MARY BARKER: "A WELSH STORY"
VOLUME 3 SUMMARY
All chapters are numbered in Roman capitals, with a short literary quotation after the chapter number- I have not usually quoted these, but a few quotations do appear, in maroon bold type.
All text in blue bold type is quoted directly from the novel.
Chapter navigation
Volume 3, chapter 1 (page 1) Heading anonymous:
"Oh come, and see the changes time has made."
In six years the changes at Glendarran were various and important.
The Castle was inhabited by Sir Henry Llewellyn; the same man whom we formerly described. Lady Cecilia, his wife, now the mother of five lovely children, was not the same woman; for she was metamorphosed from a fine lady to a rational being.
To discover the causes which produced this wonderful effect, might be very entertaining, and perhaps useful to a few individuals; indeed it cannot be denied that there is in this kingdom a very numerous and respectable body of men who would be much indebted to any author who should discover the secret for making wives rational. Yet as it would be attended with infinite danger, and, like all other nostrums, frequently applied erroneously, I forbear to communicate it; influenced by a principle of benevolence to my fair countrywomen, and the knowledge that men of sense have it already in their possession.
The methods by which Sir Henry Llewellyn converted his wife from a thoughtless, fashionable young woman, to a rational being, were a little extraordinary, as the case required.
In their first effects, he was rather doubtful of their power, and obtained the common reputation of being a very arbitrary, bad husband; it is true, he very seldom gave up his opinion, generally convincing his wife that it was perfectly just; and that, too, "not against her will," but so contrived it as to oblige her inclination to prefer what her reason approved.
But these are dangerous truths, and we forbear to produce more such, lest some fool (as may very possibly happen) who has a wife possessing more than ten tmes his portion of sense, should, glancing his eye over these pages, and admiring the happy consequences of ruling one, exemplified in the history of Lady Cecilia Margam, begin to try the same experiments, without any of the requisites necessary to produce the same effects.
We shall therefore merely inform such, for the benefit of themselves and their wives, that it was in reason alone that Sir Henry Llewellyn displayed his superiority; rendering it a blessing to his wife by its subserviency to his judgment and affection.
A wrong education obscured the brilliant talents and good understanding which Lady Cecilia really inherited from nature. Her governesses never taught her any thing but French, Italian, and a superficial knowledge of English grammar, and geography, which she soon totally forgot. These were rather favourable cicrumstances in the opinion of a man of sense; for though her understanding had not been improved, it had not been perverted; consequently, when she became his companion, she acknowledged her own ignorance, and really began to lament it.
Had she been a gentle, obedient scholar to her governesses, and implicitly submitted to their opinions, instead of being a very affectionate wife, obedient scholar, and entertaining companion to her husband, she would have been at this period, and probably during her existence, a prejudiced, bigotted, obstinate, conceited fine lady.
At Glendarran House lived Lord Margam, Euphemia, and their children, also happy. Morlais Castle the seat of a Welsh squire, who was now numbered with his ancestors had been bought by Mr Greville, now convinced, following his youthful love for Charlotte Llewellyn, that he should live his life accordng to reason:
he was convinced that all the happiness this world can afford, was to be found in an union with a woman of good temper, plain sense, and moderate abilities; such an one he felt assured (from the goodness of his own heart) he could love.- He married Miss Gunnings, and was miserable.
Yet she was exactly what he thought; a woman of good temper, plain sense, and moderate abilities. His house was certainly the best conducted in the county; her management and economy were the admiration of all the dowagers in the neighbourhood. Every thing belonging to her was in such exact order, that she was esteemed a paragon of neatness! She prided herself upon every accomplishment which is generally included in the duties of women; in all which she believed she excelled to admiration. No one could possible more quickly discern and severely censure the failings of others, than she did; nobody imagine they performed every duty more religiously- and yet, her husband was miserable!
She was not keen on "noisy brats", and they had no children.
Her sister, Miss Emma Gunnings, lived with her, and was- Miss Emma Gunnings still- a very genteel young woman! exactly the same as she had been for a dozen years, and we believe will for even remain undistinguished by any other epithet, excepting the omission of the word young.
Volume 3, chapter 2 (page 12) Heading anonymous:
"There was an old woman liv'd under a hill,
And if she's not gone, she lives there still."
Lady Virgilia-ap-Howel and Lady Winifred-ap-Tagno were of an age to be little changed by time, excepting that Lady Virgilia had been much agitated by the wars on the continent, and still more by the landing of the French in Wales. Dr. Morgan had frequent disputes with her as to whether the present time was somehow more terrible than former ages- his remarks on Herod, Druid sacrifices, the Inquisition etc. are quoted at length- this speech merely made her think him a very rude, tiresome, conceited fellow.
