Robert Bisset

“ Poor Jenny Collings, the daughter of a lowly mechanic, [162] shall not be the wife of the noble gentleman that she doats on to distraction. I know my own business well, and can by it earn the means of subsisting myself, and lending aid to my mother and her orphan children. Mr. Hamilton, I love you too well to hear an offer dictated by pity, or at best the feeling gratitude of a kind heart.” “No, upon my soul,” said Hamilton, “’tis love for the woman who possesses so many charms, and, highest of them all, such an affection for myself.” ”

“ If our universities may be thought, in some respects, to check and retard the progress of knowledge, by means of fixed forms, laws, and customs, it is at least equally certain, that they are salutary bulwarks against the precipitate and desolating spirit of innovation. The reverence paid by our ancestors to piety and to learning, strikes us in Oxford as by a sensation, and shews how fit objects these are of esteem and veneration, to the common sense of mankind. ”

“ Meanwhile the countess had directed her steps to the spot where Sir Edward Hamden sat with Miss Mortimer. Perfectly acquainted with the baronet, “Pray,” she said, “Hamden, do you know who that charming youth is that danced with me?” “I understand his name is Hamilton,” replied Hamden. “What a graceful figure, what a bewitching countenance, what eyes, and such a look as he has with him: it is well for me that I am past my teens, and not a susceptible romantic girl.” ”

“ Maria was dressed that day with an elegant simplicity, that rendered her irresistibly bewitching. Blossom and Hamilton, different as they were in their sentiments and views, both agreed in being more than ever fired by her charms. Our hero could have instantly married her, to have such corporeal and mental attractions his own; and Blossom would have almost encountered any risk to perpetrate his purpose. He easily saw the fondness of Hamilton, but estimated its nature and object by the grossness and depravity of his own mind. ”

“ The senator announced, by this description, grasping the hand of our hero, said, “I still have hopes of the salvation of my country; our youth are not all misled by destructive theory. Sir, your powers are extraordinary, and are exerted for your king and country, when such exertions are wanted. You have read much, and reflected more; your deductions are just as they are forcible; your feelings are the feelings of loyal and patriotic virtue; the brilliancy of your eloquence is surpassed only by its depth and its truth. ”

“ Hamilton turned to the place, and read as follows:
“My beloved Carolino,
How shall I communicate to you the fatal secret; alas! I am betrayed. I will not reproach you. I am betrayed into mistake by the soft sensibility of too [207] tender a heart. I cannot reproach you; I can only blame myself, and a worthless and malignant world. Ah! why (as the king of German moralists observes so strongly) should that be reckoned dishonourable in event which proceeds from no malevolent intention? Why should the indulgence of the sweetest of affections be reckoned a crime? ”

“ All my friends give you a very high character, that I assure you, not any consideration of property is what now induces me to make bold. Besides the extraordinary beauty of your face and person, the whiteness of your skin, your shining eyes, and the fine fall of your shoulders, the dignity of your walk, not to mention other charms, which, though invisible, may be well supposed, has created in me a passion, which preys upon my heart, and will, if not gratified, throw me into a consumption; which, as the Family Physician observes, is, in this country, a very frequent and dangerous distemper. ”

“ A dead stillness ruled over the house, as if a Sheridan, Fox, or a Pitt, had been speaking; not a whisper was heard, except low breathings of admiration. One indeed would whisper to his neighbour, “Vara weel laad.” Hamilton having finished, the chief orators of both parties vied with each other, in bestowing praises on this exhibition of the young member. The question being adjourned, our hero went to the lobby, to look for his uncle, and just as he met him, found himself surrounded by gentlemen, congratulating him on the fame he had established at the very outset of his parliamentary career. ”

“ He now rejoined Maria, who was dressed with simple, but most attractive loveliness, as a Nun, while William had from some whim taken it into his head to act the part of Ovid. The master of the art of love, at midnight, alone, even with a Nun herself, was dangerous company, tending to demonstrate the fragility of vows. Maria’s flutter had been increased rather than diminished, by the scenes of the masquerade; Mrs. Dicky had prevailed on her to take some lemonade, which most unaccountably had the same peculiarity of flavour that she had experienced in the fruit, liqueurs, wine, and coffee. ”

