Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor
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CHAPTER LXXIII
HOW TO GET OUT OF CHANCERY
Things at this time so befell me, that I cannot tell one half; butam like a boy who has left his lesson (to the master's very footfall)unready, except with false excuses. And as this makes no good work, soI lament upon my lingering, in the times when I might have got througha good page, but went astray after trifles. However, every man mustdo according to his intellect; and looking at the easy manner ofmy constitution, I think that most men will regard me with pity andgoodwill for trying, more than with contempt and wrath for having triedunworthily. Even as in the wrestling ring, whatever man did his best,and made an honest conflict, I always laid him down with softness,easing off his dusty fall.
But the thing which next betided me was not a fall of any sort; butrather a most glorious rise to the summit of all fortune. For in goodtruth it was no less than the return of Lorna--my Lorna, my own darling;in wonderful health and spirits, and as glad as a bird to get backagain. It would have done any one good for a twelve-month to behold herface and doings, and her beaming eyes and smile (not to mention blushesalso at my salutation), when this Queen of every heart ran about ourrooms again. She did love this, and she must see that, and where was ourold friend the cat? All the house was full of brightness, as if the sunhad come over the hill, and Lorna were his mirror.
My mother sat in an ancient chair, and wiped her cheeks, and looked ather; and even Lizzie's eyes must dance to the freshness and joy of herbeauty. As for me, you might call me mad; for I ran out and flung mybest hat on the barn, and kissed mother Fry, till she made at me withthe sugar-nippers.
What a quantity of things Lorna had to tell us! And yet how often westopped her mouth--at least mother, I mean, and Lizzie--and she quite asoften would stop her own, running up in her joy to some one of us!And then there arose the eating business--which people now call'refreshment,' in these dandyfied days of our language--for how was itpossible that our Lorna could have come all that way, and to her ownExmoor, without being terribly hungry?
'Oh, I do love it all so much,' said Lorna, now for the fiftieth time,and not meaning only the victuals: 'the scent of the gorse on the moorsdrove me wild, and the primroses under the hedges. I am sure I was meantfor a farmer's--I mean for a farm-house life, dear Lizzie'--for Lizziewas looking saucily--'just as you were meant for a soldier's bride, andfor writing despatches of victory. And now, since you will not ask me,dear mother, in the excellence of your manners, and even John has notthe impudence, in spite of all his coat of arms--I must tell you athing, which I vowed to keep until tomorrow morning; but my resolutionfails me. I am my own mistress--what think you of that, mother? I am myown mistress!'
'Then you shall not be so long,' cried I; for mother seemed not tounderstand her, and sought about for her glasses: 'darling, you shall bemistress of me; and I will be your master.'
'A frank announcement of your intent, and beyond doubt a true one; butsurely unusual at this stage, and a little premature, John. However,what must be, must be.' And with tears springing out of smiles, she fellon my breast, and cried a bit.
When I came to smoke a pipe over it (after the rest were gone to bed), Icould hardly believe in my good luck. For here was I, without any merit,except of bodily power, and the absence of any falsehood (which surelyis no commendation), so placed that the noblest man in England mightenvy me, and be vexed with me. For the noblest lady in all the land, andthe purest, and the sweetest--hung upon my heart, as if there was noneto equal it.
I dwelled upon this matter, long and very severely, while I smoked anew tobacco, brought by my own Lorna for me, and next to herself mostdelicious; and as the smoke curled away, I thought, 'Surely this is toofine to last, for a man who never deserved it.'
Seeing no way out of this, I resolved to place my faith in God; and sowent to bed and dreamed of it. And having no presence of mind to prayfor anything, under the circumstances, I thought it best to fall asleep,and trust myself to the future. Yet ere I fell asleep the roof above meswarmed with angels, having Lorna under it.
In the morning Lorna was ready to tell her story, and we to hearken; andshe wore a dress of most simple stuff; and yet perfectly wonderful, bymeans of the shape and her figure. Lizzie was wild with jealousy, asmight be expected (though never would Annie have been so, but havepraised it, and craved for the pattern), and mother not understandingit, looked forth, to be taught about it. For it was strange to note thatlately my dear mother had lost her quickness, and was never quite brisk,unless the question were about myself. She had seen a great deal oftrouble; and grief begins to close on people, as their power of lifedeclines. We said that she was hard of hearing; but my opinion was,that seeing me inclined for marriage made her think of my father, andso perhaps a little too much, to dwell on the courting of thirty yearsagone. Anyhow, she was the very best of mothers; and would smile andcommand herself; and be (or try to believe herself) as happy as couldbe, in the doings of the younger folk, and her own skill in detectingthem. Yet, with the wisdom of age, renouncing any opinion upon thematter; since none could see the end of it.
But Lorna in her bright young beauty, and her knowledge of my heart, wasnot to be checked by any thoughts of haply coming evil. In the morningshe was up, even sooner than I was, and through all the corners of thehens, remembering every one of them. I caught her and saluted her withsuch warmth (being now none to look at us), that she vowed she wouldnever come out again; and yet she came the next morning.
These things ought not to be chronicled. Yet I am of such nature, thatfinding many parts of life adverse to our wishes, I must now and thendraw pleasure from the blessed portions. And what portion can be moreblessed than with youth, and health, and strength, to be loved by avirtuous maid, and to love her with all one's heart? Neither was mypride diminished, when I found what she had done, only from her love ofme.
