Chapter III: Part 3

'My dear, how ill-tempered you are!' cried Nicholas.--'I may well be ill tempered,' replied Gertrude; 'this is the last meal we shall have this week.'--'That is more than you know, my dear,' answered her husband.--'I am almost famished, I am,' cried Gertrude.--'Look at the poor cat, and make yourself happy, my dear,' replied Nicholas.--'Well, there's your supper,' cried Gertrude, taking a small piece of meat from the pot.--'Supper do you call it,' answered Nicholas; 'why there's scarcely enough to bait a mouse-trap: but wont you take a bit, my dear?'--'I shant touch any of it,' answered Gertrude, peevishly.--'Well, for my part,' replied Nicholas, 'I'll say grace even for this morsel.'

"Nicholas said all he could to put his wife in a good humour, but was not lucky enough to succeed. She took it into her head that he was bantering of her, and began to sob and cry, reproaching him with bringing her into poverty.--'But it serves me right,' cried she. 'I might have married a rich yeoman, so I might, and have had plenty, that I might.'--'Shu, nonsense,' answered Nicholas. 'To throw myself away upon a chopper of wood,' cried she; 'and there too, we have had to bring up that idle boy, because, truly, you found him laid in the forest one night.'--'Now don't say a word about that,' answered Nicholas, 'or I shall get as ill-tempered as yourself, out of mere good nature.'

"While the wood-cutter and his wife were scolding in this way, some one knocked loudly at the door, when after some more words about who should open it, Nicholas went, and a stranger very elegantly dressed entered the cottage. It was a tempest, and the night very dark.

'Good people,' said the stranger, 'will you afford a traveller shelter from the storm?'--'Willingly, sir,' answered Nicholas.--'Very willingly, sir,' interrupted Gertrude; 'wont you be pleased to sit down, sir?'

"The stranger was the rich Norman Baron de la Braunch.--'Well,' cried he, 'Nicholas, how does fortune use thee?'--'Roughly enough, sir.'--'Heaven knows,' replied Gertrude.--'Who told you to speak?' interrupted Nicholas. 'My wife, sir, is always grumbling; she must, forsooth, be longing after riches; and though I don't remember, by the goodness of Providence, that we have ever wanted a meal, yet she is always talking about starving.'--'Ay, ay, nobody knows what I suffer, I am sure,' replied Gertrude; 'I might have married a rich yeoman, that I might.'--'Come, come, good people,' cried the Baron, 'be better tempered with each other: and do you think, good woman, that riches would make you happy?'--'That they would, sir,' answered Gertrude; 'for rich folks can eat and drink whatever they've a mind to, and can dress as they please; and then they can feed ever so many poor people, and can make ever so many folks happy.'--'Ah, ah, so they might, wife,' answered Nicholas, 'and yet not be happy themselves, after all.'--'Well now, I can't see how that can be,' replied Gertrude. 'I am sure I should like hugely to be rich, and to have a castle, and forests, and deer of my own, and plenty of servants.'--'And you are quite certain that you would be happy if you were rich?' repeated the Baron.--'Yes, sir,' cried Gertrude; 'and I would never scold my poor Nicholas any more, for he is as good a creature as ever was in the world, though I was angry with him just now; and to say the truth, I do not believe that he could have got any more work to-day if he had tried ever so; but when one is poor, and there is no meat in the pot, one is apt to be a little vexed and cross.'

"Nicholas wiped his eyes at this kind atonement of his wife Gertrude.

"The Baron went into a deep reverie--the storm was over--the Baron arose, he pulled out a purse and put it into Gertrude's hand, and then wished them a good-night.--Nicholas offered to see him through the forest, but he declined the offer.

