Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 2.
by Samuel Warren · English · Gutenberg #41332 · 936,251 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 2.
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 2.
Author: Samuel Warren
Release date: November 9, 2012 [eBook #41332]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41332
Credits: Produced by Matthias Grammel, Suzanne Shell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. VOLUME 2. ***
TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR.
VOL. II.
[Illustration: JE LE TIENS
The Crest and Coat of Arms of
Tittlebat Titmouse Esq M P
according to the description of
Sir Gorgeous Tintack, Garter King at Arms]
TEN
THOUSAND A-YEAR.
BY
SAMUEL WARREN, F.R.S.
VOL. II.
BOSTON:
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
1900.
University Press:
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
CONTENTS TO VOL. II.
CHAP. PAGE
I. After the battle.--The behavior of the belligerents;
and an adventurous project of Mr. Gammon's 1
II. The last chance; and some profitable reflections.--A
Quixote; and a friendly statesman, but with an
eye to business 31
III. Mr. Aubrey surrenders at discretion; and the opposing
generals hold a council of war.--A glimpse of the
Reverend Dismal Horror; and Mr. Quirk's entertainment
to Mr. and Mrs. Tag-rag 60
IV. Mr. Titmouse's magnificent kinsman, the Right Honorable
the Earl of Dreddlington, G. C. B.--Farewell to
Yatton! 89
V. Mr. Titmouse's first introduction to very high life
indeed.--A dinner with an Earl, in Grosvenor
Square 134
VI. Mr. Titmouse at Yatton, and the splendid festivities
attending his inauguration 170
VII. A gentleman in difficulties pondering his position and
prospects; never despair.--The Attorney-General,
and Mr. Weasel, special pleader.--Suspense and
trepidation 209
VIII. Mr. Aubrey's interview with Mr. Gammon; followed
by some philosophical reflections on life.--Messrs.
Yahoo and Fitz-Snooks _versus_ Titmouse; and Gammon
_versus_ them all.--Tippetiwink 251
IX. Titmouse become a great lion.--The Marquis Gants-Jaunes
de Millefleurs; and the Reverend Morphine
Velvet.--Mr. Titmouse presented at court after a
slight accident to the Earl of Dreddlington 304
X. A drop of the golden shower falls on Mr. Tag-rag, who
receives promotion.--Mr. Titmouse receives the
Earl of Dreddlington and Lady Cecilia, the Marquis
Gants-Jaunes de Millefleurs, Mr. Venom Tuft, and
Mr. Gammon, at Yatton.--Mr. Gammon and the
Earl of Dreddlington.--Sapping and Mining.--Lady
Cecilia and her three lovers; with her father's
masterly diplomacy in favor of one of them 345
XI. Mr. Aubrey in deep waters, where he meets with a
companion.--News from Dr. Tatham 399
XII. A communication from Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and
Snap.--Mr. Gammon in Vivian Street, after the
manner of a snake in a dove-cote.--Mr. Quirk's
contemplated action for breach of promise of
marriage 429
XIII. How Mr. Titmouse courted the Lady Cecilia.--Mr.
Titmouse stands for the borough of Yatton, but
unexpectedly encounters a formidable opponent 461
NOTES 485
TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR.
CHAPTER I.
"The Attorney-General did his work very fairly, I thought--eh, Lynx?"
said Mr. Subtle, as arm-in-arm with Mr. Lynx, he quitted the
Castle-gates, each of them on his way to their respective lodgings, to
prepare for the next day's work.
"Yes--he's a keen hand, to be sure: he's given us _all_ work enough; and
I must say, it's been a capital set-to between you! I'm _very_ glad you
got the verdict!"
"It wouldn't have done to be beaten on one's own dung-hill, as it
were--eh? By the way, Lynx, that was a good hit of yours about the
erasure--I ought, really, if it had occurred to me at the time, to have
given you the credit of it--'twas entirely yours, Lynx, I must say."
"Oh, no!"--replied Lynx, modestly. "It was a mere accident my lighting
on it; the merit was, the use you made of it!"
"To think of ten thousand a-year turning on that same trumpery
erasure!"----
"But are you sure of our verdict on that ground, Mr. Subtle? Do you
think Lord Widdrington was right in rejecting that deed?"[1]
"Right? to be sure he was! But I own I got rather uneasy at the way the
Attorney-General put it--that the estate had once been vested, and
could not be subsequently de-vested by an alteration or blemish in the
instrument evidencing the passing of the estate--eh? that was a good
point, Lynx."
"Ay, but as Lord Widdrington put it--that could be only where the defect
was proved to exist after a complete and valid deed had been once
established."
"True--true; that's the answer, Lynx; here, you see, the deed is
disgraced in the first instance; no proof, in fact, that it ever _was_ a
deed--therefore, mere waste paper."
"To be sure, _possession_ has gone along with the deed"----
"Possession gone along with it!--What then?--That is to say, the man who
has altered it, to benefit himself and his heirs, keeps it snugly in his
own chest--and then that is of itself to be sufficient to"----
"Ay--but what I'm afraid of, is this: that the presumption of forgery
arising from the alteration, is overcome by the presumption to the
contrary, arising from long-continued and consistent possession!--On the
other hand, however, it is certainly a general rule that the party
producing an instrument must account for the appearance of erasure or
alteration, to encounter the presumption of fraud!--I must say _that_
seems good sense enough!"...
"It's really been a very interesting cause," said Mr. Subtle.
"Very. Some capital points--that of Mortmain's on the stamp act"----
"Pish, Lynx! there's nothing in it! I meant the cause itself has been an
interesting one--uncommonly."
Mr. Subtle suddenly paused and stood still. "God bless my soul,
Lynx--I've made a blunder!"
"Eh!"
"Yes--by Jove, a blunder! Never did such a thing since I've led a cause
before!"
"A blunder? Impossible!--What is it?" inquired Lynx, briskly, pricking
up his ears.
"It will be at least thirty or forty pounds out of our client's pocket.
I forgot to ask Widdrington for the certificate for the costs of the
special jury. I protest I never did such a thing before--I'm quite
annoyed--I hate to _overlook_ anything."
"Oh! is that all?" inquired Lynx, much relieved--"then it's all right!
While you were speaking to Mr. Gammon, immediately after the verdict had
been given, I turned towards Quicksilver to get him to ask for the
certificate--but he had seen a man with the new 'Times' containing the
Division on the Catholic claims, and had set off after him--so I took
the liberty, as you seemed very earnestly talking to Mr. Gammon, to name
it to the judge--and it's all right."
"Capital!--Then there isn't a single point missed!--And in a good two
days' fight that's something."
"D'ye think we shall keep the verdict, and get its fruits?"
"We shall keep the verdict, I've no doubt; there's nothing in
Widdrington's notes that we need be afraid of--but of course the Aubreys
will put us to bring another ejectment, perhaps several."
"Yes--certainly--there _must_ be a good deal of fighting before such a
property as Yatton changes hands," replied Lynx, with a complacent air;
for he saw a few pleasant pickings in store for him. "By the way," he
continued, "our client's a sweet specimen of humanity, isn't he?"
"Faugh! odious little reptile! And did you ever in all your life witness
such a scene as when he interrupted me in the way he did?"
"Ha, ha! Never! But, upon my honor, what an exquisite turn you gave the
thing--it was worth more than called it forth--it was admirable."
"Pooh--Lynx!" said Mr. Subtle, with a gratified air; "knack--mere
knack--nothing more. My voice trembled--eh?--at least so I intended."
"Upon my soul, I almost believed you were for the moment overcome, and
going to shed tears."
"Ah, ha, ha!--Delightful! I was convulsed with inward laughter! _Shed
tears!!_ Did the bar take it, Lynx?" inquired Mr. Subtle; for though he
hated display, he loved _appreciation_, and by competent persons. "By
the way, Lynx, the way in which you've got up the whole case does you
vast credit--that opinion of yours on the evidence was--upon my
word--the most masterly"--here he suddenly ceased and squeezed his
companion's arm, motioning him thereby to silence. They had come up with
two gentlemen, walking slowly, and conversing in a low tone, but with
much earnestness of manner. They were, in fact, Mr. Aubrey and Lord De
la Zouch. Mr. Subtle and Mr. Lynx crossed over to the other side of the
narrow street, and quickened their pace, so as soon to be out of sight
and hearing of the persons they seemed desirous of avoiding. Mr. Subtle
was, indeed, unable to bear the sight of the man whom his strenuous and
splendid exertions during the last two days had tended to strip of his
all--to thrust from the bright domain of wealth, prosperity,
distinction, into--as it were--outer darkness--the outer darkness of
poverty--of destitution.
"It's rather a nuisance for the Aubreys--isn't it?" quoth the
matter-of-fact Lynx.
"It's quite frightful!"--replied Mr. Subtle, in a tone of voice and with
a manner which showed how deeply he felt what he uttered. "And it's not
only what Mr. Aubrey will lose, but what he will be liable to--the
mesne profits--sixty thousand pounds."
"Oh!--you think, then, that we can't go beyond the _statute of
limitations_?--Eh?--is that so clear?" Mr. Subtle looked sharply at
Lynx, with an expression it would be difficult to describe.
"Well"--continued the impenetrable Lynx--"at all events, I'll look into
it." He felt about as much _sentiment_ in the matter as a hog eating
acorns would feel interest in the antiquity of the oak from which they
fell, and under whose venerable shade he was munching and stuffing
himself.
"By the way, Lynx--aren't you with me in _Higson and Mellington_?"
"Yes--and it stands first for to-morrow morning!"
"I've not opened my papers, and--why, we've a consultation fixed for ten
o'clock to-night! What's it all about?"
"It's _libel_ against a newspaper editor--the POMFRET COCKATRICE; and
our client's a clergyman. They've slandered him most abominably: they
say he entered the church as a wholesale dealer in tithes--and as to
religion--is an unbeliever and hypocrite!"
"Ay, ay?--that sounds a little like substantial damages!--Do they
_justify_?"[2]
"No--they've pleaded not guilty only."
"Who leads for the defender?"
"Mr. Quicksilver."
"Oh!--very well. We must have the consultation to-morrow morning, at the
Robing-room--ten minutes before the sitting of the court. I'm rather
tired to-night." With this the great leader shook hands with his modest,
learned, laborious junior--and entered his lodgings.
As soon as Titmouse had been ejected from the court, in the summary way
which the reader will recollect, merely on account of his having, with
some slight indecorum, yielded to the mighty impulse of his agitated
feelings, he began to cry bitterly, wringing his hands, and asking every
one about him if they thought he could get in again, because it was
"_his_ case" that was going on. His eyes were red and swollen with
weeping; and his little breast throbbed violently as he walked to and
fro from one door of the court to the other. "Oh, gents, will you get me
in again?" said he, in passionate tones, approaching two gentlemen, who,
with a very anxious and oppressed air, were standing together at the
outside of one of the doors--in fact, Lord De la Zouch and Mr. Aubrey;
and they quickly recognized in Titmouse the gentleman whose claims were
being at that instant mooted within the court. "_Will_ you get me in?
You seem such _respectable_ gents--'Pon my soul I'm going mad! It's my
case that's going on! I'm Mr. Titmouse"----
"We have no power, sir, to get you in," replied Lord De la Zouch,
haughtily: so coldly and sternly as to cause Titmouse involuntarily to
shrink from him.
"The court is crowded to the very door, sir--and we really have no more
right to be present in court, or get others into court, than you have,"
said Mr. Aubrey, with mildness and dignity.
"Thank you, sir! Thank you!" quoth Titmouse, moving with an apprehensive
air away from Lord De la Zouch, towards Mr. Aubrey, "Know quite well who
you are, sir! 'Pon my solemn soul, sir, sorry to do all this; but law's
law, and right's right, all the world over!"
"I _desire_ you to leave us, sir," said Lord De la Zouch, with
irrepressible sternness; "you are very intrusive. How can we catch a
syllable of what is going on while you are chattering in this way?"
Titmouse saw that Mr. Aubrey looked towards him with a very different
expression from that exhibited by his forbidding companion, and would
perhaps have stood his ground, but for a glimpse he caught of a huge,
powdered, broad-shouldered footman, in a splendid livery, one of Lord De
la Zouch's servants, who, with a great thick silver-headed cane in his
hand, was standing at a little distance behind, in attendance on the
carriage, which was in the Castle-yard. This man's face looked so ready
for mischief, that Titmouse slowly walked off. There were a good many
standers-by, who seemed all to look with dislike and distrust at
Titmouse. He made many ineffectual attempts to persuade the doorkeeper,
who had assisted in his extrusion, to readmit him; but the incorruptible
janitor was proof against a sixpence--even against a shilling; and at
length Titmouse gave himself up to despair, and thought himself the most
miserable man in the whole world--as very probably, indeed, he was: for
consider what a horrid interval of suspense he had to endure, from the
closing of Mr. Subtle's speech, till the delivery of the verdict. But at
length, through this portentous and apparently impenetrable cloud burst
the rich sunlight of success.
"Mr. Titmouse!--Mr. Titmouse!--Mr. Tit"----
"Here! Here I am! Here!"--exclaimed the little wretch, jumping off the
window-seat on which he had been sitting for the last hour in the dark,
half-stupefied with grief and exhaustion. The voice which called him was
a blessed voice--a familiar voice--the voice of Mr. Gammon; who, as soon
as the jury had begun to come back, on some pretence or other had
quitted his seat between Quirk and Snap, in order, if the verdict should
be for the plaintiff, to be the very first to communicate it to him. In
a moment or two Mr. Gammon had grasped both Mr. Titmouse's hands. "My
dear, dear Mr. Titmouse, I congratulate you! You are victorious! God
grant you long life to enjoy your good fortune! God bless you,
Titmouse!" He wrung Titmouse's hands--and his voice trembled with the
intensity of his emotions! Mr. Titmouse had grown very white, and for a
while spoke not, but stood staring at Mr. Gammon, as if hardly aware of
the import of his communication.
"No--but--is it so? Honor bright?" at length he stammered.
"It is indeed! My long labors are at length crowned with
success!--Hurrah, hurrah, Mr. Titmouse!"
"I've really _won_? It a'n't a joke or a dream?" inquired Titmouse, with
quickly increasing excitement, and a joyous expression bursting over his
features, which became suddenly flushed.
"A joke?--the best you'll ever have. A dream?--that will last your life.
Thank God, Mr. Titmouse, the battle's ours; we've defeated all their
villany!"
"Tol de rol! Tol de rol! Tol de lol, lol, lol, rido!--Ah," he added in a
loud truculent tone, as Lord De la Zouch and Mr. Aubrey slowly passed
him--"done for you now--'pon my life!--turned the tables!--_that_ for
you!" said he, snapping his fingers; but I need hardly say that he did
so with perfect impunity, as far as those two gentlemen were concerned,
who were so absorbed with the grievous event which had just happened, as
scarcely to be aware of their being addressed at all.
"Aubrey, it's against you--all is lost; the verdict is for the
plaintiff!" said Lord De la Zouch, in a hurried agitated whisper, as he
grasped the hand of Mr. Aubrey, whom he had quitted for an instant to
hear the verdict pronounced. Mr. Aubrey for some moments spoke not.
"God's will be done!" at length said he, in a low tone, or rather in a
faint murmur. More than a dozen gentlemen, who came crowding out,
grasped his hand with fervent energy.
"God bless you, Aubrey! God bless you!" said several voices, their
speakers wringing his hands with great vehemence as they spoke.
"Let us go"--said Lord De la Zouch, putting Mr. Aubrey's arm in his own,
and leading him away from a scene of distressing excitement, too
powerful for his exhausted feelings.
"I am nothing of a fatalist," said Mr. Aubrey, after a considerable
pause, during which they had quitted the Castle-gates, and his feelings
had recovered from the shock which they had just before suffered;--"I am
nothing of a fatalist, but I ought not to feel the least surprise at
this issue, for I have long had a settled conviction that such _would_
be the issue. For some time before I had the least intimation of the
commencement of these proceedings, I was oppressed by a sense of
impending calamity"----
"Well, that may be so; but it does not follow that the mischief is
finally _done_."
"I am certain of it!--But, dear Lord De la Zouch, how much I owe to your
kindness and sympathy!" said Mr. Aubrey, with a slight tremor in his
voice.
"We are at this moment, Aubrey, firmer friends than we ever were before.
So help me Heaven! I would not lose your friendship for the world; I
feel it a greater honor than I am worthy of--I do, indeed," said Lord De
la Zouch, with great emotion.
"There's a great gulf between us, though, Lord De la Zouch, as far as
worldly circumstances are concerned--you a peer of the realm, I a
beggar!"
"Forgive me, Aubrey, but it is idle to talk in that way; I am hurt
beyond measure at your supposing it possible that under any
circumstances"----
"Believe me, I feel the full value of your friendship--more valuable at
this moment than ever!"
"That a serious calamity has fallen upon you is certain;--which of us,
indeed, is safe from such a calamity? But who would bear it with the
calm fortitude which _you_ have already evinced, my dear Aubrey?"
"You speak very kindly, Lord De la Zouch; I trust I shall play the man,
now that the time for playing a man's part has come," said Mr. Aubrey,
with an air of mingled melancholy and resolution. "I feel an
inexpressible consolation in the reflection, that I cannot charge myself
with anything unconscientious; and, as for the future, I put my trust in
God. I feel as if I could submit to the will of Heaven with
cheerfulness"----
"Don't speak so despondingly, Aubrey"----
"Despondingly?" echoed Mr. Aubrey, with momentary
animation--"Despondingly? My dear friend, I feel as if I were indeed
entering a scene black as midnight--but what is it to the _valley of the
shadow of death_, dear Lord De la Zouch, which is before all of us, and
at but a little distance! I assure you I feel no vain-glorious
confidence; yet I seem to be leaning on the arm of an unseen but
all-powerful supporter!"
"You are a hero, my dear Aubrey!" exclaimed Lord De la Zouch, with
sudden fervor.
"And that support will embrace those dearer to me than
life--dearer--far--far"----He ceased; his feelings quite overcame him,
and they walked on for some time in silence. Soon afterwards they
parted--for Lord De la Zouch perceived that his unfortunate companion
wished to be alone. He wrung Mr. Aubrey's hands in silence; and having
turned in the direction of his hotel, Mr. Aubrey made for his lodgings.
The streets were occupied by passengers, some returning from the Castle
after the great trial of the day; others standing here and there, in
little knots, conversing as he passed them; and he felt conscious that
the subject of their thoughts and conversation was himself and his
fallen fortunes. Several deep-drawn sighs escaped him, as he walked on,
the herald of such dismal tidings, to those whom he loved; and he felt
but for that which supported him from within, as it were, a fallen
angel, so far as concerned this world's honors and greatness. The
splendors of human pomp and prosperity seemed rapidly vanishing in the
distance. In the temporary depression of his spirits, he experienced
feelings somewhat akin to those of the heart-sickened exile, whose fond
eyes are riveted upon the mosques and minarets of his native city,
glittering in the soft sunlight of evening, where are the cherished
objects of all his tenderest thoughts and feelings; while his vessel is
rapidly bearing him from it, amid the rising wind, the increasing and
ominous swell of the waters, the thickening gloom of night--_whither_?
The Minster clock struck ten as he passed one of the corners of the vast
majestic structure, gray-glistening in the faint moonlight. The
melodious chimes echoed in his ear, and smote his subdued soul with a
sense of peculiar solemnity and awe; they forced upon him a reflection
upon the transient littleness of earthly things. Then he thought of
those dear beings who were awaiting his return, and a gush of grief and
tenderness overflowed his heart, as he quickened his steps, with an
inward and fervent prayer that Heaven would support them under the
misfortune which had befallen them. As he neared the retired row of
houses where his lodgings were situated, he imagined that he saw some
one near the door, as if on the look-out for his approach; and who, as
he drew nearer, suddenly entered them, and closed the door. This was a
person whom Mr. Aubrey did not at all suspect--it was his worthy friend
Dr. Tatham; who, unable to quit Yatton in time to hear the trial, had
early that morning mounted his horse, and after a long and hard ride,
reached York soon after Mr. Aubrey had set off for the Castle. Though
many of the county people then in York were aware that Mrs. and Miss
Aubrey were also there, a delicate consideration for their exquisitely
distressing situation restrained them from intruding upon their privacy,
which had been evidently sought for by the species of lodgings which
Mr. Aubrey had engaged. On the second day, the excellent Dr. Tatham had
been their welcome and instructive guest, scarce ever leaving them; Mr.
Aubrey's groom bringing word, from time to time, from his master, how
the trial went on. Late in the evening, urged by Kate, the doctor had
gone off to the Castle, to wait till he could bring intelligence of the
final result of the trial. He had not been observed by Mr. Aubrey amid
the number of people who were about; and had at length fulfilled his
mission, and been beforehand with Mr. Aubrey in communicating the
unfortunate issue of the struggle. The instant that Mr. Aubrey had set
his foot within the door, he was locked in the impassioned embrace of
his wife and sister. None of them spoke for some moments.
"Dearest Charles!--we've heard it all--we know it all!" at length they
exclaimed in a breath. "Thank God, it is over at last--and we know the
worst!--Are you well, dearest Charles?" inquired Mrs. Aubrey, with fond
anxiety.
