OJtirnpU ICam ^rl^ool SItbrarij CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 103 377 184 The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924103377184 Vol. 1 Beevilts of the Cyanochaitanthropopo: ion. p. 103 WOEKS OP SAMUEL WAREEN D. C. L. p. R. S. VOL. II. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLIV TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L., F.E.S. A NEW EDITION, OABETULLY EEVISED, WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, BDINBUEGH AND LONDON. MDCCCLIV. PEEFACE. The Author, having now bestowed upon this work a rigorous and final revision, hopes he may be allowed to say a Word to the reader, before it leaves his hand fof ever, to take its chance of appearing before posterity. Ten Thousand a-Year is a fiction, the plot of which was contrived with great care, for the purpose at once of exciting and sustaining, as far as possible, the reader's interest, and exhibiting, in a course of natural events, and by the agency of natural characters, the aspect, socially, professionally, politically, and religiously, of English Society in the nineteenth century. For this reason the tale travels over a great space of ground, and deals with ahnost every class of society. Withoiit sharing the Opinion attributed to Mr' Titmouse,* that "the only real distinction between mankind is that effected by money''' — ^the Author considers it an enormous engine for developing and testing the character of man, individually and collectively. With this view, having called up before his mind's eye a considerable number of widely dissimi- lar characters, in different positions in hfe, he devised the sudden loss of a splendid fortune by one, and its acq,uisition and subsequent loss by another, vrith all their agitating and vividly illustrative incidents ; his object being to teach, by the force of action amd events, important moral lessons. How this is brought about, and how far the attempt may be deemed successful, must now be determined by a candid and competent reader. Some parts of Ten Thousand a-Year have been written with a pen dipped freely and deeply into satire ; but never with any other object than to discriminate between virtue and vice, between sincerity and hypocrisy. Every institution has its defects, every order of men its un- worthy members; and that writer deserves no serious attention, and * Vol. i. page 9, fiol. 1. iv PREFACE. will produce no salutary effect on his reader's mind, who confounds individuals with the claas to which they belong, and exhibits derogar tory views of a system or institution, instead of tracing out, as with a caustic pencil, what are deemed the faulty parts. The Author hopes that he will not be judged in too harsh and exact- ing a spirit, in respect of anything to be found in this work ; but that some licence may be allowed one whose aim is not alone to instruct, but to amuse. He has received, from time to time, a great number of letters, one or two of them suggestiug that he has sinned in respect of some oi the matters above referred to. A Peer wrote to him to complain of his having intended to ridicule the aristocracy, by the character, sayings, and doings, attributed to the Earl of Dreddlington and Lady Oeoilia ; and some months afterwards, he received an extremely violent letter from a linen-draper, accusing him of an intention to render that respectable call- ing odious. To charges such as these he is not concerned to give an answer. As reasonably might members of either House of Parliament, or of either branch of the legal profession, deem themselves wronged and misrepresented, because certain unworthy and contemptible individuals belonging to them, are placed in unfavourable contrast to those consti- tuting the great body of worthy and honourable members of these classes, The Author lately, however, received an earnest and courteous remon- strance from an eminent Dissenting minister, against the alleged tendency of Ten Thousand a-Tear to exhibit disparaging views of Dissenters gene- rally. The Author solemnly disclaims having ever been actuated by such unjust and unchristian feelings and intentions. He knows much, and greatly to the honour of Dissenters ; and would consider himsel? acting unworthily as a member of the Church of England, if he presumed to speak or leave on record, a single disrespectful word concerning any denominatior whatsoever of professing Christians. If « the Beverend Dismal Horror ' and « the Reverend Smirk Mudflint" typify bad specimens of Dissenting ministers, surely the " Eeverend Morphine Velvet" and « the Beverenc Gideon Heshpot," are by no means desirable representatives of the Church of England clergy. Amongst many letters of a different character, the Author receivec one, a few years ago, from a town in the State of Kentucky, U. S., o which the following, with the suppression of several enthusiastic ex pressions, is an exact copy. The letter is subscribed with the writer'! name, and found its way addressed simply— "To the Author of Tei Thousand a- Year, London, England." He lately discovered the write to be a gentleman now occupying a high position in American society and who recently fflled an important and responsible office in th state : — PilBFACB. -, Kbktdcit, U. S. " Sib, — Permit an humble individual, and a stranger, to express to you the gratification and delight your instructive work, Ten Thousand a-Tear, has afforded him. Instructive it -was ; for at the time I had the pleasure of perusing it, misfortune had laid her heavy hand upon me, and sometimes, when those who instead of aiding rather assisted in oppressing me, my heart would fail me ; but when I thought of Charles Aubrey, as portrayed by you, who, though born to affluence, and reared in luxury, how he bore his misfortunes, I felt ashamed that I, but a mechanic, one of the toiling millions to whom God had given health and strength, should so far forget His goodness as to despair ; so I put my shoulder to the wheel right manfully, and turned neither to the right nor to the left, and with a firm reUance on His providence, determined to extricate myself from the pecuniary embarrassments I was sur- roimded with, and have succeeded. " As to glorious Kate, I cannot tell you how I appreciate her cha- racter more than by saying that I hope sincerely the little stranger bom to me some few nights ago, whom I have taken the liberty of naming Kate Aiihrey, will take her namesake as a pattern of excellence, and foUow it. " You will please accept these few lines in the spirit they are sent, from one who may never see your face, and has no motive in addressing you but the pleasure of paying homage, not to kings, or to high birth, but where it is due. " Believe me, Sir, " I wish you happiness and prosperity. If the writer of this letter should see these pages, he is assured that the Author of this work has been perhaps more gratified by the fore- going communication, than by any that have hitherto reached him with reference to Ten Thousand a-Tear. Inner Temple, London, April 18M., CONTENTS. BOOK THE FIRST. CHAP. PAQE I. WMle Mr Tittlebat Titmouse adorns Us outer man, the reader gets aglimpseof hisinnerman, such asitis, 1 II. A sincere Mend ; a wonderful advertisement ; an important epistle, 11 III. A snake approaches an ape ; which signifies, Mr Grammon's introduc- tion to Titmouse, 17 IV. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, and Mr Titmouse ; who astonishes them with a taste of his quality, 23 V. Huckaback chooses to call upon Quirk, Grammon, and Snap, to stir them up ; and what it led to, 31 VI. Great lawyers come on the scene ; a glimpse of daylight ; and a very moving letter, 45 VII. Titmouse and Huckaback think it right to go to church ; and the for- mer receives a lesson on landlord-and-tenant law, from Mrs Squal- lop, .■ 57 VIII. A vision of beauty unseen by Mr Titmouse ; who is in the midnight of despair, and writes a letter which startles Mr Quirk, . . 66 IX. How Gammon used to wind round Quirk ; and the subtle means he took to find out what Titmouse was about, 73 X. Gammon tackling Tag-rag, 86 XT. Satin Lodge, and its refined inmates ; who all pay their duty to Tit- mouse ; and he very nearly falls in love with Miss Tag-rag, , . 92 XII. Cyanochaitanthropopoion ; Damascus Cream; and Tetaragmenon Abracadabra : with their amazing effects on Mr Titmouse's hair, 100 Xni. Titmouse's levee at Closet Court; Mr Tag-rag's entertauiment to >iini at Satin Lodge ; and its disgusting issue, .... 112 BOOK THE SECOND. I. The reader is now introduced to qiiite a difierent set of people, in Grosvenor Street; and falls in love with Kate Aubrey, , . 120 II, Christmas in the country ; Yatton ; Madam Aubrey ; the Reverend Doctor Tatham ; and old Blind Bess, 129 III. Two strange creatiares are seen at Yatton by Mr Aubrey and his sis- ter ; and a hand-grenade is thrown, unseen, at the feet of the latter, 142 IV. Country life; Yatton; Potheringham ; the two beauties; and an angel beset by an imp, 149 iv CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGB V. The explosion of the hand-grenade ; shattered hopes and happiness, 158 VI. A vinter evening's gossip at the Aubrey Arms, among Yatton vil- lagers, and its grievous interruption 171 VII. Gammon mrstu Tag-rag ; and Snap cum Titmouse, introducing him to life in London — of one sort, 177 VIII. The feast of reason and the flow of soul at Alibi House ; Mr Quirk's banquet to Titmouse, who is overcome by it, . . . . 184 IX. Titmouse seems to hesitate between Miss Quirk and Kate Aubrey; moreover, a cloud comes suddenly over his fortunes, . . . 193 X. Suffering ; dignity ; tenderness ; resignation, 199 XI. How the great flaw was discovered in Mr Aubrey's title ; but a ter- rible hitch occurs in the proceedings of his opponents, , . 205 XII. Madam Aubrey's death and burial ; Gammon smitten with the sight of Kate Aubrey's beauty ; and a great battle takes place at the York assizes for Yatton, 216 BOOK THE THIRD. I. After the battle. — The behaviour of the belligerents ; and an adven- turous project of Mr Gammon's, 241 II. The last chance ; and some profitable reflections, .... 255 III. A Quixote ; and a friendly statesman, but with an eye to business, 265 IV. Mr Aubrey surrenders at discretion ; and the opposing generals hold a council of war, 269 V. A glimpse of the Beverend Dismal Horror ; and Mr Quirk's enter- tainment to Mr and Mrs Tag-rag, 278 VI. Mr Titmouse's magnificent kinsman, the Bight Honourable the Earl of Dreddlington, G.C.B., 284 VII. Farewell to Yatton ! 293 BOOK THE FOUBTH. I. Mr Titmouse's first introduction to very high life indeed. A dinner with an Earl, in Grosvenor Square ! 305 II. Mr Titmouse at Yatton, and the splendid festivities attending his inauguration, 322 III. A gentleman in difficulties pondering his position and prospects — never despair, 341 IV. The Attorney-General, and Mr -Weasel, special pleader, . . . 348 V. Suspense and trepidation, 357 VI. Mr Aubrey's interview with Mr Gammon ; followed by some philoso- phical reflections on life, . . 353 Notes AND IiicsTRATioMS, 375 TO EMILY, A LITTLE BLUE-EYED LAUOHINa lUAOE OF PURITY AHD HAFFIHESB, THESE VOLUMES ARE INSCRIBED, AS A SLIOHT HEHOKJAL OF A VATHEr's AFFECTION FOK AN ONLY DAUGHTER. OetcUr 1841. Fortuna ssevo Iseta negotio, et Ludum insoleatem ludere pertinax, Transmutafc incertos honores, Nunc mihi, nunc alii benignn. Laudo manentein. Si celeres quatit Fennas, resiguo qusB dedit, et me& Yirtute me ihvolvo^ probtonque Fauperiem sine dote qusero. HOR. Thus rendered by Drtden. Fortune, that with maliciou6 joy, Doth man her slave oppress, Froud of her office to destroy. Is seldom pleased to bless ! Still Tarious, and inconstant, stilly But with B31 inclination to be ill. Promotes, d^rades, delights in stL-tfe, And makes a lottery of life. 1 can eiyoy her, when she's kind : Bn t when she dances in the wind, ^ And shakes her wing^ and will not stay — I puff the prostitute awny. Content -With poverty, my soul I arm, And YiBTUE, though in rags, shall keep me warm I TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR BOOK THE FIRST. CHAPTER I. ■WHILE MB TITTLEBAT TITMOUSE ADORNS HIS OUTEB MAN, THE HEADEK OEia A GLIMPSE OF HIS INNER MAN, SUCH AS IT 18. Aboitt ten o'clock one Sunday morn- ing, in the mouth of July 18 — , the dazzling simbeams, which had for sev- eral hours irradiated alittle dismal back attic in one of the closest courts adjoin- ing Oxford Street, in London, and stimulated with their intensity the closed eyelids of a young man — one Tittlebat TiTMonsE — ^lying in bed, at length awoke him. He rubbed his eyes for some time, to reKeve himself from the irritation occasioned by the sudden glare they encountered ; and yawned and stretched his limbs with a heavy, sense of weariness, as though his sleep had not refreshed liim. He presently cast his eyes towards the heap of clothes lying huddled together on the backless chair by the bedside, where he had hastily flung them about _ an hour after midnight ; at which time he had returned from a great draper's shop in Oxford street, where he served as a shopman, and where he had nearly dropped asleep, after a long day's work, in the act of putting up the shutters. He could hardly keep his eyes open while he undressed, short as was the time required to do so ; and on drop- ping exhausted into bed, there he had continued, in deep unbroken slumber, till the moment of his being presented to the reader. He lay for several minutes, stretch- ing, yawning, and sighing, occasion- ally" casting an irresolute glance to- wards the tiny fireplace, where lay a modicum of wood and coal, with a tinder-box and a match or two placed upon the hob, so that he could easily light his fire for the purposes of shaving, and breakfasting. He stepped at length lazily out- of bed, and when he,iad felt his feet, again yawned and stretched, himself Then he lit his fire, placed his bit of a kettle on the top. of it, and returned to bed, where he lay with his eye fixed on the fire, watching the crackling blaze in- sinuate itself through the wood and coal. - Once, however, it began to fail, so he had to get up and assist it, by. blowing, and bits of paper ; and it seemed ui. so. precarious a state that he determined not again, to lie dawn, but sit on tlie bedside : as he did, with his arms folded, ready, lo.resume ope^ rations if necessary. In tUrpostucei - — " "" A. ■ TEN THOUSAND A-TEAK. he remained for some time, watching his little fire, and listlessly listening to the discordant jangling of innumer- able church-bells, clamorously calling the citizens to their devotions. The current of thoughts passing through his mind, was something like the fol- lowing! — "Heigho!— Lnd, Ludi— Dull as ditch water ! — This is my only holi- day, yet I don't seem to enjoy it ! — for I feel knocked up with my week's work ! (A yawn). What a life mine is, to be sure ! Here am I, in my eight-and-twentieth year, and for four long years have been one of the shop- men at Tag-rag & Co.'s, slaving from half-past seven o'clock in the morning till nine at night, and all for a salary of thirty-five pounds a-year, and my board! And Mr Tag-rag — eugh! what a beast ! — is always telling me how high he's raised my salary ! ! Thirty- five pounds a-year is all I have fbr lodging, and turning out like a gentle- man ! 'Pon my life ! it cmCt last ; for sdmetimes ,1 feel getting desperate — such strange thoughts come into my mind ! — Seven shillings a-week do I pay for (his cursed hole — ^(he uttered the words vrith a bitter emphasis, ac- companied by a disgustful look round the little room)— that one couldn't swing a cat in without touching the foui- sides ! — Last winter, three of our gents (i. e. his fellow-shopmen) came to tea with me one Sunday night ; and bitter cold as it was, we four made this cussed dog-hole so hot, we were obliged to open the window !-^And as for acoommodation-^I recollect I had to borrow two nasty chairs &om the people below, who on the next Sunday borrowed my only decanter, in return, and, hang them, cracked it ! — and then swore it was so when they had it ! — Curse me, say I, if this life is worth having! It's all the very vanity of vanities, as it's said somewhere in the Bible, and no mistake ! Rig, fag, fag, all one's days, and — what for? Thirty- five pounds a-year, and '«o advcuneel' (Here occurred a pause and reverie, from which he was roused by the clangour of the church-bells). Bah, bells ! ring away till you're all crack- ed ! — Now, do you think Fm going to be mewed up in church on this the only day out of the seven I've got to sweeten myself in, and sniff fresh air, and see a bit of life? A pre- cious joke that would be ! (A yawn). Whew ! — after all, I'd almost as lieve sit here ; for what's the use of my going out? Everybody I see out is happy, excepting me, and the poor chaps that are like me! — ^Everybody laughs when they see me and know that I'm only a tallow-faced counter- jumper — I know that's the odious name we gents go by ! — for whom it's no use to go out — for one day in seven can't give one a bloom ! Oh, Lord ! what's the use of being good-looking, as some chaps say I am? — Here he instinctively passea his left hand through a profusion of bright sandy-ooloured hair, and cast an eye towards the bit of fractured looking- glass which hung against the waU, and had, by faithfully representing to him a by no means ugly set of fea- tures (despite the i:pflamed hue of his hair) whenever he chose to appeal to it, afibrded him more enjoyment than any other object in the world, for years. "Ah, by Jove! many and many's the fine gal I've done my best to attract the notice of, while I was serving her in the shop— ^liat is, when I've seen her get out of a carriage ! There has been luck to many a chap like me, in the same line of specula- tion : look at Tom Tarnish— how did he get Miss Twang, the rich piano- forte-maker's daugliSer? — and now he's cut the shop, and lives at Hackney, like a regular gentleman ! Ah I that was a, stroke I But somehow it hasn't answered with me yet ; the gals don't take ! How I have set my eyes to be sure, and ogled them \—AU of them don't seem to dislike the thing— and sometimes they'll smile, in a sort of way that says I'm safe— but it's been no use yet, not a bit of it !— My eyes I catch me, by the way, ever nodding' again to a lady on the Sunday, that had smiled when I stared at her while serving her in the shop— after what happened to me a mon& or two aga in the Park ! Didn't I feel like dam- TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. aged goods, just then? /But it's no matter, women are so different at dif- ferent times l^Very likely I mis- managed the thing. By the wsty, what a precious puppy of a chap the fellow was that came up to her at the time she stepped out of the carriage to walk a bit 1 As for good looks — cut me to ribbons (another glance at the glass) — ^no ; I a'n't afraid theire, neither— but — ^heigho! — I suppose he was, as they say, born with a golden spoon in his mouth, and had never so many a thousands a-year, to make up to him for never so few brains ! — for Eeople- seldom have both money and rams. He was uncommon well-dress- ed, though, I must own. What trou- sers ! — ^they stuck so natural to him, he might have been born in them. And his waistcoat, andfsatin stock — what an air ! And yet, his figure was nothing very out of the way ! His gloves^ as white as snow; I'veno doubrhe.w6ars a'pafr of them a^day — my stars ! that's three-andsixpence a-day ; for. don't I know what iSe« cost? — Whew! if I had but the cash to cartY on that sort of thing! — And when-he'd- seen her into the carriage — the horse he got on !— and what a tip-top groom ; — that chap's wages, I'll answer for it, were equal to my salary ! (Here was an- other pause). Now, just for the fun of the thing,, only Suppose hicb was to befall me! Say that somebody was to leave me lots of , cash — many thou- sands a-year, or something in that line ! My stars ! wouldn't I go it with the best of them? (Another long pause). Gad, I really should hardly know how to begin^ to spend it!— I think, by the, way, I'd buy a tille to set off with — for what won't money buy? The thing's often done ; there was a. great pawnbroker in the city, the other day, made a baronet of, all for his money — aiftd why shtfuldn't I?" He grew aUttle heated with the pro- gress of his reflections, clasping his hands with involuntary energy, as he stretched them out to their fullest ex- tent,togiveeffeottoavery hearty yawn. Only think how it would sound !-^ " SIB. TITTLEBAT TITMOUSE, BARONET J " OB; " LORD TITMOUSE I !" "The very first place I'd go tb; afiter I'd got my title, and was rigged out in Tight-fit's tip-top, should be — our cursed shop I to buy a dozen or two pair of white kid. Ah, ha ! What a flutter there would be among the poor pale devils as would be standing, just as ever, behind the counters, at Tag' rag and Co.'s, when my carriage drew up, and I stepped, a tip-top swell, into the shop ! Tag-rag: would come and atteind to me himself! No, he wouldn't —pride wouldn't let him. I don't know, though: what wouldn't he do to turn a penny, and make two and ninepenee into three and a penny? I shouldln't jwtie come Captain Stiff over him,, I think, just at firstifbut I should treat him with a kind of an air, too, as if — hem ! 'Pon^y life ! how de- Mghtful! (A sighandlTpansBjrTes, rsEoiild often come to the shop. Gad, it would be half the fun of my fortune ! Foorchaps! How they would envy me, to be sure ! How one should enjoy it! I wouldn't think of marryingiiW — and yet I won't say either; if I got among some of them out-and-outers — those first-rate articles — that lady, for in- stance, the other day in the Park — I should like to see hex cut me as she < did,, with ten thousand a-year in my pocket ! Why, she'd be running after mel — or there's no truth in novels, which I'm sure there's often a great deal in. Oh, of course, I might marry whom I pleased ! Who couldn't be got by a gent with his ten thousand a-year? (Another pause). I think I should go abroad to Bussia di- rectly ; for they tell me there's a man lives somewhere there, who could dye this cussed hair of mine any colour I liked — and— egad ! I'd come home as black as a crow, and hold up my head as high as any of them! While I was about it, I'd have a touch at my eyebrows" Crash here went all his castle-bnilding, at the sound of his tea-kettle, hissing, whizzing, sput- tering, in the agonies of boiling over; as if the intolerable heat of vae fire had driven desperate the poor creature' placed upon it, which instinctively tried thus to extinguish the cause of its anguish. Having taken it off, and TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. placed it upon the hob, and put on the fire a tiny fragment of fresh coal, he began to make preparations for shav- ing, by pouring some of the hot water into an old tea-cup, which was pre- sently to serve for the purposes of breakfast. Then he spread out a bit of crumpled whity-hrowa paper, in which had been folded up a couple of cigars, bought over-night for the Sun- day's special enjoyment — and as to which, if he supposed them tohave come from any place beyond the four seas, I imagine him to have been slightly mistaken. He placed this bit of paper on the little mantelpiece; drew his solitary well-worn razor several times across the palm of his left hand; dipped his brush, worn, within half an inch, to the stump, into the hot water; presently passed it over so much of his face as he intended to shave; then rubbed on the damp sur- face a bit of yellow soap — ^and in less than five minutes Mr Titmouse was a shaved man. But mark — don't sup- pose that he had performed an ex- tensive operation. One would have thought him anxious to get rid of as much as possible of his abominable sandy-coloured hair. Quite the con- trary ! Every hair of his spreading whiskers was sacred from the touch of steel; and a bushy crop stretched underneath his chin, coming curled out on each side of it, above his ^stock, like two little horns or tusks. An imperial — i. e. a dirt-coloured tuft of hair, permitted to grow perpen- dicularly down the under-lip of pup- pie^and a pair of promising mus- taches, poor Mr Titmouse had been compelled to sacrifice some time be- fore, to the tyrannical whimsies of his vulgar employer, Mr Tag-rag, who imagined them not to be exactly suit- able appendages for counter-jumpers. Thus will it be seen that the space Shaved over on this occasion was some- what circumscribed. This operation oyer, he took out of his trunk an old dirty-looking pomatum pot. A modi- «!um of its contents, extracted on the tips of his two forefingers, he stroked carefully into his eyebrows; then spreading some on the palms of his hands, he rubbed it vigorously into his stubborn hair and whiskers for some quarter of an hour ; afterwards comb- mg and brushing his hair into half-a- dozen different dispositions — so fasti- dious in that matter was Mr Titmouse. 'Then he dipped the end of a towel into a little water, and twisting it round his right forefinger, passed it gently over his face, carefully avoid- ing his eyebrows, and the hair at the top, sides, and bottom of his face, which he then wiped with a dry comer of the towel ; and no further did Mr Tittlebat Titmouse think it necessary to carry his ablutions. Had he, how- ever, been able to "see himself as others saw him," in respect of those neglected regions which lay some- where behind and beneath his ears, he might not, possibly, have thought it superfluous to irrigate them with st little soap and water ; but, after all, he knew best ; it might have given him cold : and besides, his hair was very thick and long behind, and might perhaps conceal aajthmg that was unsightly. Then Mr Titmouse drew from underneath the bed a bottle of "incomparable bla9king," and a couple of brushes ; with great labour and sfiU- polishing his boots up to a wonderful' degree of brilliancy. Having replaced his blacking implements under the bed and washed his hands, he devoted a few moments to boiling about three tea^spoonfuls of coffee (as it was styled on the paper from which he took, and in which he had bought, it — whereas it was, in fact, clivayrf^. Then he drew forth from his trunk a calico shirt, with linen wristbands and collar, which had been worn only twice — i. e. on the preceding two Sun- days — since its last washing — and put it on, taking great care not to rumple a very showy front, containing three rows of frills ; in the middle one of which he stuck three "studs," con- nected together with two little gilt chains, looking exceedingly stylish — . especially when coupled with a span- new satin stock, which he next buck- led round his neck. Having put on his bright boots (without, I am really sorry to say, any stockings), he care- TEN THOUSAOT) A-TEAE. ■fully insinuated his legs into a pair of white trousers, for the first time since their last washing; and what with his short straps and high braces, they were so tight that you would have feared their bursting on his sitting down hastily. I fear that I shall hardly be believed ; but it is a fact, that the next thing he did was to attach a pair of spurs to his boots; — ^but, to be sure, it was not impos- sible that he might intend to ride during the day. Then he put on a queer kind of under-waistcoat, which in fact was only a roU-coUar of rather faded pea-green silk, and designed to set off a very fine flowered damson- coloured silk waistcoat ; over which he drew a massive mosaic-gold chain (to purchase which he had sold a ser- viceable silver watch), which had been carefully wrapped up in cotton wool ; from which soft depository, also, he drew HIS kiko (those must have been sharp eyes which could tell, at a dis- tance, and in a hurry, that it was not diamond), which he placed on the stumpy little finger of his red and thick right hand — and contemplated its sparkle with exquisite satisfaction. Having proceeded thus far with his toilet, he sat down to his breakfast, spreading upon his lap the shirt which he had taken off, to preserve his white trousers from spot or stain — his thoughts alternating between his late waking vision and his purposes for the day. He had no butter, having used the last on the preceding morn- ing; so he was fain to put up with dry bread — and very dry and teeth- trying it was, poor fellow — but his eye lit on his ring, and he bore it! Having swallowed two cups of his gtrasi-coffee, (engh! such stuff!) he resumed his toflet, by drawing out of his other trunk his blue surtout, with embossed silk buttons and vel- vet collar, and an outside pocket in the left breast. Having smoothed down a few creases, he put it on ; — then, before his little vulgar fraction of a looking-glass, he stood twitch- ing about collar, sleeves, and front, so as to make them sit well; conclud- ing with a careful elongation of the wristbands of his shirt, so as to show their whiteness gracefully beyond the cuff of his coat-sleeve — and he suc- ceeded in producing a sort of white boundary line between the blue of his coat-sleeve and the red of his hand. At that useful member he could not help looking with a sigh, as he had often done before — ^for it was not a handsome hand. It was broad and red, and the fingers were thick and stumpy, with very coarse deep wrin- kles at every joint. His nails also were flat and. shapeless ; and he used to be continually gnawing them till he had succeeded in getting them down to the quick — and they were a sight to set one's teeth on edge. Then he extracted from the first-mentioned trunk a white pocket-handkerchief — an exemplary one, that had gone through four Sundays' show (not «se, be it understood), and yet was capable of exhibition again. A pair of sky- coloured kid gloves next made their appearance : which, however, showed such barefaced marks of former ser- vice as rendered indispensable a teti minutes', rubbing with bread crumbs. His Sunday hat, carefully covered with silver-paper, was next gently removed from its well-worn box — ah, how light- ly and delicately did he pass his , smoothing hand round its glossy sur- face ! Lastly, he took down a thin black cane, with a gilt head, and full brown tassel, from a peg behind the door — and his toilet was complete. Laying down his cane for a moment, he passed his hands again through his hair, arranging it so as to fall nicely on each side beneath his hat, which he then placed upon his head, with an elegant inclination towards the left side. He was really not so very bad- looking, in spite of his sandy-coloured hair. His forehead, to be sure, was con- tracted, and his eyes were of a very light colour, and a trifle too protuber- ant ; but his mouth was rather well- formed, and being seldom closed, ex- hibited beautiful teeth ; and his nose was of that description which gener- ally passes for a Boman nose. His countenance wore generally a smile, and was expressive of-^self-satisfao- 6 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. tion : and surely any emression is bet- ter than none at all. As for tliere be- ing, however, the slightest trace of m- tmecf in it, I should be misleading the reader if I were to say anything of the sort. — In height he was about five feet and a quarter of an inch, in his hoots, and he was rather strongly set, with a little tendency to round shoul- ders ; — but bis limbs were pliant and bis motions nimble. Here you hare, then, Mr Tittlebat Titmouse to the life — certainly no more than an average sample of his kind ; but, as he is to go through a considerable variety of situation and circumstance, I thought you would like to have him as distinctly before your mind's eye as it was in my power to present him. — Well — ^he put his hat on, as I have said; buttoned the lowest two buttons of his surtout, and stuck his white pocket-handkerchief into the outside pocket in front, anxiously dis- posing it so as to let a little ajjpear )ibove the edge of the pocket, with a sort of careful carelessness — a graceful contrast to the blue ; drew onhis gloves; took his cane in his hand; drained the last sad remnant of infusion of chicory in his coffee-cup ; and, the sun shining in the fuU.splendour of a July noon, and promising a glorious day, forth sallied ' this poor brainless sinner, an Oxford ', Street Adonis, going forth conquering ! and to conquer ! Petty finery without, a pinched and stinted stomach within ; a case of Back versus Belly (as the lawyers would have it), the plaintiff winning in a canter! Forth salKed, I say, Mr Titmouse, as also, doubtless, sallied forth that day some five or six thousand similar snnpletons, down the narrow, creaking, cfese staircase, which he had no sooner quitted than he heard exclaimed from an opposite vrindow, "My eyes! a'n't that a swell! " He felt how true the obser- vation was, and that at that moment he was somewhat out of his element ; so he hurried on, and soon reached that great broad disheartening street, apostrophised by the celebrated Opium- Eater, with bitter feeling, as — "Ox- ford Street! — stony-hearted step-mo- ther ! Thou that listenest to the sighs of orphans, and drinkest the tears of children!" Here, though his spirits were not just then very buoyant, our poor little dandy breathed more freely than when he was passing through the wretched crowded court (Closet Court) which he had just quitted. He passed and met hundreds who, like himself seemed released for a precious day's interval from miserable confinement and slavery during the week; but there were not very many of them, he conceived, who could vie with him in elegance of appearance — and that was indeed a luxurious reflection ! Who could do justice to the air with which he strutted along ! He felt as happy, poor soul, in his little ostentation, as his Corinthian rival in tip-top turn- out, after twice as long, and as anxious, and fifty times as expensive, prepara- tions for effective public display ! Nay, my poor swell was in some respects greatly the superior of such an one as I have alluded to. Mr Titmouse cUd, to a great degree, bedizen his back'^ but at the expense of his belly ; where- as, the Corinthian exquisite, too often taking advantage of station and influ- ence, recklessly both pampers his luxurious appetite within, and deco- rates his person without, at the ex- pense of innumerable heart-aching cre- ditors. I do not mean, however, to claim any real merit for Mr Titmouse on this score, because I am not sure how he would act if he were to become possessed of his magnificent rival's means and opportunities for the perpe- tration of gentlemanly frauds on a splendid scale. — ^But we shaU perhaps see by and by. Mr Titmouse walked along with leisurely step ; for haste and perspira- tion were vulgar, and he had the day before him. Observe, now, the care- less glance of self-satisfaction with which he occasionally regards his bright boots, with their martial ap- pendage, giving out a faint clinking sound as he heavily treads the broad flags ; his spotless trousers, his tight surtout, and the tip of white handker- chief peeping acddeniaUy out in front ! A pleasant sight it was to behold him in a chance rencontre with some one TEN THOTTSAiro A.-TEAE. fa.: g^enteel enough to be recogoised — as he stood, resting on his left leg ; his left arm stuck upon his hip ; his right leg easily bent outwards; his right hand lightly holding his ebon cane, with the gilt head of whichhe occasion- ally tapped his teeth ; and his eyes, half closed, scrutinising the face and figure pf each "pretty gai " as she passed, and to whom he had a delicious con- sciousness (hat he appeared an object of interest fN This was indeed happi- KEBS, as far'as his forlorn condition could admit of his enjoying happiness. — He had no particular object m view. A tiff over-night with two of his shop- mates, had broken off a party which they had agreed the Sunday preceding in forming, to go that day to Green- wich ; and this trifling circumstance had a little soured his tempel, depress- ed as had been his spirits before. He resolved, on consideration, to walk straight on, and dine somewhere a little way out of town, bv way of pass- ing the time till four o'clock, at which hour he intended to make his appear- ance in Hyde Park, " to see the swells and the fashions," which was his fa^ vourite and instructive Sunday occu- pation. His condition was, indeed, forlorn in the extreme. To say nothing of his prospects in Ufe— what was his present condition ? A shopman with thirty-flve pounds a-year, out of which he had to find his clothing, washing, lodging, and all other incidental expenses — the chief item of bis board — such as it was ! —being found him by his employers. He was five weeks in arrear to his' /landlady — a corpulent old termagant, whom nothing could have induced him to risk offencung, but his overmaster- ing loveof finery; for I grieve to say, that this deficiency had been occasion- ed by his purchase of the ring he then wore with so much pride ! How he had contrived to pacify her — ^lie upon lie as he must have had recourse to — I know not. He was indebted also to his poor washerwoman in five or six shillings for at least a quarter's washing; and owed five times that amount to a little old tailor, who, with huge spectacles on, his nose, turned up to him, out of a little cupboard which he occupied in Closet Court, and which Titmouse had to pass whenever he went to or from his lodgings, a lean, sallow, wrinkled face, infploring him to " settle his small account. All the cash in hand which he had, to meet contingencies between that day and quarter-day, which was six weeks off, was about twenty-six shillings, of which he had taken one for the present day's expenses! Bevolving these somewhat disheart- ening matters in his mind, he passed easily and leisurely along the whole length of Oxford Street. Ko one could have judged from bis dressy appeaar- ance, the constant smirk on his face, and his confident air, how vpry miser- able that poor little dandy was ; but three-fourths of his misery were really occasioned by the impossibility he felt of his ever being able to indulge in his propensities for finery and display. Nothing better had he to occupy his few thoughts. He had had only a plain mercantile education, as it is called, i.e. reading, writing, and arith- metic: beyond an exceedingly mode- rate acquaintance with these, he knew nothing whatever ; not having read anything except a few inferior novels, cnliistances^ Hope springs eternal in tlie human breast, s ^nd probabljj^ in common ^th-juggti wKo;®e:SBSfirS!le.frorn §traitened cir- i oimstanceOie_citene3 coap"e.S.i3, and "secretlj- reued_uponJ~ffie possibility or^6me"Tinexpe(!f63:" and accidental i change for the Eilfer.,^ Hehad_^saj4 ' Snd reaiof extraordinary oases o£liick. ■that was, ,go9r_.fellow! mTriscpinsi- dfSfation, one of tteleastJurilikely^KayB of luck's adverf ; <5r Spine one ^ng^ kaye .him.^ioney.; or^hg^ mjgjft wm a prize in the lottery ; — all the^^T^d other accidehtal'modes of getting rich, frequently occurred to the well-regu- lated mind of Mr TittlebafHtjao^e ; but he never onceTEoiigKt of one thing, viz. of determined, unwearying 8 TEN THOUSAND A-XEAE. I industry, perseverance, and integrity ; in the way of his business, conducing \ to such a result! I Is his case a solitary one? — Dear Header, yau may be imlike poor Tittle- Ibat Titmouse in every respect except \mel On he walked towards Bayswater; and finding that it was yet early, and considering that the further he went from town the better prospect there would be of his being able, with little sacrifice of appearances, to get a din- ner consistent with the aforesaid pe- cuniary means he carried about with him, viz. one shilling, he pursued his way a mile or two beyond Bays- water ; and, sure enough, came at length upon a nice little public-house on the roadside, called the Squaretoes Arms. Very tired, and very dusty, he first sat down' in a small back-room to rest himself ; and took the opportunity to call for a clothes-brush and shoe- brush, to relieve his clothes and boots from the heavy dust upon them. Hav- ing thus attended to his outer man, as far as circumstances would permit, he bethought himself of his inner man, whose cravings he presently satisfied with a pretty substantial mutton-pie and a pint of porter. This fare, toge- ther with a penny (which he felt forced to give) to the little girl who waited on him, cost him tenpence ; and then, having somewhat refreshed himself, he began to think of returning to town. Having lit one of his two cigars, he sallied forth, pu£Sng along with an air of quiet enjoyment. Dinner, however humble, seldom fails, especially when accompanied by a fair draught of toler- able porter, in some considerable de- gree to tranquillise the animal spirits ; and that soothing efiect began soon to be experienced by Mr Titmouse. The sedative cause he erroneously consi- dered to be the cigar he was smoking; whereas, in fact, the only tobacco he had imbibed was from the porter. Bui, however that might be, he certainly returned towards town in a calmer and more cheerful humour than that in which he had quitted it an hour or two before. As he approached Cumberland Gate, it was about half-past five; and the Park might be said to be at its aoim of fashion, as far as that could be indi- cated by a sluggish stream of car- riages, three and four abreast — coron- eted panels in abundance — ^noble and well-known equestrians of both sexes, in troops — and. some hundreds of pe- destrians of the same description. So continuous was the throng of car- riages and horsemen, that Titmouse did not find it the easiest matter in the world to dart across to the footpath in the inner circle. That, ^however, he presently safely accomplished, encoun- tering no more serious mischance than the muttered " D — ^n your eyes ! " of a haughty groom, between whom and his master Mr Titmouse had presumed to intervene. What a crowd of elegant women, many of them young and beau- tiful (who but such, to be sure, would have become, or been allowed to be- come, pedestrians in the Park?) he encountered, as he slowly sauntered on, all of them obsequiously attended by brilliant beans ! Lords and ladies were here manifestly as plentiful as plebeians in Oxford Street. What an enchanted ground ! — How delicious this soft crush and flutter of aristo- cracy ! Poor Titmouse felt at once an intense pleasure, and a withering con- sciousness of his utter insignificance. Many a sigh of dissatisfaction and envy escaped him; yet he stepped along with a tolerably assured air, looking everybody he met straight, and I must own, even impudently, in the face, and occasionally twrrUng about his little cane with an air which seemed to say — "Whatever opinion you may form of me, I have a very good opinion of myself." Indeed, was he not as much a man — an English- man—as the best of them? What was the real difference between Count Do-'em-all and Mr Tittlebat Titmouse ? Only that the Count had dark hair and whiskers, and owed ten thousand times more money than Mr Titmouse's creditors could be persuaded to allow him to owe ! Would to Heaven — thought Titmouse — that any one tailor would patronise Mm as half- a-dozen patronised the Count I ■ If TEN THOUSAND A- YEAR. pretty ladies of quality did sot dis- dain a walking adyertisement of a few first-rate tailors, like the Count, why should they torn up their noses at an assistant in an extensive wholesale and retail establishment in Oxford Street, oonyeisant with the qualities and prices of the most beautiful arti- cles of female attire ? Tet alas, they did so ! He sighed heavily. Lean- ing against the railing in a studied attitude, and eyeing wistfully each gay and fashionable equipage, with I its oft;enlovely,andsometimeshaughty enclosure, as it rolled slowly past him, Mr Titmouse became more and more convinced of a great practical truth, viz., that the only real distinction be- tween mankind, was that effected by money. Want of money alone had placed him in his present abject posi- tion. Abject indeed! By the great folk, who were passing him on aU sides, he felt, well-dressed as he be- lieved himself to be, that he was no more noticed than as if he had been an ant, a blue-bottle fly, or a black beetle ! He looked, and sighed— sighed, and looked — looked, and sighed again, in a kind of agony of vain longing. While his only day in the week for breathing fresh air, and appearing like a gentleman in the world, was rapidly drawing to a close, and he was begin- ning to think of returning to the dog- hole he had crawled out of in the morn- ing, and to the shop for the rest of the week; the great, and gay, and happy folk he was looking at, were thinking of driving home to dress for their grand dinners, and to lay out every kind of fine amusement for the ensu- ing week : and that, moreover, was the sort of life they led every, day! He heaved a profound sigh. At that moment a superb cab, with a gentle- man in it dressed in great elegance, and with very keen dairk eyes, and striking hooked nose, and well-oiled, e^anding whiskers, came up with a cab of still more exquisite structure and appointments, and at which Tit- mouse was gazing with unutterlable feelings of envy — ^in which sat a young man, evidently of consequence; but •with a shockingly dissipated look ; very handsome, with splendid mustaches; perfectly well-dressed ; holding the reins and whip gracefully in hands glistening in straw-coloured kid gloves — and between the two gentlemen en- sued the following low-toned colloquy, which it were to be wished that every such sighing simpleton (as Titmouse must, I fear, by this time, appear to the reader^ could have overheard. " Ah, Fitz ! " said the former-men- tioned gentleman to the latter, who suddenly reddened when he perceived who had addressed him. The manner of the speaker was execrably familiar and presumptuous — but how could the embarrassed a«>ell help himself? — " When did you return to town f " " Last night only " "Enjoyed yourself, I hope?" "Pretty well — but — I — suppose you " " Sorry for it," interrupted the first speaker in a lower tone, perceiving the vexation of his companion ; " but can't help it, you know. "When?" "To-morrow at nine. Monstrous sorry for it — 'pon my soul, you really must look sharp, Ktz, or the thing won't go on much longer." " Must it be, really? " inquired the other, biting his lips — at that moment kissing his hand to a very beautiful girl, who slowly passed him in a. coroneted chariot — " must it really be, Joe?" he repeated, turning towards his companion a pale and bitterly chagrined countenance. "Poz, 'pon my life. Gage clean, however, and not very full — just at present " "Would not Wednesday !" ^ in- quired the other, leaning forward to- wards the former speaker's cab, and whispering with an air of intense earnestness. "The fact is, I've en- gagements at C 's on Monday and Tuesday nights with one or two coun- try cousins, and I may be ia a condi- tion — eh? you understand?" His companion shook his head dis- trustfully. " Upon my word and honour as a gentleman, it's the fact ! " said the other in a low vehement tone. TEK THOUSAKD A-YEAE. 10 " Then — say Wednesday, nine o'clock, A.M. You understand ? No mistake, Fitz ! " replied his companion, looking him steadily in the face as he spoke. " None— honour 1 "—After a pause —"Who is it?" His companion took a slip of paper out of his pocket-book, and in a whisper read from it — "Cab, harness, &c., £297, 10s." " A villain ! It's been of only three years' standing," interrupted the other, in an indignant mutter. " Between ourselves, he is rather a sharp hand. Then, I'm sorry to say there's a Detainer or two I have had a hint of" The swell uttered an execration which I dare not convey to paper — his fax;e distorted with an expression of mingled disgust, vexation, and hatred; and adding, "Wednesday — nine " — drove oif, a picture of tranquil enjoyment ! I need hardly say that he was a fashionable young spendthrift, and the other a sheriff's officer of the first water — the genteelest heak that ever was known or heard of — who had been on the look-out for him several days, and with whom the happy youngster was doomed to spend some consider- able time at a cheerful residence in Chandery Lane, bleeding gold at every pore the while ; — ^his onhr chance of avoiding which, was, as he had truly hinted, an honourable attempt on the purses of two hospitable country cousins, in the meanwhile, at C 's ! And if he did not succeed in that en- terprise, so that he must go to cage, he lost the only chance he had for some time of securing an exemption from such annoyance, by entering Parliament to protect the liberties of the people — an eloquent and resolute champion of freedom in trade, religion, and everything else; and an aboli- tionist of everything, including, espe- cially, negro slavery and — imprison, ment.for debt — two execrable viola- tions of the natural rights of mankind. But I have, for several minutes, lost sight of the admiring Titmouse. " Why," thought he, " am / thus spited by fortune ?— The only thing she's given me is — nothing ! — D — n even/thing!" exclaimed Mr Titmonse|5^! aloud, at the same time starting off," to the infinite astonishment of an old peer, who had been for some minutes standing leaning against the railing, close beside him ; who was master of a magnificent fortune ; ' ' with all ap- pliances and means to boot ; " with a fine grown-up family, his eldest son and heir having just gained a Double First, and promising wonders; possess- in gsplendid mansions indifierentparts of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; a re- putation for exquisite taste and accom- plishment ; andbeing the representative of one of the oldest families in England ; but who at that moment loathed every- thing and everybody, including him- self, because the minister had the day before intimated to him that he could not give him a vacant ribbon, for which he had applied, unless he could com- mand two more votes in the Lower House, and which at present his lord- ship saw no earthly means of doing. Yes, the Earl of Cheviptdale and Mr Tittlebat Titmouse were both miser- able men : both had been hardly dealt with by fortune; both were greatly to be pitied ; and both quitted the Park, about the same time, with a decided misanthropic tendency. TEN THOUSAin) A-YEAfi. 11 CHAPTER II A SINOEEB PEIEND ; A WOSDEEPUI, ABVEETISEMENT ; AK IMPORTAHT EPISTLE. Me Titmousb walked along Picca-i dilly with a truly ohopfallen and dis-j consolate air. He very neaTly_fe)r dissatisfied even jrith. his- personal appearaiieet"T5ress,aa.be would , no one seemed tp cafe a pursejor "Kim ; and, to his momentarily jaujrdioia Bye," he ~seemed equipped in only second-hand and shabby finery : and then he wa? really such a poor devill — Do not, however, let the reader sup- pose that this was an unusual mbod with Mr Titmouse. No such thing. Xike the Irishman who " married a wife for to make_liimJ{^2J«26"^' ^'°^ ralso^^iiot unliEe th'e"mot}i„tEa!i-WiH haunt the 'bfigEfness' which is her destruction; "so poor Titmouse, "Sfin- day after Sunday, dressed himself out as elaborately as he had- done on the present occasion, and then always be- took himself to the scene he had just again witnessed, and which had once more exci^ only those feelings of envy, bitterness, and despair, which I have been dSBcribing, and which, on every such octasion, he experienced with, if possible, increased intensity. What to do with himself till it should be time to return to his cheer- less lodgings he did not exactly know; so he loitered along at a snail's pace. He stood for some time staring at the passengers, their luggage, and the coaches they were ascending and alighting from, and listening to the strange medley of coachmen's, guards', and porters' vociferations, and pas- sengers' greetings and leavetakings — always to be observed at the White Horse Cellar. Then he passed along, till a street row, near the Haymarket, attracted his attention and interested big feelings ; for it ended in a regular set-to between two watermen attached to the adjoining coach-stand. Here he conceived himself looking on with the easy air of a swell ; and the ordi- nary penalty (paying for his footing) was attempted to be exacted from him ; but he had nothing to be picked out of any of his pockets except that under his very nose, and which contained his visible white handkerchief! This over, he struck into Leicester Square, where, (he was in luck that night), hurrying up to another crowd at the further end, he found a man preaching with, infinite energy. Mr Titmouse looked on, and listened for two or three minutes with apparent interest; and then, with a countenance in which pity struggled with contempt, mut- tered, loud enough to be heard by all near him, "poor devil!" and walked off. He had not proceeded many steps, before it occurred to biTn that a friend —one Robert Huckaback, much such another one as himselfr— lived in one of the narrow, dingy streets in the neighbourhood. He determined to. take the chances of his being at home, and if so, of spending the remainder ■ ofthe evening with him. Huckaback's | quarters were in "the same ambitious f proximity to heaven as his own ; the f only difference being, that they were a f trifle cheaper and larger. He answer- \ ed the door himself, having only the f moment before returned from his Sun- ' day's excursion, — i. e. the Jack Straw's Castle Tea -Gardens, at Highgate, where, in company with several of his friends, he had, he said, "spent a jolly 12 afternoon." He ordered in a glass of negus from the adjoining j)ublic-house, after some discussion, which ended m an agreement that he should stand treat that night, and Titmouse on the ensuing Sunday night. As soon as the negus had arrived, accompanied by two sea-biscuits, which looked so hard and hopeless that they would have made the nerves thrill within the teeth of him that meditated attempting to masticate them, the candle was lit; Huckaback handed a cigar to his friend ; and both began to puff away, and chatter pleasantly concerning the many, events and scenes of the day. " Anything stirring in to-day's ' Flash ? ' " inquired Titmouse, as his eye caught sight of a copy of that interesting and instructive Sun- day newspaper, the " Soitoat Flash,' which Huckaback had hired for the evening from the news-shop on the ground-floor of his lodgings. Mr Huckaback removed his cigar from his mouth, and holding it between the first and second fingers of his right hand, in a knowing style, with closed eyes and inflated cheeks, very slowly ejected the smoke which he had last inhaled, and rose and got the paper from the top of the drawers. " Here's a mark of a beastly porter- ot that's been set upon it, by all that's isgustiiig! It's been at the public- house ! 'Too bad of Mrs Coggs to send it me up in this state!" said he, hand- ling it as though its touch were con- tamination. — (He was to pay onljr a halfpenny for the perusal of it). "Faugh! how it stinks!" " 'What a horrid beast she must be ! " exclaimed Titmouse, after, in like manner as his friend, expelling his mouthfiil of smoke. " But, since better can't be had, let's hear what news is in it. Demmee ! it's the only paper published, in my opinion, that s worth reading! — Any fights astirring?" " Haven't come to them yet ; give a man time, Titty ! " replied Huckaback, fixing his feet on another chair, and drawing the candle closer to the paper. ■ " It says, by the way, that the Duke of Dunderhead is certainly making up to Mrs Thumps, the rich cheese- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. monger's widow ;— a precious good hit that, isn't it? You know the Dukes as poor as a rat ! " " Oh ! that'e no news. It s been m the papers for I don't know how long. Egad, ^twiir quite set him up— and no mistake. Seen the Duke ever ? I « Ye — es ! Oh, several times ! re- Elied Huckabaci. This was a lie, and ,e knew that it was. I " Deuced good-looking, I suppose ? " Why — middling ; I should say middling. Know some that needut fear to compare with him — eh ! Tit?" and Huckaback winked archly at his iKend, meaning him, however, to con- sider the words as applicable to the 5.^ " Ah, ha, ha !— a pretty joke ! But come, that's a good chap ! — You can't be reading both of those two sheets at once — ^give us the other sheet, and set the candle right betwixt us ! — Come, fair's the word among geitti, you know!" Huckaback, thus appealed to, did as his friend requested ; and the two gen- tlemen read and smoked for some min- utes in silence. " Well — ^I shall spell over the adver- tisements now," said Titmouse very emphatically ; " there's a pretty lot M ; them — and I've read everything else — (though precious little there is, here, besides ! J— So, here ^oes !— One may hear of a prime situation, you know — and I'm quite sick of Tag-rag ! " Another interval of sUence ensued. Huckaback was deep in the ghastly but instructive details of a trial for murder ; and Titmouse, after having glanced listlessly over the entertain- ing first sheet of advertisements, was on the point of laying down his half of the paper, when he suddenly started . in his chair, turned very pale, and stammered, " Hollo ! — hollo, Huckyl —Why" "What'sthe matter, Tit?— eh ? " in- quired Huckaback, greatly astonished. For a moment 'Titmouse made no answer, but, dropping his cigar, fixed his eyes intently on the paper, which began to rustle in his trembling hands. What occasioned this outbreak, with its subsequent agitation, was the follow- TEN THOUSAND A-TBAE. 13 ing advertisement, which appeared in the most conspicuous part of the "Sdk- DAY Flash": — . "Next op Rni — Important. — The next of kin, if any such there be, of Q-ABEiEL Tittlebat Titmouse, former- ly of Whitehaven, cordwainer, and ■who died somewhere about the year 1793, in London, may hear of some- thing of the OBEATEST POSSIBLB IMPOBT- AKOE to himself, or herself, or them- selves, by immediately communicating ■with Messrs Quike, Gamhon, and Snap, Solicitors, Saffron Hill. No time is t'o be lost. 9th July lS—.—X7te " By George ! Here i« a go ! " ex- claimed Huckaback, almost as much flustered as Titmoflse, over whose shoulder he had hastily read the above paragraph. " We aren't dreaming, Hucky — are we?" inquired Titmouse, faintly, his eyes stiU glued to the newspaper. "No — by George! Never was either of us fellows so precious wide awake in our lives before ! that I'll answer for ! " Titmouse sat still, and turned paler even than before. " Bead it up, Huck ! — ^Let's hear how it sounde, and then we shall believe it ! " said he, handing the paper to his friend. Huckaback read it aloud. " It sounds like something, don't it?" inquired Titmouse tremulously, his colour a little returning. " Uncommon ! — ^If this isn't some- thing, then there's nothing in anything any more ! " replied Huckaback so- lemnly, at the same time emphatically slapping the table. . "No! — 'Pon my soul! but do you» really think so?" said Titmouse, seek- ing still further confirmation than he had yet derived from his senses of sight and hearing. "I do, by jingo!" repeated Huckar back-^"What ago it is!— Well, my poor old mother used to say, ' depend on it, wonders never joiS cease ; ' and curse me if she ever said a truer word ! " Titmouse again read over the adver- tisement ; and then picking up and re- lighting his fragment of cigar, puffed earnestly in silence for some moments. " Such things never happens to such a ijoor devil of a chap as me ! " ex- claimed Huckaback, with a sigh. " What is in the wind, I wonder ? " muttered Titmouse. " Who knows — hem !— who knows? — ^But now, rea% " he paused, and once more read over the pregnant paragraph. — "It can't — no, curse me, it can't tie " he added, looking very serious. " What, Tit ? What can't be ? " in- terrupted Huckaback eagerly. "Why, I've been tmnking — but what do you think, eh ? — it can't hard- ly be a cursed hoax of the chaps in the premises at Tag-rag's ?" "Bo! — Is there any of 'em flush enough of money to do the thing? And how should they think it would ever come to be seen by you ? — ^Then, besides, there isn't a chap among them that could come up to the composing a piece of composition like that — no, not for all a whole year's salary — ^there isn't, by George ! You and I couldn't do it, and, of course, they couldn't ! " "Ah ! I don't know," said Titmouse doubtfully. "But — honour! — do you really now think there's anything in it?" " I do— I'm blowed if I don't, Tit ! " was the sententious answer. " Tol de rol, de rol, de rol, de rol — diddl'em — daddl'em — bang ! " almost shouted Titmouse, jumping up, snap- ping his fingers, and dancing about in a wild ecstasy, which lasted for nearly a minute. " Give me your hand, Hucky," said he presently, almost breathless. " If J am a made man — tol de rol, lol de rol, lol de rol, lol ! — you see, Huck ! — if I don't give you the handsomest breastpin you ever saw ! No paste ! real diamond! — Hurrah! I wiU, by jingo ! " Huckaback grasped and squeezed his hand. " We've always been friends, Tit — haven't we?" said he affection- ately. " My room won't hold me to-night ! " continued Titmouse ; " I'm sure it won't. I .feel as if I was, as you may say, swelling all over. I'll walk the streets all iight : I couldn't sleep a wink for the life of me I I'll walk 14 about till the shop opens. Oh, faugh ! how nasty ! Coiuound the shop, and Tag-rag, and everything and every- body in it ! Thirty-five pounds a^y ear ? See if I won't spend as much in cigars the first month ! " " Cigars ! Is that your go ? Now, I should take lessons in boxing, to begin with. It's a deuced high thing, you may depend upon it, and you can't be fit company for swells without it, Tit ! You can't, by Jove ! " " Whatever you like, whatever you like, Hucky ! " cried I'itmouse — add- ing, in a sort of ecstasy, " I'm sorry to say it, but how precious lucky that my father and mother's dead, and that I'm an only child — too-ra^laddy, too- ra-laddy ! " Here he took such a sudden leap, that I am sorry to say he split his tight trousers very awkwardly, and that sobered him for a moment, while they made arrangements for cobbling it up as well as might be, with a needle and thread which Huckaback always had by him. " We're rather jumping in the dark a-bit, aren't we. Tit ? ' inquired Huck- aback, gravely, while his companion was repairing the breaqji. " Let's look ■What it all means — ^here it is." He read it aloud again — " ^greatest possible importancel' — what can i« mean? Why the deuce couldn't they speak out plainly?" "What! in a newspaper? Lord, Hucky ! how many Titmouses would start up on all sides, if there isn't some already indeed! — But I do wonder what ' greatest possible importance ' can mean, now !" " Some one's left you an awful lot of money, of course" " It's too good to be true " "Or you may have made a smite,- you a'n't such a bad-looking fellow, when you're dressed as you are now — jyoil aVt indeed. Titty!" Mr Tit- mouse was guite flustered with the mere supposition, and also looked as sheepish as his features would admit of " E-e-e-eh, Hucky I how ve-ry silly you are ! " he simpered. ' " Or you may be found out heir to some great property, and all that kind TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. of thing. — But when do you intend to go to Messrs What's-their-name ? I should say, the sooner the better. Come, you've stitched them trousers well enough, now ; they'll hold you till you get home, (but you do brace up uncommon tight !) and I'd take off my straps, if I was you. Why shouldn t we go to these gents now ? Ah, here they are — Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, solicitors." "I wonder if they're great men? What's the use of solicitors ? Did you ever hear of these chaps before ? " " Haven't I ! Their names is always in this same paper ; they are every s day getting people off out of all kinds | of scrapes — they're the chaps /should nat'rally go to if I anyhow got wrong — ahem ! " " But, my dear fellow— ^a^jion.Siia/ — Low that — devilish low, 'pon my soul ! Never was near it in my life. ' " But they live there to be near the thieves. Lud, the thieves couldn't do without 'em ! But what's that to you ! You know ' a very dirty ugly toad has often got a jewel in his belly,' so Shak- speare or some one says. Isn't it enough for you, Tit, if they can make good their advertisement? Let's off, Tit — let's off, I say, for you mayn't be able to get there to-morrow — ^your employers!" , "My employers! Do you think, i Hucky, I'm going back to busines* after this?" " Come, come. Titty— -not so fast- suppose it all turns out moonshine, after all " — quoth Huckaback, serious- " Lord, but I won't suppose anything of the sort!" said Titmouse alarmedly. " It makes me sick to think of nothing coming of it !— Let's go off at once, and see what's to be done !" So Huckaback put the newspaper into his pocket, blew out the candle, and the two started on their important errand. It was well that their means had been too limited to allow of their indulging to a greater extent than a glass of port-wine negus (that was the name under which they had drunk the "publican's port "— t. e. a warm sweet- ened decoction of oak bark, logwood TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 15 shavings, and a little brandy) between them ; otherwise, excited as were the feelings 6f each of them by' the dis- covery of the evening, they must in all probability have been guilty of some ptece of extravagance in the streets. As it was, they talked very loudly as they went along, and in a tone of conversation pitched perhaps a little too high for their present cir- cumstances, however in unison it might be with the expected ciroum- • stances of one of them. In due time they reached the resi- dence of which they were in search. It was a large house, greatly superior to its dingy neighbours; and on a bright brass plate, a yard long at least, and a foot wide, stood the awe-inspir- ing words, " Qdikk, Gammon, & Snap, SoLiorroEB." " Now, Tit," whispered Huckaback, after they had paused for a second or two — " now for it — ^phiok up a sperrit —ring!" • " I_I_'pon my life— I feel all of a sudden uncommon fiinky — I think that last cigai of yours wasn't" " Stuff, Tit— ring! ring away! Faint heart never wins ! " " Well, it must he done ; so— here igoes at any rate!" he replied; and with a short nervous jerk, he caused a startling clatter within, which was i so distinctly audible without, that j both of them instinctively hemmed, as I if to drown the noise which was so ' much greater than they had expected. In a very few moments they heard some one undoing the fastenings of the door, and the gentlemen looked at one another with an expression of mingled expectation and apprehension. A little old woman at length, with a candle in her hand, retaining the heavy door-chiun in its fastening, peered round the edge of the door at them. "Who are you?" she exclaimed, crustily. " Is this Messrs — What is it, Huck? .—Oh I Messrs Quirk & Go.'s ? " in- quired Titmouse, tapping the end of his caue against his chin, with a des- perate effort to appear at his ease. "Why, where s your eyes?" she replied angjily, " I should think you might have seen what was wrote on the plate — outside there — ^it's large enough, one should have thought, to be read by them as can read — ^Is your's Newgate business? Because if' " We want — Give us the paper, Hucky " — he added, addressing his companion, who produced it in a mo- ment ; and Titmouse would have pro- ceeded to possess the old lady of all his little heart, when she cut him short by saying, snappishly — " They aren't noneon'emin; norneverison Sundays — so you'll just call to-morrow if you wants 'em. What's your names?" " Mr Tittlebat Titmouse," answered that gentleman, with a very particular emphasis on every syllable. " Mr who ?" exclaimed the old wo- man, opening her eyes, and raising her hand to the back of her ear. Mr Titmouse repeated his name more loudly and distinctly. , " Tippetytippety !^ what's that?" " No, . no J exclaimed Titmouse' peevishly; " I said, Mr Tit-el-bat Tit- mouse ! — will that suit yen?" "Tick-a-tick-a-tick? — Well, gra- cious ! if ever I heard such a name. Oh ! — I see ! — you're making a fool of me ! Get off, or I'll call a constable in !— 'Get along with you, you couple of jail-birds ! Is this the way" " I tell yon," interposed Mr Hucka- back angrily, " that this gentleman's name is Mr Tittlebat Titmouse ; and you'd better take care what you're at, old woman, for we've come on busi- ness ol ioital amseq'uence I" " I dare say it'll keep, then, till to- morrow," she tartly subjoined. The friends consulted for a moment, and then Titmouse asked if he might come in and write a letter to Messrs Quirk and Co. "No indeed!" said she; "how do I know who you are, or what you'd do? There's a public-house close by, where you may write what you like, and bring it here, and put it through that hole into this here letter box, and they'll get it the first thing in the morning. So that's what you may take away with you ! " — with which the complaisant old janitrix shut the door in their faces. "Huck, 'pon my life, I am afraid 16 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAK. there's nothing in it," said Titmoiise, despondingly, to his friend— both of them remaining rooted to the spot. "Oudacious old toad!" muttered Huckaback indignantly. " Hucfcy— I'm swe there's nothing in it!" exclaimed Titmouse after a long pause, looking earnestly at his friend) hoping to draw from him a contrary opinion. " I— I own I don't half like the looks of it," replied Huckaback, putting his newspaper into his pocket again; " but we'll try if we can t write a letter to sound 'em, and so far take the old creature's advice. Here's the public- house she told us of. Come, let's see what's to be done !" Titmouse, greatly depressed, follow- ed his friend; and they soon provided themselves with two glasses of stout, and after a little difficulty, with im- plements for writing. That they made good use of their time and materials, let the following epistle prove. It was their joint composition, and here is an exact copy of it : — " To Messrs Quirk, Gamoh, and Snapp.^ " SlE, " Your Names being Put In an Ad- vertisement in This present Sunday Flash, Newspaper of To Day's Date, Mx T. T. Begs To inform Your respectable House I feel Uncommon anxious To speak with them On This Indy inter- esling svhjed:, seeing It mentions The Name OC Gabriel Tittlebat Titmouse, which Two last Names Of That De- ceased Person my Own, Name Is, which can Any Day (As soon As Possible) call and^oue 'To you. By telling you The Same, truly. He being Engaged in Business During the week Very close, (for The Present,) I hope that If they Have Anything particular To say To Him, they will write To me without The least Delay, and please address T. T., At Tag-rag and Co.'s, No. 376, Oxford Street, Post-Paid, which will insure Its Being duly Taken In By my Employers, and am, " Gents, " Your's to Command, " Tittlebat TmronSB. " P.S.— My Friend, which Is With me writing This, (Mr Kobert Hucka- back), can prove who I am If neoes- siated so to do. " N.B. — Shall have no objections to do the Liberal Thing if anything suit- able Turns Up Of It. "T.T. " (Sunday Evening, 91111^—. " Forgot to Say, am The only Child of my Honoured Parents, one of which (my Mother)Died ; before I knew them In Lawftd Wedloc, and Was 27 last Birth Day, Never having Seen your Advertisement Till This Night, w", if Necessary can Prove.)" This perspicuous and truly elegant performance having been thrice sub- jected to the critical examination of the friends (the paragraph concerning Huckaback having been inserted at the instance of that gentleman, who wished to be mixed up from the begu- iling with so promising an affair), was then folded up, and directed to " Messrs Quirk and Co.," a great straggling wet wafer having been first put upon it. It was safely depositedj a few minutes afterwards, in the let ter-box at Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's ; and then the two West- End gentlemen hastened away from that truly plebeian part of the town! Under three different gas-lights did they stop, take out the newspaper, and spell over the advertisement ; iby which ingenious processes they at length succeeded in satisfying them- selves that there was something in it — a fact of which, upon the old woman's shutting the door in their faces, it may be recollected that they had had griev- ous misgivings. They parted, however, with a considerable sibatement of the excitement with which they "had set out on their voyage of discovery. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 17 CHAPTER III. A SHAKE APPEOAOHES AK APE ; WHICH SIONITIES, ME OAMMON S INTEODUCTIOH TO TITMOUSE. Me Titmouse did not, on reaching his room, take off and lay aside his precious Sunday apparel with his ac- customed care and deliberation. On the contrary, he peeled it off, as it were, and threw himself on the bed as qiiickly as possible, in order that he might calmly revolve the immense event of the day in his little mind, which it had agitated like a stone thrown into a stagnant pool by the road-side. Oh, how restless was he ! — not more so could he have been had he lain between horse-hair sheets. He repeatedly got up and walked about two or three little steps, which were all that his room admitted of. At the very first peep of daylight he started out of bed, got out of his pocket the newspaper which Huckaback had lent him, strove to decipher the advertise- ment, and then sunk into bed again — but not to sleep, till four or five o'clock ; having nevertheless to rise at half-past six, to resume his detested duties at Tag-rag and Co.'s, whose shop he assisted in opening at seven o'clock, as usual. When he and his shopmates were sitting together at breakfast, he could not for the life of him help letting out a little, vaguely and mysteriously, about " something that might happen in the course of the day;" and thereby succeeded in satis- fying his experienced companions that he expected the visit of a policeman, for some affair he had been concerned in over-night. — Well! — eight, nine, ten o'clock wore away heavily, and nothing occurred, alas! to vary the monotonous duties in which Mr Tit- mouse was engaged ; bale after bale, and package after package, he took down and put up again, at the bidding of pretty, capricious customers ; silk, satin, bomhasins, crapes, muslins, rib- bons, gloves, he assisted in display- ing, usposing of, or replacing as usual ; but it was clear that his power- ful understanding could no longer set- tle itself, as before, upon his respon- sible and arduous duties. Every other minute he cast a feverish furtive glance towards the door. He almost dropped, at one time, as a postman crossed from the opposite side of the street, as if to enter their shop — then passing on immediately, however, to the next door. Not a person, in short, entered the premises, whom he did not scrutinise narrowly and anxiously, but in vain. No — ^buying and selling was the order of the day, as usual ! — Eleven o'clock struck, and he sighed. " Tou don't seem well," said a pretty young woman, to whom, in a some- what absent manner, he was exhibit- ing and describing the qualities of some cambric. "Oh — ye — es, uncom- mon!" he replied; "never better, ma'am, than when so well employed ! " acconipanying the latter words with what he conceived to be a very arch, but which was in fact a very impu- dent, look at his fair customer. At that moment, a voice called out to him from the fiirther end of the shop, near the door — "Titmouse! Wanted!" "Coining!" he shouted, turning white as the cambric he held in his hands — ^which became suddenly cold; while his heart went thump, thump, 18 as he hastily exclaimed to the aston- ished lady, "Excuse me, ma'am, if you please — Jones," addressing the shopman next him, " will you attend to this lady?" and he hastened whither he had been called, amidst a prevalent grin and " hem ! " from his/ companions on each side, as he passed along the shop, till he reached the spot where stood the stranger who had inquired for him. He was of a slight and gentlemanly figure, above the average height. His Countenance was very striking: he was dressed with simplicity — somewhat carelessly perhaps ; and appeared about thirty- six or thirty-seven years of age. He bowed slightly as Titmouse approached him, and an air of serious surprise came over his expressive countenance. "Mr Titmouse?" he inquired, blandly, but gravely. " Ye-e-s, sir, at your service," re- plied Titmouse, trembling involun- tarily all over. The stranger again slightly inclined towards him, and — ' still more slightly — ^touched his hat ; fixing on him, at the same time, an inquisitive penetrating eye, which reiuly abashed, or rather perhaps alarmed liim. "You left — ^you favoured us by leav- ing — a note at our office last night, sir, addressed to Messrs Quirk, Gam- mon, and Snap?" he inquired, lower- ing his voice to a whisper. " Yes, sir, hoping it was no of- fence" "Pray, Mr Titmouse, can we be alone for about five or ten minutes?" " I — ^I — don't exactly know, here, sir; I'm afraid — against the rules of the house— but I'll ask. Here is Mr Tag-rag.— May I step into the cloak- room with this gentleman for a few minutes, sir?" he continued, address- ing his imperious employer, who, with a pen behind his right ear, his left hand in his breeches pocket, and his right hand impatiently tweedling about his watch-seals, had followed Titmouse, on hearing him inquired for 3n the manner I have described, and stood at a yard or two's distance, eye- ing the two with a truculent dissatis- fied look, wondering what on earth TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. any one could want with one of kis young men. As Mr Tag-rag will be rather a pro- minent figure on my canvass, I may as well here give the reader a slight preparatory sketch of that gentlemauj- j "He was about fifty -two years old; a great tyrant in his little way ; a com- pound of ignorance, selfishness, cant, and conceit. He knew nothing oa earth except the price of his goods, and hqw to make the most of his businessT) He was of middle size, with a tendency to corpulence ; and almost, invariably wore a black coat and waist- coat, a white neck-handkerchief very primly tied, and grey trousers. He had a dull, grey eye, with white eye- lashes, and no eyebrows ; a forehead which seemed ashamed of his face, it retre&ted so far and so abruptly back from it ; his face was pretty deeply pitted with the smallpox ; his nose— or rather semblance of a nose — con- sisted of two great nostrils looking at you^as it were, impudently — out of the middle of his face ; there was a perfect level space from cheekbone to cheekbone ; his grey whiskers, trimly and closely cut, came in points to each corner of his mouth, which was large,' shapeless, and sensual-looking. This may serve, for the present, to give you an idea of the man who had con- trived to excite towards himself- the hatred and contempt of everybody over whom he had any control — with whom, in fact, he had anything to do. "You know quite well, sir, we never allow anything of the sort," was his short reply, in a very disagreeable tone and manner, to Titmouse's modest re- quest. " May I beg the favour of a few min- utes' private conversation with Mr Titmouse," said the stranger, politely, "on a matter of the last importance to him? My name, sir, is Gammon, and I am a solicitor of the firm of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap " "Why, sir," answered Tag-rag, some- what cowed by the calm and gentle- manly, but at the same time decisiTB," manner of Mr Gammon — " it's real- ly very inconvenient, and decidedly agamst the rules of the house, for any TEN THOXTSAOT) A -YEAR. 19 of my yonng men td be absent on busi- ness of their own during rmy business hours ; but— J suppose — what must be must be— ^i'U give him ten minutes — and he'd better not stay longer," he Subjoinedfieroely — ^lookingsignifioant- ly first at his watch, and then at Tit- mouse. "It's only for the sake of my other young men, you know, sir. In a large establishment like ours, we're obliged, you know, sir," &o. &c. &c., he added, in a low cringing tone, depre- catory of the contemptuous air with which he felt that Mr Gammon was regarding him. • That gentleman, witli a- slight bow, and a sarcastic smile, presently quitted the shop, accompanied by Titmouse, who scarce knew whether his head or heels were uppermost. "How far do you Uve from this place, Mr Titmouse?" inquired Mr Gammon, as soon as they had got into the street. " Not four minutes' walk, sir : but .^hem ! " — ^he was flustered at the idea of showing so eminent a person into his wretched room — " Suppose we were fo step into this tavern here, sir — I daresay they have a room at our ser- vice" — — " Pray, allowme to ask, Mr Titmouse <— have you any private papers — ^family writings, or things of that sort, at your rooms ? " Titmouse seemed considering. " I — I think I have, sir," he replied — " one or two — but they're of no con- jsequence." " Are you a judge on that point, Mr Titmouse ? " inquired Mr Gammon, with a smile ; " pray let us, my dear 6ir, at once proceed to yoiu' rooms — time is very short and valuable. I should vastly like to look at these same insignificant papers of yours ! " In less than two minutes' farther time, Mr Gammon was sitting at Tit- mouse's little rickety round table, at his lodgings, with a sheet of paper before him, and a small pencil-case in his hand, asking him a number of questions concerning his birth and family connections, and taking down his answers very carefully. Mr Tit- mouse was surprised at the gentle- man's knowledge of the family history of the Titmouses. As for papers, &c., Mr Titmouse succeeded in producing four or five old letters and memoranda &om the bottom of his trunk, and one or two entries, in faded ink, on the fly- leaf of a Bible of his father's, which he did not recollect having opened before for very many years, and of which said entries, till pressed on the subject by Mr Gammon,he!had been hardly aware of even the existence. With these sev- eral documents Mr Gammon was so much struck that he proposed to take them away with him, for better and more leisurely examination, and safer custody, at their office ; but Mr Tit- mouse, with a sudden exercise of sense and spirit, significantly hinted at his very recent acquaintance with Mr Gammon, who, he intimated, was,. howeVef, at liberty to come and make exact copies of them whenever he pleased, in his (Mr Titmouse's) pre- sence, " Oh, certainly — yes," replied Mr Gammon, slightly colouring at the very reasonable distrust implied by this observation ; " I applaud your caution, Mr Titmouse; By all means keep these documents, and most care- fnlly ; because, (I do not say that they are), but it is quite possible that they may become rather valuable — to you." " Thank you, sir ; and now, hoping you'll excuse the liberty," said Tit- mouse, with a very anxious air, "I should most uncommonly like to know what all this means — what is to turn up out of it aU ? " "The law, my dear sir, is proverbi- ally uncertain " " Oh, Lord ! but the law can surely give one a hint " " The law never hints" interrupted MrGammonimpressively, with abland smile. " Well then, how did you come, sir, to have a hint that there ever was such a person as Mr Gabriel Titmouse, my father? And what can come from him, seeing he was only a bit of a shoemaker^ — unless he's heir to some- thing?" ' "Ah, yes — exactly; those are — or I ought to say, perhaps, may possibly 20 become — very interesting questions, Mr Titmouse — very ! " "Yes, sir; and them and many more I was going to ask long ago, but I saw you were ' "Sir," quoth Gammon, suddenly, having looked at his watch, "I perceive that we have positively been absent from your place of business nearly an hour — your employers will be getting rather impatient." " Meaning no offence, sir," replied Titmouse, somewhat vehemently, — " bother their impatience ! Fm impa- tient, I assure you, to know what all this means. Come, sir, 'pon my life I've told you everything — and you've told me nothing ! — It isn't quite fair ! " "Why, certainly, you see, Mr Tit- mouse," said Gammon, with an agree- able smile — (it was that smile of his which had been the making of'Mr Gfammoii) — "it is only candid in me to acknowledge that your curiosity is perfectly reasonable, and your frank- ness very obliging ; and I see no diffi- culty in admitting at once, that / have had a motive " " Yes, sir — of course you had — and all that — ^Jknow, sir," — hastily inter- rupted Titmouse, but without irritat- ing or disturbing the placid speaker. — " And that we waited with some anxiety for the result of our advertise- ment " "Ah, you can't escape from that, you know, sir ! " interposed Titmouse, with a confident air. " But it is a maxim with us, my dear sir, never to be premature in anything, especially when it may be — very pre- judicial ; you've really no idea, my dear Mr 'Titmouse, of the world of mischief that is often done by preci- pitancy in legal matters ; and in the present stage of the business — the present stage, my dear sir — ^I really do see it necessary not to — do any- thing premature, and without consult- ing my partners." " Law, sir, what does all that mean ? I can't make head nor tail of it ! " ex- claimed Titmouse, getting more and more irritated and impatient as he re- flected on the length of his absence from Tag-rag & Co's. TEN THOTJSAND A-YEAB. " I quite feel for your anxiety — ga perfectly natural " — ^replied Gammon^ feelingly. " Oh, dear sir! if you'd only tell me the least bit " " If, my dear sir, I were to disclose just now the exact object we had in inserting that advertisement in the papers " " How did you come to know of it at all, sir ? Come, there can't be any harm in telling me that, anyhow " . " Not the least, my dear sir. It was' in the course of business — in the course of business." " Is it money that's been left me—: or — anything of that sort?" "It quite pains me, I assure you, Mr Titmouse, to suppose that our having put this advertisement into the papers may have misled you, and excited false hopes — I think, by the way " — added Gammon suddenly, as something occurred to him of their previous conversation, which he was not quite sure of — " you told me that that Bible had been given you bv Tour father." "Oh yes, sir! yes — no doubt of it; surely that can't signify, seeing he's dead, and I'm his only son?" asked Titmouse, quickly and eagerly. "Oh, 'tis only a circumstance— a mere circumstance; but in business, you know, Mr Titmouse, every little helps — and you really, by the way, have no recollection of your mother, Mr Titmouse?" " No, sir, I said so ! And — ^meaniii| no offence, sir — I can't abide being put off in this kind of way, — ^I must own ! — See what I have told you— you've told me nothing at all. I hope you haven't been only making me a cat's-paw of ? 'Pon my soul, I hate being made a cat's-paw of, sir ! " j " Good heavens, Mr Titmouse ! ho\r can you imagine it ? Matters in some degree connected with one or two former members of your family, are at this moment the object of some littlft of our anxiety " " Not meaning it rudely, sir—please to tell me at once, plainly, am I to be the better for anything you're now about, or was that advertisement all TEN THOUSAOT) A-YEAK. 61 fudge, and onlj" to serve somebody else?" " That may or may not be, sir," answered Hr Gammon, in the same imperturbable manner, drawing on his gloves, and rising from his chair. " In justice to yourself, and other parties concerned " " Oh! — Why! — ^Is anybody to shccre in it?" exclaimed Titmouse, alarm- edly. " I am sure,'' said Gammon, with a very dignified bearing, " that you will ■give us credit for consulting your best interests, if they should prove to be in any degree concerned in our present inquiries ! We should, in that event, sincerely desire to advance your best interests. But — it is reo%, ' looking at his watch, " upwards of an hour since we quitted your place of busi- ness, — I fear I shall get into disgrace with that respectable gentleman, your employer. Will yon favour us with a ' call at our office to-morrow night, when the business of the day is over? When do you quit at night? "About half-past nine o'clock, sir; but really — to-morrow night ! Couldn't I come to-night, sir?" " Not to-night, I fear, my dear sir. We have a very important engage- ment. Let us say to-morrow night, at a quarter past ten^ — shall we say that hour?" in^ired_Mtr Gammon, with an imperative simle.' ' ' ~^WeTiri5rrf"£ot""^ore— yes— I'll be with you. But I rrmst say" quoth Titmouse, with a sulky discon- certed air. "Good-day, Mr Titmouse,'' said Mr Gammon — they were by this time in Oxford Street again. — " Good-day, my dear sir — good-day — to-morrow night, as soon after ten as possible — eh? Good-by." This was all that Mr Titmouse could get out of Mr GanJtnon, who, hailing a coach off the stand beside them, got in, and it was soon making its way eastward. What a miserable mixture of doubts, hopes, and fears, had he left Titmouse ! He felt as if he were a squeezed orange ; he had somehow or other been induced to tell every- thing he knew about himself, and had got nothing in return out of the smooth, imperturbable, impenetrable Mr Gam- mon, but empty civiUties. — "Lord, Lord ! " thought Titmouse, as Mr Gammon's coach turned the corner; "what would I give to know half about it that that gent knows ! But Mr Tag-rag ! by Jove ! what vM he say ? It's struck twelve. I've been more than an hour away — and he gave me ten minutes ! ShaVt Icatch it?" And he did. Almost the very first person whom he met, on entering the shop, was his amiable employer ; who, plucking his watch out of his fob, and, looking furiously at it, mo- tioned the trembling Titmouse to fol- low him to the farther end of the long shop, where there happened to be then no customers. " Is this your ten minutes, sir, eh?" "I am sorry" " Where may you have been, sir, all this while?" "With that gentleman, sir, and I really did not know " " You didn't know, sir ! Who cares what you know, or don't know ? This, at any rate, you know — that you ought to have been back fifty-five minutes ago, sir. You do, sir ! Isn't your time my property, sir? Don't I pay for it, sir ? Don't I feed you, sir ? — An: h(^ur ! — in the middle of the day ! I've not had such a thing happen this five years ! I'lJ stop it out of your salary, sir." Titmouse did not attempt to inter- rupt him. "And pray what have you been gossiping about, sir, in this disgrace- ful manner?" " Something that he wanted to say to me, sir." ' " You low puppy! — do you suppose I don't see your impertinence ? 1 in- sist, sir, on knowing what all this gossiping vfith that fellow, during my service hours, has been about ? " " Then you won't know, sir, that's flat ! " replied Titmouse doggedly, and desjjeratelytoo; returning to his usual station behind the counter. "Jsha'n'tH" exclaimed Mr Tag- rag, almost aghast at the presumption of his inferior. TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE; "No, sir, you sha'nH know a, single word about it." " Sha'n't know a single word about It ! ! — Vaa tly good, sir ! ! — Do you know whom you're talking to, sir ? Do you really know in whose presence you are, sir?" inquired Mr Tag-rag, nearly trembling with rage. " Mr Tag-rag, I presume, of the firm of Tag-rag and Co.," replied Titmouse, looking him full in the face. — One or two of his companions near him, al- most turned pale &t the audacity he was displaying. "And who are you, sir, that dare to presume to bandy words with me, sir ? " inquired Tag-rag, his deeply pitted face having gone quite white, and his whole body quivering with rage. " Tittlebat Titmouse, at your ser- vice," was the answer, in a glib tone, and with a sufficiently saucy air ; for Titmouse then felt that he had passed the Rubicon. " You heard that, I hope?" inquired Tag-rag with forced calmness, of a pale-faced young man, the nearest to him. "Ye — es, sir," was the meekly reluc- tant answer. " This dajr month you leave, sir ! " said Mr Tag-rag solemnly — as if con- scious that he was passing a sort of sentence of death upon the presump- tuous delinquent. "Very well, Mr Tag-rag — anything that pleases you pleases your humble servant. I will go this day month, and welcome — I've long wished — and now, p'r'aps," he added significantly — " it s rather convenient for me, than otherwise " — , — " Then you sha'n't leave, sir,'' said Tag-rag furiously. " But I will, sir. You've given me warning ; and, if yon haven t, now I give J^OM warning," replied Titmouse ; turning, however, very pale, and ex- periencing a certain sudden sinking of the heart — for this was a serious and most unlooked-for event, and for a while put out of his head all the ex- citing thoughts of the last few hours. He had by-and-by enough to bear. What with the delicate raillery and banter of his refined companions for the rest of the day, and the galUng tyranny of Mr Tag-rag (who dogged him all day, setting him about the most menial and troublesome officei he could, and constantly saying morti- fying things to hin> before customers), and the state of miserable suspense in which Mr Gammon had thought fit to leave him ; — I say that surely all this was enough for him to bear/ without having to encounter, at night, as he did, on his return to his lodg; ings, his blustering landlady; who vowed that if she sold him out and out she would be put off no longer; — and his pertinacious and melancholy tailor, who, with sallow unshaven face, told him of five children at home, all ill of the smallpox, and his wife in an hos- pital — and he implored a payment on account. This suft'erer succeeded in squeezing out of Titmouse seven shil- lings on account, and his landlady ex- torted ten ; which staved off a distress — direful word ! — for some week ortwo longer ; and so they left him in the pos- sessioii of eight shillings or so, to last till next quarter-day — six weeks off! He sighed heavily, barred his Aom, and sat down opposite his little table, on which was nothing but a solitary thin candle, and on which his eyes rested unconsciously, till the stench of it, burning right down into the sock, et, roused him from his wretched re^ verie. Then he unlocked his box, and took out his Bible and the papers which had been produced to Mr Gam- mon, and gazed at them with intense but unproductive scrutiny. Unable to conjecture what bearing they could have upon himself or his fortunes, he hastily replaced them in his box, threw on his clothes, and flung him- self on his bed, to pass a far mors dismal night than he had known for years. e He ran the gauntlet at Messrs Tag* rag and Co.'s aU Tuesday, as he had done on the day preceding. One should have supposed that when his companions beheld him persecuted taji their common tyrant, whom they m^ equally hated, thejr would have mads common cause with their suffering;, TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 23 companion, or at all events given no countenance to his persecution ; yet it was far otherwise. Without stopping to analyse the feeling which produced it (and which the moderately reflect- ive reader may easily analyse for him- self if so disposed), I am grieved to have to say, that when all the young men saw that Tag-rag would be grati- fied by their " eimng" poor Titmouse, who, with all his little vanities, fooler- ies, and even selfishness, had never per- sonally offended or injured any of them — they did "cut" him; and, when Tag-rag observed it, his miserable mind was unspeakably gratified with what they had done : and he spoke to all of them with unusual blandness ; to the sinner, Titmouse, with augmented bit- terness and sternness. CHAPTEE IV. QUIEE, aAMMON, AND SNAP, AHD MB TITMOUSE; WHO ASTONISHES THEM. WITH A TASTE OP HIS QUAEITY. A TEW minutes after ten o'clock that pight, a gentle ringing at the bell of Messrs Quii:k, Gammon, and Snap's office, announced the arrival of poor Titmouse. The door was quickly open- ed by a very fashionably dressed clerk, who seemed in the act of quitting for the night. "Ah— Mr Titmouse, I presume?" he inquired, with a kind of deference in his manner to which Titmouse had never been accustomed. "The same, sir — Tittlebat Tit- mouse." " Oh ! allow me, sir, to show you in to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap ; I know they're expecting to se^ yon. It's not often they're here so late! Walk in, sir " With this he led the way to an inner room, and open- ing a green-baize door in the further siae of it, announced and showed in\ Mr Titmouse, and left him^-sufficiently flustered. Three gentlemen were sit- ting at a large table, on which he saw, by the strong but circumscribed light of two shaded candlesticks, were lying a great number of papers and parch- ments. The three gentlemen rose when: he entered,. Mr Quirk and Mr Snap involuntarily starting on first catching sight of the figure of Tit- mouse : Mr Gammon came and shook hands with him. " Mr Titmouse," said he, with a very polite air, " let rne introduce you to Mi Quirk" — (This was the senior partner, a short, stout ejdei3y gentleman, dress- ed in black, with ashining, bald crown fringed with white hair, and sharp black eyes, and, who looked very ear- nestly, nay, with even a kind of dis* may,, at Imri)— " and Mr Snap "—(This was the junior partner, having recently been promoted to be such after ten years' service in the office, as manag- ing, clerk! he was about thirty, parti- cularly well dressed,, slight, active, and with a face like a terrier — 80 hard, sharp,, and wiry!) Of Mr Gammon himself, I have already given the reader a slight notion. He appeared altoge- ther a differe(nt style 'of person from both his partners, He was of most gentlemanly persoa andbearfng — and at once acute, cautious, ajid insinuat- ing — with a certain something about the eye, which had from the first made Titmouse' feel uneasy on looking at him, . . " Take a seat, sir," said Mr Quirk rising, and plkcing a chair for him, on which he sat down,, they resuming! theirs. 24 " Tou are punctual, Mr Titmouse ! " exclaimed Mr Gammon kindly; "more so than, I fear, you were yesterday, after our long interview, eh? Pray what did that worthy person, Mr Rag- bag — or whatever his name is — say on your return?" "Say, gents?" — (he tried to clear his throat, for he spoke somewhat more thickly, and his heart beat more per- ceptibly, than usual) — " Meaning no offence — I'm rjiined by it, and no mis- take ! Clean ruined, gents, I assure you!" " Buined ! I'm sorry to hear it," in- terposed Mr Gammon, with a con- cerned air, " I am ruined, sir, and it's no lie I'm telling you ! Such a towering rage as MrTag-raghas been in ever since! and he's given me warning to go on the 10th of next month.' He thought he observed a faint smile flit over the faces of all three, " He has, in- deed!" i^ Bless me, Mr Titmouse !^— Did he allege any reason for dismissing you? " keenhr inquired Mr Quirk, "les, sir" " What might it have been? " " Stopping out longer than I was allowed, and refusing to tell him what this gentleman and I had been talking about." "Don't think that'll do; sure it won't !" briskly exclaimed Mr Snap ; " no just cause of dismissal that," and he jumped up, whisked down a book from the shelves behind him, and eagerly turned over the leaves. "Never mind that now, Mr Snap," said Mr Quirk, rather petulantly; " surely we have other matters to talk about to-night 1 " "Asking pardon, sir, but I think it efofis matter to me, sir," interposed Titmouse; "for on the 10th of next month I'm a beggar — being next door to it wyia" " Not quite, we trust," said Mr Gam- mon, witji a benignant smile. " But Mr Tag-rag said he'd make me as good as one." " That's evidence to show malice," again eagerly interjected Mr Snap, who was a second time tartly rebuffed TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. by Mr Quirk ; even Mr Gammon turn- ing towards him with a surprised — "Eeally, MrSnap!" " So Mr Tag-rag said he'd make you a beggar!" inquired Mr Quirk, rub- bing his chin with his right hand, and evidently deep in thought. " He vowed he would, sir ! — He did, as true as the gospel, sir ! " "Ha, ha, ha! "^laughed Mr Quirk and Mr Gammon — but such a laugh! — not careless or hearty, but subdued, and with a dash of deference in it. "Well — it perhaps may not signify much, by that time ; " said Mr Quirk, and laughed again, followed by the soft laugh of Mr Gammon, and a kind of sharp quick sound, like a bark, &om Mr Snap. "But, gents, you'll excuse me if I say I think it does signify to me, and a'n't any laughing matter, by any means ! " quoth Titmouse earnestly, and colouring with anger. " Without being rude, I^ rather come to business, if there's any to be done, without so much laughing at one." " Laughing at you ! my dear sir,-4 no, no!" exclaimed all three in a breath — " laughing vMh you," said Mr Quirk! — "By the time you mention, you may perhaps be able to laugh at IHj Bag-bag, and everybody else, for " [—"No use mincing matters?" he whispered, in a low tone, to Mr Gam- mon, who nodded, but in apparently very reluctant acquiescence, and fixed his eyes earnestly on Titmouse.] _ "I really think we are warranted, sir, in preparing you to expect by that time — ^that is, you will understand,' sir, if our efforts are successful in your] behalf, and if you yield yourself implir citly _ in all things to our guidance — tluit is abaolviehi essential — a prospect — we say at present, you will ob- serve, only a prospect— of a surprising and splendid change in your circum- stances ! " Titmouse began to tremble violently, his. heart beat rapidly, and his hands were bedewed with a cold moistuVe. " I liear, gents," said he thickly ; and he also heard a faint ringing in TEN THOUSAND A-TEAfi. 25 " It's not impossible, sir, in plain English," continued Mr Quirk, himself growing a little excited with the im- portant communication which trem- bled on the tip of his tongue, " that you may at no distant time (if you really turn out to- be the person we are in search of) be put into posses- sion of an estate of somewhere about Ten Thousand a-year" The words seemed to have struck Titmouse blind — as he saw nothing for some moments; then everything appeared to be swimming around him, and he felt a sort of faintness or sick- ness stealing .over him. They had hardly been prepared for their com- munication's affecting their little visi- tor so powerfully. Mr Snap hastened out, and in again, with a glass of water ; and the earnest attentions of the three soon restored Mr Titmouse to his senses. It was a good while, however, before he could appreciate the little conversation which they now and then addressed to him, or esti- mate the full importance of the as- tounding intelligence which Mr Quirk had just communicated. " Beg pardon — but may I make free to ask for a little brandy and cold water, gents ? I feel all over in a kind of tremble," said he, some little time after- wards. " Yes — by aU means, Mr Titmouse," replied Mr Quirk — " Mr Snap, wiU you be kind enough to order Betty to bring in a glass of cold brandy-and-water from the Jolly Thieves, next door ? " — Snap shot out, gave the order, and retmned in a trice. The old woman in a few minutes' time followed, with a large tumbler of dark brandy-and- water, quite hot, for which Mr Gam- mon apologised, but Mr Titmouse said he preferred it so — and soon addressed himself to the inspiriting mixture. It quickly manifested its influence, re- assuring him wonderfully. As he sat sipping it, Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap being engaged in an earnest conversation, of which he could not comprehend a word, he had leisure to look about him, and observed that there was lying before them a large sheet of paper, at which they all of | them often and earnestly looked, filled with marks, i with writing at the ends of each of them, and round and square figures. When he saw them all bending over and scrutinising this mysterious ob- ject, it puzzled him (and many a better head than his has a pedigree puzzled before) sorely, and he began to suspect it was a sort of conjuring paper! — " I hope, gents, that paper's all right — eh?" said he, supported by the brandy, which he had nearly fin- ished. They turned towards him with a smile of momentary surprise, and then — " We hope so— a vast deal depends on it," said Mr Quirk, looking over his glasses at Titmouse. Now what he had hinted at, as far as he could venture to do so, was a thought that glanced across his as yet unsettled brain, that there might nave been in- voked more than mere eairtWiy assist- ance; but he prudently pressed the matter no further — that was all Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's look-out ; he had been no party to anything of the sort, nor would he knowingly. He also observed the same sheets of paper, written all over, which Mr Gammon had filled up at his (Titmouse's) room, the night before; and several new, and old-looking, papers and parch- ments. Sometimes they addressed questions to him, but found it some- what difficult to keep his attention up to anything that was said to him, for the wild visions which were chasing one another through his heated brain ; the passage of which said visions was not a little accelerated by the large tumbler of brandy-and-water which he had just taken. '^Then, in point of fact," said Mr Quirk, as Messrs Gammon and Snftp simultan'eously sat down, after having been for some time standing poring over the paper before Mr Quirk. "This TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. Tittlebat Titmouse's title is clear from that point. That's it — eh, Gam- mon?" "Precisely so," said Mr Gammon calmly. "To be sure," confidently added Snap ; who, having devoted himself exclusively all his life to the very sharpest practice of the criminal law, knew about as much of real property law as a snipe — ^but it would not have done to appear ignorant, or taking no part in the matter, in the presence of thp heir-at-law, and the future great \ client of the House. ' "Well, Mr Titmouse," at length said Mr Quirk with a sort of grunt, laying aside his glasses:^— " ilyott turn out to be the Titmouse we have been speaking of, you are likely, through our immense exertions, to become one of the luckiest men that ever lived ! "We may be mistaken, but it appears to us that we shall by-and-by be able to put you into possession of a very fine estate in Yorkshire, worth some £10,000 or £12,000 Oryeai at the least!" "You — don't— say — so!" exclaimed Titmouse,, elevating his hands and opening his eyes with amazement — "Oh, gents, I do believe we're all dreaming! Is it all true, indeed?" "It is, Mr Titmouse — smd we are •very proud and happy indeed to be the honoured instruments of estab- lishing your rights, my dear sir," said Mr Gammon, in a. most impressive manner. "Then all the money that's been spent this ten or twelve years has been my money, has it?" "If we are right, it is undoubtedly as you say," answered Mr Quirk, giv- ing a quick apprehensive glance at Mr Gammon. , " Then there'll be a jolly reckoning for some one, shortly — eh? My stars! I hope he can cash up ! " " My dear Mr Titmouse," said Mr Gammon, gi-avely, "you have no more than a j»st regard for your own in- terests. There will be a reckoning, and a very terrible one, ere long, for somebody— but we've a vast deal to go through, and a great sum of money must be spent, before we come to dis- cus's that matter ! Only let us hav6 the unspeakable hapjHness of seeing you once fairly in possession of your estates, and our office shall know no rest till you have got all you may be entitled to, even to the uttermost far- thing!" "Oh, never fear our letting them rest!" said Mr Quirk, judiciously ao^ commodating himself to the taste and apprehension of his excited auditor—^ " Those that must give up the goose, must give up the giblets also— ha, ha, ha ! " Messrs Gammon and Snap echoed the laugh — but how different- ly ! — duly tickled with the joke of the head of the firm. "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Mr Tit- mouse, immensely excited by the con- joint influence of the brandy, and the news of the night; "capital! capital! huirah ! Such goings on there will be! You're all of the right sort, gent^ I see! 'Pon my life, law for ever! There's nothing Uke it ! Let's all shake hands, gents! Come, if you please, all together! all friends to- night ! " And the excited little fellow grasped each of the three readiJy-prof- fered right hands of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, with an energy that was likely to make all the high contracting parties to that quadruple alliance remember its ratification. " And is it all a ready-money affair^ gents?— Or remt, and all tAotkind of thing?" he inquired, after many elo> quent expressions of delight. " Why, almost entirely the latter," answered Mr Quirk, "except the ac- cumulations." " Thenj 'pon my soul— I'm a great landlord, ami?" " Indeed, my dear Mr Titmouse, you are^(that is, unless we have made a blunder such as — I will say — our house is not often in the habit of making)— and have two very fine houses, one in town and the other in the country." "CM)ital! delightful! I'll live in both of them— we'll have such goings on! — And is it — poz — quite up to the mark of £10,000 a-year?" " We really entertain no doubt ai present that it is " TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 27 " And such as that I can spend all of it, every year ? " "Certainly — ^no doubt of it — ^not the least. TJie rents are paid with most exemplary punctuality — at least," added Hr Gamijion, with a captivat- ing, an irresistible smile, and placing his band affectionately on his shoulder — " at least they witt be, as soon as we have them fairly in ^she almost sobbed — " you'd been so — so — why, I'd have waited till to- morrow night before I'd said a word. But, Mr Titmouse, since you haven't had any dinner, won't you have a mouthful of something — a bit of bread and cheese ? — ^I'll soon fetch you up a bit, and a drop of beer — we've just had it in for our suppers." "No, thank you — I can't — ^I can't eat ! " sobbed Titmouse, "Oh, bother it, but you shcMI I'll go down and fetch it up in half a minute, as sure as my name's Squal- lop ! " And out of the room and down stairs she bustled, glad of a moment to recover herself. " Lord-ameroy ! " said she, on en- tering her room, to her eldest daughter and a neighbour who had just come in to supper — and while she hastily cut a thick htmch of bread, and a good slice of cheese — " there I've been ae- rating that poor little chap, up at the top room (my dandy lodger, you know), like anything — and I really don't think he s had a morsel of vic- tuals in his belly this precious day ; and I've made him cry, poor soul ! as if his heart would break. Four us out half a pint of that beer, Sally — a good half pint, mind ! — I'm going to take it up-stairs directly. I've gone a deal too far with him, I do think ; but it's all of that nasty old Gripe ; I've been wrong all the day through it ' How I hate the sight of old Gripe What Ao&'cms-looking people they do get to collect the rates and taxes, to be sure ! — Poor chap," she continued, as she wiped out a plate with her apron, and put into it the bread and cheese, together with a knife — "he offered me a chair when I went in, so uncommon civil-like, it took a good while before I could get myself into the humour to giveit him as I wanted. And he's no father nor mother (half of which has happened to you, Sij, and the rest will happen one of these days, you know — so you mind me while you have me !) and he's not such a very bad lodger, after all, though he does get a little behind- hand now and then, and though he turns out every Sunday like a lord, poor fool — as your poor dear father used to say, 'with a shining back and empty belly.'" " But that's no reason why honest people should be kept cut of their own, to feed his pride, interposed her neighbour, a skinny old widow, who had never had chick nor child, and was always behind -hand with her own rent ; but whose effects were not worth distraining upon. " I'd get hold of some of his fine crincum-crancums and gimcracks, for security like, if I was you. I would, indeed." "why — no, poor soul — I don't hardly like : he's a vain creature, and puts everything he can on his back, to be sure ; but he a'n't quite a rogm, neither." " Ah, ha, Mrs Squallop — you're such a simple soul ! — Won't my fine- gentleman make off with his finery after to-night?" "Well, I shouldn't have thought it! To be sure he may! Eeally, there can't be much harm in asking him (in a proper kind of way) to deposit one of his fine things with me, by way of security — that ring of his, you know — eh?— Well, I'll try it anyhow," said. Mrs Squallop, as she set off up-stairs. " I know what / should do, if so be he was a lodger of mim, that's all," said her visitor significantly (as Mrs Squallop quitted the room), vexed to find her supper so considerably and unexpectedly diminished, especially as to the pot of porter, which she strongly suspected would not be re- plenished. " There," said Mrs Squallop, setting down on the table what she had brought for Titmouse, " there's a bit of supper for you; and you're wel- come to it, I'm sure, Mr Titmouse." "Thank you, thank you — I can't eat," said he, casting, however, upon the victuals a hungry eye, which bfe- lied what he said, while in his heart ho TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. longed to be left alone with them for about three minutes. "Come, don't be ashamed — fall to ■work — ^it's good wholesome victuals," said she, lifting the table near to the edge of the bed, on the side of which he was sitting, and taking up the two shillings lying on the table — "and capital good beer, I warrant me ; you'll sleep like a top after it." "Tou're uncommon kind, Mrs Squal- lop ; but I sha'n't get a wink of sleep to-night for thinking" " Oh, bother your thinking ! Let me begin to see you eat a bit. Well, I suppose you don't like to eat and drink before me, so I'll go." [Here arose a sudden conflict in the good woman's mind, whether or not she would act on the suggestion which had been put into her head down stairs. She was on the point of yielding to the impulse of her own good-natured, though coarse feelings ; but at last — ] " I — I — daresay, Mr Titlriouse, you mean what's right and straightfor- ward," she stammered. - " Yes, Mrs Squallop — you may keep those two shillings ; they're the last farthing I have left in the whole world." " No — ^hem ! — hem ! — ahem ! I was just suddenly a-thinking — now can't you guess, Mr Titmouse ?" "What, Mrs Squallop?" inquired Titmouse, meekly but anxiously. "Why — suppose now — if it were Only to raise ten shillings with old Balls, round the corner, on one of those fine things of yours — ^your ring, say ! " [Titmouse's heart sank within him.] "Well, well — never mind — don't fear," said Mrs Squallop, observ- ing him suddenly turn pale again. " I — I only thought — ^but never mind ! it don't signify — good-night ! we can talk about that to-morrow — good-night — a good night's rest to you, Mr Tit- mouse ! " and the next moment he heard her heavy step descending the Stairs. Some little time elapsed before he could recover from the agitation into which he had been thrown by her last proposal ; but within five minutes of her quitting the room, there stood before him, on the table, an empty plate and jug. "The beast! the fat old toad!" thought he, the instant that he had finished masticating what had been supplied to him by real charity and good-nature — "the vulgar wretch! — the nasty canting old hypocrite ! — I saw what she was driving at all the while ! — she had her eye on my ring ! — She'd have me pawn it at old Balls's — ^ha, ha! — Catch me! that's all — Seven shillings a-week for this nasty hole ! — ^I'll be bound I pay nearly half the rent of the whole house — the old cormorant ! — out of what she gets from me ! How I hate her ! More than half my salary goes into her greasy pocket ! Cuss me if I couldn't have kicked her down stairs — porter, bread and cheese, and all — while she was standing canting there ! — A snivelling old beldam! — Pawn my ring!! — . Lord ! ! " — Here he began to undress. " Ha ! I'm up to her ; she'll be com- ing here to-morrow, with that devil Thumbscrew, to distrain, I'll be sworn. Well — I'll take care of these, anyhow;" and, kneeling down and unlocking his trunk, he took out of it his guard- chain, breast-pin, studs, and ring, care- fully folded them up in paper, and de- positing them in his trousers' pockets, resolved that henceforth their nightly resting-j)lace should be — under his pil- low; while during the day they should accompany his person whithersoever he went. Next he bethought himself of the two or three important papers to which Mr Gammon had referred ; and, with tremulous eagerness, read them over once or twice, but without being able to extract from them the slightest clue to their real character and bearing. These he folded up in a half sheet of writing-paper, and pro- ceeded to stitch them carefully be- neath the lining of his waistcoat ; after which he blew out his slim candle, and with a heavy sigh got into bed. yoL. I. 66 TEN THOUSAOT) A-YEAK, CHAPTER VIII. A Tisias OF BEAUTI DNSEEN BY MK TITMOUaE j WHO IS IN THE MIDNlOnT OP DESPAIE, AND WBITES A LETTEK WHIok STARTLES MK QUIRK. For some moments after Titmouse had blown out the candle the image of it remained on his aching and ex- cited retina ; and just so long did the thoughts of ten thousand a-year dwell on his fancy, fading, however, quickly away amid the thickening gloom of doubts, and fears, and miseries, which oppressed him. There he lies, stretch- ed on his bed, a wretched figure, lying on his breast, his head buried beneath his feverish arms. Anon, he turns round upon his back, stretches his wearied limbs to their uttermost, folds his arms on his breast, then buries them beneath the pillow, under his head. Now he turns on his right side, then on his left — ^presently he starts up, and with muttered curse shakes his little pillow, flinging it down angrily. He cannot sleep — he cannot rest — ^he cannot keep still. Bursting with irritability, he gets out of bed, and steps to the window, which open- ing wide, a slight gush of fresh air cools his hot face for a moment or two. His wearied eye looks upward and beholds the moon shining overhead in cold splendour, turning the clouds to gold as they flit past her, and shed- ding a softened lustre upon the tiled roofs and irregular chimney-pots — the only objects visible to him. No sound is heard, but occasionally the dismal cry of disappointed cat, tiie querulous voice of the watchman, and the echo of the rumbling hubbub of Oxford Street. miserable Titmouse ! of what avail is it for thee thus to fix thy sorrowful lack-lustre eye upon the cold Queen of Night ! At that moment there happened to be also gazing at the same glorious object, but at som"e two hundred miles' distance from London, a very different person, with very different feelings, and in very different circumstances. It was one of the angels of the earth — a pure-hearted and very beautiful girl ; who, after a day of peaceftd, in- nocent, and charitable employment, and having just quitted the piano^ where her exquisite strains had sooth- ed and delighted the feelings of her brother, harassed with political anx- ieties, had retired to her chamber for the night. A few moments before she was presented to the reader, she had extinguished her taper, and dismissed her maid without her having dis- charged more than half her accus- tomed duties — telling her that she should finish undressing by the light of the moon, which then poured her soft radiance into every corner of the spacious but old-fashioned chamber. Then she drew her chair to the win- dow-recess, and pushing open the window, sate before it, only partially undressed as she was, her hair di- shevelled, her head leaning on her hand, gazing upon the scenery before her with tranquil admiration. Silence reigned absolutely. Not a sound is- sued from the ancient groves, which spread far and wide on all sides of the fine old mansion in which she dwelt — solemn solitudes, nor yet less soothing than solenm ! Was pot the solitude enhanced by a glimpse she caught of a restless fawn, glancing in the dis- tance across the avenue, as he silently changed the tree under which he slept? TEN THOUSAOT) A^YEAB. 67 .—Then the gentle breeze would enter her window, laden with sweet scents of which 'he had just been rifling the coy flowers beneath, in their dewy- repose, tended and petted during the day by her own delicate hand ! — Beautiful moon ! — cold and chaste in thy skyey palace, studded with bril- liant and innumerable gems, and shed- ding down thy rich and tender radi- ance upon this lovely seclusion — was there upon the whole earth a more exquisite countenance then turned to- wards thee than hers? — Wrap thy white robe, dearest Kate, closer round thy fair bosom, lest the amorous night- breeze do thee hurt, for he groweth f'lddy with the sight of thy charms ! by rich tresses, half uncurled, are growing damp — so it is time that thy blue eyes should seek repose. Hie thee, then, my love ! — to yon antique couch, with its quaint carvings and Batin draperies dimly visible in the dusky shade, inviting thee to sleep : and having first bent in cheerful reverence before thy Maker — to bed ! — to bed ! — sweet Kate, nothing dis- turbing thy serene slumbers, or agi- tating that beautiful bosom. — Hush!. hush ! — now she sleeps ! It is well that thine eyes are closed in Sleep ; for BEHOLD — see! — the brightness with- out is disappearing; sadness and gloom are settling on the face of nature ; the tranquil night is changing her aspect ; clouds are gathering, winds are moan- ing; the moon is gone: — but sleep on, sweet K&te — sleep on, dreaming not of dark days before thee — Oh, that thou couldst sleep on till the brightness returned ! After having stood thus leaning against the window for nearly half an hour, Titmouse, heavily sighing, re- turned to bed — but there he tossed about in wretched restlessness till nearly four o'clock in the morning. If he now and then sank into forget- fulness for a while, it was only to be harassed by the dreadful image of Mrs Squallop, shouting at him, tearing his hair, cuffing him, flinging a pot of porter in his face, opening his boxes, tossing his clothes about, taking out I his invaluable ornaments ; by Tag-rag kicking him out of the shop ; and Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap dashing past him in' a fine carriage, with six horses, and paying no atten- tion to him as he ran shouting and breathless after them ; Huckaback fol- lowing, kicking and pinching him be- hind. These were the few little bits of different coloured glass in a mental kaleidoscope, which, turned capricious- ly round, produced those innumer- able fantastic combinations out of the simple and ordinary events of the day, which we call drea/ms — ^tricks of the wild sisters Fancy, when sober Reason has left her seat for a while. But this is fitter for the Royal Society than the bedroom of Tittlebat Tit- mouse ; and I beg the reader's pardon. About six o'clock. Titmouse rose and dressed himself; and, slipping noiselessly and swiftly down stairs, and out of the court, in order to avoid all possibility of encountering his land- lady or his tailor, soon found himself in Oxford Street, Not many people were stirring there. One or two men who passed him were smoking their morning's pipe, with a half-awakened air, as if they had only just got out of a snug bed, in which they always slept every moment that they lay upon it. Titmouse almost envied them! What a squalid figure he looked, as he paced up and down, till at length he saw the porter of Messrs Tag-rag & Co. opening the shop-door. He soon entered it, and commenced another jocund day in that delightful establishment. The amiable Mr Tag- rag continued unaltered. "You're at liberty to take yourself off, sir, this very day — ^this moment, sir; and a good riddance," said he, bitterly, during the course of the day, after demanding of Titmouse how he dared to give himself such sullen airs; "and then we shall see how charming easy it is for gents likeyou to get another sitiwation, sir I Your looks and manner is quite a recom- mendation, sir ! If I was you, sir, I'd raise ray terms ! You're worth double what I give, sir ! " Titmouse made no reply. " What do you mean, sir, 68 I'EN TflOTJSAND A-TBAK. by not answering me — eh, sir?" sud- denly demanded Mr Tag-rag, with a look of fury. " I don't know what you'd have me say, sir. What am I to say, sir?" inquired Titmouse, with a sigh. "What, indeed! I should like to catch you ! Say, indeed ! Only say a word — and out you go, neck and crop. Attend to that old lady com- ing in, sir. And mind, sir, I ve got my eye on you!" Titmouse did as he was hid ; and Tag-rag, a bland smile suddenly beaming on his attractive features, hurried down towards the door, to receive some lady-customers, -whoin he observed alighting from a carriage; and at that moment you ■would have sworn that he was one of ihe'kindest-hearted sweetest-tempered men in the world. When at length this day had come to a close, Titmouse, instead of repair- ing to his lodgings, set off, with a heavy heart, to pay a visit to his ex- cellent friend Huckaback, whom he knew to have received his quarter's salary the day before, and from whom Tie faintly hoped to succeed in extort- ing some trifling loan. " If you want to learn the value of money, try to bor- row some," says Poor Hichard — and Titmouse was now going to learn that useful but bitter lesson. Oh, how disheartening was Mr Huckaback's reception of him ! That gentleman, in answering the modest knock of Titmouse, suspecting who was his visitor, opened the door but a little way, and in that little way, with his hand on the latch, he stood, with a , plainly repulsive look. " Oh ! it's you, Titmouse, is it?" he commenced, coldly. "Yes. I — I just want to speak a word to you — only a word or two, Hucky, if you aren't busy ? " " Why, I was just going to go — but what d'ye want. Titmouse?" he in- quired, in a freezing manner, not stir- ring from ^here he stood. "Let me come inside a minute," implored Titmouse, feeling as if his little heart were really dropping out of him: and, in a most ungracious manner, Huckaback motioned him in. " Well," commenced Huckaback^ with a chilling distrustful look. " Why, Huck, I know you're a good- natured chap — you ondMt, just for a short time, lend me ten shill" " No, curse me if I can : and that's flat ! " briskly interrupted Huckaback, findinghis worst suspicions confirmed. "Why, Hucky, wasn't you only yesterday paid your salary ? " "Well! — suppose I was? — what then ? You're a monstrous cool hand, Titmouse ! I never ! ! So I'm to lend to you, when I'm starving myself! I'-v/e received such a lot, too, haven't I!" " I thought we'd always been friends, Hucky," said Titmouse faintly ; " and so we shouldn't mind helping one another a bit ! Don't you remember, I once lent you half-a-crown ? " "Haifa-crown! — and that's nine months ago ! " " Do, Hucky, do lend me a few shil- lings. 'Pou my soul, I've not a six- pence in the whole world." " Ha, ha ! A pretty chapto borrow ! You can pay so well! By George, Titmouse, you're a cool hand ! " "If you won't lend me, I must starve. "Go to my imde's." [Titmouse groaned aloud.] "Well — and why not? Whatofthat?"continuedHucka- back, sharply and bitterly. "I dare- say it wouldn't be the first time you've done such a trick no more than me. I've been obligated to do it. Why shouldn't you? A'n't there that ring?" "Oh, Lord! oh. Lord! that's just what Mrs Squallop said last night ! " " Whew! me's down on you, is she! And you have the face to come to me ! ! Tou — that's argoing to be sold up, come to borrow ! Lord, that's good; any how ! A queer use that to make of one's fMends ;— it's a taking them in, I say!" " Oh, Huck, Huck, if you only knew what a poor devil" "Yes, that's what I was a-saying; but it a'n't 'poor devils' one lends money to so easily, I warrant me; though you a'nH such a poor devil you're onl^ shamming ! Where's your guard-chain, your studs, your breast. TEN THODSAND A-TEAE; 69 pin, your ring, and all that ? Sell 'em ! if not, anyhow, pawn 'em. Can't eat your cake and have it ; fine back must have empty belly with us sort of chaps." " If you'll only he so uncommon kind as to lend me — this once — ten shillings," continued Titmouse in an imploring tone, " I'll bind myself, by a solemn oath, to pay you the very first moment I get what's due to me from Tag-rag & Co." Here he was almost choked by the sudden recollec- tion that he had next to nothing to re- 6eive. "You've some property in the Mooir, too, that's coming to yon, you know ! " said Huckaback with an insulting sneer. "I know what you're driving at," said poor Titmouse ; and he continued eagerly, " and if anything should ever come up from Messrs Quirk, Gam " " Yough ! Faugh ! Pish ! Stuff 1 " burst out Huckaback, in a tone of contempt and disgust ; " newer thought there 'Was anything in it, and now know it ! it's all my eye, and all that ! You've been only humbugging me all this while!" ' "Oh, Hucky, Huoky ! You don't say so ! " groaned Titmouse, bursting into tears ; " you did not always say so." " It's enough that I say it now, then ; will that do? interrupted Huckaback, impetuously. "Oh, Lord, Lord! what is to become of me ? " cried Titmouse^ with a face full of anguish, [At this moment, the following was the course of thought passing through the mind of Mr Huckaback: — ^It is not certain that nothing will come of the fellow's affair with Messrs Quirk, Gam- mon, and Snap. It was hardly likely that they would have gone as far as Titmouse represented (lawyers as they were), unless they had seen very sub- .stantial grounds for doing so. Besides, even though Titmouse might not get ten thousand a-year, he might yet suc- ceed in obtaining a very splendid sum of money: and if he (Huckaback) could but get a little slice out of it. Titmouse was now nearly desperate, and would promise anything ; and if he could but be wheedled in to giving anything in writing— Well, thought Huckaback, I'll try it, however !] "Ah, Titmouse, you're civil enough iu)w, and would promise anything," said Huckaback, appearing to hesitate ; "but supposing I were to do what you warjt, when you got your money you'd forget everything about it " "Forget my promise! Dear Hucky! only try me— -do try me but once, that's all ! 'Pen my precious life, ten shillings is worth more to me now than a hun- dred pounds may be by-and-by. "Ay, so you say now; but d'ye mean to tell me, that in case I was now to advance you ten shillings out of my small salary," continued Huckaback, apparently carelessly, " you'd, for in- stance, pay me a hundred pounds out of your thousands ? " " Oh, Lord ! only you try me — do try me ! " said Titmouse, eagerly. "Oh, I daresay I " interrupted Hucka- back, smiling incredulously, and chink- ing some money in his trousers'pocket. Titmouse heard it, and (as the phrase is) his teeth watered ; and he immedi- ately swore such a tremendous oath as I dare not set down in writing, that if Huckaback would that evening lend him ten shillings. Titmouse would give . him one hundred pounds out of the very first monies he got from the estate. " Ten shillings is a slapping slice out of my little salary — I shall have, by George, to go without lots of things I d intended getting; it's really worth ten pounds to me, just now." "Why, dear Hucky! 'pon my life, 'tis worth a hundred to me 1 Mrs Squallop will sell me out, bag and bag- gage, if I don't give her something to- morrow ! " " "Well, if I really thought— hem ! — would you mind giving me, now, a bit of black and white for it— just (as one might ,say) to show you was in earnest?" "I'll do anything you like; only let me feel the ten shillings inmyfingers ! '' " Well, no sooner said than done, if you're a man of your word," said Huckaback, in a trice producing a bit of paper, and a pen and ink. " So, 70 onlyjast forthefiinofit; but— Lord! what stuff! — ^I'm only bargaining for a hundred pounds of moonshine. Ha, ha! I shall never see the colour of your money, not I ; so I may as well say two hundred when I'm about it, as one hundred " " Why, hem ! Two hundred, Huck, is rather a large figure ; one hundred's odds enough, I'm sure ! " quoth Tit- mouse meekly. " P'r'aps, Tit, you forget the UeUng you gaye me the other day," said Huckaback with sudden sternness. " Suppose I was to go to an attorney, and get the law of you, what a sight of damages I should have — three hun- dred pounds at least ! " Titmouse appeared even yet hesitat- ing. " Well, then ! " said Huckaback, flinging down his pen, " suppose 1 have them damages yet "— — " Come, come, Hucky, 'tis all past and gone, all that " "fi it? Well, I never! I shall never he again the same man I was before that 'ere licking. I've a sort of a — a — of a— feeling inside, as if— my breast was — I shall carry it to my grave — curse me if I shan't ! " [It never once occurred to Titmouse, not having his friend Mr Gammon at his elbow, tha.t the plaintiff in the ac- tion of Suckaiack v. Nmoine might have been slightly at a loss for a wit- ness of the assault ; but something quite as good in its way — a hea- ven-sent suggestion — did occur to him.] "Ah," said Titmouse suddenly, " that's true ; and uncommon sorry am I ; but still, a hundred pounds is a hundred pounds, and a large sum for the use of ten shillings, and a lick- ing; but never you think it's all moon- shine, about my business with Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap ! I~ didn't intend to have said a v^ord — ^but — ^you should only have heard what I've heard to-day from those gents ; hem ! but I won t split again either! " he added, mysteriously. . " Eh ? What ? Heard from those vgents at Saffron Hill?" interrupted Buckaback briskly; "come, Titty, out TEN THOUSAND A-YBAE. with it — out with it; no secrets be* tween fiiends. Titty ! " "No, I'll be hanged if I do-^I won't spoil it all again ; and now, since I've let out as much, which I didn't mean to do, I'll teU you something else — ten shillings is no use to me, I must have a pound." "Titty, Titty!" exclaimed Hucka- back, with unaffected concern. " And won't give more than fifty for it when I get my property either " [Huckaback whistled aloud, and with a significant air buttoned up the pocket which contained the money;' intimating that now the negotiation was all at an end, for that Titmouse's, new terms were quite out of the ques- tion ;] "for I know where I can get' twenty pounds easily, only I liked to, come to a friend first." " You aren't behaving much like a friend to one as has always been a fast Mend of yours. Titty ! A pound I — I haven't got it to part vnth, that's flat; so, if that's really your lowest figure, i why, you must even go to your other friend, and leave poor Hucky ! " " Well, I don't mind saying only ten shillings,"quoth Titmouse, fearingthat he had been going on rather too fast. "Ah, that's something reasonable- like. Titty ! and to meet you like a friend, I'll take fifty pounds instead of a hundred ; but you won't object now to — you know — a deposit ; that ring of yours — well, well ! it don't signifji-, since it goes against you : so now, here goes, a bit of jpaper for ten shillings, ha, ha ! " and taking a pen, after a pause, in which he called to mind as much of the phraseology of money se- curities as he could, he drew up the following stringent document,, which I give verhalim et literatim : — "Know all Men That yoii are Bound to Mr M. Biiekaback Promising the Bearer ^on Demand) To Pay Fifty Pounds in cash out of the estate, tf you Get it. (Value received.) "(Witness), 22d July X8— . " B. HnCKABACK." "There, Titty— if you're an honest man, and would do as you would be done by," said Huckaback, after sign- ing his own name as above, handing TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 71 the pen to Titmouse, " sign that ; just to show your honour, like — ^for, in course — ^bating the ten shillings I've lent you — I sha'n't ever come on you for the money — get as much as you may." A blessed thought occurred to poor Titmouse in his extremity, viz. that there was no stamp on the above in- strument (and he had never seen a promissory-note or bill of exchange without one) ; and he signed it in- stantly, with many fervent expres- sions of gratitude. Huckaback receiv- ed the valuable security with apparent- ly a careless air ; and after cramming it into his pocket, as if it had been in reality only a bit of waste paper, count- ed out ten shillings into the eager hand of Titmouse ; who, having thus most unexpectedly succeeded in his mission, soon afterwards departed — each of this pair of worthies fancying that he had succeeded in cheating the other. Hucka^ back, having very cordially shaken Tit- mouse by the hand, heartily damned him upon shutting the door on him ; ■and then anxiously perused and re- perused his " security," wondering whether it was possible for Titmouse at any time thereafter to evade it, and considering by what means he could acquaint himself with the progress of Titmouse's affairs. The latter gentle- man, as he hurried homeward, dwelt for a long while upon only one thought • — how fortunate was the omission of his friend to have a stamp upon his security ! When and where, thought he, was it that he had heard that nothing would do without a stamp? However, he had got the ten shillings safe ; and Huckaback might wait for his fifty pounds till — but in the mean- while he. Titmouse, seemed to stand a fair chance of going to the dogs; the ten shillings, which he had just obtained with so much difficulty, were to find their way immediately into the pockets of his landlady, whom it might pacify for a day or two, and to what quarter was he now to look for the smallest assistance? What was to be- come of him? Titmouse was a miser- able fool; but thoughts such as these, in such circumstances as his, would have forced themselves into the mind of even a fool ! How could he avoid — oh, horrid thought ! — soon parting with, or at least pawning, his ring and his other precious trinkets ? He burst into a perspiration at the mere thought of seeing them hanging ticketed for sale in the window of old Balls ! As he slowly ascended the stairs which led to his apartment, he felt as if he were following some unseen conductor to a dungeon. He was not aware that all this while, although he heard nothing from them, he occupied almost exclusively the thoughts of those distinguished prac- titioners in the law, Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap. They, in common with Huckaback, had an intense desire to share in his anticipated good fortune, and determined to do so according to their opportunities. The exoeflent Huckaback (a model of an usurer on a small scale) had promptly and adroit- ly seized hold of the very first oppor- tunity that presented itself, for secur- ing a little return hereafter for the ten shillings, with which he had so gener- ously parted when he could so ill af- ford it ; while Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap were racking their brains, and, from time to time, those of Messrs Mortmain and Frankpledge, to dis- cover some instrument strong and large enough to cut a fat slice for themselves out of the fortune they were endeavouring, for that purpose, to put within the r^ach of Mr Titmouse. A rule-of -three mode of stating the matter would be thus ; as the incon- venience of Huckaback's parting with his ten shillings and his waiver of damages for a very cruel assault, were to his contingent gain, hereafter, of fifty pounds ; so were Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's risk, exertions, outlay, and benefit conferred on Tit- mouse, to their contingent gain of ten thousand pounds. The principal point of difference between them was — as to the mode of securing their future re- compense ; in which it may have been observed by the attentive reader, with respect to the precipitancy of Hucka- back and the hesitating caution of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap,tha( 72 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAK. — "thusfooU" («.jf. Huckaback) "rusJt- ed in where aiigds " (i. e. Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap) "feared to tread." Let me not, however, for a moment, insinuate that both these parties were actuated by only one motive, i. e. to make a prey of this little monkey mil- Uonaire that was to be. 'Tis true that Huckaback appears to have driven rather a hard bargain with his distress- ed friend (and almost every one who, being similarly situated, has occasion for such services as Titmouse sought from Huckaback, will find himself called upon to pay, in one way or an- other, pretty nearly the same price for them ); but it was attended with one good effect ; — ^for the specific interest in Titmouse's future prosperity, ac- quired by Huckaback, quickened the latter gentleman's energies and shaiT- ened his wits in the service of his friend. But for this, indeed, it is probable that Mr Huckaback's door would have be- come as hopelessly closed against Tit- mouse as was that of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap. Some two or three nights after the little transac- tion between the two friends which I have been describing. Huckaback call- ed upon Titmouse, and, after greeting him rather cordially, told him that he had come to put him up to a trick upon the Saffron Hill people, that would tickle them into a little activity in his affairs. The trick was — the sending a letter to those gentlemen, calculated to — ^But why attempt to characterise it ? I have the original document ly- ing before me, which was sent by Tit- mouse the very next morning to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap ; and here follows a verbatim copy of it : — Ifo. 9 Clotet Cowrt, Oxford Street. " To Messrs Queek & Co. "Gents,— -Am Sorry to Trouble You, But Being Drove quite desperate at my Troubles (which have bro* me to my Last Penny a Week ago) and Mrs Squallop my Landlady wii distrain on Me only that There Is nothing to distrain on, Am Determined to Go Abroad in a Week's Time, and shall Never come Any More liack again with Great Grief w* Is What I now Write To tell You Of (Hoping you will please Take No notice of It) So Need give Yourselves No Further Concern with my Concerns Seeing The Estate is Not To Be Had and Am Sorry you Sh* Have Had so Much trouble with My Affairs wi> c* not Help. Sh« have Much liked The Thing, only it Was Not worth Stop- ping For, or Would, but Since It Was not God's Will be Done which it Witt. Havs raised a Trifle On my Future Prospects (w* am Certain There is Nothing In) from a Ihie Friend" [need it be guessed at whose instance > these words had found their way into the letter?] "w'' was certainly un- common inconvenient to That Person But He W do Any thing to Do me good As he says Am going to raise A Little More from a Gent That does Things of That Nature w"" will help me with Expense in Going Abroad (which place I Never mean to Eetum from). Have fixed for the 10th To Go on w* Day Shall Take leave Of Mr Tag-rag (who on my Return Shall be glad to See Buried or in the Work- house). Have wrote This letter Only to Save Y' Respectable Selves trouble w"" Trust You w* not have Taken, " And Remain, " Gents, " Y' humble Unworthy servantj "T. Titmouse. " P.S. — ^Hope you will Particularly Remember me to Mr Gamon. What is to become of me, know nothing, being so troubled. Am Humbly De- termined not to employ any Gents in This matter except y most Respect- able House, and sh« be most Truly Sorry to Go Abroad wh"" am redHly Often thinkiTig of in Earnest. (Unless something Speedily Turns Up, favour^ able, T. -T.