diff options
Diffstat (limited to '8720-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 8720-8.txt | 19118 |
1 files changed, 19118 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/8720-8.txt b/8720-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c39f41 --- /dev/null +++ b/8720-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19118 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Tales And Novels, Volume 2 (of 10), by Maria Edgeworth + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Tales And Novels, Volume 2 (of 10) + Popular Tales + +Author: Maria Edgeworth + + +Release Date: September, 2005 [EBook #8720] +This file was first posted on August 4, 2003 +Last Updated: June 8, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES AND NOVELS, VOLUME 2 (OF 10) *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, David Widger, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + + + +TALES AND NOVELS + + +VOLUME II (of X) + + +POPULAR TALES + + +By Maria Edgeworth + + +1857. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Some author says, that a good book needs no apology; and, as a preface +is usually an apology, a book enters into the world with a better grace +without one. I, however, appeal to those readers who are not gluttons, +but epicures, in literature, whether they do not wish to see the bill of +fare? I appeal to monthly critics, whether a preface that gives a view +of the pretensions of the writer is not a good thing? The author may +overvalue his subject, and very naturally may overrate the manner in +which it is treated; but still he will explain his views, and facilitate +the useful and necessary art which the French call _reading with the +thumb_. We call this _hunting a book_, a term certainly invented by a +sportsman. I leave the reader to choose which he pleases, whilst I lay +before him the contents and design of these volumes. + +Burke supposes that there are eighty thousand readers in Great Britain, +nearly one hundredth part of its inhabitants! Out of these we may +calculate that ten thousand are nobility, clergy, or gentlemen of the +learned professions. Of seventy thousand readers which remain, there +are many who might be amused and instructed by books which were not +professedly adapted to the classes that have been enumerated. With this +view the following volumes{1} have been composed. The title of POPULAR +TALES has been chosen, not as a presumptuous and premature claim to +popularity, but from the wish that they may be current beyond circles +which are sometimes exclusively considered as polite. + +The art of printing has opened to all classes of people various new +channels of entertainment and information.--Amongst the ancients, wisdom +required austere manners and a length of beard to command attention; +but in our days, instruction, in the dress of innocent amusement, is +not denied admittance amongst the wise and good of all ranks. It is +therefore hoped that a succession of stories, adapted to different +ages, sexes, and situations in life, will not be rejected by the public, +unless they offend against morality, tire by their sameness, or disgust +by their imitation of other writers. + +RICHARD LOVELL EDGEWORTH. + +{Footnote 1: This Work was originally published in three volumes.} +CONTENTS + + LAME JERVAS 1 + THE WILL 55 + THE LIMERICK GLOVES 101 + OUT OF DEBT OUT OF DANGER 129 + THE LOTTERY 161 + ROSANNA 195 + MURAD THE UNLUCKY 245 + THE MANUFACTURERS 281 + THE CONTRAST 317 + THE GRATEFUL NEGRO 399 + TO-MORROW 421 + + + + +LAME JERVAS + +CHAPTER I. + + +Some years ago, a lad of the name of William Jervas, or, as he was +called from his lameness, Lame Jervas, whose business it was to tend the +horses in one of the Cornwall tin-mines, was missing. He was left one +night in a little hut, at one end of the mine, where he always slept; +but in the morning, he could no where be found; and this his sudden +disappearance gave rise to a number of strange and ridiculous stories +among the miners. The most rational, however, concluded that the lad, +tired of his situation, had made his escape during the night. It was +certainly rather surprising that he could no where be traced; but after +the neighbours had wondered and talked for some time about it, the +circumstance was by degrees forgotten. The name of William Jervas was +scarcely remembered by any, except two or three of the oldest miners, +when, twenty years afterward, there came a party of gentlemen and ladies +to see the mines! and, as the guide was showing the curiosities of the +place, one among the company, a gentleman of about six-and-thirty years +of age, pointed to some letters that were carved on the rock, and asked, +"Whose name was written there?" "Only the name of one William Jervas," +answered the guide; "a poor lad, who ran away from the mines a great +long while ago." "Are you sure that he ran away?" said the gentleman. +"Yes," answered the guide, "sure and certain I am of that." "Not at +all sure and certain of any such thing," cried one of the oldest of the +miners, who interrupted the guide, and then related all that he knew, +all that he had heard, and all that he imagined and believed concerning +the sudden disappearance of Jervas; concluding by positively assuring +the stranger that the ghost of the said Jervas was often seen to walk, +slowly, in the long west gallery of the mine, with a blue taper in his +hand.--"I will take my Bible oath," added the man, "that about a month +after he was missing, I saw the ghost just as the clock struck twelve, +walking slowly, with the light in one hand, and a chain dragging after +him in t'other; and he was coming straight towards me, and I ran away +into the stables to the horses; and from that time forth I've taken +special good care never to go late in the evening to that there gallery, +or near it: for I never was so frightened, above or under ground, in all +my born days." + +The stranger, upon hearing this story, burst into a loud fit of +laughter; and, on recovering himself, he desired the ghost-seer to look +stedfastly in his face, and to tell whether he bore any resemblance to +the ghost that walked with the blue taper in the west gallery. The miner +stared for some minutes, and answered, "No; he that walks in the gallery +is clear another guess sort of a person; in a white jacket, a leather +apron, and ragged cap, like what Jervas used to wear in his lifetime; +and, moreover, he limps in his gait, as Lame Jervas always did, I +remember well." The gentleman walked on, and the miners observed, what +had before escaped their notice, that he limped a little; and, when +he came again to the light, the guide, after considering him very +attentively, said, "If I was not afraid of affronting the like of a +gentleman such as your honour, I should make bold for to say that you be +very much--only a deal darker complexioned--you be very much of the same +sort of person as our Lame Jervas used for to be." "Not at all like our +Lame Jervas," cried the old miner, who professed to have seen the ghost; +"no more like to him than _Black Jack to Blue John._" The by-standers +laughed at this comparison; and the guide, provoked at being laughed at, +sturdily maintained that not a man that wore a head in Cornwall should +laugh him out of his senses. Each party now growing violent in support +of his opinion, from words they were just coming to blows, when the +stranger at once put an end to the dispute, by declaring that he was the +very man. "Jervas!" exclaimed they all at once, "Jervas alive!--our Lame +Jervas turned gentleman!" + +The miners could scarcely believe their eyes, or their ears, especially +when, upon following him out of the mine, they saw him get into a +handsome coach, and drive toward the mansion of one of the principal +gentlemen of the neighbourhood, who was a proprietor of the mine. + +The next day, all the head miners were invited to dine in tents, pitched +in a field near this gentleman's house. It was fine weather, and harvest +time; the guests assembled, and in the tents found abundance of good +cheer provided for them. + +After dinner, Mr. R----, the master of the house, appeared, accompanied +by Lame Jervas, dressed in his miner's old jacket and cap. Even the +ghost-seer acknowledged that he now looked wonderful like himself. Mr. +R----, the master of the house, filled a glass, and drank--"Welcome +home to our friend, Mr. Jervas; and may good faith always meet with good +fortune." The toast went round, each drank, and repeated, "Welcome home +to our friend Mr. Jervas; and may good faith always meet good fortune." +Indeed, what was meant by the good faith, or the good fortune, none +could guess; and many in whispers, and some aloud, made bold to ask for +an explanation of the toast. + +Mr. Jervas, on whom all eyes were fixed, after thanking the company for +their _welcome home_, took his seat at the table; and in compliance with +Mr. R----'s request, and the wishes of all present, related to them his +story nearly in the following manner: + +"Where I was born, or who were my parents, I do not well know myself; +nor can I recollect who was my nurse, or whether I was ever nursed at +all: but, luckily, these circumstances are not of much importance to the +world. The first thing which I can distinctly remember is the being set, +along with a number of children of my own age, to pick and wash loose +ore of tin mixed with the earth, which in those days we used to call +_shoad_, or _squad_--I don't know what you call it now." + +"We call it _squad_ to this day, master," interrupted one of the miners. + +"I might be at this time, I suppose," continued the gentleman, "about +five or six years old; and from that time till I was thirteen I worked +in the mine where we were yesterday. From the bottom of my heart I +rejoice that the times are bettered for youngsters since then; for I +know I had a hard life of it. + +"My good master, here, never knew any thing of the matter but I was +cruelly used by those under him. First, the old woman--Betty Morgan, I +think, was her name--who set us our tasks of picking and washing the +_squad_, was as cross as the rheumatism could make her. She never picked +an ounce herself, but made us do her heap for her among us; and I being +the youngest, it was shoved down to me. Often and often my day's wages +were kept back, not having done this woman's task; and I did not dare +to tell my master the truth, lest she should beat me. But, God rest +her soul! she was an angel of light in comparison with the _trap-door +keeper_, who was my next tyrant. + +"It was our business to open and shut certain doors, that were placed +in the mine for letting in air to the different galleries: but my young +tyrant left them every one to me to take care of; and I was made to run +to and fro, till I had scarcely breath in my body, while every miner in +turn was swearing at me for the idlest little fellow upon the surface of +the earth; though the surface of the earth, alas! was a place on which I +had never yet, to my knowledge, set my foot. + +"In my own defence, I made all the excuses I could think of; and, from +excuses, I went on to all kinds of deceit: for tyranny and injustice +always produce cunning and falsehood. + +"One day, having shut all the doors on my side of the mine, I left three +open on my companion's side. The men, I thought, would not go to work on +that side of the mine for a day or two: but in this I was mistaken; and +about noon I was alarmed by the report of a man having been killed in +one of the galleries for want of fresh air. + +"The door-keepers were summoned before the overseer; or, as you call +him, the viewer. I was the youngest, and the blame was all laid upon +me. The man, who had only swooned, recovered; but I was thrashed and +thrashed for the neglect of another person, till the viewer was tired. + +"A weary life I led afterwards with my friend the door-keeper, who was +enraged against me for having told the truth. + +"In process of time, as I grew stronger and bigger, I was set to other +work. First, I was employed at the barrow; and then a pick-axe and a +_gad_{Footnote: A gad is a tool used in mines; it resembles a smith's +punch.} were put into my hands; and I thought myself a great man.--It +was my fate to fall among the idlest set in the mine. I observed that +those men who worked by task, and who had the _luck_ to hit upon easy +beds of the rock, were not obliged to work more than three or four hours +a day: they got high wages with little labour; and they spent their +money jollily above-ground in the ale-houses, as I heard. I did not know +that these jolly fellows often left their wives and families starving +while they were getting drunk. + +"I longed for the time when I should be a man, and do as I saw others +do. I longed for the days when I should be able to drink and be idle; +and, in the mean time, I set all my wits to work to baffle and overreach +the viewer. + +"I was now about fourteen, and, had I grown up with these notions and +habits, I must have spent my life in wretchedness, and I should probably +have ended my days in a workhouse; but fortunately for me, an accident +happened, which made as great a change in my mind as in my body. + +"One of my companions bribed me, with a strong dram, to go down into +a hole in the mine to search for his _gad_; which he, being half +intoxicated, had dropped. My head could not stand the strength of +the dram which he made me swallow to give me courage: and being quite +insensible to the danger, I took a leap down a precipice which I should +have shuddered to look at, if I had not lost my recollection. + +"I soon came to my senses, for I broke my leg; and it is wonderful I did +not break my neck by my fall. I was drawn up by cords, and was carried +to a hut in the mine, near the stables, where I lay in great pain. + +"My master was in the mine at the time the accident happened; and, +hearing where I was, he had the goodness to come directly to me himself, +to let me know that he had sent for a surgeon. + +"The surgeon, who lived in the neighbourhood, was not at home; but there +was then upon a visit at my master's a Mr. Y----, an old gentleman who +had been a surgeon; and, though he had for many years left off practice, +he no sooner heard of the accident that had happened to me than he had +the goodness to come down into the mine, to set my leg. + +"After the operation was over, my master returned to tell me that I +should want for nothing. Never shall I forget the humanity with which +he treated me. I do not remember that I had ever heard him speak to +me before this time; but now his voice and manner were so full of +compassion and kindness, that I looked up to him as to a new sort of +being. + +"His goodness wakened and warmed me to a sense of gratitude--the first +virtuous emotion I was conscious of having ever felt. + +"I was attended with the greatest care, during my illness, by the +benevolent surgeon, Mr. Y----. The circumstance of my having been +intoxicated, when I took the leap, had been concealed by the man who +gave me the dram; who declared that I had fallen by accident, as I was +looking down the hole for a _gad_ that I had dropped. I did not join +in this falsehood: for, the moment my master spoke to me with so much +goodness about my mishap, my heart opened to him, and I told him just +how the thing happened. + +"Mr. Y---- also heard the truth from me, and I had no reason to repent +having told it, for this gave him, as he said, hopes that I might turn +out well, and was the cause of his taking some pains to instruct me. He +observed to me, that it was a pity a lad like me should so early in +my days take to dram-drinking; and he explained the consequences of +intemperance, of which I had never before heard or thought. + +"While I was confined to my bed, I had leisure for many reflections. The +drunken and brutal among the miners, with whom I formerly associated, +never came near me in my illness; but the better sort used to come and +see me often, and I began to take a liking to their ways, and to wish to +imitate them. + +"As they stood talking over their own affairs in my hut, I learned how +they laid out their time and their money; and I now began to desire to +have, as they had, a little garden, and property of my own, for which I +knew I must work hard. So I rose from my bed with very different views +from those which I had when I was laid down upon it; and from this +time forward I kept company with the sober and industrious as much as +I could. I saw things with different eyes: formerly I used, like my +companions, to be ready enough to take any advantage that lay in my +way of my employer; but my gratitude to him who had befriended me in my +helpless state wrought such a change in me, that I now took part with +my master on all occasions, and could not bear to see him wronged--so +gratitude first made me honest. + +"My master would not let the viewer turn me out of the work, as +he wanted to do, because I was lame and weak, and not able to do +much.--'Let him have the care of my horses in the stable,' said my +master: 'he can do something. I don't want to make money of poor _Lame +Jervas_. So, as long as he is willing to work, he shall not be turned +out to starve.'--These were his very words; and when I heard them I said +in my heart, 'God bless him!' And, from that time forth, I could, as I +thought, have fought with the stoutest man in the mine that said a word +to his disparagement. + +"Perhaps my feeling of attachment to him was the stronger, because he +was, I may say, the first person then in the world who had ever shown me +any tenderness, and the only one from whom I felt sure of meeting with +justice. + +"About this time, as I was busied in the stable, unperceived by them, I +saw through a window a party of the miners, amongst whom were several of +my old associates, at work opposite to me. Suddenly, one of them gave +a shout--then all was hushed--they threw down their tools, huddled +together, and I judged by the keenness of their looks that they knew +they had made some valuable discovery. I further observed, that, instead +of beginning to work the vein, they covered it up immediately with +rubbish, and defaced the _country_ with their pick-axes; so that, to +look at, no one could have suspected there was any _load_ to be found +near. I also saw them secrete a lump of spar, in which they had reason +to guess there were Cornish diamonds, as they call them, and they +carefully hid the bits of _kellus_{Footnote: 2 _Kellus_ is the miner's +name for a substance like a white soft stone, which lies above the floor +or spar, near to a vein.}, which they had picked out, lest the viewer +should notice them and suspect the truth. + +"From all this, the whispering that went on, and the pains they took +to chase or entice the overseer away from this spot, I conjectured they +meant to keep their discovery a secret, that they might turn it to their +own advantage. + +"There was a passage out of the mine, known only to themselves, as they +thought, through which they intended to convey all the newly-found ore. +This passage, I should observe, led through an old gallery in the mine, +along the side of the mountain, immediately up to the surface of the +earth; so that you could by this way come in and out of the mine without +the assistance of the _gin_, by which people and ore are usually let +down or drawn up. + +"I made myself sure of my facts by searching this passage, in which I +found plenty of their purloined treasure. I then went up to one of +the party, whose name was Clarke, and, drawing him aside, ventured to +expostulate with him. Clarke cursed me for a spy, and then knocked me +down, and returned to tell his associates what I had been saying, and +how he had served me. They one and all swore that they would be revenged +upon me, if I gave the least hint of what I had seen to our master. + +"From this time they watched me, whenever he came down amongst us, lest +I should have an opportunity of speaking to him; and they never, on any +account, would suffer me to go out of the mine. Under pretence that the +horses must be looked after, and that no one tended them so well as I +did, they contrived to keep me prisoner night and day; hinting to me +pretty plainly, that if I ever again complained of being thus _shut up_, +I should not long be buried _alive_. + +"Whether they would have gone the lengths they threatened I know not: +perhaps they threw out these hints only with a design to intimidate me, +and so to preserve their secret. I confess I was alarmed; but there +was something in the thought of showing my good master how much I was +attached to his interests, that continually prevailed over my fears; and +my spirits rose with the reflection that I, a poor insignificant lad; I, +that was often the scoff and laughing-stock of the miners; I, that went +by the name of _Lame Jervas_; I, who they thought could be bullied +to any thing by their threats, might do a nobler action than any man +amongst them would have the courage to do in my place. Then the kindness +of my master, and the words he said about me to the viewer, came into my +memory; and I was so worked up, that I resolved, let the consequence be +what it might, I would, living or dying, be faithful to my benefactor. + +"I now waited anxiously for an opportunity to speak to him; and if I did +but hear the sound of his voice at a distance, my heart beat violently. +'You little know,' thought I, 'that there is one here whom perhaps you +quite forget, who is ready to hazard his life to do you a service.' + +"One day, as he was coming near the place where I was at work, rubbing +down a horse, he took notice that I fixed my eyes very earnestly upon +him; and he came closer to me, saying, 'I am glad to see you better, +Jervas:--do you want any thing?' 'I want for nothing, thank you, +sir,--but,'--and as I said _but_, I looked round, to see who was near. +Instantly Clarke, one of the gang, who had his eyes upon us, called me, +and despatched me, on some errand, to a distant part of the mine. As I +was coming back, however, it was my good fortune to meet my master by +himself in one of the galleries. I told him my secret and my fears. +He answered me only with a nod, and these words, 'Thank you--trust to +me--make haste back to those that sent you.' + +"I did so; but I fancy there was something unusual in my manner or +countenance which gave alarm; for, at the close of the day, I saw Clarke +and the gang whispering together; and I observed that they refrained +from going to their secret treasure the whole of the day. I was in great +fear that they suspected me, and that they would take immediate and +perhaps bloody revenge. + +"These fears increased when I found myself left alone in my hut at +night; and, as I lay quite still, but broad awake in my bed, I listened +to every sound, and once or twice started up on hearing some noise near +me; but it was only the horses moving in the stable, which was close to +my hut. I lay down again, laughing at my own fears, and endeavoured to +compose myself to sleep, reflecting that I had never, in my life, more +reason to sleep with a safe conscience. + +"I then turned round, and fell into a sweet sound sleep; but from this +I was suddenly roused by a noise at the door of my hut. 'It is only the +horses again,' thought I; but, opening my eyes, I saw a light under +the door. I rubbed my eyes, hoping I had been in a dream: the light +disappeared, and I thought it was my fancy. As I kept my eyes, however, +turned towards the door, I saw the light again through the key-hole, and +the latch was pulled up; the door was then softly pushed inwards, and I +saw on the wall the large shadow of a man with a pistol in his hand. My +heart sunk within me, and I gave myself up for lost. The man came in: he +was muffled up in a thick coat, his hat was slouched, and a lantern in +his hand. Which of the gang it was I did not know, but I took it for +granted that it was one of them come with intent to murder me. Terror at +this instant left me; and starting upright in my bed, I exclaimed--'I'm +ready to die! I die in a good cause! Give me five minutes to say my +prayers!' and I fell upon my knees. The man standing silent beside the +bed, with one hand upon me, as if afraid I should escape from him. + +"When I had finished my short prayer, I looked up towards my murderer, +expecting the stroke: but, what was my surprise and joy, when, as he +held the lantern up to his face, I beheld--the countenance of my master, +smiling upon me with the most encouraging benevolence. 'Awake, Jervas,' +said he, 'and try if you can find out the difference between a friend +and an enemy. Put on your clothes as fast as you can, and show me the +way to this new vein.' + +"No one ever was sooner dressed than I was. I led the way to the spot, +which was covered up with rubbish, so that I was some time clearing out +an opening, my master assisting me all the while: for, as he said, he +was impatient to get me out of the mine safe, as he did not think my +apprehensions wholly without foundation. The light of our lantern was +scarcely sufficient for our purpose; but, when we came to the vein, my +master saw enough to be certain that I was in the right. We covered up +the place as before, and he noted the situation, so that he could be +sure to find it again. Then I showed him the way to the secret passage; +but this passage he knew already, for by it he had descended into the +mine this night. + +"As we passed along, I pointed out the heaps of ore which lay ready to +be carried off. 'It is enough, Jervas,' said he, clapping his hand upon +my shoulder; 'you have given me proof sufficient of your fidelity. Since +you were so ready to die in a good cause, and that cause mine, it is +my business to take care you shall live by it: so follow me out of this +place directly; and I will take good care of you, my honest lad.' + +"I followed him with quick steps, and a joyful heart: he took me home +with him to his own house, where he said I might sleep for the rest of +the night secure from all fear of murderers: and so, showing me into +a small closet within his own bedchamber, he wished me a good night; +desiring me, if I waked early, not to open the window-shutters of my +room, nor go to the window, lest some of his people should see me. + +"I lay down, for the first time in my life, upon a feather-bed; but, +whether it was from the unusual feeling of the soft bed, or from the +hurry of mind in which I had been kept, and the sudden change of my +circumstances, I could not sleep a wink all the remainder of the night. + +"Before daybreak, my master came into my room, and bid me rise, put +on the clothes which he brought me, and follow him without making any +noise. I followed him out of the house before any body else was awake; +and he took me across the fields towards the high road. At this place +we waited till we heard the tinkling of the bells of a team of horses. +'Here comes the waggon,' said he, 'in which you are to go. I have taken +every possible precaution to prevent any of the miners or people in the +neighbourhood from tracing you; and you will be in safety at Exeter, +with my friend Mr. Y----; to whom I am going to send you. Take this,' +continued he, putting a letter directed to Mr. Y---- into my hand; 'and +here are five guineas for you. I shall desire Mr. Y---- to pay you an +annuity of ten guineas out of the profits of the new vein, provided it +turns out well, and you do not turn out ill. So fare you well, Jervas. +I shall hear how you go on; and I only hope you will serve your next +master, whoever he may be, as faithfully as you have served me.' + +"'I shall never find so good a master,' was all I could say for the soul +of me; for I was quite overcome by his goodness and by sorrow at parting +with him, as I then thought, for ever." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +"The morning clouds began to clear away; I could see my master at some +distance, and I kept looking after him, as the waggon went on slowly, +and as he walked fast away over the fields; but, when I had lost sight +of him, my thoughts were forcibly turned to other things. I seemed to +awake to quite a new scene, and new feelings. Buried underground in +a mine, as I had been from my infancy, the face of nature was totally +unknown to me. + +"'We shall have a brave fine day of it, I hope and trust,' said the +waggoner, pointing with his long whip to the rising sun. + +"He went on whistling, whilst I, to whom the rising sun was a spectacle +wholly surprising, started up in astonishment! I know not what +exclamations I uttered, as I gazed upon it; but I remember the waggoner +burst out into a loud laugh. '_Lud a marcy_,' said he, holding his +sides, 'to hear _un_, and look at _un_, a body would think the oaf had +never seen the sun rise afore in all his born days!' + +"Upon this hint, which was nearer the truth than he imagined, +recollecting that we were still in Cornwall, and not out of the reach of +my enemies, I drew myself back into the waggon, lest any of the miners, +passing the road to their morning's work, might chance to spy me out. + +"It was well for me that I took this precaution; for we had not gone +much farther when we met a party of the miners; and, as I sat wedged up +in a corner behind a heap of parcels, I heard the voice of Clarke, who +asked the waggoner as he passed us, 'What o'clock it might be?' I kept +myself quite snug till he was out of sight; nay, long afterwards, I was +content to sit within the waggon, rather than venture out; and I +amused myself with listening to the bells of the team, which jingled +continually. + +"On our second day's journey, however, I ventured out of my +hiding-place; I walked with the waggoner up and down the hills, enjoying +the fresh air, the singing of the birds, and the delightful smell of the +honey-suckles and the dog-roses in the hedges. All these wild flowers, +and even the weeds on the banks by the way-side, were to me matters +of wonder and admiration. At every step, almost, I paused to observe +something that was new to me; and I could not help feeling surprised +at the insensibility of my fellow-traveller, who plodded on, seldom +interrupting his whistling, except to cry, 'Gee, Blackbird, aw, woa;' +or, 'How now, Smiler;' and certain other words or sounds of menace +and encouragement, addressed to his horses in a language which seemed +intelligible to them and to him, though utterly incomprehensible to me. + +"Once, as I was in admiration of a plant, whose stem was about two feet +high, and which had a round, shining, pale purple, beautiful flower, the +waggoner, with a look of extreme scorn, exclaimed, 'Help thee, lad, does +not thee know 'tis a common thistle? Didst thee not know that a thistle +would prick thee?' continued he, laughing at the face I made when I +touched the prickly leaves; 'why my horse Dobbin has more sense by half! +he is not like an ass hunting for thistles.' + +"After this, the waggoner seemed to look upon me as very nearly an +idiot. Just as we were going into the town of Plymouth, he eyed me from +head to foot, and muttered, 'The lad's beside himself, sure enough.' +In truth, I believe I was a droll figure; for my hat was stuck full of +weeds, and of all sorts of wild flowers; and both my coat and waistcoat +pockets were stuffed out with pebbles and funguses. + +"Such an effect, however, had the waggoner's contemptuous look upon me, +that I pulled the weeds out of my hat, and threw down all my treasure of +pebbles before we entered the town. Nay, so much was I overawed, and in +such dread was I of passing for an idiot, that when we came within view +of the sea, in the fine harbour of Plymouth, I did not utter a single +exclamation; although I was struck prodigiously at this, my first sight +of the ocean, as much almost as I had been at the spectacle of the +rising sun. I just ventured, however, to ask my companion some questions +about the vessels which I beheld sailing on the sea, and the shipping +with which the bay was filled. But he answered coldly, 'They be nothing +in life but the boats and ships, man: them that see them for the first +time are often struck all on a heap, as I've noticed, in passing by +here: but I've seen it all a many and a many times.' So he turned +away, went on chewing a straw, and seemed not a whit more moved with +admiration than he had been at the sight of my thistle. + +"I conceived a high opinion of a man who had seen so much that he could +admire nothing; and he preserved and increased my respect for him by the +profound silence which he maintained, during the five succeeding days of +our journey: he seldom or never opened his lips except to inform me of +the names of the towns through which we passed. I have since +reflected that it was fortunate for me that I had such a supercilious +fellow-traveller on my first journey; for he made me at once thoroughly +sensible of my own ignorance, and extremely anxious to supply my +deficiencies, and to find one who would give some other answer to my +questions than a smile of contempt, or, '_I do na knaw, I say_.' + +"We arrived at Exeter at last; and, with much ado, I found my way to Mr. +Y----'s house. It was evening when I got there; and the servant to +whom I gave the letter said he supposed Mr. Y---- would not see me that +night, as he liked to have his evenings to himself; but he took the +letter, and in a few minutes returned, desiring me to follow him up +stairs. + +"I found the good old gentleman and some of his friends in his study, +with his grand-children about him; one little chap on his knee, another +climbing on the arm of his chair; and two bigger lads were busy looking +at a glass tube which he was showing them when I came in. It does not +become me to repeat the handsome things he said to me, upon reading over +my good master's letter; but he was very gracious to me, and told me +that he would look out for some place or employment that would suit me; +and in the mean time, that I should be welcome to stay in his house, +where I should meet with the good treatment (which he was pleased to +say) I deserved. Then, observing that I was overcome with bashfulness, +at being looked at by so many strangers, he kindly dismissed me. + +"The next day he sent for me again to his study, when he was alone; +and asked me several questions, seeming pleased with the openness and +simplicity of my answers. He saw that I gazed with vast curiosity at +several objects in the room, which were new to me: and pointing to the +glass tube, which he had been showing the boys when I first came in, he +asked me if they had such things as that in our mines; and if I knew +the use of it? I told him I had seen something like it in our overseer's +hands; but that I had never known its use. It was a thermometer. Mr. +Y---- took great pains to show me how, and on what occasions, this +instrument might be useful. + +"I saw I had now to do with a person who was somewhat different from my +friend the waggoner; and I cannot express the surprise and gratitude +I felt, when I found that he did not think me quite a fool. Instead of +looking at me with scorn, as one _very nearly an idiot_, he answered +my questions with condescension; and sometimes was so good as to add, +'That's a sensible question, my lad.' + +"While we were looking at the thermometer, he found out that I could +not read the words _temperate, freezing point, boiling water heat, &c._ +which were written upon the ivory scale, in small characters. He took +that occasion to point out to me the use and advantages of knowing how +to read and write; and he told me that, as I wished to learn, he would +desire the writing-master, who came to attend his young grandson, to +teach me. + +"I shall not detain you with a journal of my progress through my +spelling-book and copy-books: it is enough to say that I applied with +diligence, and soon could write my name in rather more intelligible +characters than those in which the name of Jervas is cut on the rock +that we were looking at yesterday. + +"My eagerness to read the books which he put into my hands, and the +attention which I paid to his lessons, pleased my writing-master so +much, that he took a pride, as he said, '_in bringing me forward as fast +as possible_.' + +"And here, I must confess, he was rather imprudent in the warmth of his +commendations; my head could not stand them; as much as I was humbled +and mortified by the waggoner's calling me _an idiot_, so much was I +elated by my writing-master's calling me _a genius_. I wrote some very +bad lines in praise of a thistle, which I thought prodigiously fine, +because my writing-master looked surprised, when I showed them to +him; and because he told me that, having given a copy of them to some +gentlemen in Exeter, they agreed that the rhymes were _wonderful for +me_. + +"I was at this period very nearly spoiled for life: but fortunately +my friend Mr. Y---- saw my danger, and cured me of my conceit, without +damping my ardour to acquire knowledge. He took me to the books in +his study, and showed me many volumes of fine poems; pointing out some +passages to me that greatly diminished my admiration of my own lines on +the thistle. The vast distance which I perceived between myself and these +writers threw me into despair. Mr. Y---- seeing me thoroughly abashed, +observed that he was glad to find I saw the difference between bad and +good poetry; and pointed out to me, it was not likely, if I turned my +industry to writing verses, that I should ever either earn my bread, or +equal those who had enjoyed greater advantages of leisure and education. +'But, Jervas,' continued he, 'I commend you for your application and +quickness in learning to write and read, in so short a time: you will +find both these qualifications of great advantage to you. Now, I advise +you, turn your thoughts to something that may make you useful to other +people. You have your bread to earn, and this you can only do by making +yourself useful in some way or other. Look about you, and you will see +that I tell you truth. You may perceive that the servants in my house +are all useful to me, and that I pay them for their services. The cook +who can dress my dinner, the baker who bakes bread for me, the smith who +knows how to shoe my horses, the writing-master who undertakes to +teach my children to write, can all earn money for themselves, and make +themselves independent.--And you may remark that, of all those I have +mentioned, the writing-master is the most respected, and the best paid. +There are some kinds of knowledge, and some kinds of labour, that are +more highly paid for than others. But I have said enough to you, Jervas, +for the present: I do not want to lecture you, but to serve you.--You +are a young lad, and have had no experience; I am an old man, and have +had a great deal: so perhaps my advice may be of some use to you.' + +"His advice was indeed of the greatest use to me: every word he said +sunk into my mind. I wish those who give advice to young people, +especially to those in a lower station than themselves, would +follow this gentleman's example; and, instead of haranguing with the +haughtiness of superior knowledge, would speak with such kindness as to +persuade at the same time that they convince. + +"The very day that Mr. Y---- spoke to me in this manner, he called me +in, that I might tell his eldest grandson the names which we miners +give to certain fossils that had been sent him from Cornwall; and, after +observing to the boy that this knowledge would be useful to him, +he begged me to tell him exactly how the mine, in which I had been +employed, was worked. This I did, as well as I was able; and imperfect +as my description was, it entertained the boys so much that I determined +to try to make a sort of model of the tin-mine for their amusement. + +"But this I found no easy task; my remembrance, even of the place in +which I had lived all my life, was not sufficiently exact to serve +me, as to the length, height, breadth, &c. of the different parts; and +though Mr. Y---- had a good collection of fossils, I was at a loss, for +want of materials, to represent properly the different strata and veins; +or, as we call it, _the country_. + +"My temper, naturally enthusiastic, was not on this occasion to be +daunted by any difficulties. I was roused by the notion that I should +be able to complete something that would be _really useful_ to my kind +benefactor's family; and I anticipated with rapture, the moment when I +should produce my model complete, and justify Mr. Y----'s opinion of my +diligence and capacity. I thought of nothing else from the moment these +ideas came into my head. The measures, plans, and specimens of earths +and ore which were wanting, I knew could only be obtained from the +mine; and such was my ardour to accomplish my little project, that I +determined at all hazards to return into Cornwall, and to ask my good +master's permission to revisit the mine in the night time. + +"Accordingly, without a moment's delay, I set out upon this expedition. +Part of the journey I performed on foot; but wherever I could, I got +a set down, because I was impatient to get near the _Land's End_. +I concluded that the wonder excited by my sudden disappearance had +subsided by this time; that I was too insignificant to make it worth +while to continue a search after me for more than a few days; and that, +in all likelihood, my master had dismissed from his work the gang who +had been concerned in the plot, and who were the only persons whose +revenge I had reason to fear. + +"However, as I drew near the mine, I had the prudence not to expose +myself unnecessarily; and I watched my opportunity so well, that I +contrived to meet my master, in his walk homeward, when no one was with +him. I hastily gave him a letter from Mr. Y----, as a certificate of +my good conduct since my leaving him; then explained the reason of my +return, and asked permission to examine the mines that night. + +"He expressed a good deal of surprise, but no displeasure, at my +boldness in returning: he willingly granted my request; but, at the same +time, warned me that some of my enemies were still in the neighbourhood; +and that, though he had dismissed them from his works, and though +several had left the country in search of employment elsewhere, yet he +was informed that two or three of the gang, and Clarke among the number, +were seen lurking about the country: that they had sworn vengeance +against me for _betraying_ them, as they called it; and had been +indefatigably active in their search after me. + +"My master consequently advised me to stay only the ensuing night, and +to depart before daybreak: he also cautioned me not to wake the man who +now slept in my hut in the mine. + +"I did not like to spoil the only good suit of clothes of which I was +possessed; so, before I went down into the mine, I got from my master my +old jacket, apron, and cap, in which being equipped, and furnished with +a lantern, and rod for measuring, I descended into the mine. + +"I went to work as quietly as possible, surveyed the place exactly, and +remembered what I had heard Mr. Y---- observe, 'that people can never +make their knowledge useful, if they have not been at the pains to +make it exact.' I was determined to give him a proof of my exactness: +accordingly I measured and minuted down every thing with the most +cautious accuracy; and, so intent was my mind upon my work, the thoughts +of Clarke and his associates never came across me for a moment. Nay, +I absolutely forgot the man in the hut, and am astonished he was not +sooner waked. + +"What roused him at last was, I believe, the noise I made in loosening +some earth and stones for specimens. A great stone came tumbling down, +and immediately afterwards I heard one of the horses neigh, which showed +me I had waked them at least; and I betook myself to a hiding-place, in +the western gallery, where I kept quiet, for I believe a quarter of an +hour, in order to give the horses and the man, if he were awake, time to +go to sleep again. + +"I ventured out of my hiding-place too soon; for, just as I left my +nook, I saw the man at the end of the gallery. Instantly, upon the sight +of me, he put both his hands before his face, gave a loud shriek, turned +his back, and took to his heels with the greatest precipitation. I +guessed that, as he said yesterday, he took me for the ghost of myself; +and that his terror made him mistake my lantern for a blue taper. I had +no chain; but that I had a rod in my hand is most certain: and it is +also true that I took advantage of his fears, to drive him out of my +way; for the moment he began to run, I shook my rod as fast and as loud +as I could against the tin top of my lantern; and I trampled with my +feet as if I was pursuing him. + +"As soon as the coast was clear, I hastened back for my specimens; which +I packed up in my basket, and then decamped as fast as I could. This is +the only time I ever walked in the western gallery with a _blue taper_ +in my hand, dragging a _chain_ after me, whatever the ghost-seer may +report to the contrary. + +"I was heartily glad to get away, and to have thus happily accomplished +the object of my journey. I carried my basket on my back for some miles, +till I got to the place where a waggon put up; and in this I travelled +safely back to Exeter. + +"I determined not to show my model to Mr. Y----, or the boys, till +it should be as complete as I could make it. I got a good ingenious +carpenter, who had been in the habit of working for the toy-shops, to +help me; and laid out the best part of my worldly treasure upon this my +grand first project. I had new models made of the sieves for _lueing_, +the _box_ and _trough_, the _buddle, wreck, and tool_ {Footnote: The +names of vessels and machines used in the Cornish tin-mines.}, beside +some dozen of wooden workmen, wheelbarrows, &c,; with which the +carpenter, by my directions, furnished my mine. I paid a smith and +tinman, moreover, for models of our _stamps_, and _blowing-house_, and +an iron grate for my box: besides, I had a _lion rampant_ {Footnote: A +lion rampant is stamped on the block tin which is brought thence.}, and +other small matters, from the pewterer; also a pair of bellows, finished +by the glover; for all which articles, as they were out of the common +way, I was charged high. + +"It was some time, even when all this was ready, before we could +contrive to make our puppets do their business properly: but patience +accomplishes every thing. At last we got our wooden miners to obey us, +and to perform their several tasks at the word of command; that is to +say, at the pulling of certain strings and wires, which we fastened to +their legs, arms, heads, and shoulders: which wires, being slender and +black, were at a little distance invisible to the spectators. When the +skeletons were perfect, we fell to work to dress and paint them; and +I never shall forget the delight with which I contemplated our whole +company of puppets: men, women, and children, fresh painted and dizened +out, all in their proper colours. The carpenter could scarcely prevent +me from spoiling them: I was so impatient to set them at work that I +could not wait till their clothes were dry; and I was every half hour +rubbing my fingers upon their cheeks, to try whether the red paint was +yet hard enough. + +"With some pride, I announced my intended exhibition to Mr. Y----; and +he appointed that evening for seeing it, saying that none but his own +boys should be present at the first representation. It was for +them alone it was originally designed; but I was so charmed with my +newly-finished work, that I would gladly have had all Exeter present at +the exhibition. However, before night, I was convinced of my friend Mr. +Y----'s superior prudence: the whole thing, as the carpenter said, +_went off_ pretty well; but several disasters happened which I had not +foreseen. There was one stiff old fellow, whose arms, twitch them which +way I would, I could never get to bend: and an obstinate old woman, who +would never do any thing else but curtsy, when I wanted her to kneel +down and to do her work. My children sorted their heaps of rubbish and +ore very dexterously; excepting one unlucky little chap, who, from the +beginning, had his head, somehow or other, turned the wrong way upon +his shoulders; and I could never manage, all the night, to set it right +again: it was in vain I flattered myself that his wry neck would escape +observation; for, as he was one of the wheelbarrow boys, he was a +conspicuous figure in the piece; and, whenever he appeared, wheeling +or emptying his barrow, I to my mortification heard repeated peals of +laughter from the spectators, in which even my patron, notwithstanding +his good-natured struggles against it for some time, was at last +compelled to join. + +"I, all the while, was wiping my forehead behind my show-box; for I +never was in such a bath of heat in my life: not the hardest day's work +I ever wrought in the mine made me one half so hot as setting these +puppets to work. + +"When my exhibition was over, good Mr. Y---- came to me, and consoled +me for all disasters, by the praises he bestowed upon my patience and +ingenuity: he showed me that he knew the difficulties with which I had +to contend: and he mentioned the defects to me in the kindest manner, +and how they might be remedied. 'I see,' said he, smiling, 'that you +have endeavoured to make something useful for the entertainment of my +boys; and I will take pains to make it turn out advantageously to you.' + +"The next morning I went to look at my show-box, which Mr. Y---- had +desired me to leave in his study; and I was surprised to see the front +of the box, which I had left open for the spectators, filled up with +boards, and having a circular glass in the middle. The eldest boy, who +stood by enjoying my surprise, bid me look in, and tell him what I saw. +What was my astonishment, when I first looked through this glass--'As +large as the life!--As large as the life!' cried I, in admiration--'I +see the puppets, the _wheelbarrows_, every thing as large as life!' + +"Mr. Y---- then told me, that it was by his grandson's directions that +this glass, which he said was called a magnifying-glass, or convex-lens, +was added to my show-box. 'He makes you a present of it; and now,' added +he, smiling, 'get all your little performers into order, and prepare for +a second representation: I will send for a clock-maker in this town, +who is an _ingenious_ man, and will show you how to manage properly the +motions of your puppets; and then we will get a good painter to paint +them for you." + +"There was at this time, in Exeter, a society of literary gentlemen, who +met once a week at each other's houses. Mr. Y---- was one of these; and +several of the principal families in Exeter, especially those who had +children, came on the appointed evening to see the model of the Cornwall +tin-mine, which, with the assistance of the clock-maker and painter, was +now become really a show worth looking at. I made but few blunders this +time, and the company were indulgent enough to pardon these, and to +express themselves well pleased with my little exhibition. They gave me, +indeed, solid marks of their satisfaction, which were quite unexpected: +after the exhibition, Mr. Y----'s youngest grandchild, in the name +of the rest of the company, presented me with a purse, containing the +contributions which had been made for me. + +"After repaying all my expenses for my journey and machinery, I found +I had six guineas and a crown to spare. So I thought myself a rich man; +and, having never seen so much money together in my life before, as six +golden guineas and a crown, I should, most probably, like the generality +of people who come into the possession of unexpected wealth, have become +extravagant, had it not been for the timely advice of my kind monitor, +Mr. Y----. When I showed him a pair of Chinese tumblers, which I had +bought from a pedlar for twice as much as they were worth, merely +because they pleased my fancy, he shook his head, and observed that I +might, before my death, want this very money to buy a loaf of bread. 'If +you spend your money as fast as you get it, Jervas,' said he, 'no matter +how ingenious or industrious you are, you will always be poor. Remember +the good proverb that says, _Industry is Fortune's right hand, and +Frugality her left_;' a proverb which has been worth ten times more to +me than all my little purse contained: so true it is, that those do not +always give most who give money." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +"I had soon reason to rejoice at having thrown away no more money on +baubles, as I had occasion for my whole stock to fit myself out for a +new way of life. 'Jervas,' said Mr. Y---- to me, 'I have at last found +an occupation, which I hope will suit you.'--Unknown to me, he had been, +ever since he first saw my little model, intent upon turning it to +my lasting advantage. Among the gentlemen of the society which I have +before mentioned, there was one who had formed a design of sending +some well-informed lecturer through England, to exhibit models of +the machines used in manufactories: Mr. Y---- purposely invited this +gentleman the evening that I exhibited my tin-mine, and proposed to him +that I should be permitted to accompany his lecturer. To this he +agreed. Mr. Y---- told me that although the person who was fixed upon as +lecturer was not exactly the sort of man he should have chosen, yet +as he was a relation of the gentleman who set the business on foot, no +objection could well be made to him. + +"I was rather daunted by the cold and haughty look with which my new +master, the lecturer, received me when I was presented to him. Mr. +Y----, observing this, whispered to me at parting. 'Make yourself +useful, and you will soon be agreeable to him. We must not expect to +find friends ready made wherever we go in the world: we often have to +make friends for ourselves with great pains and care.' It cost me both +pains and care, I know, to make this lecturer my friend. He was what +is called _born a gentleman;_ and he began by treating me as a low-born +upstart, who, being perfectly ignorant, wanted to pass for a self-taught +_genius._ That I was low-born, I did not attempt to conceal; nor did I +perceive that I had any reason to be ashamed of my birth, or of having +raised myself by honest means to a station above that in which I was +born. I was proud of this circumstance, and therefore it was no torment +to me to hear the continual hints which my well-born master threw out +upon this subject. I moreover never pretended to any knowledge which I +had not; so that, by degrees, notwithstanding his prejudices, he began +to feel that I had neither the presumption of an upstart, nor of a +self-taught genius. I kept in mind the counsel given to me by Mr. Y----, +to endeavour to make myself useful to my employer; but it was no +easy matter to do this at first, because he had such a dread of my +awkwardness that he would never let me touch any of his apparatus. I was +always left to stand like a cipher beside him whilst he lectured; and +I had regularly the mortification of hearing him conclude his lecture +with, '_Now, gentlemen and ladies, I will not detain you any longer from +what, I am sensible, is much better worth your attention than any thing +I can offer--Mr. Jervas's puppet-show_.' + +"It happened one day that he sent me with a shilling, as he thought, +to pay a hostler for the feeding of his horse; as I rubbed the money +between my finger and thumb, I perceived that the white surface came +off, and the piece looked yellow: I recollected that my master had the +day before been showing some experiments with quicksilver and gold, and +that he had covered a guinea with quicksilver: so I immediately took the +money back, and my master, for the first time in his life, thanked me +very cordially; for this was in reality a guinea, and not a shilling. +He was also surprised at my directly mentioning the experiment he had +shown. + +"The next day that he lectured, he omitted the offensive conclusion +about Mr. Jervas's puppet-show. I observed, farther, to my infinite +satisfaction, that after this affair of the guinea, he was not so +suspicious of my honesty as he used to appear to be: he now yielded more +to his natural indolence, and suffered me to pack up his things for him, +and to do a hundred little services which formerly he used roughly to +refuse at my hands; saying, 'I had rather do it myself, _sir_,' or, 'I +don't like to have _any_ body meddle with my things, Mr. Jervas.' But +his tone changed, and it was now, 'Jervas, I'll leave you to put up +these things, whilst I go and read;'--or, 'Jervas, will you see that I +leave none of my goods behind me, there's a good lad?'--In truth, he +was rather apt to leave his goods behind him: he was the most absent and +forgetful man alive. During the first half year we travelled together, +whilst he attempted to take care of his own things, I counted that he +lost two pair and a half of slippers, one boot, three night-caps, one +shirt, and fifteen pocket-handkerchiefs. Many of these losses, I make no +doubt, were set down in his imagination to my account whilst he had +no opinion of my honesty; but I am satisfied that he was afterwards +thoroughly convinced of the injustice of his suspicions, as, from the +time that I had the charge of his _goods_, as he called them, to the day +we parted, including a space of above four years and a half, he never +lost any thing but one red nightcap, which, to the best of my belief, he +sent in his wig one Sunday morning to the barber's, but which never came +back again, and an old ragged blue pocket-handkerchief, which he said he +put under his pillow, or into his boot, when he went to bed at night. He +had an odd way of sticking his pocket-handkerchief into his boot, that +he might be sure to find it in the morning.' I suspect the handkerchief +was carried down in the boot when it was taken to be cleaned. He was, +however, perfectly certain that these two losses were not to be imputed +to any carelessness of mine. He often said he was obliged to me for the +attention I paid to his interests; he treated me now very civilly, and +would sometimes condescend to explain to me in private what I did not +understand in his public lectures. + +"I was presently advanced to the dignity of his secretary. He wrote +a miserably bad hand: and his manuscripts were so scratched and +interlined, that it was with the utmost difficulty he could decipher +his own writing, when he was obliged to have recourse to his notes +in lecturing. He was, moreover, extremely near-sighted; and he had a +strange trick of wrinkling up the skin on the bridge of his nose when he +was perplexed: altogether, his look was so comical when he began to pore +over these papers of his, that few of the younger part of our audiences +could resist their inclination to laugh. This disconcerted him beyond +measure; and he was truly glad to accept my offer of copying out his +scrawls fairly in a good bold round hand. I could now write, if I +may say it without vanity, an excellent hand, and could go over +his calculations as far as the first four rules of arithmetic were +concerned; so that I became quite his _factotum_: and I thought myself +rewarded for all my pains, by having opportunities of gaining every +day some fresh piece of knowledge from the perusal of the notes which I +transcribed. + +"It was now that I felt most thoroughly the advantage of having learned +to read and write: stores of useful information were opened to me, and +my curiosity and desire to inform myself were insatiable. I often sat +up half the night reading and writing: I had free access now to all my +fellow-traveller's books, and I thought I could never study them enough. + +"At the commencement of my studies, my master often praised my +diligence, and would show me where to look for what I wanted in his +books, or explain difficulties: I looked up to him as a miracle of +science and learning; nay, I was actually growing fond of him, but this +did not last long. In process of time, he grew shy of explaining things +to me; he scolded me for thumbing his books, though, God knows, my +thumbs were always cleaner than his own, and he thwarted me continually +upon some pretence or other. I could not for some time conceive the +cause of this change in my master's behaviour: indeed it was hard for +me to guess or believe that he was become jealous of the talents and +knowledge of a poor lad, whose ignorance he, but a few years before, had +so much despised and derided. I was the more surprised at this new turn +of his mind, because I was conscious that, instead of becoming more +conceited, I had of late become more humble; but this humility was, by +my suspicious master, attributed to artifice, and tended more than any +thing to confirm him in his notion that I had formed a plan to supplant +him in his office of lecturer, a scheme which had never entered into +my head. I was thunderstruck when he one day said to me, 'You need not +study so hard, Mr. Jervas; for I promise you that, even with Mr. Y----'s +assistance, and all your _art_, you will not be able to supplant me, +clever as, with all affected humility, you think yourself.' + +"The truth lightened upon me at once. Had he been a judge of the human +countenance, he must have seen my innocence in my looks: but he was so +fixed in his opinion, that I knew any protestations I could make of my +never having thought of the scheme he imputed to me, would serve only +to confirm him in his idea of my dissimulation. I contented myself +with returning to him his books and his manuscripts, and thenceforward +withdrew my attention from his lectures, to which I had always till now +been one of the most eager auditors; by these proceedings I hoped to +quiet his suspicions. I no longer applied myself to any studies in which +he was engaged, to show him that all competition with him was far from +my thoughts; and I have since reflected that this fit of jealousy of +his, which I at the time looked upon as a misfortune, because it stopped +me short in pursuits which were highly agreeable to my taste, was in +fact of essential service to me. My reading had been too general; and I +had endeavoured to master so many things, that I was not likely to make +myself thoroughly skilled in any. As a blacksmith said once to me, when +he was asked why he was not both blacksmith and whitesmith, 'The smith +that will meddle with all things may go shoe the goslings;' an old +proverb, which, from its mixture of drollery and good sense, became ever +after a favourite of mine. + +"Having returned my master's books, I had only such to read as I could +purchase or borrow for myself, and I became very careful in my choice: +I also took every opportunity of learning all I could from the +conversation of sensible people, wherever we went; and I found that one +piece of knowledge helped me to another often when I least expected it. +And this I may add, for the encouragement of others, that every thing +which I learned accurately was, at some time or other of my life, of use +to me. + +"After having made a progress through England, my fellow-traveller +determined to try his fortune in the metropolis, and to give lectures +there to young people during the winter season. Accordingly, we +proceeded towards London, taking Woolwich in our way, where we exhibited +before the young gentlemen of the military academy. My master, who, +since he had withdrawn his notes from my hands, had no one to copy them +fairly, found himself, during his lecture, in some perplexity; and, as +he exhibited his usual odd contortions upon this occasion, the young +gentlemen could not restrain their laughter: he also prolonged his +lecture more than his audience liked, and several yawned terribly, and +made signs of an impatient desire to see what was in my box, as a +relief from their fatigue. This my master quickly perceived, and, +being extremely provoked, he spoke to me with a degree of harshness +and insolence which, as I bore it with temper, prepossessed the young +company in my favour. He concluded his lecture with the old sentence: +'Gentlemen, I shall no longer detain you from what I am sure is much +better worthy of your attention than any thing I can offer, viz. +Mr. Jervas's puppet-show.' This was an unlucky speech on the present +occasion, for it happened that every body, after having seen what he +called my puppet-show, was precisely of this opinion. My master grew +more and more impatient, and wanted to hurry me away, but one spirited +young man most warmly took me and my tin-mine under his protection: I +stood my ground, insisting upon my right to finish my exhibition, as my +master had been allowed full time to finish his. The young gentleman who +supported me was as well pleased by my present firmness as he had been +by my former patience. At parting he made a handsome collection for me, +which I refused to accept, taking only the regular price. 'Well,' said +he, 'you shall be no loser by this. You are going to town; my father is +in London; here is his direction. I'll mention you to him the next time +I write home, and you'll not be the worse for that.' + +"As soon as we got to London, I went according to my direction. The +young gentleman had been more punctual in writing home than young +gentlemen sometimes are. I was appointed to come with my models the +next evening, when a number of young people were collected, beside the +children of the family. The young spectators gathered round me at +one end of a large saloon, asking me innumerable questions after the +exhibition was over; whilst the master of the house, who was an East +India director, was walking up and down the room, conversing with +a gentleman in an officer's uniform. They were, as I afterwards +understood, talking about the casting of some guns at Woolwich for the +East India Company. 'Charles,' said the director, coming to the place +where we were standing, and tapping one of his sons on the shoulder, +'do you recollect what your brother told us about the proportion of tin +which is used in casting brass cannon at Woolwich?' The young gentleman +answered that he could not recollect, but referred his father to me; +adding, that his brother told him I was the person from whom he had the +information. My memory served me exactly; and I had reason to rejoice +that I had not neglected the opportunity of gaining this knowledge, +during our short stay at Woolwich. The East India director, pleased with +my answering his first question accurately, condescended, in compliance +with his children's entreaties, to examine my models, and questioned me +upon a variety of subjects: at length he observed to the gentleman with +whom he had been conversing, that I explained myself well, that I knew +all I did know accurately, and that I had the art of captivating the +attention of young people. 'I do think,' concluded he, 'that he would +answer Dr. Bell's description better than any person I have seen.' He +then inquired particularly into my history and connexions, all of which +I told him exactly. He took down the direction to Mr. Y----, and my +good master (as I shall always call Mr. R----), and to several other +gentlemen, at whose houses I had been during the last three or four +years, telling me that he would write to them about me; and that if he +found my accounts of myself were as exact as my knowledge upon other +subjects, he thought he could place me in a very eligible situation. The +answers to these letters were all perfectly satisfactory: he gave me the +letter from Mr. R----, saying 'you had better keep this letter, and take +care of it; for it will be a recommendation to you in any part of the +world where courage and fidelity are held in esteem.' Upon looking into +this letter, I found that my good master had related, in the handsomest +manner, the whole of my conduct about the discovery of the vein in his +mine. + +"The director now informed me that, if I had no objection to go to +India, I should be appointed to go out to Madras as an assistant to Dr. +Bell, one of the directors of the asylum for the instruction of orphans; +an establishment which is immediately under the auspices of the East +India Company, and which does them honour {Footnote: _Vide_ a small +pamphlet, printed for Cadell and Davies, entitled, "An Experiment +in Education, made at the Male Asylum of Madras, by the Rev. Dr. A. +Bell."}. + +"The salary which was offered me was munificent beyond my utmost +expectations; and the account of the institution, which was put into my +hands, charmed me. I speedily settled all my concerns with the lecturer, +who was in great astonishment that this appointment had not fallen upon +him. To console him for the last time, I showed him a passage in Dr. +Bell's pamphlet, in which it is said that the doctor prefers to all +others, for teaching at his school, youths who have no fixed habits as +tutors, and who will implicitly follow his directions. I was at this +time but nineteen: my master was somewhat appeased by this view of the +affair, and we parted, as I wished, upon civil terms; though I could not +feel much regret at leaving him. I had no pleasure in living with one +who would not let me become attached to him; for, having early met with +two excellent friends and masters, the agreeable feelings of gratitude +and affection were in a manner necessary to my happiness. + +"Before I left England, I received new proofs of Mr. R----'s goodness: +he wrote to me to say that, as I was going to a distant country, +to which a small annuity of ten guineas a year could not easily be +remitted, he had determined to lay out a sum equal to the value of +the annuity he had promised me, in a manner which he hoped would be +advantageous: he further said, that as the vein of the mine with which I +had made him acquainted turned out better than he expected, he had added +the value of fifty guineas more than my annuity; and that if I would go +to Mr. Ramsden's, mathematical instrument maker, in Piccadilly, I should +receive all he had ordered to be ready for me. At Mr. Ramsden's I found +ready to be packed up for me two small globes, siphons, prisms, an +air-gun and an air-pump, a speaking trumpet, a small apparatus for +showing the gases, and an apparatus for freezing water. Mr. Ramsden +informed me that these were not all the things Mr. R---- had bespoken; +that he had ordered a small balloon, and a portable telegraph, in form +of an umbrella, which would be sent home, as he expected, in the course +of the next week. Mr. Ramsden also had directions to furnish me with a +set of mathematical instruments of his own making. 'But,' added he +with a smile, 'you will be lucky if you get them soon enough out of my +hands.' In fact, I believe I called a hundred times in the course of a +fortnight upon Ramsden, and it was only the day before the fleet sailed +that they were finished and delivered to me. + +"I cannot here omit to mention an incident that happened in one of my +walks to Ramsden's: I was rather late, and was pushing my way hastily +through a crowd that was gathered at the turning of a street, when a +hawker by accident flapped a bundle of wet hand-bills in my eyes, and +at the same instant screamed in my ears, '_The last dying speech and +confession of Jonathan Clarke, who was executed on Monday, the 11th +instant._'--Jonathan Clarke! The name struck my ears suddenly, and the +words I shocked me so much that I stood fixed to the spot; and it was I +not till the hawker had passed by me some yards, and was beginning with +'_The last dying speech and confession of Jonathan Clarke, the Cornwall +miner_,' that I recollected myself enough to speak: I called after the +hawker in vain: he was bawling too loud to hear me, and I was forced to +run the whole length of the street before I could overtake him, and get +one of the hand-bills. On reading it, I could have no doubt that it +was really the last dying speech of my old enemy Clarke. His birth, +parentage, and every circumstance, convinced me of the truth. Amongst +other things in his confession, I came to a plan he had laid to murder a +poor lad in the tin-mine, where he formerly worked; 'and he thanked God +that this plan was never executed, as the boy providentially disappeared +the very night on which the murder was to have been perpetrated. He +further set forth that, after being turned away by his master, and +obliged to fly from Cornwall, he came up to London, and worked as +a coal-heaver for a little while, but soon became what is called a +_mud-lark_; that is, a plunderer of the ships' cargoes that unload in +the Thames. He plied this abominable trade for some time, drinking every +day to the value of what he stole, till, in a quarrel at an ale-house +about the division of some articles to be sold to a receiver of stolen +goods, he struck the woman of the house a blow, of which she died; and, +as it was proved that he had long-borne her malice for some old +dispute, Clarke was on his trial brought in guilty of wilful murder, and +sentenced to be hanged. + +"I shuddered whilst I read all this.--To such an end, after the utmost +his cunning could do, was this villain brought at last! How thankful +I was that I did not continue his associate in my boyish days! My +gratitude to my good master increased upon the reflection that it was +his humanity which had raised me from vice and misery, to virtue and +happiness. We sailed from the Downs the 20th of March, one thousand +seven hundred and.... But why I tell you this I do not know; except it +be in compliance with the custom of all voyagers, who think that it is +important to the world to know on what day they sailed from this or that +port. I shall not, however, imitate them in giving you a journal of +the wind, or a copy of the ship's log-book. Suffice it to say, that we +arrived safely at Madras, after a voyage of about the usual number of +months and days, during all which I am sorry that I have not for your +entertainment any escape or imminent danger of shipwreck to relate; nor +even any description of a storm or a water-spout. + +"You will, I am afraid, be much disappointed to find that, upon my +arrival in India, where doubtless you expected that I should like others +have wonderful adventures, I began to live at Dr. Bell's asylum in +Madras a quiet regular life; in which for years I may safely say, that +every day in the week was extremely like that which preceded it. This +regularity was nowise irksome to me, notwithstanding that I had for +some years, in England, been so much used to a roving way of life. I had +never any taste for rambling; and under Dr. Bell, who treated me with +strict justice, as far as the business of the asylum was concerned, and +with distinguished kindness in all other circumstances, I enjoyed as +much freedom as I desired. I never had those absurd vague notions of +liberty, which render men uneasy under the necessary restraints of all +civilized society, and which do not make them the more fit to live +with savages. The young people who were under my care gradually became +attached to me, and I to them. I obeyed Dr. Bell's directions exactly +in all things; and he was pleased to say, after I had been with him for +some time, that he never had any assistant who was so entirely agreeable +to him. When the business of the day was over, I often amused myself, +and the elder boys, with my apparatus for preparing the gases, my +speaking-trumpet, air-gun, &c. + +"One day, I think it was in the fourth year of my residence at Madras, +Dr. Bell sent for me into his closet, and asked me if I had ever heard +of a scholar of his, of the name of William Smith, a youth of seventeen +years of age; who, in the year 1794, attended the embassy to Tippoo +Sultan, when the hostage princes were restored; and who went through +a course of experiments in natural philosophy, in the presence of the +sultan. I answered Dr. Bell that, before I left England, I had read, in +his account of the asylum, extracts from this William Smith's letters, +whilst he was at the sultan's court; and that I remembered all the +experiments he had exhibited perfectly well; and also that he was +detained, by the sultan's order, nineteen days after the embassy had +taken leave, for the purpose of instructing two aruzbegs, or lords, in +the use of an extensive and elegant mathematical apparatus, presented +to Tippoo by the government at Madras. + +{Footnote: _Extracts from William Smith's Letters to Dr. Bell, (vide the +Pamphlet before mentioned.)_ + +'Devanelli Fort, April 8, 1792. + +'REVEREND SIR, + +'I take the liberty of informing you that we arrived here the 28th ult. +without any particular occurrence in the way. The day after our arrival +we made our first visit to the sultan; and he entertained us at his +court for upwards of three hours. + +'On the 1st instant Captain Dovetoun sent me an order to open the boxes, +and lay out the machines, to show them to the sultan. Accordingly, on +the third, I was sent for, and I exhibited the following experiments; +viz. head and wig; dancing images; electric stool; cotton fired; small +receiver and stand; hemispheres; Archimedes' screw; siphon; Tantalus's +cup; water-pump; condensing engine, &c. Captain Dovetoun was present, +and explained, as I went on, to the sultan, who has given us an instance +of his being acquainted with some of these experiments. He has shown +us a condensing engine made by himself, which spouted water higher than +ours. He desired me to teach two men, his aruzbegs. + + * * * * * + +'I can assure you that Tippoo Sultan was mightily pleased with the +electric machine. He was prepared for every experiment I exhibited, +except the firing of the inflammable air. + + * * * * * + +'It did cost me several minutes before the firing of the inflammable air +proved successful; during which time he was in a very impatient emotion; +and, when that was done, it did indeed surprise him. He desired me to go +over it three times. + +'I take the liberty to write for your information the familiar discourse +Tippoo Sultan was pleased to enter into with me, that took place at the +close of the experiments. + +'There were some silver trumpets, newly made, brought in to him for +his inspection, and which he desired the trumpeters to sound _hauw_ and +_jauw_; i.e. come and go; after which, he asked me if they were like +those I saw at Madras. I answered, Yes; but those at Madras are made of +copper. He asked me again whether the tune was any thing like what I had +ever heard. I answered, No. How then? says he; and presently ordering +the instrument to be put into my hands, desired me to blow. I told him, +very civilly, that I could not blow. No! says he: you could; what are +you afraid of? I told him again that I spoke truth; and that I was +brought up in a school where my master informed me what lying was, and +always punished those boys that spoke untruths. + + * * * * * + +'June 11th. After this the sultan arose (five hours being elapsed) to +quit the court, and desired the present (of a hundred rupees) to be +delivered into my hands, with these words: "This is given you as a +present for the trouble you took in performing those experiments, which +verily pleased me;" and a command that I am to stay in the fort ten +days; "after which," he continued, "I will send you to Kistnagherry, +with two hircarrahs, in order to conduct you safely through my country." +I returned the compliment with a salam, in the manner I was instructed; +saying that I thankfully accepted his present, and am willing to obey +his commands. The language which the sultan used was the Carnatic +Malabar. Mine very little differed from his. Poornbia was the +interpreter of such terms as the sultan did not understand.'} + +"Well,' said Dr. Bell, 'since that time Tippoo Sultan has been at war, +and has had no leisure, I suppose, for the study of philosophy, or +mathematics; but now that he has just made peace, and wants something +to amuse him, he has sent to the government at Madras, to request that +I will permit some of my scholars to pay a second visit at his court to +refresh the memory of the aruzbegs, and, I presume, to exhibit some new +wonders for Tippoo's entertainment.' + +"Dr. B. proposed to me to go on this embassy: accordingly, I prepared +all my apparatus, and, having carefully remarked what experiments Tippoo +had already seen, I selected such as would be new to him. I packed up +my speaking-trumpet, my apparatus for freezing water, and that for +exhibiting the gases, my balloon and telegraph, and with these and my +model of the tin-mine, which I took by Dr. Bell's advice, I set out +with two of his eldest scholars upon our expedition. We were met on the +entrance of Tippoo's dominions by four hircarrahs or soldiers, whom the +sultan sent as a guard to conduct us safely through his dominions. He +received us at court the day after our arrival. Unaccustomed as I was to +Asiatic magnificence, I confess that my eyes were at first so dazzled by +the display of oriental pomp that, as I prostrated myself at the foot +of the sultan's throne, I considered him as a personage high as human +veneration could look upon. After having made my salam, or salutation, +according to the custom of his court, as I was instructed to do, the +sultan commanded me, by his interpreter, to display my knowledge of the +arts and sciences, for the instruction and amusement of his court. + +"My boxes and machines had all been previously opened, and laid out: +I was prepared to show my apparatus for freezing, but Tippoo's eye was +fixed upon the painted silk balloon; and with prodigious eagerness he +interrupted me several times with questions about that great empty +bag. I endeavoured to make him understand as well as I could, by my +interpreter and his own, that this great empty bag was to be filled with +a species of air lighter than the common air; and that, when filled, +the bag which I informed him was in our country called a balloon, would +mount far above his palace. No sooner was this repeated to him, by +the interpreter, than the sultan commanded me _instantly_ to fill the +balloon; and when I replied that it could not be done instantly, and +that I was not prepared to exhibit it on this day, Tippoo gave signs of +the most childish impatience. He signified to me, that since I could not +show him what he wanted to see, the sultan would not see what I wanted +to show. I replied, through his interpreter, in the most respectful but +firm manner, that no one would be so presumptuous as to show to Tippoo +Sultan, in his own court, any thing which he did not desire to see: +that it was in compliance with his wishes that I came to his court, from +which, in obedience to his commands, I should at any time be ready +to withdraw. A youth, who stood at the right hand of Tippoo's throne, +seemed much to approve of this answer, and the sultan, assuming a more +composed and dignified aspect, signified to me that he was satisfied to +await for the sight of the filling of the great bag till the next day; +and that he should, in the mean time, be well pleased to see what I was +now prepared to show. + +"The apparatus for freezing, which we then exhibited, seemed to please +him; but I observed that he was, during a great part of the time whilst +I was explaining it, intent upon something else; and no sooner had I +done speaking than he caused to be produced the condensing engines, made +by himself, which he formerly showed to William Smith, and which he said +spouted water higher than any of ours. The sultan, I perceived, was much +more intent upon displaying his small stock of mechanical knowledge than +upon increasing it; and the mixture of vanity and ignorance, which he +displayed upon this and many subsequent occasions, considerably lessened +the awe which his external magnificence at first excited in my mind. +Sometimes he would put himself in competition with me, to show his +courtiers his superiority; but failing in these attempts, he would then +treat me as a species of mechanic juggler, who was fit only to exhibit +for the amusement of his court. When he saw my speaking-trumpet, which +was made of copper, he at first looked at it with great scorn, and +ordered his trumpeters to show me theirs, which were made of silver. As +he had formerly done when my predecessor was at his court, he desired +his trumpeters to sound through these trumpets the words _hauw_ and +_jauw_, i.e. come and go: but, upon trial, mine was found to be far +superior to the sultan's: and I received intimation, through one of his +courtiers, that it would be prudent to offer it immediately to Tippoo. +This I accordingly did, and he accepted it with the eagerness of a child +who has begged and obtained a new play-thing." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +"The next day, Tippoo and his whole court assembled to see my balloon. +Tippoo was seated in a splendid pavilion, and his principal courtiers +stood in a semicircle on each side of him: the youth, whom I formerly +observed, was again on his right hand, and his eyes were immovably fixed +upon my balloon, which had been previously filled and fastened down by +cords. I had the curiosity to ask who this youth was: I was informed he +was the sultan's eldest son, Prince Abdul Calie. I had not time to make +any farther inquiries, for Tippoo now ordered a signal to be given, as +had been previously agreed upon. I instantly cut the cords which held +the balloon, and it ascended with a rapid but graceful motion, to the +unspeakable astonishment and delight of all the spectators. Some clapped +their hands and shouted, others looked up in speechless ecstasy, and +in the general emotion all ranks for an instant were confounded: even +Tippoo Sultan seemed at this interval to be forgotten, and to forget +himself, in the admiration of this new wonder. + +"As soon as the balloon was out of sight, the court returned to their +usual places, the noise subsided, and the sultan, as if desirous to +fix the public attention upon himself, and to show his own superior +magnificence, issued orders immediately to his treasurer to present me, +as a token of his royal approbation, with two hundred star pagodas. +When I approached to make my salam and compliment of thanks, as I was +instructed, the sultan, who observed that some of the courtiers already +began to regard me with envy, as if my reward had been too great, +determined to divert himself with their spleen, and to astonish me +with his generosity: he took from his finger a diamond ring, which he +presented to me by one of his officers. The young prince, Abdul Calie, +whispered to his father whilst I was withdrawing, and I soon afterwards +received a message from the sultan, requesting, or, in other words, +ordering me to remain some time at his court, to instruct the young +prince, his son, in the use of my European machines, for which they had +in their language no names. + +"This command proved a source of real pleasure to me; for I found +Prince Abdul Calie not only a youth of quick apprehension, but of a most +amiable disposition, unlike the imperious and capricious temper which +I had remarked in his father. Prince Abdul Calie had been, when he +was about twelve years old, one of the hostage princes left with Lord +Cornwallis at Seringapatam. With that politeness which is seldom to +be found in the sons of eastern despots, this prince, after my first +introduction, ordered the magnificent palanquin, given to him by Lord +Cornwallis, to be shown to me; then pointing to the enamelled snakes +which support the panels, and on which the sun at that instant happened +to shine, Prince Abdul Calie was pleased to say, 'The remembrance of +your noble countryman's kindness to me is as fresh and lively in my soul +as those colours now appear to my eye.' + +"Another thing gave me a good opinion of this young prince; he did not +seem to value presents merely by their costliness; whether he gave or +received, he considered the feelings of others; and I know that he often +excited in my mind more gratitude by the gift of a mere trifle, by a +word or a look, than his ostentatious father could by the most valuable +donations. Tippoo, though he ordered his treasurer to pay me fifty +rupees per day, whilst I was in his service, yet treated me with a +species of insolence; which, having some of the feelings of a free-born +Briton about me, I found it difficult to endure with patience. His +son, on the contrary, showed that he felt obliged to me for the little +instruction I was able to give him; and never appeared to think that, as +a prince, he could pay for all the kindness, as well as the service +of his inferiors, by pagodas or rupees: so true it is that attachment +cannot be bought; and those who wish to have friends, as well as +servants, should keep this truth constantly in mind. My English spirit +of independence induced me to make these and many more such reflections +whilst I was at Tippoo's court. + +"Every day afforded me fresh occasion to form comparisons between the +sultan and his son; and my attachment to my pupil every day increased. +My pupil! It was with astonishment I sometimes reflected that a young +prince was actually my pupil. Thus an obscure individual, in a country +like England, where arts, sciences, and literature are open to all +ranks, may obtain a degree of knowledge which an eastern despot, in all +his pride, would gladly purchase with ingots of his purest gold. + +"One evening, after the business of the day was over, Tippoo Sultan came +into his son's apartment, whilst I was explaining to the young prince +the use of some of the mathematical instruments in my pocket-case. 'We +are well acquainted with these things,' said the sultan in a haughty +tone: 'the government of Madras sent us such things as those, with +others, which are now in the possession of some of my aruzbegs, who +have doubtless explained them sufficiently to the prince my son.' Prince +Abdul Calie modestly replied, 'that he had never before been made to +understand them; for that the aruzbeg, who had formerly attempted to +explain them, had not the art of making things so clear to him as I had +done.' + +"I felt a glow of pleasure at this compliment, and at the consciousness +that I deserved it. How little did I imagine, when I used to sit up at +nights studying my old master's books, that one of them would be the +means of procuring me such honour. {Footnote: Jervas here alludes to a +book entitled, "A Description of Pocket and Magazine Cases of Drawing +Instruments: in which is explained the use of each instrument, and +particularly of the sector and plain scale, Gunter's scale, &c. By J. +Barrow, private teacher of mathematics."} + +"'What is contained in that box?' said the sultan, pointing to the box +which held the model of the tin-mine. 'I do not remember to have seen it +opened in my presence.' + +"I replied that it had not been opened, because I feared that it was not +worthy to be shown to him. But he commanded that it should instantly +be exhibited; and, to my great surprise, it seemed to delight him +excessively: he examined every part, moved the wires of the puppets, +and asked innumerable questions concerning our tin-mines. I was the +more astonished at this, because I had imagined he would have considered +every object of commerce as beneath the notice of a sultan. Nor could +I guess why he should be peculiarly interested in this subject: but +he soon explained this to me, by saying that he had, in his dominions, +certain mines of tin, which he had a notion would, if properly managed, +bring a considerable revenue to the royal treasury; but that at present, +through negligence or fraud, these mines were rather burdensome than +profitable. + +"He inquired from me how my model came into my possession; and, when his +interpreter told him that I made it myself, he caused the question and +answer to be repeated twice, before he would believe that he understood +me rightly. He next inquired whether I was acquainted with the art of +mining; and how I came by my information: in short, he commanded me to +relate my history. I replied that it was a long story, concerning only +an obscure individual, and unworthy the attention of a great monarch: +but he seemed this evening to have nothing to do but to gratify his +curiosity, which my apology only served to increase. He again commanded +me to relate my adventures, and I then told him the history of my early +life. I was much flattered by the interest which the young prince +took in my escape from the mine, and by the praises he bestowed on my +fidelity to my master. + +"The sultan, on the contrary, heard me at first with curiosity, but +afterwards with an air of incredulity. Upon observing this, I produced +the letter from my good master to the East India director, which gave +a full account of the whole affair. I put this letter into the hands +of the interpreter, and with some difficulty he translated it into the +Carnatic Malabar, which was the language the sultan used in speaking to +me. + +"The letter, which had the counter-signatures of some of the East India +Company's servants resident at Madras, whose names were well known to +Tippoo, failed not to make a great impression in favour of my integrity: +of my knowledge he had before a high opinion. He stood musing for some +time, with his eyes fixed upon the model of the tin-mine; and, after +consulting with the young prince, as I guessed by their tones and looks, +he bade his interpreter tell me that, if I would undertake to visit the +tin-mines in his dominions, to instruct his miners how to work them, +and to manage the ore according to the English fashion, I should receive +from the royal treasury a reward more than proportioned to my services, +and suitable to the generosity of a sultan. + +"Some days were given me to consider of this proposal. Though tempted by +the idea that I might realize, in a short time, a sum that would make me +independent for the rest of my life, yet my suspicions of the capricious +and tyrannical temper of Tippoo made me dread to have him for a master; +and, above all, I resolved to do nothing without the express permission +of Dr. Bell, to whom I immediately wrote. He seemed, by his answer, +to think that such an opportunity of making my fortune was not to be +neglected: my hopes, therefore, prevailed over my fears, and I accepted +the proposal. + +"The presents which he had made me, and the salary allowed me during six +weeks that I had attended the young prince, amounted to a considerable +sum; 500 star pagodas and 500 rupees: all which I left, together with +my ring, in the care of a great Gentoo merchant of the name of Omychund, +who had shown me many civilities. With proper guides, and full powers +from the sultan, I proceeded on my journey, and devoted myself with +the greatest ardour to my undertaking. A very laborious and difficult +undertaking it proved: for in no country are prejudices in favour of +their own customs more inveterate, amongst workmen of every description, +than in India; and although I was empowered to inflict what punishment +I thought proper on those who disobeyed, or even hesitated to fulfil my +orders, yet, thank God! I could never bring myself to have a poor slave +tortured, or put to death, because he roasted ore in a manner which I +did not think so good as my own method; nor even because he was not +so well convinced as I was of the advantages of our Cornwall +smelting-furnace. + +"My moderation was of more service to me, in the minds of the people, +than the utmost violence I could have employed to enforce obedience. As +I got by degrees some little knowledge of their language, I grew more +and more acceptable to them; and some few, who tried methods of my +proposing, and found that they succeeded, were, by my directions, +rewarded with the entire possession of the difference of profit between +the old and new modes. This bounty enticed others; and in time that +change was accomplished by gentle means, which I had at first almost +despaired of ever effecting. + +"When the works were in proper train, I despatched a messenger to the +sultan's court, to request that he would be pleased to appoint some +confidential person to visit the mines, in order to be an eye-witness of +what had been done; and I further begged, as I had now accomplished the +object of the sultan's wishes, that I might be recalled, after deputing +whomsoever he should think proper to superintend and manage the mines in +my stead. I moreover offered, before I withdrew, to instruct the person +who should be appointed. My messenger, after a long delay, returned to +me, with a command from Tippoo Sultan to remain where I was till his +further orders. For these I waited three months, and then, concluding +that I was forgotten, I determined to set out to refresh Tippoo's +memory. + +"I found him at Devanelli Fort, thinking of nothing less than of me or +my tin-mines: he was busily engaged in making preparations for a war +with some Soubha or other, whose name I forget, and all his ideas were +bent on conquests and vengeance. He scarcely deigned to see, much less +to listen to me: his treasurer gave me to understand that too much had +already been lavished upon me, a stranger as I was; and that Tippoo's +resources, at all events, would be now employed in carrying on schemes +of war, not petty projects of commerce. Thus insulted, and denied all my +promised reward, I could not but reflect upon the hard fate of those who +attempt to serve capricious despots. + +"I prepared as fast as possible to depart from Tippoo's court. The +Hindoo merchant with whom I had lodged the pagodas and rupees promised +to transmit them to me at Madras; and he delivered to me the diamond +ring which Tippoo had given to me during his fit of generosity, or of +ostentation. The sultan, who cared no more what became of me, made no +opposition to my departure: but I was obliged to wait a day or two for +a guard, as the hircarrahs who formerly conducted me were now out upon +some expedition. + +"Whilst I waited impatiently for their return, Prince Abdul Calie, who +had not been during all this time at Devanelli Fort, arrived; and when +I went to take leave of him, he inquired into the reason of my sudden +departure. In language as respectful as I could use, and with as much +delicacy as I thought myself bound to observe, in speaking to a son of +his father, I related the truth. The prince's countenance showed what he +felt. He paused, and seemed to be lost in thought, for a few minutes: he +then said to me, 'The sultan, my father, is at this time so intent upon +preparations for war, that even I should despair of being listened to on +any other subject. But you have in your possession, as I recollect, what +might be useful to him either in war or peace; and, if you desire it, I +will speak of this machine to the sultan.' + +"I did not immediately know to what machine of mine the prince alluded; +but he explained to me that he meant my portable telegraph, which would +be of infinite use to Tippoo in conveying orders of intelligence across +the deserts. I left the matter entirely to the prince, after returning +him my very sincere thanks for being thus interested in my concerns. + +"A few hours after this conversation, I was summoned into the sultan's +presence. His impatience to make trial of the telegraphs was excessive; +and I, who but the day before had been almost trampled upon by the +officers and lords of his court, instantly became a person of the +greatest importance. The trial of the telegraphs succeeded beyond even +my expectations; and the sultan was in a species of ecstasy on the +occasion. + +"I cannot omit to notice an instance of the violence of his temper, and +its sudden changes from joy to rage. One of his blacks, a gentle Hindoo +lad, of the name of Saheb, was set to manage a telegraph at one of +the stations, a few yards distant from the sultan. I had previously +instructed Saheb in what he was to do; but, from want of practice, he +made some mistake, which threw Tippoo into such a transport of passion, +that he instantly ordered the slave's head to be cut off! a sentence +which would infallibly have been executed, if I had not represented that +it would be expedient to suffer his head to remain on his shoulders till +the message was delivered by his telegraph; because there was no one +present who could immediately supply his place. Saheb then read off his +message without making any new blunder; and the moment the exhibition +was over, I threw myself at the feet of the sultan, and implored him +to pardon Saheb. I was not likely at this moment to be refused such a +_trifle_! Saheb was pardoned. + +"An order upon the treasurer for five hundred star pagodas, to reward my +services at the royal tin-mines, was given to me; and upon my presenting +to Tippoo Sultan the portable telegraphs, on which his ardent wishes +were fixed, he exclaimed: 'Ask any favour in the wide-extended power of +Tippoo Sultan to confer, and it shall be granted." + +"I concluded that this was merely an oriental figure of speech; but I +resolved to run the hazard of a refusal. I did not ask for a province, +though this was in the wide-extended power of Tippoo Sultan to confer; +but as I had a great curiosity to see the diamond mines of Golconda, of +which both in Europe and in India I had heard so much, I requested the +sultan's permission to visit those which belonged to him. He hesitated; +but after saying some words to an officer near him, he bade his +interpreter tell me that he granted my request. + +"Accordingly, after lodging my pagodas and rupees along with the rest +in the hands of Omychund, the Gentoo merchant, who was a man of great +wealth and credit, I set out in company with some diamond merchants who +were going to Golconda. My curiosity was amply gratified by the sight +of these celebrated mines; and I determined that, when I returned to +Europe, I would write a description of them. This description, however, +I shall spare you for the present, and proceed with my story. + +"The diamond merchants with whom I travelled had a great deal of +business to transact at various places; and this was the cause of much +delay to me, which I could scarcely bear with patience; for now that I +had gratified my curiosity, I was extremely desirous to return to Madras +with my little treasure. The five years' salary due to me by the East +India Company, which I had never used, I had put out at interest at +Madras, where sometimes the rate was as high as twelve per cent.; and +if you knew (said Mr. Jervas, addressing himself to the miners at Mr. +R----'s table) any thing of the nature of compound interest, you would +perceive that I was in a fair way to get rich: for, in the course of +fourteen or fifteen years, any sum that is put out at compound interest, +even in England, where the rate of legal interest is five per cent., +becomes double; that is, one hundred pounds put out at compound +interest, in fourteen years, becomes two hundred. But few people have +the patience, or the prudence, to make this use of their money. I was, +however, determined to employ all my capital in this manner; and I +calculated that, in seven years, I should have accumulated a sum fully +sufficient to support me all the rest of my life in ease and affluence. + +"Full of these hopes and calculations, I pursued my journey along with +the merchants. Arrived at Devanelli Fort, I learned that the Soubha, +with whom the sultan had been going to war, had given up the territory +in dispute, and had pacified Tippoo by submissions and presents. Whether +he chose peace or war was indifferent to me: I was intent on my private +affairs, and I went immediately to Omychund, my banker, to settle them. +I had taken my diamond ring with me to the mines, that I might compare +it with others, and learn its value; and I found that it was worth +nearly treble what I had been offered for it. Omychund congratulated me +upon this discovery, and we were just going to settle our accounts, +when an officer came in, and, after asking whether I was not the young +Englishman who had lately visited the mines of Golconda, summoned me +immediately to appear before the sultan. I was terrified, for I imagined +I was perhaps suspected of having purloined some of the diamonds; but I +followed the officer without hesitation, conscious of my innocence. + +"Tippoo Sultan, contrary to my expectations, received me with a smiling +countenance; and, pointing to the officer who accompanied me, asked me +whether I recollected to have ever seen his face before? I replied, No: +but the sultan then informed me that this officer, who was one of his +own guards, had attended me in disguise during my whole visit to the +diamond mines; and that he was perfectly satisfied of my honourable +conduct. Then, after making a signal to the officer and all present to +withdraw, he bade me approach nearer to him; paid some compliments to my +abilities, and proceeded to explain to me that he stood in farther need +of my services; and that, if I served him with fidelity, I should have +no reason to complain, on my return to my own country, of his want of +generosity. + +"All thoughts of war being now, as he told me, out of his mind, he had +leisure for other projects to enrich himself; and he was determined to +begin by reforming certain abuses, which had long tended to impoverish +the royal treasury. I was at a loss to know whither this preamble +would lead: at length, having exhausted his oriental pomp of words, he +concluded by informing me that he had reason to believe he was terribly +cheated in the management of his mines at Golconda; that they were +rented from him by a Feulinga Brahmin, as he called him, whose agreement +with the adventurers in the mines was, that all the stones they found +under a pago in weight were to be their own; and all above this weight +were to be his, for the sultan's use. Now it seems that this agreement +was never honestly fulfilled by any of the parties: the slaves cheating +the merchants, the merchants cheating the Feulinga Brahmin, and he, +in his turn, defrauding the sultan; so that, Tippoo assured me, he had +often purchased, from diamond merchants, stones of a larger spread and +finer water than any he could get directly from his own mines; and +that he had been frequently obliged to reward these merchants with +rich vests, or fine horses, in order to encourage others to offer their +diamonds {Footnote: Philosophical Transactions, vol. ii. p.472.} for +sale. + +"I could not but observe, whilst Tippoo related all this, the great +agitation of his looks and voice, which showed me the strong hold the +passion for diamonds had upon his soul; on which I should perhaps have +made some wise reflections, but that people have seldom leisure or +inclination to make wise reflections when standing in the presence of a +prince as powerful and as despotic as Tippoo Sultan. + +"The service that he required from me was a very dangerous one; no +less than to visit the mines secretly by night, to search those small +cisterns in which the workmen leave the diamonds mixed with the sand, +gravelly stuff, and red earth, to sink and drain off during their +absence. I by no means relished this undertaking: besides that it would +expose me to imminent danger, it was odious to my feelings to become a +spy and an informer. This I stated to the sultan, but he gave no credit +to this motive; and, attributing my reluctance wholly to fear, he +promised that he would take effectual measures to secure my safety; and +that, after I had executed this commission, he would immediately send +a guard with me to Madras. I saw that a dark frown lowered on his brow, +when I persisted in declining this office; but I fortunately bethought +myself at this moment of a method of escaping the effects of his anger, +without giving up my own principles. + +"I represented to him that the seizure of the diamonds in the cisterns, +which he proposed, even should it afford him any convincing proofs of +the dishonesty of the slaves and diamond merchants, and even if he +could in future take effectual precautions to secure himself from their +frauds, would not be a source of wealth to him equal to one which I +could propose. His avarice fixed his attention, and he eagerly +commanded me to proceed. I then explained to him that one of his richest +diamond-mines had been for some time abandoned; because the workmen, +having dug till they came to water, were then forced to stop for want of +engines such as are known in Europe. Now, having observed that there was +a rapid current at the foot of the mountain, on which I could erect a +water-mill, I offered to clear this valuable mine." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +"The sultan was pleased with the proposal; but, recollecting how apt +he was to change his humour, and how ill he received me when I returned +from his tin-mines, I had the precaution to represent that, as this +undertaking would be attended with considerable expense, it would +be necessary that a year's salary should be advanced to me before my +departure for Golconda; and that, if the payments were not in future +regularly made, I should be at liberty to resign my employment, and +return to Madras. Prince Abdul Calie was present when the sultan pledged +his word to this, and gave me full powers to employ certain of his +artificers and workmen. + +"I shall not trouble you with a history of all my difficulties, delays, +and disappointments, in the execution of my undertaking; however +interesting they were to me, the relation would be tiresome to those +who have no diamond-mines to drain. It is enough for you to know that at +length my engines were set a-going properly, and did their business so +effectually, that the place was by degrees cleared of water, and the +workmen were able to open fresh and valuable veins. During all this +time, including a period of three years, my salary was regularly paid to +the Gentoo merchant, Omychund, in whose hands I left all my money, +upon his promising to pay me as high interest as what I could obtain +at Madras. I drew upon him only for such small sums as were absolutely +necessary; as I was resolved to live with the utmost economy, that I +might the sooner be enabled to return in affluence to my native country. + +"And here I must pause to praise myself, or rather to rejoice from the +bottom of my soul, that I did not, when power was in my hands, make use +of it for the purposes of extortion. The condition of the poor slaves, +who were employed by me, was envied by all the others: and I have reason +to know that, even in the most debased and miserable state of existence, +the human heart can be wakened by kind treatment to feelings of +affection and gratitude. These slaves became so much attached to me +that, although the governor of the mines, and certain diamond merchants, +were lying in wait continually to get rid of me some way or other, they +never could effect their purposes. I was always apprised of my danger in +time by some of these trusty slaves; who, with astonishing sagacity and +fidelity, guarded me while I lived amongst them. + +"A life of daily suspicion and danger was, however, terrible; and my +influence extended but a little way in making others happy. I might, +for a short season, lessen the suffering of these slaves; but still +they were slaves, and most of them were treated scarcely as if they were +human beings, by the rapacious adventurers for whom they laboured. + +"These poor wretches generally work almost naked; they dare not wear a +coat, lest the governor should say they have thriven much, are rich, and +so increase his demands upon them. The wisest, when they find a great +stone, conceal it till they have an opportunity; and then, with wife and +children, run all away into the Visiapore country, where they are secure +and well used. {Footnote: Philosophical Transactions.} + +"My heart sickened at the daily sight of so much misery; and nothing but +my hopes of finally prevailing on the sultan to better their condition, +by showing him how much he would be the gainer by it, could have induced +me to remain so long in this situation. Repeatedly Tippoo promised me +that the first diamond of twenty pagos weight which I should bring to +him, he would grant me all I asked in favour of the slaves under my +care. I imparted to them this promise, which excited them to great +exertions. At last we were fortunate enough to find a diamond above +the weight required. It was a well-spread stone, of a beautiful pale +rose-colour, and of an adamantine hardness. I am sure that the sight of +that famous stone, which is known by the name of the Pitt diamond, never +gave its possessor such heartfelt joy as I experienced when I beheld +this. I looked upon it as the pledge of future happiness, not only to +myself, but to hundreds of my fellow-creatures. + +"I set out immediately for Tippoo Sultan's court. It was too late in +the evening, when I arrived, to see the sultan that night; so I went +to Omychund, the Hindoo merchant, to settle my affairs with him. He +received me with open arms, saying that he had thriven much upon my +pagodas and rupees, and that he was ready to account with me for my +salary; also for the interest which he owed me; for all which he gave +me an order upon an English merchant at Madras, with whom I was well +acquainted. + +"This being settled to my satisfaction, I told him the business which +now brought me to Tippoo's court, and showed him my rose-coloured +diamond. His eyes opened at the sight with a prodigious expression of +avaricious eagerness. 'Trust me,' said he, 'keep this diamond. I know +Tippoo better than you do; he will not grant those privileges to the +slaves that you talk about; and, after all, what concern are they of +yours? They are used to the life they lead. They are not Europeans. What +concern are they of yours? Once in your native country, you will dream +of them no more. You will think only of enjoying the wealth you shall +have brought from India. Trust me, keep the diamond. Fly this night +towards Madras. I have a slave who perfectly knows the road across +the country: you will be in no danger of pursuit, for the sultan will +suppose you to be still at Golconda. No one could inform him of the +truth but myself; and you must see, by the advice I now give you, that I +am your firm friend.' + +"As he finished these words, he clapped his hands, to summon one of his +slaves, as he said, to give instant orders for my flight. He looked upon +me with incredulous surprise, when I coolly told him that the flight +which he proposed was far from my thoughts; and that it was my +determination to give the sultan the diamond that belonged to him. + +"Seeing that I was in earnest, Omychund suddenly changed his +countenance; and in a tone of raillery, asked me whether I could believe +that his proposal was serious. Indeed I was left in doubt whether he +had been in earnest or not; and, at all events, I gave him to understand +that I was incapable of betraying him to the sultan. + +"The next morning, as early as I could, I presented myself before the +sultan, who singled me from the crowd, and took me with him into the +apartment of Prince Abdul Calie. + +"I proceeded cautiously: Tippoo was all impatience to hear news of his +diamond mine, and repeatedly interrupted me in my account of what had +been done there, by asking whether we had yet come to any diamonds? I +produced first one of a violet colour, which I had reserved as a present +for Prince Abdul Calie; it was a fine stone, but nothing equal to our +rose-coloured diamond. Tippoo admired this, however, so much, that I was +certain he would be in raptures with that which I had in store for him. +Before I showed it to him, in speaking of the weight of that which I had +designed to present to the prince, I reminded him of his royal promise +with respect to the slaves. 'True,' cried the sultan: 'but is this +diamond twenty pagos weight? when you bring me one of that value, +you may depend upon having all you ask.' I instantly produced the +rose-coloured diamond, weighed it in his presence, and, as the scale in +which it was put descended, Tippoo burst forth into an exclamation of +joy. I seized the favourable moment; he nodded as I knelt before him, +and bade me rise, saying my request was granted; though why I should ask +favours for a parcel of mean slaves, he observed, was incomprehensible. + +"Prince Abdul Calie did not appear to be of this opinion; he at this +instant cast upon me a look full of benevolence; and whilst his father +was absorbed in the contemplation of his rose-coloured diamond, which he +weighed, I believe, a hundred times, the generous young prince presented +to me that violet-coloured diamond which I brought for him. A princely +gift made in a princely manner. + +"Tippoo's secretary made out for me the necessary order to the governor +of the mines, by which a certain share of the profits of his labour was, +by the sultan's command, to belong to each slave; and all those who had +been employed in my service were, as a reward for their good conduct, +to be emancipated. A number of petty exactions were by this order +abolished; and the property acquired in land, dress, &c. by the slaves, +was secured to them. Most gladly did I see the sultan's signet affixed +to this paper; and when it was delivered into my hands, my heart bounded +with joy. I resolved to be the bearer of these good tidings myself. +Although my passport was made out for Madras, and two hircarrahs, by the +sultan's orders, were actually ready to attend me thither, yet I could +not refuse myself the pleasure of beholding the joy of the slaves, at +this change in their condition; and, to the latest hour of my life, I +shall rejoice that I returned to Golconda the messenger of happiness. +Never shall I forget the scene to which I was there a witness; never +will the expressions of joy and gratitude be effaced from my memory, +which lighted up the dark faces of these poor creatures! who, say what +we will, have as much sensibility, perhaps more, than we have ourselves. + +"No sooner was I awake, the morning after my arrival, than I heard +them singing songs under my window, in which my own name was frequently +repeated. They received me with a shout of joy when I went out amongst +them; and, crowding round me, they pressed me to accept of some little +tokens of their gratitude and good-will, which I had not the heart to +refuse. The very children, by their caresses, seemed to beg me not to +reject these little offerings. I determined, if ever I reached Europe, +to give all of them to you, sir, my good master, as the best present I +could make to one of your way of thinking. + +"The day after my arrival was spent in rejoicings. All the slaves, who +had worked under my inspection, had saved some little matters, with +which they had purchased for their wives and for themselves coloured +cottons, and handkerchiefs for their heads. Now that they were not in +dread of being robbed or persecuted by the governor of the mines, they +ventured to produce them in open day. These cottons of Malabar are dyed +of remarkably bright and gaudy colours; and, when the slaves appeared +decked in them, it was to me one of the gayest spectacles I ever beheld. +They were dancing with a degree of animation of which, till then, I +never had an idea. + +"I stood under the shade of a large banyan tree, enjoying the sight; +when suddenly I felt from behind a blow on my head which stunned me. I +fell to the ground; and when I came to my senses, found myself in the +hands of four armed soldiers, and a Hindoo, who was pulling my diamond +ring from my finger. They were carrying me away amid the cries and +lamentations of the slaves, who followed us. 'Stand off'! it is in vain +you shriek,' said one of the soldiers to the surrounding crowd; 'what we +do is by order of the sultan. Thus he punishes traitors.' + +"Without further explanation, I was thrown into a dungeon belonging to +the governor of the mines, who stood by with insulting joy to see me +chained to a large stone in my horrid prison. I knew him to be my enemy: +but what was my astonishment when I recollected in the countenance of +the Hindoo, who was fastening my chains and loading me with curses, +that very Saheb, whose life I had formerly saved! To all my questions +no answer was given, but, 'It is the will of the sultan;' or, 'Thus the +sultan avenges himself upon traitors.' + +"The door of my dungeon was then locked and barred, and I was left alone +in perfect darkness. Is this, thought I, the reward of all my faithful +services? Bitterly did I regret that I was not in my native country, +where no man, at the will of a sultan, can be thrown into a dungeon, +without knowing his crime or his accusers. I cannot attempt to describe +to you what I felt, during this most miserable day of my existence. +Feeble at last, for want of food, I stretched myself out, as well as my +chains would allow me, and tried to compose myself to sleep. I sunk +into a state of insensibility, in which I must have remained for several +hours, for it was midnight when I was roused by the unbarring of my +prison door. It was Saheb who entered, carrying in one hand a torch, and +in the other some food, which he set before me in silence. I cast upon +him a look of scorn, and was about to reproach him with his ingratitude, +when he threw himself at my feet, and burst into tears. 'Is it +possible,' said he to me, 'that you are not sure of the heart of Saheb? +You saved my life; I am come to save yours. But eat, master,' continued +he; 'eat whilst I speak, for we have no time to lose. To-morrow's sun +must see us far from hence. You cannot support the fatigues you have to +undergo without taking food.' + +"I yielded to his entreaties, and, whilst I ate, Saheb informed me that +my imprisonment was owing to the treacherous Hindoo merchant, Omychund; +who, in hopes, I suppose, of possessing himself in quiet of all the +wealth which I had intrusted to his care, went to the sultan, and +accused me of having secreted certain diamonds of great value, which +he pretended I had shown to him in confidence. Tippoo, enraged at this, +despatched immediate orders to four of his soldiers to go in search of +me, seize, imprison, and torture me, till I should confess where these +diamonds were concealed. Saheb was in the sultan's apartment when this +order was given, and immediately hastened to Prince Abdul Calie, whom he +knew to be my friend, and informed him of what had happened. The prince +sent for Omychund, and, after carefully questioning him, was convinced, +by his contradictory answers, and by his confusion, that the charge +against me was wholly unfounded: he dismissed Omychund, however, without +letting him know his opinion, and then sent Saheb for the four soldiers +who were setting out in search of me. In their presence he gave Saheb +orders aloud to take charge of me the moment I should be found, and +secretly commissioned him to favour my escape. The soldiers thought that +in obeying the prince they obeyed the sultan; and, consequently, when +I was taken and lodged in my dungeon, the keys of it were delivered to +Saheb. + +"When he had finished telling me all this, he restored to me my ring, +which he said he snatched from my finger, as soon as I was seized, that +I might not be robbed of it by the governor, or some of the soldiers. + +"The grateful Saheb now struck off my chains; and my own anxiety for my +escape was scarcely equal to his. He had swift horses belonging to +the soldiers in readiness; and we pursued our course all night +without interruption. He was well acquainted with the country, having +accompanied the sultan on several expeditions. When we thought ourselves +beyond the reach of all pursuers, Saheb permitted me to rest; but I +never rested at my ease till I was out of Tippoo Sultan's dominions, and +once more in safety at Madras. Dr. Bell received me with great kindness, +heard my story, and congratulated me on my escape from Tippoo's power. + +"I was now rich beyond my hopes; for I had Omychund's order upon the +Madras merchant safe in my pocket, and the whole sum was punctually paid +to me. My ring I sold to the governor of Madras for more even than I +expected. + +"I had the satisfaction to learn, before I left Madras, that Omychund's +treachery was made known to the sultan, by means of Prince Abdul Calie, +whose memory will ever be dear to me. Tippoo, as I have been informed, +in speaking of me, was heard to regret that he could not recall to his +service such an honest Englishman. + +"I was eager to reward the faithful Saheb, but he absolutely refused the +money which I offered him, saying, 'that he would not be paid for saving +the life of one who had saved his.' He expressed a great desire to +accompany me to my native country, from the moment that I told him we +had no slaves there; and that as soon as any slave touched the English +shore, by our laws, he obtained his freedom. He pressed me so earnestly +to take him along with me as my servant, that I could not refuse; so he +sailed with me for Europe. As the wind filled the sails of our vessel, +much did I rejoice that the gales which blew me from the shores of India +were not tainted with the curses of any of my fellow-creatures. Here +I am, thank Heaven! once more in free and happy England, with a good +fortune, clean hands, and a pure conscience, not unworthy to present +myself to my first good master, to him whose humanity and generosity +were the cause of--" + +Here Mr. R---- interrupted his own praises, by saying to those of the +miners who had not fallen fast asleep, "My good friends, you now know +the meaning of the toast which you all drank after dinner; let us drink +it again before we part 'Welcome home to our friend, Mr. Jervas, and may +good faith always meet with good fortune!'" + +_October_, 1799. + + + + + +THE WILL + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Mr. Pearson, a wealthy Lincolnshire farmer, who had always been esteemed +a prudent sensible man, though something of a _humourist_, made the +following will: + +"I, John Pearson, of _The Wold_ in Lincolnshire, farmer, being of sound +mind and body, do make this my last will and testament, &c. + +"I give and bequeath my farm of West Woldland to my eldest nephew, +Grimes Goodenough; my farm of Holland Fen to my dear nephew, John +Wright, and my farm of Clover-hill to my youngest nephew, Pierce Marvel. + +"I farther will and desire that the sum of ten thousand pounds, which is +now in the hands of William Constantine, gentleman, my executor, may by +him, immediately after my decease, be put out to interest for ten years: +and I will and desire that, at the end of the said ten years, the said +sum of ten thousand pounds, and the interest so accumulated thereon, be +given to whichsoever of my aforesaid nephews shall at that time be the +richest. + +"And I trust that the said William Constantine, gentleman, my executor +and very good friend, being a clear-headed honest man, will understand +and execute this my last will and testament, according to the plain +meaning of my words; though it should happen that this my will should +not be drawn up in due legal form, of which I know little or nothing." + +Mr. Constantine, the executor, being, as described, a clear-headed +honest man, found no difficulty either in understanding or executing +this trust: the ten thousand pounds were, immediately upon Pearson's +decease, placed out upon interest; and the three nephews were put +into possession of their farms. These were of very different value. +Goodenough's wanted improvement, but would pay richly for any that +should be judiciously made; Wright's farm was by far the worst of the +three; and Marvel's the best. + +The Lincolnshire world was much divided in opinion concerning these +young men; and many bets were laid relating to the legacy. People judged +according to their own characters; the enterprising declared for Marvel, +the prudent for Wright, the timid for Goodenough. + +The nephews had scarcely been in possession of their farms a week when, +one evening, as they were all supping together at Wright's house, Marvel +suddenly turned to Goodenough, and exclaimed, "When do you begin your +improvements, cousin Goodenough?" + +"Never, cousin Marvel." + +"Then you'll never touch the ten thousand, my boy. What! will you +do nothing to your marsh? Nothing to your common? Nothing to your +plantations? Do not you mean ever to make any improvements?" + +"I mean not to make any improvements." + +"Well, you'll let me make some for you." + +"Not I." + +"No! Won't you let me cut down some of those trees for you, that are +spoiling one another in your wood?" + +"Not a tree shall be cut down. Not a stick shall be stirred. Not a +change shall be made, I say." + +"Not a change for the better, cousin Goodenough?" said Wright. + +"Not a change can be for the better, to my mind; I shall plough, and +sow, and reap, as our forefathers did, and that's enough for me." + +"What! will you not even try the new plough?" said Marvel. + +"Not I; no new ploughs for me. No plough can be so good as the old one." + +"How do you know, as you never tried it, or would see it tried?" said +Wright: "I find it better than the old one." + +"No matter; the old one will do well enough for me, as it did for my +father before me." After having repeated these words in precisely the +same tone several times, he went on slowly eating his supper, whilst +Marvel, in detestation of his obstinate stupidity, turned his back +upon him, and began to enumerate to Wright sundry of his own ingenious +projects. + +"My dear Wright," said he, "you are worth talking to, and you shall hear +all my schemes." + +"Willingly; but I do not promise to approve of them all." + +"Oh! you will, you will, the moment you hear them; and I will let you +have a share in some of them. In the first place, there's that fine +rabbit-warren near Clover-hill. The true silver grey rabbits--_silver +sprigs_, they call them--do you know that the skins of those _silver +sprigs_ are worth any money?" + +"Any money! what money?" + +"Pooh! I don't know exactly: but I mean to buy that warren." + +"Before you know what it is worth! Let us consider; each dozen of skins +is worth, say, from ten to fifteen shillings." + +"You need not trouble yourself to calculate now," interrupted Marvel, +"for I have determined to have the warren. With the money that I shall +get for my silver sprigs, I will next year make a decoy, and supply the +London market with wild-fowl. Don't you remember the day that we met +Simon Stubbs, the carrier, loaded with game and wild-fowl, he said that +a decoy in Lincolnshire must be a fortune to any man. I'll have the best +decoy not only in Lincolnshire but in all England. By-the-bye, there's +another thing I must do, Wright; I'll exchange any part of Clover-hill +you please with you, for as much land in Holland Fen." + +"Take him at his word, cousin Wright," said Goodenough. + +"No, no," replied Wright; "I know the value of land, and the difference +between Clover-hill and Holland Fen, better than he does: I would not +take him at his word, for that would be taking him in." + +"I would not take anybody in," said Goodenough; "but if another man is +a fool, that's no reason I should be one. Now, if a man offers me a +good bargain, why should not I close with him, and say--Done?" "Then say +done," cried Marvel, "and you shall have the bargain, Goodenough. +You have an undrained marsh of your own: I'll exchange with you, and +welcome, ten acres of the marsh for five of Clover-hill." + +"Done," said Goodenough. + +"Done. I shall stock it with geese, and you'll see what the quills and +feathers alone will bring me in. I've engaged with one already to sell +them for me. But, Wright, here's another scheme I have. Wildmore common, +you know, is covered with those huge thistles, which prick the noses of +the sheep so as to hinder them from feeding and fattening: I will take +that common into my own hands." + +"Ay," said Goodenough; "exchange the rest of Clover-hill for it:--that's +like you!" + +"And I will mow the thistles," pursued Marvel, without deigning to reply +to Goodenough. "I will mow the thistles; their down I can contrive to +work up into cotton, and the stalks into cordage: and, with the profit +I shall make of these thistles, and of my decoy, and of my goose-quills +and feathers, and of my silver sprig rabbits, I will buy jackets for my +sheep, for my sheep shall all have jackets after shearing. Why should +not Lincolnshire sheep, if they have jackets, become as valuable as +the Leicestershire breed? You'll see my sheep will be the finest in the +whole county; and, with the profit I shall make of them, I will set up +a fishery in Fen-lake; and with the profits of the fishery--now comes my +grand scheme--I shall be the richest of you all! with the profits of the +fishery, and the decoy, and the sheep, and the silver sprigs, and the +quills and feathers, geese and thistles, I will purchase that fine +heronry, near Spalding." + +At these words, Goodenough laid down his knife and fork; and, sticking +his arms a-kimbo, laughed contemptuously, if not heartily. + +"So, then, the end of all this turmoil is to purchase a heronry! Much +good may it do you, cousin Marvel. You understand your own affair best: +you will make great _improvements_, I grant, and no doubt will be the +richest of us all. The ten thousand pounds will be yours for certain: +for, as we all know, cousin Marvel, you are a genius!