"The instant the Baron had left the cottage, Gertrude run to the lamp to examine the purse; it was full of gold coin. 'Blessed St. Anthony,' cried she, 'what is this? all gold! Nicholas, look here; see what Providence has done for us.'--'Ay, I told you so,' answered Nicholas, 'and you are always grumbling.'--'Nay now, don't be cross, Nicholas,' said Gertrude, 'when we've had so much good luck; look at it, Nicholas, 'tis all pure gold. I'll have a new dress, and, I'll go and wake poor Henry, and tell him that he shall have a new coat.'--'And what am I to have?' cried Nicholas.--'You shall see us all clean and happy.'--'Thank ye,' answered the honest wood-cutter, 'that's all I want.'--'And we will have a good piece of meat in the pot to-morrow,' cried Gertrude.--'And I am sure you wont sleep to night,' answered Nicholas.--'That I shant,' said she: 'well, who knows what good luck is to follow?'--'Peace, Gertrude,' cried Nicholas, 'may not this money be a temptation?'--'May it, Nicholas?'--'Who knows?' said Nicholas.--'If I thought so,' answered Gertrude, 'I would not touch it.'--'Come, come,' cried Nicholas, 'while it don't make us covetous after more, and lead us to do wrong, we shall have nothing to fear. For my part, I shall work the same as ever; but don't grumble, Gertrude.'--'You shall never hear a cross word from me,' answered Gertrude.

"Thus did these poor cottagers end their discourse, and both sat down to supper, pleased and happy; but they could neither of them rest at night for thinking of their riches.

"Very different sentiments disturbed the repose of the Baron; he had arrived at the height of his ambition; he was one of the richest knights in the kingdom; enjoyed a good fame, and had the favour of the king: yet he was not happy; he was a miserable wretch; the honesty and dignity of a good mind was wanting; he was restless and disturbed in the possession of wealth, and would almost have parted with the whole of it, again to have been innocent.

"One day, about a twelvemonth after this time, Nicholas was at work in the woods, with his boy Henry. A stranger had inquired for him at the cot; Gertrude had directed him to the place where Nicholas was felling trees. On the stranger's approach, he heard a man scolding--'What,' cried he, 'do you think I am to keep you for nothing, you little lazy monkey? why don't you get another withy, and bind up these faggots?'--'I am at work, as fast as I can,' answered the boy, 'but you are so cross. If you are tired of keeping me, I'll leave you to-morrow, and seek for support elsewhere.'--'Leave me, that you shant,' cried Nicholas; 'I found you in the forest one night, laid on the turf, a poor helpless brat; humanity made me take you in; and though I am apt to be sour at times, I have enough of the same humanity left to prevent your ever being turned out.'--'You have, indeed, been very kind to me,' answered the boy.'--'Well, shake hands, Henry,' said Nicholas, 'and think no more of what has past.'

"When the stranger entered the close, he addressed Nicholas--'Come,' said he, 'you must leave off and go with me.'--'Truly not I,' said Nicholas, 'for I have not quite done.'--'No matter, thou must go to the cottage. I have good news to tell thee.'--'Nay, if that be the case,' said Nicholas, 'it is worth half a day's work; so here's pack up.'--Nicholas proceeded with the stranger, and the boy Henry followed.

"On their arrival at the cottage, Gertrude welcomed her husband home, and prepared a place for the stranger, who prefaced what he had to say with some remarks on the extraordinary changes and vicissitudes of human life; and then inquired if they remembered a stranger, of more than common appearance, who had visited them one stormy night, about a twelvemonth before?

"Nicholas and Gertrude both answered him, and told him of the present they had received from that person.

'Now,' cried the stranger to Nicholas, 'I know that thou art truly the man whom I seek; prepare to go with me to the castle of La Braunch, thou, and thy wife and family.'--'Indeed, sir, you'll excuse me there,' cried Nicholas; 'I shall not stir out any more to-day.'--'Do not be so obstinate,' replied the stranger, 'for know, that he who gave you the money a twelvemonth since, was the Baron de la Braunch.--He is dead, and you are heir to all his rich demesnes.'--'I don't rightly understand you,' answered the wood-cutter.--'The castle, the lands, all his real and personal estate, is thine.'--'My dear, don't you understand the gentleman?' cried Gertrude.--'Not I, in good faith,' answered Nicholas.--'Why, don't you know that you have come to be a rich man, and that the rich Baron has left you all that he was worth in the world?'--'It is true, indeed,' answered the stranger; 'I am witness to the will. When the Baron was dying, he desired a scroll of parchment to be brought out of his library: his order was instantly obeyed--"This scroll," said he, fixing his eye steadily upon it, "is my will. Thou wilt find," said he, "in the forest of Dean, a solitary cottage, inhabited by a wood-cutter and his wife. The name of the wood-cutter is Nicholas; the name of his wife is Gertrude. These people are poor; they wish for riches, and they _shall be_ rich; they shall be the heirs of the Baron de la Braunch; who knows, perhaps to them riches may be a blessing."--The Baron affixed his seal to the parchment, and soon after expired in the arms of father Benedict.

