The Vice Of Virtue: A Poor Man at the Gate Series, #10

Introduction

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George IV dies and the rambunctious age of the Regency passes with him. Joseph Andrews is determined to atone for his weakness, in doing so he risks family unity. George Star flourishes in his ruthless money-making ventures, while the Railway Age is born, to the profit of some and dismay of others. In India, Wolverstone learns of a sinister plot involving poison, and Luke Star is facing unexpected danger in America.

Author’s Note: I have written and punctuated The Vice Of Virtue in a style reflecting English usage in novels of the period, when typically, sentences were much longer than they are in modern English. Editor’s Note:  Andrew’s book was written, produced and edited in the UK where some of the spellings and word usage vary slightly from U.S. English.

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Book Ten: A Poor Man

at the Gate Series

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Chapter One

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"'When Adam delved and Eve span,

Who was then the gentleman?'"

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The speaker looked round triumphant from his perch on the rear of a commandeered brewer's dray, surveying the thousand or so of expectant faces, multiplying them in his mind to ten thousands at least, all adoring him, the new Danton. He had an audience, at last - ten years of dreaming had finally brought him to his day, saviour of his people - they were hanging on his lips!

Old words, comrades! But as true now as when Wycliffe spoke them six hundred years ago! We are freeborn Englishmen - and Welsh and Scots and Irish, of course - and we have been deprived of our birthright by the greed of the self-styled aristocracy!

He paused, open-armed, for shouts of agreement. A few men applauded, most waited for him to get to the meat of his argument. They were hungry, their wages were low and the price of bread rose every week and their empty bellies were far more important than any political theorising.

The land has been stolen from us by their Enclosures - why else are we forced to come to these dirty towns? Now we are here and trapped, they cut our wages and starve our children while they feast and ride in their carriages!

There was a growl of agreement - that was obviously true.

If we beg for more, what do they say? ‘Take it or leave it', never a word of sympathy. 'Go to America if you don't like it here'. First they steal our country from us, then they try to expel us from the little we have left!

There were cheers - every man there knew of relatives or neighbours who had been forced overseas, never to return.

Enough! It is time to call an end to oppression! Just forty years ago the French stood up to their cruel masters and raised a guillotine in every town square and sent word to every noble-born bully-boy that their day was over. We are better than any Frenchie ever was! We must march to our own glory! To the Market Square! Down with the lords and masters! Citizens, arise!

The speaker jumped down, and stepped out towards the Town Hall - it was not as good as a Bastille, but was all that was available in this deprived age - his five convinced followers cheering and waving sticks in the air, the bulk of the crowd tagging along, as much to see the fun as to take part in any revolution.

They came to a bakers, the owner belatedly putting up his shutters.

See - they hide the food from us! Our children starve while the fat shopkeepers profiteer!

A dozen of the mob ran into the shop and grabbed loaves from the shelves. There was a cheer as a hundred hungry men scrabbled to join in. Glass smashed on the other side of the road and there was another outbreak of shouting.

Word spread and women and children appeared, from nowhere it seemed, and took part in the looting. Within minutes every shop in the centre of the town was broken open, foodstuffs taken away, tops knocked off the bottles from the wine-merchant. The crowd grew more cheerful and far more noisy.

A magistrate accompanied by three elderly watchmen strode into the middle of the road and tried to order the mob to disperse. He began to read the Riot Act, then, indignantly, ran away from the first stones.

George Star looked down on the mob from an upstairs window in the Town Hall. He was contemptuous in his dismissal of the riot.

Small beer! Not a musket in sight, gentlemen! I believe, Mr Mayor, that the next step is yours.

He was wholly unconcerned, knowing that the big oak doors were bolted and barred and that there were iron grilles across the ground floor windows. Additionally forty men of the local Watch, ‘additional constables’ employed and paid by the Mill Owners Committee, were waiting downstairs, all armed with official truncheons and most carrying clandestine pistols.

The Mayor, portly and far more at home at ceremonial dinners, squared his shoulders and raised his voice.

It is my intention, gentlemen, to instruct the Militia to restore order and to arrest all of the troublemakers.

There was silence as the mill owners, most of whom were present in the room, waited for him to get on with it.

Yes... well... that is what I shall do then...

The Mayor left the room, his clerk scurrying before him to locate the major of the Militia. It would be easy to find the other officers; there was an inn next door.

Third this year, Mr Tonks. Did you recognise any faces?