--But why a genius +should set his fancy upon a heronry, of all things in this mortal world, +is more than I can pretend to tell, being no genius myself." + +"Look here, Wright," continued Marvel, still without vouchsafing +any direct reply to Goodenough: "here's a description, in this last +newspaper, of the fine present that the grand seignior has made to his +majesty. The plume of herons' feathers alone is estimated at a thousand +guineas! Think of what I shall make by my heronry! At the end of ten +years, I shall be so rich that it will hardly be worth my while," said +Marvel, laughing, "to accept of my uncle's legacy. I will give it to +you, Wright; for you are a generous fellow, and I am sure you will +deserve it." + +In return for this liberal promise, Wright endeavoured to convince +Marvel, that if he attempted such a variety of schemes at once, they +would probably all fail; and that to ensure success, it would be +necessary to calculate, and to make himself master of the business, +before he should undertake to conduct it. Marvel, however, was of too +sanguine and presumptuous a temper to listen to this sage advice: he was +piqued by the sneers of his cousin Goodenough, and determined to prove +the superiority of his own spirit and intellect. He plunged at once +into the midst of a business which he did not understand. He took a +rabbit-warren of two hundred and fifty acres into his hands; stocked ten +acres of marsh land with geese; and exchanged some of the best part of +Clover-hill for a share in a common covered with thistles. He planted a +considerable tract of land, with a degree of expedition that astonished +all the neighbourhood: but it was remarked that the fences were not +quite sufficient; especially as the young trees were in a dangerous +situation, being surrounded by land stocked with sheep and horned +cattle. Wright warned him of the danger; but he had no time this year, +he said, to complete the fences: the men who tended his sheep might +easily keep them from the plantation for this season, and the next +spring he purposed to dig such a ditch round the whole as should secure +it for ever. He was now extremely busy, making jackets for his sheep, +providing willows for his decoy, and gorse and corn for his geese: the +geese, of which he had a prodigious flock, were not yet turned into +their fen, because a new scheme had occurred to Marvel, relative to some +reeds with which a part of this fen was covered; on these reeds myriads +of starlings were accustomed to roost, who broke them down with their +weight. Now Marvel knew that such reeds would be valuable for thatching, +and with this view he determined to drive away the starlings; but the +measures necessary for this purpose would frighten his friends, the +geese, and therefore he was obliged to protect and feed them in his +farm-yard, at a considerable expense, whilst he was carrying on the war +with the starlings. He fired guns at them morning and evening, he sent +up rockets and kites with fiery tails, and at last he banished them; but +half his geese, in the mean time, died for want of food; and the women +and children, who plucked them, stole one quarter of the feathers, and +one half of the quills, whilst Marvel was absent letting up rockets in +the fen. + +The rabbit-warren was, however, to make up for all other losses: +a furrier had engaged to take as many silver sprigs from him as he +pleased, at sixteen shillings a dozen, provided he should send them +properly dressed, and in time to be shipped for China, where these +silver grey rabbit skins sold to the best advantage. As winter came on, +it was necessary to supply the warren with winter food: and Marvel was +much astonished at the multitude of unforeseen expenses into which +his rabbits led him. The banks of the warren wanted repair, and the +warrener's house was not habitable in bad weather: these appeared but +slight circumstances when Marvel made the purchase; but, alas! he had +reason to change his opinion in the course of a few months. The first +week in November, there was a heavy fall of snow; and the warren walls +should have been immediately cleared of snow, to have kept the rabbits +within their bounds: but Marvel happened this week to be on a visit in +Yorkshire, and he was _obliged_ to leave the care of the warren entirely +to the warrener, who was _obliged_ to quit his house during the snow, +and to take shelter with a neighbour: he neglected to clear the walls; +and Marvel upon his return home, found that his silver sprigs had +strayed into a neighbouring warren. The second week in November is the +time when the rabbits are usually killed, as the skins are then in full +prime: it was in vain that Marvel raised a hue and cry after his silver +sprigs; a fortnight passed away before one-third of them could be +recovered. The season was lost, and the furrier sued him for breach of +contract; and what was worse, Goodenough laughed at his misfortunes. The +next year he expected to retrieve his loss: he repaired the warrener's +house, new faced the banks, and capped them with furze; but the common +grey rabbit had been introduced into the warren, by the stragglers of +the preceding year; and as these grey rabbits are of a much more hardy +race than the silver sprigs, they soon obtained and kept possession +of the land. Marvel now pronounced rabbits to be the most useless and +vexatious animals upon earth; and, in one quarter of an hour, thoroughly +convinced himself that tillage was far more profitable than rabbits. +He ploughed up his warren, and sowed it with corn; but, unluckily, +his attention had been so much taken up by the fishery, the decoy, +the geese, the thistles, and the hopes of the heronry, that he totally +forgot his intention of making the best of all possible ditches round +his plantation. When he went to visit this plantation, he beheld a +miserable spectacle: the rabbits which had strayed beyond their bounds +during the great snow, and those which had been hunted from their +burrows, when the warren was ploughed up, had all taken shelter in this +spot; and these refugees supported themselves, for some months, upon the +bark and roots of the finest young trees. + +Marvel's loss was great, but his mortification still greater; for his +cousin Goodenough laughed at him without mercy. Something must be done, +he saw, to retrieve his credit: ad the heronry was his resource. + +"What will signify a few trees, more or less," thought he, "or the loss +of a few silver sprigs, or the death of a few geese, or the waste of a +few quills and feathers? My sheep will sell well, my thistles will bring +me up again; and as soon as I have sold my sheep at Partney fair, and +manufactured my thistles, I will set out with my money in my pocket +for Spalding, and make my bargain for the heronry. A plume of herons' +feathers is worth a thousand guineas! My fortune will be made when I get +possession of the Spalding heronry." + +So intent was Marvel upon the thoughts of the Spalding heronry, that he +neglected every thing else. About a week before the fair of Partney, +he bethought himself of his sheep, which he had left to the care of a +shepherd boy: he now ordered the boy to drive them home, that he might +see them. Their jackets hung upon them like bags: the poor animals had +fallen away in the most deplorable manner. Marvel could scarcely believe +that these were his sheep; or that these were the sheep which he had +expected to be the pride of Lincolnshire, and which he had hoped would +set the fashion of jackets. Behold, they were dying of the rot! + +"What an unfortunate man I am!" exclaimed Marvel, turning to his cousin +Wright, whom he had summoned along with Goodenough, in the pride of his +heart, to view, value, and admire his sheep. "All your sheep, Wright, +are fat and sound: mine were finer than yours when I bought them: how +comes it that I am so unlucky?" + +"Jack of all trades, and master of none!" said Goodenough, with a sneer. + +"You forgot, I am afraid, what I told you, when first you bought these +sheep," said Wright, "that you should always keep them in fold, every +morning, till the dew was off: if you had done so, they would now be as +well and thriving as mine. Do not you remember my telling you that?" + +"Yes; and I charged this boy always to keep them in fold till the dew +was off," replied Marvel, turning with an angry countenance to the +shepherd boy. + +"I never heard nothing of it till this minute, I am sure, master," said +the boy. + +Marvel now recollected that, at the very moment when he was going to +give this order to the boy, his attention had been drawn away by the +sight of a new decoy in the fields adjoining to his sheep pasture. In +his haste to examine the decoy, he forgot to give that order to his +shepherd, on which the safety of his fine flock of sheep depended. +{Footnote: A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Lincoln, +p. 330. "It well deserves noting that a shepherd, who, when young, was +shepherd's boy to an old man, who lived at Netlam, near Lincoln, a place +famous for the rot, told Mr. Neve that he was persuaded sheep took the +rot only of a morning, before the dew was well off. At that time they +folded, being open field: his master's shepherd kept his flock in fold +always till the dew was gone; and, with no other attention, his sheep +were kept sound, when all the neighbours lost their flocks."} Such are +the negligences and blunders of those who endeavour to do half a dozen +things at once. + +The failure of one undertaking never discouraged Marvel from beginning +another; and it is a pity, that, with so much spirit and activity, he +had so little steadiness and prudence. His sheep died, and he set out +for Spalding full of the thoughts of the heronry. Now this heronry +belonged to Sir Plantagenet Mowbray, an elderly gentleman, who was +almost distracted with family pride: he valued himself upon never having +parted with one inch of the landed property that had descended to him, +through a long line of ancestors, from the Plantagenets. He looked down +upon the whole race of farmers and traders as beings of a different +species from himself; and the indignation with which he heard, from a +Lincolnshire farmer, a proposal to purchase his heronry, may perhaps be +imagined, but cannot be described. It was in vain that Marvel rose in +his offers; it was in vain that he declared he was ready to give any +price that Sir Plantagenet would set upon the heronry. Sir Plantagenet +sent word, by his steward, that not a feather of his birds should be +touched; that he was astonished at the insolence of such a proposal; and +that he advised Marvel to keep out of the way of _his people_, lest they +should revenge the insult that had been offered to their master. + +This haughty answer, and the disappointment of all his hopes and schemes +respecting the heronry, threw Marvel into a degree of rage scarcely +inferior to what was felt by Sir Plantagenet. As he was galloping down +the avenue from Plantagenet-hall, he overtook a young man, of a shabby +appearance, who was mounted upon a very fine horse. At first Marvel took +it for granted that he was one of Sir Plantagenet's _people_, and he +was riding past him, when he heard the stranger say, in a friendly tone, +"Your horse gallops well, sir: but have a care; there's a carrion a +little way farther on that may startle him." + +Marvel pulled in his horse; the stranger rode up beside him, and they +entered into conversation. "That carrion, sir," said he, pointing to +the dead horse, which had just been shot for the baronet's son's hounds, +"that carrion, sir, was in my opinion the best horse Sir Plantagenet, +or his son either, were possessed of. 'Tis a shame for any man, who +pretends to be a gentleman, and who talks this way and that so high of +his family, should be so stingy in the article of horseflesh." + +Marvel was not unwilling at this instant to hear the haughty baronet +blamed and ridiculed; and his companion exactly fell in with his humour, +by telling a variety of anecdotes to prove Sir Plantagenet to be every +thing that was odious and contemptible. The history of his insolence +about the heronry was now related by Marvel; and the stranger seemed to +sympathize so much in his feelings, that, from a stranger, he began to +consider him as a friend. Insensibly the conversation returned to the +point at which it commenced; and his new friend observed that it was +in vain to expect any thing good from any gentleman, or indeed from any +man, who was stingy in the article of horseflesh. + +A new sense of honour and of shame began to rise in our hero's mind; +and he sat uneasy in his saddle, whilst he reflected that the horse upon +which he was mounted, was perhaps as deservedly an object of contempt as +any of Sir Plantagenet's stud. His new friend, without seeming to notice +his embarrassment, continued his conversation, and drew a tempting +picture of the pleasures and glories of a horse-race: he said, "he was +just training a horse for the York races, and a finer animal never was +crossed. Sir Plantagenet's eldest son would have been the proudest and +happiest of men, if his father would but have bought the horse for him: +but he had refused, and the youth himself had not the price, or half the +price, at his command." + +Our hero was no judge of horses, but he was ambitious to prove that his +spirit was superior to that of the haughty baronet; and that something +good might be expected from him, as he was not stingy in horseflesh. +Besides, he was worked up to a high degree of curiosity to see the York +races; and his companion assured him that he could not appear there +without being well mounted. In short, the hour was not at an end before +he had offered a hundred guineas for the finest horse that ever +was crossed. He was charmed with the idea that he should meet Sir +Plantagenet Mowbray's son and heir at the York races, and should +show him that he was able and willing to pay for the horse, which his +arrogant father could not afford to purchase. + +From the anecdote of the heronry, his companion perceived that Marvel +was a man fond of projects; and he proposed to him a scheme, which +caught his fancy so much that it consoled him for his disappointment. It +was the fault of our enterprizing hero's character always to think the +last scheme for making a fortune the best. As soon as he reached home he +was in haste to abandon some of his old projects, which now appeared to +him flat, stale, and unprofitable. About a score of his flock, though +tainted with the rot, were not yet dead; he was eager to sell them, but +no one would buy sheep of such a wretched appearance. At last Wright +took them off his hands. "I will throw the threescore jackets into +the bargain," said Marvel; "for you are a generous fellow, to offer so +handsomely for my poor sheep, and you deserve to be treated as you treat +others. If I come in at the end of the ten years for the legacy, I shall +remember you, as I told you before: as to my cousin Goodenough here, he +thinks so much of himself, that there is no occasion for others to +think of him. I asked him to join me in a bond, yesterday, for a hundred +pounds, just to try him, and he refused me. When I come in for the +legacy, I will cut him off with a shilling,--I will give him fair +notice." + +"Cut me off with what you will," said Goodenough, sullenly, "not a +farthing of my money shall ever be lent to one that has a project for +every day in the year. Get into what difficulties you may, I will never +join you in any bond, I promise you. It is enough for me to take care of +myself." + +"Don't flatter yourself that I am getting into any difficulties," +replied Marvel. "I wanted the hundred guineas only to pay for a horse; +and the friend who sold him to me will wait my convenience." + +"The _friend_" said Wright; "do you mean that man who rode home with you +from Spalding?--I advise you not to make a friend of him, for he is a +notorious jockey." "He will not take _me_ in, though," said Marvel; "I +am as sharp as he is, and he sees that: so we understand one another +very well. To my certain knowledge, a hundred and twenty guineas could +be had to-morrow for the horse I bought from him; yet he let me have him +for a hundred." + +"And how can a man of your sense, cousin Marvel," said Wright, "believe +that a person, who never saw you till within these three days, would be +so much your friend as to make you a present of twenty guineas?" + +"A present!" + +"Yes; if he lets you have a horse for a hundred, which you can sell for +a hundred and twenty, does not he make you a present of twenty guineas?" + +"Well, but I can tell you the reason for all that: he wants me to enter +into a scheme with him, for breeding horses on the common here: and +so he would not, at first setting out, stand to higgle with me for the +price of a horse." + +"And would you for twenty guineas, cousin Marvel, run the hazard of +joining in any scheme with a man of his character? Pray inquire in the +country and in York, where you are going, what sort of a character this +man bears. Take my advice, pay him for his horse, and have nothing more +to do with him." + +"But I have not the ready cash to pay him for his horse, that's one +thing," said Marvel. + +"Let that be no difficulty," replied Wright; "for I have a hundred +guineas here, just brought home from Partney fair, and they are heartily +at your service." + +Goodenough twitched Wright's elbow three times as he uttered these +words: but Wright finished his sentence, and put the money into Marvel's +hands immediately upon his promising to pay for the horse, break off +all connexion with his friend the jockey, if he should find upon inquiry +that he was not a person of good character, and at all events to suspend +any treaty with him till after his return from York. + +"Whilst you are gone," said Wright, "I will make inquiries about the +profit of breeding of horses on the commons. I have an acquaintance, a +sensible old man, who has kept accounts of what he has done in that way +himself; and he will show us his accounts, from which we shall be able +to judge." + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Wright heard nothing more of him for about a fortnight; he then received +the following letter: + +"DEAR COUSIN WRIGHT, + +"It is a very great pity that you could not be persuaded to come along +with me to York races, where I have seen more of life, and of the world, +in a week, than ever I did in all my life before.--York is a surprising +fine town; and has a handsome cathedral, and assembly-room: but I am not +in the humour, just now, to describe them: so I shall proceed to what is +much better worth thinking of. + +"You must know, cousin Wright, that I am in love, and never was I so +happy or so miserable in my days. If I was not a farmer there would be +some hopes for me; but, to be sure, it is not to be expected that such +a lady as she is should think of a mere country booby; in which light, +indeed, she was pleased to say, as I heard from good authority, she did +not consider me; though my manners wanted polish. These were her own +words. I shall spare nothing to please her, if possible, and am not +wholly without hope, though I have a powerful rival; no less a person +than the eldest son and heir of Sir Plantagenet Mowbray, Bart. But +her virtue will never, I am persuaded, suffer her to listen to such +addresses as his. Now mine are honourable, and pure as her soul; the +purity of which no one could doubt, who had seen her last night, as I +did, in the character of the Fair Penitent. She was universally admired: +and another night sung and danced like an angel. But I can give you no +idea of her by pen and ink; so I beseech you to come and see her, and +give your advice to me candidly, for I have the highest opinion of your +judgment and good-nature. + +"I find you were quite right about that scoundrel who rode with me from +Spalding! He has arrested me for a hundred guineas; and is, without +exception, the shabbiest dog I ever met with: but I am out of his +clutches, and have better friends. I will tell you the whole story when +we meet, and pay you your hundred with many thanks. Pray set out as +soon as you receive this, for every moment is an age to me: and I won't +declare myself, more than I have done, if possible, till you come; for +I have a great opinion of your judgment; yet hope you won't put on your +severe face, nor be prejudiced against her, because of her being on the +stage. Leave such illiberality to cousin Goodenough: it would be quite +beneath you! Pray bring with you that volume of old plays that is at the +top of my bed, under the bag of thistles; or in the basket of reeds that +I was making; or in the out-house, where I keep the goose-quills and +feathers. I don't find my memory so clear, since my head is so full of +this charming Alicia Barton. Pray make no delay, as you value the peace +of mind of your + +"Affectionate cousin and friend, + +"PIERCE MARVEL. + +"P. S. Mr. Barton, her brother, is the most generous of men, and the +cleverest. He is not averse to the match. Sir Plantagenet Mowbray's son +and heir, who is as insolent as his father, may find that a Lincolnshire +farmer is not a person to be despised. I have thoughts of selling my +farm of Clover-hill, and of going into another way of life; for which, +as Mr. Barton said, and Alicia hinted, nay, as I am inclined to believe +too, I am much better suited than for farming. Of this more when we +meet. Pray set out as soon as you receive this. Alicia has dark eyes, +and yet a fair complexion. I am sure you will like her." + +Far from feeling sure that he should like Miss Alicia Barton, Wright was +so much alarmed for his cousin, on the perusal of this letter, that he +resolved to set out immediately for York, lest the sale of Clover-hill +should be concluded before his arrival. A new project and a new love +were, indeed, powerful temptations to one of Marvel's character. + +As Goodenough was plodding at his accustomed pace in his morning's work, +he met Wright on horseback, who asked him if he had any commissions that +he could execute in York, whither he was going. + +"None, thank Heaven!" said Goodenough. "So I see it is as I always knew +it would be! Marvel is 'ticing you into his own ways, and will make you +just such another as _his_ self. Ay, you must go to York races! Well, so +much the better for me. Much pleasure to you at the races." + +"I am not going to the races; I am going to do Marvel a service." + +"Charity begins at home: that's my maxim," replied Goodenough. + +"It is quite fitting that charity should _begin_ at home," said Wright; +"but then it should not _end_ at home; for those that help nobody will +find none to help them in time of need." + +"Those that help nobody will not be so apt to come to need," replied +Goodenough. "But yonder's my men standing idle. If I but turn my head, +that's the way of them. Good morrow to you, cousin Wright; I can't stand +argufying here about charity, which won't plough my ground, nor bring me +a jot nearer to the ten thousand pounds' legacy: so good morrow to you. +My service to cousin Marvel." + +Goodenough proceeded to his men, who were in truth standing idle, as it +was their custom to do when their master's eye was not, as they thought, +upon them; for he kept them so hard at work, when he was present, that +not a labouring man in the country would hire himself to Goodenough, +when he could get employment elsewhere. Goodenough's partizans, however, +observed that he got his money's worth out of every man he employed; +and that this was the way to grow rich. The question, said they, is not +which of the three nephews will be the best beloved, but which will +be the richest at the end of ten years; and, on this ground, who can +dispute that Goodenough's maxim is the best, "Charity begins at home?" +Wright's friends looked rather alarmed when they heard of this journey +to York; and Marvel's advocates, though they put a good face upon the +matter, heartily wished him safe home. + +Upon Wright's arrival in York, he found it no easy matter to discover +his cousin Marvel; for he had forgotten to date his letter, and no +direction was given to inn or lodging: at last, after inquiring at all +the public-houses without success, Wright bethought himself of asking +where Miss Alicia Barton, the actress, lodged; for there he would +probably meet her lover. Mr. Harrison, an eminent dyer, to whom he +applied for information, very civilly offered to show him to the house. +Wright had gained this dyer's good opinion by the punctuality with +which he had, for three years past, supplied him, at the day and +hour appointed, with the quantity of woad for which he had agreed. +Punctuality never fails to gain the good opinion of men of business. + +As the dyer walked with Wright to Miss Barton's lodgings, they entered +into conversation about her; and Wright asked what character she bore. +"I know nothing of her character for my own share," said Harrison, "not +being in that line of business; but I think I could put you into a way +of seeing her in her true colours, whatever they may be; for she is very +intimate with a milliner, whom my wife (though not with my good-will +entirely) visits. In return for which, I shall be glad that you will do +my business along with your own; and let me know if any thing is going +wrong." + +The dyer introduced Wright to the milliner as a gentleman farmer, who +wanted to take home with him a fashionable cap and bonnet, or two, +for some ladies in Lincolnshire. The milliner ordered down some dusty +bandboxes, which she protested and vowed were just arrived from London +with the newest fashions; and, whilst she was displaying these, Wright +talked of the races, and the players, and Miss Alicia Barton. + +"Is she as handsome as they say? I have a huge _cur'osity_ to see her," +said Wright, feigning more rusticity of manner and more simplicity than +was natural to him. "I have, truly, a woundy _cur'osity_ to see her, +I've heard so much of her, even down in Lincolnshire." + +"If you go to see the play, sir, you can't fail to have your curiosity +gratified, for Miss Barton plays to-night--(Jenny! reach me a +play-bill)--for her own benefit, and appears in her very best character, +the Romp." + +"The Romp!--Odds! Is that her best character? Why, now, to my notion, +bad's the best, if that be the best of her characters. The Romp!--Odds +so! What would our grandmothers say to that?" + +"Oh, sir, times are changed, as well as fashions, since our +grandmothers' days," said the milliner. "Put up this bonnet for the +gentleman, Jenny.--I am sure I don't pretend to say any thing in favour +of the times, whatever I may of the fashions. But, as to fashion, to be +sure no one can be more fashionable, here in York, than Miss Barton. All +our gentlemen are dying for her." + +"Odds my life, I'll keep out of her way! And yet I've a huge cur'osity +to set my eyes upon her. Pray, now, could I any way get to the sight or +speech of her in a room, or so? for seeing a woman on the stage is one +thing, and seeing her off, as I take it, is another." + +"I take it so too, sir. Jenny, put up the cap for the gentleman, and +make out a bill." + +"No, no; the bonnet's all I want, which I'll pay for on the nail." + +Wright took out a long purse full of guineas: then put it up again, and +opened a pocket-book full of bank-notes. The milliner's respect for him +obviously increased. "Jenny! Do run and see who's within there. Miss +Barton was trying on her dress, I think, half an hour ago: may be she'll +pass through this way, and the gentleman may have a sight of her, since +it weighs so much upon his mind. Let me put up the cap too, sir: it's +quite the fashion, you may assure the Lincolnshire ladies.--Oh! here's +Miss Barton." + +Miss Barton made her appearance, with all her most bewitching smiles +and graces. Without seeming to notice Wright, she seated herself in a +charming attitude; and, leaning pensively on the counter, addressed +her conversation to her friend, the milliner: but, at every convenient +pause, she cast an inquiring glance at Wright, who stood with his long +purse of guineas in his hand, and his open pocket-book of bank-notes +before him, as if he had been so much astonished by the lady's +appearance, that he could not recover his recollection. Now, Wright was +a remarkably well-shaped handsome man, and Miss Barton was in reality as +much struck by his appearance as he feigned to be by hers. No forbidding +reserve condemned him to silence; and, as if inspired by the hope of +pleasing, he soon grew talkative. + +"This is the most rare town, this, your town of York." said he: "I do +not well know how I shall ever be able to get myself out of it: so many +fine sights, my eyes be quite dazzled!" "And pray, sir, which of all the +fine sights do you like the best?" said the milliner. + +"Oh! the ladies be the finest of all the fine sights: and I know who I +think the finest lady I ever beheld--but will never tell--never." + +"Never, sir?" said the milliner, whilst Miss Barton modestly cast down +her eyes. "Never's a bold word, sir. I've a notion you'll live to break +that rash resolution." + +Miss Barton sighed, and involuntarily looked at the glass. + +"Why, where's the use," pursued Wright, "of being laughed at? Where's +the sense of being scoffed at, as a man might be, that would go for to +pay a compliment, not well knowing how, to a lady that is used to have +court made to her by the first gentlemen in all York?" + +"Those that think they don't know how to pay a compliment often pay the +best to my fancy," said the milliner. "What says Miss Barton?" + +Miss Barton sighed and blushed, or looked as if she meant to blush; and +then, raising her well-practised eyes, exclaimed, with theatrical tones +and gestures: + + "Ye sacred pow'rs, whose gracious providence + Is watchful for our good, guard me from men, + From their deceitful tongues, their vows and flatteries; + Still let me pass neglected by their eyes: + Let my bloom wither and my form decay, + That none may think it worth their while to ruin me, + And fatal love may never be my bane." + +Scarcely had she concluded her speech, when Pierce Marvel came +breathless into the shop. Wright was standing so as to be completely +hidden by the door: and Marvel, not seeing his friend, addressed +himself, as soon as he had breath, to his mistress.--The lady's manner +changed, and Wright had an opportunity of seeing and admiring her powers +of acting. To Marvel, she was coy and disdainful. + +"I expect my friend and relation in town every hour," said he to her in +a low voice; "and then I shall be able to settle with your brother about +the sale of Clover-hill. You half promised that you would walk with me +this morning." "Not without my brother: excuse me, sir," said the coy +lady, withdrawing with the dignity of a princess. "When your friend +arrives, for whose advice I presume you wait, you will be able to decide +_your_ heart. Mine cannot be influenced by base lucre, or mercenary +considerations--Unhand me, sir." + +"I will run immediately to the inn, to see whether my friend is come," +cried Marvel. "Believe me, I am as much above mercenary considerations +as yourself; but I have promised not to conclude upon the sale till he +comes, and he would take it ill to be sent for, and then to be made a +fool of.--I'll run to the Green Man again immediately, to see if he is +come." + +Marvel darted out of the shop. Wright, during this parley, which lasted +but a few seconds, had kept himself snug in his hiding-place, and +appeared to the milliner to be wholly absorbed in casting up his bill, +in which there was a shilling wrong. He came from behind the door +as soon as Marvel departed; and, saying that he would call for his +purchases in an hour's time, left the milliner's, took a hackney coach, +and drove to the Green Man, where he was now sure of meeting his cousin. + +"Thank Heaven! you are come at last," cried Marvel, the moment he saw +him. "Thank Heaven! you are come! do not let us lose a moment. If you +are not tired, if you are not hungry, come along with me, and I'll +introduce you to my charming Alicia Barton." + +"I am both tired and hungry," replied Wright: "so let us have a hot +beef-steak, and let me sit down and rest myself." + +It was the utmost stretch of Marvel's patience to wait for the +beef-steak; and he could scarcely conceive how any one could prefer +eating it to seeing his charming Alicia. He did not eat a morsel +himself, but walked up and down the room with quick steps. + +"Oh! my dear Wright," cried he, "it is a sign you've never seen her, or +you would eat a little faster." + +"Does every body eat fast, who has seen Miss Barton?" said Wright; "then +to be sure I should; for I have seen her within this half hour." + +"Seen her! Seen Alicia! Seen her within this half hour! That's +impossible.--How could you see her? Where could you see her?" "I saw her +in your company," rejoined Wright, coolly. + +"In my company! How could that be, without my seeing you?--You are +making a jest of me." + +"Not at all; only take care that you do not make a jest of yourself. +I assure you that I say nothing but truth: I've seen you and your Miss +Barton this very morning: nay, I'll tell you what you said to her; you +told her that you could not sell Clover-hill till I came to town." + +Marvel stared, and stood in silent astonishment. + +"Ay," continued Wright, "you see by this how many things may pass before +a man's eyes and ears, when he is in love, without his seeing or hearing +them. Why, man, I was in the milliner's shop just now, standing in the +corner behind the door; but you could see nothing but your charming Miss +Barton." + +"I beg your pardon for being so blind," said Marvel, laughing; "but you +are too good-natured to take offence; though you don't know what it is +to be in love." + +"There you are mistaken; for I am as much in love as yourself at this +instant." + +"Then I'm undone," cried Marvel, turning as pale as death. + +"Why so?" said Wright; "will you allow nobody, man, to be in love but +yourself? I don't see why I have not as good a right to fall in love as +you have." + +"To be sure you have," said Marvel, trying to recover himself; "and +I can't say but what you deal fairly by me, to tell me so honestly at +once. More fool I to send for you. I might have foreseen this, blockhead +as I am! but you deal fairly by me, Wright: so I cannot complain, and +will not, happen what may. Let him who can win her, wear her. We start +fair; for though I have had the advantage of a first acquaintance, you +are much the handsomer man of the two; and that goes for a great deal +with some ladies, though not perhaps with Alicia Barton." + +"There, perhaps, you may find yourself mistaken," replied Wright, with a +significant look. + +"You don't say so? You don't think so?" cried Marvel, with great +emotion. "I say what I think; and, if I may trust a woman's looks, I've +some reason for my thoughts." + +Marvel took up the tankard which stood on the table, and swallowed down +a hasty draught; and then said, though with an altered voice, "Cousin +Wright, let him who can win her, wear her, as I said before. I sha'n't +quarrel with you if you deal fairly by me; so tell me honestly, did you +never see her before this morning?" + +"Never, as I am an honest man," said Wright. + +"Then, here's my hand for you," said Marvel. "All's fair and handsome +on your part. Happen what may, as I said before, I will not quarrel with +you. If she was decreed to fall in love with you at first sight, why +that's no fault of yours; and if she tells me so fairly, why no great +fault of hers. She has encouraged me a little; but still women will +change their minds, and I shall not call her a jilt if she speaks +handsomely to me. It will go a little to my heart at first, no doubt; +but I shall bear it like a man, I hope; and I shall not quarrel with +you, cousin Wright, whatever else I do." + +Marvel shook Wright's hand heartily; but turned away directly +afterwards, to hide his agitation. + +"Why now, cousin Marvel, you are a good fellow; that's the truth of it," +said Wright. "Trust to me: and, if the girl is what you think her, you +shall have her: that I promise you." + +"That's more than you _can_ promise, being as you say as much in love as +I am." + +"I say I'm more in love than you are: but what then, I ask you?" + +"What then! why, we cannot both have Alicia Barton." + +"Very true. I would not have her if you would give her to me." + +"Would not have her!" cried Marvel, with a look of joyous astonishment: +"but, did not you tell me you were in love with her?" + +"Not I. You told it to yourself. I said I was in love; but cannot a man +be in love with any woman in this whole world but Miss Barton?" + +Marvel capered about the room with the most lively expressions of +delight, shook hands with his cousin, as if he would have pulled his +arm off, and then suddenly stopping, said, "But what do you think of my +Alicia? Though you are not in love with her, I hope you think well of +her?" + +"I must see more of her before I am qualified to speak." + +"Nay, nay, no drawbacks: out with it. I must know what you think of her +at this time being." + +"At this time being, then, I think, she is what they call a--coquette." + +"Oh, there you are out, indeed, cousin Wright! she's more of what they +call a prude than a coquette." + +"To you, perhaps; but not to me, cousin. Let every one speak of her as +they find," replied Wright. + +Marvel grew warm in defence of Miss Barton's prudery; and at last ended +by saying, "that he'd stake his life upon it, she was no jilt. If she +had taken a fancy to you, Wright, she would honestly tell me so, I'm +convinced; and, when she finds you are thinking of another woman, her +pride would soon make her think no more of you. 'Tis but little she +could have thought in the few minutes you were in her company; and it is +my opinion she never thought of you at all--no offence." + +"No offence, I promise you," said Wright; "but let us put her to the +trial: do you keep your own counsel; go on courting her your own way, +and let me go mine. Don't you say one word of my being here in York; +but put her off about the sale of Clover-hill, till such time as you are +sure of her heart." + +To this proposal Marvel joyfully agreed; and, as to the time of trial, +Wright asked only one week. His cousin then told him the new scheme, +from which he expected to make so much: it had been suggested by +Alicia's brother. "I am to sell Clover-hill; and, with the money that I +get for it, Barton and I are to build and fit up a theatre in Lincoln, +and be the managers ourselves. I assure you, he says, and they all say, +I should make a figure on the stage: and Miss Barton whispered, in my +hearing, that I should make a capital Lothario," added Marvel, throwing +himself into a stage attitude, and reciting, in a voice that made Wright +start, + + "'Earth, Heav'n, and fair Calista, judge the combat.'" + +"Very fine, no doubt," said Wright; "but I am no judge of these matters; +only this I am sure of, that, with respect to selling Clover-hill, you +had best go slowly to work, and see what the sister is, before you trust +to the brother. It is not for my interest, I very well know, to advise +you against this scheme; because, if I wanted to make certain of your +not coming in for my uncle's legacy, I could not take a better way than +to urge you to follow your fancy. For, say that you lay out all you have +in the world on the building of this playhouse, and say that Barton's +as honest a man as yourself: observe, your playhouse cannot be built in +less than a couple of years, and the interest of your money must be dead +all that time; and pray how are you to bring yourself up, by the end of +the ten years? Consider, there are but seven years of the time to come." + +Marvel gave his cousin hearty thanks for his disinterested advice, but +observed that actors and managers of playhouses were, of all men, they +who were most likely to grow rich in a trice; that they often cleared +many hundreds in one night for their benefits; that even, if he should +fail to hit the public taste himself, as an actor, he was sure at +least, if he married the charming Alicia, that she would be a source +of inexhaustible wealth. "Not," added he, "that I think of her in that +light; for my soul is as much superior to mercenary considerations as +her own." + +"More, perhaps," said Wright; but seeing fire flash in his cousin's +eyes at this insinuation, he contented himself for the present with the +promise he had obtained, that nothing should be concluded till the +end of one week; that no mention should be made to Miss Barton, or her +brother, of his arrival in town; and that he should have free liberty to +make trial of the lady's truth and constancy, in any way he should +think proper. Back to his friend the milliner's he posted directly. Miss +Barton was gone out upon the race-ground in Captain Mowbray's curricle: +in her absence, Wright was received very graciously by the milliner, +who had lodgings to let, and who readily agreed to let them to him for +a week, as he offered half a guinea more than she could get from anybody +else. She fancied that he was deeply smitten with Miss Barton's +charms, and encouraged his passion, by pretty broad hints that it was +reciprocal. Miss Barton drank tea this evening with the milliner: Wright +was of the party, and he was made to understand that _others_ had been +excluded: "for Miss Barton," her friend observed, "was very _nice_ as to +her company." + +Many dexterous efforts were made to induce Wright to lay open his heart; +for the dyer's lady had been cross-questioned as to his property in +Lincolnshire, and she being a lover of the marvellous, had indulged +herself in a little exaggeration; so that he was considered as a prize, +and Miss Barton's imagination settled the matter so rapidly, that she +had actually agreed to make the milliner a handsome present on the +wedding-day. Upon this hint, the milliner became anxious to push forward +the affair. Marvel, she observed, hung back about the sale of his +estate; and, as to Sir Plantagenet Mowbray's son, he was bound hand and +foot by his father, so could do nothing genteel: besides, honourable +matrimony was out of the question there. + +All these things considered, the milliner's decision was, on perfectly +prudential and virtuous motives, in favour of Wright. Miss Barton's +_heart_, to use her own misapplied term, spoke warmly in his favour; for +he was, without any comparison, the _handsomest_ of her lovers; and +his simplicity and apparent ignorance of the world were rather +recommendations than objections. + +Upon her second interview with him, she had, however, some reason to +suspect that his simplicity was not so great as she had imagined. She +was surprised to observe, that, notwithstanding all their artful +hints, Wright came to nothing like a positive proposal, nor even to any +declaration of his passion. The next day she was yet more astonished; +for Wright, though he _knew_ she was a full hour in the milliner's shop, +never made the slightest attempt to see her; nay, in the evening, he +met her on the public walk, and passed without more notice than a formal +bow, and without turning his head back to look after her, though she +was flirting with a party of gentlemen, expressly for the purpose of +exciting his jealousy. + +Another consultation was held with her friend the milliner: "These men +are terrible creatures to deal with," said her confidant. "Do you know, +my dear creature, this man, simple as he looks, has been very near +taking us in. Would you believe it? he is absolutely courting a +Lincolnshire lady for a wife. He wrote a letter to her, my dear +Alicia, this morning, and begged me to let my boy run with it to the +post-office. I winded and winded, saying he was mighty anxious about +the letter, and so on, till, at the last, out comes the truth. Then +I touched him about you; but he said, 'an actress was not fit for a +farmer's wife, and that you had too many admirers already.' You see, my +dear creature, that he has none of the thoughts we built upon. Depend +upon it he is a shrewd man, and knows what he is about; so, as we cannot +do better than Marvel, my advice--" + +"Your advice!" interrupted Miss Barton: "I shall follow no advice but my +own." She walked up and down the small parlour in great agitation. + +"Do as you please, my dear; but remember I cannot afford to _lay_ out of +my money to all eternity. The account between us has run up to a great +sum; the dresses were such as never were made up before in York, and +must be paid for accordingly, as you must be sensible, Miss Barton. And +when you have an opportunity of establishing yourself so handsomely, and +getting all your debts paid; and when your brother, who was here an hour +ago, presses the match with Mr. Marvel so much; it is very strange and +unaccountable of you to say, 'you will take nobody's advice but your +own;' and to fall in love, ma'am, as you are doing, as fast as you can, +with a person who has no serious intentions, and is going to be married +to another woman. For shame, Miss Barton; is this behaving with proper +propriety? Besides, I've really great regard for that poor young man +that you have been making a fool of; I'm sure he is desperately in love +with you." + +"Then let him show it, and sell Clover-hill," said Miss Barton. + +Her mind balanced between avarice and what she called love. She had +taken a fancy to Wright, and his present coldness rather increased than +diminished her passion: he played his part so well, that she could +not tell how to decide. In the mean time, the milliner pressed for her +money; and Alicia's brother bullied loudly in favour of Marvel: he had +engaged the milliner, whom he was courting, to support his opinion. +Marvel, though with much difficulty, stood his ground, and refused to +sell Clover-hill, till he should be perfectly sure that Miss Barton +would marry him, and till his relation should arrive in town, and give +his consent. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Mr. Barton and the milliner now agreed, that if fair means would not +bring the charming Alicia to reason, others must be used; and it was +settled that she should be arrested for her debt to the milliner, which +was upwards of fifty pounds. "She knows," said this considerate brother, +"that I have neither the power nor the will to pay the money. Sir +Plantagenet's son is as poor as Job; so she must have recourse to +Marvel; and, if she gives him proper encouragement, he'll pay the money +in a trice. As to this man, who lodges with you, let her apply to him if +she likes it; she will soon see how he will answer her. By your account +he is a shrewd fellow, and not like our friend Marvel." + +On Friday morning the charming Alicia was arrested, at the suit of her +dear friend and confidant, the milliner. The arrest was made in the +milliner's shop. Alicia would doubtless have screamed and fainted, with +every becoming spirit and grace, if any spectators had been present: +but there was no one in the shop to admire or pity. She rushed with +dishevelled hair, and all the stage show of distraction, into Wright's +apartment; but, alas! he was not to be found. She then composed herself, +and wrote the following note to Marvel: + +"TO ---- MARVEL, ESQ. &C. + +"At the Green Man. + +"Much as it hurts the delicacy and wounds the pride of Alicia, she is +compelled, by the perfidy of a bosom friend of her own sex, to apply for +assistance and protection to one who will feel for the indignity that +has been shown her. How will his generous nature shudder, when he hears +that she is on the point of being dragged to a loathsome dungeon, for +want of the paltry sum of fifty pounds! Retrospection may convince the +man of her heart, that her soul is superior to mercenary considerations; +else, she would not now be reduced so low in the power of her enemies: +she scarcely knows what she writes--her heart bleeds--her brain is on +fire! + + "'Celestial sounds! Peace dawns upon my soul, + And every pain grows less. Oh! gentle Altamont, + Think not too hardly of me when I'm gone, + But pity me. Had I but early known + Thy wond'rous worth, thou excellent young man, + We had been happier both. Now 'tis too late. + And yet my eyes take pleasure to behold thee! + Thou art their last dear object.--Mercy, Heav'n!' + + "Your affectionate, + "And (shall I confess it?) + "Too affectionate, + "ALICIA." + +Marvel was settling some accounts with Wright when this note was put +into his hands: scarcely had he glanced his eye over it, when he started +up, seized a parcel of bank notes, which lay on the table, and was +rushing out of the room. Wright caught hold of his arm, and stopped him +by force. + +"Where now? What now, Marvel?" said he. + +"Do not stop me, Wright! I will not be stopped! She has been barbarously +used. They are dragging her to prison.--They have driven her almost out +of her senses. I must go to her this instant." + +"Well, well, don't go without your hat, man, for the people in the +street will take you for a lunatic. May a friend see this letter that +has driven _you_ out of your senses?" + +Marvel put it into Wright's hands, who read it with wonderful composure; +and when he came to the end of it, only said--"Hum!" + +"Hum," repeated Marvel, provoked beyond measure; "you have no humanity. +You are most strangely prejudiced. You are worse than Goodenough. Why do +you follow me?" continued he, observing that Wright was coming after him +across the inn-yard into the street. + +"I follow you to take care of you," said Wright, calmly; "and though you +do stride on at such a rate, I'll be bound to keep up with you." + +He suffered Marvel to walk on at his own pace for the length of two +streets, without saying another word; but just as they were turning the +corner into the square where the milliner lived, he again caught hold of +his cousin's arm, and said to him: "Hark you, Marvel; will you trust me +with those bank notes that you have in your pocket? and will you let me +step on to the milliner's, and settle this business for you? I see +it will cost you fifty pounds, but that I cannot help. You may think +yourself well off." + +"Fifty pounds! What are fifty pounds?" cried Marvel, hurrying forwards. +"You see that my Alicia must be superior to mercenary considerations; +for, though she knows I have a good fortune, that could not decide her +in my favour." + +"No, because she fancies that 1 have a better fortune; and, besides (for +there are times when a man must speak plainly), I've a notion she would +at this minute sooner be my mistress than your wife, if the thing were +fairly tried. She'll take your money as fast as you please; and I may +take her as fast as I please." + +Incensed at these words, Marvel could scarcely restrain his passion +within bounds: but Wright, without being, moved, continued to speak. + +"Nay, then, cousin, if you don't believe me, put it to the test!--I'll +wait here, at this woollen-draper's, where I am to dine: do you go on to +your milliner's, and say what you please, only let me have my turn +for half an hour this evening; and, if I am mistaken in the lady, I'll +freely own it, and make all due apology." + +In the afternoon, Marvel came to Wright with a face full of joy and +triumph. "Go to my Alicia now, cousin Wright," said he: "I defy you. She +is at her lodging.--She has promised to marry me! I am the happiest man +in the world!" + +Wright said not a word, but departed. Now he had in his pocket an +unanswered billet-doux, which had been laid upon his table the preceding +night: the billet-doux had no name to it; but, from all he had remarked +of the lady's manners towards him, he could not doubt that it was the +charming Alicia's. He was determined to have positive proof, however, to +satisfy Marvel's mind completely. The note which he had received was as +follows: + +"What can be the cause of your cruel and sudden change towards one of +whom you lately appeared to think so partially? A certain female friend +may deceive you, by false representations: do not trust to her, but +learn the real sentiments of a fond heart from one who knows not how to +feign. Spare the delicacy of your victim, and guess her name." + +To this note, from one "who knew not how to feign," Wright sent the +following reply: + +"If Miss Barton knows any thing of a letter that was left at Mrs. +Stokes's, the milliner's, last night, she may receive an answer to her +questions from the bearer; who, being no scholar, hopes she will not +take no offence at the shortness of these lines, but satisfy him in the +honour of drinking tea with her, who waits below stairs for an answer." + +The charming Alicia allowed him the honour of drinking tea with her, and +was delighted with the thought that she had at last caught him in her +snares. The moment she had hopes of him, she resolved to break her +promise to Marvel; and by making a merit of sacrificing to Wright all +his rivals, she had no doubt that she should work so successfully +upon his vanity, as to induce him to break off his treaty with the +Lincolnshire lady. + +Wright quickly let her go on with the notion that she had the game in +her own hands; at length he assumed a very serious look, like one upon +the point of forming some grand resolution; and turning half away from +her, said: + +"But now, look ye, Miss Barton, I am not a sort of man who would like +to be made a fool of. Here I'm told half the gentlemen of York are dying +for you; and, as your friend Mrs. Stokes informed--" + +"Mrs. Stokes is not my friend, but the basest and most barbarous of +enemies," cried Alicia. + +"Why, now, this is strange! She was your friend yesterday; and how do I +know but a woman may change as quick, and as short, about her lovers, as +about her friends?" + +"I never can change: fear nothing," said Alicia, tenderly. + +"But let me finish what I was saying about Mrs. Stokes; she told me +something about one Mr. Marvel, I think they call him; now what is all +that?" + +"Nothing: he is a foolish young man, who was desperately in love with +me, that's all, and offered to marry me; but, as I told him, I am +superior to mercenary considerations." + +"And is the affair broke off, then?" said Wright, looking her full in +the face. "That's in one word what I must be sure of: for I am not a man +that would choose to be jilted. Sit you down and pen me a farewell to +that same foolish young fellow. I am a plain-spoken man, and now you +have my mind." + +Miss Barton was now persuaded that all Wright's coldness had proceeded +from jealousy: blinded by her passions, and alarmed by the idea that +this was the moment in which she must either secure or for ever abandon +Wright and his fortune, she consented to his proposal, and wrote the +following tender adieu to Marvel: + +"TO----MARVEL, ESQ. &C. At the Green Man. + + +"SIR, + +"CIRCUMSTANCES have occurred, since I had last the honour of seeing you, +which make it impossible that I should ever think of you more. + +"ALICIA BARTON." + +Wright said he was perfectly satisfied with this note; and all that he +now desired was to be himself the bearer of it to Marvel. + +"He is a hot-headed young man," said Alicia; "he will perhaps quarrel +with you: let me send the letter by a messenger of my own. You don't +know him; you will not be able to find him out. Besides, why will you +deprive me of your company? Cannot another carry this note as well as +you?" + +"None shall carry it but myself," said Wright, holding fast his prize. +She was apprehensive of losing him for ever, if she opposed what she +thought his jealous humour; so she struggled no longer to hold him, but +bade him make haste to return to his Alicia. + +He returned no more; but the next morning she received from him the +following note: + +"TO MISS ALICIA BARTON, &C. + +"MADAM, + +"Circumstances have occurred, since I had last the honour of seeing you, +which make it impossible that I should ever think of you more. + +"JOHN WRIGHT. + +"P.S. My cousin, Marvel, thanks you for your note. Before you receive +this, he will have left York wiser than he came into it by fifty guineas +and more." + +"Wiser by more than fifty guineas, I hope," said Marvel, as he rode out +of town, early in the morning. + +"I have been on the point of being finely taken in! I'm sure this +will be a lesson to me as long as I live. I shall never forget your +good-nature, and steadiness to me, Wright. Now, if it had not been for +you, I might have been married to this jade; and have given her and her +brother every thing I'm worth in the world. Well, well, this is a lesson +I shall remember. I've felt it sharply enough. Now I'll turn my head to +my business again, if I can. How Goodenough would laugh at me if he knew +this story. But I'll make up for all the foolish things I have done +yet before I die; and I hope, before I die, I may be able to show you, +cousin Wright, how much I am obliged to you: that would be greater +joy to me even than getting by my own ingenuity my uncle Pearson's ten +thousand pound legacy. Do, Wright, find out something I can do for you, +to make amends for all the trouble I've given you, and all the time I +have made you waste: do, there's a good fellow." + +"Well, then," said Wright, "I don't want to saddle you with an +obligation. You shall pay me in kind directly, since you are so desirous +of it. I told you I was in love: you shall come with me and see my +mistress, to give me your opinion of her. Every man can be prudent for +his neighbour: even you no doubt can," added Wright, laughing. Wright's +mistress was a Miss Banks, only daughter to a gentleman who had set up +an apparatus for manufacturing woad. Mr. Banks's house was in their way +home, and they called there. They knocked several times at the door, +before any one answered: at last a boy came to hold their horses, who +told them that Mr. Banks was dead, and that nobody could be let into the +house. The boy knew nothing of the matter, except that his master died, +he believed, of a sort of a fit; and that his young mistress was in +great grief: "which I'm mortal sorry for," added he: "for she be's kind +hearted and civil spoken, and moreover did give me the very shoes I have +on my feet." + +"I wish I could see her," said Wright; "I might be some comfort to her." + +"Might ye so, master? If that the thing be so," said the boy, looking +earnestly in Wright's face, "I'll do my best endeavours." + +He ran off at full speed through the back yard, but returned to learn +the gentleman's name, which he had forgotten to ask; and presently +afterwards he brought his answer. It was written with a pencil, and with +a trembling hand: + +"My dear Mr. Wright, I cannot see you now: but you shall hear from me as +soon as I am able to give an answer to your last. + +"S. BANKS." + +The words, "My dear," were half rubbed out: but they were visible enough +to his eyes. Wright turned his horse's head homewards, and Marvel and he +rode away. His heart was so full that he could not speak, and he did +not hear what Marvel said to comfort him. As they were thus riding on +slowly, they heard a great noise of horsemen behind them; and looking +back, they saw a number of farmers, who were riding after them. As they +drew near, Wright's attention was roused by hearing the name of _Banks_ +frequently repeated. "What news, neighbour?" said Marvel. + +"The news is, that Mr. Banks is dead; he died of an apoplectic fit, and +has left his daughter a power o' money, they say. Happy the man who +gets her! Good morrow to you, gentlemen; we're in haste home." After +receiving this intelligence, Wright read his mistress's note over again, +and observed that he was not quite pleased to see the words "My dear" +half rubbed out. Marvel exclaimed, "Have nothing more to do with +her; that's my advice to you; for I would not marry any woman for her +fortune; especially if she thought she was doing me a favour. If she +loved you, she would not have rubbed out those words at such a time as +this." + +"Stay a bit," said Wright; "we shall be better able to judge by and by." + +A week passed away, and Wright heard nothing from Miss Banks; nor did he +attempt to see her, but waited as patiently as he could for her promised +letter. At last it came. The first word was "Sir." That was enough for +Marvel, who threw it down with indignation when his cousin showed it to +him. "Nay, but read it, at least," said Wright. + +"SIR, + +"My poor father's affairs have been left in great disorder; and instead +of the fortune which you might have expected with me, I shall have +little or nothing. The creditors have been very kind to me; and I hope +in time to pay all just debts. I have been much hurried with business, +or should have written sooner. Indeed it is no pleasant task to me to +write at all, on this occasion. I cannot unsay what I have said to you +in former times, for I think the same of you as ever I did: but I know +that I am not now a fit match for you as to fortune, and would not hold +any man to his word, nor could value any man enough to marry him, who +would break it. Therefore it will be no grief for me to break off with +you if such should be your desire. And no blame shall be thrown upon you +by my friends, for I will take the refusal upon myself. I know the terms +of your uncle's will, and the great reason you have to wish for a good +fortune with your wife; so it is very natural--I mean very likely, you +may not choose to be burdened with a woman who has none. Pray speak your +mind freely to, sir, + +"Your humble servant, + +"S. BANKS." Marvel had no sooner read this letter than he advised his +friend Wright to marry Miss Banks directly. + +"That is what I have determined to do," said Wright: "for I don't think +money the first thing in the world; and I would sooner give up my uncle +Pearson's legacy this minute than break my word to any woman, much less +to one that I love, as I do Miss Banks, better now than ever. I have +just heard from the steward, who brought this letter, how handsomely +and prudently she has behaved to other people, as well as to myself: +by which I can judge most safely. She has paid all the debts that were +justly due, and has sold even the gig, which I know she wished to keep; +but, seeing that it was not suited to her present circumstances, her +good sense has got the better. Now, to my mind, a prudent wife, even +as to money matters, may turn out a greater treasure to a man than what +they call a great fortune." + +With these sentiments Wright married Miss Banks, who was indeed a very +prudent, amiable girl. Goodenough sneered at this match; and observed +that he had always foretold Wright would be taken in, sooner or later. +Goodenough was now in his thirty-second year, and as he had always +determined to marry precisely at this age, he began to look about for +a wife. He chose a widow, said to be of a very close saving temper: she +was neither young, handsome, nor agreeable; but then she was rich, +and it was Goodenough's notion that the main chance should be first +considered, in matrimony as in every thing else. Now this notable dame +was precisely of his way of thinking; but she had more shrewdness than +her lover, and she overreached him in the bargain: her fortune did not +turn out to be above one half of what report had represented it; her +temper was worse than even her enemies said it was; and the time that +was daily wasted in trifling disputes between this well-matched pair was +worth more than all the petty savings made by her avaricious habits. + +Goodenough cursed himself ten times a day, during the honey-moon; but +as he did not like to let the neighbours know how far he had been +outwitted, he held his tongue with the fortitude of a martyr; and his +partisans all commended him for making so prudent a match. "Ah, ay," +said they, "there's Wright, who might have had this very woman, has gone +and married a girl without a shilling, with all his prudence; and, as to +Marvel, he will surely be bit." There they were mistaken. Marvel was +a person capable of learning from experience, and he never forgot the +lesson that he had received from the charming Alicia. It seemed to have +sobered him completely. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +About this time, Mr. James Harrison, an eminent dyer, uncle to Wright's +friend of that name at York, came to settle near Clover-hill; and +as Marvel was always inclined to be hospitable, he assisted his new +neighbour with many of those little conveniences, which money cannot +always command at the moment they are wanted. The dyer was grateful; +and, in return for Marvel's civilities, let him into many of the +mysteries of the dyeing business, which he was anxious to understand. +Scarcely a day passed without his calling on Mr. James Harrison. Now, +Mr. Harrison had a daughter, Lucy, who was young and pretty, and Marvel +thought her more and more agreeable every time he saw her; but, as he +told Wright, he was determined not to fall in love with her, until he +was quite sure that she was good for something. A few weeks after he +had been acquainted with her, he had an opportunity of seeing her tried. +Mrs. Isaac Harrison, the dyer of York's lady, came to spend some +time; Miss Millicent, or, as she was commonly called, Milly Harrison, +accompanied her mother: she, having a more fashionable air than Lucy, +and having learned to dance from a London dancing-master, thought +herself so much her superior that she ought to direct her in all things. +Miss Milly, the Sunday after her arrival, appeared at church in a bonnet +that charmed half the congregation; and a crowd of farmers' wives and +daughters, the moment church was over, begged the favour of Miss Milly +to tell them where and how such a bonnet could be got, and how much it +would cost. It was extravagantly dear; and those mothers who had any +prudence were frightened at the price: but the daughters were of opinion +that it was the cheapest, as well as prettiest thing that ever was seen +or heard of; and Miss Milly was commissioned to write immediately to +York to bespeak fifteen bonnets exactly like her own. This transaction +was settled before they had left the churchyard; and Miss Milly was +leaning upon a tombstone to write down the names of those who were most +eager to have their bonnets before the next Sunday, when Wright and +Marvel came up to the place where the crowd was gathered, and they saw +what was going forward. + +Miss Barber, Miss Cotton, Miss Lamb, Miss Dishley, Miss Trotter, Miss +Hull, Miss Parker, Miss Bury, Miss Oxley, &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. +&c. &c. &c. &c. &c., all, in their turn, peeped anxiously over Miss +Milly's shoulder, to make themselves sure that their names were in the +happy list. Lucy Harrison, alone, stood with a composed countenance in +the midst of the agitated group. "Well, cousin Lucy, what say you now? +Shall I bespeak a bonnet for you, hey?--Do you know," cried Miss Milly, +turning to the admirers of her bonnet, "do you know that I offered to +bespeak one yesterday for Lucy; and she was so stingy she would not +let me, because it was _too dear_?" "_Too dear!_ Could ye conceive it?" +repeated the young ladies, joining in a scornful titter. All eyes were +now fixed upon Lucy, who blushed deeply, but answered, with gentle +steadiness, that she really could not afford to lay out so much money +upon a bonnet, and that she would rather not have her name put down in +the list. + +"She's a good prudent girl," whispered Wright to Marvel. + +"And very pretty, I am sure; I never saw her look so pretty as at this +instant," replied Marvel in a low voice, + +"Please yourself, child," said Miss Milly, throwing back her head with +much disdain; "but I'm sure you'll please nobody else with such a dowdy +thing as that you have on. Lord! I should like to see her walk the +streets of York on a Sunday that figure. Lord! how Mrs. Stokes would +laugh!" + +Here she paused, and several of her fair audience were struck with the +terrible idea of being laughed at by a person whom they had never seen, +and whom they were never likely to see; and transporting themselves +in imagination into the streets of York, felt all the horror of being +stared at, in an unfashionable bonnet, by Mrs. Stokes. "Gracious me! +Miss Milly, do pray be sure to have mine sent from York afore next +Sunday," cried one of the country belles: "and, gracious me! don't +forget mine, Miss Mill," was reiterated by every voice but Lucy's, as +the crowd followed Miss Harrison out of the churchyard. Great was the +contempt felt for her by the company; but she was proof against their +ridicule, and calmly ended, as she began, with saying, "I cannot afford +it." + +"She is a very prudent girl," repeated Wright, in a low voice, to +Marvel. + +"But I hope this is not stinginess," whispered Marvel. "I would not +marry such a stingy animal as Goodenough has taken to wife for all the +world. Do you know she has half starved the servant boy that lived with +them? There he is, yonder, getting over the stile: did you ever see such +a miserable-looking creature?--He can tell you fifty stories of dame +Goodenough's stinginess. I would not marry a stingy woman for the whole +world. I hope Lucy Harrison is not stingy." + +"Pray, Mrs. Wright," said Marvel's friend, turning to his wife, who had +been standing beside him, and who had not yet said one word, "what may +your opinion be?" + +"My opinion is, that she is as generous a girl as any upon earth," said +Mrs. Wright, "and I have good reason to say so." + +"How? What?" said Marvel, eagerly. + +"Her father lent my poor father five hundred pounds; and at the meeting +of the creditors after his death, Mr. Harrison was very earnest to have +the money paid, because it was his daughter's fortune. When he found +that it could not be had immediately, he grew extremely angry; but Lucy +pacified him, and told him that she was sure I should pay the money +honestly, as soon as I could; and that she would willingly wait to +have it paid at a hundred pounds a year, for my convenience. I am more +obliged to her for the handsome way in which she trusted to me, than if +she had given me half the money. I shall never forget it." + +"I hope you forgive her for not buying the bonnet," said Wright to +Marvel. + +"Forgive her! ay; now I love her for it," said Marvel; "now I know that +she is not stingy." + +From this day forward, Marvel's attachment to Lucy rapidly increased. +One evening he was walking in the fields with Lucy and Miss Milly, who +played off her finest York airs to attract his admiration, when the +following dialogue passed between them: "La! cousin Lucy," said Miss +Millicent, "when shall we get you to York? I long to show you a little +of the world, and to introduce you to my friend, Mrs. Stokes, the +milliner." + +"My father says that he does not wish that I should be acquainted with +Mrs. Stokes," said Lucy. + +"Your father! Nonsense, child. Your father has lived all his life in the +country, the Lord knows where; he has not lived in York, as I have; so +how can he know any thing upon earth of the world?--what we call the +world, I mean." + +"I do not know, cousin Milly, what you call the world; but I think +that he knows more of Mrs. Stokes than I do; and I shall trust to his +opinion, for I never knew him speak ill of any body without having good +reason for it. Besides, it is my duty to obey my father." + +"Duty! La! Gracious me! She talks as if she was a baby in +leading-strings," cried Miss Milly, laughing; but she was mortified at +observing that Marvel did not join, as she had expected, in the laugh: +so she added, in a scornful tone, "Perhaps I'm in the wrong box; +and that Mr. Marvel is one of them that admires pretty babes in +leading-strings." + +"I am one of those that admire a good daughter, I confess," said Marvel; +"and," said he, lowering his voice, "that love her too." + +Miss Milly coloured with anger, and Lucy with an emotion that she had +never felt before. As they returned home, they met Mr. Harrison, and the +moment Marvel espied him he quitted the ladies. + +"I've something to say to you, Mr. Harrison. I should be glad to speak a +few words to you in private, if you please," cried he, seizing his arm, +and leading him down a by-lane. + +Mr. Harrison was all attention; but Marvel began to gather primroses, +instead of speaking. + +"Well," said Mr. Harrison, "did you bring me here to see you gather +primroses?" + +After smelling the flowers twenty times, and placing them in twenty +different forms, Marvel at last threw them on the bank, and, with a +sudden effort, exclaimed, "You have a daughter, Mr. James Harrison." + +"I know I have; and I thank God for it." + +"So you have reason to do; for a more lovely girl and a better, in my +opinion, never existed." + +"One must not praise one's own, or I should agree with you," said the +proud father. + +Again there was silence. And again Marvel picked up his primroses. + +"In short," said he, "Mr. Harrison, would you like me for a son-in-law?" + +"Would Lucy like you for a husband? I must know that first," said the +good father. + +"That is what I do not know," replied Marvel; "but, if I was to ask +her, she would ask you, I am sure, whether you would like me for a +son-in-law." + +"At this rate, we shall never get forwards," said Harrison. "Go you back +to Miss Milly, and send my Lucy here to me." + +We shall not tell how Lucy picked up the flowers, which had been her +lover's grand resource; nor how often she blushed upon the occasion: she +acknowledged that she thought Mr. Marvel _very agreeable_, but that she +was afraid to marry a person who had so little steadiness. That she had +heard of a great number of schemes, undertaken by him, which had failed; +or which he had given up as hastily as he had begun them. "Besides," +said she, "may be he might change his mind about me as well as about +other things; for I've heard from my cousin Milly--I've heard--that--he +was in love, not very long since, with an actress in York. Do you think +this is all true?" + +"Yes, I know it is all true," said Mr. Harrison, "for he told me so +himself. He is an honest, open-hearted young man; but I think as you do, +child, that we cannot be sure of his steadiness." + +When Marvel heard from Mr. Harrison the result of this conversation, +he was inspired with the strongest desire to convince Lucy that he was +capable of perseverance. To the astonishment of all who knew him, or who +thought that they knew him, he settled steadily to business; and, for a +whole twelvemonth, no one heard him speak of any new scheme. At the end +of this time he renewed his proposal to Lucy; saying that he hoped she +would now have some dependence upon his constancy to her, since she had +seen the power she had over his mind. Lucy was artless and affectionate, +as well as prudent: now that her only real objection to the match was +lessened, she did not torment him, to try her power; but acknowledged +her attachment to him, and they were married. + +Sir Plantagenet Mowbray's agent was much astonished that Lucy did not +prefer him, because he was a much richer man than Pierce Marvel; and +Miss Milly Harrison was also astonished that Mr. Marvel did not prefer +her to such a country girl as Lucy, especially when she had a +thousand pounds more _to_ her fortune. But, notwithstanding all this +astonishment, Marvel and his wife were perfectly happy. + +It was now the fifth year after old Mr. Pearson's death. Wright was at +this time the richest of the three nephews; for the money that he had +laid out in draining Holland fen began to bring him in twenty per cent. +As to Marvel, he had exchanged some of his finest acres for the warren +of silver sprigs, the common full of thistles, and the marsh full of +reeds: he had lost many guineas by his sheep and their jackets, and many +more by his ill-fenced plantations: so that counting all the losses from +the failure of his schemes and the waste of his time, he was a thousand +pounds poorer than when he first came into possession of Clover-hill. + +Goodenough was not, according to the most accurate calculations, one +shilling richer or poorer than when he first began the world. "Slow and +sure," said his friends: "fair and softly goes far in a day. What he has +he'll hold fast; that's more than Marvel ever did, and may be more than +Wright will do in the end. He dabbles a little in _experiments_, as he +calls them: this he has learned from his friend Marvel; and this will +come to no good." + +About this time there was some appearance of a scarcity in England; and +many farmers set an unusual quantity of potatoes, in hopes that they +would bear a high price the ensuing season. Goodenough, who feared and +hated every thing that was called a speculation, declared that, for his +part, he would not set a drill more than he used to do. What had always +done for him and his should do for him still. With this resolution, he +began to set his potatoes: Marvel said to him, whilst he was at work, +"Cousin Goodenough, I would advise you not to set the shoots that are at +the bottom of these potatoes; for, if you do, they won't be good for +any thing. This is a secret I learned last harvest home, from one of +my Irish haymakers. I made the experiment last year, and found the poor +fellow was quite right. I have given him a guinea for his information; +and it will be worth a great deal more to me and my neighbours." + +"May be so," said Goodenough; "but I shall set my own potatoes my own +way, I thank you, cousin Marvel; for I take it the old way's best, and +I'll never follow any other." + +Marvel saw that it was in vain to attempt to convince Goodenough: +therefore he left him to his old ways. The consequence was, that +Goodenongh and his family ate the worst potatoes in the whole country +this year; and Marvel cleared _above two hundred pounds_ by twenty acres +of potatoes, set according to his friend the Irishman's directions. + +This was the first speculation of Marvel's which succeeded; because +it was the first which had been begun with prudence, and pursued with +steadiness. His information, in the first instance, was good: it came +from a person who had actually tried the experiment, and who had seen +it made by others; and when he was convinced of the fact, he applied +his knowledge at the proper time, boldly extended his experiment, and +succeeded. This success raised him in the opinion even of his enemies. +His friend, Wright, heartily rejoiced at it; but Goodenough sneered, +and said to Wright, "What Marvel has gained this year he'll lose by some +scheme the next. I dare to say, now, he has some new scheme or another +brewing in his brains at this very moment. Ay--look, here he comes, with +two bits of rags in his hand.--Now for it!" + +Marvel came up to them with great eagerness in his looks; and showing +two freshly-dyed patterns of cloth, said, "Which of these two blues is +the brightest?" + +"That in your left hand," said Wright; "it is a beautiful blue." + +"Marvel rubbed his hands with an air of triumph; but restraining his +joy, he addressed himself to Wright in a composed voice. + +"My dear Wright, I have many obligations to you; and, if I have any good +fortune, you shall be the first to share it with me. As for you, cousin +Goodenough, I don't bear malice against you for laughing at me and my +herons' feathers, and my silver sprigs, and my sheep's jackets, and my +thistles: shake hands, man; you shall have a share in our scheme, if you +please." + +"I don't please to have no share at all in none of your schemes, cousin +Marvel: I thank you kindly," said Goodenough. + +"Had not you better hear what it is, before you decide against it?" said +Wright. + +Marvel explained himself further: "Some time ago," said he, "I was with +my father-in-law, who was dyeing some cloth with woad. I observed that +one corner of the cloth was of much brighter blue than any of the rest; +and upon examining what could be the cause of this, I found that the +corner of the cloth had fallen upon the ground, as it was taken out of +the dyeing vat, and had trailed through a mixture of colours, which I +had accidentally spilled on the floor. I carefully recollected of +what this mixture was composed: I found that woad was the principal +ingredient; the other----is a secret. I have repeated my experiments +several times, and I find that they have always succeeded: I was +determined not to speak of my discovery till I was sure of the facts. +Now I'm sure of them, my father-in-law tells me that he and his brother +at York could ensure to me an advantageous sale for as much blue cloth +as I can prepare; and he advised me to take out a patent for the dye." + +Goodenough had not patience to listen any longer, but exclaimed: + +"Join in a patent! that's more than I would do, I'm sure, cousin Marvel; +so don't think to take me in: I'll end as I began, without having any +thing to do with any of your new-fangled schemes--Good morning to you." + +"I hope, Wright," said Marvel, proudly, "that you do not suspect me of +any design to take you in; and that you will have some confidence in +this scheme, when you find that my experiments have been accurately +tried." + +Wright assured Marvel that he had the utmost confidence in his +integrity; and that he would carefully go over with him any experiments +he chose to show him. "I do not want to worm your secret from you," said +he; "but we must make ourselves sure of success before we go to take out +a patent, which will be an expensive business." + +"You are exactly the sort of man I should wish to have for my partner," +cried Marvel, "for you have all the coolness and prudence that I want." + +"And you have all the quickness and ingenuity that I want," replied +Wright; "so, between us, we should indeed, as you say, make good +partners." + +A partnership was soon established between Wright and Marvel. The woad +apparatus, which belonged to Wright's father-in-law, was given up to the +creditors to pay the debts; but none of these creditors understood the +management of it, or were willing to engage in it, lest they should ruin +themselves. Marvel prevailed upon Wright to keep it in his own hands: +and the creditors, who had been well satisfied by his wife's conduct +towards them, and who had great confidence in his character for +prudence, relinquished their claims upon the property, and trusted to +Wright's promise, that they should be gradually paid by instalments. + +"See what it is to have chosen a good wife," said Wright. "Good +character is often better than good fortune." + +The wife returned the husband's compliment; but we must pass over such +unfashionable conversation, and proceed with our story. + +The reader may recollect our mentioning a little boy, who carried a +message from Wright to Miss Banks the day that he called upon her, on +his return from York. She had been very good to this boy, and he was of +a grateful temper. After he left her father's service, he was hired by +a gentleman, who lived near Spalding, and for some time she had heard +nothing of him: but, about a year after she was married, his master paid +a visit in Lincolnshire, and the lad early one morning came to see his +"_old young mistress_." He came so very early that none of the family +were stirring, except Marvel, who had risen by daybreak to finish some +repairs that he was making in the woad apparatus. He recognized the boy +the moment he saw him, and welcomed him with his usual good-nature. + +"Ah, sir!" said the lad, "I be's glad to see things going on here again. +I be's main glad to hear how young mistress is happy! But I must be back +afore my own present master be's up; so will you be pleased to give my +sarvice and duty, and here's a little sort of a tea-chest for her, that +I made with the help of a fellow-sarvant of mine. If so be she'll think +well of taking it, I should be very proud: it has a lock and key and +all." + +Marvel was astonished at the workmanship of this tea-chest; and when he +expressed his admiration, the boy said, "Oh, sir! all the difficult_est_ +parts were done by my fellow-sarvant, who is more handy like than I +am, ten to one, though he is a Frenchman. He was one of them French +prisoners, and is a curious man. He would have liked of all things to +have come here along with me this morning, to get a sight of what's +going on here; because that they have woad mills and the like in his own +country, he says; but then he would not come spying without leave, being +a civil honest man." + +Marvel told the boy that his fellow-servant should be heartily welcome +to satisfy his curiosity; and the next morning the Frenchman came. He +was a native of Languedoc, where woad is cultivated: he had been engaged +in the manufacture of it, and Marvel soon found, by his conversation, +that he was a well-informed, intelligent man. He told Marvel that there +were many natives of Languedoc, at this time, prisoners in England, +who understood the business as well as he did, and would be glad to be +employed, or to sell their knowledge at a reasonable price. Marvel was +not too proud to learn, even from a Frenchman. With Wright's consent, he +employed several of these workmen; and he carried, by their means, the +manufacture of woad to a high pitch of perfection. How success changes +the opinion of men! The Lincolnshire farmers, who had formerly sneered +at Marvel as a genius and a projector, began to look up to him as to a +very wise and knowing man, when they saw this manufactory continue to +thrive; and those who had blamed Wright, for entering into partnership +with him, now changed their minds. Neither of them could have done +separately what they both effected by their union. + +At the end of the ten years, Goodenough was precisely where he was when +he began; neither richer nor poorer; neither wiser nor happier; all that +he had added to his stock was a cross wife and two cross children. He, +to the very last moment, persisted in the belief that he should be the +richest of the three, and that Wright and Marvel would finish by being +bankrupts. He was in unutterable astonishment, when, upon the appointed +day, they produced their account-books to Mr. Constantine, the executor, +and it was found that they were many thousand pounds better in the world +than himself. + +"Now, gentlemen," said Mr. Constantine, "to which of you am I to give +your uncle's legacy? I must know which of the partners has the greatest +share in the manufactory." + +"Wright has the greatest share," cried Marvel; "for without his prudence +I should have been ruined." + +"Marvel has the greatest share," cried Wright: "for without his +ingenuity I should never have succeeded in the business, nor indeed +should I have undertaken it." + +"Then, gentlemen, you must divide the legacy between you," said Mr. +Constantine, "and I give you joy of your happy partnership. What can be +more advantageous than a partnership between prudence and justice on the +one side, and generosity and abilities on the other?" + +_June, 1800_. + + + + +THE LIMERICK GLOVES. + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +It was Sunday morning, and a fine day in autumn; the bells of Hereford +cathedral rang, and all the world smartly dressed were flocking to +church. + +"Mrs. Hill! Mrs. Hill!--Phoebe! Phoebe! There's the cathedral bell, I say, +and neither of you ready for church, and I a verger;" cried Mr. Hill, +the tanner, as he stood at the bottom of his own staircase. "I'm ready, +papa," replied Phoebe; and down she came, looking so clean, so fresh, and +so gay, that her stern father's brows unbent, and he could only say to +her, as she was drawing on a new pair of gloves, "Child, you ought to +have had those gloves on before this time of day." + +"Before this time of day!" cried Mrs. Hill, who was now coming down +stairs completely equipped, "before this time of day! she should know +better, I say, than to put on those gloves at all: more especially when +going to the cathedral." + +"The gloves are very good gloves, as far as I see," replied Mr. Hill. +"But no matter now. It is more fitting that we should be in proper time +in our pew, to set an example, as becomes us, than to stand here talking +of gloves and nonsense." + +He offered his wife and daughter each an arm, and set out for the +cathedral; but Phoebe was too busy in drawing on her new gloves, and +her mother was too angry at the sight of them, to accept of Mr. Hill's +courtesy: "What I say is always nonsense, I know, Mr. Hill," resumed the +matron: "but I can see as far into a millstone as other folks. Was it +not I that first gave you a hint of what became of the great dog, that +we lost out of our tan-yard last winter? And was it not I who first +took notice to you, Mr. Hill, verger as you are, of the hole under the +foundation of the cathedral? Was it not, I ask you, Mr. Hill?" "But, my +dear Mrs. Hill, what has all this to do with Phoebe's gloves?" + +"Are you blind, Mr. Hill? Don't you see that they are Limerick gloves?" + +"What of that?" said Mr. Hill; still preserving his composure, as it was +his custom to do as long as he could, when he saw his wife was ruffled. + +"What of that, Mr. Hill! why don't you know that Limerick is in Ireland, +Mr. Hill?" + +"With all my heart, my dear." + +"Yes, and with all your heart, I suppose, Mr. Hill, you would see +our cathedral blown up, some fair day or other, and your own daughter +married to the person that did it; and you a verger, Mr. Hill." + +"God forbid!" cried Mr. Hill; and he stopped short and settled his wig. +Presently recovering himself, he added, "But, Mrs. Hill, the cathedral +is not yet blown up; and our Phoebe is not yet married." + +"No: but what of that, Mr. Hill? Forewarned is forearmed, as I told you +before your dog was gone; but you would not believe me, and you see how +it turned out in that case; and so it will in this case, you'll see, Mr. +Hill." + +"But you puzzle and frighten me out of my wits, Mrs. Hill," said the +verger, again settling his wig. "_In that case and in this case!_ I +can't understand a syllable of what you've been saying to me this half +hour. In plain English, what is there the matter about Phoebe's gloves?" + +"In plain English, then, Mr. Hill, since you can understand nothing +else, please to ask your daughter Phoebe who gave her those gloves. +Phoebe, who gave you those gloves?" + +"I wish they were burnt," said the husband, whose patience could endure +no longer. "Who gave you those cursed gloves, Phoebe?" + +"Papa," answered Phoebe, in a low voice, "they were a present from Mr. +Brian O'Neill." + +"The Irish glover," cried Mr. Hill, with a look of terror. + +"Yes," resumed the mother; "very true, Mr. Hill, I assure you. Now, you +see, I had my reasons." + +"Take off the gloves directly: I order you, Phoebe," said her father, +in his most peremptory tone. "I took a mortal dislike to that Mr. Brian +O'Neill the first time I ever saw him. He's an Irishman, and that's +enough, and too much for me. Off with the gloves, Phoebe! When I order a +thing, it must be done." + +Phoebe seemed to find some difficulty in getting off the gloves, and +gently urged that she could not well go into the cathedral without them. +This objection was immediately removed, by her mother's pulling from +her pocket a pair of mittens, which had once been brown, and once been +whole, but which were now rent in sundry places; and which, having been +long stretched by one who was twice the size of Phoebe, now hung in huge +wrinkles upon her well-turned arms. + +"But, papa," said Phoebe, "why should we take a dislike to him because he +is an Irishman? Cannot an Irishman be a good man?" + +The verger made no answer to this question, but a few seconds after it +was put to him, observed that the cathedral bell had just done ringing; +and, as they were now got to the church door, Mrs. Hill, with a +significant look at Phoebe, remarked that it was no proper time to talk +or think of good men, or bad men, or Irishmen, or any men, especially +for a verger's daughter. + +We pass over in silence the many conjectures that were made by several +of the congregation, concerning the reason why Miss Phoebe Hill should +appear in such a shameful shabby pair of gloves on a Sunday. After +service was ended, the verger went, with great mystery, to examine the +hole under the foundation of the cathedral; and Mrs. Hill repaired, with +the grocer's and the stationer's ladies, to take a walk in the Close; +where she boasted to all her female acquaintance, whom she called her +friends, of her maternal discretion in prevailing upon Mr. Hill to +forbid her daughter Phoebe to wear the Limerick gloves. + +In the mean time, Phoebe walked pensively homewards; endeavouring to +discover why her father should take a mortal dislike to a man, at first +sight, merely because he was an Irishman; and why her mother had talked +so much of the great dog, which had been lost last year out of the +tan-yard; and of the hole under the foundation of the cathedral! What +has all this to do with my Limerick gloves? thought she. The more she +thought, the less connexion she could perceive between these things: +for as she had not taken a dislike to Mr. Brian O'Neill at first sight, +because he was an Irishman, she could not think it quite reasonable to +suspect him of making away with her father's dog; nor yet of a design to +blow up Hereford cathedral. As she was pondering upon these matters, +she came within sight of the ruins of a poor woman's house, which a few +months before this time had been burnt down. She recollected that her +first acquaintance with her lover began at the time of this fire; and +she thought that the courage and humanity he showed, in exerting himself +to save this unfortunate woman and her children, justified her notion of +the possibility that an Irishman might be a good man. + +The name of the poor woman, whose house had been burnt down, was Smith: +she was a widow, and she now lived at the extremity of a narrow lane in +a wretched habitation. Why Phoebe thought of her with more concern than +usual at this instant we need not examine, but she did; and, reproaching +herself for having neglected it for some weeks past, she resolved to go +directly to see the widow Smith, and to give her a crown which she had +long had in her pocket, with which she had intended to have bought play +tickets. + +It happened that the first person she saw in the poor widow's kitchen +was the identical Mr. O'Neill. "I did not expect to see any body here +but you, Mrs. Smith," said Phoebe, blushing. + +"So much the greater the pleasure of the meeting; to me, I mean, Miss +Hill," said O'Neill, rising, and putting down a little boy, with whom +he had been playing. Phoebe went on talking to the poor woman; and, after +slipping the crown into her hand, said she would call again. O'Neill, +surprised at the change in her manner, followed her when she left the +house, and said, "It would be a great misfortune to me to have done any +thing to offend Miss Hill; especially if I could not conceive how or +what it was, which is my case at this present speaking." And, as the +spruce glover spoke, he fixed his eyes upon Phoebe's ragged gloves. She +drew them up in vain; and then said, with her natural simplicity and +gentleness, "You have not done any thing to offend me, Mr. O'Neill; but +you are some way or other displeasing to my father and mother, and they +have forbid me to wear the Limerick gloves." + +"And sure Miss Hill would not be after changing her opinion of her +humble servant for no reason in life, but because her father and mother, +who have taken a prejudice against him, are a little contrary." + +"No," replied Phoebe; "I should not change my opinion without any reason; +but I have not yet had time to fix my opinion of you, Mr. O'Neill." + +"To let you know a piece of my mind, then, my dear Miss Hill," resumed +he, "the more contrary they are, the more pride and joy it would give me +to win and wear you, in spite of 'em all; and if without a farthing in +your pocket, so much the more I should rejoice in the opportunity of +proving to your dear self, and all else whom it may consarn, that Brian +O'Neill is no fortune-hunter, and scorns them that are so narrow-minded +as to think that no other kind of cattle but them there fortune-hunters +can come out of all Ireland. So, my dear Phoebe, now we understand one +another, I hope you will not be paining my eyes any longer with the +sight of these odious brown bags, which are not fit to be worn by any +Christian arms, to say nothing of Miss Hill's, which are the handsomest, +without any compliment, that ever I saw; and, to my mind, would become +a pair of Limerick gloves beyond any thing: and I expect she'll show her +generosity and proper spirit by putting them on immediately." + +"You expect, sir!" repeated Miss Hill, with a look of more indignation +than her gentle countenance had ever before been seen to assume. +"Expect!" If he had said hope, thought she, it would have been another +thing: but expect! what right has he to expect? + +Now Miss Hill, unfortunately, was not sufficiently acquainted with the +Irish idiom, to know, that to expect, in Ireland, is the same thing as +to hope in England; and, when her Irish admirer said I expect, he meant +only in plain English, I hope. But thus it is that a poor Irishman, +often, for want of understanding the niceties of the English language, +says the rudest when he means to say the civillest things imaginable. + +Miss Hill's feelings were so much hurt by this unlucky "I expect," +that the whole of his speech, which had before made some favourable +impression upon her, now lost its effect; and she replied with proper +spirit, as she thought, "You expect a great deal too much, Mr. O'Neill; +and more than ever I gave you reason to do. It would be neither pleasure +nor pride to me to be won and worn, as you were pleased to say, in spite +of them all; and to be thrown, without a farthing in my pocket, upon the +protection of one who expects so much at first setting out.--So I assure +you, sir, whatever you may expect, I shall not put on the Limerick +gloves." + +Mr. O'Neill was not without his share of pride and proper spirit; +nay, he had, it must be confessed, in common with some others of his +countrymen, an improper share of pride and spirit. Fired by the lady's +coldness, he poured forth a volley of reproaches; and ended by wishing, +as he said, a good morning, for ever and ever, to one who could change +her opinion, point blank, like the weathercock. "I am, miss, your most +obedient; and I expect you'll never think no more of poor Brian O'Neill, +and the Limerick gloves." + +If he had not been in too great a passion to observe any thing, poor +Brian O'Neill would have found out that Phoebe was not a weathercock: but +he left her abruptly, and hurried away, imagining all the while that it +was Phoebe, and not himself, who was in a rage. Thus, to the horseman, +who is galloping at full speed, the hedges, trees, and houses, seem +rapidly to recede; whilst, in reality, they never move from their +places. It is he that flies from them, and not they from him. + +On Monday morning Miss Jenny Brown, the perfumer's daughter, came to pay +Phoebe a morning visit, with face of busy joy. + +"So, my dear!" said she: "fine doings in Hereford! but what makes you +look so downcast? To be sure you are invited, as well as the rest of +us." + +"Invited where?" cried Mrs. Hill, who was present, and who could never +endure to hear of an invitation in which she was not included. "Invited +where, pray, Miss Jenny?" + +"La! have not you heard? Why, we all took it for granted that you and +Miss Phoebe would have been the first and foremost to have been asked to +Mr. O'Neill's ball." + +"Ball!" cried Mrs. Hill; and luckily saved Phoebe, who was in some +agitation, the trouble of speaking. "Why, this is a mighty sudden thing: +I never heard a tittle of it before." + +"Well, this is really extraordinary! And, Phoebe, have you not received a +pair of Limerick gloves?" + +"Yes, I have," said Phoebe, "but what then? What have my Limerick gloves +to do with the ball?" + +"A great deal," replied Jenny. "Don't you know, that a pair of Limerick +gloves is, as one may say, a ticket to this ball? for every lady that +has been asked has had a pair sent to her along with the card; and +I believe as many as twenty, besides myself, have been asked this +morning." + +Jenny then produced her new pair of Limerick gloves; and as she tried +them on, and showed how well they fitted, she counted up the names of +the ladies who, to her knowledge, were to be at this ball. When she had +finished the catalogue, she expatiated upon the grand preparations which +it was said the widow O'Neill, Mr. O'Neill's mother, was making for the +supper; and concluded by condoling with Mrs. Hill for her misfortune +in not having been invited. Jenny took her leave, to get her dress in +readiness: "for," added she, "Mr. O'Neill has engaged me to open the +ball, in case Phoebe does not go: but I suppose she will cheer up and go, +as she has a pair of Limerick gloves as well as the rest of us." + +There was a silence for some minutes after Jenny's departure, which was +broken by Phoebe, who told her mother that, early in the morning, a note +had been brought to her, which she had returned unopened; because she +knew, from the hand-writing of the direction, that it came from Mr. +O'Neill. + +We must observe that Phoebe had already told her mother of her meeting +with this gentleman at the poor widow's, and of all that had passed +between them afterwards. This openness, on her part, had softened the +heart of Mrs. Hill; who was really inclined to be good-natured, provided +people would allow that she had more penetration than any one else in +Hereford. She was moreover a good deal piqued and alarmed by the idea +that the perfumer's daughter might rival and outshine her own. Whilst +she had thought herself sure of Mr. O'Neill's attachment to Phoebe, she +had looked higher; especially as she was persuaded, by the perfumer's +lady, to think that an Irishman could not be a bad match: but now she +began to suspect that the perfumer's lady had changed her opinion of +Irishmen, since she did not object to her own Jenny's leading up the +ball at Mr. O'Neill's. + +All these thoughts passed rapidly in the mother's mind; and, with her +fear of losing an admirer for her Phoebe, the value of that admirer +suddenly rose in her estimation. Thus, at an auction, if a lot is going +to be knocked down to a lady, who is the only person that has bid for +it, even she feels discontented, and despises that which nobody covets; +but if, as the hammer is falling, many voices answer to the question, +Who bids more? then her anxiety to secure the prize suddenly rises; and, +rather than be outbid, she will give far beyond its value. + +"Why, child," said Mrs. Hill, "since you have a pair of Limerick gloves; +and since certainly that note was an invitation to us to this ball; and +since it is much more fitting that you should open the ball than Jenny +Brown; and since, after all, it was very handsome and genteel of the +young man to say he would take you without a farthing in your pocket, +which shows that those were misinformed who talked of him as an Irish +adventurer; and since we are not certain 'twas he made away with the +dog, although he said its barking was a great nuisance; there is no +great reason to suppose he was the person who made the hole under the +foundation of the cathedral, or that he could have such a wicked thought +as to blow it up; and since he must be in a very good way of business +to be able to afford giving away four or five guineas' worth of Limerick +gloves, and balls and suppers; and since, after all, it is no fault of +his to be an Irishman; I give it as my vote and opinion, my dear, that +you put on your Limerick gloves and go to this ball; and I'll go and +speak to your father, and bring him round to our opinion; and then +I'll pay the morning visit I owe to the widow O'Neill, and make up your +quarrel with Brian. Love quarrels are easy to make up, you know; and +then we shall have things all upon velvet again; and Jenny Brown need +not come with her hypocritical condoling face to us anymore." + +After running this speech glibly off, Mrs. Hill, without waiting to hear +a syllable from poor Phoebe, trotted off in search of her consort. It +was not, however, quite so easy a task as his wife expected to bring +Mr. Hill round to her opinion. He was slow in declaring himself of any +opinion; but, when once he had said a thing, there was but little chance +of altering his notions. On this occasion, Mr. Hill was doubly bound to +his prejudice against our unlucky Irishman; for he had mentioned with +great solemnity at the club which he frequented, the grand affair of +the hole under the foundation of the cathedral; and his suspicions that +there was a design to blow it up. Several of the club had laughed at +this idea; others, who supposed that Mr. O'Neill was a Roman Catholic, +and who had a confused notion that a Roman Catholic _must_ be a very +wicked, dangerous being, thought that there might be a great deal in the +verger's suggestions; and observed that a very watchful eye ought to be +kept upon this Irish glover, who had come to settle at Hereford nobody +knew why, and who seemed to have money at command nobody knew how. + +The news of this ball sounded to Mr. Hill's prejudiced imagination like +the news of a conspiracy. Ay! ay! thought he; the Irishman is cunning +enough! But we shall be too many for him: he wants to throw all the good +sober folks of Hereford off their guard, by feasting, and dancing, and +carousing, I take it; and so to perpetrate his evil designs when it is +least suspected; but we shall be prepared for him, fools as he takes us +plain Englishmen to be, I warrant. + +In consequence of these most shrewd cogitations, our verger silenced his +wife with a peremptory nod, when she came to persuade him to let Phoebe +put on the Limerick gloves, and go to the ball. "To this ball she shall +not go; and I charge her not to put on those Limerick gloves, as she +values my blessing," said Mr. Hill. "Please to tell her so, Mrs. Hill, +and trust to my judgment and discretion in all things, Mrs. Hill. +Strange work may be in Hereford yet: but I'll say no more; I must go and +consult with knowing men, who are of my opinion." + +He sallied forth, and Mrs. Hill was left in a state which only those +who are troubled with the disease of excessive curiosity can rightly +comprehend or compassionate. She hied her back to Phoebe, to whom she +announced her father's answer; and then went gossipping to all her +female acquaintance in Hereford, to tell them all that she knew, and all +that she did not know; and to endeavour to find out a secret where there +was none to be found. + +There are trials of temper in all conditions: and no lady, in high or +low life, could endure them with a better grace than Phoebe. Whilst Mr. +and Mrs. Hill were busied abroad, there came to see Phoebe one of the +widow Smith's children. With artless expressions of gratitude to Phoebe, +this little girl mixed the praises of O'Neill, who, she said, had been +the constant friend of her mother, and had given her money every +week since the fire happened. "Mammy loves him dearly, for being so +good-natured," continued the child: "and he has been good to other +people as well as to us." + +"To whom?" said Phoebe. + +"To a poor man who has lodged for these few days past next door to +us," replied the child; "I don't know his name rightly, but he is an +Irishman; and he goes out a-haymaking in the day-time, along with a +number of others. He knew Mr. O'Neill in his own country, and he told +mammy a great deal about his goodness." + +As the child finished these words, Phoebe took out of a drawer some +clothes, which she had made for the poor woman's children, and gave them +to the little girl. It happened that the Limerick gloves had been thrown +into this drawer; and Phoebe's favourable sentiments of the giver +of those gloves were revived by what she had just heard, and by the +confession Mrs. Hill had made, that she had no reasons, and but vague +suspicions, for thinking ill of him. She laid the gloves perfectly +smooth, and strewed over them, whilst the little girl went on talking of +Mr. O'Neill, the leaves of a rose which she had worn on Sunday. + +Mr. Hill was all this time in deep conference with those prudent men of +Hereford, who were of his own opinion, about the perilous hole under the +cathedral. The ominous circumstance of this ball was also considered, +the great expense at which the Irish glover lived, and his giving away +gloves; which was a sure sign he was not under any necessity to sell +them; and consequently a proof that, though he pretended to be a glover, +he was something wrong in disguise. Upon putting all these things +together, it was resolved, by these over-wise politicians, that the best +thing that could be done for Hereford, and the only possible means of +preventing the immediate destruction of its cathedral, would be to take +Mr. O'Neill into custody. Upon recollection, however, it was perceived +that there was no legal ground on which he could be attacked. At +length, after consulting an attorney, they devised what they thought an +admirable mode of proceeding. + +Our Irish hero had not that punctuality which English tradesmen usually +observe in the payment of bills: he had, the preceding year, run up a +long bill with a grocer in Hereford; and, as he had not at Christmas +cash in hand to pay it, he had given a note, payable six months after +date. The grocer, at Mr. Hill's request, made over the note to him; and +it was determined that the money should be demanded, as it was now due, +and that, if it was not paid directly, O'Neill should be that night +arrested. How Mr. Hill made the discovery of this debt to the grocer +agree with his former notion that the Irish glover had always money at +command, we cannot well conceive; but anger and prejudice will swallow +down the grossest contradictions without difficulty. + +When Mr. Hill's clerk went to demand payment of the note, O'Neill's +head was full of the ball which he was to give that evening. He was much +surprised at the unexpected appearance of the note: he had not ready +money by him to pay it; and, after swearing a good deal at the clerk, +and complaining of this ungenerous and ungentleman-like behaviour in +the grocer and the tanner, he told the clerk to be gone, and not to be +bothering him at such an unseasonable time; that he could not have the +money then, and did not deserve to have it at all. + +This language and conduct were rather new to the English clerk's +mercantile ears: we cannot wonder that it should seem to him, as he said +to his master, more the language of a madman than a man of business. +This want of punctuality in money transactions, and this mode of +treating contracts as matters of favour and affection, might not have +damned the fame of our hero in his own country, where such conduct is, +alas! too common; but he was now in a kingdom where the manners and +customs are so directly opposite, that he could meet with no allowance +for his national faults. It would be well for his countrymen if they +were made, even by a few mortifications, somewhat sensible of this +important difference in the habits of Irish and English traders, before +they come to settle in England. + +But, to proceed with our story. On the night of Mr. O'Neill's grand +ball, as he was seeing his fair partner, the perfumer's daughter, safe +home, he felt himself tapped on the shoulder by no friendly hand. When +he was told that he was the king's prisoner, he vociferated with sundry +strange oaths, which we forbear to repeat, "No, I am not the king's +prisoner! I am the prisoner of that shabby rascally tanner, Jonathan +Hill. None but he would arrest a gentleman, in this way, for a trifle +not worth mentioning." + +Miss Jenny Brown screamed when she found herself under the protection +of a man who was arrested; and, what between her screams and his oaths, +there was such a disturbance that a mob gathered. + +Among this mob there was a party of Irish haymakers, who, after +returning late from a hard day's work, had been drinking in a +neighbouring ale-house. With one accord they took part with their +countryman, and would have rescued him from the civil officers with +all the pleasure in life, if he had not fortunately possessed just +sufficient sense and command of himself, to restrain their party +spirit, and to forbid them, as they valued his life and reputation, to +interfere, by word or deed, in his defence. + +He then despatched one of the haymakers home to his mother, to inform +her of what had happened; and to request that she would get somebody to +be bail for him as soon as possible, as the officers said they could not +let him out of their sight till he was bailed by substantial people, or +till the debt was discharged. + +The widow O'Neill was just putting out the candles in the ball-room when +this news of her son's arrest was brought to her. We pass over Hibernian +exclamations: she consoled her pride by reflecting that it would +certainly be the most easy thing imaginable to procure bail for Mr. +O'Neill in Hereford, where he had so many friends who had just been +dancing at his house, but to dance at his house she found was one thing, +and to be bail for him quite another. Each guest sent excuses; and the +widow O'Neill was astonished at what never fails to astonish every body +when it happens to themselves. "Rather than let my son be detained in +this manner for a paltry debt," cried she, "I'd sell all I have within +half an hour to a pawnbroker." It was well no pawnbroker heard this +declaration: she was too warm to consider economy. She sent for a +pawnbroker, who lived in the same street, and, after pledging goods to +treble the amount of the debt, she obtained ready money for her son's +release. + +O'Neill, after being in custody for about an hour and a half, was set at +liberty upon the payment of his debt. As he passed by the cathedral in +his way home, he heard the clock strike; and he called to a man, who was +walking backwards and forwards in the churchyard, to ask whether it was +two or three that the clock struck. "Three," answered the man; "and, as +yet, all is safe." + +O'Neill, whose head was full of other things, did not stop to inquire +the meaning of these last words. He little suspected that this man was a +watchman, whom the over-vigilant verger had stationed there to guard the +Hereford cathedral from his attacks. O'Neill little guessed that he +had been arrested merely to keep him from blowing up the cathedral this +night. The arrest had an excellent effect upon his mind, for he was a +young man of good sense: it made him resolve to retrench his expenses in +time, to live more like a glover and less like a gentleman; and to aim +more at establishing credit, and less at gaining popularity. He found, +from experience, that good friends will not pay bad debts. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +On Thursday morning, our verger rose in unusually good spirits, +congratulating himself upon the eminent service he had done to the city +of Hereford, by his sagacity in discovering the foreign plot to blow up +the cathedral, and by his dexterity in having the enemy held in custody, +at the very hour when the dreadful deed was to have been perpetrated. +Mr. Hill's knowing friends farther agreed it would be necessary to have +a guard that should sit up every night in the churchyard; and that as +soon as they could, by constantly watching the enemy's motions, procure +any information which the attorney should deem sufficient grounds for a +legal proceeding, they should lay the whole business before the mayor. + +After arranging all this most judiciously and mysteriously with friends +who were exactly of his own opinion, Mr. Hill laid aside his dignity of +verger; and assuming his other character of a tanner proceeded to his +tan-yard. What was his surprise and consternation, when he beheld his +great rick of oak bark levelled to the ground; the pieces of bark were +scattered far and wide, some over the close, some over the fields, and +some were seen swimming upon the water! No tongue, no pen, no muse can +describe the feelings of our tanner at this spectacle! feelings which +became the more violent from the absolute silence which he imposed on +himself upon this occasion. He instantly decided in his own mind, that +this injury was perpetrated by O'Neill, in revenge for his arrest; and +went privately to the attorney to inquire what was to be done, on his +part, to secure legal vengeance. + +The attorney unluckily, or at least as Mr. Hill thought, unluckily, had +been sent for, half an hour before, by a gentleman at some distance from +Hereford, to draw up a will; so that our tanner was obliged to postpone +his legal operations. + +We forbear to recount his return, and how many times he walked up and +down the close to view his scattered bark, and to estimate the damage +that had been done to him. At length that hour came which usually +suspends all passions by the more imperious power of appetite--the hour +of dinner; an hour of which it was never needful to remind Mr. Hill by +watch, clock, or dial; for he was blessed with a punctual appetite, and +powerful as punctual: so powerful, indeed, that it often excited the +spleen of his more genteel, or less hungry wife.--"Bless my stars, Mr. +Hill," she would oftentimes say, "I am really downright ashamed to see +you eat so much; and when company is to dine with us, I do wish you +would take a snack by way of a damper before dinner, that you may not +look so prodigious famishing and ungenteel." + +Upon this hint, Mr. Hill commenced a practice, to which he ever +afterwards religiously adhered, of going, whether there was to be +company or no company, into the kitchen regularly every day, half an +hour before dinner, to take a slice from the roast or the boiled before +it went up to table. As he was this day, according to his custom, in the +kitchen, taking his snack by way of a damper, he heard the housemaid and +the cook talking about some wonderful fortune-teller, whom the housemaid +had been consulting. This fortune-teller was no less a personage than +the successor to Bampfylde Moore Carew, king of the gipsies, whose life +and adventures are probably in many, too many, of our readers' hands. +Bampfylde, the second king of the gipsies, assumed this title, in hopes +of becoming as famous, or as infamous, as his predecessor: he was now +holding his court in a wood near the town of Hereford, and numbers of +servant-maids and 'prentices went to consult him--nay, it was whispered +that he was resorted to, secretly, by some whose education might have +taught them better sense. + +Numberless were the instances which our verger heard in his kitchen of +the supernatural skill of this cunning man; and whilst Mr. Hill ate his +snack with his wonted gravity, he revolved great designs in his secret +soul. Mrs. Hill was surprised, several times during dinner, to see her +consort put down his knife and fork, and meditate. "Gracious me, Mr. +Hill, what can have happened to you this day? What can you be thinking +of, Mr. Hill, that can make you forget what you have upon your plate?" + +"Mrs. Hill," replied the thoughtful verger, "our grand-mother Eve had +too much curiosity; and we all know it did not lead to good. What I am +thinking of will be known to you in due time, but not now, Mrs. Hill; +therefore, pray, no questions, or teasing, or pumping. What I think, I +think; what I say, I say; what I know, I know; and that is enough for +you to know at present: only this, Phoebe, you did very well not to put +on the Limerick gloves, child. What I know, I know. Things will turn out +just as I said from the first. What I say, I say; and what I think, I +think; and this is enough for you to know at present." + +Having finished dinner with this solemn speech, Mr. Hill settled himself +in his arm-chair, to take his after-dinner's nap; and he dreamed of +blowing up cathedrals, and of oak bark floating upon the waters; and +the cathedral was, he thought, blown up by a man dressed in a pair of +woman's Limerick gloves, and the oak bark turned into mutton steaks, +after which his great dog Jowler was swimming; when, all on a sudden, as +he was going to beat Jowler for eating the bark transformed into mutton +steaks, Jowler became Bampfylde the second, king of the gipsies; and +putting a horsewhip with a silver handle into Hill's hand, commanded +him three times, in a voice as loud as the town crier's, to have O'Neill +whipped through the market-place of Hereford: but, just as he was going +to the window to see this whipping, his wig fell off, and he awoke. + +It was difficult, even for Mr. Hill's sagacity, to make sense of this +dream: but he had the wise art of always finding in his dreams something +that confirmed his waking determinations. Before he went to sleep, he +had half resolved to consult the king of the gipsies, in the absence +of the attorney; and his dream made him now wholly determined upon this +prudent step. From Bampfylde the second, thought he, I shall learn for +certain who made the hole under the cathedral, who pulled down my rick +of bark, and who made away with my dog Jowler; and then I shall swear +examinations against O'Neill without waiting for attorneys. I will +follow my own way in this business: I have always found my own way best. + +So, when the dusk of the evening increased, our wise man set out towards +the wood to consult the cunning man. Bampfylde the second, king of the +gipsies, resided in a sort of hut made of the branches of trees: +the verger stooped, but did not stoop low enough, as he entered this +temporary palace; and, whilst his body was almost bent double, his +peruke was caught upon a twig. From this awkward situation he was +relieved by the consort of the king; and he now beheld, by the light +of some embers, the person of his gipsy majesty, to whose sublime +appearance this dim light was so favourable that it struck a secret awe +into our wise man's soul; and, forgetting Hereford cathedral, and oak +bark, and Limerick gloves, he stood for some seconds speechless. During +this time, the queen very dexterously disencumbered his pocket of all +superfluous articles. When he recovered his recollection, he put with +great solemnity the following queries to the king of the gipsies, and +received the following answers: + +"Do you know a dangerous Irishman, of the name of O'Neill, who has come, +for purposes best known to himself, to settle at Hereford?" + +"Yes, we know him well." + +"Indeed! And what do you know of him?" + +"That he is a dangerous Irishman." + +"Right! And it was he, was it not, that pulled down, or caused to be +pulled down, my rick of oak bark?" + +"It was." + +"And who was it that made away with my dog Jowler, that used to guard +the tan-yard?" + +"It was the person that you suspect." + +"And was it the person whom I suspect that made the hole under the +foundation of our cathedral?" + +"The same, and no other." + +"And for what purpose did he make that hole?" + +"For a purpose that must not be named," replied the king of the gipsies; +nodding his head in a mysterious manner. + +"But it may be named to me," cried the verger, "for I have found it out, +and I am one of the vergers; and is it not fit that a plot to blow up +the Hereford cathedral should be known _to_ me, and _through_ me?" + + "Now, take my word, + Wise men of Hereford, + None in safety may be, + Till the _bad man_ doth flee." + +These oracular verses, pronounced by Bampfylde with all the enthusiasm +of one who was inspired, had the desired effect upon our wise man; and +he left the presence of the king of the gipsies with a prodigiously +high opinion of his majesty's judgment and of his own, fully resolved +to impart, the next morning, to the mayor of Hereford, his important +discoveries. + +Now it happened that, during the time Mr. Hill was putting the foregoing +queries to Bampfylde the second, there came to the door or entrance +of the audience chamber, an Irish haymaker, who wanted to consult the +cunning man about a little leathern purse which he had lost, whilst he +was making hay, in a field near Hereford. This haymaker was the same +person who, as we have related, spoke so advantageously of our +hero, O'Neill, to the widow Smith. As this man, whose name was Paddy +M'Cormack, stood at the entrance of the gipsies' hut, his attention +was caught by the name of O'Neill; and he lost not a word of all that +passed. He had reason to be somewhat surprised at hearing Bampfylde +assert it was O'Neill who had pulled down the rick of bark. "By the holy +poker," said he to himself, "the old fellow now is out there. I know +more o' that matter than he does--no offence to his majesty: he knows +no more of my purse, I'll engage now, than he does of this man's rick of +bark and his dog: so I'll keep my tester in my pocket, and not be giving +it to this king o' the gipsies, as they call him; who, as near as I can +guess, is no better than a cheat. But there is one secret which I can be +telling this conjuror himself; he shall not find it such an easy matter +to do all what he thinks; he shall not be after ruining an innocent +countryman of my own, whilst Paddy M'Cormack has a tongue and brains." + +Now Paddy M'Cormack had the best reason possible for knowing that Mr. +O'Neill did not pull down Mr. Hill's rick of bark; it was M'Cormack +himself, who, in the heat of his resentment for the insulting arrest +of his countryman in the streets of Hereford, had instigated his fellow +haymakers to this mischief; he headed them, and thought he was doing a +clever, spirited action. + +There is a strange mixture of virtue and vice in the minds of the lower +class of Irish; or rather a strange confusion in their ideas of right +and wrong, from want of proper education. As soon as poor Paddy found +out that his spirited action of pulling down the rick of bark was likely +to be the ruin of his countryman, he resolved to make all the amends +in his power for his folly: he went to collect his fellow haymakers +and persuaded them to assist him this night in rebuilding what they had +pulled down. + +They went to this work when every body except themselves, as they +thought, was asleep in Hereford. They had just completed the stack, +and were all going away except Paddy, who was seated at the very top, +finishing the pile, when they heard a loud voice cry out, "Here they +are, Watch! Watch!" + +Immediately, all the haymakers, who could, ran off as fast as possible. +It was the watch who had been sitting up at the cathedral who gave +the alarm. Paddy was taken from the top of the rick, and lodged in the +watchhouse till morning. "Since I'm to be rewarded this way for doing a +good action, sorrow take me," said he, "if they catch me doing another +the longest day ever I live." + +Happy they who have in their neighbourhood such a magistrate as Mr. +Marshal! He was a man who, to an exact knowledge of the duties of +his office, joined the power of discovering truth from the midst of +contradictory evidence; and the happy art of soothing, or laughing, +the angry passions into good-humour. It was a common saying in +Hereford--that no one ever came out of Justice Marshal's house as angry +as he went into it. + +Mr. Marshal had scarcely breakfasted when he was informed that Mr. Hill, +the verger, wanted to speak to him on business of the utmost importance. +Mr. Hill, the verger, was ushered in; and, with gloomy solemnity, took a +seat opposite to Mr. Marshal. + +"Sad doings in Hereford, Mr. Marshal! Sad doings, sir." + +"Sad doings? Why, I was told we had merry doings in Hereford. A ball the +night before last, as I heard." + +"So much the worse, Mr. Marshal; so much the worse; as those think with +reason that see as far into things as I do." + +"So much the better, Mr. Hill," said Mr. Marshal, laughing; "so much the +better; as those think with reason that see no farther into things than +I do." + +"But, sir," said the verger, still more solemnly, "this is no laughing +matter, nor time for laughing; begging your pardon. Why, sir, the night +of that there diabolical ball, our Hereford cathedral, sir, would have +been blown up--blown up from the foundation, if it had not been for me, +sir!" + +"Indeed, Mr. Verger! And pray how, and by whom, was the cathedral to be +blown up? and what was there diabolical in this ball?" + +Here Mr. Hill let Mr. Marshal into the whole history of his early +dislike to O'Neill, and his shrewd suspicions of him the first moment +he saw him in Hereford; related in the most prolix manner all that +the reader knows already, and concluded by saying that, as he was now +certain of his facts, he was come to swear examinations against this +villanous Irishman, who, he hoped, would be speedily brought to justice, +as he deserved. + +"To justice he shall be brought, as he deserves," said Mr. Marshal; +"but, before I write, and before you swear, will you have the goodness +to inform me how you have made yourself as certain, as you evidently +are, of what you call your facts?" + +"Sir, that is a secret," replied our wise man, "which I shall trust to +you alone;" and he whispered into Mr. Marshal's ear that his information +came from Bampfylde the second, king of the gipsies. + +Mr. Marshal instantly burst into laughter; then composing himself said, +"My good sir, I am really glad that you have proceeded no farther in +this business; and that no one in Hereford, beside myself, knows that +you were on the point of swearing examinations against a man on the +evidence of Bampfylde the second, king of the gipsies{1}. My dear sir, +it would be a standing joke against you to the end of your days. A +grave man, like Mr. Hill; and a verger too! Why, you would be the +laughing-stock of Hereford!" + +Now Mr. Marshal well knew the character of the man to whom he was +talking, who, above all things on earth, dreaded to be laughed at. Mr. +Hill coloured all over his face, and, pushing back his wig by way of +settling it, showed that he blushed not only all over his face but all +over his head. + +{Footnote 1: The following passage is an extract from Colquhoun, On +the Police of the Metropolis, page 69:--"An instance of mischievous +credulity, occasioned by consulting this impostor" (_a man calling +himself an astrologer, who practised long in the Curtain-road, +Shoreditch, London; and who is said, in conjunction with his associates, +to have made near 300£. a year by practising on the credulity of the +lower order of the people_), "fell lately under the review of a police +magistrate. A person, having property stolen from him, went to consult +the conjuror respecting the thief; who having described something like +the person of a man whom he suspected, his credulity and folly so far +got the better of his reason and reflection, as to induce him, upon +the authority of this impostor, actually to charge his neighbour with a +felony, and to cause him to be apprehended. The magistrate settled the +matter by discharging the prisoner, reprimanding the accuser severely, +and ordering the conjuror to be taken into custody, according to law, as +a rogue and a vagabond."