— Slid like (By the way) to know if you sh* be so Disposed what y» resp» house w« take for my Chances Down {Ovt and out) In a Round Sum {Beady money) And hope if they Write It will be by Next Post or Shall be Gone Abroad." TEN THOUSAOT) A-YEAK. 73 CHAPTER IX. HOW GAMMON USED TO WIHD BOUND QtTtEK ; AND THE SUBTLE MEANS HE TOOK TO FIND OCT WHAT TITMOUSE WAS ABOUT. Old Mr Quirk, as soon as lie had finished the perusal of the foregoing skilful document, started, a little dis- turbed, from his seat, and bustled into Mr Gammon's room with Mr Tit- mouse's open letter in his hand. — " Gammon," said he, "just cast your eye over this, will you ? Eeally, we must look after Titmouse, or, by Jove ! lie'll be gone!" Mr Gammon took the letter rather eagerly, read delibe- rately through it, and then looked up at his fidgety partner, who stood anxiously eyeing him, and smiled. "Well, Gammon, I really think — eh? Don't you" " Upon my word, Mr Quirk, this nearly equals his last letter; and it also seems to have produced on you the effect desired by its gifted writer ! " " Well, Gammon, and what of that ? Because my heart don't happen to be quite a piece of flint, you're always " — " You might have been a far wealthier man than you are but for that soft heart of yours, Mr Quirk," said Gammon with a bland smile. (!) "I know I might. Gammon — I Jinow it. I thank my God I'm not so keen after business that I can't feel for this poor soul — ^really, his state's quite deplorable!" " Then, my dear sir, put your hand into your pocket at once, as I was sug- gesting last night, and allow him a weekly sum." "A — hem! hem! Gammon" — said Quirk, sitting down, thrusting his hands into his waistcoat pockets, and looking very earnestly at Gammon. "Well, then," replied that gentle- man, shrugging, his shoulders, in an- swer to the mute appeal — " write and say you won't — 'tis soon done, and so the matter ends." "Why, Gammon, you see, if he goes abroad," said Quirk, after a long pause — " we lose him for ever." " Pho ! — go' abroad ! He's too much for you, Mr Quirk — he is indeed, ha, ha!'' " You're fond of a laugh at my ex- pense. Gammon ; it's quite pleasant — you can't think how I like that { laugh of yours !" I " Ibeg your pardon, Mr Quirk — but you really misunderstand me ; I was laughing only at the absurd incon- sistency of the fellow : he's a most transparent little fool, and takes its for such. Go abroad ! Eidiculous pre- tence ! — ^In his precious postscript he undoes all — he says he is only often thinking of going — ^pshaw ! — That the wretch is in great distress, is very probable; but it must go hard with him before he either commits suicide or goes abroad, I warrant him : I've no fears on that score — but there is a point in the letter that may be worth consi- dering — I mean the fellow's hint about borrowing money on his prospects." " Yes, to be sure— the very thing^ that struck me." [Gammon faintly! smiled.] "I never thought much J about the other part of the letter — all stuff about going abroad — pho ! — But to be sure, if he's trying to raise money, he may get into keen hands. — ; Do you really think he has been try- ing on anything of the sort ? " " Oh no — of course it's only a little lie of his — or he must have found out some greater fool than himself, whicl\ 74 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. I had not supposed possible. But however that may be, I really think, Mr Quirk, it's high time that we should take some decided step." " Well, — ^yes, it may be," said Quirk slowly — "and I must say that Mort- main encouraged me a good deal the day before yesterday." "Well, and you know what Mr Frankpledge " " Oh, as to Frankpledge— hem ! " "What of Mr Frankpledge, Mr Quirk?" inquired Gammon, rather tartly. " There 1 there! — Always the way ' — ^but what does it . signify ? Come, come, Gammon, we know each other too well to quarrel ! — ^I don't mean anything disrespectful to Mr Frank- ' pledge, but when Mortmain has been one's conveyancer these twenty years, and never once — ^hem ! — ^but, however, he tells me that we are now standing on sure ground, or that he don't know what sure ground is, and sees no ob- jection to our even taking preliminary steps in the matter, which indeed 1 begin to think it high time to do ! — And as for securing ourselves in re- spect of any advances to Titmouse — he suggests our taking a bond, con- ditioned — say for the payment of £500 or iElOOO on demand, under cover of which one might advance him, you know, just such sums as, and when we pleased ; one could stop when one thought fit ; one could begin with three or four pounds a-week, and in- crease as his prospects improved — eh ! " "You know I've no objection to such an arrangement ; but consider, Mr Quirk, we must have patience ; it will take a long while to get our ver- dict, you know, and perhaps as long to seewre it afterwards ; and this horrid little wretch all the whUe on our hands ; what the deuce to do with him, I really don't know !" " Humph, humph !" grunted Quirk, looking very earnestly and imeasily at Gammon. " And what I chiefly fear is this, — suppose he should get dissatisfied with the amount of our advances, and, knowing the state and prospects of the cause, should then turn restive ? " " Ay, confound it. Gammon, all that should be looked to, shoeldn't it ?" in- terrupted Quirk, with an exceedingly chagrined air. " I always Uke to look a long way a^head ! " "To be sure," continued Gammon thoughtfully ; " by that time he may have got substantial iriends about him, whom he could persuade to become security to us for farther and past ad- vances." "Nay, now you name the thing. Gammon : it was what I was think- ing of only the other day : " he drop- ped his voice — "Isn't there one or two of our own clients, hem ! " " Why, certainly, there's old Fang; I don't think it impossible he might be induced to do a little usury — it's all he lives for, Mr Quirk ; and the security is good in reality, though per- haps not exactly marketable." " Nay ; but, on second thoughts, why not do it myself, if any tiling can be made of it ? " " That, however, will be for future consideration. In the meantime, we'd better send for Titmouse, and manage him a little more — discreetly, eh ? We did not exactly hit it oflF last time, did we, Mr Quirk ? " said Gammon, smil- ing rather sarcastically. " We must keep him at Tag-rag's, if the thiiig can be done for the present, at all events." "To be sure; he couldn't then come buzzing about us, like a gad-fly ; he'd drive us mad in a week, I m sure." " Oh, I'd rather give up everything than submit to it. It can't be difficult for us, I should think, to bind him to our own terms — to put a bridle in the ass's mouth? Let us say that we insist on his signing an undertaking to act implicitly according to our di- rections in everything." " Ay, to be sure ; on pain of our instantly turning^ him to the right- about. I fancy it will do now ! It was just what I was thinking of " "And, now, Mr Quirk," said Gam- mon, with as much of peremptoriness in his tone as he could venture upon to Mr Qukk, " you really must do me the favour to leave the management of this little wretch to me. You see, TEN THOUSAND A-TEAR. 75 he seems to have taken — ^Heaven save the mark ! — a fancy to me, poor fool ! • — and — and— it must be owned, -we miscarried sadly, the other night, on a certain grand occasion — eh?" Quirk shook his head dissentingly. " Well, then," continued Gammon, " upon one thing I am fixedly deter- mined ; one or the other of us shall undertake Titmouse, solely and singly. Pray, for Heaven's sake, tackle him yourself — a disagreeable duty ! You know, my dear sir, how invariably I leave everything of real importance ' and difficulty to your very superior tact and experience; 'but thi» little matter — pshaw I " ■ " Come, come, Garamon, that's a drop of sweet oil " Quirk might well say so, for he felt its softening, smoothing effects "Upon my word and honour, Mr Quirk, I'm in earnest. Pshaw ! — and you must know it. I know you too well, my dear sir, to attempt to " "Certainly," quoth Quirk, smiling shrewdly, " I must say, those must get up very early that can find Caleb ! Quirk napping. "-^i^ammon felt at that moment that for several jexishe must have Been a very early riser H And so the matter was arranged in the man- ner which Gammon had from the first wished and determined upon, i. e. that Mr Titmouse should be left entirely to his management ; and, ( after some Little discussion as to the time and manner of the meditated advances, the partners parted. On entering his own room, Quirk, closing his door, stood for some time leaning against the side of the window, with his hands in his pockets, and his eyes instinc- tively resting on his banker's book, ■which lay on the table. He was in a very brown study: the subject on which his thoughts were busied, being the prudence or imprudence of leaving Titmouse thus in the hands of Gam- mon. It might be all very well for Quirk to assert his self-confidence when in Gammon's presence ; but he did not really feel it. He never left Gammon after any little difference of opinion, however friendly, without a secret suspicion that somehow or another Gammon had been too much for him, and always gained his purposes, without giving Quirk any handle of dissatisfaction. In fact, Quirk wasJ thoroughly afraid of Gammon, and I Gammon knew it. In the present in- 1 stance, an undefinable but increasing suspicion and discomfort ^forced him presently back again into Gammon's room. "I SOT', Gammon, you understand, eh? — Miir play, you know," he com- menced, with a shy embarrassed air, HI concealed under a forced smile. " Pray, - Mr Quirk, what may be your meaning?" inquired Gammon with unusual tartness, with an as- tonished air, and blushing violently, which was not surprising; for, ever since Quirk had quitted him, Gam- mon's thoughts had been occupied with only one question, viz., how he should go to work with Titmouse to satisfy him that he (Gammon) was the only member of the firm that had a real disinterested regard for him, and so acquire a valuable control over him ! Thus occupied, the observation of Quirk had completely taken Gam- mon aback ; and he lost his presence of mind, of course in such case his temper quickly following. " Will you favour me, Mr Quirk, with an ex- planation of your extraordinarily abr surd'and offensive observation ? " said he, reddening more and more as he looked at Mr Quirk. "You're a queer hand. Gammon," replied Quirk, with almost an equally surprised and embarrassed air, for he could not resist a sort of conviction that Gammon had fathomed what had beenpassing in his mind. . " What did you mean, Mr Quirk, by your singular observation just now ?" said Gammon calmly, having recovered his presence of mind. "Mean? Why, that— we're hothl queer hands. Gammon, ha, ha, ha ! " an- 1 swered Quirk, with an anxious laugh, j " I shall leave Titmouse entirely — l enUrdy, Mr Quirk, in your hands ; I will have nothing henceforth what- ever to do with him. I am quite sick of him and his concerns already ; I 76 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. cannot bring myself to undertake such an affair, and that was what I was thinking of, — ^when " "Eh? indeed! Well, to be sure! Only think ! " said Quirk, dropping his voice, looking to see that the two doors were shut, and resuming the chair which he had lately quitted, "What do you think has been occurring to me m my own room, just now ? Whe- ther it would suit us better to throw this monkey overboard, put ourselves confidentially in communication with the party in possession, and tell him that — hem ! — ^for a — eh ? Tou under- stand? a con-si-de-ra/-tion — a suitable con-si-de-ra-tion ! " " Mr Quirk ! Heavens ! " Gammon was really amazed. " Well ? You needn't open your eyes so very wide, Mr Gammon — why shouldn't it be done ? You know we wouldn't be satisfied with a trifle, of course. But suppose he'd agree to buy our silence with four or five thou- sand pounds, really, it's well worth considering ! Upon my soul. Gammon, it is a hard thing on him when one makes the case one's own ! — no fault of his, and it is very hard for him to turn out, and for such a — eugh ! — such a wretch as Titmouse ; you'd feel it yourself. Gammon, if you were in his place, and I'm sure you'd think that four or five thous" "But is not Titmouse our Poor NEiaHBOCE? " said Gammon, with a sly smile. ' " Why, that's only one way of look- ing at it, Gammon ! Perhaps the man we are going to eject does a vast deal of good with the property ; certainly he bears a very high name in the county^and fancy Titmouse with ten ■thousand a-year ! " " Mr Quirk, Mr Quirk, it's not to be thought of for a moment — not for a moment," interrupted Gammon seri- ously, and even somewhat peremp- torily — " nothing should persuade me to be any party to such " At this moment Snap burst into the room with a heated appearance, and a chagrined air " Pitch V. Grub " he commenced, ireathlessly — . [This was a little pet action of poo# Snap's : it was for slander uttered by the defendant (an ostler) against the plaintiff (a waterman on a coach stand), charging the plaintiff with having the mange, on account of which a woman refused to marry him.] " Pitch V. Grub— just been tried at Guildhall. Witness bang up to the mark — words and special damage proved; slapping sj)eech from Ser- geant Shout. Verdict for plaintiff — but only one farthing damages ; and Lord Widdrington said, as the jury had given one farthing for damages, he would give him another for costs, and that would make a halfpenny ; on which the defendant's attorney ten- dered me — a halfpenny on the spotj Laughter in court — move for new trial first day of next term, and tip his lordship a rattler in the next Sunday's Flash I" " Mr Quirk," said Gammon sternly, " once for all, if this sort of low busi- ness is to go on, I'll leave the firm, come what will ! " [It flickered across his mind that Titmouse would be a capital client to start with on his own account.] " I protest our names will quite stink in the profession." " Good, Mr Gammon, good ! " inter- posed Snap, warmly ; " your little ac- tion for the usury penalties the other day came off so uncommon well ! the judge's compliment to you was so nice " " Let me tell you, Mr Snap," inter- rupted Gammon, reddening "Pho! Come! Can't be helped— fortune of the war," — interrupted the head of the firm, — " there's only one thing to be looked to, — Is Pitch sol- vent f — of course we've security for costs out of pocket — eh. Snap ?" Now the fact was, that poor Snap had picked up Pitch at one of the police offices, and, in his zeal for busi- ness, had undertaken his case on pure speculation, relying on the apparent strength of the plaintiff's case — ^Pitch being only a waterman attached to a coach stand. When, therefore, the -very ominous question of Mr Quirk met Snap's ear, he suddenly happened (at least, he chose to appear to think TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 77: go) to liear himself called for from the clerk's room, and bolted out of Mr Gammon's room rather uncere- moniously. " Snap wiU be the ruin of the firm, Mr Quirk," said Gammon, with an air of disgust. " But I really must get on with the brief I'm drawing : so, Mr Quirk we can talk about Titmouse to-morrow ! " The brief he was drawing up was for a defendant who was going to nonsuit the plaintiff (a man with a large family, who had kindly lent the defendant a considerable sum of money), solely because of the want of a stamp. Quirk dilfered in opinion with Gam- mon, and, as he resumed his seat at his desk, he could not help writing the' words, " Quirk and Snap," and think- ing how well such a firm would sound and work — for Snap was verily a chip of the old block ! There will probably never be want- ing those who will join in abusing and ridiculing attorneys and solicitors. Why? In almost every action at law, or suit in equity, or proceeding which may, or may not, lead to one, each client conceives a natural dislike for his opponent's attorney or solicitor. ^ the plaintiff siuxeeds, he hates the defendant's attorney for putting him (the said plaintiff) to so much ex- pense, and causing him so much vexa- tion and danger ; and, when he comes to settle with his own attorney, there is not a little heart-burning in looking at his bill of costs, however reasonable. If ilie plaintiff jfails, of course it is through the ignorance and unskilful- ness of his attorney or solicitor ! and he hates almost equally his own, and his opponent's attorney ! — Precisely so is it with a successful or unsuccess- ful defendadt. In fact, an attorney or solicitor is almost always obliged to be acting adversely to some one of whom he at once makes an enemy ; for an attorney's weapons must neces- sarily be peinted almost invariably at our pockets ! He is necessarily, also, called into action in cases when all the worst passions of our nature — our hatred and revenge, aiid our self- interest — are set in motion. Consider' the mischief which might be constant-' ly done on a grand scale in society, if the vast majority of attorneys and solicitors were not honourable and able men ! Conceive them, for a mo- ment, disposed everywhere to stir up litigation, by availing themselves of their perfect acquaintance with almost all men's circumstances — artfully in- flaming irritable and vindictive clients, kindling, instead of stifling, family dis- sensions, and fomenting public strife ; —why, were they to do only a hun- dredth part of what it is thus in theip power to do, our courts of justice would soon be doubled, together with: the numberof our judges, counsel, and attorneys ; new jails must be built to hold the ruined litigants — and the in- solvent court enlai-ged, and in con- stant session throughout the year. But not all of this body of honour* able and valuable men are entitled to this tribute of praise. There are a few QniKKS, several Gammons, and many Snaps, in the profession of the law — men whose characters anddoings often make fools visit the sins of in- dividuals upon the whole species ; nay, there are far worse, as 1 have heard — ^but I must return to my nar- rative. On Friday night, the 28th July 18—, the state of Mr Titmouse's affairs was this : he owed his landlady £1, 9s. ; his washerwoman, 6s. ; his tailor, £1, 8s. — in all, three guineas ; besides 10s. to Huckaback (for Tittlebat's no* tion was, that on repayment at any time of 10s., Huckaback would be bound to deliver up to him the docu- ment or voucher which he had given that gentleman), and a weekly accru- ing rent of 7s. to his landlady, besides some very small sums for coffee {alias chicory), tea, bread, and butter, &c. To meet these serious liabilities, he had literally — not one farthing. On returning to his lodgings that night, he found a line from Thumb- screw, his landlady's broker, inform- ing him that, unless by ten o'clock on the next morning his arrears of rent were paid, he'should distrain, and she would also give him notice to quit a|^ 78 TEN THOUSAND A -TEAR. the end of the week: that nothing could induce her to give him further time. He sat down in dismay on reading this threatening document; and, in sitting down, his eye fell on. a bit of paper lying on the floor, which must have been thrust under the door. From the marks on it, it Was evident that he must have trod upon it in en- tering. It proved to be a summons from the Court of Bequests, for £1, 8s. due to Job Coz, his tailor. He de- posited it mechanically on the table ; and for a minute he dared hardly breathe. This seemed something really like a crisis. After a silent agony of half an hour's duration, he rose trembling from his chair, blew out his candle, and, in a few minutes' time, might have been seen standing with a pale and troubled face before the window of old Balls, the pawnbroker, peer- ing through the suspended articles — watches, sugar-tongs, rings, brooches, spoons, pins, bracelets, knives, and forks, seals, chains, &c. — ^to see whe- ther any one else than old Balls were within. Having at length watched out a very pale and wretched-looking woman. Titmouse entered to. take her place ; and, after interchanging a few faltering words with the white-haired and hard-hearted old pawnbroker, pro- duced his guard-chain, his breast-pin, and his ring, and obtained three pounds two shillings and sixpence on the se- curity of them. With this sum he slunk out of the shop, and calling on Cox, his tailor, paid his trembling old creditor the full amount of his claim (£1, 8s.) together with 43., the ex- pense of the summons — simply asking for a receipt, without uttering another word, for he felt almost choked. In the same way he dealt with Mrs Squal- lop, his landlady — ^not uttering one word, in reply to her profuse and vol- uble apologies, but pressing his lips between his teeth till the blood came from them, while his little heart seemed splitting within him. Then he walked up-stairs, with a desperate air— having just eighteenpence in his pocket — cM his onrnmeniia, gone — his washerwoman yet unpaid — his rent going on — several other little matters unsettled; and the 10th of August approaching, when he expected to be dismissed peimiless from Mr Tag- rag's, and thrown on his own re- sources for subsistence. When he had regained his room, and, having shut the door, had reseated himself at his table, he felt for a moment as if he could have yelled. Starvation and Despair, two fiends, seemed sitting beside him in shadowy ghastliuess, chilling and palsying hun — ^petrifying his heart within him. What was he TO DO? ^Why had he been bom? Why was he so much more persecuted and miserable than any one else? Visions of his ring, his breast-pin, his studs, stuck in a bit of card, with their price written above them, and hanging exposed to his view in old Balls' window, almost frenzied him. Thoughts such as these at length be- gan to suggest others of a dreadful nature. * * * The means were at that instant within his reach. * * * A sharp knock at the door startled him out of the stupor into which he was sinking; He listened for a moment as if he were not cer- tain that the sound was a real one. There seemed a ton-weight upon his heart, which a mighty sigh could lift for an instant, but not remove ; and he was in the act of heaving a second such sigh, as he languidly opened thk door — expecting to encounter Mr Thumbscrew, or some of his myrmi- dons, who might not know of his re- cent settlement with his landlady. "Is this Mr— Tit— Titmouse's?" inquired a genteel-looking young man. "Yes," replied Titmouse, sadly. " Are you Mr Titmouse ?" " Yes," he replied, more faintly than before. "Oh — I have brought you, sir, a letter from Mr Gammon, of the firm of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, solici- tors, Saffron Hill," said the stranger, unconscious that his words shot a, flash of light into a little abyss of grief and despair before him. "He begged me to give this letter into your own hands, and said he hoped you'd TEN Thousand a -yeah. 79 send him an answer by the first morn- ing's post. " Yes-^h — I see — certainly — to be sure — ^with pleasure — ^how is Mr Gam- mon ? — uncommon kind of him — very humble respects to him — take care to answer it," stammered Titmouse in a breath, hardly knowing whether he were standing on his head or his heels, and not quite certain where he was. " Qood evening, sir," replied the stranger, evidently a little surprised at Titmouse's manner, and withdrew. Titmouse shut his door. With prodigi- ous trepidation of hand and flutter of spirits, he opened the letter — an enclo- sure meeting his eyes in the shape of a bank-note. " Oh Lord ! " he murmured, turning white as the sheet of paper he held. Then the letter dropped from his hand, and he stood as if stupefied for some moments ; but presently rapture dart- ed through him ; a five-pound bank- note was in his hand, and it had been enclosed in the following letter : — " 35, Thames' Inn, Wth Jvly 18—. " My DEAR Me Titmouse, " Your last note addressed to our firm, has given me the greatest pain, and I hasten, on my return from the country, to forward you the enclosed trifle, out of my own personal resources — and I sincerely hope it will be of temporary service to you. May I beg the favour of your company on Sunday evening next, at seven o'clock, to take a glass of wine with me ? I shall be quite alone and disengaged ; and may have it in my power to make you some important communications, concern- ing matters in which, I assure you, I feel a very deep interest on your ac- count. Begging the favour of an early answer to-morrowmorning, I trust you will believe me, ever, my dear sir, your most faithful humble servant, " Ojlt Gammoh. *' Tittlebat Titmouse, Esq." The first balmy drop of the long-ex- pected golden shower had at length fallen upon the panting Titmouse. How polite — nay, how affectionate and respectful — was the note of Mr Gam- mon! and, for the first time in hia life, he saw himself addressed "Tittlebat Titmouse, Esquiee." If his room had been large enough to admit of it, he would have skipped round it again and again in his frantic ecstasy. Having read over several times the blessed letter of Mr Gam-, mon, he hastily folded it up, crumpled up the bank-note in his hand, clapped his hat on his head, blew out his candle, rushed down stairs as if a mad dog were at his heels, and in three or foui minutes' time might have been seen standing breathless before old Balls, whom he had almost electrified by ask- ing, with an eager and joyous air, for a return of the articles which he had only an hour before pawned with him; at the same time laying down the du- plicates and the bank-note. The latter old Balls scrutinised with most anxious exactness, and even suspicion — ^but it seemed perfectly unexceptionable ; so he redelivered to Titmouse his pre- cious ornaments, and the change out , of his note, minus a trifling sum for interest. Titmouse then started off at top speed to Huckaback ; but it sud- denly occurring to him as possible / that that gentleman, on hearing of his good fortune, might look for an imme- diate repayment of the ten shillings he had recently lent to Titmouse, he stopped short — palused — and returned home. There he had hardly been seat- ed a moment, when down he pelted again, to buy a sheet of paper and a wafer or two, to write his letter to Mr Gammon ; which having obtained, he returned at the same speed, almost overturning his fat landlady, who look- ed after him as though he were a mad cat scampering up and down stairs, and fearing that he had gone suddenly crazy. The note he wrote to Mr Gam- mon was so exceedingly extravagant, that, candid as I have (I trust) hither- to shown myself in the delineation of Mr Titmouse's character, I cannot bring myself to give the aforesaid let- ter to the reader — ^making aU allow- ances for the extraordinary excitement of its writer. Sleep, that night and morning, found 80 '1?EN THOUSAND A-YEAK. »nd left Mr Titmouse the assured ex- ulting master of Ten Thousand a-Yeak. Of this fact, the oftener he read Mr Gammon's letter, the stronger became his convictions. 'Twas undoubtedly rather a large inference from small pre- mises; but it secured him unspeakable happiness, /or a time, at a possible cost of future msappointment and misery, ■which he did not pause to consider. The fact is that logic (according to Dr Watts, but not according to Dr Whate- ley, sir," interrupted Gammon very blandly; "it gave me, I assure yon, far greater satisfaction to send it, than you to re- ceive it. I hope it has a little relieved you?" "I think so, sir! I was, 'pen ray life, on my very last legs." " When things come to the worst, they often mend, Mr Titmouse! I told Mr Quirk (who, to do him justice, came at last into my views) that, however premature, and perhaps im- ?rudent it might be in us to go so far, could not help relieving your present necessities, even out of my own re- sources." [Oh, Gammon, Gammon !] " How uncommon kind of you, sir ! " exclaimed Titmouse. "Not in the least, my dear sir— (pray fill another glass, Mr Titmouse.) You see Mr Quirk is quite a man of business — and our profession too often affords instances of persons whose hearts contract as their purses ex- pand, Mr Titmouse — ha ! ha ! Indeed, those who make their money as hard as Mr Quirk, are apt to be slow at partine with it, and very suspicions ! " " Well, I hope no offence, sir ; but really I thought as much, directly I saw that old gent." " Ah — but now he is embarked, heart and soul, in the affair." "No! Is he really, sir?" inquired Titmouse, eagerly. "That is," replied Gammon qujckly, " so long as I am at his elbow, urging him on — for he wants some one who — ^hem ! In fact, my dear sir, ever since I had the good fortune to m^ike the discovery, which happily brought us acquainted with each other, Mr Titmouse," [it was old Quirk, as the reader will by-and-by find, who had made the discovery, and Gammon had for a long, time thrown cold water on it,] "I have been doing all I could with him, and I trust I may say, have at last got the thing into shape." " I'll take my oath, sir," said Tit- mouse excitedly, " I never was so much struck with any one in aU my born days as I was with you, sir, when you first came to my emp — ^to Mr Tag-rag's, sir— Lord, sir, how un- common sharp you seemed!." Gam- TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 83 Mon smiled with a deprecating air, | and sipped his wine in silence ; but there was great sweetness in the ex- pression of his countenance. Poor Titmouse's doubts, hopes, and fears, were rapidly being sublimed into a reverence for Gammon ! * » » » " I certainly quite agree with Mr Quirk," said Gammon presently, "that the difficulties in our way are of the most serious description. To speak, for ;scn instant only, of the risk we ourselves incur personally — would you believe it, my dear Mr Titmouse? — ^in such a disgraceful state are our laws, that we can't gratify our feelings by taking up your cause, without ren- dering ourselves liable to imprison- ment for Heaven knows how long, and a fine that would be ruin itself, if we should be found out ! " Titmouse continued silent, his wine- glass in his hand arrested in Its way to his mouth; which, together with bis eyfes, were opened to their widest extent, as he stared with a kind of terror upon Mr Gammon. — " Are we, then, unreasonable, my dear sir, in entreating you to be cautious — nay, in insisting on your compliance with our wishes, in all that we shall deem prudent and necessary, when not only your own best interests, but our char- acters, liberties, and fortunes are staked on the issue of this great en- terprise ? I am sure," continued Gam- mon, with great emotion, "you will feel for us, Mr. Titmouse. I see you do! " Gammon put his hand over his eyes, in order, apparently, to conceal his emotion, but really to observe what effect he had produced upon Titmouse. The conjoint influence of Gammon's wine and eloquence not a little agitated Titmouse, in whose eyes stood tears. "I'll do anything — anything, sir," he almost sobbed. " Oh ! all we wish is to be allowed to serve you effectually ; and to en- able us to do that " " Tell me to get into a soot-bag, and lie hid in a coal-hole, and see if I won't doit!" " What ! a coal-hole ? Would you, then, even stop at Tag-rag and Co. s?" "Ye-e-e-e^s, sir— rhemJ. hem! That is, till the tenth of next month, when mytime'sup." , , " Ah ! — ay 1 — oh, I understand ! Another glass, Mr Titmouse," said Gammon, pouring himself out some more wine ; and observing, while Tit- mouse followed his example, that there was an unsteadiness in his motions of a very different description from that which he had exhibited at the commencement of the evening — at the same time wondering what the deuce they should do with him after the feMife of August. "You see, J have the utmost con- fidence in you, and had so from the first happy moment when we met ; but Mr Quirk is rather sus In short, to prevent misunderstanding (as he says), Mr Quirk is anxious that you should, give a written promise." (Titmouse looked eagerly about for writing materials.) "No, not now, but in a day or two's time. I confess, my dear Mr Titmouse, if /might have decided on the matter, I should have been satisfied with, your verbal pi%- mise ; but I must say, Mr Quirk's grey hairs seem to have made him quite — eh ! you understand ? Don't you think so, Mr Titmouse?" " To be sure ! 'pon my honour, Mr Gammon ! " replied Titmouse ; not very distinctly vmderstanding, how- ever, wh^t he was so energetically assenting to. "I dare say you wonder why we wish you to stop a few months longer at your present hiding-place at Tag- rag's?" " Oan'i, possibly! — after the tenth of next month, sir;" replied Titmouse eagerly. "But as soon aS we begin to fire off our guns against the enemy — ah, my dear sir, if they could only find out, you know, where to get at you — you would never live to enjoy your ten thousand a-year ! They'd either poison or kidnap you — get yoiu out of the way, unless you keep out of their way : and if you will but consent to keep snug at Tag-rag's for' a while, who'd suspect where you was ? We could easily arrange with your friend Tag-rag that you should " - ^ 8* TEN THOUSAND A- YEAR". " My stars ! I'd give something to hear you tell Tag-rag— why, I won- der what he'll do ! " . "Make you very comfortable, and let you have your own way in every- thing — that you may rely upon 1 " " Go to the play, for instance, when- ever I want, and do all that sort of thing?" "Nay, try! anything! — And as for money, I've persuaded Mr Quirk to consent to our advancing you a certain sum per week, from the present time, while the cause is going on," — (Tit- mouse's heart began to beat fast), — " in order to place you above absolute inconvenience ; and when you con- sider the awful sums we shall have to disburse — cash out of pocket^(the tongues of counsel, you know, are set on gold springs, and only gold keys open their lips !) — for court-fees, and a thousand other indispensable matters, I should candidly say that four thousand pounds of hard cash out of pocket, advanced bj' our firm in your case, would be the very low- est." (Titmouse stared at him with an expression of stupid wonder). " Yes — four thousand pounds, Mr Titmouse, at the very least — the very least. " Again he paused, keenly scrutinising Titmouse's features by the light of the candles, which just then were brought in. "You seem surprised, Mr Titmouse." " Why — why — where's all the money to come from, sir ? " exclaimed Titmouse, aghast. " Ah ! that is indeed a fearful ques- tion," — replied Gammon, with a very serious air ; " but at my request, our firm has agreed to make the necessary advances ; and also (for / could not bear the sight of your distress, Mr 'Titmouse!) to supply your necessities liberally in the mean time, as I was saying. "Won't you take another glass of wine, Mr Gammon?" suddenly in- quired Titmouse, with a confident air. "With all my heart, Mr Titmouse ! I'm delighted that you approve of it. I paid enough for it, I can warrant you," '' Cuss me if ever I tasted such wine f Uncommon! Come — no heel-taps, Mr Gammon — here goes — let's drink— success to the affair ! " " With all my heart, my dear sir — with all my heart. Success to the thing — amen ! " and Gammon drained his glass ; so did Titmouse. " Ah ! Mr Titmouse, you'll soon have wine enough to float a frigate — and indeed what not — with ten thousand a-year?" " And all the back-rents, you know —ha, ha!" '' Yes — ^to be sure ! — ^the back-rents! The sweetest estate that is to be found in all Yorkshire ! Gracious, Mr Tit- mouse !" continued Gammon, with an excited air — " what may vou not do? Go where you like— do what you like — get into Parliament — marry some lovely woman ofhigh rank ! " "Lord, Mr Gammon! — you a'n't dreaming? Nor I? But now, in course, ycm must be paid handsome for your trouble ! — Only say how much— Name your sum ! What you please ! You only get me all you've said- and I'll" "For my part, I wish to rely en- tirely on your mere word of honour. Between gentlemen, you know — ^my dear sir " " You only try me, sir." " But you see, Mr Quirk's getting old, and naturally is antxious to pro- vide for those whom he will leave be- hind him — and so Mr Snap agreed with him — ^two to one against me, Mr Titmouse — of course they carried the day — two to one." " Never mind that ! — only say the figure, sir ! " cried Titmouse, eagerly. "A single year's income, only — ten thousand pounds will hardly " , " Ten thousand pounds ! By jingo, but that is a slice out of the cake ! Oh, Lord!" quoth Titmouse, looking "A mere crumb, my dear sir! a trifle ! Why, we are going to ^ve you that sum at least every year and indeed it was suggested to our firm, that unless you gave us at least a sum of twenty-five thousand pounds —in fact, we were recommended to Jpok out for some other heir." TEN THOUSAND A -TEAR; 85 "Oh dear! oh Mr Gammon," cried Titmouse, hastily — "it's not to be thought of, sir." " So I said; and as for throwing it up — to be sure we shall have ourselves to borrow large sums to carry on the war — and unless we hive your bond for at least ten thousand poiinds, we cannot raise a farthing." "Well — curse me, if you shan't do what you like ! — Give me your hand, and do what you like, Mr Gam- mon!" " Thank you, Mr Titmouse ! How 1 like a glass of wine with a friend in this quiet way ! — you'ir always find me rejoiced to show" "Your hand ! By George — ^Didn't I take a liking to you from the first ? But to speak my mind a bit — as for ](Ir Quirk — excuse me — but he's a cur — cur — cur — mudg — mudg — mudg — eon— hem ! " _ "Hope you've not been so impru- dent, my dear Titmouse," threw in Mr Gammon, rather anxiously, " as to borrow money — eh ? " ■ " Devil knows, and devil cares ! No stamp, I know — bang up to the mark" — here he winked an eye, and put his finger to his nose — "wide awake — ^Huck — uck — ^uck — ^uok ! how his name sti — sticks. Your hand, Mr Gammon — here — this, this way — what are you bobbing your head about for? Ah, ha!-— The floor— 'pon my life I— how funny— it's like being at sea — up, down — oh dear!" — ^he clapped his hand to his head. [Pythagoras has finely observed, that a man is not to be considered dead drunk till he lies on the floor, and stretches out his arms and legs to prevent his going lower.] See-saw, see-saw, up and down, up and down, went everything about him. Now he felt sinking through the floor, then gently rising towards the ceil- ing. Mr Gammon seemed getting into a mist, and waving about the candles in it. Mr Titmouse's head swam ; his chair seemed to be resting on the waves of the sea. "I'm afraid the room's rather close, Mr Titmouse," hastily observed Gam- mon, perceiving from Titmouse's sud- den paleness and silence, but too evi- dent symptoms that his powerful in- tellect was for a while paralysed. Gammon started to the window, and opened it. Paler, however, and paler became Titmouse. Gammon's game was up much sooner than he had cal- culated on. " Mrs Brown ! Mrs Brown ! " ha called out, opening the sitting-room door— ^" order a coach instantly, and tell Tomkins" — that was the inn porter — " to get his son. ready to go home with this gentleman — he's not very well." He- was quickly obeyed. It was, in truth, "all up" with Tit- mouse — at least for a while. As soon as Gammon had thus got rid of his distinguished guest, he or- dered the table to be cleared of the glasses, and tea to be ready within half an hour. He then walked out to enjoy the cool evening ; on returning, sate pleasantly sipping his tea, now and then dipping into the edifying columns of the Sunday Flash, but oftener ruminating upon his recent conversation with Titmouse,'and specu- lating upon certain possible results to himself personally ; and a little after eleven o'clock, that good man, at peace with all the world — calm and serene — retired to repose. He had that night rather a singular dream ; it was of a snake encircling a monkey, as if in gentle and playful embrace. Suddenly tightening its folds, a crack- ling sound was heard ; the writhing coils were -then slowly unwound — and, with a shudder, he beheld the monster licking over the motionless figure, till it was covered with a viscid slime. Then the serpent began to devour its prey ; and, when gorged and helpless, behold, it was immediately fallen upon by two other snakes. To his dis- turbed fancy, there was a dim resem- blance between their heads and those of Quirk and Snap — they all three became intertwisted together — and writhed and struggled till they fell over the edge of a dark and frightful precipice — h& woke — thank God! it was only a dream. 86 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAK. CHAPTER X. GAMMON TACKLIMO TAO-EAO, When, after his return from Mr Gam- mon's chambers, at Thavies' Inn, Tit- mouse woke at an early hour in the morning, he was labouring under the ordinary effects of unaccustomed ine- briety. His lips were parched; his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth ; there was a horrid weight pressing on his aching eyes, and upon his throbbing head. His pillow seemed undulating beneath him, audeverythingswimming around him ; but when, to crown the whole, he was roused from a momentary nap by the insupportable — the loathed importunities of Mrs Squallop, that he would just sit up and partake of three thick rounds of hot buttered toast, and a great basin of smoking tea, which would do him so much good, and settle his stomach — at all events, if he'd only have a thimbleful of gin in it — poor Titmouse was fairly overcome ! * * * « He lay in bed all that day, during which he imderwent se- vere sufferings ; and it was not till towards night that he began to have anything lie a distinct recollection of the events of the evening which he had spent with Mr Gammon ; who, by the way, had sent one of the clerks, during the afternoon, to inquire after him. He did not get out of bed on the Tuesday till past twelve o'clock, when, in a somewhat rickety condi- tion, he made his appearance at the shop of Messrs Tag-rag and Co. ; on apj)roaching which he felt a sudden fomtness, arising from mingled appre- hension and disgust. " What are you doing here, sir ? — You're no longer in my employment, sir," exclaimed Tag-rag, attempting to speak calmly, as he hurried down the shop, white with rage,to meet Titmouse, and planted himself right in the way of his languid and pallid shopman. . "Sir!"— faintly exclaimed TiU. mouse, with his hat in his hand. " Very much obliged, sir — very I by the offer of your valuable services," said Tag-rag. "But — tJiat's the way out again, sir-^that ! — ^there ! — good- morning, sir — good morning, sir! — that's the way out" — and he egged- on Titmouse, till he had got him fairly into the street — ^with in- finite difficulty restraining himself from giving the extruded sinner a parting kick ! Titmouse stood for a moment before the door, trembling and aghast, looking in a bewildered manner at the shop : but Tag-rag. again making his appearance. Tit., mouse slowly walked away and re- turned to his lodgings. Oh that Mr Gammon had witnessed the scene — thought he — and so have been satis- fied that it had been Tag-rag who had put an end to his service, not he him- self who had quitted it ! The next day, about the same hour, Mr Gammon made his appearance at the establishment from which Tit- mouse had been expelled so sum- marily, and inquired for Mr Tag-rag, who presently presented himself — and recognising Mr Gammon, whose pre- sence naturally suggested the pre- vious day's transaction with Titmouse, changed colour a little. "What did yon please to want, sir?" inquired Mr Tag-rag, with a would-be resolute air, twirling round his watch-- key with some energy. TEN THOUSAOT) A-TEAEi 87 " Only a few minutes' conversation, sir, if you please," said Mr Gammon, with such a signiiicant manner as a little disturbed Mr Tag-rag; who, with an ill-supported sneer, bowed very low, and led the way to his own little room. Having closed the door, he, with an exceedingly civil air, begged Mr Gammon to be seated ; and then occupied the chair opposite to him, and awaited the issue with ill- disguised anxiety. "I am very sorry, Mr Tag-rag," commenced Gammon, in^ his usual elegant and feeling; manner, " that any misunderstanding should have arisen between you and Mr Tit- mouse ! " "You're a lawyer, sir, I suppose?" Mr Gammon bowed. "Then you must know, sir, that there are always two sides to a quarrel," said Mr Tag- rag, anxiously. " Yes — ^you are right, Mr Tag-rag ; and, having already heard Mr Tit- mouse's version, may I be favoured with yow account of your reasons for discharging him ? For he tells us that yesterday you dismissed him suddenly from your employment without giving him any warn" " So I did, sir; and what of that?" inquired Tag-rag, tossing his head with a sudden air of defiance. " Things are come to a pretty pass indeed, when a man at the head of such an establish- ment as mine, can't dismiss a drunk- en, idle, impertinent — abusive vaga- bond." Here Mr Gammon somewhat significantly took out his tablets — as if to note down the language of his companion. "Do you seriously," inquired Mr Gammon, " charge him with -being such a character, and can you prove your charges, Mr Tag-rag ? " " Prove 'em ! yes, sir, a hundred times over; so will all my young men !" replied Tag-rag, vehemently. " And in a court of justice, Mr Tag- rag?" said Mr Gammon, emphatically. "Oh! he is going to law, is he? Ah, ha! Bless my soul! — So that's why you're come here — ah, ha! — when you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, you may get your bill out of Mr Tittlebat Titmouse l^ha,' ha, ha!" laughed Tag-rag, hoping thereby -to conceal how much he was really startled. " Well— that's (Hw look-out, Mr Tag. rag : to Mr Titmouse, his character is as valuable as Mr Tag-rag's is to him. In short, Mr Titmouse has placed him- self in our hands,. and we are resolved to go on with the case, if it cost us a hundred pounds — ^we are indeed, Mr Tag-rag.'^ "Why— he's not a penny in the world to go to law with ! " exclaime4 Tag-rag, with an air of mingled won- der, scorn, and alarm. " But you forget, Mr Tag-rag, that if Mr Titmouse's account of the busi- ness should turn out to be correct, it will be yov/r pocket that must pay all the expenses, amounting probably to twenty times the sum which the law may award to him ! " "Law, sir? — It's not justice! — I hate law. — Give me common sense and common honesty ! " said Mr Tag- rag, with a little agitation. " Both of them would condemn your conduct, Mr Tag-rag ; fori have heard a full account of what Mr Titinouse has suffered at your hands — of the cause of your sudden warning to him, and your still more sudden dismissal of yesterday. Oh, Mr Tag-rag ! upon, my honour, it won't do — not for a moment — and should you go on, rely upon what I teU you, that it will cost you dear." " And suppose, sir,'' said Tag-rag, in a would-be contemptuous tone — " I should have witnesses to prove all I've said — which of us will look funny then, sir?" _, " Which, indeed ! However, since that is your humour, I can only as- sure you that it is very possible we may be, by the time of the trial, pos- sessed of some evidence which will surprise you: and that Mr Titmouse defies you to prove any misconduct on his part. We have, in short, taken up his cause, and, as you may per- haps find by-and-by, to your cost, we shall not easily let it drop." " I mean no offence, sir," said Tag- rag, in a mitigated tone ; "but I must 88 say, that ever since ymt, first came here, Titmouse has been quite another person. He seems not to know who 1 am, nor to care either — and he's per- fectly unbearable." . " My dear sir, what has he said or done ? — that, you know, is what you inust be prepared to prove, when you come into court ! " " Well, sir ! and which of us is likely to be best off for witnesses? — Think of that, sir — I've eighteen young men" " We shall chance that, sir," replied Gammon, shrugging his shoulders, and smiling very bitterly ;/'but again, I ask, what did you dismiss him for ? and, sir, I request n. plain, straight- forward answer " "What did I dismiss him for? — Haven't I eyes and ears ? — ^First and foremost, he's the most odious-man- liered fellow I ever came near — and — he hadn't a shirt to his back when I first took him — the ungrateful wretch ! — Sir, it's at any rate not against the law, I suppose, to hate a man ; — and if it isn't, how I hate Titmouse ! " " Mr Tag-rag" — said Gammon, low- ering his voice, and looking very earnestly at his companion — "can I sa^ a word to you in confidence — the strictest confidence?" "What's it about, sir?" inquired Tag-rag, apprehensively. " I daresay you may have felt, per- haps, rather surprised at the interest which I — in fact our office, the ofiice of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, in Saf- fron Hill — appear to have taken in Mr Titmouse." "Why, sir, it s yovr look-out to see how you're to be paid for what/ you're doidg — and I daresay lawyers gene- rally keep a pretty sharp look out in that direction ! " Gammon smiled, and continued — "It may, perhaps, " a little surprise you, Mr Tag-rag, to hear that your present (ought 1 to say, your laief) shopman, Mr Tittlebat Titmouse, is at this moment probably the very luckiest man— ay, and one among the richest, too — in this kingdom." " Why — you don't mean to say he's drawn a prize in the lottery?" — TEN THOUSAND A -TEAK. exclaimed Tag-rag, ■ pricking up his ears, and manifestly changing colour, " Pho ! my dear sir, that is a mere bagatelle compared with the good fortune which hsis just fallen to his lot. I solemnly assure you, that 1 believe it will very shortly turn out that he is at this moment the un- doubted owner of an estate worth at least ten thousand a-year, besides a vast accumulation of ready money ! "■ "Ten thousand a-year, sir! — My Titmouse ! — Tittlebat Titmouse ! — Ten thousand a-year! it's quite im^ possible!" faltered Tag-rag, after a pause, having gone as pale as death. " I have as little doubt of the fact^ however, sir, as I have that you yes- terday turned him out of doers, Mr Tag-rag!" " But" — said Mr Tag-rag in a low tone — " who could have dreamt it ? — How was — reciUy, Mr Gammon! — how was I to know it ? " "That's the fact, however," said Gammon, shrugging his shoulders. Tag-rag wriggled about in his chair, put his hands in and out of his pockets, scratched his head, and continued star- ing open-mouthed at the bearer of such astounding intelligence. "Perhaps, however, all this is meant as a joke, sir," — said he — " And if so — it's — it's — a very" " It's one of his solicitors who were fortunate enough to make the dis- covery, that teUs you all this, sir," interrupted Gammon, calmly. " I repeat what I have already told you, Mr Tag-rag, that an estate of ten thousand a-year is the very least" " Why, that's two hundred thousand pounds, sir ! " — exclaimed Tag-rag with an awe-struck air. " At the very least" _ "Lord, Mr Gammon! — Excuse me, sir, but how did you find it out ? " " Mere accident — a mere accidental discovery, sir, in the course of other professional inquiries ! " "And does Mr Titmouse know it?" "Ever since the day, Mr Tag-rag, after that on which I called on him here ! " — replied Gammon pointedly. " You — don't — say — so ! " — ex- claimed Tag-rag, and then continued TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. \ silent for nearly-half a minute, evi- dently amazed beyond all power of expression. "Well," — at length he observed — "I will say this — with all his few faults — he's the most amiable young gentleman — the very amiablest young gentleman I — ever — came near. I always thought there was something uncommon superior-like in his looks. "Yes — I think he is of rather an amiable turn," observed Gammon, with an expressive smile — '' very gen- tlemanlike — and so intelligent" " Intelligent ! Mr Gammon ! you should only have known him as I have known him ! — ^Well, to be sure ! — Lord ! His only fault was, that he was above his business ; but when one comes to think of it, how could it be otherwise ? From the time I first clapped eyes on him — I — I— knew he was — a superior article — quite superior — you know what I mean, sir ? — he couldn't help it, of course ! — to be sure — he never was much liked by the other young men ; but that was jealousy ! — all jealousy ! I saw that all the while." Here he looked at the door, and added in a very low tone, " Many sleepless nights has their bad treatment of Mr Tit- mouse- cost me! — Even I, now and then, used to look and speak sharply to him — just to keep him, as it, were, down to the mark of the others — he was so uncommon handsome and gen- teel in his manner, sir. I remember telling my good lady the very first day he came to me, that he was a gentleman born — or ought to have been one." Now, do you suppose, acute reader, that Mr Tag-rag was insincere in all this? By no means. He spoke the real dictates of his heart, unaware of the sudden change which had taken place in his feelings. It certainly has an ugly look of improbability — but it was the Tiature of the heast ; his eye Suddenly caught a glimpse of the golden calf, and he instinctively fell down and worshipped it. " W^ell — at all events," said Mr Gammon, scarcely able to keep a serious expres- sion on his face — ''though he's not lived much like a gentleman hitherto, yet he will live for the future like a ' very great gentleman — and spend his money like one, too." "I — I — daresay — he will! — I won- der how he will get through a quarter of it : — what do you think he'll do, sb?" " Heaven only knows — he may very shortly do just what he likes! Go into the House of Commons, or — ^per- haps — ^have a peerage given him" " Lord, sir !— I feel as if I shouldn't be quite right again for the rest of the day ! — ^I own to you, sir, that all yesterday and to-day I've been on the point of going to Mr Titmouse's lodg- mgs to apologise for — for Good gracious me ! one can't take it all in at oiice — Ten thousand a-year! — Many a lord hasn't got more — some not half as much, 111 be bound; — Dear me, what will he do ! — Well, one thing I'm sure of — he'll never have a truer friend than plain Thomas Tag- rag, though I've not always been a-flattering him— I respected him too much ! — The many little things I've borne with in Titmouse, that in any one else I'd have — But why didn't he tell me, sir? We should haVe under- stood one another in a moment." — r Here he paused abruptly; for his breath seemed suddenly taken away, as he reviewed the series of indignities which he had latterly inflicted on 'Tit- mouse—the kind of life which that amiable young gentleman had led in his establishment. Never had the keen Gammon enjoy- ^ l ft< ed anything more exquisitely than ;^ the scene which I have been describ- ing. To a man of his practical saga^; ( city in the afi'airs of life, and know- V ledge of human nature, nothing could appear more ludicrously contemptible j 'Wt than the conduct of poor Tag-rag. 1/^) How differently are the minds of men' '''^ constituted ! How Gammon despised V/i)-^ Tag-rag ! And what opinion has the i '. . acute reader by this time formed ofL " Gammon ? jO j 7 " Now, may I take for granted, Mr "W ,,, Tag-rag, that we understand each other? ' inquired Gammon. /V y "Yes, sir," replied Tag-rag meekly. " But do you think Mr Titmouse will ^'- 90 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. ever forgive or forget the little misun- derstanding we've lately had? If I could but explain to him how I have been acting a part towards him— all for his good ! " " You may have opportunities for doing so, if you are really so disposed, Mr Tag-rag; for I have something seriously to projiose to you. Circum- stances render it desirable that for some little time this important affair should be kept as quiet as possible ; and it is Mr Titmouse's wish and ours — as his confidential professional ad- visers — that for some few months he should continue in your establishment, and apparently in your service as be- fore." " In my service ! — my service ! " interrupted Tag-rag, opening his eyes to their utmost. " I sha'n't know how to Ijehave in my own premises ! Have a man with ten thousand a-year be- hind my counter, sir? I might as well have the Lord Mayor! Sir, it can't — it can't be. Now, if Mr 'Tit- mouse chose to become a partner in the house — ay, there .might be some- thing in that — ^he needn't have any trouble — be only a sleeping partner." Tag-rag warmed with the thought. "Eeally, sir, that wouldn't be so innch amiss — would it?" Gammon assured him that it wa.s out of the question ; and gave him some of the reasons for the proposal which he (Mr Gammon) had been making. While Gammon fancied that Tag-rag was pajdng profound attention to what he was saying. Tag-rag's thoughts had shot far a-head. He had an only child— a daughter, about twenty years old — Miss Tabitha Tag-rag; and the delightful possibility of her by-and-by becoming Mrs 'Titmodse, put her aspiring parent into a perspira^ ition. Into theproposal just made by Mr Gammon, Tag-rag fell with great eagerness, which he attempted to con- ceal — for what innumerable opportu- nities would it not afford him for bringing about the desire of his heart — for throwing the lovely young couple into each other's way, — endear- ing them to each other ! Oh, delight- fUl! It really looked almost as If it had been determined by the powers above, that the thing should come to pass! If Mr Titmouse did not dine with him, Mrs, and Miss Tag-rag, at. Satin Lodge, Clapham, on the very next Sunday, it should. Tag-rag re- solved, be owing to no fault of his. — Mr Gammon having arranged every- tfeing exactly as he had desired, and having again enjoined Mr Tag-rag to absolute seetesy, was about to take his departure. "But — by the way, sir" — said Tag-rag, suddenly and anxiously — " I suppose the little mat- ter we first talked aoout — eh ? — ^I hope we now understand one another too well for Mr Titmouse to go on with an action against me for " " Oh, Mr 'Tag-rag," replied Gammon, with a delicious smile — " I think you may make your mind easy on that score ! — We stand now on a very different footing." — Mr Tag-rag, in his excite- ment, thrust out Ms hand, and grasp- ed that of Gammon, which was ex- tended towards tiim somewhat coldly and reluctantly. Tag-rag attended him with extreme obsequiousness to the door ; and on his departure, walked back rapidly to his own room, and sat down for nearly half an hour in a sort of turbid but delicious reverie. Abruptly rising, at length, he clapped his hat on his head, and saying, as he passed along the shop, that he should soon be back, hurried out to call upon his future son-in-law, full of affection- ate anxiety concerning his health — and vowingwithin himself, that hence- forth it should be the study of his life to make his daughter and Titmouse happy ! There could be no doubt of the reality of the event just communi- cated to him by Mr Gammon ; for he was one of a well-known firm of soli- citors; he had had an interview on " important business " with Titmouse a fortnight before, and that anM have been nothing but the prodigious event just communicated to himself. Such things had happened to others — why not to Tittlebat Titmouse ? In short. Tag-rag had no doubt on the matter ; and his heart really yearned towards Titmouse. Finding that gentleman not at TEN- THOUSAND A-YEAE. 91. tome, Mr Tag-Tag left a most particu- larly civil message, half-a-dozen times repeated, with Mrs Squallop, to whom also he was spefially'civU, to the effect that he, Mr Tag-rag, would be only too happy to see Mr Titmouse at No. 375 Oxford Street, whenever it might suit his convenience; that Mr Tag-rag had something very par- ticular to say to him about the un- pleasant and vmaccowrUdble [!] occur- rence of yesterday ; that Mr Tag-rag was most deeply concerned to hear of Mr Titmouse's indisposition, and anx- ious to learn from himself that he had > recovered, &c. &c. &o. ; — all which, I together with one or two other little matters, which Mrs Squallop could 'not help putting together, satisfied I that shrewd lady that "something was iiu the wind about Mr Titmouse;" and made her reflect rather anxiously on one or two violent scenes she had had with him, and which she was now ready I entirely to forget and forgive. Having ' thus done all that at present was in his power to forward the affair, the aaxious and excited Tag-rag returned to his shop ; on entering which, one Lutestring, his principal young man, eagerly apprised him of a claim which he had, as he imagined, only the mo- ment before, estabUshed to the thanks of Mr Tag-rag, by having " bundled off, neck and crop, that hodious Tit- mouse," who, about, five minutes be- fore, had, it seemed, had the "impu- dence" to present himself at the shop- door, and walk in as if nothing had happened ! ! [Titmouse had so pre- sented himself, in consequence of a call from Mr Gammon, immediately after his interview with Tag-rag.] " You — ordered — Mr Etmouse — off!!" exclaimed Tag-rag, starting back aghast, and almost petrifying his voluble and oiScious assistant. " Of course, sir," at length exclaim- ed that person, meekly — " after what happened yester " "Who authorised. you, Mr Lute- string?" inquired Tag-rag, striving to choke down the rage rising within him. I "Why, sir, I reaUy supposed that" "You supposed!! ' You're a med- dling, impertinent, disgusting " Suddenly his face was overspread with smiles, as three or four elegantly dress- ed customers entered, whom he re- ceived with profuse obeisances. But when their backs were turned, he di- rected a lightning look towards Lute- string, and retreated once more to his room, to meditate on the agitating events of the last hour. The extra- ordinary alteration in Mr Tag-rag's behaviour was attributed by his shop- men to his having been frightened out of his wits by the threats of Tit- mouse's lawyer — for such it was clear the stranger was ; and more than one of them stored it up in their minds as a useful precedent against some future occasion. Twice afterwards during the day did Tag-rag call at Mr Titmouse's lodgings — ^but in vain ; and on return- ing the third time he felt not a little disquieted. He determined, however, to call the first thing on the ensuing morning ; if he should then fail of seeing Mr Titmouse, he was resolved to go to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap — and besides, address a very affectionate letter to Mr Titmouse. How totally changed had become all his feelings towards that gentleman within the last few hours. The more that Tag-rag reflected on Titmouse's conduct, the more he saw in it to ap- prove of. How steady and regular had he been in his habits ! how civil and obliging ! how patient of rebuke ! how pleasing in his manners to the customers ! Surely, surely; thought Tag-rag, Titmouse can't have been' four long years in py employ without getting a — sort of a — feeling — of at- tachment to me-^he'd have 'left long ago if he hadn't ! It was true there had now and then been tiffs between them ; but who could agree always ? Even Mrs Tag-rag and he, when they were courting, often fell out with one another ! — ^Tag-rag was now ready to forget and forgive all — he had never meant any harm to Titmouse. He believed that poor Tittlebat was an orphan, unhappy soul ! alone in the wide world — now he would become &2 tEU THOUSAiro A- YEAR. the prey of designing strangers and adventurers. Tag-rag did not like the appearance of Gammon. No doubt that person would try and ingratiate himself as much as possible with Tit- mouse ! Then Titmouse was remark- ably good-looking. " I wonder what Tabby will think of him when she sees him!" How anxious Tittlebat must be to see her — hU daughter! How could Tag-rag make Tittlebat's stay at his premises (for he could not bring himself to believe that on the morrow he could not set all right, and disavow the abominable conduct of Lutestring) agreeable and delight- ful? He would discharge the first of his young meu that did not show Titmouse proper respect. — What low lodgings poor Tittlebat lived in \— Why could he not take up his quar- ters at Satin Lodge? They alwayg had a nice spare bedroom. Ah!' that would be a stroke ! How Tabby could endear herself to him 1 What a number of things Mrs Tag- rag could do to make him com^ fortable ! ' CHAPTER XL SATIN LODOE, AND ITS KEPINED INMATES ; WHO ALL PAT THEIB DDTST TO TITMOnSE ; AND HE VERY NEARLY FALLS IN LOVE WITH MISS TAO-RAO. Asonr seven o'clock p.m., Tag-rag quitted his premises in Oxford Street, for his country house ; and, occupied 'iirith these and similar delightful and anxious thoughts and speculations, hurried along "Oxford Street on his way to the Clapham stage, without thinking of his umbrella, though it rained fast. When he had taken his place on the coach-box, beside old Crack (as he had done almost every night for years), he was so unusually silent that Crack naturally thought his best passenger was going to be- come bankrupt, or compound with his creditors, or do something in that line, shortly. Mr Tag-rag could hardly keep his temper at the slow pace old' Crack was driving at — just when Mr Tag-rag would have wished to gallop the whole way. Never had he de- scended with so muct briskness, as when the coach at length drew up be- fore the little green gate, which open- ed on the tidy little gravel walk, which led up to the little green wooden porch, which sheltered the little door which admitted you into little Satin Lodge, As Tag-rag stood for a mo- ment wiping his wet shoes upon the mat, he could not help observing, for the first time, by the inward light of ten thousand a-year, how uncommon narrow the passage was ; and think- ing that Satm Lodge would never tfo, when he should be the father-in-law of a man worth ten thousand a-year — but he could easily let that house then, and take a large one. As he ' hung his hat upon the peg, the peril- ous insolence of Lutestring occurred ta ' him ; and he deposited such a prodi- gious, but half-suppressed execration upon that gentleman's name, as must have sunk a far more buoyant sinner many fathoms deeper than usual into a certain hot and deep place that shall' be nameless. Mrs and Miss Tag-rag were sitting in the front parlour, intending to taie tea as soon as Mr Tag-rag should have arrived. It was not a large room, but sweetly furnished— according, at least, to the taste of the owners. There was only one window, and it had a flaunt- ing white summer curtain. The walls were ornamented with three pictures, in ponderous gilt frames, being por- TEK THOUSAND A^YEAE. 93 traits of Mr, Mrs, and Miss Tag-rag ; and I do not feel disposed to say more concerning the aforesaid pictures, tlian that in each of them the dress was done with elaborate exactness — the faces seeming to have been painted in, for the purpose of setting off and complet- ing the picture of the dress. The skinny little Miss Tag-rag sat at the ■worn-out, jingling pianoforte, causing it to utter — oh, horrid and doleful sound! — " The haMle of Prague." Mrs Tag-rag, a fat, showily dressed woman of about fifty, her cap having a prodi- l^ious number of artificial flowers in it, sat reading a profitable volume, en- titled " Groans fromtJie Bottomless Fit to iV Awaken Sleeping Sinners" by th e Beo. ■ ^ISMAL HosKOR — a rousing young dis- \-Pv^ jfeentltig pteachUf lately come into that 4 neighbourhood, and who had almost *lL- frightened into fits half the women and Aam children, and one or two old men, of ? his congregation ; giving out, amongst several similarly cheering intimations, I that they must all necessarily be damn- ed unless they immediatley set about making themselves as miserable as pos- sible in this world. Only the Sunday before, he had pointed out, with awful iforce and- distinctness, how cards and novels were the devil's traps to catch souls ; and balls and theatres short and easy cuts to ! He had proved to his trembling female hearers, in effect, that there was only one way to heaven, i. e. through his chapel ; that the only safe ^ mode of spending their time on earth was reading such blessed works as that whjph he had just published, and going daily to prayer-meetings. When, how- ever,- a Sunday or two before he had the assurance to preach a funeral ser- mon, to " improve the death " — such being his impressive phrase — of a Miss * Snooks (who had kept a circulating library in the neighbourhood, but had not been a member of his congrega- tion ; and who, having been to the theatre on the Thursday night, was taken ill of a bowel attack on the Fri- day, and was'a " lifeless corpse when the next Sabbath dawned " — you might have heard a beetle sneeze within any 'of the walls, all over the crowded cha- pel, Two-thirds ofthe women present, struck with the awful judgment upon the deceased Miss Snooks, inwardly made solemn vows never again to enter the accursed walls of a theatre or con- cert-room ; * many determined no long- er to subscribe to the circulating lib- rary, ruining their precious souls with light and amusing reading; and almost all resolved forthwith to become active members of a sort of religious tract so- ciety, which "dear Mr Horror" had just established in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of giving the sick and starving poor spiritual food, in the shape of tracts (chiefly written by himself), which might "wean their af- fections away from this vain world," and " fix them on better things," rfr joioing, in the meanwhile, in the bitter pangs of destitution — and able to bear them ! All this sort of thing Mr Hor- ror possibly imagined to be calculated to advance the cause of real religion ! In short, he had created a sort of spirit- ual fever about the place, which was then just at its height in worthy Mrs Tag-rag. "Well, Dolly, how are you to-night ? " inquired Tag-rag, with unusual brisk- ness, on entering the room. "Tolerable, thank you, Tag," replied Mrs Tag-rag mournfully, with a sigh, closing the cheerful volume she had been perusing — it having been recom- mended the preceding Sunday from the pulpit by its pious and gifted au- thor, to be read and prayed over every day by every member of his congrega- tion ! " And how are you, Tabby ? " said Tag-rag, addressing his daughter. " Come and kiss me, you little slut-^ come ! " " No, I sha'n't, pa ! Do let me go on with my practising,'' said Miss Tag- rag — and twang ! twang ! went those infernal keys. * "Cantheauthorof TenThousanda-Tear," asked some anonymous person during its ori- ginal appearance — "point out any class ot Dissenters who allow their memhers to fre- quent theatres ? " The author believes that this is the case with Unitarians — and also with many of the members of other Dissent- ing congregations — especially the younger members of even the stanchest Dissenting families. -' 94 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. "D'ye hear, Tab? Come and kiss me, you little minx " "Really, pa, how provoking— just ; as I %m in the middle of the Chnee of the j Wounded I I sha'n't— that's flat/' The doating parent could not, how- ever, be denied ; so he stepped to the piano, put his arm around his dutiful daughter's neck, kissed her fondly, and. then stood for a moment behind her, admiring her brilliant execution of The Trumpet of Victory. Having changed his coat, and put on an old pair of shoes, Mr Tag-rag was comfortable for the evening. "Tabby plays wonderful well, Dolly, don't she ? " said Tag-rag, as the tea- things were being brought in, by way of beginning a conversation, wmle he drew his chair nearer to his wife. "Ah! I'd a deal rather see her read- ing something serious — ^for lifeis short, Tag, and eternity's long." " Botheration !— Stuff !— Tut I" ex- claimed Tag rag ! " You may find it out one day, my dear, when, alas ! it's too late " — "I'll tell you what, Dolly," said Tag- rag angrily, "you're doing a great deal too much m this line of business — my house is getting like a Methodist meet- inghouse. I can't bear it — ^I can't ! What the deuce is come to you all in these parts, lately?" Mr Tag-rag,_ I should apprise the reader, had been in- duced, some three years before, to quit the Church of England and take up with Mr Dismal Horror ; but his zeal had by no means kept pace with that of his wife. " Ah, Tag-rag," replied his wife, with a sigh, " I can only pray for you — ^I can do no more " " Oh ! " exclaimed Tag-rag, with an air of desperate disgust, thrusting his hands into his pockets, and stretching his legs to their utmost extent under the table. " I'll tell you what, Mrs T.," he added, after a while, "I like re- ligion well enough — ^but too much of it no ohe can stand. Too much of one thing is good for nothing; you may choke a dog with pudding;—! sha'n t renew my sittings at Mr Horror's." " Oh, dear, dear pa, do ! That's a love of a pa ! " interposed Miss Tag- rag, twirling round on her music-stool, " All Clapham's running after him— he's quite the rage ! There's the Dug- ginses, the Pips, the Jones, the Magr gets — and, really, Mr Horror does preach such dreadful things, it's quite delightful to look round and see all the people with their eyes and mouths wide open — and ours is such a good pew for seeing — and Mr Horror is such a bee- yeautiful preacher — ^isn't he, ma?" "Yes, love, he is— but I wish I could see you profit by him, and preparing for death " "Why, ma, how can you go on in that ridiculous way ? 'You know I'm not twenty yet, however old you and pa may be ! " " Well, well ! poor Tabby ! " here Mrs Tag-rag's voice faltered — " a day will come, when " - "F\3,yraethBDevUetmongt7ie Tailors, or Copenhagen Waltz, or something (rf that sort, 'Tabby," said her father furi- ously, " or I shall be sick ! — ^I can't bear it ! Curse Mr Hor" " Well !— Oh, my ! !— I never !— Mr ■ Tag-rag ! " exclaimed his astounded wife. " Play away, Tab, or I'll go and sit in the Htchen! They're cheerful therel The next time I come across Mr Hor- ror, if I don^t give him a bit of my mind " — here he paused, and slapped his hand with much energy upon the table. Mrs Tag-rag wiped her eyes, sighed, and resumed her book. Miss Tag-rag began to make tea, her papa gradually forgetting his rage, as he fixed his dull grey eyes fondly on the pert skinnycountenance of his precious daughter. "By the way. Tag," exclaimed Mrs Tag-rag suddenly, but in the same moumfiil tone, addressing her hus- band, " you haven't of course forgot the flowers for my new bonnet ? " " Never once thought of it," replied Tag-rag, doggedly. ' You haven't ! Good gi-acious ! what am I to go to chapel in next Sunday?" she exclaimed^ with sudden alarm, closing her book, "and our seat in the very front of the gallery !— bless me ! I shall have a hundred eves on me ! " TEN THOUSAND A-YBAE. 95 " Now that you're cpming down a Lit, and dropped out of the clouds — or EVaps I should say — come up from eneath ! — DoUyj" said her husband, much relieved, " I'll tell you a bit of news that will, I fancy, rather " . "Come! what is it, Tag?" she in- quired with a sort of languid curio- sity. " What should you say of a chance of a certain somebody '' (here he looked unutterable things at his daughter) "that shall be nameless, becoming mistress often thousahd a-year?" " Why " — Mrs Tag-rag changed colour — "has any one fallen in love with Tab?" " What should you say, Mrs T., of cur Tab marrying a man with ten thousand a^year? There's for you! Isn't that better than all your rel hem!" " Oh, Tag, don't say that ; but "— here she hastily turned down the leaf of Oroansfrom the Bottomless Pit, and tossed that inestimable work upon the ?ofa — " do tell me, lovey ! what are you talking about?" "What indeed, Dolly! — ^I'm going to have him here to dinner next Sun- day." Miss Tag-rag having been listening with breathless eagerness to this little colloquy between her prudent and amiable parents, unconscious of what she was about, had poured almost all the contents of the tea-pot into the sugar-basin, instead of her papa's and mamma's tea-cups ! "Have who,' dear Tag?" inquired Mrs Tag-rag impatiently. "Who? why, whom but my Tittle- bat Titmouse ! ! You've seen him, and heard me speak of him often, you know " " What ! — that odious, nasty " " Hush, hush ! " involuntarily ex- claimed Tag-rag, with an apprehensive air — "That's all past and gone — I was always a little too hard on him. Well, anyhow, he's turned up all of a sudden master of ten thousand aryear. He has indeed — may this piece of toast choke me if he hasn't ! " Mrs Tag-rag and her daughter sat in speechless wonder. "Where did he see Tab, Taggy?" inquired at length Mrs Tag-rag. "Oh — I — I — why — you see," said her husband, with a sMden qualm — "I don't exactly think that signifies so much — He mM see her, you know; next Sunday." " So, then, he's positively coming ? " inquired Mrs Tag-rag with a fluttered air. "Y — e — s I've no doubt."— (I'll discharge Lutestring to-morrow, thought Tag-rag with a sharp inward spasm.) " But aren't we counting onr chiok- eiis, Taggy, before they're hatched? If Titmouse is all of a sudden become such a catch, he'll be snapped up in a minute, you know, of course " " Why, you see, DoUy — ^we're first in the market, I'm sure of that — his attorney tells me he's to be kept quite snug and quiet under my care for months, and see no one " " My gracious ! " exclaimed Mrs Tag-rag, holding up both her hands— "if that don't look like a special in- terposition of Providence, now " " So 7 thought, Tabby, while Mr Gammon was telling me ! " replied her husband. " Ah, Tag, there are many of 'em, if we were only to be on the look-out for them ! " said Mrs Tag-rag, ex- citedly. "I do see it all ! It's designed by Providence to get them soon together ! When once, Mr Titmouse gets sight of T^hby, and gets into her company — eh ! Tab, lovey ! you'U do the rest, hem ! " said Tag-rag, fondly. " La, pa ! how you do go on!" simpered Miss Tag-rag, blushing, and trembling from head to foot. " You must do your part. Tab," said her father — " we'll do ours. He'll bite, you may depend on it, if you manage well ! " " What sort of a looking young man is he, dear pa? " inquired Miss Tag-rag faintly, and her heart fluttering fast. " Oh, you must have seen him) sweetest " " How should I ever notice any one of the lots of young men at the shop, pa?