MARION FAY.*
IT would be an injustice to this book to class it with those which are written for a purpose, or to advocate a theory. Mr.
Trollops knows his mertier as novelist too well, for that; but, nevertheless, it has a distinct motive, so to speak, running
through it. This is the doctrine of equality among classes, which has a most warm and conscientious advocate in the person of the hero, Lord Hampstead. As in real life, his practice is sometimes at variance with his theory, which he cannot always act up to. The subject is treated in a purely objective manner ; and though we may form a suspicion as to Mr. Trollope's own views, he has left the problem entirely for us to solve, if solution there be. The story is told, and the characters play their parts ;- the reader will sympathise or not, according to his own views and temperament, but will certainly feel here, as on most other ques- tions, that there is much to be said on both sides, which is always a slightly unsatisfactory conclusion for zealous partisans, but none the less true to life. A certain Marquis of Kingsbury, a Tory of the old school, had for heir his nephew, a young man of advanced opinions, who went into Parliament as Radical Member for the family borough of Wednesbury, and thereby nearly broke the old man's heart. In course of time, the Radical Member became marquis and a large landowner, and still kept his politics, though the Radicalism of a Marquis is apt to be Limited by special consideration for his own order. Though he could not help feeling it a comfort that Fate had made him a marquis, and somebody else a ploughboy, still, he could not but deplore such inequalities, and in his grander moments he felt it to be a matter of regret that while he himself could make his voice heard in person in the House of Lords, and by deputy in the Commons, the said ploughboy was unable to open his lips in either place, by reason of his condition. This he was often heard to say before his son and daughter, little thinking how deep the lesson would penetrate. In course of time, then, there grew up a new heir, who was very difficult to deal with. He was a most promising, attractive, and intelligent youth, but he could not be kept at Harrow or Oxford, because he spoke against Christian doctrine ; he was a religious boy, but determined not to believe in revealed mysteries. At twenty-one he declared himself a Republican, ex- plaining thereby that he disapproved of hereditary honours ; and he had, further, a doubt about a Parliament in which one section was hereditary ; so he would not even sit for the family borough. He was "quite as bad to the present Marquis as this one had been to the other." But there was worse than this. Lord Hampstead had formed an intimate acquaintance with George Roden, a young man five years older than himself, a fine, manly fellow, possessed of every good gift, but a clerk in the Post Office. This might even have been par- doned him, but "at Hendon Hall, the Marquis's lovely suburban seat, the Post-Office clerk was made acquainted with Lady Fanny Trafford, and they became lovers." If the Marquis's first wife had lived, who was a noble, high-minded woman, and to whose liberal teaching her children owed much, Lady Frances would probably never have met the Post-Office clerk ; but if she had, her mother would have known him to be a true gentleman.
The girl could expect no sympathy from her step-mother, to whom the opinions. of the two elder children were simply dis-
gusting. She was every inch a fine lady, and fully recognised all the importance of her own position as a Duke's daughter and the wife of a Marquis, and, moreover, cherished a silent sorrow that her children were but younger sons, which made the obnoxi- ous opinions of the elder ones more difficult to bear. However, in this matter she and the Marquis were of one mind ; this objectionable engagement must be stopped, by any means ; and the first step was to hurry Lady Fanny off to Ger- many, to be safe out of the way. There she was kept under surveillance, "sent to Coventry," as it were, and all correspond- ence between her and her lover was stopped. But as they had every confidence in themselves and in each other, they were at present content to wait. As to Lord Hampstead :—
" When the idea first presented itself to him that his sister was on the way to fall in love with George Roden, it has to be acknowledged that he was displeased. It had not occurred to him that this peculiar breach would be made in the protected sanctity of his own family. When Roden baa spoken to him of this sanctity as one of the 'social idolatries,' he had not been quite able to contradict him. He had wished to do so, both in defence of his own consistency, and also, if it were possible, to maintain the sanctity. The 'divinity' which 'does hedge a King' bad been to him no more than a social idolatry.
* Marion Fay : a Novel. By Anthony Trollop:3, London: Chapman and Hall. 1882.