Also, after nearly two years away from England, Charlotte Llewellyn sent a journal of her adventures to her old friend Mrs Barker as she had no certain address for her brother or sister. She had reached Cork after a ten-day voyage during which she suffered one major problem:
"a gentleman who was, like myself, a passenger to Ireland, paid me very particular attention; in short, by some uncommon fatality, as he termed it, he fell violently in love with me- declaring, that he was so prepossessed in my favour, at first sight, that he would have taken me for his wife on a few days acquaintance. As these instantaneous affections ever appeared to me not only very unstable, but very ridiculous, I laughed at his declarations, considering them as the mere effect of gallantry: but I was compelled to believe him in earnest;- and must do him the justice to acknowledge, with gratitude, which his partial opinion of me entitles him to, that his generosity and candour had a claim to a return which it was not in my power to make."
Seeing that she was resolved, he left her alone for a time. Another fellow-passenger was a Mrs Harrington, who was going to Bombay with her husband. Hearing Charlotte's story, she offered to help her find her feet in Cork. She and Mr Harrington were therefore by Charlotte's side as she disembarked- and met immediately with Captain Wilson, her sudden passion causing the Harringtons to retire to a safe distance. On informing Wilson that she was on the way to visit her sister, he warned her that he was master in his own house, to which she replied that,
"I know that it could not be her choice to marry you; if you have been vile enough to accept her hand and fortune contrary to it, you are entitled to a greater punishment than she can inflict, or than human justice can enforce. But I must see her, and discover how she may be rendered happy, though she is unfortunate."- "Upon my word, Ma'am," said he, smiling, "you are a perfect philisopher, as I always thought. I doubt not but you would very easily reconcile your sister to the misery of a fond husband, and an honourable establishment in life; perhaps, however, your plans may be a little deranged, when I inform you that she is at one of my country seats in the north of Ireland; and as you have already travelled so far, it may fatigue you to proceed two hundred miles. Besides which, money is rather scarce, and the honour of young ladies a security on which few will venture much."
He would not tell her where Euphemia was, so after warning him of justice to come, she rejoined the Harringtons and returned to the boat, not knowing or caring what she could do next. Her money would not last long, so she had to look to her own future. When she explained her situation to Mrs Harrington, she was advised to continue with them to India. Mrs Harrington offered to pay her passage, and even the ship's Captain was sympathetic when he heard her story. The young man she had met on the first leg of the voyage also heard the story, and requested a word with her just before the ship was due to sail. She, though touched by his love, warned him that she was too miserable to become his wife with honour. After listening to her ressoned arguments, he accepted her judgement. For some time she was a victim of sea-sickness and continuing misery, but her new friends rallied her. The Captain was fond of music, and gave her the opportunity to play, which soothed her. With drawing materials from Mrs Harrington and two other ladies on the voyage, she designed decorations for their houses, and painted from memory scenes around Glendarran. She read the books on the ship and gradually regained her philosophical point-of-view:
"I found that to estimate good and evil properly, was the only way to be either wise or happy. I perceived that repinings in any state were inconsistent with wisdom and incompatible with religion. I felt the reality of virtue and the reward of fortitude. When I thought of my friends, I could not restrain my tears; but it was nature that wept: reason suggested, that, if they were afflicted, their noblest powers were called into action."
The Captain, as Mrs Harrington observed, became very fond of Charlotte, and seemed likely to make her a proposal at the end of the voyage. Delicately though he manifested his feelings, Charlotte found it impossible to love him, and was therefore very circumspect in his presence:
"It is true, that I feared lest my principles and ideas should, by rendering me so difficult in the choice of a husband, cause me to reject happiness which it might have been prudent to be content with, and occasion me hereafter to imagine that false refinement had deprived me of rational comfort."
The Captain seemed to get the message, and was less impressive after their landfall at the Cape, though equally respectful. At Bombay, she and the Harringtons, and another family the Staffords, alighted, leaving it to sail on to Bengal. They were swiftly introduced, as was customary, to the Governor, whom they found impressive: "Our visits became frequent, and his particular notice of me very flattering." Some three months later, they agreed to marry, and once happily settled in her new state, she wrote her journal to Mrs Barker. She also enclosed letters to her brother and sister, Lady Cecilia Margam and other friends, also to her father, and to Mrs Llewellyn, which latter the author chooses to reproduce:
"When the events which in their immediate effects we consider as the greatest evils, are productive of the greatest good, their causes ought to be regarded with gratitude. Of this kind was my dismission from my father's house; the grief of which is absorbed in the happiness which its consequences have secured to me."
She further advised her stepmother that she had written the letter to her father in the belief that he would be feeling needless remorse for his action; and expressed a hope that her sister would forgive them. She enclosed a few small gifts from India.
Volume 3, chapter 3 (page 51) Heading by Cotton.
Mrs. Llewellyn's hatred of Mrs. Leslie was greatly increased by this proof of goodness and generosity and she did not send a reply, desiring her daughters to do the same, which well accorded with their own inclination. Mr Llewellyn was more concerned with the gaming table (where the former Mrs Gunnings proved a most useful partner).
