Chapter Ten: I receive an astonishing proposal

 ( It is spring 1761. Charles Huntingdon has had surprising experiences of his friend Lord Staines and the latter's father the Earl of Teesdale)

    The more I was acquainted with Elizabeth Newstead, the more attractive I found her. She might have been several years older than me, but her skin was clear, her hair was pale gold, her white teeth were all her own, and her eyes, when she looked me full in the face, were teasing. My desire for this elegant lady increased day by day. However, the next time I visited her she immediately sensed that I was impatient to ask her questions of some kind, so she smiled and invited me to proceed without delay.

  I told her of Lord Teesdale’s outburst of hostility towards his son, and the strange incident of the picture of the boy with the cricket bat. She said, did I not know that there had been another son? That would have been the boy in the picture: the darling of his parents; a delightful child with infinitely more talents than his brother, but who had had died of a fever while at Eton. Lord Teesdale, and more particularly his Countess, had never fully recovered from the tragedy.

   “And as for Staines, I am only surprised that you had not become aware earlier of his character. Why, the whole town knows of it, and how his father despairs of him, and I verily believe might disinherit him, but for the fact that he is the only son. His sister is a fool and married to a fool. His worst depravities have so far been concealed from the Countess: she still hopes that if they can find a good wife for him it might effect his reformation; but as for myself, I have my doubts!”

   She asked whether I had ever visited the house that his father permitted him to keep. I replied that I had been invited, but had never ventured there.

   “You were wise!” she replied. “for I have heard that he keeps a set of very disreputable servants; rascals of the most degraded morals; and the scenes that take place there are best not described!”

    I then recounted how Staines had greatly surprised me by kissing me after our encounter with the ruffians when returning from the Drury Lane theatre. Instead of being shocked, the tale caused her to laugh.

  “With the greatest respect, Mr Huntingdon, why else do you think he would have first befriended you; a penniless young man with no prospects? Because you are so handsome, that is why! But I believe you are not of Staines’s persuasion, are you?”

   She turned to me with a mischievous smile on her face. Acting on a sudden impulse, I seized her in my arms and kissed her full on the lips; and in that position we remained for some time, for she made no attempt to break free. Finally, she gently pushed me away.

   “Well, I discover I was right!” she chuckled, “But now to other matters. The Countess of Teesdale wishes to meet you again.

  “I have the honour to be accounted as one of her friends. She seldom appears in public and speaks freely only with an intimate circle. She is no fool: her judgement is sound, she knows much of poetry and painting, and for all her silence she has much influence over her his lordship. She has heard the Earl speak of you as a young man of good sense. I have told her that you wish to wait upon her. You should do so. It is high time, Mr Huntingdon, that you ceased to waste your days with Lord Staines and his disreputable friends, and instead begin to cultivate the best society!”

  Elizabeth now took me in hand to make me acceptable to the finest ladies. She instructed me in the complex and precise etiquette required when meeting ladies for the first time, or when attending a lady’s salon There appeared to be an endless number of small details: how I should enter the room, how to bow, how to hold my hat, and so forth. I treated all this as no more than the foolish rules of a ridiculous game, but Elizabeth sternly told me that I must treat such matters with great seriousness.

   “Of course, only a fool thinks they are of real importance; but none but a fool treats them as being of no importance. When your position in the world is firmly established, why; then you may ignore all these rules if you so choose. But not before then!”

  Elizabeth also lent me the latest novels and books of poetry to read, or at least glance at, in order to make polite conversation about them. She produced folios of engravings of pictures by the great artists, and taught me how to distinguish a Carravaggio or a Titian. Of our British artists she particularly admired Allan Ramsay. She acknowledged Holbein as a man of genius, but thought most of his works too brutal for those of refined taste. Architecture too was studied, so that I might never confuse a Doric column with an Ionic or Corinthian one.

