled, as if a word
of thanks from the Duchess was all she, for her part, wanted, in order
to be perfectly happy. The Earl, one is sorry to say, sat looking
straight at the Chancellor without an expression of any kind, unless it
were one of patient endurance. The Chancellor went on.
'You will shortly, you now know, pass from my guardianship to the hands
and care of another far more able and worthy to hold the reins of
authority than myself.'
Here Constance rose.
'Before your ladyship goes any further, I beg to state to you that Lord
Chester has only this morning informed me of a proposal made to you by
her Grace of Dunstanburgh, which is now under your consideration.'
'It certainly is,' said the Chancellor, 'and I am about----'
'Before you proceed,'--Constance changed colour, but her voice was
firm,--'you will permit me also to make official and formal application
in the presence of the Duchess herself, who will, I am sure, be a
witness, and Professor Ingleby, for the hand of Lord Chester. There is,
I think, no occasion for me to say anything in addition to my simple
proposal. What I could add would probably not influence your ladyship's
decision. You know me, and all that is to be known about me----'
'This is most astonishing!' cried the Duchess.
'May I ask your Grace what is astonishing about this proposal? May I
remind you that I have known Lord Chester all my life; that we are
equals in point of rank, position, and wealth; that I am, if I may say
so, not altogether undistinguished, even in the House of which your
Grace is so exalted an ornament? But I have to do with the judgment of
your ladyship, not the opinion of the Duchess.'
The Chancellor turned anxiously to her patroness, as if for direction.
She replied with dignity.
'Your ladyship is aware that, as the earlier applicant, my proposal
would naturally take precedence in your ladyship's consideration of any
later ones. I might even demand that it be considered on its own merits,
without reference at all to Lady Carlyon's proposal, with regard to
which I keep my own opinion.'
Constance remarked, coldly, that her Grace's opinion was unfortunately,
in most important matters, exactly opposite to her own and to that of
her friends, and she was contented to disagree with her. She then
informed the Chancellor that as no decision had been given as to the
marriage of Lord Chester, the case was still before her, and, she
submitted, the proposals both of herself and of the Duchess should be
weighed by her ladyship. 'And,' she added, 'I would humbly submit that
there are many other considerations, in the case of so old and great a
House as that represented by Lord Chester, which should be taken account
of. Higher rank than his own, for instance, need not be desired, nor
greater wealth; nor many other things which in humbler marriages may be
considered. I will go further: in this room, which is, as it were, a
secret chamber, I say boldly that care should be taken to continue so
old and illustrious a line.'
'And why,' cried the Duchess sharply, and dropping her stick--'why
should it not be continued?'
Here a remarkable thing happened. Lord Chester should have affected a
complete ignorance of the insult which Constance had deliberately flung
in her rival's teeth: what he did do was to turn slowly round and stare,
in undisguised wonder, at the Duchess, as if surprised at her audacity.
Even her Grace, with all her pride and experience, could not sustain
this calm, cold look. She faltered and said no more. Lord Chester picked
up the stick, and handed it to her with a low bow.
'I am much obliged to you, Lady Carlyon,' said the Chancellor, tapping
her knuckles with her glasses; 'very much obliged to you, I am sure, for
laying down rules for _my_ guidance--MINE!--in the interpretation of the
law and my duty. That, however, may pass. It is my business--although I
confess that this interruption is of a most surprising and unprecedented
nature--to proceed with the case before me, which is that of the
proposal made by the Duchess of Dunstanburgh.'
'Do I understand,' asked Lady Carlyon, 'that you refuse to receive my
proposal? Remember that you _must_ receive it. You cannot help receiving
it. This is a public matter, which shall, if necessary, be brought
before the House and before the nation. I say that your ladyship must
receive my proposal.'
'Upon my word!' cried the Chancellor. 'Upon my word!'
'Perhaps,' said the Duchess, 'if Lady Carlyon's proposal were to be
received--let me ask that it may be received, even if against
precedent--the consideration of the case could be proceeded with at
once, and perhaps your ladyship's decision might be given on the spot.'
'Very good--very good.' The Chancellor was glad to get out of a
difficulty. 'I will take the second proposal into consideration as well
as the first. Now then, my Lord. You have been already informed that the
Duchess has asked me for your hand.'
Here the Duchess made a gesture, and slowly rose, as if about to speak.
'A proposition of this kind,' she said, in a clear and firm voice,
'naturally brings with it, to any young man, and especially a young man
of our Order, some sense of embarrassment. He has been taught--that is'
(here she bent her brows and put on her glasses at the Professor, who
was bowing her head at every period, keeping time with her hands, as if
in deference to the words of the Duchess, and as if they contained
truths which could not be suffered to be forgotten), 'if he has been
properly taught--the sacredness of the marriage state, the unworthiness
of man, the duties of submission and obedience, which, when rightly
carried out, lead to the higher levels. And in proportion to the
soundness of his training, and the goodness of his heart, is he
embarrassed when the time of his great happiness arrives.' The Professor
bowed, and spread her hands as if in agreement with so much wisdom so
beautifully expressed. 'Lord Chester,' continued the Duchess, 'I have
long watched you in silence; I have seen in you qualities which, I
believe, befit a consort of my rank. You possess pride of birth,
dexterity, skill, grace; you know how to wield such authority as becomes
a man. You will exchange your earl's coronet for the higher one of a
duke. I am sure you will wear it worthily. You will----' Here Constance
interrupted.
'Permit me, your Grace, to remind you that the Chancellor's decision has
not yet been given.'
The Duchess sat down frowning. This young lady should be made to feel
her resentment. But for the moment she gave way and scowled, leaning her
chin upon her stick. It was a hard face even when she smiled; when she
frowned it was a face to look upon and tremble.
The Chancellor turned over her papers impatiently.
'I see nothing,' she said.--'I see nothing at all in the proposition
made by Lady Carlyon to alter my opinion, previously formed, that the
Duchess has made an offer which seems in every way calculated to promote
the moral, spiritual, and material happiness of my ward.'
'May I ask,' said Lord Chester quietly, 'if I may express my own views
on this somewhat important matter?'
'You?' the Chancellor positively shrieked. 'You? The ignorance in which
boys are brought up is disgraceful! A ward in Chancery to express an
opinion upon his own marriage! Positively a real ward in Chancery! Is
the world turning upside down?'
The audacity of the remark, and the happy calmness with which it was
proffered, were irresistible. All the ladies, except the Chancellor,
laughed. The Duchess loudly. This little escapade of youth and ignorance
amused her. Constance laughed too, with a little pity. The Professor
laughed with some show of shame, as if Lord Chester's ignorance
reflected in a manner upon herself.
Then the Chancellor went on again with some temper.
'Let me resume. It is my duty to consider nothing but the interests of
my ward. Very good. I have considered them. My Lord Chester, in giving
your hand to the Duchess of Dunstanburgh, I serve your best and highest
interests. The case is decided. There is no more to be said.'
'There is, on the contrary, much more to be said,' observed Constance.
'I give your ladyship notice of appeal to the House of Peeresses. I
shall appeal to them, and to the nation through them, whether your
decision in this case is reasonable, just, and in accordance with the
interests of your ward.'
This was, indeed, a formidable threat. An appeal to the House meant,
with such fighting-power as Constance and her party, although a
minority, possessed, and knew how to direct, a delay of perhaps six
months, even if the case came on from day to day. Even the practised old
Duchess, used to the wordy warfare of the House, shrank from such a
contest.
'You will not, surely, Lady Carlyon,' she said, 'drag your cousin's name
into the Supreme Court of Appeal.'
'I certainly will,' replied Constance.
'It will cost hundreds of thousands, and months--months of struggle.'
'As for the cost, that is my affair; as for the delay, I can
wait--perhaps longer than your Grace.'
The Duchess said no more. Twice had Lady Carlyon insulted her. But her
revenge would wait.
'We have already,' she said, 'occupied too much of the Chancellor's
valuable time. I wish your ladyship good morning.'
Lord Chester offered his arm.
'Thank you,' she said accepting it, 'as far as the carriage-door only,
_for the present_. I trust, my lord, that before long you will have the
right to enter the carriage with me. Meanwhile, believe me, that it is
not through my fault that your name is to be made the subject of public
discussion. Pending the appeal, let us not betray, by appearing
together, any feeling other than that of pure friendship. And I hope,'
viciously addressing Constance, 'that you, young lady, will observe the
same prudence.'
Constance simply bowed and said nothing. The Chancellor rose, shook
hands with her ward, and retired.
The Duchess leaned upon the strong arm which led her to her carriage,
and kissed her hand in farewell to the young man with so much affection
and friendly interest that it was beautiful to behold. After this act of
politeness, the young man returned to Constance.
'Painted----' he began.
'Edward, I will not allow it. Silence, sir! We part here for the
present.'
'Constance,' he whispered, 'you will not forget--_all_ that I said?'
'Not one word,' she replied with troubled brow. 'But we must meet no
more for a while.'
'Courage!' cried the Professor, 'we have gained time.'
CHAPTER IV
THE GREAT DUCHESS
Impossible, of course, that so important a case as the appeal of Lady
Carlyon should be concealed. In fact Constance's policy was evidently to
give it as much publicity as possible. She rightly judged that although,
in her own Order, and in the House, which has to look at things from
many points of view, motives of policy might be considered sufficient to
override sentimental objections, and it was not likely that much weight
would be attached to a young man's feelings; yet the Duchess had many
enemies, even on her own side of the House--private enemies wounded by
her pride and insolence--who would rejoice at seeing her meet with a
check in her self-willed and selfish course. But, besides the House,
there was the outside world to consider. There was never greater need on
the part of the governing caste for conciliation and respect to public
opinions than at this moment--a fact perfectly well understood by all
who were not blind to the meaning of things current. The abolition of
the Lower House, although of late years it had degenerated into
something noisier than a vestry, something less decorous than a
school-board in which every woman has her own hobby of educational
methods, had never been a popular act. A little of the old respect for
so ancient a House still survived,--a little of the traditional
reverence for a Parliament which had once protected the liberties of the
people, still lingered in the hearts of the nation. The immediate
relief, it is true, was undoubtedly great when the noise of
elections--which never ceased, because the House was continually
dissolved--the squabbles about corruption, the scandals in the House
itself, the gossip about the jobs perpetrated by the members, all ceased
at once, and as if by magic the country became silent; yet the pendulum
of opinion was going back again--women who took up political matters
were looking around for an outlet to their activity, and were already at
their clubs asking awkward questions about what they had gained by
giving up all the power to hereditary legislators. Nor did the old plan
of sending round official orators to lecture on the advantages of
oligarchical and maternal government seem to answer any longer. The
women who used to draw crowded audiences and frantic applause as they
depicted and laid bare the scandals and miseries and ridiculous
squabbles of the Lower House, who pointed to session after session
consumed in noisy talk, now shouted to empty benches, or worse still,
benches crowded with listless men, who only sat bored with details in
which they were forbidden to take any part, and therefore had lost all
interest. Sometimes the older women would attend and add a few words
from their own experience; or they would suggest, sarcastically, that
the Upper House was going the way of the Lower. As for the younger
women, either they would not attend at all, or else they came to ask
questions, shout denials, groan and hiss, or even pass disagreeable
resolutions. Constance knew all this; and though she would have shrunk,
almost as much as the Duchess, from lending any aid to revolutionary
designs, she could not but feel that the popular sympathy awakened in
her favour at such a moment as the present might assume such strength as
to be an irresistible force.
How could the sympathies of the people be otherwise than on her side?
These marriages of old or middle-aged women with young men, common
though they had become, could never be regarded by the youth of either
sex as natural. The young women bitterly complained that the lovers
provided for them by equality of age were taken from them, and that
times were so bad that in no profession could one look to marry before
forty. The young men, who were not supposed to have any voice in the
matter, let it be clearly known that their continual prayer and daily
dream was for a young wife. The general discontent found expression in
songs and ballads, written no one knew by whom: they passed from hand to
hand; they were sung with closed doors; they all had the same _motif_;
they celebrated the loves of two young people, maiden and youth; they
showed how they were parted by the elderly woman who came to marry the
tall and gallant youth; how the girl's life was embittered, or how she
pined away, or how she became misanthropic; and how the young man spent
the short remainder of his days in an apathetic endeavour to discharge
his duty, fortified on his deathbed with the consolations of religion
and the hopes of meeting, not his old wife, but his old love, in a
better and happier world. Why, there could be nothing but sympathy with
Constance and Lord Chester. Why, all the men, old and young alike, whose
influence upon women and popular opinion, though denied by some, was
never doubted by Constance, would give her cause their most active
sympathies.
She remained at home that day, taking no other step than to charge a
friend with the task of communicating the intelligence to her club,
being well aware that in an hour or two it would be spread over London,
and, in fact, over the whole realm of England. The next day she went
down to the House, and had the satisfaction of finding that the
excitement caused by her resignation--a ministerial resignation was too
common a thing to cause much talk--had given way altogether to the
excitement caused by this great Appeal. No one even took the trouble of
asking who was going to be the new Home Secretary. It was taken for
granted that it would be some friend of the Duchess of Dunstanburgh. The
lobbies were crowded--reporters, members of clubs, diners-out, talkers,
were hurrying backwards and forwards, trying to pick up a tolerably
trustworthy anecdote; and there was the _va et vient_, the nervous
activity, which is so much more easily awakened by personal quarrels
than by political differences. And here was a personal quarrel! The
young and beautiful Countess against the old and powerful Duchess.
'Yes,' said Constance loudly, in answer to a whispered question put by
one of her friends--she may have observed two or three listeners
standing about with eager ears and parted lips--'yes, it is all quite
true; it was an understood thing--this match with my second cousin. The
pretensions of the Duchess rest upon too transparent a foundation--the
poor man's money, my dear. As if she were not rich enough already! as if
three husbands are not enough for any one woman to lament! Thank you;
yes, I have not the slightest doubt of the result. In a matter of good
feeling as well as equity one may always depend upon the House, whatever
one's political opinions.'
The Duchess certainly had not expected this resistance to her will. In
fact, during the whole of her long life she had never known any
resistance at all, except such as befalls every politician. But in her
private life her will was law, which no one questioned or disputed. Nor
did it even occur to her to inquire, before speaking to the Chancellor,
whether there would be any rival in the field. Proud as she was, and
careless of public opinion in a general way, it was far from pleasant,
even for her, to reflect on the things which would be said of her
proposal when the Appeal was brought before the House--on the motives
which would be assigned or insinuated by her enemies; on the allusions
to youth and age--the more keen the more skilfully they were disguised
and wrapped in soft words; the open pity which would be expressed for
the youth whose young life--she knew very well what would be said--was
to be sacrificed; the sarcastic questions which would be asked about the
increase of her property by the new marriage, and so forth. The plain
speech of Peeresses in debate was well known to her. Yet pride forbade a
retreat: she would fight it out; she could command, by ways and by
methods only known to herself, a majority; yet she felt sure,
beforehand, that it would be a cold and unsympathetic majority--even a
reproachful majority. Nor was her temper improved by a visit from her
old friend, once her schoolfellow, Lady Despard. She came with a long
face, which portended expostulation.
'You have quite made up your mind, Duchess?' she began, without a word
of explanation or preamble, but with a comfortable settlement in the
chair, which meant a good long talk.
'I have quite made up my mind,' Between such old friends, no need to ask
what was intended.
'Lord Chester,' said Lady Despard, thoughtfully, 'who is, no doubt, all
that you think him--worthy in every way, I mean, of this promotion and
your name--is, after all, a very young man.'
'That,' replied the Duchess spitefully, 'is my affair. His age need not
be considered. I am not afraid of myself, Julia. With my experience, at
all events, I can say so much.'
'Surely, Duchess; I did not mean that. The most powerful mind, coupled
with the highest rank,--how should that fail to attract and fix the
affection and gratitude of a man? No, dear friend; what I meant was
this: he is too young, perhaps, for the full development either of
virtues--or their opposites,--too young, perhaps, to know the reality of
the prize you offer him.'
'I think not, Julia,' the Duchess spoke kindly,--'I think not. It is
good of you to consider this possibility in so friendly a way; but I
have the greatest reliance on the good qualities of Lord Chester. Lady
Boltons is his guardian; who would be safer? Professor Ingleby has been
his tutor; who could be more discreet?'
'Yes,--Professor Ingleby. She is certainly learned; and yet--yet--at
Cambridge there is an uneasy feeling about her orthodoxy.'
'I care little,' said the Duchess, 'about a few wild notions which he
may have picked up. On such a man, a little freedom of thought sits
gracefully. A Duke of Dunstanburgh cannot possibly be anything but
orthodox. Yes, Julia; and the sum of it all is that I am getting old,
and I am going to make myself happy with the help of this young
gentleman.'
'In that case,' said her friend, 'I have nothing to say, except that I
wish you every kind of happiness that you can desire.'
'Thank you, Julia. And you will very greatly oblige me if you will
mention, wherever you can, that you know, on the very best authority,
that the match will be one of pure affection--on both sides; mind, on
both sides.'
'I will certainly say so, if you wish,' replied Lady Despard. 'I think,
however, that you ought to know, Duchess, something of what people
say--no, not common people, but people whose opinions even you are bound
to consider.'
'Go on,' said the Duchess frowning.
'They say that Lord Chester is so proud of his hereditary title and his
rank that he would be broken-hearted to see it merged in any higher
title; that he is too rich and too highly placed to be tempted by any of
the ordinary baits by which men are caught; that you can give him
nothing which he cannot buy for himself; and, lastly, that he is already
in love,--even that words of affection have been passed between him and
the Countess of Carlyon.'
Here the Duchess interrupted, vehemently banging the floor with the
crutch which stood at her right hand.
'Lord Chester in love? What nonsense is this, Julia? A young nobleman of
his rank--almost my rank--in love! Are you mad, Julia? Are you softening
in the brain? Are you aware that the boy has been properly brought up?
Will you be good enough to remember that Lady Boltons is beyond all
suspicion, and that he could never have seen Lady Carlyon alone since he
was a boy?'
'I answer your questions by one or two others,' replied her friend
calmly. 'Are you, Duchess, aware that these two young people have had
constant opportunities of being alone everywhere--coming from church,
going to church, in conservatories, at morning parties, at dances, in
gardens? Lady Boltons is all discretion; but still--but still--girls
will be girls--boys love to flirt. My dear Duchess, we are still young
enough to remember----'
The Duchess smiled: the Duchess laughed. Good humour returned.
'What else, Julia? You are a retailer of horrid gossip.'
'This besides. On the very morning when he waited on the Chancellor, he
rode to Lady Carlyon's----'
'I know the exact particulars,' said the Duchess. 'Lady Boltons wrote to
me on the subject to prevent misunderstanding. Professor Ingleby, his
old tutor, was there. He rode there alone because his guardian could not
go with him. Of course he was properly attended. Lady Carlyon is his
second cousin. Properly speaking, perhaps he should have remained at
home until the Professor came to him. But a man of Lord Chester's rank
may do things which smaller men cannot. And, besides, this
impulsiveness--this apparent impatience of conventional restraint--seems
to me only to prove the pride and dignity of his character. Is that all,
Julia? Have you any more hearsays?'
They were brave words; but the Duchess felt uneasy.
'I have; there is more behind, and worse. Still, in your present mood, I
do not know that I ought to say what I should wish to say.'
'Say on, Julia. You know that I wish to hear all. Perhaps there may be
something after all. Hide nothing from me.'
'Very good. They say that Lord Chester is, of all men, the least
submissive, the least docile, the least manly--in the highest sense of
the word. He habitually assumes authority which belongs to Us; he flies
into violent rages; he horsewhips stable-boys; he presumptuously defies
orders; he almost openly derides the laws which regulate man's
obedience. He questions--he actually questions--the fundamental
principles on which society and government are based.'
'Quite as it should be,' said the Duchess, folding her hands. 'I want my
husband to obey no one in the world--except myself: he shall accept no
teaching, except mine; no doctrine shall be sacred in his eyes--until it
has received my authority.'
'Would you like the Duke of Dunstanburgh to horsewhip stable-boys?'
The Duchess shrugged her shoulders.
'Why not? No doubt the stable-boys deserve it. We cannot, of course,
allow common men to use their strength in this way. But, my dear, in men
of very high rank we should encourage--within proper limits--a
masterfulness which is, after all, nothing but the legitimate expression
of legitimate pride. What is crime in a clown or an artisan, is a virtue
in Lord Chester; and, believe me, Julia, for my own part, I know how to
tame the most obstinate of men.'
She folded her hands and set her teeth together. Julia thought of the
late three dukes, and trembled.
'No one should know better, dear Duchess. There remains one thing only.
You tell me that the proposed match is to be one of pure affection--on
both sides. I am truly rejoiced to hear it. Nothing is better
calculated to allay these silly reports about Lady Carlyon and the Earl.
Still you should know that outside people say that, should the Appeal go
in your favour----'
'"Should!" Julia, do not be absurd. It _must_ go in my favour.
"_Should!_"'
'In that case the Earl has declared before witnesses that he will
absolutely refuse, whatever the penalty, to accept your hand. How am I
to meet such stories as this? By your authorised statement of mutual
affection?'
'Idle gossip, Julia, may be left to itself. The Earl is only anxious to
have the matter settled as soon as possible. Besides, is it in reason
that he should have made such a declaration? Why, he knows--every man
knows--that such a refusal would be nothing short of contempt--contempt
of the Sovereign Majesty of the Realm. It is punishable--ay, and it
_shall_ be punished--that is, it should be punished'--the face of the
Duchess darkened--'by imprisonment with hard labour for life--Earl or no
Earl.'
'Then, Duchess,' said Lady Despard, with a smile, 'I say no more. Of
course, a marriage of affection should be encouraged; and we women are
all match-makers. You will have the best wishes of all as soon as things
are properly understood.'
'Julia,' the Duchess laid her hand upon her friend's arm, 'I am
unfeignedly glad that you have told me all this. We have had an
explanation which has cleared the air. I refuse to believe that my
future husband has so lost all manly feeling as to fall in love. Imagine
an Earl of Chester falling in love like a sentimental rustic! Your
_canards_ about private interviews trouble me not; I am well assured
that so well-bred a man will obey the will of the House without a
murmur--nay, joyfully, even without consideration of his own
inclinations, which, as I have told you, are already decided. And, upon
my honour as a peeress, Julia, I am certain that when you come to my
autumn party at Dunstanburgh in November next, you will acknowledge that
the new Duke is the handsomest bridegroom in the world, that I am the
most indulgent wife, and that there is not a happier couple in all
England.'
Nothing could be more gracious than the smile of the Duchess when she
chose to smile. Lady Despard, although she knew by this time what the
smile was worth, was nevertheless always carried away by it. For the
moment she believed what her friend wished her to believe.
'My dear Duchess,' she cried with effusion, 'you _deserve_ happiness for
your part; and, upon my word, I think that the boy will get it, whether
he deserves it or not.'
* * * * *
The smile died out from the Duchess's face when she was left alone. A
hard, stern look took its place. She took up a hand-glass, and intently
examined her own face.
'He is in love with the girl, is he?' she murmured; 'and she with him.
Why, I saw it in their guilty stolen looks; her accents betrayed her
when she spoke. It is not enough that she must cross me in the House,
but she would rob me of a husband. Not yet, Lady Carlyon--not yet.' ...
She looked at herself again. 'Oh, that I could be again what I was at
one-and-twenty! It is true, as Julia said, that I have nothing to give
the boy in return for what I ask of him--his affection. I am an old
woman--sixty-five years of age. I suppose I have had my share of love.
Harry loved me when I was young, because I was young. Poor Harry! I did
not then know how much he loved me, nor the value of a man's heart. Well
... as for the other two, they loved me after their fashion--but it was
not like Harry's love; they said they loved me, and in return I gave
them all they wanted. They were happy, and I had to be contented.' She
mused in silence for a time; then she roused herself with an effort.
'What then? Let them talk. I am the Duchess of Dunstanburgh. She shall
have her whim; she shall have her darling, and if he chooses to sulk,
she will punish him until he smiles again. Wait, my lord, only wait till
you are safe on the Northumberland coast, and in my castle of
Dunstanburgh.'
CHAPTER V
IN THE SEASON
Women, especially politicians, are (or rather were, until the Revolt)
accustomed to the publicity of photographs, illustrated papers,
paragraphs in society papers, and to the curiosity with which people
stare after them wherever they show themselves. They used to like it.
Men, who were, on the other hand, taught to respect modest retirement
and that graceful obscurity becoming to the masculine hand which carries
out the orders of the female brain, shrank from such notoriety. It was a
curious sensation for young Lord Chester to feel, rather than to see and
to hear, the people pointing him out, and talking about him.
'Courage!' whispered the Professor. 'You will have to encounter a great
deal more curiosity than this before long. Above all, do not show by any
sign or change of expression that you are conscious of their staring.'
This was at the Royal Academy. The rooms were crowded with the usual
mob, for it was early in June. There were the country ladies--rosy, fat,
and jolly--catalogue and pencil in hand, dragging after them husbands,
brothers, sons--ruddy, stalwart fellows--who wearily followed from room
to room,--ignorant of art, and yet unwilling to be thought
ignorant,--flocking to any picture which seemed to contain a story or a
subject likely to interest them, such as a horse, or a race, or a match
of some kind, and turning away with a half-conscious feeling that they
ought to rejoice in not liking the much-praised picture, instead of
being ashamed of it, so unlike a horse did they find it, so unfaithful a
representation of figure or of action. There were artistic ladies with
their new fashion of dress and pale languid airs, listlessly exchanging
the commonplace of the fashionable school; there were professional
ladies, lawyers, and doctors, 'doing' all the rooms between two
consultations in an hour; there were schoolgirls from Harrow, yawning
over the Exhibition, which it was a duty they owed to themselves to see
early in the season, unless they could get tickets, which they all
ardently desired, for the fortnight's private view; there were shoals of
men in little parties of two and four, escorted by some good-natured
uncle or elderly cousin. The crowd squeezed round the fashionable
pictures; they passed heedlessly before pictures of which nobody talked;
they all tried to look critical; those who pretended to culture searched
after strange adjectives; those who did not, said everything was pretty,
and yawned furtively; the ladies whispered remarks to each other, with a
quick nod of intelligence; and they received the feeble criticism of the
men with the deferent smile due to politeness, or a half-concealed
contempt.
This year there were more than the usual number of pictures--in fact,
the whole of the five-and-twenty rooms were crowded. Fortunately, they
were mostly small rooms, and it was remarkable that the same subjects
occurred over and over again. 'The same story,' said the Professor,
'every year. No invention; we follow like sheep. Here is Judith slaying
Holofernes'--they were then in the Ancient History Department--'here is
Jael slaying Sisera; here are Miriam and Deborah singing their songs of
triumph; here is Joan of Arc raising the siege of Orleans,--all exactly
the same as when I was a girl forty years ago and more. Ancient History,
indeed! What do they know about Ancient History?'
'Why do you not teach them, then, Professor?' asked Lord Chester.
'I will tell you why, my lord, in a few weeks,--perhaps.'
There were a great many altar-pieces in the Sacred Department. In these
the Perfect Woman was depicted in every attitude and occupation by which
perfection may best be represented. It might have been objected, had any
one so far ventured outside the beaten path of criticism, that the
Perfect Woman's dress, her mode of dressing her hair, and her ornaments
were all of the present year's fashion. 'As if,' said the Professor, the
only one who did venture, 'as if no one had any conception of beauty and
grace except what fashion orders. Sheep! sheep! we follow like a flock.'
The pictures were mostly allegorical: the Perfect Woman directed
Labour--represented by twenty or thirty burly young men with implements
of various kinds; this was a very favourite subject. Or she led Man
upwards. This was a series of pictures: in the first, Man was a rough
rude creature, carrying a club with which he banged something--presumably
Brother Man; he gradually improved, until at the end he was depicted as
laying at the altar of womanhood flowers, fruit, and wine, from his own
husbandry. By this time he had got his beard cut off, and was smooth
shaven, save for a pair of curly moustaches; his dress was in the
fashion of the day; his eyes were down-dropped in reverential awe; and
his expression was delightfully submissive, pious, and _béate_. 'Is it,'
asked Lord Chester, 'impossible to be religious without becoming such a
creature as _that_?'
Again, the Perfect Woman sat alone, thinking for the good of the world.
She had a star above her head; she tried, in the picture, not to look as
if she were proud of that star. Or the Perfect Woman sat watching, in
the dead of night, in the moonlight, for the good of the world; or the
Perfect Woman was revealed to enraptured man rising from the waves, not
at all wet, and clothed in the most beautifully-fashioned and most
expensive modern garments. These two rooms, the Sacred and the Ancient
History Departments, were mostly deserted. The principal interest of the
Exhibition was in the remaining three-and-twenty, which were devoted to
general subjects. Here were sweetnesses of flower and fruit, here were
lovely creamy faces of male youth, here were full length figures of
athletes, runners, wrestlers, jumpers, rowers, cricket-players, and
others, treated with delicate conventionality, so that the most
successful pictures represented man with no more expression in his face
than a barber's block, and the strongest young Hercules was figured with
tiny hands or fingers like a girl's for slimness, for transparency, and
for whiteness, and beautifully small feet; on the other hand, his calves
were prodigious. In fact, as was always maintained at the Academy
dinner, the Exhibition was the great educator of the people in the sense
of beauty. To know the beautiful, to recognise what should be
delightful, and then take joy in it, was given, it was said, only to
those women of culture who had been trained by a course of Academy
exhibitions. Here men, for their part, who would never otherwise rise
beyond the phenomenal to the ideal, learned what was the Perfect
Man--the Man of woman's imagination. Having learned, he might go away
and try to resemble him. Women who could not feel, unhappily, the full
sense of the beautiful, might learn from these models into what kind of
man they should shape their husbands.
