his hand across his forehead," there is something serious in having a wife, governor." "But something exceedingly agreeable in having her fortune," said the provident parent. "Upon my life," said George, "now, really, joking apart, I know the money is an immense hit-a regular go-but, I declare even if she would accept me, I don't think-I don't, upon my life, think I could undertake the responsibility. In fact, marrying-I don't know-I wish you would marry her yourself, which would answer all my purposes, governor." "But perhaps not hers," said Sir George. "I don't exactly understand what you mean about responsibility; you will be more respectable as a married man; you will have your house, your establishment, your place in society, and your debts paid." "I admit that, governor," said George, "and being out of debt, would be an uncommon nice thing, even for the novelty of the feeling; but then, marrying Miss Bruff, governor, taking a wife for life to clear off temporary encumbrances, is like putting on a perpetual blister to cure the toothach." "Well, George," said his father," will you do me one favour?" "A thousand, governor," replied the son, "if they don't involve a disbursement of stumpy." "Then have you any objection to be presented to the young lady?" said Sir George; "see her-make her acquaintance, and that without her being in the slightest degree aware of the object of the visit. Say 'yes!' and I am sure from the anxiety which my friend Bruff has expressed on the point, he will speedily make some arrangement to make up the party." "Where is Jenny Bruff, now, governor ?" said George. "She is in the country," said Sir George. "At boarding-school, or in a respectable lunatic asylum?" asked the son. 66 Neither," said Sir George; "she is staying, as it is her custom to do for a considerable part of the year, at the house of some relations of her late mother-most excellent people-highly respectable, and full of " "Never mind, governor," interrupted George, "I am prepared to go all lengths, let the end be what it may; for that which every man wants I want more than any man wants it on earth, and so commend me to a gentleman who wishes to perpetuate baronets through the female line of his family. I am entirely at your service: and although I may break a heart or two by turning Benedick, picking up and living pretty, I dare say I can make amends out of the military chest,' eh, governor ?" With very few further remarks, retorts, observations, or suggestions, the dialogue between the father, and one of his sons terminated, and they parted for the morning, under a sort of implied engagement to meet again during the course of the evening. Frank who really and truly had received a severe shock from the unqualified levity-blasphemy it must be called-of George, and even more excited by the grounds of his apology for using words, of the sacred origin of which he avowed himself, by way of justification, so bitterly and blindly ignorant, had retired to his study, a sanctum, rarely, if ever, invaded by either his father or his brother, whose tastes and pursuits, as we have said, and seen, were of a character so entirely opposed to his, that it would have cost them almost as much annoyance to make a descent upon his retreat, as it would have caused him to sustain it. It is not to be supposed that Sandy Bruff, the colonel, had on his side, as one of the high contracting parties to the projected treaty, gone thus far with the preliminaries without the fact having, somehow or other, reached the well-ringed ears of Mrs. Smylar. The pert old thing (and though old in face, she was still young in figure, quick in motion, and active in all her turnings and twistings) was the first, and indeed the only person to whom Sandy Bruff communicated the steps he had taken. În furtherance of the great object she had constantly in view, she pressed their speedy completion upon her gallant master (if he might be her master called, whose mistress she was) in every possible way, and with every possible apparent motive, except those by which she was really and truly actuated. Nor is it to be imagined, that such being the case, she left any argument unbroached, any suggestion unmade to strengthen his resolution, and urge him to immediate proceedings to bring about the match; pointing out to him especially what a capital thing it would be for him to get rid of all the worry of a large, cold, empty house in Harley-street, by living in which he was at a needless expense, and taking a small villa in the vicinity of town, or perhaps a snug house at Brighton, which she could entirely manage and make comfortable for him, with not more than three or four servants. "That'll do, that'll do," said Bruff, as the assiduous wasp-waisted verd antique brought him his hot white-wine-whey, after he was in bed. "That'll do, Smylar-eh!—I think you are right about Jenny, eh!