Persuasion Read online

  Chapter 3

  "I must take leave to observe, Sir Walter," said Mr Shepherd onemorning at Kellynch Hall, as he laid down the newspaper, "that thepresent juncture is much in our favour. This peace will be turning allour rich naval officers ashore. They will be all wanting a home.Could not be a better time, Sir Walter, for having a choice of tenants,very responsible tenants. Many a noble fortune has been made duringthe war. If a rich admiral were to come in our way, Sir Walter--"

  "He would be a very lucky man, Shepherd," replied Sir Walter; "that'sall I have to remark. A prize indeed would Kellynch Hall be to him;rather the greatest prize of all, let him have taken ever so manybefore; hey, Shepherd?"

  Mr Shepherd laughed, as he knew he must, at this wit, and then added--

  "I presume to observe, Sir Walter, that, in the way of business,gentlemen of the navy are well to deal with. I have had a littleknowledge of their methods of doing business; and I am free to confessthat they have very liberal notions, and are as likely to makedesirable tenants as any set of people one should meet with.Therefore, Sir Walter, what I would take leave to suggest is, that ifin consequence of any rumours getting abroad of your intention; whichmust be contemplated as a possible thing, because we know how difficultit is to keep the actions and designs of one part of the world from thenotice and curiosity of the other; consequence has its tax; I, JohnShepherd, might conceal any family-matters that I chose, for nobodywould think it worth their while to observe me; but Sir Walter Elliothas eyes upon him which it may be very difficult to elude; andtherefore, thus much I venture upon, that it will not greatly surpriseme if, with all our caution, some rumour of the truth should getabroad; in the supposition of which, as I was going to observe, sinceapplications will unquestionably follow, I should think any from ourwealthy naval commanders particularly worth attending to; and beg leaveto add, that two hours will bring me over at any time, to save you thetrouble of replying."

  Sir Walter only nodded. But soon afterwards, rising and pacing theroom, he observed sarcastically--

  "There are few among the gentlemen of the navy, I imagine, who wouldnot be surprised to find themselves in a house of this description."

  "They would look around them, no doubt, and bless their good fortune,"said Mrs Clay, for Mrs Clay was present: her father had driven herover, nothing being of so much use to Mrs Clay's health as a drive toKellynch: "but I quite agree with my father in thinking a sailor mightbe a very desirable tenant. I have known a good deal of theprofession; and besides their liberality, they are so neat and carefulin all their ways! These valuable pictures of yours, Sir Walter, ifyou chose to leave them, would be perfectly safe. Everything in andabout the house would be taken such excellent care of! The gardens andshrubberies would be kept in almost as high order as they are now. Youneed not be afraid, Miss Elliot, of your own sweet flower gardens beingneglected."

  "As to all that," rejoined Sir Walter coolly, "supposing I were inducedto let my house, I have by no means made up my mind as to theprivileges to be annexed to it. I am not particularly disposed tofavour a tenant. The park would be open to him of course, and few navyofficers, or men of any other description, can have had such a range;but what restrictions I might impose on the use of thepleasure-grounds, is another thing. I am not fond of the idea of myshrubberies being always approachable; and I should recommend MissElliot to be on her guard with respect to her flower garden. I am verylittle disposed to grant a tenant of Kellynch Hall any extraordinaryfavour, I assure you, be he sailor or soldier."

  After a short pause, Mr Shepherd presumed to say--

  "In all these cases, there are established usages which make everythingplain and easy between landlord and tenant. Your interest, Sir Walter,is in pretty safe hands. Depend upon me for taking care that no tenanthas more than his just rights. I venture to hint, that Sir WalterElliot cannot be half so jealous for his own, as John Shepherd will befor him."

  Here Anne spoke--

  "The navy, I think, who have done so much for us, have at least anequal claim with any other set of men, for all the comforts and all theprivileges which any home can give. Sailors work hard enough for theircomforts, we must all allow."

  "Very true, very true. What Miss Anne says, is very true," was MrShepherd's rejoinder, and "Oh! certainly," was his daughter's; but SirWalter's remark was, soon afterwards--

  "The profession has its utility, but I should be sorry to see anyfriend of mine belonging to it."

  "Indeed!" was the reply, and with a look of surprise.