'The drawing of this picture,' said the Professor aloud, before a
picture round which were gathered a throng of worshippers--for it was
painted by a Royal Academician of great repute--'is inaccurate. Did one
ever see a man with such shoulders, and yet with such a waist and such a
hand? As for the colouring, it is as false as it is conventional; and
look at the peach-like cheek and the feeble chin! It is the flesh of a
weakly baby, not of a grown man and an athlete.'
There were murmurs of dissent, but no one ventured to dispute the
Professor's opinion; and indeed most of the bystanders had already
recognised Lord Chester, and were staring at the hero of so much talk.
'He is better-looking,' he overheard one schoolgirl whispering to
another, 'than the fellow on the canvas, isn't he?'
The 'fellow on the canvas' was, in fact, the Ideal Man. He was meant by
the artist to represent the noblest, tallest, strongest, straightest,
and most dexterous of men. He carried a cricket-bat. It would have been
foolish to figure him with book, pencil, or paper. Art, literature,
science, politics, all belonged to the other sex. Only his strength was
left to man, and that was to be expended by the orders of the superior
sex, who were quite competent to exercise the functions for which they
were born--namely, to think for the world.
Of course, all the artists were women. Once there was a man who,
assuming a female name, actually got a picture exhibited in the Academy.
He was a self-taught man it was afterwards discovered; he had never been
in a studio; he had never seen a Royal Academy. He painted an Old Man
from nature. There was a faithful ruggedness about his work which made
artists scoff, and yet brought tears to the eyes of country girls who
knew no better. When the trick was discovered, the picture was taken
down and burnt, and the wretched man--who was discovered in a little
country cottage, painting two or three more in the same style--went mad,
and was locked up for the rest of his days. Presently Lord Chester grew
tired of the pictures and of the staring crowd. 'I have seen enough,
Professor, if you have. They are all exactly like those of last
year--the gladiators, and the runners, and all. Are we always to go on
producing the same pictures?'
'I suppose so,' she replied. 'They say that the highest point of art has
been reached. It would be a change if we were only to deteriorate for a
few years. Meanwhile, one is reminded of the mole, who was asked why he
did not invent another form of architecture.'
'What did she reply?'
'He, not she, my lord, replied that science could go no further; and so
he goes on building the same shaped hill.'
The crowd gathered at the foot of the stairs of the Academy and made a
lane for Lord Chester quite to his carriage. It was a crowd of the best
people in England, composed of ladies and gentlemen. Yet was it no
insignificant sign of the times that many a handkerchief was waved to
him, that all hats were lifted, and that one girl's voice was heard
crying, 'Young men for young wives!' at which there was a general murmur
of assent.
In the evening there were the usual engagements of the season, beginning
with a lecture on the Arrival at the Highest Level. The lecturer--a
young Oxford woman--was learned and eloquent, though the subject was, so
to speak, wellnigh threadbare. Yet the discontent of the nation was so
great, that it was necessary continually to raise the courage of the
people by showing that if the Ministries failed, it was only because the
right Cabinet had not yet been found. On this night, however, no one
listened. All eyes were turned to the young lord, who, it was everywhere
stated, had announced his rebellious intention not to obey the law if
Lady Carlyon's appeal went against her. The men whispered; the elderly
ladies assumed airs of virtuous indignation; the younger ones looked at
each other and laughed.
Then there was a dance, at which Lord Chester was seen, but only for a
quarter of an hour, because the rush made by all the girls who could get
an introduction for his name on their cards was almost unseemly. The
Professor therefore took him home.
In the Park the next afternoon, at the theatre in the evening, the same
curiosity of the multitude. Indeed the play, as happened very often in
those days, was entirely neglected. Glasses were levelled at Lord
Chester's box; the whole audience with one consent fell to talking among
themselves; the actors went on with the piece unregarded, and the
curtain fell unnoticed.
Perhaps the perfection of the drama was the thing on which the new
civilisation chiefly prided itself, unless, indeed, it was the
perfection of painting and sculpture already described. The old
tragedies, in which women played the secondary part, were long since
consigned to oblivion. The old style of farce, which was simply brutal,
raising laughter by the representation of situations in which one or
more persons are made ridiculous, was absolutely prohibited; the once
favourite ballet was suppressed, because it was below the dignity of
woman to dance for the amusement of the people, and because neither men
nor women wished to see men dancing; the comic man naturally disappeared
with the farce, because no one ever wrote anything for him. It was
resolved, after a series of letters and discussion in the _Academy_, the
only literary paper left--it owed its continued existence to the
honourable associations of its early years--that laughter was for the
most part vulgar; that it always rudely disturbed the facial lines; that
to make merriment for others was quite beneath the notice of an educated
woman; and that the drama must be severe, and even austere--a school for
women and for men. Such it was sought to make it, with as yet
unsatisfactory results, because the common people, finding nothing to
laugh at, came no more to the theatre; and even the better class, who
wanted to be amused, and were only instructed, ceased to attend.
When, therefore, the curtain fell, the scanty audience rushed to the
doors of the house, and there was something very much like a
demonstration, a report of which, the Professor felt with pleasurable
emotion, could not fail to be carried to the Duchess.
The next day there came a letter to Lady Boltons--who was still confined
to her room with gout--from no less a person than the Duchess of
Dunstanburgh, suggesting that the publicity thrust upon Lord Chester
through the unconstitutional action of his cousin might produce an
injurious effect upon a mind so young. In other words, her Grace was
already sensible of the sympathy which was growing up for what was
believed to be a love affair, cruelly blighted by herself. If Lord
Chester was kept in retirement until the case was decided, he would,
perhaps be forgotten. As for Lady Carlyon, the Duchess rightly judged
that the sympathy which one woman gets from another in such cases is
generally scant.
No doubt she was right, but unfortunately she was too late. The young
Earl had been seen everywhere; his story, much altered and improved, was
in everybody's mouth; his likeness was in all the shop windows, side by
side with that of Lady Carlyon, or, as if to give emphasis to the
difference between the two suitors, he was placed with the Duchess on
his left and Lady Carlyon on his right. The young men envied him because
he was so rich, so handsome, and so gallant; the young ladies looked and
sighed. He was nearer the Ideal Man than any they had ever seen; his
bold and daring eyes struck them with a kind of awe, which they thought
was due to his rank, ignorant of the manhood in those eyes, which
attracted and yet daunted them. They bought his photograph by thousands,
and spent their leisure hours, or even the hours of study, when they
ought to have been 'mugging bones,' or drawing contracts, or reading
theology, in gazing upon that remarkable presence. Older ladies--those
who had established positions and could think of marriage--wished that
such young men were within their reach; and very old ladies, looking at
the photograph with admiring eyes, would wag their heads, and tell their
grandsons how their grandfather, dead and gone, had been just such
another as Lord Chester--so handsome, so strong, so brave, and yet
withal the most dutiful and obedient of husbands. They did not explain
how the virtue of submission was compatible with such frank and fearless
eyes.
The mischief, therefore, was done. So far as the sympathies of the
people were concerned, Constance could rest content. There remained,
however, the House.
Lord Chester appeared no more in public. He went to none of the
cricket-matches and athletics which made the season so lively; nor was
he seen at any balls or dinners; nor did he ride in the Row. He was kept
in almost monastic seclusion, a few companions only being invited to
play tennis on his own lawns. But the Professor was with him
constantly--Lady Boltons continuing to be laid up with her gout--and
they had long talks in the gardens, sitting beneath the shade of the
trees, or walking on the lawns. During these conversations the young man
would clench his fist and stamp his foot with rage; or his eyes would
kindle, and he would stretch out his right hand as if moved beyond
control. And he became daily more masterful, insomuch that the women
were afraid of him, and the men-servants--whom he had cuffed until they
respected him--laughed, seeing the dismay of the women. Never any man
like him! 'Why,' said the butler, a most respectable old lady, 'if he
goes on like this, he'll be like the Duchess of Dunstanburgh herself.
She'll have a handful, whichever o' their ladyships gets him. Beer, my
lord? At twelve o'clock in the morning! It isn't good for your lordship.
Better wait--oh dear, dear! Yes, my lord, in one minute.'
One afternoon, towards the end of June, a little party had been made up
for his amusement. It consisted of half a dozen young men of his own
age, and a few ladies whose age more nearly approached that of the
Professor. The young men played one or two matches of tennis, changed
their flannels for morning dress, and joined the ladies at afternoon
tea. The one topic of conversation possible at the moment was forbidden
in that house: it was, of course, that of the great Appeal, and how some
said that the Countess wanted it pushed on, so as to take advantage of
the public sympathy, and the Duchess wanted it delayed, so as to give
this feeling time to cool down; but the Duchess had sworn by everything
dear to her that she would marry the young lord whether the House gave a
decision in her favour or not; how Lady Carlyon declared that she would
carry him off under the very nose of the Duchess; with a thousand other
_canards_, rumours, little secrets, whispers on the best authority, and
so forth. As, of course, that could not be entered upon in Lord
Chester's own house, the afternoon was dull to the ladies. They pumped
the Professor artfully, but learned nothing. She was enthusiastic in her
praises of her pupil, but was reticent about his previous relations, if
any, with either of his suitors; nor would she reveal anything, if she
knew anything, about his inclinations--if he had any preference. As for
his character, she spoke openly; he was certainly,--well, say
masterful--that could not be denied--in a way which would be unbecoming
in a man below his rank; as for his religion, no one could more truly
love and revere the Perfect Woman than did Lord Chester; as for his
abilities, they were far beyond the common: and for his reading, 'I have
always considered,' said the Professor, 'his rank as of more importance
than his sex; and though I have, perhaps, given him a wider and deeper
education than is generally considered prudent for the masculine brain,
I believe it will be found, in the long-run, a course productive of
great good. In fact,' she whispered, 'I believe that Lord Chester is a
man likely to be the father of daughters, illustrious not only by their
birth, but also by their strength of intellect and force of character.'
'No man,' said one of the guests--one of those persons who always know
how to find the right commonplace at the right time,--'no man can have a
more worthy object of ambition. To sink himself in the family, to work
for them, to reproduce his own virtues in their higher feminine form in
his own daughters,--I hope his lordship will obtain this happiness.'
'But he can't,' cried another--one of those persons who always say the
wrong things,--'he can't if he marries the Duc--'
'Hush!' said the Professor. 'My dear madam, we were talking, I think,
about Lord Chester's character. Yes, he is in many respects a most
remarkable young man.'
'But is he,' asked another lady, 'is he quite--are you sure of what you
say, Professor, about his orthodoxy?'
Professor Ingleby smiled. All smiled, indeed, because her own faith had
been greatly suspected, as everybody knew.
'As sure,' she said, 'as I am of my own. Oh! I know what wicked people
have hinted at Cambridge. But wait; have patience; I will before long
prove my religious convictions, and satisfy the world once for all, in a
way that will perhaps astonish, but certainly convince everybody, what
my faith really is, and how truly orthodox--and I will answer for my
pupil.'
Then the young men appeared, and they began to talk about the games over
their tea. Presently they pressed Lord Chester to sing. No one had a
better voice, or sang with greater expression. He refused at first, on
the ground of being tired of the words of all his songs, but gave way
and sang, with a laughing protest at the sentiment of the song and the
inanity of the words, the following ballad, just then popular:--
'Through sweet buttercups, through sweet hay
Rolled in swathes by the southern wind;
Side by side they wended their way;
The sloping sun on their faces lay,
And dragged long shadows behind.
'Eighteen he, and stalwart to see;
Muscles of steel and a heart of gold.
Cheeks hot-burning, and eyes down-dropped,--
What did he think when she suddenly stopped,
And gave him her hand--to hold?
'She was but thirty; her lands around
Lay with orchards and cornfields spread;
Meadow and hill with the sunlight crowned,
Wealth and joy without stint or bound,
And all for the lad she would wed!
'He listened in silence, as young men should,
While she pictured the life to come;
In tangled copse, in the way of the wood,
With new spring flowers and old leaves strewed,
She spoke of a love-lit home.
'Only a year: and the hay again
Lies in swathes, like the weed on the shore;
Lone he wanders with troubled brain,
Crying, "When will she come again?"
Poor fool; for she comes no more.
Forgotten her troth; and broken her oath;
His love will return no more.
'The air is not bad,' said the singer, when he had finished, rising from
the piano,' but the words are ridiculous. As if he were likely to care
for a woman eighteen years his senior!'
These words fell among them like a bomb. There was a dead silence. No
one dared raise her eyes except the Professor, who looked up in warning.
Presently an old gentleman, who had been half asleep, shook his head and
spoke.
'The songs are all alike now. A young fellow gets made love to, and is
engaged, and then thrown over. Then he breaks his heart: In real life he
would have called for his horse and galloped off his disappointment.'
'Come, Sir George,' said the Professor, 'you must allow us a little
sentiment--some belief in man's heart, else life would be too dull. For
my own part, I find the words touching and true to nature.'
'How would it do?' asked Lord Chester, smiling, 'to invert the thing?
Could we have a ballad showing how a young lady--she must be
young--pined away and died for love of a man who broke his promise?'
They all laughed at this picture, but the young men looked as if Lord
Chester had said something wonderful in its audacity. Most certainly,
thought the Professor, his words would be quoted in all the clubs that
very day. And what--oh! what would the Duchess say? And although she had
no legitimate power over the ward of Chancery, she could do what she
pleased with the Chancellor.
There was one young fellow present, a certain Algy Dunquerque, who
entertained an affection for Lord Chester amounting almost to worship.
No one was like him; none so strong, so dexterous, so good at games; no
one so clever; no one so audacious; no one so gloriously independent.
They were talking together in a low whisper, unregarded by the ladies,
who were talking loudly.
'Algy,' said Lord Chester, 'you said once that you would come to me if
ever I asked you, and stand by me as long as I asked you. Are you still
of the same mind?'
'That kind of promise holds,' said Algy. 'What shall I do?'
'Be in readiness.'
'I am always ready. But what are you going to do? Shall we run away
together?'
'Hush! I do not know,--yet. All that a desperate man can do.'
CHAPTER VI
WOMAN'S ENGLAND
The next day was Sunday, and of course Lord Chester went to church with
the Professor, who was always careful to observe forms.
The congregation was large, and principally composed of men. The service
was elaborate, and the singing good. Perhaps the incense was a little
too strong, and there was some physical fatigue in the frequent changes
of posture. Nothing, however, could have been more splendid than the
procession with banners, which closed the service; nothing sweeter than
the voices of the white-robed singing-girls. It was a large and
beautiful church, with painted glass, pictures having lights burning
before them; and the altar, on which stood the veiled figure of the
Perfect Woman, was heaped with flowers.
The sermon was preached by the Dean of Westminster, whose eloquence and
fervour were equalled by her scholarship. No one, except perhaps,
Professor Ingleby, was better read in ecclesiastical history, or knew
more about the beginnings of the New Religion. She had written a book,
showing from ancient literature how the germs of the religion were
dormant even in the old barbaric times of man's supremacy. Even so far
back as the Middle Ages men delighted to honour Woman. Every poet chose
a mistress for his devotion, and ignorantly worshipped the type in the
Individual. Every knight became servant and slave to one woman, in whose
honour his noblest deeds were done. Even the worship of the Divine Man
became, first in Catholic countries, and afterwards in England, through
a successful conspiracy of certain so-called 'ritualists,' the worship
of the Mother and Child. At all times the effigies of the virtues,
Faith, Hope, Love, had been figures of women. The form of woman had
always stood for the type, the standard, the ideal of the Beautiful. The
woman had always been the dispenser of gifts. The woman had always been
richly dressed. Men worked their hardest in order to pour their
treasures into the lap of woman. All the reverence, all the poetry, all
the imagination with which the lower nature of man was endowed, had been
freely spent and lavished in the service of woman. From his earliest
infancy, women surrounded, protected, and thought for men. Why, what was
this, what could this mean, but a foreshadowing, an indication, a
revelation, by slow and natural means, of the worship of the Perfect
Woman, dimly comprehended as yet, but manifesting its power over the
heart? The Dean handled this, her favourite topic, in the pulpit this
morning with singular force and eloquence. After touching on the
invisible growth of the religion, she painted a time of anarchy, when
men had given up their old beliefs and were like children--only children
with weapons in their hands--crying out with fear in the darkness. She
told how women, at last assuming their true place, substituted, little
by little, the true, the only faith--the Worship of the Perfect Woman,
the Feminine Divinity of Thought, Purpose, and Production. She pointed
out how, by natural religion, man was evidently marked out for the
second or lower creature, although, by the abuse of his superior
strength, he had wrested the authority and used it for his own purposes.
He was formed to execute, he was strong, he was the Agent. Woman, on the
other hand, was the mother--that is to say, the Creative Thought; that
is, the Sovereign Ruler. In the animal creation, again, it is the male
who works, while the female sits and directs. And even in such small
points as the gender of things inanimate, everything of grace,
usefulness, or beauty was, and always had been, feminine. Then she
argued from the natural quickness and intelligence of women, and from
the corresponding dullness of men, from the lower instincts of men
compared with the spiritual nature of women; and she showed how, when
women took their natural place in the government of the nation, laws
were for the first time framed on sound and economical principles, and
for the benefit of man himself. Finally, in a brilliant peroration, she
called upon her male hearers to defend, even to the death if necessary,
the principles of their religion; she warned the women that a spirit of
questioning and discontent was abroad; she exhorted the men to find
their true happiness in submission to authority; and she drew a vivid
picture of the poor wretch who, beginning with doubt and disobedience,
went on to wife-beating, atheism, and despair, both of this world and
the next.
The sermon lasted nearly an hour. The Dean never paused, never
hesitated, was never at a loss. Yet, somehow she failed to affect her
hearers. The women looked idly about them, the men stared straight
before them, showing no response, and no sympathy. One reason of this
apathy was that the congregation had heard it all before, and so often,
that it ceased to move them; the priestesses of the Faith, in their
ardour, endeavouring constantly to make men intelligent as well as
submissive supporters, overdid the preaching, and by continual
repetition ruined the effect of their earnest eloquence, and reduced it
to the level of rhetorical commonplace.
The Professor and her pupil walked gravely homewards.
'I think,' said Lord Chester, 'that I could preach a sermon the other
way round.'
'You mean----'
'I mean that I could just as well show how natural religion intended man
to be both agent and contriver.'
'I think,' said the Professor, 'that such a sermon had better not be
preached, at least, just yet. It was _rather_ a risky thing to make that
remark of yours about the ballad which you sang yesterday. Such a sermon
as you contemplate would infallibly land its composer--even Lord
Chester--in a prison--and for life.'
Lord Chester was silent.
'Do you speculate often,' asked his tutor, 'in these theological
matters?'
'Of late,' he replied. 'Yes, this perpetual admonition about Authority
worries me. Why should we accept statements on Authority? I have been
looking through the text-books, and I conclude----'
'Pray do not tell me,' she interrupted laughing. 'For the present, let
me not know the nature of your conclusions. But, Lord Chester, for your
own sake, for every one's sake, be guarded--be silent,' She pressed his
arm; he nodded gravely, but made no reply. When they reached home they
learned that the Chancellor herself was waiting to see Lord Chester. She
wished to see the Professor as well.
The Chancellor was in a great worry and fidget--as if this unhappy
business of the Appeal was not enough for her--because, whatever
decision was arrived at by the House, she would have to defend her own,
and there was little doubt that her enemies would not lose so good a
chance of attacking her; and now the boy must needs get saying things
which were repeated in every club in London.
'I must say, Lord Chester,' she began irritably, 'that a little
respect--I say a little respect--is due to a person who holds my office.
I have been waiting for you a good quarter of an hour.'
'Had I known your ladyship's wish to see me, I would have saved you the
trouble of coming here, and waited upon you myself. I have but just
returned from church.'
'Church!' she repeated in mockery; 'what is the good of people going to
church if they fly in the face of all religion? Do not answer me, pray.
Your lordship thinks yourself, I know, a privileged person. You are to
say, and to do, anything you please. But I am the Chancellor, remember,
and your guardian. Now, sir, I learn that you make dangerous,
revolutionary remarks--you made one yesterday--openly, on the
impossibility of a young man marrying a woman older than himself.'
'Pardon me,' said Lord Chester; 'I did not say the impossibility of
marrying, but of loving, a woman twenty years his senior.'
'The distinction shows the unhappy condition of your mind. To marry a
woman is to love her. What would the boy want? what would he have?
Professor Ingleby, have you anything to advise? He is your pupil. You
are, in fact, partly responsible for this deplorable exhibition of
wilfulness.'
'With your ladyship's permission,' replied the Professor softly, 'I
would venture to suggest that, considering recent events, it would be
much better for Lord Chester to be out of London as soon as possible.'
'What is the use of talking about leaving town when Lady Boltons is
ill?'
'If your ladyship will entrust your noble ward to my care,' continued
the Professor, 'I will undertake the charge of him at my own house for
the next three months.'
The Chancellor reflected. The plan seemed the best. Since Lady Boltons
was ill, there was really no one to look after the young man, while, at
the present moment of excitement, it seemed most desirable that he
should be out of town. If the boy was to go on talking in this way about
old women and young men, there was no telling what might not happen; and
the Duchess would be pleased with such an arrangement. That
consideration decided her.
'If you really can take charge of him--you could draw on Lady Boltons
for whatever you like, in reason,--it does seem the best thing to do.
Yes--he would be safer out of the way. When can you start?'
'To-morrow.'
'Very good; then we will settle it so. You will accompany Professor
Ingleby, Lord Chester; you will consider her as your guardian--and--and
all that. And for Heaven's sake, let us have no more folly!'
She touched his fingers with her own, bowed slightly to the Professor,
and left them.
'My dear boy,' said the Professor, when the door was shut, 'I foresee a
great opportunity. And as for that sermon you spoke of----'
'Well, Professor?'
'You may begin to compose it as soon as you please, and on the road I
will help you. Meantime, hold your tongue.'
With these enigmatic words the Professor left him.
* * * * *
There was really nothing very remarkable in Lord Chester's leaving
London even at the height of the season. Most of the athletic meetings
were over; it was better to be in the country than in town: a young man
of two-and-twenty is not supposed to take a very keen delight in
dinner-parties. Had it not been for the Appeal and the way in which
people occupied themselves in every kind of gossip over Lord
Chester--what he said, how he looked, and what he hoped--he might have
left town without the least notice being taken. As it was, his departure
gave rise to the wildest rumours, not the least wild being that the
Duchess, or, as some said, the Countess, intended to follow and carry
him off from his country house.
Without troubling themselves about rumours and alarms of this kind, the
Professor and her pupil drove away in the forenoon of Monday. The air
was clear and cool; there was a fresh breeze, a warm sun, and a sky
flecked with light clouds. The leaves on the trees were at their best,
the four horses were in excellent condition. What young fellow of
two-and-twenty would have felt otherwise than happy at starting on a
holiday away from the restraints of town, and in such weather?
'There is only one thing wanting,' he said, as they finally cleared the
houses, and were bowling along the smooth highroad between hedges bright
with the flowers of early summer.
'What is that?' asked the Professor.
'Constance,' he replied boldly; 'she ought to be with us to complete my
happiness.'
The Professor laughed.
'A most unmanly remark,' she said. 'How can you reconcile it with the
precepts of morality? Have you not been taught the wickedness of
expressing, even of allowing yourself to feel an inclination for any
young lady?'
'It is your fault, my dear Professor. You have taught me so much, that I
have left off thinking of unmanliness and immodesty and the copy-book
texts.'
'I have taught you,' she replied gravely, 'things enough to hang myself
and send you to the Tower for life. But remember--remember--that you
have been taught these things with a purpose.'
'What purpose?' he asked.
'I began by making you discontented. I allowed you to discover that
everything is not so certain as boys are taught to believe. I put you in
the way of reading, and I opened your mind to all sorts of subjects
generally concealed from young men.'
'You certainly did, and you are a most crafty as well as a most
beneficent Professor.'
'You have gradually come to understand that your own intellect, the
average intellect of Man, is really equal to the consideration of all
questions, even those generally reserved and set apart for women.'
'Is it not time, therefore, to let me know this mysterious purpose?'
Professor Ingleby gazed upon him in silence for a while.
'The purpose is not mine. It is that of a wiser and greater being than
myself, whose will I carry out and whom I obey.'
'Wiser than _you_, Professor? Who is she? Do you mean the Perfect Woman
herself?'
'No,' she replied; 'the being whom I obey and reverence is none other
than--my own husband.'
Lord Chester started.
'Your husband?' he cried. '_You obey your husband?_ This is most
wonderful.'
'My husband. Yes, Lord Chester, you may now compose that sermon which
shall show how Man is the Lord and Master of all created things,
including--Woman. I told you I would help you in your sermon. Listen.'
* * * * *
All that day they drove through the fair garden, which we call England.
Along the road they passed the rustics hay-making in the fields; the
country women were talking at their doors; the country doctor was
plodding along her daily round; the parson was jogging along the
wayside, umbrella in hand, to call upon her old people; the country
police in blue bonnets, carrying their dreaded pocket-books, were
loitering in couples about cross-roads; the farmer drove her cart to
market, or rode her cob about the fields; little girls and boys carried
dinner to their fathers. Here and there they passed a country-seat, a
village with its street of cottages, or they clattered through a small
sleepy town with its row of villas and its quiet streets, where the men
sat working at the windows in hopes of getting a chat or seeing
something to break the monotony of the day.
The travellers saw, but noted nothing. For the Professor was teaching
her pupil things calculated to startle even the Duchess, and at which
Constance would have trembled--things which made his cheek to glow, his
eyes to glisten, his mouth to quiver, his hands to clench;--things not
to be spoken, not to be whispered, not to be thought, this Professor
openly, boldly, and without shame, told the young man.
'I might have guessed it,' he said. 'I had already half guessed it. And
this--this is the reason why we are kept in subjection!--this is the LIE
they have palmed upon us!'
'Hush! calm yourself. The thing was not done in a day. The system was
not invented by conscious hypocrites and deceivers; it grew, and with it
the new religion, the new morality, the new order of things. Blame no
one, Lord Chester, but blame the system.'
'You have told me too much now,' he said; 'tell me more.'
She went on. Each word, each new fact, tore something from him that he
would have believed part of his nature. Yet he had been prepared for
this day by years of training, all designed by this crafty woman to arm
him with strength to receive her disclosures.
'What you see,' she said, as they drove through a village, 'seems calm
and happy. It is the calmness of repression. Those men in the fields,
those working men sitting at the windows--they are all alike unhappy,
and they know not why. It is because the natural order has been
reversed; the sex which should command and create is compelled to work
in blind obedience. You will see, as we go on, that we, who have usurped
the power, have created nothing, improved nothing, carried on nothing.
It is for you, Lord Chester, to restore the old order.'
'If I can--if I can find words,' he stammered.
'I have trusted you,' the Professor went on, 'from the very first. _Bon
sang ne peut mentir._ Yet it was wise not to hurry matters. Your life,
and my own life too, if that matters much, hang upon the success of my
design. Nothing could have happened more opportunely than the Duchess's
proposal. Why? on the one hand, a sweet, charming, delightful girl; and
on the other, a repulsive, bad-tempered old woman. While your blood is
aflame with love and disgust, Lord Chester, I tell you this great
secret. We have three months before us. We must use it, so that in less
than two we shall be able to strike, and to strike hard. You are in my
hands. We have, first, much to see and to learn.'
Their first halt was Windsor. Here, after ordering dinner, the Professor
took her pupil to visit Eton. It was half-holiday, and the girls were
out of school. Some were at the Debating Society's rooms, where a
political discussion was going on; some were strolling by the river
under the grand old elms; some were reading novels in the shade; some
were lying on the bank talking and laughing. It was a pleasant picture
of happy school life.
'Look at these buildings,' said the Professor, taking up a position of
vantage. 'They were built by one of your ancestors, beautified by
another, repaired and enlarged by another. This is the noblest of the
old endowments--for boys.'
The Earl looked round him in wonder.
'What would boys do with such a splendid place?' he asked.
'Have my lessons borne so little fruit that you should ask that
question?' The Professor looked disappointed. 'My dear boy, they played
in the playing-fields, they swam and rowed in the river, they studied in
the school, they worshipped in the chapel. When it was resolved to
divide the endowments, women naturally got the first choice, and they
chose Eton. Afterwards the boys' public schools fell gradually into
decay, and bit by bit they were either closed or became appropriated by
girls. There was once a famous school at a place called Rugby. That
died. The Lady of the Manor, I believe, gradually absorbed the revenues.
Harrow and Marlborough fell in, after a few years, for girls. You see,
when once mothers realised the dangers of public school life for boys,
they naturally left off sending them.'
'Yes--I see--the danger that----'
'That they would become masterful, Lord Chester, like yourself; that
they would use their strength to recover their old supremacy; that they
would discover'--here she sank her voice, although they were not within
earshot of any one--'that they would discover how strength of brain goes
with strength of muscle.'
She led the young man back across the river to the Windsor side. On the
way they passed an open gate; over the gate was written 'Select school
for young gentlemen.' Within was a gymnasium, where a dozen boys were
exercising on parallel bars swinging with ropes, and playing with
clubs.
'As for your education,' said the Professor, 'we have discovered that
the best chance for the world is for a boy to be taught three things. He
must learn religion--_i.e._ submission, and the culture of Perfect
Womanhood; he must learn a trade of some kind, unless he belongs to the
aristocracy, so as not to be necessarily dependent; and he must be made
healthy, strong, and active. History will credit us with one thing, at
least; we have improved the race.'