'Well,' cried Nicholas, 'and what will become of me? What can I do with all these riches?'--'Do with them; leave that to me,' said Gertrude, quite overjoyed.--'I don't want to be put out of my way,' said Nicholas.--Poor Gertrude, in the innocence of her heart, stopped the mouth of her husband--'Dear Nicholas, do not affront the gentleman; I am sure that I should like to be a lady very much; and to be sure I did think that there was something very odd in the stranger's behaviour to us that night, and took it into my head that he would do something for us, though to be sure I did not think that he would die and leave us all his wealth; but this gentleman would not say so if it was not true; so, Nicholas, if you must be a rich man after all, why you must not mind a little trouble.'--'Well,' replied Nicholas, 'if it must be so, there's no help for it.'

"The stranger had provided a cloak, with a hat and a sword, with which he accoutred the poor wood-cutter; and also a decent robe, which he threw over the shoulders of Gertrude.

"Nicholas would not go without the boy Henry; so they shut up the cottage, and set out together. It was late when they arrived at the castle; they were conducted to a room provided for them, by the direction of the stranger, who was the Baron's esquire Hathbrand, when having caused one of the wardrobes of the Baron to be opened, he selected such of the plainest dresses as he thought would best become Nicholas, Gertrude, and the young boy Henry. Gertrude was, however, very desirous of being fine, and was also much pleased with the attention of Ranetrude, the waiting-woman appointed to attend on her.

"Doric the old steward, Jonas the butler, and all the rest of the servants, were ordered to get themselves in readiness the next morning, to attend the reading of the Baron's will, and to receive their new master.

"The story was already spread abroad, that the Baron had left his immense wealth to a poor wood-cutter; and numerous were the remarks and low witticisms on the subject, from old Doric, Jonas, and the other servants, as they waited in the hall, among the numerous tenantry of the Baron, to hear the will read, and to receive their new lord.

"At length Nicholas and Gertrude, attended by Hathbrand the squire, and Ranetrude, entered the hall.--Nicholas saluted the domestics and tenants without awkwardness, and stept forward without dismay.

"Hathbrand held the parchment in his hand; he spoke--My friends, peace be with you all; I here produce the will of the late Baron de la Braunch. Attend--"Know all men, that I the Baron de la Braunch, do give and bequeath to Nicholas le Blanc, of the forest of Dean, all the real and personal estate of which I now stand possessed, on condition that he visits the third chamber in the western turret alone, there to unlock the chest which contains the title-deeds, and that he never divulges the secrets they will unfold." The third chamber in the western turret had not been used for many years, as the eastern part of the castle had been inhabited by the Baron.

"Nicholas ascended the western turret alone, and after some difficulty opened the door of the third chamber, when he entered, and discovered in a remote corner a large iron chest, the key of which was hanging near the entrance. Nicholas attempted to open it; at length by an effort he succeeded; he lifted up the lid, and took out a large scroll of parchment. Nicholas read--'_The title of the Baron de la Braunch to these demesnes is murder!_'

"Nicholas let fall the scroll, but recovered it again; he run into the gallery, and then stood motionless.

"And now, my dear children," said Mr. Willock, "let us find something like the face of honest Nicholas, when he was reading how bad a title he had to the riches bequeathed him. Here it is, expressive of his abhorrence of the crime, and of the object who left him his wealth. This is the face of

HORROR.

