"I beg your pardon, madam, you said your son's——?"
"Genius, sir; the bent1 of his genius. Algy's is not a mechanical mind."
Mrs. Errington slightly tossed her head as she uttered the word "mechanical."
Mr. Diamond said "Oh!" and then sat silent.
The room was very quiet. The autumn day was fading, and the mingling2 of twilight3 and firelight, and the stillness of the scene, were conducive4 to mute meditation5. It was a long, low room, with an uneven6 floor, a whitewashed7 ceiling crossed by heavy beams, and one large bow window. It was furnished with the spindle-legged chairs and tables in use in the last century. A crimson8 drugget covered the floor, and in front of the hearth9 lay a rug, made of scraps10 of black and coloured cloth, neatly11 sewn together in a pattern. Over the high wooden mantelpiece hung, on one side, a faded water-colour sketch12 of a gentleman, with powdered hair; and on the other, an oval miniature of much later date, which represented a fair, florid young lady, with large languid blue eyes, and a red mouth, somewhat too full-lipped. Notwithstanding the years which had elapsed since the miniature was painted, it was still sufficiently13 like Mrs. Errington to be recognised for her portrait. There was an old harpsichord14 in the room, and a few books on hanging shelves. But the only handsome or costly15 object to be seen were some delicate blue and white china cups and saucers, which glistened16 from an oaken corner-cupboard; and a large work-box of tortoise-shell, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, lined with amber17 satin, and fitted with all the implements18 of needlework, in richly-chased silver. The box, like the china cupboard, stood wide open to display its contents, and was evidently a subject of pride to its possessor. It was entirely19 incongruous with the rest of the furniture, which, although decent and serviceable, was very plain, and rather scanty20.
Nevertheless the room looked snug21 and homelike. The coal-fire burnt with a deep glowing light; a small copper22 kettle was singing cheerily on the hob; tea-things were laid on a table in front of the fire; and a fitful, moaning wind, that rattled23 now and then against the antique casement24, enhanced the comfort of the scene by its suggestion of forlorn chilliness25 without.
But however the influences of the time and place might incline Mr. Diamond to silence, they had no such effect on Mrs. Errington.
After a short pause, during which she seemed to be awaiting some remark from her companion, she observed once more, "No; I do not think the doctor understands Algy's genius. And that is why I was anxious to ask your advice, on this proposition of Mr. Filthorpe's."
"But, madam, why should you suppose me likely to understand Algernon better than Dr. Bodkin does?"
"Oh, because——In the first place, you are younger, nearer Algy's own age."
"Ah! There is a wide gap, though, between his eighteen and my eight-and-twenty—a wider gap than the mere26 ten years would necessarily make in all cases."
Mrs. Errington glanced at the speaker, and thought, in the maternal27 pride of her heart, that there was indeed a wide difference between her joyous28, handsome Algernon, and Matthew Diamond, second master at the Whitford Grammar School; and she thought, too, that the difference was all to her son's advantage. Mr. Diamond was a grave-looking young man, with a spare, strong figure, and a face which, in repose29, was neither handsome nor ugly. His clean-shaven chin and upper lip were firmly cut, and he had a pair of keen grey eyes. But such as it was, it was a face which most persons who saw it often, fell into a habit of watching. It raised an indefinite expectation. You were instinctively30 aware of something latent beneath its habitual31 expression of seriousness and reserve. What the "something" might be, was variously guessed at according to the temperament32 of the observer.
"Then there is another reason why I wished to consult you," pursued Mrs. Errington. "I have a great opinion of your judgment33, from what Algy tells me. I assure you Algy thinks an immense deal of your talents, Mr. Diamond. You must not think I flatter you."
"No," replied Mr. Diamond, very quietly, "I do not think you flatter me."
"And therefore I have told you the state of the case quite openly. And I would not have you hesitate to give your advice, from any fear of disagreeing with my opinion."
Mr. Diamond leaned his elbow on the table, and his face on his hand, which he held so as to hide his mouth—an habitual posture34 with him—and looked gravely at Mrs. Errington.
"I trust," continued the lady, "that I am superior to the weakness of requiring blind acquiescence35 from people."
Mrs. Errington spoke36 in a mellow37, measured voice, and had a soft smiling cast of countenance38. Both these were frequently contradicted in a startling manner by the words she uttered: for, in truth, the worthy39 lady's soul and body were no more like each other than a peach-stone is like a peach. Her velvety40 softness was not affected41, but it was merely external, and the real woman was nothing less than tender. Sensitive persons did not fare very well with Mrs. Errington; who, withal, had the reputation of being an exceedingly good-natured woman.