— rl don't at all know him." 99 TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR, ' " 'Well," quoth Tag-rag desperately, trying to choke down a sense of the lies he was telling — "he's the — the — handsomest, most genteel -looking froung fellow I ever came across ; he's ong been an ornament to my establish- ment, for his good looks and civil and obliging manners — quite a treasure ! You should have seen how he took with ladies of rank always ! " •'Dear me," interrupted Mrs Tag- rag, anxiously addressmg her daugh- ter, "I hope. Tabby, that Miss Nix will send home your lilac-coloured frock by next Sunday ! " " If she don% ma, I'll take care she never makes anything more for me, that's poz ! " replied Miss Tag-rag, slapping her hand on the teartable with a little energy. "We'll call there to-morrow, love, and hurry her on," said her mother; and from that moment until eleven o'clock, when the amiable and inter- esting trio retired to rest, nothing was talked of but the charming Titmouse, and the good fortune he so richly de- served, and how long the courtship was likely to last. Mrs Tag-rag, who, for the last month or so, had always rem?iined on her knees before getting into bed, for at least ten minutes, on this eventful evening comprelbed her pravers, I regret to say, into one minute and a half's time (as for Tag-rag, a hardened heathen, for all he had taken to hearing Mr Horror, he always tumbled prayerless into bed, the mo- ment he was undressed); while, for once in a way. Miss Tag-rag, having taken only five minutes to put her hair into papers, popped into bed di- rectly she had blown the candle out, without saying any prayers — or even thinking of finishing the novel which lay under her pillow, and which she had got on the sly from the circulating library of the late Miss Snooks. For several hours she lay in a delicious reverie, imagining herself become Mrs tattlebat Titmouse, riding about Clap- ham in a handsome carriage, going to the play every night; and what would the three Miss Knippses say when they heard of it? — they'd burst. And such a handsome man, too ! She sank, at length, into uncon- sciousness, amidst a soft confusion of glistening white satin — favours — bridesmaids— Mrs Tittlebat Tit— Tit —Tit— Tit— mouse. Titmouse, about half-past nine o'clock on the ensuing morning, was sitting in his little room in a some- what troubled humour, musing on many things, and little imagining the intense interest he had excited in the feelings of the _ amiable occupants of Satin Lodge, when a knock at his door startled him out of his reverie. Guess his amazement to see, on open- ing it, Mr Tag-rag! " Your most obedient, sir," com- menced that gentleman, in a subdued and obsequious manner, plucking off his hat the instant that he saw Tit^ mouse. " I hope you're better, sir 1— s Been very uneasy, sir, about you." "Please to walk in, sir," replied Titmouse, not a little flustered — "I'm better, sir, thank you." "Happy to hear it, sir! — ^But am also come to offer humble apologies for the rudeness of that upstart that was so uncommon rude to you yester- day, at my premises — ^know whom I mean, eh? — Lutestring — I shall get rid of him, I do think ' "Thank you, sir But — but— ^ when I was in your employ " " Was in my employ ! " interrupted Tag-rag with a sigh, gazing earnestly at him — '' It's no use trying to hide it any longer! I've all along seeu you was a world too good for — ^in fact, quite above your situation in my poor shop ! I may have been wrong, Mr Titmouse," he continued diffidently, as he placed himself on what seemed the only chair in the room (Titmouse sitting on a common wooden stool)— " but I did it for the best— eh ?— don't you understand me, Mr Titmouse?" Titmouse continued looking on the floor incredulously, sheepishly, and somewhat sullenly. . " Very much obliged, sir," at length he answered — "but must say you've rather a funny way of showing it,* sir. Look at the sort of life you've led me for this " TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 97 " Ah ! knew you'd say so ! But I can lay my hand on my heart, Mr Titmouse, and declare to Qod— I can, indeed, Mr Titmouse" Titmouse preserved a very embarrassing silence. — " See I'm out of your good books — But — won't you forget aud forgive, Mr Titmouse? I meant well. Nay, I humbly beg forgiveness for every- thing you've not liked in me. Can I say more ? Come, Mr Titmouse, you've a noble nature, and I ask for- giveness ! " cried Tag-rag softly and earnestly : you would have thought that his life depended on his success in what he was doing ! "You — ^you ought to do it before the whole shop, if you're in earnest," replied Titmouse, a little relenting — "for they've all seen your goings on." " Them ! — the brutes ! — the vulgar fellows, eugh ! — you and; I, Mr Tit- mouse, are a hetle above such cattle as them! D'ye think we ought to mind what servants say? — Only you say the word, and I make a clean sweep of 'em all ; you shall have the premises to yourself, Mr Titmouse, within an hour after any of those chaps shows you the least glimmer of disrespect. " Ah ! I dtou't know — you've used me most uncommon bad, 'pon my soul! — far worse than they have — you've nearly broke my heart, sir! You have!" "Well, my womankind at home are right, after all ! They told me all along- 1 was going the wrong way to work, when I said how I tried' to keep your pride down, and prevent you from having your head turned by knowing your good looks ! Over and over again, my little girl has said, with tears iia her dear eyes, 'you'll' break his spirit, dear papa — if he is hand- some, wasn't it God that made him so?"' The little frostwork which Tit mouse had thrown around his heart, began to melt like snow under sun- beams. " Ah, Mr Titmouse, Mr Tit- mouse ! the women are always right, and we're always wrong," continued Tag-rag earnestly, perceiving his ad- vantage. "Upon my soul I could vol.. I. kick myself for my stupidity, and cruelty too !" " Ah, I should think so ! No one knows what I've suffered ! And now," added Titmouse, suddenly, " that I'm — I suppose you've heard it all, sir? — what s in the wind — and all that ?" " Yes, sir — Mr Gammon (that most respectable gentleman) and I have had a long talk yesterday about you, in which he did certainly tell me everything — nothing like confidence, Mr Titmouse, when gentleman meets gentleman, you know ! Oh, Lord ! the news is really delightful ! de- lightful ! " " IsrC tit, sir?" eagerly interrupted Titmouse, his eyes glistening with sudden rapture.. " Ah I ten thous — I must shake hands with you, my dear Mr Tit- 'mouse;"" quoth Tag-rag, with affec- tionate excitement — and, for the first time in their lives, their hands touched, Tag-rag squeezing that of Titmouse with energetic cordiality ; while he added, with a little emotion in his tone — "Thomas Tag-rag may be a plain-spoken and wrong-headed man, Mr Titmouse — but he's a warm heart, I assure you!" "And did Mr Gammon tell you dU, sir ? " eagerly interrupted Titmouse. ' ' Everything — everything ; quite confidbntiaF, I assure you, for he saw the interest I felt in you ! '" " And' did he say about my — hem ! — eh? my stopping a few weeks longer 'with you?" inquired Titmouse, cha- grin overspreading his features. " I, think he did, indbed, Mr Tit- mouse ! He's quite bent on it, sir ! And so would any true friend of yours be — because you see!" — here he dropped his voice, and looked very mysteriously at Titmouse — " in short, I quite agree with Mr Gammon ! " Do you indeed, sir ? " exclaimed Titmouse, with rather an uneasy look. " I do, i' faith ! Why, they'd give thousands and thousands to get you out of the way — and what's money to them f But they must look very sharp that get at you in the premises of Thomas Tag-rag, I warrant 'em !— a TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. Talking of that, ah, ha ! — it will be a funny thing to see you, Mr Titmouse — Squire Titmouse — ah, ha, ha ! " " You won't hardly expect me to go out with goods, I suppose, sir?" in- quired Titmouse somewhat anxiously. " Ha, ha, ha !— Ha, ha, ha !— Might as well ask me if I'd clean that beast Lutestring's shoes ! No, no, my dear Mr Titmouse, you and I have done with each other as master and servant; it's only as friends that we know each other now ! — ^You may say and do whatever you like, and come and go when and where you like ! — It's true it will make my other hands rather jealous, and get me into trouble ; but what do I care ? Suppose they do all give me warning for your sake ? Let 'em go, say I ! " He snapped his fingers- with an air of defiance. " Your looks and manners would keep a shop full of customers — one Titmouse is worth a hundred of them." " 'Pon my soul, you speak most un- common gentlemanlike, sir, certain- ly!" said Titmouse, with a little ex- citement — " and if you'd only always — but that's all past and gone ; and I've no objections to say at once, that all the articles I may want in your line I'll have at your establishment, pay cash down, and ask for no dis- count. And I'll send all my friends, for, in course, sir, you know I shall have lots of them ! " "Don't forget your oldest, your truest, your humblest friend, Mr Tit- mouse," said Tag-rag, with a cringing air. " That I won't !" replied Titmouse heatedly. [It flashed across his mind that a true and old friend would be only too happy to do him some such trifling service as to lend him a ten-pound note!] , "Hem! — Now, are yon such a friend, Mr Tag-rag?" cried he, sheep- ishly. " Am I ? — Can you doubt me ? Try me? See what I would not do for you ! Friend, indeed ! " and he looked quite fondly at Titmouse. " Well, I believe you, sir ! And the feet is, a — a— a — you see, Mr Tag- rag, though all this heap of money's coming to me, I'm precious low just now" " Ye — e — e — s, Mr Titmouse," quoth Tag-rag, with a horrid inward spasm; his dull grey eye fixed on that of Titmouse miserably. "Well — ^if you've a mind to prove your words, Mr Tag-rag, and don't mind advancing me a ten-pound note " " Hem ! " involuntarily uttered Tag- rag, so suddenly and violently, that it made Titmouse start. Then Tag-rag's face flushed over ; he twirled about his watch-key rapidly, and wriggled about in his chair with visible agi- tation. " Oh, you aren't going to do it ! If so, you'd better say it at once," quoth Titmouse, rather cavalierly. "Why — was ever anything so un- fortunate?" stammered Tag-rag. " That cursed lot of French goods I bought only yesterday, to be paid for this very morning — and it will drain me of every penny ! " " Ah— yes ! True ! Well, it don't much signify," said Titmouse care- lessly, running his hand through his bushy hair. " In fact, I needn't have bothered an old friend at all, now I think of it — Mr Gammon says he's my banker to any amount. I lieg pardon, I'm sure" Tag-rag was in a horrid dilemma. He felt so flustered by the suddenness and seriousness of the thing, that he could not see his way plain in- any direction. " Let me see," at length he stam- mered ; and pulling a ready-reckoner out of his pocket, he affected to be consulting it, as if to ascertain merely the state of his banker's account, but really desiring a few moments' time to collect his thoughts. 'Twas in vain, however ; nothing occurred to him ; he saw no way of escape ; his old friend the devil had deserted him for a moment — not supplying him as usual with a ready lie to meet an exigency. He must, he feared, cash up ! " Well," said he—" it certainly is rather unfortunate, just at this pre- cise moment; but I'll step to the TEN THOUSAND A-YEAK. 99 shop, and see how my ready-money matters stand. It sha'n't be a trifle, Mr Titmouse, that shall stand between us. But — if I should be hard run — perhaps — eh ? Would a five -pound note do?" "Why — a — a — certainly, if it wouldn't suit you to advance the ten" "I daresay," interrupted Tag-rag, a trifle relieved, "I shall be able to accommodate you so far. Perhaps you'll step on to the shop presently, and then we can talk over matters ! — By the way, did you ever see anything so odd ? forgot the main, thing ! Do come and take your mutton with me atClaphara next Sunday — my woman- kind will be quite delighted. Nay, 'tis their invitation — ha, ha !" , "You're uncommon polite," replied Titmouse, colouring with pleasure. Here seemed the first pale primrose of the coming spring — an invitation to Satin Lodge ! "The politeness — the favour — will be yours, Mr Titmouse ! I'm uncom- mon proud of your coming ! We shall be quite alone ! have you all to our- selves ; only me, my wife, and daugh- ter — an only child, Mr Titmouse — such a child! She's really often said to me, 'I wonder' — but, ^I won't malte you vain, eh ? ShaU I call it, a fixture?" " 'Pon my life, Mr Tag-rag, you're monstrous uncommon polite. It's true, I was going to dine with- Mr Gammon" " Oh ! pho ! (I mean no disrespect, mind !) he's only a bachelor — I've got ■ladies in the case, and all that — eh, Mr Titmouse ? and a,.young one ! " " Well, thank you, sir. Since you're so pressing" " That's it ! An engagement, poz ! — Satin Lodge — for Sunday next," said Tag-rag, rising and looking at his watch. " Time for me to be off. See you soon at the shop ? Soon arrange that little matter of business, eh ? You understand? Good-by! good- by !" and shaking Titmouse cordially by the hand. Tag-rag took his depar- ture. As he hurried on to his shop he felt in a most painful perplexity about this loan of five pounds. It was truly . like squeezing firve drops of blood out of his heart. But what was to be done? Could he offend Titmouse? Where-was he to stop, if he once be- gan ? Dare he ask for security ? Sup- pose the whole affair should after all turn into smoke ? Now, consider the folly of Tag-rag. Here was he in all this terrible pucker about advancing five pounds on the strength of prospects and chances which he had deemed safe for adven- turing his daughter upon — her, the only object on earth (except money) that he regarded with anything like sincere affection. How was this? The splendour of the future possible good fortune of his daughter, might, per- haps, have dazzled and confused his perceptions. Then, again, tliai was a remote contingent venture ; but this sudden appeal to his pocket — the de- mand of an immediate outlay and venture — was an instant pressure, and he felt it severely. Immediate profit was everything to Tag-rag — 'twas his very life's blood ! He was, in truth, a tradesman to his heart's core. If he could have seen the immediate quid pro quo, or could, at all events, have got, if only by way of earnest, as it were, a bit of poor Titmouse's heart — if there were such a thing — and looked it up in his desk, he would not have cared so much.; it would have been a little in his line; — but here was a Five-Pound Note going out forthwith, and nothing immediate, visible, pal- pable, replacing it. Oh ! Titmouse had unconsciously pulled Tag-rag's very heart-strings ! Observe, discriminating reader, that there is all the difference in the world between a Teadesmas and a Mee- CHANT ; and, moreover, that it is not every tradesman that is a Tag-rag. All these considerations combined to keep Tag-rag in a perfect fever of doubt and anxiety, which several hearty curses (I regret to say) failed in effectually relieving. By the time, however, that Titmouse had made his appearance at Mr Tag-rag's shop, with a suflSoiently sheepish air, and was beginning to run the gauntlet of- 100 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. grinning contempt from the "gents" on each side of the shop, Tag-rag had determined on the conrse he should pursue in the very embarrassing mat- ter above referred to. To the inex- pressible amazement of all present, he bolted out of a little counting- house or side-room, hastened to meet Titmouse with outstretched hand and cordial speech, drew him into his little room, and shut the door. There Tag- rag informed his flurried young friend that he had made arrangements (with a little inconvenience, which, how- ever, between friends, signified no- thing) for lending Titmouse five pounds. " And, as life's uncertain, my dear Mr Titmouse," said Tag-rag, ^s Tit- mouse with ill-disguised ecstasy, put the five-pound note into his pocket — "even between the dearest friends — eh? Understand ? It's not you I fear, nor you me, because we've confidence in each other. But if anything should happen, those we leave behindus" Here he took out of his desk an "I. 0. U. £5," ready drawn up and dated — " a mere slip — a word or two — ^is satisfaction to both of us." " Oh yes, sir ! yes, sir ! — anything !" said Titmouse ; and hastily taking the pen proffered liim, signed his name, on which Tag-rag felt a little relieved. Lutestring was then summoned into the room, and thus (not a littlo to his disgust and astonishment) addressed by his imperious employer. " Mr Lutestring, you will have the good- ness to see that Mr Titmouse, while he may do me the honour to condescend to be here, is treated by every person in my establishment with the utmost possible respect. Whoever treats this gentleman with the slightest disre- spect isn't any longer a servant of mine. P'ye hear me, Mr Lutestring?" added Tag-rag sternly, observing a very significant glance of mingled hatred and wonder which Lutestring directed towards Titmouse. "D'ye hear me, sir ? " " Oh, yes, sir ! yes, sir ! your orders shall be attended to," he replied, in as insolent a tone as he could venture upon, leaving the room with a half audible whistle of contempt, while a grin overspread his features. Within five minutes he had filled the mind of every shopman in the establishment with feelings of mingled wonder, hatred, and fear towards Titmouse. What, thought they, could have hap- pened? What was Mr Tag-rag about? This was all of a piece with his rage at Lutestring the day before. " Cuss Titmouse ! and Tag-rag, too !" said or thought every one of them. CHAPTER XIL ctanochaitantheopopoioh ; damascus ckeam ; and tetaragmenon abeaoa- dabea: with theik amazikg eefects on mb titmouse's haib. Titmouse, for the remainder of the day, felt, as may be imagined, but little at his ease ; for — to say nothing of his insuperable repugnance to the discharge of any of his former duties — his uneasiness under the oppressive civilities of Mr Tag-rag ; and the evi- dent disgust towards him entertained bj his companions ; many important considerations arising out of recent and coming events — his altering cir- cumstances — were momentarily forc- ing themselves upon his attention. The first of these was his hair ; for Heaven seemed to have suddenly given him the long-coveted means of changing its detested hue ; and the next was an eye-glass, without which TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 101 he had long felt his appearance and appointgents to be painfully incom- plete, ^arly in the afternoon, there- fore, on the readily admitted plea of important business, he obtained the per- mission of the obsequious Mr Tag rag to depart for the day ; and instantly directed his steps to the well-known shop of a fashionable perfumer andper- ruquier, in Bond Street — well known to those, at least, who were in the habit of glancing at the enticing ad- vertisements in the newspapers. Hav- ing watched through the window till the coast was clear — for he felt a natural delicacy in asking for a hair- dye before people who could in an instant perceive his urgent occasion for it — ^he entered tlie shop, where a well-dressed gentleman was sitting behind the counter reading. He was handsome ; and his elaborately curled hair was of a heavenly black — so at least Titmouse considered it — which was better than a thousand printed advertisements of the celebrated fluid which formed the chief commodity there vended. Titmouse, with a little hesitation, asked this gentleman what was the price of their article "for turning light hair black " — and was answered — " only seven and sixpence for the smaller-sized bottle." One was in a twinkling placed upon the coun- ter, where it ^y like a miniature mummy, swathed, as it were, in mani- fold advertisements. "You'll find," said the black-haired gentleman, with bland glibness, " the fullest directions within, and testimonials from the highest nobility to the wonderful effi- cacy of the ' Cyanochaitanthrofo- POION.'"* "Sure it will do, sir?" inquired Titmouse anxiously. * This fearful-looking word, I wisll to in- form my lady readers, is an original and monstl'ous amalgamation of three or four Greek vfovtis— xvxv^xeiiT-ecvS^aro-croiw — do- noting a fluid "ichicu can reiuler ilie human Jiaiv black." "Whenever a barber or per- fumer determines on trying to puff off some villanous imposition of tliis sort, sti'ange to say, ho goes to some starving scholar, and gives him lialf-a-crown, or so, to coin aword like the above ; one which shall be equally unintelligible .and unm-onounceablo, and therefore attractive and popular. " Is my hair dark enough to your taste, sir?" echoed the gentleman, with smiling confidence — " Such as you see it, I owe it entirely to this in- valuable specific." "Do you, indeed, sir?" inquired Titmouse : adding with a sigh, " but, between ourselves, look at mine ! " — and, lifting off his hat for a moment, he exhibited a great crop of bushy, carroty hair. " Whew ! rather ugly that, sir ! " — exclaimed the gentleman, lookirgvery serious — " What a curse it is to be born with such hair, isn't it?" " 'Pen my life I think so, sir ! " an- swered Titmouse mournfully ; " and do you really say, sir, that this what's- its-name turned yours of that beauti- ful black ? " " Think ? 'Pon my honour, sir — certain; no mistake, I assure you I I was fretting myself into my grave about the colour of my hair ! Why, sir, there was a nobleman in here (but it's _against our system to mention names) the other day, with a head that seemed as if it had been dipped into water, and then powdered with brick-dust ; but — I assure you, the Cy- anochaitanthropopoion was too much for it: — his hair turned black in a very short time. You should have seen his lordship's ecstasy — [the spealter saw that Titmouse would swallow anything ; so he went on with a confident air] — and in a month's time he had married a beautiful wo- man whom he had loved from a child, but who had vowed she could never bring herself to marry a man with such a head of hair." "How long does it take to do all this, sir?" interrupted Titmouse eager- ly, with a beating heart. " Sometimes two — sometimes three days. In four days' time, I'll answer for it, your most intimate friend would not know you. My wife did not know me for a long while, and wouldn't let me salute her — ha, ha! " Here an- other customer entered; and Tit- mouse, laying down the five-pound note he had squeezed out of Tag-rag, put the wonder-working bottle into his pocket, and on receiving his change, TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 102 departed, bursting with eagerness to try the effects of the Cyanoehaitanthro- popoion. Within half an hour's time he might have been seen driving a hard bargain with a pawnbroker for a mas- sive-looking eye-glass, upon which, as it hung suspended in the window, he had for months cast a longing eye ; and he eventually purchased it (his eye- sight, I need hardly say, was perfect) for only fifteen shillings. After taking a hearty dinner in a little dusky eat- ing-house in Eupert Street, frequent- ed by fashionable-looking foreigners, with splendid heads of curling hair and mustaches, he hastened home, eager to commence the grand experi- ment. Fortunately, he was undisturb- ed that evening. Having lit his candle, and locked his door, with tremulous fingers he opened the papers envelop- ing the little bottle; and glancing over their contents, got so inflamed with the numberless instances of its efficacy, detailed in brief but glowing ^.terms— as— the"Dukeof * » * « —the Countess of « * * «— the Earl of, &c. &c. &e. &c.— the lovely Miss , the celebrated Sir Gos- samer Goosegiblets (who was so gra- tified that he allowed his name to be used) — all of whom, from having hair of the reddest possible description, were now possessed of raven -hued locks" — that he threw down the paper, and hurriedly got the cork out of the bottle. Having turned up his coat- cuffs, he commenced the application of the matchless Cyanochaitanthropo- poion, rubbing it into his hair, eye- brows and whiskers, with all the energy he was capable of, for upwards of half an hour. Then he read over again every syllaMe on the papers in which the bottle had been wrapped ; and about eleven o'clock, having given sundry curious glances at the glass, got into bed, full of exciting hopes and delightful anxieties concerning the success of the great experiment he was trying. He could not sleep for se- veral hours. He dreamed a rapturous dream — that he bowed to a gentleman with coal-black hair, whom he fancied he had seen before — and suddenly discovered that he was only looking at Tiimsdf in a glass! !— This awoke him. Up he jumped — sprang to his little rfass breathlessly— but ah ! mer- ciful Heavens ! he almost dropped down dead ! Would you have believed it?— His hair was perfectly greenr— there could be no mistake about it! He stood staring in the glass in speech- less honor, his eyes and mouth dis- tended to their utmost, for several minutes. Then he threw liimself on the bed, and felt fainting. Out he presently jumped again, in a kind of ecstasy — ^rubbed his hair desperately and wildly about — again looked into the glass — there it was, rougher than before ; but eyebrows, whiskers, and head — all were, if anything, of a more vivid and brilliant green. Despair came over him. What had all his past troubles been to this? — what was to become of him? He got into bed again, and burst into a perspiration. Two or three times he got into and out of bed, to look at himself — on each occasion deriving only more terrible confirmation than before, of the dis- aster which had befallen him — and the hideous spectacle he was doomed thenceforth to present to gods and men ! After lying still for some min- utes, he got out of bed, and kneel- ing down, tried to say his prayers ; but it was in vain — and he rose half choked. It was plain he must have his head shaved, and wear a wig, which would be making an old man of him at once. Getting more and more disturbed in his mind, he dress- ed himself, half determined on start- ing off to Bond Street, and breaking every pane of glass in the shop win- dow of the infernal impostor who had sold him the liquid which had so frightfully disfigured him. As he stood thus irresolute, he heard the step of Mrs Squallop approaching his door, and recollected that he ha3 or- dered her to bring up his tea-kettle about that time. Having no time to take his clothes off, he thought the best thing he could do, would be, to pop into bed again, draw his nightcap down to his ears and eyebrows, pre- tend to be asleep, and turning his back towards the door, have a chance TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 103 of escaping for the present the obser- vation of his landlady. No sooner thought of, than done. Into bed he jumped, and drew the clothes over him — not aware, however, that in his hurry he had left his legs, with boots and trousers on, exposed to view — an unusual spectacle to his landlady, who had, in fact, scarcely ever known hira in bed at so late an hour before. He lay as still as a mouse. Mrs Squallop, after glancing with surprise at his legs, happening to direct her eyes to- wards the window, beheld a small bottle standing there — only half of whose dark contents were regaining. Oh gracious ! — of course it must be POISON, and Mr Titmouse must be dead! — In a sudden fright she drop- ped the kettle, plucked the clothes off the trembling Titmouse, and cried out — " Oh, Mr Titmouse ! Mr Titmouse ! what have you been " " Well, ma'am, what the devil do you mean ? How dare you " commenced Titmouse, suddenly sit- ting up, and looking furiously at Mrs Squallop. An inconceivably strange and horrid figure he looked ! — He had all his day-clothes on ; a white cotton nightcap was diawn down to his very eyes, like a man going to be hanged ; his face was very pale, and his whis- kers were of a bright green colour. " Lard a-mighty ! " exclaimed Mrs Squallop faintly, the moment that this strange apparition had presented it- self; and, sinking on the chair, she pointed with a dismayed air to the ominous-looking object standing on the window shelf Titmouse thence, somewhat rapidly, inferred that she had found out the true state of the case. " Well — isn't it an infernal shame, Mrs Squallop?" said he, getting off the bed; and, plucking ofl' his nightcap, exhibited the full extent of his mis- fortune. " What d'ye think of that!" he exclaimed, staring wildly at her. Mrs Squallop gave a faint shriek, turned her head aside, and motioned him away. " I shall go mad — I bhai,!, ! " cried Titmouse, tearing his green hair. " Oh law ! — oh lawks ! " groaned Mi's Squallop, evidently expecting him to leap upon her. Presently, however, she a little recovered her presence of mind ; and Titmouse, stuttering with fury, explained to her what had taken place. As he went on, Mrs Squallop became less and less able to control herself, and at length burst into a fit of convulsive laughter, and sate hold- ing her hands to her fat shaking sides, and appearing likely to tumble off her chair. Titmouse was almost on the point of striking her ! At length, however, the fit went off ; and, wiping her eyes, she expressed the greatest commiseration for him, and proposed to go down and fetch up some soft soap and flannel, and try what " a good hearty wash would do." Scarce sooner said than done — but, alas, in vain ! Scrub, scrub — ^lathei-, laiher, did they both; but, the instant that the soap-suds had been washed off, ; there was the head as green as ever ! " Oh murder, murder ! what am I to do, Mrs Squallop?" groaned Tit- mouse, Iftving taken another look at himself in the gla.ss. " Why — really I'd be off to a police- office, and have 'em all taken up, if as •how I was you I" quoth Mrs Squal- lop, indignantly. " No — See if I don't take that bottle, and make the fellow that sold it me swallow what's left— and I'll smash in his ^hop front besides ! " " Oh, you won't — you mustn't — not on no account ! Stop at home a bit, and be quiet ; it may go off with all this washing, in the course of the day. Soft soap is an uncommon strong thing for getting colours out — but — a — a — excuse me now, Mr Titmouse " — said Mrs Squallop, seriopsly — " why wasn't you satisfied with the hair God Almighty had given you ? D'ye think He didn't know a deal better than you what was best for you ? I'm blest if I don't think this is a judgment on you, when one comes to consider ! " " What's the use of your standing E reaching to me in this way, Mrs quallop ? " said Titmouse, first with amazement, and then with fury in his manner — " A'n't I half mad without it? Judgment or no judgment — Where's the harm of my wanting 104 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. black hair, any more than black trou- sers ? That a'n't your own hair, Mrs Squallop — you're as grey as a badger underneath — 'pon my soul ! I've often remarked it — I have, 'pon my soul ! " "I'll tell you what, Mr Himper- ance ! " furiously exclaimed Mrs Squal- lop, " you're a liar ! And you deserve what you've got ! It is a judgment, and I hope it will stick by you — so take that for your sauce, you vulgar fellow ! " snapping her fingers at him. " Get rid of your green hair if you can ! It's only carrot tops instead of carrot roots — and some likes one, some the other — ha ! ha ! ha ! " " I'll tell you what, Mrs Squ " he commenced, but she had gone,, having slammed the door behind her with all her force ; and Titmouse was left alone in a half frantic state, in which he continued for nearly two hours, Once again he read over the atrocious puffs which had overnight inflated him to such a degree, and he now saw that they wereall lies. This is a sample of them : — "This divine fluid, as it was en- thusiastically styled to the inventor, by the lovely Duchess of Dunder- whistle, possesses the inestimable and astonishing quality of changing hair, of whatever colour, to a dazzling jet-' black ; at the same time imparting to it a rich glossy appearance, which, wonderfully contributes to the' impos- ing towt-ensenible presented by those who use it. That well-known omar ment of the circle of fashion, thejoung and lovely Mrs p * » * *, owned to the proprietor that to this surprising fluid it was that she was indebted for those unrivalled raven ringlets which attracted the eyes of envying and ad- miring crowds," and so forth. A little further on : — " This exquisite effect is not in all cases produced instantane- ously; much will of course depend, as the celebrated M. Dupuytren, of the HStel Dieu, at Paris, informed the inventor, on the physical idiosyncrasy of the party using it, with reference to the constituent particles of the colouring matter constituting the fluid in the capillary vessels. Often 'a single application suffices to change the most hopeless-looking head of red hair to as deep a black ; but, not unfrequently, the hair passes throtigh intermediate shades and tints — all, however, ulti- mately settling into a deep and per- manent black." This passage not a little revived the drooping spirits of Titmouse. Accidentally, however, an asterisk at the last word in the above sentence, directed his eye to a note at the bot- tom of the page, printed in such minute type as would have baffled any but the strongest sight and most de- termined eye to read, and which said note was as follows: that is to say— "Though cases do, undoubtedly, oc- casionally occur, in which the native inherent indestructible qualities of the hair defy all attempts at change, or even modification, and resist even this potent remedy: of which, how- ever, in all his experience," the won- derful specific has been invented for about six months, "the inventor has known but very few instances." But to this exceedingly select class of un- fortunate incurables, poor Titmouse, alas! entertained a dismal suspicion that he belonged ! "Look, sir! Look! Only look here what ^our cussed stuff has done to my hair! ' said Titmouse, on presenting himself soon afterwards to the gentle- man who had sold him the infernal liquid ; and plucking off his hat, ex- posed his green hair. The graitleman, however, 4id not appear at all sur- prised, or discomposed. . "Ah—yes ! I see— I see. You're in the intermediate stage. It differs in different people " "Differs, sii-T I'm going mad! I look like a green monkey— Cuss me if I dont ! " "In me, now," replied the gentle- man, with a matter-of-fact air, " the colour was a strong yellou). But have you read the explanations that are given in the wrapper?" "Bead 'em?" echoed Titmouse furi- ously— "I should think so ! Much good they dome/ Sir, you're a hum- bug!— an impostor! Tm a sight to be seen for the rest of my life ! Look TEN THOTTSAOT) ATEAE. 105 ftt me, sir ! Eyebrows, whiskers, and 1 all!" I " Sather a singular appearance, just at present, I must own, said the gen- tleman, his face turning suddenly red all over with the violent effort he was making to prevent an explosion of laughter. He soon, however, recovered himself, and added coolly — " If you'll only persevere " "Persevere he d d ! " interrupted Titmouse, violently clapping his hat on his head, " I'll teach you to perse- vere in taking in the public ! I'll have a warrant out against you in no time!" " Oh, my dear sir, I'm accustomed to all this I " said the gentleman coolly. '"The — devil — ^you — are!" gasped Titmouse, quite aghast. " Oh, often — often, while the liquid is performing the first stage of the change; but, in a day or two after- wards, the parties generally come back smiling into my shop, with heads as black as crows ! ' "No! But really— do they, sir?" intermpted Titmouse, drawing a long breath. " Hundreds, I may say thousands, my dear sir ! And one lady gave me a picture of herself, in her black hair, to make up for her abuse of me when it was in a puoe colour — - Fact, honour ! " "But do you recollect any one's hair turning green, and then getting black?" inquired Titmouse with trem- bling anxiety. " EecoUect any? Fifty at least.' For instance, there was Lord Andrew Addlehead — but why should I mention names ? I know hundreds ! But everything is honour and confidential Iierel" "And did Lord what's-his-name's hair go gi'een, and then black; and was it at first as light as mine?" " His hair was redder, and in con- sequence it became greener, and now is blacker than ever youi-s will be." " Well, if 1 and my landlady have this morning used an ounce, we've used a quarter of a pound of soft soap iu" " Soft soap ! — soft soap ! " cried out the gentleman with an air of sudden alarm — "That explains all" (he for- got how well it had been ali-eady ex- plained by him). " By Heavens, sir,! — soft soap! Tou may have ruined your hair for ever ! " Titmouse opened his eyes and mouth with a start of terror, it not occurring to his astute mind that the intolerable green had preceded, not followed, the use of the soft soap. " Go home, my dear sir ! Lord bless you — go home, as you value your hair ; take this small bottle of Damascus Cream, and rub it in before it's too late ; and then use the re- mainder of the " " Then you don't think it's already too late? " inquired Titmouse faintly ; and, having been assured to the con- trary — having asked the price of the Damascus cream, which was "only three-and-sixpence" (stamp included) — he purchased and paid for it with a rueful air, and took his departure. He sneaked homeward along the streets with the air of a pickpocket, fearful that every one he met was ah ofiicer who had his eye on him. He was not, infect, very far off the mark; for many a person smiled, and stared, and turned round to look at him as he went along. He slunk up-stairs to his room in a sad state of depression, and spent the next hour in rubbing into his hair the Damascus cream. He rubbed till he could hardly hold his arms up any longer, from sheer fatigue. Having risen at length to mark, from the glass, the progress he liad made, he found that the only result of his persevering exertions had been to give a greasy shining appearance to the hair, which remained green as ever. With a half- uttered groan he sunk down upon a chair, and fell into a sort of abstrac- tion, which was interrupted by a sharp knock at his door. Titmouse started up, trembled, and stood for a moment or two irresolute, glancing fearfully at the glass ; and then, opening the door, let in — Mr Gammon, who started back a pace or two, as if he had been shot, on catching sight of the strange figure of Titmouse. It was useless for Gam- 106 mon to try to check his laughter ; so, leaning against the door-post, he yielded to the impulse, and laughed without intermission for nearly a couple of minutes. Titmouse felt des- perately angry, but feared to show it ; and the timid, rueful, lackadaisical air with which he regarded the dreaded Mr Gammon, only prolonged and ag- gravated the agonies of that gentle- man. When at length he had a little recovered himself, holding his left hand to his side, with an exhausted air, he entered the little apartment, and asked Titmouse what in the name of heaven he had been doing to him- self: " Without this" (in the absurd slang — lately, alas! [1851] abolished! — of the lawyers) that he suspected most vehemently, all the while, what Tit- mouse had been about ; but wished to hear Titmouse's own account of the matter ! — Titmouse, not daring to hesitate, complied — Gammon listen- ing in an agony of suppressed laugh- ter. He looked as little at Titmouse as he could, and was growing a trifle more sedate, when Titmouse, in a truly lamentable tone, inquired, "What's the. good, Mr Gammon, of ten thousand a-year with such a horrid head of hair as this ? " On hearing which Gammon jumped off his chair, started to the window, and laughed for one or two minutes without ceas- ing. This was too much for Titmouse, who presently cried aloud in a lament- able manner ; and Gammon, suddenly ceasing his laughter, turned round and apologised in the most earnest man- ner ; after which he uttered an abun- dance of sympathy for the suffeiings which "he deplored being unable to alleviate.^ He even restrained him- self when Titmouse again and .again asked if he could not " have the law " of the man who had so imposed on him. Gammon diverted the thoughts of his suffering client, by taking from his pocket some very imposing pack- ages of paper, tied round wi& red tape. From time to time, however, lie allmost split his nose with efforts to restrain his laughter, on catching a fresh glimpse of poor Titmouse's eme- rald hair, t Mr Gammon was a man of TEN THOUSAND A-TEAK. business, however, and in the midst of all this distracting excitement con- trived to get Titmouse's signature to sundry papers ofno little consequence; amongst others, first, to a bond con- ditioned for the payment of £500; secondly, another for £10,000,— both to Caleb Quirk, gentleman ; and lastly, an agreement (of which he gave Tit- mouse an alleged copy) by which Tit- mouse, in consideration of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap using their best exertions to put him in possession of the estate, &c. &o., bound himself to conform to their wishes in every- thing, on pain of their instantly throw- ing up the whole affair, looking out for another heir-at-law (!) and issuing execution forthwith against Titmouse for all expenses incurred under his retainer. I said that Gammon gave his confiding client an alleged copy of this agreement ; — it was not a real copy, for certain stipulations appeared in each, which were not intended to appear in the other, for reasons which were perfectly satisfactory to — Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap. When Gammon had got to this point, he thought it the fitting opportunity for producing a second five-pound note. He did so, and put Titmouse thereby into an ecstasy, which pushed out of his head for a while all recollection of what had happened to the outside of it. He had at that moment nearly eleven pounds in hard cash ! Gammon easily obtained from him an account of his little money transactions with Huckaback — of which, howevet, all he could tell was — that for ten shil- lings down, he had given a written engagement to pay fifty pounds on getting the estate. Of this Gammon made a careful memorandum, explain- ing to Titmouse the atrocious villany of Huckaback — and, in short, that if he. Titmouse, did not look very sharply about him, he would be robbed right and left ; so that it was of the utmost consequence to him early to learn how to distinguish between false and Gammon added with a heavenly air — true friends. Gammon went on to assure him that the instrument which he had given to Huckaback, was pro- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 107 bably, in point of law, not worth a farthing, on the ground of its being both fraudulent and usurious ; and in- timated something, which Titmouse did not very distinctly comprehend, about the efficacy of a bill in equity for a discovery ; which — merely to ex- pose villany— at a very insignificant expense, not exceeding £100, would enable the plaintiff in equity to put the defendant in equity, i. e. Hucka- back,, in the way of declaring, on his solemn oath, that he had advanced the full sum pf £50 ; and haying ob- tained this important and satisfactory result. Titmouse would have the op- portunity of disproving the statement of Huckaback — if he could ^ which of course heicould not. By this process, however, a little profitable employ- ment would have been afforded to a certain distinguished firm in Saffron Hill — and that was something — to ■Gammon. "But, by the way, talking of money," said Titmouse suddenly, "you can't think how surprising handsome Mr Tag-rag lias behaved to me ! " " Indeed, my dear sir ! " exclaimed Gammon, with real curiosity, " what has he done ? " " Advanced to me ^ve pounds — all of his own iead ! " (Oh Mr Tit- mouse !) " Are you serious, Mr Titmouse ? " inquired Gammon. Titmouse produced the change wliicli he had obtained for Tag-rag's five- pound note, minus only the prices of the Cyanochaitanthropopoion, the Damascus cream, and the eye-glass. Gammon merely stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner. So occupied, in- deed, was he with his reflections, that though his eye was fixed on the ludi- crous figure of Titmouse, which so shortly before had occasioned Jiim such paroxysms of laughter, he did not feel the least inclination even to a smile. Tag-rag advance Titmouse five pounds ! A-hem ! — Throwing as much smiling indifference into hiS; manner as was possible, he asked Tit- mouse the particulars of so strange a transaction. Titmouse answered — how truly the reader can judge — that Mr Tag-rag had, in the very hand- somest way, volunteered the loan of five pounds ; moreover offering him any further sum he might require ! " What a charming change, Mr Tit- mouse ! " exclaimed Gammon, with a watchful eye, and anxious smile. " Most delightful, 'pon my soul !" "Eather sudden, too! — eh? — Mr Titmouse?" "Why — no — no; I should Say, 'pen- my life, certainly not. The iaot is, we've long misunderstood each other. He's had an uncommon good opinion of me all the while — people liave tried to set him against me ; but it's no use, he's found them out — he told me so ! And he's not only said, but done the handsome thing ! He's turned, up by Jove, a trump all of a sudden — though it's long looked an ugly card, to be sure ! " "He, ha, ha! — very! — how curious!" exclaimed Mr Gammon mechanically; revolving several important matters in ihis mind. " I'm going, too, to dine at Satin Lodge, Mr Tag-rag's country house, next Sunday." " Indeed ! It will be quite a change for you, Mr Titmouse ! " ' " Yes, it will, by Jove ; and — a — a — what's more — there's — hem ! — you understand ? " " Go on, I beg, my dear Mr Tit- mouse " "There's a lady in the case — not that she's said anything ; hut a nod's as_ good as a wink to a blind horse — eh? Mr Gammon?" " I should think so — Miss Tag-rag will have money, of course ? " " You've hit it ! Lots ! But I've not made up my mind." [I'd better undeceive this poor devil at once, as to this sordid wretch Tag- rag, thought Gammon, otherwise the cunning old rogue may get a very mis- chievous hold upon him ! And a lady in the easel The old scamp has a daughter ! Whew ! this will never do ! Tlie sooner I enlighten my young friend the bettei- — though at a little risk.] " It's very important to be able to tell who are real and who false Mends, 108 TEN THOUSAISTD A-YEAR. as I was saying just now, my dear Tit- mouse," said Gammon seriously. "I think so. Now look for instance, there's thatfellow Huckaback. Ishould say he " " Pho ! pho ! my dear sir, a mere beetle — ^lie s not worth thinking ot, one way or the other. But can't you guess another sham friend, who has changed so suddenly ? " " Do you mean Mr Tag-rag — eh ? " " I mention no names ; but it's ra- ther odd, that when I am speaking of hollow-hearted friends, you should at once name Mr Tag-rag — ah, ha, Mr Titmouse ! Your natural acuteness ! " "The proof of the pudding — hand-f some is that handsome does; and I've got £5 of his money at any rate ! " " Of course he took no secwrity for such a trifle, between such very close friends ? " " Oh — why — ^now you mention it — But 'twas only a line — one line — a mere mem. betwixt two gents — and I noticed it had no stamp I " " I guessed as much, my dear sir," interruptedGammon calmly, with asig- nificant smile — " Tag-rag and Hucka- back are quite on a par — a brace of worthies — ah, ha, ha ! My dear Tit- mouse, you are too honest, and confid- ing ! " " What keen eyes you lawyers have, to be sure ! Well — I never " — said Titmouse, looking very grave — for he was evidently somewhat staggered. "I — I — must say," he presently added, looking gratefully at Gammon, "I think I (to now know of a true friend, that sent me two five-pound notes, and never asked for any security." " My dear sir, you really pain me by alluding to such a matter ! " [Oh, Gammon, Gammon ! is not this too bad ! What are the papers which you know are now in your pocket, signed only this very evening by Tit- mouse ? ] " You are not a match for Tag-rag, Mr Titmouse; because he was made for a tradesman — -you are not. Do you think he would have parted with his £3 but for value received? Oh, Tag-rag ! Tag-rag ! " "I— I really begin to tliiok, Mr Gam- mon — 'pon my soul, I do think you're right." " Think ! — why — for a man of your acuteness — ^how could he imagine you could forget the long course of insult and tyranny which you have endured under him: that he should change all of a sudden — just now, when " " Ay, by Jove ! just when I'm com- ing into my property," interrupted Titmouse quickly. " To be sure — to be sure ! just now, I say, to make this sudden change! Bah! bah!" - "I hate Tag-rag, and always did. Now he's trying to take me in, just as he does everybody ; but I've found him out ; I won't lay out a penny with him!" _ . "Would you, do you think, ever have seen the inside of Satin Lodge, if you hadn't " "Why, I don't know; I really think —hem!" " Would you, my dear sir ? — But BOW a scheme occurs to me — a very amusing idea indeed ! Ah, ha, ha ! — Shall I tell you a way of proving to his own face how insincere and inter- ested he is towards you? Go to dinner by all means, eat his good things, hear all that the whole set of them have to say, and just before you go (it will re- quire you to have your wits about you), pretend, with a long fece, that our af- fair is all a bottle of smoke : say that Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap have told you the day before that they had made a horrid mistake, an4 you were the wrong man " " 'Pon my life, I — ^I — ^really,'' stam- mered Titmouse, "daren't — ^1 couldn't —I couldn't keep it up— he'd half kill me. Besides, there will be Miss Tag- rag — it would be the death of her, I know." "Miss Tag-rag! Gracious Heavens! What on earth can you have to do with Iter! You — why, if you really succeed in getting this fine property, she might make a very suitable wife for one of your grooms — ah, ha ! — But for ycm — absurd ! " " Ah ! I don't know— she may be a devilish fine girl, and the old fellow will have a tolerable penny to leave TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 109 her — and a bird in the hand — eh? Be- sides, I know what she's all along thought — hem ! — ^but that doesn't sig- nify." "Pho'.phol Eidioulous! Ha, ha, ha ! Fancy Miss Tag-rag Mrs Tit- mouse! Your eldest son — ah, ha, ha! Tag-rag Titmouse, Esq. Delightful ! Your honoured father a draper in Ox- ford Street ! " All this might be very clever, but it did not seem to tell upon Titmouse, whose little heart had been reached by a cunning hint of Tag-ra|f's, concerning his daughter's flattering estimate of Titmouse's perssnal ap- pearance. The reason why Gammon attacked so seriously a matter which appeared so chimerical and preposter- ous, was this — that according to his present plan. Titmouse was to remain for some considerable while at Tag- rag's, and might, with his utter weak- ness of character, be worked upon by Tag-rag and his daughter, and get in- veigled into an engagement which might be productive hereafter of no little embarrassment. Gammon sue- ceeded, however, at length, in obtain- ing Titmouse's promise to adopt his suggestion, amd thereby discover the true nature of the feelings entertained towards him at Satin Lodge. He shook Titmouse energetically by the hand^ and left him perfectly certain that if there was one person in the world worthy of his esteem, and even rever- ence, that person was Oily Gammon, Esq. As he bent his steps towards Saffron Hill, he reflected rather anxiously on several matters which had occurred to him during the interview which I have just described. Onreachiugtheoflice,he was presently closeted with Mr Quirk, to whom, first andforemost, he exhibited and delivered the documents to which he had obtained Titmouse's signature, and which, the reader will allow me to assure him, were of a somewhat difierent texture from a certain legal instrument or security which I laid before him some little time ago. " Now, Gammon," said the old gen- tleman, as soon as he had looked ^up in his safe the above-mentioned docu- ments — " Now, Gammon, I- think we may he up and at 'em; load our guns, and blaze away," and he rubbed his hands. " Perhaps so, Mr Quirk," replied Gammon; "but we must, for no earth- ly consideration, be premature in our operations ! Let me, by the way, tell you one or two little matters that have just happened to Titmouse ! " — Then he told Mr Quirk of the effects which had followed the use of the potent Gyanochaitanthropopoion, at which old Quirk almost laughed himself into fits. When, however. Gammon, with a seri- ous air, mentioned the name of Miss Tag-rag, and his grave suspicions con- cerning her. Quirk beuneed up out of his chair, almost startling Gammon out of his. It Mr Quirk had just been told that his banker had broke, he could scarce have shown more emotion. . The fact was, that he, too, had a DABQHTEB — an Only child — Miss Quirk — whom he had destined to become Mrs Titmouse. " A designing old villain ! " he ex- claimed at length, and Gammon agreed with him ; but, strange to say, with all his acuteness, never adverted to the real cause of Quirk's sudden and vehe- ment exclamation. When Gammon told him of the manner in which he had opened Titmouse's eyes to the knavery of Tag-rag, and the expedient he had suggested for its complete de- monstration to Titmouse, Quirk could have worshipped Gammon, and could not help rising and shaking him very energetically by the hand, much to his astonishment. After a long consulta- tion, they determined to look out fresh lodgings for Titmouse, and remove him presently altogether from the com- pany and influence of Tag-rag. Some time after they had parted, Mr Quirk came with an eager air into Mr Gam- mon's room, with a most important sug- gestion; viz. whether it would not be possible for them to get Tag-rag to he- come a surety to them, by-and-by, on behalf of Titmouse? Gammon was de- lighted! — He heartily commended Mr ■ Quirk's sagacity, and promised to turn it about in his thoughts very carefully. Not having been let entirely in to Quirk's policy, (of which the reader has, how- no TEN Thousand a-yeae. ever, just had a glimpse), Mr Gammon did not see the diflSoulties which kept Quirk awake almost all that night ; viz. how to protect Titmouse from the machinations of Tag-rag andhisdaugh- ter, and yet keep Tag-rag sufficiently interested in, and intimate with. Tit- mouse, to entertain, by-and-by, the idea of becoming surety for him to them, the said Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap ; and — withal — how to ma- nage Titmouse all the while, so as to forward their objects, and also succeed in turning his attention towards Miss Quirk ; all this formed really rather a complex problem ! — Quirk looked down on Tag-rag with honest indigna- tion, as a mean and mercenary fellow, whose unprincipled schemes, thank Heaven ! he already saw through, and from which he resolved to rescue his innocent and confiding client, who was made for better things — to wit. Miss Quirk. When Titmouse rose the next morn- ing (Saturday), behold — he found his hair had become of a variously shaded purple or violet colour! Astonish- ment and apprehension by turns pos- sessed him, as he stared into the glass, at this unlooked-for change of colour ; and hastily dressing himself, after swallowing a very slight breakfast, off he went once moi-e to the scientific establishment in Bond Street, to which he had been indebted for his recent delightful experiences. The distin- guished inventor and proprietor of the Cyanochaitanthropopoion was behind the counter as usual — calm and con- fident as ever. ' "Ah! I see — as I said! as I said," quoth he, with a sort of glee in his manner. "Isn't it? — Coming round quicker than usual— Eeally, I'm sell- ing more of the article than. I can possibly make." " Well,"— at length said Titmouse, as soon as he had recovered from the surprise occasioned by the sudden vol- ubility with which he had been as- sailed on entering — " then is it really going on tolerable well ? " taking off his hat, and looking anxiously into a glass that hung close by. " Tolerable well, my dear sir ! De- lightful! Perfect! Couldn't be better ! If you'd studied the thing, you'd know sir, that purple is the middle colour between green and black. Indeed, black's only purple and green mixed, which explains the whole thing!" 'Titmouse listened with infinite satis- faction to this unanswerable and truly philosophical account of the matter. " Kemember, sir — my hair is to come like yours — eh? you recollect, sir? Honour — that was the bargain, you know ! " " I have very little doubt of it, sir — nay, I am certain of it, knowing it by experience." [The scamphad been hired expressly for the purpose of lying thus in sup- port of the Cyanochaitanthropopoion ; his own hair being a natwcd black.] "I'm going to a grand dinner to- morrow, sir," said Titmouse, " with some devilish great people at the west end of the town — eh? you understand! will it do by that time? Would give a trifle to get my hair a shade darker by that time — for — hem ! — most lovely gal — eh ? y ou understand the thing ? — devilish anxious, and all that sort of thing, you know ! " " Yes — I do," replied the gentleman of the shop in a confidential tone ; and opening one of the glass doors behind him, took out a bottle considerably larger than the first, and handed it to Titmouse. " This," said he, " will complete the thing ; it combines che- mically with the purple particles, and the result is — generally arrived at in about two days' time" " But it will do something in a night's time — eh ? — surely." " I should think so ! But here it is — it is called the Tetaraqmekon Ab- KAOADABRA." " What a name ! " exclaimed Tit- mouse with a kind of awe. " 'Pon honour, it almost takes one's breath away " "It will do more, sir; it will take your red hair away! By the way, onljr the day before yesterday, a lady of high rank, between ourselves. Lady Caroline Carrot, whose red hair always seemed as if it would have set her' TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. Ill tonnet in a blaze— ha, ha!— came here, after two days' use of the Cyanochait- anthropopoion, and one day's use of this Tetaragmenon Abracadabra — and asked me if I knew her. Upon my soul I did not, till she solemnly as- sured me she was really Lady Caro- line ! " "How much is it?" eagerly in- quired Titmouse, thrusting his hand into his pocket, with no little excite- ment. '\Only nine-and-sixpenoe." " Oh, my stars, what a price ! Nine- and-six " " Ah, but would you. have believed it, sir ? This extraordinary fluid cost a gi-eat German chemist his whole life to bring to perfection ; and it contains expensive materials from all the four corners of the world ! It's ruined the proprietor long ago ! " "That may be — but really — I've laid out a large figure with you, sir, this day or two! Couldn't you say eight sh " " We never abate, sir ; it's not our style of doing- business," replied the gentleman, in a manner that quite overawed poor Titmouse, who at once bought this, the third abomination ; not a little depressed, however, at the heavy prices which he had paid for the three bottles, and the uncertainty he felt as to the ultimate issue. That night he was so well satisfied with the progress which he was making T^rith his hair, for, by candle light, it really looked mucli darker than could have been expected, — that he resolved — at all events for the present — ^to leave well alone ; or at the utmost, to try the effects of the Tetaragmenon Ab- racadabra only upon his eyebrows and whiskers. Into them he rubbed the new specific ; which, on the bottle being opened, sui-prised him in two respects : first, it was perfectly ooloui-- less ; secondly, it had a most infernal smell. It was, however, no use hesi- tating : he had bought and paid for it ; and the papers in which it was folded gave an account of its success that was really irresistible and unquestion- able. Away, therefore, he rubbed ; and when he had finished, got into bed, in humble hope as to the result, which would be disclosed by the morn- ing's light. But, alas I would you have believed it? When he looked at himself in the glass, about six o'clock on the ensuing morning, at which hour he awoke, I protest it is a fact, that his eyebrows and whiskers were as white as snow; which, combined with the purple colour of the hair on his head, rendered him one of the most astounding objects, in human shape, that the eye of man had ever beheld. There was the wisdom of age seated in his white eyebrows and whiskers, unspeakable youthful folly in his fear tures, and a pmple crown of wonder on his head. Eeally, it seemed as if the devil were wreaking his spite on Mr Tit- mouse ; nay, perhaps it was the devil himself who had served him with the ' bottles in Bond Street. Or was it a mere ordinary servant of the devil- some greedy, impudent, unprincipled speculator, who, desirous of acting on the approved maxim — Fiat eiq>cri- mentum in corpore vili — had pitched on Titmouse, seeing the sort of person he was, as a godsend, quite reckless what effect might be produced on his hair, so as the stuff were paid for, and its effects noted ? It might possibly have been sport to the gentleman of the shop, but it was near proving death to poor Titmouse, who might possibly have resolved on throwing himself out of the window, only that fie saw it was not big enough for a baby to get through. He turned aghast at the monstrous object which his little glass presented to him ;. and sank down' upon the bed with the feeling that he was now fit for death. As before, Mrs Sqnallop made her ap- pearance with his kettle for breakfast. He was sitting at the table dressed, and with his arms folded, with a reck- less air, not at all caring to conceal the new and still more frightful change which he had undergone since she saw him last. Mrs Squallop stared at him for a second or two in silence ; then, stepping back out of the room, suddenly drew to the door, and stood outside, laughing vehemently. 112 " I'll kick you down stairs ! " shouted Titmouse, rushiug to the door, pale with fury, and pulling it open. "Mr — Mr — Titmouse, you'll be the death of me — you will — you will!" gasped Mrs Squallop, almost black in the face, and the water run- ning out of the kettle, which she was unconsciously holding aslant. After a while, however, they got reconciled. Mrs Squallop had fancied he had been but rubbing chalk on his eyebrows and whiskers ; and seemed dismayed, indeed, on hearing the true state of the case. He implored her to send out for a small bottle of ink ; but as it was Sunday morning none could be got ; — she knew that no one in the court used ink, and she teased him to. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. try a little UacUngI He did— but it was useless ! — He sat for an hour or two, in an ecstasy of grief and rage. What would he now have given never to have meddled with the hair with which Heaven had thought fit to send him into the world ? Alas, with what mournfiil force Mrs Squallop's words, on a former occasion, again and again recurred to him ! To say that he ate breakfast would be scarcely correct. He drank a single cup of cocoa, and ate a small fragment of roll, and then put away his breakfast things on the window shelf. If he had been in the humour to go to church, how could he ? He would have been turned out as an object involuntarily exciting everybody to laughter ! CHAPTER XIIL TITMOUSE S LEVEE AT CLOSET CODET ; ME TAG-BAG B ENTERTAIHMEHT TO HIM AT SATm LODOE.; AND ITS DISOUSTINa ISSUE. Tet, poor soul, in this extremity of misery. Titmouse was not utterly ne- glected; for he had that morning quite a little levee. First came Mr Snap, who, having quite as keen and clear an eye for his own interest as his senior partners, had early seen how capable was an acquaintance with Tit- mouse of being turned to his (Snap's) great advantage. He had come, there- fore, dressed very stylishly, to do a little bit of toadying on tne sly, on his own exclusive account ; and had brought with him, for the edification of Titmouse, a copy of that day's Sunday Flash, which contained a long account of a blood.y fight between Birmingham Bigboiies and. London Littlego, for £500 a- side — showing how sixty rounds had been, fought, both men killed, and. their seconds had "hoUed" to Boulogne. Poor Snap, however, though he had come wifij the best intentions, andi the most anxious wish to evince profound re- spect for the future master of ten thousand a^year, was quite taken by storm by the very first glimpse he got of Titmouse, and could not for a long while recover himself. He had come to ask Titmouse to dine with him at a tavern in the Strand, where there was to be capital singing in the even- ing ; and also to accompany him, on the ensuing morning, to the Old Bailey, to hear "a most interesting trial for bigamy, in which Snap was concerned for the prisoner — a mis. creant, who had been married ts five living women ! ! Snap conceived, and very justly, that it weuld give Tit- mouse a striking idea of his (Snap's) importance, to see him so much, and aj>parently so familiarly concerned with well-known eounset. In his owa terse and quaint way, he was explain- ing to Titmouse the various remedies he had against the Bond Street int- TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 113 poster, both by indictment and action on the case, nay, getting a little, how- ever, beyond his depth, he assured the eager Titmouse, that a bill of dis- covery would lie in equity, to ascer- tain what the Tetaragmenon Abraca- dabra was composed of, with a view to his preferring an indictment against its owner ; at which point his learned display was interrupted by a^ double knock, and — oh, mercy on us ! — enter I Mr Gammon. Whether he or Snap felt more disconcerted, I cannot say ; but Snap looJced the more confused and sneaking. Each told the other a lie, in as easy, good-natured a way as he could assume, concerning the ob- ject of his visit to Titmouse. Thus they wesre going on, when — another knock — and, ." Is this Mr Titmouse's ?" I inquired a voice, which brought a \ little colour into the face of both Gam- ' mon and Snap ; for it was absolutely i old Quirk, who bustled breathless into I the room, on his first visit, and seemed f completely confounded by the sight of both his partners. What with this, and the amazing appearsmce presented by Titmouse, Mr Quirk was so over- whelmed that he scarce spoke a syl- lable. Each of the three partners felt (in his own way) exquisite embarrass- ment. Huckaback, some time after- wards, made his appearance ; but him Titmouse unceremoniously dismissed in a twinkling, in spite of a vehement remonstrance. Behold, however, pre- sently yet another arrival — Mr Tag- rag ! ! who had come to announce that his carriage — i. e. a queer, rickety, little one-horse chaise, with a tallow- faced boy in it, in faded livery — was waiting to convey Mr Titmouse to Satin Lodge, and take him a/ long 1 drive" in tlie country ! Each of these I four worthies could have spit in the j other's face ; first, for detecting, and I secondly, for nvaUing him in his \ schemes upon Titmouse. A few min- I utes after the arrival of Tag-rag, Gam- mon, half-choked with disgust, anjj. despising himself even more than ne *-4, dBspise^KTr"f3^wjisiEBf§;"sIui5k"0^ fottoweiTaimoit immediately by Quirk, who was dying to consult him on this VOL. L , , { ^ '.1 rdA new aspect of affairs which had pre- sented itself. Snap, who, ever since the arrival of Messrs Quirk and Gam- mon, had felt like an ape on hot irons, very shortly followed in the footsteps of his partners, having made no en- gagement whatever with Titmouse; and thuS' the enterprising and deter- / mined Tagj-rag wa& left master of the/ field. He had in fact come to do huStf nesg, and • business he determined to do. As for Gammon, duringthe short time he had stayed, how he had en- deared himself to Titmouse, by ex- plaining, not aware that Titmouse had confessed all to Snap, the singular change in the colour of his hair to have been occasioned simply by the intense mental anxiety through which he had lately passed ! The touching anecdotes he told of sufferers, whose hair a single night's agony — he said — had cBanged to all the colours of the rainbow ! Though Tag-Bag outstaid all his fellow-visitors, in the manner which has been described, he could not prevail upon Titmouse to accompany him in his " carriage," for Titmouse pleaded a pressing engage- ment — i. e. a desperate attempt he purposed making-to obtain some itik — but pledged himself to make his ap- pearance at Satin Lodge at the ap> pointed hour, half past three, for four o'clock. Away, therefore, drove Tag- Eag, delighted that Satin Lodge would; sosooncontainsucha resplendent visi- tor — indignant at the cringing, syco- phantic attentions of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, against whom he resolved to put Titmouse on his guard, and infinitely astonished at the extraordinary change which had taken place in the colour of Titmouse's hair. Partly influenced by the explanation which Gammon had ^ven of the phe- nomenon, Tag«rag resigned himself to feelings of simple wonder. Titmouse was doubtless passing through stages of physical transmogrification, corre- sponding with the marvellous change that was taking place in his circum- stances ; and for all he (Tag-rag) knew, other and more extraordinary changes were going on ; Titmouse might be H / ->/! L^ fmi< 114 TEN THOUSAOT) A-TEAB. growing at the rate of half an inch a-day, and soon stand before him a man more than six feet high ! Con- siderations such as these invested Tit- mouse with intense and overpowering interest in the estimation of Tag-rag; ^ how could he make enough of him at |. Satin Lodge that day? If ever that , J hardened sinner felt inclined to utter i an inward prayer, it was as he drove i home that day — that Heaven would I array his daughter in angel hues to ' the eyes of Titmouse ! My friend Tittlebat made his ap- pearance at the gate of Satin Lodge, at about a quarter to four o'clock. Merciful Powers ! how he had dressed himself out ! so as very considerably to exceed his appearance when first presented to the reader. Miss Tag-rag had been before her glass ever since the instant of her re- turn from chapel, up to within ten minutes' time of Titmouse's arrival. An hour and a half at least had she bestowed on her hair, disposing it in little corkscrew and somewhat scanty curls, which quite glistened in bear's grease, hanging on each sidg of a pair of lean and sallow cheeks/The colour which ought to have distributed itself over her cheeks, in roseate delicacy, had, two or three years before, thought fit to collect itself into the tip of her sharp little nose^ Her small grey eyes beamed with the gentle and at- tractive expression perceptible in her father's ; and her projecting under-lip reminded everybody of that delicate feature in her mother. She was very short, and her figure rather skinny and angular. She wore her lilac- coloured frock ; her waist beingpinch- ed in to a degree which made you think of a fit of the colic when you looked at her — and gave you a dim vision of a coroner's inquest on a case of death by tight lacing ! A long red sash, tied in a most elaborate bow, gave a very brilliant air to her dress generally. She had a thin gold chain round her neck, and wore long white gloves ; her left hand holding her pocket-handkerchief, which she had so suffused with bergamotte that it scented the whole room, Mrs Tag- rag had made herself very splendid^ in a red silk gown and staring head- dress; in fact, she seemed on fire. As for Mr Tag-rag, whenever he was dressed in his Sunday clothes, he looked the model of a dissenting minis- ter ; witness his black coat, waistcoat and trousers, and primly-tied white neckerchief, with no shirt-collar vis- ible. For some quarter of an hour had this interesting trio been standing at their parlour window, in anxious expectation of Titmouse's arrival; their only amusement being the num- berless dusty stage-coaches driving every three minutes close past their gate (which was about ten yards from their house), at once enlivening and ruralising the scene. Oh, that poor laburnum — laden with dust, drooping with drought, and evidently in the very last stage of a decline^ that was planted beside the little gate ! Tag-rag spoke of cutting it down ; but Mrs and Miss Tag-rag begged its life a little longer, because none of their neighbours had one ! — and then that subject dropped. How was it that, though both the ladies had sat under a thundering discoiu'se from Mr Dis- mal Horror that morning — they had never once since thought or spoke of him or his sermon — ^never even opened his exhilarating " Groans f" The reason was plain. They thought of Titmouse, who was bringing "airs from heaven ; " while Horror brought only " blasts from ! " and (Aose they had every day in the week (his sermons on the Sunday, his " Groans" on the weekday): At length Miss Tag-rag's little heart fluttered violent- ly, for her papa told her that Titmouse was coming up the road — and so he was. Not dreaming that he could be seen, he stood beside the gate for a moment, under the melancholy labur- num : and, taking a dirty-looking silk handkerchief out of his hat, slapped it vigorously about his boots — from which circumstance it may be safely inferred that he had walked — and replaced it in his hat. Then he unbuttoned his sur- tout, adjusted it nicely, and disposed his chain and eye-glass just so as to let the tip only of the latter be seen peep- TEN THOUSAOT) A-TEAE. ing out of his waistcoat ; twitched up his shirt collar, plucked down his wrist- bands, drew the tip of a white pocket- handkerchief out of the pocket in the breast of his surtout, pulled a white glove halfway on his left hand ; and, having thusgiven the finishingtouches to his toilet, opened the gate, and — Tittlebat Titmouse, Esquire, the great guest of the dajr, for the first time in his life— swingmg a little ebony cane about with careless grace — entered the domain of Mr Tag-rag. The little performance which I have been describing, though every bit of it passing under the eyes of Tag-rag, his wife, and his daughter, had not excited a smile ; their anxious feelings were too deep to be reached or stirred by light emotions. Miss Tag-rag turned very pale and trembled. " La, pa ! " said she faintly, " how could you say he'd got white eyebrows and whiskers ? Why — they're a beau- tiful Jiacft.' " Tag-rag was speechless: the fact was so — for Titmouse had fortunately succeeded in obtaining a little bottle of ink, which he had applied with great effect. As Titmouse approached the house, Tag-rag hurrying out to open the door for him, he saw the two ladies standing at the windows. Off went his hat, and out dropped the dusty silk handkerchief, not a little disconcerting him for. the moment. Tag-rag, however, soon occupied his attention at the door with anxious civilities, shaking him by the hand, hanging up his hat and stick for him, and then introducing him to the sit- ting-room. The ladies received him with the most profound curtsies, which Titmouse returned with a quick em- barrassed bow, and an indistinct — " Hope you're well, mem ? '' If they had had presence of mind enough to observe it, the purple colour of Titmouse's hair must have sur- prised them not a little ; all they could see standing before them, however, was — the angelic owner of ten thou- sand a-year. The only person tolerably at his ease, and ho onJn tolerably, was Mr Tag-rag ; and he asked his guest 115 , beH dhe !Ome ' "Wash your hands, Titmouse, be- fore dinner ? " But Titmouse said he had washed them before he had come out. [Tlie day was hot, and he had walked five miles at a slapping pace.] In a few minutes, however, he felt a little more assured; it beipg impos- sible for him not to perceive the awful deference with which he was treated. " Seen the Sunday Flash, mem ? " he presently inquired, very modestly, addressing Mrs Tag-rag. " I — I — that is — not to-day" she re- plied, colouring. " Vastly amusing, isn't it?" inter- posed Tag-rag, to prevent mischief — for he knew his wife would as soon have taken a cockatrice into her hand. "Ye^e-s," replied Titmouse, who had not even glanced at the copy which Snap had brought him. " An uncommon good fight between Bir- mingham Big " Tag-rag saw his wife getting redder and redder. " No news stirring about things in general, is there? " said he, with a desperate attempt at a diver- sion. "Not that I have heard," replied Titmouse. Soon he got a little further, and said how cheerful the stages going past must make the house. Tag-rag agreed with him. Then there was a little pause. None of the party knew exactly which way to look, nor in what pcsture to sit. Faint " hems " were occasionally heard. In short, no one felt at home. "Been to church, mem, this morn- ing, mem ? " timidly inquired Tit- mouse of Miss Tag-rag — the first time of his daring to address her. " Yes, sir," she replied, faintly \ colouring, casting her eyes to the ground, aild suddenly putting her hand into that of her mother — with such an innocent, engaging simplicity — like a timid fawn lying as close as possible to its dam !