"An object despised, says Le Brun, sometimes causes _Horror_; and then the eyebrow knits, and sinks a great deal more; the eyeball placed at the bottom of the eye, is half covered by the lower eyelid; the mouth is half open, but closer in the middle than the sides, which being drawn back, make wrinkles in the cheeks; the face grows pale, and the eyes become livid; the muscles and the veins are marked.

"But to continue--While Nicholas was gone to the western turret, refreshment was prepared in the hall, and Gertrude and Henry waited anxiously for his return to partake of it with them. The honest old steward and Jonas the butler had not been sparing of expence on the occasion: so that the entertainment was as superb as if the Baron had been alive. They had begun to like their new master, who was a bold generous fellow, and they were determined to show him all the respect and homage they could, notwithstanding he had been a wood-cutter.

"They were waiting in suspense for Nicholas; presently his steps were heard descending the stairs quickly. He entered in great agitation--'Gertrude,' was all that he could say; his face was the face of

TERROR.

as represented by Le Brun. The violence of this passion alters all the parts of the face; the eyebrows rise in the middle; its muscles are marked, swelled, pressed one against the other, and sunk towards the nose, which draws up as well as the nostrils; the eyes are very open; the upper eyelid is hid under the eyebrow; the white of the eye is encompassed with red; the eyeball fixes towards the lower part of the eye; the lower part of the eyelid swells, and becomes livid; the muscles of the nose and cheeks swell, and these last terminate in a point towards the sides of the nostrils; the mouth is very open, and its corners very apparent; the muscles and veins of the neck are stretched; the hair stands an end; the colour of the face, that is, the end of the nose, the lips, the ears, and round the eyes, is pale and livid. Such was the face of honest Nicholas. He fell into a chair, and let drop the scroll.

'Heavens! what ails my poor Nicholas?' cried Gertrude; 'speak, speak to me, Nicholas.'--'Let us to our cottage, Gertrude,' replied Nicholas, 'let us to our cottage!'--'What ails you, my dear Nicholas?' said Gertrude, feeling his hand. 'Oh dear, how cold!'--'Read, read!' said Nicholas.

"Hathbrand took up the scroll, and read--'_Know, thou who longest after riches, that the title to these estates is murder_; the infant heir to these demesnes was on Christmas night, now fourteen years since, left to perish in the forest of Dean.'

'What is that?' cried Nicholas; 'read it again; as I live, the very night I found our poor Henry.'--'The very night indeed,' repeated Gertrude.--'Are you sure of this?' interrupted Hathbrand.--'Most certain, sir,' replied Nicholas. 'I remember the night very well; it was bitter cold. Oh dear! oh dear! this is all Providence! this is all Providence!'

"Nicholas embraced Henry: Gertrude embraced him also.

"Henry wept; he understood all that was said; he took the hand of Nicholas--'Thou hast fed me,' said he, 'out of thy scanty pittance; thou must not leave me, Nicholas. I have no friend that I know of, but my dear Nicholas.'

"Nicholas consented to remain in a cottage near the castle, but refused to be rich. Gertrude had no longer any desire to be rich.

"Hathbrand and the servants were delighted to find their young master so noble and gallant a youth, and immediately did him homage.

"As they were speaking of these surprising events, father Benedict entered; he brought with him Hugo, a wretch whom the Baron, in his confessions, had accused of being his accomplice, and who had left the child to perish in the woods; he was strongly guarded, but denied the charge; he bid defiance to the power of his accusers, and insisted that the Baron had died in a state of insanity.

"Surely here are the features of this bravo, full of defiance and resentment; is it not the face of

ANGER?

"The effects of anger shew its nature; the eyes become red and inflamed; the eyeball is staring and sparkling; the eyebrows are sometimes elevated, and sometimes sunk down equally; the forehead is very much wrinkled, with wrinkles between the eyes; the nostrils are open and enlarged; the lips pressing against one another; the under one rising over the upper one, leaves the corners of the mouth a little open, making a cruel and disdainful grin.