} + +"Why, Mr. Marshal, sir," said he, "as to my being laughed at, it is what +I did not look for, being as there are some men in Hereford to whom +I have mentioned that hole in the cathedral, who have thought it +no laughing matter, and who have been precisely of my own opinion +thereupon." + +"But did you tell these gentlemen that you had been consulting the king +of the gipsies?" + +"No, sir, no: I can't say that I did." + +"Then I advise you, keep your own counsel, as I will." + +Mr. Hill, whose imagination wavered between the hole in the cathedral +and his rick of bark on one side, and between his rick of bark and his +dog Jowler on the other, now began to talk of the dog, and now of the +rick of bark; and when he had exhausted all he had to say upon these +subjects, Mr. Marshal gently pulled him towards the window, and putting +a spy-glass into his hand, bid him look towards his own tan-yard, and +tell him what he saw. To his great surprise, Mr. Hill saw his rick of +bark rebuilt. + +"Why, it was not there last night," exclaimed he, rubbing his eyes. +"Why, some conjuror must have done this." + +"No," replied Mr. Marshal, "no conjuror did it: but your friend +Bampfylde the second, king of the gipsies, was the cause of its being +rebuilt; and here is the man who actually pulled it down, and who +actually rebuilt it." + +As he said these words, Mr. Marshal opened the door of an adjoining +room, and beckoned to the Irish haymaker, who had been taken into +custody about an hour before this time. The watch who took Paddy had +called at Mr. Hill's house to tell him what had happened, but Mr. Hill +was not then at home. + +It was with much surprise that the verger heard the simple truth from +this poor fellow; but no sooner was he convinced that O'Neill was +innocent as to this affair, than he recurred to his other ground of +suspicion, the loss of his dog. + +The Irish haymaker now stepped forward, and, with a peculiar twist of +the hips and shoulders, which those only who have seen it can picture to +themselves, said, "Plase your honour's honour, I have a little word to +say too about the dog." "Say it then," said Mr. Marshal. + +"Plase your honour, if I might expect to be forgiven, and let off for +pulling down the jontleman's stack, I might be able to tell him what I +know about the dog." + +"If you can tell me any thing about my dog," said the tanner, "I will +freely forgive you for pulling down the rick: especially as you have +built it up again. Speak the truth now: did not O'Neill make away with +the dog?" + +"Not at all at all, plase your honour," replied the haymaker: "and the +truth of the matter is, I know nothing of the dog, good or bad; but I +know something of his collar, if your name, plase your honour, is Hill, +as I take it to be?" + +"My name is Hill: proceed," said the tanner, with great eagerness. "You +know something about the collar of my dog Jowler?" + +"Plase your honour, this much I know any way, that it is now or was the +night before last, at the pawnbroker's there, below in town; for, plase +your honour, I was sent late at night (that night that Mr. O'Neill, +long life to him! was arrested) to the pawnbroker's for a Jew, by Mrs. +O'Neill, poor creature! she was in great trouble that same time." + +"Very likely," interrupted Mr. Hill: "but go on to the collar; what of +the collar?" + +"She sent me,--I'll tell you the story, plase your honour, _out of the +face_--she sent me to the pawnbroker's for the Jew; and, it being so +late at night, the shop was shut, and it was with all the trouble in +life that I got into the house any way: and, when I got in, there was +none but a slip of a boy up; and he set down the light that he had in +his hand, and ran up the stairs to waken his master: and, whilst he was +gone, I just made bold to look round at what sort of a place I was in, +and at the old clothes and rags and scraps; there was a sort of a frieze +trusty." + +"A trusty!" said Mr. Hill; "what is that pray?" + +"A big coat, sure, plase your honour: there was a frieze big coat lying +in a corner, which I had my eye upon, to trate myself to; I having, as +I then thought, money in my little purse enough for it. Well, I won't +trouble your honour's honour with telling of you now how I lost my purse +in the field, as I found after; but about the big coat, as I was saying, +I just lifted it off the ground, to see would it fit me; and, as I swung +it round, something, plase your honour, hit me a great knock on the +shins: it was in the pocket of the coat, whatever it was, I knew; so I +looks into the pocket, to see what was it, plase your honour, and out +I pulls a hammer and a dog-collar; it was a wonder, both together, they +did not break my shins entirely: but it's no matter for my shins now: +so, before the boy came down, I just out of idleness spelt out to myself +the name that was upon the collar: there were two names, plase your +honour; and out of the first there were so many letters hammered out I +could make nothing of it, at all at all; but the other name was plain +enough to read any way, and it was Hill, plase your honour's honour, as +sure as life: Hill, now." + +This story was related in tones and gestures which were so new and +strange to English ears and eyes, that even the solemnity of our verger +gave way to laughter.--Mr. Marshal sent a summons for the pawnbroker, +that he might learn from him how he came by the dog-collar. The +pawnbroker, when he found from Mr. Marshal that he could by no other +means save himself from being committed to prison, confessed that +the collar had been sold to him by Bampfylde the second, king of the +gipsies. + +A warrant was immediately despatched for his majesty: and Mr. Hill was +a good deal alarmed, by the fear of its being known in Hereford that he +was on the point of swearing examinations against an innocent man, upon +the evidence of a dog-stealer and a gipsy. + +Bampfylde the second made no sublime appearance, when he was brought +before Mr. Marshal; nor could all his astrology avail upon this +occasion: the evidence of the pawnbroker was so positive, as to the fact +of his having sold to him the dog-collar, that there was no resource +left for Bampfylde but an appeal to Mr. Hill's mercy. He fell on his +knees, and confessed that it was he who stole the dog; which used to +bark at him at night so furiously that he could not commit certain petty +depredations, by which, as much as by telling fortunes, he made his +livelihood. + +"And so," said Mr. Marshal, with a sternness of manner which till now he +had never shown, "to screen yourself, you accused an innocent man; and +by your vile arts would have driven him from Hereford, and have set two +families for ever at variance, to conceal that you had stolen a dog." + +The king of the gipsies was, without farther ceremony, committed to the +house of correction. We should not omit to mention, that, on searching +his hut, the Irish haymaker's purse was found, which some of his +majesty's train had emptied. The whole set of gipsies decamped, upon the +news of the apprehension of their monarch. + +Mr. Hill stood in profound silence, leaning upon his walking-stick, +whilst the committal was making out for Bampfylde the second. The fear +of ridicule was struggling with the natural positiveness of his temper: +he was dreadfully afraid that the story of his being taken in by the +king of the gipsies would get abroad; and, at the same time, he was +unwilling to give up his prejudice against the Irish glover. + +"But, Mr. Marshal," cried he, after a long silence, "the hole under the +foundation of the cathedral has never been accounted for: that is, was, +and ever will be, an ugly mystery to me; and I never can have a good +opinion of this Irishman, till it is cleared up; nor can I think the +cathedral in safety." + +"What," said Mr. Marshal, with an arch smile, "I suppose the verses +of the oracle still work upon your imagination, Mr. Hill. They are +excellent in their kind. I must have them by heart that, when I am asked +the reason why Mr. Hill has taken an aversion to an Irish glover, I may +be able to repeat them: + + 'Now, take my word, + Wise men of Hereford, + None in safety may be, + Till the bad man doth flee.'" + +"You'll oblige me, sir," said the verger, "if you would never repeat +those verses, sir; nor mention, in any company, the affair of the king +of the gipsies." + +"I will oblige you," replied Mr. Marshal, "if you will oblige me. Will +you tell me honestly whether now that you find this Mr. O'Neill is +neither a dog-killer nor a puller down of bark ricks, you feel that you +could forgive him for being an Irishman, if the mystery, as you call +it, of the hole under the cathedral was cleared up?" "But that is not +cleared up, I say, sir," cried Mr. Hill, striking his walking-stick +forcibly upon the ground, with both his hands. "As to the matter of +his being an Irishman, I have nothing to say to it: I am not saying any +thing about that, for I know we all are born where it pleases God; and +an Irishman may be as good as another. I know that much, Mr. Marshal; +and I am not one of those illiberal-minded ignorant people that +cannot abide a man that was not born in England. Ireland is now in his +majesty's dominions, I know very well, Mr. Marshal; and I have no +manner of doubt, as I said before, that an Irishman born may be as good, +almost, as an Englishman born." + +"I am glad," said Mr. Marshal, "to hear you speak, almost, as reasonably +as an Englishman born and every man ought to speak; and I am convinced +that you have too much English hospitality to persecute an inoffensive +stranger, who comes amongst us trusting to our justice and good nature." + +"I would not persecute a stranger, God forbid!" replied the verger, "if +he was, as you say, inoffensive." + +"And if he was not only inoffensive, but ready to do every service in +his power to those who are in want of his assistance, we should not +return evil for good, should we?" + +"That would be uncharitable, to be sure; and moreover a scandal," said +the verger. + +"Then," said Mr. Marshal, "will you walk with me as far as the widow +Smith's, the poor woman whose house was burnt last winter! This +haymaker, who lodged near her, can show us the way to her present +abode." + +During his examination of Paddy M'Cormack, who would tell his whole +history, as he called it, _out of the face_, Mr. Marshal heard several +instances of the humanity and goodness of O'Neill, which Paddy related +to excuse himself for that warmth of attachment to his cause, that had +been manifested so injudiciously by pulling down the rick of bark +in revenge for the arrest. Amongst other things, Paddy mentioned his +countryman's goodness to the widow Smith: Mr. Marshal was determined, +therefore, to see whether he had, in this instance, spoken the truth; +and he took Mr. Hill with him, in hopes of being able to show him the +favourable side of O'Neill's character. Things turned out just as Mr. +Marshal expected. The poor widow and her family, in the most simple +and affecting manner, described the distress from which they had been +relieved by the good gentleman and lady, the lady was Phoebe Hill; +and the praises that were bestowed upon Phoebe were delightful to her +father's ear, whose angry passions had now all subsided. + +The benevolent Mr. Marshal seized the moment when he saw Mr. Hill's +heart was touched, and exclaimed, "I must be acquainted with this Mr. +O'Neill. I am sure we people of Hereford ought to show some hospitality +to a stranger, who has so much humanity. Mr. Hill, will you dine with +him to-morrow at my house?" + +Mr. Hill was just going to accept of this invitation, when the +recollection of all he had said to his club about the hole under the +cathedral came across him; and, drawing Mr. Marshal aside, he whispered, +"But sir, sir, that affair of the hole under the cathedral has not been +cleared up yet." + +At this instant, the widow Smith exclaimed, "Oh! here comes my little +Mary" (one of her children, who came running in): "this is the little +girl, sir, to whom the lady has been so good. Make your curtsy, child. +Where have you been all this while?" + +"Mammy," said the child, "I've been showing the lady my rat." + +"Lord bless her! Gentlemen, the child has been wanting me this many +a day to go to see this tame rat of hers; but I could never get time, +never: and I wondered too at the child's liking such a creature. Tell +the gentlemen, dear, about your rat. All I know is, that, let her have +but never such a tiny bit of bread, for breakfast or supper, she saves +a little of that little for this rat of hers: she and her brothers have +found it out somewhere by the cathedral." + +"It comes out of a hole under the wall of the cathedral," said one +of the elder boys; "and we have diverted ourselves watching it, and +sometimes we have put victuals for it, so it has grown, in a manner, +tame like." + +Mr. Hill and Mr. Marshal looked at one another during this speech; and +the dread of ridicule again seized on Mr. Hill, when he apprehended +that, after all he had said, the mountain might, at last, bring forth--a +rat. Mr. Marshal, who instantly saw what passed in the verger's mind, +relieved him from this fear, by refraining even from a smile on this +occasion. He only said to the child, in a grave manner, "I am afraid, +my dear, we shall be obliged to spoil your diversion. Mr. Verger, here, +cannot suffer rat-holes in the cathedral: but, to make you amends for +the loss of your favourite, I will give you a very pretty little dog, if +you have a mind." + +The child was well pleased with this promise; and, at Mr. Marshal's +desire, she then went along with him and Mr. Hill to the cathedral, and +they placed themselves at a little distance from that hole which had +created so much disturbance. The child soon brought the dreadful enemy +to light; and Mr. Hill, with a faint laugh, said, "I'm glad it's no +worse: but there were many in our club who were of my opinion; and, if +they had not suspected O'Neill too, I am sure I should never have given +you so much trouble, sir, as I have done this morning. But, I hope, as +the club know nothing about that vagabond, that king of the gipsies, you +will not let any one know any thing about the prophecy, and all that? +I am sure, I am very sorry to have given you so much trouble, Mr. +Marshal." + +Mr. Marshal assured him that he did not regret the time which he had +spent in endeavouring to clear up all these mysteries and suspicions; +and Mr. Hill gladly accepted his invitation to meet O'Neill at his house +the next day. No sooner had Mr. Marshal brought one of the parties +to reason and good-humour, than he went to prepare the other for a +reconciliation. O'Neill and his mother were both people of warm but +forgiving tempers: the arrest was fresh in their minds; but when +Mr. Marshal represented to them the whole affair, and the verger's +prejudices, in a humorous light, they joined in the good-natured laugh, +and O'Neill declared that, for his part, he was ready to forgive and +to forget every thing, if he could but see Miss Phoebe in the Limerick +gloves. + +Phosbe appeared the next day, at Mr. Marshal's, in the Limerick gloves; +and no perfume ever was so delightful to her lover as the smell of the +rose leaves, in which they had been kept. Mr. Marshal had the benevolent +pleasure of reconciling the two families. The tanner and the glover of +Hereford became, from bitter enemies, useful friends to each other; and +they were convinced, by experience, that nothing could be more for their +mutual advantage than to live in union. + +_Nov_. 1799. + + + + + +OUT OF THE DEBT OUT OF DANGER + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Leonard Ludgate was the only son and heir of a London haberdasher, who +had made some money by constant attendance to his shop. "Out of debt +out of danger," was the father's old-fashioned saying. The son's more +liberal maxim was, "Spend to-day, and spare to-morrow." Whilst he +was under his father's eye, it was not in his power to live up to his +principles; and he longed for the time when he should be relieved from +his post behind the counter: a situation which he deemed highly unworthy +a youth of his parts and spirit. To imprison his elegant person behind a +counter in Cranbourne-alley was, to be sure, in a cruel father's +power; but his tyranny could not extend to his mind; and, whilst he was +weighing minikin pins, or measuring out penny ribbon, his soul, leaving +all these meaner things, was expatiating in Bond-street or Hyde-park. +Whilst his fingers mechanically adjusted the scales, or carelessly +slipped the yard, his imagination was galloping a fine bay with Tom +Lewis, or driving Miss Belle Perkins in a gig. + +Now Tom Lewis was a dashing young citizen, whom old Ludgate could not +endure; and Miss Belle Perkins a would-be fine lady, whom he advised +his son never to think of for a wife. But the happy moment at length +arrived, when our hero could safely show how much he despised both the +advice and the character of his father; when he could quit his nook +behind the counter, throw aside the yard, assume the whip, and affect +the fine gentleman. In short, the happy moment came when his father +died. + +Leonard now shone forth in all the glory which the united powers of +tailor, hatter, and hosier, could spread around lug person. Miss Belle +Perkins, who had hitherto looked down upon our hero as a reptile of +Cranbourne-alley, beheld his metamorphosis with surprise and admiration. +And she, who had formerly been heard to say, "she would not touch him +with a pair of tongs," now unreluctantly gave him her envied hand at +a ball at Bagnigge Wells. Report farther adds that, at tea, Miss Belle +whispered loud enough to be heard, that since his queer father's death, +Leonard Ludgate had turned out quite a genteeler sort of person than +could have been expected. + +"Upon this hint he spake." His fair one, after assuming all proper and +becoming airs upon the occasion, suffered herself to be prevailed +upon to call, with her mother and a friend, at Mr. Ludgate's house in +Cranbourne-alley, to see whether it could be possibly inhabited by a +lady of her taste and consequence. + +As Leonard handed her out of her hackney-coach, she exclaimed, "Bless +us, and be we to go up this paved lane, and through the shop, before we +can get to the more creditabler apartments?" + +"I'm going to cut a passage off the shop, which I've long had in +contemplation," replied our hero; "only I can't get light into it +cleverly." + +"Oh! a lamp in the style of a _chandaleer_ will do vastly well by night, +which is the time one wants one's house to put the best foot foremost, +for company; and by day we can make a shift, somehow or other, I dare +say. Any thing's better than _trapesing_ through a shop; which is a +thing I've never been used to, and cannot reconcile myself to by any +means." + +Leonard immediately acceded to this scheme of the dark passage by day, +and the _chandaleer_ by night; and he hurried his fair one through the +odious shop to the _more creditabler_ apartments. She was handed above, +about, and underneath. She found every particle of the house wanted +modernizing immensely, and was altogether smaller than she could ever +have conceived beforehand. Our hero, ambitious at once to show his +gallantry, spirit, and taste, incessantly protested he would adopt every +improvement Miss Belle Perkins could suggest; and he declared that the +identical same ideas had occurred to him a hundred and a hundred times, +during his poor father's lifetime: but he could never make the old +gentleman enter into any thing of the sort, his notions of life being +utterly limited, to say no worse. "He had one old saw, for ever grating +in my ears, as an answer to everything that bore the stamp of gentility, +or carried with it an air of spirit: hey, Allen!" continued our hero, +looking over his shoulder at a young man who was casting up accounts; +"hey, Allen--you remember the old saw?" + +"Yes, sir," replied the young man, "if you mean, 'Out of debt out of +danger:' I hope I shall never forget it." + +"I hope so too; as you have your fortune to make, it is very proper for +you: but for one that has a fortune ready made to spend, I am free to +confess I think my principle worth a million of it: and my maxim is, +'Spend to-day, and spare to-morrow:' hey, ladies?" concluded Leonard, +appealing with an air secure of approbation to his fair mistress and her +young companion. + +"Why that suits my notions, I must own candidly," said Belle; "but +here's one beside me, or behind me--Where are you, Lucy?" pursued the +young lady, addressing herself to her humble companion: "here's one, who +is more of your shop-man's way of thinking than yours, I fancy. 'Out of +debt out of danger' is just a sober saying to your mind, an't it, Lucy?" + +Lucy did not deny the charge. "Well, child," said Miss Perkins, "it's +very proper, for you have no fortune of your own to spend." + +"It is, indeed," said Lucy, with modest firmness; "for as I have none +of my own, if it were my maxim to spend to-day and spare to-morrow, I +should be obliged to spend other people's money, which I never will do +as long as I can maintain myself independently." + +"How proud we are!" cried Miss Perkins, sarcastically. Leonard assented +to the sarcasm by his looks; but Allen declared he liked proper pride, +and seemed to think that Lucy's was of this species. + +An argument might have ensued, if a collation, as Mr. Ludgate called it, +had not appeared at this critical moment. Of what it consisted, and how +genteelly and gallantly our hero did the honours of his collation, we +forbear to relate; but one material circumstance we must not omit, as +on this, perhaps more than even on his gentility and gallantry, depended +the fortune of the day. In rummaging over a desk to find a corkscrew, +young Ludgate took occasion to open and shake a pocket-book, from which +fell a shower of bank notes. What effect they produced upon his fair +one, and on her mother, can be best judged of by the event. Miss Belle +Perkins, after this domiciliary visit, consented to go with our hero on +Sunday to Kensington Gardens, Monday to Sadler's Wells, Tuesday on the +water, Wednesday to the play, Thursday the Lord knows to what ball, +Friday to Vauxhall, and on Saturday to--the altar! + +Some people thought the young lady and gentleman rather precipitate; but +these were persons who, as the bride justly observed, did not understand +any thing in nature of a love match. Those who have more liberal +notions, and a more extensive knowledge of the human heart, can readily +comprehend how a lady may think a man so odious at one minute, that she +could not touch him with a pair of tongs, and so charming the next, +that she would die a thousand deaths for him, and him alone. Immediately +after the ceremony was performed, Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate went down in +the hoy to Margate, to spend their honeymoon in style. Their honeymoon, +alas! could not be prolonged beyond the usual bounds. Even the joys of +Margate could not be eternal, and the day came too soon when our happy +pair were obliged to think of returning home. Home! With what different +sensations different people pronounce and hear that word pronounced! +Mrs. Leonard Ludgate's home in Cranbourne-alley appeared to her, as she +scrupled not to declare, an intolerable low place, after Margate. The +stipulated alterations, her husband observed, had been made in the +house, but none of them had been executed to her satisfaction. The +expedient of the dark passage was not found to succeed: a thorough wind, +from the front and back doors, ran along it when either or both were +left open to admit light; and this wicked wind, not content with running +along the passage, forced its way up and down stairs, made the kitchen +chimney smoke, and rendered even the _more creditabler_ apartments +scarcely habitable. Chimney doctors were in vain consulted: the +favourite dark passage was at length abandoned, and the lady, to her +utter discomfiture, was obliged to pass through the shop. + +To make herself amends for this mortification, she insisted upon +throwing down the partition between the dining-room and her own +bedchamber, that she might have one decent apartment at least fit for +a rout. It was to no purpose that her friend Lucy, who was called in to +assist in making up furniture, represented that this scheme of throwing +bedchamber and dining-room into one would be attended with some +inconveniences; for instance, that Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate would be +obliged, in consequence of this improvement, to sleep in half of the +maid's garret, or to sit up all night. This objection was overruled +by Mrs. Ludgate, whose genius, fertile in expedients, made every thing +easy, by the introduction of a bed in the dining-room, in the shape of a +sofa. The newly-enlarged apartment, she observed, would thus answer the +double purposes of show and utility; and, as soon as the supper and card +tables should be removed, the sofa-bed might be let down. She asserted +that the first people in London manage in this way. Leonard could not +contradict his lady, because she had a ready method of silencing him, +by asking how he could possibly know any thing of life who had lived all +his days, except Sundays, in Cranbourne-alley? Then, if any one of his +father's old notions of economy by chance twinged his conscience, Belle +very judiciously asked how he ever came to think of her for a wife? +"Since you have got a genteel wife," said she, "it becomes you to live +up to her notions, and to treat her as she and her friends have a right +to expect. Before I married you, sir, none of the Perkins's were in +trade themselves, either directly or indirectly; and many's the +slights and reproaches I've met with from my own relations and former +acquaintances, since my marriage, on account of the Ludgates being all +tradesfolks; to which I always answer, that my Leonard is going to +wash his hands of trade himself, and to make over all concern in the +haberdashery line and shop to the young man below stairs, who is much +better suited to such things." + +By such speeches as these, alternately piquing and soothing the vanity +of her Leonard, our accomplished wife worked him to her purposes. She +had a rout once a week; and her room was so crowded, that there was +scarcely a possibility of breathing. Yet, notwithstanding all this, she +one morning declared, with a burst of tears, she was the most miserable +woman in the world. And why? Because her friend, Mrs. Pimlico, Miss +Coxeater that was, had a house in Weymouth-street; whilst she was forced +to keep on being buried in Cranbourne-alley. Mr. Ludgate was moved +by his wife's tears, and by his own ambition, and took a house in +Weymouth-street. But before they had been there six weeks, the fair +one was again found bathed in tears. And why? "Because," said Belle, +"because, Mr. Ludgate, the furniture of this house is as old as +Methusalem's; and my friend, Mrs. Pimlico, said yesterday that it was a +shame to be seen: and so to be sure it is, compared with her own, which +is spick and span new. Yet why should she pretend to look down upon +me in point of furniture, or any thing? Who was she, before she was +married? Little Kitty Coxeater, as we always called her at the dancing +school; and nobody ever thought of comparing her, in point of gentility, +with Belle Perkins! Why, she is as ugly as sin! though she is my friend, +I must acknowledge _that_; and, if she had all the clothes in the world, +she would never know how to put any of them on; that's one comfort. And, +as every body says, to be sure she never would have got a husband but +for her money. And, after all, what sort of a husband has she got? A +perfumer, indeed! a man with a face like one of his own wash-balls, all +manner of colours. I declare, I would rather have gone without to the +end of my days than have married Mr. Pimlico." + +"I cannot blame you there, my dear," said Mr. Ludgate; "for to be sure +Mr. Pimlico, much as he thinks of himself and his country house, has as +little the air of--the air of fashion as can be well conceived." + +Leonard Ludgate made an emphatic pause in this speech; and surveyed +himself in a looking-glass with much complacency, whilst he pronounced +the word fashion. He, indeed, approved so much of his wife's taste and +discernment, in preferring him to Mr. Pimlico, that he could not at this +moment help inclining to follow her judgment respecting the furniture. +He acceded to her position, that the Ludgates ought to appear at least +no shabbier than the Pimlicos. The conclusion was inevitable: Leonard, +according to his favourite maxim of "Spend to-day, and spare to-morrow," +agreed that they might new furnish the house this year, and pay for it +the next. This was immediately done; and the same principle was extended +through all their household affairs, as far as the tradesmen concerned +would admit of its being carried into practice. + +By this means, Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate were not for some time sensible of +the difficulties they were preparing for themselves. They went on vying +with the Pimlicos, and with all their new acquaintance, who were many of +them much richer than themselves; and of this vain competition there +was no end. Those who estimate happiness not by the real comforts or +luxuries which they enjoy, but by comparison between themselves and +their neighbours, must be subject to continual mortification and +discontent. Far from being happier than they were formerly, Mr. and Mrs. +Ludgate were much more miserable after their removal to Weymouth-street. +Was it not better to be the first person in Cranbourne-alley than the +last in Weymouth-street? New wants and wishes continually arose in their +new situation. They must live like other people. Everybody, that is, +everybody in Weymouth-street, did so and so; and, therefore, they must +do the same. They must go to such a place, or they must have such a +thing, not because it was in itself necessary or desirable, but because +everybody, that is, everybody of their acquaintance, did or had the +same. Even to be upon a footing with their new neighbours was a matter +of some difficulty; and then merely to be upon an equality, merely to +be admitted and suffered at parties, is awkward and humiliating. Noble +ambition prompted them continually to aim at distinction. The desire +to attain _il poco piu--the little more_, stimulates to excellence, or +betrays to ruin, according to the objects of our ambition. No artist +ever took more pains to surpass Raphael or Correggio than was taken by +Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate to outshine Mr. and Mrs. Pimlico. And still what +they had done seemed nothing: what they were to do occupied all their +thoughts. No timid economical fears could stop or even startle them +in the road to ruin. Faithful to his maxim, our hero denied himself +nothing. If, for a moment, the idea that any thing was too expensive +suggested itself, his wife banished care by observing, "We need not pay +for it now. What signifies it, since we need not think of paying for +it till next year?" She had abundance of arguments of similar solidity, +adapted to all occasions. Sometimes the thing in question was such a +trifle it could not ruin anybody. "'Tis but a guinea! '_Tis but_ a +few shillings!" Sometimes it was a sort of thing that could not ruin +anybody, because "'Tis but for once and away!" '_Tis but_ is a most +dangerous thing! How many guineas may be spent upon '_tis but_, in the +course of one year, in such a city as London! + +Bargains! excellent bargains! were also with our heroine admirable pleas +for expense. "We positively must buy this, my dear; for it would be a +sin to let such a bargain slip through one's fingers. Mrs. Pimlico paid +twice as much for what is not half as good. 'Twould be quite a shame to +one's good sense to miss such a bargain!" Mrs. Ludgate was one of those +ladies who think it is more reasonable to buy a thing because it is a +bargain than because they want it: she farther argued, "If we don't want +it, we may want it:" and this was a satisfactory plea. + +Under the head bargains we must not forget _cheap days_. Messrs. Run +and Raffle advertised a sale of old shop goods, with the catching +words--_cheap days_! Everybody crowded to throw away their money on +cheap days; and, amongst the rest, Mrs. Ludgate. + +One circumstance was rather disagreeable in these cheap days: ready +money was required; and this did not suit those who lived by +the favourite maxim of the family. Yet there was a reason that +counterbalanced their objection in Mrs. Ludgate's mind: "Mrs. Pimlico +was going to Messrs. Run and Raffle's and what would she think, if I +wasn't to be there? She'd think, to be sure, that we were as poor as +Job." So, to demonstrate that she had ready money to throw away, Mrs. +Ludgate must go on the cheap days. + +"Belle," said her husband, "ready money's a serious thing." + +"Yes, Leonard, but, when nothing else will be taken, you know, one can't +do without it." + +"But, if one has not it, I tell you, one must do without it," said +Leonard peevishly. + +"Lord, Mr. Ludgate, if you have not it about you, can't you send to +Cranbourne-alley, to Mr. Allen, for some for me? 'Tis but a few guineas +I want; and 'twould be a shame to miss such bargains as are to be had +for nothing, at Run and Raffle's. And these cheap days are extraordinary +things. It can't ruin any body to spend a guinea or two, once and away, +like other people." + +At the conclusion of her eloquent speech, Mrs. Ludgate rang the bell; +and, without waiting for any assent from her husband but silence, bade +the footman run to _the shop_, and desire Allen to send her ten guineas +immediately. + +Mr. Ludgate looked sullen, whistled, and then posted himself at the +parlour window to watch for the ambassador's return. "I wonder," +continued Mrs. Ludgate, "I wonder, Leonard, that you let Allen leave you +so bare of cash of late! It is very disagreeable to be always sending +out of the house, this way, for odd guineas. Allen, I think, uses you +very ill; but I am sure I would not let him cheat me, if I was you. +Pray, when you gave up the business of the shop to him, was not you to +have half the profits for your good-will, and name, and all that!" + +"Yes." + +"And little enough! But why don't you look after Allen, then, and make +him pay us what he owes us?" + +"I'll see about it to-morrow, child." + +"About how much do you think is owing to us?" pursued Mrs. Ludgate. + +"I can't tell, ma'am." + +"I wish then you'd settle accounts to-morrow, that I might have some +ready money." + +The lady seemed to take it for granted that her having ready money would +be the necessary and immediate consequence of settling accounts with +Allen; her husband could have set her right in this particular, and +could have informed her that not a farthing was due to him; that, on +the contrary, he had taken up money in advance, on the next half year's +expected profits; but Mr. Ludgate was ashamed to let his wife know the +real state of his affairs: indeed, he was afraid to look them in the +face himself. "Here's the boy coming back!" cried he, after watching for +some time in silence at the window. + +Leonard went to the street-door to meet him; and Belle followed close, +crying, "Well! I hope Allen has sent me the money?" + +"I don't know," said the breathless boy. "I have a letter for my master, +here, that was written ready, by good luck, afore I got there." + +Leonard snatched the letter; and his wife waited to see whether the +money was enclosed. + +"The rascal has sent me no money, I see, but a letter, and an account as +long as my arm." + +"No money!" cried Belle; "that's using us very oddly and ill, indeed; +and I wonder you submit to such conduct! I declare I won't bear it! Go +back, I say, Jack; go, run this minute, and tell Allen he must come up +himself; for _I, Mrs. Ludgate, wants_ to speak with him." + +"No, my dear, no; nonsense! don't go, Jack. What signifies your sending +to speak with Allen? What can you do? How can you settle accounts with +him? What should women know of business? I wish women would never meddle +with things they don't understand." + +"Women can understand well enough when they want money," cried the sharp +lady; "and the short and the long of it is, Mr. Ludgate, that I will see +and settle accounts with Allen myself; and bring him to reason, if you +won't; and this minute, too." + +"Bless me! upon my faith, Allen's better than we thought: here's +bank-notes within the account," said Mr. Ludgate. + +"Ay, I thought he could not be so very impertinent as to refuse when +_I_ sent to him myself. But this is only one five pound note: I sent for +ten. Where is the other?" + +"I want the other myself," said her husband. + +The tone was so peremptory, that she dared not tempt him further; and +away she went to Messrs. Run and Raffle's, where she had the pleasure of +buying a bargain of things that were of no manner of use to her, and for +which she paid twice as much as they were worth. These cheap days proved +dear days to many. + +Whilst Mrs. Ludgate spent the morning at Messrs. Run and Raffle's, her +husband was with Tom Lewis, lounging up and down Bond-street. Tom Lewis +being just one step above him in gentility, was invited to parties where +Ludgate could not gain admittance, was bowed to by people who never +bowed to Leonard Ludgate, could tell to whom this livery or that +carriage belonged, knew who everybody was, and could point out my lord +this, and my lady that, in the park or at the play. All these things +made him a personage of prodigious consequence in the eyes of our hero, +who looked upon him as the mirror of fashion. Tom knew how to take +advantage of this admiration, and borrowed many a guinea from him in +their morning walks: in return, he introduced Mr. Ludgate to some of his +friends, and to his club. + +New occasions, or rather new necessities, for expense occurred every +day, in consequence of his connexion with Lewis. Whilst he aimed at +being thought a young man of spirit, he could not avoid doing as other +people did. He could not think of economy! That would be shabby! On his +fortune rested his claims to respect from his present associates; and, +therefore, it was his constant aim to raise their opinion of his riches. +For some time, extravagance was not immediately checked by the want of +money, because he put off the evil day of payment. At last, when bills +poured in upon him, and the frequent calls of tradesmen began to be +troublesome, he got rid of the present difficulty by referring them to +Allen. "Go to Allen; he must settle with you: he does all my business." + +Allen sent him account after account, stating the sums he paid by his +order. Ludgate thrust the unread accounts into his escritoire, and +thought no more of the matter. Allen called upon him, to beg he would +come to some settlement, as he was getting more and more, every day, +into his debt. Leonard desired to have an account, stated in full, and +promised to look over it on Monday: but Monday came, and then it was put +off till Tuesday; and so on, day after day. + +The more reason he had to know that his affairs were deranged, the +more carefully he concealed all knowledge of them from his wife. Her +ignorance of the truth not only led her daily into fresh extravagance, +but was, at last, the cause of bringing things to a premature +explanation. After spending the morning at Messrs. Run and Raffle's, she +returned home with a hackney-coach full of bargains. As she came into +the parlour, loaded with things that she did not want, she was surprised +by the sight of an old friend, whom she had lately treated entirely as +a stranger. It was Lucy, who had in former days been her favourite +companion. But Lucy had chosen to work, to support herself +independently, rather than to be a burden to her friends; and Mrs. +Ludgate could not take notice of a person who had degraded herself so +far as to become a workwoman at an upholsterer's. She had consequently +never seen Lucy since this event took place, except when she went to +Mr. Beech the upholsterer's, to order her new furniture. She then was +in company with Mrs. Pimlico: and, when she saw Lucy at work in a back +parlour with two or three other young women, she pretended not to know +her. Lucy could scarcely believe that this was done on purpose; and, +at all events, she was not mortified by the insult. She was now come to +speak to Mrs. Ludgate about the upholsterer's bill. + +"Ha! Lucy, is it you?" said Mrs. Ludgate, as soon as she entered. "I've +never seen you in Weymouth-street before! How comes it you never called, +if it was only to see our new house? I'm sure I should always be very +happy to have you here--when we've nobody with us; and I'm quite sorry +_as_ I can't ask you to stay and take a bit of mutton with us to-day, +because I'm engaged to dine in Bond-street, with Mrs. Pimlico's cousin, +pretty Mrs. Paget, the bride whom you've heard talk of, no doubt. So +you'll excuse me if I run away from you, to make myself a little decent; +for it's horrid late!" + +After running off this speech, with an air and a volubility worthy of +her betters, she set before Lucy some of her bargains, and was then +retreating to make herself decent; but Lucy stopped her, by saying, +"My dear Mrs. Ludgate, I am sorry to detain you, but Mr. Beech, the +upholsterer, knowing I have been acquainted with you, has sent me to +speak to you about his bill. He is in immediate want of money, because +he is fitting out one of his sons for the East Indies." + +"Well! but his son's nothing to me! I sha'n't think of paying the bill +yet, I can assure him; and you may take it back, and tell him so." + +"But," said Lucy, "if I take back such an answer, I am afraid Mr. Beech +will send the bill to Mr. Ludgate; and that was what you particularly +desired should not be done." + +"Why, no; that's what I can't say I should particularly wish, just at +present," said Mrs. Ludgate, lowering her tone "because, to tell you a +bit of a secret, Lucy, I've run up rather an _unconsciable_ bill, this +year, with my milliner and mantua-maker; and I would not have all +_them_ bills come upon him all in a lump, and on a sudden, as it were; +especially as I laid out more on the furniture than he counts. So, my +dear Lucy, I'll tell you what you must do: you must use your influence +with Beech to make him wait a little longer. I'm sure he may wait well +enough; and he shall be paid next month." + +Lucy declared that her influence, on the present occasion, would be of +no avail; but she had the good-nature to add, "If you are sure the bill +can be paid next month, I will leave my two years' salary in Mr. Beech's +hands till then; and this will perhaps satisfy him, if he can get bills +from other people paid, to make up the money for his son. He said thirty +guineas from you on account would do, for the present; and that sum is +due to me." + +"Then, my dearest Lucy, for Heaven's sake, do leave it in his hands! +You were a good creature to think of it; but you always were a good +creature." + +"Your mother used to be kind to me, when I was a child; and I am sure +I ought not to forget it," said Lucy, the tears starting into her eyes: +"and you were once kind to me; I do not forget that," continued Lucy, +wiping the tears from her cheeks.--"But do not let me detain you; you +are in a hurry to dress to go to Mrs. Pimlico's." + +"No--pray--I am not in a hurry now," said Mrs. Ludgate, who had the +grace to blush at this instant. "But, if you must go, do take this +hat along with you. I assure you it's quite _the rage_: I got it this +morning at Run and Raffle's, and Mrs. Pimlico and Mrs. Paget have got +the same." + +Lucy declined accepting the hat, notwithstanding this strong and, as +Mrs. Ludgate would have thought it, irresistible recommendation. "Now +you must have it: it will become you a thousand times better than that +you have on," cried Mrs. Ludgate, insisting the more the more Lucy +withdrew; "and, besides, you must wear it for my sake. You won't? Then +I take it very ill of you that you are so positive; for I assure you, +whatever you may think, I wish to be as kind to you now as ever. Only, +you know, one can't always, when one lives in another style, be at home +as often as one wishes." + +Lucy relieved her _ci-devant_ friend from the necessity of making any +more awkward apologies, by moving quickly towards the door. "Then you +won't forget," continued Mrs. Ludgate, following her into the passage, +"you won't forget the job you are to do for me with Beech?" + +"Certainly I shall not. I will do what I have promised: but I hope you +will be punctual about the payment next month," said Lucy, "because I +believe I shall be in want of my money at that time. It is best to tell +you exactly the truth." + +"Certainly! certainly! you shall have your money before you want it, +long and long; and my only reason for borrowing it from you at all is, +that I don't like to trouble Mr. Ludgate, till he has settled accounts +with Allen, who keeps all our money from us in a strange way; and, in my +opinion, uses Leonard exceedingly ill and unfairly." + +"Allen!" cried Lucy, stopping short. "Oh, Belle! how can you say so? +How can you think so? But you know nothing of him, else you could not +suspect him of using any one ill, or unfairly; much less your husband, +the son of his old friend." + +"Bless me! how she runs on! and how she colours! I am sure I didn't +know I was upon such tender ground! I did not know Allen was such a +prodigious favourite!" + +"I only do him justice in saying that I am certain he could not do an +unfair or unhandsome action." + +"I know nothing of the matter, I protest; only this--that short +accounts, they say, make long friends; and I hope I sha'n't affront any +body by saying, it would be very convenient if he could be got to settle +with Mr. Ludgate, who, I am sure, is too much the gentleman to ask any +thing from him but his own; which, indeed, if it was not for me, he'd be +too genteel to mention. But, as I said before, short accounts make long +friends; and, as you are so much Allen's friend, you can hint that to +him." + +"I shall not hint, but say it to him as plainly as possible," replied +Lucy; "and you may be certain that he will come to settle accounts with +Mr. Ludgate before night." "I am sure I shall be mighty glad of it; and +so will Mr. Ludgate," said Belle; and thus they parted. + +Mrs. Ludgate with triumph announced to her husband, upon his return +home, that she had brought affairs to a crisis with Allen; and that +he would come to settle his accounts this evening. The surprise and +consternation which appeared in Mr. Ludgate's countenance, convinced the +lady that her interference was highly disagreeable. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Allen came punctually in the evening to settle his accounts. When he +and Leonard were by themselves, he could not help expressing some +astonishment, mixed with indignation, at the hints which had been thrown +out by Mrs. Ludgate. + +"Why, she knows nothing of the matter," said Ludgate. "I've no notion of +talking of such things to one's wife; it would only make her uneasy; +and we shall be able to go on some way or other. So let us have another +bottle of wine, and talk no more of business for this night." + +Allen would by no means consent to put off the settlement of accounts, +after what had passed. "Short accounts," said he, "as Mrs. Ludgate +observed, make long friends." + +It appeared, when the statement of affairs was completed, that Allen had +advanced above three hundred pounds for Leonard; and bills to a large +amount still remained unpaid. + +Now it happened that Jack, the footboy, contrived to go in and out of +the room several times, whilst Mr. Ludgate and Allen were talking; and +he, finding it more for his interest to serve his master's tradesmen +than his master, sent immediate notice to all whom it might concern, +that Mr. Ludgate's affairs were in a bad way, and that now or never must +be the word with his creditors. The next morning bills came showering +in upon Leonard whilst he was at breakfast, and amongst them came sundry +bills of Mrs. Ludgate's. They could not possibly have come at a +more inauspicious moment. People bespeak goods with one species of +enthusiasm, and look over their bills with another. We should rather +have said people spend with one enthusiasm, and pay with another; but +this observation would not apply to our present purpose, for Mr. and +Mrs. Ludgate had never yet experienced the pleasure or the pain of +paying their debts; they had hitherto been faithful to their maxim of +"Spend to-day, and pay to-morrow." + +They agreed well in the beginning of their career of extravagance; but +the very similarity of their tastes and habits proved ultimately +the cause of the most violent quarrels. As they both were expensive, +selfish, and self-willed, neither would, from regard to the other, +forbear. Comparisons between their different degrees of extravagance +commenced; and, once begun, they never ended. It was impossible to +settle, to the satisfaction of either party, which of them was most to +blame. Recrimination and reproaches were hourly and daily repeated; +and the lady usually ended by bursting into tears, and the gentleman by +taking his hat and walking out of the house. + +In the meantime, the bills must be paid. Mr. Ludgate was obliged to sell +the whole of his interest in the shop in Cranbourne-alley; and the ready +money he received from Allen was to clear him from all difficulties. +Allen came to pay him this sum. "Do not think me impertinent, Mr. +Ludgate," said he, "but I cannot for the soul of me help fearing for +you. What _will_ you do, when this money is gone? and go it must, at the +rate you live, in a very short time." + +"You are very good, sir," replied Leonard, coldly, "to interest yourself +so much in my concerns; but I shall live at what rate I please. Every +man is the best judge of his own affairs." + +After this repulse Allen could interfere no further. But when two months +had elapsed from the date of Mrs. Ludgate's promised payment of the +upholsterer's bill, Lucy resolved to call again upon Mrs. Ludgate. Lucy +had now a particular occasion for the money: she was going to be married +to Allen, and she wished to put into her husband's hands the little +fortune which she had so hardly earned by her own industry. From the +time that Allen heard her conversation, when Belle came to view the +house in Cranbourne-alley, he had been of opinion that she would make +an excellent wife: and the circumstances which sunk Lucy below Mrs. +Ludgate's notice raised her in the esteem and affection of this prudent +and sensible young man. He did not despise--he admired her for going +into a creditable business, to make herself independent, instead of +living as an humble companion with Mrs. Ludgate, of whose conduct and +character she could not approve. + +When Lucy called again upon Mrs. Ludgate to remind her of her promise, +she was received with evident confusion. She was employed in directing +Mr. Green, a builder, to throw out a bow in her dining-room, and to add +a balcony to the windows; for Mrs. Pimlico had a bow and a balcony, and +how could Mrs. Ludgate live without them? + +"Surely, my dear Mrs. Ludgate," said Lucy, drawing her aside, so that +the man who was measuring the windows could not hear what she said, +"surely you will think of paying Mr. Beech's bill, as you promised, +before you go into any new expense?" + +"Hush! hush! don't speak so loud. Leonard is in the next room; and I +would not have him hear any thing of Beech's bill, just when the man's +here about the balcony, for any thing in the world!" + +Lucy, though she was good-natured, was not so weak as to yield to airs +and capricious extravagance; and Mrs. Ludgate at last, though with a bad +grace, paid her the money which she had intended to lay out in a +very different manner. But no sooner had she paid this debt than she +considered how she could prevail upon Mr. Green to throw out the bow, +and finish the balcony, without paying him for certain alterations he +had made in the house in Cranbourne-alley, for which he had never yet +received one farthing. It was rather a difficult business, for Mr. +Green was a sturdy man, and used to regular payments. He resisted all +persuasion, and Mrs. Ludgate was forced again to have recourse to Lucy. + +"Do, my dear girl," said she, "lend me only twenty guineas for this +positive man; else, you see, I cannot have my balcony." This did not +appear to Lucy the greatest of all misfortunes. "But is it not much more +disagreeable to be always in debt and danger, than to live in a room +without a balcony?" said Lucy. + +"Why it is disagreeable, certainly, to be in debt, because of being +dunned continually; but the reason I'm so anxious about the balcony, is +that Mrs. Pimlico has one, and that's the only thing in which her house +is better than mine. Look just over the way: do you see Mrs. Pimlico's +beautiful balcony?" + +Mrs. Ludgate who had thrust her head far out of the window, pulling Lucy +along with her, now suddenly drew back, exclaiming, "Lord, if here is +not that odious woman; I hope Jack won't let her in."--She shut the +window hastily, ran to the top of the stairs, and called out, "Jack! I +say, Jack; don't let nurse in for your life." + +"Not if she has the child with her, ma'am?" said Jack. + +"No, no, I say!" + +"Then that's a sin and a shame," muttered Jack, "to shut the door upon +your own child." + +Mrs. Ludgate did not hear this reflection, because she had gone back to +the man who was waiting for directions about the balcony; but Lucy heard +it distinctly. "Ma'am, nurse would come in, for she says she saw you at +the window; and here she is, coming up the stairs," cried the footboy. + +The nurse came in, with Mrs. Ludgate's child in her arms. + +"Indeed, madam," said she, "the truth of the matter is, I can't and +won't be denied my own any longer: and it is not for my own sake I speak +up so bold, but for the dear babe that I have here in my arms, that +can't speak for itself, but only smile in your face, and stretch out its +arms to you. I, that am only its nurse, can't bear it; but I have little +ones of my own, and can't see them want. I can't do for them all: if I'm +not paid my lawful due, how can I? And is it not fit I should think of +my own flesh and blood first? So I must give up this one. I must!--I +must!"--cried the nurse, kissing the child repeatedly, "I must leave her +to her mother." + +The poor woman laid the child down on the sofa, then turned her back +upon it, and, hiding her face in her apron, sobbed as if her heart would +break. Lucy was touched with compassion; the mother stood abashed; shame +struggled for a few instants with pride; pride got the victory. "The +woman's out of her wits, I believe," cried Mrs. Ludgate. "Mr. Green, +if you'll please to call again to-morrow, we'll talk about the balcony. +Lucy, give me the child, and don't you fall a crying without knowing why +or wherefore. Nurse, I'm surprised at you! Did not I tell you I'd send +you your money next week?" + +"Oh! yes, madam; but you have said so this many a week; and things are +come to such a pass now, that husband says I shall not bring back the +child without the money." + +"What can I do?" said Mrs. Ludgate. + +Lucy immediately took her purse out of her pocket, and whispered, "I +will lend you whatever you want to pay the nurse, upon condition that +you will give up the scheme of the balcony." + +Mrs. Ludgate submitted to this condition; but she was not half so much +obliged to Lucy for doing her this real service as she would have been +if her friend had assisted in gratifying her vanity and extravagance. +Lucy saw what passed in Mrs. Ludgate's mind, and nothing but the sense +of the obligations she lay under to Belle's mother could have prevented +her from breaking off all connexion with her. + +But Mrs. Ludgate was now much inclined to court Lucy's acquaintance, as +her approaching marriage with Mr. Allen, who was in good circumstances, +made her appear quite a different person. Mrs. Allen would be able, and +she hoped willing, to assist her from time to time with money. With this +view, Belle showed Lucy a degree of attention and civility which she +had disdained to bestow upon her friend whilst she was in an inferior +situation. It was in vain, however, that this would-be fine lady +endeavoured to draw the prudent Lucy out of her own sphere of life: +though Lucy was extremely pretty, she had no desire to be admired; she +was perfectly satisfied and happy at home, and she and her husband lived +according to old Ludgate's excellent maxim, "Out of debt out of danger." + +We shall not weary our readers with the history of all the petty +difficulties into which Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate's foolish extravagance +led them. The life of the _shabby genteel_ is most miserable. Servants' +wages unpaid, duns continually besieging the door, perpetual excuses, +falsehoods to be invented, melancholy at home, and forced gaiety abroad! +Who would live such a life? Yet all this Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate endured, +for the sake of outshining Mr. and Mrs. Pimlico. + +It happened that one night, at a party, Mrs. Ludgate caught a violent +cold, and her face became inflamed and disfigured by red spots. Being +to go to a ball in a few days, she was very impatient to get rid of the +eruption; and in this exigency she applied to Mr. Pimlico, the perfumer, +who had often supplied her with cosmetics, and who now recommended a +beautifying lotion. This quickly cleared her complexion; but she soon +felt the effects of her imprudence: she was taken dangerously ill, and +the physician who was consulted attributed her disease entirely to +the preparation she had applied to her face. Whilst she was ill, an +execution was brought against Mr. Ludgate's goods. Threatened with a +jail, and incapable of taking any vigorous measures to avoid distress, +he went to consult his friend, Tom Lewis. How this Mr. Lewis lived was +matter of astonishment to all his acquaintance: he had neither estate, +business, or any obvious means of supporting the expense in which he +indulged. + +"What a happy dog you are, Lewis!" said our hero: "how is it that you +live better than I do?" + +"You might live as well as I, if you were inclined," said Lewis. + +Our hero was all curiosity; and Lewis exacted from him an oath of +secrecy. A long pause ensued. + +"Have you the courage," said Lewis, "to extricate yourself from all your +difficulties at once?" + +"To be sure I have; since I must either go to jail this night, or raise +two hundred guineas for these cursed fellows!" + +"You shall have it in half an hour," said Lewis, "if you will follow my +advice." + +"Tell me at once what I am to do, and I will do it," cried Leonard. "I +will do any thing to save myself from disgrace, and from a jail." + +Lewis, who now perceived his friend was worked up to the pitch he +wanted, revealed the whole mystery. He was connected with a set of +gentlemen, ingenious in the arts of forgery, from whom he purchased +counterfeit bank-notes at a very cheap rate. The difficulty and risk +of passing them was extreme; therefore the confederates were anxious to +throw this part of the business off their hands. Struck with horror at +the idea of becoming an accomplice in such a scheme of villany, Leonard +stood pale and silent, incapable of even thinking distinctly. Lewis +was sorry that he had opened his mind so fully. "Remember your oath of +secrecy!" said he. + +"I do," replied Ludgate. + +"And remember that you must become one of us before night, or go to +jail." + +Ludgate said he would take an hour to consider of the business, and here +they parted; Lewis promising to call at his house before evening, to +learn his final decision. + +"And am I come to this?" thought the wretched man. "Would to Heaven I +had followed my poor father's maxim! but it is now too late." + +Mr. Ludgate, when he arrived at home, shut himself up in his own room, +and continued walking backwards and forwards, for nearly an hour, in a +state of mind more dreadful than can be described. Whilst he was in this +situation, some one knocked at the door. He thought it was Lewis, and +trembled from head to foot. It was only a servant with a parcel of +bills, which several tradesmen, hearing that an execution was in the +house, had hastened to present for payment. Among them were those of Mr. +Beech, the upholsterer, and Mrs. Ludgate's milliner and mantua-maker, +which having been let to run on for above two years and a half, now +amounted to a sum that astonished and shocked Mr. Ludgate. He could not +remonstrate with his wife, or even vent his anger in reproaches, for she +was lying senseless in her bed. + +Before he had recovered from this shock, and whilst the tradesmen who +brought the bills were still waiting for their money, Lewis and one of +his companions arrived. He came to the point immediately. He produced +bank-notes sufficient to discharge all his debts, and proposed to lend +him this money on condition that he would enter into the confederacy as +he had proposed. "All that we ask of you is to pass a certain number of +notes for us every week. You will find this to your advantage; for we +will allow you a considerable percentage, besides freeing you from your +present embarrassments." + +The sight of the bank-notes, the pressure of immediate distress, and the +hopes of being able to support the style of life in which he had of late +appeared, all conspired to tempt Ludgate. When he had, early in life, +vaunted to his young companions that he despised his father's old maxim, +while he repeated his own, they applauded his spirit. They were not +present, at this instant, to pity the wretched state into which that +spirit had betrayed him. But our hero has yet much greater misery to +endure. It is true his debts were now paid, and he was able to support +an external appearance of affluence; but not one day, not one night, +could he pass without suffering the horrors of a guilty conscience, and +all the terrors which haunt the man who sees himself in hourly danger of +detection. He determined to keep his secret cautiously from his wife: he +was glad that she was confined to her bed at this time, lest her +prying curiosity should discover what was going forward. The species of +affection which he had once felt for her had not survived the first +six months of their marriage; and their late disputes had rendered this +husband and wife absolutely odious to each other. Each believed, and +indeed pretty plainly asserted, that they could live more handsomely +asunder: but, alas! they were united for better and for worse. + +Mrs. Ludgate's illness terminated in another eruption on her face. She +was extremely mortified by the loss of her beauty, especially as Mrs. +Pimlico frequently contrasted her face with that of Mrs. Paget, who +was now acknowledged to be the handsomest woman of Mrs. Pimlico's +acquaintance. She endeavoured to make herself of consequence by fresh +expense. Mr. Ludgate, to account for the sudden payment of his debts, +and the affluence in which he now appeared to live, spread a report of +his having had a considerable legacy left to him by a relation, who +had died in a distant part of England. The truth of the report was not +questioned; and for some time Mr. and Mrs. Ludgate were the envy of +their acquaintance. How little the world, as it is called, can judge, by +external appearances, of the happiness of those who excite admiration or +envy! + +"What lucky people the Ludgates are!" cried Mrs. Pimlico. The +exclamation was echoed by a crowded card party, assembled at her house. +"But then," continued Mrs. Pimlico, "it is a pity poor Belle is so +disfigured by that scurvy, or whatever it is, in her face. I remember +the time when she was as pretty a woman as you could see: nay, would you +believe it, she had once as fine a complexion as young Mrs. Paget!" + +These observations circulated quickly, and did not escape Mrs. Ludgate's +ear. Her vanity was deeply wounded; and her health appeared to her but a +secondary consideration, in comparison with the chance of recovering her +lost complexion. Mr. Pimlico, who was an eloquent perfumer, persuaded +her that her former illness had nothing to do with the beautifying +lotion she had purchased at his shop; and to support his assertions, +he quoted examples of innumerable ladies, of high rank and fashion, who +were in the constant habit of using this admirable preparation. The vain +and foolish woman, notwithstanding the warnings which she had received +from the physician who attended her during her illness, listened to the +oratory of the perfumer, and bought half a dozen bottles of another kind +of beautifying lotion. The eruption vanished from her face, after +she had used the cosmetic; and, as she did not feel any immediate bad +effects upon her health, she persisted in the practice for some +months. The consequence was at last dreadful. She was found one +morning speechless in her bed, with one side of her face distorted +and motionless. During the night, she had been seized with a paralytic +stroke: in a few days she recovered her speech; but her face continued +totally disfigured. + +This was the severest punishment that could have been inflicted on a +woman of her character. She was now ashamed to show herself abroad, and +incapable of being contented at home. She had not the friendship of a +husband, or the affection of children, to afford her consolation +and support. Her eldest child was a boy of about five years old, her +youngest four. They were as fretful and troublesome as children usually +are, whose education has been totally neglected; and the quarrels +between them and Jack the footboy were endless, for Jack was alternately +their tutor and their playfellow. + +Beside the disorder created in this family by mischievous children, +the servants were daily plagues. Nothing was ever done by them well or +regularly; and though the master and mistress scolded without mercy, and +perpetually threatened to turn Jack or Sukey away, yet no reformation +in their manners was produced; for Jack and Sukey's wages were not paid, +and they felt that they had the power in their own hands; so that they +were rather the tyrants than the servants of the house. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Mrs. Ludgate's temper, which never was sweet, was soured to such a +degree, by these accumulated evils, that she was insufferable. Her +husband kept out of the way as much as possible: he dined and supped at +his club, or at the tavern: and, during the evenings and mornings, he +was visible at home but for a few minutes. Yet, though his time was +passed entirely away from his wife, his children, and his home, he was +not happy. His life was a life of perpetual fraud and fear. He was bound +by his engagements with Lewis to pass for the confederates a certain +number of forged notes every day. This was a perilous task! His utmost +exertions and ingenuity were continually necessary to escape detection; +and, after all, he was barely able to wrest from the hard hands of his +_friends_ a sufficient profit upon his labour to maintain himself. How +often did he look back, with regret, to the days when he stood behind +the counter, in his father's shop! Then he had in Allen a real friend; +but now he had in Lewis only a profligate and unfeeling associate. +Lewis cared for no one but himself; and he was as avaricious as he was +extravagant; "greedy of what belonged to others, prodigal of his own." + +One night, Leonard went to the house where the confederates met, to +settle with them for the last parcel of notes that he had passed. Lewis +insisted upon being paid for his services before Ludgate should touch a +farthing. Words ran high between them: Lewis, having the most influence +with his associates, carried his point; and Leonard, who was in want of +ready money, could supply himself only by engaging to pass double the +usual quantity of forged notes during the ensuing month. Upon this +condition, he obtained the supply for which he solicited. Upon his +return home, he locked up the forged notes as usual in his escritoir. It +happened the very next morning that Mrs. la Mode, the milliner, called +upon Mrs. Ludgate. The ruling passion still prevailed, notwithstanding +the miserable state to which this lady was reduced. Even palsy could not +deaden her personal vanity: her love of dress survived the total loss +of her beauty; she became accustomed to the sight of her distorted +features, and was still anxious to wear what was most genteel and +becoming. Mrs. la Mode had not a more constant visitor. + +"How are you, Mrs. Ludgate, this morning?" said she. "But I need not +ask, for you look _surprising_ well. I just called to tell you a bit of +a secret, that I have told to nobody else; but you being such a friend +and a favourite, have a right to know it. You must know, I am going +next week to bring out a new spring hat; and I have made one of my girls +bring it up, to consult with you before any body else, having a great +opinion of your taste and judgment: though it is a thing that must not +be mentioned, because it would ruin me with Mrs. Pimlico, who made me +swear she should have the first sight." + +Flattered by having the first sight of the spring hat, Mrs. Ludgate was +prepossessed in its favour; and, when she tried it on, she thought it +made her look ten years younger. In short, it was impossible not to take +one of the hats, though it cost three guineas, and was not worth ten +shillings. + +"Positively, ma'am, you must _patronize_ my spring hat," said the +milliner. + +Mrs. Ludgate was decided by the word patronize: she took the hat, and +desired that it should be set down in her bill: but Mrs. la Mode was +extremely concerned that she had made a rule, nay a vow, not to take any +thing but ready money for the spring hats; and she could not break her +vow, even for her favourite Mrs. Ludgate. This was at least a prudent +resolution in the milliner, who had lately received notice, from Mr. +Ludgate, not to give his wife any goods upon credit, for that he was +determined to refuse payment of her bills. The wife, who was now in a +weak state of health, was not able as formerly to fight her battles with +her husband upon equal terms. To cunning, the refuge of weakness, +she had recourse; and she considered that, though she could no longer +outscold, she could still outwit her adversary. She could not have the +pleasure and honour of patronizing the spring hat, without ready money +to pay for it; her husband, she knew, had always bank-notes in his +escritoir; and she argued with herself that it was better to act without +his consent than against it. She went and tried, with certain keys of +her own, to open Leonard's desk; and open it came. She seized from a +parcel of bank-notes as many as she wanted, and paid Mrs. la Mode with +three of them for the spring hat. When her husband came home the next +day, he did not observe that he had lost any of the notes; and, as he +went out of the house again without once coming into the parlour where +his wife was sitting, she excused herself to her conscience, for not +telling him of the freedom she had taken, by thinking--It will do as +well to tell him of it to-morrow: a few notes, out of such a parcel +as he has in his desk locked up from me, can't signify; and he'll only +bluster and bully when I do tell him of it; so let him find it out when +he pleases. + +The scheme of acting without her husband's consent in all cases, where +she was morally certain that if she asked she could not obtain it, Mrs. +Ludgate had often pursued with much success. A few days after she had +bought the spring hat, she invited Mrs. Pimlico, Mrs. Paget, and all her +genteel friends, to tea and cards. Her husband, she knew, would be out +of the way, at his club, or at the tavern. Mrs. Pimlico, and Mrs. Paget, +and all their genteel friends, did Mrs. Ludgate the honour to wait upon +her on the appointed evening, and she had the satisfaction to appear +upon this occasion in the new spring hat; while her friend, Mrs. +Pimlico, whispered to young Mrs. Paget, "She patronize the new spring +hat! What a fool Mrs. la Mode makes of her! A death's head in a wreath +of roses! How frightfully ridiculous!" + +Unconscious that she was an object of ridicule to the whole company, +Mrs. Ludgate sat down to cards in unusually good spirits, firmly +believing Mrs. la Mode's comfortable assertion, "that the spring hat +made her look ten years younger." She was in the midst of a panegyric +upon Mrs. la Mode's taste, when Jack, the footboy, came behind her +chair, and whispered that three men were below, who desired to speak to +her immediately. + +"Men! gentlemen, do you mean?" said Mrs. Ludgate. + +"No, ma'am, not gentlemen." "Then send them away about their business, +dunce," said the lady. "Some tradesfolk, I suppose; tell them I'm +engaged with company." + +"But, ma'am, they will not leave the house without seeing you, or Mr. +Ludgate." + +"Let them wait, then, till Mr. Ludgate comes in. I have nothing to say +to them. What's their business, pray?" + +"It is something about a note, ma'am, that you gave to Mrs. la Mode, the +other day." + +"What about it?" said Mrs. Ludgate, putting down her cards. + +"They say it is a bad note." + +"Well, I'll change it; bid them send it up." + +"They won't part with it, ma'am: they would not let it out of their +hands, even to let me look at it for an instant." + +"What a riot about a pound note," said Mrs. Ludgate, rising from the +card-table: "I'll speak to the fellows myself." + +She had recourse again to her husband's desk; and, armed with a whole +handful of fresh bank-notes, she went to the strangers. They told her +that they did not want, and would not receive, any note in exchange +for that which they produced; but that, as it was a forgery, they must +insist upon knowing from whom she had it. There was an air of mystery +and authority about the strangers which alarmed Mrs. Ludgate; and, +without attempting any evasion, she said that she took the note from her +husband's desk, and that she could not tell from whom he received it. +The strangers declared that they must wait till Mr. Ludgate should +return home. She offered to give them a guinea to drink, if they would +go away quietly; but this they refused. Jack, the footboy, whispered +that they had pistols, and that he believed they were Bow-street +officers. + +They went into the back parlour to wait for Mr. Ludgate; and the lady, +in extreme perturbation, returned to her company and her cards. In vain +she attempted to resume her conversation about the spring hat, and +to conceal the agitation of her spirits. It was observed by all her +_friends_, and especially by Mrs. Pimlico, whose curiosity was strongly +excited, to know the cause of her alarm. Mrs. Ludgate looked frequently +at her watch, and even yawned without ceremony, more than once, to +manifest her desire that the company should depart; but no hints +availed. The card players resolutely kept their seats, and even the +smell of extinguishing candles had no effect upon their callous senses. + +The time appeared insupportably long to the wretched mistress of +the house; and the contrast between her fantastic headdress and her +agonizing countenance every minute became more striking. + +Twelve o'clock struck. "It is growing very late," said Mrs. Ludgate. + +"But we must have another rubber," said Mrs. Pimlico. + +She began to deal; a knock was heard at the door. "There's Mr. Ludgate, +I do suppose," said Mrs. Pimlico, continuing her deal. Mrs. Ludgate left +her cards, and went out of the room without speaking. She stopped at the +head of the staircase, for she heard a scuffle and loud voices below. +Presently all was silent, and she ventured down when she heard the +parlour door shut. The footman met her in the passage. + +"What is the matter?" said she. + +"I don't know; but I must be paid my wages," said he, "or must pay +myself." + +He passed on rudely. She half opened the parlour door, and looked in: +her husband was lying back on the sofa, seemingly stupefied by despair: +one of the Bow-street officers was chafing his temples, another was +rummaging his desk, and the third was closely examining certain notes, +which he had just taken from the prisoner's pockets. + +"What is the matter?" cried Mrs. Ludgate, advancing. Her husband lifted +up his eyes, saw her, started up, and, stamping furiously, exclaimed, +"Cursed, cursed woman! you have brought me to the gallows, and all for +this trumpery!" cried he, snatching her gaudy hat from her head, and +trampling it under his feet. "For this--for this! you vain, you ugly +creature, you have brought your husband to the gallows!" + +One of the Bow-street officers caught hold of his uplifted arm, which +trembled with rage. His wife sank to the ground; a second paralytic +stroke deprived her of the power of speech. As they were carrying her +up stairs, Mrs. Pimlico and the rest of the company came out of the +dining-room, some of them with cards in their hands, all eagerly asking +what was the matter? When they learnt that the Bow-street officers were +in the house, and that Mr. Ludgate was taken into custody for uttering +forged bank-notes, there was a general uproar. Some declared it was +shocking! others protested it was no more than might have been expected! +The Ludgates lived so much above their circumstances! Then he was such a +coxcomb; and she such a poor vain creature! Better for people to do like +their neighbours--to make no show, and live honestly! + +In the midst of these effusions of long suppressed envy, some few of +the company attempted a slight word or two of apology for their host and +hostess; and the most humane went up to the wretched woman's bedchamber, +to offer assistance and advice. But the greater number were occupied +in tucking up their white gowns, finding their clogs, or calling for +hackney coaches. In less than a quarter of an hour the house was clear +of all Mrs. Ludgate's _friends_. And it is to please such friends that +whole families ruin themselves by unsuitable expense. + +Lucy and Allen were not, however, of this class of friends. A confused +report of what had passed the preceding night was spread the next +morning in Cranbourne-alley, by a young lady, who had been at Mrs. +Ludgate's rout. The moment the news reached Allen's shop, he and Lucy +set out immediately to offer their assistance to the unfortunate family. +When they got to Weymouth-street, they gave only a single knock at the +door, that they might not create any alarm. They were kept waiting +a considerable time, and at last the door was opened by a slip-shod +cook-maid, who seemed to be just up, though it was near eleven o'clock. +She showed them into the parlour, which was quite dark; and, whilst +she was opening the shutters, told them that the house had been up all +night, what with the Bow-street officers and her mistress's fits. Her +master, she added, was carried off to prison, she believed. Lucy asked +who was with Mrs. Ludgate, and whether she could go up to her room? + +"There's nobody with her, ma'am, but nurse, that called by chance, early +this morning, to see the children, and had the good-nature to stay to +help, and has been sitting in mistress's room, whilst I went to my bed. +I'll step up and see if you can go in, ma'am." + +They waited for some time in the parlour, where every thing looked +desolate and in disorder. The ashes covered the hearth; the poker lay +upon the table, near Mr. Ludgate's desk, the lock of which had been +broken open; a brass flat candlestick, covered with tallow, was upon the +window-seat, and beside it a broken cruet of vinegar; a cravat, and red +silk handkerchief, which had been taken from Mr. Ludgate's neck when he +swooned, lay under the table. Lucy and her husband looked at one another +for some moments without speaking. At last Allen said, "We had better +lock up this press, where there are silver spoons and china, for there +is nobody now left to take care of any thing, and the creditors will be +here soon to seize all they can." Lucy said that she would go up +into the dining-room, and take an inventory of the furniture. In the +dining-room she found Jack the footboy collecting shillings from beneath +the candlesticks on the card-tables: the two little children were +sitting on the floor, the girl playing with a pack of cards, the boy +drinking the dregs of a decanter of white wine.--"Poor children! Poor +creatures!" said Lucy; "is there nobody to take care of you?" + +"No; nobody but Jack," said the boy, "and he's going away. Papa's gone I +don't know where; and mama's not up yet, so we have had no breakfast." + +The cook-maid came in to say that Mrs. Ludgate was awake, and sensible +now, and would be glad to see Mrs. Allen, if she'd be so good as to walk +up. Lucy told the children, who clung to her, that she would take +them home with her, and give them some breakfast, and then hastened up +stairs. She found her wretched friend humbled indeed to the lowest +state of imbecile despair. Her speech had returned; but she spoke with +difficulty, and scarcely so as to be intelligible. The good-natured +nurse supported her in the bed, saying repeatedly, "Keep a good heart, +madam; keep a good heart! Don't let your spirits sink so as this, and +all may be well yet." + +"O Lucy! Lucy! What will become of me now? What a change is here! And +nobody to help or advise me! Nobody upon earth! I am forsaken by all the +world!" + +"Not forsaken by me," said Lucy, in a soothing voice. + +"What noise is that below?" cried Mrs. Ludgate. + +Lucy went downstairs to inquire, and found that, as Allen had foretold, +the creditors were come to seize all they could find. Allen undertook to +remain with them, and to bring them to some settlement, whilst Lucy had +her unfortunate friend and the two children removed immediately to her +own house. + +As to Mr. Ludgate, there was no hope for him; the proofs of his guilt +were manifest and incontrovertible. The forged note, which his wife had +taken from his desk and given to the milliner, was one which had not +gone through certain mysterious preparations. It was a bungling forgery. +The plate would doubtless have been retouched, had not this bill +been prematurely circulated by Mrs. Ludgate: thus her vanity led to +a discovery of her husband's guilt. All the associates in Lewis's +iniquitous confederacy suffered the just punishment of their crimes. +Many applications were made to obtain a pardon for Leonard Ludgate: +but the executive power preserved that firmness which has not, upon any +similar occasion, ever been relaxed. + +Lucy and Allen, those real friends, who would not encourage Mrs. Ludgate +in extravagance, now, in the hour of adversity and repentance, treated +her with the utmost tenderness and generosity. They were economical, and +therefore could afford to be generous. All the wants of this destitute +widow were supplied from the profits of their industry: they nursed her +with daily humanity, bore with the peevishness of disease, and did all +in their power to soothe the anguish of unavailing remorse. + +Nothing could be saved from the wreck of Mr. Ludgate's fortune for the +widow; but Allen, in looking over old Ludgate's books, had found and +recovered some old debts, which Leonard, after his father's death, +thought not worth looking after. The sum amounted to about three hundred +and twenty pounds. As the whole concern had been made over to him, +he could lawfully have appropriated this money to his own use, but he +reserved it for his friend's children. He put it out to interest; and in +the mean time he and Lucy not only clothed and fed, but educated these +orphans, with their own children, in habits of economy and industry. +The orphans repaid, by their affection and gratitude, the care that was +bestowed upon them; and, when they grew up, they retrieved the credit +of their family, by living according to their grandfather's useful +maxim--"Out of debt out of danger." + +_Nov. 1801._ + + + + +THE LOTTERY + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Near Derby, on the way towards Darley-grove, there is a cottage which +formerly belonged to one Maurice Robinson. The jessamine which now +covers the porch was planted by Ellen, his wife: she was an industrious, +prudent, young woman; liked by all her neighbours, because she was ready +to assist and serve them, and the delight of her husband's heart; for +she was sweet-tempered, affectionate, constantly clean and neat, and +made his house so cheerful that he was always in haste to come home to +her, after his day's work. He was one of the manufacturers employed in +the cotton works at Derby; and he was remarkable for his good conduct +and regular attendance at his work. + +Things went on very well in every respect, till a relation of his, Mrs. +Dolly Robinson, came to live with him. Mrs. Dolly had been laundry-maid +in a great family, where she learned to love gossiping, and +tea-drinkings, and where she acquired some taste for shawls and +cherry-brandy. She thought that she did her young relations a great +favour by coming to take up her abode with them, because, as she +observed, they were young and inexperienced; and she, knowing a great +deal of the world, was able and willing to advise them; and besides, she +had had a legacy of some hundred pounds left to her, and she had saved +some little matters while in service, which might make it worth her +relations' while to take her advice with proper respect, and to make her +comfortable for the rest of her days. + +Ellen treated her with all due deference, and endeavoured to make her as +comfortable as possible; but Mrs. Dolly could not be comfortable unless, +besides drinking a large spoonful of brandy in every dish of tea, she +could make each person in the house do just what she pleased. She began +by being dissatisfied because she could not persuade Ellen that brandy +was wholesome, in tea, for the nerves; next she was affronted because +Ellen did not admire her shawl; and, above all, she was grievously +offended because Ellen endeavoured to prevent her from spoiling little +George. + +George was, at this time, between five and six years old; and his mother +took a great deal of pains to bring him up well: she endeavoured to +teach him to be honest, to speak the truth, to do whatever she and his +father bid him, and to dislike being idle. + +Mrs. Dolly, on the contrary, coaxed and flattered him, without caring +whether he was obedient or disobedient, honest or dishonest. She was +continually telling him that he was the finest little fellow in the +world; and that she would do great things for him, some time or another. + +What these great things were to be the boy seemed neither to know nor +care; and, except at the moments when she was stuffing gingerbread into +his mouth, he seemed never to desire to be near her: he preferred being +with William Deane, his father's friend, who was a very ingenious man, +and whom he liked to see at work. + +William gave him a slate, and a slate pencil; and taught him how to make +figures, and to cast up sums; and made a little wheel-barrow for him, +of which George was very fond, so that George called him in play "_King +Deane_." All these things tended to make Mrs. Dolly dislike William +Deane, whom she considered as her rival in power. + +One day, it was George's birthday, Mrs. Dolly invited a party, as she +called it, to drink tea with her; and, at tea-time, she was entertaining +the neighbours with stories of what she had seen in the great world. +Amongst others, she had a favourite story of a butler, in the family +where she had lived, who bought a ticket in the lottery when he was +drunk, which ticket came up a ten thousand pound prize when he was +sober; and the butler turned gentleman, and kept his coach directly. + +One evening, Maurice Robinson and William came home, after their +day's work, just in time to hear the end of this story; and Mrs. Dolly +concluded it by turning to Maurice, and assuring him that he must put +into the lottery and try his luck: for why should not he be as lucky as +another? "Here," said she, "a man is working and drudging all the days +of his life to get a decent coat to put on, and a bit of bread to put +into his child's mouth; and, after all, may be he can't do it; though +all the while, for five guineas, or a guinea, or half-a-guinea even, if +he has but the spirit to lay out his money properly, he has the chance +of making a fortune without any trouble. Surely a man should try his +luck, if not for his own, at least for his children's sake," continued +Mrs. Dolly, drawing little George towards her, and hugging him in her +arms. "Who knows what might turn up! Make your papa buy a ticket in the +lottery, love; there's my darling; and I'll be bound he'll have good +luck. Tell him, I'll be bound we shall have a ten thousand pound prize +at least; and all for a few guineas. I'm sure I think none but a miser +would grudge the money, if he had it to give." + +As Mrs. Dolly finished her speech, she looked at William Deane, whose +countenance did not seem to please her. Maurice was whistling, and Ellen +knitting as fast as possible. Little George was counting William Deane's +buttons. "Pray, Mr. Deane," cried Mrs. Dolly, turning full upon him, +"what may your advice and opinion be? since nothing's to be done here +without your leave and word of command, forsooth. Now, as you know so +much and have seen so much of the world, would you be pleased to tell +this good company, and myself into the bargain, what harm it can do +anybody, but a miser, to lay out a small sum to get a good chance of a +round thousand, or five thousand, or ten thousand, or twenty thousand +pounds, without more ado?" + +As she pronounced the words five thousand, ten thousand, twenty thousand +pounds, in a triumphant voice, all the company, except Ellen and +William, seemed to feel the force of her oratory. + +William coolly answered that he was no miser, but that he thought money +might be better laid out than in the lottery; for that there was more +chance of a man's getting nothing for his money than of his getting a +prize; that when a man worked for fair wages every day, he was sure of +getting something for his pains, and with honest industry, and saving, +might get rich enough in time, and have to thank himself for it, which +would be a pleasant thing: but that if a man, as he had known many, +set his heart upon the turning of the lottery wheel, he would leave off +putting his hand to any thing the whole year round, and so grow idle, +and may be, drunken; "and then," said William, "at the year's end, if +he have a blank, what is he to do for his rent, or for his wife and +children, that have nothing to depend upon but him and his industry?" + +Here Maurice sighed, and so did Ellen, whilst William went on and told +many a true story of honest servants, and tradesmen, whom he had known, +who had ruined themselves by gaming and lotteries. + +"But," said Maurice, who now broke silence, "putting into the lottery, +William, is not gaming, like dice or cards, or such things. Putting into +the lottery is not gaming, as I take it." + +"As I take it, though," replied William, "it is gaming. For what is +gaming but trusting one's money, or somewhat, to luck and hap-hazard? +And is there not as much hap-hazard in the turning of the wheel as in +the coming up of the dice, or the dealing of the cards?" + +"True enough; but somebody must get a prize," argued Maurice. + +"And somebody must win at dice or cards," said William, "but a many more +must lose; and a many more, I take it, must lose by the lottery than by +any other game; else how would they that keep the lottery gain by it, as +they do? Put a case. If you and I, Maurice, were this minute to play +at dice, we stake our money down on the table here, and one or t'other +takes all up. But, in the lottery, it is another affair; for the whole +of what is put in does never come out." + +This statement of the case made some impression upon Maurice, who was no +fool; but Mrs. Dolly's desire that he should buy a lottery ticket, was +not to be conquered by reason: it grew stronger and stronger the more +she was opposed. She was silent and cross during the remainder of the +evening; and the next morning, at breakfast, she was so low that even +her accustomed dose of brandy, in her tea, had no effect. + +Now Maurice, besides his confused hopes that Mrs. Dolly would leave +something handsome to him or his family, thought himself obliged to her +for having given a helping hand to his father, when he was in distress; +and therefore he wished to bear with her humours, and to make her happy +in his house. He knew that the lottery ticket was uppermost in her mind, +and the moment he touched upon that subject she brightened up. She told +him she had had a dream; and she had great faith in dreams: and she had +dreamed, three times over, that he had bought number 339 in the lottery, +and that it had come up a ten thousand pound prize! + +"Well, Ellen," said Maurice, "I've half a mind to try my luck; and it +can do us no harm, for I'll only put off buying the cow this year." + +"Nay," said Mrs. Dolly, "why so? may be you don't know what I know, that +Ellen's as rich as a Jew? She has a cunning little cupboard, in the wall +yonder, that I see her putting money into every day of her life, and +none goes out." + +Ellen immediately went and drew back a small sliding oak door in the +wainscot, and took out a glove, in which some money was wrapped; she put +it altogether in her husband's hand, saying, with a good-humoured smile, +"There is my year's spinning, Maurice: I only thought to have made more +of it before I gave it you. Do what you please with it." + +Maurice was so much moved by his wife's kindness, that he at the moment +determined to give up his lottery scheme, of which, he knew, she did +not approve. But, though a good-natured, well-meaning man, he was of an +irresolute character; and even when he saw what was best to be done, +had not courage to persist. As he was coming home from work, a few days +after Ellen had given him the money, he saw, in one of the streets +of Derby, a house with large windows finely illuminated, and read the +words: + +"Lottery-office of Fortunatus, Gould, and Co." At this office was sold +the fortunate ticket, which came up on Monday last a twenty thousand +pound prize. Ready money paid for prizes immediately on demand. The + + 15,000_l_. + 10,000_l_. + 5,000_l_. + +still in the wheel. None but the brave deserve a prize." + +Whilst Maurice was gazing at this and other similar advertisements, +which were exhibited in various bright colours in this tempting window, +his desire to try his fortune in the lottery returned; and he was just +going into the office to purchase a ticket, when luckily he found that +he had not his leathern purse in his pocket. He walked on, and presently +brushed by some one; it was William Deane, who was looking very eagerly +over some old books, at a bookseller's stall. "I wish I had but money to +treat myself with some of these," said William: "but I cannot; they cost +such a deal of money, having all these prints in them." + +"We can lend you,--no, we can't neither," cried Maurice, stopping +himself short; for he recollected that he could not both lend his friend +money to buy the books and buy a lottery ticket. He was in great doubt +which he should do; and walked on with William, in silence. "So, then," +cried he at last, "you would not advise me to put into the lottery?" + +"Nay," said William laughing, "it is not for me to advise you about it, +now; for I know you are considering whether you had best put it into the +lottery or lend me the money to buy these books. Now, I hope you don't +think I was looking to my own interest in what I said the other day; for +I can assure you, I had no thoughts of meeting with these books at that +time, and did not know that you had any money to spare." + +"Say no more about it," replied Maurice. "Don't I know you are an honest +fellow, and would lend me the money if I wanted it? You shall have it +as soon as ever we get home. Only mind and stand by me stoutly, if Mrs. +Dolly begins any more about the lottery." + +Mrs. Dolly did not fail to renew her attacks; and she was both provoked +and astonished when she found that the contents of the leathern purse +were put into the hands of William Deane. + +"Books, indeed! To buy books forsooth! What business had such a one as +he with books?" She had seen a deal of life, she said, and never saw +no good come of bookish bodies; and she was sorry to see that her own +darling, George, was taking to the bookish line, and that his mother +encouraged him in it. She would lay her best shawl, she said, to a gauze +handkerchief, that William Deane would, sooner or later, beggar himself, +and all that belonged to him, by his books and his gimcracks; "and if +George were my son," continued she, raising her voice, "I'd soon cure +him of prying and poring into that man's picture-books, and following +him up and down with wheels and mechanic machines, which will never +come to no good, nor never make a gentleman of him, as a ticket in the +lottery might and would." + +All mouths were open at once to defend William. Maurice declared he was +the most industrious man in the parish; that his books never kept him +from his work, but always kept him from the alehouse and bad company; +and that, as to his gimcracks and machines, he never laid out a farthing +upon them but what he got by working on holidays, and odd times, when +other folks were idling or tippling. His master, who understood the like +of those things, said, before all the workmen at the mills, that William +Deane's machines were main clever, and might come to bring in a deal of +money for him and his. + +"Why," continued Maurice, "there was Mr. Arkwright, the man that first +set a going all our cotton frames here, was no better than William +Deane, and yet came at last to make a power of money. It stands to +reason, any how, that William Deane is hurting nobody, nor himself +neither; and, moreover, he may divert himself his own way, without being +taken to task by man, woman, or child. As to children, he's very good to +my child; there's one loves him," pointing to George, "and I'm glad of +it: for I should be ashamed, so I should, that my flesh and blood should +be in any ways disregardful or ungracious to those that be kind and good +to them." + +Mrs. Dolly, swelling with anger, repeated in a scornful voice, +"Disregardful, ungracious! I wonder folks can talk so to me! But this is +all the gratitude one meets with, in this world, for all one does. Well, +well! I'm an old woman, and shall soon be out of people's way; and then +they will be sorry they did not use me better; and then they'll bethink +them that it is not so easy to gain a friend as to lose a friend; and +then--" + +Here Mrs. Dolly's voice was stopped by her sobs; and Maurice, who was +a very good-natured man, and much disposed to gratitude, said he begged +her pardon a thousand times, if he had done any thing to offend her; and +declared his only wish was to please and satisfy her, if she would but +tell him how. She continued sobbing, without making any answer, for some +time: but at last she cried, "My ad--my ad--my ad-vice is never taken in +any thing!" + +Maurice declared he was ready to take her advice, if that was the only +way to make her easy in her mind. "I know what you mean, now," added he: +"you are still harping upon the lottery ticket. Well, I'll buy a ticket +this day week, after I've sold the cow I bought at the fair. Will you +have done sobbing, now, cousin Dolly?" + +"Indeed, cousin Maurice, it is only for your own sake I speak," said +she, wiping her eyes. "You know you was always a favourite of mine from +your childhood up; I nursed you, and had you on my knee, and foretold +often and often you would make a fortune, so I did. And will you buy the +ticket I dreamed about, hey?" + +Maurice assured her that, if it was to be had, he would. The cow was +accordingly sold the following week, and the ticket in the lottery +was bought. It was not, however, the number about which Mrs. Dolly had +dreamed, for that was already purchased by some other person. The ticket +Maurice bought was number 80; and, after he had got it, his cousin +Dolly continually deplored that it was not the very number of which she +dreamed. It would have been better not to have taken her advice at all +than to have taken it when it was too late. + +Maurice was an easy-tempered man, and loved quiet; and when he found +that he was reproached for something or other whenever he came into his +own house, he began to dislike the thought of going home after his day's +work, and loitered at public-houses sometimes, but more frequently at +the lottery-office. As the lottery was now drawing, his whole +thoughts were fixed upon his ticket; and he neglected his work at the +manufactory. "What signify a few shillings wages, more or less?" said he +to himself. "If my ticket should come up a prize, it makes a rich man of +me at once." + +His ticket at last was drawn a prize of five thousand pounds! He was +almost out of his senses with joy! He ran home to tell the news. "A +prize! a prize, Dolly!" cried he, as soon as he had breath to speak. + +"That comes of taking my advice!" said Dolly. + +"A five thousand pound prize! my dear Ellen," cried he, and down he +kicked her spinning-wheel. + +"I wish we may be as happy with it as we have been without it, Maurice," +said Ellen; and calmly lifted her spinning-wheel up again. + +"No more spinning-wheels!" cried Maurice; "no more spinning! no more +work! We have nothing to do now but to be as happy as the day is long. +Wife, I say, put by that wheel." + +"You're a lady now; and ought to look and behave like a lady," added +Mrs. Dolly, stretching up her head, "and not stand moping over an old +spinning-wheel." + +"I don't know how to look and behave like a lady," said Ellen, and +sighed: "but I hopes Maurice won't love me the less for that." + +Mrs. Dolly was for some time wholly taken up with the pleasure of laying +out money, and "preparing," as she said, "to look like somebody." She +had many acquaintances at Paddington, she said, and she knew of a very +snug house there, where they could all live very genteel. + +She was impatient to go thither, for two reasons; that she might make +a figure in the eyes of these acquaintances, and that she might get +Maurice and little George away from William Deane, who was now become +more than ever the object of her aversion and contempt; for he actually +advised his friend not to think of living in idleness, though he had +five thousand pounds. William moreover recommended it to him to put his +money out to interest, or to dispose of a good part of it in stocking a +farm, or in fitting out a shop. Ellen, being a farmer's daughter, knew +well the management of a dairy; and, when a girl, had also assisted in a +haberdasher's shop, that was kept in Derby by her uncle; so she was able +and willing, she said, to assist her husband in whichever of these ways +of life he should take to. + +Maurice, irresolute and desirous of pleasing all parties, at last said, +it would be as well, seeing they were now rich enough not to mind such a +journey, just to go to Paddington and look about 'em; and if so be they +could not settle there in comfort, why still they might see a bit of +London town, and take their pleasure for a month or so; and he hoped +William Deane would come along with them, and it should not be a +farthing out of his pocket. + +Little George said every thing he could think of to persuade his _King +Deane_ to go with them, and almost pulled him to the coach door, when +they were setting off; but William could not leave his master and his +business. The child clung with his legs and arms so fast to him that +they were forced to drag him into the carriage. + +"You'll find plenty of friends at Paddington, who'll give you many +pretty things. Dry your eyes, and see! you're in a coach!" said Mrs. +Dolly. + +George dried his eyes directly, for he was ashamed of crying; but he +answered, "I don't care for your pretty things. I shall not find my +good dear King Deane any where;" and, leaning upon his mother's lap, he +twirled round the wheel of a little cart, which William Deane had given +him, and which he carried under his arm as his greatest treasure. + +Ellen was delighted to see signs of such a grateful and affectionate +disposition in her son, and all her thoughts were bent upon him; whilst +Mrs. Dolly chattered on about her acquaintance at Paddington, and her +satisfaction at finding herself in a coach once again. Her satisfaction +was not, however, of long continuance; for she grew so sick that she was +obliged, or thought herself obliged, every quarter of an hour, to have +recourse to her cordial bottle. Her spirits were at last raised so much, +that she became extremely communicative, and she laid open to Maurice +and Ellen all her plans of future pleasure and expense. + +"In the first place," said she, "I am heartily glad now I have got you +away from that cottage that was not fit to live in; and from certain +folks that shall be nameless, that would have one live all one's +life like scrubs, like themselves. You must know that when we get +to Paddington, the first thing I shall do shall be to buy a handsome +coach." "A coach!" exclaimed Maurice and Ellen, with extreme +astonishment. + +"A coach, to be sure," said Mrs. Dolly. "I say a coach." + +"I say we shall be ruined, then," said Maurice; "and laughed at into the +bargain." + +"La! you don't know what money is," said Mrs. Dolly. "Why haven't you +five thousand pounds, man? You don't know what can be done with five +thousand pounds, cousin Maurice." + +"No, nor you neither, cousin Dolly; or you'd never talk of setting up +your coach." + +"Why not, pray? I know what a coach costs as well as another. I know +we can have a second-hand coach, and we need not tell nobody that it's +second-hand, for about a hundred pounds. And what's a hundred pounds out +of five thousand?" + +"But if we've a coach, we must have horses, must not we?" said Ellen, +"and they'll cost a hundred more." + +"Oh, we can have job horses, that will cost us little or nothing," said +Mrs. Dolly. + +"Say £150. a-year," replied Maurice; "for I heard my master's coachman +telling that the livery-keeper in London declared as how he made nothing +by letting him have job horses for £150. a-year." + +"We are to have our own coach," said Dolly, "and that will be cheaper, +you know." + +"But the coach won't last for ever," said Ellen; "it must be mended, and +that will cost something." + +"It is time enough to think of that when the coach wants mending," said +Mrs. Dolly; who, without giving herself the trouble of calculating, +seemed to be convinced that every thing might be done for five thousand +pounds. "I must let you know a little secret," continued she. "I have +written, that is, got a friend to write, to have the house at Paddington +taken for a year; for I know it's quite the thing for us, and we are +only to give fifty pounds a-year for it: and you know that one thousand +pounds would pay that rent for twenty years to come." + +"But then," said Ellen, "you will want to do a great many other things +with that thousand pounds. There's the coach you mentioned; and you said +we must keep a footboy, and must see a deal of company, and must not +grudge to buy clothes, and that we could not follow any trade, nor have +a farm, nor do any thing to make money; so we must live on upon what we +have. Now let us count, and see how we shall do it. You know, Maurice, +that William Deane inquired about what we could get for our five +thousand pounds, if we put it out to interest?" + +"Ay; two hundred a-year, he said." + +"Well, we pay fifty pounds a-year for the rent of the house, and a +hundred a-year we three and the boy must have to live upon, and there is +but fifty pounds a-year left." + +Mrs. Dolly, with some reluctance, gave up the notion of the coach; and +Ellen proposed that five hundred pounds should be laid out in furnishing +a haberdasher's shop, and that the rest of their money should be put +out to interest, till it was wanted. "Maurice and I can take care of the +shop very well; and we can live well enough upon what we make by it," +said Ellen. + +Mrs. Dolly opposed the idea of keeping a shop; and observed that they +should not, in that case, be gentlefolks. Besides, she said, she was +sure the people of the house she had taken would never let it be turned +into a shop. + +What Mrs. Dolly had said was indeed true. When they got to Paddington, +they found that the house was by no means fit for a shop; and as the +bargain was made for a year, and they could not get it off their hands +without considerable loss, Ellen was forced to put off her prudent +scheme. In the mean time she determined to learn how to keep accounts +properly. + +There was a small garden belonging to the house, in which George set +to work; and though he could do little more than pull up the weeds, +yet this kept him out of mischief and idleness; and she sent him to a +day-school, where he would learn to read, write, and cast accounts. When +he came home in the evenings, he used to show her his copy-book, and +read his lesson, and say his spelling to her, while she was at work. His +master said it was a pleasure to teach him, he was so eager to learn; +and Ellen was glad that she had money enough to pay for having her +boy well taught. Mrs. Dolly, all this time, was sitting and gossiping +amongst her acquaintance in Paddington. These acquaintance were people +whom she had seen when they visited the housekeeper in the great family +where she was laundry-maid; and she was very proud to show them that she +was now a finer person than even the housekeeper, who was formerly the +object of her envy. She had tea-drinking parties, and sometimes dinner +parties, two or three in a week; and hired a footboy, and laughed at +Ellen for her low notions, and dissuaded Maurice from all industrious +schemes; still saying to him, "Oh, you'll have time enough to think of +going to work when you have spent all your money." + +Maurice, who had been accustomed to be at work for several hours in the +day, at first thought it would be a fine thing to walk about, as Mrs. +Dolly said, like a gentleman, without having any thing to do; but when +he came to try it, he found himself more tired by this way of life than +he had ever felt himself in the cotton-mills at Derby. He gaped and +gaped, and lounged about every morning, and looked a hundred times at +his new watch, and put it to his ear to listen whether it was going, the +time seemed to him to pass so slowly. Sometimes he sauntered through +the town, came back again, and stood at his own door looking at dogs +fighting for a bone; at others, he went into the kitchen, to learn what +there was to be for dinner, and to watch the maid cooking, or the boy +cleaning knives. It was a great relief for him to go into the room where +his wife was at work: but he never would have been able to get through a +year in this way without the assistance of a pretty little black horse, +for which he paid thirty guineas. During a month he was very happy in +riding backwards and forwards on the Edgeware-road: but presently +the horse fell lame; it was discovered that he was spavined and +broken-winded; and the jockey from whom Maurice bought him was no where +to be found. Maurice sold the horse for five guineas, and bought a fine +bay for forty, which he was certain would turn out well, seeing he paid +such a good price for him; but the bay scarcely proved better than the +black. How he managed it we do not know, but it seems he was not so +skilful in horses as in cotton-weaving; for at the end of the year he +had no horse, and had lost fifty guineas by his bargains. + +Another hundred guineas were gone, nobody in the family but himself knew +how: but he resolved to waste no more money and began the new year well, +by opening a haberdasher's shop in Paddington. The fitting up this shop +cost them five hundred pounds; it was tolerably stocked, and Ellen was +so active, and so attentive to all customers, that she brought numbers +to Maurice Robinson's new shop. They made full twelve per cent, upon all +they sold; and, in six months, had turned three hundred pounds twice, +and had gained the profit of seventy-two pounds. Maurice, however, had +got such a habit of lounging, during his year of idleness, that he could +not relish steady attendance in the shop: he was often out, frequently +came home late at night, and Ellen observed that he sometimes looked +extremely melancholy; but when she asked him whether he was ill, or what +ailed him, he always turned away, answering, "Nothing--nothing ails me. +Why do ye fancy any thing ails me?" + +Alas! it was no fancy. Ellen saw too plainly, that something was going +wrong: but as her husband persisted in silence, she could not tell how +to assist or comfort him. + +Mrs. Dolly in the mean time was going on spending her money in +junketing. She was, besides, no longer satisfied with taking +her spoonful of brandy in every dish of tea; she found herself +uncomfortable, she said, unless she took every morning fasting a +full glass of the good cordial recommended to her by her friend, +Mrs. Joddrell, the apothecary's wife. Now this good cordial, in plain +English, was a strong dram. Ellen, in the gentlest manner she could, +represented to Mrs. Dolly that she was hurting her health, and was +exposing herself, by this increasing habit of drinking; but she replied +with anger, that what she _took_ was for the good of her health; that +everybody knew best what agreed with them; that she should trust to her +own feelings; and that nobody need talk, when all she took came out of +the apothecary's shop, and was paid for honestly with her own money. + +Besides what came out of the apothecary's shop, Mrs. Dolly found it +agreed with her constantly to drink a pot of porter at dinner, and +another at supper; and always when she had a cold, and she had often a +cold, she drank large basins full of white wine whey, "to throw off her +cold," as she said. + +Then by degrees, she lost her appetite, and found she could eat nothing, +unless she had a glass of brandy at dinner. Small beer, she discovered, +did not agree with her; so at luncheon time she always had a tumbler +full of brandy and water. This she carefully mixed herself, and put less +and less water in every day, because brandy, she was convinced, was more +wholesome for some constitutions than water; and brandy and peppermint, +taken together, was an infallible remedy for all complaints, low spirits +included. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Mrs. Dolly never found herself comfortable, moreover, unless she +dined abroad two or three days in the week, at a public-house, near +Paddington, where she said she was more at home than she was any where +else. There was a bowling-green at this public-house, and it was a place +to which tea-drinking parties resorted. Now Mrs. Dolly often wanted to +take little George out with her to these parties, and said, "It is a +pity and shame to keep the poor thing always mewed up at home, without +ever letting him have any pleasure! Would not you like to go with me, +George dear, in the one-horse chaise? and would not you be glad to have +cakes, and tea, and all the good things that are to be had?" + +"I should like to go in the one-horse chaise, to be sure, and to have +cakes and tea; but I should not like to go with you, because mother does +not choose it," answered George, in his usual plain way of speaking. +Ellen, who had often seen Mrs. Dolly offer him wine and punch to +drink, by way of a treat, was afraid he might gradually learn to love +spirituous liquors; and that if he acquired a habit of drinking such +when he was a boy, he would become a drunkard when he should grow to be +a man. George was now almost nine years old; and he could understand +the reason why his mother desired that he would not drink spirituous +liquors. She once pointed out to him a drunken man, who was reeling +along the street, and bawling ridiculous nonsense: he had quite lost his +senses, and as he did not attend to the noise of a carriage coming +fast behind him, he could not get out of the way time enough, and the +coachman could not stop his horses; so the drunken man was thrown down, +and the wheel of the carriage went over his leg, and broke it in a +shocking manner. George saw him carried towards his home, writhing and +groaning with pain. + +"See what comes of drunkenness!" said Ellen. + +She stopped the people, who were carrying the hurt man past her door, +and had him brought in and laid upon a bed, whilst a surgeon was sent +for. George stood beside the bed in silence; and the words "See what +comes of drunkenness!" sounded in his ears. + +Another time, his mother pointed out to him a man with terribly swollen +legs, and a red face blotched all over, lifted out of a fine coach by +two footmen in fine liveries. The man leaned upon a gold-headed cane, +after he was lifted from his carriage, and tried with his other hand to +take off his hat to a lady, who asked him how he did; but his hand shook +so much that, when he had got his hat off, he could not put it rightly +upon his head, and his footman put it on for him. The boys in the street +laughed at him. "Poor man!" said Ellen; "that is Squire L----, who, as +you heard the apothecary say, has drunk harder in his day than any +man that ever he knew; and this is what he has brought himself to by +drinking! All the physic in the apothecary's shop cannot make him well +again! No; nor can his fine coach and fine footmen any more make him +easy or happy, poor man!" + +George exclaimed, "I wonder how people can be such fools as to be +drunkards! I will never be a drunkard, mother; and now I know the reason +why you desired me not to drink the wine, when Mrs. Dolly used to say to +me, 'Down with it, George dear, it will do ye no harm.'" + +These circumstances made such an impression upon George that there was +no further occasion to watch him; he always pushed away the glass when +Mrs. Dolly filled it for him. + +One day his mother said to him, "Now I can trust you to take care +of yourself, George, I shall not watch you. Mrs. Dolly is going to a +bowling-green tea-party this evening, and has asked you to go with her; +and I have told her you shall." + +George accordingly went with Mrs. Dolly to the bowling-green. The +company drank tea out of doors, in summer-houses. After tea, Mrs. Dolly +bid George go and look at the bowling-green; and George was very well +entertained with seeing the people playing at bowls; but when it grew +late in the evening, and when the company began to go away, George +looked about for Mrs. Dolly. She was not in the summer-house, where +they had drunk tea, nor was she any where upon the terrace round the +bowling-green; so he went to the public-house in search of her, and at +last found her standing at the bar with the landlady. Her face was very +red, and she had a large glass of brandy in her hand, into which the +landlady was pouring some drops, which she said were excellent for the +stomach. + +Mrs. Dolly started so when she saw George, that she threw down half +her glass of brandy. "Bless us, child! I thought you were safe at the +bowling-green," said she. + +"I saw every body going away," answered George; "so I thought it was +time to look for you, and to go home." + +"But before you go, my dear little gentleman," said the landlady, "you +must eat one of these tarts, for my sake." As she spoke, she gave George +a little tart: "and here," added she, "you must drink my health too in +something good. Don't be afraid, love; it's nothing that will hurt you: +it's very sweet and nice." + +"It is wine, or spirits of some sort or other, I know by the smell," +said George; "and I will not drink it, thank you, ma'am." + +"The boy's a fool!" said Mrs. Dolly; "but it's his mother's fault. She +won't let him taste any thing stronger than water. But now your mother's +not by, you know," said Mrs. Dolly, winking at the landlady; "now your +mother's not by--" + +"Yes, and nobody will tell of you," added the landlady; "so do what you +like: drink it down, love." + +"No!" cried George, pushing away the glass which Mrs. Dolly held to his +lips. "No! no! no! I say. I will not do any thing now my mother's not +by, that I would not do if she was here in this room." + +"Well; hush, hush; and don't bawl so loud though," said Mrs. Dolly, who +saw, what George did not see, a gentleman that was standing at the door +of the parlour opposite to them, and who could hear every thing that was +saying at the bar. + +"I say," continued George, in a loud voice, "mother told me she could +trust me to take care of myself; and so I will take care of myself; and +I am not a fool, no more is mother, I know; for she told me the reasons +why it is not good to drink spirituous--." Mrs. Dolly pushed him away, +without giving him time to finish his sentence, bidding him go and see +whether the gig was ready; for it was time to be going home. + +As George was standing in the yard, looking at the mechanism of the +one-horse chaise and observing how the horse was put to, somebody tapped +him upon the shoulder, and looking up, he saw a gentleman with a very +good-natured countenance, who smiled upon him, and asked him whether he +was the little boy who had just been talking so loud in the bar? + +"Yes, sir," says George. "You seem to be a good little boy," added he; +"and I liked what I heard you say very much. So you will not do any +thing when your mother is not by, that you would not do if she was +here--was not that what you said?" + +"Yes, sir; as well as I remember." + +"And who is your mother?" continued the gentleman. "Where does she +live?" + +George told him his mother's name, and where she lived; and the +gentleman said, "I will call at your mother's house as I go home, and +tell her what I heard you say; and I will ask her to let you come to my +house, where you will see a little boy of your own age, whom I should be +very glad to have seen behave as well as you did just now." + +Mr. Belton, for that was the name of the gentleman who took notice of +George, was a rich carpet manufacturer. He had a country-house near +Paddington; and the acquaintance which was thus begun became a source +of great happiness to George. Mr. Belton lent him several entertaining +books, and took him to see many curious things in London. Ellen was +rejoiced to hear from him the praises of her son. All the pleasure of +Ellen's life had, for some months past, depended upon this boy; for +her husband was seldom at home, and the gloom that was spread over his +countenance alarmed her, whenever she saw him. As for Mrs. Dolly, she +was no companion for Ellen: her love of drinking had increased to such +a degree that she could love nothing else; and when she was not half +intoxicated, she was in such low spirits that she sat (either on the +side of her bed, or in her arm-chair, wrapped in a shawl) sighing and +crying, and see-sawing herself; and sometimes she complained to Maurice +that Ellen did not care whether she was dead or alive; and at others +that George had always something or other to do, and never liked to +sit in her room and keep her company. Besides all this, she got into +a hundred petty quarrels with the neighbours, who had a knack of +remembering what she said when she was drunk, and appealing to her for +satisfaction when she was sober. Mrs. Dolly regularly expected that +Ellen should, as she called it, stand her friend in these altercations; +to which Ellen could not always in justice consent. Ah! said Ellen to +herself one night, as she was sitting up late waiting for her husband's +return home, it is not the having five thousand pounds that makes people +happy! When Maurice loved to come home after his day's work to our +little cottage, and when our George was his delight, as he is mine, then +I was light of heart; but now it is quite otherwise. However, there +is no use in complaining, nor in sitting down to think upon melancholy +things; and Ellen started up and went to work, to mend one of her +husband's waistcoats. + +Whilst she was at this employment, she listened continually for the +return of Maurice. The clock struck twelve, and one, and no husband +came! She heard no noise in the street when she opened her window, for +every body but herself was in bed and asleep. At last she heard the +sound of footsteps; but it was so dark that she could not see who +the person was, who continued walking backwards and forwards, just +underneath the window. + +"Is it you, Maurice? Are you there, Maurice?" said Ellen. The noise of +the footsteps ceased, and Ellen again said, "Is it you, Maurice? Are you +there?" + +"Yes," answered Maurice; "it is I. Why are you not abed and asleep, at +this time of night?" + +"I am waiting for you," replied Ellen. "You need not wait for me; I have +the key of the house door in my pocket, and can let myself in whenever I +choose it." + +"And don't you choose it now?" said Ellen. + +"No. Shut down the window." + +Ellen shut the window, and went and sat down upon the side of her boy's +bed. He was sleeping. Ellen, who could not sleep, took up her work +again, and resolved to wait till her husband should come in. At last, +the key turned in the house door, and presently she heard her husband's +steps coming softly towards the room where she was sitting. He opened +the door gently, as if he expected to find her asleep, and was afraid +of awakening her. He started when he saw her; and slouching his hat over +his face, threw himself into a chair without speaking a single word. +Something terrible has happened to him, surely! thought Ellen; and her +hand trembled so that she could scarcely hold her needle, when she tried +to go on working. + +"What are you doing there, Ellen?" said he, suddenly pushing back his +hat. + +"I'm only mending your waistcoat, love," said Ellen, in a faltering +voice. + +"I am a wretch! a fool! a miserable wretch!" exclaimed Maurice, starting +up and striking his forehead with violence as he walked up and down the +room. + +"What can be the matter?" said Ellen. "It is worse to me to see you in +this way, than to hear whatever misfortune has befallen you. Don't turn +away from me, husband! Who in the world loves you so well as I do?" + +"Oh, Ellen," said he, letting her take his hand, but still turning away, +"you will hate me when you know what I have done." + +"I cannot hate you, I believe," said Ellen. + +"We have not sixpence left in the world!" continued Maurice, vehemently. +"We must leave this house to-morrow; we must sell all we have; I must go +to jail, Ellen! You must work all the rest of your days harder than ever +you did; and so must that poor boy, who lies sleeping yonder. He little +thinks that his father has made a beggar of him; and that, whilst his +mother was the best of mothers to him, his father was ruining him, her, +and himself, with a pack of rascals at the gaming-table. Ellen, I have +lost every shilling of our money!" + +"Is that all?" said Ellen. "That's bad; but I am glad that you have done +nothing wicked. We can work hard, and be happy again. Only promise me +now, dear husband, that you will never game any more." + +Maurice threw himself upon his knees, and swore that he never, to the +last hour of his life, would go to any gaming-table again, or play at +any game of chance. Ellen then said all she could to soothe and console +him; she persuaded him to take some rest, of which he was much in need, +for his looks were haggard, and he seemed quite exhausted. He declared +that he had not had a night's good sleep for many months, since he +had got into these difficulties by gaming. His mind had been kept in +a continual flurry, and he seemed as if he had been living in a fever. +"The worst of it was, Ellen," said he, "I could not bear to see you or +the boy when I had been losing; so I went on, gaming deeper and deeper, +in hopes of winning back what I had lost; and I now and then won, and +they coaxed me and told me I was getting a run of luck, and it would be +a sin to turn my back on good fortune. This way I was 'ticed to go on +playing, till, when I betted higher and higher, my luck left me; or, as +I shrewdly suspect, the rascals did not play fair, and they won stake +after stake, till they made me half mad, and I risked all I had left +upon one throw, and lost it! And when I found I had lost all, and +thought of coming home to you and our boy, I was ready to hang myself. +Oh, Ellen, if you knew all I have felt! I would not live over again the +last two years for this room full of gold!" + +Such are the miserable feelings, and such the life, of a gamester! + +Maurice slept for a few hours, or rather dozed, starting now and then, +and talking of cards and dice, and sometimes grinding his teeth and +clenching his hand, till he wakened himself by the violence with which +he struck the side of the bed. + +"I have had a terrible dream, wife," said he, when he opened his +eyes, and saw Ellen sitting beside him on the bed. At first he did not +recollect what had really happened; but as Ellen looked at him with +sorrow and compassion in her countenance, he gradually remembered all +the truth; and, hiding his head under the bed-clothes, he said he wished +he could sleep again, if it could be without dreaming such dreadful +things. + +It was in vain that he tried to sleep; so he got up, resolving to try +whether he could borrow twenty guineas from any of his friends, to pay +the most pressing of his gaming companions. The first person he asked +was Mrs. Dolly: she fell into an hysteric fit when she heard of his +losses; and it was not till after she had swallowed a double dram of +brandy that she was able to speak, and to tell him that she was the +worst person in the world he could have applied to; for that she was in +the greatest distress herself, and all her dependance in this world was +upon him. + +Maurice stood in silent astonishment. "Why, cousin," said he, "I +thought, and always believed, that you had a power of money! You know, +when you came to live with us, you told me so." + +"No matter what I told you," said Mrs. Dolly. "Folks can't live upon +air. Yesterday the landlady of the public-house at the bowling-green, +whom I'm sure I looked upon as my friend,--but there's no knowing one's +friends,--sent me in a bill as long as my arm; and the apothecary here +has another against me worse again; and the man at the livery-stables, +for one-horse chays, and jobs that I'm sure I forgot ever having, comes +and charges me the Lord knows what! and then the grocer for tea and +sugar, which I have been giving to folks from whom I have got no thanks. +And then I have an account with the linen-draper of I don't know how +much! hut he has over-charged me, I know, scandalously, for my last +three shawls. And then I have never paid for my set of tea china; and +half of the cups are broke, and the silver spoons, and I can't tell what +besides." + +In short, Mrs. Dolly, who had never kept any account of what she spent, +had no idea how far she was getting into a tradesman's debt till his +bill was brought home: and was in great astonishment to find, when all +her bills were sent in, that she had spent four hundred and fifty pounds +in her private expenses, drinking included, in the course of three years +and eight months. She had now nothing left to live upon but one hundred +pounds, so that she was more likely to be a burden to Maurice than +any assistance. He, however, was determined to go to a friend, who had +frequently offered to lend him any sum of money he might want, and who +had often been his partner at the gaming-table. + +In his absence, Ellen and George began to take a list of all the +furniture in the house, that it might be ready for a sale, and Mrs. +Dolly sat in her arm-chair, weeping and wailing. + +"Oh! laud! laud! that I should live to see all this!" cried she. "Ah, +lack-a-daisy! lack-a-daisy! lack-a-day! what will become of me? Oh, la! +la! la! la!" Her lamentations were interrupted by a knock at the door. +"Hark! a knock, a double knock at the door," cried Mrs. Dolly. "Who is +it? Ah, lack-a-day, when people come to know what has happened, it will +be long enough before we have any more visitors; long enough before we +hear any more double knocks at the door. Oh, laud! laud! See who it is, +George." + +It was Mr. Belton, who was come to ask George to go with him and his +little nephew to see some wild beasts at Exeter-'change: he was much +surprised at the sorrowful faces of George and Ellen, whom he had always +been used to see so cheerful, and inquired what misfortune had befallen +them? Mrs. Dolly thought she could tell the story best, so she detailed +the whole, with many piteous ejaculations; but the silent resignation of +Ellen's countenance had much more effect upon Mr. Belton. "George," said +he, "must stay to finish the inventory he is writing for his mother." + +Mr. Belton was inquiring more particularly into the amount of Maurice's +debts, and the names of the persons to whom he had lost his money at +the gaming-table, when the unfortunate man himself came home. "No hope, +Ellen!" cried he. "No hope from any of those rascals that I thought my +friends. No hope!" + +He stopped short, seeing a stranger in the room, for Mr. Belton was a +stranger to him. "My husband can tell you the names of all the people," +said Ellen, "who have been the ruin of us." Mr. Belton then wrote them +down from Maurice's information; and learned from him that he had lost +to these sharpers upwards of three thousand eight hundred pounds in the +course of three years; that the last night he played, he had staked the +goods in his shop, valued at 350_l_, and lost them; that afterwards he +staked the furniture of his house, valued at 160_l_.; this also he lost; +and so left the gaming-table without a farthing in the world. + +"It is not my intention," said Mr. Belton, "to add to your present +suffering, Mr. Robinson, by pointing out that it has arisen entirely +from your own imprudence. Nor yet can I say that I feel much compassion +for you; for I have always considered a gamester as a most selfish +being, who should be suffered to feel the terrible consequences of his +own avaricious folly, as a warning to others." + +"Oh, sir! Oh, Mr. Belton!" cried Ellen, bursting now, for the first +time, into tears, "do not speak so harshly to Maurice." + +"To you I shall not speak harshly," said Mr. Belton, his voice and looks +changing; "for I have the greatest compassion for such an excellent wife +and mother. And I shall take care that neither you nor your son, whom +you have taken such successful pains to educate, shall suffer by the +folly and imprudence in which you had no share. As to the ready money +which your husband has lost and paid to these sharpers, it is, I fear, +irrecoverable; but the goods in your shop, and the furniture in your +house, I will take care shall not be touched. I will go immediately to +my attorney, and direct him to inquire into the truth of all I have been +told, and to prosecute these villains for keeping a gaming-table, and +playing at unlawful games. Finish that inventory which you are making +out, George, and give it to me; I will have the furniture in your house, +Ellen, valued by an appraiser, and will advance you money to the amount, +on which you may continue to live in comfort and credit, trusting to +your industry and integrity to repay me in small sums, as you find it +convenient, out of the profits of your shop." + +"Oh, sir!" cried Maurice, clasping his hands with a strong expression +of joy, "thank you! thank you from the bottom of my soul! Save her from +misery, save the boy, and let me suffer as I ought for my folly." + +Mr. Belton, in spite of his contempt for gamesters, was touched by +Maurice's repentance; but, keeping a steady countenance, replied in a +firm tone, "Suffering for folly does nobody any good, unless it makes +them wiser in future." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Mrs. Dolly, who had been unaccountably awed to silence by Mr. Belton's +manner of speaking and looking, broke forth the moment he had left the +house. "Very genteel, indeed; though he might have taken more notice +of me. See what, it is, George, to have the luck of meeting with good +friends." + +"See what it is to deserve good friends, George," said Ellen. + +"You'll all remember, I hope," said Mrs. Dolly, raising her voice, "that +it was I who was the first and foremost cause of all this, by taking +George along with me to the tea-drinking at the bowling-green, where he +first got acquainted with Mr. Belton." + +"Mr. Belton would never have troubled his head about such a little boy +as George," said Ellen, "if it had not been for--you know what I mean, +Mrs. Dolly. All I wish to say is, that George's own good behaviour was +the cause of our getting acquainted with this good friend." + +"And I am sure you were the cause, mother," said George, "of what you +call my good behaviour." + +Mrs. Dolly, somewhat vexed at this turn, changed the conversation +saying, "Well, 'tis no matter how we made such a good acquaintance; +let us make the most of him, and drink his health, as becomes us, +after dinner. And now, I suppose, all will go on as usual: none of our +acquaintance in Paddington need know any thing of what has happened." + +Ellen, who was very little solicitous about what Mrs. Dolly's +acquaintance in Paddington might think, observed that, so far from going +on as usual, now they were living on borrowed money, it was fit they +should retrench all their expenses, and give up the drawing-room and +parlour of the house to lodgers. + +"So, then, we are to live like shabby wretches for the rest of our +days!" cried Mrs. Dolly. "Better live like what we are, poor but +industrious people," replied Ellen, "and then we shall never be forced +to do any thing shabby." + +"Ay, Ellen, you are, as you always are, in the right; and all I desire +now, in this world, is to make up for the past, and to fall to work +in some way or other; for idleness was what first led me to the +gaming-table." + +Mrs. Dolly opposed these good resolutions, and urged Maurice to send +George to Mr. Belton, to beg him to lend them some more money. "Since he +is in the humour to be generous, and since he has taken a fancy to +us," said she, "why not take him at his word, and make punch whilst the +water's hot?" + +But all that Mrs. Dolly said was lost upon Ellen, who declared that she +would never be so mean as to encroach upon such a generous friend; and +Maurice protested that nothing that man, woman, or devil, could say, +should persuade him to live in idleness another year. He sent George +the next morning to Mr. Belton with a letter, requesting that he would +procure employment for him, and stating what he thought himself fit for. +Amongst other things, he mentioned that he could keep accounts. That +he could write a good hand was evident, from his letter. Mr. Belton, +at this time, wanted a clerk in his manufactory; and, upon Maurice's +repeating his promise never more to frequent the gaming-table, Mr. +Belton, after a trial, engaged him as his clerk, at a salary of 50_1_. +per annum. + +Every thing now went on well for some months. Maurice, on whom his +wife's kindness had made a deep impression, became thoroughly intent +upon his business, and anxious to make her some amends for his past +follies. His heart was now at ease: he came home, after his day's work +at the counting-house, with an open, cheerful countenance; and Ellen was +perfectly happy. They sold all the furniture that was too fine for their +present way of life to the new lodgers, who took the drawing-room and +front parlour of their house; and lived on the profits of their shop, +which, being well attended, was never in want of customers. + +One night, at about ten o'clock, as little George was sitting, reading +the history of Sandford and Merton, in which he was much interested, he +was roused by a loud knocking at the house door. He ran to open it: but +how much was he shocked at the sight he beheld! It was Mrs. Dolly! her +leg broken, and her skull fractured! + +Ellen had her brought in, and laid upon a bed, and a surgeon was +immediately sent for. When Maurice inquired how this terrible accident +befel Mrs. Dolly, the account he received was, that she was riding home +from the bowling-green public-house, much intoxicated; that she insisted +upon stopping to get a glass of peppermint and brandy for her stomach; +that, seeing she had drunk too much already, every thing possible was +done to prevent her from taking any more; but she would not be advised: +she said she knew best what agreed with her constitution; so she +alighted and took the brandy and peppermint; and when she was to get +upon her horse again, not being in her right senses, she insisted upon +climbing up by a gate that was on the road-side, instead of going, as +she was advised, to a bank that was a little further on. The gate was +not steady, the horse being pushed moved, she fell, broke her leg, and +fractured her skull. + +She was a most shocking spectacle when she was brought home. At first +she was in great agony; but she afterwards fell into a sort of stupor, +and lay speechless. + +The surgeon arrived: he set her leg; and during this operation, she came +to her senses, but it was only the sensibility of pain. She was then +trepanned; but all was to no purpose--she died that night; and of +all the friends, as she called them, who used to partake in her +tea-drinkings and merry-makings, not one said more when they heard +of her death than "Ah, poor Mrs. Dolly! she was always fond of a +comfortable glass: 'twas a pity it was the death of her at last." + +Several tradesmen, to whom she died in debt, were very loud in their +complaints; and the landlady at the bowling-green did not spare her +memory. She went so far as to say, that _it was a shame such a drunken +quean should have a Christian burial._ What little clothes Mrs. Dolly +left at her death were given up to her creditors. She had owed Maurice +ten guineas ever since the first month of their coming to Paddington; +and when she was on her death-bed, during one of the intervals that she +was in her senses, she beckoned to Maurice, and told him, in a voice +scarcely intelligible, he would find in her left-hand pocket what she +hoped would pay him the ten guineas he had lent to her. However, upon +searching this pocket, no money was to be found, except sixpence in +halfpence; nor was there any thing of value about her. They turned the +pocket inside out, and shook it; they opened every paper that came out +of it, but these were all old bills. Ellen at last examined a new shawl +which had been thrust into this pocket, and which was all crumpled up: +she observed that one of the corners was doubled down, and pinned; and +upon taking out the yellow crooked pin, she discovered, under the corner +of the shawl, a bit of paper, much soiled with snuff, and stained with +liquor. "How it smells of brandy!" said Ellen, as she opened it. "What +is it, Maurice?" + +"It is not a bank note. It is a lottery ticket, I do believe!" cried +Maurice. "Ay, that it is! She put into the lottery without letting us +know any thing of the matter. Well, as she said, perhaps this may pay me +my ten guineas, and overpay me, who knows? We were lucky with our last +ticket; and why should not we be as lucky with this, or luckier, hey, +Ellen? We might have ten thousand pounds or twenty thousand pounds this +time, instead of five, why not, hey, Ellen?" But Maurice observing that +Ellen looked grave, and was not much charmed with the lottery ticket, +suddenly changed his tone, and said, "Now don't you, Ellen, go to think +that my head will run on nothing but this here lottery ticket. It will +make no difference on earth in me: I shall mind my business just as well +as if there was no such thing, I promise you. If it come up a prize, +well and good: and if it come up a blank, why well and good too. So do +you keep the ticket, and I shall never think more about it, Ellen. Only, +before you put it by, just let me look at the number. What makes you +smile?" + +"I smiled only because I think I know you better than you, know +yourself. But, perhaps, that should not make me smile," said Ellen: and +she gave a deep sigh. + +"Now, wife, why will you sigh? I can't bear to hear you sigh," said +Maurice, angrily. "I tell you I know myself, and have a right to know +myself, I say, a great deal better than you do; and so none of your +sighs, wife." + +Ellen rejoiced to see that his pride worked upon him in this manner; and +mildly told him she was very glad to find he thought so much about her +sighs. "Why," said Maurice, "you are not one of those wives that are +always taunting and scolding their husbands; and that's the reason, I +take it, why a look or a word from you goes so far with me." He paused +for a few moments, keeping his eyes fixed upon the lottery ticket; then, +snatching it up, he continued: "This lottery ticket may tempt me to game +again: for, as William Deane said, putting into the lottery is gaming, +and the worst sort of gaming. So, Ellen, I'll show you that though I +was a fool once, I'll never be a fool again. All your goodness was not +thrown away upon me. I'll go and sell this lottery ticket immediately at +the office, for whatever it is worth: and you'll give me a kiss when I +come home again, I know, Ellen." + +Maurice, pleased with his own resolution, went directly to the lottery +office to sell his ticket. He was obliged to wait some time, for the +place was crowded with persons who came to inquire after tickets which +they had insured. + +Many of these ignorant imprudent poor people had hazarded guinea after +guinea, till they found themselves overwhelmed with debt; and their +liberty, character, and existence, depending on the turning of the +wheel. What anxious faces did Maurice behold! How many he heard, as +they went out of the office, curse their folly for having put into the +lottery! + +He pressed forward to sell his ticket. How rejoiced he was when he +had parted with this dangerous temptation, and when he had received +seventeen guineas in hand, instead of anxious hopes! How different were +his feelings at this instant from those of many that were near him! He +stood to contemplate the scene. Here he saw a poor maid-servant, with +scarcely clothes to cover her, who was stretching her thin neck across +the counter, and asking the clerk, in a voice of agony, whether _her_ +ticket, number 45, was come up yet. + +"Number 45?" answered the clerk, with the most careless air imaginable. +"Yes" (turning over the leaves of his book): "Number 45, you say--Yes: +it was drawn yesterday--a blank." The wretched woman clasped her hands, +and burst into tears, exclaiming, "Then I'm undone!" + +Nobody seemed to have time to attend to her. A man servant, in livery, +pushed her away, saying, "You have your answer, and have no more +business here, stopping the way. Pray, sir, is number 336, the ticket +I've insured {Footnote: This was written before the act of parliament +against insuring in lotteries.} so high, come up to-day?" + +"Yes, sir--blank." At the word blank, the disappointed footman poured +forth a volley of oaths, declaring that he should be in jail before +night; to all which the lottery-office keeper only answered, "I can't +help it, sir; I can't help it. It is not my fault. Nobody is forced to +put into the lottery, sir. Nobody's obliged to insure, sir. 'Twas your +own choice, sir. Don't blame me." + +Meanwhile, a person behind the footman, repeating the words he had +addressed to the poor woman, cried, "You have your answer, sir; don't +stop the way." + +Maurice was particularly struck with the agitated countenance of one +man, who seemed as if the suspense of his mind had entirely bereaved him +of all recollection. When he was pressed forward by the crowd, and +found himself opposite to the clerk, he was asked twice, "What's your +business, sir?" before he could speak; and then could only utter the +words--number 7? "Still in the wheel," was the answer. "Our messenger is +not yet returned from Guildhall, with news of what has been drawn this +last hour. If you will call again at three, we can answer you." The man +seemed to feel this as a reprieve; but as he was retiring, there came +one with a slip of paper in his hand. This was the messenger from +Guildhall, who handed the paper to the clerk. He read aloud, "Number 7. +Were you not inquiring for 7, sir?" + +"Yes," said the pale trembling man. + +"Number 7 is just come up, sir,--a blank." + +At the fatal word blank, the man fell flat upon his face in a swoon. +Those near him lifted him out into the street, for air. + +"Here, sir; you are going without your change, after waiting for it so +long," cried the clerk to Maurice; who, touched with compassion for the +man who had just fallen, was following those who were carrying him out. +When he got into the street, Maurice saw the poor creature sitting on +a stone, supported by a hackney-coachman, who held some vinegar to his +nose, at the same time asking him if he did not want a coach? + +"A coach! Oh, no," said the man, as he opened his eyes. "I have not a +farthing of money in the world." The hackney-coachman swore that was +a sad case, and ran across the street to offer his services where they +could be paid for: "A coach, if you want one, sir. Heavy rain coming +on," said he, looking at the silver which he saw through the half-closed +fingers of Maurice's hand. + +"Yes, I want a coach," said Maurice: and bade the coachman draw up to +the stone, where the poor man who had swooned was sitting. Maurice was +really a good-natured fellow; and he had peculiar pity for the anguish +this man seemed to feel, because he recollected what he had suffered +himself, when he had been ruined at the gaming-table. + +"You are not able to walk: here is a coach; I will go your way and set +you down, sir," said Maurice. + +The unfortunate man accepted this offer. As they went along he sighed +bitterly, and once said, with great vehemence, "Curse these lotteries! +Curse these lotteries!" Maurice now rejoiced, more than ever, at having +conquered his propensity to gaming, and at having sold his ticket. + +When they came opposite to a hosier's shop, in Oxford-street, the +stranger thanked him, and desired to be set down. "This is my home," +said he; "or this was my home, I ought to say," pointing to his shop +as he let down the coach-glass. "A sad warning example I am! But I am +troubling you, sir, with what no way concerns you. I thank you, sir, for +your civility," added he, turning away from Maurice, to hide the tears +which stood in his eyes: "good day to you." + +He then prepared to get out of the coach; but whilst the coachman was +letting down the step, a gentleman came out of the hosier's shop to the +door, and cried, "Mr. Fulham, I am glad you are come at last. I have +been waiting for you this half-hour, and was just going away." Maurice +pulled aside the flap of the hosier's coat, as he was getting out, that +he might peep at the gentleman who spoke; the voice was so like William +Deane's, that he was quite astonished.--"It is--it is William Deane," +cried Maurice, jumping out of the coach and shaking hands with his +friend. + +William Deane, though now higher in the world than Robinson, was +heartily glad to see him again, and to renew their old intimacy. "Mr. +Fulham," said he, turning to the hosier, "excuse me to-day; I'll come +and settle accounts with you to-morrow." + +On their way to Paddington, Maurice related to his friend all that had +passed since they parted; how his good luck in the lottery tempted him +to try his fortune at the gaming-table; how he was cheated by sharpers, +and reduced to the brink of utter ruin; how kind Ellen was towards him +in this distress; how he was relieved by Mr. Belton, who was induced to +assist him from regard to Ellen and little George; how Mrs. Dolly drank +herself into ill health, which would soon have killed her if she had +not, in a drunken fit, shortened the business by fracturing her skull; +and, lastly, how she left him a lottery ticket, which he had just +sold, lest it should be the cause of fresh imprudence. "You see," added +Maurice, "I do not forget all you said to me about lotteries.--Better +take good advice late than never. But now, tell me your history." + +"No," replied William Deane; "that I shall keep till we are all at +dinner; Ellen and you, I and my friend George, who, I hope, has not +forgotten me." He was soon convinced that George had not forgotten him, +by the joy he showed at seeing him again. + +At dinner, William Deane informed them that he was become a rich man, by +having made an improvement in the machinery of the cotton-mills, +which, after a great deal of perseverance, he had brought to succeed +in practice. "When I say that I am a rich man," continued he, "I mean +richer than ever I expected to be. I have a share in the cotton-mill, +and am worth about two thousand pounds." + +"Ay," said Maurice, "you have trusted to your own sense and industry, +and not to gaming and lotteries." + +"I am heartily rejoiced you have nothing more to do with them," said +William Deane: "but all this time you forget that I am your debtor. You +lent me five guineas at a season when I had nothing. The books I bought +with your money helped me to knowledge, without which I should never +have got forward. Now I have a scheme for my little friend George, that +will, I hope, turn out to your liking. You say he is an intelligent, +honest, industrious lad; and that he understands book-keeping, and +writes a good hand: I am sure he is much obliged to you for giving him a +good education." + +"To his mother, there, he's obliged for it all," said Maurice. + +"Without it," continued William Deane, "I might wish him very well; but +I could do little or nothing for him. But, as I was going to tell +you, that unfortunate man whom you brought to his own door in the +hackney-coach to-day, Maurice, is a hosier, who had as good a business +as most in the city; but he has ruined himself entirely by gaming. He +is considerably in our debt for cotton, and I am to settle accounts with +him to-morrow, when he is to give up all his concerns into my hands, in +behalf of his brother, who has commissioned me to manage the business, +and dissolve the partnership; as he cannot hazard himself, even out +of friendship for a brother, with one that has taken to gaming. Now my +friend, the elder Fulham, is a steady man, and is in want of a good lad +for an apprentice. With your leave, I will speak to him, and get him +to take George; and as to the fee, I will take care and settle that +for you. I am glad I have found you all out at last. No thanks, pray. +Recollect, I am only paying my old debts." + +As William Deane desired to have no thanks, we shall omit the recital of +those which he received, both in words and looks. We have only to inform +our readers, further, that George was bound apprentice to the hosier; +that he behaved as well as might be expected from his excellent +education; that Maurice continued, in Mr. Belton's service, to conduct +himself so as to secure the confidence and esteem of his master; and +that he grew fonder and fonder of home, and of Ellen, who enjoyed the +delightful reflection that she had effected the happiness of her husband +and her son. + +May equal happiness attend every such good wife and mother! And may +every man, who, like Maurice, is tempted to be a gamester, reflect that +a good character, and domestic happiness, which cannot be won in any +lottery, are worth more than the five thousand, or even the ten thousand +pounds prize, let any Mrs. Dolly in Christendom say what she will to the +contrary. + +_Sept. 1799._ + + + + +ROSANNA. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +There are two sorts of content: one is connected with exertion, the +other with habits of indolence; the first is a virtue, the second a +vice. Examples of both may be found in abundance in Ireland. There you +may sometimes see a man in sound health submitting day after day to +evils which a few hours' labour would remedy; and you are provoked to +hear him say, "It will do well enough for me. Didn't it do for my father +before me? I can make a shift with things for my time: any how, I'm +content." + +This kind of content is indeed the bane of industry. But instances of a +different sort may be found, in various of the Irish peasantry. Amongst +them we may behold men struggling with adversity with all the strongest +powers of mind and body; and supporting irremediable evils with a degree +of cheerful fortitude which must excite at once our pity and admiration. + +In a pleasant village in the province of Leinster there lives a family +of the name of Gray. Whether or not they are any way related to Old +Robin Gray, history does not determine; but it is very possible that +they are, because they came, it is said, originally from the north of +Ireland, and one of the sons is actually called Robin. Leaving this +point, however, in the obscurity which involves the early history of the +most ancient and illustrious families, we proceed to less disputable +and perhaps more useful facts. It is well known, that is, by all +his neighbours, that farmer Gray began life with no very encouraging +prospects: he was the youngest of a large family, and the portion of +his father's property that fell to his share was but just sufficient to +maintain his wife and three children. At his father's death, he had but +100_l_. in ready money, and he was obliged to go into a poor mud-walled +cabin, facing the door of which there was a green pool of stagnant +water; and before the window, of one pane, a dunghill that, reaching to +the thatch of the roof, shut out the light, and filled the house with +the most noisome smell. The ground sloped towards the house door; +so that in rainy weather, when the pond was full, the kitchen was +overflowed; and at all times the floor was so damp and soft, that the +print of the nails of brogues was left in it wherever the wearer set +down his foot. To be sure these nail-marks could scarcely be seen, +except just near the door or where the light of the fire immediately +shone; because, elsewhere, the smoke was so thick, that the pig might +have been within a foot of you without your seeing him. The former +inhabitants of this mansion had, it seems, been content without a +chimney: and, indeed, almost without a roof; the couples and purlins +of the roof having once given way, had never been repaired, and swagged +down by the weight of the thatch, so that the ends threatened the wigs +of the unwary. + +The prospect without doors was scarcely more encouraging to our hero +than the scene within: the farm consisted of about forty acres; and the +fences of the grazing-land were so bad, that the neighbours' cattle +took possession of it frequently by day, and always by night. The +tillage-ground had been so ill managed by his predecessor, that the land +was what is called quite out of heart. + +If farmer Gray had also been out of heart, he and his family might at +this hour have been beggars. His situation was thought desperate by many +of his neighbours; and a few days after his father's decease, many came +to condole with him. Amongst the rest was "easy Simon;" or, as some +called him, "soft Simon," on account of his unresisting disposition, and +contented, or, as we should rather name it, reckless temper. He was a +sort of a half or a half quarter gentleman, had a small patrimony of +a hundred or a hundred and fifty pounds a year, a place in the excise +worth fifty more, and a mill, which might have been worth another +hundred annually, had it not been suffered to stand still for many a +year. + +"Wheugh! Wheugh! What a bustle we are in! and what a world of trouble is +here!" cried Simon, when he came to Gray's house, and found him on the +ladder taking off the decayed thatch; whilst one of his sons, a lad of +about fourteen, was hard at work filling a cart from the dunghill, which +blockaded the window. His youngest son, a boy of twelve, with a face and +neck red with heat, was making a drain to carry off the water from +the green pond; and Rose, the sister, a girl of ten years old, was +collecting the ducks, which her mother was going to carry to her +landlord's to sell. + +"Wheugh! Wheugh! Wheugh! Why what a world of bustle and trouble is here! +Troth, Jemmy Gray, you're in a bad way, sure enough! Poor cratur! Poor +cratur!" + +"No man," replied Gray, "deserves to be called poor, that has his +health, and the use of his limbs. Besides," continued he, "have not I +a good wife and good children: and, with those blessings, has not a man +sufficient reason to be content?" + +"Ay, to be sure: that's the only way to get through this world," said +Simon; "whatever comes, just to take it easy, and be content. Content +and a warm chimney corner is all in all, according to my notion." + +"Yes, Simon," said Gray, laughing; "but your kind of content would +never do for me. Content, that sits down in the chimney corner, and does +nothing but smoke his pipe, will soon have the house about his ears; and +then what will become of Content?" + +"Time enough to think of that when it comes," said Simon: "fretting +never propped a house yet; and if it did, I would rather see it fall +than fret." + +"But could not you prop the house," said Gray, "without fretting?" + +"Is it by putting my shoulders to it?" said Simon. "My shoulders have +never been used to hard work, and don't like it any way. As long as I +can eat, drink, and sleep, and have a coat to my back, what matter for +the rest? Let the world go as it will, I'm content. Shoo! Shoo! The +button is off the neck of this great coat of mine, and how _will_ I keep +it on? A pin sure will do as well as a button, and better. Mrs. Gray, or +Miss Rose, I'll thank you kindly for a pin." + +He stuck the pin in the place of the button, to fasten the great coat +round his throat, and walked off: it pricked his chin about a dozen +times before the day was over; but he forgot the next day, and the next, +and the next, to have the button sewed on. He was content to make shift, +as he called it, with the pin. This is precisely the species of content +which leads to beggary. + +Not such the temper of our friend Gray. Not an inconvenience that he +could remedy, by industry or ingenuity, was he content to endure; but +necessary evils he bore with unshaken patience and fortitude. His house +was soon new roofed and new thatched; the dunghill was removed, +and spread over that part of his land which most wanted manure; the +putrescent water of the standing pool was drained off, and fertilized +a meadow; and the kitchen was never again overflowed in rainy weather, +because the labour of half a day made a narrow trench which carried off +the water. The prints of the shoe-nails were no longer visible in the +floor; for the two boys trod dry mill seeds into the clay, and beat the +floor well, till they rendered it quite hard and even. The rooms also +were cleared of smoke, for Gray built a chimney; and the kitchen window, +which had formerly been stuffed up, when the wind blew too hard, with an +old or new hat, was glazed. There was now light in the house. Light! the +great friend of cleanliness and order. The pig could now no longer walk +in and out, unseen and unreproved; he ceased to be an inmate of the +kitchen. + +The kitchen was indeed so altered from what it had been during the reign +of the last master, that he did not know it again. It was not in the +least like a pig-sty. The walls were whitewashed; and shelves were put +up, on which clean wooden and pewter utensils were ranged. There were +no heaps of forlorn rubbish in the corners of the room; nor even an old +basket, or a blanket, or a cloak, or a great coat thrown down, just +for a minute, out of the girl's way. No: Rose was a girl who always +put every thing in its place; and she found it almost as easy to hang +a coat, or a cloak, upon a peg, as to throw it down on the floor. She +thought it as convenient to put the basket and turf-kish out of her way, +when her brothers had brought in the potatoes and fuel, as to let them +lie in the middle of the kitchen, to be stumbled over by herself and +her mother, or to be gnawed and clawed by a cat and dog. These may seem +trifles unworthy the notice of the historian; but trifles such as these +contribute much to the comfort of a poor family, and therefore deserve a +place in their simple annals. + +It was a matter of surprise and censure to some of farmer Gray's +neighbours, that he began by laying out it could not be less than ten +pounds (a great sum for him!) on his house and garden at the first +setting out; when, to be sure, the land would have paid him better if +the money had been laid out there. And why could not he make a shift +to live on in the old cabin, for a while, as others had done before his +time well enough? A poor man should be _contented_ with a poor house. +Where was the use, said they, of laying out the good ready penny in a +way that would bring nothing in? + +Farmer Gray calculated that he could not have laid out his money to +better advantage; for by these ten pounds he had probably saved his +wife, his children, and himself, from a putrid fever, or from the +rheumatism. The former inhabitants of this house, who had been content +to live with the dunghill close to the window, and the green pool +overflowing the kitchen, and the sharp wind blowing in through the +broken panes, had in the course of a few years lost their health. The +father of the family had been crippled by the rheumatism, two children +died of the fever, and the mother had such an inflammation in her eyes +that she could not see to work, spin, or do anything. Now the whole that +was lost by the family sickness, the doctor's bill, and the burying +of the two children, all together, came in three years to nearly three +times ten pounds. Therefore Mr. Gray was, if we only consider money, a +very prudent man. What could he or any body do without health? Money is +not the first thing to be thought of in this world; for there are many +things that money cannot buy, and health is one of them. "Health can +make money, but money cannot make health," said our wise farmer. "And +then, for the value of a few shillings, say pounds, we have light to see +what we are doing, and shelves, and a press to hold our clothes in. Why +now, this will be all so much saved to us, by and by; for the clothes +will last the longer, and the things about us will not go to wreck; and +when I and the boys can come home after our day's work to a house like +this, we may be content." + +Having thus ensured, as far as it was in his power, health, cleanliness, +and comfort in his house, our hero and his sons turned their attention +to the farm. They set about to repair all the fences; for the boys, +though they were young, were able to help their father in the farm: they +were willing to work, and happy to work with him. John, the eldest lad, +could set potatoes, and Robin was able to hold the plough: so that Gray +did not hire any servant-boy to help him; nor did Mrs. Gray hire a maid. +"Rose and I," said she, "can manage very well to look after the two +cows, and milk them, and make the butter, and get something too by our +spinning. We must do without servants, and may be happy and content to +serve ourselves." + +"Times will grow better; that is, we shall make them better every year: +we must have the roughest first," said Gray. + +The first year, to be sure, it was rough enough; and, do what they +could, they could not do more than make the rent of the farm, which rent +amounted to forty pounds. The landlord was a Mr. Hopkins, agent to a +gentleman who resided in England. Mr. Hopkins insisted upon having +the rent paid up to the day, and so it was. Gray contented himself by +thinking that this was perhaps for the best. "When the rent is once +paid," said he, "it cannot be called for again, and I am in no man's +power; that's a great comfort. To be sure, if the half year's rent was +left in my hands for a few months, it might have been of service: but +it is better not to be under an obligation to such a man as Mr. Hopkins, +who would make us pay for it in some shape or other, when we least +expected it." + +Mr. Hopkins was what is called in Ireland a middle-man; one that takes +land from great proprietors, to set it again at an advanced, and often +an exorbitant, price, to the poor. Gray had his land at a fair rent, +because it was not from Mr. Hopkins his father had taken the lease, but +from the gentleman to whom this man was agent. Mr. Hopkins designed +to buy the land which Gray farmed, and he therefore wished to make +it appear as unprofitable as possible to his landlord, who, living in +England, knew but little of his own estate. "If these Grays don't pay +the rent," said he to his _driver_, "pound their cattle, and sell at +the end of eight days. If they break and run away, I shall have the land +clear, and may make a compliment of it to tenants and friends of my own, +after it comes into my hands." He was rather disappointed, when the rent +was paid to the day. "But," said he, "it won't be so next year; the man +is laying out his money on the ground, on draining and fencing, and that +won't pay suddenly. We'll leave the rent in his hands for a year or so, +and bring down an ejectment upon him, if he once gets into our power, as +he surely will. Then, all that he has done to the house will be so much +in my way. What a fool he was to lay out his money so!" + +It happened, however, that the money which Gray had laid out in making +his house comfortable and neat was of the greatest advantage to him, and +at a time and in a way which he least expected. His cottage was within +sight of the high road, that led to a town from which it was about a +mile distant. A regiment of English arrived, to be quartered in the +town; and the wives of some of the soldiers came a few hours after their +husbands. One of these women, a sergeant's wife, was taken suddenly in +labour, before they reached the town; and the soldier who conducted the +baggage-cart in which she was, drew up to the first amongst a row of +miserable cabins that were by the road-side, to ask the people if they +would give her lodging: but the sick woman was shocked at the sight of +the smoke and dirt of this cabin, and begged to be carried on to the +neat whitewashed cottage that she saw at a little distance. This was +Gray's house. + +His wife received the stranger with the greatest kindness and +hospitality; she was able to offer her a neat bed, and a room that was +perfectly dry and clean. The sergeant's wife was brought to bed soon +after her arrival, and remained with Mrs. Gray till she recovered her +strength. She was grateful for the kindness that was shown to her by +Mrs. Gray; and so was her husband, the sergeant. He came one evening to +the cottage, and in his blunt English fashion said, "Mr. Gray, you know +I, or my wife, which is the same thing, have cause to be obliged to +you, or your wife, which comes also to the same thing: now one good turn +deserves another. Our colonel has ordered me, I being quarter-master, to +sell off by auction some of the cast horses belonging to the regiment: +now I have bought in the best for a trifle, and have brought him here, +with me, to beg you'll accept of him, by way some sort of a return for +the civilities you and your wife, that being, as I said, the same thing, +showed me and mine." + +Gray replied he was obliged to him for this offer of the horse, but that +he could not think of accepting it; that he was very glad his wife had +been able to show any kindness or hospitality to a stranger; but that, +as they did not keep a public-house, they could not take any thing in +the way of payment. + +The sergeant was more and more pleased by farmer Gray's generosity. +"Well," said he, "I heard, before I came to Ireland, that the Irish were +the most hospitable people on the face of the earth; and so I find it +come true, and I shall always say so, wherever I'm quartered hereafter. +And now do pray answer me, is there any the least thing I can ever do to +oblige you? for, if the truth must be told of me, I don't like to lie. +under an obligation, any more than another, where I can help it." + +"To show you that I do not want to lay you under one," said Gray, "I'll +tell you how you can do as much for me, and ten times as much, as I have +done for you; and this without hurting yourself or any of your employers +a penny." + +"Say how, and it shall be done." + +"By letting me have the dung of the barracks, which will make my land +and me rich, without making you poorer; for I'll give you the fair +price, whatever it is. I don't ask you to wrong your employers of a +farthing." + +The sergeant promised this should be done, and rejoiced that he had +found some means of serving his friend. Gray covered ten acres with the +manure brought from the barracks; and the next year these acres were in +excellent heart. This was sufficient for the grazing of ten cows: he had +three, and he bought seven more; and with what remained of his hundred +pounds, after paying for the cows, he built a shed and a cow-house. +His wife, and daughter Rose, who was now about fourteen, were excellent +managers of the dairy. They made, by butter and butter-milk, about four +pounds each cow within the year. The butter they salted and took to +market, at the neighbouring town; the butter-milk they sold to the +country people, who, according to the custom of the neighbourhood, came +to the house for it. Besides this, they reared five calves, which, at a +year old, they sold for fifteen guineas and a half. The dairy did not, +however, employ all the time of this industrious mother and daughter; +they had time for spinning, and by this cleared six guineas. They also +made some little matter by poultry; but that was only during the first +year: afterwards Mr. Hopkins sent notice that they must pay all the +_duty-fowl_, and _duty-geese_, and _turkeys_, {Footnote: See a very +curious anecdote in the Statistical Survey of the Queen's County.} +charged in the lease, or compound with him by paying two guineas a year. +This gentleman had many methods of squeezing money out of poor tenants; +and he was not inclined to spare the Grays, whose farm he now more +than ever wished to possess, because its value had been considerably +increased, by the judicious industry of the farmer and his sons. + +Young as they were, both farmer Gray's sons had a share in these +improvements. The eldest had drained a small field, which used to be +called the rushy field, from its having been quite covered with rushes. +Now there was not a rush to be found upon it, and his father gave him +the profits of the field, and said that it should be called by his name. +Robin, the youngest son, had, by his father's advice, tried a little +experiment, which many of his neighbours ridiculed at first, and admired +at last. The spring, which used to supply the duck-pond, that often +flooded the house, was at the head of a meadow, that sloped with a fall +sufficient to let the water run off. Robin flooded the meadow at the +proper season of the year, and it produced afterwards a crop such as +never had been seen there before. His father called this meadow Robin's +meadow, and gave him the value of the hay that was made upon it. + +"Now, my dear boys," said this good father, "you have made a few guineas +for yourselves; and here are a few more for you, all that I can spare: +let us see what you can do with this money. I shall take a pride in +seeing you get forward by your own industry and cleverness; I don't want +you to slave for me all your best days; but shall always be ready, as a +father should be, to give you a helping hand." + +The sons had scarcely a word in answer to this, for their hearts were +full; but that night, when they were by themselves, one said to the +other, "Brother, did you see Jack Reel's letter to his father? They say +he has sent home ten guineas to him. Is there any truth in it, think +you?" + +"Yes; I saw the letter, and a kinder never was written from son to +father. {Footnote: This is fact.} The ten guineas I saw paid into the +old man's hand; and, at that same minute, I wished it was I that was +doing the same by my own father." + +"That was just what I was thinking of, when I asked you if you saw the +letter. Why, Jack Reel had nothing, when he went abroad with the army to +Egypt, last year. Well, I never had a liking myself to follow the drum: +but it's almost enough to tempt one to it. If I thought I could send +home ten guineas to my father, I would 'list to-morrow." + +"That would not be well done of you, Robin," said John; "for my father +would rather have _you_, a great deal, than the ten guineas, I am sure: +to say nothing of my poor mother, and Rose, and myself, who would be +sorry enough to hear of your being knocked on the head, as is the fate, +sooner or later, of them that follow the army. I would rather be any of +the trades that hurt nobody, and do good to a many along with myself, as +father said t'other day. Then, what a man makes so, he makes with a safe +conscience, and he can enjoy it." + +"You are right, John, and I was wrong to talk of _'listing_," said +Robin; "but it was only Jack Reel's letter, and the ten guineas sent to +his father, that put it into my head. I may make as much for my father +by staying at home, and minding my business. So now, good night to you; +I'll go to sleep, and we can talk more about it all to-morrow." + +The next morning, as these two youths were setting potatoes for the +family, and considering to what they should turn their hands when the +potatoes were all set, they were interrupted by a little _gossoon_, +who came running up as hard as he could, crying, "Murder! murder! Simon +O'Dougherty wants you. For the love of God, cross the bog in all haste, +to help pull out his horse, that has tumbled into the old tan-pit, +there beyond, in the night!" + +The two brothers immediately followed the boy, carrying with them a rope +and a halter, as they guessed that _soft Simon_ would not have either. +They found him wringing his hands beside the tan-pit, in which his horse +lay smothering. A little ragged boy was tugging at the horse's head, +with a short bit of hay-rope. "Oh, murder! murder! What _will_ I do for +a halter? Sure the horse will be lost, for want of a halter; and where +in the wide world _will_ I look for one?" cried Simon, without stirring +one inch from the spot. "Oh, the blessing of Heaven be with you, lads," +continued he, turning at the sight of the Grays; "you've brought us a +halter. But see! it's just over with the poor beast. All the world put +together will not get him alive out of that. I must put up with the +loss, and be content. He cost me fifteen good guineas, and he could +leap better than any horse in the county. Oh, what a pity on him! what +a pity! But, take it easy; that's all we have for it! _Poor cratur! Poor +cratur!_" + +Without listening to Simon's lamentations, the active lads, by the help +of Simon and the two boys, pulled the horse out of the pit. The poor +animal was nearly exhausted by struggling: but, after some time, he +stretched himself, and, by degrees, recovered sufficiently to stand. One +of his legs, however, was so much hurt that he could scarcely walk; and +Simon said he would surely go lame for life. + +"Who now would ever have thought of his straying into such an ugly place +of all others?" continued he. "I know, for my share, the spot is so +overgrown with grass and rubbish, of one kind or other, and it's so +long since any of the tanning business was going on here, in my uncle +O'Haggarty's time, that I quite forgot there were such things as +tan-pits, or any manner of pits, in my possession; and I wish these had +been far enough off before my own little famous Sir Hyacinth O'Brien had +strayed into them, laming himself for life, like a blockhead. For the +case was this: I came home late last night, not as sober as a judge, +and, finding no one up but the girl, I gave her the horse to put into +the stable, and she forgot the door after her, which wants a lock; and +there being but a scanty feed of oats, owing to the boy's negligence, +and no halter to secure the beast, my poor Sir Hyacinth strayed out +here, as ill luck would have it, into the tan-pit. Bad luck to my uncle +O'Haggarty, that had the tan-yard here at all! He might have lived as +became him, without dirtying his hands with the tanning of dirty hides." + +"I was just going," said John Gray, "to comfort you, Simon, for the +laming of your horse, by observing that, if you had your tan-yard in +order again, you could soon make up the price of another horse." + +"Ohoo! I would not be bothered with anything of the kind. There's +the mill of Rosanna there, beyond, was the plague of my life, till it +stopped; and I was glad to have fairly done with it. Them that come +after me may set it a-going again, and welcome. I have enough just to +serve my time, and am content any way." + +"But, if you could get a fair rent for the tan-yard, would you let it?" +said John. + +"To that I should make no objection in life; provided I had no trouble +with it," replied Simon. + +"And if you could get somebody to keep the mill of Rosanna going, +without giving you any trouble, you would not object to that, would +you?" said Robin. + +"Not I, to be sure," replied Simon, laughing. "Whatever God sends, be +it more or less, I am content. But I would not have you think me a fool, +for all I talk so easy about the matter; I know very well what I might +have got for the mill some years ago, when first it stopped, if I +would have let it to the man that proposed for it; but though he was as +substantial a tenant as you could see, yet he affronted me once, at the +last election, by calling a freeholder of mine over the coals; and so I +was proud of an opportunity to show him I did not forget. So I refused +to let him the mill on any terms; and I made him a speech for his pride +to digest at the same time. 'Mr. Hopkins,' said I, 'the lands of Rosanna +have been in my family these two hundred years and upwards; and though, +now-a-days, many men think that every thing is to be done for money, and +though you, Mr. Hopkins, have made as much money as most men could in +the same time,--all which I don't envy you,--yet I must make bold to +tell you, that the lands of Rosanna, or any part or parcel thereof, +is what you'll never have whilst I'm alive, Mr. Hopkins, for love or +money.' The spirit of the O'Doughertys was up within me; and though all +the world calls me easy Simon, I have my own share of proper spirit. +These mushroom money-makers, that start up from the very dirt under +one's feet, I can't for my part swallow them. Now I should be happy to +give you a lease of the mill of Rosanna, after refusing Hopkins; for you +and your father before you, lads, have been always very civil to me. +My tan-pits and all I am ready to talk to you about, and thank you for +pulling my horse out for me this morning. Will you walk up and look at +the mill? I would attend you myself, but must go to the farrier about +Sir Hyacinth's leg, instead of standing talking here any longer. Good +morning to you kindly. The girl will give you the key of the mill, and +show you everything, the same as myself." + +Simon gathered his great coat about him, and walked away to the farrier, +whilst the two brothers rejoiced that they should see the mill without +hearing him talk the whole time. Simon, having nothing to do all day +long but to talk, was an indefatigable gossip. When the lands of Rosanna +were in question, or when his pride was touched, he was terribly fluent. + + * * * * * + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Upon examining the mill, which was a common oat-mill, John Gray found +that the upper mill-stone was lodged upon the lower; and that this was +all which prevented the mill from going. No other part of it was damaged +or out of repair. As to the tan-yard, it was in great disorder; but it +was very conveniently situated; was abundantly supplied with water on +one side, and had an oak copse at the back, so that tan could readily +be procured. It is true that the bark of these oak trees, which had been +planted by his careful uncle O'Haggarty, had been much damaged since +Simon came into possession; for he had, with his customary negligence, +suffered cattle to get amongst them. He had also, to supply himself +with ready money, occasionally cut down a great deal of the best timber +before it arrived at its full growth; and at this time the Grays found +every tree of tolerable size marked for destruction with the initials of +Simon O'Dougherty's name. + +Before they said anything more about the mill or the tan-yard to Simon, +these prudent brothers consulted their father: he advised them to begin +cautiously, by offering to manage the mill and the tan-yard, during the +ensuing season, for Simon, for a certain share in the profits; and then, +if they should find the business likely to succeed, they might take a +lease of the whole. Simon willingly made this agreement; and there was +no danger in dealing with him, because, though careless and indolent, he +was honest, and would keep his engagements. It was settled that John and +Robin should have the power, at the end of the year, either to hold or +give up all concern in the mill and tan-yard; and, in the mean time, +they were to manage the business for Simon, and to have such a share in +the profits as would pay them reasonably for their time and labour. + +They succeeded beyond their expectations in the management of the mill +and tan-yard during their year of probation; and Simon, at the end of +that time, was extremely glad to give them a long lease of the premises, +upon their paying him down, by way of fine, the sum of 150l. This sum +their father, who had good credit, and who could give excellent security +upon his farm, which was now in a flourishing condition, raised for +them; and they determined to repay him the money by regular yearly +portions out of their profits. + +Success did not render these young men presumptuous or negligent: they +went on steadily with business, were contented to live frugally and +work hard for some years. Many of the sons of neighbouring tradesmen +and farmers, who were able perhaps to buy a horse or two, or three good +coats in a year, and who set up for gentlemen, and spent their days +in hunting, shooting, or cock-fighting, thought that the Grays were +poor-spirited fellows for sticking so close to business. They prophesied +that, even when these brothers should have made a fortune, they would +not have the liberality to spend or enjoy it; but this prediction was +not verified. The Grays had not been brought up to place their happiness +merely in the scraping together pounds, shillings, and pence; they +valued money for money's worth, not for money's sake; and, amongst the +pleasures it could purchase, they thought that of contributing to the +happiness of their parents and friends the greatest. When they had paid +their father the hundred and fifty pounds he had advanced, their next +object was to build a neat cottage for him, near the wood and mill of +Rosanna, on a beautiful spot, upon which they had once heard him say +that he should like to have a house. + +We mentioned that Mr. Hopkins, the agent, had a view to this farm; and +that he was desirous of getting rid of the Grays: but this he found no +easy matter to accomplish, because the rent was always punctually paid. +There was no pretence for _driving_, even for the duty-fowls; Mrs. +Gray always had them ready at the proper time. Mr. Hopkins was farther +provoked by seeing the rich improvements which our farmer made every +year on his land: his envy, which could be moved by the meanest objects +of gain, was continually excited by his neighbour's successful industry. +To-day he envied him his green meadows, and to-morrow the crocks of +butter, packed on the car for Dublin. Farmer Gray's ten cows, which +regularly passed by Mr. Hopkins's window morning and evening, were +a sight that often spoiled his breakfast and supper: but that which +grieved this envious man the most was the barrack manure; he would stand +at his window, and, with a heavy heart, count the car loads that went by +to Gray's farm. + +Once he made an attempt to ruin Gray's friend, the sergeant, by accusing +him secretly of being bribed to sell the barrack manure to Gray for less +than he had been offered for it by others: but the officer to whom +Mr. Hopkins made this complaint was fortunately a man who did not like +secret informations: he publicly inquired into the truth of the matter, +and the sergeant's honesty and Mr. Hopkins's meanness were clearly +proved and contrasted. The consequence of this malicious interference +was beneficial to Gray; for the officer told the story to the colonel of +the regiment which was next quartered in the town, and he to the officer +who succeeded him; so that year after year Mr. Hopkins applied in vain +for the barrack manure. Farmer Gray had always the preference, and the +hatred of Mr. Hopkins knew no bounds; that is, no bounds but the +letter of the law, of which he was ever mindful, because lawsuits are +expensive. + +At length, however, he devised a legal mode of _annoying_ his enemy. +Some land belonging to Mr. Hopkins lay between Gray's farm and the only +bog in the neighbourhood: now he would not permit Mr. Gray, or any body +belonging to him, to draw turf upon his bog-road; and he absolutely +forbade his own wretched tenants to sell turf to the object of his envy. +By these means, he flattered himself he should literally starve the +enemy out of house and home. + +Things were in this situation when John and Robin Gray determined to +build a house for their father at Rosanna. They made no secret to him of +their intentions; for they did not want to surprise but to please him, +and to do every thing in the manner that would be most convenient to him +and their mother. Their sister, Rose, was in all their counsels; and it +had been for the last three years one of her chief delights to go, after +her day's work was done, to the mill at Rosanna, to see how her brothers +were going on. How happy are those families where there is no envy +or jealousy; but in which each individual takes an interest in the +prosperity of the whole! Farmer Gray was heartily pleased with the +gratitude and generosity of his boys, as he still continued to call +them; though, by-the-bye, John was now three-and-twenty, and his brother +only two years younger. + +"My dear boys," said he, "nothing could be more agreeable to me and your +mother than to have a snug cottage near you both, on the very spot which +you say I pitched upon two years ago. This cabin that we now live in, +after all I have tried to do to prop it up, and notwithstanding all +Rose does to keep it neat and clean withinside, is but a crazy sort of a +place. We are able now to have a better house, and I shall be glad to +be out of the reach of Mr. Hopkins's persecution. Therefore, let us set +about and build the new house. You shall contribute your share, my boys; +but only a share: mind, I say only a share. And I hope next year to +contribute my share towards building a house for each of you: it is time +you should think of marrying, and settling: it is no bad thing to have a +house ready for a bride. We shall have quite a little colony of our own +at Rosanna. Who knows but I may live to see my grand-children, ay, and +my great-grand-children, settled there all round me, industrious and +contented?" + +Good-will is almost as expeditious and effectual as Aladdin's lamp:--the +new cottage for farmer Gray was built at Rosanna, and he took possession +of it the ensuing spring. They next made a garden, and furnished it with +all sorts of useful vegetables and some pretty flowers. Rose had great +pleasure in taking care of this garden. Her brothers also laid out +a small green lawn before the door; and planted the boundaries with +white-thorn, crab-trees, lilacs, and laburnums. The lawn sloped down +to the water-side; and the mill and copse behind it were seen from the +parlour windows. A prettier cottage, indeed so pretty a one, was never +before seen in this county. + +But what was better far than the pretty cottage, or the neat garden, or +the green lawn, or the white-thorn, the crab-trees, the lilacs, and the +laburnums, was the content that smiled amongst them. + +Many who have hundreds and thousands are miserable, because they still +desire more; or rather because they know not what they would have. For +instance, Mr. Hopkins, the rich Mr. Hopkins, who had scraped together +in about fifteen years above twenty thousand, some said thirty thousand +pounds, had never been happy for a single day, either whilst he was +making this fortune or when he had made it; for he was of an avaricious, +discontented temper. The more he had, the more he desired. He could +not bear the prosperity of his neighbours; and if his envy made him +industrious, yet it at the same time rendered him miserable. Though he +was what the world calls a remarkably fortunate man, yet the feelings of +his own mind prevented him from enjoying his success. He had no wife, +no children, to share his wealth. He would not marry, because a wife +is expensive; and children are worse than taxes. His whole soul was +absorbed in the love of gain. He denied himself not only the comforts +but the common necessaries of life. He was alone in the world. He was +conscious that no human being loved him. He read his history in the eyes +of all his neighbours. + +It was known that he had risen upon the ruin of others; and the higher +he had risen, the more conspicuous became the faults of his character. +Whenever any man grew negligent of his affairs, or by misfortune was +reduced to distress, Hopkins was at hand to take advantage of his +necessities. His first approaches were always made under the semblance +of friendship; but his victims soon repented their imprudent confidence +when they felt themselves in his power. Unrestrained by a sense of +honour or the feelings of humanity, he felt no scruple in pursuing his +interest to the very verge of what the law would call fraud. Even his +own relations complained that he duped them without scruple; and none +but strangers to his character, or persons compelled by necessity, would +have any dealings with this man. Of what advantage to him, or to any one +else, were the thousands he had accumulated? + +It may be said that such beings are necessary in society; that their +industry is productive; and that, therefore, they ought to be preferred +to the idle, unproductive members of the community: but wealth and +happiness are not the same things. Perhaps, at some future period, +enlightened politicians may think the happiness of nations more +important than their wealth. In this point of view, they would consider +all the members of society, who are productive of happiness, as neither +useless nor despicable; and, on the contrary, they would contemn and +discourage those who merely accumulate money, without enjoying or +dispensing happiness. But some centuries must probably elapse before +such a philosophic race of politicians can arise. In the mean time, let +us go on with our story. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Mr. Hopkins was enraged when he found that his expected victim escaped +his snares. He saw the pretty cottage rise, and the mill of Rosanna +work, in despite of his malevolence. He long brooded over his malice +in silence. As he stood one day on the top of a high mount on his own +estate, from which he had a view of the surrounding country, his eyes +fixed upon the little paradise in the possession of his enemies. He +always called those his enemies of whom he was the enemy: this is no +uncommon mistake, in the language of the passions. + +"The Rosanna mill shall be stopped before this day twelvemonth, or +my name is not Hopkins," said he to himself. "I have sworn vengeance +against those Grays; but I will humble them to the dust, before I have +done with them. I shall never sleep in peace till I have driven those +people from the country." + +It was, however, no easy matter to drive from the country such +inoffensive inhabitants. The first thing Mr. Hopkins resolved upon was +to purchase from Simon O'Dougherty the field adjoining to that in which +the mill stood. The brook flowed through this field, and Mr. Hopkins +saw, with malicious satisfaction, that he could at a small expense turn +the course of the stream, and cut off the water from the mill. + +Poor Simon by this time had reduced himself to a situation in which his +pride was compelled to yield to pecuniary considerations. Within the +last three years, his circumstances had been materially changed. Whilst +he was a bachelor, his income had been sufficient to maintain him in +idleness. Soft Simon, however, at last, took it into his head to marry; +or rather a cunning damsel, who had been his mistress for some years, +took it into her head to make him marry. She was skilled in the arts +both of wheedling and scolding: to resist these united powers was too +much to be expected from a man of Simon's easy temper. + +He argued thus with himself:--"She has cost me more as she is than if +she had been my wife twice over; for she has no interest in looking +after any thing belonging to me, but only just living on from day to +day, and making the most for herself and her children. And the children, +too, all in the same way, snatching what they could make sure of for +themselves. Now, if I make her my lawful wife, as she desires, the +property will be hers, as well as mine; and it will be her interest to +look after all. She is a stirring, notable woman, and will save me a +world of trouble, and make the best of every thing for her children's +sake; and they, being then all acknowledged by me, will make my interest +their own, as she says; and, besides, this is the only way left me to +have peace." + +To avoid the cares and plagues of matrimony, and that worst of plagues +a wife's tongue, Simon first was induced to keep a mistress, and now to +silence his mistress, he made her his wife. She assured him, that, till +she was his lawful lady, she never should have peace or quietness; nor +could she, in conscience, suffer him to have a moment's rest. + +Simon married her, to use his own phrase, out of hand: but the marriage +was only the beginning of new troubles. The bride had hordes and +clans of relations, who came pouring in from all quarters to pay their +respects to Mrs. O'Dougherty. Her good easy man could not shut his doors +against any one: the O'Doughertys were above a hundred years, ay, two +hundred years ago, famous for hospitality; and it was incumbent upon +Simon O'Dougherty to keep up the honour of the family. His four children +were now to be maintained in idleness; for they, like their father, +had an insurmountable aversion to business. The public opinion of Simon +suddenly changed. Those who were any way related to the O'Doughertys, +and who dreaded that he and his children should apply to them for +pecuniary assistance, began the cry against him of, "What a shame it is +{Footnote: Essay on Charity Schools.} that the man does not do something +for himself and his family! How can those expect to be helped who won't +help themselves? He is contented, indeed! Yes, and he must soon be +contented to sell the lands that have been in the family so long; and +then, by and by, he must be content, if he does not bestir himself, to +be carried to jail. It is a sin for any one to be content to eat the +bread of idleness!" + +These and similar reproaches were uttered often, in our idle hero's +presence. They would perhaps have excited him to some sort of exertion, +if his friend, Sir Hyacinth O'Brien, had not, in consequence of certain +electioneering services, and in consideration of his being one of the +best sportsmen in the county, and of Simon's having named a horse +after him, procured for him a place of about fifty pounds a year in the +revenue. Upon the profits of this place Simon contrived to live, in a +shambling sort of way. + +How long he might have shuffled on is a problem which must now for ever +remain unsolved; for his indolence was not permitted to take its natural +course; his ruin was accelerated by the secret operation of an active +and malignant power. Mr. Hopkins, who had determined to get that field +which joined to Gray's mill, and who well knew that the pride of the +O'Doughertys would resist the idea of selling to him any part or parcel +of the lands of Rosanna, devised a scheme to reduce Simon to immediate +and inextricable distress. Simon was, as it might have been foreseen, +negligent in discharging the duties of his office, which was that of a +supervisor. + +He either did not know, or connived at the practices, of sundry illegal +distillers in his neighbourhood. Malicious tongues did not scruple to +say that he took money, upon some occasions, from the delinquents; but +this he positively denied. Possibly his wife and sons knew more of +this matter than he did. They sold certain scraps of paper, called +protections, to several petty distillers, whose safest protection would +have been Simon's indolence. One of the scraps of paper, to which there +was O'Dougherty's signature, fell into the hands of Mr. Hopkins. + +That nothing might be omitted to ensure his disgrace, Hopkins sent a +person, on whom he could depend, to give Simon notice that there was an +illegal still at such a house, naming the house for which the protection +was granted. Soft Simon received the information with his customary +carelessness, said it was too late to think of going to seize the still +that evening, and declared he would have it seized the next day: but the +next day he put it off, and the day afterwards he forgot it, and the day +after that, he received a letter from the collector of excise, summoning +him to answer to an information which had been laid against him for +misconduct. In this emergency, he resolved to have recourse to his +friend Sir Hyacinth O'Brien, who, he thought, could make interest +to screen him from justice. Sir Hyacinth gave him a letter to the +collector, who happened to be in the country. Away he went with the +letter: he was met on the road by a friend, who advised him to ride as +hard after the collector as he could, to overtake him before he should +reach Counsellor Quin's, where he was engaged to dine. Counsellor Quin +was candidate for the county in opposition to Sir Hyacinth O'Brien; and +it was well understood that whomsoever the one favoured the other hated. +It behoved Simon, therefore, to overtake the collector before he should +be within the enemy's gates. Simon whipped and spurred, and puffed and +fretted, but all in vain, for he was mounted upon the horse which, as +the reader may remember, fell into the tan-pit. The collector reached +Counsellor Quin's long before Simon arrived; and, when he presented Sir +Hyacinth's letter, it was received in a manner that showed it came too +late. Simon lost his place and his fifty pounds a year: but what he +found most trying to his temper were the reproaches of his wife, which +were loud, bitter, and unceasing. He knew, from experience, that nothing +could silence her but letting her "have all the plea;" so he suffered +her to rail till she was quite out of breath, and he very nearly asleep, +and then said, "What you have been observing is all very just, no doubt; +but since a thing past can't be recalled, and those that are upon the +ground, as our proverb says, can go no lower, that's a great comfort; so +we may be content." + +"Content, in truth! Is it content to live upon potatoes and salt? I, +that am your lawful wife! And you, that are an O'Dougherty too, to let +your lady be demeaned and looked down upon, as she will be now, even by +them that are sprung up from nothing since yesterday. There's Mrs. Gray, +over yonder at Rosanna, living on your own land: look at her and look at +me! and see what a difference there is!" + +"Some difference there surely is," said Simon. + +"Some difference there surely is," repeated Mrs. O'Dougherty, raising +her voice to the shrillest note of objurgation; for she was provoked +by a sigh that escaped Simon, as he pronounced his reply, or rather his +acceding sentence. Nothing, in some cases, provokes a female so much as +agreeing with her. + +"And if there is some difference betwixt me and Mrs. Gray, should be +glad to know whose fault that is?" + +"So should I, Mrs. O'Dougherty." + +"Then I'll tell you, instantly, whose fault it is, Mr. O'Dougherty: +the fault is your own, Mr. O'Dougherty. No, the fault is mine, Mr. +O'Dougherty, for marrying you, or consorting with you at all. If I had +been matched to an active, industrious man, like Mr. Gray, I might have +been as well in the world and better than Mrs. Gray; for I should become +a fortune better than she, or any of her seed, breed, or generation; and +it's a scandal in the face of the world, and all the world says so, it's +a scandal to see them Grays flourishing and settling a colony, there at +Rosanna, at our expense!" + +"Not at our expense, my dear, for you know we made nothing of either +tan-yard or mill; and now they pay us 30_l_. a year, and that punctually +too. What should we do without it, now we have lost the place in the +revenue? I am sure, I think we were very lucky to get such tenants as +the Grays." + +"In truth, I think no such thing; for if you had been blessed with the +sense of a midge, you might have done all they have done yourself: and +then what a different way your lawful wife and family would have been +in! I am sure I wish it had pleased the saints above to have married me, +when they were about it, to such a man as farmer Gray or his sons." + +"As for the sons," said Simon, "they are a little out of the way in +point of age, but to farmer Gray I see no objection in life: and if he +sees none, and will change wives, I'm sure, Ally, I shall be content." + +The sort of composure and dry humour with which Simon made this last +speech overcame the small remains of Mrs. O'Dougherty's patience: she +burst into a passion of tears; and from this hour, it being now past +eleven o'clock at night, from this hour till six in the morning she +never ceased weeping, wailing, and upbraiding. + +Simon rose from his sleepless bed, saying, "The saints above, as you +call them, must take care of you now, Ally, any how; for I'm fairly +tired out: so I must go a-hunting or a-shooting with my friend, Sir +Hyacinth O'Brien, to recruit my spirits." + +The unfortunate Simon found, to his mortification, that his horse was +so lame he could scarcely walk. Whilst he was considering where he could +borrow a horse, just for the day's hunt, Mr. Hopkins rode into his +yard, mounted upon a fine hunter. Though naturally supercilious, this +gentleman could stoop to conquer: he was well aware of Simon's dislike +to him, but he also knew that Simon was in distress for money. Even +the strongest passions of those who involve themselves in pecuniary +difficulties must yield to the exigencies of the moment. Easy Simon's +indolence had now reduced him to a situation in which his pride was +obliged to bend to his interest. Mr. Hopkins had once been repulsed with +haughtiness by the representative of the O'Dougherty family, when he +offered to purchase some of the family estate; but his proposal was now +better timed, and was made with all the address of which he was master. +He began by begging Simon to give him his opinion of the horse on which +he was mounted, as he knew Mr. O'Dougherty was a particularly good judge +of a hunter; and he would not buy it, from Counsellor Quin's groom, +without having a skilful friend's advice. Then he asked whether it was +true that Simon and the collector had quarrelled, exclaimed against +the malice and officiousness of the informer, whoever he might be, and +finished by observing that, if the loss of his place put Simon to any +inconvenience, there was a ready way of supplying himself with money, by +the sale of any of the lands of Rosanna. The immediate want of a horse, +and the comparison he made, at this moment, between the lame animal on +which he was leaning and the fine hunter upon which Hopkins was mounted, +had more effect upon Simon than all the rest. Before they parted, Mr. +Hopkins concluded a bargain for the field on which he had set his heart: +he obtained it for less than its value by three years' purchase. The +hunter was part of the valuable consideration he gave to Simon. + +The moment that Hopkins was in possession of this field adjoining to +Gray's mill, he began to execute a malignant project which he had long +been contriving. + +We shall leave him to his operations; matters of higher import claim our +attention. One morning, as Rose was on the little lawn before the house +door, gathering the first snowdrops of the year, a servant in a handsome +livery rode up, and asked if Mr. Gray or any of the family were at home. +Her father and brothers were out in the fields, at some distance; but +she said she would run and call them. "There is no occasion, Miss," +said the servant; "for the business is only to leave these cards for the +ladies of the family." + +He put two cards into Rose's hand, and galloped off with the air of a +man who had a vast deal of business of importance to transact. The cards +contained an invitation to an election ball, which Sir Hyacinth O'Brien +was going to give to the secondary class of gentry in the county. Rose +took the cards to her mother; and whilst they were reading them over for +the second time, in came farmer Gray to breakfast. "What have we here, +child?" said he, taking up one of the cards. He looked at his wife and +daughter with some anxiety for a moment; and then, as if he did not +wish to restrain them, turned the conversation to another subject, and +nothing was said of the ball till breakfast was over. + +Mrs. Gray then bade Rose go and put her flowers into water; and as soon +as she was out of the room, said, "My dear, I see you don't like that we +should go to this ball; so I am glad I did not say what I thought of it +to Rose before you came in: for you must know, I had a mother's foolish +vanity about me; and the minute I saw the card, I pictured to myself our +Rose dressed like any of the best of the ladies, and looking handsomer +than most of them, and every body admiring her! But perhaps the girl is +better as she is, having not been bred to be a lady. And yet, now we +are as well in the world as many that set up for and are reckoned +gentlefolks, why should not our girl take this opportunity of rising a +step in life?" + +Mrs. Gray spoke with some confusion and hesitation. "My dear," replied +farmer Gray, in a gentle yet firm tone, "it is very natural that you, +being the mother of such a girl as our Rose, should be proud of her, and +eager to show her to the best advantage; but the main point is to +make her happy, not to do just what will please our own vanity for the +minute. Now I am not at all sure that raising her a step in life, +even if we could do it by sending her to this ball, would be for her +happiness. Are not we happy as we are--Come in, Rose, love; come in; +I should be glad for you to hear what we are saying, and judge for +yourself; you are old enough, and wise enough, I am sure. I was going to +ask, are not we all happy in the way we live together now?" + +"Yes! Oh yes! That we are, indeed," said both the wife and daughter. + +"Then should not we be content, and not wish to alter our condition?" + +"But to go to only one ball, father, would not alter our condition, +would it?" said Rose, timidly. + +"If we begin once to set up for gentry, we shall not like to go back +again to be what we are now: so, before we begin, we had best consider +what we have to gain by a change. We have meat, drink, clothes, and +fire: what more could we have, if we were gentry? We have enough to do, +and not too much; we are all well pleased with ourselves, and with one +another; we have health and good consciences: what more could we have, +if we were to set up to be gentry? Or rather, to put the question +closer, could we in that case have all these comforts? No, I think not: +for, in the first place, we should be straitened for want of money; +because a world of baubles, that we don't feel the want of now, would +become as necessary to us as our daily bread. We should be ashamed not +to have all the things that gentlefolks have; though these don't signify +a straw, nor half a straw, in point of any real pleasure they give, +still they must be had. Then we should be ashamed of the work by which +we must make money to pay for all these nicknacks. John and Robin would +blush up to the eyes, then, if they were to be caught by the genteel +folks in their mill, heaving up sacks of flour, and covered all over +with meal; or if they were to be found, with their arms bare beyond the +elbows, in the tan-yard. And you, Rose, would hurry your spinning-wheel +out of sight, and be afraid to be caught cooking my dinner. Yet there +is no shame in any of these things, and now we are all proud of doing +them." + +"And long may we be so!" cried Mrs. Gray. "You are right, and I spoke +like a foolish woman. Rose, my child, throw these cards into the fire. +We are happy, and contented: and if we change, we shall be discontented +and unhappy, as so many of what they call our betters are. There! the +cards are burnt; now let us think no more about them." + +"Rose, I hope, is not disappointed about this ball; are you, my little +Rose?" said her father, drawing her towards him, and seating her on his +knee. + +"There was one reason, father," said Rose, blushing, "there was one +reason, and only one, why I wished to have gone to this ball." + +"Well, let us hear it. You shall do as you please, I promise you +beforehand. But tell us the reason. I believe you have found it +somewhere at the bottom of that snow-drop, which you have been examining +this last quarter of an hour. Come, let me have a peep," added he, +laughing. + +"The only reason, papa, _is--was_, I mean," said Rose.--"But look! Oh, I +can't tell you now. See who is coming." + +It was Sir Hyacinth O'Brien, in his gig; and with him his English +servant, Stafford, whose staid and sober demeanour was a perfect +contrast to the dash and bustle of his master's appearance. This was an +electioneering visit. Sir Hyacinth was canvassing the county--a business +in which he took great delight, and in which he was said to excel. He +possessed all the requisite qualifications, and was certainly excited +by a sufficiently strong motive; for he knew that, if he should lose his +election, he should at the same time lose his liberty, as the privilege +of a member of parliament was necessary to protect him from being +arrested. He had a large estate, yet he was one of the poorest men in +the county; for no matter what a person's fortune may be, if he spend +more than his income, he must be poor. Sir Hyacinth O'Brien not only +spent more than his income, but desired that his rent-roll should be +thought to be at least double what it really was: of course he was +obliged to live up to the fortune which he affected to possess; and this +idle vanity early in life entangled him in difficulties from which +he had never sufficient strength of mind to extricate himself. He was +ambitious to be the leading man in his county, studied all the arts of +popularity, and found them extremely expensive, and stood a contested +election. He succeeded; but his success cost him several thousands. All +was to be set to rights by his talents as a public speaker, and these +were considerable. He had eloquence, wit, humour, and sufficient +assurance to place them all in the fullest light. His speeches in +parliament were much admired, and the passion of ambition was now +kindled in his mind: he determined to be a leading man in the senate; +and whilst he pursued this object with enthusiasm, his private affairs +were entirely neglected. Ambition and economy never can agree. Sir +Hyacinth, however, found it necessary to the happiness, that is, to the +splendour, of his existence, to supply, by some means or other, the +want of what he called the paltry, selfish, counterfeit virtue--economy. +Nothing less would do than the sacrifice of that which had been +once in his estimation the most noble and generous of human +virtues,--patriotism. The sacrifice was painful, but he could not avoid +making it; because, after living upon five thousand a-year, he could +not live upon five hundred. So, from a flaming patriot, he sunk into a +pensioned placeman. + +He then employed all his powers of wit and sophistry to ridicule the +principles which he had abandoned. In short, he affected to glory in +a species of political profligacy; and laughed or sneered at public +virtue, as if it could only be the madness of enthusiasm, or the +meanness of hypocrisy. By the brilliancy of his conversation, and the +gaiety of his manners, Sir Hyacinth sometimes succeeded in persuading +others that he was in the right; but, alas! there was one person whom +he could never deceive, and that was himself. He despised himself, and +nothing could make him amends for the self-complacency that he had lost. +Without self-approbation, all the luxuries of life are tasteless. + +Sir Hyacinth O'Brien, however, was for some years thought, by those who +could see only the outward man, to be happy; and it was not till the +derangement of his affairs became public that the world began at once +to pity and blame him. He had a lucrative place, but he was, or thought +himself, obliged to live in a style suited to it; and he was not +one shilling the richer for his place. He endeavoured to repair his +shattered fortunes by marrying a rich heiress, but the heiress was, or +thought herself, obliged to live up to her fortune; and, of course, +her husband was not one shilling the richer for his marriage. When Sir +Hyacinth was occasionally distressed for money, his agent, who managed +all affairs in his absence, borrowed money with as much expedition as +possible; and expedition, in matters of business, must, as every body +knows, be paid for exorbitantly. There are men who, upon such terms, +will be as expeditious in lending money as extravagance and ambition +united can desire. Mr. Hopkins was one of these: and he was the +money-lender who supplied the baronet's real and imaginary wants. Sir +Hyacinth did not know the extreme disorder of his own affairs, till a +sudden dissolution of parliament obliged him to prepare for the expense +of a new election. When he went into the country, he was at once beset +with duns and constituents who claimed from him favours and promises. +Miserable is the man who courts popularity, if he be not rich enough to +purchase what he covets. + +Our baronet endeavoured to laugh off with a good grace his apostasy from +the popular party; and whilst he could laugh at the head of a plentiful +table, he could not fail to find many who would laugh with him; but +there was a strong party formed against him in the county. Two other +candidates were his competitors; one of them was Counsellor Quin, a man +of vulgar manners and mean abilities, but yet one who could drink and +cajole electors full as well as Sir Hyacinth, with all his wit and +elegance. The other candidate, Mr. Molyneux, was still more formidable; +not as an electioneerer, but as a man of talents and unimpeached +integrity, which had been successfully exerted in the service of his +country. He was no demagogue, but the friend of justice and of the +poor, whom he would not suffer to be oppressed by the hand of power, +or persecuted by the malice of party spirit. A large number of grateful +independent constituents united to support this gentleman. Sir Hyacinth +O'Brien had reason to tremble for his fate; it was to him a desperate +game. He canvassed the county with the most keen activity; and took +care to engage in his interest all those _underlings_ who delight in +galloping round the country to electioneer, and who think themselves +paid by the momentary consequence they enjoy, and the bustle they +create. + +Amongst these busy-bodies was Simon O'Dougherty: indolent in all his own +concerns, he was remarkably active in managing the affairs of others. +His home being now insufferable to him, he was glad to stroll about the +country; and to him Sir Hyacinth O'Brien left all the dirty work of +the canvass. Soft Simon had reduced himself to the lowest class of +_stalkoes_ or _walking gentlemen_, as they are termed; men who have +nothing to do, and no fortune to support them, but who style themselves +esquire; and who, to use their own mode of expression, are jealous +of that title, and of their claims to family antiquity. Sir Hyacinth +O'Brien knew at once how to flatter Simon's pride, and to lure him on +by promises. Soft Simon believed that the baronet, if he gained his +election, would procure him some place equivalent to that of which he +had been lately deprived. Upon the faith of this promise, Simon worked +harder for his patron than he ever was known to do upon any previous +occasion; and he was not deficient in that essential characteristic of +an electioneerer, boasting. He carried this habit sometimes rather too +far, for he not only boasted so as to bully the opposite party, but +so as to deceive his friends: over his bottle, he often persuaded his +patron that he could command voters, with whom he had no manner of +influence. For instance: he told Sir Hyacinth O'Brien that he was +certain all the Grays would vote for him; and it was in consequence of +this assurance that the cards of invitation to the ball had been sent to +Rose and her mother, and that the baronet was now come in person to pay +his respects at Rosanna. + +We have kept him waiting an unconscionable time at the cottage door; we +must now show him in. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +The beauty of Rose was the first thing that struck him upon his +entrance. The impression was so sudden, and so lively, that, for a few +minutes, the election, and all that belonged to it, vanished from his +memory. The politeness of a county candidate made him appear, in other +houses, charmed with father, mother, son, and daughter; but in this +cottage there was no occasion for dissimulation; he was really pleased +with each individual of the family. The natural feelings of the heart +were touched. The ambitious man forgot all his schemes, and all his +cares, in the contemplation of this humble picture of happiness and +content; and the baronet conversed a full quarter of an hour with farmer +Gray, before he relapsed into himself. + +"How much happier," thought he, "are these people than I am, or than I +ever have been! They are contented in obscurity; I was discontented even +in the full blaze of celebrity. But my fate is fixed. I embarked on +the sea of politics as thoughtlessly as if it were only on a party of +pleasure: now I am chained to the oar, and a galley-slave cannot be more +wretched." + +Perhaps the beauty of Rose had some share in exciting Sir Hyacinth's +sudden taste for rural felicity. It is certain he at first expressed +more disappointment at hearing she would not go to the ball, than at +being told her father and brothers could not vote for him. Farmer +Gray, who was as independent in his principles as in his circumstances, +honestly answered the baronet, that he thought Mr. Molyneux the fittest +man to represent the county; and that it was for him he should therefore +vote. Sir Hyacinth tried all his powers of persuasion in vain, and he +left the cottage mortified and melancholy. + +He met Simon O'Dougherty when he had driven a few miles from the door; +and, in a tone of much pique and displeasure, reproached him for having +deceived him into a belief that the Grays were his friends. Simon +was rather embarrassed; but the genius of gossiping had luckily just +supplied him with a hint, by which he could extricate himself from this +difficulty. + +"The fault is all your own, if I may make so free as to tell you so. +Sir Hyacinth O'Brien," said he, "as capital an electioneerer as you +are, I'll engage I'll find one that shall outdo you here. Send me and +Stafford back again this minute to Rosanna, and we'll bring you the +three votes as dead as crows in an hour's time, or my name is not +O'Dougherty now." + +"I protest, Mr. O'Dougherty, I do not understand you." + +"Then let me whisper half a word in your ear, Sir Hyacinth, and I'll +make you sensible I'm right." Simon winked most significantly, and +looked wondrous wise; then stretching himself half off his horse into +the gig to gain Sir Hyacinth's ear, he whispered that he knew, from the +best authority, Stafford was in love with Gray's pretty daughter, Rose, +and that Rose had no dislike to him; that she was all in all to her +father and brothers, and of course could and would secure their votes, +if properly spoken to. + +This intelligence did not immediately produce the pleasing change of +countenance which might have been expected. Sir Hyacinth coldly replied, +he could not spare Stafford at present, and drove on. The genius of +gossiping, according to her usual custom, had exaggerated considerably +in her report. Stafford was attached to Rose, but had never yet told +her so; and as to Rose, we might perhaps have known all her mind, if Sir +Hyacinth's gig had not appeared just as she was seated on her father's +knee, and going to tell him her reasons for wishing to go to the ball. + +Stafford acted in the capacity of house-steward to the baronet; and had +the management of all his master's unmanageable servants. He had brought +with him, from England, ideas of order and punctuality, which +were somewhat new, and extremely troublesome to the domestics at +Hyacinth-hall: consequently he was much disliked by them; and not only +by them but by most of the country people in the neighbourhood, who +imagined he had a strong predilection in favour of every thing that +was English, and an undisguised contempt for all that was Irish. They, +however, perceived that this prejudice against the Irish admitted of +exceptions: the family of the Grays, Stafford acknowledged, were almost +as orderly, punctual, industrious, and agreeable, as if they had been +born in England. This was matter of so much surprise to him, that he +could not forbear going at every leisure hour to the mill or the cottage +of Rosanna, to convince himself that such things could actually be in +Ireland. He bought all the flour for the hall at Rosanna-mill; and Rose +supplied the housekeeper constantly with poultry; so that his master's +business continually obliged Stafford to repeat his visits; and every +time he went to Gray's cottage, he thought it more and more like an +English farm-house, and imagined Rose every day looked more like an +Englishwoman than any thing else. What a pity she was not born the other +side of the water; for then his mother and friends, in Warwickshire, +could never have made any objection to her. But, she being an +Irishwoman, they would for certain never fancy her. He had oftentimes +heard them as good as say, that it would break their hearts if he was to +marry and settle amongst the bogs and the wild Irish. + +This recollection of his friends' prejudices at first deterred Stafford +from thinking of marrying Rose; but it sometimes happens that reflection +upon the prejudices of others shows us the folly of our own, and so it +was in the present instance. Stafford wrote frequently to his friends +in Warwickshire, to assure them that they had quite wrong notions +of Ireland; that all Ireland was not a bog; that there were several +well-grown trees in the parts he had visited; that there were some +as pretty villages as you could wish to see any where, only that they +called them towns; that the men, though some of them still wear brogues, +were more hospitable to strangers than the English; and that the +women, when not smoke-dried, were some of the handsomest he had seen, +especially one Rose or Rosamond Gray, who was also the best and most +agreeable girl he had ever known; though it was almost a sin to say so +much of one who was not an Englishwoman born. + +Much more in the same strain Stafford wrote to his mother; who, in reply +to these letters, "besought him to consider well what he was about, +before he suffered himself to begin falling desperately in love with +this Rose or Rosamond Gray, or any Irishwoman whatsoever; who, having +been bred in a mud-walled cabin, could never be expected to turn out at +the long run equal to a true-born Englishwoman, bred in a slated house." + +Stafford's notions had been so much enlarged by his travel, that he +could not avoid smiling at some passages in his mother's epistle; yet +he so far agreed with her in opinion as to think it prudent not to begin +falling desperately in love with any woman, whether Irish or English, +till he was thoroughly acquainted with her temper and disposition. +He therefore prudently forbore, that is to say, as much as he could +forbear, to show any signs of his attachment to Rose, till he had full +opportunity of forming a decisive judgment of her character. + +This he had now in his power. He saw that his master was struck with the +fair Rosamond's charms; and he knew that Sir Hyacinth would pursue his +purpose with no common perseverance. His heart beat with joy, when the +card which brought her refusal arrived. He read it over and over again; +and at last put it into his bosom, close to his heart. "Rose is a good +daughter," said he to himself; "and that is a sign that she will make a +good wife. She is too innocent to see or suspect that master has taken a +fancy to her, but she is right to do as her prudent, affectionate father +advises. I never loved that farmer Gray so well, in all my whole life, +as at this instant." + +Stafford was interrupted in his reverie by his master; who, in an +angry voice, called for him to inquire why he had not, according to his +orders, served out some oats for his horses the preceding day. The truth +was, that anxiety about Rose and the ball had made him totally forget +the oats. Stafford coloured a good deal, confessed that he had done +very wrong to forget the oats, but that he would go to the granary +immediately, and serve them out to the groom. Perhaps Stafford's usual +exactness might have rendered his omission pardonable to any less +irritable and peremptory master than Sir H. O'Brien. + +When Sterne once heard a master severely reprimanding a servant for some +trifling fault, he said to the gentleman, "My dear sir, we should not +expect to have every virtue under the sun for 20_l_. a-year." + +Sir Hyacinth O'Brien expected to have them for merely the promise of +20_l_. a-year. Though he never punctually paid his servants' wages, +he abused them most insolently whenever he was in a passion. Upon the +present occasion, his ill-humour was heightened by jealousy. + +"I wish, sir," cried he to Stafford, after pouring forth a volley of +oaths, "you would mind your business, and not run after objects that +are not fit for you. You are become good for nothing of late; careless, +insolent, and not fit to be trusted." + +Stafford bore all that his master said till he came to the words not +fit to be trusted; but the moment those were uttered, he could no longer +command himself; he threw down the great key of the granary, which he +held in his hand, and exclaimed, "Not fit to be trusted! Is this +the reward of all my services? Not fit to be trusted! Then I have no +business here." + +"The sooner you go the better, sir," cried the angry baronet, who, at +this instant, desired nothing more than to get him out of his way. "You +had best set off for England directly: I have no farther occasion for +your services." + +Stafford said not a word more, but retired from his master's presence to +conceal his emotion; and, when he was alone, burst into tears, repeating +to himself, "So this is the reward of all my services!" + +When Sir Hyacinth's passion cooled, he reflected that seven years' +wages were due to Stafford; and as it was not convenient to him at +this election time to part with so much ready money, he resolved to +compromise. It was not from any sense of justice; therefore it must be +said he had the meanness to apologize to his steward, and to hint that +he was welcome to remain, if he pleased, in his service. + +Satisfied by this explanation, and by the condescension with which it +was given, Stafford's affection for his master returned with all its +wonted force: and he resumed his former occupations about the house with +redoubled activity. He waited only till he could be spared for a day to +go to Rosanna, and make his proposal for Rose. Her behaviour concerning +the ball convinced him that his mother's prejudices against Irishwomen +were ill-founded. Whilst his mind was in this state, his master one +morning sent for him, and told him that it was absolutely necessary +he should go to a neighbouring county, to some persons who were +freeholders, and whose votes might turn the election. The business +would only occupy a few days, Sir Hyacinth said; and Stafford willingly +undertook it. + +The gentlemen to whom Stafford had letters were not at home, and he was +detained above a fortnight. When he returned, he took a road which led +by Rosanna, that he might at least have the pleasure of seeing Rose for +a few minutes; but when he called at the cottage, to his utter surprise, +he was refused admittance. Being naturally of a warm temper, and not +deficient in pride, his first impulse was to turn his horse's head, and +gallop off: but, checking his emotion, he determined not to leave the +place till he should discover the cause of this change of conduct. +He considered that none of this family had formerly treated him with +caprice or duplicity; it was therefore improbable they should suddenly +alter their conduct towards him, unless they had reason to believe that +they had some sufficient cause. He rode immediately to a field where he +saw some labourers at work. Farmer Gray was with them. Stafford leaped +from his horse, and, with an air of friendly honesty, held out his hand, +saying, "I can't believe you mean to affront me: tell me what is the +reason I am not to be let into your house, my good friend?" + +Gray leaned upon his stick, and, after looking at him for a moment, +replied, "We have been too hasty, I see: we have had no cause of +quarrel with you, Stafford: you could never look at me with that honest +countenance, if you had any hand in this business." + +"What business?" cried Stafford. + +"Walk home with me, out of the hearing of these people, and you shall +know." + +As they walked towards his cottage, Gray took out his great leather +pocket-book, and searched for a letter. "Pray, Stafford," said he, "did +you, about ten days ago, send my girl a melon?" + +"Yes; one of my own raising. I left it with the gardener, to be sent to +her with my best respects and services; and a message intimating to say +that I was sorry my master's business required I should take a journey, +and could not see her for a few days, or something that way." + +"No such message came; only your services, the melon, and this note. I +declare," continued Gray, looking at Stafford whilst he read the letter, +"he turns as pale as my wife herself did when I showed it to her!" + +Stafford, indeed, grew pale with anger. It was a billet-doux from his +master to Rose, which Sir Hyacinth entreated might be kept secret, +promising to make her fortune and marry her well, if she would only have +compassion upon a man who adored and was dying for her, &c. + +"I will never see my master again," exclaimed Stafford. "I could not +see him without the danger of doing something that I might not forgive +myself. He a gentleman! He a gentleman! I'll gallop off and leave his +letters, and his horse, with some of his people. I'll never see him +again. If he does not pay me a farthing of my seven years' wages, +I don't care; I will not sleep in his house another night. He a +gentleman!" + +Farmer Gray was delighted by Stafford's generous indignation; which +appeared the more striking, as his manner was usually sober, and +remarkably civil. + +All this happened at two o'clock in the afternoon; and the evening of +the same day he returned to Rosanna. Rose was sitting at work, in the +seat of the cottage window. When she saw him at the little white gate, +her colour gave notice to her brothers who was coming, and they ran out +to meet him. + +"You ought to shut your doors against me now, instead of running out +to meet me," said he; "for I am not clear that I have a farthing in the +world, except what is in this portmanteau. I have been fool enough to +leave all I have earned in the hands of _a gentleman_, who can give me +only his bond for my wages. But I am glad I am out of his house, at any +rate." + +"And I am glad you are in mine," said farmer Gray, receiving him with a +warmth of hospitality which brought tears of gratitude into Stafford's +eyes. Rose smiled upon her father, and said nothing; but set him his +arm-chair, and was very busy arranging the tea-table. Mrs. Gray beckoned +to her guest, and made him sit down beside her; telling him he should +have as good tea at Rosanna as ever he had in Warwickshire; "and out of +Staffordshire ware, too," said she, taking her best Wedgwood teacups and +saucers out of a cupboard. + +Robin, who was naturally gay and fond of rallying his friends, could not +forbear affecting to express his surprise at Stafford's preferring an +Irishwoman, of all women in the world. "Are you quite sure, Stafford," +said he, "that you are not mistaken? Are you sure my sister has not +wings on her shoulders?" + +"Have you done now, Robin?" said his mother; who saw that Stafford was +a good deal abashed, and had no answer ready. "If Mr. Stafford had a +prejudice against us Irish, so much the more honourable for my Rose to +have conquered it; and, as to wings, they would have been no shame to +us natives, supposing we had them; and of course it was no affront to +attribute them to us. Have not the angels themselves wings?" + +A timely joke is sometimes a real blessing; and so Stafford felt it at +this instant: his bashfulness vanished by degrees, and Robin rallied him +no more. "I had no idea," said he, "how easy it is to put an Englishman +out of countenance in the company of his mistress." + +This was a most happy evening at Rosanna. After Rose retired, which she +soon did, to see after the household affairs, her father spoke in the +kindest manner to Stafford. "Mr. Stafford," said he, "if you tell me +that you are able to maintain my girl in the way of life she is in now, +you shall have her: this, in my opinion and in hers, is the happiest +life for those who have been bred to it. I would rather see Rose matched +to an honest, industrious, good-humoured man, like yourself, whom +she can love, than see her the wife of a man as grand as Sir Hyacinth +O'Brien. For, to the best of my opinion, it is not the being born to a +great estate that can make a man content or even rich: I think myself a +richer man this minute than Sir Hyacinth; for I owe no man any thing, am +my own master, and can give a little matter both to child and stranger. +But your head is very naturally running upon Rose, and not upon my +moralizing. All I have to say is, win her and wear her; and, as to the +rest, even if Sir Hyacinth never pays you your own, that shall not stop +your wedding. My sons are good lads, and you and Rose shall never want, +whilst the mill of Rosanna is going." + +This generosity quite overpowered Stafford. Generosity is one of the +characteristics of the Irish. It not only touched but surprised the +Englishman; who, amongst the same rank of his own countrymen, had been +accustomed to strict honesty in their dealings, but seldom to this +warmth of friendship and forgetfulness of all selfish considerations. +It was some minutes before he could articulate a syllable; but, after +shaking his intended father-in-law's hand with that violence which +expresses so much to English feelings, he said, "I thank you heartily; +and, if I live to the age of Methusalem, shall never forget this. A +friend in need is a friend indeed. But I will not live upon yours or +your good sons' earnings; that would not be fair dealing, or like what +I've been bred up to think handsome. It is a sad thing for me that this +master of mine can give me nothing, for my seven years' service, +but this scrap of paper (taking out of his pocket-book a bond of Sir +Hyacinth's). But my mother, though she has her prejudices, and is +very stiff about them, being an elderly woman, and never going out of +England, or even beyond the parish in which she was born, yet she is +kind-hearted; and I cannot think will refuse to help me, or that she +will cross me in marriage, when she knows the thing is determined; so I +shall write to her before I sleep, and wish I could but enclose in the +cover of my letter the picture of Rose, which would be better than all +I could say. But no picture would do her justice. I don't mean a +compliment, like those Sir Hyacinth paid to her face, but only the plain +truth. I mean that a picture could never make my mother understand how +good, and sweet-tempered, and modest, Rose is. Mother has a world of +prejudices; but she is a good woman, and will prove herself so to me, I +make no doubt." + +Stafford wrote to his mother a long letter, and received, in a fortnight +afterwards, this short answer: + +"Son George, I warned you not to fall in love with an Irishwoman, to +which I told you I could never give my consent. + +"As you bake, so you must brew. Your sister Dolly is marrying too, and +setting up a shop in Warwick, by my advice and consent: all the money I +can spare I must give, as in reason, to her who is a dutiful child; +and mean, with her and grand-children, if God please, to pass my latter +days, as fitting, in this parish of Little Sonchy, in Old England, where +I was born and bred. Wishing you may not repent, or starve, or so forth, +which please to let me know, + +"I am your affectionate mother, + +"DOROTHY STAFFORD." + + +All Stafford's hopes were confounded by this letter: he put it into +farmer Gray's hands, without saying a word; then drew his chair away +from Rose, hid his face in his hands, and never spoke or heard one word +that was saying round about him for full half an hour; till, at last, +he was roused by his friend Robin, who, clapping him on his back, said, +"Come, Stafford, English pride won't do with us; this is all to punish +you for refusing to share and share alike with us in the mill of +Rosanna, which is what you must and shall do now, for Rose's sake, if +not for ours or your own. Come, say done." + +Stafford could not help being moved. All the family, except Rose, joined +in these generous entreaties; and her silence said even more than their +words. Dinner was on the table before this amicable contest was settled, +and Robin insisted upon his drinking a toast with him, in Irish ale; +which was, "Rose Gray, and Rosanna-mill." + +The glass was just filled and the toast pronounced, when in came one of +Gray's workmen, in an indescribable perspiration and rage. + +"Master Robin, master John! Master," cried he, "we are all ruined! The +mill and all--" + +"The mill!" exclaimed every body starting up. + +"Ay, the mill: it's all over with it, and with us: not a turn more will +Rosanna-mill ever take for me or you; not a turn," continued he, wiping +his forehead with his arm, and hiding by the same motion his eyes, which +ran over with tears. + +"It's all that thief Hopkins's doing. May every guinea he touches, and +every shilling, and tester, and penny itself, blister his fingers, from +this day forward and for evermore!" + +"But what has he done to the mill?" + +"May every guinea, shilling, tester, and penny he looks upon, from this +day forth for evermore, be a blight to his eyes, and a canker to his +heart! But I can't wish him a worse canker than what he has there +already. Yes, he has a canker at heart! Is not he eaten up with envy? as +all who look at him may read in that evil eye. Bad luck to the hour when +it fixed on the mill of Rosanna!" + +"But what has he done to the mill? Take it patiently, and tell us +quietly," said farmer Gray, "and do not curse the man any more." + +"Not curse the man! Take it quietly, master! Is it the time to take it +quietly, when he is at the present minute carrying off every drop of +water from our mill-course? so he is the villain!" + +At these words, Stafford seized his oak stick, and sprang towards the +door. Robin and John eagerly followed: but, as they passed their father, +he laid a hand on each, and called to Stafford to stop. At his respected +voice they all paused. "My children," said he, "what are you going to +do? No violence. No violence. You shall have justice, boys, depend upon +it; we will not let ourselves be oppressed. If Mr. Hopkins were ten +times as great, and twenty times as tyrannical as he is, we shall have +justice; the law will reach him: but we must take care and do nothing +in anger. Therefore, I charge you, let me speak to him, and do you +keep your tempers whatever passes. May be, all this is only a mistake: +perhaps Mr. Hopkins is only making drains for his own meadow; or, may +be, is going to flood it, and does not know, till we tell him, that he +is emptying our water-course." + +"He can't but know it! He can't but know it! He's' cute enough, and too +'cute," muttered Paddy, as he led the way to the mill. Stafford and +the two brothers followed their father respectfully; admiring his +moderation, and resolving to imitate it if they possibly could. + +Mr. Hopkins was stationed cautiously on the boundary of his own land. +"There he is, mounted on the back of the ditch, enjoying the mischief +all he can!" cried Paddy. "And hark! He is whistling, whilst our stream +is running away from us. May I never cross myself again, if I would not, +rather than the best shirt ever I had to my back, push him into the mud, +as he deserves, this very minute! And, if it wasn't for my master here, +it's what I'd do, before I drew breath again." + +Farmer Gray restrained Paddy's indignation with some difficulty; and +advancing calmly towards Mr. Hopkins, he remonstrated with him in a mild +tone. "Surely, Mr. Hopkins," said he, "you cannot mean to do us such an +injury as to stop our mill?" + +"I have not laid a finger on your mill," replied Hopkins, with a +malicious smile. "If your man there," pointing to Paddy, "could prove +my having laid a finger upon it, you might have your action of trespass; +but I am no trespasser; I stand on my own land, and have a right to +water my own meadow; and moreover have witnesses to prove that, for ten +years last past, while the mill of Rosanna was in Simon O'Dougherty's +hands, the water-course was never full, and the mill was in disuse. The +stream runs against you now, and so does the law, gentlemen. I have the +best counsel's opinion in Ireland to back me. Take your remedy, when and +where you can find it. Good morning to you." + +Without listening to one word more, Mr. Hopkins hastily withdrew: for he +had no small apprehensions that Paddy, whose threats he had overheard, +and whose eyes sparkled with rage, might execute upon him that species +of prompt justice which no quibbling can evade. + +"Do not be disheartened, my dear boys," said farmer Gray to his sons, +who were watching with mournful earnestness the slackened motion of +their water-wheel. "Saddle my horse for me, John; and get yourselves +ready, both of you, to come with me to Counsellor Molyneux." + +"Oh! father," said John, "there is no use in going to him; for he is one +of the candidates, you know, and Mr. Hopkins has a great many votes." + +"No matter for that," said Gray: "Mr. Molyneux will do justice; that is +my opinion of him. If he was another sort of man, I would not trouble +myself to go near him, nor stoop to ask his advice: but my opinion of +him is, that he is above doing a dirty action, for votes or any thing +else; and I am convinced his own interest will not weigh a grain of dust +in the balance against justice. Saddle the horses, boy." + +His sons saddled the horses; and all the way the farmer was riding he +continued trying to keep up the spirits of his sons, by assurances that +if Counsellor Molyneux would take their affair in hand, there would be +an end of all difficulty. + +"He is not one of those justices of the peace," continued he, "who will +huddle half a dozen poor fellows into jail without law or equity. He is +not a man who goes into parliament, saying one thing, and who comes out +saying another. He is not, like, our friend Sir Hyacinth O'Brien, forced +to sell tongue, and brains, and conscience, to keep his head above +water. In short, he is a man who dares to be the same, and can moreover +afford to be the same, at election time as at any other time; for which +reason, I dare to go to him now in this our distress, although, I have +to complain of a man who has forty-six votes, which is the number, they +say, Mr. Hopkins can command." + +Whilst farmer Gray was thus pronouncing a panegyric on Counsellor +Molyneux, for the comfort of John and Robin, Stafford was trying to +console Rose and her mother, who were struck with sorrow and dismay, +at the news of the mill's being stopped. Stafford had himself almost as +much need of consolation as they; for he foresaw it was impossible he +should at present be united to his dear Rose. All that her generous +brothers had to offer was a share in the mill. The father had his farm, +but this must serve for the support of the whole family; and how could +Stafford become a burden to them, now that they would be poor, when he +could not bring himself to be dependent upon them, even when they were, +comparatively speaking, rich? + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +With anxious hearts the little party at the cottage expected the return +of the father and his sons. Rose sat at the window watching for them: +her mother laid down her knitting, and sighed: and Stafford was silent, +for he had exhausted all his consolatory eloquence, and saw and felt it +had no effect. + +"Here they come! But they ride so slow, that I am sure they bring us no +good news." + +No: there was not any good news. Counsellor Molyneux had indeed behaved +as well as man could do: he had declared that he would undertake to +manage and plead their cause in any court of justice on earth; and had +expressed the strongest indignation against the villany of Hopkins; but, +at the same time, he had fairly told the Grays that this litigious man, +if they commenced a suit, might ruin them, by law, before they could +recover their rights. + +"So we may go to bed this night melancholy enough," said Robin; "with +the certainty that our mill is stopped, and that we have a long lawsuit +to go through, before we can see it going again--if ever we do." + +Rose and Stafford looked at one another, and sighed. + +"We had better not go to law, to lose the little we have left, at any +rate," said Mrs. Gray. + +"Wife, I am determined my boys shall have justice," said the father, +firmly. "_I_ am not fond of law, God knows! I never had a lawsuit in my +life; nobody dreads such things more than I do; but I dread nothing in +defence of my sons and justice. Whilst I have a penny left in the world, +I'll spend it to obtain them justice. The labour of their lives shall +not be in vain; they shall not be robbed of all they have: they shall +not be trampled upon by any one living, let him be ever so rich, or +ever so litigious. I fear neither his money nor his quirks of law. Plain +sense is the same for him and for me; and justice my boys shall have. +Mr. Molyneux will plead our cause himself--desire no more. If we fail +and are ruined, our ruin be upon the head of him who works it! I +shall die content, when I have done all I can to obtain justice for my +children." + +As soon as these facts were known, every body in the neighbourhood felt +extreme indignation against Hopkins; and all joined in pitying the two +brothers, and applauding the spirit of their father. There was not an +individual who did not wish that Hopkins might be punished; but he +had been engaged in so many lawsuits, and had been so successful in +screening himself from justice, and in ruining his opponents, that every +body feared the Grays, though they were so much in the right, would +never be able to make this appear, according to the forms of law: many, +therefore, advised that it might not be brought to trial. But farmer +Gray persisted, and Counsellor Molyneux steadily abided by his word, and +declared he would plead the cause himself. + +Mr. Hopkins sent the counsellor a private hint, that if he directly +or indirectly protected the Grays, he must give up all hopes of the +forty-six votes which, as the county was now nearly balanced, must turn +the election. Mr. Molyneux paid no attention to this hint; but, the very +day on which he received it, visited farmer Gray in his cottage, walked +with him to Rosanna-mill, and settled how the suit should be carried on. + +Hopkins swore he would spare no expense to humble the pride both of +the Grays and their protector: an unexpected circumstance, however, +occurred. It had often been prophesied by Mr. Molyneux, who knew the +species of bargains which Hopkins drove with all manner of people by +whose distresses he could make money, that he would sooner or later +overshoot his mark, as cunning persons often do. Mr. Molyneux predicted +that, amongst the medley of his fraudulent purchases, he would at length +be the dupe of some unsound title; and that, amongst the multitudes whom +he ruined, he would at last meet with some one who would ruin him. The +person who was the means of accomplishing this prophecy was indeed the +last that would have been guessed--soft Simon O'Dougherty! In dealing +with him, Mr. Hopkins, who thoroughly despised indolent honesty, was +quite off his guard; and, in truth, poor Simon had no design to cheat +him: but it happened that the lease, which he made over to Hopkins, as +his title to the field that he sold, was a lease renewable for ever; +with a strict clause, binding the lessee to renew, within a certain time +after the failure of each life, under penalty of forfeiting the lease. +From the natural laziness of easy Simon, he had neglected to renew, and +had even forgotten that the life was dropped: he assigned his lease over +a bottle to Mr. Hopkins, who seized it with avidity, lest he should lose +the lucky moment to conclude a bargain in which, he thought, he had +at once over-reached Simon, and had secured to himself the means of +wreaking his vengeance upon the Grays. This lease was of the field +adjoining to Rosanna-mill; and by the testimony of some old people +in the neighbourhood, he fancied he could prove that this meadow was +anciently flooded, and that the mill-course had gone into disuse. In all +his subsequent operations, he had carefully kept himself, as he thought, +upon his own lands; but, now that a suit against him was instituted, it +was necessary to look to his own title, into which he knew Mr. Molyneux +would examine. + +Upon reading over the lease assigned to him by Simon, he noticed the +strict clause, binding the tenant to renew within a certain time. A +qualm came over him! He was astonished at himself for not having more +carefully perused the lease before he concluded the bargain. Had it been +with any one but soft Simon, this could not have happened. He hastened +in search of Simon with the utmost anxiety, to inquire whether all the +lives were in being. Simon at first said he had such a mist over his +memory that he could not exactly recollect who the lives were; but at +last he made out that one of them had been dead beyond the time for +renewal. The gentleman, his landlord, he said, was in Dublin; and he had +neglected, sure enough, to write to him from post to post. + +The rage of Mr. Hopkins was excessive: he grew white with anger! Easy +Simon yawned, and begged him not to take the thing so to heart: "for, +after all," said he, "you know the loss must be mine. I can't make good +the sale of this field to you, as I have lost it by my own carelessness: +but that's nothing to you; for you know, as well as I do, that to make +good the deficiency, you will, somehow or other, get a better piece of +ground out of the small remains of patrimony I have left, God help me!" + +"God help _you_, indeed!" cried Hopkins, with a look and accent of +mingled rage and contempt. "I tell you, man, the loss is mine; and no +other land you have, to sell or give, can make me any amends. I shall +lose my lawsuit." + +"Wheugh! wheugh! Why, so much the better. Where's the use of having +lawsuits? The loss of such bad things can never be great." + +"No trifling, pray," said Hopkins, with impatience, as he walked up and +down the room, and repeatedly struck his forehead. + +"Ho! ho! ho! I begin to comprehend. I know whereabouts you are now," +cried Simon. "Is not it the Grays you are thinking of? Ah, that's the +suit you are talking about. But now, Mr. Hopkins, you ought to rejoice, +as I do, instead of grieving, that it is out of your power to ruin that +family; for, in truth, they are good people, and have the voice of the +country with them against you; and if you were to win your suit twenty +times over, that would still be the same. You would never be able to +show your face; and, for my own part, my conscience would never forgive +me for being instrumental, unknown to myself, in giving you the power +to do this mischief. And, after all, what put it into your head to stop +Rosanna-mill, when its going gave you no trouble in life?" + +Hopkins, who had not listened to one syllable Simon was saying, at this +instant suddenly stopped walking; and, in a soft insinuating voice, +addressed him in these words: + +"Mr. O'Dougherty, you know I have a great regard for you." + +"May be so," said Simon; "though that is more than I ever knew you to +have for any body." + +"Pray be serious. I tell you I have, and will prove it." + +"That is more and more surprising, Mr. Hopkins." + +"And which is more surprising still, I will make your fortune, if you +will do a trifling kindness for me." + +"Any thing in nature, that won't give me an unreasonable deal of +trouble." + +"Oh, this will give you no sort of trouble," said Hopkins. "I will get +you, before this day se'nnight, that place in the revenue that you have +been wishing for so long, and that Sir Hyacinth O'Brien will never get +for you. I say I will insure it to you under my hand, this minute, if +you will do what I want of you." + +"To be sure I will, if it's no trouble. What is it?" + +"Only just," said Hopkins, hesitating; "only just--You must +remember--you cannot but recollect that you wrote to your landlord, to +offer to renew?" + +"I remember to recollect no such thing," said Simon, surprised. + +"Yes, yes," said Hopkins; "but he gave you no answer, you know." + +"But, I tell you, I never wrote to him at all." + +"Pshaw! You have a bad memory, Simon; and your letter might have +miscarried. There's nothing simpler than that; nothing more easily +said." + +"If it were but true," said Simon. + +"True or not, it may be said, you know." + +"Not by Simon O'Dougherty, Mr. Hopkins.", + +"Look you, Mr. O'Dougherty, I have a great regard for you," continued +Hopkins, holding him fast, and producing a pocket-book full of bank +notes. I must, thought he, come up to this scoundrel's price, for he +has me now. He is more knave than fool, I see. "Let us understand one +another, my good friend Simon. Name your sum, and make me but a short +affidavit, purporting that you did apply for this renewal, and you have +your place in the revenue snug besides." + +"You don't know whom you are speaking to, Mr. Hopkins," said +Simon, looking over his shoulder, with cool and easy contempt. "The +O'Doughertys are not accustomed to perjuring themselves; and it's a +trouble I would not take for any man, if he were my own father even; no, +not for all the places in the revenue that ever were created, nor for +all the bank notes ever you cheated mankind out of, Mr. Hopkins, into +the bargain. No offence. I never talked of cheating, till you named +perjury to me; for which I do not kick you down stairs, in the first +place, because there are no stairs, I believe, to my house; next, +because, if there were ever so many, it would be beneath me to make use +of them upon any such occasion; and, lastly, it would be quite too much +trouble. Now we comprehend one another perfectly, I hope, Mr. Hopkins." + +Cursing himself, and overwhelmed with confusion, Mr. Hopkins withdrew. +Proud of himself, and having a story to tell, Simon O'Dougherty hastened +to Rosanna, to relate all that had happened to the Grays, and to +congratulate them, as he said, upon his own carelessness. + +The joy with which they listened to Simon's story was great, and in +proportion to the anxiety they had suffered. In less than half an hour's +time, they received a mean, supplicating letter from Hopkins, entreating +they would not ruin his reputation, and all his prospects in life, by +divulging what had passed; and promising that the mill-stream of Rosanna +should be returned to its proper channel, without any expense to them, +and that he would make a suitable compensation in money, if they would +bind themselves to secrecy. + +It will easily be guessed that they rejected all his offers with +disdain: the whole affair was told by them to Mr. Molyneux, and the next +day all the neighbourhood knew it, and triumphed in the detection of a +villain, who had long been the oppressor of the poor. The neighbours all +joined in restoring the water to the mill-course; and when Rosanna-mill +was once more at work, the village houses were illuminated, and even +the children showed their sympathy for the family of the Grays, by huge +bonfires and loud huzzas. + +Simon O'Dougherty's landlord was so much pleased by the honesty he had +shown in this affair, that he renewed the lease of the meadow, instead +of insisting upon the forfeiture; and farmer Gray delighted poor Simon +still more, by promising to overlook for him the management of the land, +which still remained in his possession. + +In the mean time, Mr. Hopkins, who could not go out of his own house +without being insulted, or without fearing to be insulted, prepared to +quit the country. "But before I go," said he, "I shall have the pleasure +and triumph, at least, of making Mr. Molyneux lose his election." + +The Grays feared Mr. Molyneux would indeed be a sufferer for the +generous protection he had afforded them in their distress. The votes +were nearly balanced in the county, and the forty-six votes which +Hopkins could command would decide the contest. There are often in real +life instances of what is called poetical justice. The day before the +election, Sir Hyacinth was arrested at the suit of Stafford, who chose +his opportunity so well, that the sheriff, though he was a fast friend +of the baronet's, could not refuse to do his duty. The sheriff had such +a number of writs immediately put into his hands, that bail could not be +found; and Mr. Molyneux was elected without opposition. + +But, let us return, from the misery of arrests and elections, to peace, +industry, family union, and love, in the happy cottage of Rosanna. +No obstacles now prevented the marriage of Stafford and Rose; it was +celebrated with every simple demonstration of rural felicity. The bride +had the blessings of her fond father and mother, the congratulations of +her beloved brothers, and the applause of her own heart. Are not +these better things than even forty fine wedding gowns, or a coach of +Hatchett's best workmanship? Rose thought so, and her future life proved +she was not much mistaken. Stafford some time after his marriage took +his wife to England, to see his mother, who was soon reconciled to +him and her Irish daughter-in-law, whose gentle manners and willing +obedience overcame her unreasonable dislike. Old Mrs. Stafford declared +to her son, when he was returning, that she had so far got the better of +what he called her prejudices, that, if she could but travel to Ireland, +without crossing the sea, she verily believed she would go and spend a +year with him and the Grays at Rosanna. + +{Footnote: Having heard, from good judges, that the language used by +_Farmer Gray_ in this story appears superior to his condition, we +insert a letter which we lately received from him; matter, manner, and +orthography _his own_. + +"To R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. + +"HON. SIR, + +"I have read your valuable present with care, so has also the whole +family; its design is excellent, it breathes forth a spirit of virtue +and industry and in a word all the social virtues which constitute human +happiness--Its other characters are admirably adapted to expose vice in +all its hideous forms, and gives us a view of those baneful principles +which terminate in certain misery and proves beyond a doubt that many of +mankind are the authors of their own calamities and frequently involve +others in the same or similar unhappy circumstances-- + +"Thrice happy are they who in affluence endeavour thus to amend the +morals of mankind; it's they only who enjoy true felicity--their example +and their precepts have a powerful influence on all around them, and +never fail to excite a virtuous emulation, except, among the utterly +abandoned and profligate-- + +"On the contrary, families in elevated situations of life who devote +their time to dissipation and its sensual allurements are the pest of +society--the vices and crimes of the great are frequently imitated by +the lower ranks--they all die, and no memorial is left behind but that +of folly and an ill-spent life. + +"May that life of virtue so strongly recommended be long the shining +ornament of you and your family, and its end be rewarded with a crown of +eternal happiness, which is the joint wish of the family of-- + +"FARMER GRAY." + +"_July 1st, 1804._"} + + + + +MURAD THE UNLUCKY + + +CHAPTER I. + +It is well known that the grand seignior amuses himself by going at +night, in disguise, through the streets of Constantinople; as the +caliph, Haroun Alraschid, used formerly to do in Bagdad. + +One moonlight night, accompanied by his grand vizier, he traversed +several of the principal streets of the city, without seeing any thing +remarkable. At length, as they were passing a rope-maker's, the sultan +recollected the Arabian story of Cogia-Hassan Alhabal, the rope-maker, +and his two friends, Saad and Saadi, who differed so much in their +opinion concerning the influence of fortune over human affairs. + +"What is your opinion on this subject?" said the grand seignior to his +vizier. + +"I am inclined, please your majesty," replied the vizier, "to think that +success in the world depends more upon prudence than upon what is called +luck, or fortune." + +"And I," said the sultan, "am persuaded that fortune does more for men +than prudence. Do you not every day hear of persons who are said to be +fortunate or unfortunate? How comes it that this opinion should prevail +amongst men, if it be not justified by experience?" + +"It is not for me to dispute with your majesty," replied the prudent +vizier. + +"Speak your mind freely; I desire and command it," said the sultan. + +"Then I am of opinion," answered the vizier, "that people are often led +to believe others fortunate, or unfortunate, merely because they only +know the general outline of their histories; and are ignorant of the +incidents and events in which they have shown prudence or imprudence. I +have heard, for instance, that there are at present, in this city, two +men, who are remarkable for their good and bad fortune: one is called +_Murad the Unlucky_, and the other _Saladin the Lucky_. Now I am +inclined to think, if we could hear their stories, we should find that +one is a prudent and the other an imprudent character." + +"Where do these men live?" interrupted the sultan. "I will hear their +histories from their own lips, before I sleep." + +"Murad the Unlucky lives in the next square," said the vizier. + +The sultan desired to go thither immediately. Scarcely had they entered +the square, when they heard the cry of loud lamentations. They followed +the sound till they came to a house of which the door was open, and +where there was a man tearing his turban, and weeping bitterly. They +asked the cause of his distress, and he pointed to the fragments of a +china vase, which lay on the pavement at his door. + +"This seems undoubtedly to be beautiful china," said the sultan, taking +up one of the broken pieces; "but can the loss of a china vase be the +cause of such violent grief and despair?" + +"Ah, gentlemen," said the owner of the vase, suspending his +lamentations, and looking at the dress of the pretended merchants, "I +see that you are strangers: you do not know how much cause I have for +grief and despair! You do not know that you are speaking to Murad +the Unlucky! Were you to hear all the unfortunate accidents that have +happened to me, from the time I was born till this instant, you would +perhaps pity me, and acknowledge I have just cause for despair." + +Curiosity was strongly expressed by the sultan; and the hope of +obtaining sympathy inclined Murad to gratify it, by the recital of his +adventures. "Gentlemen," said he, "I scarcely dare invite you into the +house of such an unlucky being as I am; but, if you will venture to +take a night's lodging under my roof, you shall hear at your leisure the +story of my misfortunes." + +The sultan and the vizier excused themselves from spending the night +with Murad; saying that they were obliged to proceed to their khan, +where they should be expected by their companions: but they begged +permission to repose themselves for half an hour in his house, and +besought him to relate the history of his life, if it would not renew +his grief too much to recollect his misfortunes. + +Few men are so miserable as not to like to talk of their misfortunes, +where they have, or where they think they have, any chance of obtaining +compassion. As soon as the pretended merchants were seated, Murad began +his story in the following manner: + +"My father was a merchant of this city. The night before I was born, he +dreamed that I came into the world with the head of a dog, and the tail +of a dragon; and that, in haste to conceal my deformity, he rolled me up +in a piece of linen, which unluckily proved to be the grand seignior's +turban; who, enraged at his insolence in touching his turban, commanded +that his head should be struck off. + +"My father awaked before he lost his head, but not before he had lost +half his wits from the terror of his dream. He considered it as a +warning sent from above, and consequently determined to avoid the sight +of me. He would not stay to see whether I should really be born with +the head of a dog, and the tail of a dragon; but he set out, the next +morning, on a voyage to Aleppo. + +"He was absent for upwards of seven years; and during that time, my +education was totally neglected. One day I inquired from my mother why +I had been named Murad the Unlucky? She told me that this name was given +to me in consequence of my father's dream; but she added that, perhaps, +it might be forgotten, if I proved fortunate in my future life. My +nurse, a very old woman, who was present, shook her head, with a look +which I shall never forget, and whispered to my mother loud enough for +me to hear, 'Unlucky he was, and is, and ever will be. Those that are +born to ill luck cannot help themselves; nor can any, but the great +prophet, Mahomet himself, do anything for them. It is a folly for an +unlucky person to strive with their fate: it is better to yield to it at +once.' + +"This speech made a terrible impression upon me, young as I then was; +and every accident that happened to me afterwards confirmed my belief in +my nurse's prognostic. I was in my eighth year when my father returned +from abroad. The year after he came home my brother Saladin was born, +who was named Saladin the Lucky, because the day he was born, a vessel +freighted with rich merchandise for my father arrived safely in port. + +"I will not weary you with a relation of all the little instances of +good fortune by which my brother Saladin was distinguished, even during +his childhood. As he grew up, his success in everything he undertook was +as remarkable as my ill luck in all that I attempted. From the time the +rich vessel arrived, we lived in splendour; and the supposed prosperous +state of my father's affairs was of course attributed to the influence +of my brother Saladin's happy destiny. + +"When Saladin was about twenty, my father was taken dangerously ill; +and as he felt that he should not recover, he sent for my brother to +the side of his bed, and, to his great surprise, informed him that the +magnificence in which we had lived had exhausted all his wealth; that +his affairs were in the greatest disorder; for, having trusted to +the hope of continual success, he had embarked in projects beyond his +powers. + +"The sequel was he had nothing remaining to leave to his children but +two large china vases, remarkable for their beauty, but still more +valuable on account of certain verses inscribed upon them in an unknown +character, which were supposed to operate as a talisman or charm in +favour of their possessors. + +"Both these vases my father bequeathed to my brother Saladin; declaring +he could not venture to leave either of them to me, because I was so +unlucky that I should inevitably break it. After his death, however, +my brother Saladin, who was blessed with a generous temper, gave me +my choice of the two vases; and endeavoured to raise my spirits, by +repeating frequently that he had no faith either in good fortune or ill +fortune. + +"I could not be of his opinion, though I felt and acknowledged his +kindness in trying to persuade me out of my settled melancholy. I knew +it was in vain for me to exert myself, because I was sure that, do +what I would, I should still be Murad the Unlucky. My brother, on the +contrary, was nowise cast down, even by the poverty in which my father +left us: he said he was sure he should find some means of maintaining +himself, and so he did. On examining our china vases, he found in them a +powder of a bright scarlet colour; and it occurred to him that it would +make a fine dye. He tried it, and after some trouble, it succeeded to +admiration. + +"During my father's lifetime, my mother had been supplied with rich +dresses, by one of the merchants who was employed by the ladies of +the grand seignior's seraglio. My brother had done this merchant some +trifling favours; and, upon application to him, he readily engaged to +recommend the new scarlet dye. Indeed it was so beautiful, that, the +moment it was seen, it was preferred to every other colour. Saladin's +shop was soon crowded with customers; and his winning manners and +pleasant conversation were almost as advantageous to him as his scarlet +dye. On the contrary, I observed that the first glance at my melancholy +countenance was sufficient to disgust every one who saw me. I perceived +this plainly; and it only confirmed me the more in my belief in my own +evil destiny. + +"It happened one day that a lady, richly appareled and attended by two +female slaves, came to my brother's house to make some purchases. He was +out, and I alone was left to attend to the shop. After she had looked +over some goods, she chanced to see my china vase, which was in the +room. She took a prodigious fancy to it, and offered me any price if I +would part with it; but this I declined doing, because I believed that +I should draw down upon my head some dreadful calamity, if I voluntarily +relinquished the talisman. Irritated by my refusal, the lady, according +to the custom of her sex, became more resolute in her purpose; but +neither entreaties nor money could change my determination. Provoked +beyond measure at my obstinacy, as she called it, she left the house. + +"On my brother's return, I related to him what had happened, and +expected that he would have praised me for my prudence; but, on the +contrary, he blamed me for the superstitious value I set upon the verses +on my vase; and observed that it would be the height of folly to lose a +certain means of advancing my fortune, for the uncertain hope of magical +protection. I could not bring myself to be of his opinion; I had not the +courage to follow the advice he gave. The next day the lady returned, +and my brother sold his vase to her for ten thousand pieces of gold. +This money he laid out in the most advantageous manner, by purchasing +a new stock of merchandise. I repented, when it was too late; but I +believe it is part of the fatality attending certain persons, that they +cannot decide rightly at the proper moment. When the opportunity +has been lost, I have always regretted that I did not do exactly the +contrary to what I had previously determined upon. Often, whilst I was +hesitating, the favourable moment passed. {Footnote: "Whom the gods wish +to destroy, they first deprive of understanding."