"If you think my advice worth having——" said Mr. Diamond.
"I do really. Now pray don't be shy of speaking out!" interrupted the lady, reassuringly42.
"I must tell you that I think your cousin's offer is much too good to be refused, and opens a prospect43 which many young men would envy."
"You advise us to accept it?"
"Yes."
"Why, then, Mr. Diamond, I don't believe you understand Algy one bit better than the doctor does!" exclaimed Mrs. Errington, leaning back in her chair, and folding her large white hands together in a resigned manner.
"I warned you, you know, that I might not," answered Mr. Diamond, composedly.
"'A prospect which many young men would envy!' Well, perhaps 'many young men,' yes; I daresay. But for Algy! Do but think of it, Mr. Diamond; to sit all day on a high stool in a musty office! You must own that, for a young fellow of my son's spirit, the idea is not alluring44."
"Oh, if the question be merely for Algernon to choose some method of passing his time which shall be alluring——"
Mrs. Errington drew herself up a little. "No;" said she, "that is certainly not the question, Mr. Diamond. At the same time, before embracing Mr. Filthorpe's offer, I thought it only reasonable to ask myself, 'May we not do better? Can we not do better?'"
"I begin to perceive," thought Matthew Diamond within himself, "that Mrs. Errington's meaning, when she asks 'advice,' is pretty much like that of most of her neighbours. Having already made up her mind how to act, she would like to be told that her decision is the best and wisest conceivable." He said nothing, however, but bowed his head a little, to show that he was giving attention to the lady's discourse45.
"We have an alternative, you must know," said Mrs. Errington, turning her eyes languidly on Mr. Diamond, but not moving her head from its comfortable resting-place against the back of her well-cushioned arm-chair. "We are not bound hand and foot to this Bristol merchant. By the way, you spoke of him as my cousin——"
"I beg your pardon; is he not so?"
"No; not mine. My poor husband's," with a glance at the portrait over the mantelpiece. "None of my family ever had the remotest connection with commerce."
"Ha! The good fortune was all on the side of the Erringtons?"
This time Mrs. Errington turned her head, so as to look full at her interlocutor. There met her view the same calm forehead, the same steady eyes, the same sheltering hand gently stroking the upper lip, which she had looked upon a minute before.
"My good sir!" she answered, in a tone of patient explanation, "my own family, the Ancrams, were people of the very first quality in Warwickshire. My grandfather never stirred out without his coach and four!"
"Ah!"
"Oh, yes, Algy's prospects46 in life ought to be very, very different from what they are. Of course he ought to go to the university; but I cannot afford to send him there. I make no secret of my circumstances. College is out of the question for him, poor boy, unless he entered himself as a what-do-you-call-it? A sort of pauper47, a sizar. And I suppose you would hardly advise him to do that!"
"No; I should by no means advise it. I was a sizar myself."
"Really? Ah well, then you know what it is. And I am quite sure it would never suit Algy's spirits."
"I am quite sure it would not."
Mrs. Errington's good opinion of the tutor's judgment, which had been considerably48 shaken, began to revive.
"I see you know something of his character," said she, smiling. "Well, then, the case stands thus; Algy is turned eighteen; he has had the best education I could give him—indeed, my chief motive49 for settling in this obscure little hole, when I was left a widow, was the fact that Dr. Bodkin, who was an old acquaintance of my husband, was head of the Grammar School here, and I knew I could give my boy the education of a gentleman—up to a certain point—at small expense. He has had this offer from the Bristol man, and he has had another offer of a very different sort from my side of the house."
"Indeed!"
"Oh, yes; perhaps if I had began by stating that circumstance, you might have modified your advice, eh, Mr. Diamond?" This was said in a tone of mild raillery.
"Why," answered Mr. Diamond, slowly, "I must own that my advice usually does depend somewhat on my knowledge of the circumstances of the case under consideration."
"Now, that's candid—and I love candour, as I told you. The fact is, Lord Seely married an Ancram."
There was a pause. Mrs. Errington looked inquiringly at her companion. "You have heard of Lord Seely?" she said.
"I have seen his name in the newspapers, in the days when I used to read newspapers."
"He is a most distinguished50 nobleman."