I have six names, Mr Star, and have paid four men to mingle with the mob and discover all those in the lead.

Tonks, who had been leaning on the window-sill, stood up with some difficulty and tucked his papers into a bag before grasping a walking stick and limping slowly across the room. Left arm and leg had both been impaired by a palsy-stroke caused by striking his head against the cobblestones in the violence of the previous year's strike. His face was twisted and his speech was a little slurred, but his brain was if anything more active than ever, and his sense of malice had been honed. He was no longer a handsome young man, but he was a very bitter one.

I saw not one of our mill hands, Mr Star, yet I was quite sure that some would be tempted. The meeting was timed for the change of shifts at six o'clock, less than four furlongs from the mills. I had thought that it would be too much for some of the would-be troublemakers.

A new voice arose.

Let us be thankful that it was not, Mr Tonks. Your leadership has clearly borne fruit - the men are loyal.

Neither man so much as smiled at this; they turned politely to the speaker, an undermanager at Nortons, the largest single mill in town. They recognised him but neither could remember his name.

I saw three of my men at the front of the mob, gentlemen. Their names will be in the hands of the Watch just as soon as I can reach them, and I shall stand witness at their trial.

Skilled men or labourers, sir?

Two of the best of my weavers, Mr Star, the third no more than a porter, an unskilled pair of hands at the loading bay.

Was I you then, sir, I would take the one up as an example whilst offering the two the opportunity to redeem themselves. A word to them, warning them of their future conduct, but the hand of mercy and forgiveness to be stretched towards them as well. Sinners they may be, yet all may be brought to the light, sir!

Inspiring words, Mr Star! They shall be my guide.

Tonks looked quizzically at George, raised an eyebrow as the unknown left the room.

Out of character, Mr Tonks? Certainly, but it can do us no harm for there to be a pair of troublemakers continuing to infect Nortons’ people.

Tonks began to chuckle.

They turned back to the window, watched with the appreciation of connoisseurs as the Militia marched into the square and formed two ranks forward, keeping the bulk of the men in reserve.

Their drill is smarter than last time, Mr Tonks.

Far tidier, sir. Two companies to the front, three facing right, three left. They will not be caught out again.

In the last riot the Militia had lost two dead men to a sudden shower of granite setts flung from upper windows flanking their march.

That damned fool is going to address the Militia, trying to seduce them from their loyalty, Mr Tonks.

The mob had parted and the orator had come forward, arms spread, shouting at the top of his voice. They could just hear him above the drunken clamour from the wineshop.

Comrades! Brothers! Citizens of the oppressed! Cast down your muskets, do not use them to slay your fellow-sufferers! Stand beside us against the tyrants!

A voice called from the Militia and a sergeant and three men stepped forward, evidently to arrest the agitator. There was a shower of stones and empty bottles and the militiamen retreated, clearly in response to orders, their task over.

The major listened to your advice, Mr Tonks. Well done, sir!

Tonks had explained to the major that the government wanted no repetition of the Peterloo Massacre, that the Militia must not open fire on the mob, must use its muskets only in self-defence, or to complete the arrest of a felon who offered violent defiance.

Very well done on his part, sir. A horde of witnesses here to say that his men attempted to apprehend a felon in commission of capital crimes – incitement to violence and, arguably, treason, inasmuch that he sought to bring soldiers into revolt against the Crown.

And that peaceful arrest was thwarted by acts of potentially murderous violence... What advice did you give him on the use of firearms, Mr Tonks?

He must fire over their heads first, sir. If that caused the mob to run, then no further discharge. If they would not be warned then he should next employ the marksmen of his Light Company to shoot individuals actually committing violent acts. If the mob still pressed forward, only then might he volley fire into them.

Neither man believed the Militia to be sufficiently disciplined to obey such orders, even if they were actually given. The concept of ‘marksmen’ in the Light, or any other, Company of Militia was unlikely as well.

The forty muskets of the front rank crashed out together, aimed upwards and doing substantial damage to the tiles of two town houses.

Perhaps a little higher next time, Mr Tonks.

Tonks giggled.

The square was suddenly almost empty, the rioters strongly suspecting that the next shots would not be fired into the air. Only the latter-day Danton remained, consumed by revolutionary zeal, they presumed.

Oh, Good Lord, Mr Tonks! The damned blowhard is baring his breast!

The orator had indeed pulled his shirt open and was loudly calling for the cowardly butchers to spill his innocent blood on England’s sacred soil.