} Now this is what I +call being unlucky. But to proceed with my story. + +"The lady, who bought my brother Saladin's vase, was the favourite of +the sultan, and all-powerful in the seraglio. Her dislike to me, in +consequence of my opposition to her wishes, was so violent, that she +refused to return to my brother's house, while I remained there. He was +unwilling to part with me; but I could not bear to be the ruin of +so good a brother. Without telling him my design, I left his house, +careless of what should become of me. Hunger, however, soon compelled me +to think of some immediate mode of obtaining relief. I sat down upon a +stone, before the door of a baker's shop: the smell of hot bread tempted +me in, and with a feeble voice I demanded charity. + +"The master baker gave me as much bread as I could eat, upon condition +that I should change dresses with him, and carry the rolls for him +through the city this day. To this I readily consented; but I had soon +reason to repent of my compliance. Indeed, if my ill luck had not, as +usual, deprived me at this critical moment of memory and judgment, I +should never have complied with the baker's treacherous proposal. +For some time before, the people of Constantinople had been much +dissatisfied with the weight and quality of the bread furnished by the +bakers. This species of discontent has often been the sure forerunner +of an insurrection; and, in these disturbances, the master bakers +frequently lose their lives. All these circumstances I knew; but they +did not occur to my memory, when they might have been useful. + +"I changed dresses with the baker; but scarcely had I proceeded through +the adjoining streets with my rolls, before the mob began to gather +round me, with reproaches and execrations. The crowd pursued me even to +the gates of the grand seignior's palace; and the grand vizier, alarmed +at their violence, sent out an order to have my head struck off; the +usual remedy, in such cases, being to strike off the baker's head. + +"I now fell upon my knees, and protested I was not the baker for whom +they took me; that I had no connexion with him; and that I had never +furnished the people of Constantinople with bread that was not weight. I +declared I had merely changed clothes with a master baker, for this +day; and that I should not have done so, but for the evil destiny which +governs all my actions. Some of the mob exclaimed that I deserved to +lose my head for my folly; but others took pity on me, and whilst the +officer, who was sent to execute the vizier's order, turned to speak +to some of the noisy rioters, those who were touched by my misfortune +opened a passage for me through the crowd, and thus favoured, I effected +my escape. + +"I quitted Constantinople: my vase I had left in the care of my brother. +At some miles distance from the city, I overtook a party of soldiers. I +joined them; and learning that they were going to embark with the rest +of the grand seignior's army for Egypt, I resolved to accompany them. If +it be, thought I, the will of Mahomet that I should perish, the sooner +I meet my fate the better. The despondency into which I was sunk was +attended by so great a degree of indolence, that I scarcely would take +the necessary means to preserve my existence. During our passage to +Egypt, I sat all day long upon the deck of the vessel, smoking my pipe; +and I am convinced that if a storm had risen, as I expected, I should +not have taken my pipe from my mouth, nor should I have handled a rope, +to save myself from destruction. Such is the effect of that species +of resignation or torpor, whichever you please to call it, to which my +strong belief in _fatality_ had reduced my mind. + +"We landed, however, safely, contrary to my melancholy forebodings. By a +trifling accident, not worth relating, I was detained longer than any of +my companions in the vessel when we disembarked; and I did not arrive at +the camp till late at night. It was moonlight, and I could see the whole +scene distinctly. There was a vast number of small tents scattered over +a desert of white sand; a few date trees were visible at a distance; +all was gloomy, and all still; no sound was to be heard but that of the +camels, feeding near the tents; and, as I walked on, I met with no human +creature. + +"My pipe was now out, and I quickened my pace a little towards a fire, +which I saw near one of the tents. As I proceeded, my eye was caught by +something sparkling in the sand: it was a ring. I picked it up, and +put it on my finger, resolving to give it to the public crier the next +morning, who might find out its rightful owner: but by ill luck, I +put it on my little finger, for which it was much too large; and as +I hastened towards the fire to light my pipe, I dropped the ring. I +stooped to search for it amongst the provender on which a mule was +feeding; and the cursed animal gave me so violent a kick on the head, +that I could not help roaring aloud. + +"My cries awakened those who slept in the tent, near which the mule was +feeding. Provoked at being disturbed, the soldiers were ready enough to +think ill of me; and they took it for granted that I was a thief, who +had stolen the ring I pretended to have just found. The ring was taken +from me by force; and the next day I was bastinadoed for having found +it: the officer persisting in the belief that stripes would make me +confess where I had concealed certain other articles of value, which had +lately been missed in the camp. All this was the consequence of my being +in a hurry to light my pipe, and of my having put the ring on a finger +that was too little for it; which no one but Murad the Unlucky would +have done. + +"When I was able to walk again after my wounds were healed, I went into +one of the tents distinguished by a red flag, having been told that +these were coffee-houses. Whilst I was drinking coffee, I heard a +stranger near me complaining that he had not been able to recover +a valuable ring he had lost; although he had caused his loss to be +published for three days by the public crier, offering a reward of two +hundred sequins to whoever should restore it. I guessed that this was +the very ring which I had unfortunately found. I addressed myself to the +stranger, and promised to point out to him the person who had forced it +from me. The stranger recovered his ring; and, being convinced that I +had acted honestly, he made me a present of two hundred sequins, as some +amends for the punishment which I had unjustly suffered on his account. + +"Now you would imagine that this purse of gold was advantageous to me: +far the contrary; it was the cause of new misfortunes. + +"One night, when I thought that the soldiers who were in the same tent +with me were all fast asleep, I indulged myself in the pleasure of +counting my treasure. The next day, I was invited by my companions to +drink sherbet with them. What they mixed with the sherbet which I drank, +I know not; but I could not resist the drowsiness it brought on. I fell +into a profound slumber; and, when I awoke, I found myself lying under a +date tree, at some distance from the camp. + +"The first thing I thought of, when I came to my recollection, was my +purse of sequins. The purse I found still safe in my girdle; but, on +opening it, I perceived that it was filled with pebbles, and not a +single sequin was left. I had no doubt that I had been robbed by the +soldiers with whom I had drunk sherbet; and I am certain that some of +them must have been awake the night I counted my money; otherwise, as +I had never trusted the secret of my riches to any one, they could not +have suspected me of possessing any property; for, ever since I kept +company with them, I had appeared to be in great indigence. + +"I applied in vain to the superior officers for redress: the soldiers +protested they were innocent; no positive proof appeared against them, +and I gained nothing by my complaint but ridicule and ill-will. I called +myself, in the first transport of my grief, by that name which, since my +arrival in Egypt, I had avoided to pronounce: I called myself Murad the +Unlucky! The name and the story ran through the camp; and I was accosted +afterwards, very frequently, by this appellation. Some indeed varied +their wit, by calling me Murad with the purse of pebbles. + +"All that I had yet suffered is nothing compared to my succeeding +misfortunes. + +"It was the custom at this time, in the Turkish camp, for the soldiers +to amuse themselves with firing at a mark. The superior officers +remonstrated against this dangerous practice {Footnote: Antia's +Observations on the Manners and Customs of the Egyptians.}, but +ineffectually. Sometimes a party of soldiers would stop firing for a +few minutes, after a message was brought them from their commanders; +and then they would begin again, in defiance of all orders. Such was the +want of discipline in our army, that this disobedience went unpunished. +In the mean time, the frequency of the danger made most men totally +regardless of it. I have seen tents pierced with bullets, in which +parties were quietly seated smoking their pipes, whilst those without +were preparing to take fresh aim at the red flag on the top. + +"This apathy proceeded, in some, from unconquerable indolence of body; +in others, from the intoxication produced by the fumes of tobacco and +of opium; but in most of my brother Turks it arose from the confidence +which the belief in predestination inspired. When a bullet killed one +of their companions, they only observed, scarcely taking the pipes from +their mouths, 'Our hour is not yet come: it is not the will of Mahomet +that we should fall.' + +"I own that this rash security appeared to me, at first, surprising; but +it soon ceased to strike me with wonder; and it even tended to confirm +my favourite opinion, that some were born to good and some to evil +fortune. I became almost as careless as my companions, from following +the same course of reasoning. It is not, thought I, in the power of +human prudence to avert the stroke of destiny. I shall perhaps die +to-morrow; let me therefore enjoy to-day. + +"I now made it my study, every day, to procure as much amusement as +possible. My poverty, as you will imagine, restricted me from indulgence +and excess; but I soon found means to spend what did not actually belong +to me. There were certain Jews who were followers of the camp, and who, +calculating on the probability of victory for our troops, advanced money +to the soldiers; for which they engaged to pay these usurers exorbitant +interest. The Jew to whom I applied traded with me also upon the belief +that my brother Saladin, with whose character and circumstances he +was acquainted, would pay my debts, if I should fall. With the money I +raised from the Jew I continually bought coffee and opium, of which +I grew immoderately fond. In the delirium it created, I forgot all my +misfortunes, all fear of the future. + +"One day, when I had raised my spirits by an unusual quantity of opium, +I was strolling through the camp, sometimes singing, sometimes dancing, +like a madman, and repeating that I was not now Murad the Unlucky. +Whilst these words were on my lips, a friendly spectator, who was in +possession of his sober senses, caught me by the arm, and attempted to +drag me from the place where I was exposing myself. 'Do you not see,' +said he, 'those soldiers, who are firing at a mark? I saw one of them, +just now, deliberately taking aim at your turban; and, observe, he is +now reloading his piece.' My ill luck prevailed even at this instant, +the only instant in my life when I defied its power. I struggled with my +adviser, repeating, 'I am not the wretch you take me for; I am not Murad +the Unlucky.' He fled from the danger himself: I remained, and in a few +seconds afterwards a ball reached me, and I fell senseless on the sand. + +"The ball was cut out of my body by an awkward surgeon, who gave me ten +times more pain than was necessary. He was particularly hurried, at this +time, because the army had just received orders to march in a few hours, +and all was confusion in the camp. My wound was excessively painful, and +the fear of being left behind with those who were deemed incurable +added to my torments. Perhaps, if I had kept myself quiet, I might +have escaped some of the evils I afterwards endured; but, as I have +repeatedly told you, gentlemen, it was my ill fortune never to be able +to judge what was best to be done, till the time for prudence was past. + +"During that day, when my fever was at the height, and when my orders +were to keep my bed, contrary to my natural habits of indolence, I rose +a hundred times, and went out of my tent in the very heat of the day, +to satisfy my curiosity as to the number of the tents which had not been +struck, and of the soldiers who had not yet marched. The orders to march +were tardily obeyed, and many hours elapsed before our encampment was +raised. Had I submitted to my surgeon's orders, I might have been in +a state to accompany the most dilatory of the stragglers; I could have +borne, perhaps, the slow motion of a litter, on which some of the sick +were transported; but in the evening, when the surgeon came to dress my +wounds, he found me in such a situation that it was scarcely possible to +remove me. + +"He desired a party of soldiers, who were left to bring up the rear, +to call for me the next morning. They did so; but they wanted to put me +upon the mule which I recollected, by a white streak on its back, to be +the cursed animal that had kicked me, whilst I was looking for the ring. +I could not be prevailed upon to go upon this unlucky animal. I tried to +persuade the soldiers to carry me, and they took me a little way; but, +soon growing weary of their burden, they laid me down on the sand, +pretending that they were going to fill a skin with water at a spring +they had discovered, and bade me lie still, and wait for their return. + +"I waited and waited, longing for the water to moisten my parched lips; +but, no water came--no soldiers returned; and there I lay, for several +hours, expecting every moment to breathe my last. I made no effort to +move, for I was now convinced my hour was come; and that it was the +will of Mahomet that I should perish in this miserable manner, and lie +unburied like a dog; a death, thought I, worthy of Murad the Unlucky. + +"My forebodings were not this time just; a detachment of English +soldiers passed near the place where I lay: my groans were heard by +them, and they humanely came to my assistance. They carried me with +them, dressed my wound, and treated me with the utmost tenderness. +Christians though they were, I must acknowledge that I had reason to +love them better than any of the followers of Mahomet, my good brother +only excepted. + +"Under their care I recovered; but scarcely had I regained my strength +before I fell into new disasters. It was hot weather, and my thirst +was excessive. I went out with a party, in hopes of finding a spring of +water. The English soldiers began to dig for a well, in a place pointed +out to them by one of their men of science. I was not inclined to such +hard labour, but preferred sauntering on in search of a spring. I saw at +a distance something that looked like a pool of water; and I pointed it +out to my companions. Their man of science warned me by his interpreter, +not to trust to this deceitful appearance; for that such were common in +this country, and that, when I came close to the spot, I should find +no water there. He added, that it was at a greater distance than I +imagined; and that I should, in all probability, be lost in the desert, +if I attempted to follow this phantom. + +"I was so unfortunate as not to attend to his advice: I set out in +pursuit of this accursed delusion, which assuredly was the work of evil +spirits, who clouded my reason, and allured me into their dominion. I +went on, hour after hour, in expectation continually of reaching the +object of my wishes; but it fled faster than I pursued, and I discovered +at last that the Englishman, who had doubtless gained his information +from the people of the country, was right; and that the shining +appearance, which I had taken for water, was a mere deception. + +"I was now exhausted with fatigue: I looked back in vain after the +companions I had left; I could see neither men, animals, nor any trace +of vegetation in the sandy desert. I had no resource but, weary as I +was, to measure back my footsteps, which were imprinted in the sand. + +"I slowly and sorrowfully traced them as my guides in this unknown land. +Instead of yielding to my indolent inclinations, I ought, however, to +have made the best of my way back, before the evening breeze sprung up. +I felt the breeze rising, and unconscious of my danger, I rejoiced, and +opened my bosom to meet it; but what was my dismay when I saw that the +wind swept before it all trace of my footsteps in the sand. I knew not +which way to proceed; I was struck with despair, tore my garments, +threw off my turban, and cried aloud; but neither human voice nor echo +answered me. The silence was dreadful. I had tasted no food for many +hours, and I now became sick and faint. I recollected that I had put a +supply of opium into the folds of my turban; but, alas! when I took my +turban up, I found that, the opium had fallen out. I searched for it in +vain on the sand, where I had thrown the turban. + +"I stretched myself out upon the ground, and yielded without further +struggle to my evil destiny. What I suffered from thirst, hunger, and +heat, cannot be described! At last I fell into a sort of trance, during +which images of various kinds seemed to flit before my eyes. How long I +remained in this state I know not; but I remember that I was brought +to my senses by a loud shout, which came from persons belonging to a +caravan returning from Mecca. This was a shout of joy for their safe +arrival at a certain spring, well known to them in this part of the +desert. + +"The spring was not a hundred yards from the spot where I lay; yet, +such had been the fate of Murad the Unlucky, that he missed the +reality, whilst he had been hours in pursuit of the phantom. Feeble and +spiritless as I was, I sent forth as loud a cry as I could, in hopes of +obtaining assistance; and I endeavoured to crawl to the place from which +the voices appeared to come. The caravan rested for a considerable time +whilst the slaves filled the skins with water, and whilst the +camels took in their supply. I worked myself on towards them; yet, +notwithstanding my efforts, I was persuaded that, according to my usual +ill fortune, I should never be able to make them hear my voice. I saw +them mount their camels! I took off my turban, unrolled it, and waved it +in the air. My signal was seen! The caravan came towards me! + +"I had scarcely strength to speak: a slave gave me some water; and, +after I had drunk, I explained to them who I was, and how I came into +this situation. + +"Whilst I was speaking, one of the travellers observed the purse which +hung to my girdle: it was the same the merchant, for whom I recovered +the ring, had given to me; I had carefully preserved it, because the +initials of my benefactor's name, and a passage from the Koran, were +worked upon it. When he gave it to me, he said that, perhaps, we should +meet again in some other part of the world, and he should recognize +me by this token. The person who now took notice of the purse was his +brother; and when I related to him how I had obtained it, he had the +goodness to take me under his protection. He was a merchant, who was now +going with the caravan to Grand Cairo: he offered to take me with +him, and I willingly accepted the proposal, promising to serve him +as faithfully as any of his slaves. The caravan proceeded, and I was +carried with it." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +"The merchant, who was become my master, treated me with great kindness; +but, on hearing me relate the whole series of my unfortunate adventures, +he exacted a promise from me, that would do nothing without first +consulting him. 'Since you are so unlucky, Murad,' said he, 'that you +always choose for the worst when you choose for yourself, you should +trust entirely to the judgment of a wiser or a more fortunate friend.' + +"I fared well in the service of this merchant, who was a man of a mild +disposition, and who was so rich that he could afford to be generous +to all his dependants. It was my business to see his camels loaded and +unloaded at proper places, to count his bales of merchandise, and to +take care that they were not mixed with those of his companions. This I +carefully did, till the day we arrived at Alexandria; when, unluckily, +I neglected to count the bales, taking it for granted that they were all +right, as I had found them so the preceding day. However, when we were +to go on board the vessel that was to take us to Cairo, I perceived that +three bales of cotton were missing. + +"I ran to inform my master, who, though a good deal provoked at my +negligence, did not reproach me as I deserved. The public crier was +immediately sent round the city, to offer a reward for the recovery of +the merchandise; and it was restored by one of the merchants' slaves, +with whom we had travelled. The vessel was now under sail; my master and +I and the bales of cotton were obliged to follow in a boat; and when we +were taken on board, the captain declared he was so loaded that he could +not tell where to stow the bales of cotton. After much difficulty, he +consented to let them remain upon deck; and I promised my master to +watch them night and day. + +"We had a prosperous voyage, and were actually in sight of shore, which +the captain said we could not fail to reach early the next morning. I +stayed, as usual, this night upon deck; and solaced myself by smoking +my pipe. Ever since I had indulged in this practice at the camp at El +Arish, I could not exist without opium and tobacco. I suppose that +my reason was this night a little clouded with the dose I took; but, +towards midnight, I was sobered by terror. I started up from the deck +on which I had stretched myself; my turban was in flames; the bale of +cotton on which I had rested was all on fire. I awakened two sailors, +who were fast asleep on deck. The consternation became general, and the +confusion increased the danger. The captain and my master were the most +active, and suffered the most in extinguishing the flames: my master was +terribly scorched. + +"For my part, I was not suffered to do any thing; the captain ordered +that I should be bound to the mast; and, when at last the flames were +extinguished, the passengers, with one accord, besought him to keep me +bound hand and foot, lest I should be the cause of some new disaster. +All that had happened was, indeed, occasioned by my ill luck. I had laid +my pipe down, when I was falling asleep, upon the bale of cotton that +was beside me. The fire from my pipe fell out, and set the cotton +in flames. Such was the mixture of rage and terror with which I had +inspired the whole crew, that I am sure they would have set me ashore +on a desert island, rather than have had me on board for a week longer. +Even my humane master, I could perceive, was secretly impatient to get +rid of Murad the Unlucky, and his evil fortune. + +"You may believe that I was heartily glad when we landed, and when I was +unbound. My master put a purse containing fifty sequins into my hand, +and bade me farewell. 'Use this money prudently, Murad, if you can,' +said he, 'and perhaps your fortune may change.' Of this I had little +hopes, but determined to lay out my money as prudently as possible. + +"As I was walking through the streets of Grand Cairo, considering how I +should lay out my fifty sequins to the greatest advantage, I was stopped +by one who called me by my name, and asked me if I could pretend to +have forgotten his face. I looked steadily at him, and recollected to my +sorrow that he was the Jew Rachub, from whom I had borrowed certain +sums of money at the camp at El Arish. What brought him to Grand Cairo, +except it was my evil destiny, I cannot tell. He would not quit me; he +would take no excuses; he said he knew that I had deserted twice, +once from the Turkish and once from the English array; that I was not +entitled to any pay; and that he could not imagine it possible that my +brother Saladin would own me, or pay my debts. + +"I replied, for I was vexed by the insolence of this Jewish dog, that I +was not, as he imagined, a beggar; that I had the means of paying him +my just debt, but that I hoped he would not extort from me all that +exorbitant interest which none but a Jew could exact. He smiled, and +answered that, if a Turk loved opium better than money, this was no +fault of his; that he had supplied me with what I loved best in the +world; and that I ought not to complain, when he expected I should +return the favour. + +"I will not weary you, gentlemen, with all the arguments that passed +between me and Rachub. At last we compromised matters; he would take +nothing less than the whole debt: but he let me have at a very cheap +rate a chest of second-hand clothes, by which he assured me I might make +my fortune. He brought them to Grand Cairo, he said, for the purpose of +selling them to slave merchants, who, at this time of the year, were in +want of them to supply their slaves; but he was in haste to get home to +his wife and family, at Constantinople, and therefore he was willing +to make over to a friend the profits of this speculation. I should +have distrusted Rachub's professions of friendship, and especially of +disinterestedness; but he took me with him to the khan, where his goods +were, and unlocked the chest of clothes to show them to me. They were of +the richest and finest materials, and had been but little worn. I could +not doubt the evidence of my senses; the bargain was concluded, and the +Jew sent porters to my inn with the chest. + +"The next day I repaired to the public market-place; and, when my +business was known, I had choice of customers before night: my chest was +empty--and my purse was full. The profit I made, upon the sale of these +clothes, was so considerable, that I could not help feeling astonishment +at Rachub's having brought himself so readily to relinquish them. + +"A few days after I had disposed of the contents of my chest, a +Damascene merchant, who had bought two suits of apparel from me, told +me, with a very melancholy face, that both the female slaves who had put +on these clothes were sick. I could not conceive that the clothes were +the cause of their I sickness; but soon afterwards, as I was crossing +the market, I was attacked by at least a dozen merchants, who made +similar complaints. They insisted upon knowing how I came by the +garments, and demanded whether I had worn any of them myself. This day +I had for the first time indulged myself with wearing a pair of yellow +slippers, the only finery I had reserved for myself out of all the +tempting goods. Convinced by my wearing these slippers that I could have +had no insidious designs, since I shared the danger, whatever it might +be, the merchants were a little pacified; but what was my terror +and remorse the next day, when one of them came to inform me that +plague-boils had broken out tinder the arms of all the slaves who had +worn this pestilential apparel! On looking carefully into the chest, we +found the word Smyrna written, and half effaced, upon the lid. Now, +the plague had for some time raged at Smyrna; and, as the merchants +suspected, these clothes had certainly belonged to persons who had died +of that distemper. This was the reason why the Jew was willing to sell +them to me so cheap; and it was for this reason that he would not stay +at Grand Cairo himself to reap _the profits of his speculation_. Indeed, +if I had paid attention to it at the proper time, a slight circumstance +might have revealed the truth to me. Whilst I was bargaining with the +Jew, before he opened the chest, he swallowed a large dram of brandy, +and stuffed his nostrils with sponge dipped in vinegar: this he told me +he did to prevent his perceiving the smell of musk, which always threw +him into convulsions. + +"The horror I felt, when I discovered that I had spread the infection +of the plague, and that I had probably caught it myself, overpowered my +senses; a cold dew spread over all my limbs, and I fell upon the lid of +the fatal chest in a swoon. It is said that fear disposes people to take +the infection; however this may be, I sickened that evening, and soon +was in a raging fever. It was worse for me whenever the delirium left +me, and I could reflect upon the miseries my ill fortune had occasioned. +In my first lucid interval, I looked round and saw that I had been +removed from the khan to a wretched hut. An old woman, who was smoking +her pipe in the farthest corner of my room, informed me that I had been +sent out of the town of Grand Cairo by order of the cadi, to whom the +merchants had made their complaint. The fatal chest was burnt, and the +house in which I had lodged razed to the ground. 'And if it had not been +for me,' continued the old woman, 'you would have been dead, probably, +at this instant; but I have made a vow to our great prophet, that I +would never neglect an opportunity of doing a good action: therefore, +when you were deserted by all the world, I took care of you. Here, +too, is your purse, which I saved from the rabble; and, what is more +difficult, from the officers of justice: I will account to you for every +para that I have expended; and will moreover tell you the reason of my +making such an extraordinary vow.' + +"As I believed that this benevolent old woman took great pleasure in +talking, I made an inclination of my head to thank her for her promised +history, and she proceeded; but I must confess I did not listen with +all the attention her narrative doubtless deserved. Even curiosity, +the strongest passion of us Turks, was dead within me. I have no +recollection of the old woman's story. It is as much as I can do to +finish my own. + +"The weather became excessively hot: it was affirmed, by some of +the physicians, that this heat would prove fatal to their patients; +{Footnote: Antis's Observations on the Manners and Customs of the +Egyptians} but, contrary to the prognostics of the physicians, it +stopped the progress of the plague. I recovered, and found my purse much +lightened by my illness. I divided the remainder of my money with my +humane nurse, and sent her out into the city, to inquire how matters +were going on. + +"She brought me word that the fury of the plague had much abated; but +that she had met several funerals, and that she had heard many of the +merchants cursing the folly of Murad the Unlucky, who, as they said, +had brought all this calamity upon the inhabitants of Cairo. Even fools, +they say, learn by experience. I took care to burn the bed on which I +had lain, and the clothes I had worn: I concealed my real name, which I +knew would inspire detestation, and gained admittance, with a crowd of +other poor wretches, into a lazaretto, where I performed quarantine, and +offered up prayers daily for the sick. + +"When I thought it was impossible I could spread the infection, I took +my passage home. I was eager to get away from Grand Cairo, where I knew +I was an object of execration. I had a strange fancy haunting my mind; +I imagined that all my misfortunes, since I left Constantinople, had +arisen from my neglect of the talisman upon the beautiful china vase. +I dreamed three times, when I was recovering from the plague, that a +genius appeared to me, and said, in a reproachful tone, 'Murad, where is +the vase that was intrusted to thy care?' + +"This dream operated strongly upon my imagination. As soon as we arrived +at Constantinople, which we did, to my great surprise, without meeting +with any untoward accidents, I went in search of my brother Saladin, +to inquire for my vase. He no longer lived in the house in which I left +him, and I began to be apprehensive that he was dead; but a porter, +hearing my inquiries, exclaimed, 'Who is there in Constantinople that is +ignorant of the dwelling of Saladin the Lucky? Come with me, and I will +show it to you.' + +"The mansion to which he conducted me looked so magnificent, that I was +almost afraid to enter lest there should be some mistake. But, whilst +I was hesitating, the doors opened, and I heard my brother Saladin's +voice. He saw me almost at the same instant that I fixed my eyes upon +him, and immediately sprang forward to embrace me. He was the same good +brother as ever, and I rejoiced in his prosperity with all my heart. +'Brother Saladin,' said I, 'can you now doubt that some men are born +to be fortunate, and others to be unfortunate? How often you used to +dispute this point with me!' + +"'Let us not dispute it now in the public street," said he, smiling; +'but come in and refresh yourself, and we will consider the question +afterwards at leisure.' + +"'No, my dear brother,' said I, drawing back, 'you are too good: +Murad the Unlucky shall not enter your house, lest he should draw down +misfortunes upon you and yours. I come only to ask for my vase.' + +"'It is safe,' cried he; 'come in, and you shall see it: but I will +not give it up till I have you in my house. I have none of these +superstitious fears: pardon me the expression, but I have none of these +superstitious fears.' + +"I yielded, entered his house, and was astonished at all I saw! My +brother did not triumph in his prosperity; but, on the contrary, seemed +intent only upon making me forget my misfortunes: he listened to the +account of them with kindness, and obliged me by the recital of his +history; which was, I must acknowledge, far less wonderful than my own. +He seemed, by his own account, to have grown rich in the common course +of things; or rather, by his own prudence. I allowed for his prejudices, +and, unwilling to dispute farther with him, said, 'You must remain of +your opinion, brother; and I of mine: you are Saladin the Lucky, and I +Murad the Unlucky; and so we shall remain to the end of our lives.' + +"I had not been in his house four days when an accident happened, which +showed how much I was in the right. The favourite of the sultan, to whom +he had formerly sold his china vase, though her charms were now somewhat +faded by time, still retained her power, and her taste for magnificence. +She commissioned my brother to bespeak for her, at Venice, the most +splendid looking-glass that money could purchase. The mirror, after many +delays and disappointments, at length arrived at my brother's house. He +unpacked it, and sent to let the lady know it was in perfect safety. It +was late in the evening, and she ordered it should remain where it +was that night; and that it should be brought to the seraglio the next +morning. It stood in a sort of ante-chamber to the room in which I +slept; and with it were left some packages, containing glass chandeliers +for an unfinished saloon in my brother's house. Saladin charged all his +domestics to be vigilant this night, because he had money to a +great amount by him, and there had been frequent robberies in our +neighbourhood. Hearing these orders, I resolved to be in readiness at a +moment's warning. I laid my scimitar beside me upon a cushion; and +left my door half open, that I might hear the slightest noise in the +ante-chamber, or the great staircase. About midnight, I was suddenly +awakened by a noise in the ante-chamber. I started up, seized my +scimitar, and the instant I got to the door, saw, by the light of the +lamp which was burning in the room, a man standing opposite to me, with +a drawn sword in his hand. I rushed forward, demanding what he wanted, +and received no answer; but, seeing him aim at me with his scimitar, I +gave him, as I thought, a deadly blow. At this instant, I heard a great +crash; and the fragments of the looking-glass, which I had shivered, +fell at my feet. At the same moment, something black brushed by my +shoulder: I pursued it, stumbled over the packages of glass, and rolled +over them down the stairs. + +"My brother came out of his room, to inquire the cause of all this +disturbance; and when he saw the fine mirror broken, and me lying +amongst the glass chandeliers at the bottom of the stairs, he could not +forbear exclaiming, 'Well, brother! you are indeed Murad the Unlucky.' + +"When the first emotion was over, he could not, however, forbear +laughing at my situation. With a degree of goodness, which made me a +thousand times more sorry for the accident, he came down stairs to help +me up, gave me his hand, and said, 'Forgive me, if I was angry with you +at first. I am sure you did not mean to do me any injury; but tell me +how all this has happened?' + +"Whilst Saladin was speaking, I heard the same kind of noise which had +alarmed me in the ante-chamber; but, on looking back, I saw only a black +pigeon, which flew swiftly by me, unconscious of the mischief he had +occasioned. This pigeon I had unluckily brought into the house the +preceding day; and had been feeding and trying to tame it for my young +nephews. I little thought it would be the cause of such disasters. My +brother, though he endeavoured to conceal his anxiety from me, was much +disturbed at the idea of meeting the favourite's displeasure, who +would certainly be grievously disappointed by the loss of her splendid +looking-glass. I saw that I should inevitably be his ruin, if I +continued in his house; and no persuasions could prevail upon me to +prolong my stay. My generous brother, seeing me determined to go, +said to me, 'A factor, whom I have employed for some years to sell +merchandise for me, died a few days ago. Will you take his place? I +am rich enough to bear any little mistakes you may fall into, from +ignorance of business; and you will have a partner who is able and +willing to assist you.' + +"I was touched to the heart by this kindness, especially at such a time +as this. He sent one of his slaves with me to the shop in which you now +see me, gentlemen. The slave, by my brother's directions, brought with +us my china vase, and delivered it safely to me, with this message: +'The scarlet dye that was found in this vase, and in its fellow, was the +first cause of Saladin's making the fortune he now enjoys: he therefore +does no more than justice, in sharing that fortune with his brother +Murad.' + +"I was now placed in as advantageous a situation as possible; but my +mind was ill at ease, when I reflected that the broken mirror might be +my brother's ruin. The lady by whom it had been bespoken was, I well +knew, of a violent temper; and this disappointment was sufficient to +provoke her to vengeance. My brother sent me word this morning, however, +that though her displeasure was excessive, it was in my power to prevent +any ill consequences that might ensue. 'In my power!' I exclaimed; +'then, indeed, I am happy! Tell my brother there is nothing I will not +do to show him my gratitude, and to save him from the consequences of my +folly.' + +"The slave who was sent by my brother seemed unwilling to name what was +required of me, saying that his master was afraid I should not like to +grant the request. I urged him to speak freely, and he then told me the +favourite declared nothing would make her amends for the loss of the +mirror but the fellow vase to that which she had bought from Saladin. It +was impossible for me to hesitate; gratitude for my brother's generous +kindness overcame my superstitious obstinacy; and I sent him word I +would carry the vase to him myself. + +"I took it down this evening from the shelf on which it stood; it was +covered with dust, and I washed it, but unluckily, in endeavouring to +clean the inside from the remains of the scarlet powder, I poured hot +water into it, and immediately I heard a simmering noise, and my vase, +in a few instants, burst asunder with a loud explosion. These fragments, +alas! are all that remain. The measure of my misfortunes is now +completed! Can you wonder, gentlemen, that I bewail my evil destiny? +Am I not justly called Murad the Unlucky? Here end all my hopes in this +world! Better would it have been if I had died long ago! Better that +I had never been born! Nothing I ever have done or attempted has +prospered. Murad the Unlucky is my name, and ill-fate has marked me for +her own." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The lamentations of Murad were interrupted by the entrance of Saladin. +Having waited in vain for some hours, he now came to see if any disaster +had happened to his brother Murad. He was surprised at the sight of +the two pretended merchants, and could not refrain from exclamations +on beholding the broken vase. However, with his usual equanimity and +good-nature, he began to console Murad; and, taking up the fragments, +examined them carefully, one by one joined them together again, found +that none of the edges of the china were damaged, and declared he could +have it mended so as to look as well as ever. + +Murad recovered his spirits upon this. "Brother," said he, "I comfort +myself for being Murad the Unlucky, when I reflect that you are Saladin +the Lucky. See, gentlemen," continued he, turning to the pretended +merchants, "scarcely has this most fortunate of men been five minutes in +company before he gives a happy turn to affairs. His presence inspires +joy: I observe your countenances, which had been saddened by my dismal +history, have brightened up since he has made his appearance. Brother, +I wish you would make these gentlemen some amends for the time they have +wasted in listening to my catalogue of misfortunes, by relating your +history, which, I am sure, they will find rather more exhilarating." + +Saladin consented, on condition that the strangers would accompany him +home, and partake of a social banquet. They at first repeated the former +excuse of their being obliged to return to their inn; but at length +the sultan's curiosity prevailed, and he and his vizier went home +with Saladin the Lucky, who, after supper, related his history in the +following manner:-- + +"My being called Saladin the Lucky first inspired me with confidence in +myself; though I own that I cannot remember any extraordinary instances +of good luck in my childhood. An old nurse of my mother's, indeed, +repeated to me twenty times a day, that nothing I undertook could fail +to succeed, because I was Saladin the Lucky. I became presumptuous and +rash: and my nurse's prognostics might have effectually prevented their +accomplishment, had I not, when I was about fifteen, been roused to +reflection during a long confinement, which was the consequence of my +youthful conceit and imprudence. + +"At this time there was at the Porte a Frenchman, an ingenious engineer, +who was employed and favoured by the sultan, to the great astonishment +of many of my prejudiced countrymen. On the grand seignior's birth-day +he exhibited some extraordinarily fine fireworks; and I, with numbers +of the inhabitants of Constantinople, crowded to see them. I happened +to stand near the place where the Frenchman was stationed; the crowd +pressed upon him, and I amongst the rest; he begged we would, for our +own sakes, keep at a greater distance, and warned us that we might be +much hurt by the combustibles which he was using. I, relying upon my +good fortune, disregarded all these cautions; and the consequence was, +that as I touched some of the materials prepared for the fireworks, +they exploded, dashed me upon the ground with great violence, and I was +terribly burnt. + +"This accident, gentlemen, I consider as one of the most fortunate +circumstances of my life; for it checked and corrected the presumption +of my temper. During the time I was confined to my bed, the French +gentleman came frequently to see me. He was a very sensible man; and +the conversations he had with me enlarged my mind, and cured me of +many foolish prejudices, especially of that which I had been taught +to entertain, concerning the predominance of what is called luck, or +fortune, in human affairs. 'Though you are called Saladin the Lucky,' +said he, 'you find that your neglect of prudence has nearly brought +you to the grave even in the bloom of youth. Take my advice, and +henceforward trust more to prudence than to fortune. Let the multitude, +if they will, call you Saladin the Lucky; but call yourself, and make +yourself, Saladin the Prudent.' + +"These words left an indelible impression on my mind, and gave a new +turn to my thoughts and character. My brother, Murad, has doubtless told +you that our difference of opinion, on the subject of predestination, +produced between us frequent arguments; but we could never convince one +another, and we each have acted, through life, in consequence of our +different beliefs. To this I attribute my success and his misfortunes. + +"The first rise of my fortune, as you have probably heard from Murad, +was owing to the scarlet dye, which I brought to perfection with +infinite difficulty. The powder, it is true, was accidentally found by +me in our china vases; but there it might have remained to this instant, +useless, if I had not taken the pains to make it useful. I grant that we +can only partially foresee and command events; yet on the use we make of +our own powers, I think, depends our destiny. But, gentlemen, you would +rather hear my adventures, perhaps, than my reflections; and I am truly +concerned, for your sakes, that I have no wonderful events to relate. I +am sorry I cannot tell you of my having been lost in a sandy desert. I +have never had the plague, nor even been shipwrecked: I have been all my +life an inhabitant of Constantinople, and have passed my time in a very +quiet and uniform manner. + +"The money I received from the sultan's favourite for my china vase, as +my brother may have told you, enabled me to trade on a more extensive +scale. I went on steadily with my business; and made it my whole study +to please my employers, by all fair and honourable means. This industry +and civility succeeded beyond my expectations: in a few years, I was +rich for a man in my way of business. + +"I will not proceed to trouble you with the journal of a petty +merchant's life; I pass on to the incident which made a considerable +change in my affairs. + +"A terrible fire broke out near the walls of the grand seignior's +seraglio: {Footnote: _Vide_ Baron de Tott's Memoirs.} as you are +strangers, gentlemen, you may not have heard of this event, though it +produced so great a sensation in Constantinople. The vizier's superb +palace was utterly consumed; and the melted lead poured down from the +roof of the mosque of St. Sophia. Various were the opinions formed by my +neighbours, respecting the cause of the conflagration. Some supposed +it to be a punishment for the sultan's having neglected, one Friday, to +appear at the mosque of St. Sophia; others considered it as a warning +sent by Mahomet, to dissuade the Porte from persisting in a war in +which we were just engaged. The generality, however, of the coffee-house +politicians contented themselves with observing that it was the will +of Mahomet that the palace should be consumed. Satisfied by this +supposition, they took no precaution to prevent similar accidents in +their own houses. Never were fires so common in the city as at this +period; scarcely a night passed without our being wakened by the cry of +fire. + +"These frequent fires were rendered still more dreadful by villains, who +were continually on the watch to increase the confusion by which they +profited, and to pillage the houses of the sufferers. It was discovered +that these incendiaries frequently skulked, towards evening, in the +neighbourhood of the bezestein, where the richest merchants store their +goods; some of these wretches were detected in throwing _coundaks_, +{Footnote: "A _coundak_ is a sort of combustible that consists only of +a piece of tinder wrapped in brimstone matches, in the midst of a +small bundle of pine shavings. This is the method usually employed by +incendiaries--they lay this match by stealth behind a door, which they +find open, or on a window; and after setting it on fire, they make their +escape. This is sufficient often to produce the most terrible ravages in +a town where the houses, built with wood and painted with oil of spike, +afford the easiest opportunity to the miscreant who is disposed to +reduce them to ashes. The method employed by the incendiaries, and which +often escapes the vigilance of the masters of the houses, added to +the common causes of fires, gave for some time very frequent causes of +alarm."--_Translation of Memoirs of Baron de Tott_, vol. I.} or matches, +into the windows; and if these combustibles remained a sufficient time, +they could not fail to set the house on fire. + +"Notwithstanding all these circumstances, many even of those who had +property to preserve continued to repeat, 'It is the will of Mahomet,' +and consequently to neglect all means of preservation. I, on the +contrary, recollecting the lesson I had learned from the sensible +foreigner, neither suffered my spirits to sink with superstitious fears +of ill luck, nor did I trust presumptuously to my good fortune. I took +every possible means to secure myself. I never went to bed without +having seen that all the lights and fires in the house were +extinguished, and that I had a supply of water in the cistern. I +had likewise learned from my Frenchman that wet mortar was the most +effectual thing for stopping the progress of flames: I therefore had a +quantity of mortar made up in one of my outhouses, which I could use +at a moment's warning. These precautions were all useful to me: my own +house, indeed, was never actually on fire, but the houses of my next +door neighbours were no less than five times in flames, in the course of +one winter. By my exertions, or rather by my precautions, they suffered +but little damage; and all my neighbours looked upon me as their +deliverer and friend: they loaded me with presents, and offered more +indeed than I would accept. All repeated that I was Saladin the Lucky. +This compliment I disclaimed, feeling more ambitious of being called +Saladin the Prudent. It is thus that what we call modesty is often only +a more refined species of pride. But to proceed with my story. + +"One night I had been later than usual at supper, at a friend's house: +none but the watch were in the streets, and even they, I believe, were +asleep. + +"As I passed one of the conduits, which convey water to the city, I +heard a trickling noise; and, upon examination, I found that the cock +of the water-spout was half turned, so that the water was running out. I +turned it back to its proper place, thought it had been left unturned +by accident, and walked on; but I had not proceeded far before I came +to another spout and another, which were in the same condition. I was +convinced that this could not be the effect merely of accident, and +suspected that some ill-intentioned persons designed to let out and +waste the water of the city, that there might be none to extinguish any +fire that should break out in the course of the night. + +"I stood still for a few moments, to consider how it would be most +prudent to act. It would be impossible for me to run to all parts of the +city, that I might stop the pipes that were running to waste. I first +thought of wakening the watch and the firemen, who were most of them +slumbering at their stations; but I reflected that they were perhaps +not to be trusted, and that they were in a confederacy with the +incendiaries; otherwise, they would certainly, before this hour, have +observed and stopped the running of the sewers in their neighbourhood. +I determined to waken a rich merchant, called Damat Zade, who lived +near me, and who had a number of slaves, whom he could send to +different parts of the city, to prevent mischief, and give notice to the +inhabitants of their danger. + +"He was a very sensible, active man, and one that could easily be +wakened: he was not, like some Turks, an hour in recovering their +lethargic senses. He was quick in decision and action; and his slaves +resembled their master. He despatched a messenger immediately to the +grand vizier, that the sultan's safety might be secured; and sent others +to the magistrates, in each quarter of Constantinople. The large drums +in the janissary aga's tower beat to rouse the inhabitants; and scarcely +had this been heard to beat half an hour before the fire broke out in +the lower apartments of Damat Zade's house, owing to a _coundak_, which +had been left behind one of the doors. + +"The wretches who had prepared the mischief, came to enjoy it, and to +pillage; but they were disappointed. Astonished to find themselves +taken into custody, they could not comprehend hew their designs had +been frustrated. By timely exertions, the fire in my friend's house +was extinguished; and though fires broke out, during the night, in many +parts of the city, but little damage was sustained, because there was +time for precautions; and by the stopping of the spouts, sufficient +water was preserved. People were awakened, and warned of the danger, and +they consequently escaped unhurt. + +"The next day, as soon as I made my appearance at the bezestein, the +merchants crowded round, called me their benefactor, and the preserver +of their lives and fortunes. Damat Zade, the merchant whom I had +awakened the preceding night, presented to me a heavy purse of gold, +and put upon my finger a diamond ring of considerable value; each of +the merchants followed his example, in making me rich presents: the +magistrates also sent me tokens of their approbation; and the grand +vizier sent me a diamond of the first water, with a line written by +his own hand: 'To the man who has saved Constantinople.' Excuse +me, gentlemen, for the vanity I seem to show in mentioning these +circumstances. You desired to hear my history, and I cannot therefore +omit the principal circumstance of my life. In the course of +four-and-twenty hours, I found myself raised, by the munificent +gratitude of the inhabitants of this city, to a state of affluence far +beyond what I had ever dreamed of attaining. + +"I now took a house suited to my circumstances, and bought a few slaves. +As I was carrying my slaves home, I was met by a Jew, who stopped me, +saying, in his language, 'My lord, I see, has been purchasing slaves: I +could clothe them cheaply.' There was something mysterious in the manner +of this Jew, and I did not like his countenance; but I considered that +I ought not to be governed by caprice in my dealings, and that, if this +man could really clothe my slaves more cheaply than another, I ought not +to neglect his offer merely because I took a dislike to the cut of his +beard, the turn of his eye, or the tone of his voice. I therefore bade +the Jew follow me home, saying that I would consider of his proposal. + +"When we came to talk over the matter, I was surprised to find him so +reasonable in his demands. On one point, indeed, he appeared unwilling +to comply. I required not only to see the clothes I was offered, but +also to know how they came into his possession. On this subject he +equivocated; I therefore suspected there must be something wrong. I +reflected what it could be, and judged that the goods had been stolen, +or that they had been the apparel of persons who had died of some +contagious distemper. The Jew showed me a chest, from which he said I +might choose whatever suited me best. I observed, that as he was going +to unlock the chest, he stuffed his nose with some aromatic herbs. He +told me that he did so to prevent his smelling the musk with which the +chest was perfumed: musk, he said, had an extraordinary effect upon +his nerves. I begged to have some of the herbs which he used himself; +declaring that musk was likewise offensive to me. + +"The Jew, either struck by his own conscience, or observing my +suspicions, turned as pale as death. He pretended he had not the right +key, and could not unlock the chest; said he must go in search of it, +and that he would call on me again. + +"After he had left me, I examined some writing upon the lid of the chest +that had been nearly effaced. I made out the word Smyrna, and this was +sufficient to confirm all my suspicions. The Jew returned no more: he +sent some porters to carry away the chest, and I heard nothing of him +for some time, till one day when I was at the house of Damat Zade, I saw +a glimpse of the Jew passing hastily through one of the courts, as if he +wished to avoid me. 'My friend,' said I to Damat Zade, 'do not attribute +my question to impertinent curiosity, or to a desire to intermeddle with +your affairs, if I venture to ask the nature of your business with the +Jew, who has just now crossed your court?' + +"'He has engaged to supply me with clothing for my slaves,' replied my +friend, 'cheaper than I can purchase it elsewhere. I have a design to +surprise my daughter, Fatima, on her birthday, with an entertainment in +the pavilion in the garden; and all her female slaves shall appear in +new dresses on the occasion." + +"I interrupted my friend, to tell him what I suspected relative to this +Jew and his chest of clothes. It is certain that the infection of the +plague can be communicated by clothes, not only after months but after +years have elapsed. The merchant resolved to have nothing more to do +with this wretch, who could thus hazard the lives of thousands of +his fellow-creatures for a few pieces of gold: we sent notice of the +circumstance to the cadi, but the cadi was slow in his operations; +and, before he could take the Jew into custody, the cunning fellow had +effected his escape. When his house was searched, he and his chest had +disappeared: we discovered that he sailed for Egypt, and rejoiced that +we had driven him from Constantinople. + +"My friend, Damat Zade, expressed the warmest gratitude to me. 'You +formerly saved my fortune: you have now saved my life; and a life yet +dearer than my own, that of my daughter Fatima.' + +"At the sound of that name I could not, I believe, avoid showing some +emotion. I had accidentally seen this lady; and I had been captivated by +her beauty, and by the sweetness of her countenance; but as I knew she +was destined to be the wife of another, I suppressed my feeling, and +determined to banish the recollection of the fair Fatima for ever from +my imagination. Her father, however, at this instant, threw into my way +a temptation, which it required all my fortitude to resist. 'Saladin, +continued he, 'it is but just that you, who have saved our lives, should +share our festivity. Come here on the birthday of my Fatima: I will +place you in a balcony, which overlooks the garden, and you shall see +the whole spectacle. We shall have a _feast of tulips_, in imitation +of that which, as you know, is held in the grand seignior's gardens. I +assure you, the sight will be worth seeing; and besides, you will have a +chance of beholding my Fatima, for a moment, without her veil.' + +"'That,' interrupted I, 'is the thing I most wish to avoid. I dare not +indulge myself in a pleasure which might cost me the happiness of +my life. I will conceal nothing from you, who treat me with so much +confidence. I have already beheld the charming countenance of your +Fatima, but I know that she is destined to be the wife of a happier +man.' + +"Damat Zade seemed much pleased by the frankness with which I explained +myself; but he would not give up the idea of my sitting with him, in the +balcony, on the day of the feast of tulips; and I, on my part, could +not consent to expose myself to another view of the charming Fatima. My +friend used every argument, or rather every sort of persuasion, he +could imagine to prevail upon me: he then tried to laugh me out of my +resolution; and, when all failed, he said, in a voice of anger, 'Go, +then, Saladin; I am sure you are deceiving me: you have a passion for +some other woman, and you would conceal it from me, and persuade me you +refuse the favour I offer you from prudence, when, in fact, it is from +indifference and contempt. Why could you not speak the truth of your +heart to me with that frankness with which one friend should treat +another?' + +"Astonished at this unexpected charge, and at the anger which flashed +from the eyes of Damat Zade, who till this moment had always appeared to +me a man of a mild and reasonable temper, I was for an instant tempted +to fly into a passion and leave him: but friends, once lost, are not +easily regained. This consideration had power sufficient to make me +command my temper. 'My friend,' replied I, 'we will talk over this +affair to-morrow: you are now angry, and cannot do me justice; but +to-morrow you will be cool: you will then be convinced that I have not +deceived you; and that I have no design but to secure my own happiness, +by the most prudent means in my power, by avoiding the sight of the +dangerous Fatima. I have no passion for any other woman.' + +"'Then,' said my friend, embracing me, and quitting the tone of anger +which he had assumed only to try my resolution to the utmost, 'then, +Saladin, Fatima is yours.' + +"I scarcely dared to believe my senses! I could not express my joy! +'Yes, my friend,' continued the merchant, 'I have tried your prudence +to the utmost; it has been victorious, and I resign my Fatima to you, +certain that you will make her happy. It is true, I had a greater +alliance in view for her: the pacha of Maksoud has demanded her from +me; but I have found, upon private inquiry, he is addicted to the +intemperate use of opium: and my daughter shall never be the wife of one +who is a violent madman one half the day, and a melancholy idiot during +the remainder. I have nothing to apprehend from the pacha's resentment, +because I have powerful friends with the grand vizier who will oblige +him to listen to reason, and to submit quietly to a disappointment he +so justly merits. And now, Saladin, have you any objection to seeing the +feast of tulips?' + +"I replied only by falling at the merchant's feet, and embracing his +knees. The feast of tulips came, and on that day I was married to the +charming Fatima! The charming Fatima I continue still to think her, +though she has now been my wife some years. She is the joy and pride +of my heart; and, from our mutual affection, I have experienced more +felicity than from all the other circumstances of my life, which are +called so fortunate. Her father gave me the house in which I now live, +and joined his possessions to ours; so that I have more wealth even than +I desire. My riches, however, give me continually the means of relieving +the wants of others; and therefore I cannot affect to despise them. I +must persuade my brother Murad to share them with me, and to forget +his misfortunes: I shall then think myself completely happy. As to +the sultana's looking-glass, and your broken vase, my dear brother," +continued Saladin, "we must think of some means----" + +"Think no more of the sultana's looking-glass, or of the broken vase," +exclaimed the sultan, throwing aside his merchant's habit, and showing +beneath it his own imperial vest. "Saladin, I rejoice to have heard, +from your own lips, the history of your life. I acknowledge, vizier, I +have been in the wrong, in our argument," continued the sultan, turning +to his vizier. "I acknowledge that the histories of Saladin the Lucky, +and Murad the Unlucky, favour your opinion, that prudence has more +influence than chance in human affairs. The success and happiness of +Saladin seem to me to have arisen from his prudence: by that prudence, +Constantinople has been saved from flames, and from the plague. Had +Murad possessed his brother's discretion, he would not have been on the +point of losing his head, for selling rolls which he did not bake: he +would not have been kicked by a mule, or bastinadoed for finding a +ring: he would not have been robbed by one party of soldiers, or shot by +another: he would not have been lost in a desert, or cheated by a Jew: +he would not have set a ship on fire; nor would he have caught the +plague, and spread it through Grand Cairo: he would not have run my +sultana's looking-glass through the body, instead of a robber: he would +not have believed that the fate of his life depended on certain verses +on a china vase: nor would he, at last, have broken this precious +talisman, by washing it with hot water. Henceforward, let Murad the +Unlucky be named Murad the Imprudent: let Saladin preserve the surname +he merits, and be henceforth called Saladin the Prudent." + +So spake the sultan, who, unlike the generality of monarchs, could bear +to find himself in the wrong; and could discover his vizier to be in the +right, without cutting off his head. History farther informs us that +the sultan offered to make Saladin a pacha, and to commit to him the +government of a province; but Saladin the Prudent declined this honour, +saying he had no ambition, was perfectly happy in his present situation, +and that, when this was the case, it would be folly to change, because +no one can be more than happy. What farther adventures befel Murad the +Imprudent are not recorded; it is known only that he became a daily +visitor to the _Teriaky_; and that he died a martyr to the immoderate +use of opium. {Footnote: Those among the Turks who give themselves up to +an immoderate use of opium are easily to be distinguished by a sort +of rickety complaint, which this poison produces in course of time. +Destined to live agreeably only when in a sort of drunkenness, these +men present a curious spectacle, when they are assembled in a part of +Constantinople called Teriaky or Tcharkissy, the market of opium-eaters. +It is there that, towards the evening, you may see the lovers of opium +arrive by the different streets which terminate at the Solymania +(the greatest mosque in Constantinople): their pale and melancholy +countenances would inspire only compassion, did not their stretched +necks, their heads twisted to the right or left, their back-bones +crooked, one shoulder up to their ears, and a number of other whimsical +attitudes, which are the consequences of the disorder, present the most +ludicrous and the most laughable picture.--_Vide_ De Tott's Memoirs.} + + + + + +THE MANUFACTURERS + + +CHAPTER I. + + +By patient persevering attention to business, Mr. John Darford succeeded +in establishing a considerable cotton manufactory, by means of which he +secured to himself in his old age what is called, or what he called, a +competent fortune. His ideas of a competent fortune were, indeed, rather +unfashionable; for they included, as he confessed, only the comforts and +conveniences, without any of the vanities of life. He went farther still +in his unfashionable singularities of opinion, for he was often heard +to declare that he thought a busy manufacturer might be as happy as any +idle gentleman. + +Mr. Darford had taken his two nephews, Charles and William, into +partnership with him: William, who had been educated by him, resembled +him in character, habits, and opinions. Always active and cheerful, he +seemed to take pride and pleasure in the daily exertions and care which +his situation, and the trust reposed in him, required. Far from being +ashamed of his occupations, he gloried in them; and the sense of duty +was associated in his mind with the idea of happiness. His cousin +Charles, on the contrary, felt his duty and his ideas of happiness +continually at variance: he had been brought up in an extravagant +family, who considered tradesmen and manufacturers as a _caste_ +disgraceful to polite society. Nothing but the utter ruin of his +father's fortune could have determined him to go into business. + +He never applied to the affairs of the manufactory; he affected to think +his understanding above such vulgar concerns, and spent his days in +regretting that his brilliant merit was buried in obscurity. + +He was sensible that he hazarded the loss of his uncle's favour by the +avowal of his prejudices; yet such was his habitual conceit, that he +could not suppress frequent expressions of contempt for Mr. Darford's +liberal notions. Whenever his uncle's opinion differed from his own, +he settled the argument, as he fancied, by saying to himself or to his +clerk, "My uncle Darford knows nothing of the world: how should he, poor +man! shut up as he has been all his life in a counting-house?" + +Nearly sixty years' experience, which his uncle sometimes pleaded as an +apology for trusting to his own judgment, availed nothing in the opinion +of our prejudiced youth. Prejudiced youth, did we presume to say? +Charles would have thought this a very improper expression; for he had +no idea that any but old men could be prejudiced. Uncles, and fathers, +and grandfathers, were, as he thought, the race of beings peculiarly +subject to this mental malady; from which all young men, especially +those who have their boots made by a fashionable bootmaker, are of +course exempt. + +At length the time came when Charles was at liberty to follow his own +opinions: Mr. Darford died, and his fortune and manufactory were equally +divided between his two nephews. "Now," said Charles, "I am no longer +chained to the oar. I will leave you, William, to do as you please, and +drudge on, day after day, in the manufactory, since that is your taste: +for my part, I have no genius for business. I shall take my pleasure; +and all I have to do is to pay some poor devil for doing my business for +me." + +"I am afraid the poor devil will not do your business as well as you +would do it yourself," said William: "you know the proverb of the +master's eye." + +"True! true! Very likely," cried Charles, going to the window to look +at a regiment of dragoons galloping through the town; "but I have other +employment for my eyes. Do look at those fine fellows who are galloping +by! Did you ever see a handsomer uniform than the colonel's? And what +a fine horse! 'Gad! I wish I had a commission in the army: I should so +like to be in his place this minute." + +"This minute? Yes, perhaps, you would; because he has, as you say, a +handsome uniform and a fine horse: but all his minutes may not be like +this minute." + +"Faith, William, that is almost as soberly said as my old uncle himself +could have spoken. See what it is to live shut up with old folks! You +catch all their ways, and grow old and wise before your time." + +"The danger of growing wise before my time does not alarm me much: but +perhaps, cousin, you feel that danger more than I do?" + +"Not I," said Charles, stretching himself still farther out of the +window to watch the dragoons, as they were forming on the parade in the +market-place. "I can only say, as I said before, that I wish I had been +put into the army instead of into this cursed cotton manufactory. Now +the army is a genteel profession, and I own I have spirit enough to make +it my first object to look and live like a gentleman." + +"And I have spirit enough," replied William, "to make it my first object +to look and live like an independent man; and I think a manufacturer, +whom you despise so much, may be perfectly independent. I am sure, +for my part, I am heartily obliged to my uncle for breeding me up to +business; for now I am at no man's orders; no one can say to me, 'Go to +the east, or go to the west; march here, or march there; fire upon +this man, or run your bayonet into that.' I do not think the honour and +pleasure of wearing a red coat, or of having what is called a genteel +profession, would make me amends for all that a soldier must suffer, +if he does his duty. Unless it were for the defence of my country, for +which I hope and believe I should fight as well as another, I cannot +say that I should like to be hurried away from my wife and children, +to fight a battle against people with whom I have no quarrel, and in a +cause which perhaps I might not approve of." + +"Well, as you say, William, you that have a wife and children are quite +in a different situation from me. You cannot leave them, of course. +Thank my stars, I am still at liberty, and I shall take care and keep +myself so: my plan is to live for myself, and to have as much pleasure +as I possibly can." + +Whether this plan of living for himself was compatible with the hopes of +having as much pleasure as possible, we leave it to the heads and hearts +of our readers to decide. In the mean time we must proceed with his +history. + +Soon after this conversation had passed between the two partners, +another opportunity occurred of showing their characters still more +distinctly. + +A party of ladies and gentlemen, travellers, came to the town, +and wished to see the manufactories there. They had letters of +recommendation to the Mr. Darfords; and William, with great good-nature, +took them to see their works. He pointed out to them, with honest pride, +the healthy countenances of the children whom they employed. + +"You see," said he, "that we cannot be reproached with sacrificing the +health and happiness of our fellow-creatures to our own selfish and +mercenary views. My good uncle took all the means in his power to make +every person concerned in this manufactory as happy as possible; and +I hope we shall follow his example. I am sure the riches of both the +Indies could not satisfy me, if my conscience reproached me with +having gained wealth by unjustifiable means. If these children were +over-worked, or if they had not fresh air and wholesome food, it would +be the greatest misery to me to come into this room and look at them. I +could not do it. But, on the contrary, knowing, as I do, that they are +well treated and well provided for in every respect, I feel joy and +pride in coming amongst them, and in bringing my friends here." + +William's eyes sparkled, as he thus spoke the generous sentiments of his +heart; but Charles, who had thought himself obliged to attend the ladies +of the party to see the manufactory, evidently showed he was ashamed of +being considered as a partner. William, with perfect simplicity, went +on to explain every part of the machinery, and the whole process of the +manufacture; whilst his cousin Charles, who thought he should that +way show his superior liberality and politeness, every now and then +interposed with, "Cousin, I'm afraid we are keeping the ladies too long +standing. Cousin, this noise must certainly annoy the ladies horridly. +Cousin, all this sort of thing cannot be very interesting, I apprehend, +to the ladies. Besides, they won't have time, at this rate, to see the +china-works; which is a style of thing more to their taste, I presume." + +The fidgeting impatience of our hero was extreme; till at last he gained +his point, and hurried the ladies away to the china-works. Amongst +these ladies there was one who claimed particular attention, Miss Maude +Germaine, an _elderly young lady_, who, being descended from a high +family, thought herself entitled to be proud. She was yet more vain than +proud, and found her vanity in some degree gratified by the officious +attention of her new acquaintance, though she affected to ridicule him +to her companions, when she could do so unobserved. She asked them, in +a whisper, how they liked her new cicerone; and whether he did not show +the lions very prettily, considering who and what he was? + +It has been well observed "that people are never ridiculous by what they +are, but by what they pretend to be." {Footnote: Rochefoucault} These +ladies, with the best dispositions imaginable for sarcasm, could find +nothing to laugh at in Mr. William Darford's plain unassuming manners; +as he did not pretend to be a fine gentleman, there was no absurd +contrast between his circumstances and his conversation; while almost +every word, look, or motion of his cousin was an object of ridicule, +because it was affected. His being utterly unconscious of his foibles, +and perfectly secure in the belief of his own gentility, increased the +amusement of the company. Miss Maude Germaine undertook to play him off, +but she took sufficient care to prevent his suspecting her design. As +they were examining the beautiful china, she continually appealed to Mr. +Charles Darford, as a man of taste; and he, with awkward gallantry, and +still more awkward modesty, always began his answers by protesting he +was sure Miss Maude Germaine was infinitely better qualified to decide +in such matters than he was: he had not the smallest pretensions to +taste; but that, in his humble opinion, the articles she pitched upon +were evidently the most superior in elegance, and certainly of the +newest fashion. "Fashion, you know, ladies, is all in all in these +things, as in every thing else." + +Miss Germaine, with a degree of address which afforded much amusement to +herself and her companions, led him to extol or reprobate whatever she +pleased; and she made him pronounce an absurd eulogium on the ugliest +thing in the room, by observing it was vastly like what her friend, Lady +Mary Crawley, had just bought for her chimney-piece. + +Not content with showing she could make our man of taste decide as she +thought proper, she was determined to prove that she could make him +reverse his own decisions, and contradict himself, as often as she +pleased. They were at this instant standing opposite to two vases of +beautiful workmanship. + +"Now," whispered she to one of her companions, "I will lay you any wager +I first make him say that both those vases are frightful; then that they +are charming; afterward that he does not know which he likes best; next, +that no person of any taste can hesitate betwixt them; and at last, +when he has pronounced his decided humble opinion, he shall reverse his +judgment, and protest he meant to say quite the contrary." + +All this the lady accomplished much to her satisfaction and to that of +her friends; and so blind and deaf is self-love, our hero neither heard +nor saw that he was the object of derision. William, however, was rather +more clear-sighted; and as he could not bear to see his cousin make +himself the butt of the company, he interrupted the conversation, by +begging the ladies would come into another room to look at the manner +in which the china was painted. Charles, with a contemptuous smile, +observed that the ladies would probably find the odour of the paint +rather too much for their nerves. Full of the sense of his own superior +politeness, he followed; since it was determined that they must go, as +he said, _nolens volens._ He did not hear Miss Germaine whisper to +her companions as they passed, "Can any thing in nature be much +more ridiculous than a vulgar manufacturer, who sets up for a fine +gentleman?" + +Amongst the persons who were occupied in painting a set of china with +flowers, there was one who attracted particular attention, by the +ease and quickness with which she worked. An iris of her painting was +produced, which won the admiration of all the spectators; and whilst +Charles was falling into ecstasies about the merit of the painting, and +the perfection to which the arts are now carried in England, William was +observing the flushed and unhealthy countenance of the young artist. He +stopped to advise her not to overwork herself, to beg she would not sit +in a draught of wind where she was placed, and to ask her, with much +humanity, several questions concerning her health and her circumstances. +Whilst he was speaking to her, he did not perceive that he had set his +foot by accident on Miss Germaine's gown; and, as she walked hastily on, +it was torn in a deplorable manner. Charles apologized for his cousin's +extreme absence of mind and rudeness; and with a candid condescension +added, "Ladies, you must not think ill of my cousin William, because he +is not quite so much your humble servant as I am: notwithstanding his +little rusticities, want of polish, gallantry, and so forth, things that +are not in every man's power, I can assure you there is not a better man +in the world; except that he is so entirely given up to business, which +indeed ruins a man for every thing else." + +The apologist little imagined he was at this moment infinitely more +awkward and ill-bred than the person whom he affected to pity and to +honour with his protection. Our hero continued to be upon the best terms +possible with himself and with Miss Maude Germaine, during the remainder +of this day. He discovered that this lady intended to pass a fortnight +with a relation of hers in the town of ----. He waited upon her the next +day, to give her an account of the manner in which he had executed some +commissions about the choice of china with which she had honoured him. + +One visit led to another, and Charles Darford was delighted to find +himself admitted into the society of such very genteel persons. At +first, he was merely proud of being acquainted with a lady of Miss Maude +Germaine's importance, and contented himself with boasting of it to +all his acquaintance; by degrees, he became more audacious; he began +to fancy himself in love with her, and to flatter himself she would not +prove inexorable. The raillery of some of his companions piqued him to +make good his boast; and he determined to pay his addresses to a lady, +who, they all agreed, could never think of a man in business. + +Our hero was not entirely deluded by his vanity: the lady's coquetry +contributed to encourage his hopes. Though she always spoke of him to +her friends as a person whom it was impossible she could ever think of +for a moment, yet as soon as he made a declaration of his love to her, +she began to consider that a manufacturer might have common sense, and +even some judgment and taste. Her horror of people in business continued +in full force; but she began to allow there was no general rule that did +not admit of an exception. When her female friends laughed, following +the example she had set them, at Charles Darford, her laughter became +fainter than theirs; and she was one evening heard to ask a stranger, +who saw him for the first time, whether that young gentleman looked as +if he was in business? + +Sundry matters began to operate in our hero's favour, precedents, +opportunely produced by her waiting-maid, of ladies of the first +families in England, ladies even of the first fashion, who had married +into mercantile houses; a present, too, from her admirer of the +beautiful china vase, of which she had so often made him change his +opinion, had its due effect; but the preponderating motive was the dread +of dying an old maid, if she did not accept of this offer. + +After various airs, and graces, and doubts, and disdains, this, fair +lady consented to make her lover happy, on the express condition that he +should change his name from Darford to Germaine, that he should give up +all share in the odious cotton manufactory, and that he should purchase +the estate of Germaine-park, in Northamptonshire, to part with which, as +it luckily happened, some of her great relations were compelled. + +In the folly of his joy, at the prospect of an alliance with the great +Germaine family, he promised every thing that was required of him, +notwithstanding the remonstrances of his friend William, who represented +to him, in the forcible language of common sense, the inconveniences of +marrying into a family that would despise him; and of uniting himself +to such an old coquette as Miss Germaine, who would make him not only a +disagreeable but a most extravagant wife. + +"Do you not see," said he, "that she has not the least affection for +you? she marries you only because she despairs of getting any other +match; and because you are rich, and she is poor. She is seven years +older than you, by her own confession, and consequently will be an +old woman whilst you are a young man. She is, as you see--I mean as +I see--vain and proud in the extreme; and if she honours you with her +hand, she will think you can never do enough to make her amends for +having married beneath her pretensions. Instead of finding in her, as +I find in my wife, the best and most affectionate of friends, you will +find her your torment through life; and consider, this is a torment +likely to last these thirty or forty years. Is it not worth while to +pause--to reflect for as many minutes, or even days?" + +Charles paused double the number of seconds, perhaps, and then replied, +"You have married to please yourself, cousin William, and I shall marry +to please myself. As I don't mean to spend my days in the same style +in which you do, the same sort of wife that makes you happy could never +content me. I mean to make some figure in the world; I know no other use +of fortune; and an alliance with the Germaines brings me at once into +fashionable society. Miss Maude Germaine is very proud, I confess; but +she has some reason to be proud of her family; and then, you see, her +love for me conquers her pride, great as it is." + +William sighed when he saw the extent of his cousin's folly. The +partnership between the two Darfords was dissolved. + +It cost our hero much money but no great trouble to get his name changed +from Darford to Germaine; and it was certainly very disadvantageous to +his pecuniary interest to purchase Germaine-park, which was sold to +him for at least three years' purchase more than its value: but, in +the height of his impatience to get into the fashionable world, all +prudential motives appeared beneath his consideration. It was, as he +fancied, part of the character of a man of spirit, the character he was +now to assume and support for life, to treat pecuniary matters as +below his notice. He bought Germaine-park, married Miss Germaine, and +determined no mortal should ever find out, by his equipages or style of +life, that he had not been born the possessor of this estate. + +In this laudable resolution, it cannot possibly be doubted but that his +bride encouraged him to the utmost of her power. She was eager to leave +the county where his former friends and acquaintance resided; for they +were people with whom, of course, it could not be expected that she +should keep up any manner of intercourse. Charles, in whose mind vanity +at this moment smothered every better feeling, was in reality glad of a +pretext for breaking off all connexion with those whom he had formerly +loved. He went to take leave of William in a fine chariot, on which the +Germaine arms were ostentatiously blazoned. That real dignity, which +arises from a sense of independence of mind, appeared in William's +manners; and quite overawed and abashed our hero, in the midst of all +his finery and airs. "I hope, cousin William," said Charles, "when +you can spare time, though, to be sure, that is a thing hardly to be +expected, as you are situated; but, in case you should be able any ways +to make it convenient, I hope you will come and take a look at what we +are doing at Germaine-park." + +There was much awkward embarrassment in the enunciation of this feeble +invitation: for Charles was conscious he did not desire it should be +accepted, and that it was made in direct opposition to the wishes of his +bride. He was at once relieved from his perplexity, and at the same time +mortified, by the calm simplicity with which William replied, "I +thank you, cousin, for this invitation; but you know I should be an +encumbrance to you at Germaine-park: and I make it a rule neither to go +into any company that would be ashamed of me, or of which I should be +ashamed." + +"Ashamed of you! But--What an idea, my dear William! Surely you don't +think--you can't imagine--I should ever consider you as any sort of +encumbrance?--I protest----" + +"Save yourself the trouble of protesting, my dear Charles," cried +William, smiling with much good-nature: "I know why you are so much +embarrassed at this instant; and I do not attribute this to any want of +affection for me. We are going to lead quite different lives. I wish you +all manner of satisfaction. Perhaps the time may come when I shall be +able to contribute to your happiness more than I can at present." + +Charles uttered some unmeaning phrases, and hurried to his carriage. At +the sight of its varnished panels he recovered his self-complacency and +courage, and began to talk fluently about chariots and horses, whilst +the children of the family followed to take leave of him, saying, "Are +you going quite away, Charles? Will you never come back to play with +us, as you used to do?" Charles stepped into his carriage with as much +dignity as he could assume; which, indeed, was very little. William, +who judged of his friends always with the most benevolent indulgence, +excused the want of feeling which Charles betrayed during this visit. +"My dear," said he to his wife, who expressed some indignation at the +slight shown to their children, "we must forgive him; for, you know, +a man cannot well think of more than one thing at a time; and the one +thing that he is thinking of is his fine chariot. The day will come when +he will think more of fine children; at least I hope so, for his own +sake." + +And now, behold our hero in all his glory; shining upon the +Northamptonshire world in the splendour of his new situation! The dress, +the equipage, the entertainments, and, above all, the airs of the bride +and bridegroom, were the general subject of conversation in the county +for ten days. Our hero, not precisely knowing what degree of importance +Mr. Germaine, of Germaine-park, was entitled to assume, out-Germained +Germaine. + +The country gentlemen first stared, then laughed, and at last +unanimously agreed, over their bottle, that this new neighbour of +theirs was an upstart, who ought to be kept down: and that a vulgar +manufacturer should not be allowed to give himself airs merely because +he had married a proud lady of good family. It was obvious, they +said, he was not born for the situation in which he now appeared. They +remarked and ridiculed the ostentation with which he displayed every +luxury in his house; his habit of naming the price of every thing, to +enforce its claim to admiration; his affected contempt for economy; his +anxiety to connect himself with persons of rank, joined to his ignorance +of the genealogy of nobility, and the strange mistakes he made between +old and new titles. + +Certain little defects in his manners, and some habitual vulgarisms +in his conversation, exposed him also to the derision of his well-bred +neighbours. Mr. Germaine saw that the gentlemen of the county were +leagued against him; but he had neither temper nor knowledge of the +world sufficient to wage this unequal war. The meanness with which he +alternately attempted to court and to bully his adversaries, shewed +them, at once, the full extent of their power and of his weakness. +Things were in this position when our hero unluckily affronted Mr. Cole, +one of the proudest gentlemen in the county, by mistaking him for a +merchant of the same name; and, under this mistake, neglecting to return +his visit. A few days afterwards at a public dinner, Mr. Cole and Mr. +Germaine had some high words, which were repeated by the persons present +in various manners; and this dispute became the subject of conversation +in the county, particularly amongst the ladies. Each related, according +to her fancy, what her husband had told her; and as these husbands had +drunk a good deal, they had not a perfectly clear recollection of what +had passed, so that the whole and every part of the conversation was +exaggerated. The fair judges, averse as they avowed their feelings were +to duelling, were clearly of opinion, among themselves, that a real +gentleman would certainly have called Mr. Cole to account for the words +he uttered, though none of them could agree what those words were. + +Mrs. Germaine's female friends, in their coteries, were the first to +deplore, with becoming sensibility, that she should be married to a man +who had so little the spirit as well as the manners of a man of birth. +Their pity became progressively vehement the more they thought of, or at +least the more they talked of, the business; till at last one old lady, +the declared and intimate friend of Mrs. Germaine, unintentionally, and +in the heat of tattle, made use of one phrase that led to another, +and another, till she betrayed, in conversation with that lady, the +gossiping scandal of these female circles. + +Mrs. Germaine, piqued as her pride was, and though she had little +affection for her husband, would have shuddered with horror to have +imagined him in the act of fighting a duel, and especially at her +instigation; yet of this very act she became the cause. In their +domestic quarrels, her tongue was ungovernable: and at such moments, the +malice of husbands and wives often appears to exceed the hatred of +the worst of foes; and, in the ebullition of her vengeance, when his +reproaches had stung her beyond the power of her temper to support, +unable to stop her tongue, she vehemently told him he was a coward, +who durst not so talk to a man! He had proved himself a coward; and was +become the by-word and contempt of the whole county! Even women despised +his cowardice! + +However astonishing it may appear to those who are unacquainted with the +nature of quarrels between man and wife, it is but too certain that +such quarrels have frequently led to the most fatal consequences. The +agitation of mind which Mrs. Germaine suffered the moment she could +recollect what she had so rashly said, her vain endeavours to prove to +herself that, so provoked, she could not say less, and the sudden effect +which she plainly saw her words had produced upon her husband, were but +a part of the punishment that always follows conduct and contentions so +odious. + +Mr. Germaine gazed at her a few moments with wildness in his eyes; his +countenance expressed the stupefaction of rage: he spoke not a word; but +started at length, and snatched up his hat. She was struck with panic +terror, gave a scream, sprang after him, caught him by the coat, and, +with the most violent protestations, denied the truth of all she had +said. The look he gave her cannot be described; he rudely plucked the +skirt from her grasp, and rushed out of the house. + +All day and all night she neither saw nor heard of him: in the morning +he was brought home, accompanied by a surgeon, in the carriage of a +gentleman who had been his second, dangerously wounded. + +He was six weeks confined to his bed; and, in the first moment of doubt +expressed by the surgeon for his life, she expressed contrition which +was really sincere: but, as he recovered, former bickerings were +renewed; and the terms on which they lived gradually became what they +had been. + +Neither did his duel regain that absurd reputation for which he fought; +it was malignantly said he had neither the courage to face a man, nor +the understanding to govern a wife. + +Still, however, Mrs. Germaine consoled herself with the belief that the +most shocking circumstance of his having been partner in a manufactory +was a profound secret. Alas! the fatal moment arrived when she was to be +undeceived in this her last hope. Soon after Mr. Germaine recovered from +his wounds she gave a splendid bail, to which the neighbouring nobility +and gentry were invited. She made it a point, with all her acquaintance, +to come on this grand night. + +The more importance the Germaines set upon success, and the more anxiety +they betrayed, the more their enemies enjoyed the prospect of their +mortification. All the young belles, who had detested Miss Maude +Germaine for the airs she used to give herself at county assemblies, now +leagued to prevent their admirers from accepting her invitation. All the +married ladies whom she had outshone in dress and equipage, protested +they were not equal to keep up an acquaintance with such prodigiously +fine people; and that, for their part, they must make a rule not to +accept of such expensive entertainments, as it was not in their power to +return them. + +Some persons of consequence in the county kept their determination in +doubt, suffered themselves to be besieged daily with notes and messages, +and hopes that their imaginary coughs, head-aches, and influenzas, were +better, and that they would find themselves able to venture out on the +15th. When the coughs, head-aches, and influenzas, could hold out no +longer, these ingenious tormentors devised new pretexts for supposing +it would be impossible to do themselves the honour of accepting Mr. and +Mrs. Germaine's obliging invitation on the 15th. Some had recourse to +the roads, and others to the moon. + +Mrs. Germaine, whose pride was now compelled to make all manner of +concessions, changed her night from the 15th to the 20th, to insure a +full moon to those timorous damsels whom she had known to go home nine +miles from a ball the darkest night imaginable, without scruple or +complaint. Mr. Germaine, at his own expense, mended some spots in the +roads, which were obstacles to the delicacy of other travellers; and +when all this was accomplished, the haughty leaders of the county +fashions condescended to promise they would do themselves the pleasure +to wait upon Mr. and Mrs. Germaine on the 20th. + +Their cards of acceptation were shown with triumph by the Germaines; but +it was a triumph of short duration. With all the refinement of cruelty, +they gave hopes which they never meant to fulfil. On the morning, noon, +and night, of the 20th, notes poured in with apologies, or rather with +excuses, for not keeping their engagements. Scarcely one was burnt, +before another arrived. Mrs. Germaine could not command her temper; and +she did not spare her husband in this trying moment. + +The arrival of some company for the ball interrupted a warm dispute +between the happy pair. The ball was very thinly attended; the guests +looked as if they were more inclined to yawn than to dance. The supper +table was not half filled; and the profusion with which it was laid out +was forlorn and melancholy: every thing was on too grand a scale for +the occasion; wreaths of flowers, and pyramids, and triumphal arches, +sufficient for ten times as many guests! Even the most inconsiderate +could not help comparing the trouble and expense incurred by the +entertainment with the small quantity of pleasure it produced. Most of +the guests rose from table, whispering to one another, as they looked +at the scarcely-tasted dishes, "What a waste! What a pity! Poor Mrs. +Germaine! What a melancholy sight this must be to her!" + +The next day, a mock heroic epistle, in verse, in the character of Mrs. +Germaine, to one of her noble relations, giving an account of her ball +and disappointment, was handed about, and innumerable copies were taken. +It was written with some humour and great ill-nature. The good old lady +who occasioned the duel, thought it but friendly to show Mrs. Germaine +a copy of it; and to beg she would keep it out of her husband's way: it +might be the cause of another duel! Mrs. Germaine, in spite of all her +endeavours to conceal her vexation, was obviously so much hurt by this +mock heroic epistle, that the laughers were encouraged to proceed; and +the next week a ballad, entitled, "THE MANUFACTURER TURNED GENTLEMAN," +was circulated with the same injunctions to secresy, and the same +success. Mr. and Mrs. Germaine, perceiving themselves to be the objects +of continual enmity and derision, determined to leave the county. +Germaine-park was forsaken; a house in London was bought; and, for a +season or two, our hero was amused with the gaieties of the town, and +gratified by finding himself actually moving in that sphere of life +to which he had always aspired. But he soon perceived that the persons +whom, at a distance, he had regarded as objects of admiration and envy, +upon a nearer view were capable of exciting only contempt or pity. Even +in the company of honourable and right honourable men, he was frequently +overpowered with _ennui_; and, amongst all the fine acquaintances with +which his fine wife crowded his fine house, he looked in vain for a +friend: he looked in vain for a William Darford. + +One evening, at Ranelagh, Charles happened to hear the name of Mr. +William Darford pronounced by a lady who was walking behind him: +he turned eagerly to look at her; but, though he had a confused +recollection of having seen her face before, he could not remember when +or where he had met with her. He felt a wish to speak to her, that he +might hear something of those friends whom he had neglected, but not +forgotten. He was not, however, acquainted with any of the persons with +whom she was walking, and was obliged to give up his purpose. When she +left the room, he followed her, in hopes of learning, from her servants, +who she was; but she had no servants--no carriage! + +Mrs. Germaine, who clearly inferred she was a person of no consequence, +besought her husband not to make any further inquiries. "I beg, Mr. +Germaine, you will not gratify your curiosity about the Darfords at my +expense. I shall have a whole tribe of vulgar people upon my hands, if +you do not take care. The Darfords, you know, are quite out of our line +of life; especially in town." + +This remonstrance had a momentary effect upon Mr. Germaine's vanity; but +a few days afterwards he met the same lady in the park, attended by Mr. +William Darford's old servant. Regardless of his lady's representations, +he followed the suggestions of his own heart, and eagerly stopped the +man to inquire after his friends in the most affectionate manner. The +servant, who was pleased to see that Charles was not grown quite so much +a fine gentleman as to forget all his friends in the country, became +very communicative; he told Mr. Germaine that the lady, whom he +was attending, was a Miss Locke, governess to Mr. William Darford's +children; and that she was now come to town to spend a few days with a +relation, who had been very anxious to see her. This relation was not +either rich or genteel; and though our hero used every persuasion to +prevail upon his lady to show Miss Locke some civility whilst she was +in town, he could not succeed. Mrs. Germaine repeated her former phrase, +again and again, "The Darfords are quite out of our line of life;" and +this was the only reason she would give. + +Charles was disgusted by the obstinacy of his wife's pride, and indulged +his better feelings by going frequently to visit Miss Locke. She stayed, +however, but a fortnight in town; and the idea of his friends, which had +been strongly recalled by his conversations with her, gradually faded +away. He continued the course of life into which he had been forced, +rather from inability to stop than from inclination to proceed. Their +winters were spent in dissipation in town; their summers wasted at +watering-places, or in visits to fine relations, who were tired of their +company, and who took but little pains to conceal this sentiment. Those +who do not live happily at home can seldom contrive to live respectably +abroad. Mr. and Mrs. Germaine could not purchase esteem, and never +earned it from the world or from one another. Their mutual contempt +increased every day. Only those who have lived with bosom friends whom +they despise can fully comprehend the extent and intensity of the evil. + +We spare our readers the painful detail of domestic grievances and the +petty mortifications of vanity: from the specimens we have already +given they may form some idea, but certainly not a competent one, of +the manner in which this ill-matched pair continued to live together for +twelve long years. Twelve long years! The imagination cannot distinctly +represent such a period of domestic suffering; though, to the fancy of +lovers, the eternal felicity to be ensured by their union is an idea +perfectly familiar and intelligible. Perhaps, if we could bring +our minds to dwell more upon the hours, and less upon the years of +existence, we should make fewer erroneous judgments. Our hero and +heroine would never have chained themselves together for life, if they +could have formed an adequate picture of the hours contained in the +everlasting period of twelve years of wrangling. During this time, +scarcely an hour, certainly not a day, passed in which they did not, +directly or indirectly, reproach one another; and tacitly form, or +explicitly express, the wish that they had never been joined in holy +wedlock. + +They, however, had a family. Children are either the surest bonds of +union between parents, or the most dangerous causes of discord. If +parents agree in opinion as to the management of their children, they +must be a continually increasing source of pleasure; but where the +father counteracts the mother, and the mother the father--where +the children cannot obey or caress either of their parents without +displeasing the other, what can they become but wretched little +hypocrites, or detestable little tyrants? + +Mr. and Mrs. Germaine had two children, a boy and a girl. From the +moment of their birth, they became subjects of altercation and jealousy. +The nurses were obliged to decide whether the infants were most like the +father or the mother: two nurses lost their places, by giving what was, +in Mr. Germaine's opinion, an erroneous decision upon this important +question. Every stranger who came to pay a visit was obliged to submit +to a course of interrogations on this subject; and afterwards, to their +utter confusion, saw biting of lips, and tossing of heads, either on the +paternal or maternal side. At last, it was established that Miss Maude +was the most like her mamma, and master Charles the most like his papa. +Miss Maude, of course, became the faultless darling of her mother, +and master Charles the mutinous favourite of his father. A comparison +between their features, gestures, and manners, was daily instituted, and +always ended in words of scorn, from one party or the other. Even whilst +they were pampering these children with sweetmeats, or inflaming them +with wine, the parents had always the same mean and selfish views. The +mother, before she would let her Maude taste the sweetmeats, insisted +upon the child's lisping out that she loved mamma best; and before the +little Charles was permitted to carry the bumper of wine to his lips, he +was compelled to say he loved papa best. In all their childish quarrels, +Maude ran roaring to her mamma, and Charles sneaked up to his papa. + +As the interests of the children were so deeply concerned in the +question, it was quickly discovered who ruled in the house with the +strongest hand. Mr. Germaine's influence over his son diminished, as +soon as the boy was clearly convinced that his sister, by adhering to +her mamma, enjoyed a larger share of the good things. He was wearied +out by the incessant rebuffs of the nursery-maids, who were all in their +lady's interests; and he endeavoured to find grace in their sight, by +recanting all the declarations he had made in his father's favour. "I +don't like papa best now: I love mamma best to-day." + +"Yes, master, but you must love mamma best every day, or it won't do, I +promise you." + +By such a course of nursery precepts, these unfortunate children were +taught equivocation, falsehood, envy, jealousy, and every fault of +temper which could render them insupportable to themselves, and odious +to others. Those who have lived in the house with spoiled children must +have a lively recollection of the degree of torment they can inflict +upon all who are within sight or hearing. These domestic plagues became +more and more obnoxious; and Mrs. Germaine, in the bitterness of her +heart, was heard to protest she wished she had never had a child! +Children were pretty things at three years old, but began to be great +plagues at six, and were quite intolerable at ten. + +Schools, and tutors, and governesses, were tried without number; but +those capricious changes served only to render the pupils still more +unmanageable. At length Mr. and Mrs. Germaine's children became so +notoriously troublesome, that every body dreaded the sight of them. + +One summer, when Mrs. Germaine was just setting out on a visit to my +Lady Mary Crawley, when the carriage was actually at the door, and the +trunks tied on, an express arrived from her ladyship with a letter, +stipulating that neither Miss Maude nor Master Charles should be of the +party. Lady Mary declared she had suffered so much from their noise, +quarrelling, and refractory tempers when they were with her the +preceding summer, that she could not undergo such a trial again; that +their mother's nerves might support such things, but that hers really +could not: besides, she could not, in justice and politeness to the +other friends who were to be in her house, suffer them to be exposed +to such torments. Lady Mary Crawlev did not give herself any trouble to +soften her expressions, because she would have been really glad if they +had given offence, and if Mrs. Germaine had resented her conduct, by +declining to pay that annual visit which was now become, in the worst +sense of the word, visitation. To what meanness proud people are often +forced to submit! Rather than break her resolution never to spend +another summer at her own country seat, Mrs. Germaine submitted to +all the haughtiness of her Leicestershire relations, and continued +absolutely to force upon them visits which she knew to be unwelcome. + +But what was to be done about her children! The first thing, of course, +was to reproach her husband. "You see, Mr. Germaine, the effect of the +pretty education you have given that boy of yours. I am sure, if he had +not gone with us last summer into Leicestershire, my Maude would not +have been in the least troublesome to Lady Mary." + +"On the contrary, my dear, I have heard Lady Mary herself say, twenty +times, that Charles was the best of the two; and I am persuaded, if +Maude had been away, the boy would have become quite a favourite." + +"There you are utterly mistaken, I can assure you, my dear; for you know +you are no great favourite of Lady Mary's yourself; and I have often +heard her say that Charles is your image." + +"It is very extraordinary that all your great relations show us so +little civility, my dear. They do not seem to have much regard for you." + +"They have regard enough for me, and showed it formerly; but of late, to +be sure, I confess, things are altered. They never have been so cordial +since my marriage, and, all things considered, I scarcely know how to +blame them." + +Mr. Germaine bowed, by way of thanking his lady for this compliment. +She besought him not to bow so like a man behind a counter, if he could +possibly help it. He replied, it became him to submit to be schooled +by a wife, who was often taken for his mother. At length, when every +species of reproach, mental and personal, which conjugal antipathy could +suggest, had been exhausted, the orators recurred to the business of the +day, and to the question, "What is to be done with the children whilst +we are at Lady Mary Crawley's?" + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +In this embarrassment we must leave the Germaines for the present, +and refresh ourselves with a look at a happy circle--the family of Mr. +Darford, where there is no discordance of opinions, of tastes, or +of tempers; none of those evils which arise sometimes from the +disappointment and sometimes from the gratification of vanity and pride. + +Mr. Darford succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations in the +management of his business. Wealth poured in upon him; but he considered +wealth, like a true philosopher, only as one of the means of happiness: +he did not become prodigal or avaricious; neither did he ever feel +the slightest ambition to quit his own station in society. He never +attempted to purchase from people of superior rank admission into +their circles, by giving luxurious and ostentatious entertainments. He +possessed a sturdy sense of his own value, and commanded a species of +respect very different from that which is paid to the laced livery or +the varnished equipage. + +The firmness of his character was, however, free from all severity: he +knew how to pardon in others the weakness and follies from which he was +himself exempt. Though his cousin was of such a different character, and +though, since his marriage, Mr. Germaine had neglected his old friends, +William felt more compassion for his unhappiness than resentment for his +faults. In the midst of his own family, William would often say, "I wish +poor Charles may ever be as happy as we are!" Frequently, in his letters +to London correspondents, he desired them to inquire, privately, how Mr. +Germaine went on. + +For some time he heard of nothing but his extravagance, and of the +entertainments given to the fine world by Mrs. Germaine; but in the +course of a few years, his correspondents hinted that Mr. Germaine began +to be distressed for money, and that this was a secret which had been +scrupulously kept from his lady, as scrupulously as she concealed from +him her losses at play. Mr. Darford also learned from a correspondent +who was intimately acquainted with one of Mrs. Germaine's friends, +that this lady lived upon very bad terms with her husband; and that her +children were terribly spoiled by the wretched education they received. + +These accounts gave William sincere concern: far from triumphing in +the accomplishing of his prophecies, he never once recalled them to the +memory even of his own family; all his thoughts were intent upon saving +his friend from future pain. + +One day, as he was sitting with his family round their cheerful +tea-table, his youngest boy, who had climbed upon his knees, exclaimed, +"Papa! what makes you so very grave to-night? You are not at all like +yourself! What can make you sorry?" + +"My dear little boy," said his father, "I was thinking of a letter I +received to-day from London." + +"I wish those letters would never come, for they always make you look +sad, and make you sigh! Mamma, why do you not desire the servants not to +bring papa any more such letters? What did this letter say to you, papa, +to make you so grave?" + +"My dear," said his father, smiling at the child's simplicity, "this +letter told me that your little cousin Charles is not quite so good a +boy as you are." + +"Then, papa, I will tell you what to do: send our Miss Locke to cousin +Charles, and she will soon make him very good." + +"I dare say she would," replied the father, laughing: "but, my dear +boy, I cannot send Miss Locke; and I am afraid she would not like to go: +besides, we should be rather sorry to part with her." + +"Then, papa, suppose you were to send for my cousin; and Miss Locke +could take care of him here, without leaving us?" + +"Could take care of him--true; but would she? If you can prevail upon +her to do so, I will send for your cousin." + +The proposal, though playfully made, was seriously accepted by Miss +Locke: and the more willingly, as she remembered, with gratitude, the +attention Mr. Germaine had paid to her some years before, when with poor +relations in London. + +Mr. Darford wrote immediately, to invite his cousin's children to his +house; and the invitation was most gladly accepted, for it was received +the very day when Mr. and Mrs. Germaine were so much embarrassed by Lady +Mary Crawley's absolute refusal to admit these children into her house. +Mrs. Germaine was not too proud to accept of favours from those whom +she had treated as beneath her acquaintance, "quite out of her line of +life!" She despatched her children directly to Mr. Darford's; and Miss +Locke undertook the care of them. It was not an easy or agreeable task; +but she had great obligations to Mrs. Darford, and was rejoiced at +finding an opportunity of showing her gratitude. + +Miss Locke was the young woman whose painting of an iris had been +admired by Charles and by Miss Maude Germaine when they visited the +china works, thirteen or fourteen years before this time. She was at +that period very ill, and in great distress: her father had been a +bankrupt, and to earn bread for herself and her sisters she was obliged +to work harder than her health and strength allowed. Probably she would +have fallen a sacrifice to her exertions, if she had not been saved by +the humanity of Mr. Darford; and, fortunately for him, he was married to +a woman who sympathized in all his generous feelings, and who assisted +him in every benevolent action. + +Mrs. Darford, after making sufficient inquiries as to the truth of the +story, and the character of the girl, was so much pleased with all she +heard of her merit, and so much touched by her misfortunes, that she +took Miss Locke into her family to teach her daughters to draw. She well +knew that a sense of dependence is one of the greatest evils; and she +was careful to relieve the person whom she obliged from this painful +feeling, by giving her an opportunity of being daily useful to her +benefactress. Miss Locke soon recovered her health: she perceived she +might be serviceable in teaching the children of the family many things +besides drawing; and, with unremitting perseverance, she informed her +own mind, that she might be able to instruct her pupils. Year after year +she pursued this plan; and was rewarded by the esteem and affection of +the happy family in which she lived. + +But though Miss Locke was a woman of great abilities, she had not the +magical powers attributed to some characters in romance; she could not +instantaneously produce a total reformation of manners. The habits of +spoiled children are not to be changed by the most skilful preceptress, +without the aid of time. Miss Maude Germaine and her brother had tempers +which tried Miss Locke's patience to the utmost; but, gradually, she +acquired some influence over these wayward spirits. She endeavoured with +her utmost skill to eradicate the jealousy which had been implanted +in the minds of the brother and sister. They found that they were now +treated with strict impartiality, and they began to live together more +peaceably. + +Time was willingly allowed to Miss Locke by their parents, who were glad +to be disencumbered of their children. Eighteen months passed away, and +no news were heard of Mr. and Mrs. Germaine, except that they continued +the same extravagant, dissipated course of life, and that they began to +be much embarrassed in their circumstances. At last Mr. Darford received +a letter which informed him that an execution was laid on Mr. Germaine's +fine house in town; and that he and his family were all in the greatest +distress and affliction. + +William hastened immediately to London. He was denied admittance at Mr. +Germaine's: the porter, with an air of mystery, said that his master was +ill, and did not choose to see any body. William, however, forced his +way up stairs. + +Charles, at the sight of him, stepped back, exclaiming, "May I believe +my eyes? William! Is it you?" + +"Yes, it is William; your old friend William," said Mr. Darford, +embracing him affectionately. Pride and shame struggled in the mind of +Charles; and, turning aside to repress the tears, which in the first +instance of emotion had started into his eyes, he went to the farthest +end of the room for an arm-chair for his cousin, placed it with awkward +ceremony, and said, "Won't you be seated, cousin Darford? I am sure +Mrs. Germaine and I are much indebted to you and Mrs. Darford, for your +goodness to our children. I was just thinking of writing to you about +them;--but we are in sad confusion here, just at this moment. I am quite +ashamed--I did not expect--Why did you never honour us with a visit +before? I am sure you could not possibly have hit upon a more unlucky +moment for a visit--for yourself, I mean." "If it proves lucky to you, +my dear Charles," replied William mildly, "I shall think it the most +fortunate moment I could possibly have chosen." + +Vanquished by the tone of this reply, our hero burst into tears: he +squeezed his friend's hand, but could not speak. Recovering himself, +after a few minutes, he said, "You are too good, cousin William, and +always were! I thought you called in by accident; I had no +supposition that you came on purpose to assist me in this moment of +distress--embarrassment, I ought to say; for, in fact, it is only a mere +temporary embarrassment." + +"I am heartily glad to hear it. But, speak to me freely, Charles: do +not conceal the real state of your affairs from your best friend. What +tendency could this have but to plunge you into irretrievable ruin?" + +Charles paused for a minute. "The truth of the matter is, my dear +William," continued he, "that there are circumstances in this business +which I should be sorry reached Mrs. Germaine's ear, or any of her +cursed proud relations; for if once they heard of it, I should have no +peace for the rest of my life. Indeed, as to peace, I cannot boast of +much as it is: but it might be worse, much worse, if the whole truth +came out. To you, however, I can trust it; though in your line of +life, it would be counted a shocking thing: but still you are so +indulgent----" + +William listened without being able to guess where this preamble would +end. + +"In the first place," continued Charles, "you know--Mrs. Germaine is +almost ten years older than I am." + +"Six years, I thought you formerly told me?" + +"I beg your pardon, ten--ten--within a few months. If I said six, it was +before our marriage, when I knew no better. She owns to seven: her own +relations say eight; her nurse said nine; and I say ten." + +"Well, ten let it be, since you will have it so." + +"I should be very glad to have it otherwise, I promise you, if I could: +for it is not very pleasant to a man like me, to be _quizzed_ by half +the young men of fashion in town, for having married a woman old enough +to be my mother." + +"Not quite old enough to be your mother," said his cousin, in a +conciliatory tone; "these young men of fashion are not the best +calculators. Mrs. Germaine could not well have been your mother, since +at the worst, by your own account, there is only ten years difference +between you." + +"Oh, but that is not all; for, what is still worse, Mrs. Germaine, +thanks to the raking hours she keeps, and gaming and fretting, looks +full ten years older than she is: so that you see, in fact, there are +twenty years between us." + +"I do not see it, indeed," replied William, smiling; "but I am bound to +believe what you assert. Let me ask you, to what does this discussion, +concerning poor Mrs. Germaine's age, tend?" + +"To justify, or at least to excuse, poor Mr. Germaine for keeping a +mistress, who is something younger, something prettier, and, above all, +something more good-humoured, than his wife." + +"Perhaps the wife would be as good-humoured as the mistress, if she were +as happy in possessing her husband's affections." + +"Affections! Oh, Lord! Affections are out of the question, Mrs. Germaine +does not care a straw about my affections." + +"And yet you dread that she should have the least hint of your having a +mistress." + +"Of course. You don't see my jet. You don't consider what a devil of a +handle that would give her against me. She has no more love for me than +this table; but she is jealous beyond all credibility, and she knows +right well how to turn her jealousy to account. She would go caballing +amongst her tribes of relations, and get all the women and all the world +on her side, with this hue and cry of a mistress; and then I should be +branded as the worst husband upon earth. That indeed I should laugh at, +because all the young men in town would keep me in countenance; but Mrs. +Germaine would rummage out the history of the sums of money I have given +this girl, and then would set those against her play-debts, and I should +have no more hold over her; for, you know, if I should begin to reproach +her with the one, she would recriminate. She is a devil of a hand at +that work! Neither you nor any man on earth, except myself, can form any +idea of the temper of Mrs. Germaine! She is--to you, my dear friend, I +may have the relief of saying so--she is, without exception, the +most proud, peevish, selfish, unreasonable, extravagant, tyrannical, +unfeeling woman in Christendom!" + +"In Christendom! Oh, you exaggerate, Charles!" + +"Exaggerate! Upon my soul, I do not: she is all I have said, and more." + +"More! Impossible. Come, I see how it is; she has been unlucky at the +card-table; you are angry, and therefore you speak, as angry people +always do, {Footnote: Swift.