  I was nervous when she first accompanied me to Teesdale House, where the Countess was holding a salon of friends after the French fashion. Fortunately, all went well. We were served tea in exquisitely decorated little porcelain cups from Saxony, and our talk was of painting and poetry, not of politics. I endeavoured to contribute to the best of my ability, with wit but with modesty, and not to talk too much. I hoped I had made a good impression. I was invited to attend again next week, when I was honoured to be introduced to the famous Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the traveller and poetess. I was too awed to say much to her, and hoped to meet her again on some future occasion; but alas! the poor lady was soon very ill and died not long afterwards. Also in the company with a young Scotchman, by name Boswell, who flattered the Countess outrageously and never stopped talking. I was to meet him again later.

 

      It was after this last event that I was summoned to another discussion with Lord Teesdale. I had not spoken to him since the episode with the painting, which, thanks to Elizabeth Newstead, I now understood. Neither of us referred to the incident: instead, we talked of politics and the coming election.

  He began by saying that, while Sir James Wilbrahim’s hold on one of the two Bereton seats was absolute and unchallengeable, the other could be considered more open, and he asked me for my opinion on this. I replied that Sir James and his friends strongly disliked Mr Bailey, the other Member, and had been angry with my aunt for supporting him. They would all prefer some local gentleman to replace him, should any be available.

   Lord Teesdale smiled. “Mrs Andrew was a very independent-minded lady. She and her late husband had, of course, maintained an endless feud with Sir James Wilbrahim, and, I might add, she did not greatly approve of me either; but since no Whig candidate was put forward, she acquiesced in Mr Bailey’s candidature, though without enthusiasm.

    “But now, a general election is imminent, and Mr Bailey has reported that his health is such that he no longer wishes to endure the burden of another campaign, so the second seat at Bereton may be considered vacant. I believe this is a fine opportunity for a young gentleman to come forward as a candidate. You are quite right that there would be support for a local man. Why not yourself? You now reside there, your aunt was a highly respected figure and her friends are certain to vote for you, and I am confident that, with my support too, your efforts will meet with success.”

   He wanted me to become a Member of Parliament!

   I could do no more than nod in assent to the proposal; my head already full of dreams. Eventually I protested weakly that I knew little of politics, but he brushed this aside, saying that I had shown myself to be better informed than most young gentlemen of my age. He repeated that my chances of success were strong, and added that I should not be concerned about the expense involved in an election: he would be glad to advance any money that might be needed. He added that his Countess spoke very highly of me. “And”, he added, with a smile, “If you have the ladies on your side, then you have a considerable advantage already!

   “But time is short, for the poll will be held in May. If you wish to enter Parliament, you must return to Bereton without delay to prepare for the contest. My man Jarrett will come: he knows all the details of every voter in the borough, and through him you may obtain any funds you might need. Then, as soon as you are able, come down to see me at Maybury. I will introduce you to certain gentlemen of importance.

   “Should you prove successful in this endeavour,” he added, “all I shall demand of you is that you would never directly oppose my interests. In all other matters, you will be free to act as you see fit”.

  I considered this this a very fair bargain, and agreed to his terms.

 

  Elizabeth entirely approved of my desire to become a Member of Parliament, and that she would certainly be happy to lend me any money that might be needed for the project, for she was sure that her husband and all his friends from India would also approve. As for Mr Bailey’s withdrawal from the election, she said this might have been foreseen.

   “For many months he has been immured in his house at Hampstead with his new mistress, and all that untoward exertion with a girl young enough to be his granddaughter must have taken its toll on his body, no less than on his wallet!”

  She also advised me of the importance of maintaining my independence, especially from Lord Teesdale.

    “Perhaps he sees you as a kind of son, whose character he hopes to mould”, she mused, “But otherwise his actions are always guided by his own self-interest, and he may expect you to be no more than his tool or follower in Bereton and in Parliament, to act always in accordance with his wishes. You must be sure not to let this happen!”