Very poor taste that, Mr Tonks!

Tuppeny melodrama, sir. Fit more for the fairground theatre booth than for real life! Ah, there comes the provost party again. I would not be in our revolutionary’s shoes for all the tea in China, sir – I saw one of those bottles hit the sergeant fair and square!

The arrest was made and the semi-conscious firebrand was dragged away, his passionate oratory silenced for the day.

Before the Bench and remand to the Assizes, sir?

Any judge would hang him for this afternoon’s work, Mr Tonks. The shopkeepers will have lost a hundred pounds and more, and their glass fronts will cost at least as much again to replace. Yet death sentences are increasingly unpopular amongst the hoi polloi.

Even commuted to transportation there would still be a sense of grievance, sir – he could well become a martyr.

They shook their heads - even the most amateur of firebrands could learn and eventually become a professional. They must get rid of him without creating a greater fuss.

If we simply release him then he will continue to stir up trouble, Mr Tonks. He would be an advertisement of our weakness; he would claim that we feared his following.

Tonks pursed his lips, shook his head.

Not if he was, for example, to sign on as a seaman on a ship bound far foreign, sir. He might be moved – by remorse perhaps - to make his way from the Court to the docks at Liverpool and there become a deckhand. Many of the merchantmen sailing for India and China are known to have difficulty in making up their crew, particularly since the tales of the cholera have become widespread and it is known that the Lascars and Chinks are dying in their millions.

Could we be sure that if we arranged his release, bound over to good behaviour, say, he would sign on, Mr Tonks?

Oh yes, sir. I would be very sure indeed!

Then, as so often, I shall leave the matter in your capable hands, Mr Tonks.

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There was a merchantman bound for the Cape and sailing on the next day’s high tide when Tonks reached Liverpool in the morning. Use of the Star name gave him immediate access to her master.

I have a nasty man, a troublemaker who has been preaching revolution, sir. It would please Lord Star was he to go a long way away from his cotton mills. I need not, I believe, say that you would not be forgotten.

Captain Watkiss was owner of his ship, would find it far easier to obtain cargoes with the Star family on his side.

I can find space for a landsman, or two, sir, and will be very pleased to be of use to you.

I will deliver him as soon as I can, sir. Probably after dark tonight.

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The Child of the Revolution was carried aboard, tied and gagged and close to suffocation, was tucked away into a corner of the hold, still bound but mouth cleared and able to breathe freely.

Tonks placed an open letter into the master’s hands.

That to the family agent in Cape Town, sir – you are free to read it. You will see that efforts will be made to fill your holds at the Cape and you should be able to make an immediate return to England. I would be obliged if, while still in Africa, you could put our little revolutionary gentleman onto an eastbound vessel.

Watkiss had in the past been held in Cape Town for two months, earning nothing and still paying wages, before picking up a part cargo to England. He was willing to be very obliging indeed.

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Why, Mr Tonks, did none of our men partake in the last riot? I believe we may forget the concept of ‘loyalty’, by the way.

In part, sir, it is because we have weeded out the incendiarists, the bomb-makers, the seditionists. It is never hard to discover names when so many men are very poor. To a greater extent though it is through our careful policy of employment. Where it is possible, sir, every new hand who enters our labour force is related to at least one other already employed. We use now almost no foundling children from the Beadle – we prefer the sons of our own men, or their nephews at least, although they cost a few pennies more.

So the dismissal of one man as unreliable will inevitably lose others of his family their jobs. Very sensible, Mr Tonks. I shall pass the message to the other managers that they must follow your example. I intend to expand again, and very soon, Mr Tonks, quite possibly out of cotton to an extent. When I do, I shall need to devote myself to the new enterprise and then I shall require you to become over-manager for all of our mills, if that will please you. I shall remove to a new and larger house further out of town and would look for you to replace me in my present dwelling, if it should suit you.

The house is far too large for a single man and I am hardly to take a wife, sir, in my condition!

George knew that Tonks’ injury had in no way incapacitated him, that he kept a mistress and quite frequently indulged himself elsewhere.

A romantic attachment might be unlikely, I agree, Mr Tonks – but there are other and better reasons for selecting a life’s companion. A man with an income such as yours, and with a share in the firm as well, has much to offer as a husband.

I did not know that I yet had a share in the firm, sir.

The papers are in our attorney’s hands now, Mr Tonks. My late father explained to me just how he and the old Lord Andrews became so rich, and to a great extent it was through their good fortune first in discovering hard working and intelligent men to be their managers and then in keeping them.

