CHAPTER II.
Marmion Herbert, sprung from one of the most illustrious families inEngland, became at an early age the inheritor of a great estate, towhich, however, he did not succeed with the prejudices or opinionsusually imbibed or professed by the class to which he belonged. Whileyet a boy, Marmion Herbert afforded many indications of possessing amind alike visionary and inquisitive, and both, although not in anequal degree, sceptical and creative. Nature had gifted him withprecocious talents; and with a temperament essentially poetic, hewas nevertheless a great student. His early reading, originally byaccident and afterwards by an irresistible inclination, had fallenamong the works of the English freethinkers: with all their errors,a profound and vigorous race, and much superior to the Frenchphilosophers, who were after all only their pupils and theirimitators. While his juvenile studies, and in some degree thepredisposition of his mind, had thus prepared him to doubt and finallyto challenge the propriety of all that was established and received,the poetical and stronger bias of his mind enabled him quickly tosupply the place of everything he would remove and destroy; and, farfrom being the victim of those frigid and indifferent feelingswhich must ever be the portion of the mere doubter, Herbert, on thecontrary, looked forward with ardent and sanguine enthusiasm to aglorious and ameliorating future, which should amply compensate andconsole a misguided and unhappy race for the miserable past andthe painful and dreary present. To those, therefore, who could notsympathise with his views, it will be seen that Herbert, in attemptingto fulfil them, became not merely passively noxious from his example,but actively mischievous from his exertions. A mere sceptic, he wouldhave been perhaps merely pitied; a sceptic with a peculiar faith ofhis own, which he was resolved to promulgate, Herbert became odious. Asolitary votary of obnoxious opinions, Herbert would have been lookedupon only as a madman; but the moment he attempted to make proselyteshe rose into a conspirator against society.
Young, irresistibly prepossessing in his appearance, with greateloquence, crude but considerable knowledge, an ardent imaginationand a subtle mind, and a generous and passionate soul, under anycircumstances he must have obtained and exercised influence, even ifhis Creator had not also bestowed upon him a spirit of indomitablecourage; but these great gifts of nature being combined with accidentsof fortune scarcely less qualified to move mankind, high rank, vastwealth, and a name of traditionary glory, it will not be esteemedsurprising that Marmion Herbert, at an early period, should haveattracted around him many enthusiastic disciples.
At Christchurch, whither he repaired at an unusually early age,his tutor was Doctor Masham; and the profound respect and singularaffection with which that able, learned, and amiable man earlyinspired his pupil, for a time controlled the spirit of Herbert; orrather confined its workings to so limited a sphere that the resultswere neither dangerous to society nor himself. Perfectly comprehendingand appreciating the genius of the youth entrusted to his charge,deeply interested in his spiritual as well as worldly welfare, andstrongly impressed with the importance of enlisting his pupil'senergies in favour of that existing order, both moral and religious,in the truth and indispensableness of which he was a sincere believer,Doctor Masham omitted no opportunity of combating the heresies of theyoung inquirer; and as the tutor, equally by talent, experience, andlearning, was a competent champion of the great cause to which he wasdevoted, his zeal and ability for a time checked the development ofthose opinions of which he witnessed the menacing influence overHerbert with so much fear and anxiety. The college life of MarmionHerbert, therefore, passed in ceaseless controversy with his tutor;and as he possessed, among many other noble qualities, a high andphilosophic sense of justice, he did not consider himself authorised,while a doubt remained on his own mind, actively to promulgate thoseopinions, of the propriety and necessity of which he scarcely everceased to be persuaded. To this cause it must be mainly attributedthat Herbert was not expelled the university; for had he pursued therethe course of which his cruder career at Eton had given promise, therecan be little doubt that some flagrant outrage of the opinions heldsacred in that great seat of orthodoxy would have quickly removed himfrom the salutary sphere of their control.