* " We always go to cJiapel, sir,'' said Mrs Tag-rag confidently, in spite of a * " Vitaa biiinuleo me ^milis, ChloS, Quierenti pavidam Matrcm. •■ — et corde et^enibus tremit." Hob. i. 23. 116 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. deadly look from her husband ; " the QOspel a'n't preached in the Church of England! We sit under Mr Horror — a heavenly preacher ! You've heard of Mr Horror?" " Yes, mem ! Oh, yes I Capital preacher!" replied Titmouse, who, of course (being a true churchman), had never in his life heard of Mr Horror, or any other dissenter. "'^' When wiU dinner be ready, Mrs T. ? " inquired Tag-rag abruptly, and with a very perceptible dash of stern- ness in his tone ; but dinner was an- nounced the very next moment. He took his wife's arm, and in doing so, gave it a sudden vehement pressure, ■which, coupled with a furious glance, explained to her the extent to which she had incurred his anger ! Titmouse's proffered arm the timid Miss Tag-rag scarcely touched with the tip of her finger, as she walked beside him to dinner. He soon got tolerably composed and cheerful at dinner (which, contrary to their usual custom — which was to have a cheer- less cold dinner on the Sabbath — con- sisted of a little piece of nice roast beef, with plenty of horse-radish, York- shire pudding, a boiled fowl, a plum- pudding made by Mrs Tag-rag, and custards which had been superintend- ed by Miss Tag-rag herself), and, to oblige his hospitable host and hostess, ate till he was near bursting. Miss Tag-rag, though really very hungry, could be prevailed upon to take only a very small slice of beef and a quarter of a custard, and drank a third of a glass of quasi sherry, i. c. Cape wine, after dinner. She never once spoke, except in hurried answers, to her papa and mamma ■, and sitting exactly op- posite Titmouse, with a big plate of greens and a boiled fowl between them, was continually colouring whenever their eyes happened to encounter one another, on which occasions, hers would suddenly di-op, as if overpower- ed by the brilliance of his. Titmouse began to love her very fast. After the ladies had withdrawn, you should have heard the way in which Tag-rag went on with Tit- mouse ! — 1 can liken the two to no- thing but an old fat spider, and a little fly- ■Will you come into my parlour^ Said the spider to t&d fly ; — in the old song : and it might bars been well for Titmouse to have an- swered, in the language of the afore, safd fly : — No, thank you, sir,! really feel No curiosity. Titmouse, however, swalloweJvfitR equal facility Mr Tag-rag's hard port and his soft blarney ; but all fools have large swallows. When, at length; Tag-rag with exquisite skill and deli- cacy alluded to the painfully evident embarrassment of his " poor Tabby," and said he had " all of a sudden found out what had been so long the matter with her," — ay, even this went down ^aaid hemmed, and winked his eye, and drained his glass, Titmouse began to get flustered, blushed, and hoped Mr Tag-rag would soon "join the ladies." They did so, Tag-rag stop- ping behind for a few moments to locfc up the wine and the remains of the fruit, not wishing to subject the ser- vant-boy to temptation by the rare opportunity afforded by fruit left on the table. Miss Tag-rag presided over the tea-things. There were mnfiins, and crumpets, and reeking-hot butter- ed toast; and hospitable Mrs Tag- rag would hear of no denial, "things had been got and must be eat," she thought within herself; so poor Tit- mouse, after a most desperate resist- ance, was obliged to swallow a round of toast, half a muffin, an entire crum- pet, and four cups of hot tea ; after which they felt that he must feel com- fortable ; but he, alas, in fact, experi- enced a very painful degree of tur- gidity, and a miserable conviction that he should be able neither to eat nor drink anything more for the remain- der of the week ! After the tea-things had been re- moved. Tag-rag, directing Titmouse's attention to the piano, which was open (with some music on it, ready to be played from), asked him whether he hked music. Titmouse, with great eagerness, hoped Miss T. would give TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 117 them some music; and she, after hold- ing out a long and vigorous siege, at length askedherpapawhatit should he. " The Battle of Prague" said her papa. " Before Jehovah' s-awfuL throne, my dear! hastily and anxiously inter-' posed her mamma. " The Battle," sternly repeated her papa. " It's Sunday night, Mr X.," meekly' rejoined his wife. "Which will you ha-ve, Mr Tit- mouse ? " inquired Tag-rag, with The Battle of Prague written in every fea- ture of his face. Titmouse almost burst into a state of perspiration. " A little of both, sir, if you please." "■Well," replied Tag-rag, slightly relaxing, " that will do. Split the dif- ference — eh? Come, Tab, down with you. Titmouse, will you turn over the music for my little girl?" Titmouse rose, and having sheep- ishly taken his station beside Miss Tag-rag, the perfoi-mances commenced with Before Jehovah's awfvl throne! But, mercy upon us ! at what a rate she rattled over that " pious air ! " If its respectable composer, whoever 'he. may be, had been present, he must have gone into a fit ; but there was no help for it — the heart of the lovely per- former was in The BatUe of Prague, to which she presently did most ample justice. So much were her feelings engaged in that sublime composition, that the bursting of one of the strings — twang! in the middle of the "can- nonading," did not at all disturb her; and, as soon as she had jBnished the exquisite "finale," Titmouse was in such a tumult of excitement, from a variety of causes, that he could have shed tears. Though he had never once turned over at the right place. Miss Tag-rag thanked him for his ser- vices with a smile of infinite sweet- ness. Titmouse vowed he had never heard such splendid music — begged for more ; and away went Miss Tag- rag, hui-ried away by her excitement. Hondo after rondo, march after march, she rattled over for at. least half an hour, upon those hideous jingling keys ; at the end of which old Tag-rag sud- denly kissed her with pasrfonate fond- ness. Though Mrs Tag-rag was hor- rified at the impiety af all this, she kept a very anxious eye on the young couple,and interchanged with her hus- band, every now aiad then, very signi- ficant looks. Shortly after nine, spi- rits, wine, and Tiot and cdld water, were brought in. At the sight of them Titmouse looked alanned- — for he knew that he must take something more, though he would have freely given five shillings to be excused — for he felt as if he could not hold another drop ! But it was in vain. WiUy-nilly, a glass of gin-and- water sto"bd soon before him ; he protested he could not touch it un- less Miss Tag-rag would " take some- thing" — whereupon, wiSh a blush, she "thought she movid" take a wine- glassfulof sher-ry-and-water. This was provided her. Then Tag-rag mixed a tumbler «f port-wine negus for Mrs Tag-rag, and a great glass of mahog- any-coloured brandy - and - water for himself; and then he looked round the elegant little apartment, and felt per- fectly happy. As Titmouse advanced with his gin-and-water, his spirits got higher and higher, and his ton^e more duent. 'He once or twice drop- ped the "Mr," when addressing Tag- rag; several times smiled, and once even winked at the em>barrassed Miss Tag-rag. Mr Tag-rag saw it, and could not control himself— for he had got to the end of his first glass ol brandy-and-water, and, a most unusual procedure with him, mixed himself a second-quite as strong as the former. " Tab ! ah. Tab ! what has been the matter with you all these months?" said he, ichucking her under the chin — and-then winked his eje at her, and then at Titmouse. " Papa ! " exclaimed Miss Tag-rag, looking down, and blushing up to her very temples. " Ah, Titmouse — Titmouse — give me your hand," said Tag-rag ; "you'll forget us all when you're a great man — but we shall always remember you I " " You're verygpod— very !" said Tit- mouse, cordially returning the pressui^e of Tag-rag's hand. At that instant it suddenly occurred to him to adopt tha 118 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. suggestion of Mr Gammon. Tag-rag was going on very fa^t, indeed, abont the disinterested nature of his feelings towards Titmouse ; towards whom, he said, he had always felt just as he did at that moment — 'twas in vain to deny it. "I'm sure your conduct shows it, sir," commenced Titmouse, feeling a shud- der like that with which a timid bather approaches the margin of the cold stream. " I could hare taken my oath, sir, that when you had heard what has happened, you would have refused to let me come into your house!" " Ah, ha ! — that's rather an odd idea, tool " said Tag-rag, with good-humour- ed jocularity. " If I felt a true friend- ship for you as plain Titmouse, it's so likely I should have cut you just when — ahem ! My dear sir I it was / that thought you wouldn't have come into my house ! A likely thing, indeed V Titmouse was puzzled. His percep- tions, never very quick or dear, were now undoubtedly somewhat obfuscated with what he had been drinking. In short, he did not understand that Tag- rag had not understood him; and felt rather baffled. " What surprising ups and downs th^re are in life, Mr Titmouse !" said Mrs Tag-rag respectfully — "they're all sent from above, you may depend upon it, to try us! No one knows how they'd behave, if as how (in a manner) they were turned upside down ! " "I — ^I hope, mem, I haven't done anything to show that I" " Oh ! my dear Titmouse," anxiously interrupted Tag-rag, inwardly cursing his wife, who, finding she always went wrong in her husband's eyes whenever she spoke a word, determined for the future to stick to her negus — " The fact is, there's a Mr Hon-or here that's for sending all decent people to . He's filled my wife there with all sorts of , nay, if she isn't bursting with cant — so never mind her ! Ton, done anything wrong ! I vnU say this for you — ^you always was a pattern of mo- desty and propriety — your hand, my dear Titmouse ! " " Well — I'm a happy man again," resumed Titmouse, resolved now to go on with his adventure. " And when did they tell you of it, sir?" " Oh, a few days ago— a week ago," replied Tag-rag, trying to recollect. "Why — why — sir — a'n't you mis- taken?" inquired Titmouse, with a depressed, but at the same time a sur- prised air. "It only happened this morning, after you left " " Eh ?— eh ?— ah, ha I— What do yon mean, Mr Titmouse?" interrupted Tag-rag, with a faint attempt at a smUe. Mrs Tag-rag and Miss Tag- rag also turned exceedingly startled faces towards Titmouse, who felt as if a house were going to fall down on him. "Why, sir" (he began to cry — an at- tempt which was greatly aided by the maudlin condition to which drink had reduced him), " till to-day, I thought I was heir to ten thousand a-year, and it seems I'm not ; it's all a mistake of those cursed people at Saffron Hill ! " Tag-rag's face changed visibly, and showed the desperate shock he had just sustained. His inward agony was forcing out on his slanting forehead a dew of perspiration. "What — a — capital — joke — Mr — Titmouse — ah, ha ! " — he gasped, has- tily passiifg his handkerchief over his forehead. Titmouse, though greatly alarmed, stood to his gun pretty steadily. " I — I wish it was a joke ! It's been no joke to me, sir. 'There's another Tittlebat Titmouse, it seems, in Shore- ditch, that's the right " "Who told you this, sir? Pho, I don't — I can't believe it," said Tag- rag, in a voice tremulous between sup- pressed rage and fear. "Too true, though, 'pon my lifel It is, so help me ! " asseverated Titmouse, in the most earnest and so- lemn manner. " How dare you swear before ladies, sir? You're insulting them, sir! " cried Tag-rag, trembling with rage. " And inmapresence, too, sir? You're not a gentleman!" He suddenly dropped his voice, and, in a trembling and almost beseeching manner, asked Tit- mouse whether he was really joking or serious. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 119 "Never more serious in my life, sir; and enough to make me so, sir 1 " replied Titmouse, in a lamentable manner. "You really mean, then, to tell me it's all a mistake, then — and that you're no more than what you al- ways were?" inquired Tag-rag, with a desperate attempt to speak calmly. " Oh yes, sir ! Yes ! " cried 'Tit- mouse mournfully ; " and if you'll only be so kind as to let me serve you as I used — I'll serve you faithfully! You know it was no fault of mine, sir ! They would tell me it was so ! " 'Tis impossible to conceive a more disgusting expression than the repul- sive features of Tag-rag wore at tnat moment, while he gazed in ominous and agitated silence at 'Ktmouse. His lips quivered, and he seemed incapable of speaking. " Oh, ma, I do feel so ill ! " faintly exclaimed Miss Tag-rag, turning dead- ly pale. Titmouse was on the verge of dropping on his knees and confess- ing the trick, greatly agitated at the effect unexpectedly produced on Miss Tag-rag; when Tag-rag's heavy hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder, and he whispered in a fierce under tone — " You're an impostor, sir ! " which arrested Titmouse, and made something like a maji of him. He was a fearful fool, but did not want for mere plitcJc ; and now it was roused. Mrs *Tag-rag exclaimed, " Oh, you shocking scamp!" as she passed Tit- mouse, with much agitation, and led her daughter out of the room. " Then an impostor, sir, a'n't fit company for you, of course, sir ! " said Titmouse rising, and trembling with mingled apprehension and anger. " Pay me my five-pound note ! " al- most shouted Tag-rag, furiously tight- ening the grasp by which lie held Titmouse's collar. " "Well, sir, and I will, if you'll only take your hand off! Hollo, sir — ^Wliat the de Leave go, sir I Hands off ! Are you going to murder me ? I'll pay you, and have done with you, sir,' stammered Titmouse : — when a faint scream was heard, plainly from Miss Tag-rag, overhead : slie was evi- dently in hysterics. Then the seeth- ing caldron Ijoiled over. " You infernal scoundrel ! " exclaimed Tag-rag, al- most choked with fury ; and suddenly seizing Titmouse by the collar, scarce giving him time, in passing, to get hold of his hat and stick, he urged him along through the passage, down the gravel walk, threw open the gate, thrust him furiously through it, and sent after him such a blast of execra- tion as was almost strong enough to drive him a hundred yards down the road ! Titmouse did not fully recover his breath or his senses for a long while afterwards. When he did, the first thing he experienced, was a dread- ful disposition towards sickness ; but , gradually overcoming it, he felt an in- clination to fall down on his knees in the open road, and worship the saga- cious and admirable Gammon, who had so exactly predicted what had come to pass ! And now, Mr Titmouse, for some little time I have done with you. Away ! — give room to your betters. But don't think, my young friend ! — that I have yet "rifled all your sweet- ness," or am yet about to "fling you like a noisome weed away." BOOK THE SECOND. 'CHAPTER I. THE BEADEB IS HOW INTEODUCED TO QCITB A DIPPEBENT SET OP PEOPLE, IS GEOSTENOE STBEET : AHD PALLS IH LOTE WITH KATE ADBKET. While the lofty door of a house in' Grosv'enor Street was yet quivering under the shock of a previously an- nounced dinner-arrival, one of the two servants standing behind a carriage which approached from the direction of Piccadilly, slipped off, and in a twinkling, with a thun-thun-thunder- under-under, thunder-ninder-mnder, thun-thun-thun ! and a shrill thrilling Whir-TJT of the beU, announced the arrival of the Duke of , the last guest. It was a large and plain car- riage, but perfectly well known ; and before the door x>f the house at which it had drawn ^ip had been opened, displaying some four or five servants staiiding in the hall, in simple but elegant liveries, half-a-dozen or more passengers had stopped to see. get out of the carriage an elderly, middle- sized, man, with a somewhat spare figure, dressed in plain black clothes, with iron-grey hair, and a countenance wliieh, once seen, was not to be for- gotten. That was, indeed,, a, great man ; one, the like of whom many previous centuries bad not eeen ; whose name shot terror into the hearts of ill the enemies of old Eng- land all over the world, and fond pride and admiration into the hearts of his fellow-countrymen. " A quarter to feleven ! " he said, in a quiet tone, to the servant who was holding open thecarriage door — while the bystaiMers took o£ their hats ; a courtesy which he acknowledged, as he slowly stepped across the pavement, by touching his hat in a mechanical sort of iway with his forefinger. The house door then closed upon him ; the handful of onlookers passed away ; off rolled thO'erapty carriage, and all with- out was quiet /as before. The house was thai, -of Hr Aubrey, one of the members for the borough of Yattoit, in Yorkshire — a man of rapidly rising importance in Parliament. Surely his was a pleasant -position — that of an independent country gentleman, a member of one of the most ancient noble families in -England, and pre- sumptive successor to one of its oldest peerages, — with a clear unencumbered rent-roll of ten thousand a^year, and already, in only his thirty -fourth year, the spokesman of his class, and pro- mising to become one of the ablest debaters in the House ! Parliament having been assembled, inconsequence of a particular emergency, .at a much earlier period than usual, the House of Commons, in which Mr Aubrey had the evening before delivered a well- timed and powerful speech, had ad- journed for the Christmas recess, the House of Lords being about to follow its example that evening : an impor- tant division, however, being first ex- pected to take place at a late hour on the evening on which his friends were assembling to dinner. He was warmly complimented on his success by seve- TEN THOUSANB A-YEAE. 121 ralof the select and brilliant circle then surrounding him ; and who were all in high spirits — on account of a consider- able triumph just obtained by their party, and to which Mr Aubrey was assured, by even the Duke of , his exertions had certainly not a little contributed. While ,his Grace was energetically intimating to Mr Aubrey his opinion to this effect, there were two lovely women listening to him with intense eagerness — they were the wife and sister ,Df Mr Aubrey. The former was a very interesting and handsome woman, with raven hair, and a complexion of dazzling fairness, and nearly eight-and-twenty years old ; the latter was a beautiful girl, somewhere between twenty and twenty-one. Both were dressed with the utmost simplicity and elegance. Mrs Aubrey, doatingly fond of her hus- band, and a blooming young mother of two as oharming children as were to be met with in ,a day's walk all over both the .parks, was, in character and manners, all pliancy and gentleness ; while about Miss Aubrey there was a dash of spirit which gave an infinite zest to her beauty. Her blue eyes beamed with the richest expression of feeling — in short, Catherine Aubrey was, both in face and figure, a down- right English beauty ; and she. knew — truth must: be told — ^that such she appeared to the Great Duke, whose' cold aquiline eye she often felt to be settled upon her with satisfaction. The fact was, that he had penetrated, at a first, glance, beneath the mere surface ef an arch, sweet, and win- ning manner, and detected a certain strength of character in Miss Aubrey which gave him more than usual in- terest in her, and spread over his iron- cast features a pleasant expression, relaxing their sternness. It might indeed be said, that before her, in. his person, Grim-Wsaged war hiad Biuoatli'd hia wrmkled front. 'Twas a subject for a. painter, that delicate and blooming girl, her auburn hair hanging in careless grace on each side of her white forehead, while her eyes, That miffht have Booth'd a tiger's rage. Or thaw d the cold heart of a conqueror, were fixed with absorbed interest on the stem and rigid countenance which, she reflected, had been, as it were, a thousand times darkened with the smoke of the grisly battle-field. — But I must not forget that tliere are others in the room ; and amongst them, standing at a little distance, is Lord De k ZouCh, one of Mr Aubrey's neighbours inYorkshire. Apparently he is listening to a brother peer talk- ing to him very earnestly about the expected division ; but Lord De la ZouAh's eye is fixed on you, lovely Kate — andhow little can you imagine what is passing through his mind! It has just occurred to him that his sudden arrangement for young Dela- mere — his only son and h6ir,.come up the day before from Oxford — to call forhim about half-past ten, and tsike his place in Mrs Aubrey's drawing- room, while Lord De la Zouch goes down to the House — may be attended with certaiin consequences ! He is, in truth, speculating on the effect of your beauty burstiog suddenly on his son, who has not seen you for neafly two years ! all this gives him anxiety — but not painful anxiety — for, dear Kate, he knows that your forehead would wear the ancient coronet of the De la Zouches, ivith grace and dignity. But Eelamere is as yet too young — and'if he get the image of Catherine Aubrey intC his heaid, it will, fears his father, instantly cast into the shade and displace all the stern visages of those old- geometers, poets, orators, historians, philosophers, ,and states- men, who ought, in Lord De la Zouch and his son's tutor's judgment, to oc- cupy exclusively the head of the aforesaid Delamere for some five years to come. THiat youngster — happy fellow! — 'frank, high-spirited, and enthusiastic — and handsome to boot. — was heir 'to an ancient title, and very great -estates ; and all that his father had considered, in look- ing out for an alliance, was — youth, health, beauty, blood — here they all were ; — and fortune, too — ^bah ! what did it signify to his son — but at any 122 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. rate 'twas not to be thought of for some years. "Suppose," said he aloud, though in a musing manner, " one were to say — twenty-four " "Twenty-fowrl" echoed his com- panion with amazement ; " my dear De la Zouch, what the deuce do you mean? Eighty -iovn at the very lowest!" "Eh? what? oh — ^yes of course" — " stammered Lord jDe la Zouch, smil- ing, but colouring a little — " I should say ninety — ^I mean — hem ! — they will muster about twenty-four only." "Ah— I beg your pardon! — there you're right, I daresay." — Here the announcement of dinner put an end to the colloquy of the two statesmen. Lord De la Zouch led down Miss Aubrey with an air of the most deli- cate and cordial courtesy; and felt almost disposed, in the heat of the moment, to tell her that he had ar- ranged all in his own mind ! — ^that if she willed it, she had Ms hearty con- sent to become the future Lady De la Zouch ! He was himself the eleventh who had come to the title in direct descent fiom father to son ; 'twas a point he was not a little nervous and anxious about — ^he detested collateral succession — and, in short, he made himself infinitely agreeable to Miss Aubrey, as he sat beside her at dinner ! The great Duke sat on the right-hand side of Mrs Aubrey, seem- ingly in high spirits, and she appeared proud enough of her supporter. 'Twas adelightful dinner-party, elegant with- out ostentation, and select without pretence of exclusiveness. All were cheerful and animated, not merely on account of the over-night's parlia- mentary victory, which 1 have already alluded to, but also in contemplation of the coming Christmas; how, where, and with whom, each was to spend that "righte merrie season," in old England, being the chief topic of con- versation. As there was nothing pecu- liar in the dinner, and as I have no turn for describing such matters in detail — the clatter of plate, the jin- gling of silver, the sparkling of wines, and so forth — I shall req^uest the reader to imagine himself led by me quietly out of the dining-room into the library — thus escaping from all the bustle and hubbub attendant upon such an entertainment as is going on in &ont of the house. We shall be alone in the library — here it is; we enter it, and shut the door. 'Tis a spacious room, all the sides covered with books, of which Mr Aubrey is a great collector — and the clear red fire, which we must presently replenish, or it will go out, is shedding on all the objects in the room a subdued ruddy light, very favourable for our purpose. The ample table is covered with books and papers ; and there is an antique- looking Arm-chair drawn opposite to the fire, in which Mr Aubrey has been indulging in a long reverie till the moment of quitting it to go and dress for dinner. This chair I shall sit in myself; you may draw out from the recess for yourself one of two little sloping easy-chairs, which have been placed there by Mrs and Miss Aubrey for their own sole use, considering that they are excellent judges of the period at which Mr Aubrey has been long enough alone, and at which they should come in and gossip with him ! We may as well, perhaps, draw the dusky green curtains across the win- dow, through which the moon shines at present rather too brightly. — So now, after coaxing up the fire, I will proceed to teU you a little bit of plea- sant family history. The Aubreys are a Yorkshire family — ^the younger branch of the ancient and noble family of the Dreddling- tons. Their residence, Yattoh, is in the north-eastern part of the county, not above fifteen or twenty miles from the sea. The hall is one of those old structures, the sight of which throws you back a couple of centuries in our English history. It stands in a park, crowded with trees, many of them of great age and size, and under which two or three hundred head of deer perform their capricious and graceful gambols. In approaching from Lon- don, you strike off from the great north road into a broad by-way ; after going down which for about a mile. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 123 you come to a straggling pretty little village called Yatton, at the further extremity of which stands a small aged grey church, with a tall thin spire ; an immense yew-tree, with a kind of friendly gloom, overshadow- ing, in the little churchyard, nearly half the graves. Bather in the rear of the church is the vicarage-house, snug and sheltered by a line of fir- trees. After walking on about eighty yards, you come to old-fashioned high iron park-gates, on the two stone posts of which stand antique figures of storks, and see a lodge just within, on the left-hand side, dieltered by an elm-tree. Having passed through these gates, you wind your way for about two-thirds of a mile along a grav^ walk, amongst the thickening trees, till you come to a ponderous old crumbling-looking red brick gateway of the time of Henry VII., with one or two deeply set stone windows in the turrets, and mouldering stone- capped battlements peeping through high-climbing ivy. There is an old escutcheon immediately over the point of the arch ; and as you go under- neath, if you look up, you can plainly see the groove of the old portcnllis still remaining. Having passed under this castellated remnant, you enter a kind of court, formed- by a high wall completely covered with ivy, running along, in a line, from the right hand turret of the gateway, till it joins the house. Along its course are a number of yew-trees. In tlie centre of the open space is a quaintly disposed grass- plat, dotted about with stunted box, and the central object is a weather- beaten stone sun-dial. The house it- self is a large irregular pile of dull red brickwork, with great stacks of chimneys in the rear ; and the body of the building has evidently been erected at different times. Some part is evidently in the style of Queen Elizabeth's reign, another in that of Queen Anne : and it is plain that on the site of the present structure has formerly stood a castle. There are, indeed, traces of the old moat still visible round the rear of the house. One of the ancient towers, with small deep stone windows, still remains, giv- ing its venerable support to the right hand extremity of the building, as you stand with your face to the door. The long frontage of the house con- sists of two huge masses of dusky-red brickwork, which you can hardly call wings, connected together by a lower building in the centre, which contains the hall. There are three or four rows of long thin deep windows, with heavy-looking wooden sashes. The high-pitched roof is of red tiles, and has deep projecting eaves, forming, in fact, a bold wooden cornice running along the whole length of the build- ing, which is some two or three storeys high. At .the left extremity stands a clump of ancient cedars of Lebanon, feathering in evergreen beauty down to the ground. The hall is large and lofty ; the floor is of polished oak, al- most the whole of which is covered with thick matting ; it is wainscoted all round with black oak ; some seven or eight^uU-length pictures, evidently of considerable antiquity, being let into the panels. Quaint figures these are, to be sure ; and if they resembled tbe ancestors of the Aubrey family, those ancestors must have been singu- lar and startling persons ! The faces are quite white, and staring — all as if in wonder ; and they have such long thin legs ! some of them ending in sharp-pointed shoes, the toes of which are connected, by slight chains, with tte knees ! On each side of the ample fireplace,, stands a figure in full ar- mour ; and there are also ranged along the wall old helmets, cuirasses, swords, lances, battle-axes, and cross- bows, the very idea of wearing, wield- ing, and handling which, makes your arms ache. On one side of this hall, a door opens into the dining-room, beyond which is the library ; on the other, a door leads you into a noble room, now called the drawing-room, where stands a fine organ. Out oi both the dining-room and drawing- room you pass up a staircase contained in an old square tower ; two sides of each, opening on the quadrangle, lead into a gallery running round it, into which all the bedrooms open. — But I 124 TEN THOUSAND A- YEAR. need not go into further detail. Alto- gether it is truly a fine old English mansion. Its only constant occupant is Mrs Aubrey, the mother of Mr Aubrey, in whoselibrary we are now seated. She is a widow, having sur- •vived her husband, who twice was one of the county members, about fifteen years. Mr Aubrey is her first-born child. Miss Aubrey her last ; four in- tervening children rest prematurely in the grave— and the grief and suffer- ing consequent upon all these bereave- ments have sadly shaken her consti- tution, and made her, both in actual health, and in appearance, at'least ten years older than she really is — ^for she has, in point of fact, not Iom; since entered her sixtieth year. What a blessed life she leads atiYatton ! Her serene and cheerful temper makes every. one happy about her; and her charity is unbounded, but dispensed' with a just discrimination. Oneway or another, almost a fourth of the vil- lage are direct pensioners upon her bounty. You have .only to mention the name. of Madam Aubrey, the lady of Tatton, to witness involuntary homage paid to her virtues. Her word is law — but how gentle ! — and well indeed it may be. While Mr Aubrey, her husband, was, to the last, lome- what stern in his temper, and i-eserved in his habits, bearing withal a spotless and lofty character, she was always what she still is, meek, gentle, ac- cessible, charitable, and pious. On; his death she withdrew from the world, and has ever since resided at YattOB— never, indeed, having quitted it for a single day. There are in the vicinity one or two stately families, with ancient name, sounding title, and great possessions ; but for ten miles round Yatton, old Madam Aubrey, the squire's mother, is the name that ia enshrined in people's kindliest and most grateful feelings, and receives their readiest homage. 'Tis perhaps a small matter to mention, but there is at the haU an old white mare, Peggy, that for these twenty years, in all weathers, hath been the Ye succeeded to a. 126 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. considerable estate ; as it was, he left his only child comparatively penni- less; but Heaven had endowed her with personal beauty, with a lovely disposition, and superior understand- ing. It was not till after a long and anxious wooing, backed by the cordial entreaties of Mrs Aubrey, that Miss St Clair consented to become the wife of a man who, to this hour, loves her with all the passionate ardour with which she had first inspired him. And richly she deserves his love ! She does indeed doat upon him ; she studies, or rather, perhaps, anticipates his every wish ; in short, had the whole sex been searched for one calculated to make happy the morbidly fastidious Aubrey, the choice must surely have fallen on Miss St Clair ; a woman whose tem- per, tastes, and manners, were in de- licate and harmonising unison, and also contrast, with his own. She has hitherto brought him hut two children — and those very beautiful, too — a boy between four and five, and a girl about two years old. If, indeed, I were to hint my own impressions, I should say there was a probability be that, however, as it may, 'tis an af- fair we have nothing to do with, at present. Of Catherine Aubrey you had a mo- mentary moonlight glimpse at a for- mer period of this history;* and you have seen her this eveuingunder other, and, perhaps, not less interesting cir- cumstances. Now, where have you beheld a more exquisite specimen of budding womanhood? — but I feel that I shall get extravagant if I begin to •dwell upon her charms. You have seen her — judge for yourself ; but you do not know her as I do ; and I shall tell you that her personal beauty is but a faint emblem of the beauties of her mind and character. She is Au- brey's youngest — now his only sister ; and he cherishes her with the tender- est affection. Neither he, nor his mother, with whom she spends her time alternately, can bear to part with her for ever so short an interval. She is the gay, romping playmate of the little Aubreys ; the sweet demure se- * See caiie, p. es. oretary and treasurer of her mother. I say demure, for there is a sly humour and archness in Kate's composition, which flickers about even her gi-avest moods. She is calculated equally for the seclusion of Yatton and the splen- did atmosphere of Almack's ; but for the latter she seems at present to have little inclination. Kate is a girl of decided character, of strong sense, of high religions principle ; all of which are irradiated, not overborne, by her sparkling vivacity of temperament. She has real talent ; and her mind has been trained, and her tastes directed, with affectionate skill and vigilance by her gifted brother. She has many accomplishments ; but the only one I shall choose here to name is — ^mnsic. She was one to sing and play, before a man of the most l^stidious taste and genius ! I defy any man to hear the rich tones of Miss Aubrey's voice with- out feeling his heart moved. Music is with her a matter not of art, but fedirtff — passionate feeling ; but, hark ! — hush! — surely — yes, that is Miss Aubrey's voice — ^yes, that is her clear and brilliant touch; the ladies have ascended to the drawing-room, and we must presently follow them. How time has passed ! I had a great deal more to tell you about the family, but we must take some other opportunity. Here, then, we are in the drawings room. Yes, it is Miss Aubrey, play- ing on the new and superb piano given by her brother last week to Mrs Au- brey. Do you see with what a care- less grace and ease she is giving an exquisite but difficult composition of Haydn? The lady who is standing by her to turn over her music is the celebrated Countess of Lydsdale — still young and beautiful ; but beside Miss Aubrey she presents a somewhat pain- ful contrast! 'Tis all the difference between an artificial, and a natural flower. Poor Lady Lydsdale ! you are not happy with all your fashion and splendour; the glitter of your dia- monds cannot compensate for the loss of the sparkling spirits of a younger day_; they pale their ineffectual fires beside the fresh and .joyous spirit of Catherine Aubrey 1 iou sigh TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 127 "Now, I'll sing you quite a new thing," said Miss Aubrey, startingup, and turning over her portfolio till she came to a sheet of paper, on which were Bome verses in her own handwriting, and with which she sate down again before the piano : " The words were written by my brother, and I have found an old air that exactly suits them 1 " Here her fingers, wandering lightly and softly over the keys, gave forth a beautiful symphony in the minor; after which, with a mellow voice, she sang the following : — PEACE. Where, O where Hath gentle Pface found rest? Builds she in bower of lady fair ? — But Love — he hath possession there ^ Not long is she the guestv Sits she crown'd Beneath a pictured dome? But there Ambition keeps hisground,- And Fear and Envy skulk around ; ■This cannot be her home. HI. Will she hide In scholar's pensive cell ? But he already hath his bride : Him Melancholy sits beside — With her she may not dwell. Now and then. Peace, wandering, lays her head On regal couch, in captive's den — But nowhere finds she rest with men, Or only with the dead ! To these words, trembling on the beautiful lips of Miss Aubrey, was listening an unperceived auditor, with eyes devouring her every feature, and ears absorbing every tone of her thrill- ing voice. 'Twas young Delamere, who had, only a moment or two before Miss Aubrey had commenced singing the above lines, alighted from his father's carriage, wliich was then waiting at the door to cari-y him off to the House of Lords. Arrested by the rich voice of the singer, he stopped short before he had entered the draw- ing-room in which she sate, said, step- ping to a comer where he was hid from view, though he could distinctly see Miss Aubrey, there he remained as if rooted to the spot. He, too, had a soul for music ; and the exquisite manner in which Miss Aubrey gave the last verse, called up before his excited fancy the vivid image of a dove fluttering with agitated uncer- tainty over the sea of human life; even like the dove over the waters envel- oping the earth in olden time. The mournful minor into which she threw the last two lines, excited a heart susceptible of the liveliest emotions to a degree which it required some effort to control, and almost a tear to relieve. When Miss Aubrey had quitted the piano, Mrs Aubrey followed, and gave a very delicate sonata from Haydn. Then sat down Lady Lydsdale, and dashed off, in an exceedingly brilliant style, a scena from the new opera, which quickly reduced the excited feelings of Delamere to a pitch ad- mitting of his presenting himself. While this lowering process was going on, Delamere took down a small vol- ume from a tasteful little cabinet of books immediately behind him. It was Spenser's Faery Queen. He found many pencil-marks, evidently made by a light female hand; and turning to the fly-leaf, beheld the name of " Catherine Aiilrey." His heart flut- tered : he turned towards the piano, and beheld the graceful figure of Miss Aubrey standing beside Lady Lyds- dale, in an attitude of delighted ear- nestness — for her ladyship was un- doubtedly a brilliant performer — to- tally unconscious of the admiring eye which was fixed upon her. After gazing at her for some moments, he gently pressed the autograph to his lips ; and solemnly vowed within him- self, in the most deliberate manner pos- sible, that if he could not marry Kate Aubrey, he would never marry any, body ; he would, moreover, quit Eng- land for ever; and deposit a broken heart in a foreign grave — and so forth. Thus calmly resolved — or rather to such a resolution did his thoughts tend — that sedate person, the Honour- able Geoffrey Lovel Delamere. He was a high-spii'ited, frank-hearted fellow; and, like a good-natured fool, whom bitter knowledge of the world has not .128 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. cooled down into contempt for a very Iconsiderable portion of it, trusted and lloved almost every one whom he saw. At that moment there was only one person in the whole world that he hated) viz. the miserable individual — if any such there were — who might have happened to forestall him in the affections of Miss Aubrey. The bare idea made his breath come and go quickly^ and his cheek fiush., Wbj, be felt that he had a sort of right to Kate's heart ; for, had tHw not been bom, and had they not lived almost all their lives, within a few miles of each other? Had they not often played together? — were not their family es- tates almost contiguous? — Delamere advanced into the room, assuming as unconcerned an air as he could ; but he felt not a little tried when Miss Aubrey, on seeing him, gaily and frankljr extended her hand to him, supposing him to have only the mo- ment before entered the house. Poor Delamere's hand slightly quivered as he felt it clasping the soft lilied fingers of her whom he had thus resolved to make his wife : what would he not have given to carry them to his lips ! Now, if I were to say that inthe course of that evening Miss Aubrey did not form a kind — of a sort — of a,' faint — notion of the possible state of matters with young Delamere, I should, not be treating the reader with that eminent degree of candour for which I think he, or she, is at present disposed to give me credit. But Kate was deeply skilled in human nature, and promptly settled the matter by one very just reflection, viz. that Delamere was, in contemplation of law, a mere imfant — i. e. he wanted yet several weeks of twenty-one! and, thereftre; that it was not likely that, &c. &c-. &c: And, besides — pooh ! — pooh ! — 'tis a mere hoy, at College— how ridiculous !— So she gave herself no trouble— as she thought, sweet soul !— about the affair ; exhibited no symptoms of caution or coyness, but conducted herself just as if he had not been present. He was a handsome young fellow, too! During the evening, Mr Delamere took an opportunity of asking Miss Aubrey who wrote tfle verses to which he pointed, as they lay on the piano. The handwriting, she said, was hers, but the verses were composed by her brother. He asked for the copy, with a slight trepidation. She readily gave it to him — ^he receiving it with, as he supposed, a mighty unconcerned air. He read it over that night, before get- ting into bed; at least six times ; and it was the very first thing he looked at on getting, out of bed in the morn- ing. Now Miss Aubrey certainly wrote an elegant hand — ^but as for character, of course it had none. He could scarce have distinguished it fi-om the writing of any of his consins or friends ; — ^Hbw should he ? All women are taught the same hard, angular, uniform style — ^but good, bad, or. indif- ferent, this was Kate Avhrey's hand- writing — and her pretty hand had rested on 'the paper while writing — that was enough. He resolved to turn the verses into every kind of Grreek- and Latin metre he knew of— In short, that here was a, " course of true love" opened, seems pretty evident: but whether it will "nm- smooth" is another matter. Their guests having at length de- parted, Mr Aubrey, his wife, and sis- ter, soon afterwards rose to retire. He went, very sleepy, straight to his dressing-room ; they to the nursery — a constant and laudable custom with- them — to see how the children were going on, as far as could be learned: from the drowsy attendants of the aforesaid children. Little Aubrey would have reminded yon of one ot the exquisite sketcbes'of children's heads by Be^nolds or Lawrence, as he lay breathing imperceptibly, with his rich flowing hair spread upon the pillow, in which his fece was partly hid, and his arms stretched- out. Mrs Aubrey put her finger into one of his hands, which was half open, and which closed as it were instmetively upon it, with a gentle pressure. " Look only look— Kate ! " softly whispered Mrs Aubrey. Miss Aubrey leaned forward and kissed his little cheek with au ardour which almost awoka TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 129 him. After a glance at a tiny head, partly visible above the clothes, in an adjoining bed, and looking like a rose- bud almost entirely hid amongst the leaves, they withdrew. " The little loves! — how one's heart thrills with looking at them ! " said Miss Aubrey as they descended. " Kate ! " whispered Mrs Aubrey, with an arch smile, after chatting about various matters, as they stood at their respective chamber doors, which ad- joined, " Mr Delamere is improved — is not he? — Ah, Kate! Kate! — ^I un- derstand ! " " Agnes, how can you" — hastily answered Miss Aubrey, with cheeks suddenly crimsoned. " Of course I understand you, — but — I never heard such nonsense " " Well, night, night, Kate ! think over it! " said Mrs Aubrey, and kiss- ing her beautiful sister-in-law, the next moment the blooming wife had entered her bed-room. Miss Aubrey slipped into her dressing-room, where Harriet, her maid, was sitting asleep before the fire. Her lovely mistress did not for a few minutes awake her ; but placing her taper on the toilet table, stood in a musing attitude. "It's so perfectly ridiculous,'" at length she said aloud ; and up started her maid. Within half an hour Miss Aubrey was in bed, but by no means CHAPTEE II. CHRISTMAS IK THE COUHTKT ; TATTON ; MADAM ADBEEY ; THE REVEREND bOCTOK TATHAM ; AND OLD BLIMD BESS. The next morning, about eleven o'clock, Mr Aubrey was seated in the library, in momentary expectation of his letters ; and a few moments before the postman's rat-test was heard, Mrs and Miss Aubrey made their appear- ance, as was their wont, in expecta- tion of anything which might have upon the cover, in addition to the ad- dress — " Charles Aubeet, Esq., M.P.," &c. &c. &c., the words, " Mrs Aubrey," or " Miss Aubrey," in the corner. In addition to this, 'twas not an unpleasant thing to skim over the contents otTiis letters ! as one by one he opened them, and laid them aside ; for both these fair creatures were daughters of Eve, and inherited a little of her curiosity. Mr Aubrey was always somewhat nervous and fidgety on such occasions, and wished them gone ; but they only laughed at him, so he was fain to put VOL. I. up with them. On this morning there were more than the usual number of letters ; and, in casting her eye over them, Mrs Aubrey suddenly took up one that challenged attention ; it bore a black seal, had a deep black border- ing, and bore the frank of lord Alk- mond, at whose house in Shropshire they had for months been engaged to spend the ensuing Christmas, and were intending to set off on their visit the very next day. The ominous mis- sive was soon torn open ; it was from Lord Alkmond himself, who in a few hurried lines announced the sudden death of his brother ; so that there was an end of their visit to the Priory. "Well ! " exclaimed Mr Aubrey calm- ly, rising after a pause, and standing with his back to the fire, in a musing posture. " Has he left any family, Charles?" inquired Mrs Aubrey with a sigh, her eyes still fixed on the letter. 130 TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. " I — I really don't know. — Poor fel- low ! By the way, we lose a vote by this — the Glenthams will get the seat," he added, absently, with an air of chagrin Tisibly stealing over his fea^ tures. " How politics harden the heart, Charles ! Just at this moment to be " quoth Mrs Aubrey, with a sigh. " It is too bad, Agnes, I own — ^but you see," said Mr Aubrey affection- ately; suddenly, however, he broke off — " stay, I don't know either, for there's the Grassingham interest come into the field since the last " " Charles, I do really almost think," exclaimed Mrs Aubrey with sudden emotion, stepping to his side, and throwing her soft arms round him af- fectionately, "that if 7 were to die, I should be forgotten in a fortnight, if the House were sitting " "How can you say such things, love?" inquired Mr Aubrey, kissing her forehead. "When Agnes was born, you know," she murmured inarticulately. Her husband folded her tenderly in his arms in silence. On the occasion she alluded to, he had nearly lost her ; and they both had reason to expect that another similar season of peril was not very distant. "Now, Charles, you cmCt escape," said Miss Aubrey, presently, assuming a cheerful tone ; " now for dear old Tattou! " "Yes, Yatton! Positively you must ! " added Mrs Aubrey, smiling through " What ! Go to Yatton ? " said Mr Aubrey, shaking his head and smiling. "Nonsense! I — i — t ca — n't — be — done ! — Why, we must set off tomor- row ! They've had no warning ! " "What warning does mamma re- quire, Charles?" inquired his sister eagerly. " Isn't the dear old place always in apple-pie order ? " "How you love the 'dear old place,' Kate!" exclaimed Mr Aubrey, in such an affectionate tone as brought his sister in an instant to his side, to urge on her suit ; and there stood the lord of Yatton embraced by these two beautiful women, his own heart {inter nos) seconding every word they uttered. " How my mother would stare ! " said he at length irresolutely, looking from one to the other, and smiling at their eagerness. As for himself — ^he that hesitates, is lost! "What a bustle everything will be in ! " exclaimed Kate. " I fancy I'm there already ! The great blazing fires — the holly and misletoe. We must all go, Charles, children and all ! " " Why, really, I hardly know " said Mr Aubrev, faintly. "Oh! P»e 'settled it all," quoth Kate, seeing that she had gained her point, and resolved to press her ad- vantage, "and, what's more, we've no time to lose; this is Tuesday, — Christmas-day is Saturday, — we must of course stop a night on the way ; but hadn't we better have GriflSths in to arrange all ? " Mr Aubrey laughed — and — ^rang the bell. "Eequest Mr Griffiths to come to me," said he to the servant who an- swered the summons. Within a very few minutes that re- spectable functionary had made his appearance and received his instruc- tions. The march to Shropshire was countermanded — and hey! for Yatton! — ^for which they were to start the next day about noon. Mr Griffiths' first step was to pack off Sam, Mr Au- brey's groom, by the Tally-ho, the first coach to York, starting at two o'clock that very day, with letters announcing the immediate arrival of the family. These orders were received by Sam (who had been bom and bred at Yat- ton), while he was bestowing, with vehement sibillation, his customary civilities on a favourite mare of his master's. Down dropped his curry- comb; he jumped into the air; snap- ped his fingers; then he threw his arms round Jenny, and tickled her under the chin. " Dang it," said he, as he threw her another feed of oats, " I wish thee were going wi' me — dang'd if I don't ! " Then he hastily made himself "a, lit tidy ; " , presented himself very respectfully hefore Mr Griffiths, to receive the wherewithal to pay his fare ; and having obtained TEN THOUSAND A -TEAR. 131 it, off he scampered to the Bull and Mouth, as if it had been a neck-and- neck race between him and all London which should get down to Yorkshire first. A little after one o'clock his packet of letters was delivered to him ; and within another hour Sam was to be seen (quite comfortable, with a draught of spiced ale given him by the house-' keeper, to make his hasty dinner " sit ■well") on the top of the Tally-ho, rat- tlingrapidlyalongthegreat north road. " Come, Kate, said Mrs Aubrey, entering Miss Aubrey's room, where she was giving directions to her maid, "I've ordered the carriage to be at the door as soon as it can be got ready; we must go off to Coutts — see ! " She held in her hand two slips of paper, one of which she gave Miss Aubrey. 'Twas a check for one hundred pounds — her brother's usual Christmas-box — "and then we've a quantity of little matters to buy this afternoon. Come, Kate, quick! quick!" Now, poor Kate had spent nearly all her ready money ; which circumstance, connected with another that I shall shortly mention, had given her not a little concern. At her earnest request, her brother had, about a year before, built her a nice little school, capable of containing some eighteen or twenty girls, on a slip of laud between the vicarage and the park wall of Yatton, and old Mrs Aubrey and her daughter maintained a resident schoolmistress, and, in fact, supported the little esta- blishment, which, at the time I am speaking of, contained some seventeen or eighteen of the villagers' younger children. Miss Aubrey took a prodi- gious interest in this little school, scarce a day passing without her visit- ing it when she was at Yatton ; and what Kate wanted was, the luxury of giving a Christmas present to both mistress and scholars. That, however, she would have had some difficulty in effecting but for this her brother's timely present, which had quite set her heart at ease. On their return, the carriage was crowded with the things they had been purchasing — articles of clothing for the feebler old villagers; work-boxes, samplers, books, testaments, prayer-books, &c. &g. &c., for the school ; the sight of which, I can assure the reader," made Kate far happier than if they had been the cost- liest articles of dress and jewellery. The next day was a very pleasant one for travelling, " frosty, but kindly." About one o'clock there might have been seen standing before the door the roomy yellow family carriage, with four post-horses. All was in travel- ling trim. In the rumble sat Mr Au- brey's valet and Mrs Aubrey's maid, — ^Miss Aubrey's, and one of the nur- sery-maids, going down by the coach which had carried Sam — the Tally-ho. The coach-box was piled up with that sort of luggage which, by its lightness and bulk, denotes lady-travelling: in- side were Mrs and Miss Aubrey, muf- fled in furs, shawls, and pelisses; a nursery-maid, with little Master and Miss Aubrey, equally well protected from the cold; and the vacant seat awaited Mr Aubrey, who at length made his appearance, having been en- gaged till the latest moment in giving and repeating specific instructions con- cerning the forwarding of his letters and papers. As soon as he had taken his place, and all had been snugly dis- posed within, the steps were doubled up, the door was closed, the windows were drawn up — crack ! crack ! went the whips of the two postilions, and away rolled the carriage over the dry hard pavement. " Now that's what I calls doing it uncommon comfortable," said a pot-boy to one of the footmen at an adjoining house, where he was delivering the porter for the servants' dinner ; " how werry nice and snug them two looks in the rumble behind ! " ■ " We goes to-morrow," carelessly replied the gentleman whom he had addressed. " It's a fine thing to be gentlefolk," said the boy, taking up his pot-board. " Pretty well — but one tires of it in time ! " drawled the footman, twitch- ing up his shirt collar. On drawing up to the posting-house; which was within about forty miles of Yatton, the Aubreys found a carriage- and-four just ready to start, after 132 TEN THOUSAOT) A YBAE. changing horses; and whose should this Drove to be, but Lord De la Zouch's, containing himself, his lady, and his son, Mr Delamere ! His lord- ship and his son both alighted on acci- dentally discovering who had over- taken them; and coming up to Mr Aubrey's carriage windows, exchanged surprised and cordial greetings with its occupants — ^whomLordDe la Zouoh imagined to have been by this time on their way to Shropshire. Mr De- lamere manifested a surprising eager- ness about the welfare of little Agnes Aubrey, who happened to be lying fast asleep in Miss Aubrey's lap; but the evemng was fast advancing, and both the travelling parties had yet before them a considerable portion of their journey. After a hasty promise on the part of each to dine with the other before returning to town for the sear son — a promise which Mr Delamere, at all events, resolved should not be lost sight of-^they parted. 'Twas eight o'clock before Mr Aubrey's eye, which had been for some time on the look- out, caught sight of Tatton woods ; and when it did, his heart yearned towards them. The moon shone brightly and cheerily, and it was pleasant to listen to the quickening clattering tramp of the horses upon the dry hard high- way, as the travellers rapidly neared a spot endeared to them by every early and tender association. When they had got within half a mile of the village, they overtook the worthy vicar, who had mounted his nag, and been out on the road to meet the expected comers, for an hour before. Mr Au- brey roused Mrs Aubrey from her nap, to point out Dr Tatham, who by that time was cantering along beside the open window. 'Twas refreshing to see the cheerful old man — who looked as ruddy and hearty as ever, " God bless you all ! All well ?" he exclaimed, riding obse to the window. "Yes; but how is my mother?" inquired Mr Aubrey. " High spirits— high spirits ! Was with her this sifternoon! Have not seen her better for years! So sur- prised! Ah! here's an old friend- Hector ! " " Bow-wow-wow-wow ! Bow — ^bow- wow ! " " Papa ! papa ! " exclaimed the voice of little Charles, struggling to get on his father's lap to look out of the win- dow, " that is Hector ! I know it is ! He is come to see me! I want to look at him." Mr Aubrey lifted him up as he de- sired, and a huge black-and-white Newfoundland dog almost leaped up to the window, at sight of him clap- ping his little hands, as if in eager re- cognition, and then scampered and bounded about in all directions, bark- ing boisterously, to the infinite delight of little Aubrey. This messenger had been sent on by Sam, the groom ; who, having been on the look-out for the travellers for some time, the mo- ment he had caught sight of the car- riage, pelted down the village through the park, at top speed, up to the Hall, there to communicate the good news of their safe arrival. The travellers thought that the village had never looked so pretty and picturesque be- fore. The sound of the carriage dash- ing through it called all the cottagers to their doors, where they stood bow- ing and curtsying. It soon reached the park-gates, which were thrown wide open in readiness for its entrance. As they passed the church, they heard its little bells ringing a merry peal to welcome their arrival. Its faintchimes went to their very hearts. "Mjr darling Agnes, here we are again in the old .place," said Mr Au- brey, in a joyous tone, affectionately kissing Mrs Aubrey and his sister, as, after having wound their way up the park at almost a gallop, they heard themselves rattling over the stone pavement immediately under the old turreted gateway. On approaching it, th^ saw lights glancing about in the Hall windows; and before they had drawn up, the great door was thrown open, and several servants (one or two of them grey-headed) made theur appearance, eager to release the travellers from their long confinement. A great wood fire was crackling and blazing in the ample fireplace in the hall opposite the door, casting a right TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE, 133 pleasant and cheerful light over the various antique objects ranged around the walls; but the object on which Mr Aubrey's eye instantly settled was the venerable figure of his mother, standing beside the fireplace with one or two female attendants. The mo- ment that the carriage door was open- ed, he stepped quickly out (nearly tumbling, by the way, over Hector, who appeared to think that the car- riage door had been opened only to enable him to jump into it, which he prepared to do). " God bless you, madam ! " said Mr Aubrey tenderly, and bare-headed, as he received his mother's fervent but silent greeting, and imagined that the arms folded round him were somewhat feebler than when he had last felt them embracing him ! With similar affection was the good old lady re- ceived by her daughter and daughter- in-law. "Where is my pony, grandmam- ma?" quoth little Aubrey, running up to her (he had been kept quiet, from time to time, during the last eighty miles or so, by the mention of the aforesaid pony, which had been sent to the Hall as a present to him some weeks before). " Where is it ? I want to see my little pony directly ! Mamma says you have got a little pony for me with a long tail ; I must see it before I go to bed ; I must, indeed — is it in the stable?" " You shall see it in the morning, my darling — the very first thing," said Mrs Aubrey, fervently kissing her beautiful little grandson, while tears of joy and pride ran down her cheek. She then pressed her lips on the delicate but flushed cheek of little Agnes, who was fast asleep ; and as soon as they had been conducted to- wards their nursery, Mrs Aubrey, fol- lowed by her children, led the way to the dining-room — ^the dear delightful old dining-room, in which all of them had passed so many happy hours of their lives. It was large and lofty; and two antique branch silver candle- sticks, standing on sconces upon each side of a strange old straggling carved mantelpiece of inlaid oak, aided by the blaze given out by two immense logs of wood burning beneath, tho- roughly illuminated it. The walls were oak-paneled, containing many pictures, several of them of great value ; and the floor also was of Eolished oak, over the centre of which, owever, was spread a thick richly- coloured Turkey carpet. Opposite the door was a large mullioned bay-win- dow, then, however, concealed behind an ample flowing crimson curtain. On the further side of the fireplace stood a high-backed and roomy arm- chair, almost covered with Kate's em- broidery, and in which Mrs Aubrey had evidently, as usual, been sitting till the moment of their arrival — for on a small ebony table beside it lay her spectacles, and an open volume. Nearly fronting the fireplace was a recess, in which stood an exquisitely carved black ebony cabinet, inlaid with white and red ivory. Tiiis Miss Aubrey claimed as her own, and had appropriated it to her own purposes ever since she was seven years old. " You dear old thing 1 " said she, throwing open the folding-doors — " Everything just as I left it ! Eeally, dear mamma, I could skip about the room for joy ! I wish Charles would never leave Yatton again ! " " It's rather lonely, my love, when nolle of you are with me," said Mrs Aubrey. " I feel getting older " " Dearest mamma, " interrupted Kate quickly, and embracing her mother, "I won't leave you again! I'm quite tired of town — ^I am in- deed!" Though fires were lit in their seve- ral dressing-rooms, of which they were more than once reminded by their re- spective attendants, they all remained seated before the fire in carriage cos- tume (except that Kate had thrown her bonnet, her half-uncurled tresses hanging in negligent profusion over her thickly-furred pelisse),eager- ly conversing about the little incidents of their journey, and the events which had happened at Yatton since their last quitting it. At length, however, they retired to perform the refreshing duties of the dressing-room, before 134 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. sitting down to supper. Of that com- fortable meal, within twenty minutes' time or so, they partook with hearty relish. What mortal, however delicate, could resist the fare set before them? The plump capon, the grilled ham, the poached eggs, the floury potatoes, home-baked bread, white and brown — custards, mince-pies, home-brewed ale, soft as milk, clear as amber — mulled claret — and so forth ? The travellers had evidently never relished anything more, to the infinite delight of old Mrs Aubrey; who observing, soon after- wards, irrepressible symptoms of fa- tigue and arowsiness, ordered them all off to bed — Kate betaking herself to the same chamber in which she was sitting when the reader was permitted to catch a moonlight glimpse of her. They did not make their appearance the next morning till after nine o'clock, Mrs Aubrey having read prayersbefore the assembled servants, as usual, near- ly an hour before — a duty her son al- ways j)erformed when at the Hall ; but on this occasion he had overslept him- self. He found his mother in the breakfast-room, where she was soon joined by her daughter and daughter- in-law, all of them being in high health and spirits. Just as they were finish- ing breakfast, little Aubrey burst into the room in a perfect ecstasy^ — for old Jones had taken him round to the stables, and shown him the little pony which had been recently presented to him. He had heard it neigh — had seen its long tail — had patted its neck — had seen it eat — and now his vehement prayer was, that his papa, and mam- ma, and Kate would immediately go and see it, and take his little sister also. Breakfast over, they separated. Old Mrs Aubrey went to her own room to be attended by her housekeeper ; the other two ladies retired to their rooms — ^Kate principally engaged in arrang- ing her presents for her Uttle scholars: and Mr Aubrey repaired to his library — as delightful an old snuggery as the most studious recluse could desire — where he was presently attended by his bailiff. He found that everything was going on as he could have wished. With one or two exceptions, his rents were paid most punctually, and the farms and lands kept in capital con- dition. To be sure an incorrigible old poacher had been giving a little trouble, as usual, and stood committed for trial at the ensuing Spring Assizes ; and a few trivial trespasses had been com- mitted in search of firewood, and other small matters ; which, after having been detailed with great minuteness by his zealous and vigilant bailiff, were despatched by Mr Aubrey with a "pooh, pooh!" — Then there was Gre- gory, who held the smallest farm on the estate, at its southern extremity — he was three quarters' rent in arrear — ^but had a sick wife and seven chil- dren — so he was at once forgiven • all that was due, and also what wonld become due, on the ensuing quarter- day. — "In fact," said Mr Aubrey, "don't ask him for any more rent. I'm sure the poor fellow will pay when he's able." A few rents were to be raised; others lowered ; and some half-dozen of the poorer cottages were to be forthwith put into good repair, at Mr Aubrey's expense. The two oxen had been sent, on the preceding afternoon, from the home-farm to the butcher's, to be distributed on Christmas eve among the poorer villagers, according to orders brought down from town, by Sam, the day before. Thus was Mr Aubrey en- gaged for an hour or two, till luncheon time, when good Dr Tatham made his welcome appearance, having been en- gaged most of the morning in tonch- ingup an old Christmas sermon. He had been vicar of Yatton for about thirty years, having been pre- sented to it by the late Mr Aubrey, with whom he had been intimate at college. He was a delightfiil specimen of a country parson. Cheerful, unaf- fected, and good-natured, there was a dash of quaintness or roughness about his manners, that reminded you of the crust in very fine old port. He had been a widower, and childless, for fif- teen years. His parish had been ever since his family, whom he still watched over with an affectionate vigilance. He was respected and beloved by all. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAK. 135 Almost every man, woman, and child that had died in Yatton, during nearly thirty years, had departed with the sound of his kind and solemn voice in their ears. He claimed a sort of per- sonal acquaintance with almost all the gravestones in his little churchyard ; he knew the names of all who slept beneath them ; and when he looked at those gravestones, his conscience bore him witness, that he had done his duty by the dust of whom they spoke. He was at the bedside of a sick person almost as soon, and as often, as the doctor — ^no matter what sort of wea^ ther, or at what hour of the day or night. Methinks I see him now, bustling about the village, with healthy ruddy cheek, a clear, oneerful eye, hair white as snow! with a small, stout figure, clothed in a suit of somewhat rusty black (knee-breeches and gaiters all round the year), and with a small shovel-hat. No one lives in the vicar- age with him but an elderly woman, his housekeeper, and her husband, whose chief business is to look after the Doctor's old mare and the little garden; in which I have often seen him and his master, with his coat off, digging for an hour or two together. He rises at five in the winter, and four in the summer, being occupied till breakfast with his studies ; for he is an excellent scholar, and has not for- gotten, in the zealous discharge of his sacred duties, the pursuits of literatm-e and philosophy, in which he had gained no inconsiderable distinction in his youth. He derives a very moderate income from his living ; but it is even more than sufficient for his necessities. Ever since Mr Aubrey's devotion to politics has carried him away from Yatton for a considerable portion of each year, Dr Tatham has been the right-hand counsellor of old Mrs Au- brey, in all her pious and charitable plans and purposes. Every New-year's day, there come from the Hall to the vicarage six dozen of fine old port wine — a present from Mrs Aubrey ; but the little Doctor (though he never tells her so) drinks scarce six bottles of them in a year. Two dozen of them go, within a few days' time, to a poor brother parson in an adjoining parish, who, with his wife and three children, all in feeble health, can hardly keep body and soul together, and who, but for this generous brother, would pro- bably not taste wine throughout the year, except on certain occasions when the very humblest may moisten their poor lips with wine, when participat- ' ing in the sublime and solemn festival instituted by One who doth not forget the poor and destitute, however in their misery they may sometimes think to the contrary ! — 'The remainder of his little present Dr Tatham dis- tributes in small quantities amongst such of his parishioners as may require it, and may not happen to have come under the immediate notice of Mrs Aubrey. Dr Tatham has known Mr Aubrey ever since he was about five years old. 