"Thank God, my Agnes, I am well!" said Mr. Aubrey, much excited--"and
thank God that the dreadful suspense is at an end; and also for the
fortitude, my sweet loves, with which you bear the result. And how are
_you_, my excellent friend?" continued he, addressing Dr. Tatham, and
grasping his hands; "my venerable and pious friend--how it refreshes my
heart to see you! as one of the chosen ministers of that God whose
creatures we are, and whose dispensations we receive with reverent
submission!"
"God Almighty bless you all, my dear friends!" replied Dr. Tatham,
powerfully affected. "Believe that all this is from HIM! He has wise
ends in view, though we see not nor comprehend them! _Faint not when you
are rebuked of Him! If ye faint in the day of adversity, your_
_strength is small!_ But I rejoice to see your resignation!"--Aubrey,
his wife, and sister, were for a while overcome with their emotions.
"I assure you all," said Aubrey, "I feel as if a very mountain had been
lifted off my heart! How blessed am I in such a wife and sister!" A
heavenly smile irradiated his pale features--and he clasped his wife,
and then his sister, in his arms. They wept as they tenderly returned
his embrace.
"God," said he, "that gave us all, has taken all: why should we murmur?
He will enable us, if we pray for His assistance, to bear with
equanimity our present adversity, as well as our past prosperity! Come,
Agnes! Kate! play the woman!"
Dr. Tatham sat silent by; but the tears ran down his cheeks. At length
Mr. Aubrey gave them a general account of what had occurred at the
trial--and which, I need hardly say, was listened to in breathless
silence.
"Who is that letter from, love, lying on the table?" inquired Mr.
Aubrey, during a pause in the conversation.
"It's only from Johnson--dearest!--to say the children are quite well,"
replied Mrs. Aubrey. The ruined parents, as if by a common impulse,
looked unutterable things at each other. Then the mother turned deadly
pale; and her husband tenderly kissed her cold cheek; while Kate could
scarcely restrain her feelings. The excitement of each was beginning to
give way before sheer bodily and mental exhaustion; and Dr. Tatham,
observing it, rose to take his departure. It was arranged that the
carriage should be at the door by eight o'clock in the morning, to
convey them back to Yatton--and that Dr. Tatham should breakfast with
them, and afterwards accompany them on horseback. He then took his
departure for the night, with a very full heart; and those whom he had
left, soon afterwards retired for the night; and having first invoked
the mercy and pity of Heaven, sank into slumber and brief forgetfulness
of the perilous position in which they had been placed by the event of
the day.
Somewhat different was the mode in which the night was spent by the
victorious party. Gammon, as has been seen, was the first to
congratulate Titmouse on his splendid success. The next was old
Quirk--who, with a sort of conviction that he should find Gammon
beforehand with him--bustled out of court, leaving Snap to pay the jury,
settle the court-fees, collect the papers, and so forth. Both Quirk and
Snap (as soon as the latter was at liberty) exhibited a courtesy towards
Titmouse which had a strong dash of reverence in it, such as was due to
the possessor of ten thousand a-year; but Gammon exhibited the tranquil
matter-of-fact confidence of a man who had determined to be, and indeed
knew that he _was_, the entire master of Titmouse.
"I--wish you'd call a coach, or something of that sort, gents.--I'm
devilish tired--I am, 'pon my soul!" said Mr. Titmouse, yawning, as he
stood on the steps between Quirk and Gammon, waiting for Snap's arrival.
He was, in fact, almost beside himself--bursting with excitement; and
could not stand still for a moment. Now he whistled loudly, and boldly;
then he hummed a bar or two of some low comic song; and repeatedly drew
on and off his damp gloves, with an air of petulant impetuosity. Now he
ran his hand through his hair with careless grace; and then, with arms
folded on his breast for a moment, looked eagerly, but with a would-be
languid air, at two or three elegant equipages, which, one by one, with
their depressed and disappointed occupants, rolled off. At length, Lord
Widdrington, amid a sharp impetuous cry of "Make way for the judge
there--make way for my Lord!" appeared in his robes, (holding his
three-cornered hat in his hand,) with a wearied air; and passing close
by Titmouse, was honored by him with a very fine bow indeed--his
Lordship not being, however, in the least aware of the fact--as he
passed on to his carriage. The steps were drawn up; the door was closed;
and amid a sharp blast of trumpets, the carriage drove slowly off,
preceded and followed by the usual attendants. All this pomp and
ceremony made a very deep impression upon the mind of Titmouse. "Ah,"
thought he, with a sudden sigh of mingled excitement and
exhaustion--"who knows but _I_ may be a judge some day? It's a devilish
pleasant thing, I'm sure! What a fuss he must make wherever he goes!
'Pon my life, quite delightful!" As there was no coach to be had, Mr.
Titmouse was forced to walk home, arm-in-arm with Mr. Quirk and Mr.
Gammon, and followed, at a little distance, by a knot of persons,
acquainted with his name and person, and feeling towards him a strange
mixture of emotions--dislike, wonder, contempt, admiration. Goodness
gracious! that strange little gentleman was now worth, it was said, ten
thousand a-year; and was squire of Yatton!! Old Quirk shook Titmouse's
hand with irrepressible enthusiasm, at least a dozen times on their way
to the inn; while Gammon now and then squeezed his arm, and spoke, in an
earnest tone, of the difficulties yet to be overcome. On reaching the
inn, the landlady, who was standing at the door, and had evidently been
on the look-out for her suddenly distinguished guest, received him with
several profound courtesies, and eager and respectful inquiries about
his health, as he had had no luncheon--and asking what he would be
pleased to have for his supper. She added, moreover, that fearing his
former bedroom might not have been to his mind, she had changed it, and
he would that night sleep in the very best she had.
"We must make a night on 't, eh?" quoth Mr. Quirk, with an excited air.
His partners assented to it, as did Mr. Titmouse; and cold beef,
sausages, fowl, ham, beefsteaks, and mutton-chops, were ordered to be in
readiness in half an hour's time. Soon afterwards Mr. Titmouse followed
the chambermaid to his new bedroom.
"This is the room we always give to quality folk--when we get them,"
said she, as she set his candle on the drawers, and looked round the
apartment with a little triumph.
"Ah--yes!--'pon my soul--quite right--always do your best for
quality!--Lovely gal--eh?" Here he chucked her under the chin, and
seemed disposed to imprint a kiss upon her cheek; but, with a "Lord
sir--that's not the way quality folks behave!" she modestly withdrew.
Titmouse, left alone, first threw himself on the bed; then started off,
and walked about; then sat down; then danced about; then took off his
coat; then threw himself on the bed again; hummed, whistled, and jumped
up again--in a sort of wild ecstasy, or delirium. In short, it was plain
that he was not master of himself. In fact, his little mind was agitated
by the day's event, like as would be a small green puddle by the
road-side, for a while, on a stone being suddenly flung into it by a
child. While Messrs. Quirk and Snap were, after their sort, as excited
as was even Mr. Titmouse himself, Gammon, retiring to his bedroom, and
ordering thither pens, ink, and paper, sat down and wrote the following
letter:--
"York, 5th April, 18--.
"MY DEAR SIR,--The very first leisure moment I have, I devote to
informing you, as one of the most intimate friends of our highly
respected client, Mr. Titmouse, of the brilliant event which has
just occurred. After a most severe and protracted struggle of two
days, (the Attorney-General having come down special on the other
side,) the jury, many of them the chief gentlemen of the county,
have within this last hour returned a verdict in favor of our
friend, Mr. Titmouse--thereby declaring him entitled to the whole
of the estates at Yatton, (ten thousand a-year rent-roll, at least,)
and, by consequence, to an immense accumulation of bygone rents,
which must be made up to him by his predecessor, who, with all his
powerful party, and in spite of the unscrupulous means resorted to
to defeat the ends of justice, is dismayed beyond expression at
the result of this grand struggle--unprecedented in the annals of
modern litigation. The result has given lively satisfaction in
these parts--it is plain that our friend Mr. Titmouse will very
soon become a great _lion_ in society.
"To you, my dear sir, as an early and valued friend of our
interesting client, I sit down to communicate the earliest
intelligence of this most important event; and I trust that you
will, with our respectful compliments, communicate the happy news
to your amiable family--who, I am persuaded, must ever feel a
warm interest in our client's welfare. He is now, naturally enough,
much excited with his extraordinary good fortune, to which we are
only too proud and happy to have contributed by our humble, but
strenuous and long-continued exertions. He begs me to express his
cordial feelings towards you, and to say that, on his return to
town, Satin Lodge will be one of the very first places at which he
will call. In the mean time, I beg you will believe me, my dear sir,
with the best compliments of myself and partners, yours most
sincerely,
"OILY GAMMON.
"THOMAS TAG-RAG, ESQ.
&c. &c. &c."
"That, I think, will about do"--quoth Gammon to himself, with a
thoughtful air, as, having made an exact copy of the above letter, he
sealed it up and directed it. He then came down-stairs to supper, having
first sent the letter off to the post-office. What a merry meal was that
same supper! Mr. Titmouse, Mr. Quirk, and Mr. Snap, ate almost to
bursting; Gammon was more abstinent--but, overpowered by the
importunities of his companions, he took a far greater quantity than
usual of the bouncing bottled porter, the hard port, and fiery sherry,
which his companions drank as if they had been but water. Then came in
the spirits--with hot water and cold; and to these all present did ample
justice; in fact, it was very hard for any one to resist the other's
entreaties. Mr. Gammon in due time felt himself _going_--but seemed as
if, on such an occasion, he had no help for it. Every one of the
partners, at different stages of the evening, made--_more suo_--a speech
to Titmouse, and proposed his health; who, of course, replied to each,
and drank the health of each. Presently old Quirk sang a comic song, in
a very dismal key; and then he and Snap joined in a duet called,
"_Handcuff_ v. _Halter_;" at which Gammon laughed heartily, and listened
with that degree of pleased attention, which showed that he had
resolved, for once at least, to abandon himself to the low enjoyment of
the passing hour. Then Titmouse began to speak of what he should do, as
soon as he had "touched the shiners"--his companions entering into all
his little schemes with a sort of affectionate enthusiasm. At length old
Mr. Quirk, after by turns laughing, crying, singing, and talking, leaned
back in his chair, with his half-emptied tumbler of brandy and water in
his hand, and fell fast asleep. Gammon also, in spite of all he could
do, began--the deuce take it!--to feel and exhibit the effects of a
hasty and hearty meal, and his very unusual potations, especially after
such long abstinence and intense anxiety as he had experienced during
the previous two days. He had intended to have seen all his companions
under the table; but he began gradually to feel a want of control over
himself, his thoughts, and feelings, which a little disquieted him, as
he now and then caught glimpses of the extent to which it was
proceeding. "_In vino veritas_," properly translated, means--that
when a man is fairly under the influence of liquor, you see a strong
manifestation of his real character. The vain man is vainer; the
voluble, more voluble; the morose, more morose; the passionate, more
passionate; the detractor, more detracting; the sycophant, more
sycophantic, and so forth. Now Mr. Gammon was a cold, cautious,
long-headed schemer, and as the fumes of liquor mounted up into his
head, they did but increase the action and intensity of those qualities
for which, when sober, he was so pre-eminently distinguished; only that
there was a half-conscious want of coherency and subordination. The
impulse and the habit were present; but there seemed also a strange
disturbing force: in short--what is the use of disguising matters?--Mr.
Gammon was getting very drunk; and he felt very sorry for it--but it was
too late. In due time the dismal effort _not to appear drunk_, ceased--a
vast relief! Silent and more silent he became; more and more observant
of the motions of Snap and Titmouse; more and more complicated and
profound in his schemes and purposes; and at length he felt as if, by
some incomprehensible means, he were attempting to take _himself_
in--inveigling himself: at which point, after a vain attempt to
understand his exact position, with reference to himself, he slowly, but
_rather_ unsteadily, rose from his chair; looked with an unsettled eye
at Titmouse for nearly a minute; a queer smile now and then flitted
across his features; and he presently rang the bell. Boots having obeyed
the summons, Gammon with a turbid brain and cloudy eye followed him to
the door, with a most desperate but unavailing effort to walk thither
steadily. Having reached his room, he sat down with a sort of suspicion
that he had said or done something to commit himself. Vain was the
attempt to wind up his watch; and at length he gave it up, with a faint
curse. With only one stocking off, conceiving himself to be undressed,
after trying four or five times ineffectually to blow out his candle, he
succeeded, and got into bed; his head, however, occupying the place
assigned to his feet. He lay asleep for about half an hour--and then
experienced certain insupportable sensations. He was indeed miserable
beyond description; and lost all thoughts of what would become of
Titmouse--of Quirk and Snap--in his own most desperate indisposition.
"I say, Snap," quoth Titmouse, with a grin, and putting his finger to
his nose, as soon as Gammon had quitted the room in the manner above
described--"Mr. Quirk a'n't much company for us just now, eh? Shall we
go out and have some fun?"
"Walk will do us good--yes. Go where you like, Titmouse," replied Snap,
who, though young, was a thoroughly seasoned vessel, and could hold a
great deal of drink without seeming, or really being, much the worse for
it. As for Titmouse, happily for him! (seeing that he was so soon to
have the command of unlimited means, unless indeed the envious fates
should in the mean time interpose to dash the brimful cup from his eager
lips,) he was becoming more and more accustomed to the effects of drink;
which had, up to the moment I am speaking of, had no other effect than
to elevate his spirits up to the pitch of indefinite daring and
enterprise. "'Pon my life, Snap, couldn't we stand another tumbler--eh?
Warm us for the night air?" "What shall it be?" quoth Snap, ringing the
bell--"whiskey?"
"Devil knows, and devil cares!" replied Mr. Titmouse, recklessly; and
presently there stood before the friends two steaming tumblers of what
they had ordered. Immediately after disposing of them, the two
gentlemen, quite _up to the mark_, as they expressed it--each with a
cigar in his mouth--sallied forth in quest of adventures. Titmouse felt
that he had now become a gentleman; and his tastes and feelings prompted
him to pursue, as early as possible, a gentlemanly line of
conduct--particularly in his amusements. It was now past twelve; and the
narrow old-fashioned streets of York, silent and deserted, formed a
strong contrast to the streets of London at the same hour, and seemed
scarcely to admit of much sport. But sport our friends were determined
to have; and the night air aiding the effect of their miscellaneous
potations, they soon became somewhat excited and violent. Yet it seemed
difficult to get up a _row_--for no one was visible in any direction.
Snap, however, by way of making a beginning, suddenly shouted "Fire!" at
the top of his voice, and Titmouse joined him; when having heard half a
dozen windows hastily thrown up by the dismayed inhabitants whom the
alarming sounds had aroused from sleep, they scampered off at their top
speed. In another part of the town they yelled, and whistled, and crowed
like cocks, and mewed like cats--the last two being accomplishments in
which Titmouse was very eminent--and again took to their heels. Then
they contrived to twist a few knockers off doors, pull bells, and break
a few windows; and while exercising their skill in this last branch of
the night's amusement, Titmouse, in the very act of aiming a stone which
took effect in the middle of a bedroom window, was surprised by an old
watchman waddling round the corner. He was a feeble asthmatic old man;
so Snap knocked him down at once, and Titmouse blew out the candle in
his lantern, which he then jumped upon and smashed to pieces, and
knocked its prostrate owner's hat over his eyes. Snap, on some strange
unaccountable impulse, wrested the rattle out of the poor creature's
hand, and sprang it loudly. This brought several other old watchmen from
different quarters; and aged numbers prevailing against youthful
spirit--the two gentlemen, after a considerable scuffle, were
overpowered and conveyed to the cage. Snap having muttered something
about demanding to look at the _warrant_, and then about an action for
malicious arrest and false imprisonment, sank on a form, and then down
upon the floor, and fell fast asleep. Titmouse for a while showed a very
resolute front, and swore a great many oaths, that he would fight the
Boots at the inn for five shillings, if he dared show himself; but all
of a sudden, his spirit collapsed, as it were, and he sank on the floor,
and was grievously indisposed for some hours. About nine o'clock, the
contents of the cage--viz. Snap, Titmouse, two farmers' boys who had
been caught stealing cakes, an old beggar, and a young pickpocket--were
conveyed before the Lord Mayor to answer for their several misdeeds.
Snap was wofully crestfallen. He had sent for the landlord of the inn
where they had put up, to come, on their behalf, to the Mansion-house;
but he told Quirk of the message he had received. Mr. Quirk, finding
that Gammon could not leave his room through severe indisposition--the
very first time that Mr. Quirk had ever seen or heard of his being so
overtaken--set off, in a very mortified and angry mood, in quest of his
hopeful client and junior partner. They were in a truly dismal pickle.
Titmouse pale as death, his clothes disordered, and a part of his
shirt-collar torn off; Snap sat beside him with a sheepish air, seeming
scarce able to keep his eyes open. At him Mr. Quirk looked with keen
indignation, but spoke neither to him, nor on his behalf. For Titmouse,
however, he expressed great commiseration, and entreated his Lordship to
overlook the little misconduct of which he (Titmouse) in a moment of
extreme excitement, had been guilty, on condition of his making amends
for the injury, both to person and property, of which he had been
guilty. By this time his Lordship had become aware of the names and
circumstances of the two delinquents; and after lecturing them very
severely, he fined them five shillings a-piece for being drunk, and
permitted them to be discharged, on their promising never to offend in
the like way again, and paying three pounds by way of compensation to
the watchman, and one or two persons whose knockers they were proved to
have wrenched off, and windows to have broken. His Lordship had delayed
the case of Messrs. Snap and Titmouse to the last; chiefly because, as
soon as he had found out who Mr. Titmouse was, it occurred to him that
he would make a sort of a little star, at the great ball to be given by
the Lady Mayoress that evening. As soon, therefore, as the charge had
been disposed of, his Lordship desired Mr. Titmouse to follow him, for a
moment, to his private room. There having shut the door, he gently
chided Mr. Titmouse for the indiscretion of which he had been guilty,
and which was not to have been expected from a gentleman of his
consequence in the county. His Lordship begged him to consider the
station which he was now called to occupy; and in alluding to the signal
event of the preceding day, warmly congratulated him upon it; and,
trusted by the way, that Mr. Titmouse would, in the evening, favor the
Lady Mayoress and himself with his company at the ball, where they would
be very proud of the opportunity of introducing him to some of the
gentry of the county, among whom his future lot in life was likely to be
cast. Mr. Titmouse listened to all this as if he were in a dream. His
brain (the little of it that he had) was yet in a most unsettled state;
as also was his stomach. When he heard the words "Lady Mayoress,"
"ball," "Mansion-house," "gentry of the county," and so forth, a dim
vision of splendor flashed before his eyes; and, with a desperate
effort, he assured the Lord Mayor that he should be "very uncommon proud
to accept the invitation, if he were well enough--but, just then, he
was uncommon ill."
His Lordship pressed him to take a glass of water, to revive him and
settle his stomach; but Mr. Titmouse declined it, and soon afterwards
quitted the room; and leaning on the arm of Mr. Quirk, set off
homeward--Snap walking beside him in silence, with a very quaint
disconcerted air--not being taken the least notice of by Mr. Quirk. As
they passed along, they encountered several of the barristers on their
way to court, and others, who recognized Titmouse; and with a smile,
evidently formed a pretty accurate guess as to the manner in which the
triumph of the preceding day had been celebrated. Mr. Quirk, finding
that Mr. Gammon was far too much indisposed to think of quitting York,
at all events till a late hour in the evening, and, indeed, that
Titmouse was similarly situated--with a very bad grace consented to
their stopping behind; and himself, with Snap--the former inside, the
latter outside--having paid most of the witnesses, leaving the
remainder, together with their own expenses at the inn, to be settled by
Mr. Gammon--set off for town by the two o'clock coach. It was, indeed,
high time for them to return; for the oppressed inmates of Newgate were
getting wild on account of the protracted absence of their kind and
confidential advisers. When they left, both Gammon and Titmouse were in
bed. The former, however, began to revive, shortly after the wheels of
the coach which conveyed away his respected copartners, and the sound of
the guard's horn, had ceased to be heard; and about an hour afterwards
he descended from his room, a great deal the better for the duties of
the toilet, and a bottle of soda-water with a little brandy in it. A cup
of strong tea, and a slice or two of dry toast, set him entirely to
rights--and then Gammon--the calm, serene, astute Gammon--was "himself
again." Had he said anything indiscreet, or in any way committed
himself, over-night?--thought he, as he sat alone, with folded arms,
trying to recollect what had taken place. He hoped not--but had no means
of ascertaining. Then he entered upon a long and anxious consideration
of the position of affairs, since the great event of the preceding
evening. The only definite object which he had ever had in view,
personally, in entering into the affair, was the obtaining that
ascendency over Titmouse, in the event of his becoming possessed of the
magnificent fortune they were in quest of for him, which might enable
him, in one way or another, to elevate his own position in society, and
secure for himself permanent and solid advantages. In the progress of
the affair, however, new views presented themselves to his mind.
Towards the close of the afternoon Titmouse recovered sufficiently to
make his appearance down-stairs. Soon afterwards, Gammon proposed a
walk, as the day was fine, and the brisk fresh country air would be
efficacious in restoring Titmouse to his wonted health and spirits. His
suggestion was adopted; and soon afterwards might have been seen,
Gammon, supporting on his arm his languid and interesting client Mr.