} worse than you think." + +"No, not at all, I promise you. I am as perfectly cool as you are. You +do not know Mrs. Germaine as well as I do." + +"But I know that she is much to be pitied, if her husband has a worse +opinion of her than any body else expresses." + +"That is precisely because I am her husband, and know her better than +other people do. Will not you give me leave to be the best judge in what +relates to my own wife? I never, indeed, expected to hear you, of all +people upon earth, cousin William, undertake her defence. I think I +remember that she was no great favourite of yours before I married, and +you dissuaded me as much as possible from the match: yet now you are +quite become her advocate, and take her part to my face against me." + +"It is not taking her part against you, my dear Charles," replied his +cousin, "to endeavour to make you better satisfied with your wife. I +am not so obstinate in self-opinion as to wish, at the expense of your +domestic happiness, to prove that I was right in dissuading you from the +match; on the contrary, I would do all in my power to make the best of +it; and so should you." + +"Ah, cousin William, it is easy for you to talk of making the best of a +bad match; you who are married to one of the best tempered women alive! +I wish you were to live with Mrs. Germaine for one month." + +William smiled, as much as to say, "I cannot join in that wish." + +"Besides," continued Charles, "if I were to open my whole heart to you, +you would pity me on another account. My wife is not my only plague: my +mistress is almost as great a torment as my wife." + +"What! this mistress of whom you are so fond?" + +"Ay! there is the curse! I cannot help being fond of her: and that she +knows, and plays me off as she pleases. But I believe the little jilt +loves me all the time: because she has offers enough, and from men of +the first fashion, if she would leave me. She is certainly a good girl; +but then so passionate!" + +"I thought you told me she was good-humoured," interrupted his cousin. + +"Well, so she is, at times, the best humoured creature in nature; and +then she is charming: but when she falls into a passion, she is a little +fury! absolutely a little devil! There is nothing she would not do. Now, +do you know, all this terrible business, this execution against me, is +her doing?" + +"A singular proof of love!" said Mr. William Darford. + +"Oh, the fool loves me, notwithstanding; I must do her that justice: +but she is quite a child. I put her into a passion, by going down to +Leicestershire when she wanted me to stay with her in town. She told +me she would be revenged; but I could not believe she would go such +lengths. She gave a note of mine, for two hundred guineas, to her uncle; +and he got a writ. Now she is in despair about it; I saw her two hours +ago all in tears, and tearing her hair, because her uncle won't consent +to withdraw the execution. I am sure she is really and truly sorry; and +would give her eyes to get me out of this scrape." + +"Whether she would give her eyes or not, I will not pretend to +determine; but it is plain she would not pay two hundred guineas 'to get +you out of this scrape.' Now, where do you intend to get the money?" + +"Ah, there's the rub! I have not a farthing, till our next rents come +in; and you see these heaps of bills. Then the agent, who manages every +thing, Heaven knows how! at Germaine-park, says tenants are breaking; +that we are, I do not know how much, in his debt, and that we must sell; +but that, if we sell in a hurry, and if our distress be talked of, we +shall get nothing for the land, and so shall be ruined outright. Now, +this all originates in Mrs. Germaine's pride and positiveness: she never +could be prevailed upon to go down to Germaine-park, these ten years +past, because some of the Northamptonshire people affronted her: so our +affairs have gone on just as the agent pleases; and he is a rascal, I +am convinced, for he is always writing to say we are in his debt. But, +indeed, my dear William, you are too good to take any interest in this +history of my affairs: I am conscious that I have not treated you well." + +"Do not talk of that now: do not think of it, Charles," interrupted Mr. +Darford. "I am come to town on purpose to be of all the service to you I +can. I will discharge this writ upon one, and only upon one, condition." + +"Upon any condition you please," cried Charles. "I will give you my +bond. I will give you security upon the Germaine estate, if you require +it." + +"I require no security; I require no bond, Charles; I require only a +condition which I believe to be absolutely necessary for your happiness. +Promise me you will break off all connexion with this treacherous +mistress of yours." + +"Treacherous! No, no! I assure you, you mistake the girl." + +"Mistake her or not, Charles, without arguing the matter farther, on +this one point I must be peremptory; and, positively, the only condition +on which I will pay this money is your promise never to see her again." + +Charles hesitated. "Upon my soul," cried he, "I believe the girl will +break her heart. But then she is so cursedly extravagant, she ruins +me! I would have broken with her long ago, if I could have summoned up +courage enough. After all, I believe it was more habit, idleness, and +fashion, than any thing else, that made me go to see her so often. When +I did not know what to do with myself, or when I was put out of humour +at home, I went to this girl. Well, let us say no more about it: she is +not worth thinking of; I give her up. You may depend upon it, my dear +William, I will have nothing more to do with her. I will, since you make +that your ultimatum, never see her again." + +"Will you write to her then immediately, to let her know your +determination?" + +"Certainly; immediately." + +Charles wrote, to bid adieu to this mistress; to whom, by his own +account, habit, idleness, fashion, and the want of a happy home, had +attached him; and William gave him a draft for the amount of his debt, +by which the execution was taken off. + +Mr. Darford seized the moment when his cousin's mind was warmed with +gratitude to say a few words, as little in the form of advice as +possible, in praise of economy. + +"You know, my dear Charles," said he, "that I am, and always was, a +very plain man, in my way of living; and I dare say my ideas will appear +quite absurd to you, who are used to live with men of taste and fashion; +but really these rooms, this furniture, and this house, appear to me +fitter for a nobleman than for a man of your fortune." + +"It is so. Mrs. Germaine would insist upon my taking it. But I will +part with it before next winter. I will advertise it immediately. I will +begin a course of economy." + +Mr. Germaine's projects of economy were at this moment interrupted +by the sudden entrance of his wife. Her eyes flashing with anger, she +walked with the proud air of an enraged tragedy queen across the +room, seated herself upon a sofa, and, in a voice which trembled with +ill-suppressed rage, said, "I am to thank you, Mr. Germaine, for the +many obliging things you have said of me this last hour! I have heard +them all! You are under a mistake, sir, if you imagine I have been +hitherto your dupe. You have never imposed upon me for a moment. I have +suspected, this twelvemonth, that you kept a mistress: and now I am +happy to have the truth confirmed from your own lips. But I deserve all +that has happened! I am justly treated! Weak woman, to marry as I did! +No gentleman, sir, would have behaved or would have spoken as you have +done! Could not you have been content with ruining yourself and your +family, Mr. Germaine, by your profligate low tastes, without insulting +me by base reflections upon my temper, and downright falsehoods about my +age? No gentleman, sir, would have treated me as you have done. I am the +most miserable of women!" + +Passion choked her utterance, and she fell back in a violent fit of +hysterics. Mr. William Darford was much shocked at this matrimonial +scene. The lady had caught hold of his arm, in one of her convulsive +motions; and she held it so fast that he could not withdraw. Charles +stood in silent dismay. His conscience smote him; and though he could +not love his wife, he blamed himself for having rendered her "the most +miserable of women." "Leave her to me, Charles," said Mr. Darford, "and +I will endeavour to set matters to rights." + +Charles shook his head, and left the room. Mrs. Germaine by degrees +recovered herself; for a hysteric fit cannot last for ever. She cast her +eyes round the room, and exclaimed, "He has done well to leave me! Oh, +that it were for ever! Oh, that we had never met! But may I ask why Mr. +William Darford is here? My own servant--my own maid, should have been +summoned to attend me. We have servants still, sir; and, humbled as I +am, I see no necessity for submitting to have cool spectators of our +family distresses and family quarrels." + +"Believe me, madam," said Mr. Darford, "I am not a cool spectator of +either. I do not wish to recal {sic} disagreeable things, but to obtain +the right of speaking to you of your affairs as a friend. Permit me to +remind you that, when I could not guess you heard me, I defended your +interests." + +"Really, sir, you spoke so low that I did not distinctly hear what +you said; and my feelings were so much hurt, by all I heard from Mr. +Germaine, who spoke loud enough, that I attended to nothing else. Upon +recollection, I do, however, remember you made some offer to get Mr. +Germaine out of his present embarrassments, upon condition that he would +break off all connexion with this girl, whom nobody knows; or rather +whom every body knows _too_ well." + +"And was not this offer of mine some proof, Mrs. Germaine, that I wish +your happiness?" + +"Why, really, Mr. Darford, having lived in the world as I have done +from my childhood, I am not apt to expect much friendship from any one, +especially from people in the habits of calculation; and I have been +so much deceived where I have unguardedly trusted to the friendship and +love of a man brought up in that sort of way, that you must forgive +me if I could not bring my mind to think you had any concern for my +happiness in the offer you made. I did indeed suppose it would be a +mortifying circumstance to you, to see your cousin quite ruined by this +infamous creature. I say, I did imagine you would be shocked at seeing +your cousin sent to jail. That, you know, is a thing discreditable to a +whole family, let it be of what sort it may. From your kindness to our +children, I see you consider us as relations. Every human being, I do +suppose, has some family pride in their own way." + +"I own I have a great deal of family pride, in my own way, madam," +replied Mr. Darford, with a calm smile; "I am proud, for instance, of +having, and of being able to maintain in perfect independence, a number +of good and affectionate children, and a wife, whose good sense and +sweetness of temper constitute the happiness of my existence!" + +Mrs. Germaine coloured, threw back her head, and strove to conceal the +anguish of her conscience. William was sorry he had inflicted pain, +but he saw that the only way to make himself understood in this +conversation, was to assert that real superiority of character to which, +in certain situations, the factitious pretensions of rank or fashion +never fail to yield. + +"You are at liberty, Mrs. Germaine," continued William, "to interpret +my offers and my actions as you think proper; but you will, when you are +cool, observe that neither I nor any of my family have any thing to gain +from you or yours; not even a curtsy or a bow, in public places; for we +do not frequent them. We live retired, and have no connexion with fine +people; we preserve our own independence by confining ourselves to our +own station in life; and by never desiring to quit it, nor to ape those +who are called our betters. From what I have just heard you say, I think +it possible you may have formed the idea that we invited your children +to our house with the selfish supposition that the connexion, I believe +that is the fashionable phrase, might be advantageous to our own. But +this is quite a mistake. Our children will live as we do: they have no +idea of forming high connexions, because they have been taught not to +think them necessary to happiness. I assure you it is not my habit to +talk so much of myself and of mine; but I thought it best to explain the +truth to you at once, as this was the only way to gain your confidence, +and as we have neither of us time to spare." + +"Very true," said Mrs. Germaine. + +"And now, madam, I have a proposal to make to you, which I hope you will +take as it is meant. I understand, from Mr. Germaine, you have some play +debts." + +"Mr. Germaine does not know their amount," said Mrs. Germaine, lowering +her voice, as if she apprehended she might be overheard. + +"If you will trust me with that secret, I will not make a bad use of +it." + +Mrs. Germaine in a whisper named the sum. It was certainly considerable, +for the naming of it made Mr. Darford step back with surprise. After a +few minutes' thought, he recovered himself, and said, "This is a larger +debt than I was aware of, but we will see what can be done. From the +time that Charles and I dissolved our partnership, I have never remitted +my attention to business; and that very circumstance, for which you must +despise me, puts it now in my power to assist you without injuring my +own family. I am a man who speak my mind freely, perhaps bluntly. +You must solemnly promise me you will never again play at any game of +hazard. Upon this condition, I will pay your present debts immediately." + +With all the eagerness of a person who wishes to seize an offer which +appears too generous to be repeated, Mrs. Germaine promised all that was +required. Her debts were paid. + +And now her benefactor had hopes that she and her husband would live +more prudently; and that they might still enjoy some portion of domestic +happiness. Vain hopes! Charles really wished to retrench his expenses; +but Mrs. Germaine's pride was an insuperable obstacle to all his plans +of economy. She had always been accustomed to such and such things. +There was no possibility of living without them. Her relations would be +perfectly astonished if she did not appear in the style in which she had +always lived before her marriage. Provoked by the insolent absurdity of +such arguments, Mr. Germaine insisted with the authoritative voice of a +husband who was conscious that he had both reason and power on his +side. Hence arose daily altercations, more bitter even than those which +jealousy had formerly occasioned. Some wives acknowledge they can more +easily forgive a husband's infidelity than his interference in the +regulation of their household expenses. Of this class of amiable females +was Mrs. Germaine. Though her husband strictly adhered to his promise, +never to have any farther connexion with his mistress, yet he was not +rewarded by any increase of affection or kindness from his wife; on the +contrary, she seemed to be rather vexed that she was deprived of this +legitimate subject of complaint. She could not, with so much tragic +effect, bewail that her husband would ruin himself and her by his +follies. + +To loud altercations, silent hatred succeeded. Mrs. Germaine grew +sullen, low-spirited, nervous, and hysterical. Among fashionable medical +dowagers, she became an interesting personage: but this species of +consequence was by no means sufficient to support her self-complacency, +and, as she declared, she felt herself incapable of supporting the +intolerable burden of _ennui_. + +In various situations, the conduct of many individuals may be predicted +with certainty, by those who are acquainted with their previous habits. +Habit is, to weak minds, a species of moral predestination, from which +they have no power to escape. Their common language expresses their +sense of their own inability to struggle against that destiny which +their previous folly has prepared. They usually say, "For my part, I +cannot help doing so and so. I know it is very wrong. I know it is my +ruin; but I own I cannot resist. It is in vain to argue with me: it is +my way; it is my fate." + +Mrs. Germaine found herself led, "by an irresistible impulse," to the +card-table, notwithstanding her solemn promise never more to play at any +game of hazard. It was in vain to argue with her. "It was her way; it +was her fate; she knew it was very wrong; she knew it was her ruin; but +she could not resist!" + +In the course of a few months, she was again involved in debt; and she +had the meanness and the assurance again to apply to the generosity of +Mr. William Darford. Her letter was written in the most abject strain, +and was full of all the flattering expressions which she imagined must, +from a woman of her birth and consequence in the world, have a magical +effect upon one in Mr. William Darford's station. She was surprised when +she received a decided refusal. He declined all farther interference, as +he perceived it was impossible that he could be of any real utility. +He forbore to reproach the lady with her breach of promise: "She will," +said he to himself, "be sufficiently punished by the consequences of her +own conduct: I would not increase her distress." + +A separation from her husband was the immediate consequence. Perhaps it +may be thought that, to Mrs. Germaine, this would be no punishment: but +the loss of all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of married life, was +deeply felt. She was thrown absolutely upon the charity of relations; +who had very little charity in any sense of the word. She was +disregarded by all her fine acquaintance; she had no friend upon earth +to pity her; even her favourite maid gave warning, because she was tired +of her mistress's temper, and of receiving no wages. + +The detail of poor Mrs. Germaine's mortifications and sufferings cannot +be interesting. She was a prey to low spirits, or in other words, to +mortified vanity, for some time; and at last died of a nervous fever. + +Her husband wrote the following letter to Mr. William Darford, soon +after her death: + +"MY DEAR WILLIAM, + +"You have heard of poor Mrs. Germaine's death, and of the manner of it; +no more need be said upon that subject. Whatever were her faults, +she has suffered for them; and so have I for mine. Believe me, I am +effectually cured of all desire to be a fine gentleman. I shall quit the +name of Germaine immediately, and resume that of Darford. You know the +state of my affairs. There is yet hope I may set things to rights by my +own industry; and I am determined to go into business, and to apply to +it in good earnest, for my own sake, and for the sake of my children, +whom I have hitherto shamefully neglected. But I had it not always in my +power, after my marriage, to do as I wished. No more of that. The blame +be upon me for the past; for the future I shall, I hope, be a different +man. I dare not ask you to trust so far to these good resolutions as to +take me into partnership with you, in your manufactory; but perhaps +your good-nature can direct me to some employment suited to my views and +capacity. I ask only a fair trial; I think I shall not do as I used to +do, and leave all the letters to be written by my partner. + +"Give my love to my dear little boy and girl. How can I thank you and +Mrs. Darford enough for all you have done for them? There is another +person whom I should wish to thank, but scarcely dare to name; feeling, +as I do, so unworthy of her goodness. + +"Adieu, yours sincerely, + +"CHARLES DARFORD, again, thank God." + +It is scarcely necessary to inform our readers, that Mr. William Darford +received his penitent friend with open arms, took him into partnership, +and assisted him in the most kind and judicious manner to re-establish +his fortune and his credit. He became remarkable for his steady +attention to business; to the great astonishment of those who had seen +him only in the character of a dissipated fine gentleman. Few have +sufficient strength of mind thus to stop short in the career of folly, +and few have the resolution to bear the ridicule thrown upon them even +by those whom they despise. Our hero was ridiculed most unmercifully by +all his former companions,--by all the Bond-street loungers. But of what +consequence was this to him? He did not live among them; he did not hear +their witticisms; and well knew that, in less than a twelvemonth, they +would forget such a person as Charles Germaine had ever existed. His +knowledge of what is called high life had sufficiently convinced him +that happiness is not in the gift or in the possession of those who are +often, to ignorant mortals, objects of supreme admiration and envy. + +Charles Darford looked for happiness, and found it in domestic life. + +Belief, founded upon our own experience, is more firm than that which +we grant to the hearsay evidence of moralists; but happy those who, +according to the ancient proverb, can profit by the experience of their +predecessors! + +_Feb_. 1803. + + + + +THE CONTRAST + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +"What a blessing it is to be the father of such a family of children!" +said farmer Frankland, as he looked round at the honest affectionate +faces of his sons and daughters, who were dining with him on his +birthday. "What a blessing it is to have a large family of children!" + +"A blessing you may call it, if you will, neighbour," said farmer +Bettesworth; "but if I were to speak my mind, I should be apt to call it +a curse." + +"Why, as to that, we may both be right and both be wrong," replied +Frankland; "for children are either a blessing or a curse according +as they turn out; and they turn out according as they are brought up. +'Bring up a child in the way it should go;' that has ever been my maxim: +show me a better, show me a happier family than my own; and show me a +happier father than myself," continued the good old man, with +pleasure sparkling in his eyes. Observing, however, that his neighbour +Bettesworth looked blank and sighed deeply, he checked himself, and +said, in a more humble tone, "To be sure, it is not so mannerly for a +man to be praising his own, except it just come from the heart unawares, +amongst friends who will excuse it, especially upon such a day as this. +This day I am seventy years of age, and never was heartier or happier! +So, Fanny, love, fill neighbour Bettesworth a glass of your sister's +cider. 'Tis my Patty's making, sir; and better never was drunk. Nay, +nay, sit ye still, neighbour; as you happened to call in just as we were +all dining, and making merry together, why you cannot do better than +to stay and make one of us, seeing that you are heartily welcome." Mr. +Bettesworth excused himself, by saying that he was in haste to get home. + +No happy home had he, no affectionate children to welcome his return. +Yet he had as numerous a family as Mr. Frankland; three sons and two +daughters: Idle Isaac, Wild Will, Bullying Bob, Saucy Sally, and Jilting +Jessy. Such were the names by which they were called by all who knew +them in the town of Monmouth, where they lived. Alliteration had "lent +its artful aid" in giving these nicknames; but they were not misapplied. + +Mr. Bettesworth was an indolent man, fond of his pipe, and fonder of +building castles in the air by his fireside. Mrs. Bettesworth was a +vain, foolish vixen; fond of dress, and fonder of her own will. Neither +of them took the least care to breed up their children. Whilst they were +young, the mother humoured them: when they grew up, she contradicted +them in every thing, and then wondered how they could he so ungrateful +as not to love her. + +The father was also surprised to find that his boys and girls were not +as well-mannered, nor as well-tempered, nor as clever, nor as steady, +nor as dutiful and affectionate, as his neighbour Frankland's; and he +said to himself, "Some folks have the luck of having good children. To +be sure, some children are born better than others." + +He should rather have said, "To be sure, some children are bred better +than others." + +Mr. Frankland's wife was a prudent, sensible woman, and had united with +him in constant endeavours to educate their family. Whilst they were yet +infants, prattling at their mother's knee, she taught them to love and +help one another, to conquer their little froward humours, and to be +obedient and tractable. This saved both them and herself a great deal +of trouble afterward; and their father often said, both to the boys and +girls, "You may thank your mother, and so may I, for the good tempers +you have." + +The girls had the misfortune to lose this excellent mother, when one +was about seventeen, and the other eighteen; but she was always alive +in their memory. Patty, the eldest sister, was homely in her person; +but she was so neat in her dress, and she had such a cheerful agreeable +temper, that people forgot she was not handsome; particularly as it was +observed that she was very fond of her sister Fanny, who was remarkably +pretty. + +Fanny was neither prudish nor censorious; neither a romp nor a flirt: +she was so unaffected and unassuming, that most of her neighbours loved +her; and this is saying a great deal in favour of one who had so much +the power to excite envy. + +Mr. Frankland's eldest son, George, was bred to be a farmer; and he +understood country business uncommonly well for a young man of his age. +He constantly assisted his father in the management of the farm; and, by +this means, acquired much experience with little waste of time or money. +His father had always treated him so much as his friend, and had talked +to him so openly of his affairs, that he ever looked upon his father's +business as his own; and he had no idea of having any separate interest. + +James, the second son, was bred to trade. He had been taught whatever +was necessary and useful for a man in business; he had habits of +punctuality, civil manners, and a thorough love of fair dealing. + +Frank, the youngest son, was of a more lively disposition than his +brothers; and his father used often to tell him, when he was a boy, +that, if he did not take care, his hasty temper would get him into +scrapes; and that the brightest parts, as they are called, will be of +little use to a man, unless he has also steadiness to go through with +whatever he begins. These hints, from a father whom he heartily loved, +made so strong an impression upon Frank, that he took great pains to +correct the natural violence of his temper, and to learn patience and +industry. The three brothers were attached to one another; and their +friendship was a source of improvement, as well as of pleasure. + +The evening of Mr. Frankland's birthday the whole family retired to an +arbour in their garden, and began to talk over their affairs with open +hearts. + +"Well, Frank, my boy," said the happy father, who was the confidant +of his children, "I am sure, if your heart is set upon this match with +Jessy Bettesworth, I will do my best to like the girl; and her not being +rich shall be no objection to me; we can make that up amongst us, some +way or other. But, Frank, it is fair to tell you my opinion of the +girl, plainly and fully, beforehand, as I have done. She that has jilted +others, I think, would be apt to jilt you, if she met with a better +offer." + +"Why then, father, I'll not be in a hurry: I'll take time to consider, +before I speak to her any more; and I thank you for being so kind, which +I hope I shall not forget." + +The morning after this conversation passed, Jilting Jessy, accompanied +by her sister, Saucy Sally, came to pay Patty and Fanny Frankland a +visit. They were full of some piece of news, which they were eager to +tell. + +"Well, to be sure, I dreamed I had a diamond ring put on my finger by a +great lord, not a week ago," cried Jessy; "and who knows but it may come +true? You have not heard the news, Fanny Frankland? Hey, Patty?" + +"Not they: they never hear any news!" said Sally. + +"Well, then, I'll tell you," cried Jessy. "Rich Captain Bettesworth, our +relation, who made the great _fortin_ abroad, over seas, has just broken +his neck out a-hunting; and the _fortin_ all comes to us." + +"We shall now see whether Mrs. Craddock will push by me again, as she +did yesterday in the street! We'll see whether I shan't make as good a +fine lady as herself, I warrant it, that's all. It's my turn to push by +folk now," said Saucy Sally. + +Fanny and Patty Frankland, with sincere good-nature, congratulated their +neighbours on this increase of fortune; but they did not think that +pushing by Mrs. Craddock could be one of the most useful or agreeable +consequences of an increase in fortune. + +"Lord, Patty! how you sit moping yourself there at your work," continued +Sally; "but some people must work, to be sure, that can't afford to be +idle. How you must envy us, Patty!" + +Patty assured her she did not in the least envy those who were idle. + +"Fine talking! Fine airs, truly, Miss Patty! This is by way of calling +me over the coals for being idle, I suppose!" said Sally: "but I've +no notion of being taken to task this way. You think you've had a +fine _education_, I suppose, and so are to get a pattern for all +Monmouthshire, indeed: but you'll find some people will be as much +thought of now as other people, and may hold their heads as high. +_Edication_'s a fine thing, no doubt; but _fortin_'s a better, as the +world goes, I've a notion: so you may go moping on here as long as you +please, being a good child all the days of your life! + + 'Come when you're call'd; + And do as you're bid; + Shut the door after you; + And you'll never be chid.' + +I'm sure, I would not let my nose be kept to the grindstone, as yours +is, for any one living. I've too much spirit, for my part to be made +a fool of as some people are; and all for the sake of being called a +vastly good daughter, or a vastly good sister, forsooth!" + +Nothing but the absolute want of breath could have suspended the +remainder of this speech; for she was so provoked to see Patty did not +envy her, that she was determined to say every thing she could invent to +try her. Patty's temper, however, was proof against the trial; and Saucy +Sally, despairing of success against one sister, turned to the other. + +"Miss Fanny, I presume," said she, "won't give herself such high and +mighty airs, as she used to do, to one of her sweethearts, who shall be +nameless." + +Fanny blushed, for she knew this speech alluded to Wild Will, who was an +admirer of hers, but whom she had never encouraged. + +"I hope," said she, "I never gave myself airs to anybody: but, if you +mean to speak of your brother William, I assure you that my opinion of +him will not be changed by his becoming richer; nor will my father's." + +Here the conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Frank, who had +just heard, from one of the Bettesworths, of their good fortune. He was +impatient to see how Jessy would behave in prosperity. "Now," said he +to himself, "I shall judge whether my father's opinion of her or mine is +right." + +Jilting Jessy had certainly given Frank reason to believe she was very +fond of him; but the sudden change in her fortune quite altered her +views and opinions. As soon as Frank came in, she pretended to be in +great haste to be gone; and, by various petty manoeuvres, avoided giving +him an opportunity of speaking to her; though she plainly saw he was +anxious to say something to her in private. At length, when she was +looking out of the window, to see whether a shower was over, he went +behind her and whispered, "Why are you in such haste? Cannot you stay a +few minutes with us? You were not always in such a hurry to run away!" + +"Lord, nonsense! Mr. Frank. Why will you always plague me with nonsense, +Mr. Frank?" + +She opened the lattice window as she spoke, put out her beautiful neck +as far as possible, and looked up eagerly to the clouds. + +"How sweet this jasmine smells!" said Frank, pulling a bit of it which +hung over the casement. "This is the jasmine you used to like so much. +See, I've nailed it up, and it's finer than ever it was. Won't you have +a sprig of it?" offering to put some in her hat, as he had done before; +but she now drew back disdainfully, saying: + +"Lord! Mr. Frank, it's all wet, and will spoil my new lilac ribbons. How +awkward and disagreeable you are always!" + +"Always! you did not always think so; at least, you did not say so." + +"Well, I think so, and say so now; and that's enough." + +"And too much, if you are in earnest; but that I can hardly believe." + +"That's your business, and not mine. If you don't choose to believe what +I say, how can I help it? But this you'll remember, if you please, sir." + +"Sir!!! Oh, Jessy! is it come to this?". + +"To what, sir? For I vow and declare I don't understand you!" + +"I have never understood you till now, I am afraid." + +"Perhaps not: it's well we understand one another at last. Better late +than never." + +The scornful lady walked off to a looking-glass, to wipe away the insult +which her new lilac ribbons had received from Frank's sprig of jasmine. + +"One word more, and I have done," said Frank, hastily following her. +"Have I done anything to displease you? Or does this change in you +proceed from the change in your fortune, Jessy?" + +"I'm not obliged, sir, to account for my proceedings to any body; and +don't know what right you have to question me, as if you were my lord +and judge: which you are not, nor ever will be, thank God!" + +Frank's passion struggled with his reason for a few instants. He stood +motionless; then, in an altered voice, repeated, "Thank God!" and turned +from her with proud composure. From this time forward he paid no more +court to Jessy. + +"Ah, father!" said he, "you knew her better than I did. I am glad I did +not marry her last year, when she would have accepted of me, and when +she seemed to love me. I thought you were rather hard upon her then. But +you were not in love with her as I was, and now I find you were right." + +"My dear Frank," said the good old man, "I hope you will not think me +hard another time, when I do not think just the same as you do. I would, +as I told you, have done every thing in my power to settle you well in +the world, if you had married this girl. I should never have been angry +with you; but I should have been bitterly grieved if you had, for the +whim of the minute, made yourself unhappy for life. And was it not best +to put you upon your guard? What better use can an old man make of his +experience than to give it to his children?" + +Frank was touched by the kind manner in which his father spoke to him; +and Fanny, who was present, immediately put a letter into her father's +hand, saying, "I have just received this from Will Bettesworth: what +answer do you think I had best give him?" + +Now, Fanny, though she did not quite approve of Wild Will's character, +felt a little partiality for him, for he seemed to be of a generous +temper, and his manners were engaging. She hoped his wildness was +only the effect of good spirits, and that he would soon settle to some +business. However, she had kept these hopes and this partiality a secret +from all but her father, and she had never given Will Bettesworth any +encouragement. Her father had not a good opinion of this young man; and +she had followed his advice, in keeping him at a distance. His letter +was written in so vile a hand, that it was not easy to decipher the +meaning: + + +"MY SWEET PRETTY FANNY, + +"Notwithstanding your cruelty, I ham more in love with you than hever; +and now I ham come in for a share in a great fortin; and shall ask no +questions from father nor mother, if you will marry me, having no reason +to love or care for either. Mother's as cross as hever, and will never, +I am shure, agre to my doing any thing I like myself; which makes me +more set upon having my own whay, and I ham more and more in love with +you than hever, and would go through fire and water to get you. + +"Your true love (in haste), + +"WILL BETTESWORTH." + +At first reading the letter, Fanny was pleased to find that her lover +did not, like Jilting Jessy, change his mind the moment that his +situation was altered; but, upon looking over it again, she could not +help considering that such an undutiful son was not likely to make a +very good husband; and she thought even that Wild Will seemed to be more +and more in love with her than ever, from the spirit of opposition; for +he had not been much attached to her, till his mother, as he said, set +herself against the match. At the end of this letter were the words +_turn over_; but they were so scrawled and blotted, that Fanny thought +they were only one of the strange flourishes which he usually made at +the end of his name; and consequently she had never turned over, or read +the postscript, when she put the epistle into her father's hands. He +deciphered the flourish, and read the following addition: + +"I know your feather does not like me; but never mind his not being +agreuble. As shure as my name's Will, I'd carry you hoff, night or day; +and Bob would fight your brothers along with me, if they said a word: +for Bob loves fun. I will be at your windor this night, if you are +agreuble, like a gurl of spirit." + +Fanny was shocked so much that she turned quite pale, and would have +sunk to the ground, if she had not been supported by her father. As soon +as she recovered herself sufficiently to be able to think, she declared +that all the liking she had ever felt for William Bettesworth was +completely conquered; and she thanked her father for having early warned +her of his character. "Ah! father," said she, "what a happiness it has +been to me that you never made me afraid of you! Else, I never should +have dared to tell you my mind; and in what a sad snare might I have +been at this instant! If it had not been for you, I should perhaps have +encouraged this man; I might not then, may be, have been able to draw +back; and what would have become of me?" + +It is scarcely necessary to say that Fanny wrote a decided refusal to +Wild Will. All connexion between the Bettesworths and Franklands was now +broken off. Will was enraged at being rejected by Fanny; and Jessy was +equally incensed at finding she was no longer admired by Frank. They, +however, affected to despise the Franklands, and to treat them as people +beneath their notice. The fortune left by Captain Bettesworth to his +relations, was said to be about twenty thousand pounds: with this sum +they thought, to use their own expression, they were entitled to live in +as great style, and cut as grand a dash, as any of the first families in +Monmouthshire. For the present we shall leave them to the enjoyment of +their new grandeur, and continue the humble history of farmer Frankland +and his family. + +By many years of persevering industry, Mr. Frankland had so improved +the farm upon which he lived, that he was now affluent, for a man in his +station of life. His house, garden, farm-yard, every thing about him, +were so neat and comfortable, that travellers, as they passed by, never +failed to ask, "Who lives there?" Travellers, however, only saw the +outside; and that was not, in this instance, the best part. They would +have seen happiness, if they had looked within these farm-house walls: +happiness which may be enjoyed as well in the cottage as in the palace; +that which arises from family union. + +Mr. Frankland was now anxious to settle his sons in the world. George +had business enough at home, in taking care of the farm; and James +proposed to set up a haberdasher's shop in Monmouth: accordingly, the +goods were ordered, and the shop was taken. + +There was a part in the roof of the house which let in the wet, and +James would not go into it till this was completely repaired; so his +packages of goods were sent from London to his father's house, which +was only a mile distant from Monmouth. His sisters unpacked them by his +desire, to set shop-marks upon each article. Late at night, after all +the rest of the family were asleep, Patty was sitting up to finish +setting the marks on a box full of ribbons; the only thing that remained +to be done. Her candle was just burnt out; and as she was going for +another, she went by a passage window that faced the farm-yard, and +suddenly saw a great light without. She looked out, and beheld the large +hay-rick all in flames. She ran immediately to awaken her brothers and +her father. They used every possible exertion to extinguish the fire, +and to prevent it from communicating to the dwelling-house; but the wind +was high; it blew directly towards the house. George poured buckets +of water over the thatch, to prevent its catching fire; but all was +in vain: thick flakes of fire fell upon it faster than they could be +extinguished, and in an hour's time the dwelling-house was in a blaze. + +The first care of the sons had been to get their father and sisters out +of danger; then, with great presence of mind, they collected every thing +that was most valuable and portable, and laboured hard to save poor +James's stock of haberdashery. They were all night hard at work: +towards three o'clock the fire was got under, and darkness and silence +succeeded. There was one roof of the house saved, under which the whole +family rested for a few hours, till the return of daylight renewed the +melancholy spectacle of their ruin. Hay, oats, straw, corn-ricks, barn, +every thing that the farm-yard contained, was utterly consumed: the +walls and some half-burnt beams remained of the dwelling-house, but it +was no longer habitable. It was calculated that six hundred pounds would +not repair the loss occasioned by this unfortunate accident. How the +hay-rick had caught fire nobody knew. + +George, who had made up the hay-stack, was most inclined to think that +the hay had not been sufficiently dried, and that the rick had heated +from this cause. He blamed himself extremely; but his father declared he +had seen, felt, and smelt the hay, when the rick was making, and that +it was as well saved hay as ever was brought into a farm-yard. This, +in some measure, quieted poor George's conscience: and he was yet more +comforted by Patty's good-nature, who showed him a bucket of ashes +which had been left very near the spot where the hay-rick stood. +The servant-girl, who, though careless, was honest, confessed she +recollected having accidentally left this bucket in that dangerous place +the preceding evening; that she was going with it across the yard to the +ash-hole, but she heard her lover whistle to her from the lane, and she +set down the bucket in a hurry, ran to meet him, and forgot the ashes. +All she could say in her own defence was, that she did not think there +was any fire in the bucket. + +Her good master forgave her carelessness; he said he was sure she +reproached herself enough for it, as indeed she did, and the more so +when her master spoke to her so kindly; she cried as if her heart would +break; and all that could be done to comfort her, was to set her to work +as hard as possible for the family. + +They did not, any of them, spend their time in vain lamentations: ready +money was wanting to rebuild the house and barns, and James sold to a +haberdasher in Monmouth all of his stock which had been saved out of the +fire, and brought the money to his father. + +"Father," said he, "you gave this to me when you were able to afford +it; you want it now, and I can do very well without it. I will go and +be shopman in some good shop in Monmouth; and by degrees I shall get on, +and do very well in the world. It would be strange if I did not, after +the education you have given me." + +The father took the money from his son with tears of pleasure. "It is +odd enough." said he, "that I should feel pleasure at such a time; but +this is the blessing of having good children. As long as we all +are ready to help one another in this manner, we can never be very +miserable, happen what may. Now let us think of rebuilding our house," +continued the active old man. "Frank, reach me down my hat. I've a +twinge of the rheumatism in this arm: I caught a little cold the night +of the fire, I believe; but stirring about will do me good, and I must +not be lazy: I should be ashamed to be lazy amongst so many active young +men." The father and sons were very busy at work, when an ill-looking +man rode up to them; and, after asking if their name was Frankland, put +a paper into each of their hands. These papers were copies of a notice +to quit their farm, before the ensuing first of September, under pain of +paying double rent for the same. + +"This is some mistake, sir," said old Frankland, mildly. + +"No mistake, sir," replied the stranger. "You will find the notice is a +good notice, and duly served. Your lease I have seen myself within these +few days: it expired last May; and you have held over, contrary to law +and justice, eleven months, this being April." + +"My father never did anything contrary to law and justice in his whole +life," interrupted Frank; whose eyes flashed with indignation. + +"Softly, Frank," said his father, putting his hand on his son's +shoulder; "softly, my dear boy: let this gentleman and I come to an +understanding quietly.--Here is some mistake, sir. It is very true that +my lease expired last May; but I had a promise of a renewal from my good +landlord." + +"I don't know, sir, anything of that," replied the stranger, as he +looked over a memorandum-book. "I do not know whom you denominate your +_good landlord_; that being no way of describing a man in the eye of +the law: but if you refer to the original grantor, or lessor, Francis +Folingsby, of Folingsby-place, Monmouthshire, Esq., I am to inform you +that he died at Bath the 17th instant." + +"Died! My poor landlord dead! I am very sorry for it." + +"And his nephew, Philip Folingsby, Esq., came into possession as heir at +law," continued the stranger, in an unvaried tone; "and under his orders +I act, having a power of attorney for that purpose." + +"But, sir, I am sure Mr. Philip Folingsby cannot know of the promise of +renewal, which I had from his uncle." + +"Verbal promises, you know, are nothing, sir; mere air, without +witnesses: and, if gratuitous on the part of the deceased, are no ways +binding, either in common law or equity, on the survivor or heir. In +case the promise had been in writing, and on a proper stamp, it would +have been something." "It was not in writing, to be sure, sir," said +Frankland, "but I thought my good landlord's word was as good as his +bond; and I said so." + +"Yes," cried Frank; "and I remember when you said so to him, I was by; +and he answered, 'You shall have my promise in writing. Such things are +of little use between honest men: but who knows what may happen, and who +may come after me? Everything about business should be put into writing. +I would never let a tenant of mine be at an uncertainty. You have +improved your farm, and deserve to enjoy the fruits of your own +industry, Mr. Frankland.' Just then company came in, and our landlord +put off writing the promise. He next day left the country in a hurry; +and I am sure thought, afterwards, he had given us the promise in +writing." + +"Very clear evidence, no doubt, sir; but not at all to the point at +present," said the stranger. "As an agent, I am to know nothing but what +is my employer's intent. When we see the writing and stamp, I shall be +a better judge," added he with a sneer. "In the mean time, gentlemen, +I wish you a good morning: and you will please to observe that you have +been duly served with notice to quit, or pay double rent." + +"There can be no doubt, however," said Frank, "that Mr. Folingsby will +believe you, father. He is a gentleman, I suppose, and not like this new +agent, who talks like an attorney. I hate all attorneys." + +"All dishonest attorneys, I suppose you mean, Frank," said the +benevolent old man; who, even when his temper was most tried, never +spoke, or even felt with acrimony. + +The new landlord came into the country; and a few days after his +arrival, old Frankland went to wait upon him. There was little hope of +seeing young Mr. Folingsby; he was a man whose head was at this time +entirely full of gigs, and tandems, and unicorns: business was his +aversion; pleasure was his business. Money he considered only as the +means of pleasure; and tenants only as machines, who make money. He was +neither avaricious nor cruel; but thoughtless and extravagant. + +Whilst he appeared merely in the character of a young man of fashion, +these faults were no offence to his equals, to whom they did no injury: +but when he came into possession of a large estate, and when numbers +were dependent upon him, they were severely felt by his inferiors. + +Mr. Folingsby had just gathered up the reins in hand, and was seated in +his unicorn, when farmer Frankland, who had been waiting some hours to +see him, came to the side of the carriage. As he took off his hat, the +wind blew his grey hair over his face. + +"Put on your hat, pray, my good friend; and don't come near these +horses, for I can't answer for them. Have you any commands with me?" + +"I have been waiting some hours to speak to you, sir; but, if you +are not at leisure, I will come again to-morrow morning," said old +Frankland. + +"Ay, do so; call to-morrow morning; for now I have not one moment to +spare," said young Folingsby, as he whipped his horses, and drove off, +as if the safety of the nation had depended upon twelve miles an hour. + +The next day, and the next, and the next, the old tenant called upon his +young landlord, but without obtaining an audience; still he was desired +to call to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow. He wrote several +letters to him, but received no answer: at last, after giving half a +guinea to his landlord's gentleman, he gained admittance. Mr. Folingsby +was drawing on his boots, and his horses were coming to the door. +Frankland saw it was necessary to be concise in his story: he slightly +touched on the principal circumstances, the length of time he had +occupied his farm, the improvements he had made upon the land, and the +misfortune which had lately befallen him. The boots were on by the time +that he got to the promise of renewal, and the notice to quit. + +"Promise of renewal: I know of no such thing. Notice to quit: that's my +agent's business; speak to him; he'll do you justice. I really am sorry +for you, Mr. Frankland; very sorry, extremely sorry. Damn the rascal who +made these boots!--but you see how I'm circumstanced; haven't a +moment to myself; only came to the country for a few days; set out for +Ascot-races to-morrow; really have not a moment to think of any thing. +But speak to Mr. Deal, my agent. He'll do you justice, I'm sure. I leave +all these things to him. Jack, that bay horse is coming on----" + +"I have spoken to your agent, sir," said the old tenant, following his +thoughtless young landlord; "but he said that verbal promises, without a +witness present, were nothing but air; and I have nothing to rely on but +your justice. I assure you, sir, I have not been an idle tenant: my land +will show that I have not." + +"Tell Mr. Deal so; make him understand it in this light. I leave every +thing of this sort to Mr. Deal. I really have not time for business, but +I'm sure Mr. Deal will do you justice." + +This was all that could be obtained from the young landlord. His +confidence in his agent's sense of justice was somewhat misplaced. Mr. +Deal had received a proposal from another tenant for Frankland's farm; +and with this proposal a bank note was sent, which spoke more forcibly +than all that poor Frankland could urge. The agent took the farm +from him; and declared he could not, in justice to his employer, do +otherwise; because the new tenant had promised to build upon the land a +lodge fit for any gentleman to inhabit, instead of a farm-house. + +The transaction was concluded without Mr. Folingsby's knowing any thing +more of the matter, except signing the leases, which he did without +reading them; and receiving half a year's rent in hand, as a fine, which +he did with great satisfaction. He was often distressed for ready money, +though he had a large estate; and his agent well knew how to humour +him in his hatred of business. No interest could have persuaded Mr. +Folingsby deliberately to commit so base an action as that of cheating +a deserving old tenant out of a promised renewal; but, in fact, long +before the leases were sent to him, he had totally forgotten every +syllable that poor Frankland had said to him on the subject. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +The day on which they left their farm was a melancholy day to this +unfortunate family. Mr. Frankland's father and grandfather had been +tenants, and excellent tenants, to the Folingsby family: all of them had +occupied, and not only occupied, but highly improved, this farm. All +the neighbours were struck with compassion, and cried shame upon Mr. +Folingsby! But Mr. Folingsby was at Ascot, and did not hear them. He was +on the race ground, betting hundreds upon a favourite horse, whilst this +old man and his family were slowly passing in their covered cart down +the lane which led from their farm, taking a last farewell of the fields +they had cultivated, and the harvest they had sown, but which they were +never to reap. + +Hannah, the servant-girl, who had reproached herself so bitterly for +leaving the bucket of ashes near the hay-rick, was extremely active in +assisting her poor master. Upon this occasion she seemed to be endowed +with double strength; and a degree of cleverness and presence of mind, +of which she had never shown any symptoms in her former life: but +gratitude awakened all her faculties. + +Before she came to this family, she had lived some years with a farmer +who, as she now recollected, had a small farm, with a snug cottage upon +it, which was to be this very year out of lease. Without saying a word +of her intentions, she got up early one morning, walked fifteen miles +to her old master's, and offered to pay out of her wages, which she +had laid by for six or seven years, the year's rent of this farm +before-hand, if the farmer would let it to Mr. Frankland. The farmer +would not take the girl's money, for he said he wanted no security from +Mr. Frankland, or his son George: they bore the best of characters, he +observed, and no people in Monmouthshire could understand the management +of land better. He willingly agreed to let him the farm; but it +contained only a few acres, and the house was so small that it could +scarcely lodge above three people. + +Here old Frankland and his eldest son, George, settled. James went to +Monmouth, where he became shopman to Mr. Cleghorn, a haberdasher, who +took him in preference to three other young men, who applied on the same +day. "Shall I tell you the reason why I fixed upon you, James?" said Mr. +Cleghorn. "It was not whim; I had my reasons." + +"I suppose," said James, "you thought I had been honestly and well +brought up; as, I believe, in former times, sir, you knew something of +my mother." + +"Yes, sir; and in former times I knew something of yourself. You may +forget, but I do not, that, when you were a child, not more than nine +years old, {Footnote: This circumstance is a fact.} you came to this +shop to pay a bill of your mother's: the bill was cast up a pound too +little: you found out the mistake, and paid me the money. I dare say you +are as good an accountant, and as honest a fellow, still. I have just +been terribly tricked by a lad to whom I trusted foolishly; but this +will not make me suspicious towards you, because I know how you have +been brought up; and that is the best security a man can have." + +Thus, even in childhood, the foundation of a good character may be +laid; and thus children inherit the good name of their parents. A rich +inheritance! of which they cannot be deprived by the utmost malice of +fortune. + +The good characters of Fanny and Patty Frankland were well known in the +neighbourhood; and when they could no longer afford to live at home, +they found no difficulty in getting places. On the contrary, several of +the best families in Monmouth were anxious to engage them. Fanny went to +live with Mrs. Hungerford, a lady of an ancient family, who was proud, +but not insolent, and generous, but not what is commonly called +affable. She had several children, and she hired Fanny Frankland for the +particular purpose of attending them. + +"Pray let me see that you exactly obey my orders, young woman, with +respect to my children," said Mrs. Hungerford, "and you shall have no +reason to complain of the manner in which you are treated in this house. +It is my wish to make every body happy in it, from the highest to the +lowest. You have, I understand, received an education above your present +station in life; and I hope and trust that you will deserve the high +opinion I am, from that circumstance, inclined to form of you." + +Fanny was rather intimidated by the haughtiness of Mrs. Hungerford's +manner; yet she felt a steady though modest confidence in herself, which +was not displeasing to her mistress. + +About this time Patty also went into service. Her mistress was a Mrs. +Crumpe, a very old rich lady, who was often sick and peevish, and who +confessed that she required an uncommonly good-humoured person to +wait upon her. She lived a few miles from Monmouth, where she had many +relations; but on account of her great age and infirmities, she led an +extremely retired life. + +Frank was now the only person in the family who was not settled in +the world. He determined to apply to a Mr. Barlow, an attorney of an +excellent character. He had been much pleased with the candour and +generosity Frank showed in a quarrel with the Bettesworths; and he had +promised to befriend him, if ever it should be in his power. It happened +that, at this time, Mr. Barlow was in want of a clerk; and as he knew +Frank's abilities, and had reason to feel confidence in his integrity, +he determined to employ him in his office. Frank had once a prejudice +against attorneys: he thought that they could not be honest men; but he +was convinced of his mistake when he became acquainted with Mr. Barlow. +This gentleman never practised any mean pettyfogging arts; on the +contrary, he always dissuaded those who consulted him from commencing +vexatious suits. Instead of fomenting quarrels, it was his pleasure and +pride to bring about reconciliations. It was said of Mr. Barlow that +he had lost more suits out of the court, and fewer in them, than any +attorney of his standing in England. His reputation was now so great +that he was consulted more as a lawyer than as an attorney. With such a +master, Frank had a prospect of being extremely happy; and he determined +that nothing should be wanting, on his part, to ensure Mr. Barlow's +esteem and regard. + +James Frankland, in the mean time, went on happily with Mr. Cleghorn, +the haberdasher; whose customers all agreed that his shop had never +been so well attended as since this young man had been his foreman. His +accounts were kept in the most exact manner; and his bills were made out +with unrivalled neatness and expedition. His attendance on the shop +was so constant that his master began to fear it might hurt his health; +especially as he had never, till of late, been used to so confined a +life. + +"You should go abroad, James, these fine evenings," said Mr. Cleghorn. +"Take a walk in the country now and then, in the fresh air. Don't think +I want to nail you always to the counter. Come, this is as fine an +evening as you can wish: take your hat, and away; I'll mind the shop +myself, till you come back. He must be a hard master, indeed, that does +not know when he is well served; and that never will be my case, I hope. +Good servants make good masters, and good masters good servants. Not +that I mean to call you, Mr. James, a servant; that was only a slip of +the tongue; and no matter for the tongue, where the heart means well, as +mine does towards you." + +Towards all the world Mr. Cleghorn was not disposed to be indulgent: he +was not a selfish man; but he had a high idea of subordination in life. +Having risen himself by slow degrees, he thought that every man in trade +should have what he called "the rough as well as the smooth." He saw +that his new foreman bore the rough well; and therefore he was now +inclined to give him some of the smooth. + +James, who was extremely fond of his brother Frank, called upon him and +took him to Mrs. Hungerford's, to ask Fanny to accompany them in this +walk. They had seldom seen her since they had quitted their father's +house and lived in Monmouth; and they were disappointed when they were +told, by Mrs. Hungerford's footman, that Fanny was not at home; she was +gone to walk out with the children. The man did not know which road +they went, so they had no hopes of meeting her; and they took their way +through one of the shady lanes near Monmouth. It was late before they +thought of returning; for, after several weeks' confinement in close +houses, the fresh air, green fields, and sweet-smelling wild flowers in +the hedges, were delightful novelties. "Those who see these things every +day," said James, "scarcely notice them; I remember I did not when I +lived at our farm. So things, as my father used to say, are made equal +to people in this world. We, who are hard at work in a close room all +day long, have more relish for an evening walk, a hundred to one, than +those who saunter about from morning till night." + +The philosophic reflections of James were interrupted by the merry +voices of a troop of children, who were getting over a stile into the +lane, where he and Frank were walking. The children had huge nosegays of +honeysuckles, dog-roses, and blue-bells, in their little hands; and they +gave their flowers to a young woman who attended them, begging she would +hold them whilst they got over the stile. James and Frank went to offer +their services to help the children; and then they saw that the young +woman, who held the flowers, was their sister Fanny. + +"Our own Fanny!" said Frank. "How lucky this is! It seems almost a year +since I saw you. We have been all the way to Mrs. Hungerford's to look +for you, and have been forced to take half our walk without you; but the +other half will make amends. I've a hundred things to say to you: which +is your way home? Take the longest way, I entreat you. Here is my arm. +What a delightful fine evening it is! But what's the matter?" + +"It is a very fine evening," said Fanny, hesitating a little; "and I +hope to-morrow will be as fine. I'll ask my mistress to let me walk out +with you to-morrow; but this evening I cannot stay with you, because +I have the children under my care; and I have promised her that I will +never walk with any one when they are with me." + +"But your own brother," said Frank, a little angry at this refusal. + +"I promised I would not walk with any one; and surely you are somebody: +so good night; good bye," replied Fanny, endeavouring to turn off his +displeasure with a laugh. + +"But what harm, I say, can I do the children, by walking with you?" +cried Frank, catching hold of her gown. + +"I don't know; but I know what the orders of my mistress are; and you +know, dear Frank, that whilst I live with her, I am bound to obey them." + +"Oh, Frank, she must obey them," said James. + +Frank loosened his hold of Fanny's gown immediately. "You are right, +dear Fanny," said he; "you are right, and I was wrong: so good night; +good bye. Only remember to ask leave to walk with us to-morrow evening; +for I have had a letter from father and brother George, and I want to +show it you. Wait five minutes, and I can read it to you now, Fanny." + +Fanny, though she was anxious to hear her father's letter, would not +wait, but hurried away with the children that were under her care; +saying she must keep her promise to her mistress exactly. Frank followed +her, and put the letter into her hands. "You are a dear good girl, and +deserve all the fine things father says of you in this letter. Take it, +child: your mistress does not forbid you receiving a letter from your +father, I suppose. I shall wish her hanged, if she does not let you walk +with us to-morrow," whispered he. + +The children frequently interrupted Fanny, as she was reading her +father's letter. "Pray pull that high dog-rose for me, Fanny," said +one. "Pray hold me up to that large honeysuckle," said another. "And do, +Fanny," said the youngest boy, "let us go home by the common, that I may +see the glowworms. Mamma said I might; and whilst we are looking for the +glowworms, you can sit on a stone, or a bank, and read your letter in +peace." + +Fanny, who was always very ready to indulge the children in any thing +which her mistress had not forbidden, agreed to this proposal; and when +they came to the common, little Gustavus, for that was the name of the +eldest boy, found a charming seat for her; and she sat down to read her +letter whilst the children ran to hunt for glowworms. + +Fanny read her father's letter over three times; and yet few people, +except those who have the happiness to love a father as well, and to +have a father as deserving to be loved, would think it at all worth +reading even once. + + +"MY DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS, + +"It is a strange thing to me to be without you; but, with me or from me, +I am sure you are doing well; and that is a great comfort; ay, the best +a father can have, especially at my age. I am heartily glad to hear +that my Frank has, by his own deserts, got so good a place with that +excellent man, Mr. Barlow. He does not hate attorneys now, I am sure. +Indeed, it is my belief, he could not hate any body for half an hour +together, if he were to do his worst. Thank God, none of my children +have been brought up to be revengeful or envious; and they are not +fighting with one another, as I hear the poor Bettesworths now all are +for the fortune. 'Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a +stalled ox, and hatred therewith.' I need not have troubled myself +to write this text to any of you; but old men will be talkative. My +rheumatism, however, prevents me from being as talkative as I could +wish. It has been rather severe or so, owing to the great cold I caught +the day that I was obliged to wait so long at squire Folingsby's in my +wet clothes. But I hope soon to be stirring again, and to be able to +take share of the work about our little farm, with your dear brother +George. Poor fellow! he has so much to do, and does so much, that I fear +he will overwork himself. He is at this present time out in the little +field, opposite my window, digging up the docks, which are very hard to +conquer; he has made a brave large heap of them, but I wish to my heart +he would not toil so desperately. + +"I desire, my dear James and Frank, you will not confine yourselves +too much in your shop and at your desk: this is all I have to dread for +either of you. Give my love and blessing to my sweet girls. If Fanny was +not as prudent as she is pretty, I should be in fear for her; hearing as +I do, that Mrs. Hungerford keeps so much fine company. A waiting-maid in +such a house is in a dangerous place: but my Fanny, I am sure, will +ever keep in mind her mother's precepts and example. I am told that Mrs. +Crumpe, Patty's mistress, is (owing, I suppose, to her great age and +infirmities) difficult in her humour; but my Patty has so even and +pleasant a temper that I defy any one living, that knows her, not to +love her. My hand is now quite tired of writing, this being penned with +my left, as my right arm is not yet free from rheumatism: I have +not James with me to write. God bless and preserve you all, my dear +children. With such comforts, I can have nothing to complain of in +this world. This I know, I would not exchange any one of you for all my +neighbour Bettesworth's fine fortune. Write soon to + +"Your affectionate father, + +"B. Frankland." + +"Look! look at the glowworms!" cried the children, gathering round +Fanny, just as she had finished reading her letter. There were +prodigious numbers of them on this common; and they shone over the whole +ground, in clusters, or singly, like little stars. + +Whilst the children were looking with admiration and delight at this +spectacle, their attention was suddenly diverted from the glowworms by +the sound of a French-horn. They looked round and perceived that it came +from the balcony of a house, which was but a few yards distant from the +spot where they were standing. + +"Oh! let us go nearer to the balcony!" said the children, "that we may +hear the music better." A violin, and a clarinet, at this moment began +to play. + +"Oh! let us go nearer!" said the children, drawing Fanny with all their +little force towards the balcony. + +"My dears, it is growing late," said she, "and we must make haste home. +There is a crowd of company, you see, at the door and at the windows of +that house; and if we go near to it, some of them will certainly speak +to you, and that, you know, your mamma would not like." + +The children paused and looked at one another, as if inclined to submit; +but, at this moment, a kettle-drum was heard, and little Gustavus could +not resist his curiosity to hear and see more of this instrument: he +broke loose from Fanny's hands, and escaped to the house, exclaiming, "I +must and will hear it, and see it too!" + +Fanny was obliged to pursue him into the midst of the crowd: he made his +way up to a young gentleman in regimentals, who took him up in his arms, +saying, "By Jove, a fine little fellow! A soldier, every inch of him! By +Jove, he shall see the drum, and beat it too; let us see who dares say +to the contrary." + +As the gallant ensign spoke, he carried Gustavus up a flight of stairs +that led to the balcony. Fanny in great anxiety called after him to beg +that he would not detain the child, who was trusted to her care: her +mistress, she said, would be extremely displeased with her, if she +disobeyed her orders. + +She was here interrupted in her remonstrance by the shrill voice of +a female, who stood on the same stair with the ensign, and whom, +notwithstanding the great alteration in her dress, Fanny recognized to +be Sally Bettesworth. Jilting Jessy stood beside her. + +"Fanny Frankland, I protest! What a pother she keeps about nothing," +cried Saucy Sally. "Know your betters, and keep your distance, young +woman. Who cares whether your mistress is displeased or not? She can't +turn us away, can she, pray? She can't call ensign Bloomington to +account, can she, hey?" + +An insolent laugh closed this speech; a laugh in which several of the +crowd joined: but some gentlemen were interested by Fanny's beautiful +and modest countenance, as she looked up to the balcony, and, with tears +in her eyes, entreated to be heard. "Oh, for shame, Bloomington! Give +her back the boy. It is not fair that she should lose her place," cried +they. + +Bloomington would have yielded; but Saucy Sally stood before him crying +in a threatening tone, "I'll never speak to you again, I promise you, +Bloomington, if you give up. A fine thing indeed for a man and a +soldier to give up to a woman and a servant-girl! and an impertinent +servant-girl! Who cares for her or her place either?" + +"I do! I do!" exclaimed little Gustavus, springing from the ensign's +arms. "I care for her! She is not an impertinent girl; and I'll give +up seeing the kettle-drum, and go home with her directly, with all my +heart." + +In vain Sally attempted to withhold him; the boy ran down the stairs to +Fanny, and marched off with her in all the conscious pride of a hero, +whose generosity has fairly vanquished his passions. Little Gustavus was +indeed a truly generous child: the first thing he did, when he got home, +was to tell his mother all that had passed this evening. Mrs. Hungerford +was delighted with her son, and said to him, "I cannot, I am sure, +reward you better, my dear, than by rewarding this good young woman. The +fidelity with which she has fulfilled my orders, in all that regards +my children, places her, in my opinion, above the rank in which she was +born. Henceforward she shall hold in my house a station to which her +habits of truth, gentleness, and good sense, entitle her." + +From this time forward, Fanny, by Mrs. Hungerford's desire, was always +present when the children took their lessons from their several masters. +Mrs. Hungerford advised her to apply herself to learn all those things +which were necessary for a governess to young ladies. "When you speak, +your language in general is good, and correct; and no pains shall be +wanting, on my part," said this haughty but benevolent lady, "to form +your manners, and to develop your talents. This I partly owe you for +your care of my children; and I am happy to reward my son Gustavus in a +manner which I am certain will be most agreeable to him." + +"And, mamma," said the little boy, "may she walk out sometimes with her +brothers? for I do believe she loves them as well as I love my sisters." + +Mrs. Hungerford permitted Fanny to walk out for an hour, every morning, +during the time that her children were with their dancing-master; and at +this hour sometimes her brother James, and sometimes her brother Frank, +could be spared; and they had many pleasant walks together. What a +happiness it was to them to have been thus bred up, from their earliest +years, in friendship with one another! This friendship was now the +sweetest pleasure of their lives. + +Poor Patty! She regretted that she could not join in these pleasant +meetings; but, alas! she was so useful, so agreeable, and so necessary +to her infirm mistress, that she could never be spared from home. +"Where's Patty? why does not Patty do this?" were Mrs. Crumpe's constant +questions whenever she was absent. Patty had all the business of the +house upon her hands, because nobody could do any thing so well as +Patty. Mrs. Crumpe found that no one could dress her but Patty; nobody +could make her bed, so that she could sleep on it, but Patty; no one +could make jelly, or broth, or whey, that she could taste, but Patty; +no one could roast, or boil, or bake, but Patty. Of course, all these +things must be done by nobody else. The ironing of Mrs. Crumpe's caps, +which had exquisitely nice plaited borders, at last fell to Patty's +share; because once, when the laundry-maid was sick, she plaited one +so charmingly, that her lady would never afterwards wear any but of +her plaiting. Now Mrs. Crumpe changed her cap, or rather had her cap +changed, three times a day; and never wore the same cap twice. + +The labours of washing, ironing, plaiting, roasting, boiling, baking, +making jelly, broth, and whey, were not sufficient: Mrs. Crumpe took it +into her head that she could eat no butter but of Patty's churning. But, +what was worse than all, not a night passed without Patty's being called +up to see "what could be the matter with the dog that was barking, or +the cat that was mewing?" And when she was just sinking to sleep again, +at daybreak, her lady, in whose room she slept, would call out, "Patty! +Patty! There's a dreadful noise in the chicken-yard." + +"Oh, ma'am, it is only the cocks crowing." + +"Well, do step out, and hinder them from crowing at this terrible rate." + +"But, ma'am, I cannot hinder them indeed." + +"Oh yes, you could, if you were up. Get up and whip 'em, child. Whip +'em all round, or I shall not sleep a wink more this night." {Footnote: +Taken from life.} + +How little poor Patty slept, her lady never considered: not that she +was in reality an ill-natured woman, but sickness inclined her to be +peevish; and she had so long been used to be humoured and waited upon by +relations and servants, who expected she would leave them rich legacies, +that she considered herself as a sort of golden idol, to whom all that +approached should and would bow as low as she pleased. Perceiving that +almost all around her were interested, she became completely selfish. +She was from morning till night, from night till morning, nay, from +year's end to year's end, so much in the habit of seeing others employed +for her, that she absolutely considered this to be the natural and +necessary course of things; and she quite forgot to think of the +comfort, or even of the well-being, of those creatures who were "born +for her use, and live but to oblige her." + +From time to time she was so far awakened to feeling, by Patty's +exertions and good-humour, that she would say, to quiet her own +conscience, "Well! well! I'll make it all up to her in my will! I'll +make it all up to her in my will!" + +She took it for granted that Patty, like the rest of her dependents, +was governed entirely by mercenary considerations; and she was persuaded +that the hopes of this legacy would secure Patty her slave for life. In +this she was mistaken. + +One morning Patty came into her room with a face full of sorrow; a face +so unlike her usual countenance, that even her mistress, unaccustomed as +she was to attend to the feelings of others, could not help noticing the +change. + +"Well! What's the matter, child?" said she. + +"Oh! sad news, madam!" said Patty, turning aside to hide her tears. + +"But what's the matter, child, I say? Can't you speak, whatever it is, +hey? What, have you burnt my best cap in the ironing, hey? Is that it?" + +"Oh! worse, worse, ma'am!" + +"Worse! What can be worse?" + +"My brother, ma'am, my brother George, is ill, very ill of a fever; and +they don't think he'll live! Here is my father's letter, ma'am!" + +"Lord! how can I read it without spectacles? and why should I read it, +when you've told me all that's in it? How the child cries!" continued +Mrs. Crumpe, raising herself a little on her pillow, and looking at +Patty with a sort of astonished curiosity. "Heigho! But I can't stay in +bed this way till dinnertime. Get me my cap, child, and dry your eyes; +for crying won't do your brother any good." + +Patty dried her eyes. "No, crying will not do him any good," said she, +"but------" + +"But where is my cap? I don't see it on the dressing-table." + +"No, ma'am: Martha will bring it in a minute or two: she is plaiting +it." + +"I will not have it plaited by Martha. Go and do it yourself." + +"But, ma'am," said Patty, who, to her mistress's surprise, stood still, +notwithstanding she heard this order, "I hope you will be so good as +to give me leave to go to my poor brother to-day. All the rest of my +brothers and sisters are with him, and he wants to see me; and they have +sent a horse for me." + +"No matter what they have sent, you sha'n't go; I can't spare you. If +you choose to serve me, serve me. If you choose to serve your brother, +serve your brother, and leave me." + +"Then, madam," said Patty, "I must leave you; for I cannot but choose to +serve my brother at such a time as this, if I can serve him; which God +grant I mayn't be too late to do!" + +"What! You will leave me! Leave me contrary to my orders! Take notice, +then: these doors you shall never enter again, if you leave me now," +cried Mrs. Crumpe, who, by this unexpected opposition to her orders, was +actually worked up to a state unlike her usual peevishness. She started +up in her bed, and growing quite red in the face, cried, "Leave me now, +and you leave me for ever. Remember that! Remember that!" + +"Then, madam, I must leave you for ever," said Patty, moving towards the +door. "I wish you your health and happiness, and am sorry to break so +short." + +"The girl's an idiot!" cried Mrs. Crumpe. "After this you cannot expect +that I should remember you in my will." + +"No, indeed, madam; I expect no such thing," said Patty. (Her hand was +on the lock of the door as she spoke.) + +"Then," said Mrs. Crumpe, "perhaps you will think it worth your while to +stay with me, when I tell you I have not forgot you in my will? Consider +that, child, before you turn the handle of the door. Consider that; and +don't disoblige me for ever." + +"Oh, madam, consider my poor brother. I am sorry to disoblige you for +ever; but I can consider nothing but my poor brother," said Patty. The +lock of the door turned quickly in her hand. + +"Why! Is your brother rich? What upon earth do you expect from this +brother, that can make it worth your while to behave to me in this +strange way?" said Mrs. Crumpe. + +Patty was silent with astonishment for a few moments, and then answered, +"I expect nothing from him, madam; he is as poor as myself; but that +does not make me love him the less." + +Before Mrs. Crumpe could understand this last speech, Patty had left +the room. Her mistress sat up in her bed, in the same attitude, for some +minutes after she was gone, looking fixedly at the place where Patty had +stood: she could scarcely recover from her surprise; and a multitude of +painful thoughts crowded upon her mind. + +"If I were dying, and poor, who would come to me? Not a relation I have +in the world would come near me! Not a creature on earth loves me as +this poor girl loves her brother, who is as poor as herself." + +Here her reflections were interrupted by hearing the galloping of +Patty's horse, as it passed by the windows. Mrs. Crumpe tried to compose +herself again to sleep, but she could not; and in half an hour's time +she rang the bell violently, took her purse out of her pocket, counted +out twenty bright guineas, and desired that a horse should be saddled +immediately, and that her steward should gallop after Patty, and offer +her that _whole sum in hand_, if she would return. "Begin with one +guinea, and bid on till you come up to her price," said Mrs. Crumpe. +"Have her back again I will, if it were only to convince myself that she +is to be had for money as well as other people." + +The steward, as he counted the gold in his hand, thought it was a great +sum to throw away for such a whim: he had never seen his lady take +the whim of giving away ready money before; but it was in vain to +remonstrate; she was peremptory, and he obeyed. + +In two hours' time he returned, and Mrs. Crumpe saw her gold again with +extreme astonishment. The steward said he could not prevail upon +Patty even to look at the guineas. Mrs. Crumpe now flew into a violent +passion, in which none of our readers will probably sympathize: we shall +therefore forbear to describe it. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +When Patty came within half a mile of the cottage in which her father +lived, she met Hannah, the faithful servant, who had never deserted the +family in their misfortunes; she had been watching all the morning on +the road for the first sight of Patty, but when she saw her, and came +quite close up to her, she had no power to speak; and Patty was so much +terrified that she could not ask her a single question. She walked her +horse a slow pace, and kept silence. + +"Won't you go on, ma'am?" said Hannah at last, forcing herself to speak. +"Won't you go on a bit faster? He's almost wild to see you." + +"He is alive then!" cried Patty. The horse was in full gallop directly, +and she was soon at her father's door. James and Frank were there +watching for her: they lifted her from the horse; and feeling that +she trembled so much as to be scarcely able to stand, they would have +detained her a little while in the air; but she passed or rather rushed +into the room where her brother lay. He took no notice of her when she +came in, for he was insensible. Fanny was supporting his head; she held +out her hand to Patty, who went on tiptoe to the side of the bed. "Is he +asleep?" whispered she. + +"Not asleep, but--He'll come to himself presently," continued Fanny, +"and he will be very, very glad you are come; and so will my father." + +"Where is my father?" said Patty; "I don't see him." + +Fanny pointed to the farthest end of the room, where he was kneeling at +his devotion. The shutters being half closed, she could but just see +the faint beam which shone upon his grey hairs. He rose, came to his +daughter Patty, with an air of resigned grief, and taking her hand +between both of his, said, "My love--we must lose him--God's will be +done!" + +"Oh! there is hope, there is hope still!" said Patty. "See! the colour +is coming back to his lips again; his eyes open! Oh! George, dear +George, dear brother! It is your own sister Patty: don't you know +Patty?" + +"Patty!--Yes. Why does she not come to me? I would go to her if I +could," said the sufferer, without knowing what he talked of. "Is not +she come yet? Send another horse, Frank. Why, it is only six miles. Six +miles in three hours, that is--how many miles an hour? ten miles, is it? +Don't hurry her--don't tell her I'm so bad; nor my father--don't let him +see me, nor James, nor Frank, nor pretty Fanny, nor any body--they are +all too good to me: I only wished to see poor Patty once before I die; +but don't frighten her--I shall be very well, tell her--quite well, by +the time she comes." + +After running on in this manner for some time, his eyes closed again, +and he lay in a state of stupor. He continued in this condition for some +time: at last his sisters, who were watching beside the bed, heard +a knocking at the door. It was Frank and James: they had gone for a +clergyman, whom George, before he became delirious, had desired to +see. The clergyman was come, and with him a benevolent physician, who +happened to be at his house, and who insisted upon accompanying him. +As soon as the physician saw the poor young man, and felt his pulse, he +perceived that the ignorant apothecary, who had been first employed, had +entirely mistaken George's disease, and had treated him improperly. His +disease was a putrid fever, and the apothecary had bled him repeatedly. +The physician thought he could certainly have saved his life, if he had +seen him two days sooner; but now it was a hopeless case. All that could +be done for him he tried. + +Towards evening, the disease seemed to take a favourable turn. George +came to his senses, knew his father, his brothers, and Fanny, and spoke +to each with his customary kindness, as they stood round his bed: he +then asked whether poor Patty was come? When he saw her, he thanked her +tenderly for coming to him, but could not recollect he had any thing +particular to say to her. + +"I only wished to see you all together, to thank you for your +good-nature to me ever since I was born, and to take leave of you before +I die; for I feel that I am dying. Nay, do not cry so! My father! Oh! my +father is most to be pitied; but he will have James and Frank left." + +Seeing his father's affliction, which the good old man struggled in vain +to subdue, George broke off here: he put his hand to his head, as if +fearing it was again growing confused. + +"Let me see our good clergyman, now that I am well enough to see him," +said he. He then took a hand of each of his brothers and sisters, joined +them together, and pressed them to his lips, looking from them to +his father, whose back was now turned. "You understand me," whispered +George: "he can never come to want, while you are left to work and +comfort him. If I should not see you again in this world, farewell! Ask +my father to give me his blessing!" + +"God bless you, my son! God bless you, my dear good son! God will surely +bless so good a son!" said the agonized father, laying his hand upon his +son's forehead, which even now was cold with the damp of death. + +"What a comfort it is to have a father's blessing!" said George. "May +you all have it when you are as I am now!" + +"I shall be out of this world long, long before that time, I hope," said +the poor old man, as he left the room. "But God's will be done! Send the +clergyman to my boy!" + +The clergyman remained in the room but a short time: when he returned to +the family, they saw by his looks that all was over! + +There was a solemn silence. + +"Be comforted," said the good clergyman. "Never man left this world +with a clearer conscience, or had happier hope of a life to come. Be +comforted. Alas! at such a time as this you cannot be comforted by any +thing that the tongue of man can say." + +All the family attended the funeral. It was on a Sunday, just before +morning prayers; and as soon as George was interred, his father, +brothers, and sisters, left the churchyard, to avoid being seen by the +gay people who were coming to their devotion. As they went home, they +passed through the field in which George used to work: there they saw +his heap of docks, and his spade upright in the ground beside it, just +as he had left it, the last time that he had ever worked. + +The whole family stayed for a few days with their poor father. Late one +evening, as they were all walking out together in the fields, a heavy +dew began to fall; and James urged his father to make haste home, lest +he should catch cold, and should have another fit of the rheumatism. +They were then at some distance from their cottage; and Frank, who +thought he knew a short way home, took them by a new road, which +unluckily led them far out of their way; it brought them unexpectedly +within sight of their old farm, and of the new house which Mr. +Bettesworth had built upon it. + +"Oh! my dear father, I am sorry I brought you this way," cried Frank. +"Let us turn back." + +"No, my son, why should we turn back?" said his father mildly; "we +can pass by these fields, and this house, I hope, without coveting our +neighbour's goods." + +As they came near the house, he stopped at the gate to look at it. "It +is a good house," said he; "but I have no need to envy any man a good +house; I, that have so much better things--good children!" + +Just as he uttered these words, Mr. Bettesworth's house door opened, and +three or four men appeared on the stone steps, quarrelling and fighting. +The loud voices of Bullying Bob and Wild Will were heard too plainly. + +"We have no business here," said old Frankland, turning to his children: +"let us go." + +The combatants pursued each other with such furious rapidity that they +were near to the gate in a few instants. + +"Lock the gate, you without there, whoever you are! Lock the gate! or +I'll knock you down when I come up, whoever you are;" cried Bullying +Bob, who was hindmost in the race. + +Wild Will was foremost; he kicked open the gate, but his foot slipped as +he was going through: his brother overtook him, and, seizing him by the +collar, cried, "Give me back the bank-notes, you rascal! they are mine, +and I'll have 'em in spite of you." + +"They are mine, and I'll keep 'em in spite of you," retorted Will, who +was much intoxicated. + +"Oh! what a sight! brothers fighting! Oh! part them, part them! Hold! +hold! for Heaven's sake!" cried old Frankland to them. + +Frank and James held them asunder, though they continued to abuse one +another in the grossest terms. Their father, by this time, came up: he +wrung his hands, and wept bitterly. + +"Oh! shame, shame to me in my old age!" cried he, "can't you two let me +live the few years I have to live in peace? Ah, neighbour Frankland, you +are better off! My heart will break soon! These children of mine will be +the ruin and the death of me!" + +At these words the sons interrupted their father with loud complaints +of the manner in which he had treated them. They had quarrelled with +one another, and with their father, about money. The father charged them +with profligate extravagance; and they accused him of sordid avarice. +Mr. Frankland, much shocked at this scene, besought them at least to +return to their house, and not to expose themselves in this manner, +especially now that they were in _the station of gentlemen_. Their +passions were too loud and brutal to listen to this appeal to their +pride; their being raised to the rank of gentlemen could not give them +principles or manners; that can only be done by education. Despairing +to effect any good, Mr. Frankland retired from this scene, and made the +best of his way home to his peaceful cottage. + +"My children," said he to his family, as they sat down to their frugal +meal, "we are poor, but we are happy in one another. Was not I right +to say I need not envy neighbour Bettesworth his fine house? Whatever +misfortunes befall me, I have the blessing of good children. It is a +blessing I would not exchange for any this world affords. God preserve +them in health!" + +He sighed, and soon added, "It is a bitter thing to think of a good son, +who is dead; but it is worse, perhaps, to think of a bad son, who is +alive. That is a misfortune I can never know. But, my dear boys and +girls," continued he, changing his tone, "this idle way of life of ours +must not last for ever. You are too poor to be idle; and so much the +better for you. To-morrow you must all away to your own business." + +"But, father," cried they all at once, "which of us may stay with you?" + +"None of you, my good children. You are all going on well in the world; +and I will not take you from your good masters and mistresses." + +Patty now urged that she had the strongest right to remain with her +father, because Mrs. Crumpe would certainly refuse to receive her into +her service again, after what had passed at their parting: but nothing +could prevail upon Frankland; he positively refused to let any of his +children stay with him. At last Frank cried, "How can you possibly +manage this farm without help? You must let either James or me stay +with you, father. Suppose you should be seized with another fit of the +rheumatism?" + +Frankland paused for a moment, and then answered, "Poor Hannah will +nurse me if I fall sick. I am able still to pay her just wages. I will +not be a burden to my children. As to this farm, I am going to give it +up; for, indeed," said the old man, smiling, "I should not be well able +to manage it with the rheumatism in my spade-arm. My landlord, farmer +Hewit, is a good-natured friendly man; and he will give me my own time +for the rent: nay, he tells me he would let me live in this cottage for +nothing: but I cannot do that." "Then what will you do, dear father?" +said his sons. + +"The clergyman, who was here yesterday, has made interest for a house +for me which will cost me nothing, nor him either; and I shall be very +near you both, boys." + +"But, father," interrupted Frank, "I know, by your way of speaking, +there is something about this house which you do not like." + +"That is true," said old Frankland: "but that is the fault of my pride, +and of my old prejudices; which are hard to conquer at my time of +life. It is certain, I do not much like the thoughts of going into an +almshouse." + +"An almshouse!" cried all his children at once, in a tone of horror. +"Oh! father, you must not, indeed you must not, go into an almshouse!" + +The pride which renders the English yeoman averse to live upon public +charity is highly advantageous to the industry and virtue of the nation. +Even where it is instilled early into families as a prejudice, it is +useful, and ought to be respected. + +Frankland's children, shocked at the idea of their father's going +into an almshouse, eagerly offered to join together the money they had +earned, and to pay the rent of the cottage in which he now lived; +but Frankland knew that, if he took this money, his children would +themselves be in distress. He answered with tears in his eyes, + +"My dear children, I thank you all for your goodness; but I cannot +accept of your offer. Since I am no longer able to support myself, I +will not, from false pride, be the ruin of my children. I will not be a +burden to them; and I prefer living upon public charity to accepting +of the ostentatious liberality of any one rich man. I am come to a +resolution, which nothing shall induce me to break. I am determined to +live in the Monmouth almshouse--nay, hear me, my children, patiently--to +live in the Monmouth almshouse for one year; and during that time I will +not see any of you, unless I am sick. I lay my commands upon you not to +attempt to see me till this day twelvemonth. If at that time you are all +together able to maintain me, without hurting yourselves, I will most +willingly accept of your bounty for the rest of my days." + +His children assured him they should be able to earn money sufficient to +maintain him, without injury to themselves, long before the end of the +year; and they besought him to permit them to do so as soon as it was +in their power; but he continued firm in his resolution, and made them +solemnly promise they would obey his commands, and not even attempt to +see him during the ensuing year. He then took leave of them in a most +affectionate manner, saying, "I know, my dearest children, I have now +given you the strongest possible motive for industry and good conduct. +This day twelvemonth we shall meet again; and I hope it will be as +joyful a meeting as this is a sorrowful parting." His children, with +some difficulty, obtained permission to accompany him to his new abode. + +The almshouses at Monmouth are far superior to common institutions of +this kind; they are remarkably neat and comfortable little dwellings, +and form a row of pretty cottages, behind each of which there is +a garden full of gooseberries, currants, and a variety of useful +vegetables. These the old men cultivate themselves. The houses are +fitted up conveniently; and each individual is provided with every thing +that he wants in his own habitation: so that there is no opportunity or +temptation for those petty disputes about property which often occur in +charitable institutions that are not prudently conducted. Poor people +who have their goods in common must necessarily become quarrelsome. + +"You see," said old Frankland, pointing to the shining row of pewter on +the clean shelf over the fire-place in his little kitchen; "you see I +want for nothing here. I am not much to be pitied." + +His children stood silent and dejected, whilst he dressed himself in the +uniform belonging to the almshouse. Before they parted, they all agreed +to meet at this place that day twelvemonth, and to bring with them the +earnings of the year; they had hopes that thus, by their united efforts, +a sum might be obtained sufficient to place their father once more in a +state of independence. With these hopes they separated, and returned to +their masters and mistresses. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +Patty went to Mrs. Crumpe's to get her clothes which she had left +there, and to receive some months' wages, which were still due for her +services. After what had passed, she had no idea that Mrs. Crumpe would +wish she should stay with her; and she had heard of another place in +Monmouth, which she believed would suit her in every respect. + +The first person she saw, when she arrived at the house of her late +mistress, was Martha, who, with a hypocritical length of face, said to +her, "Sad news! sad news, Mrs. Patty! The passion my lady was thrown +into, by your going away so sudden, was of terrible detriment to her. +That very night she had a stroke of the palsy, and has scarce spoke +since." + +"Don't take it to heart, it is none of your fault: don't take it to +heart, dear Patty," said Betty, the housemaid, who was fond of Patty. +"What could you do but go to your brother? Here, drink this water, and +don't blame yourself at all about the matter. Mistress had a stroke +sixteen months ago, afore ever you came into the house; and I dare say +she'd have had this last whether you had stayed or gone." + +Here they were interrupted by the violent ringing of Mrs. Crumpe's bell. +They were in the room next to her; and, as she heard voices louder than +usual, she was impatient to know what was going on. Patty heard +Mrs. Martha answer, as she opened her lady's door, "'Tis only Patty +Frankland, ma'am, who is come for her clothes and her wages." + +"And she is very sorry to hear you have been so ill; very sorry," said +Betty, following to the door. + +"Bid her come in," said Mrs. Crumpe, in a voice more distinct than she +had ever been heard to speak in since the day of her illness. + +"What! are you sorry for me, child?" said Mrs. Crumpe, fixing her eyes +upon Patty's. Patty made no answer; but it was plain how much she was +shocked. + +"Ay, I see you _are_ sorry for me," said her mistress. "And so am I for +you," added she, stretching out her hand, and taking hold of Patty's +black gown. "You shall have a finer stuff than this for mourning for me. +But I know that is not what you are thinking of; and that's the reason I +have more value for you than for all the rest of them put together. Stay +with me, stay with me, to nurse me; you nurse me to my mind. You cannot +leave me in the way I am in now, when I ask you to stay." + +Patty could not without inhumanity refuse; she stayed with Mrs. Crumpe, +who grew so dotingly fond of her, that she could scarcely bear to have +her a moment out of sight. She would take neither food nor medicines but +from Patty's hand; and she would not speak, except in answer to Patty's +questions. The fatigue and confinement she was now forced to undergo +were enough to hurt the constitution of any one who had not very strong +health. Patty bore them with the greatest patience and good humour; +indeed, the consciousness that she was doing right supported her in +exertions which would otherwise have been beyond her power. + +She had still more difficult trials to go through: Mrs. Martha was +jealous of her favour with her lady, and often threw out hints that some +people had much more luck, and more cunning too, than other people; but +that some people might perhaps be disappointed at last in their ends. + +Patty went on her own straight way, without minding these insinuations +at first; but she was soon forced to attend to them. Mrs. Crumpe's +relations received intelligence from Mrs. Martha, that her lady was +growing worse and worse every hour; and that she was quite shut up under +the dominion of an artful servant-girl, who had gained such power +over her that there was no knowing what the consequence might be. Mrs. +Crumpe's relations were much alarmed by this story: they knew she +had made a will in their favour some years before this time, and they +dreaded that Patty should prevail upon her to alter it, and should get +possession herself of the fortune. They were particularly struck with +this idea, because an instance of undue power, acquired by a favourite +servant-maid over her doting mistress, happened about this period to be +mentioned in an account of a trial in the newspapers of the day. Mrs. +Crumpe's nearest relations were two grand-nephews. The eldest was Mr. +Josiah Crumpe, a merchant who was settled at Liverpool; the youngest +was that ensign Bloomington, whom we formerly mentioned. He had been +intended for a merchant, but he would never settle to business; and at +last ran away from the counting-house where he had been placed, and went +into the army. He was an idle, extravagant young man: his great-aunt was +by fits very angry with him, or very fond of him. Sometimes she would +supply him with money; at others, she would forbid him her presence, and +declare he should never see another shilling of hers. This had been her +latest determination; but ensign Bloomington thought he could easily get +into favour again, and he resolved to force himself into the house. +Mrs. Crumpe positively refused to see him: the day after this refusal +he returned with a reinforcement, for which Patty was not in the least +prepared: he was accompanied by Miss Sally Bettesworth, in a regimental +riding-habit. Jessy had been the original object of this gentleman's +gallantry; but she met with a new and richer lover, and of course jilted +him. Sally, who was in haste to be married, took undisguised pains to +fix the ensign; and she thought she was sure of him. But to proceed with +our story. + +Patty was told that a lady and gentleman desired to see her in the +parlour: she was scarcely in the room when Sally began in a voice +capable of intimidating the most courageous of scolds, "Fine doings! +Fine doings, here! You think you have the game in your own hands, I +warrant, my Lady Paramount; but I'm not one to be bullied, you know of +old." + +"Nor am I one to be bullied, I hope," replied Patty, in a modest but +firm voice. "Will you be pleased to let me know, in a quiet way, what +are your commands with me, or my lady?" + +"This gentleman here must see your lady, as you call her. To let you +into a bit of a secret, this gentleman and I _is_ soon to be one; so no +wonder I stir in this affair, and I never stir for nothing; so it is as +well for you to do it with fair words as foul. Without more preambling, +please to show this gentleman into his aunt's room, which sure he has +the best right to see of any one in this world; and if you prevent it +in any species, I'll have the law of you; and I take this respectable +woman," looking at Mrs. Martha, who came in with a salver of cakes and +wine, "I take this here respectable gentlewoman to be my witness, if you +choose to refuse my husband (that is to be) admittance to his true and +lawful nearest relation upon earth. Only say the doors are locked, +and that you won't let him in; that's all we ask of you, Mrs. Patty +Paramount. Only say that afore this here witness." + +"Indeed, I shall say no such thing, ma'am," replied Patty; "for it +is not in the least my wish to prevent the gentleman from seeing my +mistress. It was she herself who refused to let him in; and I think, +if he forces himself into the room, she will be apt to be very much +displeased: but I shall not hinder him, if he chooses to try. There are +the stairs, and my lady's room is the first on the right hand. Only, +sir, before you go up, let me caution you, lest you should startle her +so as to be the death of her. The least surprise or fright might bring +on another stroke in an instant." + +Ensign Bloomington and Saucy Sally now looked at one another, as if at +a loss how to proceed: they retired to a window to consult; and whilst +they were whispering, a coach drove up to the door. It was full of Mrs. +Crumpe's relations, who came post-haste from Monmouth, in consequence of +the alarm given by Mrs. Martha. Mr. Josiah Crumpe was not in the coach: +he had been written for, but was not yet arrived from Liverpool. + +Now, it must be observed, this coach-full of relations were all enemies +to ensign Bloomington; and the moment they put their heads out of the +carriage-window, and saw him standing in the parlour, their surprise and +indignation were too great for coherent utterance. With all the rashness +of prejudice, they decided that he had bribed Patty to let him in and to +exclude them. Possessed with this idea, they hurried out of the coach, +passed by poor Patty who was standing in the hall, and beckoned to Mrs. +Martha, who showed them into the drawing-room, and remained shut up +with them there for some minutes. "She is playing us false," cried Saucy +Sally, rushing out of the parlour. "I told you not to depend on that +Martha; nor on nobody but me: I said I'd force a way for you up to +the room, and so I have; and now you have not the spirit to take your +advantage. They'll get in all of them before you; and then where will +you be, and what will you be?" + +Mrs. Crumpe's bell rang violently, and Patty ran up stairs to her room. +"I have been ringing for you, Patty, this quarter of an hour! What is +all the disturbance I hear below?" + +"Your relations, ma'am, who wish to see you. I hope you won't refuse to +see them, for they are very anxious." + +"Very anxious to have me dead and buried. Not one of them cares a groat +for me. I have made my will, tell them; and they will see that in time. +I will not see one of them." + +By this time, they were all at the bedchamber door, struggling +which party should enter first. Saucy Sally's loud voice was heard, +maintaining her right to be there, as wife elect to ensign Bloomington. + +"Tell them the first who enters this room shall never see a shilling of +my money," cried Mrs. Crumpe. + +Patty opened the door; the disputants were instantly silent. "Be +pleased, before you come in, to hearken to what my mistress says. Ma'am, +will you say whatever you think proper yourself," said Patty; "for it +is too hard for me to be suspected of putting words into your mouth, and +keeping your friends from the sight of you." + +"The first of them who comes into this room," cried Mrs. Crumpe, raising +her feeble voice to the highest pitch she was able, "the first who +enters this room shall never see a shilling of my money; and so on to +the next, and the next, and the next. I'll see none of you." + +No one ventured to enter. Their infinite solicitude to see how poor Mrs. +Crumpe found herself to-day suddenly vanished. The two parties adjourned +to the parlour and the drawing-room; and there was nothing in which they +agreed, except in abusing Patty. They called for pen, ink, and paper, +and each wrote what they wished to say. Their notes were carried up by +Patty herself; for Mrs. Martha would not run the risk of losing her own +legacy to oblige any of them, though she had been bribed by all. With +much difficulty, Mrs. Crumpe was prevailed upon to look at the notes; at +last she exclaimed, "Let them all come up! all; this moment tell them, +all!" + +They were in the room instantly; all, except Saucy Sally: ensign +Bloomington persuaded her it was for the best that she should not +appear. Patty was retiring, as soon as she had shown them in; but her +mistress called to her, and bade her take a key, which she held in her +hand, and unlock an escritoir that was in the room. She did so. + +"Give me that parcel, which is tied up with red tape, and sealed with +three seals," said Mrs. Crumpe. + +All eyes were immediately fixed upon it, for it was her will. + +She broke the seals deliberately, untied the red string, opened the huge +sheet of parchment, and without saying one syllable tore it down the +middle; then tore the pieces again, and again, till they were so small +that the writing could not be read. The spectators looked upon one +another in dismay. + +"Ay! you may all look as you please," cried Mrs. Crumpe. "I'm alive, and +in my sound senses still; my money's my own; my property's my own; I'll +do what I please with it. You were all handsomely provided for in this +will; but you could not wait for your legacies till I was under ground. +No! you must come hovering over me, like so many ravens. It is not time +yet! It is not time yet! The breath is not yet out of my body; and when +it is, you shall none of you be the better for it, I promise you. My +money's my own; my property's my own; I'll make a new will to-morrow. +Good bye to you all. I've told you my mind." + +Not the most abject humiliations, not the most artful caresses, not the +most taunting reproaches, from any of the company, could extort another +word from Mrs. Crumpe. Her disappointed and incensed relations were at +last obliged to leave the house; though not without venting their rage +upon Patty, whom they believed to be the secret cause of all that had +happened. After they had left the house, she went up to a garret, +where she thought no one would see her or hear her, sat down on an old +bedstead, and burst into tears. She had been much shocked by the scenes +that had just passed, and her heart wanted this relief. + +"Oh!" thought she, "it is plain enough that it is not riches which +make people happy. Here is this poor lady, with heaps of money and fine +clothes, without any one in this whole world to love or care for her, +but all wishing her dead; worried by her own relations, and abused by +them, almost in her hearing, upon her death-bed! Oh! my poor brother! +How different it was with you!" + +Patty's reflections were here interrupted by the entrance of Martha, who +came and sat down on the bedstead beside her, and, with a great deal of +hypocritical kindness in her manner, began to talk of what had +passed; blaming Mrs. Crumpe's relations for being so hard-hearted and +inconsiderate as to force business upon her when she was in such a +state. "Indeed, they have no one to thank but themselves, for the new +turn things have taken. I hear my mistress has torn her will to atoms, +and is going to make a new one! To be sure, you, Mrs. Patty, will be +handsomely provided for in this, as is, I am sure, becoming; and I hope, +if you have an opportunity, as for certain you will, you won't forget to +speak a good word for me!" + +Patty, who was disgusted by this interested and deceitful address, +answered, she had nothing to do with her mistress's will; and that her +mistress was the best judge of what should be done with her own money, +which she did not covet. + +Mrs. Martha was not mistaken in her opinion that Patty would be +handsomely remembered in this new will. Mrs. Crumpe the next morning +said to Patty, as she was giving her some medicine, "It is for your +interest, child, that I should get through this day, at least; for if +I live a few hours longer, you will be the richest single woman in +Monmouthshire. I'll show them that all my money's my own; and that I can +do what I please with my own. Go yourself to Monmouth, child (as soon as +you have plaited my cap), and bring me the attorney your brother lives +with, to draw my new will. Don't say one word of your errand to any +of my relations, I charge you, for your own sake as well as mine. The +harpies would tear you to pieces; but I'll show them that I can do what +I please with my own. That's the least satisfaction I can have for my +money before I die. God knows, it has been plague enough to me all my +life long! But now, before I die--" + +"Oh! ma'am," interrupted Patty, "there is no need to talk of your dying +now; for I have not heard you speak so strong, or so clear, nor seem so +much yourself this long time. You may live yet, and I hope you will, to +see many a good day; and to make it up, if I may be so bold to say it, +with all your relations: which, I am sure, would be a great ease to your +heart; and I am sure they are very sorry to have offended you." + +"The girl's a fool!" cried Mrs. Crumpe. "Why, child, don't you +understand me yet? I tell you, as plain as I can speak, I mean to leave +the whole fortune to you. Well! what makes you look so blank!" + +"Because, ma'am, indeed I have no wish to stand in any body's way; and +would not for all the world do such an unjust thing as to take advantage +of your being a little angry or so with your relations, to get the +fortune for myself: for I can do, having done all my life, without +fortune well enough; but I could not do without my own good opinion, and +that of my father, and brothers, and sister; all which I should lose, if +I was to be guilty of a mean thing. So, ma'am," said Patty, "I have made +bold to speak the whole truth of my mind to you; and I hope you will not +do me an injury, by way of doing me a favour. I am sure I thank you with +all my heart for your goodness to me." + +Patty turned away as she finished speaking, for she was greatly moved. + +"You are a strange girl!" said Mrs. Crumpe. "I would not have believed +this, if any one had sworn it to me. Go for the attorney, as I bid you, +this minute. I will have my own way." + +When Patty arrived at Mr. Barlow's, she asked immediately for her +brother Frank, whom she wished to consult; but he was out, and she then +desired to speak to Mr. Barlow himself. She was shown into his office, +and she told him her business, without any circumlocution, with the +plain language and ingenuous countenance of truth. + +"Indeed, sir," said she, "I should be glad you would come directly to my +mistress and speak to her yourself; for she will mind what you say, and +I only hope she may do the just thing by her relations. I don't want +her fortune, nor any part of it, but a just recompense for my service. +Knowing this, in my own heart, I forgive them for all the ill-will they +bear me: it being all founded in a mistaken notion." + +There was a gentleman in Mr. Barlow's office who was sitting at a +desk writing a letter, when Patty came in: she took him for one of the +clerks. Whilst she was speaking, he turned about several times, and +looked at her very earnestly. At last he went to a clerk, who was +folding up some parchments, and asked who she was? He then sat down +again to his writing, without saying a-single word. This gentleman was +Mr. Josiah Crumpe, the Liverpool merchant, Mrs. Crumpe's eldest nephew, +who had come to Monmouth, in consequence of the account he had heard +of his aunt's situation. Mr. Barlow had lately amicably settled a suit +between him and one of his relations at Monmouth; and Mr. Crumpe had +just been signing the deed relative to this affair. He was struck with +the disinterestedness of Patty's conduct; but he kept silence that she +might not find out who he was, and that he might have full opportunity +of doing her justice hereafter. He was not one of the ravens, as Mrs. +Crumpe emphatically called those who were hovering over her, impatient +for her death: he had, by his own skill and industry, made himself +not only independent, but rich. After Patty was gone, he with the true +spirit of a British merchant declared, that he was as independent in his +sentiments as in his fortune; that he would not crouch or fawn to man or +woman, peer or prince, in his majesty's dominions; no, not even to his +own aunt. He wished his old aunt Crumpe, he said, to live and enjoy all +she had as long as she could; and if she chose to leave it to him after +her death, well and good; he should be much obliged to her: if she did +not, why well and good; he should not _be obliged_ to be obliged to her: +and that, to his humour, would perhaps be better still. + +With these sentiments Mr. Josiah Crumpe found no difficulty in +refraining from going to see, or, as he called it, from paying his court +to his aunt. "I have some choice West India sweetmeats here for the +poor soul," said he to Mr. Barlow: "she gave me sweetmeats when I was a +schoolboy; which I don't forget. I know she has a sweet tooth still in +her head; for she wrote to me last year, to desire I would get her some: +but I did not relish the style of her letter, and I never complied with +the order; however, I was to blame: she is an infirm poor creature, +and should be humoured now, let her be ever so cross. Take her the +sweetmeats; but mind, do not let her have a taste or a sight of them +till she has made her will. I do not want to bribe her to leave me her +money-bags; I thank my God and myself, I want them not." + +Mr. Barlow immediately went to Mrs. Crumpe's. As she had land to dispose +of, three witnesses were necessary to the will. Patty said she had two +men-servants who could write; but to make sure of a third, Mr. Barlow +desired that one of his clerks should accompany him. Frank was out; so +the eldest clerk went in his stead. + +This clerk's name was Mason; he was Frank's chief friend, and a young +man of excellent character. He had never seen Patty till this day; but +he had often heard her brother speak of her with so much affection, that +he was prepossessed in her favour, even before he saw her. The manner +in which she spoke on the subject of Mrs. Crumpe's fortune quite charmed +him; for he was of an open and generous temper, and said to himself, "I +would rather have this girl for my wife, without sixpence in the world, +than any woman I ever saw in my life--if I could but afford it--and if +she was but a little prettier. As it is, however, there is no danger +of my falling in love with her; so I may just indulge myself in the +pleasure of talking to her: besides, it is but civil to lead my horse +and walk a part of the way with Frank's sister." + +Accordingly, Mason set off to walk a part of the way to Mrs. Crumpe's +with Patty; and they fell into conversation, in which they were both so +earnestly engaged that they did not perceive how time passed. Instead, +however, of part of the way, Mason walked the whole way; and he and +Patty were both rather surprised when they found themselves within sight +of Mrs. Crumpe's house. + +What a fine healthy colour this walking has brought into her face, +thought Mason, as he stood looking at her, whilst they were waiting +for some one to open the door. Though she has not a single beautiful +feature, and though nobody could call her handsome, yet there is so much +good-nature in her countenance, that, plain as she certainly is, her +looks are more pleasing to my fancy than those of many a beauty I have +heard admired. + +The door was now opened; and Mr. Barlow, who had arrived some time, +summoned Mason to business. They went up to Mrs. Crumpe's room to take +her instructions for her new will. Patty showed them in. + +"Don't go, child, I will not have you stir," said Mrs. Crumpe. "Now +stand there at the foot of my bed, and, without hypocrisy, tell me +truly, child, your mind. This gentleman, who understands the law, can +assure you that, in spite of all the relations upon earth, I can leave +my fortune to whom I please, so do not let fear of my relations prevent +you from being happy." + +"No, madam," interrupted Patty, "it was not fear that made me say what +I did to you this morning; and it is not fear that keeps me in the same +mind still. I would not do what I thought wrong myself if nobody else in +the whole world was to know it. But, since you desire me to say what +I really wish, I have a father, who is in great distress, and I should +wish you would leave fifty pounds to him." + +"With such principles and feelings," cried Mr. Barlow, "you are happier +than ten thousand a year could make you!" + +Mason said nothing; but his looks said a great deal: and his master +forgave him the innumerable blunders he made in drawing Mrs. Crumpe's +will. "Come, Mason, give me up the pen," whispered he at last; "you are +not your own man, I see; and I like you the better for being touched +with good and generous conduct. But a truce with sentiment, now; I must +be a mere man of law. Go you and take a walk, to recover your _legal_ +senses." + +The contents of Mrs. Crumpe's new will were kept secret: Patty did not +in the least know how she had disposed of her fortune; nor did Mason, +for he had written only the preamble, when his master compassionately +took the pen from his hand. Contrary to expectation, Mrs. Crumpe +continued to linger on for some months; and during this time, Patty +attended her with the most patient care and humanity. Though long habits +of selfishness had rendered this lady in general indifferent to the +feelings of her servants and dependants, yet Patty was an exception: +she often said to her, "Child, it goes against my conscience to keep +you prisoner here the best days of your life, in a sick room: go out and +take a walk with your brothers and sister, I desire, whenever they call +for you." + +These walks with her brothers and sister were very refreshing to Patty, +especially when Mason was of the party, as he almost always contrived to +be. Every day he grew more and more attached to Patty; for every day he +became more and more convinced of the goodness of her disposition and +the sweetness of her temper. The affection which he saw her brothers +and sister bore her, spoke to his mind most strongly in her favour. They +have known her from her childhood, thought he, and cannot be deceived +in her character. Tis a good sign that those who know her best love her +most; and her loving her pretty sister, Fanny, as she does, is a proof +that she is incapable of envy and jealousy. + +In consequence of these reflections, Mason determined he would apply +diligently to his business, that he might in due time be able to marry +and support Patty. She ingenuously told him she had never seen the man +she could love so well as himself; but that her first object was to earn +some money, to release her father from the almshouse, where she could +not bear to see him living upon charity. "When, amongst us all, we have +accomplished this," said she, "it will be time enough for me to think of +marrying. Duty first and love afterwards." + +Mason loved her the better, when he found her so steady in her gratitude +to her father; for he was a man of sense, and knew that so good a +daughter and sister would, in all probability, make a good wife. + +We must now give some account of what Fanny has been doing all this +time. Upon her return to Mrs. Hungerford's, after the death of her +brother, she was received with the greatest kindness by her mistress, +and by all the children, who were really fond of her; though she had +never indulged them in anything that was contrary to their mother's +wishes. + +Mrs. Hungerford had not forgotten the affair of the kettle-drum. One +morning she said to her little son, "Gustavus, your curiosity about the +kettle-drum and the clarionet shall be satisfied: your cousin Philip +will come here in a few days, and he is well acquainted with the colonel +of the regiment which is quartered in Monmouth: he shall ask the colonel +to let us have the band here, some day. We may have them at the farthest +end of the garden; and you and your brothers and sisters shall dine in +the arbour, with Fanny, who upon this occasion particularly deserves to +have a share in your amusement." + +The cousin Philip, of whom Mrs. Hungerford spoke, was no other than +Frankland's landlord, young Mr. Folingsby. Besides liking fine horses +and fine curricles, this gentleman was a great admirer of fine