All the other recipients of Charlotte's letters, of course, replied at once, and the author gives us Lady Cecilia's:
"The idea of the joy which your letters occasioned us, can only be imagined by the comparison with what you feel when you receive the account of the situation of your sister, and all dear to you. Oh, Charlotte! what a meeting will ours be- how changed from what we were when last we parted! ... Now I don't know what it is, but it certainly does give me more pleasure to hear my little Henry try to speak, and your lovely namesake strum on the keys of the harpsichord, than ever I felt at all the plays or operas I was at. Routs would now be insufferable to me, if they took me from the delightful rout which my little neice and my brats make in the nursery. ... tell me exactly what kind of man he is, and tell him I will love him dearly, if he is either like his wife or his brother." etc., to which Mrs Leslie replied: "MY DEAR SISTER ...".
She described her husband as somewhat older than herself, and launched into a long philosophical consideration of the merits of older men (while carefully emphasising that some young men, with obvious examples, were exceptions to these notions). She was the happy mother of a two-month-old boy, and proposed returning to Wales when her husband's duty was completed, in four years' time. The passage of those years is illustrated by another letter, written five years after Charlotte's marriage:
Volume 3, chapter 4 (page 68) Heading anonymous:
"Wisdom and virtue combating together..."
etc.
Charlotte to Cecilia: "The satisfaction which I derive from my corespondence with you, is greatly enhanced by every letter which I receive from you. The regret which you express concerning your own deficiencies, can only be entertained by yourself, and only considered as the effect of increased wisdom. ..."
Again she contemplates the state of marriage, or rather of partnership and love, and describes the growing of her family, both in years and numbers. This leads to the subject of children's upbringing- and particularly the education of girls:
"How people of sense can deny the utility of women acquiring knowledge, I know not; for I perceive that it requires the most profound degree to be either a good wife or a good mother. ...
It is often said, that those who possess knowledge in any superior degree are very conceited, pedantic, and unpleasant companions in common life.
I confess, that those who affect to possess knowledge, or who possess perhaps a very profound degree of some particular kind, accompanied by general ignorance, are very frequently so: but I deny that this is the effect of a real possession of knowledge. ...
persons of the greatest abilities, if they are authors, often appear very silly to common observers; because, having employed their time and abilities in an investigation of truths, they have had no opportunity of acquiring that common knowledge of the actions and occupations of mankind which constitutes the conversation of polite society. One reason which prevents people of great genius and abilities from receiving the admiration which may really be due to them as companions, is this: they are expected to be as great in their conversations as they are in their works."
She quotes Newton and Locke as men who might have fallen into this category, and adds:
"Those who distinguish truth from error know that (excepting those who are employed in actual labour) they only fulfil the end of their crestion, who make it the business of their lives to employ their faculties in a search after knowledge; make it a guide for their own conduct, and apply it, in whatever way their situation and abilities allow them, for the general benefit of mankind. ...
I have wandered into a labyrinth, out of which I return to perform the duties of a mother, for which I find the highest knowledge united to the highest prudence necessary.-"
Volume 3, chapter 5 (page 94) Heading by Lyttleton.
Two years later, the Leslies with their four lovely children arrived in England:
Gwilldegarth, a very beautiful seat belonging to a gentleman who ruined himself by opposing a family of greater consequence in an election, was purchased by Sir Henry Llewellyn for Mr. Leslie.
It was only 6 miles from Glendarran, so the families kept constantly in contact. It was also just 2 miles from Mr Greville's seat of Morlais Castle, but Mrs Greville, on returning from a visit to London to hear that the Leslies were her neighbours, declared that she would never set foot in their house, or in any house at the same time as Mrs Leslie. Mr Greville, although, of course, an old friend of Lord Margam and Sir Henry (hence his choice of home) chose to follow his wife's will. Mrs Leslie, for her part, had given birth to another girl just a week after setting up home in Gwilldegarth, so was unable to get out much for some months.
And then one day: as Mr Greville was out walking and meditating, a little boy came and took his hand, and called to a little girl with him, "Come Charlotte; come and play with this nice gentleman."
Mr Greville accepted the invitation, and the boy explained "mamma says I must always be good, and go to every body, and then all good people will love me- won't they, Charlotte?"