It wanted an hour of dinner. The Professor, who was never tired, led her
pupil over such portions of the old Castle as could still be
visited--the great tower and one or two of the terraces.
'This was once yours,' she said. 'This is the castle of your ancestors.
Courage, my lord; you shall win it back.'
It was in a dream that the young man spent the rest of the evening. The
Professor had ordered a simple yet dainty dinner, consisting of a Thames
trout, a Châteaubriand, quails, and an omelette, with some Camembert
cheese, but her young charge did scanty justice to it. After dinner,
when the coffee had been brought, and the door was safely shut, the
Professor continued the course of lectures on ancient history, by which
she had already upset the mind of her pupil, and filled his brain with
dreams of a revolution more stupendous than was ever suspected by the
watchful bureau of police.
Their next day's drive brought them to Oxford. It was vacation, and the
colleges were empty. Only here and there a solitary figure of some
lonely Fellow or Lecturer, lingering after the rest had gone, flitted
across the lawns. The solitude of the place pleased the Professor. She
could ramble with her pupil about the venerable courts and talk at her
ease.
'Here,' she said, 'in the old days was once the seat of learning and
wisdom.'
'What is it now?' asked her disciple, surprised. 'Is not Oxford still
the seat of learning?'
'You must read--alas! you would not understand them--the old books
before you can answer your own question. What is their political
economy, their moral philosophy, their social science--of which they
make so great a boast--compared with the noble scholarship, the science,
the speculation of former days? How can I make you understand? There was
a time when everything was advanced--by men. Science must advance or
fall back. We took from men their education, and science has been
forgotten. We cannot now read the old books; we do not understand the
old discoveries; we cannot use the tools which they invented, the men of
old. Mathematics, chemistry, physical science, geology--all these exist
no longer, or else exist in such an elementary form as our ancestors
would have been ashamed to acknowledge. Astronomy, which widened the
heart, is neglected; medicine has become a thing of books; mechanics are
forgotten----'
'But why?'
'Because women, who can receive, cannot create; because at no time has
any woman enriched the world with a new idea, a new truth, a new
discovery, a new invention; because we have undertaken the impossible.'
The Professor was silent. Never before had Lord Chester seen her so
deeply moved.
'Oh, Sacred Learning!' she cried, 'we have sinned against thee! We poor
women in our conceit think that everything may be learned from books: we
worship the Ideal Woman, and we are content with the rags of learning
which remain from the work of Man. Yes, we are contented with these
scraps. We will accept nothing that is not absolutely certain. Therefore
we blasphemously and ignorantly say that the last word has been said
upon everything, and that no more remains to be learned.'
'Mankind is surrounded,' the Professor went on as if talking to herself,
'by a high wall of black ignorance and mystery. The wall is for ever
receding or closing in upon us. The men of the past pushed it back more
and more, and widened continually the boundaries of thought, so that the
foremost among them were godlike for knowledge and for a love of
knowledge. We women of the present are continually contracting the wall,
so that soon we shall know nothing, unless--unless you come to our
help.'
'How can I help to restore knowledge,' asked the young man, 'being
myself so ignorant?'
'By giving back the university to the sex which can enlarge our bounds.'
Always the same thing--always coming back to the one subject.
There was a university sermon in the afternoon, being the feast of St
Cecilia; they looked in, but the church was empty. In vacation time one
hardly expects more than two or three resident lecturers with their
husbands and boys, and a sprinkling of young men from the town. The
sermon was dull--perhaps Lord Chester's mind was out of sympathy with
the subject; it treated on the old well-worn lines of Woman as the
Musician.
'I will show you at Cambridge,' said the Professor when they came out,
'some of the music of the past. What are the feeble strains, the
oft-repeated phrases of modern music, compared with the grand old music
conceived and written by men? Women have never composed great music.'
They left Oxford the next day and proceeded north.
'I think,' said the Professor as they were driving smoothly along the
road, 'that they did wrong in not trying to maintain the old railways.
True there were many accidents, and sometimes great loss of life; yet it
must have been a convenience to get from London to Liverpool in five
hours. To be sure the art of making engines is dead: such arts could not
survive when their new system of separate labour was introduced.'
They passed the old tracks of the railways from time to time, now long
canals grass-grown, and now high embankments covered with trees and
bushes. There were black holes, too, in the hill-sides through which the
iron road had once run.
'The country in the nineteenth century,' said the Professor, 'was
populous and wealthy; but it would be at first terrible for one of us to
see and to live in. From end to end there were great factories driven by
steam-engines, in which men worked in gangs, and from which a perpetual
black cloud of smoke rose to the sky; trains ran shrieking along the
iron roads with more clouds of smoke and steam. The results of the work
were grand; but the workmen were uncared for, and killed by the long
hours and the foul atmosphere. I talk like a woman'--she checked herself
with a smile,--'and I want to talk so that you shall feel like a man--of
the ancient type.
'There is one point of difference between man's and woman's legislation
which I would have you bear in mind. Man looks to the end, woman thinks
of the means. If man wanted a great thing done, he cared little about
the sufferings of those who did that thing. A great railway had to be
built; those who made it perished of fever and exposure. What matter?
The railway remained. A great injustice had to be removed; to remove it
cost a war, with death to thousands. Man cared little for the deaths,
but much for the result. Man was like Nature, which takes infinite pains
to construct an insect of marvellous beauty, and then allows it to be
crushed in thousands almost as soon as born. Woman, on the other hand,
considers the means.'
They came, after three days' posting, to Manchester. They found it a
beautiful city, situated on a clear sparkling stream, in the midst of
delightful rural scenery, and regularly built after the modern manner
in straight streets at right angles to each other: the air was
peculiarly bright and bracing. 'I wanted very much,' said the Professor,
'to show you this place. You see how pretty and quiet a place it is; yet
in the old times it had a population of half a million. It was
perpetually black with smoke; there were hundreds of vast factories
where the men worked from six in the morning until six at night. Their
houses were huts--dirty, crowded nests of fever; their sole amusements
were to smoke tobacco and to drink beer and spirits; they died at thirty
worn out; they were of sickly and stunted appearance; they were habitual
wife-beaters; they neglected their children; they had no education, no
religion, no hopes, no wishes for anything but plentiful pipe and beer.
See it now! The population reduced to twenty thousand; the factories
swept away; the machinery destroyed; the men working separately each in
his own house, making cotton for home consumption. Let us walk through
the streets.'
These were broad, clean, and well kept. Very few persons were about. A
few women lounged about the Court, or gathered together on the steps of
the Town Hall, where one was giving her opinions violently on politics
generally; some stood at the doorways talking to their neighbours; in
the houses one could hear the steady click-click of the loom or
spinning-jenny, as the man within, or the man and his sons, sat at their
continuous and solitary labour.
'This is beautiful to think of, is it not?'
'I do not know what to say,' he replied. 'You ask me, after all that
you have taught me, to admire a system in which men are slaves. Yet all
looks well from the outside.'
'It began,' the Professor went on, without answering him directly, 'with
the famous law of the "Clack" Parliament--that in which there were three
times as many women as men--which enacted that wives should receive the
wages of their husbands on Monday morning, and that unmarried men,
unless they could be represented by mothers or sisters, or other female
relations of whom they were the support, should be paid in kind, and be
housed separately in barracks provided for the purpose, where discipline
could be maintained. It was difficult at first to carry this legislation
into effect: the men rebelled; but the law was enforced at last. That
was the death-blow to the male supremacy. Woman, for the first time, got
possession of the purse. What was done in Manchester was followed in
other places. Young man, the spot you stand on is holy, or the reverse,
whichever you please, because it is the birthplace of woman's
sovereignty.
'Presently it began to be whispered abroad that the hours were too long,
the work too hard, and the association of men together in such large
numbers was dangerous. Then, little by little, wives withdrew their
husbands from the works, mothers their sons, and set them up with
spinning-jennies and looms at home. Hand-made cotton was protected; the
machine-made was neglected. Soon the machines were silent and the
factories closed; in course of time they were pulled down. Then other
improvements followed. The population was enormously diminished, partly
by the new laws which forbade the marriage of unhealthy or deformed men,
and only allowed women to choose husbands when they had themselves
obtained a certificate of good health and good conduct. Formerly the men
married at nineteen; by the new laws they were compelled to wait until
four-and-twenty; then, further, to wait until they were asked; and
lastly, if they were asked, to obtain a certificate of soundness and
freedom from any complaint which might be transmitted to children.
Therefore as few of the Manchester workmen were quite free from some
form of disease, the population rapidly decreased.'
'But,' said Lord Chester, 'is that wrong? A man ought to be healthy.'
That was, indeed, the creed in which he had been brought up.
'I am telling you the history of the place,' replied the Professor.
'Marriage being thus almost impossible, the Manchester women emigrated
and the workmen stayed where they were, and gradually the weakly ones
died out. As for the present Manchester man, you shall see him on Sunday
when he goes to church.'
They stayed in this pleasant and countrified town for some days. On
Sunday they went to the cathedral, and attended the service, which was
conducted by the Bishop herself and her principal clergy. As the Bishop
preached, Lord Chester looked about him, and watched the men. They were
mostly a tall and handsome race, though, in the middle-aged men, the
labour at the spindles had bowed their shoulders and contracted their
chests. Their faces, however, like those of the London congregation,
were listless and apathetic; they paid little heed to the sermon, yet
devoutly knelt, bowed, and stood up at the right places. They seemed
neither to feel nor to take any interest in life. Some of the women
looked as if they interpreted the law of marital obedience in the
strictest, even its harshest manner possible.
Lord Chester looked with a certain special curiosity at a regiment of
young unmarried workmen. He had often enough before watched such a
regiment passing to and from church, but never with such interest. For
in these boys he had now learned to recognise the masters of the future.
They were mostly quite young, and naturally presented a more animated
appearance than their married elders. Those of them who came from the
country, or had no parents, were kept in a barrack under strict rule and
discipline, having prescribed hours for gymnastics, exercises, and
recreation, as well as for labour.
They were not all boys. Among them marched those whom unkind Nature or
accident had set apart as condemned to celibacy. These were the
consumptive, the asthmatic, the crippled, the humpbacked, the deformed;
those who had inherited diseases of lung, brain, or blood; the
unfortunates who could not marry, and who were, therefore, cared for
with what was officially known as kindness. These poor creatures
presented the appearance of the most hopeless misery. At other times
Lord Chester would have passed them by without a thought. He knew now
how different would have been their lot under a government which did not
call itself maternal. Neither boys nor incurables received pay, and the
surplus of their work was devoted to the great Mother's Sustentation
Fund, or, as it was called for short, the Mother's Tax. This was
intended to supplement the wages earned by the husband at home in case
of insufficiency. But the wives were exhorted and admonished to take
care of their husbands, and keep them constantly at work.
'They do take care of them,' said the Professor. 'They make them clean
up house, cook meals, and look after the children, as well as carry on
their trade; while they themselves wrangle over politics in the street
or in some of the squabble-halls, which are always open. The men never
go out except on Sundays; they have no friends; they have no
recreation.'
'But formerly they were even worse off, according to your own showing.'
'No; because if they were slaves to their wheels, they were slaves who
worked in gangs, and they sometimes rose from the ranks. These men are
solitary slaves who can never rise.'
'Is there nothing good at all?' cried the young man. 'Would you make a
revolution, and upset everything? As for religion----'
'Say nothing,' said the Professor, 'about religion till I have shown you
the old one. Yes; there was once something grander than anything you
can imagine. We women, who have belittled everything, have even spoiled
our religion.'
They passed a couple of young men wending their way to the gymnasium
with racquets in their hands.
'They are the sons of the doctor or lawyer, I suppose,' said the
Professor looking after them. 'Fine young fellows! But what are we to do
with them? The law says that every boy, except the son of a peeress,
shall learn a trade. No doubt these boys have learned a trade, but they
do not practise it. They stay at home idle, or they spend their days in
athletics. Some time or other they will marry a woman in their own rank,
and then the rest of their lives will be devoted to managing the house
and looking after the children, while their wives go to office and earn
the family income.'
'What would you do with them?'
'Nay, Lord Chester; what will _you_ do for them? That is the question.'
The next day they left Manchester, and proceeded on their journey. At
Liverpool they saw seven miles of splendid old docks, lining the banks
of the river; but there were no ships. The trade of the old days had
long since left the place: it was a small town now with a few fishing
smacks. The Professor enlarged upon the history of the past.
'But were the men happy?'
'I do not know. That is nowhere stated. I imagine there used to be
happiness of a kind for men in forming part of a busy hive. At least
the other plan--our plan--does not seem to produce much solid
happiness....'
Gradually Lord Chester was being led to think less of the individual and
more of his work. But it took time to eradicate his early impressions.
At Liverpool they visited the convict-prison--the largest prison in
England. It was that prison specially devoted to the worst class of
criminals--those undergoing life sentences for wife-beating. They found
a place surrounded by a high wall and a deep ditch; they were admitted,
on the Professor showing a pass, through a door at which a dozen female
warders were sitting on duty. One of them was told off to conduct them
round the prison. The convicts, coarsely clad in sackcloth, were engaged
in perpetually doing unnecessary and profitless work--some dug holes
which others filled up again; some carried heavy weights up ladders and
down again,--there was the combined cruelty of monotony, of uselessness,
and of excessive toil. In this prison--because physical force is
necessary for men of violence--they had men as well as women for
warders. These were stationed at intervals, and were armed with loaded
guns and bayonets. It was well known that there was always great
difficulty in persuading men to take this place, or to keep them when
there. Mostly they were criminals of less degree, who purchased their
liberty by becoming, for a term of years, convict-warders.
'No punishment too bad for wife-beaters,' said the Professor when they
came away. 'What punishment is there for women who make slaves of their
husbands, lock them up, kill them with work? or for old women who marry
young men against their will?'
'You must clear out that den,' she went on, after a pause. 'A good many
men are imprisoned there on the sole unsupported charge of their
wives--innocent, no doubt; and if not innocent, then they have been
punished enough.'
Lord Chester was being led gradually to regard himself, not as an
intending rebel, but as a great reformer. Always the Professor spoke of
the future as certain, and of his project, yet vague without a definite
plan, as of a thing actually accomplished.
They left the dreary and deserted Liverpool, with its wretched
convict-prison. They drove first across the country, which had once been
covered with manufacturing towns, now all reduced to villages; they
stopped at little country inns in places where there yet lingered
traditions of former populousness; they passed sometimes gaunt ruins of
vast brick buildings which had been factories; the roads were quiet and
little used; the men they met were chiefly rustics going to or returning
from their work; there was no activity, no traffic, no noise upon these
silent highways.
'How can we ever restore the busy past?' asked Lord Chester.
'First release your men; let them work together; let them be taught; the
old creative energy will waken again in the brains of men, and life will
once more go forward. It will be for you to guide the movement when you
have started it.'
As their journey drew to a conclusion, the Professor gave utterance, one
by one, to several maxims of great value and importance:--
'Give men love,' she said; 'we women have killed love.'
'There is no love without imagination. Now the imagination cannot put
forth its flowers but for the sake of young and beautiful women.'
'No true work without emulation; we have killed emulation.'
'No progress without ambition; we have killed ambition.'
'It is better to advance the knowledge of the world one inch than to win
the long-jump with two-and-twenty feet.'
'Better vice than repression. A drunken man may be a lesson to keep his
fellows sober.'
'Nothing great without suffering.'
'Strong arm, strong brain.'
'When women begin to invent they will justify their supremacy.'
'The Higher Intelligence is a phrase that must be transferred, not lost
sight of.'
'Men who are happy laugh--they must laugh. Women, who have never felt
the necessity of laughter, have killed it in men.'
'The sun is masculine--he creates. The moon is feminine--she only
reflects.'
And so, with many other parables, dark sayings, and direct teachings,
the wise woman brought her disciple to her own house at Cambridge.
CHAPTER VII
ON THE TRUMPINGTON ROAD
Professor Ingleby lived on the Trumpington Road, about a mile and a
quarter from the Senate House. Her residence was a large and handsome
house shut in by a high wall, with extensive grounds, and surrounded by
high trees, so that no one could see the garden from the main road. The
house was a certain mystery to the girls who on Sundays took their
constitutional to Trumpington and back. Some said that the Professor was
ashamed of her husband, which was the reason why he was never seen, not
even at Church; others said that she kept him in such rigid discipline
that she refused the poor man permission even to walk outside the
grounds of the house. Her two daughters, who regularly came to church
with their mother, were pretty girls, but had a submissive gentle look
quite strange among the turbulent young spirits of the University. They
were never seen in society; and for some reason unknown to anybody
except herself, the Professor refused to enter them at any college.
Meantime no one was invited to the house: when one or two ladies tried
to break through the reserve so strangely maintained by the most
learned Professor in the University, and left their cards, the visit
was formally returned by the Professor herself, accompanied by one of
her girls. But things went no further, and invitations were neither
accepted nor returned. It is therefore not surprising that this learned
woman, who seemed guided by none of the motives which influence most
women--who was not ambitious, who refused rank, who desired not
money--gradually came to bear a mythical character. She was represented
as an ogre: the undergraduates, always fond of making up stories, amused
themselves by inventing legends about her home life and her autocratic
rule. Some, however, said that the house was haunted, her husband off
his head, and her daughters weak in their intellect. There was,
therefore, some astonishment when it was announced officially that the
Professor was bringing Lord Chester to stay at her own house--'in
perfect seclusion,' added the paper, to the disgust of all Cambridge,
who would have liked to make much of this interesting young peer.
However, long vacation had begun when he came up, so that the few left
were either the reading undergraduates or the dons.
'Here,' said the Professor, as she ushered her guest into a spacious
hall, with doors opening into other rooms on either hand, 'you will find
yourself in a house of the past. Nothing in my husband's house, or
hardly anything, that is not two hundred years old at least; nothing
which does not belong to the former dynasty: we use as little as
possible that is new.'
Lord Chester looked about him: the hall was hung with pictures, and
these were of a kind new to him, for they represented scenes in which
man was not only the executive hand, but also the directing head,
usurping to himself the functions of the Higher Intelligence. Thus Man
was sitting on the Judicial Bench; Man was preaching in the Church; Man
was holding debate in Parliament; Man was writing books; Man was
studying. Where, then, was Woman? She was represented as spinning,
sewing, nursing the baby, engaged in domestic pursuits, being wooed by
young lovers, young herself, sitting among the children.
'You like our pictures?' asked the Professor. 'They were painted during
the Subjection of Woman two hundred years ago. Men in those days worked
for women; women gave men their love and sympathy: without love, which
is a stimulus, labour is painful to man; without sympathy, which
supports, labour is intolerable to him; with, or without,
labour--necessary work with head or hand for the daily bread--is almost
always intolerable to woman. Therefore, since the Great Revolution,
there has been no good work done by man, and no work at all by women.'
She opened a door, holding the handle for a moment, as if with reverence
for what was within.
'Here is our library,' she whispered. 'Come, let me present you to my
husband. I warn you, beforehand, that our manners are like our
furniture--old-fashioned.'
It was a large room, filled with books of ancient aspect: at a table
sat, among his papers, a venerable old man, the like of whom Lord
Chester had never seen before. It must be owned that the existing régime
did not produce successful results in old men. They were too often
frivolous or petulant; they were sometimes querulous; they complained of
the want of respect with which they were treated, and yet generally
neither said nor did anything worthy of respect.
But this was a dignified old man: thin white locks hung round his square
forehead, beneath which were eyes still clear and full of kindliness;
and his mobile lips parted with a peculiarly sweet smile when he greeted
his guest. For the first time in his life, Lord Chester looked, with
wonder, upon a man who bore in his face and his carriage the air of
Authority.
The room was his study: the walls were hidden with books; the table was
covered with papers. Strange, indeed, to see an old man in such a place,
engaged in such pursuits!
'Be welcome,' he said, 'to my poor house. Your lordship has, I learn,
been the pupil of my wife.'
'An apt and ready pupil,' she interposed, with meaning.
'I rejoice to hear it. You will now, if you please, be my pupil--for a
short time only. You have much to learn, and but a brief space to learn
it in before we proceed upon the Mission of which you know. Will you
leave Lord Chester with me, my dear?'
The Professor left them alone.
'Sit down, my lord. I would first ask you a few questions.'
He questioned the young man with great care; ascertained that he knew
already, having been taught in these late days by the Professor, the
most important points of ancient history; that he was fully acquainted
with his own pedigree, and _what it meant_; that he was filled with
indignation and shame at the condition of his country; that he was ready
to throw off the restraints and prejudices of Religion, and eager to
become the Leader of the 'Great Revolt,' if he only knew how to begin.
'But,' said Lord Chester, stammering and confused, 'I shall want
help--direction--even words. If the Professor----' he looked about in
confusion.
'I will find you the help you want. Look to me, and to those who work
with me, for guidance. This is a man's movement, and must be guided by
men alone. Sufficient for the moment that we have in your lordship our
true leader, that you will consent to be guided until you know enough to
lead--and that you will be with us--to the very death, if that must be.'
'To the very death,' replied Lord Chester, holding out his hand.
'It is well that you should first know,' the old man went on, 'who I am,
and to what hands you entrust your future. Learn, then, that by secret
laying on of hands the ancient Episcopal Order hath been carried on, and
continues unto this day. Though there are now but two or three Bishops
remaining of the old Church, I am one--the Bishop of London. This
library contains the theology of our Church--the works of the Fathers.
The Old Faith shall be taught to you--the faith of your wise fathers.'
Lord Chester stared; for the Professor had told him nothing of this.
'You may judge of all things,' said the Bishop, 'by their fruits. You
have seen the fruits of the New Religion: you have gone through the
length and the breadth of the land, and have found whither the
superstition of the Perfect Woman leads. I shall teach you the nobler
Creed, the higher Faith,--that'--here his voice lowered, and his eyes
were raised--'that, my son, of the PERFECT MAN--the DIVINE MAN.
'And now,' he went on, after a pause, ringing the bell, 'I want to
introduce to you some of your future officers and followers.'
There appeared in answer to this summons a small band of half a dozen
young men. Among them, to Lord Chester's amazement, were two friends of
his own, the very last men whom he would have expected to meet. They
were Algy Dunquerque, the young fellow we have already mentioned, and a
certain Jack Kennion, as good a rider, cricketer, and racquet-player as
any in the country. These two men in the plot? Had he been walking and
living among conspirators?
The two entered, but they said nothing. Yet the look of satisfaction on
their faces spoke volumes.
'Gentlemen,' said the Bishop, 'I desire to present you to the Earl of
Chester. In this house and among ourselves he is already what he will
shortly be to the whole world--His Royal Highness the Earl of Chester,
heir to the crown--nay--actual King of England. The day long dreamed of
among us, my children--the day for which we have worked and planned--has
arrived. Before us stands the Chief, willing and ready to lead the Cause
in person.'
They bowed profoundly. Then each one advanced in turn, took his hand,
and murmured words of allegiance.
The first was a tall thin young man of four-and-twenty, with eager eyes,
pale face, and high narrow forehead, named Clarence Veysey. 'If you are
what we hope and pray,' he said, looking him full in the face with
searching gaze, 'we are your servants to the death. If you are not, God
help England and the Holy Faith!'
The next who stepped forward was Jack Kennion. He was a young man of his
own age, of great muscular development, with square head, curly locks,
and laughing eyes. He held out his hand and laughed. 'As for me,' he
said, 'I have no doubt as to what you are. We have waited for you a long
time, but we have you at last.'
The next was Algy Dunquerque.
'I told you,' he said laughing, 'that I was ready to follow you. But I
did not hope or expect to be called upon so soon. Something, of course,
I knew, because I am a pupil of the Bishop, and knew how long Professor
Ingleby has been working upon your mind. At last, then!' He heaved a
mighty sigh of satisfaction, and then began to laugh. 'Ho, ho! Think of
the flutter among the petticoats! Think of the debates in the House!
Think of the excommunications!'
One after the other shook hands, and then the Bishop spoke, as if
interpreting the thought of all.
'This day,' he said, 'is the beginning of new things. We shall recall
the grandeurs of the past, which no living man can remember. Time was
when we were a mighty country, the first in the world: we had the true
Religion, two thousand years old; a grand state Church; we had an
ancient dynasty and a constitutional monarchy; we had a stately
aristocracy always open to new families; we had an immense commerce; we
had flourishing factories; we had great and loyal colonies; we had a
dense and contented population; we had enormous wealth; science in every
branch was advancing; there was personal freedom; every man could raise
himself from the lowest to the highest rank; there was no post too high
for the ambition of a clever lad. In those days Man was in command.
'Let us,' he continued, after a pause, 'think how all this has been
changed. We have lost our reigning family, and have neither king nor
queen; we have thrown away our old hereditary aristocracy, and replaced
it by a false and pretentious House, in which the old titles have
descended through a line of women, and the new ones have been created
for the noisiest of the first female legislators; we have abolished our
House of Commons, and given all the power to the Peeresses; we have lost
the old worship, and invented a creed which has not even the merit of
commanding the respect of those who are most interested in keeping it
up. Does any educated woman now believe in the Perfect Woman, except as
a means of keeping men down?
'As for our trade, it is gone; as for our greatness, it is gone; as for
our industries, they are gone; as for our arts, they have perished: we
stand alone, the contempt of the world to whom we are no longer a Power.
Our men are kept in ignorance; they are forbidden to rise, by their own
work, from one class to another; class and caste distinctions are
deepened, and differences in rank are multiplied; there is no more
science; electricity, steam, heat, and air are the servants of man no
longer; men cannot learn; they are even forbidden to meet together; they
have lost the art of self-government; they are cowed; they are cursed
with a false religion; they have no longer any hopes or any aims.
'Fortunately,' he continued, 'they have left man something: he has
retained his strength; they have even legislated with the view of
keeping him healthy and strong. In your strength, my sons, shall you
prosper. But you will have to revive the old spirit. That will be the
most difficult--the only difficult--task. Take Lord Chester away now, my
children, and show him our relics of the past.'
In the room next to the library was a collection of strange and
wonderful things, all new and unintelligible to Lord Chester. Jack
Kennion acted as exhibitor.
'These,' he said, 'are chiefly models of the old machinery. I study them
daily, in the hope of restoring the mechanical skill of the past. These
engines with multitudinous wheels which are so intricate to look at,
and yet so simple in their action, formerly served to keep great
factories at work, and found occupation for hundreds and thousands of
men; these black round boxes were steam machines which dragged long
trains full of people about the country at the rate of sixty miles an
hour; these glittering things in brass were made to illustrate knowledge
which has long since died out, unless I can recover it by the aid of the
old books; these complicated things were weapons among us when science
ruled everything; all these books treat of the forgotten knowledge;
these paintings on the wall show the life of the very world as it was
when men ruled it; these maps showed the former greatness of the
country: everything here proves from what a height we have fallen. And
to think that it is only here--in this one house of all England--that we
can feel what we once were,--what we _will_ be--yes, we _will_
be--again.'
His eyes were lit with fire, his cheeks aflame as he spoke.
During the talk of this afternoon, Lord Chester discovered that the
education of every one of these young men had been conducted with a view
to his future work in or after the Revolution. Thus Algernon Dunquerque
was learned in the old arts of drilling and ordering masses of men. Jack
Kennion had studied mechanics and mathematics; another had learned
ancient law and history; another had been trained to speak,--and so on.
Clarence Veysey, for his part, had been taught by the Bishop the
Mysteries of the Old Religion, and was an ordained Priest. These things
the new recruit made out from the eager talk of his friends, who seemed
all of them anxious to instruct him at once in everything they knew.
It was a relief at last, when the first bell rang, to be alone for a few
minutes, if only to get his ideas cleared a little. What had he learned
since he left London? What was before him?
Anyhow, change, action, freedom.
He found the Professor and her daughters in the drawing-room. The girls
received him with smiles of welcome. The elder, Grace--a girl whose
sweetness of face was new to Lord Chester, accustomed to the hard lines
which a life of combat so early brings upon a woman's eyes and
brow--had, which was the first thing he noticed in her, large, clear
gray eyes of singular purity. The other, Faith, was smaller, slighter,
and perhaps more lovely, though in a different way, a less spiritual
fashion. Both, in the outer world would have been considered painfully
shy. Lord Chester was beginning to consider shyness as a virtue in
women. At all events, it was a quality rarely experienced outside.
He was already prepared for many changes, and for customs new to him.
Yet he was hardly ready for the complete reversal of social rules as he
experienced at this dinner. For the subjects of talk were started by the
men, who almost monopolised the conversation; while the ladies merely
threw in a word here and there, which served as a stimulus, and showed
appreciation rather than a desire to join in the argument. And such
talk! He had been accustomed to hear the ladies talk almost
uninterruptedly of politics--that is, of personal matters, squabbles in
the House, disputes about precedence, intrigues for title and higher
rank--and dress. Nothing else, as a rule, occupied the dinner-table. The
men, who rarely spoke, were occasionally questioned about some
cricket-match, some long race, or some other kind of athletics. This was
due to politeness only, however; for, the question put and answered, the
questioner showed how little interest she took in the subject by
instantly returning to the subject previously in discussion. But at this
table,--the Professor's--no, the Bishop's table,--the men talked of art,
and in terms which Lord Chester could not understand. Nevertheless, he
gathered that the so-called art of the Academicians was a thing
absolutely beneath contempt. They talked of science, especially the
square-headed youth Jack Kennion, to whom they deferred as to an
authority; and he spoke of subjects, forms, and laws of which Lord
Chester was absolutely ignorant: they talked of history, and all,
including the Bishop's daughters--strange, how easily the new proselyte
fell into the way of considering how the highest education is best
fitted for men!--showed as intimate an acquaintance with the past as the
Professor herself. They talked of religion; and here all deferred to the
Bishop, who, while he spoke with authority, invited discussion.
