The trap was ordered round as desired, the old gentleman being thankful that in default of Peter's help the guest should take his amusement into his own hands, and not fall back on him, James Sangster, who had been resignedly counting on a day of self-sacrifice and boredom in the young man's company. He would have yielded the day freely enough, and submitted to the boredom with a fair grace, but he feared the young man would be as much bored as himself; and that, somehow, he did not relish. We are all of us so accustomed to being bored by our fellows, that none but the very young think of complaining, but that our fellows might be bored with us, is a suggestion our self-love would rather not entertain. Mrs. Sangster did not approve the idea; she would have had Peter go to consolidate his intimacy with the county magnates, and what could it possibly matter to Wallowby? she thought. She proposed a postponement, but Wallowby was already deep in a discussion of the relative merits of Hungarian rye-grass and timothy with her spouse, and so continued not to hear.
The hour arrived, so likewise did the trap, and Mr. Wallowby issued from his chamber glorious as a sunbeam. He had dressed himself with the greatest care, and he really looked very well, if only he could have run against somebody or something, so as to derange the get-up in some slight degree, and make the whole more human. He was of sufficient stature, and his face was well enough, if a trifle vacant; so that in this faultless array, without crease or plait or pucker, he resembled one of the figures in a tailor's fashion plate considerably more than a gentleman of the period. Mrs. Sangster met him on the stairs and was vastly impressed. She would have liked Sophia to see him; but, alas! that could be managed only by peeping from behind a blind, for Sophia herself was still the victim of catarrh, and forced to remain invisible.
Reaching Inchbracken, Mr. Wallowby was received by Julia. Lady Caroline had not yet left her room, but sent word that she hoped to see him at luncheon, and the gentlemen were from home. It was Julia's acquaintance, however, which he had already made; and as the other lady was to appear later, he resigned himself with perfect satisfaction to be entertained by that agreeable person. They walked about the grounds admiring the broad sweep of the lake, which, lapping round Inchbracken on three sides, swept far away into the shadow of the overhanging hills. Mr. Wallowby was charmed to discover in himself a remarkably just appreciation of scenery, which he had never before been conscious of possessing; but then he was not sure that it had ever before fallen to his lot to have it so well called forth, or to have met so appreciative a companion. It was quite remarkable and very pleasant to find on how many subjects their opinion exactly agreed, not on scenery only, for that was not a theme to last long, but in general views of life and society, even politics and religion, though these, as heavy matters, were only glanced at in passing; 'but it is so pleasant to meet with a woman capable of understanding one on such higher and more masculine subjects,' at least so thought Mr. Wallowby.
Julia was a wily sportswoman. She had often heard Captain John describe the method of tickling a trout, and here was a gudgeon whom she was minded to try her hand on, and capture, if possible, by that delicate process. Wallowby opened out and spread himself in the bland warmth of her approving smiles, like a very sunflower. He had truly never before realised what a remarkably fine fellow he was, and the revelation was delightful; and so, too, in consequence, was the fair prophetess who had disclosed it. Loch Gorton was fine, no doubt, and so too were the purple shadows slumbering among the hills beyond; but what were these in comparison to the heights and depths, long concealed under mists of modest diffidence, in the wondrous soul of Augustus Wallowby? The man fairly shimmered like a moonlit fountain, with coruscations of self-surprising wit and gratified vanity, while Circe cooed genially in response, still leading him onward into deeper quagmires of idiocy. Through gardens and shrubberies she led the way, and he followed closely behind, with ears laid luxuriatingly back; as the donkey whose poll has been deftly scratched will rub himself up against his new found friend, and court a continuance of the titillating process. Julia was actually discomposed by the rapidity of her success. Had she been in fun it would have been amusing, but she was a practical woman who meant business and a settlement for herself, so she feared to proceed too fast. Too speedy an inflation applied to so little solid substance might burst it, like a glass blower's freak, in a shower of spangles, to the mere idle glorification of the man himself; whereas if there was to be glass blowing, it was a useful goblet for her that was wanted. To change the tune, therefore, she now led the way to the old square tower overtopping the shrubbery, which was all that remained of the ancient family residence. Here a larger share of the conversation devolved on herself, Scotch antiquities and history being altogether unfamiliar to her Southern friend. He listened, however, with respectful interest to her account of the early Drysdales. When a man is uncertain who may have been his own grandfather, or whether such a person ever existed, there is something impressive in the long line of progenitors claimed by other people, and their certainty as to the possession. Here among the crumbling walls they once inhabited, it was impossible