Joseph Wilmot, or, The Memoirs of a Man-Servant — page 281: what you’re looking at

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268 ment of all the luxuries and elegancies of life, are the happy lot of the employers; while the em- ployed go barefooted and in rags. . The tables of the manufacturers groan beneath the weight of accumulated dainties ; while those whose labour produces all, eke out a wretched miserable exist- ence on potatoes, buttermilk, and oatmeal porridge. I could extend the picture—I could speak of how the factory slaves (for such indeed they are in every sense of the term) are plundered, scorned, insulted, and oppressed by their bloated intolerant masters—I might tell how female virtue is con- sidered to be as much at the disposal of the em- ployers or their overlookers as the bones, sinews, and fibres of the unfortunate beings themselves,— I could, in short, enter upon hideous and revolting details in respect to the tyranny of the rich over the helplessness of the poor: but it does not come within the province of my autobiography to expa- tiate at too great length upon these monstrous social evils. But this I will say—that if Manches- ter with its manufactures is the boast and pride of England, yet on the other hand, with its frightful social wrongs, it is the shame and the curse? I must now continue my narrative. A few days after I had entered my new place, I had a conver- sation with Thomas, the good-hearted man-servant, relative to the matrimonial arrangements and prospects of my young master Mr. Stephen: for Thomas had been many years in the service of Mr. Rowland, senior, and was more or less in his confidence—at all events sufficiently so to have learnt such particulars as in this conversation he imparted to me. “You must understand, Joseph,” he said, “ that Mr. Stephen and Lady Lester have loved each other for a long time—perhaps two or three years or so; though when their attachment commenced, I cannot precisely say. You see, we never knew much of Mr. Stephen until after his father’s death, when he came to reside altogether with his uncle and aunt. He was brought up in his father’s office; and as his father managed somehow or another to get into the best society in London—I suppose by keeping up extravagant appearances and cutting a great dash—Mr. Stephen of course moved in the same sphere. I presume, therefore, that it was at those fashionable parties Mr. Stephen and Lady Lester met: but I am very sure, from what my master has told me, that their love was long unknown and unsuspected by the Marquis of Chilham and the other members of Lady Lester’s family. oe But now,” I observed, “the Marquis has given his consent to the alliance—has he not ?” “Of course, since the marriage is resolved upon. Ah! I hope it will be a happy one,” continued Thomas, with a sigh: “for Mr. Stephen is really a very nice young man; and it is really a wonder that he should have been uncontaminated by his father’s evil example.” “And wherefore have you any doubts,” I in- quired, “as to the marriage being a happy one? —for, from what you have told me to-day and on former occasions, Mr. Stephen and Lady Lester are devoted to each other: while as for fortune, if her ladyship have none, Mr. Stephen will doubtless possess ample.” “Ah! but, my young friend, neither love nor wealth are always alone sufficient to ensure happi- JOSEPH WILMOT; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF A MAN-SERVANT. ness,” continued Thomas, with another sigh. “The Chilhams are as proud as proud can be; and this aristocratic pride of their’s makes them look down with scorn and contempt upon the Rowlands. Of course, Lady Lester must be regarded as an ex- ception; but then it will be galling enough for her to see her husband only just tolerated by her family, and not regularly received into it.”’ “Ts this indeed the case ?” I asked sadly: “ for it would grieve me much to think that our kind- hearted master and mistress, and the generous- spirited Mr. Stephen, are compelled to endure so much aristocratic haughtiness.” “It is indeed so,” answered Thomas; “ and it makes my blood boil to think of it. Why, would you believe it?—master, and mistress, and Mr. Stephen are only just invited to the Chilhams’ residence in Gloucestershire for the mere ceremony of the bridal; and the Marquis’s letter to Mr. Rowland, specifying the arrangements, wis worded in such a way as to give him plainly to understand that his presence and that of Mrs. Rowland were only expected for the actual ceremony itself, and for not an hour longer.” “But that was downright insulting,” I ex- claimed indignantly: for I felé much on behalf of those whose conduct had been so generous t0-« wards myself. “You may well call it insulting,” responded Thomas. “Master and mistress however mean to sacrifice their own pride somewhat, for the sake of their nephew, whose happiness is involved in this marriage. They will accordingly be pre- sent at the ceremony: but they will take good care to reach the Marquis of Chilham’s residence at alate hour in the evening which precedes the bridal morning. The ceremony is to take place in comparatively & private manner; and imme- diately it is over, the bride and bridegroom will go off somewhere to spend the honeymoon—while at the same time Mr. and Mrs. Rowland will set out on their return to Manchester.” “Then, from all you have told me,” I remarked, “it is to be inferred that the Marquis of Chil. ham has bestowed but a reluctant assent upon this alliance ?” “Evidently so,” rejoimed Thomas. “TI suppose that now Mr. Stephen’s prospects have changed since his father’s death, and that his adoption by his uncle guarantees him to be the heir of all that uncle’s wealth, the Marquis has thought a little better of the subject—though only a little: for you see that while yielding his concurrence, he does so in the most churlish manner possible. For my part I don’t like the auspices under which this marriage is to be contracted.” “They certainly are not of the brightest de- scription,” I observed. . “ And yet love and riches . are the two main essentials to matrimonial hap- piness.” “T hope that your words, Joseph, may prove true in the present instance,” answered Thomas. - “T should tell you that our excellent master has acted in the kindest way towards Mr. Stephen, by at once settling on him fifteen hundred a year—without which I do not think for a moment the Marquis would have yielded his assent: for though his lordship is rich, it does not appear that Lady Lester is to receive a single farthing of dowry. Altogether, Joseph, it is by no means the Ghboo CS Eo im