“ She had heard, with rage, of the charms of Eliza, and her striking resemblance of her mother. As the devil, in sending envy to the human heart, sends its severest punishment in the admiration of its object, and its own rankling gall, [59] she could not, for her soul, avoid thinking Eliza the most engaging woman in the room. Nay, her attempts, in her own mind, to under-rate the charms of Miss Wentbridge, recoiled on herself in exaggerating their witchery. But though envy cannot really force itself to a contempt of its object, it may easily try to assume that disguise. ”

“ Miss Primrose had been deeply impressed by the charms of our hero, and had not discovered his attachment to another. On hearing his name announced, fallacious hope, in its usual way, following wish, she ascribed his early enquiries to a more potent motive than mere fashionable politeness. Under these impressions, she descended to the drawing-room with more haste, and received him with more animation than a stranger could have excited merely as her partner at a ball. ”

“ He had been captivated by the charms of Miss Hamilton, but he was not so deeply enamoured that ambition did not give him a contrary pull. He was a very handsome fellow, and much admired among the French ladies, in whom political regeneration had not produced moral: he was greatly addicted to gallantry, and nothing is more destructive of virtuous love than habitual dissipation when at a distance from the beloved object. ”

“ Descending to more recent events, she would with pleasure hear the natural though homely recitals of old Maxwell, and enjoy the fire of his eye, when describing the defence of Bergen-op-Zoom, or the capture of Quebec; she was well acquainted with the events of the war just terminated, especially such as displayed heroism, or manifested British character. Such was the young lady to whom Major Hamilton was now introduced. Hamilton himself was a man of a very prepossessing appearance, tall, and graceful; in face, figure, and deportment, at once elegant and manly. ”

“ O Lord, there is little Tommy Titmouse, the famous coachman.” “Poor Titmouse,” said Hamilton, “he is a good-natured little creature, and encourages the breed of horses; therefore, he is not so totally useless as one is apt to think.” “Observe,” said Mortimer, “that tall military figure; that is a nobleman, who unites the hero, the scholar, the statesman, the philanthrophist, and the finished gentleman,—such as English nobility ought to be. ”

“ Polished elegance of composition attempted to effect the restoration of chaotic ignorance, chaste purity of language recommended the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, the calmness of philosophical disquisition inculcated the destruction of peace and of order, in the overthrow of property and of law; the ardent pursuer of the happiness of mankind sought to destroy the tendered endearments and best affections of the human heart. The votary of benevolence endeavoured to destroy the sentiments and actions which conduce most powerfully to the well-being of the human race. ”

“ Siddons in Belvidera called from our youth the pathos of genius so irresistibly [269] impressive, that glistening eyes and moistened cheeks of the fair auditors bore unequivocal testimony to the softness of their sensibility. Far transcending all the female guests, in the vigour of her imagination, and the tenderness of her heart, Maria, by the action and reaction of fancy and of feeling, was more enchanted and affected by the descriptions and exhibitions of our hero, than any of her companions. She saw how exquisitely his countenance corresponded with the varying subject ”

“ Returning to the Steyne, instead of the spectacles, we have now time and opportunity to observe its late spectators. A more lovely groupe is rarely to be seen; most charming women, with complexions freshened by healthy air and exercise, their nerves braced by that element, from which sprang the fair deity whom many of them equal in attractive beauty; their thoughts free from the anxious cares of the evening, when the momentous dice are to agitate the heart of eager expectants of a toy. ”

“ Discontent, malignant hatred of a government in which they themselves were not promoted according to their fancied merits, made others encourage the writings and principles of Paine, however much they might have despised his illiterature and sophistry. But not the ignorant only, writers of respectable talents and erudition declared the ravings and vagaries of Paine to be the invincible energy of truth and sense, to combine history and philosophy. ”