Titmouse, making their way towards the river; along whose quiet and
pleasing banks they walked for nearly a couple of hours in close
conversation; during which, Gammon, by repeated and various efforts,
succeeded in producing an impression on Titmouse's mind, that the good
fortune which seemed now within his reach, had been secured for him by
the enterprise, skill, and caution of him, Mr. Gammon, only; who would,
moreover, continue to devote himself to Mr. Titmouse's interests, and
protect him from the designs of those who would endeavor to take
advantage of him. Mr. Gammon also dropped one or two vague hints that
his--Titmouse's--continuance in the enjoyment of the Yatton property,
would always depend upon the will and power of him, the aforesaid Mr.
Gammon; in whose hands were most unsuspected, but potent weapons. And
indeed it is not at all impossible that such may prove to be really the
case.
What a difference is there between man and man, in temper, and
disposition, and intellect! Compare together the two individuals now
walking slowly, arm-in-arm, beside the sweet Ouse; and supposing one to
have designs upon the other--disposed to ensnare and overreach him--what
chance has the shorter gentleman? Compare even their countenances--ah
me!--what a difference!
Gammon heard with uneasiness of Titmouse's intention to go to the Lady
Mayoress's ball that evening; and, for many reasons, resolved that he
should not. In vain, however, did Gammon try to persuade him that he was
asked only to be turned into ridicule, for that almost everybody there
would be in the interest of the Aubreys, and bitterly opposed to him,
Mr. Titmouse; in spite of these and all other representations, Titmouse
expressed his determination to go to the ball; on which Gammon, with a
good-natured smile, exclaimed, "Well, well!"--and withdrew his
opposition. Shortly after their return from their walk, they sat down to
dinner; and Gammon, with a cheerful air, ordered a bottle of champagne,
of which he drank about a glass and a half, and Titmouse the remainder.
That put him into a humor to take more wine, without much pressing; and
he swallowed, in rapid succession, a glass of ale, and seven or eight
glasses of red-hot port and fiery sherry. By this time, he had forgotten
all about the ball, and clamored for brandy and water. Gammon, however,
saw that his end was answered. Poor Titmouse was soon reduced to a state
of helplessness and insensibility; and within half an hour's time was
assisted to his bedroom in a truly deplorable condition! Thus Gammon had
the satisfaction of seeing his benevolent design accomplished, although
it pained him to think of the temporary inconvenience occasioned to the
unconscious sufferer; who had, however, escaped the devices of those who
wished publicly to expose his inexperience; and as for the means which
Gammon had resorted to in order to effect his purpose,--why, he may be
supposed to have had a remoter object in view, viz. early to disgust him
with intemperance.
Alas! how disappointed were the mayor and mayoress, that their queer
little lion did not make his appearance in the gay and brilliant scene!
How many had they told that he was coming! Their three daughters were
almost bursting with vexation and astonishment. They had been disposed
to entertain a warmer feeling than that of mere curiosity towards the
new owner of an estate worth ten thousand a-year--had drawn lots which
of them was first to dance with him; and had told all their friends on
which of them the lot had fallen. Then, again, many of the county people
inquired from time to time of the chagrined little mayor and mayoress
when "Mr. Ticklemouse," "Mr. Tipmouse," "Mr. Tipplebattle," or "whatever
his name might be," was coming; full of real curiosity, much tinctured,
however, with disgust and contempt, to see the stranger, who had
suddenly acquired so commanding a station in the county--so strong a
claim to their sympathy and respect! Then, again, there was a very great
lion there, exhibiting for a short time only, who also had wished to see
the _little_ lion, and expressed keen regrets that it was not there
according to appointment. The great lion was Mr. Quicksilver, who had
stepped in for about half an hour, merely to show himself; and when he
heard of the expected arrival of his little client, it occurred to Mr.
Quicksilver, who could see several inches beyond by no means a short
nose, that Mr. Titmouse had gained a verdict which would very soon make
him _patron of the_ _borough of Yatton_--that he probably would not
think of sitting for the borough himself, and that a little public
civility bestowed upon Mr. Titmouse, by the great Mr. Quicksilver, one
of the counsel to whose splendid exertions he was indebted for his all,
might be, as it were, _bread thrown upon the waters, to be found after
many days_. It was true that Mr. Quicksilver, in a bitter stream of
eloquent invective, had repeatedly denounced the system of close and
"rotten" boroughs; but his heart, all the while, secretly rebelled; and
he knew that a snug little borough was a thing on every account not to
be sneezed at. He sat for one himself, though he had also contested
several counties; but that was expensive and harassing work; and the
seat which he at present occupied, he had paid far too high a price for.
He had no objection to the existence of close boroughs in the abstract;
but only to so many of them being in the hands of the opposite party;
and the legislature hath since recognized the distinction, and acted
upon it. Here, however, was the case of a borough which was going to
change hands, and pass from Tory to Whig; and could Mr. Quicksilver fail
to watch it with interest? Was he, therefore, to neglect this
opportunity of slipping in for Yatton--and the _straw moving_, too, in
town--a general election looked for? So Mr. Quicksilver really regretted
the absence of the little lion--his little friend and client, Mr.
Titmouse.
Thus, and by such persons, and on such grounds, was lamented the absence
of Mr. Titmouse from the ball of the Lady Mayoress of York; none,
however, knowing the cause which kept him from so select and
distinguished an assembly. Mr. Gammon, as soon as he had seen Mr.
Titmouse properly attended to, and had expressed an anxious sympathy for
him, set out for a walk--a quiet solitary walk round the ancient walls
of York. If on a fine night you look up into the sky, and see it
gleaming with innumerable stars, and then fix your eye intently,
_without wavering_, upon some one star; however vivid and brilliant may
be those in its immediate vicinity, they will disappear utterly, and
that on which your eye is fixed will seem alone in its glory--sole star
in the firmament. Something of this kind happened to Mr. Gammon when on
the walls of York--now slowly, then rapidly walking, now standing, then
sitting; all the objects which generally occupied his thoughts faded
away, before one on which his mind's eye was then fixed with unwavering
intensity--the image of Miss Aubrey. The golden fruit that was on the
eve of dropping into the hands of the firm--ten thousand pounds--the
indefinite and varied advantages to himself, personally, to which their
recent successes might be turned, all vanished. What would he not
undergo, what would he not sacrifice, to secure the favor of Miss
Aubrey? Beautiful being--all innocence, elegance, refinement:--to
possess her would elevate him in the scale of being; it would purify his
feelings, it would ennoble his nature. What was too arduous or desperate
to be undertaken in order to secure a prize so glorious as this? He fell
into a long revery, till, roused by a chill gust of night air, he rose
from his seat upon one of the niches in the walls;--how lonely, how
solitary he felt! He walked on rapidly, at a pace that suited the heated
and rapid current of thoughts that passed through his mind.
"No, I have not a chance--not a chance!" at length he thought to
himself--"That girl will be prouder in her poverty, than ever she would
have been in her wealth and splendor. Who am I?--a partner in the firm
of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap; a firm in bad odor with the profession;
looking for practice from polluted sources, with a host of miscreants
for clients--faugh! faugh! I feel contaminated and degraded! My name
even is against me; it is growing into a by-word!--We must push our
advantage--they must be driven from Yatton--he, she--all of them; yes,
all." He paused for a long time, and a sort of pang passed through his
mind. "They are to make way for--Titmouse!--for Titmouse!! And he, too,
loves her--_bah!_" He involuntarily uttered this sound fiercely, and
aloud. "But stay--he really is in love with Miss Aubrey--that I
know;--ah! I can turn it to good purpose; it will give me, by the way, a
hold upon the little fool; I will make him believe that through my means
he may obtain Miss Aubrey! Misery may make her accessible; I can easily
bring myself into contact with them, in their distress; for there are
the mesne profits--_the mesne profits!_ Heavens! how glorious, but how
dreadful an engine are _they_! They will help to batter down the high
wall of pride that surrounds _them_ and _her_; but it will require
infinite care and tact in the use of such an engine! I will be all
delicacy--gentleness--generosity; I will appear friendly to her, and to
her brother; and, if needs must be, why he must be _crushed_. There is
no help for it. He looks decidedly, by the way--a man of intellect. I
wonder how he bears it--how they all bear it--how _she_ bears it!
_Beggared beauty_--there's something touching in the very sound! How
little they think of the power that is at this moment in my hands!" Here
a long interval elapsed, during which his thoughts had wandered towards
more practical matters. "If they don't get a rule _nisi_, next term, we
shall be in a position to ask them what course they intend to pursue:
Gad, they may, if so disposed, hold out for--how very cold it is!"--he
buttoned his coat--"and, what have I been thinking of? Really I have
been dreaming; or am I as great a fool as Tittlebat?" Within a few
minutes' time he had quitted the walls, and descended through one of the
turreted gateways, into the town.
CHAPTER II.
When, about seven o'clock on the morning after the delivery of the
verdict, which, if sustained, consigned the Aubreys to beggary, they met
to partake of a slight and hasty breakfast before setting off for
Yatton, the countenances of each bore the traces of great suffering, and
also of the efforts made to conceal it. They saluted each other with
fervent affection, each attempting a smile--but a smile, how wan and
forced! "The moment has arrived, dear Agnes and Kate," said Mr. Aubrey,
with a fond air but a firm voice, as his sister was preparing tea, in
silence, fearful of looking at either her brother or sister-in-law; "the
moment has arrived that is to try what stuff we are made of. If we have
any strength, this is the time to show it!"
"I'm sure I thought of you both almost all night long!" replied Miss
Aubrey, tremulously. "You have a lion's heart, dear Charles; and yet you
are so gentle with us"----
"I should be a poor creature indeed, Kate, to give way just when I ought
to play the man. Come, dear Kate, I will remind you of a noble passage
from our glorious Shakespeare. It braces one's nerves to hear it!" Then,
with a fine impressive delivery, and kindling with excitement as he went
on, Aubrey began--
"In the reproof of chance
Lies the true proof of men. The sea being smooth
How many shallow bauble boats dare sail
Upon her patient breast, making their way
With those of nobler bulk?
But let the ruffian Boreas once enrage
The gentle Thetis, and, anon, behold
The strong-ribb'd bark through liquid mountains cut,
Bounding between the two moist elements
Like Perseus' horse; where's then the saucy boat,
Whose weak untimber'd sides but even now
Co-rivall'd greatness? Either to harbor fled,
Or made a toast for Neptune!--Even so,
Doth valor's show, and valor's worth divide,
In storms of fortune."[3]
'Twas kindly meant of Aubrey; he thought to divert the excited feelings
of his wife and sister, and occupy their imagination with the vivid
imagery and noble sentiment of the poet. While he repeated the above
lines, his sister's eye had been fixed upon him with a radiant
expression of resolution, her heart responding to what she heard. She
could not, however, speak when he had ceased. For herself she cared not;
but when she looked at her brother, and thought of him, his wife, his
children, her fortitude yielded before the moving array, and she burst
into tears.
"Come, Kate--my own sweet, good Kate!" said he, cheerfully, laying his
hand upon hers, "we must keep constant guard against our _feelings_.
They will be ever arraying before our eyes the past--the dear,
delightful past--happy and beautiful, in mournful contrast with the
present, and stirring up, every moment, a thousand secret and tender
associations, calculated to shake our constancy. Whenever our eyes _do_
turn to the past, let it be with humble gratitude to God for having
allowed us all, in this changing world, so long an interval of
happiness; such, indeed, as falls to the lot of few. _What! shall we
receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?_"
"My own Charles!" exclaimed Mrs. Aubrey, rising and throwing her arms
round her husband, whose countenance was calm and serene, as was the
tone of the sentiments he expressed solemn and elevated. Miss Aubrey was
overcome with her stronger feelings, and buried her face in her
handkerchief. Shortly afterwards the carriage drew up, and Dr. Tatham
also made his appearance on horseback.
"Good-morning! good-morning, my friends," cried he, cheerfully, as he
entered, holding forth both his hands; "you can't think how fresh and
pleasant the air is! The country for me, at all times of the year! I
hate towns! Did you sleep well? I slept like a top all night long;--no,
I didn't either, by the way. Come, come, ladies! On with your bonnets
and shawls!" Thus rattled on worthy little Dr. Tatham, in order to
prevent anything being said which might disturb those whom he came to
see, or cause his own highly-charged feelings to give way. The sight of
Mrs. and Miss Aubrey, however, who greeted him in silence as they
hastily drew on their bonnets and shawls, overcame his ill-sustained
gayety; and before he could bustle back, as he presently did, to the
street door, his eyes were obstructed with tears, and he wrung the hand
of Mr. Aubrey, who stood beside him, with convulsive energy. They soon
set off, and at a rapid pace, Dr. Tatham riding along beside the
carriage. Yatton was about twelve miles off. For the first few miles
they preserved a tolerable show of cheerfulness; but as they perceived
themselves nearing Yatton, it became plainly more and more of an effort
for any of them to speak. Dr. Tatham, also, talked to them seldomer
through the windows. At one time he dropped considerably behind; at
another, he rode as much ahead.
"Oh, Charles, don't you dread to see Yatton?" said Miss Aubrey,
suddenly, as they turned a familiar corner of the road. Neither Mr. nor
Mrs. Aubrey answered her.
"When you come to the village," said Mr. Aubrey presently, to the
postilion, "drive through it, right up to the Hall, as quickly as you
can." He was obeyed. As they passed rapidly along with their windows up,
none of the wretched party seemed disposed to look through, but leaned
back, in silence, in their seats.
"God bless you! God bless you! I shall call in the evening," exclaimed
Dr. Tatham; as, having reached the vicarage, he hastily waved his hand,
and turned off. Soon they had passed the park gates; when had they
entered it before with such heavy hearts--with eyes so dreading to
encounter every familiar object that met them? Alas! the spacious park
was no longer theirs; not a tree, not a shrub, not a flower, not an inch
of ground; the trees all putting forth their fresh green leaves--nothing
was theirs; the fine old turreted gateway, too--an object always,
hitherto, of peculiar pride and attachment, their hearts seemed to
tremble as they rattled under it!
"Courage, my sweet loves! Courage! courage!" exclaimed Mr. Aubrey,
grasping each of their hands, and then they burst into tears. Mr. Aubrey
felt his own fortitude grievously shaken as he entered the old Hall, no
longer his _home_, and reflected, moreover--bitterest thought of
all--that he had been declared by the law to have been hitherto the
wrongful occupant of it; that he must forthwith proceed to "set his
house in order," and prepare for a dreadful reckoning with him whom the
law had declared to be the true owner of Yatton.
The formal result of the trial at York, was, as has been already
intimated, to declare Mr. Titmouse entitled to recover possession of
only that insignificant portion of the estates which were occupied by
Jacob Jolter; and that, too, only in the event of the first four days of
the ensuing term elapsing, without any successful attempt being made to
impeach, before the court, the propriety of the verdict of the jury. It
is a principle of our English law, that the verdict of a jury is, in
general, irreversible and conclusive; but, inasmuch as that verdict may
have been improperly obtained--as, for instance, either through the
misdirection of the judge, or his erroneous admission or rejection of
evidence; or may have no force in point of law by reason of the
pleadings of the party for whom it has been given, being insufficient to
warrant the court to award its final judgment upon, and in conformity
with, such verdict, or by reason of the discovery of fresh evidence
subsequently to the trial: therefore the law hath given the party who
failed at the trial, till the end of the first four days of the term
next ensuing, to show the court why the verdict obtained by his opponent
ought to go for nothing, and matters remain as they were before the
trial, or a new trial be had. So anxious is our law to afford the utmost
scope and opportunity for ascertaining what ought to be its decision,
which, when obtained, is, as hath been said, solemnly and permanently
conclusive upon the subject; such the effectual and practical corrective
of any error or miscarriage in the working of that noble engine--trial
by jury. Thus, then, it appears, that the hands of Mr. Titmouse and his
advisers were at all events stayed till the first four days of Easter
term should have elapsed. During the interval thus afforded to the
advisers of Mr. Aubrey, his case, as it appeared upon the notes of his
counsel on their briefs, with the indirect assistance and corroboration
derived from the short-hand writers' notes, underwent repeated and most
anxious examination in all its parts and bearings, by all his legal
advisers. It need hardly be said, that every point in the case favorable
to their client had been distinctly and fully raised by the
Attorney-General, assisted by his very able juniors, Mr. Sterling and
Mr. Crystal; and so was it with the counsel of Mr. Titmouse, as, indeed,
the result showed. On subsequent examination, none of them could
discover any false step, or any advantage which had been overlooked, or
taken inefficiently. Independently of various astute objections taken by
the Attorney-General to the reception of several important portions of
the plaintiff's evidence, the leading points relied on in favor of Mr.
Aubrey were--the impropriety of Lord Widdrington's rejection of the deed
of confirmation on account of the erasure in it; the effect of that
deed, assuming the erasure not to have warranted its rejection; and
several questions arising out of the doctrine of adverse possession, by
which alone, it had been contended at the trial, that the claim of the
descendants of Stephen Dreddlington had been peremptorily and finally
barred. Two very long consultations had been held at the
Attorney-General's chambers, attended by Mr. Sterling, Mr. Crystal, Mr.
Mansfield, the three partners in the firm of Runnington and Company, Mr.
Parkinson, and Mr. Aubrey--who had come up to town specially for the
purpose. Greatly to the surprise of all of them, he stated most
distinctly and emphatically, that he insisted on no ground of objection
being taken against his opponent, except such as was strictly just,
equitable, honorable, and conscientious. Rather than defeat him on mere
technicalities--rather than avail himself of mere positive rules of law,
while the RIGHT, as between the consciences of man and man, was
substantially in favor of his opponent--Mr. Aubrey declared, however
absurd or Quixotic he might be thought, that he would--if he had
them--lose fifty Yattons. _Fiat justitia, ruat cœlum._ "You mean to
say, Aubrey," interrupted the Attorney-General, mildly, after listening
for some time to his friend and client with evident interest, and
admiration of his pure and high-minded character--"that it would be
unconscientious of you to avail yourself of a fixed and beneficial rule
of law, established upon considerations of general equity and
utility--such, for instance, as that of adverse possession in order to
retain possession, while"----
"Pray, Mr. Attorney-General, if I had lent you five hundred pounds seven
or eight years ago, would you set up the _statute of limitations_
against me when I asked for re-payment?"
"Excuse me, Aubrey," replied the Attorney-General, with a faint flush
upon his handsome and dignified features; "but how idle all this is! One
would imagine that we were sitting in a school of casuistry! What are we
met for, in the name of common sense? For what, but to prevent the
rightful owner of property from being deprived of it by a trumpery
accidental erasure in one of his title-deeds, which time has deprived
him of the means of accounting for?" He then, in a very kind way, but
with a dash of peremptoriness, requested that the case might be left in
their hands, and that they might be given credit for resorting to
nothing that was inconsistent with the nicest and most fastidious sense
of honor. This observation put an end to so unprecedented an
interference; but if Mr. Aubrey supposed that it had had any effect upon
the Attorney-General, he was mistaken; for of course that learned and
eminent person secretly resolved to avail himself of every means that he
could think of, for overturning the verdict, and securing the Aubreys in
the possession of Yatton. He at the same time earnestly endeavored to
moderate the expectations of his client, declaring that he was by no
means sanguine as to the issue; that Lord Widdrington's rulings at _Nisi
Prius_ were very formidable things--in fact, rarely assailable; and
then, again, the senior puisne judge of the court--Mr. Justice
Grayley--had been consulted by Lord Widdrington at the trial, and
concurred with him in his principal ruling, now sought to be moved
against. At the close of the second consultation, on the night of the
first day in Easter term, (the Attorney-General intending to move on
the ensuing morning,) after having finally gone over the case in all its
bearings, and agreed upon the exact grounds of moving--the
Attorney-General called back Mr. Runnington for a moment, as he was
walking away with Mr. Aubrey, and whispered to him, that it would be
very proper to assume at once that the motion failed; and consider the
best mode of negotiating concerning the surrender of the bulk of the
property, and the payment of the mesne profits.
"Oh! Mr. Aubrey has quite made up his mind to the worst, Mr.
Attorney-General."
"Ah, well!" replied the Attorney-General, with a sigh; and about five
minutes after Mr. Runnington's departure, the Attorney-General stepped
into his carriage, which had been standing for the last hour opposite
his chambers. He drove down to the House of Commons, where he almost
immediately after delivered a long and luminous speech on one of the
most important and intricate questions that had been discussed during
the session!
At length arrived the morning of the second day in term. Lord
Widdrington was occupied for about a couple of hours in "going through
the bar"--_i. e._ calling on counsel to "move" in their order matters of
general business, before taking motions for new trials. About a quarter
of an hour before his Lordship had completed the round of the bar, the
Attorney-General came into court, and arranged all his books and papers
before him; Mr. Subtle sitting next to him, intending to take a note of
the grounds on which he moved.
"Does any other gentleman move?" inquired Lord Widdrington, looking over
the court. He received no answer.