Strangest thing of all!--every man spoke as if his own opinion were
worth considering. There was not the slightest deference to authority.
The great and standard work of Cornelia Nipper on Political Economy, in
which she summed up all that has been said, and left, as was taught at
Cambridge, nothing more to be said; the _Encyclopædia of Science_,
written by Isabella Bunter, in which she showed the absurdity of pushing
knowledge into worthless regions; the sermons and dogmas of the
illustrious and Reverend Violet Swandown, considered by the orthodox as
containing guidance and comfort for the soul under all possible
circumstances,--these works were openly scoffed at and derided.
Lord Chester said little; the conversation was for the most part beyond
him. At his side sat the Bishop's elder daughter, Grace--a young lady of
twenty-one or twenty-two, of a type strange to him. She had a singularly
quiet, graceful manner; she listened with intelligent pleasure, and
showed her appreciation by smiles rather than by words; when she spoke,
it was in low tones, yet without hesitation; she was almost
extravagantly deferent to her father, but towards her mother showed the
affection of a loved and trusted companion. It was too much the custom
in society for girls to show no regard whatever for the opinions or the
wishes of their fathers.
The younger daughter, Faith, talked less; but Lord Chester noticed that
as she sat next to Algy Dunquerque, that young man frequently ceased to
join in the general conversation, and exchanged whispers with her; and
they were whispers which made her eyes to soften and her cheek to glow.
Good; in the new state of things the men would do the wooing for
themselves. He thought of Constance, and wished she had been there.
When the ladies retired, the Bishop began to talk of the Great Cause.
'Your training,' he said to Lord Chester, 'has been, by my directions,
that of a Prince rather than a private gentleman. That is to say, you
have been taught a great many things, but you have not become a
specialist. These friends of ours,'--he pointed to his group of
disciples,--'are, each in his own line, better than yourself, and better
than you will ever try to become. A Prince should be a patron of art,
learning, and science and literature; but it does not become him to be
an artist, a scholar, a philosopher, or a poet. You must be contented to
sit outside the circle, so to speak. Now let us speak of our chances.'
He proceeded to discuss the best way of raising the country. His plan
was a simultaneous revolt in half a dozen country districts; an appeal
to the rustics; the union of forces; the seizure of towns; continual
preaching and exhortation for the men; repression for the women; the
destruction of their sacred pictures and figures; but no violence--above
all, no violence. The Bishop was an ecclesiastic, and he was a recluse.
He therefore did not understand what men are like when the passion of
fighting is roused in them. He dreamed of a bloodless Revolution; he
pictured the men voluntarily confessing the wisdom and the truth of the
Old Religion. The event proved that all human institutions rest on
force, and cannot be upset without the employment of force. To be sure,
women cannot fight; but they had on their side the aid of superstition
and the strong arms of the men whom they led in superstitious chains.
Upstairs one of the girls played and sang old songs: the words were
strange; words and air went direct to the heart. Lord Chester listened
disturbed and anxious, yet exultant.
The Professor pressed his hand.
'It is death or success,' she whispered. 'Be of good cheer; in either
event you shall be counted noble among the men to come.'
When Grace Ingleby wished him good-night, she held his hand in hers with
the firm grasp of a sister.
'You are one of us,' she said frankly. 'In this house we are all
brothers and sisters in hope and in Religion. And if they found us out,'
she added with a laugh, 'we should be brothers and sisters in death.
Courage, my lord! There is all to gain.'
Faith Ingleby, the younger sister, who had less ardour for the Cause
than for the men who were pledged to it, whispered low, as he took her
hand,--
'We know all about Lady Carlyon; and we pray daily for her, and for you.
Mother says she is worthy to become--to be raised--to be----'
'What?' he asked, reddening; for the girl hesitated and looked at him
with a kind of awe.
'Queen of England.'
'Don't anticipate, Faith,' said Algy. 'Considering, however, what we
have come out of, it strikes me that we have nothing to lose, whatever
we may gain. Come, Chester, we want to have a quiet talk together as
soon as the Bishop goes to bed.'
* * * * *
They talked for nearly the whole night. There was so much to say; one
subject after another was started; there were so many chances to
consider,--that it was four o'clock when they parted. Algy found,
somewhere or other, a bottle of champagne.
'Come,' he cried, 'a stirrup-cup! I drink to the day when the "King
shall enjoy his own again."'
'Algy!' said Lord Chester. 'To think that you have deceived me!'
'To think,' he replied laughing, 'that we have dreamed of this day so
long! What would our Revolution be worth unless we were to have our
hereditary and rightful king for leader! Yet, I confess it was hard to
see you drawn daily closer to us, and not to hold out hands to drag you
in--long ago. Yes, the Professor was right. She is always right. She
glories in her obedience to the Bishop, but--whisper,--we all know very
well that the Bishop does nothing without consulting her first, and
nothing that she does not agree with. Don't be too sure, dear boy, about
the Supremacy of Man.'
CHAPTER VIII
THE BISHOP
At seven in the morning, Lord Chester was roused from an extremely
disagreeable dream. He was, in this vision, being led off to execution,
in company with the Bishop, Constance, the Professor, and Grace Ingleby.
The Duchess of Dunstanburgh headed the procession, carrying the ropes in
her own illustrious hand. Her face was terrible in its sternness. The
Chancellor was there, pointing skinny fingers, and saying 'Yah!' Before
him, within five minutes' walk, stood five tall and comely gallows, with
running tackle beautifully arranged; also, in case there should be any
preference expressed by the criminals for fancy methods of execution,
there were stakes and fagots, guillotines, wheels to be broken upon, men
with masks, and other accessories of public execution.
It was therefore a relief, on opening his eyes, to discover that he was
as yet only a peaceful guest of Professor Ingleby, and that the Great
Revolt had not yet begun. 'At all events,' he said cheerfully, 'I shall
have the excitement of the attempt, if I am to be hanged or beheaded for
it. And most certainly it will be less disagreeable to be hanged than to
marry the Duchess. Perhaps even there may be, if one is lucky, an
opportunity of telling her so. A last dying speech of that kind would be
popular.'
Shaking off gloomy thoughts, therefore, he dressed hastily, and
descended to the Hall, where most of the party of the preceding night
were collected, waiting for him. The tinkling of a bell which had
awakened him now began again. Algy Dunquerque told him it was the bell
for chapel.
'But,' he added, 'don't be afraid. It is not the kind of service we are
accustomed to. There is no homily on obedience; and, thank goodness,
there is no Perfect Woman here!'
The chapel was a long room, fitted simply with a few benches, a table at
the east end, a brass eagle for lectern, and some books. The Professor
and the girls were already in their places, and in a few moments the
Bishop himself appeared, in lawn-sleeves and surplice.
For the first time Lord Chester witnessed the spectacle of a man
conducting the services. It gave a little shock and a momentary sense of
shame, which he shook off as unworthy. A greater shock was the simple
service of the Ancient Faith which followed.
To begin with, there were no flowers, no incense girls, no anthems, no
pictures of Sainted Women, no figures of the Holy Mother, no veiled
Perfect Woman on an altar crowned with roses; and there were no
genuflections, no symbolical robes, no mystic whisperings, no change of
dress, no pretence at mysterious powers. All was perfectly simple--a few
prayers, a lesson from a great book, a hymn, and then a short address.
The Ancient Faith had long since become a thing dim and misty, and
wellnigh forgotten save to a few students. Most knew of it only as an
obsolete form of religion which belonged to the semi-barbarism of Man's
supremacy: it had been superseded by the fuller revelation of the
Perfect Woman,--imposed, so to speak, upon the world for the elevation
of women into their proper place, and for the guidance of subject man.
It was carefully taught with catechism, articles, doctrines, and
history, to children as soon as they could run about. It was now a
settled Faith, venerable by reason of its endowments and dignities
rather than its age, supported by all the women of England, defended on
historical and intellectual grounds by thousands of pens, by weekly
sermons, by domestic prayers, by maternal admonitions, by the terrors of
the after-world, by the hopes of that which is present with us. A great
theological literature had grown up around the Faith. It was the only
recognised and tolerated religion; it was not only the religion of the
State, but also the very basis of the political constitution. For as the
Perfect Woman was the goddess whom they worshipped, the Peeresses who
ruled were rulers by divine right, and the Commons--before that House
had been abolished--were members of their House by divine permission:
every member officially described herself a member by divine permission.
To dispute about the authority of the ecclesiastical Decrees which came
direct from the Upper House, was blasphemy, a criminal offence, and
punishable by death; and to deny the authority of the Decrees was to
incur certain death. It is not, therefore, surprising to hear that there
was neither infidelity nor nonconformity in the whole country. On the
other hand, because there must be some outlet for private and
independent opinion, there were many interpretations of the law, and
opinions as many and as various as those who disputed concerning the
right interpretation. Under the rule of woman, there could be no doubt,
no compromise, no dispute, on essentials. The principles of religion,
like those of moral, social, and political economy, were fixed and
unalterable; they were of absolute certainty. As to the Articles of
Religion, as to the Great Dogma of the Revealed Perfect Woman, there
could be no doubt, no discussion.
And now, after a most religious training, Lord Chester--a man who ought
to have accepted and obeyed in meekness--was actually assisting, in a
spirit half curious, half converted, at a service in which the Perfect
Woman was entirely left out. What next? and next?
Ever since Lord Chester had become awakened to the degradation of man
and the possibility of his restoration, his mind had been continually
exercised by the absolute impossibility of reconciling his new Cause
with his Religion. How could the Grand Revolt be carried out in the
teeth of the most sacred commandments? How could he remain a faithful
servant of the Church, and yet rebel against the first law of the
Church? How could he continue to worship the Perfect Woman when he was
thrusting woman out of her place? We may suppose Cromwell, by way of
parallel, trying to reconcile the divine right of kings with the
execution of Charles the First.
Here, however, though as yet he understood it not, there was a service
which absolutely ignored the Perfect Woman. The prayers were addressed
direct to the Eternal Father as the Father. The language was plain and
simple. The words of the hymn which they sang were strong and simple,
ringing true as if from the heart, like the hammer on the anvil.
The Bishop closed his book, bowed his head for a few moments in silent
prayer, then rose and addressed his congregation; and, as he spoke, the
young men clasped hands, and the girls sobbed.
'Beloved,' he began, 'at this moment it would be strange indeed if our
hearts were not moved within us--if our prayers and praises were not
spontaneous. Let us remember that we are the descendants of those who
handed down the lamp in secrecy from one to the other, always with
prayer that they might live to see the Day of Restoration. The Day of
Attempt, indeed, is, nigh at hand. We pray with all our hearts that we
may bring the Return of the Light of the World. Then may those who
witness the glorious sight cry aloud to depart in peace, because there
will be nothing more for them to pray for. What better thing could there
be for us, my children, than to die in this attempt?
'You who have learned the story of the past; you who worship with me in
the great and simple Faith of your ancestors; you who know how man did
wondrous deeds in the days of old, and how he fell and became a slave,
who was created to be master; you who are ready to begin the upward
struggle; you who are the apostles of the Old Order,--children of the
Promise, go forth in your strength and conquer.'
Then he gave them the Benediction, and the service was concluded.
Half an hour afterwards, when the emotions of this act of worship were
somewhat calmed, they met at breakfast. The girls' eyes were red, and
the young men were grave; but the conversation flowed in the accustomed
grooves.
After breakfast, Lord Chester was intrusted to the care of the pale and
austere young man who had been first presented to him.
'Clarence Veysey,' said the Bishop, 'is my secretary, my private
chaplain, and my pupil. He is himself in full priest's orders, and will
instruct you in the rudiments of our Faith. We do not substitute one
authority for another, Lord Chester. You will be exhorted to try and
examine for yourself the doctrines before you accept them. Yet you will
understand that what you are taught stood the test of question, doubt,
and attack for more than two thousand years before it was violently torn
from mankind. Go, my son, receive instruction with docility; but do not
fear to question and to doubt.'
'I am indeed a priest,' said Clarence Veysey, taking him into the
library. 'I have been judged worthy of the laying on of hands.'
'And do not your friends know or suspect?'
'No,' he replied. 'It is, in fact'--here he blushed and hesitated--'a
position of great difficulty. I must, perforce, until we are ripe for
action, act a deceptive part. The necessity for concealment is a
terrible thing. Yet, what help? One remembers him who bowed himself in
the House of Rimmon.'
'The concealment,' said Lord Chester, unfeelingly, because he knew
nothing about Naaman, 'would be part of the fun.'
'The fun?' this young priest gasped. 'But, of course--you do not know.
We are in deadly earnest, and he calls it--fun: we strive for the return
of the world to the Faith, and he calls it--fun!'
'I beg your pardon,' said Lord Chester. 'I seem--I hardly know why--to
have offended you. I really think it must be very good fun to have this
pretty secret all to yourself when you are at home.'
'Oh! he is very--very ignorant,' cried Clarence.
'Well----' Lord Chester did not mind being instructed by the old Bishop
or by the Professor. But the superiority of this smooth-cheeked youth of
his own age galled him. Nevertheless, he saw that the young priest was
deeply in earnest, and he restrained himself.
'Teach me, then,' he said.
'As for the deception,' said Clarence, 'it is horrible. One falsehood
leads to another. I pretend weakness--even disease and pain--to escape
being married to some one; because what can a man of my position--of
the middle class--do to earn my bread? Then I have simulated sinful
paroxysms of bad temper. This keeps women away: so long as I am believed
to be ill-tempered and sickly, of course no one will offer to marry me.
A reputation of ill-temper is, fortunately, the best safeguard possible
for a young man who would possess his soul in freedom. I try to persuade
myself that necessary deception is harmless deception; and if we
succeed----' he paused and sighed. 'Come, my lord, let me teach you
something of the true Faith.'
They spent the whole morning together, while Clarence Veysey unfolded
the mysteries of the Ancient Faith, and showed how divine a thing it
was, and how fitted for every possible phase or emergency of life. His
earnestness, the sincerity and honesty of his belief, deeply moved Lord
Chester.
'But how,' asked the neophyte, 'came this wonderful religion to be
lost?'
'It was thrown away, not lost,' replied the priest. 'Even before the
women began to encroach upon the power of men, it was thrown away. Had
the Ancient Faith survived, we should have been spared the coming
struggle. It was thrown away. Men themselves threw it away--some
wilfully, others through weakness--receiving forms and the pretensions
of priests instead of the substance; so that they surrendered their
liberty, put the priest between themselves and the Father, practised the
servile rite of confession, and went on to substitute the image of the
Mother and Child upon their altars, in place of the Divine Manhood,
whose image had been in their fathers' hearts. Why, when after many
years it was resolved to place on every altar the Veiled Figure of the
Perfect Woman, the very thought of the Divine Man had been wellnigh
forgotten.
'But not lost,' he went on in a kind of rapture--'not lost. He lingers
still among us--here in this most sacred house. He is spoken of in
rustic speech; He lingers in rustic traditions; many a custom still
survives, the origin of which is now forgotten, which speaks to us who
knew of the dear old Faith.'
He spoke more of this old Faith,--the only solution, he declared, ever
offered, of the problem of life,--the ever-living Divine Brother, always
compassionate, always helping, always lifting higher the souls of those
who believe.
'See!' cried the enthusiast, falling on his knees, 'He is here. O
Christ--Lord--Redeemer, Thou art with us--yea, always and always!'
When he brought Lord Chester again into the presence of the Bishop, they
both had tears in their eyes.
'He comes, my lord,' said Clarence, a sober exultation in his voice--'he
comes as a catechumen, seeking instruction and baptism.'
Needless here to relate by what arguments, what teaching, Lord Chester
became a convert to the New Faith; nor how he was baptized, nor with
what ardour he entered into the doctrines of a religion the entrance to
which seemed like the bursting of prison-doors, the breaking of
fetters, the sudden rush of light. His new friends became, in a deeper
sense, his brothers and his sisters. They were of the same religion;
they worshipped God through the revelation of the Divine Man.
* * * * *
Then followed a quiet time of study, talk, and preparation, during which
Lord Chester remained in perfect seclusion, and went into no kind of
society. Professor Ingleby reported to Lady Boltons that her ward went
nowhere, desired no other companionship, amused himself with reading,
made no reference whatever to the Duchess or Lady Carlyon, and appeared
to be perfectly happy, in his 'quietest and most delightful manner.' The
letter was forwarded by Lady Boltons to the Chancellor, and by her to
the Duchess, who graciously expressed her approbation of the young man's
conduct. There was thus not the least suspicion. On Sunday, which was a
day of great danger, because the young men were growing impatient of
restraint, Lord Chester went to church with the Professor and her
daughters.
Here, while the organ pealed among the venerable aisles of the
University Church, while the clouds of incense rolled about before the
Veiled Statue on the altar, while the hymn was lifted, while the
preacher in shrill tones defended a knotty point in theology, while the
dons and heads of houses slumbered in their places, while the few
undergraduates remaining up for the Long leaned over the gallery and
looked about among the men below for some handsome face to admire, Lord
Chester sat motionless, gazing straight before him, obedient to the
form, with his thoughts far away.
The strangeness of the new life passed away quickly; the outside life,
the repression and pretence, were forgotten, or only remembered with
indignation. These young men were free; they laughed--a thing almost
unknown under a system when a jest was considered as necessarily either
rude or scoffing, certainly ill-bred--they laughed continually; they
made up stories; they related things which they had read. Algy
Dunquerque, who was an actor, made a little comedy of the Chancellor and
the Duchess; and another of the trial and execution of the rebels,
showing the fortitude of Clarence Veysey and the unwillingness of
himself; and another on the arguments for the Perfect Government. They
sat up late; they drank wine and sang songs; they talked of love and
courtship; above all, they read the old books.
Think of their joy, when they found on the shelves Shakespeare,
Rabelais, Fielding, Smollett, and Dickens! Think of their laughter when
they read aloud those rude and boisterous writers, who respected
nothing, not even marriage, and had never heard of any Perfect Woman at
all! Think, too, of their delight when the words of wisdom went home to
them; when they reflected on the great and wise Pantagruel, followed the
voyagers among the islands of Humanity, or watched over the career of
Hamlet, the maddened Prince of Denmark! These were for their leisure
hours, but serious business occupied the greater part of the day.
Continually, also, the young men held counsel together, and discussed
their plans. It was known that the rising would take place at the
earliest possible opportunity. But two difficulties presented
themselves. What would constitute a favourable opportunity? and what
would be the best way to take advantage of it?
Algy Dunquerque insisted, for his part, that they should ride through
the country, calling on the men to rise and follow. What, however, if
the men refused to rise and follow?
Jack Kennion thought they should organise a small body first, drill and
arm them, and then seize upon a place and hold it. Clarence Veysey
thought that he was himself able, book in hand, to persuade the whole of
the country.
For men to rise against women seems, since the event, a ridiculously
easy thing. As a matter of fact, it was an extremely difficult thing.
For the men had been so kept apart that they did not know how to act
together, and so kept in subjection that they were cowed. The prestige
of the ruling sex was a factor of the very highest importance. It was
established, not only by law, but by religion. How ask men to rebel when
their eternal interests demanded submission? Men, again, had no longer
any hope of change. While the present seems unalterable, no reform can
ever be attempted. Life was dull and monotonous; but how could it be
otherwise? Men had ceased to ask if a change was possible. And the
fighting spirit had left them; they were strong, of course, but their
strength was that of the patient ox.
If there was to be fighting, the material on the side of the Government
consisted first of the Horse Guards--three regiments, beautifully
mounted and accoutred in splendid uniforms--every man a tall handsome
fellow six feet high. These soldiers formed the escort at all great
Functions. They never left London; they enjoyed a very fair social
consideration; some of them were married to ladies of good family, and
all were married well; they were commanded from the War Office by a
department of a hundred secretaries, clerks, and copying-women.
Would they fight for the Government? or would they come over? At present
no one could tell.
In addition to these regiments, the nation, which had no real standing
army, maintained a force of constabulary for prison-warders. It has been
already stated that the prisons were crowded with desperadoes and
violent persons convicted of wife-beating, boxing their wives' ears,
pulling their hair, and otherwise ill-treating them against the religion
and law. They were coerced and kept in order by some fifteen or twenty
thousand of the constabulary, who were drilled and trained, commanded by
men chosen from their own ranks as sergeants, and armed with loaded
rifles. It is true that the men were recruited from the lowest
class--many of them being thieves, common rogues, and jailbirds, some of
them having even volunteered as an exchange from prison; their pay was
low, their fare poor; no woman of respectability would marry one of
them; they were rude, fierce, and ill-disciplined; they frequently
ill-treated the prisoners; and their superior officers--women who
commanded from the rooms of a department--had no control whatever over
them. They would probably fight, if only for the contempt and hatred in
which they were held by men.
Where, for their own part, could they look for soldiers?
There were the rustics. They were strong, healthy, accustomed to work
together, outspoken, never more than half-convinced of the superiority
of women, practising the duty of obedience no more than they were
obliged, fain to go courting on their own account, the despair of
preachers, who were constantly taunted with the ill success of their
efforts. Why, it was common--in some cases it was the rule--to find the
woman in the cottage that most contemptible thing--a man-pecked wife.
What was the good of paying wages to this wife, when her husband took
from her what he wanted for himself? What was the good of making laws
that men should not be abroad alone after dark, when in most of the
English villages the men stood loitering and talking together in the
streets till bed-time? What was the use of prohibiting all intoxicating
drinks, when in every village there were some women who made beer and
sold it to all the men who could pay for it, and though perfectly well
known, were never denounced?
'They are ready to our hand,' said Lord Chester. 'The only question is,
how to raise them, and how to arm them when they are raised.'
CHAPTER IX
THE GREAT CONSPIRACY
One morning, after six weeks of this pleasant life, Lord Chester, who
had made excellent use of his time, and was now as completely a man as
his companions, was summoned to the Bishop's study, and there received a
communication of the greatest importance.
The Professor was the only other person present.
'I have thought it prudent, Lord Chester,' said the Bishop gravely, 'to
acquaint you with the fact that the time is now approaching when the
great Attempt will be made. Are you still of the same mind? May we look
for your devotion--even if we fail?'
'You may, my lord.' The young man held out his hand, which the aged
Bishop clasped.
'It is good,' he said, 'to see the devotion of youth ready to renounce
life and its joys; to incur the perils of death and dishonour. This
seems hard even in old age, when life has given all it has to give. But
in young men---- Yet, my son, remember that the martyr does but change a
lower life for a higher.'
'I give you my life, if so it must be,' Lord Chester repeated.
'We take what is offered cheerfully. You must know then, my lord, that
the ground has been artfully prepared for us. This conspiracy, which you
have hitherto thought confined to one old man's house and half a dozen
young men living with him, is in reality spread over the whole country.
We have organisations, great or small, in nearly every town of England.
Some of them have as yet only advanced to the stage of discontent;
others have been pushed on to learn that the evil condition of men is
due chiefly to the government of women; others have learned that the sex
which rules ought to obey; others, that the worship of the Perfect Woman
is a vain superstition: none have gone so far as you and your friends,
who have learned more--the faith in the Perfect Man. That is because you
are to be the leaders, you yourself to be the Chief.
'Now, my lord, the thing having so far advanced, the danger is, that one
or other of our secret societies may be discovered. True, they do not
know the ramifications or extent of the conspiracy. They cannot,
therefore, do us any injury by treachery or unlucky disclosures; yet the
punishment of the members would be so severe as to strike terror into
the rest of our members. Therefore, it is desirable to begin as soon as
possible.'
'To-day!' cried the young Chief.
'No--not to-day, nor to-morrow. The difficulty is, to find some
pretext,--some reasonable pretext--under cover of which we might rise.'
'Can we not invent something.'
'There are the convicts. We might raise a force, and liberate those of
the prisoners who are victims of the harsh laws of violence and the
refusal to take a husband's evidence when accused by a wife. Then the
country would be with us. But I shrink from commencing this great
rebellion with bloodshed.'
He paused and reflected for a time.
'Then there is the labour cry. We might send our little force into the
towns, and call on the workmen to rise for freedom. But suppose they
would not rise? Then--more bloodshed.
'Or we might preach the Faith throughout the land, as Clarence Veysey
wants to do. But I incline not to the belief in wholesale miracles, and
the age of faith is past, and the number of our preachers is very
small.'
'You will be helped,' said the Professor, 'in a quarter where you least
suspect. I, too, with my girls, have done my little.'
She proceeded to open a packet of papers, which she laid before the
young Chief.
'What are these?' he asked.
'They are called Tracts for the Times,' she replied. 'They are addressed
to the Women of England.'
He took them up and read them carefully one by one.
'Who wrote these?'
'The girls and I together. We posted them wherever we could get
addresses--to all the undergraduates, to all the students of hospitals,
Inns of Court, and institutions of every kind; to quiet country
vicarages; to rich people and poor people,--wherever there was a
chance, we directed a tract.'
'You have done well,' said the Bishop.
'They have been found out, and a reward is offered for the printers. As
they were printed in the cellars of this house, the reward is not likely
to be claimed. They were all posted here, which makes the Government the
more uneasy. They believe in the spread of what they call irreligion
among the undergraduates. Unfortunately, the undergraduates are as yet
only discontented, because all avenues are choked.'
The Bishop took up one of the tracts again, and read it thoughtfully. It
was headed, _Tracts for the Times: For Young Women_, and was the first
number. The second title was _Work and Women_.
The writer, in brief telling paragraphs, very different from the
long-winded, verbose style everywhere prevalent, called upon women
seriously to consider their own position, and the state that things had
been brought to by the Government of the Peeresses. Every profession was
crowded: the shameful spectacle of women begging for employment, even
the most ill-paid, was everywhere seen; the law in both branches was
filled with briefless and clientless members; there were more doctors
than patients; there were more teachers than pupils; there were artists
without number who produced acres of painted canvas every year and found
no patrons; the Church had too many curates; while architects,
journalists, novelists, poets, orators, swarmed, and were all alike
ravenous for work at any rate of pay, even the lowest. The happiest
were the few who could win their way by competitive examination into the
Civil Service; and even there, the Government having logically applied
the sound political axioms of supply and demand to the hire of their
servants, they could hardly live upon their miserable pay, and must give
up all hopes of marriage. There was a time, the tract went on, when men
had to do all the work, including the work of the professions. In those
days all kinds of work were considered respectable, so that there was
not this universal run upon the professions. And in those days, said the
writer, the axiom of open competition in professional charges was not
acted up to, insomuch that physicians, barristers, and solicitors
charged a sum agreed upon by themselves--and that an adequate sum--for
services rendered; while the pay of the Service was given in
consideration to the amount required for comfortable living. The only
way out of the difficulty, concluded the author, was to limit the number
of those who entered the professions, to regulate the charges on a
liberal scale, and to increase the pay of the Services. As for the rest,
if women must work, they must do the things which women can do
well--sew, make dresses, cook, and, in fact, perform all those services
which were thought menial, unless, indeed, they preferred the hard work
of men in the fields and at the looms.
The second tract treated of the Idleness of Men.
By the wisdom of their ancestors, it had been ordained that every man
should be taught a handicraft, by means of which to earn his own living.
This wholesome rule had been allowed to fall into abeyance; for while
some sort of carpenter's work was nominally and officially taught in
boys' schools, it had long been considered a mark of social inferiority
for man to do any work at all. 'We educate our men,' the tract went on,
'in the practice of every gymnastic and athletic feat; we turn them out
strong, active, able to do and endure, and then we find nothing for them
to do. Is it their fault that they become vacuous, ill-tempered,
discontented, the bane of the house which their virtues ought to make a
happy home? What else can we expect? Whence the early falling off into
fat cheeks and flabby limbs? whence the love of the table--that vice
which stains our manhood? whence the apathy at Church services?--whence
should they come but from the forced idleness, the lack of interest in
life?'
The tract went on to call for a reform in this as in other matters. Let
the men be set to work; let men of all classes have to work. Why should
women do all, as well as think for all? 'It must be considered, again,
that every man cannot be married; indeed, under the present state of
things few women can think of marriage till they have arrived at middle
age, and therefore most men must remain single. Why should we doom them
to a long life of forced inaction? Happier far the rustic who ploughs
the field, or the cobbler who patches the village boots.' Then there
followed an artful and specious reference to old times: 'Under the
former régime, men worked, and women, in the freedom of the house,
thought. The nominal ruler was the Hand; the actual, the Head. In those
days, the flower of woman's life was not wasted in study and
competition. The maidens were wooed while they were young and beautiful;
their lovers worked for them, surrounded them with pleasant things,
lapped them in warmth, brought them all that they could desire, made
their lives a restful dream of love. It has come to this, O women of the
New Faith, that you have thrown away the love of men, and with it the
whole joy of creation! You worship the Woman; your mothers, happier in
their generation, were contented each to be worshipped by a man.'
'That is very good,' said the Bishop.
Then the Professor produced another and a more dangerous manifesto,
addressed to the young men of England. It was dark and mysterious: it
bade them be on the watch for a great and glorious change; they were to
remember the days when men were rulers; they were to distrust their
teachers, and especially the priestesses; they were to look with
loathing upon the inaction to which they were condemned; they were told
to ask themselves for what end their limbs were strong if they were to
do nothing all their lives; and they were taught how, in the old days,
the men did all the work, and were rewarded by marrying young and lovely
women. This tract had been circulated from hand to hand, none of the
agents in its distribution knowing anything of the plot.