Herbert quitted Oxford in his nineteenth year, yet inferior tofew that he left there, even among the most eminent, in classicalattainments, and with a mind naturally profound, practised in all thearts of ratiocination. His general knowledge also was considerable,and he was a proficient in those scientific pursuits which were thenrare. Notwithstanding his great fortune and position, his departurefrom the university was not a signal with him for that abandonment tothe world, and that unbounded self-enjoyment naturally so tempting toyouth. On the contrary, Herbert shut himself up in his magnificentcastle, devoted to solitude and study. In his splendid library heconsulted the sages of antiquity, and conferred with them on thenature of existence and of the social duties; while in his laboratoryor his dissecting-room he occasionally flattered himself he mightdiscover the great secret which had perplexed generations. Theconsequence of a year passed in this severe discipline wasunfortunately a complete recurrence to those opinions that he hadearly imbibed, and which now seemed fixed in his conviction beyond thehope or chance of again faltering. In politics a violent republican,and an advocate, certainly a disinterested one, of a complete equalityof property and conditions, utterly objecting to the very foundationof our moral system, and especially a strenuous antagonist ofmarriage, which he taught himself to esteem not only as an unnaturaltie, but as eminently unjust towards that softer sex, who had beenso long the victims of man; discarding as a mockery the receivedrevelation of the divine will; and, if no longer an atheist,substituting merely for such an outrageous dogma a subtle and shadowyPlatonism; doctrines, however, which Herbert at least had acquired bya profound study of the works of their great founder; the pupil ofDoctor Masham at length deemed himself qualified to enter that worldwhich he was resolved to regenerate; prepared for persecution, andsteeled even to martyrdom.
But while the doctrines of the philosopher had been forming, thespirit of the poet had not been inactive. Loneliness, after all, thebest of Muses, had stimulated the creative faculty of his being.Wandering amid his solitary woods and glades at all hours and seasons,the wild and beautiful apparitions of nature had appealed to asympathetic soul. The stars and winds, the pensive sunset and thesanguine break of morn, the sweet solemnity of night, the ancienttrees and the light and evanescent flowers, all signs and sights andsounds of loveliness and power, fell on a ready eye and a responsiveear. Gazing on the beautiful, he longed to create it. Then it was thatthe two passions which seemed to share the being of Herbert appearedsimultaneously to assert their sway, and he resolved to call in hisMuse to the assistance of his Philosophy.
Herbert celebrated that fond world of his imagination, which he wishedto teach men to love. In stanzas glittering with refined images, andresonant with subtle symphony, he called into creation that society ofimmaculate purity and unbounded enjoyment which he believed was thenatural inheritance of unshackled man. In the hero he pictured aphilosopher, young and gifted as himself; in the heroine, his idea ofa perfect woman. Although all those peculiar doctrines of Herbert,which, undisguised, must have excited so much odium, were more orless developed and inculcated in this work; nevertheless they werenecessarily so veiled by the highly spiritual and metaphoricallanguage of the poet, that it required some previous acquaintance withthe system enforced, to be able to detect and recognise the esotericspirit of his Muse. The public read only the history of an ideal worldand of creatures of exquisite beauty, told in language that alikedazzled their fancy and captivated their ear. They were lost in adelicious maze of metaphor and music, and were proud to acknowledgean addition to the glorious catalogue of their poets in a young andinteresting member of their aristocracy.
In the meanwhile Herbert entered that great world that had longexpected him, and hailed his advent with triumph. How long might haveelapsed before they were roused by the conduct of Herbert to theerror under
which they were labouring as to his character, it isnot difficult to conjecture; but before he could commence thosephilanthropic exertions which apparently absorbed him, he encounteredan individual who most unconsciously put his philosophy not merely tothe test, but partially even to the rout; and this was Lady AnnabelSidney. Almost as new to the world as himself, and not less admired,her unrivalled beauty, her unusual accomplishments, and her pure anddignified mind, combined, it must be confessed, with the flatteringadmiration of his genius, entirely captivated the philosophicalantagonist of marriage. It is not surprising that Marmion Herbert,scarcely of age, and with a heart of extreme susceptibility, resolved,after a struggle, to be the first exception to his system, and, as hefaintly flattered himself, the last victim of prejudice. He wooed andwon the Lady Annabel.