women. + +He was struck with Fanny's beauty the first day he came to Mrs. +Hungerford's: every succeeding day he thought her handsomer and +handsomer; and every day grew fonder and fonder of playing with +his little cousins. Upon some pretence or other, he contrived to be +constantly in the room with them when Fanny was there: the modest +propriety of her manners, however, kept him at that distance at which it +was no easy matter for a pretty girl, in her situation, to keep such a +gallant gentleman. His intention, when he came to Mrs. Hungerford's, was +to stay but a week; but when that week was at an end, he determined to +stay another: he found his aunt Hungerford's house uncommonly agreeable. +The moment she mentioned to him her wish of having the band of music in +the garden, he was charmed with the scheme, and longed to dine out in +the arbour with the children; but he dared not press this point, lest he +should excite suspicion. + +Amongst other company who dined this day with Mrs. Hungerford was a Mrs. +Cheviott, a blind lady, who took the liberty, as she said, to bring with +her a young person, who was just come to live with her as a companion. +This young person was Jessy Bettesworth; or, as she is henceforth to +be called, Miss Jessy Bettesworth. Since her father had "come in for +Captain Bettesworth's fortin," her mother had spared no pains to push +Jessy forward in the world; having no doubt that "her beauty, when well +dressed, would charm some great gentleman; or, may be, some great lord!" +Accordingly, Jessy was dizened out in all sorts of finery: her thoughts +were wholly bent on fashions and flirting; and her mother's vanity, +joined to her own, nearly turned her brain. + +Just as this fermentation of folly was gaining force, she happened to +meet with Ensign Bloomington at a ball at Monmouth: he fell, or she +thought he fell, desperately in love with her; she of course coquetted +with him: indeed, she gave him so much encouragement, that every +body concluded they were to be married. She and her sister Sally were +continually seen walking arm in arm with him in the streets of Monmouth; +and morning, noon, and night, she wore the drop-earrings, of which he +had made her a present. It chanced, however, that Jilting Jessy heard an +officer, in her ensign's regiment, swear she was pretty enough to be +the captain's lady instead of the ensign's; and, from that moment, she +thought no more of the ensign. + +He was enraged to find himself jilted thus by a country girl, and +determined to have his revenge: consequently he immediately transferred +all his attentions to her sister Sally; judiciously calculating that, +from the envy and jealousy he had seen between the sisters, this would +be the most effectual mode of mortifying his perfidious fair. Jilting +Jessy said her sister was welcome to her cast-off sweethearts: and Saucy +Sally replied, her sister was welcome to be her bridemaid; since, with +all her beauty, and all her airs, she was not likely to be a bride. + +Mrs. Bettesworth had always confessed that Jessy was her favourite: like +a wise and kind mother, she took part in all these disputes; and set +these amiable sisters yet more at variance, by prophesying that "her +Jessy would make the grandest match." + +To put her into fortune's way, Mrs. Bettesworth determined to get +her into some genteel family, as companion to a lady. Mrs. Cheviott's +housekeeper was nearly related to the Bettesworths, and to her Mrs. +Bettesworth applied. "But I'm afraid Jessy is something too much of a +flirt," said the housekeeper, "for my mistress, who is a very strict, +staid lady. You know, or at least we in Monmouth know, that Jessy was +greatly talked of about a young officer here in town. I used myself to +see her go trailing about, with her muslin and pink, and fine coloured +shoes, in the dirt." + +"Oh! that's all over now," said Mrs. Bettesworth: "the man was quite +beneath her notice--that's all over now: he will do well enough for +Sally; but, ma'am, my daughter Jessy has quite laid herself out for +goodness now, and only wants to get into some house where she may learn +to be a little genteel." + +The housekeeper, though she had not the highest possible opinion of the +young lady, was in hopes that, since Jessy had now laid herself out for +goodness, she might yet turn out well; and, considering that she was +her relation, she thought it her duty to speak in favour of Miss +Bettesworth. In consequence of her recommendation, Mrs. Cheviott +took Jessy into her family; and Jessy was particularly glad to be the +companion of a blind lady. + +She discovered, the first day she spent with Mrs. Cheviott, that, +besides the misfortune of being blind, she had the still greater +misfortune of being inordinately fond of flattery. Jessy took advantage +of this foible, and imposed so far on the understanding of her +patroness, that she persuaded Mrs. Cheviott into a high opinion of her +judgment and prudence. + +Things were in this situation when Jessy, for the first time, +accompanied the blind lady to Mrs. Hungerford's. Without having the +appearance or manners of a gentlewoman, Miss Jessy Bettesworth was, +notwithstanding, such a pretty, showy girl, that she generally contrived +to attract notice. She caught Mr. Folingsby's eye at dinner, as she was +playing off her best airs at the side-table; and it was with infinite +satisfaction that she heard him ask one of the officers, as they were +going out to walk in the garden, "Who is that girl? She has fine eyes, +and a most beautiful long neck!" Upon the strength of this whisper, +Jessy flattered herself she had made a conquest of Mr. Folingsby; by +which idea she was so much intoxicated, that she could scarcely restrain +her vanity within decent bounds. + +"Lord! Fanny Frankland, is it you? Who expected to meet you sitting +here?" said she, when, to her great surprise, she saw Fanny in the +arbour with the children. To her yet greater surprise, she soon +perceived that Mr. Folingsby's attention was entirely fixed upon Fanny; +and that he became so absent he did not know he was walking upon the +flower-borders. + +Jessy could scarcely believe her senses when she saw that her rival, for +as such she now considered her, gave her lover no encouragement. "Is +it possible that the girl is such a fool as not to see that this here +gentleman is in love with her? No; that is out of the nature of things. +Oh! it's all artifice; and I will find out her drift, I warrant, before +long!" + +Having formed this laudable resolution, she took her measures well for +carrying it into effect. Mrs. Cheviott, being blind, had few amusements: +she was extremely fond of music, and one of Mrs. Hungerford's daughters +played remarkably well on the piano-forte. This evening, as Mrs. +Cheviott was listening to the young lady's singing, Jessy exclaimed, +"Oh! ma'am, how happy it would make you to hear such singing and music +every day." + +"If she would come every day, when my sister is practising with the +music-master, she might hear enough of it," said little Gustavus. "I'll +run and desire mamma to ask her; because," added he, in a low voice, "if +I was blind, may be I should like it myself." + +Mrs. Hungerford, who was good-natured as well as polite, pressed Mrs. +Cheviott to come, whenever it should be agreeable to her. The poor blind +lady was delighted with the invitation, and went regularly every morning +to Mrs. Hungerford's at the time the music-master attended. Jessy +Bettesworth always accompanied her, for she could not go any where +without a guide. Jessy had now ample opportunities of gratifying her +malicious curiosity; she saw, or thought she saw, that Mr. Folingsby was +displeased by the reserve of Fanny's manners; and she renewed all +her own coquettish efforts to engage his attention. He amused himself +sometimes with her, in hopes of rousing Fanny's jealousy; but he found +that this expedient, though an infallible one in ordinary cases, was +here totally unavailing. His passion for Fanny was increased so much, by +her unaffected modesty, and by the daily proofs he saw of the sweetness +of her disposition, that he was no longer master of himself: he plainly +told her that he could not live without her. + +"That's a pity, sir," said Fanny laughing, and trying to turn off what +he said, as if it were only a jest. "It is a great pity, sir, that you +cannot live without me; for, you know, I cannot serve my mistress, do my +duty, and live with you." + +Mr. Folingsby endeavoured to convince, or rather to persuade her, that +she was mistaken; and swore that nothing within the power of his fortune +should be wanting to make her happy. + +"Ah! sir," said she, "your fortune could not make me happy, if I were to +do what I know is wrong, what would disgrace me for ever, and what would +break my poor father's heart!" + +"But your father shall never know any thing of the matter. I will keep +your secret from the whole world: trust to my honour." + +"Honour! Oh! sir, how can you talk to me of honour! Do you think I do +not know what honour is, because I am poor? Or do you think I do not set +any value on mine, though you do on yours? Would you not kill any man, +if you could, in a duel, for doubting of your honour? And yet you +expect me to love you, at the very moment you show me, most plainly, how +desirous you are to rob me of mine!" + +Mr. Folingsby was silent for some moments; but, when he saw that Fanny +was leaving him, he hastily stopped her, and said, laughing, "You have +made me a most charming speech about honour; and, what is better still, +you looked most charmingly when you spoke it; but now take time to +consider what I I have said to you. Let me have your answer to-morrow; +and consult this book before you answer me, I conjure you." + +Fanny took up the book as soon as Mr Folingsby had left the room; and, +without opening it, determined to return it immediately. She instantly +wrote a letter to Mr. Folingsby, which she was just wrapping up with the +book in a sheet of paper, when Miss Jessy Bettesworth, the blind lady, +and the music-master, came into the room. Fanny went to set a chair for +the blind lady; and, whilst she was doing so, Miss Jessy Bettesworth, +who had observed that Fanny blushed when they came in, slily peeped into +the book, which lay on the table. Between the first pages she opened +there was a five-pound bank-note; she turned the leaf, and found +another, and another, and another at every leaf! Of these notes she +counted one-and-twenty! whilst Fanny, unsuspicious of what was doing +behind her back, was looking for the children's music-books. + +"Philip Folingsby! So, so! Did he give you this book, Fanny Frankland?" +said Jessy, in a scornful tone: "it seems truly to be a very valuable +performance; and, no doubt, he had good reasons for giving it to you." + +Fanny coloured deeply at this unexpected speech; and hesitated, from the +fear of betraying Mr. Folingsby. "He did not give me the book: he only +lent it to me," said she, "and I am going to return it to him directly." + +"Oh! no; pray lend it to me first," replied Jessy, in an ironical tone; +"Mr. Folingsby, to be sure, would lend it to me as soon as to you. +I'm growing as fond of reading as other folks, lately," continued she, +holding the book fast. + +"I dare say, Mr. Folingsby would--Mr. Folingsby would lend it to you, +I suppose," said Fanny, colouring more and more deeply; "but, as it is +trusted to me now, I must return it safe. Pray let me have it, Jessy." + +"Oh! yes; return it, madam, safe! I make no manner of doubt you will! I +make no manner of doubt you will!" replied Jessy, several times, as she +shook the book; whilst the bank-notes fell from between the leaves, and +were scattered upon the floor. "It is a thousand pities, Mrs. Cheviott, +you can't see what a fine book we have got, full of bank-notes! But Mrs. +Hungerford is not blind at any rate, it is to be hoped," continued she, +turning to Mrs. Hungerford, who at this instant opened the door. + +She stood in dignified amazement. Jessy had an air of malignant triumph. +Fanny was covered with blushes; but she looked with all the tranquillity +of innocence. The children gathered round her; and blind Mrs. Cheviott +cried, "What is going on? What is going on? Will nobody tell me what is +going on? Jessy! What is it you are talking about, Jessy?" + +"About a very valuable book, ma'am; containing more than I can easily +count, in bank-notes, ma'am, that Mr. Folingsby has lent, only lent, +ma'am, she says, to Miss Fanny Frankland, ma'am, who was just going to +return them to him, ma'am, when I unluckily took up the book, and shook +them all out upon the floor, ma'am." + +"Pick them up, Gustavus, my dear," said Mrs. Hungerford, coolly. "From +what I know of Fanny Frankland, I am inclined to believe that whatever +she says is truth. Since she has lived with me, I have never, in the +slightest instance, found her deviate from the truth; therefore I must +entirely depend upon what she says." + +"Oh! yes, mamma," cried the children, all together, "that I am sure you +may." + +"Come with me, Fanny," resumed Mrs. Hungerford; "it is not necessary +that your explanation should be public, though I am persuaded it will be +satisfactory." + +Fanny was glad to escape from the envious eye of Miss Jessy Bettesworth, +and felt much gratitude to Mrs. Hungerford for this kindness and +confidence; but, when she was to make her explanation, Fanny was in +great confusion. She dreaded to occasion a quarrel between Mr. Folingsby +and his aunt; yet she knew not how to exculpate herself, without +accusing him. + +"Why these blushes and tears, and why this silence, Fanny?" said Mrs. +Hungerford, after she had waited some minutes, in expectation she would +begin to speak. "Are not you sure of justice from me; and of protection, +both from slander and insult? I am fond of my nephew, it is true; but I +think myself obliged to you, for the manner in which you have conducted +yourself towards my children, since you have had them under your care. +Tell me then, freely, if you have any reason to complain of young Mr. +Folingsby." + +"Oh! madam," said Fanny, "thank you a thousand times for your goodness +to me. I do not, indeed, I do not wish to complain of any body; and I +would not for the world make mischief between you and your nephew. I +would rather leave your family at once; and that," continued the poor +girl, sobbing, "that is what I believe I had best; nay, is what I must +and will do." + +"No, Fanny, do not leave my house, without giving me an explanation of +what has passed this morning; for, if you do, your reputation is at the +mercy of Miss Jessy Bettesworth's malice." + +"Heaven forbid!" said Fanny, with a look of real terror. "I must beg, +madam, that you will have the kindness to return this book, and these +bank-notes, to Mr. Folingsby; and that you will give him this letter, +which I was just going to wrap up in the paper, with the book, when +Jessy Bettesworth came in and found the bank-notes, which I had never +seen. These can make no difference in my answer to Mr. Folingsby: +therefore I shall leave my letter just as it was first written, if you +please, madam." + +Fanny's letter was as follows: + + +"SIR, + +"I return the book, which you left with me, as nothing it contains +can ever alter my opinion on the subject of which you spoke to me this +morning. I hope you will never speak to me again, sir, in the same +manner. Consider, sir, that I am a poor unprotected girl. If you go +on as you have done lately, I shall be obliged to leave good Mrs. +Hungerford, who is my only friend. Oh! where shall I find so good a +friend? My poor old father is in the almshouse! and there he must remain +till his children can earn money sufficient to support him. Do not +fancy, sir, that I say this by way of begging from you; I would not, nor +would he, accept of any thing that you could offer him, whilst in your +present way of thinking. Pray, sir, have some compassion, and do not +injure those whom you cannot serve. + +"I am, sir, + +"Your humble servant, + +"FANNY FRANKLAND." + + * * * * * + +Mr. Folingsby was surprised and confounded, when this letter, and the +book containing his bank-notes, were put into his hand by his aunt. Mrs. +Hungerford told him by what means the book had been seen by Miss Jessy +Bettesworth, and to what imputations it must have exposed Fanny. +"Fanny is afraid of making mischief between you and me," continued Mrs. +Hungerford "and I cannot prevail upon her to give me an explanation, +which I am persuaded would be much to her honour." + +"Then you have not seen this letter! Then she has decided without +consulting you! She is a charming girl!" cried Mr. Folingsby; "and +whatever you may think of me, I am bound, in justice to her, to show +you what she has written: that will sufficiently explain how much I have +been to blame, and how well she deserves the confidence you place in +her." + +As he spoke, Mr. Folingsby rang the bell to order his horses. "I will +return to town immediately," continued he; "so Fanny need not leave the +house of her only friend to avoid me. As to these bank-notes, keep them, +dear aunt. She says her father is in great distress. Perhaps, now that +I am come 'to a right way of thinking,' she will not disdain my +assistance. Give her the money when and how you think proper. I am sure +I cannot make a better use of a hundred guineas; and wish I had never +thought of making a worse." + +Mr. Folingsby returned directly to town; and his aunt thought he had in +some measure atoned for his fault by his candour and generosity. Miss +Jessy Bettesworth waited all this time, with malicious impatience, +to hear the result of Fanny's explanation with Mrs. Hungerford. How +painfully was she surprised and disappointed, when Mrs. Hungerford +returned to the company, to hear her speak in the highest terms of +Fanny! "Oh, mamma," cried little Gustavus, clapping his hands, "I am +glad you think her good, because we all think so; and I should be very +sorry indeed if she was to go away, especially in disgrace." + +"There is no danger of that, my dear," said Mrs. Hungerford. "She shall +never leave my house, as long as she desires to stay in it. I do not +give, or withdraw, my protection, without good reasons." + +Miss Jessy Bettesworth bit her lips. Her face, which nature intended +to be beautiful, became almost ugly; envy and malice distorted her +features; and, when she departed with Mrs. Cheviott, her humiliated +appearance was a strong contrast to the air of triumph with which she +had entered. + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +After Jessy and Mrs. Cheviott had left the room, one of the little girls +exclaimed, "I don't like that Miss Bettesworth; for she asked me whether +I did not wish that Fanny was gone, because she refused to let me have a +peach that was not ripe. I am sure I wish Fanny may always stay here." + +There was a person in the room who seemed to join most fervently in +this wish: this was Mr. Reynolds, the drawing-master. For some time his +thoughts had been greatly occupied by Fanny. At first, he was struck +with her beauty; but he had discovered that Mr. Folingsby was in love +with her, and had carefully attended to her conduct, resolving not to +offer himself till he was sure on a point so serious. Her modesty and +prudence fixed his affections; and he now became impatient to declare +his passion. He was a man of excellent temper and character; and his +activity and talents were such as to ensure independence to a wife and +family. + +Mrs. Hungerford, though a proud, was not a selfish woman: she was glad +that Mr. Reynolds was desirous to obtain Fanny, though she was sorry to +part with one who was so useful in her family. Fanny had now lived +with her nearly two years; and she was much attached to her. A distant +relation, about this time, left her five children a small legacy of ten +guineas each. Gustavus, though he had some ambition to be master of +a watch, was the first to propose that this legacy should be given to +Fanny. His brothers and sisters applauded the idea; and Mrs. Hungerford +added fifty guineas to their fifty. "I had put by this money," said she, +"to purchase a looking-glass for my drawing-room; but it will be much +better applied in rewarding one who has been of real service to my +children." + +Fanny was now mistress of two hundred guineas; a hundred given to her by +Mr. Folingsby, fifty by Mrs. Hungerford, and fifty by the children. Her +joy and gratitude were extreme: for with this money she knew she could +relieve her father; this was the first wish of her heart; and it was a +wish in which her lover so eagerly joined that she smiled on him, and +said, "Now I am sure you really love me." + +"Let us go to your father directly," said Mr. Reynolds. "Let me be +present when you give him this money." + +"You shall," said Fanny; "but first I must consult my sister Patty and +my brothers; for we must all go together; that is our agreement. The +first day of next month is my father's birthday; and, on that day, we +are all to meet at the almshouse. What a happy day it will be!" + +But what has James been about all this time? How has he gone on with his +master, Mr. Cleghorn, the haberdasher? + +During the eighteen months that James had spent in Mr. Cleghorn's shop, +he never gave his master the slightest reason to complain of him; on +the contrary, this young man made his employer's interests his own; and, +consequently, completely deserved his confidence. It was not, however, +always easy to deal with Mr. Cleghorn; for he dreaded to be flattered, +yet could not bear to be contradicted. James was very near losing his +favour for ever, upon the following occasion. + +One evening, when it was nearly dusk, and James was just shutting up +shop, a strange-looking man, prodigiously corpulent, and with huge +pockets to his coat, came in. He leaned his elbows on the counter, +opposite to James, and stared him full in the face without speaking. +James swept some loose money off the counter into the till. The stranger +smiled, as if purposely to show him this did not escape his quick eye. +There was in his countenance an expression of roguery and humour: the +humour seemed to be affected, the roguery natural. "What are you pleased +to want, sir?" said James. + +"A glass of brandy, and your master." + +"My master is not at home, sir; and we have no brandy. You will find +brandy, I believe, at the house over the way." + +"I believe I know where to find brandy a little better than you do; and +better brandy than you ever tasted, or the devil's in it," replied the +stranger. "I want none of your brandy. I only asked for it to try what +sort of a chap you were. So you don't know who I am?" + +"No, sir; not in the least." + +"No! Never heard of Admiral Tipsey! Where do you come from? Never heard +of Admiral Tipsey! whose noble paunch is worth more than a Laplander +could reckon," cried he, striking the huge rotundity he praised. "Let me +into this back parlour; I'll wait there till your master comes home." + +"Sir, you cannot possibly go into that parlour; there is a young lady, +Mr. Cleghorn's daughter, sir, at tea in that room: she must not be +disturbed," said James, holding the lock of the parlour door. He thought +the stranger was either drunk or pretending to be drunk; and contended, +with all his force, to prevent him from getting into the parlour. + +Whilst they were struggling, Mr. Cleghorn came home. "Heyday! what's +the matter? O admiral, is it you?" said Mr. Cleghorn in a voice of +familiarity that astonished James. "Let us by, James; you don't know the +admiral." + +Admiral Tipsey was a smuggler: he had the command of two or three +smuggling vessels, and thereupon created himself an admiral: a dignity +which few dared to dispute with him, whilst he held his oak stick in his +hand. As to the name of Tipsey, no one could be so unjust as to question +his claim to it; for he was never known to be perfectly sober, during +a whole day, from one year's end to another. To James's great surprise, +the admiral, after he had drunk one dish of tea, unbuttoned his +waist-coat from top to bottom, and deliberately began to unpack his huge +false corpulence! Round him were wound innumerable pieces of lace, and +fold after fold of fine cambric. When he was completely unpacked, it was +difficult to believe that he was the same person, he looked so thin and +shrunk. + +He then called for some clean straw, and began to stuff himself out +again to what he called a passable size. "Did not I tell you, young man, +I carried that under my waistcoat which would make a fool stare? The +lace that's on the floor, to say nothing of the cambric, is worth full +twice the sum for which you shall have it, Cleghorn. Good night. I'll +call again to-morrow, to settle our affairs; but don't let your young +man here shut the door, as he did to-day, in the admiral's face. Here is +a cravat for you, notwithstanding," continued he, turning to James, and +throwing him a piece of very fine cambric. "I must 'list you in Admiral +Tipsey's service." + +James followed him to the door, and returned the cambric in despite of +all his entreaties that he would "wear it, or sell it, for the admiral's +sake." + +"So, James," said Mr. Cleghorn, when the smuggler was gone, "you do not +seem to like our admiral." + +"I know nothing of him, sir, except that he is a smuggler; and for that +reason I do not wish to have any thing to do with him." + +"I am sorry for that," said Mr. Cleghorn, with a mixture of shame and +anger in his countenance: "my conscience is as nice as other people's; +and yet I have a notion I shall have something to do with him, though he +is a smuggler; and, if I am not mistaken, shall make a deal of money by +him. I have not had any thing to do with smugglers yet; but I see many +in Monmouth who are making large fortunes by their assistance. There is +our neighbour, Mr. Raikes; what a rich man he is become! And why should +I, or why should you, be more scrupulous than others? Many gentlemen, +ay, gentlemen, in the country are connected with them; and why should +a shopkeeper be more conscientious than they? Speak; I must have your +opinion." + +With all the respect due to his master, James gave it as his opinion +that it would be best to have nothing to do with Admiral Tipsey, or with +any of the smugglers. He observed that men who carried on an illicit +trade, and who were in the daily habit of cheating, or of taking false +oaths, could not be safe partners. Even putting morality out of the +question, he remarked that the smuggling trade was a sort of gaming, by +which one year a man might make a deal of money, and another might be +ruined. + +"Upon my word!" said Mr. Cleghorn, in an ironical tone, "you talk very +wisely, for so young a man! Pray, where did you learn all this wisdom?" + +"From my father, sir; from whom I learned every thing that I know; every +thing that is good, I mean. I had an uncle once, who was ruined by his +dealings with smugglers; and who would have died in jail, if it had not +been for my father. I was but a young lad at the time this happened; but +I remember my father saying to me, the day my uncle was arrested, when +my aunt and all the children were crying, 'Take warning by this, my dear +James: you are to be in trade, some day or other, yourself: never forget +that honesty is the best policy. The fair trader will always have the +advantage, at the long run.'" + +"Well, well, no more of this," interrupted Mr. Cleghorn. "Good night +to you. You may finish the rest of your sermon against smugglers to my +daughter there, whom it seems to suit better than it pleases me." + +The next day, when Mr. Cleghorn went into the shop, he scarcely spoke +to James, except to find fault with him. This he bore with patience, +knowing that he meant well, and that his master would recover his temper +in time. + +"So the parcels were all sent, and the bills made out, as I desired," +said Mr. Cleghorn. "You are not in the wrong there. You know what you +are about, James, very well; but why should not you deal openly by me, +according to your father's maxim, that 'honesty is the best policy?' Why +should not you fairly tell me what were your secret views, in the advice +you gave me about Admiral Tipsey and the smugglers?" + +"I have no secret views, sir," said James, with a look of such sincerity +that his master could not help believing him: "nor can I guess what +you mean by _secret views_. If I consulted my own advantage instead of +yours, I should certainly use all my influence with you in favour of +this smuggler: for here is a letter, which I received from him this +morning, 'hoping for my friendship,' and enclosing a ten pound note, +which I returned to him." + +Mr. Cleghorn was pleased by the openness and simplicity with which James +told him all this; and immediately throwing aside the reserve of his +manner, said, "James, I beg your pardon; I see I have misunderstood you. +I am convinced you were not acting like a double dealer, in the advice +you gave me last night. It was my daughter's colouring so much that led +me astray. I did, to be sure, think you had an eye to her more than to +me, in what you said: but if you had, I am sure you would tell me so +fairly." + +James was at a loss to comprehend how the advice that he gave concerning +Admiral Tipsey and the smugglers could relate to Miss Cleghorn, except +so far as it related to her father. He waited in silence for a farther +explanation. + +"You don't know, then," continued Mr. Cleghorn, "that Admiral Tipsey, as +he calls himself, is able to leave his nephew, young Raikes, more than +I can leave my daughter? It is his whim to go about dressed in that +strange way in which you saw him yesterday; and it is his diversion to +carry on the smuggling trade, by which he has made so much; but he is +in reality a rich old fellow, and has proposed that I should marry my +daughter to his nephew. Now you begin to understand me, I see. The lad +is a smart lad: he is to come here this evening. Don't prejudice my girl +against him. Not a word more against smugglers, before her, I beg." + +"You shall be obeyed, sir," said James. His voice altered, and he turned +pale as he spoke; circumstances which did not escape Mr. Cleghorn's +observation. + +Young Raikes, and his uncle, the rich smuggler, paid their visit. Miss +Cleghorn expressed a decided dislike to both uncle and nephew. Her +father was extremely provoked; and in the height of his anger, declared +he believed she was in love with James Frankland; that he was a +treacherous rascal; and that he should leave the house within three +days, if his daughter did not, before that time, consent to marry the +man he had chosen for her husband. It was in vain that his daughter +endeavoured to soften her father's rage, and to exculpate poor James, by +protesting he had never directly or indirectly attempted to engage her +affections; neither had he ever said one syllable that could prejudice +her against the man whom her father recommended. Mr. Cleghorn's high +notions of subordination applied, on this occasion, equally to his +daughter and to his foreman: he considered them both as presumptuous and +ungrateful; and said to himself, as he walked up and down the room in +a rage, "My foreman to preach to me indeed! I thought what he was about +all the time! But it sha'n't do--it sha'n't do! My daughter shall do +as I bid her, or I'll know why! Have not I been all my life making a +fortune for her? and now she won't do as I bid her! She would, if this +fellow were out of the house; and out he shall go, in three days, if she +does not come to her senses. I was cheated by my last shopman out of my +money: I won't be duped by this fellow out of my daughter. No! no! Off +he shall trudge! A shopman, indeed, to think of his master's daughter +without his consent! What insolence! What the times are come to! Such +a thing could not have been done in my days! I never thought of my +master's daughter, I'll take my oath! And then the treachery of the +rascal! To carry it all on so slily! I could forgive him anything but +that: for that he shall go out of this house in three days, as sure as +he and I are alive, if this young lady does not give him up before that +time." + +Passion so completely deafened Mr. Cleghorn that he would not listen +to James, who assured him he had never, for one moment, aspired to the +honour of marrying his daughter. "Can you deny that you love her? Can +you deny," cried Mr. Cleghorn, "that you turned pale yesterday, when you +said I should be obeyed?" + +James could not deny either of these charges; but he firmly persisted +in asserting that he had been guilty of no treachery; that he had never +attempted secretly to engage the young lady's affections; and that, on +the contrary, he was sure she had no suspicion of his attachment. "It is +easy to prove all this to me, by persuading my girl to do as I bid her. +Prevail on her to marry Mr. Raikes, and all is well." + +"That is out of my power, sir," replied James. "I have no right to +interfere, and will not. Indeed, I am sure I should betray myself, if I +were to attempt to say a word to Miss Cleghorn in favour of another man: +that is a task I could not undertake, even if I had the highest opinion +of this Mr. Raikes; but I know nothing concerning him, and therefore +should do wrong to speak in his favour merely to please you. I am sorry, +very sorry, sir, that you have not the confidence in me which I hoped +I had deserved; but the time will come when you will do me justice. The +sooner I leave you now, I believe, the better you will be satisfied; +and far from wishing to stay three days, I do not desire to stay three +minutes in your house, sir, against your will." + +Mr. Cleghorn was touched by the feeling and honest pride with which +James spoke. + +"Do as I bid you, sir," said he; "and neither more nor less,--Stay out +your three days; and may be, in that time, this saucy girl may come +to reason. If she does not know you love her, you are not _so much_ to +blame." + +The three days passed away, and the morning came on which James was +to leave his master. The young lady persisted in her resolution not to +marry Mr. Raikes; and expressed much concern at the injustice with which +James was treated on her account. She offered to leave home, and spend +some time with an aunt, who lived in the north of England. She did not +deny that James appeared to her the most agreeable young man she had +seen; but added, she could not possibly have any thoughts of marrying +him, because he had never given her the least reason to believe that he +was attached to her. + +Mr. Cleghorn was agitated, yet positive in his determination that James +should quit the house. James went into his master's room to take leave +of him. "So then you are really going?" said Mr. Cleghorn. "You have +buckled that portmanteau of yours like a blockhead; I'll do it better: +stand aside. So you are positively going? Why, this is a sad thing! +But then it is a thing, as your own sense and honour tell you--it is a +thing--" (Mr. Cleghorn took snuff at every pause of his speech; but even +this could not carry him through it;) when he pronounced the words, "It +is a thing that must be done," the tears fairly started from his eyes. +"Now this is ridiculous!" resumed he. "In my days, in my younger days, +I mean, a man could part with his foreman as easily as he could take +off his glove. I am sure my master would as soon have thought of turning +bankrupt as of shedding a tear at parting with me; and yet I was as good +a foreman, in my day, as another. Not so good a one as you are, to be +sure. But it is no time now to think of your goodness. Well! what do we +stand here for? When a thing is to be done, the sooner it is done the +better. Shake hands before you go." + +Mr. Cleghorn put into James's hand a fifty pound note, and a letter of +recommendation to a Liverpool merchant. James left the house without +taking leave of Miss Cleghorn, who did not think the worse of him for +his want of gallantry. His master had taken care to recommend him to an +excellent house in Liverpool, where his salary would be nearly double +that which he had hitherto received; but James was notwithstanding very +sorry to leave Monmouth, where his dear brother, sister, and father +lived,--to say nothing of Miss Cleghorn. + +Late at night, James was going to the inn at which the Liverpool stage +set up, where he was to sleep: as he passed through a street that +leads down to the river Wye, he heard a great noise of men quarrelling +violently. The moon shone bright, and he saw a party of men who appeared +to be fighting in a boat that was just come to shore. He asked a person +who came out of the public-house, and who seemed to have nothing to +do with the fray, what was the matter? "Only some smugglers, who are +quarrelling with one another about the division of their booty," said +the passenger, who walked on, eager to get out of their way. James also +quickened his pace, but presently heard the cry of "Murder! murder! +Help! help!" and then all was silence. + +A few seconds afterwards he thought that he heard groans. He could not +forbear going to the spot whence the groans proceeded, in hopes of being +of some service to a fellow-creature. By the time he got thither, the +groans had ceased: he looked about, but could only see the men in the +boat, who were rowing fast down the river. As he stood on the shore +listening, he for some minutes heard no sound but that of their oars; +but afterwards a man in the boat exclaimed, with a terrible oath, "There +he is! There he is! All alive again! We have not done him business! D--n +it, he'll do ours!" The boatmen rowed faster away, and James again heard +the groans, though they were now much feebler than before. He searched +and found the wounded man; who, having been thrown overboard, had with +great difficulty swam to shore, and fainted with the exertion as soon +as he reached the land. When he came to his senses, he begged James, for +mercy's sake, to carry him into the next public-house, and to send for +a surgeon to dress his wounds. The surgeon came, examined them, and +declared his fears that the poor man could not live four-and-twenty +hours. As soon as he was able to speak intelligibly, he said he had been +drinking with a party of smugglers, who had just brought in some fresh +brandy, and that they had quarrelled violently about a keg of contraband +liquor: he said that he could swear to the man who gave him the mortal +wound. + +The smugglers were pursued immediately, and taken. When they were +brought into the sick man's room, James beheld amongst them three +persons whom he little expected to meet in such a situation: Idle Isaac, +Wild Will, and Bullying Bob. The wounded man swore positively to their +persons. Bullying Bob was the person who gave him the fatal blow; but +Wild Will began the assault, and Idle Isaac shoved him overboard; +they were all implicated in the guilt; and, instead of expressing any +contrition for their crime, began to dispute about which was most to +blame: they appealed to James; and, as he would be subpoenaed on their +trial, each endeavoured to engage him in his favour. Idle Isaac took him +aside, and said to him, "You have no reason to befriend my brothers. I +can tell you a secret: they are the greatest enemies your family ever +had. It was they who set fire to your father's hay-rick. Will was +provoked by your sister Fanny's refusing him; so he determined, as +he told me, to carry her off; and he meant to have done so, in the +confusion that was caused by the fire; but Bob and he quarrelled the +very hour that she was to have been carried off; so that part of the +scheme failed. Now I had no hand in all this, being fast asleep in +my bed; so I have more claim to your good word, at any rate, than my +brothers can have: and so, when we come to trial, I hope you'll speak to +my character." + +Wild Will next tried his eloquence. As soon as he found that his brother +Isaac had betrayed the secret, he went to James, and assured him the +mischief that had been done was a mere accident; that it was true he +had intended, for the frolic's sake, to raise a cry of fire, in order to +draw Fanny out of the house; but that he was shocked when he found how +the jest ended. + +As to Bullying Bob, he brazened the matter out; declaring he had been +affronted by the Franklands, and that he was glad he had taken his +revenge of them; that, if the thing was to be done over again, he would +do it; that James might give him what character he pleased upon trial, +for that a man could be hanged but once. + +Such were the absurd, bravadoing speeches he made, while he had an +alehouse audience round him, to admire his spirit; but a few hours +changed his tone. He and his brothers were taken before a magistrate. +Till the committal was actually made out, they had hopes of being +bailed: they had despatched a messenger to Admiral Tipsey, whose men +they called themselves, and expected he would offer bail for them to +any amount; but the bail of their friend Admiral Tipsey was not deemed +sufficient by the magistrate. + +"In the first place, I could not bail these men; and if I could, do you +think it possible," said the magistrate, "I could take the bail of such +a man as that?" + +"I understood that he was worth a deal of money," whispered James. + +"You are mistaken, sir," said the magistrate: "he is what he deserves to +be, a ruined man. I have good reasons for knowing this. He has a nephew, +a Mr. Raikes, who is a gamester: whilst the uncle has been carrying on +the smuggling trade here, at the hazard of his life, the nephew, who was +bred up at Oxford to be a fine gentleman, has gamed away all the money +his uncle has made during twenty years, by his contraband traffic. At +the long run, these fellows never thrive. Tipsey is not worth a groat." + +James was much surprised by this information, and resolved to return +immediately to Mr. Cleghorn, to tell him what he had heard, and put him +on his guard. + +Early in the morning he went to his house--"You look as if you were not +pleased to see me again," said he to Mr. Cleghorn; "and perhaps you will +impute what I am going to say to bad motives; but my regard to you, sir, +determines me to acquaint you with what I have heard: you will make what +use of the information you please." + +James then related what had passed at the magistrate's; and when +Mr. Cleghorn had heard all that he had to say, he thanked him in the +strongest manner for this instance of his regard; and begged he would +remain in Monmouth a few days longer. + +Alarmed by the information he received from James, Mr. Cleghorn +privately made inquiries concerning young Raikes and his uncle. The +distress into which the young man had plunged himself by gambling had +been kept a profound secret from his relations. It was easy to deceive +them as to his conduct, because his time had been spent at a distance +from them: he had but just returned home, after _completing his +education._ + +The magistrate from whom James first heard of his extravagance happened +to have a son at Oxford, who gave him this intelligence: he confirmed +all he had said to Mr. Cleghorn, who trembled at the danger to which he +had exposed his daughter. The match with young Raikes was immediately +broken off; and all connexion with Admiral Tipsey and the smugglers was +for ever dissolved by Mr. Cleghorn. + +His gratitude to James was expressed with all the natural warmth of his +character. "Come back and live with me," said he. "You have saved me and +my daughter from ruin. You shall not be my shopman any longer, you shall +be my partner: and, you know, when you are my partner, there can be +nothing said against your thinking of my daughter. But all in good time. +I would not have seen the girl again if she had married my shopman; but +my partner will be quite another thing. You have worked your way up in +the world by your own deserts, and I give you joy. I believe, now it's +over, it would have gone nigh to break my heart to part with you; but +you must be sensible I was right to keep up my authority in my own +family. Now things are changed: I give my consent: nobody has a right to +say a word. When I am pleased with my daughter's choice, that is enough. +There's only one thing that goes against my pride: your father--" + +"Oh! sir," interrupted James, "if you are going to say any thing +disrespectful of my father, do not say it to me; I beseech you, do not; +for I cannot bear it. Indeed I cannot, and will not. He is the best of +fathers!" + +"I am sure he has the best of children; and a greater blessing there +cannot be in this world. I was not going to say any thing disrespectful +of him: I was only going to lament that he should be in an almshouse," +said Mr. Cleghorn. + +"He has determined to remain there," said James, "till his children have +earned money enough to support him without hurting themselves. I, my +brother, and both my sisters, are to meet at the almshouse on the first +day of next month, which is my father's birthday; then we shall join all +our earnings together, and see what can be done." + +"Remember, you are my partner," said Mr. Cleghorn. "On that day you must +take me along with you. My good-will is part of your earnings, and my +good-will shall never be shown merely in words." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +It is now time to give some account of the Bettesworth family. The +history of their indolence, extravagance, quarrels, and ruin, shall be +given as shortly as possible. + +The fortune left to them by Captain Bettesworth was nearly twenty +thousand pounds. When they got possession of this sum, they thought it +could never be spent; and each individual of the family had separate +plans of extravagance, for which they required separate supplies. Old +Bettesworth, in his youth, had seen a house of Squire Somebody, which +had struck his imagination, and he resolved he would build just such +another. This was his favourite scheme, and he was delighted with the +thoughts that it would be realized. His wife and his sons opposed +the plan, merely because it was his; and consequently he became more +obstinately bent upon having his own way, as he said, for once in his +life. He was totally ignorant of building; and no less incapable, from +his habitual indolence, of managing workmen: the house might have been +finished for one thousand five hundred pounds; it cost him two thousand +pounds: and when it was done, the roof let in the rain in sundry places, +the new ceilings and cornices were damaged, so that repairs and a new +roof, with leaden gutters, and leaden statues, cost him some additional +hundreds. The furnishing of the house Mrs. Bettesworth took upon +herself; and Sally _took upon herself_ to find fault with every article +that her mother bought. The quarrels were loud, bitter, and at last +irreconcilable. There was a looking-glass which the mother wanted +to have in one room, and the daughter insisted upon putting it into +another: the looking-glass was broken between them in the heat of +battle. The blame was laid on Sally, who, in a rage, declared she would +not and could not live in the house with her mother. Her mother was +rejoiced to get rid of her, and she went to live with a lieutenant's +lady in the neighbourhood, with whom she had been acquainted three +weeks and two days. Half by scolding, half by cajoling her father, she +prevailed upon him to give her two thousand pounds for her fortune; +promising never to trouble him any more for any thing. + +As soon as she was gone, Mrs. Bettesworth gave a house-warming, as she +called it, to all her acquaintance; a dinner, a ball, and a supper, in +her new house. The house was not half dry, and all the company caught +cold. Mrs. Bettesworth's cold was the most severe. It happened at this +time to be the fashion to go almost without clothes; and as this lady +was extremely vain and fond of dress, she would absolutely appear in the +height of fashion. The Sunday after her ball, whilst she had still the +remains of a bad cold, she positively would go to church, equipped in +one petticoat, and a thin muslin gown, that she might look as young as +her daughter Jessy. Every body laughed, and Jessy laughed more than any +one else; but, in the end, it was no laughing matter; Mrs. Bettesworth +"caught her death of cold." She was confined to her bed on Monday, and +was buried the next Sunday. + +Jessy, who had a great notion that she should marry a lord, if she +could but once get into company with one, went to live with blind Mrs. +Cheviott; where, according to her mother's instructions, "she laid +herself out for goodness." She also took two thousand pounds with +her, upon her promise never to trouble her father more. Her brothers +perceived how much was to be gained by tormenting a father, who +gave from weakness, and not from a sense of justice, or a feeling of +kindness; and they soon rendered themselves so troublesome that he was +obliged to buy off their reproaches. Idle Isaac was a sportsman, and +would needs have a pack of hounds: they cost him two hundred a year. +Then he would have race-horses; and by them he soon lost some thousands. +He was arrested for the money, and his father was forced to pay it. + +Bob and Will soon afterwards began to think, "it was very hard that so +much was to be done for Isaac, and nothing for them!" + +Wild Will kept a mistress; and Bullying Bob was a cock-fighter: their +demands for money were frequent and unconscionable; and their continual +plea was, "Why, Isaac lost a thousand by his race-horses, and why should +not we have our share?" + +The mistress and the cockpit had their share; and the poor old father, +at last, had only one thousand left. He told his sons this, with tears +in his eyes: "I shall die in a jail, after all!" said he. They listened +not to what he said, for they were intent upon the bank-notes of this +last thousand, which were spread upon the table before him. Will, half +in jest, half in earnest, snatched up a parcel of the notes; and Bob +insisted on dividing the treasure. Will fled out of the house; Bob +pursued him, and they fought at the end of their own avenue. + +This was on the day that Frankland and his family were returning from +poor George's funeral, and saw the battle betwixt the brothers. They +were shamed into a temporary reconciliation, and soon afterwards united +against their father, whom they represented to all the neighbours as +the most cruel and the most avaricious of men, because he would not part +with the very means of subsistence to supply their profligacy. + +Whilst their minds were in this state, Will happened to become +acquainted with a set of smugglers, whose disorderly life struck his +fancy. He persuaded his brothers to leave home with him, and to list in +the service of Admiral Tipsey. Their manners then became more brutal; +and they thought, felt, and lived like men of desperate fortunes. The +consequence we have seen. In a quarrel about a keg of brandy, at an +alehouse, their passions got the better of them, and, on entering their +boat, they committed the offence for which they were now imprisoned. + +Mr. Barlow was the attorney to whom they applied, and they endeavoured +to engage him to manage their cause on their trial; but he absolutely +refused. From the moment he heard from James that Will and Bob +Bettesworth were the persons who set fire to Frankland's hay-stack, he +urged Frank to prosecute them for this crime. "When you only suspected +them, my dear Frank, I strongly dissuaded you from going to law: but now +you cannot fail to succeed, and you will recover ample damages." + +"That is impossible, my dear sir," replied Frank; "for the Bettesworths, +I understand, are ruined." + +"I am sorry for that, on your account; but I still think you ought to +carry on this prosecution, for the sake of public justice. Such pests of +society should not go unpunished." + +"They will probably be punished sufficiently for this unfortunate +assault, for which they are now to stand their trial. I cannot, in their +distress, revenge either my own or my father's wrongs. I am sure he +would be sorry if I did; for I have often and often heard him say, +'Never trample upon the fallen.'" + +"You are a good, generous young man," cried Mr. Barlow, "and no wonder +you love the father who inspired you with such sentiments, and taught +you such principles. But what a shame it is that such a father should +be in an almshouse! You say he will not consent to be dependent upon +any one; and that he will not accept of relief from any but his own +children. This is pride; but it is an honourable species of pride; fit +for an English yeoman. I cannot blame it. But, my dear Frank, tell your +father he must accept of your friend's credit, as well as of yours. +Your credit with me is such, that you may draw upon me for five hundred +pounds whenever you please. No thanks, my boy. Half the money I owe you +for your services as my clerk; and the other half is well secured to me, +by the certainty of your future diligence and success in business. +You will be able to pay me in a year or two; so I put you under no +obligation, remember. I will take your bond for half the money, if that +will satisfy you and your proud father." + +The manner in which this favour was conferred touched Frank to the +heart. He had a heart which could be strongly moved by kindness. He +was beginning to express his gratitude, when Mr. Barlow interrupted him +with, "Come, come! Why do we waste our time here, talking sentiment, +when we ought to be writing law? Here is work to be done, which requires +some expedition: a marriage settlement to be drawn. Guess for whom." + +Frank guessed all the probable matches amongst his Monmouth +acquaintance; but he was rather surprised when told that the bridegroom +was to be young Mr. Folingsby; as it was scarcely two months since this +gentleman was in love with Fanny Frankland. Frank proceeded to draw the +settlement. + +Whilst he and Mr. Barlow were writing, they were interrupted by the +entrance of Mr. Josiah Crumpe. He came to announce Mrs. Crumpe's death, +and to request Mr. Barlow's attendance at the opening of her will. This +poor lady had lingered out many months longer than it was thought +she could possibly live; and during all her sufferings, Patty, with +indefatigable goodness and temper, bore with the caprice and peevishness +of disease. Those who thought she acted merely from interested motives +expected to find she had used her power over her mistress's mind +entirely for her own advantage: they were certain a great part of the +fortune would be left to her. Mrs. Crumpe's relations were so persuaded +of this, that, when they were assembled to hear her will read by Mr. +Barlow, they began to say to one another in whispers, "We'll set the +will aside; we'll bring her into the courts: Mrs. Crumpe was not in her +right senses when she made this will: she had received two paralytic +strokes; we can prove that: we can set aside the will." + +Mr. Josiah Crumpe was not one of these whisperers; he set apart from +them, leaning on his oaken stick in silence. + +Mr. Barlow broke the seals of the will, opened it, and read it to the +eager company. They were much astonished when they found that the whole +fortune was left to Mr. Josiah Crumpe. The reason for this bequest was +given in these words: + +"Mr. Josiah Crumpe, being the only one of my relations who did not +torment me for my money, even upon my death-bed, I trust that he will +provide suitably for that excellent girl, Patty Frankland. On this head +he knows my wishes. By her own desire, I have not myself left her any +thing; I have only bequeathed fifty pounds for the use of her father." + +Mr. Josiah Crumpe was the only person who heard unmoved the bequest +that was made to him; the rest of the relations were clamorous in their +reproaches, or hypocritical in their congratulations. All thoughts of +setting aside the will were, however, abandoned; every legal form had +been observed, and with a technical nicety that precluded all hopes of +successful litigation. + +Mr. Crumpe arose, as soon as the tumult of disappointment had somewhat +subsided, and counted with his oaken stick the numbers that were +present. "Here are ten of you, I think. Well! you, every soul of you, +hate me; but that is nothing to the purpose. I shall keep up to the +notion I have of the character of a true British merchant, for my own +sake--not for yours. I don't want this woman's money; I have enough of +my own, and of my own honest making, without legacy hunting. Why did +you torment the dying woman? You would have been better off, if you had +behaved better; but that's over now. A thousand pounds a-piece you shall +have from me, deducting fifty pounds, which you must each of you give to +that excellent girl, Patty Frankland. I am sure you must be all sensible +of your injustice to her." + +Fully aware that it was their interest to oblige Mr. Crumpe, they now +vied with each other in doing justice to Patty. Some even declared they +had never had any suspicions of her; and others laid the blame on the +false representations and information which they said they had had +from the mischief-making Mrs. Martha. They very willingly accepted of +a thousand pounds a-piece; and the fifty pounds deduction was paid as a +tax by each to Patty's merit. + +Mistress now of five hundred pounds, she exclaimed, "Oh! my dear father! +You shall no longer live in an almshouse! To-morrow will be the +happiest day of my life! I don't know how to thank you as I ought, sir," +continued she, turning to her benefactor. + +"You have thanked me as you ought, and as I like best," said this +plain-spoken merchant, "and now let us say no more about it." + +In obedience to Mr. Crumpe's commands, Patty said no more to him; but +she was impatient to tell her brother Frank, and her lover, Mr. Mason, +of her good fortune: she therefore returned to Monmouth with Mr. Barlow, +in hopes of seeing them immediately; but Frank was not at work at the +marriage settlement. Soon after Mr. Barlow left him, he was summoned to +attend the trial of the Bettesworths. + +These unfortunate young men, depending on Frank's good nature, well +knowing he had refused to prosecute them for setting fire to his +father's hay-rick, thought they might venture to call upon him to give +them a good character. "Consider, dear Frank," said Will Bettesworth, "a +good word from one of your character might do a great deal for us. You +were so many years our neighbour. If you would only just say that we +were never counted wild, idle, quarrelsome fellows, to your knowledge. +Will you?" + +"How can I do that?" said Frank: "or how could I be believed, if I did, +when it is so well known in the country--forgive me; at such a time as +this I cannot mean to taunt you: but it is well known in the country +that you were called Wild Will, Bullying Bob, and Idle Isaac." + +"There's the rub!" said the attorney who was employed for the +Bettesworths. "This will come out in open court; and the judge and jury +will think a great deal of it." + +"Oh! Mr. Frank, Mr. Frank," cried old Bettesworth, "have pity upon us! +Speak in favour of these boys of mine! Think what a disgrace it is to me +in my old age, to have my sons brought this way to a public trial! And +if they should be transported! Oh! Mr. Frank, say what you can for them! +You were always a good young man, and a good-natured young man." + +Frank was moved by the entreaties and tears of the unhappy father; but +his good-nature could not make him consent to say what he knew to be +false. "Do not call me to speak to their characters upon this trial," +said he; "I cannot say any thing that would serve them: I shall do them +more harm than good." + +Still they had hopes his good-nature would, at the last moment, prevail +over his sense of justice, and they summoned him. + +"Well, sir," said Bettesworths' counsel, "you appear in favour of the +prisoners. You have known them, I understand, from their childhood; and +your own character is such that whatever you say in their favour will +doubtless make a weighty impression upon the jury." + +The court was silent in expectation of what Frank should say. He was +so much embarrassed betwixt his wish to serve his old neighbours and +playfellows, and his dread of saying what he knew to be false, that +he could not utter a syllable. He burst into tears. {Footnote: This is +drawn from real life.} + +"This evidence is most strongly against the prisoners," whispered a +juryman to his fellows. + +The verdict was brought in at last--Guilty!--Sentence--transportation. + +As the judge was pronouncing this sentence, old Bettesworth was carried +out of the court: he had dropped senseless. Ill as his sons had behaved +to him, he could not sustain the sight of their utter disgrace and ruin. + +When he recovered his senses, he found himself sitting on the +stone bench before the court-house, supported by Frank. Many of the +town's-people had gathered round; but regardless of every thing but his +own feelings, the wretched father exclaimed, in a voice of despair, "I +have no children left me in my old age! My sons are gone! And where are +my daughters? At such a time as this, why are not they near their poor +old father? Have they no touch of natural affection in them? No! they +have none. And why should they have any for me? I took no care of them +when they were young; no wonder they take none of me now I am old. Ay! +Neighbour Frankland was right: he brought up his children 'in the way +they should go.' Now he has the credit and the comfort of them; and see +what mine are come to! They bring their father's grey hairs with sorrow +to the grave!" + +The old man wept bitterly: then looking round him, he again asked for +his daughters. "Surely they are in the town, and it cannot be much +trouble to them to come to me! Even these strangers, who have never +seen me before, pity me. But _my own_ have no feeling; no, not for one +another! Do these girls know the sentence that has been passed upon +their brothers! Where are they? Where are they? Jessy, at least, might +be near me at such a time as this! I was always an indulgent father to +Jessy." + +There were people present who knew what was become of Jessy; but they +would not tell the news to her father at this terrible moment. Two of +Mrs. Cheviott's servants were in the crowd; and one of them whispered +to Frank, "You had best, sir, prevail on this poor old man to go to his +home, and not to ask for his daughter: he will hear the bad news soon +enough." + +Frank persuaded the father to go home to his lodgings, and did every +thing in his power to comfort him. But, alas! the old man said, too +truly, "There is no happiness left for me in this world! What a curse it +is to have bad children! My children have broken my heart! And it is all +my own fault: I took no care of them when they were young; and they take +no care of me now I am old. But, tell me, have you found out what is +become of my daughter?" + +Frank evaded the question, and begged the old man to rest in peace this +night. He seemed quite exhausted by grief, and at last sunk into a sort +of stupefaction: it could hardly be called sleep. Frank was obliged to +return home, to proceed with his business for Mr. Barlow; and he was +glad to escape from the sight of misery, which, however he might pity, +he could not relieve. + +It was happy indeed for Frank that he had taken his father's advice, +and had early broken off all connexion with Jilting Jessy. After duping +others, she at length had become a greater dupe. She had this morning +gone off with a common serjeant, with whom she had fallen suddenly and +desperately in love. He cared for nothing but her two thousand pounds; +and, to complete her misfortune, was a man of bad character, whose +extravagance and profligacy had reduced him to the sad alternative of +either marrying for money, or going to jail. + +As for Sally, she was at this instant far from all thoughts either of +her father or her brothers; she was in the heat of a scolding match, +which terminated rather unfortunately for her matrimonial schemes. +Ensign Bloomington had reproached her with having forced him into his +aunt's room, when she had absolutely refused to see him, and thus being +the cause of his losing a handsome legacy. Irritated by this charge, +the lady replied in no very gentle terms. Words ran high; and so high at +last, that the gentleman finished by swearing that he would sooner marry +the devil than such a vixen! + +The match was thus broken off, to the great amusement of all Saucy +Sally's acquaintance. Her ill-humour had made her hated by all the +neighbours; so that her disappointment at the loss of the ensign was +embittered by their malicious raillery, and by the prophecy which she +heard more than whispered from all sides, that she would never have +another admirer, either for "love or money." + +Ensign Bloomington was deaf to all overtures of peace: he was rejoiced +to escape from this virago; and, as we presume that none of our readers +are much interested in her fate, we shall leave her to wear the willow, +without following her history farther. + +Let us return to Mr. Barlow, whom we left looking over Mr. Folingsby's +marriage settlements. When he had seen that they were rightly drawn, he +sent Frank with them to Folingsby-hall. + +Mr. Folingsby was alone when Frank arrived. "Sit down, if you please, +sir," said he. "Though I have never had the pleasure of seeing you +before, your name is well known to me. You are a brother of Fanny +Frankland's. She is a charming and excellent young woman! You have +reason to be proud of your sister, and I have reason to be obliged to +her." + +He then adverted to what had formerly passed between them at +Mrs. Hungerford's; and concluded by saying it would give him real +satisfaction to do any service to him or his family. "Speak, and tell me +what I can do for you." + +Frank looked down, and was silent; for he thought Mr. Folingsby must +recollect the injustice that he, or his agent, had shown in turning old +Frankland out of his farm. He was too proud to ask favours, where he +felt he had a claim to justice. + +In fact, Mr. Folingsby had, as he said, "left every thing to his agent;" +and so little did he know either of the affairs of his tenants, their +persons, or even their names, that he had not at this moment the +slightest idea that Frank was the son of one of the oldest and the best +of them. He did not know that old Frankland had been reduced to take +refuge in an almshouse, in consequence of his agent's injustice. +Surprised by Frank's cold silence, he questioned him more closely, and +it was with astonishment and shame that he heard the truth. + +"Good heavens!" cried he, "has my negligence been the cause of all this +misery to your father--to the father of Fanny Frankland? I remember, now +that you recall it to my mind, something of an old man, with fine grey +hair, coming to speak to me about some business, just as I was setting +off for Ascot races. Was that your father? I recollect I told him I was +in a great hurry; and that Mr. Deal, my agent, would certainly do him +justice. In this I was grossly mistaken; and I have suffered severely +for the confidence I had in that fellow. Thank God, I shall now have my +affairs in my own hands. I am determined to look into them immediately. +My head is no longer full of horses, and gigs, and curricles. There is +a time for every thing: my giddy days are over. I only wish that my +thoughtlessness had never hurt any one but myself. + +"All I now can do," continued Mr. Folingsby, "is to make amends, as fast +as possible, for the past. To begin with your father: most fortunately, +I have the means in my power. His farm is come back into my hands; and +it shall, to-morrow, be restored to him. Old Bettesworth was with +me scarcely an hour ago, to surrender the farm, on which there is a +prodigious arrear of rent; but I understand that he has built a good +house on the farm; and I am extremely glad of it, for your father's +sake. Tell him it shall be his. Tell him I am ready, I am eager, to put +him in possession of it; and to repair the injustice I have done, or +which, at least, I have permitted to be done, in my name." + +Frank was so overjoyed that he could scarcely utter one word of thanks. +In his way home he called at Mrs. Hungerford's, to tell the good news to +his sister Fanny. This was the eve of their father's birthday; and they +agreed to meet at the almshouse in the morning. + +The happy morning came. Old Frankland was busy in his little garden, +when he heard the voices of his children, who were coming towards him. +"Fanny! Patty! James! Frank! Welcome, my children! Welcome! I knew you +would be so kind as to come to see your old father on this day; so I was +picking some of my currants for you, to make you as welcome as I can. +But I wonder you are not ashamed to come to see me in an almshouse. Such +gay lads and lasses! I well know I have reason to be proud of you all. +Why, I think, I never saw you, one and all, look so well in my whole +life!" + +"Perhaps, father," said Frank, "because you never saw us, one and all, +so happy! Will you sit down, dear father, here in your arbour; and we +will all sit upon the grass, at your feet, and each tell you stories, +and all the good news." + +"My children," said he, "do what you will with me! It makes my old heart +swim with joy to see you all again around me looking so happy." + +The father sat down in his arbour, and his children placed themselves +at his feet. First his daughter Patty spoke; and then Fanny; then James; +and at last Frank. When they had all told their little histories, they +offered to their father in one purse their common riches: the rewards of +their own good conduct. + +"My beloved children!" said Frankland, overpowered with his tears, "this +is too much joy for me! this is the happiest moment of my life! None but +the father of such children can know what I feel! Your success in the +world delights me ten times the more, because I know it is all owing to +yourselves." + +"Oh! no, dear father!" cried they with one accord; "no, dear, dear +father, our success is all owing to you! Every thing we have is owing to +you; to the care you took of us, from our infancy upward. If you had not +watched for our welfare, and taught us so well, we should not now all be +so happy!--Poor Bettesworth!" + +Here they were interrupted by Hannah, the faithful maid-servant, who +had always lived with old Frankland. She came running down the garden so +fast, that, when she reached the arbour, she was so much out of breath +she could not speak. "Dear heart! God bless you all!" cried she, as soon +as she recovered breath. "But it is no time to be sitting here. Come in, +sir, for mercy's sake," said she, addressing herself to her old master. +"Come in to be ready; come in all of you to be ready!" "Ready! ready for +what?" + +"Oh! ready for fine things! Fine doings! Only come in, and I'll tell you +as we go along. How I have torn all my hand with this gooseberry-bush! +But no matter for that. So then you have not heard a word of what is +going on? No, how could you? And you did not miss me, when you first +came into the house?" + +"Forgive us for that, good Hannah: we were in such a hurry to see my +father, we thought of nothing and nobody else." + +"Very natural. Well, Miss Fanny, I've been up at the great house, with +your lady, Mrs. Hungerford. A better lady cannot be! Do you know she +sent for me, on purpose to speak to me; and I know things that you are +not to know yet. But this much I may tell you, there's a carriage coming +here, to carry my master away to his new house; and there's horses, +and side-saddles beside, for you, and you, and you, and I. And Mrs. +Hungerford is coming in her own coach; and young Mr. Folingsby is coming +in his carriage; and Mr. Barlow in Mr. Jos. Crumpe's carriage; and Mr. +Cleghorn, and his pretty daughter, in the gig; and--and--and heaps of +carriages besides! friends of Mrs. Hungerford: and there's such crowds +gathering in the streets; and I'm going on to get breakfast." + +"Oh! my dear father," cried Frank, "make haste, and take off this +badge-coat before they come! We have brought proper clothes for you." + +Frank pulled off the badge-coat, as he called it, and flung it from him, +saying, "My father shall never wear you more." + +Fanny had just tied on her father's clean neckcloth, and Patty had +smoothed his reverend grey locks, when the sound of the carriages was +heard. All that Hannah had told them was true. Mrs. Hungerford had +engaged all her friends, and all who were acquainted with the good +conduct of the Franklands, to attend her on this joyful occasion. + +"Triumphal cavalcades and processions," said she, "are in general +foolish things--mere gratifications of vanity; but this is not in honour +of vanity, but in honour of virtue. We shall do good in the country, by +showing that we respect and admire it, in whatever station it is to be +found. Here is a whole family who have conducted themselves uncommonly +well; who have exerted themselves to relieve their aged father from a +situation to which he was reduced without any fault or imprudence of his +own. Their exertions have succeeded. Let us give them, what they will +value more than money, SYMPATHY." + +Convinced or persuaded by what Mrs. Hungerford said, all her friends +and acquaintance attended her this morning to the almshouse. Crowds +of people followed; and old Frankland was carried in triumph by his +children to his new habitation. + +The happy father lived many years to enjoy the increasing prosperity of +his family. {Footnote: It may be necessary to inform some readers, that +Patty and Fanny were soon united to their lovers; that James, with Mr. +Cleghorn's consent, married Miss Cleghorn; and that Frank did not become +an old bachelor: he married an amiable girl, who was ten times prettier +than Jilting Jessy, and of whom he was twenty times as fond. Those who +wish to know the history of all the wedding-clothes of the parties +may have their curiosity gratified by directing a line of inquiry, +post-paid, to the editor hereof.} + +May every good father have as grateful children! + +_May, 1801_. + + + + + +THE GRATEFUL NEGRO. + + +In the island of Jamaica there lived two planters, whose methods of +managing their slaves were as different as possible. Mr. Jefferies +considered the negroes as an inferior species, incapable of gratitude, +disposed to treachery, and to be roused from their natural indolence +only by force; he treated his slaves, or rather suffered his overseer to +treat them, with the greatest severity. + +Jefferies was not a man of a cruel, but of a thoughtless and extravagant +temper. He was of such a sanguine disposition, that he always calculated +upon having a fine season, and fine crops on his plantation; and +never had the prudence to make allowance for unfortunate accidents: he +required, as he said, from his overseer produce and not excuses. + +Durant, the overseer, did not scruple to use the most cruel and +barbarous methods of forcing the slaves to exertions beyond their +strength. {Footnote: THE NEGRO SLAVES--a fine drama, by Kotzebue. It is +to be hoped that such horrible instances of cruelty are not now to be +found in nature. Bryan Edwards, in his History of Jamaica, says that +most of the planters are humane; but he allows that some facts can be +cited in contradiction of this assertion.} Complaints of his brutality, +from time to time, reached his master's ears; but though Mr. Jefferies +was moved to momentary compassion, he shut his heart against conviction: +he hurried away to the jovial banquet, and drowned all painful +reflections in wine. + +He was this year much in debt; and, therefore, being more than usually +anxious about his crop, he pressed his overseer to exert himself to the +utmost. + +The wretched slaves upon his plantation thought themselves still more +unfortunate when they compared their condition with that of the negroes +on the estate of Mr. Edwards. This gentleman treated his slaves with all +possible humanity and kindness. He wished that there was no such thing +as slavery in the world, but he was convinced, by the arguments of +those who have the best means of obtaining information, that the sudden +emancipation of the negroes would rather increase than diminish their +miseries. His benevolence, therefore, confined itself within the bounds +of reason. He adopted those plans for the amelioration of the state +of the slaves which appeared to him the most likely to succeed without +producing any violent agitation or revolution. {Footnote: History of +the West Indies, from which these ideas are adopted--not stolen.} For +instance, his negroes had reasonable and fixed daily tasks; and when +these were finished, they were permitted to employ their time for their +own advantage or amusement. If they chose to employ themselves longer +for their master, they were paid regular wages for their extra work. +This reward, for as such it was considered, operated most powerfully +upon the slaves. Those who are animated by hope can perform what would +seem impossibilities to those who are under the depressing influence +of fear. The wages which Mr. Edwards promised, he took care to see +punctually paid. + +He had an excellent overseer, of the name of Abraham Bayley, a man of +a mild but steady temper, who was attached not only to his master's +interests but to his virtues; and who, therefore, was more intent upon +seconding his humane views than upon squeezing from the labour of the +negroes the utmost produce. Each negro had, near his cottage, a portion +of land, called his provision-ground; and one day in the week was +allowed for its cultivation. + +It is common in Jamaica for the slaves to have provision-grounds, which +they cultivate for their own advantage; but it too often happens, that, +when a good negro has successfully improved his little spot of ground, +when he has built himself a house, and begins to enjoy the fruits of his +industry, his acquired property is seized upon by the sheriff's officer +for the payment of his master's debts; he is forcibly separated from his +wife and children, dragged to public auction, purchased by a stranger, +and perhaps sent to terminate his miserable existence in the mines of +Mexico; excluded for ever from the light of heaven; and all this without +any crime or imprudence on his part, real or pretended. He is punished +because his master is unfortunate! + +To this barbarous injustice the negroes on Mr. Edwards' plantation +were never exposed. He never exceeded his income; he engaged in no wild +speculations; he contracted no debts; and his slaves, therefore, were +in no danger of being seized by a sheriff's officer: their property was +secured to them by the prudence as well as by the generosity of their +master. + +One morning, as Mr. Edwards was walking in that part of his plantation +which joined to Mr. Jefferies' estate, he thought he heard the voice of +distress at some distance. The lamentations grew louder and louder as +he approached a cottage, which stood upon the borders of Jefferies' +plantation. + +This cottage belonged to a slave of the name of Caesar, the best negro +in Mr. Jefferies' possession. Such had been his industry and exertion, +that, notwithstanding the severe tasks imposed by Durant, the overseer, +Caesar found means to cultivate his provision-ground to a degree of +perfection no where else to be seen on this estate. Mr. Edwards had +often admired this poor fellow's industry, and now hastened to inquire +what misfortune had befallen him. + +When he came to the cottage, he found Caesar standing with his arms +folded, and his eyes fixed upon the ground. A young and beautiful female +negro was weeping bitterly, as she knelt at the feet of Durant, the +overseer, who, regarding her with a sullen aspect, repeated, "He must +go. I tell you, woman, he must go. What signifies all this nonsense?" + +At the sight of Mr. Edwards, the overseer's countenance suddenly +changed, and assumed an air of obsequious civility. The poor woman +retired to the farther corner of the cottage, and continued to weep. +Caesar never moved. "Nothing is the matter, sir," said Durant, "but that +Caesar is going to be sold. That is what the woman is crying for. They +were to be married; but we'll find Clara another husband, I tell her; +and she'll get the better of her grief, you know, sir, as I tell her, in +time." "Never! never!" said Clara. + +"To whom is Caesar going to be sold? and for what sum?" + +"For what can be got for him," replied Durant, laughing; "and to whoever +will buy him. The sheriff's officer is here, who has seized him for +debt, and must make the most of him at market." + +"Poor fellow!" said Mr. Edwards; "and must he leave this cottage which +he has built, and these bananas which he has planted?" + +Caesar now for the first time looked up, and fixing his eyes upon Mr. +Edwards for a moment, advanced with an intrepid rather than an imploring +countenance, and said, "Will you be my master? Will you be her master? +Buy both of us. You shall not repent of it. Caesar will serve you +faithfully." + +On hearing these words Clara sprang forward, and clasping her hands +together, repeated, "Caesar will serve you faithfully." + +Mr. Edwards was moved by their entreaties, but he left them without +declaring his intentions. He went immediately to Mr. Jefferies, whom +he found stretched on a sofa, drinking coffee. As soon as Mr. Edwards +mentioned the occasion of his visit, and expressed his sorrow for +Caesar, Jefferies exclaimed, "Yes, poor devil! I pity him from the +bottom of my soul. But what can I do? I leave all those things to +Durant. He says the sheriff's officer has seized him; and there's an end +of the matter. You know, money must be had. Besides, Caesar is not worse +off than any other slave sold for debt. What signifies talking about the +matter, as if it were something that never happened before! Is not it a +case that occurs every day in Jamaica?" + +"So much the worse," replied Mr. Edwards. + +"The worse for them, to be sure," said Jefferies. "But, after all, they +are slaves, and are used to be treated as such; and they tell me the +negroes are a thousand times happier here, with us, than they ever were +in their own country." + +"Did the negroes tell you so themselves?" + +"No; but people better informed than negroes have told me so; and, +after all, slaves there must be; for indigo, and rum, and sugar, we must +have." + +"Granting it to be physically impossible that the world should exist +without rum, sugar, and indigo, why could they not be produced by +freemen as well as by slaves? If we hired negroes for labourers, instead +of purchasing them for slaves, do you think they would not work as well +as they do now? Does any negro, under the fear of the overseer, work +harder than a Birmingham journeyman, or a Newcastle collier, who toil +for themselves and their families?" + +"Of that I don't pretend to judge. All I know is, that the West India +planters would be ruined if they had no slaves; and I am a West India +planter." + +"So am I; yet I do not think they are the only people whose interests +ought to be considered in this business." + +"Their interests, luckily, are protected by the laws of the land; and +though they are rich men, and white men, and freemen, they have as +good a claim to their rights as the poorest black slave on any of our +plantations." + +"The law, in our case, seems to make the right; and the very reverse +ought to be done--the right should make the law." + +"Fortunately for us planters, we need not enter into such nice +distinctions. You could not, if you would, abolish the trade. Slaves +would be smuggled into the islands." + +"What! if nobody would buy them? You know that you cannot smuggle slaves +into England. The instant a slave touches English ground he becomes +free. Glorious privilege! Why should it not be extended to all her +dominions? If the future importation of slaves into these islands +were forbidden by law, the trade must cease. No man can either sell or +possess slaves without its being known: they cannot be smuggled like +lace or brandy." + +"Well, well!" retorted Jefferies, a little impatiently, "as yet the law +is on our side. I can do nothing in this business, nor can you." + +"Yes, we can do something; we can endeavour to make our negroes as happy +as possible." + +"I leave the management of these people to Durant." + +"That is the very thing of which they complain; forgive me for speaking +to you with the frankness of an old acquaintance." + +"Oh! you can't oblige me more: I love frankness of all things! To tell +you the truth, I have heard complaints of Durant's severity; but I make +it a principle to turn a deaf ear to them, for I know nothing can be +done with these fellows without it. You are partial to negroes; but even +you must allow they are a race of beings naturally inferior to us. You +may in vain think of managing a black as you would a white. Do what you +please for a negro, he will cheat you the first opportunity he finds. +You know what their maxim is: 'God gives black men what white men +forget.'" + +To these common-place desultory observations Mr. Edwards made no reply; +but recurred to poor Caesar, and offered to purchase both him and Clara, +at the highest price the sheriff's officer could obtain for them at +market. Mr. Jefferies, with the utmost politeness to his neighbour, but +with the most perfect indifference to the happiness of those whom +he considered of a different species from himself, acceded to this +proposal. Nothing could be more reasonable, he said; and he was happy to +have it in his power to oblige a gentleman for whom he had such a high +esteem. + +The bargain was quickly concluded with the sheriff's officer; for Mr. +Edwards willingly paid several dollars more than the market price for +the two slaves. When Caesar and Clara heard that they were not to be +separated, their joy and gratitude were expressed with all the ardour +and tenderness peculiar to their different characters. Clara was an +Eboe, Caesar a Koromantyn negro: the Eboes are soft, languishing, and +timid; the Koromantyns are frank, fearless, martial, and heroic. + +Mr. Edwards took his new slaves home with him, desired Bayley, his +overseer, to mark out a provision-ground for Caesar, and to give him a +cottage, which happened at this time to be vacant. + +"Now, my good friend," said he to Caesar, "you may work for yourself, +without fear that what you earn may be taken from you; or that you +should ever be sold, to pay your master's debts. If he does not +understand what I am saying," continued Mr. Edwards, turning to his +overseer, "you will explain it to him." + +Caesar perfectly understood all that Mr. Edwards said; but his feelings +were at this instant so strong that he could not find expression for +his gratitude: he stood like one stupefied! Kindness was new to him; it +overpowered his manly heart; and at hearing the words "my good friend," +the tears gushed from his eyes: tears which no torture could have +extorted! Gratitude swelled in his bosom; and he longed to be alone, +that he might freely yield to his emotions. + +He was glad when the conch-shell sounded to call the negroes to their +daily labour, that he might relieve the sensations of his soul by bodily +exertion, He performed his task in silence; and an inattentive observer +might have thought him sullen. + +In fact, he was impatient for the day to be over, that he might get rid +of a heavy load which weighed upon his mind. + +The cruelties practised by Durant, the overseer of Jefferies' +plantation, had exasperated the slaves under his dominion. + +They were all leagued together in a conspiracy, which was kept +profoundly secret. Their object was to extirpate every white man, woman, +and child, in the island. Their plans were laid with consummate art; and +the negroes were urged to execute them by all the courage of despair. + +The confederacy extended to all the negroes in the island of Jamaica, +excepting those on the plantation of Mr. Edwards. To them no hint of +the dreadful secret had yet been given; their countrymen, knowing the +attachment they felt to their master, dared not trust them with these +projects of vengeance. Hector, the negro who was at the head of the +conspirators, was the particular friend of Caesar, and had imparted +to him all his designs. These friends were bound to each other by the +strongest ties. Their slavery and their sufferings began in the same +hour; they were both brought from their own country in the same ship. +This circumstance alone forms, amongst the negroes, a bond of connexion +not easily to be dissolved. But the friendship of Caesar and Hector +commenced even before they were united by the sympathy of misfortune; +they were both of the same nation, both Koromantyns. In Africa they had +both been accustomed to command; for they had signalized themselves by +superior fortitude and courage. They respected each other for excelling +in all which they had been taught to consider as virtuous; and with them +revenge was a virtue! + +Revenge was the ruling passion of Hector: in Caesar's mind it was rather +a principle instilled by education. The one considered it as a duty, the +other felt it as a pleasure. Hector's sense of injury was acute in the +extreme; he knew not how to forgive. Caesar's sensibility was yet more +alive to kindness than to insult. Hector would sacrifice his life to +extirpate an enemy. Caesar would devote himself for the defence of a +friend; and Caesar now considered a white man as his friend. + +He was now placed in a painful situation. All his former friendships, +all the solemn promises by which he was bound to his companions in +misfortune, forbade him to indulge that delightful feeling of gratitude +and affection, which, for the first time, he experienced for one of +that race of beings whom he had hitherto considered as detestable +tyrants--objects of implacable and just revenge! + +Caesar was most impatient to have an interview with Hector, that he +might communicate his new sentiments, and dissuade him from those +schemes of destruction which he meditated. At midnight, when all the +slaves except himself were asleep, he left his cottage, and went to +Jefferies' plantation, to the hut in which Hector slept. Even in his +dreams Hector breathed vengeance. "Spare none! Sons of Africa, spare +none!" were the words he uttered in his sleep, as Caesar approached the +mat on which he lay. The moon shone full upon him. Caesar contemplated +the countenance of his friend, fierce even in sleep. "Spare none! Oh, +yes! There is one that must be spared. There is one for whose sake all +must be spared." + +He wakened Hector by this exclamation. "Of what were you dreaming?" said +Caesar. + +"Of that which, sleeping or waking, fills my soul--revenge! Why did you +waken me from my dream? It was delightful. The whites were weltering in +their blood! But silence! we may be overheard." + +"No; every one sleeps but ourselves," replied Caesar. "I could not sleep +without speaking to you on--a subject that weighs upon my mind. You have +seen Mr. Edwards?" "Yes. He that is now your master." + +"He that is now my benefactor--my friend!" + +"Friend! Can you call a white man friend?" cried Hector, starting up +with a look of astonishment and indignation. + +"Yes," replied Caesar, with firmness. "And you would speak, ay, and +would feel, as I do, Hector, if you knew this white man. Oh, how unlike +he is to all of his race, that we have ever seen! Do not turn from me +with so much disdain. Hear me with patience, my friend." + +"I cannot," replied Hector, "listen with patience to one who between +the rising and the setting sun can forget all his resolutions, all his +promises; who by a few soft words can be so wrought upon as to forget +all the insults, all the injuries he has received from this accursed +race; and can even call a white man friend!" + +Caesar, unmoved by Hector's anger, continued to speak of Mr. Edwards +with the warmest expressions of gratitude; and finished by declaring +he would sooner forfeit his life than rebel against such a master. He +conjured Hector to desist from executing his designs; but all was in +vain. Hector sat with his elbows fixed upon his knees, leaning his head +upon his hands, in gloomy silence. + +Caesar's mind was divided between love for his friend and gratitude +to his master: the conflict was violent and painful. Gratitude at last +prevailed: he repeated his declaration, that he would rather die than +continue in a conspiracy against his benefactor! + +Hector refused to except him from the general doom. "Betray us if +you will!" cried he. "Betray our secrets to him whom you call your +benefactor! to him whom a few hours have made your friend! To him +sacrifice the friend of your youth, the companion of your better days, +of your better self! Yes, Caesar, deliver me over to the tormentors: I +can endure more than they can inflict. I shall expire without a sigh, +without a groan. Why do you linger here, Caesar? Why do you hesitate? +Hasten this moment to your master; claim your reward for delivering into +his power hundreds of your countrymen! Why do you hesitate? Away! The +coward's friendship can be of use to none. Who can value his gratitude? +Who can fear his revenge?" Hector raised his voice so high, as he +pronounced these words, that he wakened Durant, the overseer, who slept +in the next house. They heard him call out suddenly, to inquire who was +there: and Caesar had but just time to make his escape, before Durant +appeared. He searched Hector's cottage; but finding no one, again +retired to rest. This man's tyranny made him constantly suspicious; he +dreaded that the slaves should combine against him; and he endeavoured +to prevent them, by every threat and every stratagem he could devise, +from conversing with each other. + +They had, however, taken their measures, hitherto, so secretly, that he +had not the slightest idea of the conspiracy which was forming in the +island. Their schemes were not yet ripe for execution; but the appointed +time approached. Hector, when he coolly reflected on what had passed +between him and Caesar, could not help admiring the frankness and +courage with which he had avowed his change of sentiments. By this +avowal, Caesar had in fact exposed his own life to the most imminent +danger, from the vengeance of the conspirators, who might be tempted to +assassinate him who had their lives in his power. Notwithstanding the +contempt with which, in the first moment of passion, he had treated +his friend, he was extremely anxious that he should not break off all +connexion with the conspirators. He knew that Caesar possessed both +intrepidity and eloquence, and that his opposition to their schemes +would perhaps entirely frustrate their whole design. He therefore +determined to use every possible means to bend him to their purposes. + +The enlightened inhabitants of Europe may, perhaps, smile at the +superstitious credulity of the negroes, who regard those ignorant beings +called _Obeah_ people with the most profound respect and dread; who +believe that they hold in their hands the power of good and evil +fortune, of health and sickness, of life and death. The instances which +are related of their power over the minds of their countrymen are so +wonderful, that none but the most unquestionable authority could make us +think them credible. The following passage, from Edwards' History of the +West Indies, is inserted, to give an idea of this strange infatuation: + +"In the year 1760, when a very formidable insurrection of the Koromantyn +or Gold Coast negroes broke out, in the parish of St. Mary, and spread +through almost every other district of the island, an old Koromantyn +negro, the chief instigator and oracle of the insurgents in that parish, +who had administered the fetish, or solemn oath, to the conspirators, +and furnished them with a magical preparation, which was to render them +invulnerable, was fortunately apprehended, convicted, and hung up with +all his feathers and trumperies about him; and his execution struck +the insurgents with a general panic, from which they never afterwards +recovered. The examinations, which were taken at that period, first +opened the eyes of the public to the very dangerous tendency of the +_Obeah_ practices; and gave birth to the law, which was then enacted, +for their suppression and punishment; but neither the terror of this +law, the strict investigation which has since been made after the +professors of _Obi_, nor the many examples of those who, from time +to time, have been hanged or transported, have hitherto produced the +desired effect. A gentleman, on his returning to Jamaica, in the +year 1775, found that a great many of his negroes had died during his +absence; and that, of such as remained alive, at least one half were +debilitated, bloated, and in a very deplorable condition. The mortality +continued after his arrival; and two or three were frequently buried +in one day; others were taken ill, and began to decline under the same +symptoms. Every means were tried, by medicine and the most careful +nursing, to preserve the lives of the feeblest; but in spite of all his +endeavours, this depopulation went on for a twelvemonth longer, with +more or less intermission, and without his being able to ascertain the +real cause, though the _Obeah_ practice was strongly suspected, as +well by himself as by the doctor, and other white persons upon the +plantation; as it was known to have been very common in that part of +the island, and particularly among the negroes of the _Popaw_ or _Popo_ +country. Still he was unable to verify his suspicions; because the +patients constantly denied their having any thing to do with persons of +that order, or any knowledge of them. At length, a negress, who had +been ill for some time, came and informed him, that, feeling it was +impossible for her to live much longer, she thought herself bound in +duty, before she died, to impart a very great secret, and acquaint him +with the true cause of her disorder, in hopes that the disclosure might +prove the means of stopping that mischief which had already swept +away such a number of her fellow slaves. She proceeded to say that her +step-mother, a woman of the _Popo_ country, above eighty years old, but +still hale and active, had _put Obi upon her_, as she had upon those who +had lately died; and that the old woman had practised _Obi_ for as many +years past as she could remember. The other negroes of the plantation +no sooner heard of this impeachment than they ran in a body to their +master, and confirmed the truth, of it.--Upon this he repaired directly, +with six white servants, to the old woman's house; and, forcing open the +door, observed the whole inside of the roof, which was of thatch, and +every crevice of the wall, stuck with the implements of her trade, +consisting of rags, feathers, bones of cats, and a thousand other +articles.--The house was instantly pulled down; and, with the whole of +its contents, committed to the flames, amidst the general acclamations +of all his other negroes.--From the moment of her departure, his negroes +seemed all to be animated with new spirits; and the malady spread no +farther among them. The total of his losses, in the course of about +fifteen years preceding the discovery, and imputable solely to the +_Obeah practice_, he estimates at least, at one hundred negroes." + +Esther, an old Koromantyn negress, had obtained by her skill in +poisonous herbs, and her knowledge of venomous reptiles, a high +reputation amongst her countrymen. She soon taught them to believe +her to be possessed of supernatural powers; and she then worked their +imagination to what pitch and purpose she pleased. + +She was the chief instigator of this intended rebellion. It was she who +had stimulated the revengeful temper of Hector almost to frenzy. She now +promised him that her arts should be exerted over his friend; and it +was not long before he felt their influence. Caesar soon perceived an +extraordinary change in the countenance and manner of his beloved Clara. +A melancholy hung over her, and she refused to impart to him the cause +of her dejection. Caesar was indefatigable in his exertions to cultivate +and embellish the ground near his cottage, in hopes of making it an +agreeable habitation for her; but she seemed to take no interest in any +thing. She would stand beside him immoveable, in a deep reverie; but +when he inquired whether she was ill, she would answer no, and endeavour +to assume an air of gaiety: but this cheerfulness was transient; she +soon relapsed into despondency. At length, she endeavoured to avoid her +lover, as if she feared his farther inquiries. + +Unable to endure this state of suspense, he one evening resolved to +bring her to an explanation. "Clara," said he, "you once loved me: I +have done nothing, have I, to forfeit your confidence?" + +"I once loved you!" said she, raising her languid eyes, and looking at +him with reproachful tenderness; "and can you doubt my constancy? Oh, +Caesar, you little know what is passing in my heart! You are the cause +of my melancholy!" + +She paused and hesitated, as if afraid that she had said too much; but +Caesar urged her with so much vehemence, and so much tenderness, to +open to him her whole soul, that, at last, she could not resist his +eloquence. She reluctantly revealed to him that secret of which she +could not think without horror. She informed him, that unless he +complied with what was required of him by the sorceress Esther, he was +devoted to die. What it was that Esther required of him, Clara knew not: +she knew nothing of the conspiracy. The timidity of her character was +ill suited to such a project; and every thing relating to it had been +concealed from her with the utmost care. + +When she explained to Caesar the cause of her dejection, his natural +courage resisted these superstitious fears; and he endeavoured to raise +Clara's spirits. He endeavoured in vain: she fell at his feet; and with +tears, and the most tender supplications, conjured him to avert the +wrath of the sorceress, by obeying her commands, whatever they might be! + +"Clara," replied he, "you know not what you ask!" + +"I ask you to save your life!" said she. "I ask you, for my sake, to +save your life, while yet it is in your power!" + +"But would you, to save my life, Clara, make me the worst of criminals? +Would you make me the murderer of my benefactor?" + +Clara started with horror. + +"Do you recollect the day, the moment, when we were on the point of +being separated for ever, Clara? Do you remember the white man's coming +to my cottage? Do you remember his look of benevolence--his voice of +compassion? Do you remember his generosity? Oh! Clara, would you make me +the murderer of this man?" + +"Heaven forbid!" said Clara. "This cannot be the will of the sorceress!" + +"It is," said Caesar. "But she shall not succeed, even though she speaks +with the voice of Clara. Urge me no further; my resolution is fixed. +I should be unworthy of your love if I were capable of treachery and +ingratitude." + +"But is there no means of averting the wrath of Esther?" said Clara. +"Your life--" + +"Think, first, of my honour," interrupted Caesar. "Your fears deprive +you of reason. Return to this sorceress, and tell her that I dread +not her wrath. My hands shall never be imbrued in the blood of my +benefactor. Clara! can you forget his look when he told us that we +should never more be separated?" + +"It went to my heart," said Clara, bursting into tears "Cruel, cruel +Esther! Why do you command us to destroy such a generous master?" + +The conch sounded to summon the negroes to their morning's work. It +happened this day, that Mr. Edwards, who was continually intent upon +increasing the comforts and happiness of his slaves, sent his carpenter, +while Caesar was absent, to fit up the inside of his cottage; and when +Caesar returned from work, he found his master pruning the branches of +a tamarind tree that over-hung the thatch. "How comes it, Caesar," said +he, "that you have not pruned these branches?" + +Caesar had no knife. "Here is mine for you," said Mr. Edwards. "It is +very sharp," added he, smiling; "but I am not one of those masters who +are afraid to trust their negroes with sharp knives." + +These words were spoken with perfect simplicity: Mr. Edwards had no +suspicion, at this time, of what was passing in the negro's mind. Caesar +received the knife without uttering a syllable; but no sooner was +Mr. Edwards out of sight than he knelt down, and, in a transport of +gratitude, swore that, with this knife, he would stab himself to the +heart sooner than betray his master! + +The principle of gratitude conquered every other sensation. The mind of +Caesar was not insensible to the charms of freedom: he knew the negro +conspirators had so taken their measures that there was the greatest +probability of their success. His heart beat high at the idea of +recovering his liberty: but he was not to be seduced from his duty, +not even by this delightful hope; nor was he to be intimidated by the +dreadful certainty that his former friends and countrymen, considering +him as a deserter from their cause, would become his bitterest enemies. +The loss of Hector's esteem and affection was deeply felt by Caesar. +Since the night that the decisive conversation relative to Mr. Edwards +passed, Hector and he had never exchanged a syllable. + +This visit proved the cause of much suffering to Hector, and to several +of the slaves on Jefferies' plantation. We mentioned that Durant had +been awakened by the raised voice of Hector. Though he could not find +any one in the cottage, yet his suspicions were not dissipated; and +an accident nearly brought the whole conspiracy to light. Durant had +ordered one of the negroes to watch a boiler of sugar: the slave was +overcome by the heat, and fainted. He had scarcely recovered his senses +when the overseer came up, and found that the sugar had fermented, by +having remained a few minutes too long in the boiler. He flew into a +violent passion, and ordered that the negro should receive fifty lashes. +His victim bore them without uttering a groan; but, when his punishment +was over, and when he thought the overseer was gone, he exclaimed, "It +will soon be our turn!" + +Durant was not out of hearing. He turned suddenly, and observed that +the negro looked at Hector when he pronounced these words, and this +confirmed the suspicion that Hector was carrying on some conspiracy. He +immediately had recourse to that brutality which he considered as the +only means of governing black men: Hector and three other negroes were +lashed unmercifully; but no confessions could be extorted. + +Mr. Jefferies might perhaps have forbidden such violence to be used, +if he had not been at the time carousing with a party of jovial West +Indians, who thought of nothing but indulging their appetites in all the +luxuries that art and nature could supply. The sufferings which had been +endured by many of the wretched negroes to furnish out this magnificent +entertainment were never once thought of by these selfish epicures. +Yet so false are the general estimates of character, that all these +gentlemen passed for men of great feeling and generosity! The human +mind, in certain situations, becomes so accustomed to ideas of tyranny +and cruelty, that they no longer appear extraordinary or detestable: +they rather seem part of the necessary and immutable order of things. + +Mr. Jefferies was stopped, as he passed from his dining-room into his +drawing-room, by a little negro child, of about five years old, who was +crying bitterly. He was the son of one of the slaves who were at +this moment under the torturer's hand. "Poor little devil!" said Mr. +Jefferies, who was more than half intoxicated. "Take him away; and tell +Durant, some of ye, to pardon his father--if he can." + +The child ran, eagerly, to announce his father's pardon; but he soon +returned, crying more violently than before. Durant would not hear the +boy; and it was now no longer possible to appeal to Mr. Jefferies, +for he was in the midst of an assembly of fair ladies, and no servant +belonging to the house dared to interrupt the festivities of the +evening. The three men, who were so severely flogged to extort from +them confessions, were perfectly innocent: they knew nothing of the +confederacy; but the rebels seized the moment when their minds were +exasperated by this cruelty and injustice, and they easily persuaded +them to join the league. The hope of revenging themselves upon the +overseer was a motive sufficient to make them brave death in any shape. + +Another incident, which happened a few days before the time destined +for the revolt of the slaves, determined numbers who had been undecided. +Mrs. Jefferies was a languid beauty, or rather a languid fine lady who +had been a beauty, and who spent all that part of the day which was not +devoted to the pleasures of the table, or to reclining on a couch, in +dress. She was one day extended on a sofa, fanned by four slaves, two at +her head and two at her feet, when news was brought that a large chest, +directed to her, was just arrived from London. + +This chest contained various articles of dress of the newest fashions. +The Jamaica ladies carry their ideas of magnificence to a high pitch: +they willingly give a hundred guineas for a gown, which they perhaps +wear but once or twice. In the elegance and variety of her ornaments, +Mrs. Jefferies was not exceeded by any lady in the island, except by +one who had lately received a cargo from England. She now expected to +outshine her competitor, and desired that the chest should be unpacked +in her presence. + +In taking out one of the gowns, it caught on a nail in the lid, and was +torn. The lady, roused from her natural indolence by this disappointment +to her vanity, instantly ordered that the unfortunate female slave +should be severely chastised. The woman was the wife of Hector; and this +fresh injury worked up his temper, naturally vindictive, to the highest +point. He ardently longed for the moment when he might satiate his +vengeance. + +The plan the negroes had laid was to set fire to the canes, at one and +the same time, on every plantation; and when the white inhabitants of +the island should run to put out the fire, the blacks were to seize +this moment of confusion and consternation to fall upon them, and make +a general massacre. The time when this scheme was to be carried into +execution was not known to Caesar; for the conspirators had changed +their day, as soon as Hector told them that his friend was no longer +one of the confederacy. They dreaded he should betray them; and it was +determined that he and Clara should both be destroyed, unless they could +be prevailed upon to join the conspiracy. + +Hector wished to save his friend, but the desire of vengeance overcame +every other feeling. He resolved, however, to make an attempt, for the +last time, to change Caesar's resolution. + +For this purpose, Esther was the person he employed: she was to work +upon his mind by means of Clara. On returning to her cottage one night, +she found suspended from the thatch one of those strange fantastic +charms with which the Indian sorceresses terrify those whom they have +proscribed. Clara, unable to conquer her terror, repaired again to +Esther, who received her first in mysterious silence; but, after she had +implored her forgiveness for the past, and with all possible humility +conjured her to grant her future protection, the sorceress deigned to +speak. Her commands were that Clara should prevail upon her lover to +meet her, on this awful spot, the ensuing night. + +Little suspecting what was going forward on the plantation of Jefferies, +Mr. Edwards that evening gave his slaves a holiday. He and his family +came out at sunset, when the fresh breeze had sprung up, and seated +themselves under a spreading palm-tree, to enjoy the pleasing spectacle +of this negro festival. His negroes were all well clad, and in the +gayest colours, and their merry countenances suited the gaiety of their +dress. While some were dancing, and some playing on the tambourine, +others appeared amongst the distant trees, bringing baskets of +avocado pears, grapes, and pine-apples, the produce of their own +provision-grounds; and others were employed in spreading their clean +trenchers, or the calabashes, which served for plates and dishes. The +negroes continued to dance and divert themselves till late in, the +evening. When they separated and retired to rest, Caesar, recollecting +his promise to Clara, repaired secretly to the habitation of this +sorceress. It was situated in the recess of a thick wood. When he +arrived there, he found the door fastened; and he was obliged to wait +some time before it was opened by Esther. + +The first object he beheld was his beloved Clara, stretched on the +ground, apparently a corpse! The sorceress had thrown her into a trance +by a preparation of deadly nightshade. The hag burst into an infernal +laugh, when she beheld the despair that was painted in Caesar's +countenance. "Wretch!" cried she, "you have defied my power: behold its +victim!" + +Caesar, in a transport of rage, seized her by the throat: but his fury +was soon checked. + +"Destroy me," said the fiend, "and you destroy your Clara. She is not +dead: but she lies in the sleep of death, into which she has been thrown +by magic art, and from which no power but mine can restore her to the +light of life. Yes! look at her, pale and motionless! Never will she +rise from the earth, unless, within one hour, you obey my commands. I +have administered to Hector and his companions the solemn fetish oath, +at the sound of which every negro in Africa trembles! You know my +object." + +"Fiend, I do!" replied Caesar, eyeing her sternly; "but, while I have +life, it shall never be accomplished." + +"Look yonder!" cried she, pointing to the moon; "in a few minutes that +moon will set: at that hour Hector and his friends will appear. They +come armed--armed with weapons which I shall steep in poison for their +enemies. Themselves I will render invulnerable. Look again!" continued +she; "if my dim eyes mistake not, yonder they come. Rash man, you die if +they cross my threshold." + +"I wish for death," said Caesar. "Clara is dead!" + +"But you can restore her to life by a single word." Caesar, at this +moment, seemed to hesitate. "Consider! Your heroism is vain," continued +Esther. "You will have the knives of fifty of the conspirators in your +bosom, if you do not join them; and, after you have fallen, the death +of your master is inevitable. Here is the bowl of poison, in which the +negro knives are to be steeped. Your friends, your former friends, your +countrymen, will be in arms in a few minutes; and they will bear down +every thing before them--Victory, Wealth, Freedom, and Revenge, will be +theirs." + +Caesar appeared to be more and more agitated. His eyes were fixed upon +Clara. The conflict in his mind was violent: but his sense of gratitude +and duty could not be shaken by hope, fear, or ambition; nor could it +be vanquished by love. He determined, however, to appear to yield. As +if struck with panic, at the approach of the confederate negroes, +he suddenly turned to the sorceress, and said, in a tone of feigned +submission, "It is in vain to struggle with fate. Let my knife, too, be +dipped in your magic poison." + +The sorceress clapped her hands with infernal joy in her countenance. +She bade him instantly give her his knife, that she might plunge it +to the hilt in the bowl of poison, to which she turned with savage +impatience. His knife was left in his cottage, and, under pretence of +going in search of it, he escaped. Esther promised to prepare Hector and +all his companions to receive him with their ancient cordiality on his +return. Caesar ran with the utmost speed along a bye-path out of the +wood, met none of the rebels, reached his master's house, scaled +the wall of his bedchamber, got in at the window, and wakened him, +exclaiming, "Arm--arm yourself, my dear master! Arm all your slaves! +They will fight for you, and die for you; as I will the first. The +Koromantyn yell of war will be heard in Jefferies plantation this night! +Arm--arm yourself, my dear master, and let us surround the rebel leaders +while it is yet time. I will lead you to the place where they are all +assembled, on condition that their chief, who is my friend, shall be +pardoned." + +Mr. Edwards armed himself and the negroes on his plantation, as well as +the whites; they were all equally attached to him. He followed Caesar +into the recesses of the wood. + +They proceeded with all possible rapidity, but in perfect silence, till +they reached Esther's habitation: which they surrounded completely, +before they were perceived by the conspirators. + +Mr. Edwards looked through a hole in the wall; and, by the blue flame +of a cauldron, over which the sorceress was stretching her shrivelled +hands, he saw Hector and five stout negroes standing, intent upon her +incantations. These negroes held their knives in their hands, ready to +dip them into the bowl of poison. It was proposed, by one of the whites, +to set fire immediately to the hut, and thus to force the rebels to +surrender. The advice was followed; but Mr. Edwards charged his people +to spare their prisoners. The moment the rebels saw that the thatch +of the hut was in flames, they set up the Koromantyn yell of war, and +rushed out with frantic desperation. + +"Yield! You are pardoned, Hector," cried Mr. Edwards, in a loud voice. + +"You are pardoned, my friend!" repeated Cæsar. + +Hector, incapable at this instant of listening to anything but revenge, +sprang forwards, and plunged his knife into the bosom of Cæsar. The +faithful servant staggered back a few paces: his master caught him in +his arms. "I die content," said he. "Bury me with Clara." + +He swooned from loss of blood as they were carrying him home; but when +his wound was examined, it was found not to be mortal. As he recovered +from his swoon, he stared wildly round him, trying to recollect where +he was, and what had happened. He thought that he was still in a dream, +when he saw his beloved Clara standing beside him. The opiate, which the +pretended sorceress had administered to her, had ceased to operate; she +wakened from her trance just at the time the Koromantyn yell commenced. +Cæsar's joy!--we must leave that to the imagination. + +In the mean time, what became of the rebel negroes, and Mr. Edwards? + +The taking the chief conspirators prisoners did not prevent the negroes +upon Jefferies' plantation from insurrection. The moment they heard the +war-whoop, the signal agreed upon, they rose in a body; and, before +they could be prevented, either by the whites on the estate, or by Mr. +Edwards' adherents, they had set fire to the overseer's house, and to +the canes. The overseer was the principal object of their vengeance--he +died in tortures, inflicted by the hands of those who had suffered most +by his cruelties. Mr. Edwards, however, quelled the insurgents before +rebellion spread to any other estates in the island. The influence of +his character, and the effect of his eloquence upon the minds of the +people, were astonishing: nothing but his interference could have +prevented the total destruction of Mr. Jefferies and his family, who, +as it was computed, lost this night upwards of fifty thousand pounds. +He was never afterwards able to recover his losses, or to shake off his +constant fear of a fresh insurrection among his slaves. At length, he +and his lady returned to England, where they were obliged to live in +obscurity and indigence. They had no consolation in their misfortunes +but that of railing at the treachery of the whole race of slaves. Our +readers, we hope, will think that at least one exception may be made, in +favour of THE GRATEFUL NEGRO. {Empty page} + + + + +TO-MORROW + + +"Oh this detestable _To-morrow!_--a thing always expected, yet never +found."--JOHNSON. + + +CHAPTER I. + +It has long been my intention to write my own history, and I am +determined to begin it to-day; for half the good intentions of my life +have been frustrated by my unfortunate habit of putting things off till +to-morrow. + +When I was a young man, I used to be told that this was my only fault; I +believed it, and my vanity or laziness persuaded me that this fault was +but small, and that I should easily cure myself of it in time. + +That time, however, has not yet arrived, and at my advanced age I +must give up all thoughts of amendment, hoping, however, that sincere +repentance may stand instead of reformation. + +My father was an eminent London bookseller: he happened to be looking +over a new biographical dictionary on the day when I was brought into +the world; and at the moment when my birth was announced to him, he had +his finger upon the name _Basil_; he read aloud--"_Basil_, canonized +bishop of Caesarea, a theological, controversial, and moral writer." + +"My boy," continued my father, "shall be named after this great man, +and I hope and believe that I shall live to see him either a celebrated +theological, controversial, and moral author, or a bishop. I am not so +sanguine as to expect that he should be both these good things." + +I was christened Basil according to my father's wishes, and his hopes of +my future celebrity and fortune were confirmed, during my childhood, by +instances of wit and memory, which were not perhaps greater than what +could have been found in my little contemporaries, but which appeared to +the vanity of parental fondness extraordinary, if not supernatural. +My father declared that it would be a sin not to give me a learned +education, and he went even beyond his means to procure for me all the +advantages of the best modes of instruction. I was stimulated, even when +a boy, by the idea that I should become a great man, and my masters +had for some time reason to be satisfied; but what they called the +_quickness of my parts_ continually retarded my progress. The facility +with which I learned my lessons encouraged me to put off learning them +till the last moment; and this habit of procrastinating, which was begun +in presumption, ended in disgrace. + +When I was sent to a public school, I found among my companions so many +temptations to idleness, that notwithstanding the quickness of my parts, +I was generally flogged twice a week. As I grew older, my reason might +perhaps have taught me to correct myself, but my vanity was excited to +persist in idleness by certain imprudent sayings or whisperings of my +father. + +When I came home from school at the holidays, and when complaints were +preferred against me in letters from my school-master, my father, even +while he affected to scold me for my negligence, flattered me in +the most dangerous manner by adding--_aside_ to some friend of the +family--"My Basil is a strange fellow!--can do any thing he pleases--all +his masters say so--but he is a sad idle dog--all your men of genius are +so--puts off business always to the last moment--all your men of genius +do so. For instance, there is ----, whose third edition of odes I have +just published--what an idle dog he is! Yet who makes such a noise in +the world as he does?--put every thing off till _to-morrow_, like my +Basil--but can do more at the last moment than any man in England--that +is, if the fit seizes him--for he does nothing but by fits--has no +application--none--says it would 'petrify him to a dunce.' I never knew +a man of genius who was not an idle dog." + +Not a syllable of such speeches was lost upon me: the idea of a man +of genius and of an idle dog were soon so firmly joined together in my +imagination, that it was impossible to separate them, either by my own +reason or by that of my preceptors. I gloried in the very habits which +my tutors laboured to correct; and I never was seriously mortified by +the consequences of my own folly till, at a public examination at Eton, +I lost a premium by putting off till it was too late the finishing a +copy of verses. The lines which I had written were said by all my young +and old friends to be beautiful. The prize was gained by one Johnson, a +heavy lad, of no sort of genius, but of great perseverance. His verses +were finished, however, at the stated time. + + "For dulness ever must be regular!" + +My fragment, charming as it was, was useless, except to hand about +afterward among my friends, to prove what I might have done if I had +thought it worth while. + +My father was extremely vexed by my missing an opportunity of +distinguishing myself at this public exhibition, especially as the king +had honoured the assembly with his presence; and as those who had gained +premiums were presented to his majesty, it was supposed that their being +thus early _marked_ as lads of talents would be highly advantageous to +their advancement in life. All this my father felt, and, blaming himself +for having encouraged me in _the indolence of genius_, he determined to +counteract his former imprudence, and was resolved, he said, to cure me +at once of my habit of procrastination. For this purpose he took down +from his shelves Young's Night Thoughts; from which he remembered a +line, which has become a _stock_ line among writing-masters' copies: + + "_Procrastination_ is the thief of time." + +He hunted the book for the words _Procrastination, Time, To-day,_ and +_To-morrow_, and made an extract of seven long pages on the dangers of +delay. + +"Now, my dear Basil," said he, "this is what will cure you for life, +and this you must get perfectly by heart, before I give you one shilling +more pocket-money." + +The motive was all powerful, and with pains, iteration, and curses, I +fixed the heterogeneous quotations so well in my memory that some of +them have remained there to this day. For instance-- + + "_Time_ destroyed + Is _suicide_, where more than blood is spilt. + _Time_ flies, death urges, knells call, Heav'n invites, + Hell threatens. + + We push _Time_ from us, and we wish him back. + + Man flies from _Time_, and Time from man too soon; + In sad divorce this double flight must end; + And then where are we? + + Be wise _to-day_, 'tis madness to defer, &c. + Next day the fatal precedent will plead, &c. + + Lorenzo--O for _yesterdays_ to come! + _To-day_ is _yesterday_ return'd; return'd, + Full powered to cancel, expiate, raise, adorn, + And reinstate us on the rock of peace. + Let it not share its predecessor's fate, + Nor, like its elder sisters, die a fool. + + Where shall I find him? Angels! tell me where: + _You_ know him; he is near you; point him out; + Shall I see glories beaming from his brow? + Or trace his footsteps by the rising flow'rs? + Your golden wings _now_ hov'ring o'er him shed + Protection: now are wav'ring in applause + To that blest son of foresight! Lord of fate! + That awful independent on _to-morrow!