  "Yes; it is in two points offensive to me; I have two strong grounds ofobjection to it. First, as being the means of bringing persons ofobscure birth into undue distinction, and raising men to honours whichtheir fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as itcuts up a man's youth and vigour most horribly; a sailor grows oldsooner than any other man. I have observed it all my life. A man isin greater danger in the navy of being insulted by the rise of onewhose father, his father might have disdained to speak to, and ofbecoming prematurely an object of disgust himself, than in any otherline. One day last spring, in town, I was in company with two men,striking instances of what I am talking of; Lord St Ives, whose fatherwe all know to have been a country curate, without bread to eat; I wasto give place to Lord St Ives, and a certain Admiral Baldwin, the mostdeplorable-looking personage you can imagine; his face the colour ofmahogany, rough and rugged to the last degree; all lines and wrinkles,nine grey hairs of a side, and nothing but a dab of powder at top. 'Inthe name of heaven, who is that old fellow?' said I to a friend of minewho was standing near, (Sir Basil Morley). 'Old fellow!' cried SirBasil, 'it is Admiral Baldwin. What do you take his age to be?''Sixty,' said I, 'or perhaps sixty-two.' 'Forty,' replied Sir Basil,'forty, and no more.' Picture to yourselves my amazement; I shall noteasily forget Admiral Baldwin. I never saw quite so wretched anexample of what a sea-faring life can do; but to a degree, I know it isthe same with them all: they are all knocked about, and exposed toevery climate, and every weather, till they are not fit to be seen. Itis a pity they are not knocked on the head at once, before they reachAdmiral Baldwin's age."

  "Nay, Sir Walter," cried Mrs Clay, "this is being severe indeed. Havea little mercy on the poor men. We are not all born to be handsome.The sea is no beautifier, certainly; sailors do grow old betimes; Ihave observed it; they soon lose the look of youth. But then, is notit the same with many other professions, perhaps most other? Soldiers,in active service, are not at all better off: and even in the quieterprofessions, there is a toil and a labour of the mind, if not of thebody, which seldom leaves a man's looks to the natural effect of time.The lawyer plods, quite care-worn; the physician is up at all hours,and travelling in all weather; and even the clergyman--" she stopt amoment to consider what might do for the clergyman;--"and even theclergyman, you know is obliged to go into infected rooms, and exposehis health and looks to all the injury of a poisonous atmosphere. Infact, as I have long been convinced, though every profession isnecessary and honourable in its turn, it is only the lot of those whoare not obliged to follow any, who can live in a regular way, in thecountry, choosing their own hours, following their own pursuits, andliving on their own property, without the torment of trying for more;it is only their lot, I say, to hold the blessings of health and a goodappearance to the utmost: I know no other set of men but what losesomething of their personableness when they cease to be quite young."

  It seemed as if Mr Shepherd, in this anxiety to bespeak Sir Walter'sgood will towards a naval officer as tenant, had been gifted withforesight; for the very first application for the house was from anAdmiral Croft, with whom he shortly afterwards fell into company inattending the quarter sessions at Taunton; and indeed, he had receiveda hint of the Admiral from a London correspondent. By the report whichhe hastened over to Kellynch to make, Admiral Croft was a native ofSomersetshire, who having acquired a very handsome fortune, was wishingto settle in his own country, and had come down to Taunton in orde
r tolook at some advertised places in that immediate neighbourhood, which,however, had not suited him; that accidentally hearing--(it was just ashe had foretold, Mr Shepherd observed, Sir Walter's concerns could notbe kept a secret,)--accidentally hearing of the possibility ofKellynch Hall being to let, and understanding his (Mr Shepherd's)connection with the owner, he had introduced himself to him in order tomake particular inquiries, and had, in the course of a pretty longconference, expressed as strong an inclination for the place as a manwho knew it only by description could feel; and given Mr Shepherd, inhis explicit account of himself, every proof of his being a mostresponsible, eligible tenant.

  "And who is Admiral Croft?" was Sir Walter's cold suspicious inquiry.

  Mr Shepherd answered for his being of a gentleman's family, andmentioned a place; and Anne, after the little pause which followed,added--

  "He is a rear admiral of the white. He was in the Trafalgar action,and has been in the East Indies since; he was stationed there, Ibelieve, several years."

  "Then I take it for granted," observed Sir Walter, "that his face isabout as orange as the cuffs and capes of my livery."

  Mr Shepherd hastened to assure him, that Admiral Croft was a very hale,hearty, well-looking man, a little weather-beaten, to be sure, but notmuch, and quite the gentleman in all his notions and behaviour; notlikely to make the smallest difficulty about terms, only wanted acomfortable home, and to get into it as soon as possible; knew he mustpay for his convenience; knew what rent a ready-furnished house of thatconsequence might fetch; should not have been surprised if Sir Walterhad asked more; had inquired about the manor; would be glad of thedeputation, certainly, but made no great point of it; said he sometimestook out a gun, but never killed; quite the gentleman.

