CHAPTER XIII.

Full in the midst the polish'd table shines,

And the bright goblets, rich with generous wines;

Now each partakes the feast, the wine prepares,

Portions the food, and each the portion shares;

Nor till the rage of thirst and hunger ceased,

To the high host approach'd the sagacious guest.

_Odyssey._

The hospitable profusion of Magnus Troil's board, the number of guests

who feasted in the hall, the much greater number of retainers,

attendants, humble friends, and domestics of every possible description,

who revelled without, with the multitude of the still poorer, and less

honoured assistants, who came from every hamlet or township within

twenty miles round, to share the bounty of the munificent Udaller, were

such as altogether astonished Triptolemus Yellowley, and made him

internally doubt whether it would be prudent in him at this time, and

amid the full glow of his hospitality, to propose to the host who

presided over such a splendid banquet, a radical change in the whole

customs and usages of his country.

True, the sagacious Triptolemus felt conscious that he possessed in his

own person wisdom far superior to that of all the assembled feasters, to

say nothing of the landlord, against whose prudence the very extent of

his hospitality formed, in Yellowley's opinion, sufficient evidence. But

yet the Amphitryon with whom one dines, holds, for the time at least,

an influence over the minds of his most distinguished guests; and if the

dinner be in good style and the wines of the right quality, it is

humbling to see that neither art nor wisdom, scarce external rank

itself, can assume their natural and wonted superiority over the

distributor of these good things, until coffee has been brought in.

Triptolemus felt the full weight of this temporary superiority, yet he

was desirous to do something that might vindicate the vaunts he had made

to his sister and his fellow-traveller, and he stole a look at them from

time to time, to mark whether he was not sinking in their esteem from

postponing his promised lecture on the enormities of Zetland.

But Mrs. Barbara was busily engaged in noting and registering the waste

incurred in such an entertainment as she had probably never before

looked upon, and in admiring the host's indifference to, and the guests'

absolute negligence of, those rules of civility in which her youth had

been brought up. The feasters desired to be helped from a dish which was

unbroken, and might have figured at supper, with as much freedom as if

it had undergone the ravages of half-a-dozen guests; and no one seemed

to care--the landlord himself least of all--whether those dishes only

were consumed, which, from their nature, were incapable of

re-appearance, or whether the assault was extended to the substantial

rounds of beef, pasties, and so forth, which, by the rules of good

housewifery, were destined to stand two attacks, and which, therefore,

according to Mrs. Barbara's ideas of politeness, ought not to have been

annihilated by the guests upon the first onset, but spared, like Outis

in the cave of Polyphemus, to be devoured the last. Lost in the

meditations to which these breaches of convivial discipline gave rise,

and in the contemplation of an ideal larder of cold meat which she could

have saved out of the wreck of roast, boiled, and baked, sufficient to

have supplied her cupboard for at least a twelvemonth, Mrs. Barbara

cared very little whether or not her brother supported in its extent the

character which he had calculated upon assuming.

Mordaunt Mertoun also was conversant with far other thoughts, than those

which regarded the proposed reformer of Zetland enormities. His seat was

betwixt two blithe maidens of Thule, who, not taking scorn that he had

upon other occasions given preference to the daughters of the Udaller,

were glad of the chance which assigned to them the attentions of so

distinguished a gallant, who, as being their squire at the feast, might

in all probability become their partner in the subsequent dance. But,

whilst rendering to his fair neighbours all the usual attentions which

society required, Mordaunt kept up a covert, but accurate and close

observation, upon his estranged friends, Minna and Brenda. The Udaller

himself had a share of his attention; but in him he could remark

nothing, except the usual tone of hearty and somewhat boisterous

hospitality, with which he was accustomed to animate the banquet upon

all such occasions of general festivity. But in the differing mien of

the two maidens there was much more room for painful remark.

Captain Cleveland sat betwixt the sisters, was sedulous in his

attentions to both, and Mordaunt was so placed, that he could observe

all, and hear a great deal, of what passed between them. But Cleveland's

peculiar regard seemed devoted to the elder sister. Of this the younger

was perhaps conscious, for more than once her eye glanced towards

Mordaunt, and, as he thought, with something in it which resembled

regret for the interruption of their intercourse, and a sad remembrance

of former and more friendly times; while Minna was exclusively engrossed

by the attentions of her neighbour; and that it should be so, filled

Mordaunt with surprise and resentment.