'Twas the Doctor that first taught him Greek and Latin ; and, up to his going to college, gave him the frequent advantage of his learned ex- perience. — But surely I have gone in- to a very long digression, and must return. AVhile Miss Aubrey, accompanied by her sister-in-law, and followed by a servant carrying a great bag, filled with articles brought from London the day before, went to the school which I have before mentioned, in order to distribute her prizes and presents, Mr Aubrey and Dr Tatham set off on a walk through the village. "I must really do something for that old steeple of yours. Doctor," said Mr Aubrey, looking up, and shading his eyes with his hands, as, arm in arm, they approached the church ; "it looks crumbling away in many parts ! " "If you'd only send a couple of masons to repair the porch, and make it weather-tight, it would satisfy me for some years to come," said the Doc- tor, with exceeding earnestness, "and we'll make shift with the steeple for the present." "Well— we'll look at it," replied Aubrey ; and, turning aside, they entered the little churchyard. " How I love this old yew-tree ! " he exclaimed, as they passed under it ; 136 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. "it casts a kindof tender gloom around, that always makes me pensive, not to say melancholy ! " A sigh escaped him, as his eye glanced at the family vault, almost in the centre of the yew- tree shade, where lay his father, three brothers, and a sister, and where, in the course of nature, a few short years would see the precious remains of his mother deposited. But the Doctor, who had hastened forward alone for a moment, finding the church door open, called out to Mr Aubrey, who soon stood within the porch. It certain^ required a little repairing, which IMtr Aubrey said should be looked to im- mediately. "See — ^we're all prepar- ing for to-morrow," said Dr Tatham, leading the way into the little church, where the grizzle-headed clerk was busy decorating the old-fashioned pul- pit, reading-desk, and altar-piece, with the cheerful emblems of the season. "I never see these," said the Doctor, taking up one of the sprigs of mistle- toe lying on a form beside them, "but I think of your own CJhristmas verses, Mr Aubrey, when you were younger and fresher than you now are — don't you recollect them?" " Oh — ^pooh ! " quoth Aubrey, some- what hastily. " But I remember them,'' rejoined the Doctor ; and he began with great emphasis and solenMiity — Hail ! silvery, modest mistletoe, TVreath'd round winter's brow of snow, Clingiuer so cliastely, tenderly : Hail holly, darkly, richly green. Whose crimson berries blush between Thy prickly foliage, modestly. Ye winter-flowers, bloom sweet and lair, Though Nature's garden else be bare — Te vernal glistening emblems, meet To twine a Christmas coronet ! " That will do, Doctor," interrupted Aubrey, smiling — "what a memory you have for trifles !" " Peggy ! Peggy ! — you're sadly overdoing it," said the Doctor hastily, calling out to the sexton's wife, who was busy at work in the squire's pew — a large square one, in the nave, near the pulpit. "Why, do you want to hide the squire's family from the con- gregation? You're putting quite a holly hedge all round ! " "Please you, sir," quoth Peggy, " I've got 80 much I don't know where to put it — BO, in course, I put it here!" "Then," said the Doctor, with a smile, looking round the church, " let Jonas get up and stick some of it into those old hatchments ; and," looking up at the clerk, busy at work in the pulpit, " don't you put quite so much up there into my candlesticks ! I shall indeed be 'like to an owl in ivy bush ' " — he added with a smile, turning to Mr Aubrey. With this the parson and the squire took their departure. As they passed slowly up the village, which already wore a sort of holiday aspect, they met on all hands with a cordial, re- spectful, and affectionate greeting. 'The quiet little public-house turned out some four or five stout steady fel- lows — all tenants of Mr Aubrey's, pipes in hand, and who took off their hats, and bowed very low. Mr Au- brey went up and entered into con- versation with them for some minutes. Their families and farms, he found, were well and thriving. There was quite a little crowd of women about the shop of Nick Steele, the butcher, who, with an extra hand to help him, and blowing with bustle and excite- ment, was giving out the second ox which had been sent from the Hall, to the persons whose names had been given in to him from Mrs Aubrey. Further on, some were cleaning their little windows, others sweeping their floors, and sprinkling sand over them ; most were displaying holly and mistle- toe in their windows, and over their mantelpieces. Everywhere, in short, was to be seen that air of quiet pre- paration for the solemnly-cheerful mor- row, which iills a thoughtful English observer with feelings of pensive but exquisite satisfaction. "T-Mr Aubrey returned home towards dusk, cheered and enlivened by his walk._ His sudden plunge into the simplicity and comparative solitude of country Kfe— and that country Yatton —had quite refreshed his feelings, and given a tone to his spirits."'' Of course Dr Tatham was to dine at the Hall on TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. 137 the morrow; if he did not, indeed, it would have been for the first time during the last five-and-twenty years that he had not been present to bless, and partEike of, Christmas dinner at the HallJ'f-Christmas eve passed plear santly and quietly enough. After dinner the merry little ones were in- troduced, and their prattle and romps occupied an hour right joyously. As soon as, smothered with kisses, they had been dismissed to bed, old Mrs Aubrey composed herself in her great chair, to her usual after-dinner's nap ; while her son, his wife and sister, sit- ting fronting the fire — a decanter or two, and a few wine-glasses and des- sert, remaining on the table behind them — sate conversing in a subdued tone, now listening to the wind roar- ing in the chimney — a sound which not a little enhanced their sense of comfort — then criticising the disposi- tion of the evergreens with which the room was plenteously decorated, and laying out their movements during the ensuing fortnight. Mrs Aubrey and Kate were, with affectionate earnest- ness, contrasting to Aubrey the peace- ful pleasures of a country life with the restless excitement and endless anxieties of a London political life, to which they saw him more and more addicting himself; he all the while playfully parrying their attacks, but secretly acknowledging the truth and force of what they said, when — ^hark! — a novel sound from without, which roused the old lady from her nap. What do you think, dear reader, it was? The voices of very little girls singing what seemed to be a Christ- mas hymn: yes, they caught the words — Hark ! the herald angels sing. Glory to the new-born king ; Peace on earth, and mercy mild — "Why, surely — it must be your little school girls," said old Mrs Au- brey, looking at her daughter, and listening. " I do believe it is f" quoth Kate, her eyes suddenly filling with tears, as she sate eagerly inclining her ear to- wards the window. "They must be standing on the grass plot just before the window," said Mr Aubrey : the tiny voices were thrilling his very heart within him. His sensitive nature might have been compared to a deljcate .SoKan harp which gave forth, with the slightest breath of accident or circumstance, — The still, sad music of humanity. In a few moments he was almost in tears — the sounds were so unlike the fierce and turbulent cries of political warfare to which his ears had been latterly accustomed! The more the poor children sang, the more was he affected. Kate's tears fell fast, for she had been in an excited mood before this little incident occurred. " Do you hear, mamma," said she, tremulously, " the voice of the poor little thing that was last taken into the school ? The little darling !'| Kate tried to smile away her emotion ; but 'twas in vain. Mr Aubrey gently drew aside the curtain, and pulled up the central blind — and there, headed by their matron, stood the little singers ex- Eosed to view, some eighteen in num- er, ranged in a row on the grass, in the bright moonlight, all in snug grey woollen hoods effectually protecting them from the cold. The oldest seemed not more than ten or twelve years old, while the younger ones could not be more than five or six. They seemed all singing from their very hearts. Aubrey stood gazing at them with a swelling heart and quiver- ing lip. As soon as they had finished their hymn, they were conducted into the housekeeper's room, according to or- ders sent for that purpose from Mrs Aubrey, and each of them received a little present of money, besides a full glass of Mrs Jackson's choicest raisin wine, and a currant bun ; dear Kate slipping half-a-guinea into the hand of their mistress, to whose wish to afford gratification to the inmates of the Hall was entirely owing the little incident which had so pleased and smprised them. " Happy Christmas, dear papa and mamma!" said little Aubrey, about eight o'clock the next morning, push- 138 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. ing aside the curtains, and trying to clamber up on the high bed where Mr and Mrs Aubrey were still asleep. Soon, however, they were awoke by the dear welcome voice !— The morn- ing promised a beautiful day. The air, though cold, was clear ; and the branches of the trees visible from their windows, were all covered with hoar- frost, which seemed to line them with silver fringe. The bells of Yatton church were ringing a merry peal ; but how different in tone and strength from the clangour of the London church-bells! — Christmas was indeed at last arrived — and cheerful were the greetings of those who soon after met at the bountiful breakfast table. J Old Mrs Aubrey was going to church with them — in fact, not even a domestic who could be possibly spared was to be left at home. By the time that the carriage, with the fat and lazy-looking grey horses, was at the Hall door, the sun had burst out in beauty from an ;. almost cloudless sky. The three ladies rode alone; Aubrey preferring to walk, accompanied by his little son, as the ground was dry and hard, and the dis- tance short. A troop of some twelve or fourteen servants, male and female, presently followed ; and then came Mr Aubrey, leading along the heir of Yat- ton — a boy of whom he might well be proud, as the futtire possessor of his name, his fortune, and his hononrs. ' When he had reached the church, the carriage was returning home. Almost the whole congregation stood collected before the church door, to see the Squire's family enter; and reverent were the curtsies and bows with which old Mrs Aubrey and her lovely com- panions were received. Very soon after they had taken their places, Mr Aubrey and his son made their ap- pearance ; objects they were of the deepest interest, as they passed along to their pew. A few minutes after- wards little Dr Tatham entered the church iuhis surplice (which he almost always put on at home), with a fece, composed and serious to be sure, bat yet overspread with an expression even more bland and benignant than usual. He knew there was not a soul among the litle crowd around him that did not really love him, and that did not know how heartily he returned their love. All eyes were of course on the Squire's pew. Mrs Aubrey was looking well — ^her daughter and daughter-in-law were thought by all to be by far the most beautifiil women in the world — what must people say of them in London ? Mr Aubrey look- ed, they thought, pleased and hapjjy, but rather paler, and even a little thin- ner; and as for the "IMe Squire," with his bright eyes, his rosy cheeks, his arch smile, his curling auburn hair — and so like his father and mother — he was the pride of Yatton ! — Dr Tatham read prayers, as he al- ways did, with great distinctness and deliberation, so that every})ody in the church, young and old, could catch every syllable ; and he preached, con- siderately-enough, a very short ser- mon — ^pithy, homely, and affectionate. He reminded them that he was then preaching his thirty-first Christmas- day sermon from that pulpit ! The Communion ended, on Mr Aubrey and the ladies from the Hall making their appearance outside the door, they were freeted with silent respect and delight y at least two-thirds of the villagers, who lined the way from the church door to the gate at which the carriage stood ; receiving and answering a hun- dred kind inquiries concerning them- selves, their &milies, and their cir- cumstances. _ Mr Aubrey stayed behind, desirous of taking another little ramble with Dr Tatham through the village, for the day was indeed bright and beautiful,^ and the occasion inspiriting. There was not a villager within four or five miles of the Hiul who did not sit down that day to a comfortable little relish- ing dinner, at least one-third of them being indebted for it directly to the bounty of the Aubreys. As soon as Dr Tatham had taken off his surplice, he accompanied Mr Aubrey in cheerful mood, in the miskest spirits. 'Twas delightfiil to see the smoke come curl- ing out of every chimney, while few folk were visible out of doors ; whence you reasonably concluded that they TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 139 were all housed, and preparing for, or partaking of, their roaat-heef and plum- pudding ! Now and then the bustling wife would show her heated red face at the door, and hastily curtsy as they passed, then returning to dish up her little dinner. - " Ah, ha ; Mr Aubrey ! — ^isn't such a day as this worth a whole year in town?" exclaimed Dr Tatham. "Both have their peculiar advan- tages, Doctor ; the pleasure of the con- trast would be lost if" " Contrast ! Believe me, in the lan- guage of" "Ah! by the way, how goes on old blind Bess, Doctor?" interrupted Au- brey, as they approached the smallest cottage in the village — ^in fact the very last. " She's just the same as she has been these last twenty years. Shall we look in on the old creature?" " With all my heart. I hope, poor soul ! that she has not been overlooked on this festive occasion." " Trust Mrs Aubrey for that ! I'll answer for it, we shall find old Bess as happy, in her way, as she can be." They were speaking of a stone-blind old woman, who had been bedridden for the last twenty years. She had certainly passed her hundredth year — some said two or three years before — and had lived in her present little cot- tage for nearly half a century, having grown out of the recollection of al- most all the inhabitants of the village. She had long been a peinsioner of Mrs Aubrey's, by whom aJone, indeed, she was supported. Her great age, her singular appearance, and a certain rambling style of talking, had long earned her the reputation, in the vil- lage, of being able to say strange things ; and one or two of the old gos- sips knew of things coming to pass according to what — poor old soul — she had predicted ! Dr Tatham gently pushed open the door. The cottage consisted, in fact, of but one room, and th*t a small one, lit by only one little window. The floor was clean, and evidently just fresh sanded. On a wooden stool, op- posite a fireplace, ou which a small saucepan was placed, sat a girl about twelvg years old (a daughter of the woman who lived nearest), crumbling some bread into a basin, with some broth in it. On a narrow bed against the wall, opposite the window, was to be seen the somewhat remarkable figure of the solitary old tenant of the cottage. She was sitting up, resting against the pillow, which was placed ou end against the wall. She was evidently a very tall woman ; and her long, brown, wrinkled, shrivelled face, with prominent cheekbones and bushy white eyebrows, betokened the posses- sion, in earlier days, of a masculine expression of features. Her hair, white as snow, was gathered back from her forehead, under a spreading plain white cap ; and her sightless eyes, wide open, stared forward with a startling and somewhat sinister expression. She was wrapped round in a clean white bedgown; and her long thin arms lay ■ straight before her on the out- side of the bed-clothes. Her lips were moving, as if she were talking to herself. " She's a strange-looking object, in- deed!" exclaimed Mr Aubrey, as he and Dr Tatham stood watching her for a few moments in silence. " Ay, indeed, she is ! — Dame ! dame ! " said the Doctor loudly, ap- proaching her bedside, " how are you to-day? It's Christmas-day — I wish you a merry Christmas." "Ay, ay — merry, merry!" echoed the old woman with a half groan. " More the merrier ! I've seen a hun- dred and nine of them! " " You seem comfortable enough, dame," said Mr Aubrey kindly. "I hope you are?" " They won't give me my broth — my broth," said she peevishly. "It's coming, granny," called out the shrill voice of the girl sitting be- fore the fire, quickening her motions. " Here's the Squire come to see you, dame, and he wishes you a happy Christmas," said Dr Tafliam, loudly. "What! the Squire? Alive yet? Ah, well-a-day! well-a-day!" said she, in a feeble, mournful tone, slowly rub- bing together her long, skinny, wrin 140 kled hands, on the backs of which the veins stood out like knotted whip- cord. She repeated the last words several times, in a truly dolefiil tone, gently shaking her head. " Granny's been very sad, sir, to- day, and cried two or three times," said the little girl, stirring about the hot broth. "Poor Squire! doth he not look sad ? " inquired the old woman. " Why should I, dame ? What have I to be sad about?" said Mr Aubrey, somewhat quickly. " Merry in the Hall! all, merry ! merry ! But no one has heard it ex- cept old blind Bess. Where's the Squire ? " she added, suddenly turning full towards the spot where they were standing — and her face seemed to in- dicate inward emotion. Her staring eyes were settled on Mr Aubrey's face, as if she saw him distinctly, and were reading his very soul. " Here I am, dame," said he, with considerable curiosity, to say the least of it. " Give me your hand. Squire," said she, stretching out her left arm, and working about her talon-like fingers, as if in eagerness to grasp Mr Aubrey's hand, which he gave her. " Never fear ! never, never ! Happy in the Hall! I see all! How long" " Why, dame, this is truly a very pleasant greeting of yours," inter- posed Dr Tatham with a smile. " Short and bitter ! long and sweet ! Put your trust in God, Squire." "Ihope I do, granny," replied Mr Aubrey seriously. "I see! I hear! — my broth! my broth ! — where is it ? " " Here it is, granny," said the girl —"It's all ready!" " Good-day, dame,'' said Mr Aubrey, gently disengaging his hand from hers; and before they had left the cottage, she began to swallow very greedily the broth with which the Uttlegirl fed her. " This is the sort of way in which this old superannuated creature has frightened one or two of " "Is it indeed?" inquired Mr Aubrey, with a sort of mechanical smile. Dr TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. Tatham saw that he was in a some- what serious humour. "She's alarmed you, I protest! — why, positively, she has ! " exclaimed the Doctor, with a slight laugh, as they walked along. Now, he knew the disposition and character of Aubrey intimately; and was well aware of a certain tendency which he had to su- perstition. " My dear Doctor, I assure yon that you are mistaken — I am indeed not alarmed — ^but at the same time I will tell you something not a little sin- gular. Would yon believe that a month or two ago, when in town, I dreamed that I heard some one utter- ing something very much like the words which we have just heard from this old woman ?" "Ah! ha, ha!" laughed the Doc- tor ; and, after a second or two's pause, Aubrey, as if ashamed of what he had said, echoed the laugh, and their con- versation passed on to political topics, which kept them engaged for the re- mainder of their walk, Mr Aubrey quitting his companion at the door of the vicarage, to be rejoined by him at five o'clock, the diimer hour at the HaU. As Mr Aubrey walked along the park, the shades of evening cast- ing a deepening gloom aronnd him, his thoughts involuntarily recurred to the cottage of old blind Bess, and he felt vague apprehensions flitting with darkening shade across his mind. Though he was hardly weak enough to attach any definite meaning or im- portance to the gibberish hehad heard, it still had left an unpleasant imprei- sion, and he was vexed at feeling a wish that the incident — ^trifling as he was willing to believe it — shonld not be mentioned by Dr Tatham at the HaU; and still more was he excited when he recollected that he had pur- posely abstained from requesting the good Doctor not to do so. All this undoubtedly implied that the matter had occupied Mr Aubrey's thoughts to a greater extent than he secretly relished. On reaching, however, the Hall door, this brief pressure on his feelings quickly ceased ; for on enter-" ing, he saw Mrs Aubrey, his sister, TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 141 and his two children, at high romps together in the hall, and he heartily joined in them. By five o'clock the little party was seated at the cheerful dinner-tahle, glistening with the old family plate, and that kind of fare, at once substan- tial and luxurious, which befitted the occasion. Old Mrs Aubrey, in her ""Simple white turban and black velvet dress, presided with a kind of dignified cheerfulness delightful to see. Kate had contrived to make herself look more lovely even than usual, wearing a dress of dark blue satin, trimmed with blonde, and exquisitely comport- ing with her beautiful complexion. Oh that Delamere had been sitting opposite to, or beside her ! The more matured proportions of her blooming sister-in-law appeared to infinite ad- vantage in a rich green velvet dress, while a superb diamond glistened with subdued lustre in her beautiful bosom. She wore no ornaments in her dark hair, which was, as indeed might be said of Kate, " when unadorned, adorned the most." The greyheaded old but- ler, as brisk as his choicest cham- pagne, and the two steady-looking old family servants, going about their business with quiet celerity — the de- licious air of antique elegance around them — the sense of profound seclu- sion — of remoteness from the exciting hubbub of the world — in every re- spect this was a Christmas dinner after one's own heart ! Oh the merry and dear old Yatton ! And as if there were not loveliness enough already in the room, behold the door suddenlj pushed open, as soon as the dessert is arrayed on the table, and run up to his gay and laughing mother, her little son, his ample snowy collar rest- ing gracefully on his crimson velvet dress. 'Tis her hope and pride — her first-born — ^the little squire; but where is his sister 1 — where is Agnes ? 'Tis even as Charles says — she fell asleep in the very act of being dressed, and they were obliged to put her to bed ; so Charles is alone innis glory. You may well fold your delicate white arm around him, mamma ! — His little gold cup is nearly filled to join in the first toast : are you all — dear little circle ! — are ' you^^ all ready? The worthy Doctor has poured old Mrs Aubrey's, and young Mrs Aubrey's, and Kate's glass full up to the brim : — " Ovsr next Christ- mail" quoth he, cheerily elevating his glass. Yes, your next Christmas! The vigilant eye of Dr Tatham alone per- ceived a faint change of colour in Mr Aubrey's cheek as the words were uttered ; and his eye wandered for an instant, as if tracing across the room the image of old blind Bess; but 'twas gone in a moment ; Aubrey wasX soon in much higher spirits than usual. "Well he might be. How could man be placed in happier circum- stances than he was? As soon as the three ladies had withdrawn, to- gether with little Aubrey, the Doctor and Mr Aubrey drew their chairs be- fore the fire, and enjoyed a long hour's pleasant conversation on matters do- mestic and political. As to the latter, the Doctor and the Squire were stout Tories; and a speech which Aubrey had lately delivered in the House, on the Catholic claims, had raised him to a pitch of eminence in the Doctor's estimation, where Aubrey had very few men in the country to keep him company. The Doctor here got on very fast indeed ; and was just assm-- ing the Squire that he saw dark days in store for Old England from the machinations of the Papists; and that, for his part, he should rejoice to "seal his testimony with his blood," and would go to the stake not only with- out flinching, but rejoicing — (allwhich I verily believe he verily believed he would have done) — and coveting the crown of martyrdom — when Aubrey caught the sound of his sister playing on the organ, a noble instrument, which a year or two before, at her urgent request, he had purchased and placed in the drawing-room, whither he and the Doctor at once repaired. 'Twas a spacious and lofty room, well calculated for the splendid instrument which occupied the recess fronting the door. Miss Aubi-ey was playing Han- del, and with an exquisite perception 142 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. of his matchless power and heauty. Hark! did you ever hear the grand yet simple recitative she is now com- mencing ? "In the dayi of Berod the Urn/, tduM there came vnee TneA/nmithe Eaet to Jerusalem, " Bayim^ — Wliere w he that is bom King of (he Jeiog ? for vx have $eeTl hit etar in the EaU, amd are come to worehip him J " "^ The Doctor officiated as chaplain that evening. The room was almost filled with servants, many of whose looks very plainly showed the merry doings which must have been going on in the servants' hall. Some could scarce keep their eyes open; one or two sat winking at each other ! and others were fairly asleep, and snoringt Under the circumstances, therefore, the Doctor, with much judgment, read very short prayers, and immediately afterwards took his departure for his snug little vicarage. The moon shone brightly, the air was clear and brac- ing, and he felt as blithe as a bird as he walked homeward ! CHAPTER nL TWO 3TEANOE CEEATtJEES ARE SEES AT ITATTOH BY ME AUBREY ASD HIS SISTER ; AHD A HAHD-OEEHADE IS THROWN, UHSEES, AT THE FEET OF THE LATTER. SuHDAT following immediately on Christmas day, contributed, in a man- ner, each somewhat of its character to the other — constituting a kind of double Christmas day, or a double Sunday. At Tatton, the ensuing Sun- Tiay was character&ed by a cheerfbl solemnity; and in bis sermon, Dr Tatham spoke of it as surrounded with the grand halo of the nativity of our Lord. That sermon was one ad- mirable for its strength and simplici^ ^and listened to by his loving little congregation with reverent attention. There were one or two passages which Mr Aubrey,^ to have been added, in consequence of some expressions which had fallen from himself on the preceding day. Their drift was, the duty of discarding vague apprehen- sions for the future, and cherishing a cheerful faith in God's protection, with, at the same time, a due sense of the precarious tenure by which man holds happiness. At this part Mrs Aubrey gently pressed her husband's hand, which she held in hers, and perhaps they had been talking together in the same strain ! — On the ensuing Monday, Mr Aubrey was detained in-doors with his letters, and one or two other little matters of business in his library, till luncheon time. " What say yon, Kate, to a ride round the country this lovely after- noon ? " said he, on taking ms seat. Elate was delighted; and forthwith the horses were ordered to be got ready as soon as possible. " You must not mind a little rongb riding, Kate, by the way," said Au- brey ; " for we shall have to get over some ugly places ! — ^I'm going to meet Waters at the end of the avenue, about that old sycamore — we must have it down at last." " Oh no, Charles, no; I thought we had settled that last year!" replied Kate earnestly. " Pho ! if it had not been for you, Kate, it would have been down two years ago at least. Its hour is come at last;_ 'tis indeed, so no pouting! It is injuring the other trees; and, besides, it spoils the prospect from the left wing of the house." "'Tis only Waters that puts all these things into your head, Charles, and I shall let him know my opinion on the subject when I see him ! Mam- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. 143 ma, haven't you a word to say for the old" But Mr Aubrey, not deeming it dis- creet to await the new force which was being brought against him, started off to inspect a newly purchased horse, just brought to the stables. Kate, who really became everything, looked charming in her blue riding- habit and hat, sitting on her horse with infinite ease and grace ; she was, in fact, a capital horsewoman. The exercise soon brought a rich bloom upon her cheek ; and as she cantered along the road by the side of her bro- ther, no one could Jiave met them without being almost startled at her beauty. Just as they had dropped into an easy walk — " Charles," said she, observing two horsemen approaching them, " who can these be? Did you ever see such figures ? And how they ride ! " " Why, certainly," replied her bro- ther smiling, "they look a brace of arrant Cockneys! Ah, ha! — what can they be doing in these parts ? " " What exquisite puppies ! " ex- claimed Miss Aubrey, lowering her voice as they neared the persons she spoke of. " They are certainly a most extra- ordinary couple ! Who can they be ? " said Mr Aubrey, a smile forcing itself into his features. One of the gentle- men thus referred to was dressed in a light blue surtout, with the tip of a white pocket-handkerchief seen peep- ing out of a pocket in the front of it. His hat, with scarce any brim to it, was stuck aslant on the top of a bushy head of queer-coloured hair. His shirt- collar was turned down completely over his stock, displaying a great quantity of dirt-coloured hair under his chin ; while a pair of mustaches, of the same colour, were sprouting upon his upper lip, and a perpendicu- lar tuft depended from his under lip. A quizzing-glass was stuck in his right eye, and in his hand he carried a whip with a shining silver head. The other was almost equally distin- guished by the elegance of his appear- ance. He had a glossy hat, a purjjle- coloured velvet waistcoat, two pins connected by little chains in his stock, a bottle-green surtout, sky-blue trou- sers, and a most splendid riding-whip. In short, who should these be but our old friends, Messrs Titmouse and Snap ? Whoever they might be — and whatever their other accomplishments, it was plain that they were perfect novices on horseback ; and their horses had every appearance of having been much fretted and worried by their riders. To the surprise of Mr Aubrey and his sister, these two personages attempted to rein in as they neared, and evidently intended to speak to them. " Pray — a — sir, will you, sir, tell us," commenced Titmouse, with a des- perate attempt to appear at his ease, as he vainly tried to make hjs horse stand still for a moment — " isn't there a place called — called" — here his horse, whose sides were constantly being galled by the spurs of its un- conscious rider, began to back a little ; then to go on one side, putting Tit- mouse into such a fright that he dropped his glass from his eye, and seized hold of the pummel. Never- theless, to show the lady how com- pletely he was at his ease all the while, he levelled a great many oaths • and curses at the unfortunate eyes and soul of his wayward brute ; wno, however, not in the least moved by them, but infinitely disliking the spurs of its rider and the twisting round of its mouth by the reins, seemed more and more inclined for mischief, and backed close up to the edge of the ditch. " I'm afraid, sir," said Mr Aubrey kindly and very earnestly, " you are not much accustomed to riding. Will you permit me " "Oh, yes — ye — ye — s, sir, I am though, — uncommon — whee-o-uy ! whuoy!" — (then a fresh volley of oaths). "Oh, dear, 'pon niy soul — ho! my eyes! — what — what i« he going to do ! Snap ! Snap ! " — 'Twas, however, quite in vain to call on that gentleman for assistance ; for he had grown as pale as death, on finding that his own brute seemed strongly disposed to follow the infernal example 144 l-EN THOUSAND A-YEAK. of the other, or rather, as it were, the converse thereof, and was particularly inclined to rear up on its hind-legs ! The very first motion of that sort brought Snap's heart, not large enough, perhaps, to choke him, into his mouth. Titmouse's beast, in the meanwhile, suddenly wheeled round; and throw- ing its hind feet into the air, sent its tei-rified rider flying, head over heels, into the very middle of the hedge, from which he dropped into the soft wet ditch on the road-side. Both Mr Aubrey and his groom immediately dismounted, and secured the horse, who, having got rid of its ridiculous rider, stood perfectly quiet. Titmouse proved to be more frightened than hurt. His hat was crushed flat on his head, and half the left side of his face covered with mud — as, indeed, were his clothes all the way down. The froom, almost splitting with laughter, elped him on his horse again ; and as Mr and Miss Aubrey were setting off — " I think, sir," said the former politely, "you were inquiring for some place?" "Yes, sir," quoth Snap. "Isn't there a place called Ya — ^Yat — Yat — (be quiet, you brute !) — ^Yatton about here?" " Yes, sir — straight on," replied Mr Aubrey. Miss Aubrey hastily threw her veil over her face, to conceal her laughter, urging on her horse; and she and her brother were soon out of sight of the strangers. "I say. Snap, quoth Titmouse, when he had in a measure cleansed himself, and they had both got a little composed, " see that lovely gal ?" "Fine gal — devilish fine!" replied Snap. " I'm blessed if I don't think — 'pon my life, I believe we've met before ! " " Didn't seem to know you though ! " quoth Snap, somewhat imly. "Ah! you don't know — ^How un- common mfemal unfortunate for all this to happen just at the moment when" ^Titmouse became silent; for all of a sudden he recollected when and where, and under what circum- stances, he had seen Miss Aubrey be- fore, and which his vanity would not allow of his telling Snap. The fact was, that she had dnce accompanied her sister-in-law to Messrs Tag-rag and Company's, to purchase some small matter of mercery. Titmouse had served them; and his absurdity of manner and personal appearance had provoked a smile, which Titmouse a little misconstrued; for when, a Sunday or two afterwards, he met her in the Park, the little fool actually had the audacity to nod to her — she having not the slightest notion who the little wretch might be — and of course not having, on the present oc- casion, the least recollection of him. The reader will recollect that this in- cident had made a deep impression on the mind of Mr Titmouse. The coincidence was really not a little singular — ^but to return to Mr Aubrey and his sister. After riding a mile or two farther up the road, they leaped over a low mound or fence, which formed the extreme boundary of that part of the estate ; and having passed through a couple of fields, en- tered the eastern extremity of that fine avenue of elms, at the higher end of which stood Kate's favourite tree, and also Waters and his under-bailiff — who looked to her like a couple of executioners, only awaiting the fiat of her brother. The sun shone brightly upon the doomed sycamore — " the axe was laid at its root." As they rode up the avenue, Kate begged very hard for mercy; but for once her brother seemed obdurate — the tree, he said, miist come down — 'twas all nonsense to think of leaving it stand- ing any longer ! — "Eemember, Charles," said she pas- sionately, as they drew up, "how we've all of us romped and sported under it ! Poor papa also " " See, Kate, how rotten it is," said her brother ; and riding close to it, with his whip he snapped off two or three of its feeble silvery-grey branches — "it's high time for it to come down." "It fills the grass all round vdth little branches, sir, whenever there's the least breath of wind," said Waters. " It won't hardly hold a crow's weight on the topmost b.ranches, sir," TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 145 added Dickons, the under-bailiif, very modestly. "Had it any leaves last summer?" inquired Mr Aubrey. " I don't think, sir," replied Waters, " it had a hundred all over it ! " " Eeally, Kate," said her brother, somewhat irresolutely, "'tis such a melancholy, unsightly object, when seen from any part of the Hall" — turning round on his horse to look at the rear of the Hall, which was at about two hundred yards' distance. " It looks such an old withered thing amongst the fresh green trees around it — 'tis quite a pai;Dful contrast." Kate had gently urged on her horse while her brother was speaking, till she was close beside him. " Charles," said she tenderly, and in a low whis- per, " does not it remind you a little of poor old mamma, with her grey hairs, among her children and grand- children? She is not out of place amongst us — ^is she ?" Her eyes filled with tears. So did her brother's. "Dearest Kate," said he, with emo- tion, affectionately grasping her little hand, "you have triumphed! The old tree shall never be cut down in my time ! Waters, let the tree stand ; and if anything U to be done to it — let the greatest possible cwre be taken of it." Miss Aubrey turned her head aside to conceal her emotion. Had they been alone, she would have flung her arms round her brother's neck. "If I were to speak my mind, sir," said the compliant Waters, seeing the turn things were taking, "I should say, with our young lady, the old tree's quite a kind of ornament in this here situation, and (as one might say) it sets off the rest." [It was he who had been worrying Mr Aubrey for the last three years to have it out down !] " Well," replied Mr Aubrey, unable to restrain a smile at Mr Waters' rapid conversion, "however that may be, let me hear no more of cutting it down — Ah! what does old Jolter want here? " said he, observing an old ten- ant of that name, almost bent double with age, hobbling towards them. He was wrapped up in a coarse thick blue VOL. I. coat; his hair was long and white; his eyes dim and g;lassy with age. "I don't know, sir — ^I'll go and see,'' said Waters. "What's the matter, Jolter?" he inquired, stepping forward to meet him. "Nothing much, sir," replied the old man, feebly, and panting, taking off his hat, and bowing very low to- wards Mr and Miss Aubrey. "Put your hat on, my old friend," said Mr Aubrey kindly. " I only come to bring you this bit of paper, sir, if you please," said the old man, addressing Waters. "You said, a while ago, as how I was always to bring you papers that were left with me ; and this " — ^taking one out of his pocket — "was left with me only about an hour ago. It's seemingly a lawyer's paper, and was left by an uncommon gay young chap. He axed me my name, and then he looked at the paper, and read it all over to me, but I couldn't make anything of it." "What is it?" inquired Mr Aubrey, as Waters cast his eye over a sheet of paper, partly printed and partly writ- ten. " Why, it seems the old story, sir — that slip of waste land, sir. Mr Tom- kins is at it again, sir." " Well, if he chooses to spend his money in that way, I can't help it," said Mr Aubrey with a smile. "Let me look at the paper." He did so. " Yes, it seems the same kind of thing as before. — Well," handing it back, "send it to Mr Parkinson, and tell him to look to it; and, at all events, take care that poor old Jolter comes to no trouble by the business. How's the old wife, Jacob?" " She's dreadful bad with rheumatis, sir ; but the stuff that Madam sends her does her a woundy deal of good, sir, in her inside." " Well, we must try if we can't send her some more ; and, harkee, if the goodwife doesn't get better soon, send us up word to the Hall, and we'll have the doctor call on her. Now, Kate, let us away homeward." And they were soon out of sight. 146 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. I do not intend to deal so nneere- moniously or summarily as Mr Aubrey did, with the document which had been brought to his notice by Jolter, then handed over to Waters, and by him, according to orders, transmitted the next day to Mr Parkinson, Mr Aubrey's attorney. It was what is called a " Declaeation nr Eject- ment;'' touching which, in order to throw a ray or two of light upon a document which will make no small figure in this histoir, I shall try to give the reader a little information on the point; and hope that a little atten- tion to what now follows, will be re- pMd in due time. Here beginneth, then, a little lecture on law. If Jones claim a deht, or goeds,^ or damages from SmM, one should think that, if he went to law, the action would be entitled " Jones versiis Smith;" and so it is. But behold, if it be I^SD which is claimed by Jones from Smith, the style and name of the cause stand thus : — " Doe, on the de- mise of Jones, verstis Eoe;" Instead, therefore, of Jones and Smith fighting out the matter in their own proper names, they set up a couple of puppets (called "John Doe" and "Eichard Boe "), who fall upon one another in a very quaint &shion, after the manner of Punch and Judy. John Doe pre- tends to be the real plaintifi', and Bichard Boe the real defendant. John Doe says that the land which Bichard Boe has, is his (the said John Doe's], "because Jones (the real plaintiif) gave him a lease of it ; and Jones is then called "the lessor of the plaintiff." John Doe fdrther says that one Eich- ard Boe (who calls himself by the very significant and expressive name of a "Casual Ejector'), came and turned him out, and so John Doe brings his action against Bichard Boe. 'Tis a fact, that whenever land is sought to be recovered in England, this anomalous and farcical proceed- ing must be adopted.* It is the duty of the real plaintiff (Jones) to serve on the real defendant (Smith) a copy of the queer document which I shall proceed to lay before the reader ; and * See ArPEBDix. also to append to it an affectionate note, intimating the serious conse- quences which will ensue upon inat- tention or contumacy. The "Declara- tion," then, which had been served upon old Jolter, and so cavalierly treated by Mr Aubrey, was in tlie words, letters, and figures following — ^that is to say : — " Is THE Euie's Beuch. "Michnelmas Term, the of King ■ " YoRKSHiKE, to-wit — Eichard Boe was attached to answer John Doe of a plea wherefore the said Bichard Boe, with force and arms, &c., entered into two messuages, two dwelling- houses, two cottages, two stables, two out-houses, two yards, two gardens, two orchards, twenty acres of land covered with water, twenty acres of arable land, twenty acres of pasture land, and twenty acres of other land, with the appurtenances, situated in Yatton, in ihe county of York, which Ttttlebat Thhodse, Esquire, had. de- mised to the said John Doe for a term which is not yet expired, and ejected him from his said farm, and other wrongs to the said John Doe there did, to the great damage of the said John Doe, and a^inst the peace of our Lord the King, &c. ; and Hereupon the said John Doe, by Oii.y G-ahmox, his attorney, complains, — "That whereas the said TrrrLEBAT TrrMousE, on the — ^th day of August, in the year of our Lord 18 — , at Yat- ton aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, had demised the same tenements, with the appurtenances, to the said John Doe, to have and to hold the same to the said John Doe and his assigns thenceforth, for and during, and unto the fuU end and term of twenty years thence next ensuing, and fully to be completed and en£dl By virtue of which said demise, the said John Doe entered into the said tenements, with the appurtenances, and became and was thereof possessed for the said term, so to him thereof granted as aforesaid. And the said John Doe being so thereof possessed, the said Eichard Boe afterwards, to-wit, on the day and year aforesaid, at the parish TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. 147 aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, with force and arms; that is to say •with swords, staves, and knives, &c., entered into the said tenements, with the appurtenances, which the said Tittlebat Titmodse had demised to the said John Doe in manner and for the term aforesaid, which is not yet expired, and ejected the said John " Squeal, for the Plaintiff. Gkowl, for the Defendant. " Mb Jacob. Joltek, "I am informed that you are in possession of, or claim title to, the premises in this Declaration of Eject- ment mentioned, or to some part there- of: And I, being sued in this action as a casual ejector only, and having no claim or title to the same, do ad- vise you to appear, next Hilary term, in His Majesty's Court of King's Bench at -Westminster, by some attor- ney of that Court; and then and there, by a rule to be made of the same Court, to cause yourself to be made defendant in my stead ; other- wise I shall suffer judgment to be entered against me by default, and you will be turned out of possession. " Your loving friend, " BiCHABD BoE. •■ Dated this Sth day of December 18—."* You may regard the above docu- ment in the light of a deadly and de- structive missile thrown by an un- perceived enemy into a peaceful citar del ; attracting, at the moment, no particular notice from the innocent unsuspecting inhabitants — amongst whom, nevertheless, it presently ex- plodes, and all is terror, death, and ruin. Mr Parkinson, Mr Aubrey's solici- tor, who resided at Grilston, the post- town nearest to Yatton, from which it was distant about six or seven miles, was sitting on the evening of Tuesday the 28th December 18 — , in his office, nearly finishing a letter to his London agents, Messrs Bunnington and Com- pany — one of the most eminent firms * Blaclcstm^i ammerOariei, vol. iii. App. pp. ix. X. { Doe out of his said farm ; and other wrongs to the said John Doe then and there did, to the great damage of the said John Doe, and against the peace of our said Lord the now King. Wherefore the said John Doe saith that he is injured, and hath sustained damage to the value of £50, and there- fore he brings his suit, &c. Pledges of Prosecution. John Den. Bichard Fenn. in the profession — and which he was desirous of despatching by that night's mail. Amongst other papers which have come into my hands in connec- tion with this history, I have hap- pened to light on the letter which he was writing ; and as it is not long, and affords a specimen of the way in which business is carried on be- tween town and country attorneys and solicitors, here foUoweth a copy ofit:— "Grilston, 2yth Deo. 18—. " Dear Sirs, " Me Middkton. " Have you got the marriage settle- ments between these parties ready? If so, please send them as soon as possible; for both the lady's and gentleman's friends are (as usual in such cases) very pressing for them. " Plaintiff bought a horse of defen- dant in November last, 'warranted sound,' and paid for it on the spot £64. A week afterwards, his atten- tion was accidentally drawn to the animal's head ; and to his infinite sur- prise, he discovered that the left eye was a glass eye, so closely resembling the other in colour, that the difference could not be discovered except on a very close examination. I have seen it myself, and it is indeed wonderfully well done. My countrymen are cer- tainly pretty sharp hands in such mat- ters — but this beats everything I ever heard of. Surely this is a breach of the warranty? Or is it to be con- sidered a patent defect, which would 148 TEN THOITSAHD A-TEAK. not be within the warranty?* — Please take pleader's opinion, and particu- larly as to whether the horse conld be brought into coiurt to he viewed by the court and jury, which would have a great effect. If your pleader thinks the action will lie, let him draw de- claration, venue — Lancashire (for my client would have no chance with a Yorkshire jury), if you think the venom is transitory, and that defendant would not be successful on a motion to change it. Qu. — Is the man who sold the horse to defendant a compefentf wit- ness for the plaintiff, to prove that, when he sold it to defendant, it had but one eye, and that on this account the horse was sold for less ? "ifafe V. Stott. _ " I cannot get these parties to come to an amicable settlement. Ton may remember, from the two former ac- tions, that it is for damages on account of two geese of defendant having been found trespassing on a few yards of a field belonging to the plaintiff. De- fendant now contends Uiat he is en- titled to common, ^02trcatMe(feracmIace, gazing with tearful eyes npon their only child, soon abont to depart &om them for ever. The poor girl was indeed a tonching object. She had been, as I have saii, veiy pretty, bnt now her fece was white and woefully emaciated — the dread impress of consumption was upon it. Her wasted fingers were clasped together on her lap, holding betweea them a little handkerchief with which, evidently with great effort, she occasionally wiped the dampness from her face. "You're very good, ma'am," she whispered, " to come to see me, and so late. They say it's a sad cold night." " I heard, Phoebe, that yon were not so well, and I thought I would just step along with Margaret, who has brought yon some more jelly. Did yon like the last?" "T-e-s, ma'am," she replied hesi- tatingly; "but it's very hard for me to swallow anything now, my throat feels so sore." Here her mother shook her head and looked aside; for the doctor had only that morning ex- plained to her the nature of the dis- tressing symptom to which her daugh- ter was alluding — as evidencing the very last stage of her fatal disorder. "I'm veiy sorry to hear you say so, Phoebe, replied Miss Aubrey. " Do you think there's anything else that Mrs Jackson coold make for yon?" " No, ma'am, thank yon ; I feel it's no use trying to swallow anything more," safd poor Phoebe, faintly. ""While there's life," whispered Miss Aubrey, in a subdued, hesitating tone, '•there's hope — they scm." Phoebe shook her head moumfnlfy. "Don't stop long, dear lady — it's getting very late for you to be out alone. "Paffior* ^w^ii iv^" Father will go 'Never mind me, Phcebe- ■I can take care of myself. I hope yon mind what good Dr Tatham says to you ? Ton l^w this sickness is from God, Phoebe. He knows what is best for his creatures." " Thank God, ma'am, I think I feel resigned. I know it is God's will; bnt I'm very sorry for poor father and mother — ^theyll be so lone like when they don't see Phoebe about." Her father gazed intently at her, and the tears ran trickling down his cheeks ; her mother put her apron before her face, and shook her head in silent angoish. Miss Anbrey did not speak for a few moments. " I see you have been reading the prayer-book mamma gave yon when you were at the Hall," said she at length, observing the little volume lying open on Phoebe's lap. "Yes, ma'am — I was trying; but somehow lately, Ican't read, forthere's a kind of mist comes over my eyes, and I can't see." "That's weakness, Phoebe," said Miss Aubrey, qniidJy but tremu- lously. "ataj I make bold, ma'am," com- menced Phoebe languidly, after a hesi- tating pause, " to ask you to read the little psalm I was trying to read a while ago? I shonld so like to hear you I" "Vn try, Phoebe," said Miss Au- brey, taking the book, which was open at the sixth psalm. 'Twas a severe trial, for her feelings were not a little excited already. But how could she refuse the ^ing girl ? So Miss Anbrey began, aUttle indistinct- ly, in a low tone, and with frequent pauses ; for the tears every now and then quite obscured her sight. She managed, however, to get as far as the sixth verse, which was thus : — lam mary of my proamng : eury night VKUhlmybed, and miter my couehmth lean- My beauty is gone for very trouble." Here Kate's voice suddenly stopped. She hid her face for a moment or two in her handkerchief, and said hastily, "I can't read any more, Phoebe!" Every one in the little room was in tears except poor Phoebe, who seemed past that. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAK. "It's time for me to go, now, Phoete. We'll send some one early in the morning to know how you are," said Miss Aubrey, rising and putting on her bonnet and shawl. She con- triyed to beckon Phcebe's mother to the back of the room, and silently slipped a couple of guineas into her hands ; for she knew the mournful occasion there would soon be for such assistance ! She then left, peremp- torily declining the attendance of Phoebe's father — saying that it must be dark when she could not find the way to the Hall, which was almost in a straight line from the cottage, and little more than a quarter of a mile off. It was very much darker, and it still snowed, though not so thickly as when she had come. She and Mar- garet walked side by side, at a quick pace, talking together about poor Phoebe. Just as she was approaching the extremity of the village, nearest the park, and with her mind's eye filled with the sad figure of Phoebe, — " Ah ! my lovely gals ! " exclaimed a voice, in a low but most offensive tone — "alone? How uncommon" Miss Aiibrey for a moment seemed thunderstruck at so sudden and un- precedented an occurrence : then she hurried on with a beating heart, whis- pering to Margaret to keep close to her, and not to be alarmed. The speaker, however, kept pace with them. " Lovely gals ! — ^wish I'd an um- brella, my angels ! — ^Take my arm ? Ah ! Pretty gals !" "Who are you, sir?" at length exclaimed Kate spiritedly, suddenly stopping, and turning to the rude 157 Take my Who else should it be but Tittlebat Titmouse! "Who am I? Ah, ha, lovely gals ! one that loves the pretty gals!" " Do you know, fellow, who I am ?" inquired Miss Aubrey indignantly, flinging aside her veil, and disclosing her beautiful face, white as death, but indistinctly visible in the darkness, to her insolent assailant. " No, 'pon my soul, no ; but lovely gal! lovely gal ! — 'pon my life, spirited gal ! — do you no harm ! arm?" " Wretch ! ruffian ! How dare you insult a lady in this manner? Do you know who I am ? My name, sir, is Aubrey — ^I am Miss Aubrey, of the Hall! Do not think" Titmouse felt as if he were on the point of dropping down dead at that moment, with amazement and terror ; and when Miss Aubrey's servant screamed out at the top of her voice, "Help! — help, there!" Titmouse, without uttering a syllable more, took to his heels, just as the door of a cot- tage, at only a few yards' distance, opened, and out rushed a strapping farmer, shouting — "Hey! what be t'matter ? " You may guess his amazement on discovering Miss Au- brey, and his fury at learning the cause of her alarm. Out of doors he pelted, without his hat, uttering a volley of fearful imprecations, and calling on the unseen miscreant to come forward ; for whom it was lucky that he had time to escape from a pair of fists that in a minute or two would have beaten his little carcass into a jelly ! As soon as Miss Aubrey had a little recovered from her agitation, she set off home, accompanied by Margaret, and fol- lowed very closely by the farmer, with a tremendous knotted stick under his arm — (he wanted to have taken his double-barrelled gun) — and thus she soon reached the Hall, not a little tired and agitated. This incident, however, she kept to herself, and en- joined her two attendants to do the same ; for she knew the distress it would have occasioned those whom she loved. As it was, she was some- what sharply rebuked by her mother and brother, who had just sent two servants out in, quest of her, and whom it was singular that she should have missed. This is not the place to give an account of the eccentric movements of our friend Titmouse ; still there can be no harm in my just intimating that the sight of Miss Aubrey, on horse- back, had half maddened the little fool ; her image had never been effaced from his memory since the occasion on which, as already explained, he had 158 TEN THOtrSAKD A-TEAB. first seen her ; and as soon as he had ascertained, through Snap's inqniries, who she was, he became more frenzied in the matter than before, becanse he thought he now saw a probability of obtaining her. "I^ like children," says Edmnnd- Bnrke, " we will cry for the moon, why, like children, we must — cry . such ai thing is a fact — it may be so ; but if you can- not prove its existence, for legal pur- poses, it does not exist at all ! " ITie first practitioner in the common law, before whom the case came, in its roughest and earliest form, in order that he might " lick it into shape," and " advise generally " preparatory to its " being laid before counsel," was Mr Traverse, a young pleader, whom Messrs Quirk and Gammon were dis- posed to take by the hand. He wrote a very showy, but, alas! superficial and delusive opinion ; and put the intended proUgS of his clients, as it were by a kind of hop, step, and jump, into pos- session of the Yatton estates. Quirk was quite deUghted on reading it; but Gammon shook his head with a somewhat sarcastic smile, and said he would at once prepare a case for the opinionof Mr Lynx, whom he had pitched upon as the junior counsel in any proceedings which might be insti- tuted in a court of law. Lynx, of whom I shall speak hereafter, was an experienced, hard-headed, vigilant, and accurate lawyer; the very man for such a case, requiring, as it did, o 210 TEN THOUSAND A-YEABi patient and minute examination. With an eye fitted "To inspect a mite, not comprehend the heaTCn," he crawled, as it were, over a case ; and thus, even as one can imagine that a beetle, creeping over the floor of St Paul's, would detect minuite flaws and fissures invisible to the eye of Sir Christopher Wren himself, spied out defects whichmuchnobler optics would (DeeddlimgtoitO T have overlooked. To come to plain matter-of-fact, however, I have beside me the original opinion written by Mr Lynx, and shall treat the reader to a taste of it — giving him sufficient to enable him to appreciate the very tick- lish position of affairs with Mr Tit- mouse. To make it not altogether un- intelligible, let us suppose the state of the pedigree to be something like this, • as far as concerns our present pur- pose : — _ 1 (Harry Dreddlington.) (Charles Dreddlington.) (Stephen Dreddlington.) (A female descendant marries Gabriel Tiitlebat TUmouse, through whom Tittlebat Titmottse claims,) Be pleased now, unlearned reader, to bear in mind that " Dreddlington," at the top of the above table, is the common ancestor, having two sons, the elder " Harry DreddliTigtcm," the younger " Charles Dreddlington, ; " the latter having, in like maimer, two sons, " Stephen Dreddlington " the elder son, and " Geoffry Dreddlington " the younger son ; that Mr Aubrey, at pre- sent in possession, claims under " Geof- fry Dreddlington." Now it will be in- cumbent on Mr Titmouse, in the first instance, to establish in himself a clear, independent, legal, and possessory title to the estates ; it being sufficient for Mr Aubrey (possession being nine- tenths of the law) to falsify Titmouse's proofs, or show them defective — " be- cause," saith a certain learned Ser- jeant, who hath writ a text-book upon the Action of Ejectment, " the plaintiff in an action of ejectment must recover upon the strength of his own title, not the weakness of his adversary's."' * Now, rebus sic stantibus, behold the * See A.PPEHDIX, (Geofliy Dreddlington.)^ A female descendant marries Charles Aubrey, Esq., father of the present possessor.) astute Lynx advising, inter alia, io manner following ; that is to say — " It appears clear that the lessor of. the plaintiff {i.e. Tittlebat Titmouse) , will be able to prove that Dreddling- ton (the common ancestor^ was seised of the estate at Yatton in the year; 1740 ; that he had two sons, Harry and Charles, the former of whom, after a life of dissipation, appears to have ' died without issue ; and that from the latter (Charles) are descended Stephen, the ancestor of the lessor of the plain- tiff, and Geoffry, the ancestor of the defendant. Assuming, therefore, that ■ the descent of the lessor of the plain- tiff from Stephen, can be m^e out, as there appears every reason to ex- pect, [on this point Lynx had written two "brief" pages,] a clear primS, facie case will have been established on the , part of the lessor of the plaintiff. As, however, it is suspected that Harry Dreddlington executed a conveyance in fee of the property, in order to se- cure the loan contracted by him from Aaron Moses, it will be extremely im- TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 211 portant to ascertain, and, if possible, procure satisfactory evidence, that the decease of Harry Breddlington occur- red before the period at which, by his father's death, that conveyance could have become operative upon the pro- perty : since it is obvious that, shsuld he hav^ survived his father, that in- strument, being pvistanding, may form a complete answer to the case of the lessor of the plaintiff. The danger will be obviously increased should the debt to Aaron Moses prove to have been paid off, as it is stated was ru- moured to have been the fact, by Geof- fry Dreddlington, the younger son of Charles Dreddlington : for, diouldthat turn out to be the case, he would pro- bably have taken a conveyance to him- self, or to trustees for his benefit, from Aaron Moses — which being in the power of the defendant, Mr Aubrey, would enable him to make out a title to the property, paramount to that now attempted to be set up on be- half of Mr Titmouse. Every possible ~ exertion, therefore, should be made to ascertain the precise period of the death of Harry Dreddlington. The registries of the various parishes in which the family may have at any time resided, should be carefully searched ; and an examination made in the churches and churchyards, of all tombstones, escutcheons, &c., belonging, or sup- posed to belong, to the Dreddlington family, and by which any light can be thrown upon this most important point. It appears clear that Dred- dlington (the common ancestor) died on the 7th August 1742: — ^the ques- tion, therefore, simply is, whether the death of his eldest son (Sarry) took place prior or suhsement to that period. It is to be feared that the defendant may be in possession of some better and more direct evidence on this point than is attainable by the lessor of the plaintiff. The natural presumption would certainly seem to be, that the son, being the younger and stronger man, was the survivor." * The above-mentioned opinion of Mr Lynx, together with that of Mr Subtle entirely corroborating it, and which * See Appbsdix. was alluded to in a late chapter of this history, and a pedigree, were lying on the table, one day, at the office at Saffron Hill, before the anxious and perplexed partners, Messrs Quirk and Gammon. Gammon was looking attentively, and with a dispirited chagrined air, at the pedigree ; and Quirk was looking at Gammon. " Now, Gammon," said the former, "just let me see again where the exact hitch is — eh ? You'll think me perhaps infernally stupid, but — curse me if I can see it! " " See it, my dear sir ? Here, here ! " replied Gammon with sudden impa- tience, putting his finger two or three times to the words " Harry D." " 'Drat it ! Don't be so sharp with one, Gammon! I know as well as you that that's aioxt where the crack is ; but what is the precise thing we're in want of, eh ? " "Proof, my dear sir," replied Gam- mon, somewhat impatiently, but with such a smile ! " of the death of Harry Dreddlington. some time — no matter when — previous to the 7th August 1742 ; and in default thereof, Mr Quirk, we are all flat on our backs, and had better never have stirred in the busi- ness ! " " You know. Gammon, you're better up in these matters than I — ^because I ve not been able to turn my parti- cular attention to 'em since I first began business — so just tell me, in a word, what good's to be got by show- ing that fellow to have died in his father's lifetime?" " You don't show your usual acute- ness, Mr Quirk," replied Gammon blandly. " It is to make waste paper of that cpnfounded conveyance which he executed, and which Mr Aubrey doubtless has, and with which he may, at a stroke, cut the ground from under our feet!" " The very thought makes one feel quite funny — don't it. Gammon? " quoth Quirk, with a flustered air. "It may well do so, Mr Quirk. Now we are fairly embarked in a cause where success will be attended with so many Sj)lendid results, Mr Quirk 212 TEN THOUSAKD A-TEAB. T— though I'm sure you'll always bear me out in saj'ing how very unwilling I was to take advantage of the villany of that miscreant Steg— hem " " Gammon, Gammon, you're always larking back to that — I'm tired of hearing on't ! " interrupted Quirk angrily, but with an embarrassed air. "Well, now we're in it," said Gam- mon, with a sigh, and shrugging his shoulders, " I don't see why we should allow ourselves to be baffled by trifles. The plain question is, undoubtedly, whether we are to stand still — or go on." Mr Quirk gazed at Mr Gammon with an anxious and puzzled look. " Ay — that's the question indeed ! " " How d'ye make out — iu a legal way, you know. Gammon — when a man died — ^I mean, of asurfaroZ death? " inquired Quirk seriously. He was familiar enough with the means of proving the exact hour of certain vio- Jsj^ deaths at Debtor's Door. /^" Oh I there are various methods of 1 doing so, my dear sir," replied Gam- / mon carelessly. "Entries in family J bibles and prayer-books — registers — \ tombstones — ay, by the way, an old I TOMBSTOSE," Continued Gammon mu- singly, "that would settle the busi- ness ! " " An old tombstone ! " echoed Quirk briskly, but suddenly dropping his voice. ' ' Lord, Gammon, so it would ! That's an idm I — I call that a decided idea. Gammon 'Twould be the very thing ! " " The very thing ! " repeated Gam- mon, pointedly. They remained silent for some moments. " Snap could not have looked about him sharply enough, when he was down at Yatton — could he. Gammon?" at length observed Quirk in a low tone, flushing all over as he uttered the last words, and felt Gammon's cold grey eye settled on him like that of a snake. , "He could not, indeed, my dear sir," replied Gammon, while Quirk continued gazing earnestly at him, now and then wriggling about in his chair, rubbing his chin, and drum- ming with his fingers on the table — ♦' And now that you've suggested the thing, [oh. Gammon ! Gammon !]— it's not to be wondered at \ — ^You know, it would have been an old tombstone — a sort of fragment of a tombstone, per- haps — so deeply sunk in the ground, probably, as easily to have escaped observation. Eh ? — ^Does not it strike ycm so, Mr Quirk?" All this was said by Gammon in a musing manner, and in a very low tone of voice ; and he was delighted to find his words sinking into the eager and fertile mind of his companion. " Ah, Gammon ! " exclaimed Quirk, with a sound of partly a sigh, and partly a whistle, the former being the exponent of the true state of his feel- ings, i. e. anxiety — ^the latter of what he wished to appear the state of his feelings, i. e. indifference. "Yes, Mr Quirk?" " You're a deep devil, Gammon — T, wiM say that for you ! " replied Quirk, glancing towards each door, and, as it were, unconsciously drawing his chair a little closer to that of Gammon. " Nay, my dear sir ! " said Gammon, with a deferential and deprecating smile, "you give me credit for an acuteness I feel I do not possess ! If, indeed, I had not had yotir sagacity to rely upon, ever since I have had the honour of being connected with you in business ah, Mr Quirk, you know you lead — I follow " " Gammon, Gammon ! " interrupted Quirk, with an uncomfortable, bat still a mollified air. " Come — ^your name's OUy " " In moments like these, Mr Quirk, I say nothing that I do not feel," in- terrupted Gammon gravely, putting to his nose the least modicum of snun which he could take with the tip of his finger out of the huge box of Mr Quirk, who, just then, was thrusting huge pinches, every half minute, up his nostrils. " It will cost a grekt deal of money to find that same tombstone, Gara-i mon ! " said Quirk, in almost a whis- per, and paused, looking intently at Gammon. " I think this is a different kind of snuff from that which you usually take, Mr Quirk, isn't it ? " iuquire'd TEN THOUSAND A -TEAR. 213 Gammon, as he inserted the tips of his fingers a second time into the mechanically proffered box of Mr I Qnirk. { "The same — ^the same," replied \ Quirk hastily. I " You are a man better fitted for .( Serious emergencies, Mr Quirk, than I any man I ever came near," said ! Gammon deferentially ; " I perceive I that you have hit the nail on the head, I as indeed you always do ! " I " Tut ! Stuff, Gammon ; you're every bit as good a hand as I am ! " replied Quirk, with an evident mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. Gam- mon smiled, shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders. "'Tis that practical sagacity of yours, Mr Quirk," said he — "you know it as well as I can tell you— that has raised you to your present pro- fessional eminence ! " He paused, and looked with a very special sort of sincerity at his senior partner. "Well, I must own I think I do know a trick or two," quoth Quirk, with a sort of grunt of gratification. "Ay, and further, there are some clever men who never can keep their own counsel ; but are like a hen that has just laid an egg, and directly she has risen, goes foolisldy cackling about everywhere, and then her egg is taken ^way ; but you " "Ha, ha! "laughed Quirk; "that's devilish good. Gammon ! — Capital ! Gad, I think I see the hen ! Ha, ha ! " " Ha, ha ! " echoed Gammon gently. " But to be serious, Mr Quirk ; what I was going to say was, that I tho- roughly appreciate your admirable caution in not confiding to any one — no, not even to me — the exact means by which you intend to extricate us I from our present dilemma." Here Quirk got very fidgety, and twirled his watch-key violently. "Hem! But — hem! Ay — a — a," bb giTjnted, looking with an uneasy air at his calm astute companion ; "1 didn't mean so much as all that, either. Gammon ; for two heads, in my opin- ion, are better than one. You mtist own that, Gammon ! " said he, not at all relishing the heavy burden of re- sponsibility which he felt that Gam- mon was about to devoLve upon his (Quirk's) shoulders exclusively. " 'Tis undoubtedly rather a serious business on which we are now enter- ing," said Gammon ; " and I have al- waj's admired a saying which you years ago told me of that great man Machiavel " [Oh, Gammon ! Gammon ! You well know that poor old Mr Quirk never heard of the name of that same Ma- chiavel till this moment !] — " That,' when great afiairs are stir- ring, a master-move should be con- fined to the master-mind that projects it.' I understand ! I see I I will not, therefore, inquire into the precise means by which I am satisfied you will make it appear, in due time, (while I am engaged getting up the subordinate, but very harassing details of the general case), that Marry Dred- dlingUm died befohe the 7th of August 1742." Here, taking out his watch, he suddenly added — "Bless me, Mr Quirk, how time passes ! — Two o'clock ! I ought to have been at Messrs Greg- son's 3, quarter of an hour ago." " Stop — 2t moment or two can't sig- nify ! It — ^it," said Quirk hesitatingly, " it was you, wa,sn't it, that thought of the tombstone ? " "I, my dear Mr Quirk" — inter- rupted Gammon, with a look of aston- ishment and deference. " Come, come — honour among thieves, you know. Gammon ! " said Quirk, trying to laugh. " No — ^it shall never be said that I attempted to take the credit of " oonjmenoed Gammon; when a clerfc entering, put an end to the coUoqOy between the partners, each of whom, presently, was sitting alone in his own room — for Gammon found that he was too late to think of keeping his engage- ment with Messrs Gregson ; if indeed he had ever made any — which, how- ever, he had Ttot. Mr Qnirk sat in a musing postm'e for nearly half an hour after he and Gammon had separ- ated. " Gammon is a deep one ! I'll be hanged if ever there was his equal," said Quirk to himself, at length; and starting off his chair, 214 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. with his hands crossed behind him, he walked softly to and fro. "I know what he's driving at — though he thought I didn't ! He'd let me scratch my hands in getting the blackberries, and then he'd come smiling in to eat 'em! But — share and share alike — share profit, share danger, master Gammon ;— you may find after all that Caleb Quirk is a match for Oily Gammon — I'll hare you in for it, one way or another ! " Here occurred a long pause in his thoughts. " Really I doubt the thing's growing rni- manageable — the prize can't be worth the risk ! — Bish, indeed— bedad ! — its neither more nor less than " Here a certain picture hanging, . covered with black crape, in the drawing-room at Alibi House, seemed to have glided down from its station, and to be hang- ing close before his eyes, with the crape drawn aside — a ghastly object — eugh ! He shuddered, and involun- tarily closed his eyes. " How devilish odd that I should just now have hap- pened to think of it !" he inwardly ex- • claimed, sinking into his chair in a sort of cold sweat. " D — n the picture ! " at length, said he aloud — getting more and more flustered — ^I'U burn it ! It shan't dis- grace my drawing-room any longer !" Here Qiiirk almost fancied that some busy little' fiend sat squatting before the grisly picture, writing the words " Caleb Qdikk " at the bottom of it ; and a sort of sickness came over him for a moment. Presently he started up, and took down one of several well- worn dingy-looking books standing on the shelves — a volume of Burns' Justice. Resuming his seat, he put on his glasses, and with a little trepida- tion turned to the head ' ' Forgery," and glanced over it, divided as it was into two great heads — "Forgery at Common Law, and Forgery by Statute," with many able observations of the learned compiler, and important "cases " cited. At length his eye lit upon a paragraph which seemed suddenly to draw his heart up into his throat, producing a sensation which made him involun-- tarily clap his hand upon his neck. " Oh, Gammon ! ! ' he muttered, drawing off his glasses, sinking back in his chair, and looking towards the door which opened into Gammon's room ; extending at the same time, in that direction, his right arm, and shaking his fist. " You ^reciotis vil- lain ! — I've an uncommon inclination," at length thought he, "to go down slap to Yorkshire — say nothing to any- body — make peace with the enemy, and knock up the whole thing for a couple of thousand pounds — a trifle to the Aubreys, I'm sure. Were I in his place, I shouldn't grudge it ; and why should he ? By Jove,' he got a littlei heated — " that wotdd he, as Gammon has it, a master-move ! and confined, egad! to the master-mind that thought of it ! — Why should he ever know of the way in which the thing blew up ? — Eeally 'twould be worth half the money to do Gammon so hollow for once — by George it would! — Gam- mon, that would slip Caleb Quirk's neck so slyly into the halter, indeed ! " " ril«tell you what, Mr Quirk," said Gammon, suddenly re-entering the room after about an hour's absence, during which he too had, like his senior partner, been revolving many things in his mind — " it has occurred to me, that I had better immediately go down to Yatton, alone." Hereat Mr Quirk opened both his eyes and his mouth to their widest; got very red in the face ; and stared at his placid partner with a mingled expression of fear and wonder. " Hang me. Gammon ! " at length he exclaim- ed desperately, slapping his fist upon the table — " lif I don^t think you're the very devil himself!" — and he sank back in his chair, verily believing, in the momentary confusion of his thoughts, that what had been passing through his mind was known to Gam- mqn ; or that' what had been passing througih his own mind, had also been occurring to Gammon, who had resolv- ed upon being beforehand in putting his purposes into execution. Gammon was at first completely confounded by Quirk's reception of him, and stood for a few moments, with his hands ele- vated, in silence. Then he approached the table, and his eye caught the well- I TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 215 thumbed volume of Bums' Justice, open at the head "JFfflmfflffiaY ! " and the quick-sighted Gammon saw how matters stood at a glance — ^the process by which the result he had just witnessed had been arrived at. " Well, Mr Quirk, what new vagary now?" he inquired with an air of smiling curiosity. " Vagary be ! " growled old Quirk sullenly, without moving in his chair. Gammon stood for a moment or two eyeing him with a keen scrutiny. " What ! " at length he inquired, good- humouredly, "do you then really grudge me any share in the little en- terprise?" "Eh?" quickly interrupted Quirk, pricking up his ears, " Do you intend to pliy Machiml / eh ? What must you go down alone to Yatton for, Gam- mon?" continued Quirk anxiously. " Why, simply as a sort of pioneer — to reconnoitre the churchyard — eh ? I thought it might have been of ser- vice ; but if " — " Gammon, Gammon, your hand ! I understand," replied Quirk, evidently vastly relieved — most cordially shak- ing the cold hand of Gammon. " But understand, Mr Quirk," said he in a peremptory manner, " no one upon earth is to know of my visit to Yatton except yourself." He received a solemn pledge to that effect ; and presently the partners separated, a little better satisfied with each other. Though not a word pass- ed between them for several days afterwards on the topic chiefly dis- cussed during the interview above described, the reader may easily ima- gine that neither of them dropped it from his thoughts. Mr Quirk, shortly afterwards, paid one or two visits to the neighbourhood of Houndsditch (a perfect hotbed of clients to the firm), where resided two or three gentlemen of the Jewish persuasion, who had been placed, from time to time, under considerable obligations by the firm of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, in respect of professional services rendered both to themselves and to their friends. One of them, in particular, had a painful consciousness that it was in old Mr Quirk's power at any time, by a whisper, to place his — ^the aforesaid Israelite's — neck in an unsightly noose which every now and then might be' seen dangling irom a beam opposite Debtor's Door, Newgate, about eight o'clock in the morning; him, there- fore, every consideration of interest and of gratitude combined to render subservient to the reasonable wishes of Mr Quirk. He was a most ingeni- ous little fellow, and had a great taste for the imitative arts— so strong, in fact, that it had once or twice placed him in some jeopardy with the Goths and Vandals of the law ; who charac- terised the noble art in which he ex- celled by an ugly and formidable word, and annexed barbarous penalties to its practice. What passed between him and old Quirk on the occasion of their interviews I know not ; but one afternoon, the latter, on returning to his office, without saying anything to anybody, having bolted the door, took out of his pocket several little pieces of paper, containing pretty picturesque devices of a fragmentary character, with antique letters and figures on them — crumbling pieces of stone, some looking more and some less sunk in the ground, and overgrown with grass ; possibly they were designs for orna- ments to be added to that tastefal structure — Alibi House — possibly in- tended to grace Miss Quirk's album. However this might be, after he had looked at them, and carefully compar- ed them one with another, for some time, he folded them up in a sheet of paper, sealed it — with certainly not the steadiest hand in the world — and then deposited it in an iron safe, which he locked up quickly ; and then, after a heavy sigh, exclaimed — " Whew ! " 216 TEN, THOUSAND A-YEAE. CHAPTER XII. MADAM AITEEEl's DEATH AMD BCBIAI. ; GAMMON SMtTTElJ WITH THE SIGHT OP KATE AUBBEy's BEAUTY; AND A OBEAT BATTLE TAKES FLACE AT TEE YOBE ASSIZES FOR YATTON. Yatton, the recovery of which was the object of these secret and fonnid- ahle movements and preparations, not to say nTachinations, was all this while the scene of deep affliction. The la- mentable condition of his mother plunged Mr Aubrey, his wife and sister, into profounder grief than had been occasioned by the calamity which menaced them all in common. Had he been alone, he would have encoun- tered the sudden storm of adversity with unshrinking, nay cheerful firm- ness ; but could it be so, when he had ever before him those whose ruin was involved in his own ? — Poor Mrs Au- brey, his wife, having been two or three weeks confined to her bed, dur- ing which time certain fond hopes of her husband had been blighted. Was almost overpowered, when, languid and feeble, supported by Mr Aubrey and Kate, she first entered the bed- room of the'venerable sufferer. What a difference, indeed, was there between the appearance of all of them at that moment, and on the Christmas day when, a happy group, they were cheer- fully enjoying the festivities of the season ! Ah; well might their sorely smitten hearts echo the awful words — Boast not thysdf of to-morrow : for thou hwwest not what a day may bring forth ! Kate was now pale, and somewhat thinner; her beautiful features eii- bited a careworn expression ; yet there was a serene lustre in her blue eye, and a composed resolution in her air, which bespoke the superiority of her soul. What had it not cost her to bear with any semblance of self-pos- session, or fortitude, the sad spectacle now presented by her mother ! What a tender and vigilant nurse was she, to one who could no longer be sen- sible of, or appreciate her attentions ! How that sweet girl humoured all her venerated and suffering parent's little eccentricities and occasional excite- ment, and accommodated herself to every varying phasis of her mental malady ! She had so schooled her sensibilities and feelings, as to be able to maintain perfect cheerfulness and composure in her mother's presence, on occasions which forced her brother to turn aside with an eye of agony — overcome by some touching speech, or wayward action, of the unconscious sufferer, who constantly imagined her- self, poor soul! to be living over again her early married life ; and that in her Uttle grandchildren, she beheld Mr Aubrey andKate.as in their childhood ! She would gently chide Mr Aubrey, her husband, for his prolonged ab- sence, asking many times a-day whether he had returned from Lon- don. Every morning old Jacob Jones was shown into her chamber, at the hour at which he had been accustom- ed, in happier days, to attend upon her. The faithful old man's eyes would be blinded with tears, and his voice choked, as he was asked how Peggy got over her yesterday's jour- ney ; and listened to questions, mes- sages, and directions, which had been familiar to him twenty years before, about villagers and tenants who had long lain mouldering in their humble TEN THOUSAKD A -YEAR. n1 graves — their way thither cheered and smoothed by Mrs Aubrey's Christian charity and benevolence! 'Twas a touching sight to see her two beauti- ful grandchildren, in whose company she delighted, brought, with a timor- ous and half-reluctant air, into her presence. How strange must have seemed to them the cheerfulness of the motionless figure always lying in the bed ; a cheerfulness which, though gentle as gentle could be, yet sufficed not to assure the little things, or set them at their ease. Though her mild features ever smiled upon them, still 'twas from a prostrate figure, which never moved, and ' was always sur- rounded by mournful persons, with sorrowful constraint in their counte- nances and gestures ! Charles would stand watching her, with apprehen- sive eye — the finger of one hand raised to his lip, while his other retained the hand which had brought him in, as if fearful of its quitting hold of him ; the few words he could be brought to speak were in a subdued tone and hurried utterance ; — and when, having been lifted up to kiss his grandmamma, he and his sister were taken out of the chamber, their little breasts would heave a sigh which showed how sen- sibly they were relieved from their recent constraint and apprehension. How woefully changed was every- thing in the once cheerful old Hall ! Mr Aubrey sitting in the library, in- tently engaged upon books and papers — ^Mrs Aubrey and Kate now and then, arm-in-arm, walking slowly up and down the galleries, or one of the rooms, or the hall, not with their former sprightly gaiety, but pensive, and often iu tears, and then returning to the chamber of their suffering parent. All this was sad work, indeed, and seem- ed, as it were, to herald coming deso- lation ! But little variation occurred, for several weeks, in the condition of Mrs Aubrey, except that she grew visibly feebler. One morning, how- ever, about six weeks after her seizure, from certain symptoms, the medical men intimated their opinion that some important change was on the eve of taking place, for which they prepared the family. She had been very rest- less during the night. After frequent intervals of uneasy sleep, she would awake with evident surprise and be- wilderment. Sometimes a peculiar smile would flit over her emaciated features ; at others, they would be overcast with gloom, and she would seem struggling to suppress tears. Her voice, too, when she spoke, was feeble and tremulous ; and she would sigh, and shake her head mournfully. Old Jacob Jones not being introduced at the accustomed hour, she asked for him. When he made his appearance, she gazed at him for a moment or two, with a perplexed eye, exclaiming, "Jacob ! Jacob ! is it you?" in a low tone ; and then she closed her eyes, apparently falling asleep. Thus pass- ed the day ; her daughter and daugh- ter-in-law sitting on either side of the bed, where they had so long kept their anxious and affectionate vigils — Mr Aubrey sitting at the foot of the bed — and Dr Goddart and Mr Whately in frequent attendance. Towards the evening, Dr Tatham also, as had been his daily custom through her illness, appeared, and in a low tone read over the service for the visitation of th6 sick. Shortly afterwards Mr Aubrey was obliged to quit the chamber, in order to attend to some pressing mat- ters of business ; and he had been engaged for nearly an hour, intending almost every moment to return to his mother's chamber, when Dr Tatham entered, as Mr Aubrey.was subscrib- ing his name to a letter, and, with a little earnestness, said — "Come, my friend, let us return to your mother; methinks she is on the eve of some decisive change: the issue is with God ! " Within a few moments they were both at the bedside of Mrs Au- brey. A large chamber-lamp, standing on a table at the further end of the room, diffused a soft light, rendering visible at a glance the silent and sad group collected round the bed, all with their eyes directed towards the vener- able figure who lay upon it. Mr Au- brey sat beside his wife close to his mother ; and taking her white ema^ 218 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE> ciated hand into his own, leaned down and kissed it. She seemed dozing : but his action appeared to rouse her for a moment. Presently she fixed her eye upon him — ^its expression, the while, slowly but perceptibly chang- ing, and exciting strange feelings within him. He trembled, and re- moved not his eye from hers. He turned very pale — ^for the whole ex- pression of his mother's countenance, which was turned full towards him, was changing. Through the clouded windows of the falling fabric, behold ! its long-imprisoned tenant, the soul, had arisen from its torpor, and was looking at him. Beason was reap- pearing. It was, indeed, his mother, and in her right mind, that was gazing at him. He scarcely breathed. ' At length surprise and apprehension yielded before a gush of tenderness and love. With what an unutterable look was his mother at that moment regarding him! His lip quivered — his eye overflowed — and, as he felt her fingers gently compressing his own, his tears fell down. Gently leaning forward, he kissed her cheek, and sank on one knee beside the bed. " Is it you, my son? " said she in a very low tone, but in her own voice, and it stirred up instantly a thousand fond recollections, almost overpower- ing him. He kissed her hand vrith fervent energy, but spoke not. She continued gazing at him with mingled solemnity and fondness. Her eye seemed brightening as it remained fixed upon him. Again she spoke in a very low but clear voice — every thrilling word being heard by all around her — Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden howl be broken, or tlie pitcher he broken at the fountain, or the wheel hrohen at the cistern, — Then shaU the dust return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit shaU retwrn unto God who gave it. It would be in vain to at- tempt to describe the manner in which these words were spoken ; and which fell upon those who heard them as though they were listening to one from the dead. " My mother — my mother ! " at length faltered Aubrey. " God bless thee, my son ! " said she solemnly. "And Catherine, my daugh- ter — God bless thee" she presently added, gently turning round her head towards the quarter whence a stifled sob issued from Miss Aubrey, who rose, trembling, and leaning over, kissed her mother. " Agnes, are you here — and your little ones ? — God bless " Her voice got fainter, and her eyes closed. Mr whately gave her a few drops of ether, and she pre- sently revived. " God hath been very good to you, madam," said Dr Tatham, observing her eye fixed upon him, " to restore you thus to your children." " I have been long absent — ^long ! — I wake, my children, but to bid you farewell, for ever, upon earth." " Say not so, my mother — ^my pre- cious mother ! " exclaimed her son, in vain endeavouring to suppress his emo- tions. " I do, my son. Weep not for me ; I am old, and am summoned away from among you " — She ceased, as if from exhaustion; and no one spoke for some minutes. " It may be that God hath roused me, as it were, from the dead, to com- fort my sorrowful children with words of hope," said Mrs Aubrey, with much more power and distinctness than be- fore. " Hope ye, then, in God ; for ye shall yet praise him who is the health of your countenance, and your Oroi I " "We will remember, my mother, your words ! " faltered her son. " Yes, my son — if days of darkness be at hand " — She ceased. Again Mr Whately placed to her white lips a glass with some reviving fluid — look- ing ominously at Mr Aubrey, as he found that she continued insensible. Miss Aubrey sobbed audibly ; indeed all present were powerfully afi'eoted. Again Mrs Aubrey revived, and swal- lowed a few drops of wine-and- water. A heavenly serenity diffused itself over her emaciated features. !' We shall meet again, my loves ! — I can no longer see you with the eyes of "—Mr Whately, observing a sudden change, came nearer to her. " Peace ! peace ! " she murmured TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE; 219 almost inarticulately. A dead silence ensued, interrupted only by smothered sobs. Her children sank on their knees, and buried their faces in their hands, trembling. Mr Whately made a silent signal to Dr Tatham that life had ceased — that the beloved spirit had passed away. " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away : blessed be the name of the Lord ! " said Dr Tatham, with tremulous solemnity. Mrs Aubrey and Miss Aubrey, no longer able to re- strain their feelings, wept bitterly ; and, overpowered with grief, were sup- ported out of the room by Dr Tatham and Mr Aubrey. As soon as it was known that this venerable lady was no more, universal reverence was testified for her me- mory, and sympathy for the aflSicted survivors, by even those, high and low, in the remoter parts of the neigh- bourhood, who had no personal ac- quaintance with the family. Two or , three days afterwards, the undertaker, who had received orders from Mr Au- brey to provide a simple and unex- pensive funeral, submitted to him a list of more than thirty names of the nobility and gentry of the country, who had sent to him to know whether it would be agreeable to the family for them to be allowed to attend Mrs Au- brey's remains to the grave. After much consideration, Mr Aubrey ac- cepted of this spontaneous tribute of respect to the memory of his mother. 'Twas a memorable and melancholy day on which the interment took place — one never to be forgotten at Yatton. What can be more chilling than the gloomy bustle of a great funeral, espe- cially in Ihe country ; and when the deceased is one whose memory is en- shrined in the holiest feelings of all who knew her? What person was there, for miles around, who could not speak of the courtesies, the charities, the goodness of Madam Aubrey ? When the ear heard her, then it blessed her; and when the eye saw her, it gave witness to her: Because she delivered the poor thai cried, and the fatherless, a/nd him that had none to help him. Tlie hlessing of him that was ready to perish came upon her, and she caused the widow'' s heart to sin^forjoy. She was eyes to the blind, and feet was she to the lame. She was a mother to the poor. Pale as death, the chief mourner, wrap- ped in his black cloak, is stepping into the mourning-coach. No one speaks to him : his face is buried in his hand- kerchief; his heart seems breaking. He thinks of her whose dear dust is before him ; — then of the beloved beings whom he has left alone in their agony till his return — his wife and sister. The procession is moving slowly on ; — ^long, silent rows of the tenantry and villagers, old and young, male and female — not a dry eye among them, nor a syllable spoken — stand on each side of the way ; no sound heard but of horses' feet, and wheels crush- ing along the wet gravel — for the day is gloomy and inclement. As they quit the gates, carriage after carriage follows in the rear ; and the sorrowful crowd increases around them. Many have in their hands the Bibles and prayer-books which had been given them by her who now lies in yonder hearse; and a few can recollect -the day when the late lord of Yatton led her along from the church to the Hall, his young and blooming bride — in pride and joy — and they are now going to lay her beside him again! They are met at the entrance of the little churchyard by good Dr Tatham, in big surplice, bareheaded, and with book in hand ; with full eye and quivering lip he slowly precedes the body into the church. His voice frequently trembles, and sometimes he pauses while read- ing the service. Now they are stand- ing bareheaded at the vault's mouth — the last sad rites are being performed ; and probably, as is thinking the chief mourner, over the last of his race who will rest in that tomb ! Long after the solemn ceremony was over, the little churchyard re- mained filled with mournful groups of villagers and tenants, who pressed for- ward to the dark mouth of the vault, to take their last look at the coifin which contained the remains of hot i20 TEN" THOUSAND A-TEAR. whose memory would live long in all their hearts. " Ah, dear old madam," quoth poor Jonas Higgs to -himself, ■with a sigh, as he finished his dreary day's labours, by temporarily closing up the mouth of the vault, " they might have turned thee, by-and-by, Out of yonder Hall, but they shall not touch thee here I" Thus died, and was buried. Madam Aubrey ; and she is not yet forgotten. How desolate seemed the Hall, /the iiext morning, to the bereaved in- mates, as, dressed in deep mourning, they met at the cheerless breakfast table. Aubrey kissed his wife and Bister — who could hardly answer his brief inquiries. The gloom occasioned throughout the Hall, for the last ten days, by the windows being constantly darkened — ^now that the blinds were drawn up — had given way to a staring light and distinctness, which almost startled and offended the eyes of those whose hearts were dark with sorrow as ever. Every object reminded them of the absence of vne — whose chair stood empty in its accustomed place. There, also, was her Bible, on the little round table near the window ! The mourners seemed relieved by the entrance, by-and-by, of the children : but they also were in mourning ! Let us, however, withdraw from this scene of suffering, where every ob- ject, every recollection, every associa- tion, causes the wounded heart to bleed afresh. Great troubles seem coming upon them ; and now that 'they have buried their dead out of their sight, and when time shall have begun to pour his balm into their present smarting wounds, I doubt not that they will look those troubles in the face, calmly and with fortitude, not forgetful of the last words of her for whom' they now mourn so bitterly, and whom, beloved and venerable being ! God hath merci- fully taken away from evil days that are to come. After much consideration, they re- solved to go, on the ensuing Sunday morning, to church, where neither Mrs Aubrey nor Kate had been since the illness of her mother. The little church was crowded; almost every one present, besides wearing a sad- dened countenance, exhibited some outward mark of respect, in their dress — some badge of mourning — such as their little means admitted of. The pulpit and reading-desk were hung in black, as also was Mr Aubrey's pew — an object of deep interest to the congregation, who expected to see at least some member of the family at the Hall. They were not disappointed. A little before Dr Tatham took his place in the reading-desk, the well- known sound of the family-carriage wheels was heard, as it drew up before the gate; and presently Mr Aubrey appeared at the church door, with his wife and sister on either arm ; all of them, of course, in the deepest mourn- ing — Mrs and Miss Aubrey's coun- tenances concealed beneath their long crape veils. For some time after tak- ing their seats, they seemed oppressed with emotion, evidently weeping. Mr Aubrey, however, exhibited great com- posure, though his countenance bore traces of the suffering he had under- gone. Mrs Aubrey seldom rose from her seat; but Kate stood up, &om time to time, with the rest of the con- gregation ; her white handkerchief, however, might have been seen fre- quently raised to her eyes, beneath her black veil. As the service went on, she seemed to have struggled with some success against her feelings. To relieve herself for a moment from its oppressive closeness, she gently raised her veil ; and thus, for a few minutes, exhibited a countenance which, though pale and agitated, was inexpressibly beautiful. She could not, however, long bear to face a congregation, ever^ one of whom she felt to be looking on her, and those beside her, with tearful eyes, and rather quickly drew down her veil, without again removing it. There was one person present, on whom the brief glimpse of her beauty had produced a sudden, deep, and in- delible impression. As he gazed at her, the colour gradually deserted his cheek; and his eye remained fixed upon her, even after she had drawn down her veil. He experienced emo- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 221 tions such as he had never known before. So that was Miss Aubrey 1 Mr Gammon — for he it was, and he had gone thither under the expecta. tion of seeing, for the first time, some of the Auhrey family — generally pass- ed for a cold-blooded person ; and in fact few men living had more control over their feelings, or more systemati- ically checked any manifestations of them ; but there was something in the person and circumstances of Miss Aubrey — for by a hurried inquiry of the person next to him he learned that it was she — ^which excited new feel- ings in him. Her slightest motion his eye watched with intense eager- ness ; and faint half-formed schemes, purposes, and hopes, passed in rapid confusion through his mind, as he fore- saw that circumstances would here- after arise by means of which — "Good heavens! how very — very beautiful she is ! " said he to himself, as, the service over, her graceful figure, following her brother and his wife with slow sad step, approached the pew in which he was standing, on her way to the door. He felt a sort of cold shudder as her black dress ms- tledpast, actually touching him. What was he doing and meditating against that lovely being? And for whom — disgusting reptile! — for Titmouse? He almost blushed from a conflict of emotions, as he followed almost imme- diately after Miss Aubrey, never los- ing sight of her till her brother, having handed her into the carriage, got in after her, and they drove off towards the Hall. The reader will not be at a loss to account for the presence of Mr Gam- mon on this occasion, nor to connect it with an impending trial at the ap- proaching Tork assizes. As he walked back to Grilston to his soUtary dinner, he was lost in thought ; and on arriv- ing at the inn, repaired at once to his room, where he found a copy of the Sunday Flash, which had, according to orders, been sent to him from town, under his assumed name, " Gibson." He ate but little, and that mechani- cally; and seemed to feel, for once, little or no interest in his newspaper. He had never paid the least attention to the eulogia upon Miss Aubrey of the idiot Titmouse, nor of Snap, of whom he entertained but a very little higher opinion than of Titmouse. One thing was clear, that from that moment Miss Aubrey formed a new element in Mr Gammon's calculations ; and for aught I know, may occasion different results from those originally contemplated by that calm and crafty personage. As it proved a moonlight night, he resolved at once to set about the im- portant business which had brought him into Yorkshire ; and for that pur' pose started about eight o'clock on his walk to Yatton. About ten o'clock he might have been seen gliding noise- lessly into the churchyard, like a dan- gerous snake. The moon continued to shine — and at intervals with bright- ness sufficient for his purpose, which was simply to reconnoitre, as closely as possible, the little sequestered lo- cality — to ascertain what it might con- tain, and what were its eajoahUities. At length he approached the old yew- tree, against the huge trunk of which he leaned with folded arms, apparently in a reverie. Hearing a noise as of some'one opening the gate by which he had entered, he glided farther into the gloom behind him ; and turning his head in the direction whence the sound came, he beheld gome one enter- ing the churchyard. His heart beat quickly; and he suspected that he had been watched : yet there was surely no harm in being seen, at ten o'clock at night, looking about him in a coun- try churchyard ! — ^It was a gentleman who entered, dressed in deep mourn- ing ; and Gammon quickly recognised in him Mr Aubrey — the brother of her whose beautiful image still shone be- fore his mind's eye. What could he be wanting there? — at that time of night ? Gammon was not kept long in doubt ; for the stranger slowly bent his steps towards a large high tomb, in fact the central object, next to the yew-tree, in the churchyard — and stood gazing at it in silence for some time. " That is, no doubt, where Mrs Au- brey was buried the other day," 222 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. thought Gammon, watching the move- ments of the stranger, who presently raised his handkerchief to his eyes, and for some moments seemed indulg- ing in great grief. Gammon distinctly heard the sound of deep sighing. " He must have been very fond of her," thought Mr Gammon. "Well, if we succeed, the excellent old lady will have escaped a great deal of trouble — that's all ! " ' Tf we succeed" he in- wardly repeated! after a long pause ! That reminded him of what he had for a few moments lost sight of, name- ly, his own object in coming thither ; and he felt a sudden chill of remorse, which increased upon him till he al- most trembled, as his eye continued fixed on Mr Aubrey, ani he thought also of Miss Aubrey — and the misery — the utter ruin into which he was seeking to plunge them both — ^the un- hallowed means which they — which — if necessary — he — contemplated re- sorting to for that purpose. Gammon's condition was becoming every moment more serious ; for vib- TUE, in the shape of Miss Aubrey, began to shine momentarily in more and more radiant loveliness before him — and he almost felt an inclins^ tion to sacrifice every person con- nected with the enterprise in which he was engaged, if it would give him a chance of winning the favour of Miss Aubrey. Presently, however, Mr Aubrey, evidently heaving a deep sigh, bent his steps slowly back to- wards the old gate, and quitted the churchyard. Gammon watched his figure out of sight, and then, for the first time since his appearance, breathed freely. Eelieved from the pressure of his presence. Gammon t)egan to take calmer and juster views of his position ; and he reflected, that if he pushed on the present affair to a successful issue, he should be much ■ more likely, than by prematurely ending it, to gain his objects. He -therefore resumed his survey of the scene around him, which presented appearances highly satisfactory, judg- ing from the expression now and then animating his coulitenanoe. At length he wandered round to the other end of the church, where a crumbling wall, half covered with ivy, indicated that there had formerly stood some building apparently of earlier date than the church. Such was the fact. Gammon soon found himself standing in a sort of enclosure, which had once been the site of an old chapel. And here he had not been long making his observations, before he achieved a discovery of so extraordinary a na- ture ; one so unlikely, under the cir- cumstances, to have happened; one so calculated to baffle ordinary calcu- lations concerningthe course of events, that the reader may well disbelieve what I am going to tell him, and treat it as absurdly improbable. In short, not to keep him in suspense, Gam- mon positively discovered evidence of the death of Harry Dreddlington in his father's lifetime ; by means of just such a looking tombstone as he had long imaged to himself; and as he had resolved that old Quirk should have got prepared, before the cause came into court. He almost stimibled over it. 'Twas an old slanting stone, scarcely a foot above the ground, partly covered with moss, and partly hid by rubbish and long damp grass. The moon shone brightly enough to enable Gammon, kneeling down, to decipher, beyond all doubt, what was requisite to establish that part of the case which had been wanting. For a moment or two he was disposed to imagine that he was dreaming. When, at length, he took out pencil and paper, his hands trembled so much that he felt some difficulty in making an exact copy of the inestimable inscription. Having done this, he drew a long breath as he replaced the pencil and paper in his pocket-book, and almost fancied he heard a whispering sound in the air — "Verdict for the plaintiff." Quitting the churchyard, he yfalked back to Grilstou at a much quicker rate than that at which he had come, his discovery having wonderfully elated him, and pushed all other thoughts entirely out of his mind. But, thought he, doubtless the other side are aware of the existence of this tombstone — they can hardly be TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 223 supposed ignorant of it ; they must have looked up their evidence as well as we — and their attention has been challenged to the existence or non- existence of proof of the time of the death of Harry Dreddlington : — well — if they are aware of it, they know that it cuts the ground from under them, and turns their conveyance, on which, doubtless, they are relying, into waste paper ; if they are not, and are under the impression that that deed is valid and effectual, our proof will fall on them like a thunderbolt. " Heavens," — ^he held his breath, and stopped in the middle of the road — "how immensely important is this little piece of evidence ! Why, if they knew of it — why, in Heaven's name, is it there still ? What easier than to have got rid of it ? — why, they may still: what can that stupid fellow Parkinson have been about ? Yet, is it because it has become unimportant, on account of their being in possession of other evidence? What can, they have to set against so plain a case as ours is, with this evidence? Gad, I'll not lose one day's time ; but I'll have half-a-dozen competent witnesses to inspect, and speak to that same tomb- stone in court." Such were some of the thoughts which passed through his mind as he hastened homeward ; and on his anival, late as it was — only the yawning ostler having sate up to let him in — ^he wrote off a letter to Mr Quirk, and made it into a par- cel to go by the mail in the morning, acquainting him with the amazing discovery which he had just made, and urging iVIr Quirk to set about getting up the briefs, for the trial, without delay ; he himself— Gammon — purposing to stop at Grilston a day or two longer, to complete one or two other arrangements of an important nature. As soon as Mr Quirk had read this letter, he devoutly thanked God for his goodness ; and, hurrying to his strong-|)OX, unlocked it, took out a small sealed packet, and com- mitted it to the flames. Mr Aubrey, as soon as he had re- covered from the first shock occasioned by Mr Parkinson's communication of the proceedings against him, set about acquainting himself, as minutely as he could, with the true state of the case. He had requested that gentleman to obtain from one of the counsel in Lon- don, Mr Crystal, a full account of the case for his — Mr Aubrey's — owp guidance ; and on obtaining a re- markably clear and luminous state- ment, and also consulting the various authorities cited in it — such, at least, as could be supplied to him by Mr Parkinson — the vigorous practical un- derstanding of Mr Aubrey, aided by his patient application, soon mastered the whole case, and enabled him to appreciate his perilous position. Since he could derive no title through the conveyance of Harry Dreddlington, which had been got in by Geoffry Dreddlington, owing to the death of the former in his father's lifetime,* as Mr Aubrey understood from his ad- visers could be easily proved by the present claimant of the property; the right of accession of Geoffry Dred- dlington's descendants depended en- tirely upon the fact whether or not Stephen Dreddlington had really died without issue ; and as to that, certain anxious and extensive inquiries insti- tuted by Messrs Runnington and Mr Parkinson, in pursuance of the sug- gestions of their able and experienced counsel, had led them to entertain most alarming doubts concerning the right of Geofiry's descendants to have entered into possession. By what means his opponents had obtained their clue to the state of his title, neither Mr Aubrey nor any of his advisers could frame a plausible con- jecture. It was certainly possible that Stephen Dreddlington, who was known to have been a man, like his uncle Harry, of wild and eccentric habits, and to have been supposed to leave no issue, might have mar- ried privately some woman of inferior station, and left issue by her, who, living in obscurity, and at a distance from the seat of the family property, could have no opportunity of inquir- ing into or ascertaining their position with reference to the estates, till some * See Appendix. ■224 TEN THOUSAND A -TEAK. acute and enterprising attorneys, like Messrs Quirk, Oammou, and Snap, happening to get hold of them, and family papers in their possession, had taken up their case. When, with im- pressions such as these, Mr Aubrey perused, and re-perused the opinions of the conveyancer given on the oc- casion of his (Mr AuErey's) marriage, he was confounded at the supineness and indifference which he had even then exhibited, and felt disposed now greatly to oveivalue the importance of every adverse circumstance. The boldness, again, and systematic energy with which the case of the claimant was prosecuted, and the eminent legal opinions alleged, and with every ap- pearance of truth, to concur in his favx)ur, afforded additional grounds for rational apprehension. He looked the danger, however, full in the face, and as far as lay in his power, as a con- scientious man, prepared for the evil day which might so soon come upon him. Certain extensive and some- what costly alterations which he had been on the. point of commencing at Tatton,'he abandoned. But for the earnest interference of friends, he would at once have given up his establishment in Grosvenor Street, and applied for the Chilteru Hundreds, in, order to retire from political life. Considering the possibility of his soon being declared the wronpul holder of the property, he contracted his ex- penditure as far as he could, without challenging unnecessary public atten- tion ; and paid into his banker's hands all his Christmas rents, sacredly resolving to abstain from drawing out one farthing of what might soon be proved to belong to another. At every point occurred the dreadful question — if I am declared never to have been the rightful owner of the property, how am I to discharge my frightful liabilities to him who is? Mr Aubrey had nothing except the Tatton property. He had but an in- significant sum in the fimds; Mrs Aubrey's settlement was out of lands at Yatton, as also was the little in- come bequeathed to Kate by her father. Could anything be conceived more dreadful, under these circum- stances, than the mere danger — the slightest probability — of their being deprived of Yatton ? — and with a debt of at the very least sixir THonsAHD FOuiiDB, due to him who had been. wrong&Uy kept out of his property ? That was the millstone which seemed to drag them all to the bottom. Against that, what could the kind- ness of the most generous friends, what could his own most desperate exertions, avail? All this had poor Aubrey constantly before his eyes, together with — ^his wife, his children, his sister. What was to become of, thenif It was long before the real nature and extent of his danger be- came known amongst his friends and neighbours. , When, however, they were made aware of it, an extraordi- nary interest and sympathy were ex- cited throughout almost the whole county. Whenever his attorney, Mr Parkinson, appeared in public, he was besieged by anxious inquiries concern- ing his distinguished client, whose manly modesty and fortitude, under, the pressure of his sudden and almost unprecedented difficulty and peril, en- deared him more than ever to all who had an opportunity of appreciating his position. With what intense and absorbing interest were the ensuing assizes looked for ! At length they arrived. The ancient city of York exhibited, on the commission day of the Spring Assizes for the year 18 — , the usual scene of animation and excitement. The High Sheriff, attended by an im- posing retinue, went out to meet the Judges, and escorted them, amidst the shrill clangour of trumpets, to the Castle, where the commission was opened with the usual formalities. The Judges were Lord Widdrington, the Lord Chief-Justice of the Zing's Bench, and Mr Justice Grayley, a puisne judge of the same court— both admirable lawyers. The former was possessed of the more powerful intel- lect. He was what may be called a great scientific lawyer, referring every- thing to prmdple, as extracted from precedent. Mr Justice Grayley was TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 225 almost unrivalled in his knowledge of the detaih of the law ; his governing maxim being ita lex scripta. Here his knowledge was equally minute and accurate, and readily applied to every case brought before him. Never sat there upon the bench a more pains- taking judge — one more anxious to do right equally in great things as in small. Both were men of rigid in- tegrity : 'tis, indeed, a glorious thing to be able to challenge the inquiry — when, for centuries, have other than men of rigid integrity sat upon the English Bench? Lord Widdrington, however, in temper was stern, arbi- trary, and overbearing, and his man- ners were disfigured not a little by coarseness ; while his companion was a man of exemplary amiability, aifa- bility, and forbearance. Ijord Wid- drington presided at the Civil Court fin which, of course, would come on the important cause in which we are interested), and Mr Justice Grayley in the Criminal Court. Soon after the sitting of the court, on the ensuing morning — " Will your Lordship allow me," rose and inquired the sleek, smiling, and portly Mr Subtle, dead silence prevailing as soon as he had mentioned the name of the cause about which he was inquiring, " to mention a cause of JDoe on the de- mise of Titmouse v. Jolter — a special jury cause, in which there are a great many witnesses to be examined, on both sides — and to ask that a day may be fixed for it to come on ? " " Whom do you appear for, Mr Subtle?" inquired his Lordship. " For the plaintiif, my Lord." " And who appears for the de- fendant ? " " The Attorney-jreneral leads for the defendant, my Lord," replied Mr Sterling, who, with Mr Crystal, was also retained for the defendant. " Well, perhaps you can agree be- tween yourselves upon a "day, and in the mean time similar arrangements may be made for any other special jury causes that may require it." After due consultation, Monday week was agreed upon by the parties, and . VOL. I. fiked by his lordship, for the trial of the cause. — ^During the Sunday pre- ceding it, York was crowded with per- sons of the highest distinction from all parts of the county, who felt inter- ested in the result of the great cause of the assizes. About mid-day a dusty travelling carriage - and - four dashed into the streets from the London road, and drove up to the principal inn ; it contained the Attorney-general (who just finished reading his brief as he entered York) and his clerk. The Attorney-general was a man of strik- ing and highly intellectual counte- nance; but he looked, on alighting, somewhat fatigued with his long jour- ney. He was a man of extraordinary natural talents, and also a first-rate lawyer — one whose right to take the woolsack, whenever it should become vacant, was recognised by all the pro- fession. His professional celebrity, and his coming down 'special' on the present occasion, added to the circum- stance of his being well known to be a personal fiiend of his^ client, Mr Aubrey — whence it might be inferred that his great powers would be exerted to their utmost — was well calculated to enhance the interest, if that were possible, of the occasion which had brought him down at so great an ex- peAse, and to sustain so heavy a re- sponsibility as the conduct of a cause of such magnitude. He came to lead against a formid- able opponent. Mr Subtle was the leader of the Northern circuit ; a man of matchless tact and practical sa- gacity, and consiimmately skilful in the conduct of a cause. The only thing he ever looked at, was the veh- DICT, to the gaining of which he di- rected all his energies, and sacrificed every other consideration. As for dis- play, he despised it. A speech, as such, was his aversion. He entered into a friendly, but exquisitely crafty conver- sation with the jury ; for he was so quick at perceiving the effect of his address on the mind of each of the twelve, and dexterous in accommodat- ing himself to what he had detected to be the passing mood of each, that they 226 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. individually felt as if they were all the while reasoning with, and being convinced by him. His placid, smil- ing, handsome countenance, his gen- tlemanly bearing and insinuating ad- dress, full of good-natured cheerful confidence in his cause, were irresist- ible. He flattered, he soothed, he fas- cinated the jury, producing an iii- pression upon their minds which they often felt indignant at his opponent's attempting to efface.' In fact, as a nisi prius leader he was unrivalled, as well in stating as in arguing a case, as well in examining as cross-examining a witness. It required no little prac- tical experience to form an adequate estimate of Mr Subtle's skill in the management of a cause ; for he did everything with such a smiling, care- less, unconcerned air, equally in the great pinch and strain of a case as in the pettiest details, that you would be apt to suspect that none but the easiest and most straightforward cases fell to his lot ! Titmouse, Titmouse, raethinks the fates favoured you in assigning to you Mr Subtle. Next came Mr Qdioksilver, who had received what may be called a muffling retainer. What a contrast was he to Mr Subtle ! He was of a vast ca- pacity, and versatile powers. In grasp and strength of intellect, Mr Subtle was a mere boy in comparison of him. His acquirements were prodigious, and his memory kept them always as it were under his eye. He was also one of the greatest orators of the age — equally feared and admired in the House of Commons. In the glare and multiplicity of his genius and know- ledge, more extensive knowledge of law than he was given credit for, was eclipsed and lost; and it was feared that he disdained the details of his profession. Still it would not do to allow him to be retained on the other side ! So he was secured for the plaintiff, in the hope that, like a. wild elephant, he would be, in a manner, held in check by Mr Subtle and Mr Lynx. Lynx possessed the qualities which his name would sug- gest to you. I have partly described him already. He was a man of minute accuracy; and "got up" every case in which he was engaged as if his life had depended on the result. Nothing escaped him. He kept his mind con- stantly even with the current of the cause. He was a man to steer a leader, if ever that leader should get, for an instant, on the wrong tack, or be un- certain as to his course. His sugges- tion and interference — rare, indeed, with such a man as Mr Subtle, inces- sant with Mr Quicksilver — were al- ways worth attending to, and conse- quently received with deference. For Mr Aubrey also was retained a formidable " eab." Mr Attorney-gen- eral was a man much superior, in point of intellect and legal knowledge, to Mr Subtle. His mind was distin- guished by its tranquil power. He had a rare and invaluable faculty of arraying before his mind's eye all the facts and bearings of the most intri- cate case, and contemplating them, as it were, not successively, but simul- taneously. His perception was quick as light ; and, at the same time — rare, most rare accompaniment ! — ^his judg- ment sound, his memory signally retentive. Inferior, possibly, to Mr Subtle in rapid and delicate apprecia- tion of momentary advantages, he was sagacious, where Mr Subtle was only ingenious. Mr Attorney-general had as much weight with the judge, as Mr Subtle with the jury. With the for- mer there was a candour and straight- forwardness — a dignified simplicity — which insensibly won the confidence of the judge ; who, on the other hand, felt himself obliged to be ever on his guard against the slippery sophistries of Mr Subtle, whom he thus got to re- gard with constant suspicion. Mr Steelino, the second counsel for the defendant, was a king's coun- sel, and a rival of Mr Subtle upon the circuit. He was a man of great power; and on important occasions, no man at the bar could acquit himself with more distinction. As a speaker, he was eloquent and impressive, perhaps deficient in vivacity ; but he was a man of clear and powerful intellect ; prompt in seizing the bearings of a TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. case ; a capital lawyer ; and possess- ing, even on the most trying ocoasious, imperturbable self-possession. Mr Cktstal, with some faults of manner and bearing, was an honour- able high-minded man; clear-sighted and strong-headed: an accurate and ready lawyer ; vigilant and acute. See, then, the combatants in this memorable encounter : for Titmouse — Mr Subtle, Mr Quicksilver, Mr Lynx; for Mr Aubrey — Mr Attobnet-gene- EAi., Mr Steelino, Mr Ckystal. The consultation of each party was long and anxious. About eight o'clock on the Sunday evening, at Mr Subtle's lodgings, Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, accompanied by Mr Mortmain, whom they had brought down to watch the case, made their appearance shortly after Mr Quicksilver and Mr Lynx. "Our oase seems complete, now," said Mr Subtle, casting a penetrating and most significant glance at Messrs Quirk and Gammon, and then at his juniors, to whom, before the arrival of their clients and Mr Mortmain, he had been mentioning the essential link which, a month before, he had pointed out as missing, and the marvellous good fortune by which they had been able to supply it at the eleventh hour. " That tombstone's a godsend. Subtle, isn't it ? " said Quicksilver with a grim smile. Lynx neither smiled nor spoke. He was a very matter-of-fact person. So as the case came out clear and nice in court, he cared about nothing more : that result obtained, he felt that he should bo functus officio! — But whatever might be the insinuation or suspicion implied in the observation of Mr Subtle, the reader must, by this time, be well aware how little it was warranted by the facts. "I shall open it very quietly," said Mr Subtle, putting into his pocket his penknife, with which he had been par- ing his nails, while Mr Quicksilver had been talking very fast. "What do you think, Mr Lynx ? Had I better allude boldly to the conveyance exe- cuted by Harry Dreddlington, and which becomes useless as soon as we 227 prove his death in his father's life- time ? " "Ah! there's that blessed tomb- stone again," interposed Quicksilver, with a sarcastic smile. — " Or," resumed Mr Subtle, " con- tent myself with barely making out our pedigree, and let the conveyance of Harry Dreddlington come from the other side?" "I think, perhaps, that the latter would be the quieter and safer course," replied Lynx. " By the way, gentlemen," said Mr Subtle suddenly, addressing Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, how do we come to know anything about the mortgage executed by Harry Dred- dlington ? " " ( )h ! that you know," replied Quirk quickly, " we first got scent of in Mr " Here he paused suddenly, and turned quite red. "It was suggested," said Gammon calmly, "by one of the gentlemen whose opinions we have taken in the oase — I forget by whom — that, from some recital, it was probable that there existed such an instrument : and that put us on making inquiry." "Nothing more likely," added Mort- main, " than that it, or an abstract, or minute of it, should get into Stephen Dreddlington's hands ! " " Ah ! well ! well ! " said Mr Subtle, shrugging his shoulders, — "I must say there's rather an air of mystery about the case. But — about that tomb- stone — what sort of witnesses will speak " ■ "Will that evidence be requisite," inquired Lynx, "in the plaintiff's case? All we shall have to do, will be to prove the fact that Harry died without issue, of which there's satis- factory evidence ; and as to the time of his death, that will become material only if they put in the conveyance of Harry." " True — true ; ah ! I'll turn that over in my mind. Eely upon it, I'll give Mr Attorney-general as little to lay hold of as possible. Thankyou, Lynx, for the hint. Now, gentlemen," said he, turning to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, "one other quea- 228 tion — What hmdofhoMng people are the witnesses who prove the later steps of the pedigree of Mr Titmouse? Kespeotable? eh? — You know a good deal will depend on the credit which they may obtain with the jury ! " " They're very decent creditable persons, you will find, sir," said Gam- mon. " Good, good. Who struck the spe- cial jury ? ' ' " We did, sir." " Well, I must say that was a very prudent step for you to take ! consider- ing .the rank in life and circumstances of the respective parties ! However, to be sure, if you didn't, they would — so — ^well ; good-night, gentlemen, good- night." So the consultation broke up ; and Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap returned home to their inn, in a seri- ous and anxious mood. " You're a marvellous prudent per- son, Mr Quirk," said Gammon, in a somewhat fierce whisper, as they walked along, " I suppose you would have gone on to explain the little matter of Steggars, and so have had our briefs thrown at our heads " "Well, well," grunted Quirk, "that was a slip ! " Here they reached their inn. Titmouse was staying there ; and in Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's absence, he had got drunk, and was quarrelling under the arch- way with ' Boots ; ' so they ordered him to bed, they themselves sitting up till a late hour. The consultation at the Attorney- general's had taken place about three o'clock in the afternoon, within an hour after his arrival ; and had been attended by Messrs Sterling, Crystal, and Mansfield — by Mr Kunnington, and Mr Parkinson, and by Mr Aubrey, Vhom the Attorney-general received with the most earnest expressions of sympathy and iiiendship ; listening to every question and every observa- tion of his with the utmost deference. " It would be both idle and unkind to disguise from you, Aubrey," said he, "that our position is somewhat precarious. It depends entirely on the chance we may have of "breaking down the plaintiff's case, for we have TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. but a slender one of our own. I sup- pose they can bring proof of the death of Harry Dreddlington in his father's lifetime ? " " Oh yes, sir! " answered Mr Park- inson, "there is an old tombstone be- hind Yatton church which establishes that fact beyond all doubt : and a week or two ago no fewer than five or six persons have been carefully in- specting it; doubtless they will be called as witnesses to-morrow." " I feared as much. Then are ours no more than watching briefs. De- pend upon it, they would not have carried on the affair with so high a hand, if they had not pretty firm ground under foot! Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap are tolerably well known in town — ^not o«er-scrupulous, eh, Mr Eunnington ? " "Indeed, Mr Attorney, you are right. I don't doubt they are pro- pared to go all lengths." "Well, we'll sift their evidence pretty closely, at any rate. So you really have reason to fear, as you in- timated when you entered the room, that they have valid evidence of Stephen Dreddlington having left issue ? " " Mr Snap told me," said Mr Park- inson, " this morning, that they would prove issue of Stephen Dreddlington, and issue of that issue, as clean as a whistle — that was his phrase." " Ay, ay — ^but we mustn't take all for gospel that he would say," replied the Attorney-general, smiling sarcas- tically. " They've got two houses filled with witnesses, I understand," said Mr Kunnington. "Do they seem Yorkshire people, or strangers ? " " Why, most of them that I have seen," replied Parkinson, " seem strangers." "Ah, they will prove, I suppose," said the Attorney-general, " the later steps of the pedigi-ee, when Stephen Dreddlington manied at a distance from his native county." They then entered into a full and minute examination of the case ; after which,— " Well," said the Attorney- TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 229 general, evidenti}' fatigued with his long journey, and rising from. his chair, "we must trust to what will turn up in the chapter of accidents to-morrow. I shall be expected to dine with the bar to-day," hfe added; " but immediately after dinner — say at half-past seven o'clock, I shall be here and at your service, if anything should be required." Then the con- sultation broke up. Mr Aubrey had, at their earnest entreaty, brought Mrs Aubrey and Kate from Yatton on Sa^ turday ; for they declared themselves unable to bear the dreadful suspense in which they should be left there. Yielding, therefore, to these surely reasonable wishes, he had engaged private lodgings at the outskirts of the town. On quitting the consulta- tion, which, without at the same time affecting over-strictness, he had re- gretted being fixed for Sunday— but the necessity of the case appeared to warrant it — he repaired to the magni- ficent MWSTEE, where the evening prayers were being read, and where were Mrs Aubrey and Kate. The prayers were being chanted as he entered ; and he was conducted to a stall nearly opposite to where those whom he loved so fondly were stand- ing. The psalms allotted for the evening were those in which the royal sufferer, David, was pouring forth the deepest sorrows of his heart; and their appropriateness to Mr Aubrey's state of mind, added to the effect produced by the melting melody in which they were conveyed to his ears, excited in him, and, he perceived, also in those opposite, the deepest emotion. The glorious pile was beginning to grow dusky with the stealing shadows of evening ; and the solemn and sublime strains of the organ, during the play- ing of the anthem, filled those pre- sent, who had any pretensions to sen- sibility, with mingled feelings of ten- derness and awe. Those in whom we are so deeply interested, felt at once subdued and elevated; and as they quitted the darkening fabric, through which the pealing tones of the organ were yet reverberating, they could not help inquiring. Should they ever enter it again, — and in what altered circumstances might it be ? To return, however — though it is, indeed, like descending from the holy mountain into the bustle and hubbub of the city at its foot — Mr Parkinson, being most unexpectedly, and as he felt it unfortunately, summoned to Grilston that afternoon, in order to send up some deeds of a distinguished client to London, for the purpose of immediately effecting a mortgage, set off in a post-chaise, at top speed, in a very unenviable fiame of mind ; and by seven o'clock was seated in his ofiice at Grilston, busily turning over a great number of deeds and papers, in a large tin case, with the words " Eight Honom-able the Earl of Yel- verton " painted on the outside. Hav- ing turned over almost everything in- side, and found all that he wanted, he was going to toss back again all the deeds which were not requisite for his immediate purpose, when he hap- pened to see one lying at the very bottom which he had not before ob- served. It was not a large, but an old deed — and he took it up and hastily examined it. We have seen a piece of unexpected good fortune on the part of trammon and his client; and the reader will not be disappointed at finding some- thing of a similar kind befalling Mr Aubrey, even at the eleventh hour. Mr Parkinson's journey, which he had execrated a hundred times over as he came down, produced a discovery which made him tremble all over with agitation and delighted excitement, and begin to look upon it as almost Owing to an interference of Provi- dence. The deed which he looked at, bore an indorsement of the name of " Dreddlington." After a hasty glance over its contents, he tried to recollect by what accident a document, belong- ing to Mr Aubrey, could have found its way into the box containing Lord Yelverton's deeds ; and it at length oc- curred to him that, some time before, Mr Aubrey had proposed advancing several thousand pounds to Lord Yel- verton, on mortgage of a small portion of his lordship's property — but which 230 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. negotiationhadaffcerwardsbeen broken off ; that Mr Aubrey's title-deeds hap- pened to be at the same time open and loose in his office — and he recollected having considerable trouble in sepa- rating the respective documents which had got mixed together. This one, after all, had been by some accident overlooked, till it turned up in this most tinlely and extraordinary man- ner ! Having hastily effected the ob- ject which had brought him back to Grilston, he ordered a post-chaise and four, and within a quarter of an hour was thundering back, at top speed, on his way to York, which, the horses reeking and foaming, he reached a little after ten o'clock. He jumped out, with the precious deed in his pocket, the instant that his chaise- door was opened, and ran off, without saying more than — " I'm gone to the Attorney -general's." This was heard by many passers-by and persons stand- ing round ; and it spread far and wide that something of the utmost import- ance had transpired, with reference to the great ejectment cause of Mr Aubrey. Soon afterwards, messen- gers and clerks, belonging to Mr Bunnington and Mr Parkinson, were to be seen running to and fro, sum- moning Mr Sterling, Mr Crystal, Mr Mansfield, and also Mr Aubrey, to a second consultation at the Attorney- general's. About eleven o'clock they were all assembled. The deed which had occasioned all this excitement, was one calculated indeed to produce that effect ; and it filled the minds of all present with astonishment and delight. It was, in a word, a deed of coNPiEMATiON by OLD Dbeddlingtok, the father of Harry Dreddlington, of. the conveyance by the latter to Geof- fry Dreddlington, who, in the manner already mentioned to the reader, had got an assignment of that conveyance to himself After the Attorney-general had satisfied himself as to the account to be given of the deed — the custody whence it came, namely, the attorney for the defendant ; Mr Parkinson un- dertaking to swear, without any hesi- tation, that whatever deeds of Mr Aubrey's he possessed, he had taken from the muniment room at Tatton — the second consultation broke up. Mr Aubrey, on hearing the nature and effect of the instrument explained by the Attorney-general and Mr Mans- field—all his counsel, in short, con- curring in opinion as to the triumph- ant effect which this instrument would produce on the morrow — ^may be par- doned for regarding it, in the excite^ ment of the moment, as almost a direct interference of Providence. A few minutes before nine o'clock on the ensuing morning, the occasional shrill blasts of the trumpets announced that the judges were on their way to the castle, the approaches to which were crowded with carriages and pe- destrians of a highly respectable ap- pearance. As the castle clock finished striking nine. Lord Widdriugton, in a short wig and plain black silk gown,* took his seat, and the swearing of the special jury commenced. The court was crowded almost to suffocation; all the chief places being filled with persons of distinction in the count}'. The benches on each side of the judge were occupied by ladies, who — espe- cially the Countess of Oldacre and Lady De la Zouch — evinced a painful degi-ee of anxiety and excitement in their countenances and demeanour. The bar also mustered in great force ; the crown court being quite deserted, although " a great murder case " was going on there. The civil court was on the present occasion the point of attraction, not only on account of the interesting nature of the case to be tried, but of the keen contest expected between the Attorney-general and Mr Subtle. The former, as he entered — his commanding features gazed at by many an anxious eye with hope, and a feeling that on his skill and learning depended that day the destination of the Yatton property — bowed to the judge, and then nodded and shook hands with several of the counsel nearest to him ; then he sat down, and his clerk having opened his bags, * When the Judges of Assize preside iu the Crown side (i. e. in the Criminal Court), they wear their scarlet and ermine robes, and full-bottomed wigs. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 231 and taken out his huge brief, he began turning over its leaves with a calm and attentive air, occasionally con- versing with his juniors. Every one present observed that the defendant's counsel and attorneys wore the confi- dent looks of winning men ; while their opponents, quick-sighted enough, also observed the circumstance, and looked, on that account alone, a shade more anxious than when they had entered the court. Mr Subtle re- quested Gammon, whose ability he had soon detected, to sit immediately beneath him; next to Gammon sate Quirk ; then Snap ; and beside him Mr Titmouse, with a staring sky-blue flowered silk handkerchief round his neck, a gaudy waistcoat, a tight sur- tout, and white kid gloves. He looked exceedingly pale, and dared hardly interchange a word with even Snap, who was just as irritable and excited as his senior partners. It was quickly known all over the court which was Titmouse! MrAubreyscarcelyshowed himself in court all day, though he stood at the door near the bench, and could hear all that passed ; Lord De la Zouch and one or two other per- sonal friends standing with him, en- gaged, from time to time, in anxious conversation. The jury having been sworn, Mr Lynx rose, and in a few hurried sen- tences, to the lay audience utterly un- intelligible, intimated the nature of the pleadings in the cause. The At- torney-general then in a low tone re- quested that all .the witnesses might leave the Court.* As soon as the little disturbance occasioned by this move had ceased, Mr Subtle rose, and in a low but distinct tone said, " May it please your Lordship — Gentlemen of the Jury, — In this cause I have the honour to appear before you as coun- sel for the plaintiff; and I shall pro- * This is a step often taken in trials of im- portance, when the counsel for either party apprehends danger to his client, from his opponent's witnesses remaining in court, and hearing all the evidence which they are afterwards called to contradict. Either counsel has a rigM thus to exclude witnesses. The Court usually, in such cases, orders all the witnesses to withdraw. ceed to state, .as briefly as I can, the nature of his case. It is impossible, gentlemen, that we should not be aware of the unusual interest excited by this cause ; and which may be accounted for by the large estates in this county which are sought this day to be transferred to a comparative stranger, from the family who have long enjoyed them, and of whom I am anxious to say everything respectful ; for you will very soon find that the name on the record is that of only the nominal defendant; and although all that is professed to be this day sought to be recovered is a trifling portion of the property, your verdict will un- doubtedly in effect decide the question as to the true ownership and enjoy- ment of the large estates now held by the gentleman who is the substantial defendant — I mean Mr Aubrey, the member of Parliament for the borough of Yatton ; for whatever answer he might make to an action brought to recover his whole estate, he must make upon the present occasion." Aware of the watchful and formidable opponent who would in due time an- swer him, and also of being himself entitled to the general reply — ^to the last word in the event of his opponent offering evidence — Mr Subtle proceed- ed to state the nature of the plaintiffs case with the utmost brevity and clearness. Scarcely any sound was heard but that of the pens of the short-hand writers, and of the counsel taking their notes. Mr Subtle, hav- ing handed up two or three copies of the pedigree which he held in his hand to the judge, the jury, and his opponents, pointed out with distinct- ness and precision every link in the chain of evidence which he intended to adduce; and having done this, pre- senting as few salient points of attack to his opponent as he possibly could — he sat down, professing his entire ignorance of what case could be set up in answer to that which he had opened. He had not been on his legs quite half an hour ; and when he ceased — how he had disappointed every one present, except the judge and the bar ! Instead of a speech 232 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. apparently befitting so great an occa- sion — ^impressive and eloquent — there had been a brief dry statement of a few uninteresting facts, of dates, of births, deaths, marriages, registers, entries, inscriptions, deeds, wills — without a single touch of feeling, or ray of eloquence. The momentary feeling of disappointment in the lay audience, however — almost all of whom, it may easily be believed, were in the interest of the Aubreys — quickly yielded to one of satisfaction and relief; as they thought they might regard so meagre a speech as herald- ing as meagre a case. As soon as he had sat down, Mr Quicksilver rose and called the first witness. " We're safe ! " said the Attorney-general to Mr Sterling and Mr Crystad, with his hand before his mouth, and in the faintest whisper that could be au- dible to those whom he address- ed ; and the witness having been sworn, they all resumed their seats and their writing. The first and the subsequent witness established one or two preliminary and formal points — the Attorney-general scarcely rising to put a question to them. The third witness was examined by Mr Subtle with apparent unconcern, but really with exquisite anxiety. From the earnestness and attention with which the words of the witness were watched and taken down by both the judge and the counsel, who knew somewhat bet- ter than the audience where the strain of the case commenced, it must have appeared to the latter, that either Mr Subtle under-estimated, or his oppon- ents over-estimated, the value of the evidence now in process of being ex- tracted by Mr Subtle, in short, easy, pointed questions, and with a bland and smiling countenance. "Not so fast, sir," gruffly interposed Lord Widdrington, addressing the wit- ness. "Take time, Mr Jones," said Mr Subtle kindly, fearful of ruffling or discomposing an important witness. The Attorney-general rose to cross- examine ; pressed him quietly but closely ; varied the shape of his ques- tions ; now he soothed, then he star- tled by his sternness ; but sat down,, evidently having produced no impres- sion. Thus it was with one or two succeeding witnesses ; the Attorney- general, on each occasion, resuming his seat after his abortive efforts with perfect composure. At length, how- ever, by a very admirable and well- sustained fire of cross-questioning, he completely demolished a material wit- ness ; and the hopes of all interested in behalf of his clients rose high. Mr Subtle, who had been all the while paring his nails, and from time to time smiling with a careless air (though you might as safely have touched a tigress suckling her cubs as attempted at that moment to disturb him, so absorbed was he in intense anxiety), believing that he could establish the same facts by another and, as he thought, a better witness, did not re- examine ; but calling that other, with an air of nonchalance, succeeded in extracting from him all that the for- mer had failed in ; bafiling all attempts on the part of the Attorney-general to affect his credit. At length, another witness being in the box, — "I object, my Lord, to that- ques- tion," said Mr Attorney-general, as Mr Subtle, amidst many indifferent and apparently irrelevant questions, quietly slipped in one of the greatest possiWe importance and advantage to him — had it been answered as he de- sired. 