"The Baron had, however, confessed his own wickedness, and the cause of his cruelty towards the infant. The facts were these. The Baron Hubert, who was ordered to Palestine, left his wife lady Bertha, and his child Edward, under the protection of his friend, the Baron de la Braunch: lord Hubert was killed in the crusade, and his lady died soon after, leaving the infant under the guardianship of the Baron, who fearing that one day the child would be likely to succeed to his father's possessions, it became hateful to him. The mind of the Baron was set upon the wealth of his deceased friend; he was constantly jealous and disturbed at the sight of the infant; he had laid a plan to destroy it.--What a dreadful situation it must have been to have had a mind like his! When once such wicked ideas are entertained, there is an end of all rest, of all enjoyment, and of all comfort. The face represents the storm that agitates the breast. It is horrid even to look at it. How does Le Brun describe it?"

HATRED or JEALOUSY.

"This passion wrinkles the forehead; the eyebrows are sunk down and knit; the eyeball is half hid under the eyebrows, which turn towards the object; it should appear full of fire, as well as the white of the eye and the eyelid; the nostrils open, more marked than ordinary, and drawn backward, so as to make wrinkles on the cheeks; the mouth is so shut as to show the teeth, and very much sunk down; the muscles of the jaw appear sunk; the colour of the face is partly inflamed, and partly yellowish; the lips pale or livid.

"The infant was taken into the woods by Hugo, where it was left to perish; and the wicked Baron soon contrived to persuade the domestics that the child had died of a fever; and had even a mock burial, the better to deceive them.

"But, my dear children," said Mr. Willock, "if the former was the countenance of the wicked Baron before he committed the crime, how did it appear now? instead of finding that he could enjoy his riches, his mind was full of horror and dismay; his anguish became extreme; his face appeared not only deformed but hideous; the forehead wrinkled from the top to the bottom; the eyebrows bent down over the eyes, and pressing one another on the sides of the nose; the eyes seemingly on fire, and full of blood; the eyeball disturbed, and under the eyebrows, sparkling and unfixed; the eyelid swelled and livid; the nostrils large, open, and lifted up; the end of the nose sunk down; the muscles, leaders, and veins, swelled and stretched; the upper part of the cheeks large, marked, and narrow towards the jaw; the mouth drawn backwards, more open at the sides than in the middle; the lower lip large and turned out, he gnashes his teeth, foams, bites his lips, which are pale, as is the rest of the face; the hair is strait, and stands an end; such was the picture of the wicked Baron, the picture of

DESPAIR.

"What a dreary thing, my dear children, must be despair--afflicted by an accusing conscience, and bereft of hope! What would this wicked man have given, after he had parted with his ill-gotten wealth, to have found the child alive! but that felicity was denied him living; he was to die in affliction.

"The wicked Hugo was taken to prison to await his punishments.--But let us turn to a more agreeable subject--the honest wood cutter, who could refuse all the allurements of wealth, because it was ill-gotten; even his wife Gertrude, who loved riches, disdained to enjoy them on such terms. What a lesson does this afford to us to be noble in mind, and to resist temptation! The good do not feel any of the violent passions; they are moderate and temperate in all they do; they are undisturbed, and through all the changes of life may depend on that Providence, the recollection of which occasioned the great and good Jonas Hanway; who founded the Marine Society, to use the motto--'_Never Despair_.'

"Never, then, my dear children, suffer your young minds to long after riches, when they cannot be purchased by fair and honest means; for you may rest assured that it is much better to prefer,

"_The wise man's choice, by which you'll find,
No wealth is like a quiet mind_."

_FINIS._

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Transcriber's Notes:

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.

Obvious punctuation errors and minor printer errors repaired.

Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other inconsistencies.

Table of Contents added by transcriber.

p20: Unintelligible marks and printing gap in the original book precedes (Caroline began now to show some impatience)

p111: Unintelligible marks and printing gap in the original book precedes (Boadicea had a constant antipathy)

Some of the prices in the list of books at the back of the book were not clear in the original book, so a best guess has been made.