Minna, the serious, the prudent, the reserved, whose countenance and

manners indicated so much elevation of character--Minna, the lover of

solitude, and of those paths of knowledge in which men walk best without

company--the enemy of light mirth, the friend of musing melancholy, and

the frequenter of fountain-heads and pathless glens--she whose character

seemed, in short, the very reverse of that which might be captivated by

the bold, coarse, and daring gallantry of such a man as this Captain

Cleveland, gave, nevertheless, her eye and ear to him, as he sat beside

her at table, with an interest and a graciousness of attention, which,

to Mordaunt, who well knew how to judge of her feelings by her manner,

intimated a degree of the highest favour. He observed this, and his

heart rose against the favourite by whom he had been thus superseded, as

well as against Minna's indiscreet departure from her own character.

"What is there about the man," he said within himself, "more than the

bold and daring assumption of importance which is derived from success

in petty enterprises, and the exercise of petty despotism over a ship's

crew?--His very language is more professional than is used by the

superior officers of the British navy; and the wit which has excited so

many smiles, seems to me such as Minna would not formerly have endured

for an instant. Even Brenda seems less taken with his gallantry than

Minna, whom it should have suited so little."

Mordaunt was doubly mistaken in these his angry speculations. In the

first place, with an eye which was, in some respects, that of a rival,

he criticised far too severely the manners and behaviour of Captain

Cleveland. They were unpolished, certainly; which was of the less

consequence in a country inhabited by so plain and simple a race as the

ancient Zetlanders. On the other hand, there was an open, naval

frankness in Cleveland's bearing--much natural shrewdness--some

appropriate humour--an undoubting confidence in himself--and that

enterprising hardihood of disposition, which, without any other

recommendable quality, very often leads to success with the fair sex.

But Mordaunt was farther mistaken, in supposing that Cleveland was

likely to be disagreeable to Minna Troil, on account of the opposition

of their characters in so many material particulars. Had his knowledge

of the world been a little more extensive, he might have observed, that

as unions are often formed betwixt couples differing in complexion and

stature, they take place still more frequently betwixt persons totally

differing in feelings, in taste, in pursuits, and in understanding; and

it would not be saying, perhaps, too much, to aver, that two-thirds of

the marriages around us have been contracted betwixt persons, who,

judging _a priori_, we should have thought had scarce any charms for

each other.

A moral and primary cause might be easily assigned for these anomalies,

in the wise dispensations of Providence, that the general balance of

wit, wisdom, and amiable qualities of all kinds, should be kept up

through society at large. For, what a world were it, if the wise were to

intermarry only with the wise, the learned with the learned, the amiable

with the amiable, nay, even the handsome with the handsome? and, is it

not evident, that the degraded castes of the foolish, the ignorant, the

brutal, and the deformed, (comprehending, by the way, far the greater

portion of mankind,) must, when condemned to exclusive intercourse with

each other, become gradually as much brutalized in person and

disposition as so many ourang-outangs? When, therefore, we see the

"gentle joined to the rude," we may lament the fate of the suffering

individual, but we must not the less admire the mysterious disposition

of that wise Providence which thus balances the moral good and evil of

life;--which secures for a family, unhappy in the dispositions of one

parent, a share of better and sweeter blood, transmitted from the other,

and preserves to the offspring the affectionate care and protection of

at least one of those from whom it is naturally due. Without the

frequent occurrence of such alliances and unions--mis-sorted as they

seem at first sight--the world could not be that for which Eternal

Wisdom has designed it--a place of mixed good and evil--a place of trial

at once, and of suffering, where even the worst ills are checkered with

something that renders them tolerable to humble and patient minds, and

where the best blessings carry with them a necessary alloy of

embittering depreciation.

When, indeed, we look a little closer on the causes of those unexpected

and ill-suited attachments, we have occasion to acknowledge, that the

means by which they are produced do not infer that complete departure

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,

began to broach, to the astonished and somewhat offended Udaller, some

of those projects for ameliorating the islands, which he had boasted of

to his fellow-travellers upon their journey of the morning.

But the innovations which he suggested, and the reception which they met

with at the hand of Magnus Troil, must be told in the next Chapter.

FOOTNOTES:

[40] See Hibbert's Description of the Zetland Islands, p. 470.