There were others, all turning upon the evils of the times, and all
recalling the old days when women sat at home.
'We want,' said the Bishop, 'a pretext,--we want a spark which shall set
fire to this mass of discontent.'
That very night there was a stormy debate in the House of Peeresses. The
Duchess of Dunstanburgh, whose Ministry was kept in power by nothing but
the stern will of their leader, because it had never commanded the
confidence or even the respect of the House, came down with a bundle of
papers in her hand. They were these very tracts. She read them through,
one by one. She informed the House that these tracts had been circulated
wholesale: from every town in the country she received intelligence that
they had been taken from some girl's hands,--in many cases from the
innocent hands of young men. She said that it had been ascertained so
far that the tracts were posted from Cambridge; it was believed they
were the work of certain mischievous and infidel undergraduates. She had
taken the unusual course of instituting a college visitation, so far
without effect. Meantime she assured the House that if the author of
these tracts could be discovered, no punishment would be too severe to
meet the offence.
The Countess of Carlyon rose to reply. She said that no one regretted
more than herself the tone of these tracts. At the same time there was,
without doubt, ample cause for discontent. The professions were crammed;
thousands of learned young women were asking themselves where they were
to look for even daily bread. In the homes, the young men, seeing the
misery, were, for their part, asking why they should not work, if work
of any kind were to be got. To sit at home, and starve in gentility, was
a hard thing to do, even by the most patient and religious young man;
while for a girl to see the days go by barren and unprofitable, while
her beauty withered,--to have no hope of marriage; to see the man she
might have loved taken from her--here the Countess faced the Duchess
with indignant eyes--taken from her by one old enough to be his
grandmother,--surely here was cause enough for discontent! She urged the
appointment of a commission for the consideration of grievances; and she
urged, further, that the evidence of men, old and young, should be
received--especially on two important points: first, whether they really
_liked_ a life of inaction; and secondly, whether they really _liked_
marrying their grandmothers.
The scene which followed this motion was truly deplorable. The following
of Lady Carlyon consisted of all the younger members of the House--a
minority, but full of life and vigour; on the opposite side were the old
and middle-aged Peeresses, who had been brought up in the doctrine of
woman's divine right of authority, and of man's divine rule of
obedience. The elders had a tremendous majority, of course; but not the
less, the fact that such a motion could be made was disquieting. The
debate was not reported, but it got abroad; and while the tracts
circulated more widely than ever, no more were seized, because they
were all kept hidden, and circulated underhand.
From end to end of the country, the talk was of nothing but of the old
times. Was it true, the girls asked, that formerly the women ruled at
home, while the men did all the work? If that was so, would no one find
a compromise by which they could restore that part, at least, of the
former régime? Oh, to end these weary struggles,--these studies, which
led to examinations; these examinations, which led to diplomas; these
diplomas which led to nothing; these agonising endeavours to trample
upon each other, to push themselves into notoriety, to snatch the scraps
of work from each other's hands! Oh, to rest, to lie still, to watch the
men work! Oh--but this they whispered with clasping of hands--oh, to be
worshipped by a lover young and loyal! What did the tract say? Happy
women of old, when there was no Perfect Woman, but each was the goddess
of one man!
CHAPTER X
THE FIRST SPARK
In the early autumn the Cambridge party broke up. Clarence Veysey was
the first to go. His sisters wanted him at home, they said.
'They are good girls,' he sighed, 'and less unsexed than most of their
sex. Thanks to my reputation for ill health, they do not interfere with
my pursuits, and I can read and meditate. Writing is, of course,
dangerous.'
Lord Chester had not been long at the Professor's before he discovered
two of those open secrets which are known by everybody. They were
naturally affairs of the heart. It was pleasant to find that the young
priest, the ardent apostle of the old Faith, was in love, and with Grace
Ingleby. The courtship was cold, yet serious; he loved her with the
selfish affection of men who have but one absorbing interest in life,
and yet want a wife in whom to confide, and from whom to receive
undivided care and worship. This he would find in Grace Ingleby,--one of
those fond and faithful women who are born full of natural religion, to
whom love, faith, and enthusiasm are as the air which they breathe.
The other passion was of a less spiritual kind. Algy Dunquerque, in
fact, was in love with Faith Ingleby,--head over ears in love, madly in
love,--and she with him. He would break off the most absorbing
conversation--even a speculative discussion as to how they would carry
themselves, and what they would say, when riding in the cart to
execution--in order to walk about under the trees with the girl.
'The fact is,' he explained, 'that if it were not for Faith and for you,
I doubt if I should have been secured at all for the Revolution. One
more good head would have been saved.'
Another complication made his case serious, and added fresh reasons for
despatch in the work before them. His mother addressed him, while he was
at Cambridge, a long and serious letter--that kind of letter which must
be attended to.
After compliments of the usual kind to the Professor and to Lord
Chester,--- it was for the sake of this young man's friendship, and its
possible social advantages, that Algy, as well as Jack Kennion, was
permitted to stay so long from home,--Lady Dunquerque opened upon
business of a startling nature. She reminded her son that he was now
two-and-twenty years of age, a time when many young men of position are
already established. 'I have been willing,' she said, 'to give you a
long run of freedom,--partly, I confess, because of your friendship for
Lord Chester, who, though in many respects not quite the model for quiet
and home-loving boys'--here Algy read the passage over again, and nodded
his head in approbation--'will be quite certainly the Duke of
Dunstanburgh, and in that position will be the first gentleman of
England. But an event has occurred, an event of such good fortune, that
I am compelled to recall you without delay. You have frequently met the
great lawyer Frederica Roe, Q.C. You will, I am sure, be pleased to
learn'--here Algy took the hand of Faith Ingleby, and held it, reading
aloud--'that she has asked for your hand.'
'I am greatly pleased,' said Algy. 'Bless the dear creature! She dresses
in parchment, Faith, my angel: if you prick her, she bleeds ink; if she
talks, it is Acts of Parliament; and when she coughs, it is a special
pleading. Her complexion is yellow, her eyes are invisible, she has gone
bald, and she is five-and-fifty. What good fortune! What blessed luck!'
Then he went on with his letter.
'Of course I hastened to accept. She will be raised to the Peerage
whenever a vacancy occurs on the Bench. I confess, my dear son, that
this match, so much beyond our reasonable expectations, so much higher
than our fortune and position entitled us to hope for on your behalf--a
match in all respects, and from every point of view, so
advantageous--pleases your father and myself extremely. The disparity of
age is not greater than many young men have to encounter, and it is
proved by numberless examples to be no bar to real happiness. I say this
because, in the society of Lord Chester, you may have imbibed--although
I rely upon your religious principles--some of those pernicious
doctrines which are, falsely perhaps, attributed to him. However, we
hope to see you return to us as you left us, submissive, docile, and
obedient. And your friendship with Lord Chester may ultimately prove of
the greatest advantage to you,' 'I hope it will,' said Jack, laughing,
as he read this passage. 'Your father begs me to add that Frederica, who
is only a few years older than himself, is in reality, though somewhat
imperious and brusque in manner, a most kind-hearted woman, and likely
to prove the most affectionate and indulgent of wives.'
'What do you think of that, brothers mine?' he asked, folding up the
letter. They looked at each other.
'Oh, begin at once!' cried Faith, clasping her hands. 'They will marry
you all, the horrid creatures, before you have struck the first blow. Do
you hear, Algy? begin at once.'
'It is serious,' said Jack. 'If pity is any good to you, Algy, you have
it. A crabbed old lawyer--a soured, peevish, argumentative Q.C.' He
shuddered. 'It is already Vacation; she is sure to want to push on the
marriage without delay. What are we to do?'
He looked at Lord Chester for a reply.
'My own case,' said the young Chief, 'comes before the House in October.
The first blow, so far as I am concerned, must be struck before then.'
'For Heaven's sake,' cried Algy, 'strike it before this old lawyer
swallows me up! I feel like a piece of parchment already. A little delay
I can manage; a toothache, a cold, a sore throat--anything would do--but
that would only delay the thing a week.'
The little party was broken up. Jack Kennion alone remained. He had
obtained permission to accompany Lord Chester to Chester Towers, his
country seat. The Professor and the girls were to go too--an arrangement
sanctioned by Lady Boltons, happily ordered abroad to drink the waters.
Three weeks passed. Letter after letter came from Algy. His fiancée was
pressing on the marriage; he had resorted to every expedient to postpone
it; he knew not what he could do next; the day had to be named; wedding
presents were coming in; and the learned lawyer proved more odious than
could be imagined.
Lord Chester was not idle.
He was sitting one afternoon at this time, Algernon's last despairing
letter in his pocket, on a hill-side four or five miles from the Castle.
Beside him stood a young gamekeeper, Harry Gilpin, stalwart and brawny:
there was no shooting to be done, but he carried his gun.
'It is our only chance, Harry,' said Lord Chester, in low, earnest
tones. 'We must do it. Things are intolerable.'
'If there's any chance in it; but it is a poor chance at best.'
'What, Harry! would you not follow me?'
'I'll follow your lordship wherever you lead. I'll go for your lordship
wherever you point. Don't think I'm afeard for myself. I'm but a poor
creature--easy to find plenty as good as me; and if so be I must end my
days in a convict-prison, why, I'd rather do it for you, my lord, than
for lying accusations.'
'Good, Harry,' Lord Chester held out his hand. 'We understand each
other. Death rather than a convict-prison. We strike for freedom. Tell
me next about the discontent.'
'All the country-side is discontented, along o' the old women. It's this
way, my lord. We get on right well, let us marry our own gells. When the
gells gets shoved out o' the way, and we be told by the Passon to marry
this old woman, an' that, why ... 'tis nature.'
'It is, Harry, and my case as well as yours. Then if all are
discontented, we may get all to join us.'
'Nay, my lord; many are but soft creatures, and mortal afraid of the
women. We shall get some, but we must make them desperate afore they'll
fight.'
'You keepers can shoot. How many can we reckon on?'
Harry laughed.
'When your lordship lifts up your little finger,' he replied, 'there's
not a keeper for miles and miles round that won't run to join you, nor a
stable-boy, nor a groom, nor a gardener. Ay! a hundred and fifty men,
counting boys, will come in, once pass the word. A Chester has lived in
these parts longer than men can remember.'
'Do they remember, Harry, that a Chester once ruled this country?'
'Ay ... so some say ... in the days when ... but there! it is an old
story.'
'But the girls, Harry, who have lost their lovers,--your own girl, what
will she do?'
'They whimper a bit; they have a row with the old woman; and then the
Passon steps in and talks about religion, and they give in.'
'What! If they saw a chance, if they thought they could get their
sweethearts back again, would they not rejoice?'
Harry hesitated.
'Some would, some wouldn't. You see, my lord, it's their religion stands
in the way; and their religion means everything. What they say is, that
if they married their sweethearts, these being young and proper men, and
masterful, they would perhaps get put upon; whereas, they love to rule
their husbands. But some would ... yes, some would.'
Lord Chester rose, and began slowly to return home across the fields.
A hundred and fifty, and all true and loyal men! As the occupation of
most of them prevented their going to church, and kept them apart from
the rest, in a kind of loneliness, they were comparatively uninfluenced
by religion; and though their wives drew the pay, the keepers understood
little about obedience, and indeed had everything their own way. A
hundred and fifty men!--a little army. Never before had he felt so
grateful for the preservation of game.
'You said, Harry, a hundred and fifty men!'
'A hundred and fifty men, my lord, of all ages, by to-morrow morning, if
you want them, and no doubt a hundred and fifty more the day after. Why,
there are seventy men on the Duchess's estate alone, counting the
rangers, the gardeners, the keepers, stable-boys, and all.'
Three hundred men!
Lord Chester was silent. He had communicated enough of the plot. Harry
knew that his master, like himself, was threatened with an elderly wife.
He also knew that his master proposed an insurrection against the
marriage of young men against their wills. Further, Harry did not
inquire.
Now, while the leader of the Revolt was considering what steps to
take,--nothing is harder in revolutions than to make a creditable and
startling commencement,--accident put in his way a most excellent
beginning. There was a hard-working young blacksmith in the village--a
brawny, powerful man of thirty or thereabouts. No better blacksmith was
there within thirty miles: his anvil rang from morning until night; he
was as handsome in a rough fashion as any man need be; and he ought to
have been happy. But he was not, for he was married to a termagant. Not
only did this wife of his take all his money, which was legitimate, but
she abused him with the foulest reproaches, accusing him perpetually of
wife-beating, of infidelity, of drunkenness, and of all the vices to
which male flesh is liable, threatening him in her violent moods with
imprisonment.
That morning there had been a more than usually violent quarrel. The
scolding of the beldam in her house was heard over the whole village, so
that the men trembled and grew pale, thus admonished of what an angry
woman can say. During the forenoon there was peace, the blacksmith
working quietly at his forge. In the dinner-hour the row began again,
worse than ever. At two o'clock the poor man came out with hanging head
and dejected face to his work. One or two of the elder women admonished
him against exasperating his wife; but he replied nothing. Children, for
whom the unlucky smith had ever a kind word and a story, came as usual,
and stayed outside waiting. But there was no word of kindness for them
that day. Men passed down the village street and spoke to him; but he
made no reply. Then the village cobbler, a widower, and independent, and
so old and crusty of temper that no one was likely to marry him, came
forth from his shop and spoke to him.
'How goes it, Tom?'
'Bad,' said Tom. 'Couldn't be worse. And I wish I was dead--dead and
buried and out of it.'
The cobbler shook his head and retired.
Then there came slowly down the street, carrying a basket with
vegetables, a young woman of five-and-twenty, and she stopped in front
of the forge, and said softly, 'Poor Tom! I heard her this morning.'
Tom looked up and shook his head. His eyes, which were soft and gentle,
were full of tears.
And then ... then ... the wife rushed upon the scene. Her eyes were red,
her lips were quivering, her whole frame shook with passion. For she was
no longer simply in a common, vulgar, everyday rage; she was in a rage
of jealousy. She seized the younger woman by the arm, dragged her into
the middle of the road, and threw herself before her husband in a fine
attitude. 'Stand back!' she cried. 'You ... you ... Susan! He is my man,
not yours--not yours.'
'Poor fellow!' said Susan. She was a young person with black hair and
resolute eyes, and it was well known that she had regarded Tom as her
sweetheart. 'Poor fellow! It was a bad job indeed for him when he became
your man.'
* * * * *
A war of words between an elderly woman, who may be taunted with her
years, her jealousy, her lack of children, teeth, and comeliness, and a
young woman, who may be charged with many sins, is at best a painful
thing to witness, and a shameful thing to describe. Suffice it to say,
that the elder lady was completely discomfited, and that long after she
was extinguished, the girl continued to pour upon her the vials of her
wrath. The whole village meanwhile--all the women, and such of the men
as were too old for work--crowded round, taking part in the contest.
Finally, the wife, stung by words whose bitterness was embittered by
their truth, cried aloud, taking the bystanders to witness, that the
husband for whose sake, she said, she had endured patiently the
falsehoods and accusations of yonder hussy, was nothing better than a
beater, a striker, a kicker, a trampler, and a cuffer of his wife.
'I've borne it long,' she cried, 'but I will bear it no longer. To
prison he shall go. If I _am_ an old woman, and like to die, you shall
never have him--do you hear? To prison he shall go, and for life.'
At these words a dead silence fell on all.
The blacksmith stood still, saying not a word, leaning on his hammer.
Then his wife spoke again, but slowly.
'Last night,' she said, 'he dragged me round the room by the hair of my
head; this morning he knocked me down with his fist; and last Sunday,
after church, he kicked me off my chair; yesterday fortnight he beat me
with a poker----'
'Lies! _lies!!_ LIES!!!' cried Susan. 'Tom say they are lies.'
Tom shook his head but spoke never a word.
'Tom!' she cried again, 'they will take you to prison; say they are
lies.'
Then he spoke.
'I would rather go to prison.'
'Don't believe her,' Susan cried. 'Don't believe her. Why, she's got no
hair to be pulled.... Don't ... Oh! oh! oh!'
She burst into an agony of weeping.
The women clamoured round the group,--some for justice, because
wife-beating is an awful sin; some for mercy, because this woman was in
her fits of wrath a most notorious liar, and not a soul believed her
accusations.
It was in the midst of this altercation that there arrived on the scene,
from opposite points, Lord Chester with Harry, and two of the rural
police.
'Take him into custody,' gasped the blacksmith's wife. 'Take him to
prison. Oh, the wretch! oh, the wife-beater! oh, I am beaten to a
jelly--I am bruised black and blue!'
Lord Chester stepped before the unhappy blacksmith.
'Stay!' he said to the policewomen. 'Not so fast. Tom, what do you say?'
he asked the blacksmith.
'I never laid hand on her,' said the unhappy man. 'But all's one for
that. I suppose I'll have to go to prison, my lord. Anyhow, there can't
be no prison worse than this life. I'm glad and happy to be rid of her.'
'Stay again,' said his lordship. The people gathered closer in wonder.
The masterful young lord looked as if he meant to interfere. 'Some of
you,' he said, 'take this woman away, and look for any marks of
violence. No,' as the elder women pressed forward, 'not you who have got
young husbands of your own, and would like to get rid of them yourselves
perhaps. Some of you girls take her.'
But she refused to go, while the old women murmured amongst each other.
'Must obey orders, my lord,' said one of the police. 'Here's a case for
the magistrates. Woman says her husband struck, beat, and kicked her.
Magistrates will hear the case, my lord.'
She pulled out her handcuffs.
Then Lord Chester saw that the moment had arrived.
'Harry,' he said, 'stand by.'
He laid his hand on the blacksmith's shoulder.
'No one shall harm him,' he said. 'Tom, come with me.'
'My lord!... my lord!' cried the policewomen. 'What shall we do? It's
obstructing law--it's threatening the executive: what will the justices
say? It's a most dreadful offence.'
'Come, Tom,' he said.
The crowd parted right and left with awestruck eyes.
As Lord Chester carried off his rescued prisoner, the Vicar came running
out with dismay upon her face.
'My lord! my lord!' she cried. 'What dreadful thing is this? And you,
Tom,--you, after all your promises! In _my_ parish, too!'
'Hold your foolish tongue!' said Lord Chester, roughly. 'Why not in your
parish? In every parish, thanks to you and your accursed religion, the
young men are torn from the girls, and there is misery. Stand aside....
You, Susan, will you come with me and your old sweetheart?'
The Vicar gasped. She turned white with terror. 'Foolish tongue!
Accursed religion!' Had she heard aright?
The police-constables looked stupidly at one another.
'Please, my lord,' said one, 'we must report your lordship.'
'Go and report,' replied the rebel.
It was now half-past five in the afternoon, and the labourers were
returning from the fields. The village street was crowded with men, most
of them young men.
The men began whispering together, and the women were all delivering
orations at once.
The Chief pointed to some of the men and called them by name.
'You, John Deer; you, Nick Trulliber; you--and you--and you,--come with
me. You have old wives too; unless you want to be sent to prison for
life for wife-beating, come with me and fight for your liberty.'
They hesitated; they trembled; they looked at the vicar, at their wives:
they would have been lost but for the presence of mind of the cobbler.
He was, as I have said, an elderly man, bowed down by his work and by
years. But he sprang to the front and shouted to the men:--
'Come, unless you are cowards and deserve the hulks. Why, it's slavery,
it's misery; it's unnatural pains and penalties. Come out of it, you
poor, wretched chaps, that ought to be married to them as is young and
comely. Come away, all you young fellows that want young wives. Hooray!
his lordship's going to deliver us all. Three cheers for Lord Chester!
We'll fight for our liberty.'
He brandished his bradawl, seized one of the men, and the rest followed.
There was a general scream from the women of rage and terror; for all
the men followed, like sheep, in a body. Not a single man of the village
under sixty years of age or over sixteen slept in his wife's house that
night.
'I always knew, my lord,' said the cobbler, 'that it was stuff an'
nonsense, them and their submission. Yah! some day there was bound to be
a row. Don't let 'em go back, my lord. I'll stick by your lordship.'
('It is a very odd thing,' said the Professor, when she heard the story,
'that cobblers have always been atheists.')
What next?
Lord Chester had now got his men--a band forty-seven strong, nearly all
farm-labourers--within the iron gates of his park, and these were closed
and locked. They were as fine a body of men, both young and old
together, as could be collected anywhere. But they understood as yet
nothing of what was going to be done, and they slouched along wondering
stupidly, yet excited at the risk they were running.
Lord Chester made them a speech.
'Remember,' he said, 'that the prisons of England are full of men
charged with wife-beating. They never had an opportunity of defending
themselves; they are tortured day and night. You may, all of you--any of
you--be charged with this offence. Your word is not taken; you are
carried off to hopeless imprisonment. Is that a pleasant thing for you?'
They murmured. But Tom the blacksmith waved his hammer, and Harry the
keeper his gun, and the cobbler his bradawl, and these three shouted.
'Who asked you,' cried Lord Chester, 'if you wanted to marry an old
woman? Did any of you choose her for yourselves? Why, when there were
girls in the village, sweet and young and pretty, longing for your love,
is it likely you would take an old woman?'
Then the girl they called Susan, who had followed with Tom, sprang to
the front.
'Look at me, all of you,' she cried. 'Tom and me was courtin' since we
were children--wasn't we, Tom.' Tom nodded assent. 'And she comes and
takes him from me. And the Passon said it was all right, because a man
must obey, and sweetheartin' was nonsense. How long are you going to
stand it? If I was a man, and strong, would I let the women have their
own way? How long will you stand it, I say?'
Here the men lifted up their voices and growled. Liberty begins with a
growl; rage begins with a growl; fighting begins with a growl,--it is a
healthy symptom for those who promote mischief.
'Are they pretty, your old women?' the orator went on. 'Are they
good-tempered? Are they pleasant to live with?'
There was another growl.
'Men,' cried Lord Chester, 'we have borne enough. Wake up! We will end
all this. We will marry the women we love--the pretty sweethearts who
love us--the young girls who will make us happy. Who will follow me?'
Harry the keeper stepped to the front with a shout. Tom the blacksmith
followed with a shout, brandishing his hammer. The cobbler pushed and
shoved the men. Susan threw her arms round Tom's neck and kissed him,
crying, 'Go and fight, Tom; follow his lordship. Come, all you that are
not cowards.'
Two things happened then which determined the event and rallied the
waverers, who, to tell the truth, were already beginning to expect their
wives and sisters upon the scene.
The first was the appearance of Jack Kennion, followed by two men
bearing a great cask of beer. Then tankards passed from lip to lip, and
the courage which is said to belong to Holland rather than to England
mounted in their hearts.
'Drink about, lads,' cried Jack. 'Here! give me the mug. Hurrah for Lord
Chester! Drink about. Hurrah!'
They drank--they shouted. And while they shouted they became aware of a
tall and beautiful girl who came from the house and stood beside Lord
Chester. Her lips were parted; her long hair flowed upon her shoulders;
the tears stood in her beautiful eyes. She tried to speak, but for a
moment could not.
'Oh, men!' she cried at last,--'Men of England! I thank kind Heaven for
this day, which is the beginning of your freedom. Oh, be brave! think
not of your own wrongs only. Think of the thousands of men lingering in
prison; think of all who are shut in houses, working all day for their
unloved wives; think of the young girls who have lost their lovers;
think of your strength and your courage, and fight--to the death, if
needs be!'
'We will fight,' cried the cobbler, 'to the death!'
Then Grace Ingleby, for it was she, went from man to man and from group
to group, praising them, telling them that it was no small thing they
had done--that no common or cowardly man would have dared to do it;
commending their courage, admiring their strength, and informing them
carefully that this their act could never be forgiven, so that if they
did not succeed they would assuredly all be hanged; and imploring them
to lose no time in drilling and learning the use of weapons.
The Professor, meantime, was writing letters. She wrote to her husband,
begging him to remain quiet while the news was spreading abroad, when he
had better get across country by night and join the insurgents. She
wrote to all the disciples, telling them to escape and make their way to
Lord Chester; and assisted by the girls of the household, who all
espoused the cause of the men, she took down the guns, swords, and
weapons from the walls, and brought them out for use.
After supper--they cooked plentiful chops for the hungry men, with more
beer--Jack called the men out for first drill. It was hard work; but
then drill cannot at first be anything but hard work. The men were armed
with pikes, guns, clubs, anything; and before nightfall, they had
received their first lesson in the art of standing shoulder by shoulder.
They slept that night in tents made of sheets spread out on sticks--a
rough shelter, but enough. But the chiefs sat till late, thinking and
talking.
Early in the morning, at daybreak, Lord Chester dropped asleep, worn
out. When he awoke, Grace stood over him with smiling face.
'Come, my lord,' she said, 'I have something to show you.'
He stood upon the terrace. The night before, he had seen a group of
fellows in smock-frocks shoving each other about in a vain attempt to
stand in rank and file. Now, the lawns were crowded with men of a
different kind, who had come in during the night.
First and foremost, there were a hundred bronzed and weather-beaten men
armed with guns--they were Harry's friends, the keepers, rangers, and
foresters; among them stood a score of boys who had been sent round to
summon them; and behind the keepers stood the rustics.
Oh, wonderful conversion! They had been already put into some sort of
uniform which was found among the lumber of the Castle. The jackets were
rusty of colour and moth-eaten, but they made the men look soldier-like;
every man had round his arm a scarlet ribbon; some had scarlet coats,
but not many. At sight of their Chief they all shouted together and
brandished their weapons.
The Revolt of Man had begun!
CHAPTER XI
A MARRIAGE MARRED
There was great excitement in the village of Much cum Milton--a little
place about thirty miles from Chester Towers--because Lady Dunquerque's
only son, Algernon, was to be married that day to the great lawyer,
Frederica Roe. Apart from the natural joy with which such an event is
welcomed in a monotonous country village, Algernon was deservedly
popular. No better rider, no better shot, no stouter, handsomer lad was
to be found in the country-side; nor was it to his discredit that he was
the personal friend of young Lord Chester, whose Case was on everybody's
lips; nor, among young people, was it to his discredit that he was
suspected of being on Lady Carlyon's side. The village girls smiled and
looked meaningly at each other when he passed: there were reports that
the young man had more than once shown a certain disposition to
freedoms; but these, for the sake of his father's feelings, were not
spread abroad; and indeed, in country districts, things which would have
ruined a young man's reputation in town--such as kissing a dairymaid or
a dressmaker--were rather regarded with favour by the girls thus
outraged.
The only drawback to the general joy was the thought that the bride was
over fifty years of age. Even making great allowances for the safety
which experience gives, it is not often that a young man who has
attracted the affections of a woman thirty years his senior, is found to
study how to preserve those affections; and even considering the
position offered by a woman safe of the next vacancy among the judges, a
difference of thirty years did seem to these village girls, who knew
little of the ways of the great world, a bar to true love. Their
opinion, however, was not asked, and the festivities were not outwardly
marred by them.
Early in the morning the village choir assembled on the lawn beneath the
bridegroom's chamber, and sang the well-known wedding-hymn beginning:--
Break, happy day! Rise, happy sun!
Breathe softer, airs of Paradise!
The days of hope and doubt are done;
To higher heights of love we rise.
Ah! trembling heart of trusting youth,
Fly to the home of peace and rest;
From woman's hands receive the truth,
In woman's arms be fully blessed.
O sweet exchange! O guerdon strange!
For love and guidance of a wife,
To yield the will, and follow still
In holy meekness all your life.
The bridegroom-elect within his room made no sign; the window-blind was
not disturbed. As a matter of fact, Algy was half-dressed, and was
sitting in a chair looking horribly ill at ease.
They began to ring the bells at six; by eight the whole village
population was out upon the Green, and the final preparations were made.
Of course there were Venetian masts, with gay-coloured flags flying. The
tables were spread in a great marquee for the feast which, at mid-day,
was to be given to the whole village. There were to be sports and
athletics for the young men on the Green; there was to be dancing in the
evening; there was a band already beginning to discourse sweet music;
there was a circus, which was to perform twice, and both times for
nothing; there were ginger-bread booths, and rifle-galleries, and
gipsies to tell fortunes; they had set up the perambulating theatre for
the drama of Punch and Judy, in which the reprobate Punch, who dares to
threaten his wife with violence, and disobeys her orders, is hanged upon
the stage--a moral lesson of the greatest value to boys; and there was a
conjuring-woman's tent. The church was gaily dressed with flowers, and
all the boys of the village were told off to strew roses, though the
season was late, under the feet of bride and bridegroom.
At the Hall an early breakfast was spread; but the young bridegroom, the
hero of the day, was late.
'Poor boy,' said his sister, 'no doubt he is anxious and excited with so
much happiness before him.'
It was a well-bred family, and the disparity of age was not allowed to
be even hinted at. The marriage was to be considered a love-match on
both sides: that was the social fiction, though everybody knew what was
said and thought. Lady Dunquerque had got the boy off her hands very
well: there was an excellent establishment, and a good position, with a
better one to follow; as for love--here girls looked at each other and
smiled. Love was become a thing no longer possible, except for
heiresses, of whom there are never too many. Fifty years of age and
more; a harsh voice, a hard face, a hard manner, an unsympathetic, exact
woman, wrinkled and gray-haired,--how, in the name of outraged Cupid,
could such a woman be loved by such a lad? But these things were not
even spoken,--they were only conveyed to each other by looks, and
smiles, and nods, and little movements of the hands.
'I think, Robert,' said Lady Dunquerque, 'that you had better go up and
call Algernon.' Sir Robert obediently rose and departed.
When he came down again, his face, usually as placid as the face of a
sheep, was troubled.