The special respect in which Dukes and such like are held, was the same. The Judge's ermine and the Bishop's apron were idolatrous. Any outward honour, not earned by the deeds or words of him so honoured, but coming from birth or wealth, or from the doings of another, was an idolatry. Carrying on his arguments, he could nob admit the same thing in reference to his sister,—or rather, he would have to admit it, if he could not make another plea in defence of the sanctity. His sister was very holy to him, but that should be because of her nearness to him, because of her sweetness, because of her own gifts, because, as her brother, he was bound to be her special knight till she should have chosen BOMB other special knight for herself. But it should not be because she was the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of dukes and marquises. It should not be because she was Lady Frances Trafford. Had he himself been a Post-Office clerk, then would not this chosen friend
have been fit to love her ? There were unfitnesses, no doubt very common in this world, which should make the very idea of love im- possible to a woman,—unfitness of character' of habits, of feelings, of education, unfitnesses as to inwaid personal nobility. He could not say that there were any such which ought to separate his sister and his friend. If it was to be that this sweet sister should some day give her heart to a lover, why not to George Roden, as well as to another ? There were no such unfitnesses as those of which be would have thought in dealing with the lives of some other girl and some other young man. And yet he was, if not displeased, at any rate dissatisfied, There was something which grated against either his taste or his judgment, or perhape his prejudices. He endeavoured to inquire into himself fairly on this matter, and feared that he was yet the victim of the prejudices of his order. He was wounded in his pride to think that his sister should make herself equal to a clerk in the Post Office. Though he had often endeavoured, only too successfully, to make her understand how little she had in truth received from her high birth, yet he felt that she had received something which should have made the proposal of such a marriage distasteful to her. A man cannot rid himself of a pre- judice because he knows or believes it to be a prejudice. That the two, if they continued to wish it, must become man and wife, he acknow- ledged to himself ; but he could not bring himself not to be sorry that it should be so. There were some words on the subject between himself and his father, before the Marquis went abroad with his family, which, though they did not reconcile him to the match, lessened his dissatisfaction. His father was angry with him, throw- ing the blame of this untoward affair on his head, and he Was always prone to resent censure thrown by any of his family on his own peculiar tenets. Thus it came to pass that, in defending himself, he was driven to defend his sister also."
So much for Lord Hampstead, and his views on his sister's engagement. We think the extract speaks for itself of Mr. Trollope's clear reading of character and insight into motives. George Roden's mother was a widow, though she never men- tioned her husband, even to her son. She lived a most retired and quiet life in Paradise Row, Holloway, and, to the certain knowledge of Mrs. Duffer and the Demijohns (other inhabitants of the Row) never received any visitors, besides Mrs. Vincent once a week, and Marion Fay, the daughter of one Zachary Fay, a Quaker ; but as Marion also lived in Paradise Row, it was quite natural that she should visit there. When at last a distinguished and handsome young man began coming, the minds of the Duffers and Demijohns were much exercised, for one hot day he was even seen to come on horseback with a groom ; and both horses and groom were evidently his own, and not hired, which was a thing most unheard of in Paradise Row. Mrs. Roden and Marion Fay were fast friends, and hardly a day passed but Marion spent some tithe with her; so it happened that one Sunday morning, when Lord Hampstead went to Holloway to see George, he found Marion waiting to go to church with Mrs. Roden. The girl was beautiful, but Lord Hampstead would have declared that it was not so much her beauty, as some "divinity of grace" which had been the peculiar gift which had attracted him. From that day he loved her, and loved her passionately ; he could see none of the obstacles in the way of this marriage, his whole soul was set on it. He never rested till he had seen Marion again, till he had won her love, till he had made her own it ; but then a most unexpected obstacle arose, in the will of the girl herself. She was weak in all else, in giving her love and in confessing it, for she knew she could not hide it, but strong and immovable in this alone,— that she would not and could not be his. Her very love gave her this strength, for she felt that she would do him an injury by marrying him ; her mother, brothers, and sisters had all died of consumption, and though she had apparently escaped the family taint, she could not run the risk for Lord Hampstead's sake. A curiously morbid tone, that one does not expect to find in Mr.
Trollope's writing, runs through all this part of the story, but it is touching and sweet.
Lady Kingsbury's character is particularly well drawn and carried out. The gradual development of worse feelings towards her two stepchildren, as she dwells more and more on their iniquities and the unintentional wrong they have done her dart- ings by being born first, till, she works herself up into thinking the wrong is intentional, and unconsciously finds herself wish. tag for their removal out of her way, is skilfully portrayed. So also is the influence gained over her by a certain Mr. Green- wood, a sort of tutor, chaplain, secretary, and general hanger- on of the Trafford family, who hopes to obtain certain ends of his own by fostering Lady Kingsbury's feelings against her step-children. This influence becomes at last most irksome, and she is enabled to throw it off, when Mr. Greenwood, miscalculat- ing his own power and her fear of consequences, pushes it too far.
We have a good deal of "good society," for those who like it, some pleasant hunting experiences, and a great deal of fun from the irrepressibility of the "irrepressible Crocker," also a.clerk in the Post Office, who sits at the same desk with Roden. We cannot help being rather disappointed that Mrs. Roden's unknown husband should turn out to be a somebody, and that in consequence George's marriage with Lady Frances should be made more palatable to her big relations. This conclusion leaves on the mind rather an impression of incompleteness and want of art. The story is, however, amply interesting and entertainiug, as Mr. Trollope's writing is sure to be, and many readers will probably prefer the end as it is; for it has the merit of shocking me one's prejudices, is a happy compromise of principles, and makes it more probable that Mr. George and Lady Frances Roden will live happily ever afterwards.
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