A few days afterwards,Ellinor's father bethought himself that same further communication ought to take place between him and his daughter's lover regarding the approval of the family of the latter to the young man's engagement,and he accordingly wrote a very gentlemanly letter,saying that of course he trusted that Ralph had informed his father of his engagement;that Mr.Corbet was well known to Mr.Wilkins by reputation,holding the position which he did in Shropshire,but that as Mr.Wilkins did not pretend to be in the same station of life,Mr.Corbet might possibly never even have heard of his name,although in his own county it was well known as having been for generations that of the principal conveyancer and land-agent of --shire;that his wife had been a member of the old knightly family of Holsters,and that he himself was descended from a younger branch of the South Wales De Wintons,or Wilkins;that Ellinor,as his only child,would naturally inherit all his property,but that in the meantime,of course,some settlement upon her would he made,the nature of which might be decided nearer the time of the marriage.
It was a very good straightforward letter and well fitted for the purpose to which Mr.Wilkins knew it would be applied--of being forwarded to the young man's father.One would have thought that it was not an engagement so disproportionate in point of station as to cause any great opposition on that score;but,unluckily,Captain Corbet,the heir and eldest son,had just formed a similar engagement with Lady Maria Brabant,the daughter of one of the proudest earls in --shire,who had always resented Mr.Wilkins's appearance on the field as an insult to the county,and ignored his presence at every dinner-table where they met.Lady Maria was visiting the Corbets at the very time when Ralph's letter,enclosing Mr.Wilkins's,reached the paternal halls,and she merely repeated her father's opinions when Mrs.Corbet and her daughters naturally questioned her as to who these Wilkinses were;they remembered the name in Ralph's letters formerly;the father was some friend of Mr.Ness's,the clergyman with whom Ralph had read;they believed Ralph used to dine with these Wilkinses sometimes,along with Mr.Ness.
Lady Maria was a goodnatured girl,and meant no harm in repeating her father's words;touched up,it is true,by some of the dislike she herself felt to the intimate alliance proposed,which would make her sister-in-law to the daughter of an "upstart attorney,""not received in the county,""always trying to push his way into the set above him,""claiming connection with the De Wintons of --Castle,who,as she well knew,only laughed when he was spoken of,and said they were more rich in relations than they were aware of"--"not people papa would ever like her to know,whatever might be the family connection."These little speeches told in a way which the girl who uttered them did not intend they should.Mrs.Corbet and her daughters set themselves violently against this foolish entanglement of Ralph's;they would not call it an engagement.They argued,and they urged,and they pleaded,till the squire,anxious for peace at any price,and always more under the sway of the people who were with him,however unreasonable they might be,than of the absent,even though these had the wisdom of Solomon or the prudence and sagacity of his son Ralph,wrote an angry letter,saying that,as Ralph was of age,of course he had a right to please himself,therefore all his father could say was,that the engagement was not at all what either he or Ralph's mother had expected or hoped;that it was a degradation to the family just going to ally themselves with a peer of James the First's creation;that of course Ralph must do what he liked,but that if he married this girl he must never expect to have her received by the Corbets of Corbet Hall as a daughter.The squire was rather satisfied with his production,and took it to show it to his wife;but she did not think it was strong enough,and added a little post "DEAR RALPH,"Though,as second son,you are entitled to Bromley at my death,yet I can do much to make the estate worthless.Hitherto,regard for you has prevented my taking steps as to sale of timber,&c.,which would materially increase your sisters'portions;this just measure I shall infallibly take if I find you persevere in keeping to this silly engagement.Your father's disapproval is always a sufficient reason to allege."Ralph was annoyed at the receipt of these letters,though he only smiled as he locked them up in his desk.
"Dear old father!how he blusters!As to my mother,she is reasonable when I talk to her.Once give her a definite idea of what Ellinor's fortune will be,and let her,if she chooses,cut down her timber--a threat she has held over me ever since I knew what a rocking-horse was,and which I have known to be illegal these ten years past--and she'll come round.I know better than they do how Reginald has run up post-obits,and as for that vulgar high-born Lady Maria they are all so full of,why,she is a Flanders mare to my Ellinor,and has not a silver penny to cross herself with,besides!
I bide my time,you dear good people!"
He did not think it necessary to reply to these letters immediately,nor did he even allude to their contents in his to Ellinor.Mr.
Wilkins,who had been very well satisfied with his own letter to the young man,and had thought that it must be equally agreeable to every one,was not at all suspicious of any disapproval,because the fact of a distinct sanction on the part of Mr.Ralph Corbet's friends to his engagement was not communicated to him.
As for Ellinor,she trembled all over with happiness.Such a summer for the blossoming of flowers and ripening of fruit had not been known for years;it seemed to her as if bountiful loving Nature wanted to fill the cup of Ellinor's joy to overflowing,and as if everything,animate and inanimate,sympathised with her happiness.