"Yes, that they will," answered she; "for mamma always loves me when I'm good; but she never kisses me when I am naughty; so I must be good, because nobody cares for naughty people;"
Mr Greville asked who the lad's father was, but on being told "Mr. Leslie" set him down in some haste. The children, however, took his hands and introduced him to Betty and Sally and Henry and Euphemia, and asked him to tell them about the flowers and the butterflies. As they approached the gate of Gwilldegarth park, it opened and there stood Mrs Leslie with her infant, to whom he bowed most respectfully. She inquired after his health, but after a brief reply and a further light bow, he wished her good morning and returned to his joyless home. There his wife demanded to know why he was half-an-hour late for dinner, and when it became apparent that she was going to make his afternoon a misery, he opted to reply only "I'm not well". At dinner, he ate nothing, a circumstance noted with interest by a lady guest. As his wife began to moan about his illness, he said "Oh, I am very well"; leading his wife to think him feverish. After dinner, in the drawing room, she asked what entertainment he had for her and Miss Williams:
"Come, come, be lively! I'm not one of those people, like Mrs. Leslie, that, as I heard, when her husband was ill, did nothing but cry all day, and made him ten times worse with her ridiculous fondness. I hate to see folks give way to low spirits; nothing does so much good as a little rallying. Come," continued she, giving him a sharp pat on the shoulder; "cheer up, and be a little entertaining; don't expect me to play Mrs. Leslie!"
"Mrs Leslie is an angel!" Mr Greville fervently exclaimed.
"Sir!" said his wife.
With Miss Williams trying to occupy herself and shift to a safe distance, the discussion continues (largely as a monologue) until Mr Greville asserts himself: "shall I ring for tea?"
Volume 3, chapter 6 (page 111) Heading by Cowper.
In the home of the younger Llewellyns, things were going well. Sir Henry had resolved from the time of their marriage not to keep a house in London, though the Castle was rarely without guests. As the years went by, however, Cecilia came to know who were the friends she really wanted to see, one being, of course, the returned Mrs Leslie:
in school time one day, she interrupted Lady Cecilia's lectures by exclaiming, "Have your children read Tom Jones yet?"
She immediately recollected Mrs. Leslie's allusion, and laughing, replied, "Oh, bless you, my dear sister, never mention that again!" adding, in a whisper, "for I would not for the universe have my children know how ignorant I was; though, when Charlotte and Cecilia are old enough, I mean to show them, if possible, the folly of ignorance."
She turned the children over to their well-selected governess, who proposed that they should go for a walk, and she was conversing with Mrs Leslie when Mrs Susan-ap-Thomas arrived. Charlotte's aunt was universally known and acknowledged to be- as good a kind of woman as ever lived- pious- charitable- frugal- virtuous- and most amazingly fond of cards!
She was, however, no great friend to literature; consequently, on observing that her niece Charlotte, when a mere child, was much addicted to reading, she took infinite pains to correct her; and to convince her of the folly of girls acquiring such idle habits, gaining knowledge which was not proper for them, and utterly neglecting tent-stitch, and the "Whole Duty of Man".
Their governess, in spite of her admonitions or reproofs, persevered in her own plans of instructing the pupils committed to her care; therefore all Mrs. Ap-Thomas's arguments in favour of confectionary, and such necessary knowledge, were of no avail; nor was she even satisfied on hearing that her nieces actually could make a pudding, although she once found Mrs. Rassald's cookery-book open on the table; observing, with infinite regret, that they oftener read Shakespeare's play-books than the invaluable family manuscript, and knew much more of the Essay on Man than the Whole Duty.
She had therefore tended to see them only on formal visits, when she would make them repeat the psalms and lessons for the week, talk to them about the duties of women, give them a very nice dinner and some plum-cake to take home, and remind them on their departure to say their prayers every night and morning, and to take care not to tear their frocks in getting into the carriage.
Charlotte and Euphemia were not over-fond of their aunt Sukey, and the relationship did not improve as time passed: she began to consider them proud, conceited girls, and they to think her a troublesome, tedious, opinionative old woman - and the author herself finds Miss Sukey-ap-Thomas one of that numerous and respectable tribe who never seek for, or admit, truth to exist in any thing but their own opinions.
When Sukey visited Euphemia, soon after her marriage, her good-hearted niece had had listened to her patiently, and thanked her for her kind intentions; consequently, Glendarran House was very frequently surveyed by Miss Sukey, nor was the misconduct of its servants ever known by any other means. Mrs Ap-Thomas was even more pleased when Charlotte returned to England and came to live at Gwilldegarth- which was only a mile from her own home of Aber Morlais.
Finding, on this day, that Charlotte's only company was Lady Cecilia, she asked to speak with her in private about a matter which had ben troubling her for some time: where had Charlotte been married?
"At Bombay, to be sure," replied Mrs Leslie, smiling, but not perceiving the drift of her inquiry.
"Nay, nay, child!" continued her aunt, very consequentially, "it is no laughing matter, I assure you, but requires a very serious investigation, which I am determined to give it:- some presbyterian parson might marry you, for what I know!"
"Oh, my dear aunt!" exclaimed Mrs. Leslie, laughing, "pray don't distress yourself, for I was not married by any parson."
"God forbid!" piously ejaculated Miss Sukey, whose curiosity however got the better of her horror.
"Not married," continued she, "by a parson! How dare you then presume to live wth a man, and breed children, and appear like an honest woman? Aye, aye, this is exactly what I always expected!"