"Mr. Attorney-General," said he; and the Attorney-General rose----
"If your Lordship pleases," he commenced, slowly rising and bowing--"in
a case of DOE on the Demise of TITMOUSE against JOLTER, tried before
your Lordship at the last assizes for the county of York, I have humbly
to move your Lordship for _a rule to show cause why a nonsuit should
not be entered, or why the verdict entered for the plaintiff should not
be set aside, and a New Trial had_." He proceeded to state the facts of
the case with great clearness and brevity. In like manner--with perfect
simplicity and precision--he stated the various points arising upon the
evidence, and the general grounds of law which have been already
specified; but I am so grateful to the reader for his patience under the
infliction of so much legal detail as was contained in the last chapter
of this history, that I shall now content myself with the above general
statement of what took place before the court. As soon as he had sat
down, the judges consulted together for a minute or two; and then--
"You may take a rule to show cause, Mr. Attorney-General," said Lord
Widdrington.
"On all the grounds I have mentioned, my Lord?"
"Yes--on all of them. They are very well worth considering--Mr.
Solicitor-General, do you move?"
Up rose, thereupon, the Solicitor-General.
"I shall discharge your rule," whispered Mr. Subtle to the
Attorney-General.
"I'm not excessively sanguine,"--whispered the Attorney-General, leaning
his head close to Mr. Subtle, and with his hand before his mouth. Then
his clerk removed the battery of books which stood before him, together
with his brief; and taking another out of his turgid red bag, the
Attorney-General was soon deep in the details of an important shipping
case, in which he was going to move when next it came to his turn.
Thus the court had granted a "RULE NISI," as it is called, (_i. e._ it
commanded a particular thing to be done--"_unless_" sufficient
"_cause_" could be thereafter shown to the court why it should not be
done,) for either entering a nonsuit, or having a new trial. Now, had
this rule been obtained in the present day, nearly two years must have
elapsed, owing to the immense and perhaps unavoidable arrear of
business, before the other side could have been heard in answer to it.
Now, had such been the state of business at the time when the Rule in
_Doe_ d. _Titmouse_ v. _Jolter_ was moved for, see the practical effect
of it: had Mr. Aubrey, instead of the high-minded and conscientious man
he undoubtedly was, been a rogue, he might have had the opportunity of
getting in nearly twenty thousand pounds, and setting off with it to
spend upon the Continent, as soon as he found that the court had decided
against him: or, if the tenants should have been served with notice not
to pay their rents to any one but Mr. Titmouse--at all events not to Mr.
Aubrey--how were Mr. Aubrey and his family to have subsisted during this
interval?--and with the possibility that, at the end of some two years,
he might be declared to be the true owner of Yatton, and consequently
all the while entitled to those rents, &c., the non-payment of which
might have entailed upon him the most serious embarrassments! During the
same interval, poor Mr. Titmouse, heart-sick with hope deferred, might
have taken to liquor, as a solace under his misery, and drunk himself to
death before the rule was discharged--or brought his valuable life to a
more sudden and abrupt conclusion: which affecting event would have
relieved the court from deciding several troublesome points of law, and
kept the Aubreys in possession of the Yatton estates. Thus much for some
of the incidental effects of the law's delay! At the time, however,
concerning which I am writing, it was otherwise.[4] Shall I be believed
when I inform the reader that within ten or twelve days after the rule
_nisi_, in the present case, had been moved, "cause was shown" against
it, by Mr. Subtle and Mr. Lynx, and very admirably shown against it too.
(Mr. Quicksilver, fortunately for the interests of Mr. Titmouse, was
absent, attending a great meeting in the City, called by himself to
establish a society for the Moral and Intellectual Regeneration of
Mankind on the basis of Pure Reason.) The Attorney-General exerted
himself to the utmost in support of his rule. He felt that the
court--though scarcely at all interfering during his address--was
against him; yet he delivered, perhaps, one of the most masterly
arguments that had ever been heard in the place where he was speaking.
Mr. Sterling and Mr. Crystal, wisely avoiding the ground so admirably
occupied by the Attorney-General, contented themselves with
strengthening those positions which appeared to them less fortified by
authorities than the others; and then the court said they would take a
day or two's time to consider; "less on account," said Lord Widdrington,
"of the difficulty of the case, than the magnitude of the interests
which would probably be affected by their decision."
"You have them dead with you, Subtle," whispered the Attorney-General, a
slight expression of chagrin stealing over his features, as he heard the
observation of Lord Widdrington.
"I never doubted it," replied Mr. Subtle, with a confident air. Every
day afterwards, from the sitting to the rising of the court, did the
anxious Aubrey attend in the King's Bench, to hear the judgment of the
court delivered. At length arrived the last day of the term. Soon after
the sitting of the court, Lord Widdrington pronounced judgment in two or
three cases; but not seeing the Attorney-General (who was engaged before
the House of Lords) in his place, delayed giving judgment in the case of
"_Doe_ v. _Jolter_." About two o'clock he made his appearance; and
shortly afterwards, Lord Widdrington, after disposing of the matter then
before the court, said--"There was a case of Doe on the demise of
Titmouse against Jolter, in which, early in the term, a rule was
obtained by the Attorney-General, calling upon the lessor of the
plaintiff to show cause why"--and he proceeded to state the rule, and
then to deliver the written unanimous judgment of the court. A clear
statement of the facts out of which the questions submitted to the court
had arisen, and of those questions themselves, was listened to by Mr.
Aubrey in breathless suspense, before he could obtain the faintest
intimation of the judgment which the court was about to pronounce. Lord
Widdrington went on to dispose, one by one, with painful deliberation
and precision, of the several points presented for the decision of the
court. One or two were decided in favor of the defendant; but his
Lordship added, that it had become unnecessary to do so, in consequence
of the answers given by the witnesses to subsequent questions at the
trial, and which disposed of the doubts arising on the former ones. The
documentary evidence, subsequently put in, got rid of another difficulty
in the early part of the plaintiff's case, and rendered immaterial a
question put by the plaintiff's counsel, and strenuously objected to on
the part of the defendant, and which the court was of opinion, as had
been Lord Widdrington at the trial, ought not to have been allowed.
Then, as to the ADVERSE POSSESSION, on which very great stress had been
laid by the defendant's counsel, the court was of opinion that none
existed; since there had been a _disability_--indeed, a series of
disabilities,[5]--through infancy, coverture, and absence beyond seas,
of the various parties through whom the lessor of the plaintiff claimed.
Finally, as to the question concerning the ERASURE, the court was of
opinion, that the deed in which it occurred had been properly rejected;
inasmuch as the erasure was in a clearly material part of the deed, and
there were no recitals in the deed by which it could be helped. That it
was incumbent upon those proffering the deed in evidence, to account for
its altered appearance, although the deed was more than thirty years
old, and rebut the presumption of fraud arising therefrom. That the
erasure was a clear badge of fraud; and to hold otherwise, would be to
open a wide door to frauds of the most extensive and serious
description. That there had been no evidence offered to show that the
deed had ever been a valid deed; the very first step failed; and, in
short, in its then state, it was in contemplation of law _no deed at
all_; and, consequently, had been properly rejected. "For all these
reasons, therefore," concluded Lord Widdrington, "we are clearly of
opinion, that the verdict ought not to be disturbed, and the rule will
consequently be DISCHARGED."[6] As these last words were pronounced, a
mist seemed for a moment to intervene between Mr. Aubrey and everything
around him; for his thoughts had reverted to Yatton, and the precious
objects of his affection who were there, in sickening suspense, awaiting
the event which had that moment taken place. The words yet sounding in
his excited ears, seemed like the sentence of expulsion from Paradise
passed upon our dismayed and heart-broken first parents. Yes, in that
solemn region of matter-of-fact and common-place--that _dead
sea_--generally speaking--as far as feeling, sentiment, incident, or
excitement is concerned, the Court of King's Bench--there sat a man of
exquisite sensibility--pure and high-minded--whose feelings were for a
while paralyzed by the words which had fallen from the judgment-seat,
uttered with a cold, business-like, indifferent air--oh! how horridly
out of concert with the anxious and excited tone of him whom, with his
lovely family, they consigned, in fact, to destitution! After remaining
for about a quarter of an hour, during which brief interval he resumed
the control over his feelings which he had so long and successfully
struggled to maintain, he rose, and quitted the court. It was a heavy
lowering afternoon--one which seemed to harmonize with the gloomy and
desolate mood in which he slowly walked homeward. He encountered many of
his friends, on foot, on horseback, and in carriages, on their way down
to the Houses of Parliament; the very sight of them, in the morbid state
of his feelings, gave him a pang that was indescribable. With _them_
matters were the same as they had ever been--as they had till then been
with him--and as probably they would be with them to the end of their
career; but _he_ had been forced, suddenly and forever, to quit the
scene of high excitement and proud aspirations!--He heaved many deep
sighs, as he exchanged nod after nod with those he met, as he approached
Charing Cross. There he encountered Lord C----, the brilliant Foreign
Secretary, arm-in-arm with two eloquent and leading members of the
Government--all of them evidently in high spirits, on their way down to
the House.
"Ah!--Aubrey!--In town?--An age since we met!"--exclaimed they, in a
breath, shaking him cordially by the hand.--"You know, of course, that
the budget comes on to-night--eh?"----
"I was not aware of it,"--said Mr. Aubrey.
"I assure you," interrupted Lord C----, "our friends will do us great
service--very essential service, by being early in their
attendance!--You know that Mr. Quicksilver intends to come out against
us to-night in great force?--My dear Aubrey, you are going the wrong
way!"
"I am not going down to the House to-night!"
"Not going down?--Eh?--My dear Aubrey, you astonish me!--Have you
paired off? You can't think how I lament your absence!"
"I am returning to Yorkshire almost immediately."
"But surely you can come for an hour, or so, to-night--eh? Come! The
division won't come on till late. Don't let a trifle stand in the way!"
"I would _not_ let a trifle stand in the way," replied Mr. Aubrey, in a
tone and manner which at once arrested the attention of those whom he
was addressing, and suddenly reminded them of what, in their political
eagerness, they had for a moment lost sight of--namely, the perilous
position of his private affairs.
"My dear Aubrey, I beg a thousand pardons for intruding such matters
upon you," said Lord C----, with sudden earnestness; "but shall we have
an opportunity of meeting before you leave town?"
"I fear--_not_;--I set off by the mail to-morrow evening--and have in
the mean time much to attend to," said Mr. Aubrey, unable to repress a
sigh--and they parted. But for a determination not to yield to a morbid
sensibility, he would have got into a hackney-coach, and so have avoided
the "troops of friends," the hosts of "old familiar faces," all wending
down to the scene in which he had begun so eminently to distinguish
himself--but from which he seemed now to be forever excluded. He,
therefore, pursued his way on foot. One of those on whom his troubled
eye lit, was a well-known figure on horseback--the great Duke of ----,
on his way down to the House of Lords, going very slowly, his head
inclined on one side, his iron-cast features overspread with an
expression of stern thoughtfulness. He did not observe Mr. Aubrey--in
fact, he seemed too much absorbed with his own thoughts to observe or
recognize anybody; yet he now and then mechanically raised his finger to
his hat, in acknowledgment of the obeisances of those who saluted him
as he passed. Poor Aubrey sighed; and felt as if circumstances had
placed him at an immeasurable distance from the man whom, so lately, he
had entertained familiarly at dinner; that there seemed suddenly to
exist, as it were, a great and impassable gulf between them.
On reaching his house in Grosvenor Street, his heart fluttered while he
knocked and rang; and he seemed to himself to shrink from the accustomed
obsequious voice and manner of the powdered menial who admitted him.
Having ordered a slight dinner, he repaired to his library. The only
letter which had arrived since he had left in the morning, bore the
Grilston postmark, and was in the handwriting of Mrs. Aubrey. He opened
it with trembling eagerness. It was crossed--the dear familiar
handwriting!--from beginning to end, and full of heart-subduing
tenderness. Then it had a little enclosure, with a strange, straggling
superscription, "To my Papa;" and, on opening it, he read, in similar
characters--
"My dear Papa, I love you very very much. Do come home. Mamma sends
her love. Your dutiful son,
"CHARLES AUBREY.
"P. S.--Agnes sends her love; she cannot write because she is so
little. Please to come home directly.
"CHARLES A., YATTON."
Aubrey saw how it was--that Mrs. Aubrey had either affected to write in
her little son's name, or had actually guided his pen. On the outside
she had written in pencil--
"Charles says, he hopes that you will answer his letter directly."
Aubrey's lip quivered, and his eyes filled with tears. Putting the
letters into his bosom, he rose and walked to and fro, with feelings
which cannot be described. The evening was very gloomy. Rain poured
down incessantly. He was the only person in that spacious and elegant
house, except the servants left in charge of it; and dreary and desolate
enough it appeared. He was but its nominal owner--their nominal master!
In order to save the post, he sat down to write home--(_home_! his heart
sank within him at the thought)--and informed Mrs. Aubrey and his sister
of the event for which his previous letters had prepared them; adding
that he should set off for Yatton by the mail of the ensuing night, and
that he was perfectly well. He also wrote a line or two, in large
printed characters, by way of answer to his little correspondent, his
son, towards whom--ah!--how his heart yearned! and having despatched his
packet, probably the last he should ever frank, he partook of a hasty
and slight dinner, and then resigned himself to deep meditation upon his
critical circumstances. He was perfectly aware of his precise position,
in point of law, namely, that he was safe in the possession of the
Yatton property, (with the exception of the trifle which was occupied by
Jolter, and had been the object of the action just determined,) till
another action should have been brought, directly seeking its recovery;
and that by forcing his opponent to bring such action, he might put him
to considerable risk of retaining his verdict, and thereby greatly
harass him, and ward off, indefinitely, the evil day from himself. By
these means he might secure time, possibly also, favorable terms for the
payment of the dreadful arrear of mesne profits, in which he stood
indebted to his successor. To this effect he had received several
intimations from Mr. Runnington, as upright and conscientious an adviser
as was to be found in the profession. But Mr. Aubrey had decided upon
his course; he had taken his ground, and intended to maintain it.
However sudden and unlooked-for had been the claim set up against him,
it had been deliberately and solemnly confirmed by the law of the land;
and he had no idea but of yielding to it a prompt and hearty obedience.
He resolved, therefore, to waste no time--to fritter away no energy in
feeble dalliance with trouble; but to face her boldly. He determined to
instruct Mr. Runnington, on the morrow, to write to his opponent's
solicitors, informing them that within three weeks' time, the estates at
Yatton would be delivered up to their client, Mr. Titmouse, and also to
arrange for the quickest possible disposal of his house in Grosvenor
Street, and his wines and his furniture, both there and at Yatton. He
resolved, moreover, to take forthwith the necessary steps for vacating
his seat in Parliament, by applying for the Stewardship of the Chiltern
Hundreds; and having determined on these arrangements, consequent upon
the adverse decision of the Court of King's Bench of that day, he
experienced the momentary relief and satisfaction of the seaman who has
completely prepared his vessel for the approaching storm. He felt,
indeed, relieved, for a while, from a dreadful pressure.
"And what, now, have I really to complain of?" said he to himself; "why
murmur presumptuously and vainly against the dispensations of
Providence? I thank God that I am still able to recognize His hand in
what has befallen me, and to believe that _He hath done all things
well_; that prosperity and adversity are equally, from Him, means of
accomplishing _His_ all-wise purposes! Is it for _me_, poor insect! to
question the goodness, the wisdom, or the justice of my Maker? I thank
God for the firm belief I have, that _He governs the world in
righteousness_, and that He has declared that He will protect and bless
those who sincerely endeavor to discover, and conform to His will
concerning them. He it was who placed me in my late condition of
prosperity and eminence; why should I fret, when He sees fit gently to
remove me from it, and place me in a different sphere of exertion and
suffering? If the dark heathen could spend a life in endeavoring to
steel his heart against the sense of suffering, and to look with
cheerless indifference upon the vicissitudes of life, shall I, a
Christian, shrink with impatience and terror from the first glimpse of
adversity? Even at the worst, how favored is my situation in comparison
of that of millions of my fellow-creatures? Shall I--may I not--lessen
my own sufferings, by the contemplation of those which the Almighty has
thought fit to inflict upon my brethren? What if I, and those whom I
love, were the subjects of direful disease--of vice--of dishonor? What
if I were the object of the just and universal contempt of mankind;
given up to a reprobate mind; miserable here, and without hope
hereafter? Here have I health, a loving family--have had the inestimable
advantages of education, and even now, in the imminent approach of
danger, am enabled to preserve, in some measure, a composure of feeling,
a resolution--which will support me, and those who are dearer to me than
life." Here his heart beat quickly, and he walked rapidly to and fro. "I
am confident that Providence will care for them! As for me, even in
sight of the more serious and startling peril which menaces me--what is
it to a Christian but a trial of his constancy? _There hath no
temptation taken you_, say the Scriptures written for our instruction,
_but such as is common to man_;[7] _but God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will with the
temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it_."
This consolatory passage led Aubrey, in a calm and exalted mood of mind,
to meditate upon that picture of submission to manifold misfortune,
simple and sublime beyond all comparison or approach, drawn by the
pencil of one inspired with wisdom from on high--calculated at once to
solemnize, to strengthen, and elevate the heart and character of man;
and which is to be found in the first and second chapters of the _Book
of Job_. Oh reader! who, brilliant as may be at this moment your
position in life, may have been heretofore, or may be hereafter, placed
in circumstances of dreadful suffering and peril, suffer him whose
humble labors now for a moment occupy your attention, reverently to
refer you again and yet again, to that memorable passage of holy writ!
With danger surrounding him, with utter ruin staring him in the face,
Mr. Aubrey read this passage of Scripture; his shaken spirit gathered
from it calmness and consolation; and after a while, retiring early to
bed, he enjoyed a night of tranquil repose.
"These wretches are determined not to let the grass grow underneath
their feet, Mr. Aubrey," said Mr. Runnington, who, the next morning,
made his appearance at breakfast, pursuant to appointment; "within two
hours' time of the court's delivering judgment, yesterday afternoon, I
received the following communication." He handed to Mr. Aubrey this
letter:--
"_Saffron Hill, 25th April 18--._
"GENTLEMEN:
"_Doe_ d. _Titmouse_ v. _Jolter_.
"The rule for a new trial herein having been this day discharged,
and the unanimous judgment of the court delivered in favor of the
claims to the Yatton estate, of the lessor of the plaintiff, in the
present action, we shall feel obliged by an intimation from you, at
your earliest possible convenience, of the course which your client
may think fit to adopt. You are, of course, aware that we are now
in a situation to attack, successfully, the entire property at
Yatton, at present in the possession of Mr. Aubrey; and that, had
we thought fit, we might have sought and recovered it all in the
action which has just been decided in favor of our client. It is
now in our power greatly to _strengthen_ the evidence adduced at
the late trial: and we beg to be informed whether it is your
client's intention to put Mr. Titmouse to the enormous expense,
and delay, of a second trial, the issue of which cannot be doubtful;
or, with the promptitude and candor which are to be expected from
a gentleman of the station and character of your client, at once
to yield to our client the substantial fruits of his verdict.
"If his reasonable wishes and expectations in this matter should be
disregarded and frustrated, we would merely intimate that it will be
for your client most seriously to weigh the consequences; to see
whether such a line of conduct may not greatly prejudice his
interests, and place him in a far worse position than, perhaps, he
would otherwise have occupied. As we understand your client to be in
town, we trust you will forgive us for requesting you immediately to
communicate with him; and that at your earliest convenience you will
enable us to announce the result to our client.--We are, gentlemen,
your obedient servants,
"QUIRK, GAMMON, & SNAP.
"MESSRS. RUNNINGTON & CO."
"Well--I own I see nothing to find fault with," said Mr. Aubrey, calmly,
but with a suppressed sigh, as soon as he had read the letter.
"Rather quick work, too--is it not, Mr. Aubrey?--within an hour or two
after judgment pronounced in their favor:--but, to be sure, it's very
excusable, when you consider the line of business and the sort of
clients that Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap are accustomed to."
"I have made up my mind as to the course I shall adopt," said Mr.
Aubrey.
"Oh, of course, that is quite clear!" said Mr. Runnington, pouring out
his coffee--"we shall stand another shot, and see if they've ammunition
enough left for the purpose: and we'll tender a bill of exceptions, and
carry the case into the Exchequer Chamber, and thence into the House of
Lords--ah! we'll _work_ them, I warrant them!"--and he rubbed his hands,
with a little excitement in his manner.
"Why, Mr. Runnington," answered Mr. Aubrey, gravely, "would it not be
wanton--most unconscientious--in me to put them to the expense and
anxiety of a second trial, when the whole case, on both sides, has been
fairly brought before both the court and the jury?"
"Good heavens, Mr. Aubrey!" exclaimed Mr. Runnington, with visible
amazement--"who ever heard of an estate of even one or two hundred
a-year being surrendered after one assault?"
"If it were ten thousand times ten thousand a-year, I would
submit--after such a trial as ours!" said Mr. Aubrey, calmly.
"How do we know what fraud and perjury may have been resorted to in
order to secure the late verdict, and which we may have the means of
exploding against the next trial? Ah, Mr. Aubrey, you don't know the
character of Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap in the profession; they
learn a fresh trick from every scoundrel, swindler, and thief, whose
case they undertake."
"I thought that fraud and perjury were never to be presumed, Mr.
Runnington! Besides, had we not the advantage of most eminent, acute,
and experienced counsel? How could it escape _them_?"
"I would only venture to remind you," said Mr. Runnington, firmly but
respectfully, "of the observations of the Attorney-General, at our last
consultation."
"I thought I was unanswered, Mr. Runnington, though I did not feel at
liberty to press the matter," replied Mr. Aubrey, with a melancholy
smile.
"Excuse me, but we _must_ take the chance of a second trial," said Mr.
Runnington.
"I have decided upon the course I shall adopt," replied Mr. Aubrey,
calmly and determinedly--"I beg you, Mr. Runnington, to write this day
to the gentlemen upon the other side, and inform them that within three
weeks I shall be prepared to deliver up possession of Yatton."
"My dear sir!--Do I hear aright?" exclaimed Mr. Runnington, with some
agitation. "Deliver up possession of the estates? and within three
weeks? My ears are deceiving me!"
"That was what I said--or meant to say--Mr. Runnington," replied Mr.
Aubrey, rather peremptorily.
"I give you my honor, Mr. Aubrey, that in the whole course of my
practice I never heard of such a procedure!" said Mr. Runnington, with a
half-desperate air.
"And I shall further request you to state that the last quarter's rents
are in my banker's hands, and will be paid over to the order of Mr.
Titmouse"----
"Good gracious, Mr. Aubrey!" interrupted Mr. Runnington, with an air of
deep concern.
"I have well considered the position in which I am placed," said Mr.
Aubrey, with a serious air.
"It is very painful for me to mention the subject, Mr. Aubrey; but have
you adverted to the _mesne_ profits?"
"I have. It is, indeed, a very fearful matter: and I frankly own that I
see no way open before me, but to trust to the forbearance of"----
"Forbearance!--The _forbearance_ of Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap!! or
of any one counselled by them!"
"Why, what can I do? I might as well undertake to pay off the national
debt as the sum of sixty thousand pounds!"
"That's just the very thing," replied Mr. Runnington, with a dismayed
air.
"Whatever honorable negotiation can effect, I leave it in your hands to
do. With reference to the time which may be allowed for liquidating this
frightful demand"--Mr. Aubrey changed color, but spoke with firmness--"I
must own this to be a matter which has occasioned me inexpressible
anxiety, Mr. Runnington. I really do not see what length of time will
enable me to discharge so vast a sum of money, or even to make any
sensible impression upon it. I am quite at the mercy of my enemies!"
Here both were silent for some time.
"At one time, I fancied that in a case so grievously hard as yours,"
said Mr. Runnington, with a sigh--"you might obtain relief from a Court
of Equity from the payment of the mesne profits, on the ground of your
total ignorance of the title of Titmouse; and I laid a case before the
most skilful lawyer in the Court of Chancery--but alas! the answer was
in the negative--that the court had no power whatever to deprive a man
of what he had proved to be his strict legal rights"----
"Nor can I, Mr. Runnington, see on what principle such an interference
could be supported![8] Besides--can I _entirely_ acquit myself of
negligence? Have I not been culpably forgetful of the suggestions which
you made to me at the time of my marriage settlement? No, no! I feel
myself bound hand and foot"----
At this moment a thundering appeal to the knocker of the door announced
an arrival; and presently the servant entered and stated that Lord
C---- had called, and was waiting in the library. After repeating two or
three directions to Mr. Runnington, Mr. Aubrey left him; and presently
entered the library, where Lord C---- was waiting to receive him. Lord
C---- was a middle-aged man, tall, of elegant person, with a very
handsome and intellectual countenance, and most winning address; he was
a thorough politician, and possessed of eloquence, immense practical
knowledge, and a commanding intellect. He was made for eminent office;
and got through the most complicated and harassing business with ease
and celerity. He had for several years entertained a sincere regard for
Mr. Aubrey, whom he considered to be a very rising man in the House of
Commons, and to have rendered him, on several occasions, special service
in debate. He had been much shocked to hear of the sudden misfortune
which had befallen Mr. Aubrey; and had now come to him with a sincere
desire to be of service; and also, not without a faint hope of
prevailing upon him to come down that evening, and support them in a
very close division. He was as kind-hearted a man as--a keen politician
_could_ be.
"I am really shocked beyond expression to hear all this," said he, after
Aubrey had, at his earnest request, explained the position in which he
was placed; the dreadful loss he had sustained, the still more dreadful
liabilities to which he was subject. "Really," exclaimed his Lordship,
"who can be safe? It might have happened to me--to any of us! Forgive
me, my dear Aubrey," he continued earnestly, "if I venture to express a
hope that at all events Mrs. Aubrey and your family are provided for,
and your very lovely sister; they, I trust, are out of the reach of
inconvenience?" Mr. Aubrey's lips quivered, and he remained silent.
"Allow me a friend's freedom, Aubrey, and let me repeat my question; are
your family provided for?"
"I will be frank, Lord C----," replied Mr. Aubrey, with a strong effort
to preserve his composure. "The little provision which had been made for
them, is lost, with Yatton; but for them--my wife, my children, my
sister--I could have submitted to this misfortune with unshrinking
fortitude; but they are, alas, involved in my ruin! My wife had nothing
when I married her; and of course the settlements I made on her were out
of the Yatton property; as also was the little income left my sister by
my father. With Yatton all is gone--that is the plain fact; and there is
no disguising it."
Lord C---- seemed much moved.
"The Duke of ----, I, and two or three other of your friends, were
talking about these matters last night; we wish we could serve you. What
is the sort of foreign service you would prefer, Aubrey?"
"_Foreign_ service?" echoed Mr. Aubrey, significantly.
"Yes; an entire change of scene would be highly serviceable in diverting
your thoughts from the distressing subjects which here occupy them, and
must continue to occupy them for some time to come. Can there be a doubt
of it?"
"It is very kindly meant, Lord C----; but do you really think I can for
a single moment entertain the idea of quitting the country to escape
from pecuniary liability?"
"That's the point, exactly; I decidedly think you ought to do so; that
you _must_," replied Lord C----, in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Nothing upon earth shall induce me to do so," replied Mr. Aubrey,
firmly. "The bare idea shocks me. It would be the meanest, most
unprincipled conduct--it would reflect disgrace on the king's service."
"Poh--this is mere eccentricity--knight-errantry; I'm sure that when you
are in a calmer mood you will think differently. Upon my honor, I never
heard of such absurdity as yours, in my life. Are you to stay at home,
to have your hands tied behind your back, and be thrust into prison--to
court destruction for yourself and your family?" Mr. Aubrey turned aside
his head, and remained silent.
"I must plead in favor of Mrs. Aubrey--your children--your sweet lovely
sister;--good God! it's quite shocking to think of what you are bringing
them to."
"You torture my feelings, Lord C----," said Mr. Aubrey, tremulously and
very pale; "but you do not convince my judgment. Every dictate of
conscience and honor combines to assure me that I should not listen to
your proposal."
"Good God! what an outrage on common sense!--But has anything been yet
said on the subject of these liabilities--these _mesne_ profits, as I
think you said they are called?"
"Nothing; but they follow as a matter of course."
"How is it that you owe _only_ sixty thousand pounds, Aubrey?"
"_Only_ sixty thousand!" echoed Mr. Aubrey, amazedly.
"At the rate of ten thousand a-year, you must have had at least a
hundred thousand pounds of the money belonging to your successor"----
"The statute of limitations prevents more than six years' arrears being
recoverable."
"But do you intend, Aubrey, to avail yourself of such a protection
against the just claims of this poor, unfortunate, ill-used gentleman?
Are not the remaining forty thousand pounds justly due--money of his
which you have been making away with? Will you let a mere technical rule
of law outweigh the dictates of honor and conscience?"
"I really don't exactly understand your drift, Lord C----," said Mr.
Aubrey, coloring visibly.
"Well--I will explain. Your sovereign has a right to command your
services; and, by obeying him and serving your country, you are enabled
to prevent a malignant opponent from ruining you and your family, by
extorting a vast sum of money not equitably due: I protest I see no
difference in principle, Aubrey, between availing yourself of the
statute of limitations, and of the call of the king to foreign
service;--but we must talk of this again. By the way, what is the name
of your worthy opponent? Tittlemouse, or some such strange name?"
"Titmouse!--By the way, you lose a seat for Yatton," said Aubrey, with a
faint smile.
Lord C---- pricked up his ears. "Ay, ay! how's that?"
"The gentleman whom you have named professes, I understand, Liberal
principles; probably he will sit for the borough himself; at all events,
he will return the member."
"He's a poor ignorant creature, isn't he? What has made him take up with
Liberal principles? By taking a little notice of him early, one
might--eh?--influence him;--but--of course you don't intend to vacate
this session?"
"I intend this day to apply for the Chiltern Hundreds; and this evening,
if you like, a new writ may be moved for the borough of Yatton."
"You _must_ come down to-night, my dear Aubrey, you really must," said
Lord C----, with undisguised anxiety--with more than he had shown during
the interview. "The numbers will run very close; they are stirring
heaven and earth!--Good heavens! my dear Aubrey, a vote's invaluable
to-night;--gad, you _sha'n't_ have the Chiltern Hundreds;[9] you mustn't
really apply for it--at all events, not till to-morrow."
"I shall sit no more in the House of Commons," said Mr. Aubrey, with a
sad determined air; "besides, I leave for Yatton by to-night's mail.
There are those waiting for me whom you would not have me disappoint,
Lord C----!"
"Not for worlds, my dear Aubrey," replied Lord C----, half absently. He
was intensely disappointed at not obtaining Mr. Aubrey's vote that
evening; and rose to go.
"Then I am to direct to Yatton, when I may have occasion to write to
you?" said he.
"For the next three weeks only--my movements after that period are not
yet fixed."
"Adieu, Aubrey; and I entreat of you to remember me most
sincerely to Mrs. Aubrey and your sister; and when you look at
them,--recollect--pray, recollect our conversation of to-day."
With this Lord C---- took his departure, and left poor Aubrey much
depressed. He quickly, however, roused himself, and occupied the
principal part of the day in making the necessary and melancholy
arrangements for breaking up his establishment in Grosvenor Street, and
disposing of his wines, books, and furniture at Yatton. He also
instructed a house-agent to look out for two or three respectable but
small houses in the outskirts of town, out of which might be chosen the
one appearing most suitable to himself and Mrs. Aubrey, on their arrival
in London. About eight o'clock he got into the York mail, and his heart
was heavy within him.
CHAPTER III.
The result of a very long consultation between Mr. Runnington and his
partners, held on the day after his last interview with Mr. Aubrey, was,
that he drew up the following draft of a letter, addressed to Messrs.
Quirk, Gammon, and Snap:--
"_Lincoln's Inn, 26th April 18--._
"GENTLEMEN:
"_Doe_ d. _Titmouse_ v. _Jolter_.
"In answer to your letter of yesterday, (the 25th inst.,) we beg to
inform you, that after the judgment in this cause pronounced
yesterday in the Court of King's Bench, our client, Mr. Aubrey,
does not intend to resist the claim of Mr. Titmouse to the residue
of the Yatton property. We now, therefore, beg to give you notice,
that on the 17th of next month you will be at liberty, on behalf of
your client, Mr. Titmouse, to take possession of all the property
at Yatton, at present in the possession of Mr. Aubrey. The whole of
the last quarter's rents, due at Ladyday, have been paid into the
bank of Messrs. Harley at Grilston, and will, on the day above
mentioned, be placed at the disposal of your client.
"We are also instructed to request the delivery of your bill at as
early a period as may suit your convenience, with a view to its
immediate examination and settlement.
"We cannot forbear adding, while thus implicitly following the
instructions of our client, our very great surprise and regret at
the course which he has thought fit to adopt; since we have the
strongest reasons for believing, that had he been disposed to
contest your client's claim farther, in accordance with advice
received from a high quarter, his case would have been materially
strengthened, and your difficulties greatly increased,
and rendered, in fact, absolutely insuperable. We feel confident
that the magnanimity displayed by our client, will be duly
appreciated by _yours_.
"We are, Gentlemen, your obedient servants,
"RUNNINGTON & CO.
"MESSRS. QUIRK, GAMMON, & SNAP."
"Really," said Mr. Runnington, when he had read over the above to his
partners, "I _must_ throw in a word or two about those accursed mesne
profits--yet it's a very ticklish subject, especially with such people
as these--eh?"
One partner shook his head, and the other looked very thoughtful.
"We must not compromise Mr. Aubrey," said the former of the two.
"We have had no instructions on that point," said the latter,--"on the
contrary, you told us yourself that your instructions were to announce
an unconditional surrender."
"That may be; but in so desperate a business as this, I do think we have
a discretion to exercise on behalf of himself and family, which I must
say, he seems quite incapable of exercising himself. Nay, upon my honor,
I think we are _bound_ not to forego the slightest opportunity of
securing an advantage for our client in this unrighteous claim!"
His partners seemed struck with his observation; and Mr. Runnington,
after a few moments' consideration, added the following postscript:--
"P. S.--As to the _mesne profits_, by the way, of course we
anticipate no difficulty in effecting an amicable arrangement
satisfactory to both parties, due consideration being had for the
critical position in which our client finds himself placed so
suddenly and unexpectedly. Indeed, it is not difficult to conceive
that Mr. Aubrey, in taking the step of which we have above
advised you, must have contemplated"----(here Mr. Runnington paused
for a considerable time,) "being met in a similar frank, liberal,
and equitable spirit."
It was agreed, at length, that the whole amount and effect of the above
postscript ought to be regarded as a spontaneous suggestion of Messrs.
Runnington, not in any way implicating, or calculated in any event to
annoy, Mr. Aubrey; and a fair copy of the letter and postscript having
been made, it was signed by the head of the firm, and forthwith
despatched to Saffron Hill.
"Struck, by Jove, Gammon!" exclaimed Mr. Quirk, as, with the above
letter open in his hands, he hurried, the instant after he had read it,
into the room of his wily partner, and threw it down exultingly before
him. Gammon read it with apparent calmness, but a slight flush
overspread his cheek; and, as he finished the perusal, a subdued smile
of excitement and triumph stole over his acute and placid countenance.
"Lord, Gammon! isn't it glorious?" quoth Mr. Quirk, heatedly, rubbing
his hands together; "give us your hand, friend Gammon! We've fought a
precious hard battle together"--and he shook his partner's hand with
vehement cordiality. "This fellow Aubrey is a trump--isn't he?--Egad, if
I'd been in his shoes--one way or another, I'd have stuck at Yatton for
a dozen years to come--ah, ha!"
"Yes, I am sure you would--if you had been able," replied Gammon, dryly,
and with a smile--the real character of which was not perceived by Mr.
Quirk.
"Ay, that I would," replied he, with a triumphant chuckle--"but now to
come to business. By next quarter-day Titmouse will have £5,000 in hard
cash--half of it on the 17th of next month.--Lord! what have we done for
him!" he added with a sort of sigh.
"We've put an ape into possession of Paradise--that's all"--said Gammon,
absently and half aloud, and bitterly and contemptuously.
"Humph!--what of that?" said Mr. Quirk--"It answers _our_ purposes, at
any rate! By the way, Gammon, you see what's said about our bill--eh?
The sooner it's made out the better, I should say--and--ahem!
hem!--while Mr. Aubrey's on the tight rope he won't think of looking
down at the particular items, will he? I should say, _now's_ our time;
and we should strike while the iron's hot! I've got _rather_ a stiff
entry, I can assure you. I must say Snap's done his duty; and _I've_ not
had my eyes shut--or my pen idle! You know one _must_ live in these hard
times--eh?" Here Mr. Quirk winked very knowingly.
"You must not _overdo_ it, Mr. Quirk--but all that I leave, as usual, to
your admirable management, as to that of a first-rate man of business.
You know I'm a sad hand at accounts; but you and Snap are perfect
adepts--in short, I'm satisfied you'll do all that should be done."
"Ay, ay, trust us!" interrupted Quirk, quickly, with a significant nod,
and fancying himself and Snap already at work, plundering the poor
Aubreys. "And, by the way, Gammon, there are the mesne profits--that's a
mighty fine postscript of theirs, isn't it?" and replacing his
spectacles, he read it over aloud. "All my eye, of course!" he added, as
he laid down the letter--"but I suppose one must give 'em a little time;
it _is_ a little hard on him just at present; but then, to be sure,
that's _his_ look-out--not ours, or Titmouse's!--Off-hand, I should say
we ought to be content with--say--twenty thousand down, and the rest
within two years, so as to give him time to look about him a little"----
"That will be quite an after consideration," said Mr. Gammon, who, for
the last few minutes, had appeared lost in thought.
"Egad--an _after_ consideration? Hang me if I think so, Gammon! There's
a certain _bond_--eh? don't you recollect"----
"I assure you, Mr. Quirk, that my eye is fixed quite as steadily and
anxiously on that point as yours," said Gammon, gravely.
"Thank you--thank you, Gammon!" replied Quirk, with the air of a man
suddenly relieved from apprehension--"it couldn't possibly be in better
hands. Lud--to go wrong _there_! It would send me to my grave at a hand
gallop--it would, so help me Heaven, Gammon!--Titmouse--by the way--is a
queer hand to deal with--isn't he? Wasn't he strange and bumptious the
other day? Egad, it made me quake! Need we tell him, just yet," he
dropped his voice, "of the letter we've got? Couldn't we safely say only
that they have sent us word that we shall have Yatton by the 17th of
next month?"
"Very great caution is necessary, Mr. Quirk, just now"----
"You _don't_ think the young scamp's going to turn round on us, and snap
his fingers in our face, eh?" inquired Mr. Quirk, apprehensively,
violently twirling about his watch-key.
"If you leave him implicitly to me, you shall get all you want," replied
Gammon, very gravely, and very pointedly. Quirk's color changed a
little, as he felt the keen gray eye of Gammon fixed upon him, and he
involuntarily shrank under it.
"You'll excuse me, Gammon," at length said he, with rather a disturbed
air; "but there's no fathoming you, when you get into one of your
mysterious humors; and you always look so particularly strange whenever
we get on this subject! What can you know that I don't--or _ought_ not
to know?"
"Nothing--nothing, I assure you," replied Gammon, with a gay smile.
"Well, I should have _thought_ not. But, coming back to the main point,
if one could but _touch_ some part of that same ten thousand pounds, I
_should_ be a happy man!--Consider Gammon, what a draught there has been
on my purse for this last sixteen months! Ecod!--the sleepless nights it
has cost me!"
"Well, can you doubt being soon richly repaid, my dear sir? Only don't
be too hasty."
"I take it, Gammon, we've a lien on the rents now in the banker's hands,
and to become due next quarter-day, and on the first instalment of the
mesne profits, both for our bill of costs, and in respect of that same
bond?"
"Mesne profits, Mr. Quirk?" echoed Gammon, rather quickly; "you seem to
take it for granted that they are all ready to be paid over! Even
supposing Titmouse not to grow restive, do you suppose it probable that
Mr. Aubrey, after so vast and sudden a sacrifice, can have more than a
very few thousands--probably hundreds--to keep him and his family from
immediate want, since we have reason to believe he has got no other
resources than Yatton?"
"Not got 'em--not got 'em? D--n him! then he must look sharp and _get_
'em, that's all! You know we can't be trifled with; we must look after
the interests of--Titmouse. And what's he to start with, if there's no
mesne profits forthcoming? But, hang it! they must; I should say a
gentle pressure, by-and-by, as soon as Aubrey's fairly got out of
Yatton, must produce money, or _security_--he must know quantities of
people of rank and substance that would rush forward, if they once heard
him squeal"----
"Ah, you're for putting the thumbscrews on at once--eh?" inquired
Gammon, with subdued energy, and a very strange sort of smile.
"Ay--capital--that's _just_ what I meant!"--quoth Quirk.
"Eugh! you heartless old reprobate!" thought Gammon, nearly on the point
of expressing as much; but his momentary excitement passed off
unobserved by Mr. Quirk. "And, I must say, I agree with you," added
Gammon, calmly, "we ought in justice to see you first reimbursed your
very heavy outlays, Mr. Quirk."
"Well, that's honorable, Gammon.--Oh, Gammon, how I _wish_ you would let
me make a friend of you!" suddenly added Mr. Quirk, eying wistfully his
surprised companion.
"If you have one sincere, disinterested friend in the world, Mr. Quirk,
I am he," said Mr. Gammon, throwing great warmth into his manner,
perceiving that Mr. Quirk was laboring with some communication of which
he wished to deliver himself.
"Gammon, Gammon! how I _wish_ I could think so!" replied Quirk, looking
earnestly, yet half distrustingly, at Gammon, and fumbling about his
hands in his pockets. The mild and friendly expression of Gammon's
countenance, however, invited communicativeness; and after softly
opening and shutting the two doors, to ascertain that no one was trying
to overhear what might be passing, he returned to his chair, which he
drew closer to Gammon, who noticed this air of preparation with not a
little curiosity.
"I may be wrong, Gammon," commenced Mr. Quirk, in a low tone; "but I do
believe you've always felt a kind of personal friendship towards me; and
there ought to be no secrets among friends. _Friends_, indeed? Perhaps
it's premature to mention so small a matter; but at a certain
silversmith's, not a thousand miles from the Strand, there's at this
moment in hand, as a present from me to you"--(Oh dear, dear! Mr. Quirk!
what a shocking untruth! and at your advanced period of life, too!)--"as
elegant a gold snuff-box as can be made, with a small inscription on the
lid. I hope you won't value it the less for its being the gift of old
Caleb Quirk"----he paused and looked earnestly at Mr. Gammon.
"My dear Mr. Quirk, you have taken me," said his bland partner,
apparently with great emotion, "quite by surprise. Value it? I will
preserve it to the latest moment of my life, as a memorial of one whom
the more I know of, the more I respect and admire!"
"You, Gammon, are in your prime--scarce even that--but I am growing
old"----tears appeared to glisten in the old gentleman's eyes; Gammon,
looking much moved, shook him cordially by the hand in silence,
wondering what upon earth was coming next. "Yes;--old Caleb Quirk's day
is drawing to a close--I feel it, Gammon, I feel it! But I shall leave
behind me--a--a--child--an only daughter, Gammon;" that gentleman gazed
at the speaker with an expression of respectful sympathy;--"Dora: I
don't think you can have known Dora so long, Gammon, without feeling a
_leetle_ interest in her!" Here Gammon's color mounted rapidly; and he
looked with feelings of a novel description at his senior partner. Could
it be possible that old Quirk wished to bring about a match between his
daughter and Mr. Gammon? That gentleman's thoughts were for a moment
confused. All he could do was to bow with an earnest--an anxious--a
deprecating air; and Mr. Quirk, rather hastily, proceeded,--"and when I
assure you, Gammon, that it is in your power to make an old friend and
his only daughter happy and proud,"--Gammon began to draw his breath
hurriedly, and to look more and more apprehensively at his senior
partner,--"in short, my dear friend Gammon, let me out with it at
once--my daughter's over head and ears in love with Titmouse! She is, so
help me Heaven!"
["Whew!" thought Gammon, suddenly and infinitely relieved.]
"Ah, my dear sir, is that all?" he exclaimed, and shook Mr. Quirk
cordially by the hand,--"at length you have made a friend of me indeed!
But, to tell you the truth, I have long suspected as much; I have
indeed!"
"Have you really? Hang me if anything can escape your lynx's
eyes!--Well! there _is_ no accounting for tastes, is there?--especially
among the women? Poor Dora's quite lost her heart--quite--she has--so
help me Heaven!" continued Mr. Quirk, energetically.
"Well, my dear sir, and why this _surprise_?" inquired Gammon,
earnestly. "I consider Titmouse to be a very handsome young fellow; and
that he is already rapidly acquiring very gentlemanly manners; and as to
his _fortune_--really--when one thinks of the thing--it would be most
desirable to bring it about! Indeed, the sooner his heart's fixed, and
his word's pledged, the better--for you must of course be aware that
there will be many schemers on the look-out to entrap his frank and
inexperienced nature--look, for instance, at Tag-rag."
"Eugh!" exclaimed Mr. Quirk, with a sudden motion of sickening
disgust--"the old beast! I smoked him long ago! Now, _that_ I call
villany, Gammon; infernal villany! Don't you?"
"Indeed, indeed, Mr. Quirk, I do; I quite agree with you! Upon my honor,
I think it is a part of even _my_ duty towards our confiding and
inexperienced client, if possible, to protect him against such infamous
designs."
"Right--right, Gammon; by Jove, you're quite right--I _quite_ agree
with you!" replied Quirk, earnestly, not observing the lambent smile
upon the features of his calm, crafty, and sarcastic companion.
"You see, however," said Gammon, "we've a very delicate and difficult
game to play with old Tag-rag. He's certainly a toad, ugly and
venomous--but then he's got a jewel in his head--he's got money, you
know, and, to serve _our_ purposes, we must really give him some hopes
about his daughter and Titmouse."
"Faugh! eugh! feugh! Nasty wretch! a little trollop! It makes one sick
to hear of her! And, by the way, now we're on that subject, Gammon, what
do we want of this wretch Tag-rag, now that Titmouse has actually got
the property?"
"Want of him? Money--security, my dear sir!--money!"
"But, curse me! (excuse me, Gammon,) why go to Tag-rag? _That's_ what I
can't understand! Surely any one will advance almost any amount of money
to Titmouse, with such security as he can now give!"
"Very possibly--probably"----
"Possibly? Why, I myself don't mind advancing him five thousand--nay,
ten thousand pounds--when we've once got hold of the title-deeds."
"My dear sir," interrupted Gammon, calmly, but with a very serious air,
and a slight change of color which did not happen to attract the notice
of his eager companion, "there are reasons why I should dissuade you
from doing so; upon my word there are; farther than that I do not think
it necessary to go; but I have gone far enough, I know well, to do you a
real service."
Mr. Quirk listened to all this with an air of the utmost amazement--even
open-mouthed amazement. "What reason, Gammon, _can_ there be against my
advancing money on a security worth at least twenty times the sum
borrowed?" he inquired with visible distrust of his companion.
"I can but assure you, that were I called upon to say whether I would
advance a serious sum of money to Titmouse on the security of the Yatton
estates, I should at all events require a most substantial _collateral_
security."
"Mystery again!" exclaimed Mr. Quirk, a sigh of vexation escaping him.
"You'll excuse me, Gammon, but you'd puzzle an angel, to say nothing of
the devil! May I presume for one moment, so far on our personal and
professional relationship, as to ask what the reason is on which your
advice rests?"
"Mere caution--excessive caution--anxiety to place you out of the way of
all risk. Surely, is your borrower so soon to be pronounced firm in the
saddle?"
"If you know anything, Gammon, that I don't, it's your bounden duty to
communicate it! _Look at our articles!_"
"It is; _but do I_ know anything! Prove that, Mr. Quirk, and you need
trouble yourself no more!--but, in the mean while, (without saying how
much I feel hurt at your evident distrust,) I have but a word or two
further to add on this point."
When Mr. Gammon chose, he could assume an expression of feature, a tone
of voice, and a manner which indicated to the person he was addressing,
that he was announcing a matured opinion, an inflexible
determination--and this, moreover, in the calmest, quietest way
imaginable. Thus it was that he now said to Mr. Quirk, "My opinion is,
that you should get _some third party_ or parties to advance any
required sum, and prevail upon Tag-rag to join in a collateral security,
without--if possible--making him aware of the extent of liability he is
incurring. By exciting him with the ridiculous notion of an attachment
between his daughter and Titmouse, he may be induced to give his
signature, as to some complimentary matter of form only--Now, that's my
opinion, Mr. Quirk; not lightly or hastily formed; and it rests upon a
deep feeling of personal regard towards you, and also our common
interests."
Mr. Quirk had listened to this communication in perturbed silence, eying
the speaker with a ludicrous expression of mingled chagrin,
apprehension, and bewilderment. "Gammon," at length said he, affecting a
smile, "do you remember, when you, and I, and Dora, went to the play to
see some German thing or other--Foss was the name, wasn't it?"
"Faust--Faust," interrupted Gammon, curiously.
"Well; and now, what was the name of that fellow that was
always--Meph--Meph--what was it?"
"Mephistopheles," replied Gammon, unable to repress a smile.
"Ah--yes! so it was. That's all; I only wanted to think of the name--I'd
forgotten it. I beg your pardon, Gammon."
This was poor Mr. Quirk's way of being very sarcastic with his friend.
He thought that he had now cut him to the very quick.
"If it hadn't been for what's passed between us to-day, Gammon, I should
almost begin to think that you were not sincere in your friendship"----
"Did I ever deceive you? Did I ever attempt to overreach you in
anything, Mr. Quirk?"
"N--o--o--," replied Mr. Quirk--but not in the readiest manner, or most
confident tone in the world,--"I certainly can't say I ever found you
out--but I'll tell you what, we each keep a precious sharp look-out
after each other, too--don't we?" he inquired with a faint smile, which
seemed for a moment reflected upon the face of Gammon.
"How long," said the latter, "I am to be the subject of such unkind
suspicions, I do not know; but your nature is suspicious; and as every
one has his fault, that is the alloy in the otherwise pure gold of your
manly, generous, and straightforward character. Time may show how you
have wronged me. My anxious wish is, Mr. Quirk, to witness your daughter
occupying a position in which we may all be proud to see her." Here a
smile shot across Quirk's anxious countenance, like evening sunshine on
troubled waters.
"I do really believe, Gammon," said he, eagerly, "that Dora's just the
kind of girl to suit Titmouse"----
"So indeed, my dear sir, do I. There's a mingled softness and spirit in
Miss Quirk"----
"She's a good girl, a good girl, Gammon! I hope he'll use her well if he
gets her." His voice trembled. "She's got very much attached to him!
Gad, she's quite altered lately; and my sister tells me that she's
always playing dismal music when he's not there. But we can talk over
these matters at another time. Gad, Gammon, you can't think how it's
relieved me, to open my mind to you on this matter! We quite understand
each other _now_, Gammon--eh?"
"Quite," replied Gammon, pointedly; and Mr. Quirk having quitted the
room, the former prepared to answer Messrs. Runnington's letter. But
first he leaned back, and reflected on several points of their late
conversation. Of course, he had resolved that Miss Quirk should never
become Mrs. Titmouse! And what struck him as not a little singular was
this; viz. that Mr. Quirk should have made no observation on the
circumstance that Gammon allowed him to risk his daughter, and her all,
upon chances which he pronounced too frail to warrant advancing a
thousand or two of money! Yet so it was.
This was the answer he presently wrote to the letter of Messrs.
Runnington:--
"_Saffron Hill, 26th April 18--._
"GENTLEMEN:
"_Doe_ d. _Titmouse_ v. _Jolter_.
"We are favored with your letter of this day's date; and beg to
assure you how very highly we appreciate the prompt and honorable
course which has been taken by your client, under circumstances
calculated to excite the greatest possible commiseration. Every
expression of respectful sympathy, on our parts, and on that of our
client, Mr. Titmouse, which you may think fit to convey to your
distinguished client, is his.
"We shall be prepared to receive possession of the Yatton estates
on the day you mention--namely, the 17th May next, on behalf of our
client, Mr. Titmouse; on whose behalf, also, we beg to thank you
for your communication concerning the last quarter's rents.
"With reference to the question of the mesne profits, we cannot
doubt that your client will promptly pursue the same line of
honorable conduct which he has hitherto adopted; and sincerely
trust that a good understanding in this matter will speedily exist
between our respective clients.
"As you have intimated a wish upon the subject, we beg to inform
you that we have given instructions for making out and delivering
our bill herein.
"We are, Gentlemen,
"Your obedient humble servants,
"QUIRK, GAMMON, & SNAP.
"MESSRS. RUNNINGTON & CO."
Having finished writing the above letter, Gammon sat back in his chair,
with folded arms, and entered upon a long train of thought--revolving
many matters which were worthy of the profound consideration they then
received.
When Gammon and Titmouse returned to town from York, they were fortunate
in having the inside of the coach to themselves for nearly the whole of
the way--an opportunity which Gammon improved to the utmost, by
deepening the impression he had already made in the mind of Titmouse,
of the truth of one great fact--namely, that he and his fortunes would
quickly part company, if Gammon should at any time so will--which never
would, however, come to pass, as long as Titmouse recognized and
deferred to the authority of Gammon in all things. In vain did Titmouse
inquire how this could be. Gammon was impenetrable, mysterious,
authoritative; and at length enjoined Titmouse to absolute secrecy
concerning the existence of the fact in question, on pain of the
infliction of those consequences to which I have already alluded. Gammon
assured him that there were many plans and plots hatching against him
(Titmouse;) but that it was in his (Gammon's) power to protect him from
them all. Gammon particularly enjoined him, moreover, to consult the
feelings, and attend to the suggestions of Mr. Quirk, wherever Mr.
Gammon did not intimate to the contrary; and wound up all by telling
him, that as he, Gammon, was the only person on earth--and this he
really believed to be the case, as the reader may hereafter see--who
knew the exact position of Titmouse, so he had devoted himself for his
life to the advancing and securing the interests of that fortunate
gentleman.
For about a fortnight after their return, Titmouse, at Gammon's
instance, continued at his former lodgings; but at length complained so
earnestly of their dismal quietude, and of their being out of the way of
"_life_," that Gammon yielded to his wishes, and, together with Mr.
Quirk, consented to his removing to a central spot--in fact, to the
CABBAGE-STALK HOTEL, Covent Garden--a queer enough name, to be sure; but
it was the family name of a great wholesale green-grocer, who owned most
of the property thereabouts. It was not without considerable uneasiness
and anxiety that Messrs. Quirk and Snap beheld this change of residence,
apprehensive that it might have the effect of estranging Titmouse from
them; but since Gammon assented to it, they had nothing for it but to
acquiesce, considering Titmouse's proximity to his splendid
independence. They resolved, however, as far as in each of them lay, not
to let themselves be forgotten by Titmouse. Pending the rule for the new
trial, Mr. Quirk had been so confident concerning the issue, that he
greatly increased the allowance of Titmouse; to an extent, indeed, which
admitted of his entering into almost all the gayeties that his as yet
scarce initiated heart could desire. In the first place, he constantly
added to his wardrobe. Then he took lessons, every other day, in "the
noble art of self-defence;" which gave him an opportunity of forming,
with great ease, at once an extensive and brilliant circle of
acquaintance. Fencing-rooms, wrestling-rooms, shooting-galleries, places
for pigeon-shooting, cock-fighting, dog-fighting, and billiard-rooms;
the water, and boat-racing--these were the dazzling scenes which
occupied the chief portion of each day. Then, in the evenings, there
were theatres, great and small, the various taverns, and other places of
nocturnal resort, which are the secret pride and glory of the
metropolis. In addition to this, at an advanced period of the night, or
rather very early hour in the morning, he sedulously strove to perfect
himself in those higher arts and accomplishments, formerly excelled in
by one or two of the more eminent of the youthful aristocracy, viz.
breaking windows, pulling bells, wrenching off knockers,[10]
extinguishing lamps, tripping up old women, watchmen, and children, and
spoiling their clothes;--ah, how often in his humbler days, had his
heart panted in noble rivalry of such feats as these, and emulation of
the notoriety which they earned for the glittering miscreants excelling
in them! Ah, Titmouse, Titmouse! Now is your time! _Macte novâ virtute,
puer!_
That he could long frequent such scenes as these without forming an
extensive and varied acquaintance, would be a very unlikely thing to
suppose; and there was one who would fain have joined him in his new
adventures--one who, as I have already intimated, had initiated him into
the scenes with which he was now becoming so familiar; I mean Snap, who
had been at once his
"Guide, philosopher, and friend;"
but who now had fewer and fewer opportunities of associating with him,
inasmuch as his (Snap's) nose was continually "kept at the grindstone"
in Saffron Hill, to compensate for the lack of attention to the business
of the office of his senior partners, owing to their incessant
occupation with the affairs of Titmouse. Still, however, he now and then
contrived to remind Titmouse of his (Snap's) existence, by sending him
intimations of interesting trials at the Old Bailey and elsewhere, and
securing him a good seat to view both the criminal and the
spectators--often persons of the greatest rank, fashion, and beauty; for
so it happened that, in this country, the more hideous the crime, the
more intense the curiosity of the upper classes of both sexes to witness
the miscreant perpetrator; the more disgusting the details, the greater
the avidity with which they are listened to by the distinguished
auditors;--the reason being plain, that, as they have exhausted the
pleasures and excitements afforded by their own sphere of action and
enjoyment, their palled and sated appetites require novel and more
powerful stimulants. Hence, at length, we see "fashionables" peopling
even the condemned cell--rushing, in excited groups, after the
shuddering malefactor, staggering, half palsied, and with horror-laden
eye, on his way to the gallows! As soon as old Quirk had obtained an
inkling of Titmouse's taste in these matters, he afforded him many
opportunities of gratifying it. Once or twice the old gentleman
succeeded in obtaining for him, even the gratification of shaking the
cold and pinioned hands of wretches within a few minutes' time of their
being led out for execution!
This is a brief and general account of the way in which Titmouse passed
his time, and laid the groundwork of that solid, extensive, and
practical acquaintance with men and things, which was requisite to
enable him to occupy with dignity and advantage the splendid station to
which he was on the point of being elevated.
But let us not lose sight of our early and interesting friends, the
Tag-rags--a thing which both Quirk and Gammon resolved should not happen
to Titmouse: for, on the very first Sunday after his arrival in town
from York, a handsome glass-coach might have been seen, about two
o'clock in the afternoon, drawing up opposite to the gates of Satin
Lodge; from which said coach, the door having been opened, presently
descended Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Titmouse. Now, the Tag-rags always
dined at about two o'clock on Sundays; and, on the present occasion,
Mr., Mrs., and Miss Tag-rag, together with a pretty constant visitor,
the Reverend Dismal Horror, were sitting at their dinner-table
discussing as savory a leg of roast pork, with apple-sauce, as could at
once have tempted and satisfied the most fastidious and the most
indiscriminating appetite.
"Oh, ma!" exclaimed Miss Tag-rag, faintly, changing color, as she caught
sight, through the blinds, of the approaching visitors--"if there isn't
Mr. Titmouse!" and almost dropping on the table her plate, in which,
with an air of tender gallantry, pious Mr. Horror was in the act of
depositing some greens, she flew out of the room, darted up-stairs, and
in a trice was standing, with beating heart, before her glass, hastily
twirling her ringlets round her trembling fingers, and making one or two
slight alterations in her dress. Her papa and mamma started up at the
same moment, hastily wiping their mouths on the corners of the
table-cloth; and, after a hurried apology to their reverend and
astounded guest, whom they begged "to go on eating till they came
back"--they bounced into the little drawing-room, in just time enough to
appear (as they thought) to have been seated there for some time; but
they were both rather red in the face, and flustered in their manner.
Yet, how abortive was their attempt to disguise the truly disgraceful
fact of their having been at dinner when their distinguished visitors
arrived! For, firstly, the house was redolent of the odors of roast
pork, sage and onion stuffing, and greens; secondly, the red-faced
servant girl was peering round the corner of the kitchen stairs, as if
watching an opportunity to whip off a small dinner tray that stood
between the dining-room and drawing-room; and thirdly, the visitors
caught a glimpse of the countenance of the reverend young guest, who was
holding open the dining-room door just wide enough to enable him to see
who passed on to the drawing-room; for, in truth, the name which had
escaped from the lips of Miss Tag-rag, was one which always excited
unpleasant feelings in the breast of her spiritual-minded friend.
"Ah! Mr. and Mrs. Tag-rag! 'Pon my soul--glad to see you--and--hope
you're all well?" commenced Titmouse, with an air of easy confidence and
grace. Mr. Gammon calmly introduced himself and Mr. Quirk.
"We were just going to sit down to--_lunch_," said Mr. Tag-rag,
hurriedly.
"You won't take a little, will you, gentlemen?" inquired Mrs. Tag-rag,
faintly; and both the worthy couple felt infinite relief on being
assured that the great people "had already lunched." Neither Mr. nor
Mrs. Tag-rag could take their eyes off Mr. Titmouse, whose easy
nonchalance convinced them that he must have been keeping the society
of lords. He was just inquiring--as he ran his hand through his hair,
and gently smacked his slight ebony cane against his leg--after Miss
Tag-rag, when, pale and agitated, and holding in her hand a
pocket-handkerchief, which she had first suffused with musk and
bergamot, designed to overcome so much of the vulgar odor of dinner as
might be lingering about _her_--that interesting young lady entered.
Titmouse rose and received her in a familiar, forward manner; she
turning white and red by turns. She looked such a shrivelled little ugly
formal creature, that Titmouse conceived quite a hatred of her, through
recollecting that he had once thought such an inferior piece of goods
superfine! Old Quirk and Tag-rag, every now and then, cast distrustful
glances at each other; but Gammon kept all in a calm flow of small talk,
which at length restored those whom they had come to see, to something
like self-possession. As for Mr. Quirk, the more he looked at Miss
Tag-rag, the more pride and satisfaction he felt in reflecting upon the
unfavorable contrast she must present, in Titmouse's eyes, to Miss
Quirk. After a little further conversation, principally concerning the
brilliant success of Titmouse, Mr. Quirk came to the business of the
day, and invited Mr., Mrs., and Miss Tag-rag to dinner at Alibi House,
on the ensuing Sunday, at six o'clock--apologizing for the absence of
Miss Quirk, on the score of indisposition--she being at the time in the
highest possible state of health. Mrs. Tag-rag was on the point of
saying something deprecatory of their dining out on Sunday, as contrary
to their rule; but a sudden recollection of the earthly interests she
might peril by so doing, aided by a fearfully significant glance from
Mr. Tag-rag, restrained her. The invitation was, therefore, accepted in
a very obsequious manner; and soon afterwards their great visitors took
their departure, leaving Mr. and Mrs. and Miss Tag-rag in a state of
very great excitement. Goodness! could there be a doubt that there must
be some very potent attraction at Satin Lodge to bring thither Titmouse,
after all that had occurred? And where could reside the point of that
attraction, but in Miss Tag-rag?
