Chapter 3 — CHAPTER III.

“I must take leave to observe, Sir Walter,” said Mr Shepherd one
morning at Kellynch Hall, as he laid down the newspaper, “that the
present juncture is much in our favour. This peace will be turning all our 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 during the 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’s all 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 many
before; 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 little knowledge of
their methods of doing business; and I am free to confess that they have very
liberal notions, and are as likely to make desirable tenants as any set of
people one should meet with. Therefore, Sir Walter, what I would take leave to
suggest is, that if in consequence of any rumours getting abroad of your
intention; which must be contemplated as a possible thing, because we know how
difficult it is to keep the actions and designs of one part of the world from
the notice and curiosity of the other; consequence has its tax; I, John
Shepherd, might conceal any family-matters that I chose, for nobody would think
it worth their while to observe me; but Sir Walter Elliot has eyes upon him
which it may be very difficult to elude; and therefore, thus much I venture
upon, that it will not greatly surprise me if, with all our caution, some
rumour of the truth should get abroad; in the supposition of which, as I was
going to observe, since applications will unquestionably follow, I should think
any from our wealthy naval commanders particularly worth attending to; and beg
leave to add, that two hours will bring me over at any time, to save you the
trouble of replying.”

Sir Walter only nodded. But soon afterwards, rising and pacing the room, he
observed sarcastically—

“There are few among the gentlemen of the navy, I imagine, who would not
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
her over, nothing being of so much use to Mrs Clay’s health as a drive to
Kellynch: “but I quite agree with my father in thinking a sailor might be
a very desirable tenant. I have known a good deal of the profession; and
besides their liberality, they are so neat and careful in all their ways! These
valuable pictures of yours, Sir Walter, if you chose to leave them, would be
perfectly safe. Everything in and about the house would be taken such excellent
care of! The gardens and shrubberies would be kept in almost as high order as
they are now. You need not be afraid, Miss Elliot, of your own sweet flower
gardens being neglected.”

“As to all that,” rejoined Sir Walter coolly, “supposing I
were induced to let my house, I have by no means made up my mind as to the
privileges to be annexed to it. I am not particularly disposed to favour a
tenant. The park would be open to him of course, and few navy officers, or men
of any other description, can have had such a range; but what restrictions I
might impose on the use of the pleasure-grounds, is another thing. I am not
fond of the idea of my shrubberies being always approachable; and I should
recommend Miss Elliot to be on her guard with respect to her flower garden. I
am very little disposed to grant a tenant of Kellynch Hall any extraordinary
favour, 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 everything
plain and easy between landlord and tenant. Your interest, Sir Walter, is in
pretty safe hands. Depend upon me for taking care that no tenant has more than
his just rights. I venture to hint, that Sir Walter Elliot cannot be half so
jealous for his own, as John Shepherd will be for him.”

Here Anne spoke—

“The navy, I think, who have done so much for us, have at least an equal
claim with any other set of men, for all the comforts and all the privileges
which any home can give. Sailors work hard enough for their comforts, we must
all allow.”

“Very true, very true. What Miss Anne says, is very true,” was Mr
Shepherd’s rejoinder, and “Oh! certainly,” was his
daughter’s; but Sir Walter’s remark was, soon afterwards—

“The profession has its utility, but I should be sorry to see any friend
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 of
objection to it. First, as being the means of bringing persons of obscure birth
into undue distinction, and raising men to honours which their fathers and
grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as it cuts up a man’s youth
and vigour most horribly; a sailor grows old sooner than any other man. I have
observed it all my life. A man is in greater danger in the navy of being
insulted by the rise of one whose father, his father might have disdained to
speak to, and of becoming prematurely an object of disgust himself, than in any
other line. 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 father we all
know to have been a country curate, without bread to eat; I was to give place
to Lord St Ives, and a certain Admiral Baldwin, the most deplorable-looking
personage you can imagine; his face the colour of mahogany, 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. ‘In the name of heaven, who is that old
fellow?’ said I to a friend of mine who was standing near, (Sir Basil
Morley). ‘Old fellow!’ cried Sir Basil, ‘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
not easily forget Admiral Baldwin. I never saw quite so wretched an example of
what a sea-faring life can do; but to a degree, I know it is the same with them
all: they are all knocked about, and exposed to every climate, and every
weather, till they are not fit to be seen. It is a pity they are not knocked on
the head at once, before they reach Admiral Baldwin’s age.”