_ + Whose _work is done_; who triumphs in the past; + Whose _yesterdays_ look backward with a smile." + +I spare you the rest of my task, and I earnestly hope, my dear reader, +that these citations may have a better effect upon you than they +had upon me. With shame I confess, that even with the addition of +Shakspeare's eloquent + + "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow," &c. + +which I learnt by heart gratis, not a bit the better was I for all this +poetical morality. What I wanted was, not conviction of my folly, but +resolution to amend. + +When I say that I was not a bit the better for these documentings, I +must not omit to observe to you that I was very near four hundred pounds +a year the better for them. + +Being obliged to learn so much of Young's Night Thoughts by rote, I was +rather disgusted, and my attention was roused to criticise the lines +which had been forced upon my admiration. Afterward, when I went +to college, I delighted to maintain, in opposition to some of my +companions, who were enthusiastic admirers of Young, that he was no +poet. The more I was ridiculed, the more I persisted. I talked my self +into notice; I became acquainted with several of the literary men at +Cambridge; I wrote in defence of my opinion, or, as some called it, my +heresy. I maintained that what all the world had mistaken for sublimity +was bombast; that the Night Thoughts were fuller of witty conceits than +of poetical images: I drew a parallel between Young and Cowley; and +I finished by pronouncing Young to be the Cowley of the eighteenth +century. To do myself justice, there was much ingenuity and some truth +in my essay, but it was the declamation of a partisan, who can think +only on one side of a question, and who, in the heat of controversy, +says more than he thinks, and more than he originally intended. + +It is often the fortune of literary partisans to obtain a share of +temporary celebrity far beyond their deserts, especially if they attack +any writer of established reputation. The success of my essay exceeded +my most sanguine expectations, and I began to think that my father was +right; that I was born to be a great genius, and a great man. The +notice taken of me by a learned prelate, who piqued himself upon being +considered as the patron of young men of talents, confirmed me at once +in my self-conceit and my hopes of preferment. + +I mentioned to you that my father, in honour of my namesake Basil, +bishop of Caesarea, and to verify his own _presentiments_, had educated +me for the Church. My present patron, who seemed to like me the better +the oftener I dined with him, gave me reason to hope that he would +provide for me handsomely. I was not yet ordained, when a living of four +hundred per annum fell into his gift: he held it over for some months, +as it was thought, on purpose for me. + +In the mean time he employed me to write a charity sermon for him, which +he was to preach, as it was expected, to a crowded congregation. None +but those who are themselves slaves to the habit of procrastination will +believe that I could be so foolish as to put off writing this sermon +till the Saturday evening before it was wanted. Some of my young +companions came unexpectedly to sup with me; we sat late: in the vanity +of a young author, who glories in the rapidity of composition, I said +to myself that I could finish my sermon in an hour's notice. But, alas! +when my companions at length departed, they left me in no condition to +complete a sermon. I fell fast asleep, and was wakened in the morning +by the bishop's servant. The dismay I felt is indescribable; I started +up--it was nine o'clock: I began to write; but my hand and my mind +trembled, and my ideas were in such confusion, that I could not, great +genius as I was, produce a beginning sentence in a quarter of an hour. + +I kept the bishop's servant forty minutes by his watch; wrote and +re-wrote two pages, and walked up and down the room; tore my two pages; +and at last, when the footman said he could wait no longer, was obliged +to let him go with an awkward note, pleading sudden sickness for my +apology. It was true that I was sufficiently sick at the time when I +penned this note: my head ached terribly; and I kept my room, reflecting +upon my own folly, the whole of the day. I foresaw the consequences: the +living was given away by my patron the next morning, and all hopes of +future favour were absolutely at an end. + +My father overwhelmed me with reproaches; and I might perhaps have +been reformed by this disappointment, but an unexpected piece of good +fortune, or what I then thought good fortune, was my ruin. + +Among the multitude of my college-friends was a young gentleman, whose +father was just appointed to go out upon the _famous_ embassy to China; +he came to our shop to buy Du Halde; and upon hearing me express an +enthusiastic desire to visit China, he undertook to apply to his father +to take me in the ambassador's suite. His representation of me as a +young man of talents and literature, and the view of some botanical +drawings, which I executed upon the spur of the occasion with tolerable +neatness, procured me the favour which I so ardently desired. + +My father objected to my making this voyage. He was vexed to see me quit +the profession for which I had been educated; and he could not, without +a severe struggle, relinquish his hopes of seeing me a bishop. But I +argued that, as I had not yet been ordained, there could be no disgrace +or impropriety in my avoiding a mode of life which was not suited to +my _genius_. This word genius had now, as upon all other occasions, a +mighty effect upon my father; and, observing this, I declared farther, +in a high tone of voice, that from the experience I had already had, +I was perfectly certain that the drudgery of sermon-writing would +_paralyze my genius_; and that, to expand and invigorate my intellectual +powers, it was absolutely necessary I should, to use a great author's +expression, "view in foreign countries varied modes of existence." + +My father's hopes that one half of his prophecy would at least be +accomplished, and that I should become a great author, revived; and he +consented to my going to China, upon condition that I should promise to +write a history of my voyage and journey, in two volumes octavo, or one +quarto, with a folio of plates. The promise was readily made; for in +the plenitude of confidence in my own powers, octavos and quartos shrunk +before me, and a folio appeared too small for the various information, +and the useful reflections, which a voyage to China must supply. + +Full of expectations and projects, I talked from morning till night +of my journey: but notwithstanding my father's hourly remonstrances, +I deferred my preparations till the last week. Then all was hurry and +confusion; tailors and sempstresses, portmanteaus and trunks, portfolios +and drawing-boxes, water-colours, crayons, and note-books, wet from the +stationer's, crowded my room. I had a dozen small note-books, and a +huge commonplace-book, which was to be divided and kept in the manner +recommended by the judicious and immortal Locke. + +In the midst of the last day's bustle, I sat down at the corner of a +table with compass, ruler, and red ink, to divide and rule my best of +all possible commonplace-books; but the red ink was too thin, and the +paper was not well sized, and it blotted continually, because I was +obliged to turn over the pages rapidly; and ink will not dry, nor +blotting-paper suck it up, more quickly for _a genius_ than for any +other man. Besides, my attention was much distracted by the fear that +the sempstress would not send home my dozen of new shirts, and that a +vile _procrastinating_ boot-maker would never come with my boots. Every +rap at the door I started up to inquire whether _that_ was the shirts, +or the boots: thrice I overturned the red, and twice the black ink +bottles by these starts; and the execrations which I bestowed upon those +tradespeople, who will put off every thing to the last moment, were +innumerable. I had orders to set off in the mail-coach for Portsmouth, +to join the rest of the ambassador's suite. + +The provoking watchman cried "past eleven o'clock" before I had +half-finished ruling my commonplace-book; my shirts and my boots were +not come: the mail-coach, as you may guess, set off without me. My +poor father was in a terrible tremor, and walked from room to room, +reproaching me and himself; but I persisted in repeating that Lord +M. would not set out the day he had intended: that nobody, since the +creation of the world, ever set out upon a long journey the day he first +appointed: besides, there were at least a hundred chances in my favour +that his lordship would break down on his way to Portsmouth; that the +wind would not be fair when he arrived there; that half the people in +his suite would not be more punctual than myself, &c. + +By these arguments, or by mere dint of assertion, I quieted my father's +apprehensions and my own, and we agreed that, as it was now impossible +to go to-day, it was best to stay till to-morrow. + +Upon my arrival at Portsmouth, the first thing I heard was that the Lion +and Hindostan had sailed some hours before, with the embassy for China. +Despair deprived me of utterance. A charitable waiter at the inn, +however, seeing my consternation and absolute inability to think or +act for myself, ran to make farther inquiries, and brought me back +the joyful tidings that the Jackal brig, which was to carry out the +remainder of the ambassador's suite, was not yet under weigh; that a +gentleman, who was to go in the Jackal, had dined at an hotel in the +next street, and that he had gone to the water-side but ten minutes ago. + +I hurried after him: the boat was gone. I paid another exorbitantly to +take me and my goods to the brig, and reached the Jackal just as she was +weighing anchor. Bad education for me! The moment I felt myself safe on +board, having recovered breath to speak, I exclaimed, "Here am I, safe +and sound! just as well as if I had been here yesterday; better indeed. +Oh, after this, I shall always trust to my own good fortune! I knew I +should not be too late." When I came to reflect coolly, however, I was +rather sorry that I had missed my passage in the Lion, with my friend +and protector, and with most of the learned and ingenious men of the +ambassador's suite, to whom I had been introduced, and who had seemed +favourably disposed towards me. All the advantage I might have derived +from their conversation, during this long voyage, was lost by my own +negligence. The Jackal lost company of the Lion and Hindostan in the +Channel. As my friends afterwards told me, they waited for us five days +in Praya Bay; but as no Jackal appeared, they sailed again without her. +At length, to our great joy, we descried on the beach of Sumatra a board +nailed to a post, which our friends had set up there, with a written +notice to inform us that the Lion and Hindostan had touched on this +shore on such a day, and to point out to us the course that we should +keep in order to join them. + +At the sight of this writing my spirits revived: the wind favoured us; +but, alas! in passing the Straits of Banka, we were damaged so that we +were obliged to return to port to refit, and to take in fresh provision. +Not a soul on board but wished it had been their fate to have had a +berth in the other ships; and I more loudly than any one else expressed +this wish twenty times a-day. When my companions heard that I was to +have sailed in the ambassador's ship, if I had been time enough at +Spithead, some pitied and some rallied me: but most said I deserved +to be punished for my negligence. At length we joined the Lion and +Hindostan at North Island. Our friends had quite given up all hopes of +ever seeing us again, and had actually bought at Batavia a French brig, +to supply the place of the Jackal. To my great satisfaction, I was now +received on board the Lion, and had an opportunity of conversing with +the men of literature and science, from whom I had been so unluckily +separated during the former part of the voyage. Their conversation soon +revived and increased my regret, when they told me of all that I had +missed seeing at the various places where they had touched: they talked +to me with provoking fluency of the culture of manioc; of the root of +cassada, of which tapioca is made; of the shrub called the cactus, +on which the cochineal insect swarms and feeds; and of the +ipecacuanha-plant; all which they had seen at Rio Janeiro, besides eight +paintings representing the manner in which the diamond and gold mines +in the Brazils are worked. Indeed, upon cross-examination, I found that +these pictures were miserably executed, and scarcely worth seeing. + +I regretted more the fine pine-apples, which my companions assured me +were in such abundance that they cleaned their swords in them, as being +the cheapest acid that could be there procured. But, far beyond these +vulgar objects of curiosity, I regretted not having learned any thing +concerning the celebrated upas-tree. I was persuaded that, if I had been +at Batavia, I should have extracted some information more precise than +these gentlemen obtained from the keepers of the medical garden. + +I confess that my mortification at this disappointment did not arise +solely from the pure love of natural history: the upas-tree would +have made a conspicuous figure in my quarto volume. I consoled myself, +however, by the determination to omit nothing that the vast empire +of China could afford to render my work entertaining, instructive, +interesting, and sublime. I anticipated the pride with which I should +receive the compliments of my friends and the public upon my _valuable +and incomparable work_; I anticipated the pleasure with which my father +would exult in the celebrity of his son, and in the accomplishment of +his own prophecies; and, with these thoughts full in my mind, we landed +at Mettow, in China. + +I sat up late at night writing a sketch of my preface and notes for the +heads of chapters. I was tired, fell into a profound sleep, dreamed I +was teaching the emperor of China to pronounce 'chrononhotonthologos,' +and in the morning was wakened by the sound of the gong; the signal that +the accommodation junks were ready to sail with the embassy to Pekin. +I hurried on my clothes, and was in the junk before the gong had done +beating. I gloried in my celerity; but before we had gone two leagues up +the country, I found reason to repent of my precipitation: I wanted to +note down my first impressions on entering the Chinese territories; but, +alas! I felt in vain in my pocket for my pencil and note-book: I had +left them both behind me on my bed. Not only one note-book, but my +whole dozen; which, on leaving London, I had stuffed into a bag with +my night-gown. Bag, night-gown, note-books, all were forgotten! However +trifling it may appear, this loss of the little note-books was of +material consequence. To be sure, it was easy to procure paper and make +others; but, because it was so easy, it was delayed from hour to hour, +and from day to day; and I went on writing my most important remarks +on scraps of paper, which were always to be copied to-morrow into a +note-book that was then to be made. + +We arrived at Pekin, and were magnificently lodged in a palace in that +city; but here we were so strictly guarded, that we could not stir +beyond the courts of the palace. You will say that in this confinement +I had leisure sufficient to make a note-book, and to copy my notes: so +I had, and it was my firm intention so to have done; but I put it off +because I thought it would take up but a few hours' time, and it could +be done any day. Besides, the weather was so excessively hot, that for +the first week, I could do nothing but unbutton my waistcoat and drink +sherbet. Visits of ceremony from mandarins took up much of our time: +they spoke and moved like machines; and it was with much difficulty +that our interpreter made us understand the meaning of their formal +sentences, which were seldom worth the trouble of deciphering. We saw +them fan themselves, drink tea, eat sweetmeats and rice, and chew betel; +but it was scarcely worth while to come all the way from Europe to see +this, especially as any common Chinese paper or screen would give an +adequate idea of these figures in their accustomed attitudes. + +I spent another week in railing at these abominably stupid or +unnecessarily cautious creatures of ceremony, and made memorandums for +an eloquent chapter in my work. + +One morning we were agreeably surprised by a visit from a mandarin of a +very different description. We were astonished to hear a person in the +habit of a Chinese, and bearing the title of a mandarin, address us in +French: he informed us that he was originally a French Jesuit, and came +over to China with several missionaries from Paris; but as they were +prohibited from promulgating their doctrines in this country, most +of them had returned to France; a few remained, assumed the dress and +manners of the country, and had been elevated to the rank of mandarins +as a reward for their learning. The conversation of our Chinese Jesuit +was extremely entertaining and instructive; he was delighted to hear +news from Europe, and we were eager to obtain from him information +respecting China. I paid particular attention to him, and I was so +fortunate as to win his confidence, as far as the confidence of a Jesuit +can be won. He came frequently to visit me, and did me the honour to +spend some hours in my apartment. + +As he made it understood that these were literary visits, and as his +character for propriety was well established with the government, he +excited no suspicion, and we spent our time most delightfully between +books and conversation. He gave me, by his anecdotes and descriptions, +an insight into the characters and domestic lives of the inhabitants +of Pekin, which I could not otherwise have obtained: his talent for +description was admirable, and his characters were so new to me that +I was in continual ecstasy. I called him the Chinese La Bruyere; and, +anticipating the figure which his portraits would make in my future +work, thought that I could never sufficiently applaud his eloquence. He +was glad to lay aside the solemn gravity of a Chinese mandarin, and +to indulge the vivacity of a Frenchman; his vanity was gratified by my +praises, and he exerted himself to the utmost to enhance my opinion of +his talents. + +At length we had notice that it was the emperor's pleasure to receive +the embassy at his imperial residence in Tartary, at Jehol; _the seat of +grateful coolness, the garden of innumerable trees._ From the very +name of this place I augured that it would prove favourable to the +inspirations of genius, and determined to date at least one of the +chapters or letters of my future work from this delightful retreat, +the _Sans Souci_ of China. Full of this intention, I set out upon our +expedition into Tartary. + +My good friend, the Jesuit, who had a petition to present to the +emperor relative to some Chinese manuscripts, determined, to my infinite +satisfaction, to accompany us to Jehol; and our conducting mandarin, +Van-Tadge, arranged things so upon our journey that I enjoyed as much of +my friend's conversation as possible. Never European travelling in these +countries had such advantages as mine; I had a companion who was able +and willing to instruct me in every minute particular of the manners, +and every general principle of the government and policy, of the +people. I was in no danger of falling into the ridiculous mistakes of +travellers, who, having but a partial view of things and persons, argue +absurdly, and grossly misrepresent, while they intend to be accurate. +Many people, as my French mandarin observed, reason like Voltaire's +famous traveller, who happening to have a drunken landlord and a +red-haired landlady at the first inn where he stopped in Alsace, wrote +down among his memorandums--"All the men of Alsace drunkards: all the +women red-haired." + +When we arrived at Jehol, the hurry of preparing for our presentation +to the emperor, the want of a convenient writing-table, and perhaps my +habit of procrastination, prevented my writing the chapter for my future +work, or noting down any of the remarks which the Jesuit had made upon +our journey. One morning when I collected my papers and the scraps of +memorandums with which the pockets of all my clothes were stuffed, I was +quite terrified at the heap of confusion, and thrust all these materials +for my quarto into a canvas bag, purposing to lay them smooth in a +portfolio the next day. But the next day I could do nothing of this +sort, for we had the British presents to unpack, which had arrived from +Pekin; the day after was taken up with our presentation to the emperor, +and the day after that I had a new scheme in my head. The emperor, with +much solemnity, presented with his own hand to our ambassador a casket, +which he said was the most valuable present he could make to the king of +England: it contained the miniature pictures of the emperor's ancestors, +with a few lines of poetry annexed to each, describing the character, +and recording the principal events, of each monarch's reign. It occurred +to me that a set of similar portraits and poetical histories of the +kings of England would be a proper and agreeable offering to the emperor +of China: I consulted my friend the French mandarin, and he encouraged +me by assurances that, as far as he could pretend to judge, it would +be at present peculiarly suited to the emperor's taste; and that in all +probability I should be distinguished by some mark of his approbation, +or some munificent reward. My friend promised to have the miniatures +varnished for me in the Chinese taste; and he undertook to present the +work to the emperor when it should be finished. As it was supposed that +the embassy would spend the whole winter in Pekin, I thought that +I should have time enough to complete the whole series of British +sovereigns. It was not necessary to be very scrupulous as to the +resemblance of my portraits, as the emperor of China could not easily +detect any errors of this nature: fortunately, I had brought from +London with me striking likenesses of all the kings of England, with +the principal events of their reign, in one large sheet of paper, which +belonged to a joining-map of one of my little cousins. In the confusion +of my packing up, I had put it into my trunk instead of a sheet +almanack, which lay on the same table. In the course of my life, many +lucky accidents have happened to me, even in consequence of my own +carelessness; yet that carelessness has afterward prevented my reaping +any permanent advantage from my good fortune. + +Upon this occasion I was, however, determined that no laziness of mine +should deprive me of an opportunity of making my fortune: I set to work +immediately, and astonished my friend by the facility with which I made +verses. It was my custom to retire from the noisy apartments of our +palace to a sort of alcove, at the end of a long gallery, in one of the +outer courts, where our corps of artillery used to parade. After their +parade was over, the place was perfectly quiet and solitary for the +remainder of the day and night. I used to sit up late, writing; and one +fine moonlight night, I went out of my alcove to walk in the gallery, +while I composed some lines on our great queen Elizabeth. I could not +finish the last couplet to my fancy: I sat down upon an artificial rock, +which was in the middle of the court, leaned my head upon my hand, +and as I was searching for an appropriate rhyme to _glory_, fell fast +asleep. A noise like that of a most violent clap of thunder awakened me; +I was thrown with my face flat upon the ground. + +When I recovered my senses, the court was filled with persons, some +European, some Chinese, seemingly just risen from their beds, with +lanterns and torches in their hands; all of them with faces of +consternation, asking one another what had happened. The ground was +covered with scattered fragments of wooden pillars, mats, and bamboo +cane-work; I looked and saw that one end of the gallery in which I had +been walking, and the alcove, were in ruins. There was a strong smell of +gunpowder. I now recollected that I had borrowed a powder-horn from +one of the soldiers in the morning; and that I had intended to load my +pistols, but I delayed doing so. The horn, full of gunpowder, lay upon +the table in the alcove all day, and the pistols, out of which I had +shaken the old priming. When I went out to walk in the gallery, I left +the candle burning; and I suppose during my sleep a spark fell upon the +loose gunpowder, set fire to that in the horn, and blew up the alcove. +It was built of light wood and cane, and communicated only with a +cane-work gallery; otherwise the mischief would have been more serious. +As it was, the explosion had alarmed not only all the ambassador's +suite, who lodged in the palace, but many of the Chinese in the +neighbourhood, who could not be made to comprehend how the accident had +happened. + +Reproaches from all our own people were poured upon me without mercy; +and, in the midst of my contrition, I had not for some time leisure to +lament the loss of all my kings of England: no vestige of them remained; +and all the labour that I had bestowed upon their portraits and their +poetical histories was lost to the emperor of China and to myself. What +was still worse, I could not even utter a syllable of complaint, for +nobody would sympathize with me, all my companions were so much provoked +by my negligence, and so apprehensive of the bad consequences which +might ensue from this accident. The Chinese, who had been alarmed, and +who departed evidently dissatisfied, would certainly mention what had +happened to the mandarins of the city, and they would report it to the +emperor. + +I resolved to apply for advice to my friend, the Jesuit; but he +increased instead of diminished our apprehensions; he said that the +affair was much talked of and misrepresented at Jehol; and that the +Chinese, naturally timid, and suspicious of strangers, could not +believe that no injury was intended to them, and that the explosion was +accidental. A child had been wounded by the fall of some of the ruins +of the alcove, which were thrown with great violence into a neighbouring +house: the butt end of one of my pistols was found in the street, and +had been carried to the magistrate by the enraged populace, as evidence +of our evil designs. My Jesuit observed to me that there was no +possibility of reasoning with the prejudices of any nation; and he +confessed he expected that this unlucky accident would have the most +serious consequences. He had told me in confidence a circumstance that +tended much to confirm this opinion: a few days before, when the emperor +went to examine the British presents of artillery, and when the brass +mortars were tried, though he admired the ingenuity of these instruments +of destruction, yet he said that he deprecated the spirit of the people +who employed them, and could not reconcile their improvements in the +arts of war with the mild precepts of the religion which they professed. + +My friend, the mandarin, promised he would do all in his power to +make the exact truth known to the emperor; and to prevent the evil +impressions, which the prejudices of the populace, and perhaps the +designing misrepresentations of the city mandarins, might tend +to create. I must suppose that the good offices of my Jesuit were +ineffectual, and that he either received a positive order to interfere +no more in our affairs, or that he was afraid of being implicated in +our disgrace if he continued his intimacy with me, for this was the last +visit I ever received from him. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +In a few days the embassy had orders to return to Pekin. The +ambassador's palace was fitted up for his winter's residence; and, +after our arrival, he was arranging his establishment, when, by a fresh +mandate from the emperor, we were required to prepare with all possible +expedition for our departure from the Chinese dominions. On Monday we +received an order to leave Pekin the ensuing Wednesday; and all our +remonstrances could procure only a delay of two days. Various causes +were assigned for this peremptory order, and, among the rest, my unlucky +accident was mentioned. However improbable it might seem that such a +trifle could have had so great an effect, the idea was credited by many +of my companions; and I saw that I was looked upon with an evil eye. + +I suffered extremely. I have often observed, that even remorse for +my past negligence has tended to increase the original defect of my +character. During our whole journey from Pekin to Canton, my sorrow for +the late accident was an excuse to myself for neglecting to make either +notes or observations. When we arrived at Canton, my time was taken up +with certain commissions for my friends at home, which I had delayed +to execute while at Pekin, from the idea that we should spend the whole +winter there. The trunks were on board before all my commissions were +ready, and I was obliged to pack up several toys and other articles in +a basket. As to my papers, they still remained in the canvass bag into +which I had stuffed them at Jehol: but I was certain of having leisure, +during our voyage home, to arrange them, and to post my notes into +Locke's commonplace-book. + +At the beginning of the voyage, however, I suffered much from +sea-sickness: toward the middle of the time I grew better, and indulged +myself in the amusement of fishing while the weather was fine; when the +weather was not inviting, in idleness. Innumerable other petty causes of +delay occurred: there was so much eating and drinking, so much singing +and laughing, and such frequent card-playing in the cabin, that, +though I produced my canvass bag above a hundred times, I never could +accomplish sorting its contents: indeed, I seldom proceeded farther than +to untie the strings. + +One day I had the state cabin fairly to myself, and had really begun my +work, when the steward came to let me know that my Chinese basket +was just washed overboard. In this basket were all the presents and +commissions which I had bought at Canton for my friends at home. I ran +to the cabin window, and had the mortification to see all my beautiful +scarlet calibash boxes, the fan for my cousin, Lucy, and the variety of +toys, which I had bought for my little cousins, all floating on the sea +far out of my reach. I had been warned before that the basket would +be washed overboard, and had intended to put it into a safe place; but +unluckily I delayed to do so. + +I was so much vexed with this accident, that I could not go on with my +writing: if it had not been for this interruption, I do believe I should +that day have accomplished my long postponed task. I will not, indeed +I cannot, record all the minute causes which afterwards prevented my +executing my intentions. The papers were still in the same disorder, +stuffed into the canvass bag, when I arrived in England. I promised +myself that I would sort them the very day after I got home; but visits +of congratulation from my friends upon my return, induced me to +delay doing any thing for the first week. The succeeding week I had a +multiplicity of engagements: all my acquaintance, curious to hear a man +converse who was fresh from China, invited me to dinner and tea parties; +and I could not possibly refuse these kind invitations, and shut myself +up in my room, like a hackney author, to write. My father often urged me +to begin my quarto; for he knew that other gentlemen, who went out with +the embassy, designed to write the history of the voyage; and he, +being a bookseller, and used to the ways of authors, foresaw what would +happen. A fortnight after we came home, the following advertisement +appeared in the papers: "Now in the press, and speedily will be +published, a Narrative of the British Embassy to China, containing the +various Circumstances of the Embassy; with Accounts of the Customs and +Manners of the Chinese; and a Description of the Country, Towns, Cities, +&c." + +I never saw my poor father turn so pale or look so angry as when he saw +this advertisement: he handed it across the breakfast table to me. + +"There, Basil," cried he, "I told you what would happen, and you would +not believe me. But this is the way you have served me all your life, +and this is the way you will go on to the day of your death, putting +things off till to-morrow. This is the way you have lost every +opportunity of distinguishing yourself; every chance, and you have had +many, of advancing yourself in the world! What signifies all I have done +for you, or all you can do for yourself? Your genius and education are +of no manner of use! Why, there is that heavy dog, as you used to call +him at Eton, Johnson: look how he is getting on in the world, by mere +dint of application and sticking steadily to his profession. He will +beat you at every thing, as he beat you at Eton in writing verses." + +"Only in copying them, sir. My verses, every body said, were far better +than his; only, unluckily, I had not mine finished and copied out in +time." "Well, sir, and that is the very thing I complain of. I suppose +you will tell me that your voyage to China will be far better than this +which is advertised this morning." + +"To be sure it will, father; for I have had opportunities, and collected +materials, which this man, whoever he is, cannot possibly have obtained. +I have had such assistance, such information from my friend the +missionary--" + +"But, what signifies your missionary, your information, your abilities, +and your materials?" cried my father, raising his voice. "Your book is +not out, your book will never be finished; or it will be done too late, +and nobody will read it; and then you may throw it into the fire. Here +you have an opportunity of establishing your fame, and making yourself +a great author at once; and if you throw it away, Basil, I give you fair +notice, I never will pardon you." + +I promised my father that I would set about my work _to-morrow_; and +pacified him by repeating that this hasty publication, which had just +been advertised, must be a catchpenny, and that it would serve only to +stimulate instead of satisfying the public curiosity. My quarto, I said, +would appear afterwards with a much better grace, and would be sought +for by every person of science, taste, and literature. + +Soothed by these assurances, my father recovered his good-humour, and +trusted to my promise that I would commence my great work the ensuing +day. I was fully in earnest. I went to my canvass bag to prepare my +materials. Alas! I found them in a terrible condition. The sea-water, +somehow or other, had got to them during the voyage; and many of my +most precious documents were absolutely illegible. The notes, written +in pencil, were almost effaced, and when I had smoothed the crumpled +scraps, I could make nothing of them. It was with the utmost difficulty +I could read even those that were written in ink; they were so +villainously scrawled and so terribly blotted. When I had made out the +words, I was often at a loss for the sense; because I had trusted so +much to the excellence of my memory, that my notes were never either +sufficiently full or accurate. Ideas which I had thought could never +be effaced from my mind were now totally forgotten, and I could not +comprehend my own mysterious elliptical hints and memorandums. I +remember spending two hours in trying to make out what the following +words could mean: _Hoy--alla--hoya;--hoya, hoya--hoy--waudihoya_. + +At last, I recollected that they were merely the sounds of the words +used by the Chinese sailors, in towing the junks, and I was much +provoked at having wasted my time in trying to remember what was not +worth recording. Another day I was puzzled by the following memorandum: +"W: C: 30. f. h.--24 b.--120 m--1--mandarin--C. tradition--2000--200 +before J. C.--" which, after three quarters of an hour's study, I +discovered to mean that the wall of China is 30 feet high, 24 feet +broad, and 120 miles long; and that a mandarin told me, that, according +to Chinese tradition, this wall had been built above 2000 years, that +is, 200 before the birth of our Saviour. + +On another scrap of paper, at the very bottom of the bag, I found +the words, "Wheazou--Chanchin--Cuaboocow--Caungcimmfoa--Callachottueng, +Quanshanglin--Callachotre shansu," &c.; all which I found to be a list +of towns and villages through which we had passed, or palaces that we +had seen; but how to distinguish these asunder I knew not, for all +recollection of them was obliterated from my mind, and no farther notes +respecting them were to be found. + +After many days' tiresome attempts, I was obliged to give up all hopes +of deciphering the most important of my notes, those which I had made +from the information of the French missionary. Most of what I +had trusted so securely to my memory was defective in some slight +circumstances, which rendered the whole useless. My materials for my +quarto shrunk into a very small compass. I flattered myself, however, +that the elegance of my composition, and the moral and political +reflections with which I intended to intersperse the work, would +compensate for the paucity of facts in my narrative. That I might devote +my whole attention to the business of writing, I determined to leave +London, where I met with so many temptations to idleness, and set off +to pay a visit to my uncle Lowe, who lived in the country, in a retired +part of England. He was a farmer, a plain, sensible, affectionate man; +and as he had often invited me to come and see him, I made no doubt that +I should be an agreeable guest. I had intended to have written a few +lines the week before I set out, to say that I was coming; but I put it +off till at last I thought that it would be useless, because I should +get there as soon as my letter. + +I had soon reason to regret that I had been so negligent; for my +appearance at my uncle's, instead of creating that general joy which +I had expected, threw the whole house into confusion. It happened that +there was company in the house, and all the beds were occupied: while +I was taking off my boots, I had the mortification to hear my aunt Lowe +say, in a voice of mingled distress and reproach, "Come! is he?--My +goodness! What shall we do for a bed?--How could he think of coming +without writing a line beforehand? My goodness! I wish he was a hundred +miles off, I'm sure." + +My uncle shook hands with me, and welcomed me to old England again, +and to his house; which, he said, should always be open to all his +relations. I saw that he was not pleased; and, as he was a man who, +according to the English phrase, scorned _to keep a thing long upon his +mind_, he let me know, before he had finished his first glass of ale to +my good health, that he was _inclinable to take it very unkind indeed_ +that, after all he had said about my writing a letter now and then, just +to say how I did, and how I was going on, I had never put pen to paper +to answer one of his letters since the day I first promised to write, +which was the day I went to Eton school, till this present time of +speaking. I had no good apology to make for myself, but I attempted all +manner of excuses; that I had put off writing from day to day, and from +year to year, till I was ashamed to write at all; that it was not from +want of affection, &c. + +My uncle took up his pipe and puffed away, while I spoke: and when I had +said all that I could devise, I sat silent; for I saw by the looks of +all present that I had not mended the matter. My aunt pursed up her +mouth, and "wondered, if she must tell the plain truth, that so great a +scholar as Mr. Basil could not, when it must give him so little trouble +to indite a letter, write a few lines to an uncle who had begged it so +often, and who had ever been a good friend." + +"Say nothing of that," said my uncle: "I scorn to have that put into +account. I loved the boy, and all I could do was done, of course: that's +nothing to the purpose; but the longest day I have to live I'll never +trouble him with begging a letter from him no more. For now I see he +does not care a fig for me; and of course I do not care a fig for he. +Lucy, hold up your head, girl; and don't look as if you were going to be +hanged." + +My cousin Lucy was the only person present who seemed to have any +compassion for me; and, as I lifted up my eyes to look at her when her +father spoke, she appeared to me quite beautiful. I had always +thought her a pretty girl, but she never struck me as any thing very +extraordinary till this moment. I was very sorry that I had offended my +uncle: I saw he was seriously displeased, and that his pride, of which +he had a large portion, had conquered his affection for me. + +"'Tis easier to lose a friend than gain one, young man," said he; "and +take my word for it, as this world goes, 'tis a foolish thing to lose +a friend for want of writing a letter or so. Here's seven years I have +been begging a letter now and then, and could not get one. Never wrote a +line to me before you went to China; should not have known a word about +it but for my wife, who met you by mere chance in London, and gave you +some little commission for the children, which it seems you forgot till +it was too late. Then, after you came back, never wrote to me." + +"And even not to write a line to give one notice of his coming here +to-night," added my aunt. + +"Oh, as to that," replied my uncle, "he can never find our larder at a +nonplus; we have no dishes for him dressed Chinese fashion; but as to +roast beef of old England, which, I take it, is worth all the foreign +meats in the world, he is welcome to it, and to as much of it as he +pleases. I shall always be glad to see him as a relation and so forth, +as a good Christian ought, but not as the favourite he used to be--that +is out of the question; for things cannot be both done and undone, and +time that's past cannot come back again, that is clear; and cold water +thrown on a warm heart puts it out; and there's an end of the matter. +Lucy, bring me my nightcap." + +Lucy, I think, sighed once; and I am sure I sighed above a dozen times; +but my uncle put on his red nightcap, and heeded us not. I was in hopes +that the next morning he would have been better disposed towards me +after having slept off his anger. The moment that I appeared in the +morning, the children, who had been in bed when I arrived the preceding +night, crowded round me, and one cried, "Cousin Basil, have you brought +me the tumbler you promised me from China?" + +"Cousin Basil, where's my boat?" + +"O Basil, did you bring me the calibash box that you promised me?" + +"And pray," cried my aunt, "did you bring my Lucy the fan that she +commissioned you to get?" + +"No, I'll warrant," said my uncle. "He that cannot bring himself to +write a letter in the course of seven years to his friends, will not be +apt to trouble his head about their foolish commissions, when he is in +foreign parts." + +Though I was abashed and vexed, I summoned sufficient courage to +reply that I had not neglected to execute the commissions of any of my +friends; but that, by an unlucky accident, the basket into which I had +packed all their things was washed overboard. + +"Hum!" said my uncle. + +"And pray," said my aunt, "why were they all packed in a basket? Why +were not they put into your trunks, where they might have been safe?" + +I was obliged to confess that I had delayed to purchase them till after +we left Pekin; and that the trunks were put on board before they were +all procured at Canton. My vile habit of procrastination! How did I +suffer for it at this moment! Lucy began to make excuses for me, which +made me blame myself the more: she said that, as to her fan, it would +have been of little or no use to her; that she was sure she should +have broken it before it had been a week in her possession; and that, +therefore, she was glad that she had it not. The children were clamorous +in their grief for the loss of the boat, the tumbler, and the calibash +boxes; but Lucy contrived to quiet them in time, and to make my peace +with all the younger part of the family. To reinstate me in my uncle's +good graces was impossible; he would only repeat to her--"The young man +has lost my good opinion; he will never do any good. From a child upward +he has always put off doing every thing he ought to do. He will never +do any good; he will never be any thing." My aunt was not my friend, +because she suspected that Lucy liked me; and she thought her daughter +might do much better than marry a man who had quitted the profession to +which he was bred, and was, as it seemed, little likely to settle to any +other. My pretensions to genius and my literary qualifications were +of no advantage to me, either with my uncle or my aunt; the one being +_only_ a good farmer, and the other _only_ a good housewife. They +contented themselves with asking me, coolly, what I had ever made by +being an author? And when I was forced to answer _nothing_, they smiled +upon me in scorn. My pride was roused, and I boasted that I expected +to receive at least 600_l_. for my "Voyage to China," which I hoped to +complete in a few weeks. My aunt looked at me with astonishment; and, to +prove to her that I was not passing the bounds of truth, I added, +that one of my travelling companions had, as I was credibly informed, +received 1000_l_. for his narrative, to which mine would certainly be +far superior. + +"When it is done, and when you have the money in your hand to show us, I +shall believe you," said my aunt; "and then, and not till then, you may +begin to think of my Lucy." + +"He shall never have her," said my uncle; "he will never come to good. +He shall never have her." + +The time which I ought to have spent in composing my quarto I now wasted +in fruitless endeavours to recover the good graces of my uncle. Love, +assisted as usual by the spirit of opposition, took possession of my +heart; and how can a man in love write quartos? I became more indolent +than ever, for I persuaded myself that no exertions could overcome my +uncle's prejudice against me; and, without his approbation, I despaired +of ever obtaining Lucy's hand. + +During my stay at my uncle's, I received several letters from my father, +inquiring how my work went on, and urging me to proceed as rapidly +as possible, lest another "Voyage to China," which it was reported a +gentleman of high reputation was now composing, should come out, and +preclude mine for ever. I cannot account for my folly: the power of +habit is imperceptible to those who submit passively to its tyranny. +From day to day I continued procrastinating and sighing, till at last +the fatal news came that Sir George Staunton's History of the Embassy to +China, in two volumes quarto, was actually published. + +There was an end of all my hopes. I left my uncle's house in despair; +I dreaded to see my father. He overwhelmed me with well-merited +reproaches. All his expectations of my success in life were +disappointed; he was now convinced that I should never make my talents +useful to myself or to my family. A settled melancholy appeared in his +countenance; he soon ceased to urge me to any exertion, and I idled away +my time, deploring that I could not marry my Lucy, and resolving upon +a thousand schemes for advancing myself, but always delaying their +execution till to-morrow. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Two years passed away in this manner, about the end of which time my +poor father died. I cannot describe the mixed sensations of grief +and self-reproach which I felt at his death. I knew that I had never +fulfilled his sanguine prophecies, and that disappointment had long +preyed upon his spirits. This was a severe shock to me: I was roused +from a state of stupefaction by the necessity of acting as my father's +executor. + +Among his bequests was one which touched me particularly, because I was +sensible that it was made from kindness to me. "I give and bequeath the +full-length picture of my son Basil, taken when a boy (a very promising +boy) at Eton school, to my brother Lowe--I should say to my sweet niece, +Lucy Lowe, but am afraid of giving offence." + +I sent the picture to my uncle Lowe, with a copy of the words of the +will, and a letter written in the bitterness of grief. My uncle, who +was of an affectionate though positive temper, returned me the following +answer: + +"DEAR NEPHEW BASIL, + +"Taking it for granted you feel as much as I do, it being natural +you should, and even more, I shall not refuse to let my Lucy have the +picture bequeathed to me by my good brother, who could not offend me +dying, never having done so living. As to you, Basil, this is no time +for reproaches, which would be cruel; but, without meaning to look back +to the past, I must add that I mean nothing by giving the picture to +Lucy but respect for my poor brother's memory. My opinions remaining +as heretofore, I think it a duty to my girl to be steady in my +determination; convinced that no man (not meaning you in particular) of +what I call a _putting off_ temper could make her happy, she being too +mild to scold and bustle, and do the man's business in a family. This +is the whole of my mind without malice; for how could I, if I were +malicious, which I am not, bear malice, and at such a time as this, +against my own nephew? and as to anger, that is soon over with me; and +though I said I never would forgive you, Basil, for not writing to me +for seven years, I do now forgive you with all my heart. So let that be +off your conscience. And now I hope we shall be very good friends all +the rest of our lives; that is to say, putting Lucy out of the question; +for, in my opinion, it is a disagreeable thing to have any bickerings +between near relations. So, my dear nephew, wishing you all health and +happiness, I hope you will now settle to business. My wife tells me she +hears you are left in a good way by my poor brother's care and industry; +and she sends her love to you, in which all the family unite; and hoping +you will write from time to time, I remain, + +"My dear nephew Basil, + +"Your affectionate uncle, + +"THOMAS LOWE." + +My aunt Lowe added a postscript, inquiring more particularly into the +state of my affairs. I answered, by return of post, that my good father +had left me much richer than I either expected or deserved: his credit +in the booksellers' line was extensive and well established; his shop +was well furnished, and he had a considerable sum of money in bank; +beside many _good_ debts due from authors, to whom he had advanced cash. + +My aunt Lowe was governed by her interest, as decidedly as my uncle +was swayed by his humour and affection; and, of course, became more +favourable toward me, when she found that my fortune was better than she +had expected. She wrote to exhort me to attend to my business, and to +prove to my uncle that I could cure myself of my negligent habits. She +promised to befriend me, and to do every thing to obtain my uncle's +consent to my union with Lucy, upon condition that I would for six +months steadily persevere, or, as she expressed herself, _show that I +could come to good_. + +The motive was powerful, sufficiently powerful to conquer the force of +inveterate habit. I applied resolutely to business, and supported the +credit which my father's punctuality had obtained from his customers. +During the course of six entire months, I am not conscious of having +neglected or delayed to do anything of consequence that I ought to have +done except whetting my razor. My aunt Lowe faithfully kept her word +with me, and took every opportunity of representing, in the most +favourable manner to my uncle, the reformation that love had wrought in +my character. + +I went to the country, full of hope, at the end of my six probationary +months. My uncle, however, with a mixture of obstinacy and good sense, +replied to my aunt in my presence: "This reformation that you talk of, +wife, won't last. 'Twas begun by love, as _you_ say; and will end with +love, as _I_ say. You and I know, my dear, love lasts little longer than +the honeymoon; and Lucy is not, or ought not to be, such a simpleton as +to look only to what a husband will be for one short month of his life, +when she is to live with him for twenty, thirty, may be forty long +years; and no help for it, let him turn out what he will. I beg your +pardon, nephew Basil; but where my Lucy's happiness is at stake, I must +speak my mind as a father should. My opinion, Lucy, is, that he is not a +whit changed; and so I now let you understand, if you marry the man, it +must be without my consent." + +Lucy turned exceedingly pale, and I grew extremely angry. My uncle had, +as usual, recourse to his pipe; and to all the eloquence which love and +indignation could inspire, he would only answer; between the whiffs of +his smoking, "If my girl marries you, nephew Basil, I say she must do so +without my consent." + +Lucy's affection for me struggled for some time with her sense of duty +to her father; her mother supported my cause with much warmth; having +once declared in my favour, she considered herself as bound to maintain +her side of the question. It became a trial of power between my uncle +and aunt; and their passions rose so high in the conflict, that Lucy +trembled for the consequences. + +One day she took an opportunity of speaking to me in private. "My dear +Basil," said she, "we must part. You see that I can never be yours with +my father's consent; and without it I could never be happy, even in +being united to you. I will not be the cause of misery to all those +whom I love best in the world. I will not set my father and mother at +variance. I cannot bear to hear the altercations, which rise higher +and higher between them every day. Let us part, and all will be right +again." + +It was in vain that I combated her resolution: I alternately resented +and deplored the weakness which induced Lucy to sacrifice her own +happiness and mine to the obstinate prejudices of a father; yet I could +not avoid respecting her the more for her adhering to what she believed +to be her duty. The sweetness of temper, gentleness of disposition, and +filial piety, which she showed on this trying occasion, endeared her to +me beyond expression. + +Her father, notwithstanding his determination to be as immoveable as a +rock, began to manifest symptoms of internal agitation; and one night, +after breaking his pipe, and throwing down the tongs and poker twice, +which Lucy twice replaced, he exclaimed, "Lucy, girl, you are a fool! +and, what is worse, you are grown into a mere shadow. You are breaking +my heart Why, I know this man, this Basil, this cursed nephew of mine, +will never come to good. But cannot you marry him without my consent?" + +Upon this hint, Lucy's scruples vanished; and, a few days afterward, we +were married. Prudence, virtue, pride, love, every strong motive which +can act upon the human mind, stimulated me to exert myself to prove that +I was worthy of this most amiable woman. A year passed away, and my Lucy +said that she had no reason to repent of her choice. She took the most +affectionate pains to convince her father that she was perfectly happy, +and that he had judged of me too harshly. His delight at seeing his +daughter happy, vanquished his reluctance to acknowledge that he had +changed his opinion. I never shall forget the pleasure I felt at hearing +him confess that he had been too positive, and that his Lucy had made a +good match for herself. + +Alas! when I had obtained this testimony in my favour, when I had +established a character for exertion and punctuality, I began to relax +in my efforts to deserve it: I indulged myself in my old habits of +procrastination. My customers and country correspondents began to +complain that their letters were unanswered, and that their orders were +neglected. Their remonstrances became more and more urgent in process of +time, and nothing but actually seeing the dates of their letters could +convince me that they were in the right, and that I was in the wrong. An +old friend of my father's, a rich gentleman, who loved books, and bought +all that were worth buying, sent me, in March, an order for books to +a considerable amount. In April, he wrote to remind me of his first +letter. + + +"MY DEAR SIR, April 3. + +"Last month I wrote to request that you would send me the following +books:--I have been much disappointed by not receiving them; and I +request you will be so good as to forward them _immediately_. + +"I am, my dear sir, + +"Yours sincerely, + +"J. C." + + +In May he wrote to me again: + + +"DEAR SIR, + +"I am much surprised at not having yet received the books I wrote for +last March--beg to know the cause of this delay; and am, + +"Dear sir, + +"Yours, &c. + +"J. C." + + +A fortnight afterward, as I was packing up the books for this gentleman, +I received the following: + +"SIR, + +"As it is now above a quarter of a year since I wrote to you for books, +which you have not yet sent to me, I have been obliged to apply to +another bookseller. + +"I am much concerned at being compelled to this: I had a great regard +for your father, and would not willingly break off my connexion with his +son; but really you have tried my patience too far. Last year I never +had from you any one new publication, until it was in the hands of all +my neighbours; and I have often been under the necessity of borrowing +books which I had bespoken from you months before. I hope you will take +this as a warning, and that you will not use any of your other friends +as you have used, + +"Sir, + +"Your humble servant, + +"J. C." + + +This reprimand had little effect upon me, because, at the time when I +received it, I was intent upon an object, in comparison with which the +trade of a bookseller appeared absolutely below my consideration. I was +inventing a set of new taxes for the minister, for which I expected to +be liberally rewarded. I was ever searching for some _short cut_ to the +temple of Fame, instead of following the beaten road. + +I was much encouraged by persons intimately connected with those high in +power to hope that my new taxes would be adopted; and I spent my time +in attendance upon my patrons, leaving the care of my business to my +foreman, a young man whose head the whole week was intent upon riding +out on Sunday. With such a master and such a foreman affairs could not +go on well. + +My Lucy, notwithstanding her great respect for my abilities, and her +confidence in my promises, often hinted that she feared ministers +might not at last make me amends for the time I devoted to my system +of taxation; but I persisted. The file of unanswered letters was filled +even to the top of the wire; the drawer of unsettled accounts made me +sigh profoundly, whenever it was accidentally opened. I soon acquired a +horror of business, and practised all the arts of apology, evasion, and +invisibility, to which procrastinators must sooner or later be +reduced. My conscience gradually became callous; and I could, without +compunction, promise, with a face of truth, to settle an account +_to-morrow_, without having the slightest hope of keeping my word. + +I was a publisher as well as a bookseller, and was assailed by a tribe +of rich and poor authors. The rich complained continually of delays that +affected their fame; the poor of delays that concerned their interest, +and sometimes their very existence. I was cursed with a compassionate as +well as with a procrastinating temper; and I frequently advanced +money to my poor authors, to compensate for my neglect to settle their +accounts, and to free myself from the torment of their reproaches. + +They soon learned to take a double advantage of my virtues and my +vices. The list of my poor authors increased, for I was an encourager of +genius. I trusted to my own judgment concerning every performance that +was offered to me; and I was often obliged to pay for having neglected +to read, or to send to press, these multifarious manuscripts. +After having kept a poor devil of an author upon the tenterhooks of +expectation for an unconscionable time, I could not say to him, "Sir, I +have never opened your manuscript; there it is, in that heap of rubbish: +take it away, for Heaven's sake." No, hardened as I was, I never failed +to make some compliment, or some retribution; and my compliments were +often in the end the most expensive species of retribution. + +My rich authors soon deserted me, and hurt my credit in the circles of +literary fashion by their clamours. I had ample experience, yet I have +never been able to decide whether I would rather meet the "desperate +misery" of a famishing pamphleteer, or the exasperated vanity of a rich +_amateur_. Every one of my authors seemed convinced that the fate of +Europe or the salvation of the world depended upon the publication of +their book on some particular day; while I all the time was equally +persuaded that their works were mere trash, in comparison with my new +system of taxation; consequently I postponed their business, and pursued +my favourite tax scheme. + +I have the pride and pleasure to say that all my taxes were approved and +adopted, and brought in an immense increase of revenue to the state; but +I have the mortification to be obliged to add, that I never, directly or +indirectly, received the slightest pecuniary reward; and the credit of +all I had proposed was snatched from me by a rogue, who had no other +merit than that of being shaved sooner than I was one frosty morning. +If I had not put off whetting my razor the preceding day, this would not +have happened. To such a trifling instance of my unfortunate habit of +procrastination, must I attribute one of the most severe disappointments +of my life. A rival financier, who laid claim to the prior invention and +suggestion of my principal taxes, was appointed to meet me at the house +of my great man at ten o'clock in the morning. My opponent was punctual; +I was half an hour too late: his claims were established; mine were +rejected, because I was not present to produce my proofs. When I arrived +at my patron's, the insolent porter shut the door in my face; and so +ended all hopes from my grand system of taxation. + +I went home and shut myself up in my room, to give vent to my grief at +leisure; but I was not permitted to indulge my sorrow long in peace. +I was summoned by my foreman to come down stairs to one of my enraged +authors, who positively refused to quit the shop without seeing me. Of +the whole irritable race, the man who was now waiting to see me was +the most violent. He was a man of some genius and learning, with great +pretensions, and a vindictive spirit. He was poor, yet lived among the +rich; and his arrogance could be equalled only by his susceptibility. +He was known in our house by the name of _Thaumaturgos, the retailer of +wonders_, because he had sent me a manuscript with this title; and once +or twice a week we received a letter or message from him, to inquire +when it would be published. I had unfortunately mislaid this precious +manuscript. Under this circumstance, to meet the author was almost +as dreadful as to stand the shot of a pistol. Down stairs I went, +unprovided with any apology. + +"Sir," cried my angry man, suppressing his passion, "as you do not find +it worth your while to publish _Thaumaturges_, you will be so obliging +as to let me have my manuscript." + +"Pardon me, my dear sir," interrupted I; "it shall certainly appear this +spring." "Spring! Zounds, sir, don't talk to me of spring. Why, you told +me it should be out at Christmas; you said it should be out last June; +you promised to send it to press before last Easter. Is this the way I +am to be treated?" + +"Pardon me, my dear sir. I confess I have used you and the world very +ill; but the pressure of business must plead my apology." + +"Look you, Mr. Basil Lowe, I am not come here to listen to commonplace +excuses. I have been ill used, and know it; and the world shall know +it. I am not ignorant of the designs of my enemies; but no cabal shall +succeed against me. Thaumaturgos shall not be suppressed! Thaumaturgos +shall see the light! Thaumaturgos shall have justice, in spite of all +the machinations of malice. Sir, I demand my manuscript." + +"Sir, it shall be sent to you to-morrow." + +"To-morrow, sir, will not do for me. I have heard of to-morrow from you +this twelvemonth past. I will have my manuscript to-day. I do not leave +this spot without Thaumaturgos." + +Thus driven to extremities, I was compelled to confess that I could not +immediately lay my hand upon it; but I added that the whole house +should be searched for it instantly. It is impossible to describe the +indignation which my author expressed. I ran away to search the house. +He followed me, and stood by while I rummaged in drawers and boxes full +of papers, and tossed over heaps of manuscripts. No Thaumaturges could +be found. The author declared that he had no copy of the manuscript; +that he had been offered 500_l_. for it by another bookseller; and +that, for his own part, he would not lose it for twice that sum. Lost, +however, it evidently was. He stalked out of my house, bidding me +prepare to abide by the consequences. I racked my memory in vain, to +discover what I had done with this bundle of wonders. I could recollect +only that I carried it a week in my great-coat pocket, resolving every +day to lock it up; and that I went to the Mount Coffee-house in this +coat several times. These recollections were of little use. + +A suit was instituted against me for the value of Thaumaturgos; and the +damages were modestly laid by the author at eight hundred guineas. The +cause was highly interesting to all the tribe of London booksellers +and authors. The court was crowded at an early hour; several people of +fashion, who were partisans of the plaintiff, appeared in the gallery; +many more, who were his enemies, attended on purpose to hear my counsel +ridicule and abuse the pompous _Thaumaturgos_. I had great hopes, +myself, that we might win the day, especially as the lawyer on the +opposite side was my old competitor at Eton, that Johnson, whom I had +always considered as a mere laborious drudge, and a very heavy fellow. +How this heavy fellow got up in the world, and how he contrived to +supply, by dint of study, the want of natural talents, I cannot tell; +but this I know, to my cost, that he managed his client's cause so ably, +and made a speech so full of sound law and clear sense, as effectually +to decide the cause against me. I was condemned to pay 500_l_. damages, +and costs of suit. Five hundred pounds lost, by delaying to lock up a +bundle of papers! Every body pitied me, because the punishment seemed so +disproportioned to the offence. The pity of every body, however, did not +console me for the loss of my money. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +The trial was published in the papers: my uncle Lowe read it, and all +my credit with him was lost for ever. Lucy did not utter a syllable of +reproach or complaint; but she used all her gentle influence to prevail +upon me to lay aside the various schemes which I had formed for making a +rapid fortune, and urged me to devote my whole attention to my business. + +The loss which I had sustained, though great, was not irremediable. I +was moved more by my wife's kindness than I could have been by the most +outrageous invective. But what is kindness, what is affection, what are +the best resolutions, opposed to all-powerful habit? I put off settling +my affairs till I had finished a pamphlet against government, which my +friends and the critics assured me would make my fortune, by attaching +to my shop all the opposition members. + +My pamphlet succeeded, was highly praised, and loudly abused: answers +appeared, and I was called upon to provide rejoinders. Time thus passed +away, and while I was gaining fame, I every hour lost money. I was +threatened with bankruptcy. I threw aside my pamphlets, and in the +utmost terror and confusion, began, too late, to look into my affairs. +I now attempted too much: I expected to repair by bustle the effects of +procrastination. The nervous anxiety of my mind prevented me from doing +any thing well; whatever I was employed about appeared to me of less +consequence than a hundred other things which ought to be done. The +letter that I was writing, or the account that I was settling, was +but one of a multitude, which had all equal claims to be expedited +immediately. My courage failed; I abandoned my business in despair. A +commission of bankruptcy was taken out against me; all my goods were +seized, and I became a prisoner in the King's Bench. + +My wife's relations refused to give me any assistance; but her father +offered to receive her and her little boy, on condition that she would +part from me, and spend the remainder of her days with them. This she +positively refused; and I never shall forget the manner of her refusal. +Her character rose in adversity. With the utmost feminine gentleness and +delicacy, she had a degree of courage and fortitude which I have seldom +seen equalled in any of my own sex. She followed me to prison, and +supported my spirits by a thousand daily instances of kindness. During +eighteen months that she passed with me in a prison, which we then +thought must be my abode for life, she never, by word or look, reminded +me that I was the cause of our misfortunes: on the contrary, she drove +this idea from my thoughts with all the address of female affection. +I cannot even, at this distance of time, recall these things to memory +without tears. + +What a woman, what a wife had I reduced to distress! I never saw her, +even in the first months of our marriage, so cheerful and so tender as +at this period. She seemed to have no existence but in me and in our +little boy, of whom she was dotingly fond. He was at this time just able +to run about and talk; his playful caresses, his thoughtless gaiety, +and at times a certain tone of compassion for _poor papa_, were very +touching. Alas! he little foresaw.... But let me go on with my history, +if I can, without anticipation. + +Among my creditors was a Mr. Nun, a paper-maker, who, from his frequent +dealings with me, had occasion to see something of my character and of +my wife's; he admired her, and pitied me. He was in easy circumstances, +and delighted in doing all the good in his power. One morning my Lucy +came into my room with a face radiant with joy. + +"My love," said she, "here is Mr. Nun below, waiting to see you; but he +says he will not see you till I have told you the good news. He has +got all our creditors to enter into a compromise, and to set you at +liberty." + +I was transported with joy and gratitude; our benevolent friend was +waiting in a hackney-coach to carry us away from prison. When I began to +thank him, he stopped me with a blunt declaration that I was not a bit +obliged to him; for that, if I had been a man of straw, he would have +done just the same for the sake of my wife, whom he looked upon to be +one or other the best woman he had ever seen, Mrs. Nun always excepted. + +He proceeded to inform me how he had settled my affairs, and how he had +obtained from my creditors a small allowance for the immediate support +of myself and family. He had given up the third part of a considerable +sum due to himself. As my own house was shut up, he insisted upon taking +us home with him: "Mrs. Nun," he said, "had provided a good dinner; and +he must not have her ducks and green peas upon the table, and no friends +to eat them." + +Never were ducks and green peas more acceptable; never was a dinner +eaten with more appetite, or given with more good-will. I have +often thought of this dinner, and compared the hospitality of this +simple-hearted man with the ostentation of great folks, who give +splendid entertainments to those who do not want them. In trifles and +in matters of consequence this Mr. Nun was one of the most liberal and +unaffectedly generous men I ever knew; but the generous actions of men +in middle life are lost in obscurity. No matter: they do not act from a +love of fame; they act from a better motive, and they have their reward +in their own hearts. + +As I was passing through Mr. Nun's warehouse, I was thinking of writing +something on this subject; but whether it should be a poetic effusion, +in the form of "An Ode to him who least expects it," or a prose work, +under the title of "Modern Parallels," in the manner of Plutarch, I had +not decided, when I was roused from my reverie by my wife, who, pointing +to a large bale of paper that was directed to "Ezekiel Croft, merchant, +Philadelphia," asked me if I knew that this gentleman was a very near +relation of her mother? "Is he, indeed?" said Mr. Nun. "Then I can +assure you that you have a relation of whom you have no occasion to be +ashamed: he is one of the most respectable merchants in Philadelphia." + +"He was not very rich when he left this country about six years ago," +said Lucy. + +"He has a very good fortune now," answered Mr. Nun. + +"And has he made this very good fortune in six years?" cried I. "My dear +Lucy, I did not know that you had any relations in America. I have a +great mind to go over there myself." + +"Away from all our friends!" said Lucy. + +"I shall be ashamed," replied I, "to see them after all that has +happened. A bankrupt cannot have many friends. The best thing that I can +possibly do is to go over to a new world, where I may establish a new +character, and make a new fortune." + +"But we must not forget," said Mr. Nun, "that in the new world, as in +the old one, a character and a fortune must be made by much the same +means; and forgive me if I add, the same bad habits that are against a +man in one country will be as much against him in another." + +True, thought I, as I recollected at this instant my unfortunate voyage +to China. But now that the idea of going to America had come into my +mind, I saw so many chances of success in my favour, and I felt so much +convinced I should not relapse into my former faults, that I could not +abandon the scheme. My Lucy consented to accompany me. She spent a week +in the country with her father and friends, by my particular desire; and +they did all they could to prevail upon her to stay with them, promising +to take the best possible care of her and her little boy during my +absence; but she steadily persisted in her determination to accompany +her husband. I was not too late in going on ship-board this time; and, +during the whole voyage, I did not lose any of my goods; for, in the +first place, I had very few goods to lose, and, in the next, my wife +took the entire charge of those few. + +And now behold me safely landed at Philadelphia, with one hundred pounds +in my pocket--a small sum of money; but many, from yet more trifling +beginnings, had grown rich in America. My wife's relation, Mr. Croft, +had not so much, as I was told, when he left England. Many passengers, +who came over in the same ship with me, had not half so much. Several of +them were, indeed, wretchedly poor. + +Among others, there was an Irishman who was known by the name of Barny, +a contraction, I believe, for Barnaby. As to his surname he could not +undertake to spell it; but he assured me there was no better. This man, +with many of his relatives, had come to England, according to their +custom, during harvest-time, to assist in reaping, because they gain +higher wages than in their own country. Barny heard that he should get +still higher wages for labour in America, and accordingly he and his two +sons, lads of eighteen and twenty, took their passage for Philadelphia. +A merrier mortal I never saw. We used to hear him upon deck, continually +singing or whistling his Irish tunes; and I should never have guessed +that this man's life had been a series of hardships and misfortunes. + +When we were leaving the ship, I saw him, to my great surprise, crying +bitterly; and upon inquiring what was the matter, he answered that it +was not for himself, but for his sons, he was grieving, because they +were to be made _redemption-men_, that is, they were to be bound +to work, during a certain time, for the captain, or for whomever he +pleased, till the money due for their passage should be paid. Though I +was somewhat surprised at any one's thinking of coming on board a vessel +without having one farthing in his pocket, yet I could not forbear +paying the money for this poor fellow. He dropped down on the deck upon +both his knees as suddenly as if he had been shot, and, holding up +his hands to heaven, prayed, first in Irish, and then in English, with +fervent fluency, that "I and mine might never want; that I might live +long to reign over him; that success might attend my honour wherever +I went; and that I might enjoy for evermore all sorts of blessings and +crowns of glory." + +As I had an English prejudice in favour of silent gratitude, I was +rather disgusted by all this eloquence; I turned away abruptly, and got +into the boat which waited to carry me to shore. + +As we rowed away I looked at my wife and child, and reproached myself +with having indulged in the luxury of generosity, perhaps at their +expense. + +My wife's relation, Mr. Croft, received us better than she expected, and +worse than I hoped. He had the face of an acute money-making man; his +manners were methodical; caution was in his eye, and prudence in all his +motions. In our first half hour's conversation he convinced me that he +deserved the character he had obtained, of being upright and exact in +all his dealings. His ideas were just and clear, but confined to the +objects immediately relating to his business; as to his heart, he seemed +to have no notion of general philanthropy, but to have perfectly learned +by rote his duty to his neighbour. He appeared disposed to do charitable +and good-natured actions from reason, and not from feeling; because +they were proper, not merely because they were agreeable. I felt that I +should respect, but never love him; and that he would never either +love or respect me, because the virtue which he held in the highest +veneration was that in which I was most deficient--punctuality. But I +will give, as nearly as I can, my first conversation with him; and from +that a better idea of his character may be formed than I can afford by +any description. + +I presented to him Mr. Nun's letter of introduction, and mentioned that +my wife had the honour of being related to him. He perused Mr. Nun's +letter very slowly. I was determined not to leave him in any doubt, +respecting who and what I was; and I briefly told him the particulars +of my history. He listened with immoveable attention: and when I had +finished, he said, "You have not yet told me what your views are in +coming to America." + +I replied, "that my plans were not yet fixed." + +"But of course," said he, "you cannot have left home without forming +some plan for the future. May I ask what line of life you mean to +pursue?" + +I answered, "that I was undetermined, and meant to be guided by +circumstances." + +"Circumstances!" said he. "May I request you to explain yourself more +fully? for I do not precisely understand to what circumstances you +allude." + +I was provoked with the man for being so slow of apprehension; but, when +driven to the necessity of explaining, I found that I did not myself +understand what I meant. + +I changed my ground; and, lowering my tone of confidence, said, that as +I was totally ignorant of the country, I should wish to be guided by the +advice of better informed persons; and that I begged leave to address +myself to him, as having had the most successful experience. + +After a considerable pause, he replied, it was a hazardous thing to give +advice; but that, as my wife was his relation, and as he held it a duty +to assist his relations, he should not decline giving me--all the advice +in his power. + +I bowed, and felt chilled all over by his manner. + +"And not only my advice," continued he, "but my assistance--in reason." + +I said, "I was much obliged to him." + +"Not in the least, young man; you are not in the least obliged to me +yet, for I have done nothing for you." + +This was true, and not knowing what to say, I was silent. + +"And that which I may be able to do for you in future must depend as +much upon yourself as upon me. In the first place, before I can give any +advice, I must know what you are worth in the world?" + +My worth in money, I told him, with a forced smile, was but very +trifling indeed. With some hesitation, I named the sum. + +"And you have a wife and child to support!" said he, shaking his head. +"And your child is too young and your wife too delicate to work. They +will be sad burdens upon your hands; these are not the things for +America. Why did you bring them with you? But, as that is done, and +cannot be mended," continued he, "we must make the best of it, and +support them. You say you are ignorant of the country. I must explain +to you then how money is to be made here, and by whom. The class of +labourers make money readily, if they are industrious, because they +have high wages and constant employment; artificers and mechanics, +carpenters, shipwrights, wheelwrights, smiths, brick-layers, masons, +get rich here, without difficulty, from the same causes; but all these +things are out of the question for you. You have head, not hands, I +perceive. Now mere head, in the line of bookmaking or bookselling, +brings in but poor profit in this country. The sale for imported books +is extensive; and our printers are doing something by subscription here, +in Philadelphia, and in New York, they tell me. But London is the place +for a good bookseller to thrive; and you come from London, where you +tell me you were a bankrupt. I would not advise you to have any thing +more to do with bookselling or bookmaking. Then, as to becoming a +planter: our planters, if they are skilful and laborious, thrive well; +but you have not capital sufficient to clear land and build a house; +or hire servants to do the work, for which you are not yourself +sufficiently robust. Besides, I do not imagine you know much of +agricultural concerns, or country business; and even to oversee and +guide others, experience is necessary. The life of a back settler I do +not advise, because you and your wife are not equal to it. You are +not accustomed to live in a log-house, or to feed upon racoons and +squirrels: not to omit the constant dread, if not imminent danger, of +being burnt in your beds, or scalped, by the Indians with whom you would +be surrounded. Upon the whole, I see no line of life that promises well +for you but that of a merchant; and I see no means of your getting into +this line without property and without credit, except by going into +some established house as a clerk. You are a good penman, and ready +accountant, I think you tell me; and I presume you have a sufficient +knowledge of book-keeping. With sobriety, diligence, and honesty, you +may do well in this way; and may look forward to being a partner, and in +a lucrative situation, some years hence. This is the way I managed, and +I raised myself by degrees to what you see. It is true, I was not at +first encumbered with a wife and young child. In due time I married my +master's daughter, which was a great furtherance to me; but then, on the +other hand, your wife is my relation; and to be married to the relation +of a rich merchant is next best to not being married at all in your +situation. I told you I thought it my duty to proffer assistance as well +as advice: so take up your abode with me for a fortnight; in that time I +shall be able to judge whether you are capable of being a clerk; and, if +you and I should suit, we will talk farther. You understand that I enter +into no engagement, and make no promise; but shall be glad to lodge you, +and your wife, and little boy, for a fortnight; and it will be your +own fault, and must be your own loss, if the visit turns out waste of +time.--I cannot stay to talk to you any longer at present," added he, +pulling out his watch, "for I have business, and business waits for no +man. Go back to your inn for my relation, and her little one. We dine at +two precisely." + +I left Mr. Croft's house with a vague indescribable feeling of +dissatisfaction and disappointment; but when I arrived at my inn, and +repeated all that had passed to my wife, she seemed quite surprised and +delighted by the civil and friendly manner in which this gentleman +had behaved. She tried to reason the matter with me; but there is no +reasoning with imagination. + +The fact was, Mr. Croft had destroyed certain vague and visionary ideas, +that I had indulged, of making, by some unknown means, a rapid fortune +in America; and to be reduced to real life, and sink into a clerk in a +merchant's counting-house, was mortification and misery. Lucy in vain +dwelt upon the advantage of having found, immediately upon my arrival in +Philadelphia, a certain mode of employment, and a probability of rising +to be a partner in one of the first mercantile houses, if I went on +steadily for a few years. I was forced to acknowledge that her relation +was very good; that I was certainly very fortunate; and that I ought +to think myself very much obliged to Mr. Croft. But, after avowing +all this, I walked up and down the room in melancholy reverie for a +considerable length of time. My wife reminded me repeatedly that +Mr. Croft said he dined precisely at two o'clock; that he was a very +punctual man; that it was a long walk, as I had found it, from the inn +to his house; that I had better dress myself for dinner; and that my +clean shirt and cravat were ready for me. I still walked up and down +the room in reverie till my wife was completely ready, had dressed the +child, and held up my watch before my eyes to show me that it wanted +but ten minutes of two. I then began to dress in the greatest hurry +imaginable: and, unluckily, as I was pulling on my silk stocking, I tore +a hole in the leg, or as my wife expressed it, a stitch dropped, and I +was forced to wait while she repaired the evil. Certainly this operation +of _taking up a stitch_, as I am instructed to call it, is one of the +slowest operations in nature; or, rather, one of the most tedious +and teazing manoeuvres of art. Though the most willing and the most +dexterous fingers that ever touched a needle were employed in my +service, I thought the work would never be finished. + +At last, I was _hosed_ and shod, and out we set. It struck a quarter +past two as we left the house; we came to Mr. Croft's in the middle of +dinner. He had a large company at table; every body was disturbed; my +Lucy was a stranger to Mrs. Croft, and was to be introduced; and +nothing could be more awkward and embarrassing than our _entrée_ and +introduction. There were such compliments and apologies, such changing +of places, such shuffling of chairs, and running about of servants, that +I thought we should never be seated. + +In the midst of the bustle my little chap began to roar most horribly, +and to struggle to get away from a black servant, who was helping him +up on his chair. The child's terror at the sudden approach of the negro +could not be conquered, nor could he by any means be quieted. Mrs. +Croft, at last, ordered the negro out of the room, the roaring ceased, +and nothing but the child's sobs were heard for some instants. + +The guests were all silent, and had ceased eating; Mrs. Croft was vexed +because _every thing was cold_; Mr. Croft was much discomfited, and +said not a syllable more than was absolutely necessary, as master of the +house. I never ate, or rather I was never at a more disagreeable dinner. +I was in pain for Lucy, as well as for myself; her colour rose up to her +temples. I cursed myself a hundred times for not having gone to dress in +time. + +At length, to my great relief, the cloth was taken away; but even +when we came to the wine after dinner, the cold formality of my +host continued unabated, and I began to fear that he had taken an +insurmountable dislike to me, and that I should lose all the advantages +of his protection and assistance: advantages which rose considerably in +my estimation, when I apprehended I was upon the point of losing them. + +Soon after dinner, a young gentleman of the name of Hudson joined the +company; his manners and appearance were prepossessing; he was frank +and well-bred; and the effect of his politeness was soon felt, as if by +magic, for every body became at their ease; his countenance was full +of life and fire; and though he said nothing that showed remarkable +abilities, everything he said pleased. As soon as he found that I was a +stranger, he addressed his conversation principally to me. I recovered +my spirits, exerted myself to entertain him, and succeeded. He was +delighted to hear news from England, and especially from London; a city +which he said he had an ardent desire to visit. When he took leave of +me in the evening, he expressed very warmly the wish to cultivate my +acquaintance, and I was the more flattered and obliged by this +civility, because I was certain that he knew exactly my situation and +circumstances, Mrs. Croft having explained them to him very fully even +in my hearing. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +In the course of the ensuing week, young Mr. Hudson and I saw one +another almost every day, and our mutual liking for each other's company +increased. He introduced me to his father, who had been a planter; and, +having made a large fortune, came to reside at Philadelphia, to enjoy +himself, as he said, for the remainder of his days. He lived in what the +sober Americans called a most luxurious and magnificent style. The best +company in Philadelphia met at his house: and he delighted particularly +in seeing those who had convivial talents, and who would supply him with +wit and gaiety, in which he was naturally rather deficient. + +On my first visit, I perceived that his son had boasted of me as one +of the best companions in the world; and I determined to support the +character that had been given of me; I told two or three good stories, +and sang two or three good songs. The company were charmed with me; old +Mr. Hudson was particularly delighted; he gave me a pressing general +invitation to his house, and most of the principal guests followed his +example. I was not a little elated with this success. Mr. Croft was +with me at this entertainment; and I own I was peculiarly gratified by +feeling that I at once became conspicuous, by my talents, in a company +where he was apparently of no consequence, notwithstanding all his +wealth and prudence. + +As we went home together, he said to me very gravely, "I would not +advise you, Mr. Basil Lowe, to accept of all these invitations, nor +to connect yourself intimately with young Hudson. The society at Mr. +Hudson's is very well for those who have made a fortune, and want to +spend it; but for those who have a fortune to make, in my opinion, it is +not only useless but dangerous." + +I was in no humour, at this moment, to profit by this sober advice; +especially as I fancied it might be dictated, in some degree, by envy of +my superior talents and accomplishments. My wife, however, supported +his advice by many excellent and kind arguments. She observed that these +people, who invited me to their houses as a good companion, followed +merely their own pleasure, and would never be of any real advantage to +me; that Mr. Croft, on the contrary, showed, from the first hour when I +applied to him, a desire to serve me; that he had pointed out the means +of establishing myself; and that, in the advice he gave me, he could be +actuated only by a wish to be of use to me; that it was more reasonable +to suspect him of despising than of envying talents which were not +directed to the grand object of gaining money. + +Good sense, from the lips of a woman whom a man loves, has a mighty +effect upon his understanding, especially if he sincerely believe that +the woman has no desire to rule. This was my singular case. I promised +Lucy I would refuse all invitations for the ensuing fortnight, and +devote myself to whatever business Mr. Croft might devise. No one could +be more assiduous than I was for ten days; and I perceived that Mr. +Croft, though it was not his custom to praise, was well satisfied with +my diligence. Unluckily, on the eleventh day I put off in the morning +making out an invoice, which he left for me to do, and I was persuaded +in the evening to go out with young Mr. Hudson. I had expressed, +in conversation with him, some curiosity about the American +_frog-concerts_, of which I had read, in modern books of travels, +extraordinary accounts. + +Mr. Hudson persuaded me to accompany him to a swamp, at some miles' +distance from Philadelphia, to hear one of these concerts. The +performance lasted some time, and it was late before we returned to +town: I went to bed tired, and waked in the morning with a cold, which +I had caught by standing so long in the swamp. I lay an hour after I was +called, in hopes of getting rid of my cold: when I was at last up and +dressed, I recollected my invoice, and resolved to do it the first thing +after breakfast; but, unluckily, I put it off till I had looked for some +lines in Homer's "Battle of the Frogs and Mice." There was no Homer, +as you may guess, in Mr. Croft's house, and I went to a bookseller's to +borrow one: he had Pope's Iliad and Odyssey, but no Battle of the Frogs +and Mice. I walked over half the town in search of it; at length I found +it, and was returning in triumph, with Homer in each pocket, when at the +door of Mr. Croft's house I found half a dozen porters, with heavy loads +upon their backs. + +"Where are you going, my good fellows?" said I. + +"To the quay, sir, with the cargo for the Betsy." + +"My God!" cried I. "Stop. Can't you stop a minute? I thought the Betsy +was not to sail till to-morrow. Stop one minute." + +"No, sir," said they, "that we can't; for the captain bade us make what +haste we could to the quay to load her." + +I ran into the house; the captain of the Betsy was bawling in the hall, +with his hat on the back of his head; Mr. Croft on the landing-place of +the warehouse-stairs with open letters in his hand, and two or three of +the under-clerks were running different ways with pens in their mouths. + +"Mr. Basil! the invoice!" exclaimed all the clerks at once, the moment I +made my appearance. + +"Mr. Basil Lowe, the invoice and the copy, if you please," repeated Mr. +Croft. "We have sent three messengers after you. Very extraordinary to +go out at this time of day, and not even to leave word where you were +to be found. Here's the captain of the Betsy has been waiting this half +hour for the invoice. Well, sir! Will you go for it now? And at the same +time bring me the copy, to enclose in this letter to our correspondent +by post." + +I stood petrified. "Sir, the invoice, sir!--Good Heavens! I forgot it +entirely." + +"You remember it now, sir, I suppose. Keep your apologies till we have +leisure. The invoices, if you please." + +"The invoices! My God, sir! I beg ten thousand pardons! They are not +drawn out." + +"Not drawn out. Impossible!" said Mr. Croft. + +"Then I'm off," cried the captain, with a tremendous oath. "I can't wait +another tide for any clerk breathing." + +"Send back the porters, captain, if you please," said Mr. Croft, coolly. +"The whole cargo must be unpacked. I took it for granted, Mr. Basil, +that you had drawn the invoice, according to order, yesterday morning; +and of course the goods were packed in the evening. I was certainly +wrong in taking it for granted that you would be punctual. A man of +business should take nothing for granted. This is a thing that will not +occur to me again as long as I live." + +I poured forth expressions of contrition; but apparently unmoved by +them, and without anger or impatience in his manner, he turned from me +as soon as the porters came back with the goods, and ordered them all to +be unpacked and replaced in the warehouse. I was truly concerned. + +"I believe you spent your evening yesterday with young Mr. Hudson?" said +he, turning to me. + +"Yes, sir,--I am sincerely sorry------" + +"Sorrow, in these cases, does no good, sir," interrupted he. "I thought +I had sufficiently warned you of the danger of forming that intimacy. +Midnight carousing will not do for men of business." + +"Carousing, sir!" said I. "Give me leave to assure you that we were not +carousing. We were only at a _frog-concert_." + +Mr. Croft, who had at least suppressed his displeasure till now, +looked absolutely angry; he thought I was making a joke of him. When +I convinced him that I was in earnest, he changed from anger to +astonishment, with a large mixture of contempt in his nasal muscles. + +"A frog-concert!" repeated he. "And is it possible that any man could +neglect an invoice merely to go to hear a parcel of frogs croaking in a +swamp? Sir, you will never do in a mercantile house." He walked off to +the warehouse, and left me half mortified and half provoked. + +From this time forward all hopes from Mr. Croft's friendship were at +an end. He was coldly civil to me during the few remaining days of the +fortnight that we stayed at his house, He took the trouble, however, of +looking out for a cheap and tolerably comfortable lodging for my wife +and boy; the rent of which he desired to pay for his relation, he said, +as long as I should remain in Philadelphia, or till I should find myself +in some eligible situation. He seemed pleased with Lucy, and said she +was a very properly conducted, well disposed, prudent young woman, whom +he was not ashamed to own for a cousin. He repeated, at parting, that +he should be happy to afford me every assistance _in reason_, towards +pursuing any feasible plan of advancing myself; but it was his decided +opinion that I could never succeed in a mercantile line. + +I never liked Mr. Croft; he was much too _punctual_, too much of an +automaton, for me; but I should have felt more regret at leaving him, +and losing his friendship, and should have expressed more gratitude for +his kindness to Lucy and my boy, if my head had not at the time +been full of young Hudson. He professed the warmest regard for me, +congratulated me on getting free from old Croft's mercantile clutches, +and assured me that such a man as I was could not fail to succeed in +the world by my own talents and the assistance of friends and good +connexions. + +I was now almost every day at his father's house in company with numbers +of rich and gay people, who were all _my friends_. I was the life of +society, was invited every where, and accepted every invitation, because +I could not offend Mr. Hudson's intimate acquaintance. + +From day to day, from week to week, from month to month, I went on in +this style. I was old Hudson's grand favourite, and every body told me +he could do any thing he pleased for me. I had formed a scheme, a bold +scheme, of obtaining from government a large tract of territory in +the ceded lands of Louisiana, and of collecting a subscription in +Philadelphia among _my friends_, to make a settlement there: the +subscribers to be paid by instalments, so much the first year, so much +the second, and so onward, till the whole should be liquidated. I was +to collect hands from the next ships, which were expected to be full +of emigrants from Ireland and Scotland. I had soon a long list of +subscribers, who gave me their names always after dinner, or after +supper. Old Hudson wrote his name at the head of the list, with an +ostentatiously large sum opposite to it. + +As nothing could be done until the ensuing spring, when the ships were +expected, I spent my time in the same convivial manner. The spring came, +but there was no answer obtained from government respecting the ceded +territory; and a delay of a few months was necessary. Mr. Hudson, the +father, was the person who had undertaken to apply for the grant; and +he spoke always of the scheme, and of his own powers of carrying it into +effect, in the most confident manner. From his conversation any body +would have supposed that the mines of Peru were upon his plantation; and +that in comparison with his the influence of the President of the United +States was nothing. I was a full twelvemonth before I was convinced that +he was a boaster and a _fabulist_; and I was another twelvemonth before +I could persuade myself that he was one of the most selfish, indolent, +and obstinate of human beings. He was delighted to have me always at his +table to entertain him and his guests, but he had not the slightest real +regard for me, or care for my interests. He would talk to me as long as +I pleased of his possessions, and his improvements, and his wonderful +crops; but the moment I touched upon any of my own affairs, he would +begin to yawn, throw himself on a sofa, and seem going to sleep. +Whenever I mentioned his subscription, he would say with a frown--"We +will talk of that, Basil, _to-morrow_." + +Of my whole list of subscribers, not above four ever paid a shilling +into my hands: their excuse always was, "When government has given an +answer about the ceded territory, we will pay the subscriptions;" and +the answer of government always was--"When the subscriptions are paid, +we will make out a grant of the land." I was disgusted, and out of +spirits; but I thought all my chance was to persevere, and to keep _my +friends_ in good-humour: so that I was continually under the necessity +of appearing the same jovial companion, laughing, singing, and drinking, +when, Heaven knows, my heart was heavy enough. + +At the end of the second year of promises, delays, and disappointments, +my Lucy, who had always foretold how things would turn out, urged me +to withdraw myself from this idle society, to give up my scheme, and +to take the management of a small plantation in conjunction with the +brother of Mr. Croft. His regard for my wife, who had won much upon this +family by her excellent conduct, induced him to make me this offer; but +I considered so long, and hesitated so much, whether I should accept of +this proposal, that the time for accepting it passed away. + +I had still hopes that my friend, young Hudson, would enable me to carry +my grand project into execution; he had a considerable plantation in +Jamaica, left to him by his grandfather on the mother's side; he was +to be of age, and to take possession of it the ensuing year, and he +proposed to sell it, and to apply some of the purchase-money to our +scheme, of the success of which he had as sanguine expectations as I had +myself. He was of a most enthusiastic, generous temper. I had obtained +the greatest influence over him, and I am convinced, at this time, there +was nothing in the world he would not have sacrificed for my sake. +All that he required from me was to be his constant companion. He was +extravagantly fond of field sports; and, though a Londoner, I was a good +shot, and a good angler; for, during the time I was courting Lucy, I +found it necessary to make myself a sportsman to win the favour of +her brothers. With these accomplishments, my hold upon the esteem and +affections of my friend was all-powerful. Every day in the season we +went out shooting or fishing together: then, in the winter-time, we had +various employments, I mean, various excuses for idleness. Hudson was a +great skaiter, and he had infinite diversion in teaching me to skait +at the hazard of my skull. He was also to initiate me in the American +pastime of _sleighing_, or sledging. Many a desperately cold winter's +day I have submitted to be driven in his sledge, when I would much +rather, I own, have been safe and snug by my own fireside, with my wife. + +Poor Lucy spent her time in a disagreeable and melancholy way during +these three years: for, while I was out almost every day and all day +long, she was alone in her lodging for numberless hours. She never +repined, but always received me with a good-humoured countenance when +I came home, even after sitting up half the night to wait for my return +from Hudson's suppers. It grieved me to the heart to see her thus +seemingly deserted, but I comforted myself with the reflection that this +way of life would last but for a short time; that my friend would soon +be of age, and able to fulfil all his promises; and that we should then +all live together in happiness. I assured Lucy that the present idle, if +not dissipated, manner in which I spent my days was not agreeable to my +taste; that I was often extremely melancholy, even when I was forced +to appear in the highest spirits; and that I often longed to be quietly +with her, when I was obliged to sacrifice my time to friendship. + +It would have been impossible that she and my child could have subsisted +all this time independently, but for her steadiness and exertions. She +would not accept of any pecuniary assistance except from her relation, +Mr. Croft, who regularly paid the rent of her lodgings. She undertook +to teach some young ladies, whom Mrs. Croft introduced to her, various +kinds of fine needlework, in which she excelled; and for this she was +well paid. I know that she never cost me one farthing, during the three +years and three months that we lived in Philadelphia. But even for this +I do not give her so much credit as for her sweet temper during these +trials, and her great forbearance in never reproaching or disputing with +me. Many wives, who are called excellent managers, make their husbands +pay tenfold in suffering what they save in money. This was not my Lucy's +way; and, therefore, with my esteem and respect, she ever had my fondest +affections. I was in hopes that the hour was just coming when I should +be able to prove this to her, and when we should no longer be doomed to +spend our days asunder. But, alas! her judgment was better than mine. + +My friend Hudson was now within six weeks of being of age, when, +unfortunately, there arrived in Philadelphia a company of players from +England. Hudson, who was eager for every thing that had the name of +pleasure, insisted upon my going with him to their first representation. +Among the actresses there was a girl of the name of Marion, who seemed +to be ordinary enough, just fit for a company of strolling players, but +she danced passably well, and danced a great deal between the acts that +night. Hudson clapped his hands till I was quite out of patience. He was +in raptures, and the more I depreciated, the more he extolled the girl. +I wished her in Nova Zembla, for I saw he was falling in love with her, +and had a kind of presentiment of all that was to follow. To tell the +matter briefly, (for what signifies dwelling upon past misfortunes?) the +more young Hudson's passion increased for this dancing girl, the more +his friendship for me declined; for I had frequent arguments with him +upon the subject, and did all I could to open his eyes. I saw that the +damsel had art, that she knew the extent of her power, and that she +would draw her infatuated lover in to marry her. He was headstrong and +violent in all his passions; he quarrelled with me, carried the girl +off to Jamaica, married her the day he was of age, and settled upon his +plantation. There was an end of all my hopes about the ceded territory. + +Lucy, who was always my resource in misfortune, comforted me by saying I +had done my duty in combating my friend's folly at the expense of my own +interest; and that, though he had quarrelled with me, she loved me the +better for it. + +Reflecting upon my own history and character, I have often thought it +a pity that, with certain good qualities, and I will add talents, which +deserved a better fate, I should have never succeeded in any thing I +attempted, because I could not conquer one seemingly slight defect in +my disposition, which had grown into a habit. Thoroughly determined by +Lucy's advice to write to Mr. Croft, to request he would give me another +trial, I put off sending the letter till the next day; and that very +morning Mr. Croft set off on a journey to a distant part of the country, +to see a daughter who was newly married. + +I was vexed, and from a want of something better to do, went out +a-shooting, to get rid of disagreeable thoughts. I shot several +pheasants, and when I came home, carried them, as was my custom, to old +Mr. Hudson's kitchen, and gave them to the cook. I happened to stay in +the kitchen to feed a favourite dog, while the cook was _preparing_ the +birds I had brought. I observed, in the crop of one of the pheasants, +some bright green leaves, and some buds, which I suspected to be the +leaves and buds of the _kalmia latifolia_, a poisonous shrub. I was not +quite certain, for I had almost forgotten the little botany which I knew +before I went to China. I took the leaves home with me, to examine them +at leisure, and to compare them with the botanical description; and I +begged that the cook would not dress the birds till she saw or heard +from me again. I promised to see her, or send to her the next day. But +the next day, when I went to the library, to look into a book of botany, +my attention was caught by some new reviews, which were just arrived +from London. I put off the examination of the _kalmia latifolia_ till +the day after. To-morrow, said I, will do just as well, for I know the +cook will not dress the pheasants to-day: old Hudson does not like them +till they have been kept _a day or two_. + +To-morrow came, and the leaves were forgotten till evening, when I saw +them lying on my table, and put them out of the way; lest my little boy +should find and eat them. I was sorry that I had not examined them +this day, but I satisfied myself in the same way as I had done before: +to-morrow will do as well; the cook will not dress the pheasants to-day; +old Hudson thinks them the better for being kept _two or three days_. + +To-morrow came; but, as the leaves of the _kalmia latifolia_ were out +of my sight, they went out of my mind. I was invited to an entertainment +this day at the mayor's: there was a large company, and after dinner I +was called upon, as usual, for a song; the favourite song of + + "Dance and sing, Time's on the wing, + Life never knows return of spring;" + +when a gentleman came in, pale and breathless, to tell us that Mr. +Hudson and three gentlemen, who had been dining with him, were suddenly +seized with convulsions after eating of a pheasant, and that they were +not expected to live. My blood ran cold: I exclaimed, "My God! I am +answerable for this." On my making this exclamation, there was immediate +silence in the room; and every eye turned upon me with astonishment and +horror. I fell back in my chair, and what passed afterward I know not; +but when I came to myself, I found two men in the room with me, who were +set to guard me. The bottles and glasses were still upon the table, but +the company were all dispersed; and the mayor, as my guards informed me, +was gone to Mr. Hudson's to take his dying deposition. + +In this instance, as in all cases of sudden alarm, report had +exaggerated the evil: Mr. Hudson, though extremely ill, was not dying; +his three guests, after some hours' illness, were perfectly recovered. +Mr. Hudson, who had eaten the most plentifully of the pheasant, was not +_himself_, as he said, for two days; the third day he was able to +see company at dinner as usual, and my mind was relieved from an +insupportable state of anxiety. + +Upon examination, the mayor was convinced that I was perfectly innocent: +the cook told the exact truth, blamed herself for not sending to me +before she dressed the birds; but said that she concluded I had found +the leaves I took home were harmless, as I never came to tell her the +contrary. + +I was liberated, and went home to my wife. She clasped me in her arms, +but could not articulate a syllable. By her joy at seeing me again, she +left me to judge of what she must have suffered during this terrible +interval. + +For some time after this unfortunate accident happened, it continued to +be the subject of general conversation in Philadelphia. The story was +told a thousand different ways, and the comments upon it were in various +ways injurious to me. Some blamed me, for what indeed I deserved to be +most severely blamed, my delaying one hour to examine the leaves found +in the crop of the pheasant; others affected to think it absolutely +impossible that any human being could be so dilatory and negligent, +where the lives of fellow-creatures and _friends_, and friends by whom I +had been treated with the utmost hospitality for years, were concerned. +Others, still more malicious, hinted that, though I had been favoured by +the mayor, and perhaps by the goodness of poor Mr. Hudson, there must be +something more than had come to light in the business; and some boldly +pronounced that the story of the leaves of the _kalmia latifolia_ was a +mere blind, for that the pheasant could not have been rendered poisonous +by such means. {Footnote: "In the severe winter of the years 1790 and +1791, there appeared to be such unequivocal reasons for believing that +several persons in Philadelphia had died in consequence of their eating +pheasants, in whose crops the leaves and buds of the _kalmia latifolia_ +were found, that the mayor of the city thought it prudent and his +duty to warn the people against the use of this bird, by a public +proclamation. I know that by many persons, especially by some lovers +of pheasants' flesh, the circumstance just mentioned was supposed to be +destitute of foundation: but the foundation was a solid one." + +_Vide_ a paper by B. Smith Barton, M.D., American Transactions, vol. +li.} + +That a motive might not be wanting for the crime, it was whispered that +old Mr. Hudson had talked of leaving me a considerable legacy, which I +was impatient to touch, that I might carry my adventuring schemes into +execution. I was astonished as much as shocked at the sudden alteration +in the manners of all my acquaintances. The tide of popularity changed, +and I was deserted. That those who had lived with me so long in +convivial intimacy, that those who had courted, admired, flattered me, +those who had so often professed themselves my friends, could suddenly, +without the slightest probability, believe me capable of the most +horrible crime, appeared to me scarcely credible. In reality, many would +not give themselves the trouble to _think_ about the matter, but were +glad of a pretence to shake off the acquaintance of a man of whose +stories and songs they began to be weary, and who had put their names to +a subscription, which they did not wish to be called upon to pay. Such +is the world! Such is the fate of all _good fellows_, and excellent +bottle companions! Certain to be deserted, by their dear friends, at the +least reverse of fortune. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +My situation in Philadelphia was now so disagreeable, and my disgust +and indignation were so great, that I determined to quit the country. My +real friend, Mr. Croft, was absent all this time from town. I am sure, +if he had been at home, he would have done me justice; for, though he +never liked me, he was a just, slow-judging man, who would not have been +run away with by the hurry of popular prejudice: I had other reasons for +regretting his absence: I could not conveniently quit America without +money, and he was the only person to whom I could or would apply for +assistance. We had not many debts, for which I must thank my excellent +wife; but, when every thing to the last farthing was paid, I was obliged +to sell my watch and some trinkets, to get money for our voyage. I +was not accustomed to such things, and I was ashamed to go to the +pawnbroker's, lest I should be met and recognized by some of my friends. +I wrapped myself up in an old surtout, and slouched my hat over my face. + +As I was crossing the quay, I met a party of gentlemen walking arm in +arm. I squeezed past them, but one stopped to look after me; and, though +I turned down another street to escape him, he dogged me unperceived. +Just as I came out of the pawnbroker's shop, I saw him posted opposite +to me: I brushed by; I could with pleasure have knocked him down for his +impertinence. By the time that I had reached the corner of the street, I +heard a child calling after me. I stopped, and a little boy put into my +hands my watch, saying, "Sir, the gentleman says you left your watch and +these thingumbobs by mistake." + +"What gentleman?" + +"I don't know, but he was one that said I looked like an honest chap, +and he'd trust me to run and give you the watch. He is dressed in a blue +coat. He went toward the quay. That's all I know." + +On opening the paper of trinkets I found a card with these words: +"_Barny_--with kind thanks." + +Barny! Poor Barny! The Irishman whose passage I paid coming to America +three years ago. Is it possible? + +I ran after him the way which the child directed, and was so fortunate +as just to catch a glimpse of the skirt of his coat, as he went into a +neat, good-looking house. I walked up and down some time, expecting him +to come out again; for I could not suppose that it belonged to Barny. +I asked a grocer, who was leaning over his hatch door, if he knew who +lived in the next house? + +"An Irish gentleman, of the name of O'Grady." + +"And his Christian name?" + +"Here it is in my books, sir--Barnaby O'Grady." + +I knocked at Mr. O'Grady's door, and made my way into the parlour; where +I found him, his two sons and his wife, sitting very sociably at tea. He +and the two young men rose immediately to set me a chair. + +"You are welcome, kindly welcome, sir," said he. "This is an honour +I never expected any way. Be pleased to take the seat near the fire. +'Twould be hard indeed if you _would_ {Footnote: Should.} not have the +best seat that's to be had in this house, where we none of us never +should have sat, nor had seats to sit upon, but for you." + +The sons pulled off my shabby great coat, and took away my hat, and the +wife made up the fire. There was something in their manner altogether +which touched me so much, that it was with difficulty I could keep +myself from bursting into tears. They saw this, and Barny, (for I shall +never call him any thing else,) as he thought that I should like better +to hear of public affairs than to speak of my own, began to ask his sons +if they had _seen the day's_ papers, and what news there were? + +As soon as I could command my voice, I congratulated his family upon the +happy situation in which I found them; and asked by what lucky accidents +they had succeeded so well? + +"The luckiest accident ever _happened me_ before or since I came to +America," said Barny, "was being on board the same vessel with such a +man as you. If you had not given me the first lift, I had been down for +good and all, and trampled under foot long and long ago. But after that +first lift, all was as easy as life. My two sons here were not taken +from me--God bless you! for I never can bless you enough for that. The +lads were left to work for me and with me; and we never parted, hand or +heart, but just kept working on together, and put all our earnings as +fast as we got them, into the hands of that good woman, and lived hard +at first, as we were bred and born to do, thanks be to Heaven! Then we +swore against drink of all sorts entirely. And, as I had occasionally +served the masons, when I lived a labouring man in the county of Dublin, +and knew something of that business, why, whatever I knew I made the +most of, and a trowel felt no ways strange to me; so I went to work, and +had higher wages at first than I deserved. The same with the two boys: +one was as much of a blacksmith as would shoe a horse; and t'other a +bit of a carpenter; and the one got plenty of work in the forges, +and t'other in the dockyards, as a ship carpenter. So early and late, +morning and evening, we were all at the work, and just went this way +struggling on even for a twelvemonth, and found, with the high wages and +constant employ we had met, that we were getting greatly better in the +world. Besides, the wife was not idle. When a girl, she had seen baking, +and had always a good notion of it, and just tried her hand upon it now, +and found the loaves went down with the customers, and the customers +coming faster and faster for them; and this was a great help. Then I +grew master mason, and had my men under me, and took a house to build +by the job, and that did; and then on to another and another; and after +building many for the neighbours, 'twas fit and my turn, I thought, to +build one for myself, which I did out of theirs, without wronging them +of a penny. And the boys grew master-men in their line; and when they +got good coats, nobody could say against them, for they had come fairly +by them, and became them well perhaps for that reason. So, not to be +tiring you too much, we went on from good to better, and better to best; +and if it pleased God to question me how it was we got on so well in the +world, I should answer, Upon my conscience, myself does not know; except +it be that we never made Saint Monday, {Footnote: _Saint Monday_, or +Saint Crispin. It is a custom in Ireland, among shoemakers, if they +intoxicate themselves on Sunday, to do no work on Monday; and this they +call making a Saint Monday, or keeping Saint Crispin's day. Many have +adopted this good custom from the example of the shoemakers.} nor never +put off till the morrow what we could do the day." I believe I sighed +deeply at this observation, notwithstanding the comic phraseology in +which it was expressed. + +"But all this is no rule for a gentleman born," pursued the good-natured +Barny, in answer, I suppose, to the sigh which I uttered; "nor is it any +disparagement to him if he has not done as well in a place like America, +where he had not the means; not being used to bricklaying and slaving +with his hands, and striving as we did. Would it be too much liberty to +ask you to drink a cup of tea, and to taste a slice of my good woman's +bread and butter? And happy the day we see you eating it, and only wish +we could serve you in any way whatsoever." + +I verily believe the generous fellow forgot, at this instant, that he +had redeemed my watch and wife's trinkets. He would not let me thank him +as much as I wished, but kept pressing upon me fresh offers of service. +When he found I was going to leave America, he asked what vessel we +should go in? I was really afraid to tell him, lest he should attempt to +pay for my passage. But for this he had, as I afterwards found, too much +delicacy of sentiment. He discovered, by questioning the captains, in +what ship we were to sail; and, when we went on board, we found him +and his sons there to take leave of us, which they did in the most +affectionate manner; and, after they were gone, we found in the state +cabin, directed to me, every thing that could be useful or agreeable to +us, as sea-stores, for a long voyage. + +How I wronged this man, when I thought his expressions of gratitude were +not sincere, because they were not made exactly in the mode and with the +accent of my own countrymen! I little thought that Barny and his sons +would be the only persons who would bid us a friendly adieu when we were +to leave America. + +We had not exhausted our bountiful provision of sea-stores when we were +set ashore in England. We landed at Liverpool; and I cannot describe the +melancholy feelings with which I sat down, in the little back parlour +of the inn, to count my money, and to calculate whether we had enough to +carry us to London. Is this, thought I, as I looked at the few guineas +and shillings spread on the table, is this all I have in this world? I, +my wife, and child! And is this the end of three years' absence from my +native country? As the negroes say of a fool who takes a voyage in vain, +I am come back "_with little more than the hair upon my head_." Is this +the end of all my hopes, and all my talents? What will become of my wife +and child? I ought to insist upon her going home to her friends, that +she may at least have the necessaries and comforts of life, till I am +able to maintain her. + +The tears started from my eyes; they fell upon an old newspaper, which +lay upon the table under my elbow. I took it up to hide my face from +Lucy and my child, who just then came into the room: and, as I read +without well knowing what, I came among the advertisements to my own +name. + +"If Mr. Basil Lowe, or his heir, will apply to Mr. Gregory, attorney, +No. 34, Cecil-street, he will hear of something to his advantage." + +I started up with an exclamation of joy, wiped my tears from the +newspaper, put it into Lucy's hand, pointed to the advertisement, and +ran to take places in the London coach for the next morning. Upon +this occasion I certainly did not delay. Nor did I, when we arrived in +London, put off one moment going to Mr. Gregory's, No. 34, Cecil-street. + +Upon application to him I was informed that a very distant relation +of mine, a rich miser, had just died, and had left his accumulated +treasures to me, "because I was the only one of his relations who had +never cost him a single farthing." Other men have to complain of their +ill fortune, perhaps with justice; and this is a great satisfaction, +which I have never enjoyed; for I must acknowledge that all my disasters +have arisen from my own folly. Fortune has been uncommonly favourable +to me. Without any merit of my own, or rather, as it appeared, in +consequence of my negligent habits, which prevented me from visiting a +rich relation, I was suddenly raised from the lowest state of pecuniary +distress to the height of affluent prosperity. + +I took possession of a handsome house in an agreeable part of the town, +and enjoyed the delight of sharing all the comforts and luxuries which +wealth could procure, with the excellent woman who had been my support +in adversity. I must do myself the justice to observe that I did not +become dissipated or extravagant; affection and gratitude to my Lucy +filled my whole mind, and preserved me from the faults incident to +those who rise suddenly from poverty to wealth. I did not forget my good +friend, Mr. Nun, who had relieved me formerly from prison; of course I +paid the debt which he had forgiven, and lost no opportunity of showing +him kindness and gratitude. + +I was now placed in a situation where the best parts of my character +appeared to advantage, and where the grand defect of my disposition was +not apparently of any consequence. I was not now obliged, like a man of +business, to be punctual; and delay, in mere engagements of pleasure, +was a trifling offence, and a matter of raillery among my acquaintance. +My talents in conversation were admired, and, if I postponed +letter-writing, my correspondents only tormented me a little with polite +remonstrances. I was conscious that I was not cured of my faults; but +I rejoiced that I was not now obliged to reform, or in any danger of +involving those I loved in distress, by my negligence. + +For one year I was happy, and flattered myself that I did not waste +my time; for, at my leisure, I read with attention all the ancient +and modern works upon education. I resolved to select from them what +appeared most judicious and practicable; and so to form, from the +beauties of each, a perfect system for the advantage of my son. He was +my only child; he had lived with me eighteen months in prison: he was +the darling of his mother, whom I adored, and he was thought to be in +mind and person a striking resemblance of myself. How many reasons had +I to love him!--I doted upon the child. He certainly showed great +quickness of intellect, and gave as fair a promise of talents as could +be expected at his age. I formed hopes of his future excellence and +success in the world, as sanguine as those which my poor father had +early formed of mine. I determined to watch carefully over his temper, +and to guard him particularly against that habit of procrastination +which had been the bane of my life. + +One day, while I was alone in my study, leaning on my elbow, and +meditating upon the system of education which I designed for my son, my +wife came to me and said, "My dear, I have just heard from our friend, +Mr. Nun, a circumstance that alarms me a good deal. You know little +Harry Nun was inoculated at the same time with our Basil, and by the +same person. Mrs. Nun, and all the family, thought he had several spots, +just as much as our boy had, and that that was enough; but two years +afterwards, while we were in America, Harry Nun caught the small-pox in +the natural way, and died. Now it seems the man who inoculated him was +quite ignorant; for two or three other children, whom he attended, have +caught the disease since, though he was positive that they were safe. +Don't you think we had better have our boy inoculated again immediately, +by some proper person?" + +"Undoubtedly, my dear; undoubtedly. But I think we had better have him +vaccined. I am not sure, however; but I will ask Dr. ------'s opinion +this day, and be guided by that; I shall see him at dinner: he has +promised to dine with us." + +Some accident prevented him from coming, and I thought of writing to him +the next day, but afterward put it off. Lucy came again into my study, +where she was sure to find me in the morning. "My dear," said she, "do +you recollect that you desired me to defer inoculating our little boy +till you could decide whether it be best to inoculate him in the common +way or the vaccine?" + +"Yes, my dear, I recollect it perfectly well. I am much inclined to the +vaccine. My friend, Mr. L------, has had all his children vaccined, and +I just wait to see the effect." + +"Oh, my love!" said Lucy, "do not wait any longer; for you know we run a +terrible risk of his catching the small-pox, every day, every hour." + +"We have run that risk, and escaped for these three years past," said I; +"and, in my opinion, the boy has had the small-pox." + +"So Mr. and Mrs. Nun thought, and you see what has happened. Remember +our boy was inoculated by the same man. I am sure, ever since Mr. Nun +mentioned this, I never take little Basil out to walk, I never see him +in a shop, I never have him in the carriage with me, without being in +terror. Yesterday a woman came to the coach-door with a child in +her arms, who had a breaking out on his face. I thought it was the +small-pox, and was so terrified that I had scarcely strength or presence +of mind enough to draw up the glass. Our little boy was leaning out of +the door to give a halfpenny to the child. My God! if that child had the +small-pox!" + +"My love," said I, "do not alarm yourself so terribly; the boy shall be +inoculated to-morrow." + +"To-morrow! Oh, my dearest love, do not put it off till to-morrow," said +Lucy; "let him be inoculated to-day." + +"Well, my dear, only keep your mind easy, and he shall be inoculated +to-day, if possible; surely you must know I love the boy as well as you +do, and am as anxious about him as you can be." + +"I am sure of it, my love," said Lucy; "I meant no reproach. But since +you have decided that the boy shall be vaccined, let us send directly +for the surgeon, and have it done, and then he will be safe." + +She caught hold of the bell-cord to ring for a servant: I stopped her. + +"No, my dear, don't ring," said I; "for the men are both out. I have +sent one to the library for the new Letters on Education, and the other +to the rational toy-shop for some things I want for the child." + +"Then if the servants are out, I had better walk to the surgeon's, and +bring him back with me." + +"No, my dear," said I; "I must see Mr. L------'s children first. I am +going out immediately; I will call upon them: they are healthy children; +we can have the vaccine infection from them, and I will inoculate the +boy myself." + +Lucy submitted. I take a melancholy pleasure in doing her justice, by +recording every argument that she used, and every persuasive word that +she said to me, upon this occasion. I am anxious to show that she was +not in the least to blame. I alone am guilty! I alone ought to have +been the sufferer! It will scarcely be believed--I can hardly believe it +myself, that, after all Lucy said to me, I delayed two hours, and stayed +to finish making an extract from Rousseau's Emilius before I set out. +When I arrived at Mr. L------'s, the children were just gone out to take +an airing, and I could not see them. A few hours may sometimes make all +the difference between health and sickness, happiness and misery: I put +off till the next day the inoculation of my child. + +In the mean time a coachman came to me to be hired: my boy was playing +about the room, and, as I afterward collected, went close up to the man, +and, while I was talking, stood examining a greyhound upon his buttons. +I asked the coachman many questions, and kept him for some time in the +room. Just as I agreed to take him into my service, he said he could not +come to live with me till the next week, because _one of his children +was ill of the small-pox_. + +These words struck me to the heart. I had a dreadful presentiment of +what was to follow. I remember starting from my seat, and driving the +man out of the house with violent menaces. My boy, poor innocent victim! +followed, trying to pacify me, and holding me back by the skirts of my +coat. I caught him up in my arms. I could not kiss him; I felt as if I +was his murderer. I set him down again; indeed I trembled so violently +that I could not hold him. The child ran for his mother. + +I cannot dwell on these things. Our boy sickened the next week; and the +week afterward died in his mother's arms! Her health had suffered +much by the trials which she had gone through since our marriage. The +disapprobation of her father, the separation from all her friends, who +were at variance with me, my imprisonment, and then the death of her +only child, were too much for her fortitude. She endeavoured to conceal +this from me; but I saw that her health was rapidly declining. She was +always fond of the country; and, as my sole object now in life was to +do whatsoever I could to console and please her, I proposed to sell +our house in town, and to settle somewhere in the country. In the +neighbourhood of her father and mother there was a pretty place to be +let, which I had often heard her mention with delight; I determined to +take it: I had secret hopes that her friends would be gratified by this +measure, and that they would live upon good terms with us. Her mother +had seemed, by her letters, to be better disposed towards me since my +rich relation had left me his fortune. Lucy expressed great pleasure at +the idea of going to live in the country, near her parents; and I was +rejoiced to see her smile once more. Being naturally of a sanguine +disposition, hope revived in my heart; I flattered myself that we might +yet be happy, that my Lucy would recover her peace of mind and her +health, and that perhaps Heaven might bless us with another child. + +I lost no time in entering into treaty for the estate in the country, +and I soon found a purchaser for my excellent house in town. But my evil +genius prevailed. I had neglected to renew the insurance of my house; +the policy was out but nine days, {Footnote: Founded on fact.} when a +fire broke out in one of my servants' rooms at midnight, and, in spite +of all the assistance we could procure, the house was burnt to the +ground. I carried my wife out senseless in my arms; and, when I had +deposited her in a place of safety, returned to search for a portfolio, +in which was the purchase-money of the country estate, all in +bank-notes. But whether this portfolio was carried off by some of the +crowd, which had assembled round the ruins of my house, or whether it +was consumed in the flames, I cannot determine. A more miserable wretch +than I was could now scarcely be found in the world; and, to complete my +misfortunes, I felt the consciousness that they were all occasioned by +my own folly. + +I am now coming to the most extraordinary and the most interesting part +of my history. A new and surprising accident happened. + + +{_Note by the Editor_.--What this accident was can never now be known; +for Basil put off finishing his history till TO-MORROW. + +This fragment was found in an old escritoir, in an obscure lodging in +Swallow-street. + +_August_, 1803.} + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tales And Novels, Volume 2 (of 10), by +Maria Edgeworth + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES AND NOVELS, VOLUME 2 (OF 10) *** + +***** This file should be named 8720-8.txt or 8720-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/7/2/8720/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, David Widger, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + |