The Pirate
from, or inconsistency with, the character of the parties, which we
might expect when the result alone is contemplated. The wise purposes
which Providence appears to have had in view, by permitting such
intermixture of dispositions, tempers, and understandings, in the
married state, are not accomplished by any mysterious impulse by which,
in contradiction to the ordinary laws of nature, men or women are urged
to an union with those whom the world see to be unsuitable to them. The
freedom of will is permitted to us in the occurrences of ordinary life,
as in our moral conduct; and in the former as well as the latter case,
is often the means of misguiding those who possess it. Thus it usually
happens, more especially to the enthusiastic and imaginative, that,
having formed a picture of admiration in their own mind, they too often
deceive themselves by some faint resemblance in some existing being,
whom their fancy, as speedily as gratuitously, invests with all the
attributes necessary to complete the _beau ideal_ of mental perfection.
No one, perhaps, even in the happiest marriage, with an object really
beloved, ever discovered by experience all the qualities he expected to
possess; but in far too many cases, he finds he has practised a much
higher degree of mental deception, and has erected his airy castle of
felicity upon some rainbow, which owed its very existence only to the
peculiar state of the atmosphere.
Thus, Mordaunt, if better acquainted with life, and with the course of
human things, would have been little surprised that such a man as
Cleveland, handsome, bold, and animated,--a man who had obviously lived
in danger, and who spoke of it as sport, should have been invested, by a
girl of Minna's fanciful disposition, with an extensive share of those
qualities, which, in her active imagination, were held to fill up the
accomplishments of a heroic character. The plain bluntness of his
manner, if remote from courtesy, appeared at least as widely different
from deceit; and, unfashioned as he seemed by forms, he had enough both
of natural sense, and natural good-breeding, to support the delusion he
had created, at least as far as externals were concerned. It is scarce
necessary to add, that these observations apply exclusively to what are
called love-matches; for when either party fix their attachment upon the
substantial comforts of a rental, or a jointure, they cannot be
disappointed in the acquisition, although they may be cruelly so in
their over-estimation of the happiness it was to afford, or in having
too slightly anticipated the disadvantages with which it was to be
attended.
Having a certain partiality for the dark Beauty whom we have described,
we have willingly dedicated this digression, in order to account for a
line of conduct which we allow to seem absolutely unnatural in such a
narrative as the present, though the most common event in ordinary life;
namely, in Minna's appearing to have over-estimated the taste, talent,
and ability of a handsome young man, who was dedicating to her his whole
time and attention, and whose homage rendered her the envy of almost all
the other young women of that numerous party. Perhaps, if our fair
readers will take the trouble to consult their own bosoms, they will be
disposed to allow, that the distinguished good taste exhibited by any
individual, who, when his attentions would be agreeable to a whole
circle of rivals, selects _one_ as their individual object, entitles
him, on the footing of reciprocity, if on no other, to a large share of
that individual's favourable, and even partial, esteem. At any rate, if
the character shall, after all, be deemed inconsistent and unnatural, it
concerns not us, who record the facts as we find them, and pretend no
privilege for bringing closer to nature those incidents which may seem
to diverge from it; or for reducing to consistence that most
inconsistent of all created things--the heart of a beautiful and admired
female.
Necessity, which teaches all the liberal arts, can render us also adepts
in dissimulation; and Mordaunt, though a novice, failed not to profit in
her school. It was manifest, that, in order to observe the demeanour of
those on whom his attention was fixed, he must needs put constraint on
his own, and appear, at least, so much engaged with the damsels betwixt
whom he sat, that Minna and Brenda should suppose him indifferent to
what was passing around him. The ready cheerfulness of Maddie and Clara
Groatsettars, who were esteemed considerable fortunes in the island, and
were at this moment too happy in feeling themselves seated somewhat
beyond the sphere of vigilance influenced by their aunt, the good old
Lady Glowrowrum, met and requited the attempts which Mordaunt made to be
lively and entertaining; and they were soon engaged in a gay
conversation, to which, as usual on such occasions, the gentleman
contributed wit, or what passes for such, and the ladies their prompt
laughter and liberal applause. But, amidst this seeming mirth, Mordaunt
failed not, from time to time, as covertly as he might, to observe the
conduct of the two daughters of Magnus; and still it appeared as if the
elder, wrapt up in the conversation of Cleveland, did not cast away a
thought on the rest of the company; and as if Brenda, more openly as she
conceived his attention withdrawn from her, looked with an expression
both anxious and melancholy towards the group of which he himself formed
a part. He was much moved by the diffidence, as well as the trouble,
which her looks seemed to convey, and tacitly formed the resolution of
seeking a more full explanation with her in the course of the evening.
Norna, he remembered, had stated that these two amiable young women were
in danger, the nature of which she left unexplained, but which he
suspected to arise out of their mistaking the character of this daring
and all-engrossing stranger; and he secretly resolved, that, if
possible, he would be the means of detecting Cleveland, and of saving
his early friends.
As he revolved these thoughts, his attention to the Miss Groatsettars
gradually diminished, and perhaps he might altogether have forgotten the
necessity of his appearing an uninterested spectator of what was
passing, had not the signal been given for the ladies retiring from
table. Minna, with a native grace, and somewhat of stateliness in her
manner, bent her head to the company in general, with a kinder and more
particular expression as her eye reached Cleveland. Brenda, with the
blush which attended her slightest personal exertion when exposed to the
eyes of others, hurried through the same departing salutation with an
embarrassment which almost amounted to awkwardness, but which her youth
and timidity rendered at once natural and interesting. Again Mordaunt
thought that her eye distinguished him amidst the numerous company. For
the first time he ventured to encounter and to return the glance; and
the consciousness that he had done so doubled the glow of Brenda's
countenance, while something resembling displeasure was blended with her
emotion.
When the ladies had retired, the men betook themselves to the deep and
serious drinking, which, according to the fashion of the times, preceded
the evening exercise of the dance. Old Magnus himself, by precept and
example, exhorted them "to make the best use of their time, since the
ladies would soon summon them to shake their feet." At the same time
giving the signal to a grey-headed domestic, who stood behind him in the
dress of a Dantzic skipper, and who added to many other occupations that
of butler, "Eric Scambester," he said, "has the good ship the Jolly
Mariner of Canton, got her cargo on board?"
"Chokeful loaded," answered the Ganymede of Burgh-Westra, "with good
Nantz, Jamaica sugar, Portugal lemons, not to mention nutmeg and toast,
and water taken in from the Shellicoat spring."
Loud and long laughed the guests at this stated and regular jest betwixt
the Udaller and his butler, which always served as a preface to the
introduction of a punch-bowl of enormous size, the gift of the captain
of one of the Honourable East India Company's vessels, which, bound from
China homeward, had been driven north-about by stress of weather into
Lerwick-bay, and had there contrived to get rid of part of the cargo,
without very scrupulously reckoning for the King's duties.
Magnus Troil, having been a large customer, besides otherwise obliging
Captain Coolie, had been remunerated, on the departure of the ship, with
this splendid vehicle of conviviality, at the very sight of which, as
old Eric Scambester bent under its weight, a murmur of applause ran
through the company. The good old toasts dedicated to the prosperity of
Zetland, were then honoured with flowing bumpers. "Death to the head
that never wears hair!" was a sentiment quaffed to the success of the
fishing, as proposed by the sonorous voice of the Udaller. Claud Halcro
proposed with general applause, "The health of their worthy landmaster,
the sweet sister meat-mistresses; health to man, death to fish, and
growth to the produce of the ground." The same recurring sentiment was
proposed more concisely by a whiteheaded compeer of Magnus Troil, in the
words, "God open the mouth of the grey fish, and keep his hand about the
corn!"[40]
Full opportunity was afforded to all to honour these interesting toasts.
Those nearest the capacious Mediterranean of punch, were accommodated by
the Udaller with their portions, dispensed in huge rummer glasses by his
own hospitable hand, whilst they who sat at a greater distance
replenished their cups by means of a rich silver flagon, facetiously
called the Pinnace; which, filled occasionally at the bowl, served to
dispense its liquid treasures to the more remote parts of the table, and
occasioned many right merry jests on its frequent voyages. The commerce
of the Zetlanders with foreign vessels, and homeward-bound West
Indiamen, had early served to introduce among them the general use of
the generous beverage, with which the Jolly Mariner of Canton was
loaded; nor was there a man in the archipelago of Thule more skilled in
combining its rich ingredients, than old Eric Scambester, who indeed was
known far and wide through the isles by the name of the Punch-maker,
after the fashion of the ancient Norwegians, who conferred on Rollo the
Walker, and other heroes of their strain, epithets expressive of the
feats of strength or dexterity in which they excelled all other men.
The good liquor was not slow in performing its office of exhilaration,
and, as the revel advanced, some ancient Norse drinking-songs were sung
with great effect by the guests, tending to show, that if, from want of
exercise, the martial virtues of their ancestors had decayed among the
Zetlanders, they could still actively and intensely enjoy so much of the
pleasures of Valhalla as consisted in quaffing the oceans of mead and
brown ale, which were promised by Odin to those who should share his
Scandinavian paradise. At length, excited by the cup and song, the
diffident grew bold, and the modest loquacious--all became desirous of
talking, and none were willing to listen--each man mounted his own
special hobby-horse, and began eagerly to call on his neighbours to
witness his agility. Amongst others, the little bard, who had now got
next to our friend Mordaunt Mertoun, evinced a positive determination to
commence and conclude, in all its longitude and latitude, the story of
his introduction to glorious John Dryden; and Triptolemus Yellowley, as
his spirits arose, shaking off a feeling of involuntary awe, with which
he was impressed by the opulence indicated in all he saw around him, as
well as by the respect paid to Magnus Troil by the assembled guests,