A short rant later, Charlotte explained- the chaplain at Bombay had died, and the marriage took place before a magistrate with full ceremony, while a new chaplain was making the long voyage from England. Sukey was far from satisfied:
"I remember very well a conversation which my good neighbour Mrs. Greville once repeated to me concerning your opinion of the marriage ceremony; and shocked indeed I was to think that a niece of mine should utter such vile, impious opinions."
Charlotte conceded her lack of respect for the form of the ceremony:
"excepting two very solemn and admirable parts of it, I once remember hearing a very wise and good man say, 'that if a Westminster boy had composed it, he would have deserved a flogging for his pains' "
Sukey argued that Charlotte was in effect merely a "kept mistress" if she had not gone "properly through the ceremony of our most pure and holy church." Charlotte's subtle view was that "I wish to believe what I profess, and choose to profess nothing but what I do believe; where my opinion differs from that of others, I content myself with enjoying it privately, and studying to make my conduct a better proof of its justice than my assertions. ..."
Her aunt professed herself "not a bit wiser for what you have said; nor will I ever believe that you are really and truly a virtuous woman, unless you were married by a parson."
"I wish I knew one who possessed the power of making women virtuous," replied Mrs. Leslie, laughingly.
This conversation was fortunately interrupted by the entrance of that lady's husband, with one of her sweet little bastards, as already degraded in the opinion of Miss Sukey.
Of this family we must take leave for the present, to discover the consequence more clearly of a man of sensibility being properly married to a woman of plain sense and moderate abilities, totally devoid of sensibility; of whose temper her husband had not a sufficient knowledge before he married, and who will probably make hm perceive that sense is better than ignorance; that elegance, which is "the last result of an accomplished mind," is a continual source of delight in a companion for life; that "vanity, pride and arrogance," are the sure companions of ignorance; that capacity and good dispositions require culture, and that principles (not to be obtained by mere chance) are necessary to insure the respectability of a wife, and the happiness of a husband. To this end it is necessary to take a retrospective view of the situation of Mr. and Mrs. Greville, as well as some other characters.
Volume 3, chapter 7 (page 140) Heading anonymous:
"How can vain, foolish woman, bid defiance
To riches, rank, and folly, in alliance?"
Lord Oakley had, after his humiliation, avoided falling in love excepting with such damsels as Jenny Jenkins, and married women of a certain character. He did, however, congratulate Lady Cecilia on her marriage, and was pleased by Captain Wilson's fate and the consequent marriage of Euphemia to Lord Margam as he was "so d--l-shly in love with her." As a result, they dined sometimes at Oakley Castle because they had no inclination to offend him. On the other hand, he considered Mr Greville "a d---'d fool" for his marriage; though he was impressed by Miss Gunnings, he considered mad, or foolish, any man who married her:
It was his Lordship's opinion that Mr. Greville was entitled to both appellations: as he neither liked port wine nor fox-hunting, was often observed to walk in the woods with a book in his hand- was much given to muse and sigh; finally, he had committed the folly of marrying-
Despite the great difference between these two gentlemen, his Lordship frequently visited Morlais Castle- partly because he was the sort of upper-crust guest Mrs Greville wished to encourage. That she had recognised from the outset as a problem, and she had regretted ever letting her husband buy a home so far from the haunts of the smart set. Still, it was very fine as houses went, so she allowed herself to live there, though for four whole years she daily protested she could not exist another week, and ultimately attracted visitors by rendering it the admiration of all who had an opportunity of viewing its order. She achieved this on a remarkably small budget but she had a habit, irritating to her husband, of incessantly changing the servants, because the tricks and schemes of servants to defraud their masters were incredible to any one who was not as well acquainted with them as herself. Despite the intellect and ability of many of her neighbours, her preferred company was persons of rank such as Lord Oakley; her husband therefore did his best to invite as many such to visit as he could. Oakley became an increasingly frequent visitor over the years, and grew so fond of the Grevilles that Morlais Castle almost made him in love with matrimony.
Mr G himself was far from convinced, being by now in that state of hopeless misery which a man of sensibility can only experience on finding himself deceived in the object to whom he is irrevocably united, and all his projected schemes of happiness totally defeated. Even that portion of rational affection which he netertained for his wife, being founded on qualities which only existed in his imagination, three years acquaintance very completely destroyed: ... A want of sense Mr. Greville thought he could dispense with, but a want of sensibility in a wife he felt could not be compensated for;
Mrs Greville had her own point of view, inevitably, and would talk to Lord Oakley of her husband's neglect and indfference: His Lordship gave her his private opinion on the subject, offering such advice as he would have approved of any man's wife, but his own, complying with. His advice that she should spend some time in London was expresed by her to her husband, who told her that she might go to London when she chose, and stay there exactly as long as was agreeable to herself, upon which she complained to Lord Oakley about such indifference. He offered to escort her there- which at last did rouse Mr Greville to dispproval, advising her against considering Lord Oakley as a friend. She did not take kindly to that and he left the room, inviting her to do as she chose. She chose London, and a six-month residence with her mother; but Lord Oakley remained in the country, for it was, after all, winter and hunting season. When she returned to Morlais, her husband was in no better state; worse if anything, and friends recognised that medical treatment was not what he required.