  Mr Shepherd was eloquent on the subject; pointing out all thecircumstances of the Admiral's family, which made him peculiarlydesirable as a tenant. He was a married man, and without children; thevery state to be wished for. A house was never taken good care of, MrShepherd observed, without a lady: he did not know, whether furnituremight not be in danger of suffering as much where there was no lady, aswhere there were many children. A lady, without a family, was the verybest preserver of furniture in the world. He had seen Mrs Croft, too;she was at Taunton with the admiral, and had been present almost allthe time they were talking the matter over.

  "And a very well-spoken, genteel, shrewd lady, she seemed to be,"continued he; "asked more questions about the house, and terms, andtaxes, than the Admiral himself, and seemed more conversant withbusiness; and moreover, Sir Walter, I found she was not quiteunconnected in this country, any more than her husband; that is to say,she is sister to a gentleman who did live amongst us once; she told meso herself: sister to the gentleman who lived a few years back atMonkford. Bless me! what was his name? At this moment I cannotrecollect his name, though I have heard it so lately. Penelope, mydear, can you help me to the name of the gentleman who lived atMonkford: Mrs Croft's brother?"

  But Mrs Clay was talking so eagerly with Miss Elliot, that she did nothear the appeal.

  "I have no conception whom you can mean, Shepherd; I remember nogentleman resident at Monkford since the time of old Governor Trent."

  "Bless me! how very odd! I shall forget my own name soon, I suppose.A name that I am so very well acquainted with; knew the gentleman sowell by sight; seen him a hundred times; came to consult me once, Iremember, about a trespass of one of his neighbours; farmer's manbreaking into his orchard; wall torn down; apples stolen; caught in thefact; and afterwards, contrary to my judgement, submitted to anamicable compromise. Very odd indeed!"

  After waiting another moment--

  "You mean Mr Wentworth, I suppose?" said Anne.

  Mr Shepherd was all gratitude.

  "Wentworth was the very name! Mr Wentworth was the very man. He hadthe curacy of Monkford, you know, Sir Walter, some time back, for twoor three years. Came there about the year ---5, I take it. Youremember him, I am sure."

  "Wentworth? Oh! ay,--Mr Wentworth, the curate of Monkford. You misledme by the term gentleman. I thought you were speaking of some man ofproperty: Mr Wentworth was nobody, I remember; quite unconnected;nothing to do with the Strafford family. One wonders how the names ofmany of our nobility become so common."

  As Mr Shepherd perceived that this connexion of the Crofts did them noservice with Sir Walter, he mentioned it no more; returning, with allhis zeal, to dwell on the circumstances more indisputably in theirfavour; their age, and number, and fortune; the high idea they hadformed of Kellynch Hall, and extreme solicitude for the advantage ofrenting it; making it appear as if they ranked nothing beyond thehappiness of being the tenants of Sir Walter Elliot: an extraordinarytaste, certainly, could they have been supposed in the secret of SirWalter's estimate of the dues of a tenant.

  It succeeded, however; and though Sir Walter must ever look with anevil eye on anyone intending to inhabit that house, and think theminfinitely too well off in being permitted to rent it on the highestterms, he was talked into allowing Mr Shepherd to proceed in thetreaty, and authorising him to wait on Admiral Croft, who stillremained at Taunton, and fix a day for the house being seen.

  Sir Walter was not very wise; but still he had experience enough of theworld to feel, that a more unobjectionable tenant, in all essentials,than Admiral Croft bid fair to be, could hardly offer. So far went hisunderstanding; and his vanity supplied a little additional soothing, inthe Admiral's situation in life, which was just high enough, and nottoo high. "I have let my house to Admiral Croft," would soundextremely well; very much better than to any mere Mr--; a Mr (save,perhaps, some half dozen in the nation,) always needs a note ofexplanation. An admiral speaks his own consequence, and, at the sametime, can never make a baronet look small. In all their dealings andintercourse, Sir Walter Elliot must ever have the precedence.

  Nothing could be done without a reference to Elizabeth: but herinclination was growing so strong for a removal, that she was happy tohave it fixed and expedited by a tenant at hand; and not a word tosuspend decision was uttered by her.

  Mr Shepherd was completely empowered to act; and no sooner had such anend been reached, than Anne, who had been a most attentive listener tothe whole, left the room, to seek the comfort of cool air for herflushed cheeks; and as she walked along a favourite grove, said, with agentle sigh, "A few months more, and he, perhaps, may be walking here."