'Algernon will not take any breakfast,' he said.
'Nonsense! the boy must take breakfast. Is he dressed?' Lady Dunquerque
was evidently not disposed to surrender her authority over her son till
he had actually passed into the hands of his wife.
'Yes, yes,--he is nearly dressed,' stammered her husband.
'Well, then, go and tell him to come to breakfast at once, without any
nonsense.'
Sir Robert went once more. Again he came back with the intelligence that
the boy refused to come down.
Thereupon Lady Dunquerque herself went up to his room. The two girls
looked at each other with apprehension. Algy was hot-headed: he had
already, though not before his mother, made use of very strong language
about his bride; could he be meditating some disobedience? Horrible! And
the guests all invited, and the day arrived, and the boy's wedding
outfit actually ready!
'What did he say, papa?' one of them asked.
I cannot tell you, my dear. I wash my hands of it. Your mother must
bring him to reason. I have done my best.' Sir Robert answered in a
nervous trembling manner not usual with him.
'Does he ... does he ... express any unwillingness?' asked his daughter.
'My dear, he says nothing shall make him marry the lady. That is all.
The day arrived and everything. No power on earth, he says, shall make
him marry the lady. That is all. What will come to us if her ladyship
cannot make him hear reason, I dare not think.'
Just then Lady Dunquerque returned. Her husband, trembling visibly,
dared not lift his eyes.
'My dear girls,' she said, with the calmness of despair, 'we are
disgraced for ever. The boy refuses to move. He disregards threats
entreaties, everything. I have appealed to his obedience, to his
religion, to his honour--all is of no avail. Go yourselves, if you can.
Now, Sir Robert, if you have anything to advise, let me hear it.'
'I can advise nothing,' said her husband, quite overwhelmed with this
misfortune. 'Who could have thought that a----'
'Yes--yes,--it is of no use lamenting. What are we to do? Heavens! there
are the church bells again!'
Meantime his sisters were with Algernon. They found him sitting grim and
determined. Never before had they seen that expression of determination
upon a man's face. He absolutely terrified them.
'You are come to try your powers, I suppose?' he said. 'Well; have your
say. But remember, no power on earth shall make me marry that detestable
old woman.'
'Algernon!' cried his younger sister. 'Is it possible that you ... you
... our own brother, should use these words?'
'A great deal more is possible. I, for one, protest against this
abominable sale of men in marriage. I am put up in the market; this rich
old lawyer, with a skin of parchment, blood of ink, heart of brown
paper, buys me: I will not be bought. Go, tell my mother that she may do
her worst. I will not marry the woman.'
'If you will not think of yourself,' said his elder sister coldly, 'pray
think of us. Our guests are invited,--they are already assembling in the
church; listen--there are the bells!'
'I should like,' said Algy laughing,--'I should like to see the face of
Frederica Roe in half an hour's time.'
The two girls looked at each other in dismay. What was to be done? what
could be said?
'You two little hypocrites!' he went on. 'you and your goody talk about
the day of happiness! and the humbugging hymn! and your sham and mockery
of the Perfect Woman! and your reign of the Intellect! Wait a little, my
sisters; I promise you a pleasing change in the monotony of your lives.'
'Sister,' said the younger, 'he blasphemes. We must leave him. Oh,
unhappy boy! what fate are you preparing for yourself?'
'Come,' answered the elder. 'Come away, my dear. Algernon, if you
disgrace us this day, you shall be no more brother of mine; I renounce
you.'
They left him. Presently his father came back.
'Algernon,' he said feebly, 'have you come to your right mind?'
'I have,' he replied--'I have. That is the reason why I am here, and why
I am staying here.'
'Then I can do nothing for you. Poor boy! my heart bleeds for you.'
'My poor father,' said his son, speaking in a parable, 'my heart has
bled for you a long time. Patience!--wait a little.'
'The last wedding-present has arrived,' said Sir Robert. 'What we are to
do I cannot, dare not, think. Your mother must break the news to
Frederica.'
'Whose is the wedding-present?'
'It is from Lord Chester--the most magnificent hunter, saddled, and all;
with a note.'
Algernon sprang to his feet and rushed to the window. On the
carriage-drive he saw a little stable-boy leading a horse. He knew the
boy as one of Lord Chester's--a sharp, trusty lad. What was the horse
saddled for?
'Give me the letter,' he said almost fiercely, to his father.
Sir Robert handed him the note, which lady Dunquerque had opened and
read:--
'Congratulations, dear Algy; the happy day has dawned.--Yours most
sincerely,
'CHESTER.'
'Among other disasters, you will lose this friend, Algy,' moaned his
father. 'No one can ever speak to you again; no one can----'
'Tell my mother, sir, that I am ready,' he interrupted, with a most
extraordinary change of manner. 'I will be with her as soon as I can
complete my toilet. One must be smart upon one's wedding-day. Go, dear
father, tell her I am coming downstairs, and beg her not to make a
row--I mean, not to allude to the late distressing scene.'
He pushed his father out of the room.
Two minutes later he stood in the breakfast-room, actually laughing as
if nothing had happened.
'I am glad my son,' said his mother, 'that you have returned to your
senses.'
'Yes,' he replied gaily, as if it had been a question of some simple act
of petulance; 'it is a good thing, isn't it? Have you seen Lord
Chester's gift, sisters?'
The girls looked at each other in a kind of stupor. What _could_ men be
like that they should so lightly pass from one extreme to the other?
'Tell the boy,' he ordered the footman, 'to lead the horse to the Green;
I should like all the lads to see it. Tell them it is Lord Chester's
gift, with his congratulations on the dawn of the happy day--tell them
to remember the dawn of the happy day.'
He seemed to talk nonsense in his excitement. But Sir Robert, overjoyed
at this sudden return to obedience, shed tears.
'Now,' said Lady Dunquerque, 'we have no time to lose. Girls, you can go
on with your father. Algernon, of course, accompanies me.'
When they were left alone, his mother began a lecture, short but sharp,
on the duty of marital obedience.
'I say no more,' she concluded,' on the lamentable display of temper of
this morning. Under the circumstances, I pass it over on condition that
you look your brightest and best all day, and that you show yourself
alive to the happiness of the position I have gained for you.'
'I think,' he replied, 'that in the future, if not to-day, you will
congratulate yourself on my line of action.'
A strange thing for the young man to say. Afterwards they remembered it,
and understood it.
Meantime the churchyard was full of the village people, and the church
was crammed with the guests in wedding-favours; on the Green the band
was discoursing sweet music; in the centre, an object of the deepest
admiration for the village lads, stood Lord Chester's gift, led by his
boy.
At a quarter to eleven punctually, the carriage containing the bride and
principal bridesmaid, a lady also of the Inner Bar, about her own age,
arrived. The bride was beautifully dressed in a rich white satin. She
was met in the porch by the other bridesmaids, including the groom's
sisters. All were in great spirits, and even the harsh face of the bride
looked smiling and kind. The sisters, reassured on the score of their
brother, were rejoicing in the sunshine of the day, the crowds, and the
general joy. Sir Robert and the other elderly gentlemen were standing in
meditation, or devoutly kneeling before the chancel.
Hush! silence! Hats off in the churchyard! There are the wheels of the
bridegroom's carriage. Here come the Vicar and the Choir ready to strike
up the Processional Hymn. Clash, clang the bells! one more, and
altogether, if it brings down the steeple! Now the lads make a lane
outside. Off hats! Cheer with a will, boys! Hurrah for the bridegroom!
He sits beside his mother, his head back, his eyes flashing; he laughs a
greeting to the crowd.
'Capital, Algernon!' says his mother. 'Now subdue your joy; we are at
the lych-gate.'
The carriage stopped. Algernon sprang out, and assisted his mother to
alight. Then the procession, already formed, began slowly to move up the
aisle singing the hymn, and the notes of the organ rolled among the old
low arches of the little village church; and the Vicar walked last,
carrying her hymn-book in her hand, singing lustily, and thinking, poor
woman, that the marriage procession was advancing behind her.
Well, it was not; and when she turned round, having reached the altar,
she stared blankly, because there was no marriage procession, but a
general looking at each other, and whispering.
What happened was this.
After helping Lady Dunquerque out of the carriage, Algernon quietly left
her, and without the slightest appearance of hurry, calmly walked across
the Green and mounted Lord Chester's gift.
Then he rode to the churchyard gate, and took off his hat to his bride,
and shouted, so that all could hear him, even in the church, 'Very
sorry, old lady, but you must look for another husband.' Then he turned
his horse and cantered quickly away through the crowd, laughing and
waving his hand.
* * * * *
Half an hour later, Frederica Roe, after a stormy scene with Lady
Dunquerque, which ended in the latter thanking Providence for having
delivered her headstrong boy, even at the last moment, from so awful a
temper, returned with her best-maid to town. There was laughter that
evening when the news reached the Club. Cruel things, too, were said by
the Juniors. There would have been more cruel things but for the
circumstances which followed.
It was naturally a day of Rebuke at the village. The circus, the
gipsies, the conjurors, and the acrobats, were all packed off about
their business; there was no feast; the children were sent back to
school; the wedding-guests dispersed in dismay; and Lady Dunquerque,
with rage and despair in her heart, sat amid her terror-stricken
household, none daring to say a word to soothe and comfort her. Later
on, her husband suggested the consolations of religion, but these
failed.
The summons reached Clarence Veysey on the next day. The boy who brought
him the letter had ridden fifty miles.
He was waiting at home in great despondency. The perpetual acting, the
deception, tortured his earnest soul; he lacked companionship; he wanted
the conversation of Grace Ingleby; his sisters wearied him with their
talk, and their aims--aims which he was about to make impossible for
them. The boy, who was the son of one of Lord Chester's keepers, came to
the house by the garden entrance, and found Clarence walking on the
lawn. He tore open the note, which was as follows:--
'Come at once; we have begun.--C.'
Then Clarence waited for nothing, but started to walk to Chester Towers.
He walked for four-and-twenty hours; when he arrived he was faint with
hunger and fatigue, but he was there. The Rebellion had begun, and he
was with the rebels.
CHAPTER XII
IN THE CAMP AT CHESTER TOWERS
The first days were spent in drill, in exhortation, in feasting, and in
singing. Grace Ingleby fitted new words to old tunes, and the men sang
them marching across the park. A detachment of keepers was placed at the
gates to receive new recruits, and to keep out the women who crowded
round them all day long--some laughing, some crying, some threatening.
The women of the Castle, being offered their choice whether to remain in
the service of the Earl or to go at once, divided themselves into two
parties--the elder women deciding to go, and the younger to remain;
'for,' as they said, 'if the men ride all over the country, as Mrs
Ingleby says they will, what can we women do to keep them down?' And
then they blamed the unequal marriages, and irreligious things were said
about the Duchess of Dunstanburgh. Those who stayed were employed in
making rosettes and ribbons in scarlet silk, and in getting out of the
old lumber-rooms all the finery which could be found to serve for the
men's uniforms.
'First rule,' said Jack the prudent, 'keep the men's spirits up--with
beer, and singing, and feasting; next, make them proud of their gallant
show.'
Every hour raised the spirits of the men, every moment new recruits came
in, who were greeted with shouts, beer, and exhortation, chiefly from
the cobbler, who now wore a glittering helmet, and carried a ten-foot
pike.
In the course of the next two or three days all the Bishop's disciples
came in: Clarence Veysey, dusty and wayworn, yet full of ardour; Algy
Dunquerque rode in gallantly, laughing at his escape. The others came in
one after the other, eager for employment, and were at once set to work.
No time this for love-making; but Grace exchanged a few words with
Clarence, and Faith ran about among the men, telling them all that
Captain Dunquerque was her sweetheart, asking who were the girls they
loved, and how they wooed them, and so delightfully turning everything
upside down that she was better than all the barrels of beer.
Lord Chester was the Chief, but Captain Dunquerque was the favourite. It
was he who kept everybody in good spirits--who organised races in the
evening, set the men to box, to wrestle, to fight with single-stick,
with prizes and cheering for the winners; so that the lads for the first
time in their lives felt the fierce joy of battle and the pride of
victory. It was Captain Dunquerque who had a word for every man,
forgetting none of their names; who praised them and encouraged them,
was all day long in the camp, never tired, never lost his temper--as
some of the keepers did who were promoted to be sergeants; who was
generous with the beer; who promised to every man money, independent
work, and a pretty wife--after the Cause was won. So that Algy
Dunquerque, the first commander-in-chief under the new régime, began his
popularity as the soldiers' general from the very first.
On the evening of his arrival, Clarence preached to the men--a faithful
discourse, which yet only revealed half the Truth. We must destroy
before we can build up.
He bade them remember that they were, as men, the workers of the
world--nothing could be done except by them; and then he told them some
of the wonders which had been accomplished by their forefathers in the
days when men had been acknowledged to be the thinkers and creators as
well as the workers, and he told them in such simple language as he
could command, how, since women had taken over the reins, everything had
gone backwards. Lastly, he bade them remember what they were, what their
lives had been, how slavish and how sad, and what their lives would
still continue to be unless they freed themselves.
'Time was--the good old time--when every man could raise himself, when
there was a ladder from the lowest station to the highest. Now, as you
are born, so you must die. No rising for you--no hope for you. Work and
slave--and die. That is your lot. They invented a religion to keep you
down. They told you that it is the will of Heaven that you should obey
women. It is a LIE.' The preacher shouted the words. 'It is a LIE. There
is no such religion; and I am here to teach you the Truth, when you
have proved that you are fit to receive it.'
The preacher was received with an indifference which was discouraging.
In fact, the men had been preached at so long, that they had ceased to
pay any attention to sermons. Nor could even Clarence's earnestness
surpass that of the Preaching Order, the Holy sisterhood, which trained
its members in the art of inspiring Hope, Terror, and Faith.
The address finished, the men betook them once more to singing, while
the beer went round about their camp-fires. Here was a glorious change!
Even the gamekeepers--a race not easily moved--congratulated each other
on the recovery of their freedom. That night a proclamation was made in
camp that every man would receive his pay himself--the same as that
earned in the fields--in full. Men looked at each other and wondered.
Those who only half believed in the Cause were reassured. To be paid,
instead of seeing your wife paid, proved, as nothing else could, the
strength and reality of the Rebellion. Another proclamation was made,
repealing all prohibitions for men to assemble, remain out-of-doors
after sunset, and form societies. This was even more warmly received
than the former proclamation, because many of the men did not know what
to do with their money when they got it; whereas they had all of them
learned this grand pleasure of companionship, drink, and song.
On that night and the next, two councils were held, big with importance
to the Realm of England. The first of these was at Chester Towers,
under the presidency of Lord Chester. There were present the
Bishop--whose impatience made him set out on the first receipt of the
news--Clarence Veysey, Algernon Dunquerque, Jack Kennion, and the rest
of the disciples. The Professor and the girls were in the room but they
did not speak.
They sat until late considering many things. Had they known more of
man's real nature, there would have been no hesitation, and a bold
forward march might have saved many difficulties. The Bishop and
Clarence Veysey, who believed the Truth by itself a sufficient weapon,
wanted to await the arrival of all Englishmen in the Park, and meantime
to be preaching perpetually. Algernon was for movement. The Chief at
last decided on a compromise. They would advance, but slowly; and would
send out, meanwhile, scouts and small parties to bring in recruits. The
danger of the Revolt, provided it were sufficiently widespread, lay
chiefly in the imagination. It was difficult even for the leaders, who
had been so long and so carefully trained by the Bishop and his wife, to
shake off the awe inspired by the feminine oppression and their early
training. Every woman seemed still their natural ruler, yet the Reign of
Woman rested on no more solid basis than this awe. Its only defence lay
in the regiments of Horse Guards and its Convict Wardens; while, to make
the latter available, the prisoners would have to be discharged.
The other council of war was held in the House of Peeresses, called
together hastily. There had been grave disquiet all day long; and
though nothing definite was known, it was whispered that there was an
outbreak of the Men. A Cabinet Council was called at noon, the Home
Department was agitated, the secretaries went about with pale faces,
there was continual ringing of bells and scurrying of clerks, the
Archbishop of Canterbury was sent for hurriedly, crowds of women
gathered about the lobbies of the House, and it was presently known
everywhere that the thing most dreaded of all things had happened--a
Rising. Outside the House it was not yet known where this had occurred,
nor under what leaders: within, the doors were closed, and in the midst
of a silence most profound and most unusual, the Duchess of Dunstanburgh
rose, with papers in her hand.
She briefly announced that a rebellion had broken out in Norfolk. A
score or so of poor peasants belonging to one small village had risen in
revolt. They were headed by Lord Chester. It was nothing--a mere
lamentable outbreak, which would be put down at once by the strong hand
of law.
Then she sat down. All faces were turned immediately to her Grace's
young rival. Lady Carlyon rose and asked if her Grace had any more
details to give the House. She implored the Government to put the House
in possession of all the facts, however painful they might be. The
Duchess replied that the news of this insurrection, about which there
could unfortunately be no doubt, reached her that morning only. It
arrived in the shape of a Report drawn up by the Vicar of Chester
Towers, and sworn before two justices of the peace. The rising, if it
was worthy to be called by such a name, was begun by the forcible rescue
from the hands of the law of a certain blacksmith--a scoundrel guilty of
wife-beating in its most revolting forms. He was torn from the hands of
the police by Lord Chester and a gamekeeper. The misguided young man
then called upon the men of the village to rise and follow him. He led
them to his own Castle. He was joined by a body of gamekeepers, and men
connected with manly sports of other kinds. By the last advices, he had
gone the desperate length of defying the Government, and was now
drilling and arming his troops. The Duchess assured the House again that
there was nothing to fear except a probable loss of life, which was
lamentable, but must be faced; that the Government had ordered two
thousand of the Convict Wardens to be held in readiness, and that
meanwhile they had sent two sisters of the Holy Preaching Order with
twenty constables to disperse the mob. As for the ringleaders, they
appeared to be, besides Lord Chester himself, Professor Ingleby of
Cambridge, her husband, her two daughters, and a band of some half-dozen
young gentlemen. The House might rest assured that signal justice would
be done upon these mad and wicked people, and that no favour should be
shown to rank or sex. As for herself, the House knew the relations which
existed between herself and Lord Chester----
Lady Carlyon sprang to her feet, and asked what relations these were.
The Duchess went on to say that there was no occasion to dilate upon
what was perfectly well known. She would, however, assure the House that
this unhappy man had cut himself off altogether from her sympathy. She
gave up, without a sigh, hopes that had once been dear to her, and left
a miscreant so godless, so abandoned, to his fate.
Lady Carlyon begged the House to suspend its judgment until the facts
were clearly known. At present all that appeared certain was, that a
body of men had locked themselves within the gates of Lord Chester's
park. She would ask her Grace whether any grievances had been stated.
The Duchess replied that at the right moment the alleged grievances, if
there were any, would be laid before the House.
Lady Carlyon asked again whether one of the grievances was not the
custom--falsely alleged to be based upon religion--which compelled young
men to marry women who were unsuitable and distasteful to them by reason
of age, temper, or other incompatibility?
This was the signal for the most frightful scene of disorder ever
witnessed in the House; for all Peeresses with husbands younger than
themselves screamed on one side, and the young Peeresses on the other.
After a little quiet had been obtained, Lady Carlyon was heard again,
and accused the Duchess of Dunstanburgh of being herself the sole cause
of the Insurrection. 'It is time,' she said, 'to use plainness of
speech. Let us recognise the truth that a young man cannot but abhor
and loathe so unnatural a union as that of twenty years with forty,
fifty, sixty. For my own part, I do not wonder that a man so
high-spirited as Lord Chester should have been driven to madness. All in
this House know well, without any pretences as to the honour of
Peeresses, that a majority in favour of the Duchess was certain. Can any
one believe that the judgment of the House would have been given for the
happiness of the young man? Can any one believe that he could have
contemplated the proposed union without repugnance? We know well what
the end of the rising may be; and of this am I well assured, that the
blood of this unhappy boy, and the blood of all those who perish with
him, are upon the head of the Duchess of Dunstanburgh.'
Then began another terrible scene, in which all the invective, the
recrimination, the accusations, the insinuations, of which the language
is capable, seemed gathered together and hurled at each other: there was
no longer a Government and an Opposition; there was the wrath of the
young, who had seen, or looked to see, the men they might have loved
torn from them by the old; there was the fury of the old, calling upon
Religion, Law, Piety, and Order.
Constance withdrew in the height of the battle, having said all she had
to say. It was a clear and bright morning; the sun was already rising;
there were little groups of women hanging about the lobbies still,
waiting for news. One of them stepped forward and saluted Constance. She
was a young journalist of great promise, and had often written leaders
at Constance's suggestion.
'Has your ladyship any more news?' she asked.
'I know nothing but what I have heard from ... from the Duchess.' It was
by an effort that Constance pronounced her name. 'I know no more.'
'We have heard more,' the journalist went on. 'We have heard from
Norfolk, by a girl who galloped headlong into town with the
intelligence, and is now at the War Office, that, yesterday morning at
nine o'clock, Lord Chester rode out of his Park, followed by his army,
carrying banners, and armed with guns, pikes, and swords. They are said
to number at present some two or three hundred only.'
Constance was too weary and worn with the night's excitement to receive
this dreadful news. She burst into passionate tears.
'Edward,' she cried, 'you rush upon certain death!' Then she recovered
herself. 'Stay! let me think. We must do something to allay the
excitement. The Government will issue orders to keep the men at
home--that is their first thought. We must do more: we must agitate for
a reform. There is one concession that must be made. Go at once and
write the strongest leader you ever wrote in all your life: treat the
rebellion as of the slightest possible importance; do not weigh heavily
upon the unhappy Chief; talk as little as possible about misguided lads;
say that, without doubt, the men will disperse; urge an amnesty; and
then strike boldly and unmistakably for the great grievance of men and
women both. Raise the Cry of "The Young for the Young!" And keep harping
on this theme from day to day.'
It was, however, too late for newspaper articles: a wild excitement ran
through the streets of London; the men were kept indoors; workmen who
had to go abroad were ordered not to stop on their way, not to speak
with each other, not to buy newspapers. Special constables were sworn in
by the hundred. Later on, when it became known that the insurgent forces
were really on their southward march, a proclamation was issued,
ordering a general day of humiliation, with services in all the
churches, and prayers for the safety of Religion and the Realm. The
Archbishop of Canterbury herself performed the service at Westminster
Abbey, and the Bishop of London at St Paul's.
* * * * *
Meantime, spite of law and orders, the country-people flocked from all
sides to see the gallant show of Lord Chester's little army. Captain
Dunquerque led the van, which consisted of fifty stalwart keepers. At
the head of the main body rode the Chief, clad in scarlet, with
glittering helmet; with him were the officers of his Staff, also
gallantly dressed and splendidly mounted. Next came, marching in fours,
his army of three hundred sturdy countrymen, armed with rifle and
bayonet; after them marched the younger men, some mere lads, carrying
guns of all descriptions, pikes, and even sticks,--not one among these
that did not carry a cockade: their banner, borne by two of the
strongest, was of red silk, with the words, 'We will be free!' An
immense crowd of women looked on as they started: some of them cursed
and screamed; but the girls laughed. Then other men of the villages
broke away from their wives and sisters, and marched beside the
soldiers, trying to keep in step, snatching their cockades, and shouting
with them. Last of all came a little band of twenty-five, mounted, who
served to keep the crowd from pressing too closely, and guarded a
carriage and four, in which were the Bishop, the Professor, and the two
girls. They sat up to their knees in scarlet cockades and rosettes,
which the girls were making up and the Professor was distributing.
In this order they marched. After the first few hours, it was found
that, besides a great number of recruits, the army had been joined by at
least a hundred village girls, who walked with them and refused to go
back. They followed their sweethearts. 'Let us keep them,' said the
Professor: 'they will be useful to us.'
At the next halting-place she had all these girls drawn up before her,
and made them a speech. She told them that if they desired a hand in the
great work, they might do their part: they would be allowed to join the
army on condition of marching apart from the men; of not interfering
with them in any way; of doing what they were told to do, and of
carrying a banner. To this they readily consented, being, in fact, to
one woman, enraged with the existing order of things, and caring very
little about being the mistress if they could not have their own
lovers. And in the end, they proved most valuable and useful allies.
Whenever they passed a house, Lord Chester sent half a dozen men to
seize upon whatever arms they could find, and all the ammunition, if
there was any. They had orders, also, to bring out the men, whom the
officers inspected; and if there were any young fellow among them, they
offered him a place in their ranks. A good many guns were got in this
way, but very few men,--the young men of the middle class being
singularly spiritless. They had not the healthy outdoor life, with
riding, shooting, and athletics, that men of Lord Chester's rank
enjoyed; nor had they the outdoor work and companionship which hardened
the nerves of the farm-labourers. Mostly, therefore, they gazed with
wonder and terror at the spectacle; and on being brought out and
harangued, meekly replied that they would rather stay at home, and
retired amid the jeers of the soldiers.
Several pleasant surprises were experienced. At one house, the squire, a
jolly fox-hunting old fellow, turned out with his four sons, all well
mounted, and brought with him a dozen good rifles with a large supply of
ammunition. The old fellow remarked that he was sixty-five years of age,
and had been wishing all his life, and so had his father and his
grandfather before him, to put an end to the intolerable upside-down
condition of things. 'And mind, my lady,' he shouted to his wife and
daughters, who were standing by, filled with rage and consternation,
'you and the girls, when we get back again, will sing another tune, or I
will know the reason why!' Nor was this the only instance.
When they marched through a village the trumpets blew, the drums beat,
the soldiers shouted and sang; then the men were brought out, and
invited to join; the place was searched for arms, and the company of
women ran about congratulating the girls of the place on the approaching
abolition of Forced Marriages.
The first day's march covered twenty miles. The army had passed through
five villages and one small town; they had seized on about two hundred
guns of all kinds, and a considerable quantity of ammunition; they had
increased their ranks by two hundred and fifty strong and lusty fellows.
The evening was not allowed to be wasted in singing and shouting. Drill
was renewed, and the new-comers taught the first elements of marching in
step and line. For the first time, too, they attempted a sham fight,
with sad blunders, as may be imagined.
'They are good material,' said the Professor, 'but your army has yet to
be formed.'
'If only,' murmured Clarence, 'they would listen to my preaching.'
'They have had too much preaching all their lives,' said the Bishop. 'We
will conquer first, and preach afterwards. Let us pray that there may be
no bloodshed.'
The second day's march was like the first; but the little army was now
swelling beyond all expectations. At the close of the second day it
numbered a thousand, and commissariat difficulties began. Here the
company of women proved useful. They were all country girls, able to
ride and drive; they 'borrowed' the carts of the farm-houses, and,
escorted by soldiers, drove about the country requisitioning provisions.
It became necessary to have wagons: these also were borrowed, and in a
short time the army dragged at its heels an immense train of wagons
loaded with ammunition, provisions, and stores of all kinds. For
everything that was taken, an order for its value was left behind,
stamped with the signature of 'Chester.'
At the close of the second day's march, being then near Bury St Edmunds,
they were two thousand strong; at the end of the third, being on
Newmarket Heath, they were five thousand; and here, because the place
was open and the position good, a halt of three days was resolved upon,
in which the men might be drilled, taught to act together, and divided
into corps; also, sham fights would be fought, and the men, some of whom
were little more than boys, could grow accustomed to the discharge of
guns and the use of their weapons. The camp was protected by sentinels,
and the cavalry scoured the country for recruits and information. As yet
no sign had been made by the Government. But on Sunday morning, being
the third day of the halt, the scouts brought in a deputation from the
House of Peeresses, consisting of two Sisters of the Holy Preaching
Order, and a guard of twenty-five policewomen. Lord Chester and his
staff rode out to meet them.
'What is your message?' he asked.
'The terms offered by the House to the insurgents,' replied one of the
Sisters, 'are, first laying down of arms, and dispersion of the men;
secondly, the immediate submission of the leaders.'
'And what then?' asked Lord Chester.
'Justice,' replied the Sister sternly. 'Now stand aside and let us
address the men.'
Lord Chester laughed.
'Go call a dozen of the women's company,' he ordered. 'Now,' when they
came, 'take these two Sisters, and march them through the camp with drum
and fife. These are the women who are trained to terrify the men with
lying threats, false fears, and vain superstitions. As for you
policewomen, you can go back and tell the House that I will myself
inform them of my terms.'
The officers of law looked at each other. They saw before them spread
out the white tents of the camp, the splendid army, the glittering
weapons, the brilliant uniforms, the flags, the noise and tumult of the
camp, and they were afraid. Presently they beheld, with consternation,
the most singular procession ever formed. First went the drums and
fifes; then came, handcuffed, the two Holy Preaching Sisters--they were
clad in their sacred white robes, to touch which was sacrilege; behind
them ran and danced the troop of village girls, shouting, pointing,
singing their new songs about Love and Freedom; and the soldiers came
forth from their tents clapping their hands and applauding. But the
Bishop sent word that they were to be stripped of their white robes and
turned out of the camp. It was in ragged flannel petticoats that the
poor Sisters regained their friends, and in woeful plight of mind as
well as of body.
The three days' halt finished, Lord Chester gave the word to advance.
And now his army, he thought, was large enough to meet any number of
Convict Wardens who might be sent against him. He had eight thousand
men, hastily drilled, but full of ardour; he had a picked corps of five
hundred guards, consisting of his faithful gamekeepers and the men who
had been always with gentlemen about their sports. These were good
shots, and pretty sure to be steady even under fire. He had five hundred
cavalry, mostly mounted well, and consisting of farmers' sons, officered
by the fox-hunting squire, his four sons, and a few other gentlemen who
had come in. The difficulty now was to admit all who crowded to the
camp. For the news had spread over all England, and the roads were
crowded with young fellows flying from their homes, defying the rural
police, to join Lord Chester's camp.