-so am I-eh!" During which little pithy observation, interrupted only by sips from the gentle diaphoretic prescribed and prepared by herself for a cold which the gentle giant thought he had caught in a draught of air at the Doldrum, Mrs. Smylar, with a readiness and condescension far below her sphere in the establishment, performed the operation of "tucking him up" in the most comfortable manner, taking leave of him (as we presume for the night) by saying, "Rely upon it, colonel, the happiest day you will ever have will be that upon which Miss Jane is married." "That'll do, that'll do," said Bruff; "I quite agree with you-good night, old woman; for the present-eh!—that'll do." And so, for the present, Mrs. Smylar retired. And now that we have got sufficiently forward in our history, to see that all the four persons to whom the matrimonial scheme, by which Jane Bruff is to be settled for life, are unanimously agreed upon the wisdom and propriety of the arrangement, it becomes necessary for us to look at, and examine the character and qualities of the intended and predestined bride herself, in order to ascertain in what degree the important fifth character in our dramatis persona may agree with the others, two of whom, be it understood, she had never heard of in her life, and one of whom, with all her affectionate regard for him, she felt conscious was entirely under the control of another. Jane Bruff was-but what she was, must, we perceive, form the subject of another chapter. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE LATE JOHN HOME, ESQ., AUTHOR OF "DOUGLAS," AND OTHER WORKS.* (Containing some pieces never before published.) BY A NEAR RELATIVE. ENGLISH travellers on arriving at Vienna generally paid their compliments to the chargé d'affaires. It happened that two travellers came with introductions to Mr. Liston, and being pleasant men he often met them, and paid them great attention. One day, however, a friend mentioned to Mr. Liston that the Englishmen were writing their travels, and that Mr. Liston was to occupy a conspicuous place in their narrative respecting Vienna and the emperor, and so forth. Mr. Liston, it seems, had been very communicative to the travellers, telling them a great deal about the emperor and his court; but that all this was to be published, and with a high varnish, perhaps, brought before the eyes of the emperor, appeared a serious matter to Mr. Liston. It happened that the travellers and he were invited to the same party that evening, and they met at supper, and Mr. Liston observing his opportunity, spoke out freely and said, "It was the fashion in those days for young Englishmen to write travels, and sometimes to expatiate with great freedom on very trifling matters; but that if any one should take the liberty of bringing his name into print he would blow his brains out!" The travellers were silent, and nothing more was heard about publishing the travels. The bold and able diplomatist is strikingly visible in this incident. In my intercourse with Sir Robert Liston I have said to him at times that he should write his own life. His answer was, that he should not know where to begin; alluding, no doubt, to the various and long-protracted missions in which he had been employed as ambassador. But it was not in bookmaking, in the common meaning of the phrase, that Sir Robert Liston was destined to be known. In the great volume of the world he hath written of himself very fully, and in characters which time will not easily efface. In more places than I can name Sir Robert officiated as ambassador. In America, Vienna, Frankfort, Holland, Denmark, Constantinople twice; three quarters of the whole world received Sir Robert as the representative of the sovereignty of Great Britain, speaking to them all mildly, but firmly, of Britain's industry, her rights, her power; and this man, who carried with him the fame and fortunes of a great nation, and who exhibited in his own person so eminent an illustration of its moderation, its courage, and its temperance, was the son of a plain Scotch farmer. In the small cottage where his mother lived I have often visited Sir Robert. "When will you be able, Robbie, to buy me this bonnie place?" said the mother to her son one day. But on the same spot some, five-and-twenty years ago, the ambassador erected a Concluded from No. ccxxviii., page 483. princely tower, that now looks over the whole county of Lothian-fine emblem of the rise and proud elevation of its owner! John Home, in his intercourse with the world, had the happiness to be sincerely beloved by many, no one indeed who knew him was indifferent to him, and many were entirely devoted to him. In this way, for a long series of years, he enjoyed more personal influence than most people of his time. It is well known that he was by no means a niggard of this influence, but exercised it most generously and diffusely. No one ever got a cold reception from him. His very looks invited, and gave assurance of ready and effectual service. I have often heard it said that half of the young clergymen of the Scotch church were indebted to him for their livings; many whom I have known personally were so: many of the army and navy held their commissions through his recommendation, whilst some who made fortunes in other lines abroad, have been so honest as to ascribe to John Home all their success in life. There never was a life of more extensive benevolence than his-a benevolence flowing from a most generous nature, and a warm affectionate heart. Yet his influence was never of a political nature, but arose entirely from the respect in which he was held by his personal acquaintances; and though thus liberally diffused, that it was employed specially in favour of that family nearest to him in affinity, is becoming in me to acknowledge: what sort of friendship, too, existed there, and what feelings it hath engendered, may in part appear from these imperfect notices. Had some of the biographers of this distinguished man seen him so closely as I have, witnessed the looks with which he conveyed to friends intelligence of good news, the gush which suffused his eyes in announcing bright prospects of prosperity, they surely would have dwelt a little more on these admirable traits in the character they had undertaken to portray. Distinguished as he was as a man of genius, noted as a warm patriot, he was even more single and eminent as an amiable man, a zealous friend, an accomplished gentleman; and, with all these qualities, in domestic life gentle and forgiving as a child. It has been said, I believe, that John Home was a courtier. If by this is meant that he respected rank and power in society, I freely admit the truth of the remark. He was too much a man of the world to disclaim what is so universally acknowledged, and too much of an aristocrat to oppose this general propensity;-but if it be intended to insinuate that he paid court to greatness in order to advance a private interest, to curry favour, as the phrase goes, every look,-sentiment, and act of the man refutes this. Fifty or sixty years ago the highest classes in this country were much the best educated, best informed, and best disposed of the community; and it is not surprising that he should cultivate such society as finding it more congenial than any other. At that time John Home was within a few lives of the earldom, and had chance placed the coronet on his brow, it is as certain that he would have maintained all the rights and dignities of his order, as that he would have greatly added to its lustre. The same experience of the world, of which I have spoken, impressed him with a conviction of the importance of a little patronage in life, and the value of a good introduction, as his own most beautiful language testifies in Lady Randolph's appeal to Douglas. "Ah! my son, Thou dost not know what perils and injustice The noblest blood in all the land's abash'd, Upon one occasion I was myself going abroad on business of importance, and was preparing to embark immediately. He heard of my intention, and sent notice to me by no means to go abroad without the best introductions, and these he would procure for me. Accordingly I was furnished with a variety of letters, which procured for me an interesting reception abroad, and have laid the foundation of friendships which exist even at this day. While bearing witness, however, to the purity and disinterestedness of John Home's motives and actions, I would not avoid mentioning that he was far from allowing to pass unnoticed those advantages with which he was surrounded, in his intimacy with Lord Bute. He enjoyed, as I have said, a handsome pension from the king, and also a considerable revenue from his office as conservator in Campvere: and what should he have sought more? Some of his relations, too, were assuredly favoured by Lord Bute, and his old friend Barrow owed his appointment to the commissariat to the poet's intercession with his lordship. But the Earl of Bute himself had but a short career in the political world, and in a few years the first lord of the treasury, the principal secretary of state, and the favourite of the prince and king, had not influence to procure a commission for his own son. The following is a remarkable letter from Lord Bute on this subject : "Dear Home, "London, 25th March, 1773. "I don't wonder you are surprised at not hearing from me: it would appear to any one else most unkind; but you know me enough not to measure my friendship by my letters. "Alas! my friend, fortune has been determined to empty every envenomed arrow out of her quiver against me, which, joined to so long a state of bad health, will bring matters to a quicker issue. Few men have ever suffered more, in the short space I have gone through, of political warfare; and yet the violence of open enemies has least affected me. Think, my friend, of my son Charles being refused every thing I asked! "I have not had interest to get him a company, while every alderman of a petty corporation meets with certain success. "If I don't succeed better, I shall certainly offer him to the emperor. Adieu, my good friend. Health, quiet, and happiness attend you many years. "Yours, "BUTE." |