to doubt about them,--a very legion of haughty shadows who had once ruled the surrounding country,--or not to feel a positive reverence for their surviving representative. This train of thought naturally led to Lady Caroline, and as Julia phrased it, 'my Cousin, Lord Pitthevlis.' In the presence of that noble house the pretensions of the Drysdales dwindled considerably,--came down almost within reach, as it were, of Mr. Wallowby's unhistoric self; and yet this magnificent family were cousins of the engaging maiden who stood before him and discoursed so graciously of their grandeur. It was a delightful idea to realize, and he endeavoured to bring it well within his grasp, by desiring to know the precise degree of cousinship. She replied that the relationship was through George, the thirteenth Earl. It appeared to be difficult to particularize very exactly. An honourable Cornelius somebody, and a Lady Mary somebody else, besides other important people, had all been implicated some generations back in Miss Finlayson's introduction on this sublunary scene; 'but Lord Pitthevlis always calls me cousin, and so do the rest of the family, so of course it is so,' she concluded, and Wallowby was satisfied. There was apparently no prospect of her ever being a countess in her own right, but she was evidently very highly connected, so that when she died, her husband would be able to put up a hatchment with eight quarterings in front of his house; and Mr. Wallowby actually called up in his mind's eye a momentary vision of his own residence in the outskirts of Manchester so adorned, just to see how it would look. Poor man! I fear he was far gone.
"Through gardens and shrubberies she led
the way." Page 162.
During those few minutes when the lady left him in the morning room, while she went to remove her bonnet before luncheon, he drew a long breath and asked himself, 'could it be that at last he really was in love?' A long train of captives passed through his memory, the supposed victims of his fascinations--or his fortune, was it? But what were any of them to this incomparable person? So elegant, so accomplished, and so appreciative! It seemed very sudden; but then, was not love at first sight the truest, the best, the highest form of that delightful emotion? And was not the attraction mutual? With his long and intimate knowledge of the sex, he knew all the signs. He was sure of that, and could not be mistaken in this case. He was indeed a sad rogue, so he told himself. He could not help that, but he felt for the poor girl in a serene and benevolent sort of way, and resolved that she should not sigh in vain. Yet he must be circumspect and do nothing precipitate! Although he was to return to England in three days' time, and could not without making explanations to an inquisitive world come again to see her; that was a matter he must break to her gently, and he would ask leave to correspond with her. Meanwhile he must practise reserve--veil his radiance somewhat, lest the poor child should be reduced to a heap of ashes--another Semele--before the fitting time for a proposal had arrived. So far his reflections had got, as he stood looking from the windows, and pulling out the corners of his whiskers to their extremest length, when he was interrupted by a summons to luncheon.
In the dining-room the ladies were already seated, one being Lady Caroline whom he had not yet seen; and whether it was merely the presence of a third person, or the silent claim of superiority on the part of that lady, the atmosphere appeared to have undergone a change. Life was no longer a river at high tide rolling to a triumphal march from 'the Caliph of Bagdad,' but a very ordinary stream indeed, oozing along between monotonous banks, over a flat and muddy bottom. Instead of a prized and congenial friend, he was now reduced to the part of stranger, and rather an unknown stranger too. Lady Caroline led the conversation as was her wont, but more interrogatively, and less as an exclusive monologue than when addressing persons with whom she was better acquainted. Having been called on to express his admiration for Scotland and the Scotch, on this his first visit to the country, he was next asked if he had been induced to attend any of the open-air conventicles which his friends so much affected, and how he liked them. He said he had been at one, and that it was a picturesque gathering in a stagy sort of way, and something very different from anything he had ever seen before.
'I should think so,' said Lady Caroline; 'it seems to me a species of madness which has fallen upon the people. I wonder the authorities do not put it down, for it is utterly subversive of order, and all good government. I feel quite ashamed whenever I hear of it coming under the notice of people from another country. They must form so strange an opinion of us. If you spend another Sunday in the neighbourhood you must persuade your friends to send you over to the parish church. It is not far from here.'
Mr. Wallowby replied that he would be returning to England before another Sunday came round. 'But I was not aware,' he added, 'that there were any but Presbyterian chapels for many miles round here. I felt compunction about attending the ministrations of an unordained person, it seemed to me so much a burlesque on the offices of religion, but I was told that except in towns and a very few country places far north, there are no clergymen in Scotland at all. And yet the Scotch claim to be very religious. I did not know before that people could be religious without church or parson, and now I have seen it I do not like it.'