The time was come for a bold stroke. It was resolved to leave Jack
Kennion--greatly to his discontent, but there was no help--behind, to
receive recruits, and form an army of reserve. Lord Chester himself,
with the main body and Algy Dunquerque, was to press on. The boldest
stroke of all was the surprise of London, and this it was decided to
attempt. For by this time the ardour of the troops was beyond the most
sanguine hopes of the leaders: the submissiveness of three generations
had disappeared in a week; the meek and docile lads whose wives
received the pay, and ordered them to go and sit at home when there was
no work to do, were changed into hardy, reckless, and enthusiastic
soldiers. Turenne himself had not a more daredevil lot. They were nearly
all young; they had never before been free for a single day; they
rejoiced in their new companionship; they gloried in the sham fights,
the wrestling, the single-stick--all the games with which the fighting
spirit was awakened in them. As for the march, it was splendid: they
sang as they went; if they did not sing, they laughed--the joy of
laughter was previously unknown to these lads. The ruling sex did not
laugh among themselves, nor did they understand the masculine yearning
for mirth. In the upper classes jesting was ill-bred, and in the lower
it was irreligious. Irreligious! Why, in this short time the whole army
had thrown off their religion.
All over the country the men were rising and rushing to join Lord
Chester. The great conspiracy was not alone answerable for this sudden
impulse; nor, indeed, had the conspirators been successful in the towns,
where the spirit of the men had been effectually crushed by long
isolation. Here, however, the leaflets distributed among the girls bore
good fruit. Not a household in the country but was now fiercely divided
between those who welcomed the rebellion and those who hated and dreaded
the success of the men: on the one side, orthodoxy, age, conservatism;
on the other, youth, and the dream of an easy life, rendered easier by
the work and devotion of a lover. So that, though the towns remained
outwardly quiet, they were ready for the occupation of the rebels.
The army presented now an appearance very different from the ragged
regiment which sallied forth from the gates of the Park. They were
dressed in uniform: the guards wore a dark-green tunic--only proved
shots were admitted into their body; the cavalry were in scarlet, the
line were in scarlet; the artillery wore dark-green. All the men were
armed with rifles. Of course, the uniforms were not in all cases
complete, yet every day improved them; for among the volunteers were
tailors, cobblers, and handicraftsmen of all kinds, whose services were
given in their own trades. The great banner, with the words 'We will be
free!' was carried after the Chief, and in the rear marched the company
of a hundred girls, also in a kind of uniform, carrying their banner,
'Give us back our sweethearts!'
The line of march was kept as much as possible away from the towns,
because it was thought advisable not to irritate the municipalities
until the time came when they could be gently upset; also, the material
of the men in the towns was not of the sturdy kind with which they hoped
to win their battles.
Nothing more was heard of the House of Peeresses. What, then, were they
doing? They were holding meetings in the morning, and wrangling. No one
knew what to propose. They had sent executive officers of the law to the
camp; these had been contemptuously told to go back. They had summoned
the leaders to lay down their arms; they had been informed that Lord
Chester would dictate his own terms. They had sent Preaching
Sisters,--the most eloquent, the most persuasive, the most sacred: they
had been stripped of their sacred robes, tied to a cart-tail, and driven
through the camp by women, amid the derision of women--actually women!
What more could they do?
The army was reported as marching southwards by rapid marches, headed by
Lord Chester. They passed Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge, without,
however, entering the town. They recruited as they went; so that beside
the regularly drilled men, now veterans of a fortnight or so, it was
reported that the line of march was followed for miles by runaway boys,
apprentices, grooms, artisans, and labourers shouting for Lord Chester
and for liberty. All these things, and worse, were hourly reported to
the distracted House.
'And what are we doing?' shrieked the Duchess of Dunstanburgh. 'What are
we doing but talk? Are we, then, fallen so low, that at the first
movement of an enemy we have nothing but tears and recrimination? Is
this a time to accuse me--ME--of forcing the rebel chief into rebellion?
Is it not a time to act? When the rebellion is subdued, when the Chief
is hanged, and his miserable followers flogged--yes, flogged at the very
altars they have derided--let us resume the strife of tongues. In the
name of our sex, in the name of our religion, let us Act.'
They looked at each other, but no one proposed the only step left to
them. Lady Carlyon was no longer among them. She would attend no more
sittings. The clamour of tongues humiliated her. She sat alone in her
house in Park Lane, thinking sadly of what might happen.
'On me,' said the Duchess solemnly, 'devolves the duty, the painful
duty, of reminding the House that there is but one way to meet
rebellion. All human institutions, even when, like our own, they are of
Divine origin, are based upon--Force. Law is an idle sound
without--Force. Duty, religion, obedience, rest ultimately upon--Force.
These men have dared to band themselves together against law, order, and
religion. We must remember that they represent a very small, a really
insignificant, section of the men of this country. It is cheering, at
this moment of gloom and distress, to receive by every post letters from
every municipality in the country expressing the loyalty of the towns.
Order reigns everywhere, except where this turbulent boy is leading his
troops--to destruction. I use this word with the utmost reluctance; but
I must use this word. I say--destruction. Among the ranks of that army
are men known to many in this House. My own gamekeepers, many of my own
tenants' sons and husbands, are in that rabble-rout of raw,
undisciplined, and imperfectly armed rustics. Yet I say--destruction. We
have now but one thing to do. Call out our prison-guards, and let loose
these fierce and angry hounds upon the foe. I wait for the approval of
the House.'
All lifted their hands, but in silence; for they were sadly conscious
that they were sending the gallant, if mistaken fellows to death, and
bringing sorrow upon innocent homes. The House separated, and for a
while there was no more recrimination. The Duchess called a Cabinet
Council, and that night messengers sped in all directions to bring
together the Convict Guards--not only the two thousand first ordered to
be in readiness, but as many as could be spared. It was resolved to
replace them by men chosen from the prisoners, whose cases, in return
for their service, should have favourable consideration. By forced
marches, and by seizing on every possible means of conveyance, it was
reckoned that they could muster some ten thousand,--all strong,
desperate villains, capable of anything, and a match for twice that
number of raw village lads.
They came up in driblets--here a hundred and there a hundred--from the
various prisons throughout the country: they were men of rough and
coarse appearance; they wore an ugly yellow uniform; they bore
themselves as if they were ashamed of their calling, which certainly was
the most repulsive of any; they showed neither ardour for the work
before them nor any kind of fear.
They were received by clerks of the Prison Department, who sent them off
to camp in Hyde Park, where rations of some kind were prepared for them.
The clerks showed them scant courtesy, which, indeed, they seemed to
take as a matter of course; and once established in their camp, they
gave no trouble, keeping quite to themselves, and patiently waiting
orders.
Three days were thus expended. The excitement of the town was frightful.
Business was suspended, prayers were offered at all the churches every
morning, the men were most carefully kept from associating together,
constables patrolled in parties of four all night long, and continually
the post-girls came galloping along the roads bringing the news. 'They
are coming, they are coming!' Oh, what was the Government about? Could
they do nothing, then? What was the use of the Convict Wardens, unless
they were to be sent out to arrest the leaders, and shoot all who
refused to disband and disperse? But there were not wanting ominous
whispers among the crowds of wild talkers. What, it was asked, would
happen if the men did come? They would take the power into their own
hands. Very good. It could not be in worse hands than Lady
Dunstanburgh's. They would turn the women out of the Professions. Very
well, said the younger women. They only starved in the Professions; and
if the men were in power, they would have to find homes and food at
least for their sisters and wives. Let them come.
In three days Lord Chester was at Bishop-Stortford. Next, he was
reported to be encamped in Epping Forest. His cavalry had seized the
arsenal at Enfield, which, with carelessness incredible, had been left
in charge of two aged women. This gave him a dozen pieces of ordnance.
He was on the march from Epping; he was but a few miles from London;
contradictory rumours and reports of all kinds flew wildly about; he
was going to massacre, pillage, and plunder everything; he was afraid to
advance farther; he would destroy all the churches; he was restrained at
the last moment by respect for the faith in which he had been brought
up; his men had mutinied; his men clamoured to be led on London. All
these reports, and more, were whispered from one to the other. What was
quite certain was, that the Convict Wardens were all arrived, and were
under orders to march early in the morning. And it was also certain,
because girls who had ventured on the north roads had seen them, that
the rebels were encamped on Hampstead Heath, and it was said that they
were in high spirits--singing, dancing, and drinking. No one knew how
many they were--thousands upon thousands, and all armed.
There was little sleep in London during that night. The married women
remained at home to calm the excitement of the men, now getting beyond
their control. The unmarried women flocked by thousands to Hyde Park to
look at the tents of the Convict Wardens, now called the Army of
Avengers. In every tent eight men, more than a thousand tents; ten
thousand men; the fiercest, bravest, most experienced of men. What a
lesson, what a terrible lesson, would the rebels learn next morning!
CHAPTER XIII
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE
It was evening when the rebel leader stood upon the heights of Hampstead
and looked before him, by the light of the setting sun, upon the hazy
and indistinct mass of the great city which he was come to conquer.
Behind him his ten thousand men, with twice ten thousand followers, were
erecting their tents and setting up the camp with a mighty bustle,
noise, and clamour. Yet there was no confusion. Thanks to the
administrative capacity of Algy Dunquerque, all was done in order. The
Professor, who had left her carriage, stood beside Lord Chester. He was
dismounted, and, with the aid of a glass, was trying to make out
familiar towers in the golden mist that rested upon the great city.
'So far, my lord, we have sped well,' she said softly.
He started at her voice.
'Well, indeed, my dear Professor,' he replied. 'I would to-morrow were
over.'
'Fear not; your men will answer to your call.'
'I do not fear. They are brave fellows. Yet--to think that their blood
must be spilt!'
'There spoke Lord Chester of the past, not the gallant Prince of the
present. Why, what if a few hundreds of dead men strew this field
to-morrow provided the Right prevails? Of what good is a man's life to
him, if he does not give it for the sacred cause? To give a life--why,
it is to lend a thing; to hasten the slow course of time; to make the
soul take at a single leap the immortality which comes to others so
slowly. Fear not for the blood of martyrs, my lord.'
'You always cheer and comfort me, Professor.'
'It is because I am a woman,' she replied. 'Let me fulfil the highest
function of my sex.'
They were interrupted by an aide-de-camp, who came galloping across the
Heath.
'From Captain Dunquerque, my lord,' he began. 'The Convict Wardens are
encamped in force in Hyde Park; they number ten thousand, and have got
thirty guns; they march to-morrow morning.'
'Very good,' said the Chief; and the young officer fell back.
'Ten thousand strong!' said the Professor. 'Then they have left the
prisons almost without a guard. When these are dispersed, where will
they find a new army? They are delivered into your hands.'
Hampstead Heath may be approached by two or three roads: there is the
direct road up Haverstock Hill; or there is the way by the Gospel Oak
and the Vale of Health; or, again, there is the road from the north, or
that from Highgate. But the way by which the Convict Wardens would
march from Hyde Park was most certainly that of Haverstock Hill; and
they would emerge upon the Heath by one of the narrow roads known as
Holly Hill, Heath Street, and the Grove,--probably by all three. Or they
might attempt the upper part of the Heath by the Vale of Health.
The plan of battle was agreed to with very little debate, because it was
simple.
The cannon, loaded with grape-shot and masked by bushes, were drawn up
to command these three streets.
Behind the cannon the Guards were to lie, ready to spring to their feet
and send in a volley after the first discharge of grape-shot.
The cavalry were to be posted among the trees, on the spot called after
a once famous tavern which formerly stood there--Jack Straw's Castle;
the infantry, now divided into five battalions, each two thousand
strong, were to lie in their places behind the Guards. These simple
arrangements made, the Chief rode into the camp to encourage the men.
They needed little encouragement; the men were in excellent spirits; the
news that they would have to fight those enemies of mankind, the Convict
Wardens, filled them with joy. Not one among them all but had some
friend, some relation, immured within the gloomy prisons, for
disobedience, mutiny, or violence; some had themselves experienced the
rigours of imprisonment, and the tender mercies of the ruffians who were
allowed to maintain discipline with rod and lash, rifle and bayonet.
These were the men who were coming out to shoot them down! Very good;
they should see.
Lord Chester and his Staff rode about the camp, making speeches,
cheering the men, drinking with them, and encouraging them. Their
liberties, he told them, were in their own hand: one victory, and the
cause was won. Then he inspired them with contempt as well as hatred for
their opponents. They were men who could shoot down a flying prisoner,
but had never stood face to face with a foe: they were coming out,
expecting to find a meek herd, who would fly at the first shot; in their
place they would meet an army of Englishmen. The men shouted and
cheered: their spirit was up. And later on, about ten o'clock, a strange
thing happened. No one ever knew how it began, or who set it going; but
from man to man the word was passed. Then all the army rose to their
feet, and shouted for joy; then the company of girls came, and shed
tears among them, but for joy; and some, including the girl they had
called Susan, fell upon the necks of their old sweethearts, and kissed
them, bidding them be brave, and fight like men; and those who were old
men wept, because this good thing had come too late for them.
For the word was--Divorce!
The young men, they said, were to abandon the wives they had been forced
to marry. With Victory they were to win Love!
It was about ten o'clock when Lord Chester sought the Bishop's tent. He
had just concluded an Evening Service, and was sitting with his wife,
his daughters, and Clarence Veysey.
With the Chief came Algernon Dunquerque.
'We are here,' said Lord Chester, 'for a few words--it may be of
farewell. My Lord Bishop, are you contented with your pupils?'
'I give you all,' he said solemnly, 'my blessing. Go on and prosper. But
as we may fail and so die, because victory is not of man, let those who
have aught to say to each other say it now.'
Algernon spoke first, though all looked at each other.
'I love your daughter Faith. Give us your consent, my Lord Bishop,
before we go out to fight.'
The Bishop took the girl by the hand, and gave her to the young man,
saying, 'Blessed be thou, O my daughter!'
Then Clarence Veysey spoke likewise, and asked for Grace; and with such
words did the father give her to him.
'Now,' said Algernon, 'there needs no more. If we fall, we fall
together.'
'Yes,' said Grace quietly, 'we should not survive the cause.'
'I hope,' said Lord Chester, smiling gravely, 'that one of you will live
at least long enough to take my last message to Lady Carlyon. You will
tell her, Grace, or you, my dear Professor, that my last thought was for
her.' But as he spoke the curtain of the tent was pulled aside, and
Constance herself stood before them.
She was pale, and tears were in her eyes. She wore a riding-habit; but
it was covered with dust.
'Edward!' she cried. 'Fly ... fly ... while there is time! All of you
fly!'
'What is it, Constance? How came you here?'
'I came because I can bear it no longer. I came to warn you, and to help
your escape, if that may be. The Duchess has issued a warrant for my
arrest,--for High Treason: that is nothing,' with a proud gesture. 'They
will say I ran away from the warrant: that is false. Edward, your life
is gone unless you are twenty miles from London to-morrow!'
'Come, Constance,' said the Professor, 'you are hot and tired. Rest a
little; drink some water; take breath. We are prepared, I think, for all
that you can tell us.'
'Oh, no!... no!... you cannot be. Listen! They have ten thousand Convict
Wardens in Hyde Park ...'
'We know this,' said Algernon.
'Who will attack you to-morrow.'
'We know this too.'
'Their orders are to shoot down all without parley; all--do you
hear?--who are found with arms. The Chiefs are to be taken to the
Tower!' she shuddered.
'We know all this, Constance,' said Lord Chester.
'You know it! and you can look unconcerned?'
'Not unconcerned entirely, but resigned perhaps, and even hopeful.'
'Edward, what can you do?'
'If they have orders to shoot all who do not fly, my men, for their
part, have orders not to fly, but to shoot all who stand in their way.'
'Your men? Poor farm-labourers! what can they do?'
'Wait till morning, Constance, and you shall see. Is there anything else
you can tell me?'
'Yes. After the Wardens have dispersed the rebels, the Horse Guards are
to be ordered out to ride them down.'
'Oh!' said Lord Chester. 'Well ... after we are dispersed, we will
consider the question of the riding down. Then we need not expect the
Horse Guards to-morrow morning?'
'No; they will come afterwards.'
'Thank you, Constance; you have given me one piece of intelligence. I
confess I was uncertain about the Guards. And now, dear child,'--he
called her, the late Home Secretary, 'dear child,'--'as this is a solemn
night, and we have much to think of and to do ... one word before we
part. Constance, you have by this act of yours, cast in your lot with
us, because you thought to save my life. Everything is risked upon
to-morrow's victory. If we fail we die. Are you ready to die with me?'
She made no reply. The old feeling, the overwhelming force of the man,
made her cheek white and her heart faint. She held out her hands.
He took her--before all those witnesses--in his arms, and kissed her on
the forehead. 'Stay with us, my darling,' he whispered; 'cast in your
lot with mine.'
She had no power to resist, none to refuse. She was conquered; Man was
stronger than Woman.
'Children,' said the Bishop solemnly, 'you shall not die, but live.'
Constance started. She knew not this kind of language, which was
borrowed from the Books of the Ancient Faith.
'There are many things,' said the Bishop, 'of which you know not yet,
Lady Carlyon. After to-morrow we will instruct you. Meantime it is late;
the Chief has business; I would be alone. Go you with my daughters and
rest, if you can, until the morning.'
The very atmosphere seemed strange to Constance: the young men in
authority, the women submissive; this old man speaking as if he were a
learned divine, reverend, grave, and _accustomed to be heard_; and,
outside, the voices of men ringing, of arms clashing, of music
playing,--all the noise of a camp before it settles into rest for the
night.
'Can they,' Constance whispered to Grace Ingleby, looking round her
outside the tent--'will they _dare_ to fight these terrible and cruel
Convict Wardens?'
'Oh, Lady Carlyon!' Grace replied, 'you do not know, you cannot guess,
what wonderful things Lord Chester has done with the men in the last
fortnight. From poor, obedient slaves, he has made them men indeed.'
'Men!' Constance saw that she could not understand the word in the sense
to which she had been accustomed.
'Surely you know,' Grace went on, 'that our object is more than we have
ventured to proclaim. We began with the cry of "Youth for the Young."
That touched a grievance which was more felt, perhaps, in country
districts, where men retained some of their independence, than in towns.
But we meant very much more. We shall abolish the Established Church,
and the supremacy of Woman. Man will reign once more, and will worship,
after the manner of his ancestors, the real living Divine Man, instead
of the shadowy Perfect Woman.'
'Oh!' Constance heard and trembled. 'And we--what shall we do?'
'We shall take our own place--we shall be the housewives; we shall be
loving and faithful servants to men, and they will be our servants in
return. Love knows no mastery. Yet man must rule outside the house.'
'Oh!' Constance could say no more.
'Believe me, this is the true place of woman; she is the giver of
happiness and love; she is the mother and the wife. As for us, we have
reigned and have tried to rule. How much we have failed, no one knows
better than yourself.'
Grace guided her companion to a great marquee, where the company of
girls, sobered now, and rather tearful, because their sweethearts were
to go a-fighting in earnest on the morrow, were making lint and
bandages.
'I must go on with my work,' said Grace. Her sister Faith was already in
her place, tearing, cutting and shaping. 'Do you lie down' here is a
pile of lint--make that your bed, and sleep if you can.'
Constance lay down; but she could not sleep. She already heard in
imagination the tramp of the cruel Convict Wardens; she saw her lover
and his companions shot down; she was herself a prisoner; then, with a
cry, she sprang to her feet.
'Give me some work to do,' she said to Grace; 'I cannot sleep.'
They made a place for her, Grace and Faith between them, saying nothing.
By this time the girls were all silent, and some were crying; for the
day was dawning--the day when these terrible preparations of lint would
be used for poor wounded men.
When, about half-past five, the first rays of the September sun poured
into the marquee upon the group of women, Grace sprang to her feet,
crying aloud in a kind of ecstacy.
'The day has come--the day is here! Oh, what can we do but pray!'
She threw herself upon her knees and prayed aloud, while all wept and
sobbed.
Constance knelt with the rest, but the prayer touched her not. She was
only sad, while Grace sorrowed with faith and hope.
Then Faith Ingleby raised her sweet strong voice, and, with her, the
girls sang together a hymn which was unknown to Constance. It began:--
Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily course of duty run.
This act of worship and submission done, they returned to their work.
Outside, the camp began gradually to awaken. Before six o'clock the
fires were lit, and the men's breakfast was getting ready; by seven
o'clock everything was done--tents struck, arms piled, men accoutred.
Constance went out to look at the strange sight of the rebel army. Her
heart beat when she looked upon the novel scene.
Regiments were forming, companies marching into place, flags flying,
drums beating, and trumpets calling. And the soldiers!--saw one ever
such men before? They were marching, heads erect and flashing eyes; the
look of submission gone--for ever. Yes; these men might be shot down,
but they could never be reduced to their old condition.
'There is the Chief,' said Faith Ingleby.
He stood without his tent, his Staff about him, looking round him.
Authority was on his brow; he was indeed, Constance felt with sinking
heart, that hitherto incredible thing--a Man in command.
'We girls have no business here,' said Faith; 'let us go back to our
tent.'
But as she spoke, Lord Chester saw them; and leaving his Staff, he
walked across the Heath, bearing his sword in his hand, followed by
Algernon Dunquerque.
'Constance,' he said gravely, 'buckle my sword for me before the
battle.'
She did it, trembling and tearful. Then, while Faith Ingleby did the
same office for Algernon, he took her in his arms and kissed her lips in
the sight of all the army. Every man took it as a lesson for himself.
He was to fight for love as well as liberty. A deafening shout rent the
air.
Then Lord Chester sprang upon his horse and rode to the front.
Everything was now in readiness. The cannon, masked by bushes, were
protected by the pond in front; on either side were the guards ready to
lie down; behind them, the regiments, massed at present, but prepared
for open order; and in the trees could be seen the gleaming helmets and
swords of the cavalry.
'Let us go to my father,' said Faith; 'he and Clarence will pray for
us.'
'Algy,' said Lord Chester cheerfully, 'what are you thinking of?'
'I was thinking how sorry Jack Kennion will be to have missed this day.'
* * * * *
And then there happened the most remarkable, the most surprising thing
in the whole of this surprising campaign. There was a movement among the
men in front, followed by loud laughing and shouting; and then a party
of girls, some of the Company of women which followed the army, came
flying across the Heath breathless, because they had run all the way
from Marble Arch to convey their news.
'They have run away, my lord!' they cried all together.
'Who have run away?'
'The Army of Avengers--the Convict Wardens. They have all run away, and
there is not one left.'
'Run away? What does it mean? Why did they run away?'
Then the girls looked at each other and laughed, but were a little
ashamed, because they were not quite sure how the Chief would take it.
'It seemed such a pity,' said one of them, presently, 'that any of our
own brave fellows should be killed.'
'Such a dreadful pity,' they murmured.
'And by such cruel men.'
'Such cruel, horrible men,' they echoed.
'So that we ... we stole into the camp when they were asleep and we
frightened them; and they all ran away, leaving their arms behind them.'
Lord Chester looked at Captain Dunquerque.
'Woman's wit,' he said. 'Would you and I have thought of such a trick?
Go, girls, tell the Bishop.'
But Algy looked sad.
'And after all this drilling,' he said, with a sigh, 'and all our
shouting, there is to be no fighting!'
CHAPTER XIV
THE ARMY OF AVENGERS
The awful nature of the crisis, and the strangeness of the sight, kept
the streets in the neighbourhood of the Camp in Hyde Park full of women,
young and old. They roamed about among the tents, looking at the sullen
faces of the men, examining their arms, and gazing upon them curiously,
as if they were wild beasts. Not one among them expressed the least
friendliness or kind feeling. The men were regarded by those who paid
them, as well as by the rebels, with undisguised loathing.
About midnight the crowd lessened; at two o'clock, though there were
still a few stragglers, most of the curious and anxious politicians had
gone home to bed; at three, some of them still remained; at four--the
darkest and deadest time of an autumn night--all were gone home, every
special constable even, and the Camp was left in silence, the men in
their tents, and asleep.
There still remained, however, a little crowd of some two or three dozen
girls; they were collected together about the Marble Arch. They had
formed, during the evening, part of the crowd; but now that this was
dispersed, they seemed to gather together, and to talk in whispers.
Presently, as if some resolution was arrived at, they all poured into
the Park, and entered the sleeping Camp.
The men were lying down, mostly asleep; but they were not undressed, so
as to be ready for their early march. No sentries were on duty, nor was
there any watch kept.
Presently the girls found, in the darkness, a cart containing drums.
They seized them and began drumming with all their might. Then they
separated, and ran about from tent to tent; they pulled and haled the
sleepers, startled by the drums, into terrified wakefulness; they cried
as soon as their men were wide awake, 'Wake up all!--wake up!--run for
your lives!--the rebels will be on us in ten minutes! They are a hundred
thousand strong: run for your lives!--they have sworn to hang every
Convict Warden who is not shot. Oh, run, run, run!' Then they ran to the
next tent, and similarly exhorted its sleepers. Consider the effect of
this nocturnal alarm. The men slept eight in a tent. There were about
thirty girls, and somewhat more than a thousand tents. It is creditable
to the girls that the thirty made so much noise that they seemed like
three thousand to the startled soldiers. To be awakened suddenly in the
dead of night, to be told that their enemies were upon them, to hear
cries and screams of warning, with the beating of drums, produced
exactly the consequences that were expected. The men, who had no
experience of collective action, who had no officers, who had no heart
for their work, were bewildered; they ran about here and there, asking
where was the enemy: then shots were heard, for the girls found the
rifles and fired random shots in the air; and then a panic followed, and
they fled--fled in wild terror, running in every direction, leaving
their guns behind them in the tents, so that in a quarter of an hour
there was not one single man of all the Army of Avengers left in the
Camp.
* * * * *
The orders were that the march should begin about six o'clock in the
morning--that is, as soon after sunrise as was possible.
It was also ordered that the Army of Avengers should be followed by the
Head of the Police Department, Lady Princetown, with her assistant
secretaries, clerks, and officers, and that they should be supplied with
tumbrils for the conveyance to prison of any who might escape the
vengeance prepared for them and be taken prisoners.
At a quarter past six o'clock an orderly clerk proceeded to the Camp. To
her great joy the Camp was empty; she did not observe the guns lying
about, but as there were no men visible, she concluded that the Army was
already on the march. She returned and reported the fact.
Then the order of the Police Procession was rapidly arranged; and it too
followed, as they thought, the march of the Avengers.
By this time a good many women were in the streets or at the windows of
the houses. Most of the streets were draped with black hangings, in
token of general shame and woe that man should be found so inexpressibly
guilty. The church bells tolled a knell; a service of humiliation was
going on in all of them, but men were not allowed to participate. It was
felt that it was safer for them to be at home. Consequently, the strange
spectacle of a whole city awake and ready for the day's work, without a
single man visible, was, for one morning only, seen in London.
The Police Procession formed in Whitehall, and slowly moved north. It
was headed by Lady Princetown, riding, with her two assistant
secretaries; after them came the chief clerks and senior clerks of the
Department, followed by the messengers, police constables, and servants,
who walked; after them followed, with a horrible grumbling and grinding
of wheels, the six great black tumbrils intended for the prisoners.
The march was through Regent Street, Oxford Street, the Tottenham Court
Road, Chalk Farm, and so up Haverstock Hill. Everywhere the streets were
lined with women, who looked after the dreadful signs of punishment with
pity and terror, even though they acknowledged the justice and necessity
of the step.
These men, they told each other, had torn down Religion, scoffed at
things holy, and proclaimed divorce where the husband had been forced to
marry; they pretended that theirs was the right to rule; they were going
to destroy every social institution. Should such wretches be allowed to
live?
Yet, always, the whisper, the suspicion, the doubt, the question, put
not in words, but by looks and gestures,--'What have we women done that
we should deserve to rule? and which among us does not know that the
Religion of the Perfect Woman was only invented by ourselves for the
better suppression of man? Who believes it? What have we done with
Love?'
And the sight, the actual sight, of those officers of law going forth to
bring in the prisoners, was a dreadful thing to witness.
Meantime, what were the Army of Avengers doing?
Slaughtering, shooting down, bayoneting, no doubt. No farther off than
the heights of Hampstead their terrible work was going on. It spoke well
for the zeal of these devoted soldiers that they had marched so early in
the morning that no one had seen them go by. Very odd, that no one at
all had seen them. Would Lord Chester escape? And what--oh what!--would
be done with Lady Carlyon, Professor Ingleby and her two daughters, and
the crowd of girls who had flocked to London with the rebels?
Hanging--mere hanging--was far too good for them. Let them be tortured.
The Procession reached the top of Haverstock Hill. Hampstead Hill alone
remained. In a short time the relentless Lady Princetown would be on the
field of action. Strange, not only that no sign of the Army had been
seen, but that no firing had been heard! Could Lord Chester have fled
with all his men?
Now just before the Police Procession reached the Heath, they were
astonished by a clattering of mounted soldiers, richly dressed and
gallantly armed, who rode down the narrow streets of the town and
surrounded them. They were a detachment of cavalry headed by Captain
Dunquerque, who saluted Lady Princetown laughing. All the men laughed
too.
'I have the honour,' he said, 'to invite your ladyship to take a seat in
a tumbril. You are my prisoner.'
'Where--where--where is the Army?'