This was shortly after the Leslies' arrival at Gwilldegarth. Lord Oakley's first visit to congatulate the happy couple had met with a slightly frosty reception from Charlotte, a fact he noted to his confidant Mrs Greville, saying he liked her "a thousand times better". Repeatedly. With increasing frequency.
Mr Greville did not fail to notice the many visits paid by Lord Oakley to his wife:
The conduct of Lord Oakley, the knowledge of his own indifference to Mrs. Greville, and the consciousness of her want of principle, made him justly anxious to preserve her, if possible, from the disgrace and misery which her vanity rendered it probable might be the consequence of her acquaintance with Lord Oakley.
He gently suggested to her that her constant company with a man such as Lord Oakley was a danger to her reputation- the first time he had seriously taken her to task. She was furious, and that evening she stormed out of the castle- with Lord Oakley.
Volume 3, chapter 8 (page 163) Heading by Shakespeare:
"This was a man."
Sir Edwin Lloyd refrained from chastising Charlotte, on her return to England, for not asking him to help when she had been ejected from her home.
Sir Edwin was a man of very singular character. He possessed a large fortune, kept an hospitable house, was irreproachably just, and studied the happiness and comfort of all his dependents; but he was temperate, generous without ostentation, liberal without profusion, and wise without affectation; consequently, very erroneous were the opinions commonly entertained of him.
Some ("fine fellows") declared him to be a poor soul; others pronounced him stingy; numbers thought him very queer; and many said that he was good for nothing.
He seldom spoke in the House of Commons, preferring to attend to more practical parliamentary business. He was attached to no party, and dupe to no sect. He had excellent taste in art, though he did not acquire items as a raree-show for others. He was a fine and versatile conversationalist, but it was chiefly by his actions that his belief could be ascertained.
He and Mr Leslie soon became friends. Mrs Leslie, shortly after the unfortunate set-to at Morlais Castle, received a letter from Mrs Llewellyn who, though she affected to despise Mrs. Leslie's spirit and disposition, when she could derive no benefit from it herself, was no sooner in distress than she endeavoured to avail herself of that goodness which she knew Mrs. Leslie possessed, forgetful that she once could not endure it. Mr. Llewellyn was now obliged to confess her goodness, or trust to it.
The letter, from Caerwent, dated 1 May, got straight to the point- she needed help because her husband "by the most unforeseen run of ill luck, and by accidents which all his skill and prudence could not prevent" was "absolutely ruined". She had written to her daughter only to receive a reply from Mr Greville telling her to write care of Lord Oakley. Emma was now living with her in a "miserable cottage" where they were hoping to "escape the persecutions of Mr. Llewellyn's creditors." She hoped for Sir Henry's generosity, but his father could not "humble himself" to write a begging letter to his own son. Llewellyn's remaining estate at Glendarran would have to be sold immediately- but gaol was inevitable unless his children could help.
Mrs Leslie replied, from Gwilldegarth, 2 May 1797: on receiving the letter she and her husband had gone straight to her brother. He was unable to leave Cecilia in her current state, but would visit his father as soon as possible and give all help necessary. Lord Margam also agreed to help; in the meantime she enclosed sufficient to keep the Llewellyns from immediate distress (not to be mentioned to her father).
Mrs Leslie also wrote to her father, informing him of Henry's impending visit, and asking him not to reject his children's help. The effect of these letters was first, very severe reproaches from Mr. Llewellyn to his wife, for having betrayed their situation (though on the verge of absolute distress), lamentation for his own ill luck, and, finally, laying all the fault on fate, with the declaration that he would never play again, but accept his children's protection.
Re-reading Charlotte's letter to him, he burst into tears, which induced his wife to show him the other letter, seeing which he for some time indulged tears which he had long forgot to shed, and in order to relieve his mind from a burden of conscious guilt, which he could no longer support, he wrote, to his daughter Charlotte, such a letter as repentance and the feelings of the moment dictated.
A few days later, Sir Henry visited the cottage to help his father, taking with him more letters from Charlotte and Euphemia. He further proposed to buy the Glendarran estate himself, and announced that Lord and Lady Margam had offered him Glendarran House to live in, as they had just received a letter from Mr Greville, asking them to sell Morlais Castle for him- for he himself was leaving. Sir Henry also explained the annuity he proposed to give his father for his future upkeep, but added that Lord Margam and Mr Leslie would be adding to that. Mr Llewellyn resolved at once to reform, but sudden resolutions of amendment, made rather under the influence of the passions, than founded on judgment, cannot be expected to produce permanent effects: and Sir Henry Llewellyn, who knew this well, showed the truest regard for his father, by persuading him earnestly to return to Glendarran House, and seek for future happiness, in participating that of his children. Mr Llewellyn eventually overcame his pride and agreed.
Sir Henry had to return to Glendarran, to see to the welfare of his new-born son, the reason for his delay; he asked his father to bring his wife and Emma as soon as possible. Mr Llewellyn declared himself too ill to make the move immediately, but back at Glendarran, the family agreed that Sir Henry should satisfy his father's creditors and purchase Glendarran House as his residence for life, while Lord Margam would sell his Scottish estate and buy Morlais Castle. While these transactions were taking place, Mr Llewellyn spent time at the sea-side recovering his health, but at Glendarran he found great joy in his grandchildren:
their affectionate dispositions forced him to love them, and the conduct of their parents obliged him to feel, that uniform goodness and generosity cannot but produce some effect in those to whom they are constantly exerted.
Volume 3, chapter 9 (page 187) Heading by Homer (translated).
Mrs. Llewellyn was a slightly different case. She recognised the advantages of being on good terms with her husband's family, and became quite obsequious toward them. They chose to live with this. Elsewhere, Mrs Greville and Lord Oakley were understood to be at his seat in Yorkshire; nothing could be learned of Mr Greville.
The first interruption to the happiness of the families at Gwilldegarth was the death of Sir Henry's infant child. Lady Cecilia, who was still more a woman than a philosopher, was for some time inconsolable; and it was a hard task for her husband to disguise his own regrets sufficiently to show her the possibility of submitting with composure to such afflictions. What helped her more than anything was the arrival of a stranger; though she did not want to see anybody the servant told her that it was a lady who seemed in great distress, so she agreed to see her. The woman seemed familiar, and when Cecilia asked her name she replied,
"You have, I see, forgot me- but I have passed seven years of misery since I called you my friend! and ours was only the friendship which pleasure and prosperity create.- At least you have not forgotten the name of the Duchess de ---".
Cecilia was amazed, for she had thought that lady dead. Now she noticed her paleness, and learned that she had walked to Glendarran:
"I am no longer mistress of the gay equipages, or the splendid house in town where you knew me;- but these are trifling evils!"
Her children were all dead, and she would not even speak of her husband's fate. Cecilia took her to a room where she could rest a while, and when she returned to her own room found her husband waiting anxiously. Whe she told him of their visitor, he too was amazed, for he had spent much time among her happy social circle in Paris, years before, yet had not realised that Cecilia also knew her. Together they remembered how the Duchess and her family had visited England back in '87, then he had had to go back to France to see to some estate business, and when the troubles had started, he chose to stay there but told her to remain in London, which she did, though prudently moved to a less costly house. Cecilia had heard nothing of her since she had moved to Wales. Sir Henry recollected that,
Without affecting to censure others, she sometimes partook of the amusements which commonly engaged all the attention of the Parisian ladies; but her chief study was moral and intellectual improvement. He said, that it was her husband's happiness to let her pursue the dictates of her own inclination; while, instead of consuming his fortune in frivolous pleasures, she employed it to more praiseworthy purposes: her house was open to distressed merit, and she found herself the patron of genius and virtue.
Cecilia later visited the Duchess, and found that she had, to her own surprise, had some sleep- and that she remembered Henry. After further rest, she asked to see him, and explained the rest of her story. When all income from France was cut off, she and her children lived for a while on a small income from estates in other countries. But then, in the space of three days, all her children died of the croup- a disease she had never previously encountered. Her letters to her husband, informing him of this loss, went unanswered. It was a year before she heard, to her astonishment, that he had not gone to the guillotine, but under the new French law had divorced her and married the young daughter of one of their former servants. For months, the Duchess, looked after by her one remaining servant, was in a state approaching insanity, but was forced back into the world by the news that her money was running out. She obtained help from a wealthy friend, but was advised to "exert those numerous powers which I possessed, for obtaining a comfortable subsistence." In her misery, she found this beyond her, but gradually
"I reasoned with myself- I remembered the many years I had spent in happiness and grandeur, and I began to reflect, that having for so long a portion of my life enjoyed blessings and advantages which few experienced, I ought to be grateful for the past, and resigned to the future."...
She bit the bullet and dismissed her servant, moved from her lodgings to a room in a cheaper area, sold what jewellery and ornaments she had left, and attempted to live by her skills as an artist. Skills without inspiration proved ineffective, and once again she had to ask a friend for help. This friend advised her that she was merely one of many such cases, and beyond her resources to help- but she did suggest contacting a Lady Cecilia Llewellyn. Further conversation soon established the familiar identity of this person, so she spent the last of her money on the journey towards Glendarran, seeking only the opportunity to regain her health and set her life in order. The Llewellyns, were happy to help, particularly as Henry recalled owing her a few old favours. While she recovered, they endeavoured to find a long-term solution to her problems.