The marriage ceremony was performed by Doctor Masham, who had read hispupil's poem, and had been a little frightened by its indications; butthis happy union had dissipated all his fears. He would not believe inany other than a future career for him alike honourable and happy; andhe trusted that if any wild thoughts still lingered in Herbert's mind,that they would clear off by the same literary process; so thatthe utmost ill consequences of his immature opinions might be anoccasional line that the wise would have liked to blot, and yet whichthe unlettered might scarcely be competent to comprehend. Mr. and LadyAnnabel Herbert departed after the ceremony to his castle, and DoctorMasham to Marringhurst, a valuable living in another county, to whichhis pupil had just presented him.
Some months after this memorable event, rumours reached the ear of thegood Doctor that all was not as satisfactory as he could desire inthat establishment, in the welfare of which he naturally took solively an interest. Herbert was in the habit of corresponding with therector of Marringhurst, and his first letters were full of details asto his happy life and his perfect consent; but gradually these detailshad been considerably abridged, and the correspondence assumed chieflya literary or philosophical character. Lady Annabel, however, wasalways mentioned with regard, and an intimation had been duly givento the Doctor that she was in a delicate and promising situation, andthat they were both alike anxious that he should christen their child.It did not seem very surprising to the good Doctor, who was a man ofthe world, that a husband, six months after marriage, should notspeak of the memorable event with all the fulness and fondness ofthe honeymoon; and, being one of those happy tempers that alwaysanticipate the best, he dismissed from his mind, as vain gossip andidle exaggerations, the ominous whispers that occasionally reachedhim.
Immediately after the Christmas ensuing his marriage, the Herbertsreturned to London, and the Doctor, who happened to be a short timein the metropolis, paid them a visit. His observations were far fromunsatisfactory; it was certainly too evident that Marmion was nolonger enamoured of Lady Annabel, but he treated her apparently withcourtesy, and even cordiality. The presence of Dr. Masham tended,perhaps, a little to revive old feelings, for he was as much afavourite with the wife as with the husband; but, on the whole,the Doctor quitted them with an easy heart, and sanguine that theinteresting and impending event would, in all probability, reviveaffection on the part of Herbert, or at least afford Lady Annabel theonly substitute for a husband's heart.
In due time the Doctor heard from Herbert that his wife had gonedown into the country, but was sorry to observe that Herbert did notaccompany her. Even this disagreeable impression was removed by aletter, shortly after received from Herbert, dated from the castle,and written in high spirits, informing him that Annabel had made himthe happy father of the most beautiful little girl in the world.During the ensuing three months Mr. Herbert, though he resumed hisresidence in London, paid frequent visits to the castle, where LadyAnnabel remained; and his occasional correspondence, though couchedin a careless vein, still on the whole indicated a cheerful spirit;though ever and anon were sarcastic observations as to the felicity ofthe married state, which, he said, was an undoubted blessing, as itkept a man out of all scrapes, though unfortunately under the penaltyof his total idleness and inutility in life. On the whole, however,the reader may judge of the astonishment of Doctor Masham when, incommon with the world, very shortly after the receipt of this letter,Mr. Herbert having previously proceeded to London, and awaiting, aswas said, the daily arrival of his wife and child, his former tutorlearned that Lady Annabel, accompanied only by Pauncefort and Venetia,had sought her father's roof, declaring that circumstances hadoccurred which rendered it quite impossible that she could live withMr. Herbert any longer, and entreating his succour and parentalprotection.
Never was such a hubbub in the world! In vain Herbert claimed hiswife, and expressed his astonishment, declaring that he had partedfrom her with the expression of perfect kind feeling on both sides.No answer was given to his letter, and no explanation of any kindconceded him. The world universally declared Lady Annabel an injuredwoman, and trusted that she would eventually have the good sense andkindness to gratify them by revealing the mystery; while Herbert,on the contrary, was universally abused and shunned, avoided by hisacquaintances, and denounced as the most depraved of men.