As soon as their visitors' glass-coach had driven off--its inmates
laughing heartily at the people they had just quitted--Mr., Mrs., and
Miss Tag-rag returned to the dining-table, like suddenly disturbed fowl
returning to their roost, when the disturbance has ceased. Profuse were
their apologies to Mr. Horror; not aware, however, that he had improved
the opportunity afforded by their absence, to recruit his exhausted
energies with a couple of glasses of port wine from a decanter which
stood on the sideboard--a circumstance which he did not deem important
enough to mention. Vehemently suspecting as he did, what was the state
of things with reference to Mr. Titmouse and Miss Tag-rag, it was
somewhat of a trial of temper to the exemplary young pastor--and
calculated to interfere grievously with the preparation for his evening
duties--to have to listen, for the remainder of the afternoon, to the
praises of Titmouse, and speculations concerning the immensity of his
fortune--matters, indeed, (in his pious estimation,) _of the earth_,
_earthy_. In vain did the worthy minister strive, every now and then, to
divert the current of conversation into a more profitable channel--_i.
e._ towards himself; all he said was evidently lost upon her for whose
ear it was intended. She was in a revery, and often sighed. The
principal figures before her mind's eye were--TITTLEBAT TITMOUSE,
ESQUIRE, and THE REV. DISMAL HORROR. The latter was about twenty-six,
(he had been "called to the work of the ministry" in his sixteenth
year;) short in stature; his face slightly pitted with small-pox; his
forehead narrow; his eyes cold and watery; no eyebrows or whiskers; high
cheek-bones; his short dark hair combed primly forward over each
temple, and twisted into a sort of topknot in front; he wore no
shirt-collar, but had a white neck-handkerchief tied very formally, and
was dressed in an ill-made suit of black. He spoke in a drawling,
canting tone; and his countenance was overspread with a demure
expression of--CUNNING, _trying to look religious_. Then he was always
talking about himself, and his chapel, and the devil, and the bottomless
pit, and the number of souls which he had saved, and the number of those
whom he knew were damned, and many more who certainly would be damned;
and other cheerful and interesting matters of that sort, intrusted--it
would seem--to his confidential keeping. All this might be very well in
its way, began to think Miss Tag-rag--but it was possible to choke a dog
with pudding. Poor girl, can you wonder at her dwelling fondly upon the
image of Titmouse? So splendidly dressed, so handsome, such a
fashionable air, and with--ten thousand a-year! When she put all these
things together, it almost looked like a dream; such good fortune could
never be in store for a poor simple girl like herself. Yet there was
such a thing as--love at first sight! After tea they all walked down to
Mr. Horror's meeting-house. It was very crowded; and it was remarked
that the eloquent young preacher had never delivered a more impassioned
sermon from that pulpit: it was sublime. Oh, how bitterly he denounced
"worldly-mindedness!" What a vivid picture he drew of the flourishing
green bay-tree of the wicked, suddenly blasted in the moment of its
pride and strength; while the righteous should shine like stars in the
firmament forever and ever! Who cannot see here shadowed out the
characters of Titmouse and of Horror respectively?--who hesitate between
the two? And when at length, the sermon over, he sat down in his pulpit,
(the congregation also sitting and singing, which had a somewhat queer
effect,) and drew gracefully across his damp forehead his white
pocket-handkerchief, which had been given him by Miss Tag-rag; and
looked with an air of most interesting languor and exhaustion towards
Mr. Tag-rag's pew, where sat that young lamb of his flock--Miss
Tag-rag--her father the wealthiest man in the congregation, and she his
only child--he felt a most lively and tender interest in her
welfare--her spiritual welfare, and resolved to call the next morning;
entertaining an humble hope of finding that his zealous labors had not
been in vain, that he had not missed the mark at which he had been
secretly aiming! Was one fruit of the pious pastor's exertions the
benignant temper which Tag-rag, to the amazement of his shopmen, evinced
the next morning, for at least an hour? Would that the like good effects
had been visible in Mrs. and Miss Tag-rag; but--alas that I should have
to record it!--it was so far otherwise, that they laid aside some
fancy-fair work on which Mr. Horror had set them--for the whole week,
devoting it, instead, to the preparation of those dresses with which
they purposed the profanation of the ensuing Sunday.
That day at length arrived, and precisely at six o'clock a genteel fly
deposited the visitants from Satin Lodge at the splendid entrance to
Alibi House. There was the big footman--shoulder-knot, red breeches, and
all. Tag-rag felt a _little_ nervous. Before they had entered the gates,
the fond proud parents had kissed their trembling daughter, and
entreated her "to keep her spirits up!" The exhortation was needful; for
when she saw the sort of style that awaited them, she became not a
little agitated. When she entered the hall--ah! on a chair lay a glossy
new hat, and a delicate ebony walking-stick; so he had come--was then
up-stairs!--Miss Tag-rag trembled in every limb.
"I don't know, my dear," whispered Mrs. Tag-rag to her husband, with a
subdued sigh, as they followed the splendid footman up-stairs,--"it may
be all uncommon grand; but somehow I'm afraid we're doing wrong--it's
the Lord's Day--see if any good comes of it."
"Tut--hold your tongue! Let's have no nonsense," sternly whispered Mr.
Tag-rag to his submissive wife.
"Your name, sir?" quoth the footman, in a sort of gentlemanly way.
"Mr., Mrs., and Miss Tag-rag," replied Mr. Tag-rag, after clearing his
throat; and so they were announced, Miss Quirk coming forward to receive
the ladies with the most charming affability. There stood Titmouse, in
an easy attitude, with his hands stuck into his coat-pockets, and
resting on his hips, in a very delicate and elegant fashion. How
completely he seemed at his ease!
"Oh Lord!" thought the almost trembling Tag-rag, "that's the young
fellow I used to go on so to!"
In due time dinner was announced; and who can describe the rapture that
thrilled through the bosoms of the three Tag-rags, when Mr. Quirk
requested Mr. Titmouse to take down--Miss Tag-rag!! Her father took down
Mrs. Alias; Mr. Quirk, Mrs. Tag-rag; and Gammon, Miss Quirk. She really
might have been proud of her partner. Gammon was about thirty-six years
old; above the average height; with a very easy, calm, gentlemanly
appearance and address, and an intellectual and even handsome
countenance; though it occasionally exhibited, to a keen observer, a
sinister expression. He wore a blue coat, a plain white waistcoat, (not
disfigured by any glistening fiddle-faddle of pins, chains, or
quizzing-glasses,) black trousers, and plain black silk stockings. There
was at once an appearance of neatness and carelessness; and there was
such a ready smile--such a bland ease and self-possession about him--as
communicated itself to those whom he addressed. I hardly know, Mr.
Gammon, why I have thus noticed so particularly your outward appearance.
It certainly, on the occasion I am describing, struck me much; but there
are such things as _whited walls_ and _painted sepulchres_!
Dinner went off very pleasantly, the wines soon communicating a little
confidence to the flustered guests. Mrs. Tag-rag had drunk so much
champagne--an unusual beverage for her--that almost as soon as she had
returned to the drawing-room, she sat down on the sofa and fell asleep,
leaving the two young ladies to amuse each other as best they might; for
Mrs. Alias was very deaf, and moreover very stiff and distant, and sat
looking at them in silence. To return to the dining-room for a moment.
'T was quite delightful to see the sort of friendship that seemed to
grow up between Quirk and Tag-rag, as their heads got filled with wine;
at the same time each of them half unconsciously drawing closer and
closer to Titmouse, who sat between them--volubility itself. They soon
dropped all disguise--each plainly under the impression that the other
could not, or did not, observe him; and at length, impelled by their
overmastering motives, they became so barefaced in their
sycophancy--evidently forgetting that Gammon was present--that he could
several times, with only the utmost difficulty, refrain from bursting
into laughter at the earnest devotion with which these two worshippers
of the little golden calf strove to attract the attention of their
divinity, and recommend themselves to its favor.
At length the four gentlemen repaired to the drawing-room, whence issued
the sounds of music; and on entering, they beheld the two lovely
performers seated at the piano, engaged upon a duet. The plump
flaxen-haired Miss Quirk, in her flowing white muslin dress, her thick
gold chain and massive bracelets, formed rather a strong contrast to
her sallow skinny little companion, in a span-new slate-colored silk
dress, with staring scarlet sash; her long corkscrew ringlets glistening
in bear's grease; and as for their performance, Miss Quirk played boldly
and well through her part, a smile of contempt now and then beaming over
her countenance at the ridiculous incapacity of her companion. As soon
as the gentlemen made their appearance the ladies ceased, and withdrew
from the piano, Miss Tag-rag, with a sweet air of simplicity and
conscious embarrassment, gliding towards the sofa, where sat her mamma
asleep, but whom she at once awoke. Mr. Quirk exclaimed, as evidently
elevated with wine, he slapped his daughter on her fat back, "Ah, Dora,
my dove!" while Tag-rag kissed his daughter's cheek, and squeezed her
hand, and then glanced with a proud and delighted air at Titmouse, who
was lolling at full length upon the other sofa, picking his teeth. While
Miss Quirk was making tea, Gammon gayly conversing with her, and in an
undertone satirizing Miss Tag-rag, the latter young lady was gazing,
with a timid air, at the various elegant nick-nacks scattered upon the
tables and slabs. One of these consisted of a pretty little box, about a
foot square, with a glass lid, through which she saw the contents; and
they not a little surprised her. They were pieces of cord; and on
looking at one of the sides of the box, she read with a sudden
shudder,--"_With these cords were tied the hands of Arthur Grizzlegut,
executed for high treason, 1st May 18--. Presented, as a mark of
respect, to Caleb Quirk, Esq., by J---- K----._" Poor Miss Tag-rag
recoiled from the box as if she had seen it filled with writhing adders.
She took an early opportunity, however, of calling her father's
attention to it; and he pronounced it a "most inte_rest_ing object," and
fetched Mrs. Tag-rag to see it. She agreed, first, with her daughter;
and then with her husband. Quietly pushing her investigations, Miss
Tag-rag by-and-by beheld a large and splendidly bound volume--in fact,
Miss Quirk's album; and, after turning over most of the leaves, and
glancing over the "poetical effusions" and "prose sentiments" which few
fools can abstain from depositing upon the embossed pages, when
solicited by the lovely proprietresses of such works, behold--her heart
fluttered--poor Miss Tag-rag almost dropped the magnificent volume; for
there was the idolized name of Mr. Titmouse appended to some beautiful
poetry--no doubt his own handwriting and composition. She read it over
eagerly again and again:--
"Tittlebat Titmouse Is My name,
England Is My Nation,
London Is My Dwelling-Place,
And Christ Is My Salvation."
How exquisite--how touching its simplicity! She looked anxiously about
for writing implements! but not seeing any, was at length obliged to
trust to her memory; on which, indeed, the remarkable composition was
already inscribed in indelible characters. Miss Quirk, who was watching
her movements, guessed the true cause of her excitement; and a smile of
mingled scorn and pity for her infatuated delusion shone upon her face;
in which, however, there appeared a little anxiety when she beheld
Titmouse--(she did not perceive that he did so in consequence of a
motion from Gammon, whose eye governed his movements as a man's those of
his spaniel)--walk up to her, and converse with a great appearance of
interest. At length Mr. Tag-rag's "carriage" was announced. Mr. Quirk
gave his arm to Mrs. Tag-rag, and Mr. Titmouse to the daughter; who
endeavored, as she went down the stairs, to direct melting glances at
her handsome and distinguished companion. They evidently _told_, for she
could not be mistaken; he certainly once or twice squeezed her arm--and
the last fond words he uttered to her were, "'Pon my soul--it's early;
devilish sorry your going--hope you've enjoyed yourself!" As the
Tag-rags drove home, they were all loud in the praises of those whose
splendid hospitality they had been enjoying. Possessing a daughter, for
whom Quirk must naturally have wished to make so splendid a match as
that with Titmouse--but who was plainly engaged to Mr. Gammon--how kind
and disinterested was Mr. Quirk, in affording every encouragement in his
power to the passion which Titmouse had so manifestly conceived for Miss
Tag-rag! And was there ever so delightful a person as Gammon? How
cordially he had shaken the hands of each of them at parting! As for
Miss Tag-rag, she felt that if her heart had not been so deeply engaged
to Titmouse, she could have loved Mr. Gammon!
"I hope, Tabby," said Mrs. Tag-rag, with subdued excitement, as they
rattled homeward, "that when you're Mrs. Titmouse, you'll bring your
dear husband to hear Mr. Horror? You know, we ought to be grateful to
the Lord--for He has done it!"
"La, ma, how can I tell?" quoth Miss Tag-rag, petulantly. "I must go
where Mr. Titmouse chooses, of course; and no doubt he'll take sittings
in one of the West End churches; you know, _you_ go where _pa_ goes--_I_
go where Titmouse goes! But I _will_ come sometimes, too--if it's only
to show that I'm not above it, you know. La, what a stir there will be!
The three Miss Knipps--I do so hope they'll be there! I'll have your
pew, ma, lined with red velvet; it will look so genteel."
"I'm not quite so sure, Tabby, though," interrupted her father, with a
certain swell of manner, "that we shall, after a certain event, continue
to live in these parts. There's such a thing as retiring from business,
Tabby; besides, we shall nat'rally wish to be near you!"
"He's a _love_ of a man, pa, isn't he?" interrupted Miss Tag-rag, with
irrepressible excitement. Her father folded her in his arms. They could
hardly believe that they had reached Satin Lodge. That respectable
structure, somehow or other, now looked to the eyes of all of them
shrunk into most contemptible dimensions; and they quite turned up their
noses, involuntarily, on entering the little passage. What was it to the
spacious and splendid residence which they had quitted? And what, in all
probability, could _that_ be to the mansion--or any one, perhaps, of the
several mansions--to which Mr. Titmouse would be presently entitled,
and--in his right--some one else?
Miss Tag-rag said her prayers that evening very briefly--pausing for an
instant to consider, whether she might in plain terms pray that she
might soon become Mrs. Titmouse; but the bare thought of such an event
so excited her, that in a sort of confused whirl of delightful feeling,
she suddenly jumped into bed, and slept scarce a wink all night long.
Mr. and Mrs. Tag-rag talked together very fast for nearly a couple of
hours, sleep long fleeing from the eyes dazzled with so splendid a
vision as that which had floated before them all day. At length Mr.
Tag-rag, getting tired sooner than his wife, became very sullen, and
silent; and on her venturing--after a few minutes' pause--to mention
some new idea which had occurred to her, he told her furiously to "hold
her tongue, and let him go to sleep!" She obeyed him, and lay awake till
it was broad daylight. About eight o'clock, Tag-rag, who had overslept
himself, rudely roused her--imperiously telling her to "go down
immediately and see about breakfast;" then he knocked gently at his
daughter's door; and on her asking who it was, said in a fond way--"How
are you, Mrs. T.?"
CHAPTER IV.
While the brilliant success of Tittlebat Titmouse was exciting so great
a sensation among the inmates of Satin Lodge and Alibi House, there were
also certain quarters in the upper regions of society, in which it
produced a considerable commotion, and where it was contemplated with
feelings of intense interest; nor without reason. For indeed to you,
reflecting reader, much pondering men and manners, and observing the
influence of great wealth, especially when suddenly and unexpectedly
acquired, upon all classes of mankind--it would appear passing strange
that so prodigious an event as that of an accession to a fortune of ten
thousand a-year, and a large accumulation of money besides, could be
looked on with indifference in those regions where MONEY
"Is like the air they breathe--if they have it not they die;"
in whose absence, all their "honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,"
disappear like snow under sunshine; the edifice of pomp, luxury, and
magnificence that "rose like an exhalation," so disappears--
"And, like an insubstantial pageant faded,
Leaves not a rack behind."
_Take away money_, and that which raised its delicate and pampered
possessors above the common condition of mankind--that of privation and
incessant labor and anxiety--into one entirely artificial, engendering
totally new wants and desires, is gone, all gone; and its occupants
suddenly fall, as it were, through a highly rarefied atmosphere,
breathless and dismayed, into contact with the chilling exigencies of
life, of which till then they had only heard and read, sometimes with a
kind of morbid sympathy; as we hear and read of a foreign country, not
stirring the while from our snug homes, by whose comfortable and
luxurious firesides we read of the frightful palsying cold of the polar
regions, and for a moment sigh over and shudder at the condition of
their miserable inhabitants, as vividly pictured to us by adventurous
travellers.
If the reader had reverently cast his eye over the pages of that
glittering centre of aristocratic literature, and inexhaustible solace
against the _ennui_ of a wet day--I mean _Debrett's Peerage_, his
attention could not have failed to be riveted, among a galaxy of
brilliant but minor stars, by the radiance of one transcendent
constellation.
Behold; hush; tremble!
"AUGUSTUS MORTIMER PLANTAGENET FITZ-URSE, EARL OF DREDDLINGTON,
VISCOUNT FITZ-URSE, AND BARON DRELINCOURT; KNIGHT OF THE GOLDEN
FLEECE; G. C. B., D. C. L., F. C. S., F. P. S., &c., &c., &c.;
Lieutenant-General in the army, Colonel of the 37th regiment of
light dragoons; Lord Lieutenant of ----shire; elder brother of the
Trinity House; formerly Lord Steward of the Household; born the
31st of March, 17--; succeeded his father, PERCY CONSTANTINE
FITZ-URSE, as fifth Earl, and twentieth in the Barony, January
10th, 17--; married, April 1, 17--, the Right Hon. Lady Philippa
Emmeline Blanche Macspleuchan, daughter of Archibald, ninth Duke of
Tantallan, K. T., and has issue an only child,
"CECILIA PHILIPPA LEOPOLDINA PLANTAGENET, born June 10, 17--.
"Town residence, Grosvenor Square.
"Seats, Gruneaghoolaghan Castle, Galway; Tre-ardevoraeor Manor,
Cornwall; Llmryllwcrwpllglly Abbey, N. Wales; Tully-clachanach
Palace, N. Britain; Poppleton Hall, Hertfordshire.
"Earldom, by patent, 1667; ---- Barony, by writ of summons,
12th Hen. II."
Now, as to the above tremendous list of seats and residences, be it
observed that the existence of two of them, viz. Grosvenor Square and
Poppleton Hall, was tolerably well ascertained by the residence of the
august proprietor of them, and the expenditure therein of his princely
revenue of £5,000 a-year. The existence of the remaining ones, however,
the names of which the diligent chronicler has preserved with such
scrupulous accuracy, had become somewhat problematical since the era of
the civil wars, and the physical derangement of the surface of the earth
in those parts, which one may conceive to have taken place[11]
consequent upon those events; those imposing feudal residences having
been originally erected in positions so carefully selected with a view
to their security against aggression, as to have become totally
inaccessible--and indeed unknown, to the present inglorious and
degenerate race, no longer animated by the spirit of chivalry and
adventure.
[I have now recovered my breath, after my bold flight into the
resplendent regions of aristocracy; but my eyes are still dazzled.]
The reader may by this time have got an intimation that Tittlebat
Titmouse, in a madder freak of Fortune than any which her
incomprehensible Ladyship hath hitherto exhibited in the pages of this
history, is far on his way towards a dizzy pitch of elevation,--viz.
that he has now, owing to the verdict of the Yorkshire jury, taken the
place of Mr. Aubrey, and become heir-expectant to the oldest barony in
the kingdom--between it and him only one old peer, and his sole child,
an unmarried daughter, intervening. Behold the thing demonstrated to
your very eye, in the Pedigree on the next page, which is only our
former one[12] a little extended.
Geoffrey de Drelincourt
Summoned as Baron, _by writ_, 12 Hen. II.
.
From him . descend
.
Henry Dreddlington, sixteenth Baron by writ,
created Earl of Dreddlington, 1667.
|
_______________________________|
| |
| |
Charles Percy Dreddlington,
(17th Baron _of Yatton_,
and 2d Earl) (younger brother of Charles)
| |
| ____________|____________
Geoffrey | |
(18th Baron | |
and 3d Earl) Harry Charles
| Dreddlington Dreddlington
| |
Percy |
(19th Baron ___________|______________
and 4th Earl) | |
| | |
| Stephen Geoffrey
AUGUSTUS Dreddlington Dreddlington
(20th Baron and (eldest brother)== (2d brother)
5th Earl) | |
| | |
| _Gabriel Tittlebat Titmouse_==d^r _Aubrey_==d^r
|____ and sole heiress and sole heiress
| | |
| | |
LADY CECILIA Gabriel T. Titmouse Charles Aubrey
(only child) | |
| |
TITTLEBAT TITMOUSE CHARLES AUBREY
(only child) (eldest son and
heir-at-law)
From this I think it will appear, that on the death of Augustus, fifth
earl and twentieth baron, with no other issue than Lady Cecilia, the
earldom being then extinct, the barony would descend upon the Lady
Cecilia; and that, in the event of her dying without issue in the
lifetime of her father, Tittlebat Titmouse would, on the earl's death
without other lawful issue, become LORD DRELINCOURT, twenty-_first_ in
the barony! and in the event of her dying without issue, after her
father's death, TITTLEBAT TITMOUSE would become the twenty-_second_ LORD
DRELINCOURT; one or other of which two splendid positions, but for the
enterprising agency of Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, would have been
occupied by CHARLES AUBREY, ESQ.;--on considering all which, one cannot
but remember a saying of an ancient poet, who seems to have kept as keen
an eye upon the unaccountable frolics of the goddess Fortune, as this
history shows that I have. 'Tis a passage which any little schoolboy
will translate to his mother or his sisters--
----"Hinc apicem rapax
Fortuna cum stridore acuto
Sustulit, hic posuisse gaudet."[13]
At the time of which I am writing, the Earl of Dreddlington was about
sixty-seven years old; and he would have realized the idea of an
incarnation of the sublimest PRIDE. He was of rather a slight make, and,
though of a tolerably advanced age, stood as straight as an arrow. His
hair was glossy, and white as snow: his features were of an aristocratic
cast; their expression was severe and haughty; and I am compelled to say
that there was scarce a trace of intellect perceptible in them. His
manner and demeanor were cold, imperturbable, inaccessible; wherever he
went--so to speak--he radiated cold. Comparative poverty had embittered
his spirit, as his lofty birth and ancient descent had generated the
pride I have spoken of. With what calm and supreme self-satisfaction did
he look down upon all lower in the peerage than himself! And as for a
newly-created peer, he looked at such a being with ineffable disdain.