'You mean the Convict Wardens? They fled before daylight. Come, my lads,
time presses.'
They were actually in the hands of the enemy!
In a few moments the whole of the Chiefs of the great Police Department
were being driven in the rumbling black tumbrils, followed by the
Lancers, towards the rebel camp. They looked at each other in sheer
despair.
'As for you women,' said Captain Dunquerque, addressing the clerks and
constables, 'you can go free. Disperse! Vanish!'
He left them staring at each other. Presently a few turned and hurried
down the Hill to spread the news. But the greater part followed timidly,
but spurred by curiosity, into the Camp.
Here, what marvels met their eyes!
Men, such as they had never dreamed of, bravely dressed, and bearing
themselves with a gallant masterfulness which frightened those who saw
it for the first time. Presently a trumpet blew and the men fell in.
Then the astonished women saw that wonderful thing, the evolutions of an
army. The regiments were drawn up in a great hollow square. At one
corner stood the fatal black tumbril with Lady Princetown and her
_aides_ sitting dolefully and in amazement. Bands of music stood in the
centre. Presently Lord Chester, the Chief, rode in with his Staff, and
the bands broke out in triumphal strains.
'Men of England!' he cried, 'our enemies have fled. There is no longer
any opposition. We march on London immediately.'
The shouts of the soldiers rent the air. When silence was possible, the
Bishop, venerable in lawn-sleeves and cassock, spoke,--
'I proclaim Edward, sometime called Earl of Chester, lawful hereditary
King of Great Britain and Ireland. God save the King!'
Then the officers of the Staff did homage, bending the knee and kissing
the hand of their Sovereign. And the bands struck up again, playing the
old and wellnigh forgotten air 'God save the King!' And the soldiers
shouted again. And Lady Princetown saw, indeed, that the supremacy of
women was gone.
* * * * *
Then the march on London was resumed.
After the advance-cavalry came the Guards, preceding and following the
King. Before him was borne the Royal Standard, made long ago for such an
occasion by Grace and Faith Ingleby. The bands played and the soldiers
sang 'God save the King' along the streets. The houses were crowded with
women's faces--some anxious, some sad, some angry, some rejoicing, but
all frightened; and the wrath of those who were wrathful waxed fiercer
when the company of girls followed the soldiers, dressed in 'loyal'
ribbons and such finery as they could command, and singing, like the
men, 'God save the King.'
* * * * *
The House of Peeresses was sitting in permanence. Some of the ladies had
been sitting all night; a few had fallen asleep; a few more had come to
the House early, unable to keep away. They all looked anxious and
haggard.
At nine o'clock the first of the fugitives from the Police Procession
arrived, and brought the dreadful news that the Army of Avengers had
dispersed without striking a blow, that Lady Princetown was a prisoner,
and that the rebels would probably march on London without delay.
Then the Duchess of Dunstanburgh informed the terror-stricken House that
she had ordered out the three regiments of Guards. They were to be
hurled, she said, at the rebels; they would serve to harass and keep
them in check while a new army was gathered together. She exhorted the
Peeresses to remain calm and collected, and, above all, to be assured
that there was not the slightest reason for alarm.
Alas! the barracks were empty!
What then, had become of the Guards?
At the first news of the dispersion of the Avengers, the wives of the
Guardsmen, acting with one common consent, made for the barracks and
dragged away the soldiers, every woman her own husband to her own home,
where she defied the clerks of the War Office, who rushed about trying
to get the men together. For greater safety the women hid away the
boots--those splendid boots without which the Horse Guards would be but
as common men. Of the three thousand, there remained only two orphan
drummer-boys and a sergeant, a widower without sisters. To hurl this
remnant against Lord Chester was manifestly too absurd even for the
clerks of the War Office. Besides, they refused to go.
On the top of this dreadful news, the House was informed by the
Chancellor that the officers sent to carry out the arrest of Lady
Carlyon reported that her ladyship had fled, and was now in Lord
Chester's camp with the rebels.
What next?
'The next thing, ladies,' said a middle-aged Peeress who had been
conspicuous all her life for nothing in the world except an entire want
of interest in political questions, 'is that our reign is over. Man has
taken the power in his own hands. For my own part, I am only astonished
that he has waited so long. It needed nothing but the courage of one
young fellow to light the fire with a single spark. I propose that a
vote of thanks be passed to her Grace the Duchess of Dunstanburgh, whose
attempt to marry a man young enough to be her great-grandson has been
the cause of this House's overthrow.'
She sat down, and the Duchess sprang to her feet, crying out that the
House was insulted, and that these traitorous words should be taken
down.
'We shall all be taken down ourselves,' replied the noble lady who had
spoken, 'before many hours. Can we not devise some means of dying
gracefully? At least let us spare ourselves the indignity of being
hustled down the steps of Westminster Hall, as the unlucky Department of
Police has been this morning hustled on Hampstead Heath.'
Several proposals were made. It was proposed to send a deputation of
religion. But the Preaching Sisters had been rejected with scorn, when
the army was still small and hesitating. What would happen, now that
they were victorious? It was proposed that they should send a thousand
girls, young, beautiful, and richly dressed, to make overtures of peace,
and charm the men back to their allegiance. The young Lady Dunlop--aged
eighteen--icily replied that they would not get ten girls to go on such
an errand.
It was proposed, again, that they should send a messenger offering to
treat preliminaries on Hampstead Hill. The messenger was despatched--she
was the Clerk of the House--but she never came back.
Then the dreadful news arrived that the conqueror had assumed the title
of King, and was marching with all his forces to Westminster, in order
to take over the reins of power.
At this intelligence, which left nothing more to be expected but
complete overthrow, the Peeresses cowered.
'As everything is gone,' said the middle-aged lady who had first
expressed her opinion, 'and as the streets will be extremely
uncomfortable until these men settle down, I shall go home and stay
there. And I should recommend your ladyships to do the same, and to keep
your daughters at home until they can learn to behave--as they have
tried to make the men behave. My dears, submission belongs to the sex
who do none of the work.'
She got up and went away, followed by about half the House. About a
hundred Peeresses were left.
'I,' said the Duchess of Dunstanburgh, 'shall remain with the Chancellor
till I am carried out.'
'I,' said the Chancellor, 'shall remain to protest against the invasion
of armed men and the trampling upon law.'
'And I,' said young Lady Dunlop, loud enough to be heard all over the
House, 'shall remain to see Lord Chester--I mean, His Majesty the King.
He is a handsome fellow, and of course Constance will be his Queen.'
'Ladies,' said the Duchess, dignified and austere to the last, 'it is at
least our duty to make a final stand for religion.'
Lady Dunlop scoffed. 'Religion!' she cried. 'Have we not had enough of
that nonsense? Which of us believes any more in the Church? Even men
have ceased to believe--especially since they were called upon to marry
their grandmothers. The Perfect Woman! Why, we are ourselves the best
educated, the best bred, the best born--and look at us! As for me, I
shall go over to Lord Chester's religion, and in future worship the
Perfect Man, if he likes to order it so.'
The Duchess made no reply. She had received so many insults; such
dreadful things had been said; her cherished faiths, prejudices, and
traditions had been so rudely attacked,--that all her forces were wanted
to maintain her dignity. She sat now motionless, expectant, haggard. The
game was played out. She had lost. She would have no more power.
It was then about half-past three in the afternoon. They waited in
silence, these noble ladies, like the Senators of Rome when the Gaul was
in the streets--without a word. Before long the tramp of feet and the
clatter of arms were heard in Westminster Hall.
The very servants and officers, the clerks, of the House, had run away;
there was not a woman in the place except themselves: the House looked
deserted already.
There hung behind the Chancellor a heavy curtain rich with gold and
lace: no one in that House had ever seen the curtain drawn. Yet it was
known that behind it stood the image in marble of the only Sovereign
acknowledged by the House--the Perfect Woman.
When the trampling of feet was heard in Westminster Hall, the Duchess of
Dunstanburgh rose and slowly walked--she seemed ten years older--towards
this curtain: when the doors of the House were thrown open violently,
she stood beside the Chancellor, her hand upon the curtain.
Tan-ta-ra-ta-ra! A flourish of trumpets, and the trumpeters stood aside.
The Guards came after, marching up the floor of the House. They formed a
lane. Then came the Bishop in his robes, preceded by his chaplain, the
Rev. Clarence Veysey, surpliced, carrying a Book upon a velvet cushion;
then the officers of the Staff with drawn swords; last, in splendid
dress and flowing robes, the King himself.
As he entered, the Duchess drew aside the curtain and revealed, standing
in pure white marble, with undraped limbs, wonderful beyond expression,
the Heaven-descended figure of the Perfect Woman.
'Behold!' she cried. 'Revere the Divine Effigy of your Goddess.'
The young priest in surplice and cassock sprang upon the platform on
which the figure stood and hurled it upon the floor. It fell upon the
marble pavement with a crash.
'So fell the great God Dagon,' he cried.
Then no more remained. The ladies rose with a shriek, and in a moment
the House was empty. It is not too much to say that the Duchess
scuttled.
And while the King took his place upon the throne, the bands struck up
again, the soldiers shouted, volleys of guns were fired for joy, and the
bells were rung.
Strange to say, the dense crowd which gathered about the army of victory
outside the Hall consisted almost wholly of women.
CONCLUSION
The Great Revolution was thus accomplished. No woman was insulted: there
was no pillage, no licence, no ill-treatment of anybody, no revenge. The
long reign of woman, if it had not destroyed the natural ferocity and
fighting energy of men, had at least taught them respect for the weaker
sex.
The next steps, are they not written in the Books of the Chronicles of
the country?
A few things remain to be noted.
Thus, because the streets were crowded with women come out to see, to
lament, sometimes to curse, a proclamation was made ordering all women
to keep within doors for the present, except such as were sent out to
exercise children, and such as received permission for special purposes:
they were forbidden the right of public meeting; the newspapers were
stopped; religious worship of the old kind was prohibited.
These apparently harsh and arbitrary measures, tendered necessary by the
refractory and mutinous conduct of the lower classes of women, who
resented their deposition, were difficult to enforce, and required that
every street should be garrisoned. To do this, thirty thousand
additional men were needed: these were sent up by Jack Kennion, who had
recruited double that number. As the women refused to obey, and it was
impossible to use violence towards them, the men were ordered to turn
the hose upon them. This had the desired effect; and a few draggled
petticoats, lamentable in themselves, proved sufficient to clear the
streets.
Then the word was given to bring out all the men and parade them in
districts. Indeed, before this order, there were healthy and encouraging
signs on all sides that the spirit of revolt was spreading even in the
most secluded homes.
The men who formed the first army were entirely country born and bred.
They had been accustomed to work together, and freedom became natural to
them from the first. The men whom the Order of Council brought out of
the houses of London were chiefly the men of the middle class--the most
conventional, the worst educated, the least valuable of any. They lacked
the physical advantages of the higher classes and of the lower; they
were mostly, in spite of the laws for the Promotion of Health and
Strength of Man, a puny, sickly race; they had been taught a trade, for
instance, which it was not considered genteel to practice; they were not
allowed to work at any occupation which brought in money, because it was
foolishly considered ungentlemanly to work for money, or to invade, as
it was called, woman's Province of Thought. Yet they had no money and no
_dot_; they had very little hope of marrying; and mostly they lounged
at home, peevish, unhappy, ignorantly craving for the life of
occupation.
Yet when the day of deliverance came, they were almost forcibly dragged
out of the house, showing the utmost reluctance to go, and clinging like
children to their sisters and mothers.
'Alas!' cried the women, 'you will find yourselves among monsters and
murderers, who have destroyed Religion and Government. Poor boys! What
will be your fate?'
They were brought in companies of a hundred each before the officers of
the Staff. At first they were turned out to camp in Hyde Park and other
open places, where the best among them, finding themselves encouraged to
cheerfulness, and in no way threatened or ill treated by these monsters,
began to fraternise, to make friends, to practise gymnastics, to
entertain rivalries, and in fact to enter into the body corporate. To
such as these, who were quickly picked out from the ignoble herd, this
new life appeared by no means disagreeable. They even began to listen to
the words of the new Preachers, and the doctrines of the new Religion;
they turned an obedient ear to the exhortations of those who exposed the
inefficacy of the old Government. Finally, they were promoted to work of
all kinds in the public departments, or were enlisted in the Army. It
presently became the joy of these young fellows to go home and show
their new ideas, their new manners, their new uniforms, and their new
religion to the sisters whose rule they acknowledged no longer.
There came next the feeble youths who had not the courage to shake off
the old chains, or the brains to adopt the new teaching. These poor
creatures could not even fraternise; they knew not how to make friends.
It was thought that their best chance was to be kept continually in
barracks, there to work at the trade they had been taught, to eat at a
common table, to live in common rooms, and to be made strong by physical
exercise. Out of this poor material, however, very little good stuff
could be made. In the long-run, they were chiefly turned into
copying-clerks, the lowest and the meanest of all handicrafts.
Allusion has been made to the barracks in which were confined the
unmarried men who had no friends to keep them. Among these were the poor
creatures afflicted with some impediment to marriage, such as hump-back,
crooked back, consumptive tendencies, threatenings of heart disease,
cerebral affections, asthma, gout, and so forth. They were employed in
houses of business at a very small rate of pay, receiving in return for
their labour nothing for themselves but free board and lodging in the
barracks. It is curious to relate that these poor fellows proved in the
reorganisation of civic matters the most useful allies: they had lived
so long together that they knew how to act together; they were so cheap
as servants, and so good, that they had been entrusted with most
important offices; in short, when the Government seemed about to fall to
pieces by the threatened closing of all the mercantile houses, these
honest fellows stepped to the front, took the reins, directed the
banks, received the new men-clerks, taught and assigned their duties,
and, in fine, carried on the trade of the country.
The question of religion was the greatest difficulty. Where were the
preachers? There were but two or three in whom trust could be placed;
and these, though they did their best, could not be everywhere at once.
Therefore, for a while, the Religion of the Perfect Woman having been
abolished, there seemed as if nothing else would take its place.
The Government for the present consisted of the titular King, who was
not yet crowned, and the Council of State. There were no ministers, no
departments, no Houses of Parliament. As regards the Lower House, it
would have been unwise to elect it until the constituencies had learned
by experience in local matters, something of the Art of Government. But
the Upper? Consider that for two hundred years the title had descended
through the mother to the eldest daughter. This being reversed, it
became necessary to seek out the rightful heirs to the old titles by the
male line. No titles were to be acknowledged except those which dated
back to the old kings. These, which had been bestowed in obedience to
the old laws, were to be claimed by their rightful owners. Now, it is
easy to see that while a title held the female branches of the House
together, because each would hope that the intervening claimants would
drop out, the male branches would not be so careful to preserve their
genealogies, and so a great many titles would be lost. This, indeed,
proved to be the case, and out of the six hundred Peers who enjoyed
their rank under Victoria of the nineteenth century, scarcely fifty were
recovered. Many of these, too, were persons of quite humble rank, who
had to be instructed in the simplest things before they were fit to wear
a coronet.
All later titles were swept away together; nor was any woman allowed a
title save by marriage, unless she was the daughter of a Duke, a
Marquis, or an Earl, when she might bear a courtesy-title. Of course,
the late Peeresses found themselves not only deprived of their power,
but even of their very names; and it was the most cruel of all the
misfortunes which befell the old Duchess of Dunstanburgh, that she found
herself reduced from her splendid position to plain and simple Mrs
Pendlebury, which had been the name of her third husband. All her
estates went from her, and she retired to a first-floor lodging at
Brighton, where she lived on the allowance made her by the Relief
Commission appointed by Government for such cases as hers.
As regards public opinion on this and other changes, there was none,
because Society was as yet not re-established; and the new daily papers
were only feeling their way slowly to the expression of opinion. It
remains to be told how these changes were received by the sex thus
rudely set aside and deposed.
It cannot be denied that among the elders there was disaffection
amounting to blind hatred. Yet what could they do? They could no longer
combine; they had no papers; they had no club; they had no halls; they
had no theatres for meeting; they had no discussion-forums,--as of old.
Even they had no churches; and although in the past days they seldom
went into a church, regarding religion as a thing belonging to men, they
now made it their greatest grievance, that religion had been abolished.
In private houses the worship of the Perfect Woman was long continued by
those who had been brought up in that faith, and in days when it was
actually believed in and accepted.
As for the younger women, they, too, differed: The lower orders, for a
long time, regretted their ancient liberty, when they could leave the
husband to work in the house, children and all, and talk together the
livelong day. But in time they came round. The middle-aged women,
especially those of the professional classes, no doubt suffered greatly
by being deprived of the work which was to them their chief pleasure.
Some compensation was made to them by a system of partnership, in which
practice in their own houses and private consultations were allowed some
of them for life. As for the very young, it took a short time indeed to
reconcile them to the change.
No more reading for professions! Hurrah! Did any girl ever really _like_
reading law? No more drudgery in an office! Very well. Who would not
prefer liberty and seeing the men work?
They gave in with astonishing readiness to the new state of things.
They ceased to grumble directly they realised what the change meant for
them.
First, no anxiety about study, examinations, and a profession. Next, no
responsibilities. Next, unlimited time to look after dress and matters
of real importance. Then, no longer having to take things gravely on
account of the weaker sex,--the men, who now took things merrily--even
too merrily. Lastly, whereas no one was formerly allowed to marry unless
she could support a husband and family, and then one had to go through
all sorts of humiliating conferences with parents and guardians,--under
the new régime every man seemed making love with all his might to every
girl. Could anything be more delightful? Was it not infinitely better to
be wooed and made love to when one was young, than to woo for oneself
when one had already passed her best?
Then was born again that sweet feminine gift of coquetry: girls once
more pretended to be cruel, whimsical, giddy, careless, and mischievous;
the hard and anxious look vanished from their faces, and was replaced by
sweet, soft smiles; flirtation was revived under another name--many
names. A maiden loved to have half a dozen--yea, she did not mind half a
hundred--dangling after her, or kneeling at her feet, men were taught
that they must woo, not be wooed, and that a woman's love is not a thing
to be had for the mere asking: and dancing was revived--real honest
dancing of sweetheart and maid. There was laughter once more in the
land; and all the songs were rewritten; and such pieces were enacted
upon the stage as would but a month ago have taken everybody's breath
away. And there was a general burning of silly books and bad pictures;
and they began to open churches for the new Worship, and always more and
more the image of the Divine Man filled woman's heart.
Finally, these things having been settled in the best way possible, it
was resolved to hold the Coronation of the King at Westminster Abbey.
* * * * *
'Constance,' he said holding her in his arms, 'you believe that I have
always loved you, do you not?'
'I pray your Majesty,' she said, humbly, 'to forgive my errors of the
past.'
'My dear, what is there to forgive?'
'Nay, now I know. There is the Perfect Woman; but she lives in the
shadow of the Divine Man: she has her place in the Order of the World;
but it is not the highest place. We reigned for a hundred years and
more, and everything fell to pieces; you return, and all begins to
advance again. It is as if the foot of woman destroyed the flowers which
spring up beneath the foot of man. King, if I am to become your wife, I
shall also become your most faithful subject.'
'You are my Queen,' he said; 'together we will reign: it may be for the
good of our people. We have little strength of ourselves, but we seek
it--love----'
'We seek it,' she replied, lifting her eyes to Heaven, 'of the Divine
Man.'
* * * * *
On the day of the Coronation, by Royal Order, all classes of the people
were bidden to the ceremony; as many as could be admitted were invited
to the Abbey. Along the line of march they had raised seats one above
the other, covered with awnings. An innumerable crowd of people gathered
at early morning, and took their places, waiting patiently for eleven,
the hour of the procession.
At ten the Peers began to arrive--the newly recognised Peers--the men
who had been brought up in ignorance of their origin and rank. They were
uneasy in their robes and coronets; they had been carefully instructed
in their part of the ceremony, but they were nervous. However, the
people outside did not know this, and they cheered lustily.
Long before half-past ten there was not a vacant place in the Abbey; the
venerable church was crowded with ladies, who were anxious to make the
Coronation the point of a new departure; Society, it was said, would
begin again with a King. No doubt, many ladies whispered, women were,
after all, poor administrators; their nature was too tender, too much
disposed to pity, which produced weakness. Men, who received these
confessions, laughed courteously, but remembered the crowded prisons,
and the prisoners, and the Convict Wardens.
At eleven o'clock the procession started from Buckingham Palace. The
ancient ceremonials were copied as closely as possible. After the bands
came the mounted Guards; then followed heralds; then came the Venerable
Bishop of London, who was to crown the King, in a carriage; then
officers of State on horseback; then the King's faithful Guards, those
sturdy gamekeepers who stood by him at the beginning; and last of all,
save for a regiment of cavalry which brought up the rear, the King
himself on horseback--gallant, young, handsome, his face lit with the
sunshine of success; and riding beside him--at sight of whom a shout
went up that rent the air--no other than the beautiful Lady Carlyon
herself.
It appeared, when they arrived at the Abbey, that the coronation was to
be preceded by another and an unexpected ceremony. For the organ pealed
forth the 'Wedding March'; there were waiting at the gates a dozen
bridesmaids in white and silver; the choristers were ready with a
wedding-hymn; and the Bishop, with the Very Rev. Clarence Veysey, newly
appointed Dean of the Abbey, was within the altar-rails to make this
illustrious pair man and wife.
Then followed, without pause, the Coronation service, with the braying
of trumpets, the proclamation of heralds, the King's solemn oath, the
crowning of King and Queen, and the homage of the Peers. And amid the
shouts of the people, while cannon fired _feux de joie_, and the bells
rang, and the bands played 'God save the King,' the newly-crowned
monarch rode back to his Palace, bringing home with him the sweetheart
of his childhood.
Now there is so much grace and virtue in a real love match that it goes
straight to the heart of all who witness it. And since such fruits as
these manifestly followed with Man's administration, not a maiden among
them all but cried and waved her handkerchief, and sang 'God save the
King!'
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_LIST OF TITLES_
AINSWORTH, H.
74 Windsor Castle
200 The Tower of London
À KEMPIS, THOMAS
98 The Imitation of Christ
ANDERSEN, HANS
175 Fairy Tales
ARNOLD, MATTHEW
138 Poems
AURELIUS, MARCUS
82 The Meditations of
AUSTEN, JANE
53 Sense and Sensibility
103 Pride and Prejudice
190 Emma
193 Mansfield Park
BACON, FRANCIS
167 Essays
BARHAM, Rev. R. H.
71 The Ingoldsby Legends
BEACONSFIELD, Lord
183 Vivian Grey
BLACKMORE, R. D.
176 Lorna Doone
BORROW, GEORGE
141 Lavengro
BRONTË, ANNE
97 Tenant of Wildfell Hall
BRONTË, CHARLOTTE
7 Shirley
11 Jane Eyre
64 Villette
BRONTË, EMILY
31 Wuthering Heights
BRONTË, THE SISTERS
91 Agnes Grey, The Professor,
and Poems
BROWNING, MRS E. B.
67 Poems--Series I.
127 Poems--Series II.
BROWTNING, ROBERT
156 Poetical Works of
BUNYAN, JOHN
24 The Pilgrim's Progress
BURNS, ROBERT
164 Poetical Works of
CARLYLE, THOMAS
61 Heroes and Hero
Worship
109 Sartor Resartus
114 French Revolution, I.
115 Do.--II.
155 Past and Present
CARROLL, LEWIS
81 Alice in Wonderland
COLLINS, WILKIE
18 The Woman in White
20 No Name
130 The Moonstone
COOPER, FENIMORE
134 The Deerslayer
188 The Pathfinder
CRAIK, MRS
5 John Halifax, Gentleman
80 A Noble Life
137 A Life for a Life
DARWIN, CHARLES
69 Voyage of the Beagle
149 On the Origin of Species
DAUDET, ALPHONSE
182 Tartarin of Tarascon
DE QUINCEY, THOMAS
75 The Confessions of an Opium Eater
de WINDT, HARRY
129 Through Savage Europe
DICKENS, CHARLES
1 David Copperfield
14 Great Expectations
29 Barnaby Rudge
33 Oliver Twist
35 A Tale of Two Cities
36 The Old Curiosity Shop
37 Nicholas Nickleby
38 Pickwick Papers
39 Sketches by Boz
40 Dombey and Son
41 American Notes
42 Hard Times
43 A Child's History of England
44 Christmas Books
45 Reprinted Pieces
46 Martin Chuzzlewit
47 Bleak House
48 Little Dorrit
49 Master Humphrey's Clock, etc.
50 Stories and Sketches
73 Our Mutual Friend
154 The Uncommercial Traveller
DODD, WILLIAM
169 The Beauties of Shakespeare
DUMAS, ALEXANDER
62 The Three Musketeers
123 Twenty Years After
132 Count of Monte-Cristo (Vol. I.)
133 Count of Monte-Cristo (Vol. II.)
160 The Black Tulip
165 Marguerite de Valois
173 Vicomte de Bragelonne
178 Louise de la Vallière
185 The Man in the Iron Mask
199 The Forty-five Guardsmen
ELIOT, GEORGE
3 Adam Bede
13 The Mill on the Floss
19 Silas Marner
32 Scenes of Clerical Life
68 Romola
96 Felix Holt
EMERSON, R. W.
99 Essays and Representative Men
FROUDE, J. A.
125 Short Studies
GASKELL, Mrs
54 North and South
57 Cranford
186 Mary Barton
GOLDSMITH, OLIVER
94 The Vicar of Wakefield
GRANT, JAMES
122 The Romance of War
GRIMM BROS.
143 Fairy Tales
HAWTHORNE, N.
17 The Scarlet Letter
28 The House of the Seven Gables
HAZLITT, WILLIAM
172 Table Talk
HOLMES, O. W.
59 The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table
92 The Professor at the Breakfast Table
113 The Poet at the Breakfast Table
124 Elsie Venner
HUGHES, THOMAS
8 Tom Brown's Schooldays
HUGO, VICTOR
128 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
142 Les Misérables
162 The Toilers of the Sea
202 Ninety-Three
IRVING, WASHINGTON
107 The Sketch Book
KEATS, JOHN
179 Poetical Works of
KINGSLEY, HENRY
116 Ravenshoe
140 The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn
KINGSLEY, CHARLES
4 Two Years Ago
6 Westward Ho!
86 Hypatia
89 Hereward the Wake
106 Alton Locke
108 The Heroes
161 Yeast
LAMB, CHARLES
56 The Essays of Elia
LAMB, CHAS. and MARY
76 Tales from Shakespeare
LEVER, CHARLES
15 Charles O'Malley
148 Harry Lorrequer
LLOYD, ALBERT B.
135 Uganda to Khartoum
LONGFELLOW, H. W.
65 Poems
LOVER, SAMUEL
60 Handy Andy
LYTTON, LORD
27 The Last of the Barons
55 Last Days of Pompeii
77 Rienzi
87 Harold
126 The Caxtons
152 Eugene Aram
191 My Novel
MACAULAY, LORD
118 Historical Essays
119 Miscellaneous Essays
MARRYAT, CAPTAIN
84 Mr Midshipman Easy
195 The Children of the New Forest
MELVILLE, HERMAN
146 Typee
MELVILLE, WHYTE
85 The Gladiators
105 The Interpreter
145 The Queen's Maries
196 Cerise
MILLER, HUGH
104 My Schools and Schoolmasters
MORRIS, WILLIAM
197 The Life and Death of Jason
OLIPHANT, MRS
102 Miss Marjoribanks
PALGRAVE, F. T.
95 The Golden Treasury
PAYN, JAMES
110 Lost Sir Massingberd
POE, EDGAR ALLAN
201 Tales of Mystery and Imagination
PROCTER, ADELAIDE
72 Legends and Lyrics
READE, CHARLES
9 It is never too Late to Mend
21 Cloister and the Hearth
52 Hard Cash
136 Peg Woffington and Christie Johnstone
150 Love Me Little, Love Me Long
170 Put Yourself in His Place
RUSKIN, JOHN
70 Sesame and Lilies and The Political Economy of Art
78 Unto this Last, and The Two Paths
SCOTT, SIR WALTER
2 Kenilworth
12 The Talisman
22 Ivanhoe
58 Waverley
63 Heart of Midlothian
90 Old Mortality
101 Poetical Works
112 Bride of Lammermoor
117 The Fair Maid of Perth
131 Guy Mannering
139 Rob Roy
153 The Monastery
157 The Abbot
163 The Antiquary
168 Redgauntlet
174 Fortunes of Nigel
177 Woodstock
180 The Pirate
187 Quentin Durward
194 Peveril of the Peak
SHAKESPEARE, WM.
189 Tragedies
SLADEN, DOUGLAS
146A The Japs at Home
SOUTHEY, ROBERT
111 The Life of Nelson
TENNYSON, Lord
25 Poems
THACKERAY, W. M.
23 Henry Esmond
34 Vanity Fair
66 The Newcomes
83 The Virginians
120 Adventures of Philip
121 Pendennis
144 Yellowplush Papers
151 Four Georges
158 Christmas Books
171 Lovel the Widower
181 Barry Lyndon, etc.
184 Book of Snobs
192 The Great Hoggarty Diamond
198 Paris Sketch Book
TROLLOPE, ANTHONY
79 Barchester Towers
100 Framley Parsonage
147 Orley Farm
159 The Claverings
WALTON, IZAAK
88 The Compleat Angler
WOOD, MRS HENRY
10 East Lynne
16 The Channings
26 Mrs Halliburton's Troubles
30 Danesbury House
51 Verner's Pride
YONGE, C. M.
93 The Heir of Redclyffe
166 The Dove in the Eagle's Nest
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