“Nay, Sir Walter,” cried Mrs Clay, “this is being severe
indeed. Have a 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; I
have observed it; they soon lose the look of youth. But then, is not it the
same with many other professions, perhaps most other? Soldiers, in active
service, are not at all better off: and even in the quieter professions, there
is a toil and a labour of the mind, if not of the body, 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 a moment to consider what might do
for the clergyman;—“and even the clergyman, you know is obliged to
go into infected rooms, and expose his health and looks to all the injury of a
poisonous atmosphere. In fact, as I have long been convinced, though every
profession is necessary and honourable in its turn, it is only the lot of those
who are not obliged to follow any, who can live in a regular way, in the
country, choosing their own hours, following their own pursuits, and living 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 good appearance
to the utmost: I know no other set of men but what lose something of their
personableness when they cease to be quite young.”

their

It seemed as if Mr Shepherd, in this anxiety to bespeak Sir Walter’s good
will towards a naval officer as tenant, had been gifted with foresight; for the
very first application for the house was from an Admiral Croft, with whom he
shortly afterwards fell into company in attending the quarter sessions at
Taunton; and indeed, he had received a hint of the Admiral from a London
correspondent. By the report which he hastened over to Kellynch to make,
Admiral Croft was a native of Somersetshire, who having acquired a very
handsome fortune, was wishing to settle in his own country, and had come down
to Taunton in order to look at some advertised places in that immediate
neighbourhood, which, however, had not suited him; that accidentally
hearing—(it was just as he had foretold, Mr Shepherd observed, Sir
Walter’s concerns could not be kept a secret,)—accidentally hearing
of the possibility of Kellynch Hall being to let, and understanding his (Mr
Shepherd’s) connection with the owner, he had introduced himself to him
in order to make particular inquiries, and had, in the course of a pretty long
conference, expressed as strong an inclination for the place as a man who knew
it only by description could feel; and given Mr Shepherd, in his explicit
account of himself, every proof of his being a most responsible, 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, and mentioned
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, I believe, several
years.”

“Then I take it for granted,” observed Sir Walter, “that his
face is about 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 not much, and quite
the gentleman in all his notions and behaviour; not likely to make the smallest
difficulty about terms, only wanted a comfortable home, and to get into it as
soon as possible; knew he must pay for his convenience; knew what rent a
ready-furnished house of that consequence might fetch; should not have been
surprised if Sir Walter had asked more; had inquired about the manor; would be
glad of the deputation, certainly, but made no great point of it; said he
sometimes took out a gun, but never killed; quite the gentleman.

Mr Shepherd was eloquent on the subject; pointing out all the circumstances of
the Admiral’s family, which made him peculiarly desirable as a tenant. He
was a married man, and without children; the very state to be wished for. A
house was never taken good care of, Mr Shepherd observed, without a lady: he
did not know, whether furniture might not be in danger of suffering as much
where there was no lady, as where there were many children. A lady, without a
family, was the very best preserver of furniture in the world. He had seen Mrs
Croft, too; she was at Taunton with the admiral, and had been present almost
all the 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, and
taxes, than the Admiral himself, and seemed more conversant with business; and
moreover, Sir Walter, I found she was not quite unconnected 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 me so herself: sister to the gentleman who lived
a few years back at Monkford. Bless me! what was his name? At this moment I
cannot recollect his name, though I have heard it so lately. Penelope, my dear,
can you help me to the name of the gentleman who lived at Monkford: Mrs
Croft’s brother?”

But Mrs Clay was talking so eagerly with Miss Elliot, that she did not hear the
appeal.

“I have no conception whom you can mean, Shepherd; I remember no
gentleman 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 so well by
sight; seen him a hundred times; came to consult me once, I remember, about a
trespass of one of his neighbours; farmer’s man breaking into his
orchard; wall torn down; apples stolen; caught in the fact; and afterwards,
contrary to my judgement, submitted to an amicable 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 had the
curacy of Monkford, you know, Sir Walter, some time back, for two or three
years. Came there about the year —5, I take it. You remember him, I am
sure.”

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

gentleman

As Mr Shepherd perceived that this connexion of the Crofts did them no service
with Sir Walter, he mentioned it no more; returning, with all his zeal, to
dwell on the circumstances more indisputably in their favour; their age, and
number, and fortune; the high idea they had formed of Kellynch Hall, and
extreme solicitude for the advantage of renting it; making it appear as if they
ranked nothing beyond the happiness of being the tenants of Sir Walter Elliot:
an extraordinary taste, certainly, could they have been supposed in the secret
of Sir Walter’s estimate of the dues of a tenant.

It succeeded, however; and though Sir Walter must ever look with an evil eye on
anyone intending to inhabit that house, and think them infinitely too well off
in being permitted to rent it on the highest terms, he was talked into allowing
Mr Shepherd to proceed in the treaty, and authorising him to wait on Admiral
Croft, who still remained at Taunton, and fix a day for the house being seen.

Sir Walter was not very wise; but still he had experience enough of the world
to feel, that a more unobjectionable tenant, in all essentials, than Admiral
Croft bid fair to be, could hardly offer. So far went his understanding; and
his vanity supplied a little additional soothing, in the Admiral’s
situation in life, which was just high enough, and not too high. “I have
let my house to Admiral Croft,” would sound extremely well; very much
better than to any mere Mr.——; a Mr. (save, perhaps,
some half dozen in the nation,) always needs a note of explanation. An admiral
speaks his own consequence, and, at the same time, can never make a baronet
look small. In all their dealings and intercourse, Sir Walter Elliot must ever
have the precedence.

Mr.

Mr.

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

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

he