Another pause.
"Well," continued Mrs. Errington, condescendingly, "I cannot expect all that to interest you, Mr. Diamond. Perhaps there may be a little family partiality, in my estimate of Lord Seely. However, be that as it may, he married an Ancram. She was of the younger branch, my father's second cousin. When Algy first began to turn his thoughts towards a diplomatic career——"
"Eh?"
"A diplomatic——Oh, didn't you know? Yes; he has had serious thoughts of it for some time."
"Algernon?"
"Certainly! And, in confidence, Mr. Diamond, I think it would suit him admirably. I fancy it is what his genius is best adapted for. Well, when I perceived this bent in him, I made—indirectly—application to Lady Seely, and she returned—also indirectly—a most gracious answer. She should be happy to receive Mr. Algernon Ancram Errington, whenever she was in town."
"Is that all?"
"All?"
"All that you have to tell me, to modify—and so on?"
"That would lead to more, don't you see? Lord Seely has enormous influence, and I don't know anyone better able to push the fortunes of a young man like Algy."
"But has he promised anything definite?"
"He could hardly do that, seeing that, as yet, he knows nothing of my son whatever! My dear Mr. Diamond, when you know as much of the world as I do, you will see that it does not do to rush at things in a hurry. You must give people time. Especially a man like Lord Seely, who of course cannot be expected to—to——"
"Do you mean that you seriously contemplate51 dropping the substance of Filthorpe, for this shadow of Seely?"
"Mr. Diamond! What very extraordinary expressions!"
Mr. Diamond took his hand from his mouth, clasped both hands on his knee, and sat looking into the fire as abstractedly as if there had been no other person within sight or sound of him.
Mrs. Errington, apparently52 taking it for granted that his attitude was one of profound attention to herself, proceeded flowingly to justify53 her decision, for it evidently was a decision—to decline the Bristol merchant's offer of employment and a home for her son. Besides Algy's "genius," there were other objections. Mr. Filthorpe had a vulgar wife and a vulgar daughter. Of course they must be vulgar. That was clear. And who could say that they might not endeavour to entangle54 Algy in some promise, or engagement, to marry the daughter? Nay55, it was very certain that they would make such an endeavour. Possibly—probably—that was old Filthorpe's real object in inviting56 his young relative to accept a place in his counting-house. Indeed, they might confidently consider that it was so. Of course Algy would be a bait to these people! And as to Lord Seely, Mr. Diamond did not know (how should he? seeing that he had been little more than a twelvemonth in Whitford, and out of that time had scarcely ever had an hour's converse57 with her) that she, Mrs. Errington, was a person rather apt to hide and diminish, than unduly58 blazon59 forth60 her family glories. And she was, moreover, scrupulous61 to a fault in the accuracy of all her statements. Nevertheless, she must say that there was, perhaps, no nobleman in England whose patronage62 would have more weight than his lordship's; and whether or not the brilliancy of Algy's parts, and the charm of his manners, would be likely to captivate a man of Lord Seely's taste and cultivation63; that she left to the sense and candour of any one who knew, and could appreciate her son.
Mr. Diamond uttered an odd, smothered64 kind of sound.
"Eh?" said Mrs. Errington, mellifluously65.
There was no answer.
"Hulloa!" cried a blithe66 voice, as the door was suddenly thrown open. "Why, you're all in the dark here!"
"Dear me!" exclaimed Mr. Diamond, jumping to his feet, and then sitting down again, "I believe—I'm afraid I was almost asleep!"
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1
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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2
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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4
conducive
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| adj.有益的，有助的 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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7
whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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10
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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11
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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12
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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13
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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harpsichord
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| n.键琴（钢琴前身） | |
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15
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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16
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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18
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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19
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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20
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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21
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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22
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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23
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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chilliness
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| n.寒冷，寒意，严寒 | |
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26
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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31
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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32
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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33
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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36
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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37
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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38
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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39
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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40
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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41
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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42
reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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43
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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44
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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45
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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46
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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47
pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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48
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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49
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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50
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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51
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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52
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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53
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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54
entangle
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| vt.缠住，套住；卷入，连累 | |
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55
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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56
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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57
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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58
unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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59
blazon
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| n.纹章，装饰；精确描绘；v.广布；宣布 | |
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60
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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61
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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62
patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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63
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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64
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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65
mellifluously
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| adj.声音甜美的，悦耳的 | |
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66
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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