There was an ornamental lodge in the Park, habitable but unused; this was tastefully decorated in the hope that she would use it as her own retreat when she began to exercise her talents. She recognised the friendship behind this gesture, and that she would have done the same in their place.
Volume 3, chapter 10 (page 222) Heading by Cowper.
Mrs Leslie, on her return to England, endeavoured, by every method in her power, to express her gratitude for the essential service which Mr. and Mrs. Barker had rendered her, and in this her husband most warmly concurred. As they were above pecuniary considerations, it was done in a manner that amply repaid them.
The other old servants of Glendarran House had been re-hired by Lady Margam. When Phoebe became engaged to Sir Henry's coachman, Euphemia gave her a generous wedding gift, and Lord Margam gave her fiance the tenancy of an excellent farm. Mrs Rees, still husekeeper at Glendarran, approved of coachman John Thomas, and undertook the arrangements for the wedding feast; as Sir Henry's, Lord Margam's and Mr. Leslie's families would all be attending, this would be in the true, grand, Welsh style. Although their new house was fully furnished, everybody still prepared a wedding gift; and shortly before the great day, the Messenger carrying a long pole, dressed with ribands, &c. made the rounds, announcing the event to every household:
She came from my Lord Margam's, and he came from the Right Hon. Sir Henry Llewellyn's, and they goes to live at the Garth farm. There will be two musics, to divert you to eat, and to divert you to dance; there will be plain ale and sweet ale, and all other things according to their fortune; only acquaint the waiter which.
A large snuff-box will be handed round, if you choose to take a pinch.
WILLIAM OWEN is the Harper,
THOMAS JONES, Musician,
AND
JOHN EDWARDS is the Inviter.
The Llewellyns assembled at Lord Margam's the day before the wedding to witness the curious ceremony of courting, which was performed very gallantly by John Thomas, who bore away his bride in triumph the ensuing morning, preceded by the harpers and musicians, followed by a gay and happy multitude.
The ceremony over, and the harper, according to ancient privilege, having first saluted the bride, they proceeded to the Garth farm, where the little parlour was appropriated to the nobility, who experienced much pleasure in witnessing the jollity of the scene, and returned thanks and smiles to their happy dependents, when they drank to the memory of their ancestors, though Lady Cecilia could hardly refrain from laughter, when they drank to the health of Lady Janes and Lady Judy's, who had been dead at least a hundred years.
It formed a long subject for conversation with the children, who attended Phoebe's wedding, and afforded the young ladies infinite pleasure in learning to use their needles, when they found how much the work-bags and thread-cases which they presented were valued by her; for she told them "that she would keep them for their sakes as long as she lived." The boys had great difficulty deciding what would be the very best; present, until Lord Margam's son had an idea which was immediately approved.
The Llewellyns continued to live without a home in London. Lord Glendarran, still busy with government, visited his children every year but one day, soon after Phoebe's wedding, news was received that he was dangerously ill, and a few days after his son arrived in town, he was dead. Among his papers was found his own design for his memorial:
Here lieth
The Right Honourable
JOHN EARL OF GLENDARRAN,
Knight of the most noble order of
The Garter:
B.A. L.L.B.
One of his Majesty's most honourable
Privy Council.
Descended from,
And allied to,
An illustrious family,
His honours were achieved by
His own merits!
His life was devoted to his country,
And
His abilities to its service.
______
N.B. I leave it to posterity to say the rest.
The monument was duly made. The new Lord Glendarran had to make some changes to his lifestyle, but remained determined only to visit London when absolute duties required.
In their own improvement, in the education of their children, and in studying to promote the welfare of all around them, they found constant as well as pleasing employment; and were firmly convinced that the purest earthly bliss consists in the consciousness of an active performance of social duties, and a diligent cultivation of domestic happiness.
FINIS. (page 234)
Advertisements etc.
At the end of volume 3 is a 5-page list of other publications by Hookham and Carpenter, including numerous novels by another lady: "Constance"; "The Pharos"; "Argus"; "Arnold Zulig" etc.; also "Letters on the Female Mind, its Powers and Pursuits"; Miss Peacock's "Six Princesses of Babylon" and "The Visit for a Week, or Hints on the Improvement of Time"; novels by Mrs Mary Robinson including "Angelina"; "The Sicilian Lover, a tragedy"; "The Widow"; "Hubert de Sevrac"; also, by Mrs Radcliffe, "The Romance of the Forest" (4th ed); The Sicilian Romance (3rd ed) and "The Castle of Athlin and Dunbayne" (2nd ed). H&C also publish other miscellaneous works of fiction and non-fiction.
On the last page is a note from Thomas Hookham that from 29 Sep next, the partnership between him and his nephew will be dissolved, but he will continue to run his circulating library at 15 Old Bond Street; dated May 1798