Earl Brandir's ancient steward, in whose charge she had travelled, witha proper escort, looked upon her as a lovely maniac; and the mixture ofpity and admiration wherewith he regarded her, was a strange thing toobserve; especially after he had seen our simple house and manners. Onthe other hand, Lorna considered him a worthy but foolish old gentleman;to whom true happiness meant no more than money and high position.
These two last she had been ready to abandon wholly, and had in partescaped from them, as the enemies of her happiness. And she tookadvantage of the times, in a truly clever manner. For that happenedto be a time--as indeed all times hitherto (so far as my knowledgeextends), have, somehow, or other, happened to be--when everybodywas only too glad to take money for doing anything. And the greatestmoney-taker in the kingdom (next to the King and Queen, of course, whohad due pre-eminence, and had taught the maids of honour) was generallyacknowledged to be the Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys.
Upon his return from the bloody assizes, with triumph and great glory,after hanging every man who was too poor to help it, he pleased hisGracious Majesty so purely with the description of their delightfulagonies, that the King exclaimed, 'This man alone is worthy to be at thehead of the law.' Accordingly in his hand was placed the Great Seal ofEngland.
So it came to pass that Lorna's destiny hung upon Lord Jeffreys; for atthis time Earl Brandir died, being taken with gout in the heart, soonafter I left London. Lorna was very sorry for him; but as he had neverbeen able to hear one tone of her sweet silvery voice, it is not to besupposed that she wept without consolation. She grieved for him as weought to grieve for any good man going; and yet with a comforting senseof the benefit which the blessed exchange must bring to him.
Now the Lady Lorna Dugal appeared to Lord Chancellor Jeffreys soexceeding wealthy a ward that the lock would pay for turning. Thereforehe came, of his own accord, to visit her, and to treat with her; havingheard (for the man was as big a gossip as never cared for anybody,yet loved to know all about everybody) that this wealthy and beautifulmaiden would not listen to any young lord, having pledged her faith tothe plain John Ridd.
Thereupon, our Lorna mana
ged so to hold out golden hopes to the LordHigh Chancellor, that he, being not more than three parts drunk, saw hisway to a heap of money. And there and then (for he was not the manto daily long about anything) upon surety of a certain round sum--theamount of which I will not mention, because of his kindness towardsme--he gave to his fair ward permission, under sign and seal, to marrythat loyal knight, John Ridd; upon condition only that the King'sconsent should be obtained.
His Majesty, well-disposed towards me for my previous service, andregarding me as a good Catholic, being moved moreover by the Queen, whodesired to please Lorna, consented, without much hesitation, upon theunderstanding that Lorna, when she became of full age, and the mistressof her property (which was still under guardianship), should pay aheavy fine to the Crown, and devote a fixed portion of her estate to thepromotion of the holy Catholic faith, in a manner to be dictated by theKing himself. Inasmuch, however, as King James was driven out of hiskingdom before this arrangement could take effect, and another kingsucceeded, who desired not the promotion of the Catholic religion,neither hankered after subsidies, (whether French or English), thatagreement was pronounced invalid, improper, and contemptible. However,there was no getting back the money once paid to Lord ChancellorJeffreys.
But what thought we of money at this present moment; or of position,or anything else, except indeed one another? Lorna told me, with thesweetest smile, that if I were minded to take her at all, I must takeher without anything; inasmuch as she meant, upon coming of age, to makeover the residue of her estates to the next-of-kin, as being unfit for afarmer's wife. And I replied with the greatest warmth and a readinessto worship her, that this was exactly what I longed for, but had neverdared to propose it. But dear mother looked most exceeding grave; andsaid that to be sure her opinion could not be expected to count formuch, but she really hoped that in three years' time we should both he alittle wiser, and have more regard for our interests, and perhaps thoseof others by that time; and Master Snowe having daughters only, andnobody coming to marry them, if anything happened to the good oldman--and who could tell in three years' time what might happen to allor any of us?--why perhaps his farm would be for sale, and perhaps LadyLorna's estates in Scotland would fetch enough money to buy it, and sothrow the two farms into one, and save all the trouble about the brook,as my poor father had longed to do many and many a time, but not havinga title could not do all quite as he wanted. And then if we youngpeople grew tired of the old mother, as seemed only too likely, and wasaccording to nature, why we could send her over there, and Lizzie tokeep her company.
When mother had finished, and wiped her eyes, Lorna, who had beenblushing rosily at some portions of this great speech, flung her fairarms around mother's neck, and kissed her very heartily, and scoldedher (as she well deserved) for her want of confidence in us. My motherreplied that if anybody could deserve her John, it was Lorna; but thatshe could not hold with the rashness of giving up money so easily; whileher next-of-kin would be John himself, and who could tell what others,by the time she was one-and-twenty?
Hereupon, I felt that after all my mother had common sense on her side;for if Master Snowe's farm should be for sale, it would be far more tothe purpose than my coat of arms, to get it; for there was a differentpasture there, just suited for change of diet to our sheep as wellas large cattle. And beside this, even with all Annie's skill (and ofcourse yet more now she was gone), their butter would always command inthe market from one to three farthings a pound more than we could getfor ours. And few things vexed us more than this. Whereas, if we gotpossession of the farm, we might, without breach of the market-laws, orany harm done to any one (the price being but a prejudice), sell all ourbutter as Snowe butter, and do good to all our customers.
Thinking thus, yet remembering that Farmer Nicholas might hold out foranother score of years--as I heartily hoped he might--or that one, ifnot all, of his comely daughters might marry a good young farmer (orfarmers, if the case were so)--or that, even without that, the farmmight never be put up for sale; I begged my Lorna to do as she liked; orrather to wait and think of it; for as yet she could do nothing.