George did not mention that inspired theft and frequent sharp practice had also helped enrich them.

So, Mr Tonks, he continued, I have discovered you, now I need to keep you. I am sure you have thought of becoming your own man, setting up your own mill – and you could do it and, eventually, become wealthy. Stay with me and you will become rich, and much sooner. I do not say that you will make as much money working for me as you might on your own, but, to be practical, the difference between one hundred thousand and two is not great – you would be hard pressed indeed to spend either sum!

One hundred thousand?

That is what I expect one tenth part of the business will be worth by the year Forty. That is my aim.

You are very persuasive, sir. I shall be honest, sir – I always am with you, in any case – and say that was I still a whole man I would take the risk of working solely for myself. But I fear that my health will eventually fail, that I may reach my sixtieth year, say, and discover myself to be suddenly old and frail. In such case, better far that I may simply resign from your service rather than be left with a mill to sell and keep running the while.

Well said, Mr Tonks. What do you plan, sir?

We have five mills - a manager to each, and I think it wise to appoint separately an accounts overseer to each office, reporting to me and not to the manager. I will, I expect, base myself at our newest place, which was used to be Thwaites and will need most attention.

George considered that – a thousand a year at least, five senior bookkeepers would cost between them. He nodded after a while; his brother Matthew had mentioned problems of fraud and the activities of light-fingered gentlemen in the shipyards and at Roberts Iron Works.

When one man makes money there will always be another wishes to spend it for him, Mr Tonks.

Exactly, sir. As for a wife – I am not sure how best to go about that matter...

If you did not think my intervention in your private life to be presumptuous, Mr Tonks, I could speak to my lady wife, who, in the very nature of things, is more au fait with local society than am I, and she might be able to offer a suggestion or two.

Tonks thought rapidly – whilst he had great respect for his master he had no wish at all to end up with a wife like his. He could not refuse, he regretted.

Why, sir, that would indeed be generous of you!

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A proper wife for Mr Tonks, husband – not so difficult a task, I would imagine. He is already a man of very high standing in our community, and you tell me he is to become manager of all of the mills. May I be informed of his actual income, sir, or should that be left a matter of conjecture?

Three thousands and a share of the profit that will soon amount to ten parts in the hundred – not less than another one thousand per annum, and rising. He will also have the freehold of this house.

That was the first she had heard of any removal on her part.

I have bought on the coast, not so far from Sir Erasmus Clapperley’s seat near Southport. I have used the legacy of cash bequeathed by your father for this purpose, thinking it more honourable that I should dedicate the sum to the family than to my own money-making. I know that you will say that my own fortune exists for the benefit of us all, and that is true, but your father had such a feeling for family, and such regret that he had no son of his own, that I cannot decently do otherwise.

She wept a little, moved by his delicacy of feeling, not aware that his creation of a trust to hold the estate and her father’s money made it safe from any bankruptcy proceedings in the event that his new business venture should fail.

Yet again, husband, am I brought to realise that I am wed to a gentleman!

And our children are gentlefolk, due to the upbringing you are granting them, ma’am.

What of this estate, sir? When do we move in? Is the house greater than this?

Larger than my brother, Sir Matthew, is possessed of, ma’am! Some thirty bedrooms and of a respectable antiquity. It is not in perfect condition, the widow of the late owner being childless and having little sense of business – it has been neglected. I have builders in now and we shall be able to make an entry in mid-summer – the family to enjoy the green fields.

Convenient, sir – always better to move house in summer, when the sun is shining!

George could not conjecture why that might be so, but saw no cause to argue.

She did not ask after the estate – she was a townsman’s daughter.

There is a Home Farm and two other places which are rented, both mostly into beef, being close to the markets of the rich industrial towns. Of far greater interest is a large expanse of sandy heath, almost valueless for agriculture but ideal for children’s ponies. There is a boathouse, too, and when the boys are of an age they may well take our neighbours’ offspring sailing.

So to encourage the local gentry to keep in social contact with them – she could applaud that.

Boys and girls who ride and sail with ours may well end up marrying them, I believe, husband. A laudable aim, sir!

Tentatively, unsure whether she was venturing outside her sphere, she enquired of the nature of his new business enterprise.

Reach-me-downs, ma’am!

She looked blank.

"Ready-made clothing, cheap but good enough. Cotton dresses and blouses and chemises and petticoats, for a beginning