Among his few equals he was affable enough; and among his inferiors he
exhibited an insupportable appearance of condescension--one which
excited a wise man's smile of pity and contempt, and a fool's
anger--both, however, equally nought to the Earl of Dreddlington!--If
any one could have ventured upon a _post mortem_ examination of so
august a structure as the earl's carcass, his heart would probably have
been found to be of the size of a pea, and his brain very soft and
flabby; both, however, equal to the small occasions which, from time to
time, called for the exercise of their functions. The former was
occupied almost exclusively by two feelings--love of himself and of his
daughter, (because upon her would descend his barony;) the latter
exhibited its powers (supposing the brain to be the seat of the mind) in
mastering the military details requisite for nominal soldiership; the
game of whist; the routine of petty business in the House of Lords; and
the etiquette of the court. One branch of useful knowledge by the way he
had, however, completely mastered--that which is so ably condensed in
_Debrett_; and he became a sort of oracle in such matters. As for his
politics, he professed Whig principles--and was, indeed, a bitter though
quiet partisan. In attendance to his senatorial duties, he practised an
exemplary punctuality; was always to be found in the House at its
sitting and rising; and never once, on any occasion, great or small,
voted against his party. He had never been heard to speak in a full
House; first, because he never could summon nerve enough for the
purpose; secondly, because he never had anything to say; and lastly,
lest he should compromise his dignity, and destroy the _prestige_ of
his position, by not speaking better than any one present. His services
were not, however, entirely overlooked; for, on his party coming into
office for a few weeks, (they knew it could be for no longer a time,)
they made him Lord Steward of the Household; which was thenceforward an
epoch to which he referred every event of his life, great and small. The
great object of his ambition, ever since he had been of an age to form
large and comprehensive views of action and conduct, to conceive
superior designs, and to achieve distinction among mankind--was, to
obtain a step in the peerage; for considering the antiquity of his
family, and his ample, nay, _superfluous_ pecuniary means--so much more
than adequate to support his present double dignity of earl and
baron--he thought it but a reasonable return for his eminent political
services, to confer upon him the honor which he coveted. But his anxiety
on this point had been recently increased a thousand-fold by one
circumstance. A gentleman who held an honorable and lucrative official
situation in the House of Lords, and who never had treated the Earl of
Dreddlington with that profound obsequiousness which the earl conceived
to be his due--but, on the contrary, had presumed to consider himself a
man, and an Englishman, equally with the earl--had, a short time before,
succeeded in establishing his title to an earldom which had long been
dormant, and was, alas, of creation earlier than that of Dreddlington.
The Earl of Dreddlington took this untoward circumstance so much to
heart, that for some months afterwards he appeared to be in a decline;
always experiencing a dreadful inward spasm whenever the Earl of
Fitzwalter made his appearance in the House. For this sad state of
things there was plainly but one remedy--a MARQUISATE--at which the earl
gazed with the wistful eye of an old and feeble ape at a cocoa-nut, just
above his reach, and which he beholds at length grasped and carried off
by some nimbler and younger rival.
Among all the weighty cares and anxieties of this life, however, I must
do the earl the justice to say, that he did not neglect the concerns of
hereafter--the solemn realities of that Future revealed to us in the
Scriptures. To his enlightened and comprehensive view of the state of
things around him, it was evident that the Author of the world had
decreed the existence of regular gradations of society. The following
lines, quoted one night in the House by the leader of his party, had
infinitely delighted the earl--
"Oh, where DEGREE is shaken,
Which is the ladder to all high designs,
The enterprise is sick!
Take but DEGREE away--untune that string,
And, hark! what discord follows! each thing meets,
In mere oppugnancy!"[14]
When the earl discovered that this was the production of Shakespeare he
conceived a great respect for that writer, and purchased a copy of his
works, and had them splendidly bound. They were fated never to be
opened, however, except at that one place where the famous passage in
question was to be found. How great was the honor thus conferred upon
the plebeian poet, to stand amid a collection of royal and noble
authors, to whose productions, and those in elucidation and praise of
them, the earl's splendid-looking library had till then been
confined!--Since, thought the earl, such is clearly the order of
Providence in this world, why should it not be so in the next? He felt
certain that then there would be found corresponding differences and
degrees, in analogy to the differences and degrees existing upon earth;
and with this view had read and endeavored to comprehend the first page
or two of a very dry but learned book--Butler's _Analogy_--lent him by a
deceased kinsman--a bishop. This consolatory conclusion of the earl's
was greatly strengthened by a passage of Scripture, from which he had
once heard the aforesaid bishop preach--"_In my Father's house are_ MANY
MANSIONS; _if it had not been so, I would have told you_." On grounds
such as these, after much conversation with several old brother peers of
his own rank, he and they--those wise and good men--came to the
conclusion that there was no real ground for apprehending so grievous a
misfortune as the huddling together hereafter of the great and small
into one miscellaneous and ill-assorted assemblage; but that the rules
of precedence, in all their strictness, as being founded in the nature
of things, would meet with an exact observance, so that every one should
be ultimately and eternally happy--in the company of his equals. The
Earl of Dreddlington would have, in fact, as soon supposed, with the
deluded Indian, that in his voyage to the next world--
"His faithful dog should bear him company;"
as that his Lordship should be doomed to participate the same regions of
heaven with any of his domestics; unless, indeed, by some, in his view,
not improbable dispensation, it should form an ingredient in their cup
of happiness in the next world, there to perform those offices--or
analogous ones--for their old masters, which they had performed upon
earth. As the earl grew older, these just, and rational, and Scriptural
views, became clearer, and his faith firmer. Indeed, it might be said
that he was in a manner ripening for immortality--for which his noble
and lofty nature, he secretly felt, was fitter, and more likely to be in
its element, than it could possibly be in this dull, degraded, and
confused world. He knew that there his sufferings in this inferior
stage of existence would be richly recompensed,--for sufferings indeed
he had, though secret, arising from the scanty means which had been
allotted to him for the purpose of maintaining the exalted rank to which
it had pleased God to call him. The long series of exquisite
mortifications and pinching privations arising from this inadequacy of
means, had, however, the earl doubted not, been designed by Providence
as a trial of his constancy, and from which he would, in due time, issue
like thrice-refined gold. Then also would doubtless be remembered in his
favor the innumerable instances of his condescension in mingling, in the
most open and courteous manner, with those who were unquestionably his
inferiors, sacrificing his own feelings of lofty and fastidious
exclusiveness, and endeavoring to advance the interests, and as far as
influence and example went, polish and refine the manners of the lower
orders of society. Such is an outline--alas, how faint and
imperfect!--of the character of this great and good man, the Earl of
Dreddlington. As for his domestic and family circumstances, he had been
a widower for some fifteen years, his countess having brought him but
one child, Lady Cecilia Philippa Leopoldina Plantagenet, who was, in
almost all respects, the counterpart of her illustrious father. She
resembled him not a little in feature, only that she partook of the
plainness of her mother. Her complexion was delicately fair; but her
features had no other expression than that of a languid hauteur. Her
upper eyelids drooped as if she could hardly keep them open; the upper
jaw projected considerably over the under one; and her front teeth were
prominent and exposed. Frigid and inanimate, she seemed to take but
little interest in anything on earth. In person, she was of average
height, of slender and well-proportioned figure, and an erect and
graceful carriage, only that she had a habit of throwing her head a
little backward, which gave her a singularly disdainful appearance. She
had reached her twenty-seventh year without having had an eligible offer
of marriage, though she would be the possessor of a barony in her own
right, and £5,000 a-year; a circumstance which, it may be believed, not
a little embittered her. She inherited her father's pride in all its
plenitude. You should have seen the haughty couple sitting silently side
by side in the old-fashioned yellow family chariot, as they drove round
the crowded park, returning the salutations of those they met in the
slightest manner possible! A glimpse of them at such a moment would have
given you a far more just and lively notion of their real character,
than the most anxious and labored description of mine.
Ever since the first Earl of Dreddlington had, through a bitter pique
conceived against his eldest son, the second earl, diverted the
principal family revenues to the younger branch, leaving the title to be
supported by only £5,000 a-year, there had been a complete estrangement
between the elder and the younger--the titled and the moneyed--branches
of the family. On Mr. Aubrey's attaining his majority, however, the
present earl sanctioned overtures being made towards a reconciliation,
being of opinion that Mr. Aubrey and Lady Cecilia might, by
intermarriage, effect a happy reunion of family interests; an object,
this, which had long lain nearer his heart than any other upon earth,
till, in fact, it became a kind of passion. Actuated by such
considerations, he had done more to conciliate Mr. Aubrey than he had
ever done towards any one on earth. It was, however, in vain. Mr.
Aubrey's first delinquency was an unqualified adoption of Tory
principles. Now all the Dreddlingtons, from time whereof the memory of
man runneth not to the contrary, had been firm unflinching Tories, till
the distinguished father of the present earl quietly walked over, one
day, to the other side of the House of Lords, completely fascinated by
a bit of ribbon which the minister held up before him; and ere he had
sat in that wonder-working region, the ministerial side of the House,
twenty-four hours, he discovered that the true signification of Tory,
was _bigot_--and of Whig, _patriot_; and he stuck to that version till
it transformed him into a GOLD STICK, in which capacity he died; having
repeatedly and solemnly impressed upon his son, the necessity and
advantage of taking the same view of public affairs, that so he might
arrive at similar results. And in the _way_ in which he had been
_trained up_, most religiously had gone the earl; and see the result:
he, also, had attained to eminent and responsible office--to wit, that
of Lord Steward of the Household. Now, things standing thus--how could
the earl so compromise his principles, and indirectly injure his party,
as by suffering his daughter to marry a Tory? Great grief and vexation
of spirit did _this_ matter, therefore, occasion to that excellent
nobleman. But, secondly, Aubrey not only declined to marry his cousin,
but clinched his refusal, and sealed his final exclusion from the
dawning good opinion and affections of the earl, by marrying, as hath
been seen, some one else--Miss St. Clair. Thenceforth there was a great
gulf between the Earl of Dreddlington and the Aubreys. Whenever they
happened to meet, the earl greeted him with an elaborate bow, and a
petrifying smile; but for the last seven years not one syllable had
passed between them. As for Mr. Aubrey, he had never been otherwise than
amused at the eccentric airs of his magnificent kinsman.--Now, was it
not a hard thing for the earl to bear--namely, the prospect there was
that his barony and estates might devolve upon this same Aubrey, or his
issue? for Lady Cecilia, alas! enjoyed but precarious health, and her
chances of marrying seemed daily diminishing. This was a thorn in the
poor earl's flesh; a source of constant _worry_ to him, sleeping and
waking; and proud as he was, and with such good reason, he would have
gone down on his knees and prayed to Heaven to avert so direful a
calamity--to see his daughter married--and with a prospect of
perpetuating upon the earth the sublime race of the Dreddlingtons.
Such being the relative position of Mr. Aubrey, and the Earl of
Dreddlington, at the time when this history opens, it is easy for the
reader to imagine the lively interest with which the earl first heard of
the tidings that a stranger had set up a title to the whole of the
Yatton estates; and the silent but profound anxiety with which he
continued to regard the progress of the affair. He obtained, from time
to time, by means of confidential inquiries instituted by his solicitor,
a general notion of the nature of the new claimant's pretensions; but
with a due degree of delicacy towards his unfortunate kinsman, his
Lordship studiously concealed the interest he felt in so important a
family question as the succession to the Yatton property. The earl and
his daughter were exceedingly anxious to _see_ the claimant; and when he
heard that that claimant was a gentleman of "decided Whig
principles"--the earl was very near setting it down as a sort of special
interference of Providence in his favor; and one that, in the natural
order of things, would lead to the accomplishment of his other wishes.
Who could say that, before a twelvemonth had passed over, the two
branches of the family might not be in a fair way of being reunited? And
that thus, among other incidents, the earl would be invested with the
virtual patronage of the borough of Yatton, and, in the event of their
return to power, his claim upon his party for his long-coveted
marquisate rendered irresistible? He had gone to the Continent shortly
before the trial of the ejectment at York; and did not return till a day
or two after the Court of King's Bench had solemnly declared the
validity of the plaintiff's title to the Yatton property, and
consequently established his contingent right of succession to the
barony of Drelincourt. Of this event a lengthened account was given in
one of the Yorkshire papers which fell under the earl's eye the day
after his arrival from abroad; and to the report of the decision of the
question of law, was appended the following paragraph:--
"In consequence of the above decision, Mr. Aubrey, we are able to
state on the best authority, has given formal notice of his
intention to surrender the entire of the Yatton property without
further litigation; thus making the promptest amends in his power
to those whom he has--we cannot doubt unwittingly--injured. He has
also accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and has consequently retired
from Parliament; so that the borough of Yatton is now vacant. We
sincerely hope that the new proprietor of Yatton will either
himself sit for the borough, and announce immediately his intention
of doing so, or give his prompt and decisive support to some
gentleman of decided Whig principles. We say _prompt_--for the
enemy is vigilant and crafty. Men of Yatton! To the rescue!!!--Mr.
Titmouse is now, we believe, in London. This fortunate gentleman is
not only at this moment in possession of the fine property at
Yatton, with an unencumbered rent-roll of from twelve to fifteen
thousand a-year, and a vast accumulation of rents to be handed over
by the late possessor, but is now next but one in succession to the
earldom of Dreddlington and barony of Drelincourt, with the large
family estates annexed thereto. We believe this is the oldest
barony in the kingdom. It must be a source of great gratification
to the present earl, to know that his probable successor professes
the same liberal and enlightened political opinions, of which his
Lordship has, during his long and distinguished public life, been
so able, consistent, and uncompromising a supporter."
The Earl of Dreddlington was not a little flustered on seeing the above
paragraph; which he read over half a dozen times with increasing
excitement. The time had at length arrived for him to take decisive
steps; nay, duty to his newly-discovered kinsman required it.
Messrs. Titmouse and Gammon were walking arm-in-arm down Oxford Street,
on their return from some livery-stables, where they had been looking at
a horse which Titmouse was thinking of purchasing, when an incident
occurred which ruffled him not a little. He had been recognized and
publicly accosted by a vulgar fellow, with a yard-measure in his hand,
and a large parcel of drapery under his arm--in fact, by our old friend
Mr. Huckaback. In vain did Mr. Titmouse affect, for some time, not to
see his old acquaintance, and to be earnestly engaged in conversation
with Mr. Gammon.
"Ah, Titty!--Titmouse! Well, then--_Mister_ Titmouse--how are
you?--Devilish long time since we met!" Titmouse directed a look at him
which he wished could have blighted him, and quickened his pace without
taking any further notice of the presumptuous intruder. Huckaback's
blood was up, however--roused by this ungrateful and insolent treatment
from one who had been under such great obligations to him; and
quickening _his_ pace also, he kept alongside with Titmouse.
"Ah," continued Huckaback, "why do you cut me in this way, Titty? You
_aren't_ ashamed of me surely? Many's the time you've tramped up and
down Oxford Street with your bundle and yard-measure"----
"Fellow!" at length exclaimed Titmouse, indignantly, "'pon my life I'll
give you in charge if you go on so! Be off, you low fellow!--Dem vulgar
brute!" he subjoined in a lower tone, bursting into perspiration, for he
had not forgotten the insolent pertinacity of Huckaback's disposition.
"My eyes! Give me in charge? Come, I like that, rather--you vagabond!
Pay me what you owe me! You're a swindler! You owe me fifty pounds, you
do! You sent a man to rob me!"
"Will any one get a constable!" inquired Titmouse, who had grown as
white as death. The little crowd that was collecting round them began to
suspect, from Titmouse's agitated appearance, that there must be some
foundation for the charges made against him.
"Oh, go, get a constable! Nothing I should like better! Ah, my fine
gentleman--what's the time of day when chaps like you are wound up so
high?"
Gammon's interference was in vain. Huckaback got more abusive and noisy;
no constable was at hand; so, to escape the intolerable interruption and
nuisance, he beckoned a coach off the stand, which was close by; and,
Titmouse and he stepping into it, they were soon out of sight and
hearing of Mr. Huckaback. Having taken a shilling drive, they alighted,
and walked towards Covent Garden. As they approached the hotel, they
observed a yellow chariot, at once elegant and somewhat old-fashioned,
rolling away from the door.
"I wonder who that is," said Gammon; "it's an earl's coronet on the
panel; and a white-haired old gentleman was sitting low down in the
corner"----
"Ah--it's no doubt a fine thing to be a lord, and all that--but I'll
answer for it, some of 'em's as poor as a church mouse," replied
Titmouse as they entered the hotel. At that moment the waiter, with a
most profound bow, presented him with a letter and a card, which had
only the moment before been left for him. The card was thus:
+-------------------------------+
| |
| THE EARL OF DREDDLINGTON. |
| |
| |
| GROSVENOR SQUARE. |
| |
+-------------------------------+
and there was written on it, in pencil, in rather a feeble and hurried
character--"For Mr. Titmouse."
"My stars, Mr. Gammon!" exclaimed Titmouse, excitedly, addressing Mr.
Gammon, who also seemed greatly interested by the occurrence. They both
repaired to a vacant table at the extremity of the room; and Titmouse,
with not a little trepidation, hastily breaking a large seal which bore
the earl's family arms, with their crowded quarterings and grim
supporters--better appreciated by Gammon, however, than by
Titmouse--opened the ample envelope, and, unfolding its thick gilt-edged
enclosure, read as follows:--
"The Earl of Dreddlington has the honor of waiting upon Mr.
Titmouse, in whom he is very happy to have, though unexpectedly,
discovered so near a kinsman. On the event which has brought this
to pass, the earl congratulates himself not less than Mr. Titmouse,
and hopes for the earliest opportunity of a personal introduction.
"The earl leaves town to-day and will not return till Monday next,
on which day he begs the honor of Mr. Titmouse's company to dinner,
at six o'clock. He may depend upon its being strictly a family
_reunion_; the only person present, besides Mr. Titmouse and the
earl, being the Lady Cecilia.
"Grosvenor Square, Thursday.
"TITTLEBAT TITMOUSE, ESQ., &c. &c."
As soon as Titmouse had read the above, still holding it in his hand, he
gazed at Gammon with mute apprehension and delight. Of the existence,
indeed, of the magnificent personage who had just introduced himself,
Titmouse had certainly heard, from time to time, since the commencement
of the proceedings which had just been so successfully terminated. He
had seen the brightness, to be sure; but, as a sort of remote splendor,
like that of a fixed star which gleamed brightly, but at too vast a
distance to have any sensible influence, or even to arrest his
attention. After a little while, Titmouse began to chatter very volubly;
but Gammon, after reading over the note once or twice, seemed not much
inclined for conversation: and, had Titmouse been accustomed to
observation, he might have gathered, from the eye and brow of Gammon,
that that gentleman's mind was very deeply occupied by some matter or
other, probably suggested by the incident which had just taken place.
Titmouse, by-and-by, called for pens, ink, and paper--"the very best
gilt-edged paper, mind"--and prepared to reply to Lord Dreddlington's
invitation. Gammon, however, who knew the peculiarities of his friend's
style of correspondence, suggested that _he_ should draw up, and
Titmouse copy the following note. This was presently done; but when
Gammon observed how thickly studded it was with capital letters, the
numerous flourishes with which it was garnished, and its more than
questionable orthography, he prevailed on Titmouse, after some little
difficulty, to allow him to transcribe the note which was to be sent to
Lord Dreddlington. Here is a copy of that courteous document:--
"Mr. Titmouse begs to present his compliments to the Earl of
Dreddlington, and to express the high sense he entertains of the
kind consideration evinced by his Lordship in his call and note of
to-day.
"One of the most gratifying circumstances connected with Mr.
Titmouse's recent success, is the distinguished alliance which his
Lordship has been so prompt and courteous in recognizing. Mr.
Titmouse will feel the greatest pleasure in availing himself of the
Earl of Dreddlington's invitation to dinner for Monday next.
"Cabbage-Stalk Hotel, Thursday.
"The Right Honble. the EARL OF DREDDLINGTON, &c., &c."
"Have you a 'Peerage' here, waiter?" inquired Gammon, as the waiter
brought him a lighted taper. _Debrett_ was shortly laid before him; and
turning to the name of Dreddlington, he read over the paragraph which
had been already laid before the reader. "Humph--_'Lady Cecilia'_--here
she is--his _daughter_--I thought as much--I see!" This was what passed
through his mind, as--having left Titmouse, who set off to deposit a
card and the above "Answer" at Lord Dreddlington's--he made his way
towards the delectable regions in which their office was
situated--Saffron Hill. "'Tis curious--amusing--interesting, to observe
the social progress of this charming little fellow"--continued Gammon to
himself--
"_Tag-rag_--and his daughter;
"_Quirk_--and his daughter;
"_The Earl of Dreddlington_--and his daughter. How many more? Happy!
happy! happy Titmouse!"
* *
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/41332