In this extraordinary state of affairs Herbert acted in a mannerthe best calculated to secure his happiness, and the very worst topreserve his character. Having ostentatiously shown himself in everypublic place, and courted notice and inquiry by every means in hispower, to prove that he was not anxious to conceal himself or avoidany inquiry, he left the country, free at last to pursue that careerto which he had always aspired, and in which he had been checked bya blunder, from the consequences of which he little expected thathe should so speedily and strangely emancipate himself. It was in abeautiful villa on the lake of Geneva that he finally establishedhimself, and there for many years he employed himself in thepublication of a series of works which, whether they were poetry orprose, imaginative or investigative, all tended to the same consistentpurpose, namely, the fearless and unqualified promulgation of thoseopinions, on the adoption of which he sincerely believed the happinessof mankind depended; and the opposite principles to which, in his owncase, had been productive of so much mortification and misery.His works, which were published in England, were little read, anduniversally decried. The critics were always hard at work, provingthat he was no poet, and demonstrating in the most logical mannerthat he was quite incapable of reasoning on the commonest topic. Inaddition to all this, his ignorance was self-evident; and though hewas very fond of quoting Greek, they doubted whether he was capable ofreading the original authors. The general impression of the Englishpublic, after the lapse of some years, was, that Herbert was anabandoned being, of profligate habits, opposed to all the institutionsof society that kept his infamy in check, and an avowed atheist; andas scarcely any one but a sympathetic spirit ever read a line hewrote, for indeed the very sight of his works was pollution, it is notvery wonderful that this opinion was so generally prevalent. A calminquirer might, perhaps, have suspected that abandoned profligacy isnot very compatible with severe study, and that an author is seldomloose in his life, even if he be licentious in his writings. A calminquirer might, perhaps, have been of opinion that a solitary sagemay be the antagonist of a priesthood without absolutely denying theexistence of a God; but there never are calm inquirers. The world, onevery subject, however unequally, is divided into parties; and even inthe case of Herbert and his writings, those who admired his genius,and the generosity of his soul, were not content without advocating,principally out of pique to his adversaries, his extreme opinions onevery subject, moral, political, and religious.
Besides, it must be confessed, there was another circumstance whichwas almost as fatal to Herbert's character in England as his loose andheretical opinions. The travelling English, during their visits toGeneva, found out that their countryman solaced or enlivened hissolitude by unhallowed ties. It is a habit to which very young men,who are separated from or deserted by their wives, occasionally haverecourse. Wrong, no doubt, as most things are, but it is to be hopedvenial; at least in the c
ase of any man who is not also an atheist.This unfortunate mistress of Herbert was magnified into a seraglio;the most extraordinary tales of the voluptuous life of one whogenerally at his studies out-watched the stars, were rife in Englishsociety; and
Hoary marquises and stripling dukes,
who were either protecting opera dancers, or, still worse, makinglove to their neighbours' wives, either looked grave when the name ofHerbert was mentioned in female society, or affectedly confused, as ifthey could a tale unfold, were they not convinced that the sense ofpropriety among all present was infinitely superior to their sense ofcuriosity.
The only person to whom Herbert communicated in England was DoctorMasham. He wrote to him immediately on his establishment at Geneva, ina calm yet sincere and serious tone, as if it were useless to dwelltoo fully on the past. Yet he declared, although now that it was allover he avowed his joy at the interposition of his destiny, and theopportunity which he at length possessed of pursuing the career forwhich he was adapted, that he had to his knowledge given his wifeno cause of offence which could authorise her conduct. As for hisdaughter, he said he should not be so cruel as to tear her fromher mother's breast; though, if anything could induce him to suchbehaviour, it would be the malignant and ungenerous menace of hiswife's relatives, that they would oppose his preferred claim tothe guardianship of his child, on the plea of his immoral life andatheistical opinions. With reference to pecuniary arrangements, ashis chief seat was entailed on male heirs, he proposed that his wifeshould take up her abode at Cherbury, an estate which had been settledon her and her children at her marriage, and which, therefore, woulddescend to Venetia. Finally, he expressed his satisfaction that theneighbourhood of Marringhurst would permit his good and still faithfulfriend to cultivate the society and guard over the welfare of his wifeand daughter.
During the first ten years of Herbert's exile, for such indeed itmight be considered, the Doctor maintained with him a rare yet regularcorrespondence; but after that time a public event occurred, anda revolution took place in Herbert's life which terminated allcommunication between them; a termination occasioned, however, by sucha simultaneous conviction of its absolute necessity, that it was notattended by any of those painful communications which are too oftenthe harrowing forerunners of a formal disruption of ancient ties.