   I felt confident that I would be capable of resisting an attempt by Teesdale or anyone else to reduce me to a puppet; so I answered that the Earl had assured me a proper measure of freedom in my conduct, but that I would bear her warning in mind.  She patted me on the cheek, and then we kissed. She laughingly repulsed my attempts to take our intimacy further.

 

   What time I now had to spare from discussing politics with Lord Teesdale, or dealing with the many and detailed papers of financial accounts that Clifford sent me from the Priory, I now spent with Elizabeth, or with Lady Teesdale and her circle, and I no longer joined the night-time expeditions of Lord Staines and his friends. Some of them commented with pretended sadness that my absence from drunken cavorting on the streets made it only too obvious that a woman had got me in her clutches. John Robertson, however, approved.

   “For a young man who, if you will pardon me for so saying, has little knowledge of the world”, he told me in his most sonorous tones, “could there ever be a better tutor than a lady who has moved in the best society? And, as the famous Lord Chesterfield instructed his son: a man who wins the good opinion of the ladies may indeed consider that he has the world at his feet. Many savants have written of the advantage of having as a mistress a lady of mature years. Should you indeed be fortunate enough to find such a lady to help you in your endeavours, stay with her!”

   I wondered if he knew about Elizabeth. I protested that I had no mistress, which was true enough at this time, though not for want of trying on my part. As my passion for her increased, my desire and frustration did battle at every meeting, which was no doubt her intention.

   

   Now I was ready to return to my country home to prepare for the election. On parting from Elizabeth, I took her in my arms and kissed her with great passion. In view of her comments on her husband, I hoped we might proceed yet further, but when I made the attempt, she laughingly repulsed me, with the excuse that she feared I would endanger her favourite dress (which was indeed a very fine one, of blue Spitalfields silk with a pattern of orange flowers). She also resisted suggestions that we should take ourselves to the bedroom and allow me to undress her, giggling coquettishly. Far from being offended, my ardour appeared to amuse her. I retorted that when I returned to London as a Member of Parliament, should my hopes be fulfilled, I would then claim my rights as a conqueror. To this she laughed, but made no objection.

 

  I met Staines at Brown’s club soon after this. I did not reveal that I knew of his father’s disgust, but told him how I intended to stand for election to Parliament. He congratulated me heartily and said he looked forward to sitting beside me on the famous benches.

   “I shall be there too, for I shall be returned for a borough somewhere in Wiltshire which, as far as I can tell, is in the happy situation of containing no voters at all. And I shall not sit mute like some booby squire: I intend to cut a figure in Parliament! I shall speak frequently, hinting to ministers that my support could be obtained for a suitable price. That is the route to a lucrative office! And in the meantime: did you know that a Member of Parliament cannot be arrested for debt? We shall be able to defer paying our tradesmen for as long as we wish!”

   

   I wrote to Mrs Timmis, telling her to expect me soon, but only to stay for a few days, for I intended to stay in the Priory for no more than a week before passing on to Maybury; and I instructed Clifford to obtain for me a carriage and horses suitable to take me on my coming journey thither. I did not tell either of them of my intention to stand for election to Parliament; I thought it best to tell Sir James Wilbrahim personally, rather than that he should learn of  my plans from gossip around the town. 

  Guided by Elizabeth, I purchased new garments that were fitting for visiting a great lord on his estate, where no doubt I would meet other gentlemen of refinement and importance. I did not forget to buy presents for Louisa Wilbrahim. I also had a shoemaker fashion for me several pairs of stout boots, suitable for country wear. I would explore the lands around more fully, and I might even attempt some foxhunting! And on this visit I would diligently search out the true story of the Jacobite occupation of the town.

   The day before my departure, I walked through the streets to look upon the palace of Westminster. I could now I regard the scene in a new perspective, hoping that I would shortly be a denizen of that celebrated building as of right. I was beginning to view myself not only as a country gentleman but a person of significance in a wider world.

(Westminster before the great fire of 1834)