“ My dear Hamilton, I revere you, and by my affection and admiration I conjure you, at least, for the present, [298] to make no overtures of the kind. Be called to the bar, be engaged in some cause which will make you known, and lay the foundation of eminence and opulence. Be once established, and if you continue your love to Maria, I shall most eagerly promote a connection that will contribute to her honour and happiness.” “Happiness, did you say,” cried our hero eagerly, “have you, my dear Mortimer, any idea that your sister is favourably disposed.” ”

“ Hamilton here would have me give up the preaching, because it led me to bad courses, and to be sure, to confess the truth honestly, a methodist preacher has such temptations among the dear cratures, that flesh and blood cannot stand it. The saints are so warm and so loving, then there are so bewitching opportunities; there is the love feast, the holy kiss, and the spiritual communion in the dark ”

“ But, my pupils, perfection is not to be immediately attained: our present business is to prepare for that high state of human regeneration. Of course, we all renounce religion, the prejudice of the unenlightened; and we all seek equality; but some degree of influence and controul may be necessary in the present imperfect state, to fit us for the total reprobation of religion, and the equalization of mankind, by mowing [211] down every inequality of fortune, rank, talents, and virtue. I propose to imitate the absurd institutions of the English church in one instance. ”

“ It was, he said, much more becoming that a young man in the vigour of life should enjoy such a property, than an old man with one foot in the grave. The laird, though totally unmoved by this reasoning, yet standing in some awe of O’Rourke, very mildly informed him, that if he would open his pretensions to the colonel, or his son William, he would receive a complete answer, as they were entirely in the secret of all his plans and intentions. ”

“ Genius, ardent after novelty, will sometimes leave an old road, not because it may not lead it to its journey’s end, but because it is old. There was at this time a great disposition to literary innovation, that shewing itself on subjects of serious reasoning, religion, morality, and politics, was also manifest in works of amusement. ”

“ Leon’s chief work is a mere expatiation on a principle of Hume, carried to greater extravagance than Hume himself ever attempted; but as St. Leon has imitated Hume, in attempting to sap the foundations of morality and religion, let him remember that such writings constitute but a small part of Hume’s literary labours; and that he has left one work of unusual magnitude replete with sound wisdom, and (with certain exceptions) one of the most beneficial to mankind, that graced the eighteenth century. ”

“ Your own fortune though sufficient for your support, until your exertions bring fame and emolument, yet is inadequate to the maintenance of an increasing family, in the style to which both you and my sister are accustomed, and before your efforts, by establishing your reputation, had insured your success, embarrassments might commence, which breaking your spirits might damp the ardour of your genius, enfeeble the energy of eloquence and make a man of so transcendant powers, surpassed in his professions by plodding mediocrity. ”

“ Mortimer uttering interjections, expressing his admiration and surprize, Scribble, farther to transport his wonder, went on: “Though neither a physician, nor a surgeon, I am more deeply skilled in midwifery than any professed practitioner of the obstetric art. Though not called to the bar, I know better than Erskine how counsellors ought to plead. Though no clergyman, I know how men of that profession ought to preach.” “Mr. Scribble’s extraordinary merit,” said Hamilton, “is the cause of no less extraordinary envy. ”

“ Mortimer was an extremely worthy man; but, totally without disguise himself, he did not readily suspect it in any other. John was a man of abilities, penetration, well-acquainted with the world, and with the fair sex, and not ignorant of the artifices and dissimulation which modesty and delicacy often introduce in the most virtuous and elevated female bosoms. He heard from the communicative old gentleman, all the detail of their journey, including the dashing miss that set off with Hamilton. ”

“ Strongbrain thought the revolution too violent to suit the gradual variations of the human character, and too democratical to suit the mad volatility of the French. Hamilton observed, that a very rapid change now took place in the political sentiments of the country, and with the action and re-action of the press, affected our literature; that though one of its chief objects was innovation in the church and state, its influence extended much farther; and that not only in institutions, but manners, principles, sentiments, thoughts, and even the powers of nature, the great object was innovation. ”