This event was the revolt of the American colonies; and thisrevolution in Herbert's career, his junction with the rebels againsthis native country. Doubtless it was not without a struggle, perhapsa pang, that Herbert resolved upon a line of conduct to which itmust assuredly have required the strongest throb of his cosmopolitansympathy, and his amplest definition of philanthropy to have impelledhim. But without any vindictive feelings towards England, for he everprofessed and exercised charity towards his enemies, attributing theirconduct entirely to their ignorance and prejudice, upon this step henevertheless felt it his duty to decide. There seemed in the openingprospects of America, in a world still new, which had borrowed fromthe old as it were only so much civilisation as was necessary tocreate and to maintain order; there seemed in the circumstances of itsboundless territory, and the total absence of feudal institutions andprejudices, so fair a field for the practical introduction of thoseregenerating principles to which Herbert had devoted all the thoughtand labour of his life, that he resolved, after long and perhapspainful meditation, to sacrifice every feeling and future interest toits fulfilment. All idea of ever returning to his native country, evenwere it only to mix his ashes with the generations of his ancestors;all hope of reconciliation with his wife, or of pressing to hisheart that daughter, often present to his tender fancy, and to whoseaffections he had feelingly appealed in an outburst of passionatepoetry; all these chances, chances which, in spite of his philosophy,had yet a lingering charm, must be discarded for ever. They werediscarded. Assigning his estate to his heir upon conditions, in orderto prevent its forfeiture, with such resources as he could command,and which were considerable, Marmion Herbert arrived at Boston, wherehis rank, his wealth, his distinguished name, his great talents, andhis undoubted zeal for the cause of liberty, procured him an eminentand gratifying reception. He offered to raise a regiment for therepublic, and the offer was accepted, and he was enrolled among thecitizens. All this occurred about the time that the Cadurcis familyfirst settled at the abbey, and this narrative will probably throwlight upon several slight incidents which heretofore may haveattracted the perplexed attention of the reader: such as the newspaperbrought by Dr. Masham at the Christmas visit; the tears shed at asubsequent period at Marringhurst, when he related to her the lastintelligence that had been received from America. For, indeed, it isimpossible to express the misery and mortification which this lastconduct of her husband occasioned Lady Annabel, brought up, as she hadbeen, with feelings of romantic loyalty and unswerving patriotism.To be a traitor seemed the only blot that remained for his sulliedscutcheon, and she had never dreamed of that. An infidel, aprofligate, a deserter from his home, an apostate from his God! oneinfamy alone remained, and now he had attained it; a traitor to hisking! Why, every peasant would despise him!
General Herbert, however, for such he speedily became, at the head ofhis division, soon arrested the attention, and commanded the respect,of Europe. To his exertions the successful result of the strugglewas, in a great measure, attributed; and he received the thanks ofCongress, of which he became a member. His military and politicalreputation exercised a beneficial influence upon his literary fame.His works were reprinted in America, and translated into French,and published at Geneva and Basle, whence they were surreptitiouslyintroduced into France. The Whigs, who had become very factious, andnearly revolutionary, during the American war, suddenly became proudof their countryman, whom a new world hailed as a deliverer, andParis declared to be a great poet and an illustrious philosopher. Hiswritings became fashionable, especially among the young; numerouseditions of them appeared, and in time it was discovered that Herbertwas now not only openly read, and enthusiastically admired, but hadfounded a school.
The struggle with America ceased about the time of Lord Cadurcis' lastvisit to Cherbury, when, from his indignant lips, Venetia first learntthe enormities of her father's career. Since that period some threeyears had elapsed until we introduced our readers to the boudoirof Lady Monteagle. During this period, among the Whigs and theirpartisans the literary fame of Herbert had arisen and becomeestablished. How they have passed in regard to Lady Annabel Herbertand her daughter, on the one hand, and Lord Cadurcis himself on theother, we will endeavour to ascertain in the following chapter.
Venetia Page 41