'Twas quite delightful to see the Attorney-general and his experi- enced and watchful juniors all rise at one and the same instant: showing how vain were the tricks and in- genuity of their sly opponent. Mr Attorney-general stated his objection briefly and pointedly ; Mr Subtle an- swered him, followed by Quicksilver and Lynx; and then Mr Attorney- general replied, with great force and clearness. This keen encoimter of their wits over — "Ishallallowthequestiontoheput," said Lord Widdrington, after a pause — " But I have great doubts as to its propriety. I will therefore take a note of Mr Attorney-general's objection." Four or five similar conflicts arose during the course of the plaintiff's TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 23$ case: — now concerning the compe- tency of a witness * — ^tiien as t6 the admissibility of a document, or the propriety of a particular question. On each of these occasions there were displayed on both sides consummate logical skill and aouteness, especially by the two leaders. Distinctions the most delicate and subtle were sug- gested with suddenness, and as prompt- ly encountered ; the most artful man- oeuvres to secure dangerous admis- sions resorted to, and baffled; the most recondite principles of law brought to bear with admirable readi- ness on both sides. To deal with them, required, indeed, the practised, penetrating, and powerful intellect of Lord Widdrington. Some points he disposed of promptly, to the satisfac- tion of both parties ; on others he hesitated, and at length reserved them. Though none but the more experienced and able members of the bar could in the least degree enter into and iappreciate the nature of these conflicts, they were watched with un- tiring attention and eagerness by all present, both ladies and gentlemen — by the lowly and the distinguished. And though the intensity of the feel- ings of sffl was manifest by a mere glimpse f ouud the court, yet any mo- mentary display of eccentricity on the part of a witness, or petulance or re- partee ou the part of counsel, would occasion a momentary merriment which, in point of fact, served only as a sort oi relief to the strained feelings of the audience, and instantly disap- pearedi The tombstone part of the case was got through easily ; scarcely any attempt being made on the part of Mr Aubrey's counsel to resist or interfere with it. But the gi-eat — the hottest part of the fight — occurred at that point of the case where Tit- mouse's descent from Stephen Dred- dlington was sought to be established. This gentleman, who had been a very wild person, whose movements were difficult to be traced or accounted for, had entered the navy, and ultimately died at sea, as had always been imagined, single and childless. It * See APPEHDix. was ' pfoved, however, that, so fai* from such being the case, he had married a person at Portsmouth, of inferior station ; and that by her he had a daughter, only two years before his death. Both mother and daughter, after undergoing great privation, and no notice being taken of the mother by any of her late husband's family, had removed to the house of a humble and distant relative in Cumberland, where the mother afterwards died, leaving her daughter only fifteen years old. "When she grew up, she lived in some menial capacity in Cum- berland, and ultimately married one Gabriel Tittlebat Titmouse; who, after living for some years a cordwainer at Whitehaven, found his way to Gril- ston, in Yorkshire, in the neighbour- hood of which town he had lived for some years in very humble circum- stances. There he had married; and about two years afterwards his wife died, leaving a son — our friend Tittle- bat Titmouse. Both of them after- wards came to London, where, in four or five years' time, the father died, leaving the little Titmouse to flutter and hop about in the wide world as best he could. During the whole of this part of 'the case, Mr Gammon had evinced deep anxiety ; and at a particular point — perhaps the crisis — his agitation was excessive ; yet it was almost entirely concealed by his remarkable self-control. The little documentary evidence of which Gammon, at his first interview with Titmouse, found him possessed, proved at the trial, as Gammon had foreseen, of great importance. The evidence in support of this part of the case, and which it took till two o'clock on the ensuing afternoon to get through, was subjected to a most determined and skilful opposition by the Attorney- general, but in vain. The case had been got up with the utmost care, under the excellent management of Lynx ; and Mr Subtle's consummate tact and ability brought it, at length, fully and distinctly out before the jury. " That, my Lord," said he, as he sat down after re-examining his last wit- 234 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. ness, "is the case on the part of the plaintiff." On this the judge and jury withdrew, for a short time, to obtain refreshment. During their absence, the Attorney-general, Mr Sterling, Mr Crystal, and Mr Mansfield, might have been seen, with their heads all laid close together, engaged in anxious consultation — a group gazed at by the eager eyes of many a spectator whose beating heart wished their cause god- speed. The Attorney-general then withdrew for a few moments, also to seek refreshment ; and returning at the same time with the judge, after a moment's pause rose, bowed to the I'udge, then to the jury, and opened the defendant's case. His manner was calm and impressive ; his person was dignified ; and his clear, distinct voice fell on the listening ear like the sound of silver. After a graceful al- lusion to the distinguished character of his friend and client, Mr Aubrey (to whose eminent position in the House of Commons he bore his per- sonal testimony), to the magnitude of the interests now at stake, and the extraordinary nature of the claim set up, he proceeded — " On every account, therefore, I feel sensible, gentlemen, to an unusual and painful extent, of the heavy responsibility now resting upon my learned friends and myself; lest any miscarriage of mine should prejudice in any degree the important interests committed to us, or impair the strength of the case which I am about to submit to you on the part of Mr Aubrey ; a case which, I assure you, unless some extraordinary mis- chance should befall us, will, I believe, annihilate that which, with so much pains, so much tact, and so much ability, has just been laid before you by my learned friend Mr Subtle — [here that astute gentleman drummed with his fingers on a book before him, and smiled — ^but only to disguise his ap- prehension and surprise] — and estab- lish the defendant in the safe posses- sion of that large property which is the subject of the present extraordi- nary and unexpected litigation. But, gentlemen, before proceeding so far as that, it is fitting that I should call your attention to the nature of the case set up on the part of the plaintiff, and the sort of evidence by which it has been attempted to be supported ; and I am sanguine of being success- ful in showing you that the plaintiff's witnesses are not entitled to the credit to which they lay claim ; and, conse- quently, that there is no case made out for the defendant to answer." He then entered into a rigorous analj^sis of the plaintiffs evidence, contrasting each conflicting portion with the other, with singular cogency; and comment- ing with powerful severity upon the demeanour and character of many of the witnesses. On proceeding, at length, to open the case of the de- fendant — " And here, gentlemen," said he, " I am reminded of the obser- vation with which my learned friend concluded — ^that he was entirely igno- rant of the case which we meant to set up in answer to that which he had opened on the part of the plaintiff. Gentlemen, it would have been cu- rious, indeed, had it been otherwise — had my friend's penetrating eye been able to inspect the contents of my client's strong-box — and so become acquainted with the evidence on which he rests his title to the property now in dispute. My learned friend has, however, succeeded in entitling him- self to information on that point ; and he shall have it — and to his heart's content." Here Mr Subtle cast a glance of smiling incredulity towards the jury and the Attorney-general. He took his pen into his hand, how- ever, and his juniors looked anxious. "Gentlemen,"continued the Attorney- general, "I am ready to concede to my learned friend every inch of the case which he has been endeavouring to make out ; that he has completely established his pedigree. — At all events, I am ready to concede this for the purpose of the case which is now under discussion before you." He then mentioned the conveyance by Harry Dreddlington of all his interest " You forget that he died in his father's lifetime, Mr Attorney-gene- ral, " interposed Mr Subtle with a placid, smile, and the air of a man TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 235 •who is suddenly relieved from a vast pressure of anxiety. "Not a bit of it, gentlemen, not a bit of it — 'tis a part of my case. My learned friend is quite right ; Harry Dreddlington did die in his father's lifetime: but" Here Mr Subtle gazed at the Attorney-general with unaffected curiosity ; and when the latter came to mention "the Deed of Confirmation by the tather of Harry Dreddlington, " an acute observer might have observed a slight change of colour in Mr Subtle. Lynx looked at the Attorney-general as if he ex- pected every instant to receive a mus- ket-ball in his breast ! " What, ' (S&nfirm' a nullity, Mr Attorney-general ? " interrupted Mr Subtle, laying down his pen with a smile of derision ; but a moment or two afterwards, "Mr Mortmain," said he in a hasty whisper, "what do you think of this? Tell me^ — in four words" — Mortmain, his eye glued to the face of the Attorney-general the while, muttered hastily something about — " operating as a new grant — as a new ' Pshaw ! I mean what's the answer to the Attorney-general?" muttered Mr Subtle impatiently ; but his coun- tenance preserved its expression of smiling nonchalance. "You will ob- lige me, Mr Mortmain," he by-and-by whispered, in a quiet but peremptory tone, "by giving your utmost atten- tion to the question as to the effect of this deed — so that I may shape my objection to it properly when it is tendered in evidence. If it really have the legal effect attributed to it, and which I suspect it really to have, we may as well shut up our briefs. I thought there must be some such cursed point or other in the back- ground ! " Gammon saw the real state of Mr Subtle's mind, and his cheek turned pale, but he preserved a smile on his countenance, as he sat with his arms folded. Quirk eyed him with undis- guised agitation, scarce daring to look up at Mr Subtle. Titmouse, seeing a little dismay in his camp, turned very white and cold, and sat still, scarce daring to breathe ; while Snap looked like a terrier consciously going to have its teeth pulled out ! At length the Attorney-general, after stating that, in addition to the case which he had intimated, as rest- ing mainly on the deed of confirma- tion, he should proceed to prove the pedigree of Mr Aubrey, sat down, hav- ing spoken about two hours and a half, expressing his conviction that when the defendant's evidence should have been closed, the jury, under his lordship's direction, would return a verdict for the defendant; and that, too, without leaving the jury-box, where, by their long and patient at- tention, they had so honourably ac- quitted themselves of the important duty imposed upon them by the con- stitution. " James Parkinson ! " exclaimed Mr Sterling, quietly but distinctly, as the Attorney-general sat down. " You are the attorney for the defendant?" inquired Mr Sterling, as soon as the witness had been sworn. " Do you produce a conveyance between Harry Dreddlington and Moses Aaron ?" &c., (specifying it). It was proved and put in, without much opposition. So also was another — the assignment from Moses Aaron to Geoffry Dred- dlington. " Do you also produce a deed be- tween Harry Dreddlington the elder and Geoffry Dreddlington?" and he mentioned the date and names of all the parties to the deed of confirmation. Mr Parkinson handed in the import- ant document. " Stay, stay ; where did you get that deed, Mr Parkinson?" inquired Mr Subtle sharply, rising and extend- ing his hand for the deed. " From my office at Grilston, where I keep many of Mr Aubrey's title- deeds." " When did you bring it hither ? " " About ten o'clock last night, for the purpose of this trial." "How long has it been at j'our office?" " Ever since I fetched it, a year or two ago, with other deeds, from the muniment-room of Yatton Hall." 236 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. " How long have you been solicitor to Mr Aubrey ? " " For tliis ten years ; and my father was solicitor to his father for twenty- five years." "Will you swear that this deed was in your office before the proceedings in this action were brought to your notice?" " I have not the slig'htest doubt in the world." " That does not satisfy me, sir. Will you swear that it was?" " I wt'K, sir," replied Mr Parkinson firmly. " It never attracted any more notice from me than any other of Mr Aubrey's deeds, till my attention was drawn to it in consequence of these proceedings." "Has any one access to Mr Aubrey's deeds at your office but yourself?" "None that I know of; I keep all the deeds of my clients which are at my office in their respective boxes, and allow no one access to them ex- cept under my immediate notice, and in my presence." Then Mr Subtle sat down. " My Lord, we now propose to pnt in this deed," said the Attorney-gene- ral, unfolding it. " Allow me to look at it, Mr Attor- ney," said Mr Subtle. It was handed to "him ; and he, his junibrs, and Mr Mortmain, rising up, were engaged most anxiously in scrutinising it for some minutes. Mortmain having looked at the stamp, sat down, and opening his bag, hastily drew out an told well-worn volume, which contained all the stamp acts that had ever been ■ passed from the time of William the I Third, when, I believe, the first of (those blessings was conferred upon this country. First he looked at the deed — ^then at his book — then at the deed again ; and at length might be seen, with earnest gestures, putting Mr Subtle in possession of some opin- ion which he had formed on the sub- ject. "My Lord," said Mr Subtle after a pause, "I object to this instru- ment being received in evidence, on account of the insufficiency of the stamp." This produced quite a sen- sation in court. Mr Subtle then pro- ceeded to mention the character of the stamp affixed to the deed, and read the act which was in force at the time that the deed bore date ; and, after a few additional observations, sat down, and was followed by Mr Quicksilver and Mr Lynx. Then arose the At- torney-general, having in the mean- time carefully looked at the act of Parliament, and submitted to his Lord- ship that the stamp was sufficient; being followed by his juniors. Mr Subtlfe replied at some length. " I certainly entertain some diffi- culty on the point," said his Lord- ship, " and will mention the matter to my brother Grayley." Taking with him the deed, and Mr Mortmain's copy of the Stamp Acts, his Lordship left the court, and was absent a quarter of an hour — half an hour — ^three quarters of an hour ; and at length returned. " I have consulted," said his Lord- ship, as soon as he had taken his seat amidst the profoundest silence, " my brother Grayley, and we have fully considered the point. My brother hap- pens, fortunately, to have by him a manuscript note of a case in which he was counsel, about eighteen years ago, and in which the exact point arose existing in the present case." He then read out of a thick manuscript book, which he had brought with him from Mr Justice Grayley, the particu- lars of the case alluded to, certainly almost precisely similar to those then before the court. In the case referred to, the stamp had been held sufficient ; and so, his Lordship and his brother Grayley were of opinion, was the stamp on the deed then before him. The cloud which had settled upon the countenances of the Attorney-general and his party, here flitted over to, and settled upon, those of his opponents. "Your Lordship will perhaps take a note of the objection," said Mr Subtle, somewhat chagrined. Lord Widdring- ton nodded, and immediately made the requisite entry in his notes. " Now, then, we propose to put in and read this deed," said the Attorney- general with a smile of suppressed triumph, holding out his hand towards Mr Lynx who was scrutinising it TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 237 ■very eagerly — "I presume my learned friend will require only the operative parts to be read" — here Lynx, with some excitement, called his leader's attention to something which had oc- curred to him in the deed : up got Quicksilver and Mortmain; and pre- sently — " Not quite so fast, Mr Attorney, if you please," said Mr Subtle with a little elation of manner — " I have an- other, and I apprehend, a clearly fatal objection to the admissibility of this deed, till my learned friend shall have accounted for an ekasuke" " Erasure ! " echoed the Attorney- general with much surprise — " Allow me to see the deed ; " and he took it with an incredulous smile, which, how- ever, disappeared as he looked more and more closely at the instrument ; Mr Sterling, Mr Crystal, and Mr Mans- field also looking extremely serious. "I've hit themmoio," said Mr Subtle to those behind him, as he leaned back, and looked with no little tri- umph at his opponents — " Was there ever anything so lucky in this world before?" From what apparently in- < adequate and trifling causes often flow great results ! The plain fact of the case was merely this. The attorney's clerk, in copying out the deed, which was one of considerable length, had written eight or ten words by mistake ; and fearing to exasperate his master, by rendering necessary a new deed and stamp, and occasioning trouble and delay, had neatly scratched out the erroneous words, and over the erasure written the correct ones. As he was the party who was intrusted with seeing to and Tyitnessing the execution of the instrument, he of course took no notice of the alteration, and — see the result ! The ownership of an estate of ten thousand a-year about to turn upon the effect of this erasure ! " Hand me up the deed," said the Judge ; and inspected it minutely for a minute or two, holding it up, once or twice, to the light. " Has any one a magnifying glass in court?" inquired flie Attorney- general, with a look of increasijSg anxiety. No one happened to have one. " Is it necessary, Mr Attorney ?" said Lord Widdrington, handing down the instrument to him with an omin- ous look. " Well— you object, of course, Mr Subtle — as I understand you — that this deed is void, on account of an erasure in a material part of it ? " in- quired Lord Widdrington. " That is my objection, my Lord," said Mr Subtle, sitting down. " Now, Mr Attorney," continued the Judge, turning to the Attorney-gene- ral, prepared to take a note of any observations which he might ofi'ei-. The spectators — the whole court, were aware that the great crisis of the case had arrived; and there was a sickening silence. The Attorney-gen- eral, with perfect calmness and self- possession, immediately addressed the court in answer to this critical and unexpected objection. That theretcos an erasure, which, owing to the hurry with which the instrument had been examined, had been overlooked, was indisputable. The Attorney-general's argument was, first, that the erasure was in a part not material ; secondly, that even if in a material part of the deed, it would not be avoided, but the alteration would be presumed to have taken place before the execution of the deed.* It was easy to see that he spoke with the air of a man who ar- gues contra spent ; what he said, how- ever, was pertinent and forcible. The same might be said of Mr Sterling and Mr Crystal; but they were all plainly gravelled. Mr Subtle replied with cruel cogency. "Well," said Lord Widdrington, when Mr Subtle had concluded, "I own I feel scarcely any doubt upon the matter ; but as it is certainly of great importance in the present case, I will just see how it strikes my brother Grayley." With this he took the deed in his hand and quitted the court. He touched Mr Aubrey, in passing to his private room, holding the deed before him! After an ab- * See, for a discussion of tliis poiut. Ap- pendix. 238 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. sence of about ten minutes, Lord Widdriugton returned. " Silence ! silence there ! " bawled the crier ; and the bustle had soon sub- sided into profound silence. " I think, and my brother Gray ley agrees with me," said Lord Widdring- ton, " that I ought not to receive this deed in evidence, unless the erasure occurring in an essential part of it be first accounted for. Unless, therefore, 3'ou are prepared, Mr Attorney, with any evidence of that kind, I shall not receive the deed." The Attorney- general bowed, in silence, to his Lord- ship. There was a faint buzz all over the court — a buzz of excitement, anxiety, and disappointment ; during which the Attorney-general consulted for a moment or two with his juniors. " Undoubtedly, my Lord," said he at length, " we are not prepared with any evidence to explain a circum- stance which has taken us entirely by surprise. After this length of time, my Lord, of course " "Certainly — ^it is a great misfortune for the parties — a great misfortune. Of course you tender the deed in evi- dence ?" he continued, taking a note. " We do, my Lord, certainly," re- plied the Attorney-general : and sit- ting down, he and his juniors took a note of the decision ; Lord Widdring- ton and the Attorney-general's oppon- ents doing the same. You should have seen the faces of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, as they looked at Mr Parkinson, with an agitated air, returning the rejected deed to the bag from which it had been lately taken with so confident and tri- umphant an air! — The remainder of the case, which had been opened by the Attorney -general on behalf of Mr Aubrey, was then proceeded with ; but in spite of all their assumed calmness, the disappointment and distress of his counsel were perceptible to all. They were now dejected — they felt that the cause was lost, unless some extraor- dinary good fortune should yet befall them. They were not long in estab- lishing the descent of Mr Aubrey from Geolfry Dreddlington. It was neces- sary to do so ; for, grievously as they had been disappointed in failing to establish the title paramount, founded upon the deed of confirmation of Mr Aubrey, it was yet an important ques- tion for the jury, whether they be- lieved the evidence adduced by the plaintiff to show title in himself. " That, my Lord, is the defendant's case," said the Attorney-general as his last witness left the box; and Mr Subtle then rose to reply. He felt how unpopular was his cause; that almost every countenance around him bore a hostile expression. Privately, he loathed his case, when he saw the sort of person for whom he was strug- gling. All his sympathies — he was a proud, haughty man— were on behalf of Mr Aubrey, whom by name and reputation he well knew, and with whom he had often sat in the House of Commons. Now, conspicuoua be- fore him, sat his little monkey-client. Titmouse — a ridiculous object ; and calculated, if there were any scope for the influence of prejudice, to ruin his own cause by the exhibition of him- self before the jury. That was the vulgar idiot who was to turn the ad- mirable Aubreys out of Yatton, and send them into the world beggared! — ^But Mr Subtle was a high-minded English advocate ; and if he had had for his client Miss Aubrey in all her loveliness, and knew that her aU de- pended upon the success of his exer- tions, he could hardly have exerted himself more strenuously than he did on the present occasion for the imp that was squatting beneath him. And such, at length, was the eflect which that exquisitely skilful advocate pro duced, in his address to the jury, that he began to bring about a change in the feelings of most around him ! even the eye of scornful beauty began to direct fewer glances of indignation and disgust upon Titmouse, as Mr Subtle's irresistible rhetoric drew upon their sympathies in that young gentleman's behalf. " My learned friend, the At- torney-general, gentlemen, dropped one or two expressions of a somewhat disparaging tendency," said Mr Sub- tle, " in alluding to my client, Mr Tit- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 239 mouse; and shadowed forth a disad- vantageous contrast between the ob- scure and ignorant plaintiff, and the gifted defendant. Good heavens, gen- tlemen! and is my humble client's misfortune to become his fault ? If he be obscure and ignorant, unacquainted with the usages of society, deprived of the blessings of a superior educa- tion — if he have contracted vulgarity, whose fault is it ? — ^Who has occasioned it ? Who plunged him and his parents before him into an unjust poverty and obscurity, from which Providence is about this day to rescue him, and put him in possessionpf his own ? Gentle- men, if topics like these must be in- troduced into this case, I ask you who is accountable for the present condition of my unfortunate client ? Is he, or are those who have been, perhaps un- consciously, but still unjustly, so long revelling in the wealth which is his ? Gentlemen, in the name of everything that is manly and generous, I chal- lenge your sympathy, yourcommisera- tion, for my client." Here Titmouse, who had been staring open-mouthed for some time at his eloquent advo- cate, and could be kept quiet no longer by the most vehement efforts of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, rose, up in an excited manner, exclaiming, " Bravo ! bravo, bravo, sir ! Ton my life, capital ! It's quite true — bravo ! bravo ! " His astounded advocate paused at this unprecedented interrup- tion. " Take the puppy out of court, sir, or I will not utter one word more," said he in a fierce whisper to Mr Gammon. "Who is that? Leave thfe court, sir ! Your conduct is most indecent, sir ! I have a great mind to commit you, sir ! " said Lord Widdrington, di- recting an awful look down to the offender, who had turned of a ghastly whiteness. " Have mercy upon me, my Lord ! I'll never do it again," he groaned, clasping his hands, and verily believ- ing that Lord Widdrington was going to take the estate away from him. Snap at length succeeded in getting him out of court, and after the ex- citement occasioned by this irregular interruption had subsided, Mr Subtle resumed : — "Gentlemen," said he, in a low tone, " I perceive that you are moved by this little incident ; and it is charac- teristic of your superior feelings. In- ferior persons, destitute of sensibility or refinement, might have smiled at eccentricities, which occasion gentle- men like yourselves only feelings of greater commiseration. I protest, gentlemen" his voice trembled for a moment, but he soon resumed his self-possession ; and, after a long and admirable address, sate down, confi- dent of the verdict. "If we lose the verdict, sir," said he, bending down and whispering into the ear of Gammon, " we may thank that execrable little puppy for it." Gammon changed colour, but made no reply. Lord Widdrington then commenced summing up the case to the jury with his usual care and perspicacity. No- thing could be more beautiful than the ease with which he extricated the facts of the case from the meshes in which they had been alternately involved by Mr Subtle and the Attorney-general. As soon as he had explained to them the general principles of law appli- cable to the case, he placed before them the facts proved by the plaintiff, and then the answer of the defendant ; every one in court trembling for the result, if the jury should take the same view which he felt compelled himself to take. The judge suggested that they should retire to consider the case, taking with them the pedigrees which had been handed in to them ; and added that, if they should require his assistance, he should remain in his private room for an hour or two. Both judge and jury then retired, it being about eight o'clock. Candles were lit in the court, which continued crowded to suffocation. Few doubted which way the verdict would go. Fatigued as must have been most of the specta- tors with a two days' confinement and excitement — ladies as well as gentle- men — scarce a person thought of quit- ting before the verdict had been pro- nounced. After an hour and a half 3 240 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. absence, a cry was heard from the bailiff in whose charge the jury had retired — " Clear the way for the jury ;" and one or two ofiScers, with their wands obeyed the directions. As the jury were re-entering their box, strug- gling with a little difficulty through the crowd, Lord Widdrington resumed his seat upon the bench. " Gentlemen of the jury, have the goodness," said the associate, " to answer to your names — Sir Godot phin Mieherbert" and, while their names were thus called over, all the counsel took their pens, and, turning over their briefs with an air of anxiety, prepared to endorse on them the ver- dict. As soon as all the jurymen had answered, a profound silence ensued. " Gentlemen of the jury," inquired the associate, " are you agreed upon your verdict? Do you find for the plaintiff, or for the defendant ?" "Fob tbb pl-untif]?," replied the foreman ; on which the officer, amidst a kind of blank dismayed silence, mak- ing at the same time some hierogly- phics upon the record, muttered — Verdict/or the Plamtiff. — Damages one ehiUing. Costs, forty shUlings ; while another functionary bawled out, amidst the increasing buzz in the court, "Have the goodness to wait, gentle- men of the jury. You will be paid immediately." Whereupon, to the disgust and indignation of the un- learned spectators, and the astonish- ment of some of the gentlemen of the jury themselves — some of them the greatest men of the county — Snap jumped up on the form, pulled out his purse with an air of wild exultation, and proceeded to remunerate Sir Go- dolphin Fitzherbert and his compan- ions with the sum of two guineas each. Proclamation was then made, and the court adjourned till the next morning at nine o'clock. BOOK THE THIED. CHAPTER I. AI TEK THE BATTLE. — THE EEHAVIOUE OP THE BELLIGEEENTS ; AMD AH ADVEMTUKOUS PBOJEOT OF MK OAMMOh's. " 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 re- spective lodgings, to prepare for the next day's work. " Yes — he's a keen hand, to he sure : he's given us all work enough ; and, I must say, it's been a capital set-to between you ! I'm so glad you got the verdict ! " " It wouldn't have done to he beaten on one's own dunghill, as it. were — eh ? " quoth Mr Subtle with a bland smile — adding, in the fulness of his pleased heart — " 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 en- tirely yours, Lynx, I must say." "Oh, no ! " — ^replied his junior mo- destly. " It was a mere accident my lighting on it ; the merit was, the use you made of it ! " ■ "To think," said Mr Subtle, mus- ingly, " often 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? " * "Kight? to be sure he was! But I own 1 got rather uneasy at the way * See Appendix. VOL. I. 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 pretty point. Lynx." " Ay, but as Lord Widdrington put it — that could be only where the de- fect was proved to exist after a com- plete and valid deed had been once established." f "True— true; that's the answer. Lynx ; here, you see, the deed is dis- graced in the first instance ; no proof, in fact, that it ever was a deed — therefore, mere waste paper." " But don't forget that posseasionhsia gone along with the deed" " Possession gone along with it ! — Wliat 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 over- come by the presumption to th'e con- t Whether all this be, or be not, "good law " it iS'Ueedless for the author to say — nor to hold himself respousible for the legal opinions expressed by any of the characters In this history. His own views may be seen by any one curious enough to refer to the Note in the Appendix. This remark the author thinlis it necessary here to make, once for all. ■ 242 TEN THOUSAm) A-YEAE. trary, arising from long-continued and consistent possession ! — On the other hand, however, it is certainly a gen- eral rule that the party producing an instrument must account for the ap- pearance of erasure or alteration, to encounter the presumption of fraud ! — I must say that seems good sense enough!" * * " It's really been rather an interest- ing 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 — uncom- monly." Mr Subtle suddenly piused and stood still. " Bless my soul, Lynx — I've made a blunder ! " " Eh ! What's the matter ? " " 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, prick- ing up his ears. " It will be at least thirty or forty pounds out of our client's pocket. I forgot to ask Widdrington for his cer- tificate 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 Gam- mon, 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 earnestly talk- ing 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 ver- dict, and get its fruits ? " " We shall keep the verdict, I've no doubt; there's nothing in Widdring- ton'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 speci- men of humanity, isn't he? " " Faugh ! odiois little reptile ! And did you ever in all your fife witness such a scene as when he interrupted me in the way he did ? " " Ha, ha ! Never ! But, upon my honour, what an exquisite turn you gave the thing — it was worth more than called it forth — it was admir- able." I "Pooh— Lynx!" said Mr Subtle,! with a gratified air ; " knack — mere \ knack — nothing more. My voice trembled— eh? — at least so I intend- ed." " Upon ray word, 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 really one of the most masterly " — ^here he suddenly ceased and squeezed his companion's arm, motioning him thereby to silence. They heid come up with two gentle- men, walking slowly, and conversing in a low tone, but with much earnest- ness of manner. They were, in fact, unfortunate Mr Aubrey and Lord De la Zouch. The two lawyers crossed over to the other side of the narrow street, and quickened their pace, so as to be soon out of sight and hearing of the persons whom they seemed desir- . ous of avoiding. Mr Subtle was, in- deed, 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 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 243 wealth, prosperity, distinction, into — as it were — outer darkness — the outer darkness of poverty — of destitu- tion. " It's rather a nuisance for the Au- breys — ^isn't it ? " quoth the matter-of- fact Lynx. " It's frightful ! "— repliedMr Subtle, in a tone of voios and with a man- ner 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 limita- tions ?— Eh ?— is that so clear ? " Mr Subtle looked sharply at Lynx, with an expression baffling all description. " 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 or picturesqueness 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 MeUing- tonf" "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 edi- tor — the PoMPEET CocKATKicE ; and our client's a clergyman. They've slandered him abominably," quoth Lynx, indignantly ; "they say he does not believe what he teaches — and that it is a race between him and his congregation which gets to the devil first ! '.' " Ay, ay? — that sounds a little like substantial damages !— Do they jitsti- /y ? "« inquired Mr Subtle, smiling. "No — they've pleaded not guilty only." " Who leads for the defendant ? "Mr Quicksilver." "I suppose so. He'll make a splen- did speech, no doubt, and turn it into * See Appendix, great fun ! f We must have the con- sultation 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 lodg- ings, to glance over brief after brief, and squeeze the brain of junior after junior, till past midnight. As soon as Titmouse had been ejected from the court, in the sum- mary way which the reader will re- collect, merely on account of his hav- ing, with some slight indecorum, yielded to the mighty impulse of his agitated feelings, he began to cry bit- terly, 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 weep- ing; and his little bosom 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 an anxious and oppressed air were standing together at the out- side of one of the doors — ^in fact, Lord De la Zouch and Mr Aubrey ; and they quickly recognised in Tit- mouse 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 naugh- tily : 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. t Mr Subtle, the next morning, got five hundred pounds damages, after one of the wittiest speeches for the defence ever heard : ^ none enjoying it more than the fortunate de- fendant, up to the moment of the delivery of the verdict. , 244 TEN THOUSAIID A -YEAR. "Thank you, sir! Thank you!" quoth Titmouse, moving with an ap- prehensive air away from Lord De la Zouch, towards Mr Aubrey, " Know quite well who yoa are, sii; ! Ton 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 iryepressible sternness ; " you are very intrusive. How can we catch a syllable of what is going on while you are chattering in this way, sir ? " Titmouse saw that Mr Aubrey looked towards him with a different expression from that exhibited by his imperious companion, ajid 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, in the castle-yard. This man's face looked so ready for mis- chief, that Titmouse slowly walked off. There were a good many stand- ers-by, who seemed all to eye him with dislike and distrust. He made many ineffectual attempts to persuade the doorkeeper, who had assisted in his extrusion, to re-admit 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 — and doubtless he was as miserable as his little nature admitted of: 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 tne dazzling sunlight of success. "Mr Titmouse!— Mr Titmouse!— Mr Tit" : "Here! Here I am ! Here!"— ex- claimed the little wretch, jumping off the window-seat on which he had been squatting for the last hour in the dark, half stujpified with grief and exhaus- tion. The voice which c^Ied him was a blessed voice — a familiar one — that 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 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 con- gratulate you ! You are victorious ! God grant you long life to enjoy your good fortune! God bless you. Tit- mouse!" He wrung Titmouse's hands — and his voice trembled with the in- tensity of his emotions! Mr Tit- mouse 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 ? Honour bright ? " at length he stammered. " It is indeed ! My long labours are at length crowned with success ! — Hurrah, hurrah, Mr Titmouse ! " " I've really won f It a'n't a joke or a dream ? " inquired Titmouse with quickly increasing excitement, and a joyous expression bursting over his features, wiuch became suddenly flushed. "A joke? — the best youll 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," headded in a loud truculent tone, as Lord Da- la Zouch and Mr Aubrey slowly passed him — "done for you now — 'pon my life! — turned the tables! — tJiat 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 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 245 (quitted for ah instant to hear the ver- dict pronounced. Mr Auhrey for some moments spoke not. i "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, Aubi-ey ! God bless you! " — said several voices, qui- vering with emotion. "Let us go" — said Lord De la Zouch, putting Mr Aubrey's arm in ■his owb, 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 re- covered from the shock which they; ■had 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 iiKnUd be the istoe. For some time be- , tee I had the least intimation of the commencement of these proceedings, I was oppressed by a sense of impend- ing csuamity " "Well, that may be so ; but it tloes not follow that the mischief is iSnally 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 whole world ; 1 feel it a greater honour to be your friend than I am worthy of — I do, indeed," said Lord De la Zouch -with 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 beg- gar ! " " Fbrgive ine, 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 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 Au- brey with an air of mingled melan- choly and resolution. " I feel an in- expressible consolation in the reflec- tion, 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, Au- brey '"— ^^^ "Despondingly?" echoed Mr Au- brey, 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 vallei/ of the shadow of death, dear Lord De la Zouch, which is be- fore all of us, and at but a little dis- tance ! 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 ! " As he said this, there was a grand expression iu his pale countenance. " You are a hero, my dear Aubrey ! "■ exclaimed Lord De la Zouch with sud- den fervour. " And that support will embrace those dearer to me than life — dearer —far — far" He ceased : his feel- ings quite overcame him, and they walked on foir some time in silence. Soon afterwards they parted — for Lord De la Zouch perceived that his unfor- tunate companion ■wished to be alone. He wrung Mr Aubrey's hands in silence ; and having turned in the direction of his hotel, Mr Aubreymade for his lodgings. The streets were occupied by passengers, some return- ing 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 con- 246 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. scions that tte subject of theirthoughts 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 honours and greatness. The splendours 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 ob- jects of all his tenderest thoughts and feelings; while his vessel is rapidly bearing him from it, amid the rising wind, the increasingand ominous swell of the waters, the thickening gloom of night — whither f The Minster clock struck ten as he passed one of the corners of the vast majestic struc- ture, grey-glistening in the faint moon- light. The melodious chimes echoed in his ear, and smote his subdued soul with a sense of peculiar solem- nity and awe ; they forced upon him a reflection upon the transient lit- tleness of earthly things. Then he thought of those dear beings who were awaiting his return, and a gush of frief and tenderness overflowed his eart, as he quickened his steps, with an inward and fervent prayer that Heaven would support them under the misfortune which he had to an- nounce. As he approached the re- tired 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 en- tered them, and closed the door. This was a person whom Mr Aubrey did not at all suspect — ^it was no other than dear little Dr Tatham ; who, un- able to quit Yatton in time to bear the trial, had early that morning mounted his horse, and after a long and hard ride, reached York soon after Mr Au- brey 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 dis- tressing situation restrained them from intruding upon their privacy, which appearedto have been evidently sought for, from the species of lodgings which Mr Aubrey had engaged. On the se- cond day, the excellent Dr Tatham had been their welcome and instruc- tive 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 amidst the number of people who were about; and had at length fulfilled his mission, and been beforehand with Mr Aubrey in communicating the disastrous 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 ?" in- quired Mrs Aubrey, fondly. ' ' 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 ex- cellent friend ? " continued he, address- ingDrTatham, and grasping hishands; " 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!^' faltered Dr Tatham, powerfully affected. " Believe that all this is from Him! He has wise ends in view, as certainly as we see not nor comprehend them ! Faint not when you are rebuked of Him I If ye faini TEN THOUSAND A -TEAR. 247 in the day of adversity, your strength is small I But I rejoice to see your re- signation ! "—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 fea^ tures — and he clasped the lovely weep- in'g ones in his arms. " God," said he, " that gave ns all, has taken all : why should we mur- mur ? He will enable us, if we pray for his assistance, to bear with equa^ nimity our present adversity, as well as, I trust, we bore our past prosper- ity! 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 ac- count of what had occurred at the trial-— and which, I need hardly say, was listened to breathlessly, and with many tears and sighs. "Whom is that letter from, love, lying on the table ? " inquired Mr Au- brey, during a pause in the conversa- tion. " 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 kiss- ed her cold cheek ; while Kate could scarcely restrain her feelings. The excitement of each was beginning to give way before sheer bodily and men- tal exhaustion ; and Dr Tatham, ob- serving 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 left them with a full heart ; and those whom he had quitted soon after- wards retired for the night ; and hav- ing first invoked the mercy and pity of Heaven, sank into slumber, and brief forgetfulness of the perilous po- sition in which they had been placed by the event of the day. Somewhat different was tlie mode in which the night was spent by the victorious party. Gammon, as has been seen, was the first to congratu- late Titmouse on his splendid success. The next was old Quirk — who, with a sort of conviction that he should find that Gammon had been beforehand with him — bustled out of court, leav- ing 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 that had a strong dash of reverence in it, such as was due to the possessor of ten thousand a-year ; but Gammon exhib- ited the tranquil matter-of-fact confi- dence 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 him- self — 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 oc- cupants, rolled off. At length, Lord Widdrington, amidst a sharp impetu- ous cry of " Make way fpr the judge there — make way for my Lord ! " ap- peared in his robes (holding his three- cornered hat in his ' hand), with a wearied air ; and passing close by Titmouse, was honoured 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 turned up ; TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. the door was closed ; and amidst a sharp blast of trumpets, the carriage drove slowly off, preceded and followed by the usual attendants. All this pomp and ceremony made a deep Jm- fression upon the mind of Titmouse. " Ah," thought he, with a sudden sigh of mingled excitement and exhaustion -^" who knows but / may be a judge some day? It's a devilish pleasant thing, I'm sure ! What a fuss he must make wherever he goes! Ton my life, it's quite delightful ! *' As there was no coach to be had, Mr Titmouse was reduced to the degradation of having to walk home, arm-in-arm with Mr Quirk and Mr Gammon, and fol- lowed, at a little distance, by a knot of persons, acquainted with his name and person, and feeling towards him a strange mixture of emotions — dis- like, wonder, contempt, and envy, (loodness gracious ! — ^thought many a one — that strange little gentleman was now worth ten thousand a-year ! and was squire of Yatton I ! Old Quirk shook Titmouse's hand with iirepress- ible enthusiasm, at least a dozen times on their way to the inn ; while Gammon every now and then squeezed his arm, and spoke, in an earnest tone, of the dif- ficulties yet to be overcome. On reach- ing 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 curtsies, 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 bed- room 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, hot sausages, fowl, ham, beef-steaks, and mutton- chops, were ordered to be in readiness in half an hour's time. Soon after- wards Mr Titmouse followed the cham- bermaid to his new bedroom. *' This is the room we always ^ves to quality folk — when we get them," i said she, as she set his candle on the drawers, and looked round the apart- ment with a little triumph. "Ah— yes! — 'pon my soul — quite right — always do your best for qual- ity! — 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 ; hum- med, whistled, and jumped up again — in a sort of wild ecstasy, or deurium. In short, it was plain that he was not master of himself. 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, with calm consideration of the objects at which it was aimed, wrote the following letter. " York, 5th April, 18^ " Mt Dbab Sie,— The first leisure moment I have, I devote to inform- ing you, as one of the most inti- mate friends of our highly-respected client, Mr Titmouse, of the brilliant event which has just occurred. After a severe and protracted struggle of two days (the Attorney-general hav- ing 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 favour of Mr Titmouse— thereby de- claring him entitled to the whole of the estates at Yatton (ten thousand a-year rent-roll, at least), and, by consequence, to an immense accumu- lation 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 jus* TEN THOUSAND A-YEAfi. 24§ ■tibe, is dismayed beyond expression at the result of this grand struggle — unprecedented in the annals of mo- dern litigation. The result has given lively satisfaction in these parts. — ^It is plain, indeed, that Mr Titmouse will 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 im- portant and auspicious event ; and I trust that you will, with our respect- ful 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 to- wards you, and to say that, on his return to town. Satin Lodge will be one of the first places at which he will have the honour of calling. In the mean time, I beg you will believe me, my dear sir, with the best comphments 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, eat almost to bursting ; Gammon was more abstinent — but, overpowered by the importunities of his companions, 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 hard for any one to resist the other's entreaties. Mr Gammon in due time felt himself going— hut 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 his health. Presently old Quirk sang a comic song, in a very dismal key; and then he and Snap joined in a duet called, " Handcuff y. Salter ; " at which Gammonlaughed 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 com- panions entering into all his little schemes with a sort of affectionate enthusiasm. At length old Mr Quirk, after by turns laughing, crying, sing- ing, and talking, leaned back in his chair, with his half-emptied tumbler of brandy-and-water in his hand, and fell fast sleep. 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 un- usual potations, especially after such long abstinence and intense anxiety as he had experienced during the pre- vious two days. He had intended seeing 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 passion- ate, 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 fames of liquor mounted up into his head, they did but increase the action and in- tensity of those qualities for which. 250 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. 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 extremely 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 com- plicated and profound in his schemes and purposes, and at length he felt as if, by some incomprehensible means, he were attempting to take Tiimsdf in — inveigling himself: at which point, after a vain attempt to understand his exact position, with reference to him- self, he slpwly, 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 hav- ing obeyed the summons. Gammon with a turbid brain and cloudy eye followed him to the door, with a des- perate but unavailing effort to walk thither steadily. Having reached his room, he sat down with a sort of sus- picion that he had said or done some- thing 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 ineffec- tually to blow out his candle, he suc- ceeded, with a furious but well-aimed puff, and got into bed ; his head, how- ever, occupying the place assigned to his feet; He lay asleep for about half an hour — and then experienced cer- tain insupportable sensations. He was indeed miserable beyond description ; and lost all thoughts of what would become of Titmouse — of Quirk and Snap — ^iu his own desperate indispo- sition. " 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 de- scribed — " Mr Quirk a'n't much com- pany 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 tho- roughly seasoned vessel, and could hold a great deal of drink without seeming, or really being, much the worse for it. As for Titmouse, hap- pily for him ! (seeing that he was so soon to have the command of unli- mited means, unless indeed the envious fates should in themean 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. "Ton my life, Snap, couldn't we stand an- other tumbler — eh? Warm us for the night air?" "What shall it be?" quoth Snap, ringing the bell — " whiskjr ? " " 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 dis- posing of them, the two gentlemen, quite up to the marJs, 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 feel- ings prompted him to pursue, as early as possible, a gentlemanly line of con- duct — ^particularly in his amusements. It was now past twelve o'clock : and the narrow old-fashioned streets of York, silent and deserted, formed a strong contrast to the streets of Lon- don 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 to be insulted and maltreated. Snap, however, by way of making abeginning, suddenly shouted. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 251 "•Kre ! " at the top of his voice, and Titmouse joined him; when having heaid half-a-dozen windows hastily thrown up by the dismayed inhabi- tants whom the alarming sounds had aroijsed from sleep, they scampered off at their top speed. In another part of the town they yelled, and whistled, and crowed like cooks, and mewed like cats — the last two being accomplishments in which Titmouse was really 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 Jjedroom 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 dif- ferent quarters ; and aged numbers prevailing against youthful spirit — the two gentlemen, after a consider- able scuffle, were overpowered and conveyed to the cage. Snap having muttered something about demanding to look at the wa/rrant, 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 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 and his stomach together 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 be- fore the Lord Mayor, to answer for thgir several misdeeds. Snap was woefully crestfallen. He had sent for the landlord of the inn where they had put up, to come, on their behalf, to the Mansion-house ; and he told Quirk of the message he had received. Mr Quirk, finding that Gammon could not leave his room through severe in- disposition — the first time that Mr Quirk had ever seen or heard of his being so overtaken — set off, in a mor- tified and angry mood, in quest of his hopeful client, and junior partner. They were in a truly dismal pickle. Titmouse was pale as death, his clothes were disordered, and a part of his shirt-collar was torn off; Snap sitting beside him with a sheepish air, scarce able to keep his eyes open. At him Mr Quirk looked with keen indigna- tion, 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 (Tit- mouse) in a moment of extreme ex- citement, had been guilty, on condi- tion of his making amends for the in- jury, to both 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 lec- turing them 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 per- sons whose knockers they were proved to have wrenched off, and windows to have broken. His lordship had de- layed 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 mo- ment, to his private room. There having shut the door, the great man 252 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. gently chided Mr Titmouse for the in- 'discretion of which he had been guilty, and which, said his lordship, was not to have been expected from a geUtle-] man of his consequence in the county. His lordship begged him to consider the station WhiOh 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 Tit- mouse would, in the evening, favour the Lady Mayoress and himself with his company at the ball, where they would be proud of the opportunity of ^ introducing him to some of the gelitiy of the county, amongst 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 an tinsettled state ; as also was his sto- mach. When he heard the words " Lady Mayoress," "ball," "mansion- house," "gentry of the county," and 30 forth, a dim vision of splendour flashed before his eyes ; and, with a desperate effort, he assured the Lord Mayor that he should be " very un- common ptoud to accept the invita- tion, if he were well enough — ^but, just then, he was devilish 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 quaint disconcerted air — not being taken the least notice of by his indig- nant senior, Mr Quirk. As they 'passed along, they encountered several of the barristers on their way to court, and others, who recognised Tit- mouse; and with a smile, evidently formed a pretty accurate guess as to the manner in which the triumph of the preceding day had been cele- brated. Mr Quir^ finding that Mr Oammon was far too much indisposed to think of quitting ¥ork, at all events till a late hour in the evening, and, indeed, that Titmouse was similarly situated — with a bad grace consented to their stopping behind; and him- self. With Snaj)— the former inside, the latter outside — having paid most of the witnesses, leaving the re- mainder, together with their own ex- penses 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 op- pressed inmates of Newgate were get- ting wild on account of the protracted absence of their kind and confidential advisers. When they left, both Gam- mon 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 de- scended from Ms 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 con- sideration of the position of affairs, since the great event of the preceding evening. The only definite object which he had ever had in view, per- sonally, in entering into the affair, was the obtaining that ascendancy over Titmouse, in the event of his becoming possessed of the magnificent fortune they were in quest of for him, which might enable the aforesaid Gammon, in one way or another, to elevate Bis own position in society, and secure for himself permanent and solid advantages. In the progress of the affair, however, new views pre- sented themselves to his energetic and scheming mind. Towards the close of the afternoon, Titmouse recovered sufficiently to make his appearance dovfn stairs. Soon afterwards, gammon proposed a walk, as the day was fine, and the brisk TEN THOUSAND A-YEAK. 253 fresh country air would, he said, be eflScacious in restoring Titmouse to his wonted health and spirits. His sug- gestion was adopted ; and soon after- wards might have been seen, Gam- mon, supporting on his arm his languid and interesting client, Mr Titmouse) making their way towards the river Ouse ; along whose quiet and pleasing banks they walked for nearly a couple of hours in close conversation ; during which, Gammon, by repeated and va- ried 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, the aforesaid Mr Gam- mon, only ; who would, moreover, con- tinue to devote himself to Mr Tit- mouse's interests, and protect him from the designs of those who would endeavour to take advantage of him. Mr Gammon also dropped one or two vague hints that Mr Titmouse's con- tinuance in the enjoyment of the Yatr ton property, would always depend upon the will and power of him, the aforesaid Mr Gammon ; in whose hands were most unsuspected but po- tent 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, 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 oveiTcach 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 naturally expressed hi? de- termination to go to the ball ; on which, Gammon, with a goodTuatured smile, exolaimedi "Well, well! — on con- aiderMion, I think it prudent for you not to, displease so important a per- son as the Lord Mayor of York "^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 hu* mour 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 flery sherry. By this time he had forgotten all about the ball, and clamoured for brandj' - 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 bed- room in a truly deplorable condition ! Thus Gammon had the satisfaction of seeing his benevolent design accom- plished, 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 charitably supposed to have had a remoter and another object in view, viz., early to disgust him with intemperance. Alas, how disappointed were the mayor anfl 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 com- ing ! Their three daughters were almost bursting with vexation and astonishment. ' They had been dis- posed to entertain a warmer feeling than that,, of mere curiosity towards, the new owner of an estate worth ten thousand a-year — had drawn lota which of them was first to dance with, him ; ani. had told all their friends on which, of them the lot had fallen. Then, again, many of the county. 254 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 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 com- manding a station in the county — so strong a claim to their sympathy and respect ! Then, again, there was a 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 accord- ing 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 Tit- mouse, by the great Mr Quicksilver, one of the counsel to whose splendid exertions he was indebted for his all, might be, as it were, hread throvm vpon the waters, to he found after many days. It was true that Mr Quick- silver, 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 private account far otherwise than undesirable. He sat for one himself, though he had also contested several co,unties : but that was ex- pensive and harassing work ; and for the seat which he at present oc- cupied he had paid far too high a pnce. 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 recognised 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 Quick- silver 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 ab- sence of Mr Titmouse from the ball of the Lady Mayoress of York ; none, however, knowing the cause which kept him from so select and dis- tinguished an assembly. Mr Gam- mon, as soon as he had seen Mr Tit- mouse properly attended to, and had expressed an anxious sympathy for him, set out for a walk — a quiet soli- tary 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 imme- diate vicinity, they will disappear utterly, and that on which your eye is fixed will seem alone in its glory — sole star in the firmament. Some- ' thing of this kind happened with 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 unwaveringintensity — the image of Miss Aubrey. The golden fruit that appeared on the eve of dropping into the hands of the firm — ten thousand ' pounds — ^the indefinite and varied ad- vantages to himself, personally, to which their recent successes might be turned, all vanished. What would he not undergo, what would he not sacri- fice, to secure the favour of Miss Au- brey? Beautiful being — all innocence, elegance, refinement: — to gain so ra- diant a prize would elevate him in the scale of being ; it would purify his feelings, it would ennoble his nature. What was too arduous or desperate TEN THOUSAOT) A-YEAE. 255 to be undertaken in order to secure so glorious a result ? He fell into a long reverie, 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 suitable to the heated and rapid current- of thought passing through his mind. "No, I have not a chance — not a chance ! " at length he thought to him- self—" That girl will be prouder in her poverty than ever she would have been in her wealth and splendour. Who am I ? — a partner in the firm of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap ; a firm in bad odour, with the profession ; look- ing 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 — idhi" 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 dis- tress ! for there are the mesne profits — ^the mesne profits ! Heavens ! how glorious, but now dreadful an engine are they! They will help to batter down the high wall of pride that sur- rounds them, and her ; but it will re- quire infinite care and tact in the use of such an engine ! I will be all deli- cacy — gentleness — generosity ; I will appear friendly to her, and to her brother ; but, 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 posi- tion to ask them what course they intend to pursue : they may, if so dis- posed, hold out for — how very cold it is ! " — he buttoned his coat — " and, what have I been thinking of? Eeally 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 IL THE LAST CHANCE : AKD SOME PKOPITABLE EEPLECTIOKS. When, about seven o'clock on the morning after the delivery of the ver- dict, which, if sustained, consigned the Aubreys to beggary, they met to partake of a slight and hasty break- fast 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 sa- luted each other with fervent affection, each attempting a smile — but a smile, how wan and forced ! " The moment 256 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 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 stufi' we are made of. If we have any strength, this is the time to show it!" "I'm sure I thought Qf 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 cliance Lies the true proof of men. The sea being smooth JTow 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 liijuid moun- tainB 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-rival 'd greatness ? Either to harbour fled, Or made a toast for Neptune ! — Even so, Both valour's show, and valour's worth di- vide, In storms of fortune."* 'Twas kindly meant of Aubrey ; he thought to divert the excited feelings of his wife and sister, and occupy their imagination with the vivid ima^ gery 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 resolu- tion, her heart responding to what she heard. She could not, however, speak when he had ceased. For her- self she cared not ; but, when she looked at her brother, and thought of him, his wife, his children, her forti- tude yielded before the moving array, and she burst into tears. * Xroilus and Creesida, i. 3. " Come Kate— my own sweet, good Kate ! " said he cheerfully, laying his hand upon hers, " we must keep con- stant guard against our /eeZi«^«. They will be ever arraying before our eyes the past — the dear, delightful past — happy and beautiful, in mournful con- trast 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 I akaU me receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive emlf" " My own Charles ! " exclaimed Mrs Aubrey, rising and throwing her arms round her husband, whose counte- nance was calm and serene, as the tone of the sentiments he expressed was solemn and elevated. Miss Au. brey 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 plea- sant 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 dis- turb those whom he came to see, or cause his own highly-charged feelings to g^ve way. The sight of Mrs and Miss Aubrey, however, who greeted him in silence as they hastily equip- ped themselves, overcame his ill-sus- tained gaiety; and before he could bustle hack, 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 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. asi riding along beside the carriage. Yat- ton was about twelve mijes 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 sud- denly, 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 pos- tilion, " drive through it, direct up to the Hall, as quickly as you can." He was obeyed. As they passed rapidly along, with the 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 familiai'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 I Cour- age ! courage ! " exclaimed Mr Au- brey, grasping each of their hands, and then they burst into tears. He felt his own fortitude grievously shalfen 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 nira 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 inti- mated, to declare Mr Titmouse en- titled 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 at- tempt 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 con- clusive : but, inasmuch as that verdict may have been improperly obtained — as, for instance, either through the misdirection of the judge, or his er- roneous admission or rejection of evi- dence, or through the fault of the jury themselves ; or may have no force in point of law by reason of the plead- ings of the party for whom it has been given, being insufScient 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 to the party who failed at the trial, what is deemed a reasonable interval — till the end of the first four days of the term next ensuing, to show the court why the verdict obtained by his oppon- ent ought to go for nothing, and mat- ters 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, solemn- ly 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 theinterval thus afforded to 258 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. the advisers of Mr Aubrey, his case, as it appeared npon the notes of his counsel on their briefs, with the indi- rect assistance and corroboration de- rived from the short-hand writers' notes, underwent repeatedand anxious examination in all its parts and bear- ings, by all his legal advisers. It need hardly be said, that every point in the case favourable to their client, had been distinctly and fully raised by the Attorney-general, assisted by his able iuniors, Mr Sterling and Mr Crystal ; and so was it with the counsel of Mr Titmouse, as, indeed, the result show- ed. On subsequent examination, none of them could discover any false step, or any advantage which had been overlooked or taken inefficiently. In- dependently of various astute objec- tions taken by the Attorney-general to the reception of several important portions of the plaintiff's evidence, the leading points relied on in favour of Mr Aubrey were — the impropriety of Lord Widdrington's rejection of the deed of confirmation on account of the era3ure in it ; the effect of that deed, assuming the erasure not to have war- ranted its rejection ; and several ques- tions 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 Ste- phen Dreddlington had been peremp- torily and finally barred. Two long consultations had been held at the Attorney -general's chambers, attended by Mr SterUug, Mr Crystal, Mr Mans- field, the three partners in the firm of Eunnington and Company, Mr Park- inson, and Mr Aubrey — who had come up to town specially for the purpose. Greatly to the surprise of all of them, he stated distinctly a^nd emphatically, that he insisted on no ground of ob- jection being taken against his oppon- ent, except such as was strictly just, equitable, honourable, and conscien- tious. Eather than defeat him on mere technicalities — rather than avail himself of mere positive rules of law, while the bight, as between the con- sciences of man and man, was sub- stantially in favour of his opponent — Mr Aubrey declared, however absurd or Quixotic he might be thought, that he would — if he had them— lose fifty Yattons. Fiai justitia, rvM ccdwm. "You mean to say, Aubrey," inter- rupted 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 your- self of a fixed and beneficial rule of law, established upon considerations of general equity and utility — such, for instance, as that of adverse posses- sion, 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 fea^ tures ; " 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 accident- al "erasure in one of his title-deeds, which time has deprived him of the means of accounting for ? " He then, in a 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 incon- sistent with the nicest and most fastidious sense of honour. This ob- servation put an end to so unprece- dented an mterference ; but if Mr Au- brey 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 legitimate means, tfechuioal or substantial, that he could think of for overturning the verdict, and securing the Aubreys in the possession of Yatton. He at the same time earnestly endeavoured to moderate the expectations of his client, declaring that he was by no means sanguine as to the issue ; that Lord TEN THOUSAND A- TEAR. 259 Widdrington's rulings at Nisi Priws were formidable things — in fact, rarely assailable ; and then, again, the senior imisne judge of the court — Mr Jus- tice Grayley — had been consulted by him 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 — ^he called back Mr Eunnington for a moment, as he was walking away with Mr Au- brey, and whispered to him, that it would be proper to assume at once that the motion failed; and — seeing the peculiarly fastidious temper of their client — consider the best mode of ne- gotiating concerning the surrender of the bulk of the property and 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'a de- parture, 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 afterwards de- livered a long and luminous speech on one of the most important and intri- cate questions that had been discussed during the session. The next morning Lord Widdring- ton was occupied for about a couple of hours in " gomg through the Bar "-— i. e. calling on counsel to " move " in their order, matters of general busi- ness, 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 ai-ranged 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 an- swer. "Mr Attorney-general," said he; and the Attorney-general rose — " If your Lordship pleases," he com- meneeij, slowly rising and bowing — " in a case of Doe on the Demise of Titmouse against Jolteb, 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 he enter- ed, or why the verdict entered for the^ plaint^ should not he set aside, i New Trial had," He proceeded to e the facts of the case with clearn^ and brevity. In like manner- perfect simplicity and precisioA stated the various points arising Upon the evidence, and the general grounds of law which have been already speci- fied ; but I am so grateful to the read- er for his patience under the infliction of so much legal detail as was con- tained in the last chapter of this his- tory, that I shall now content myself with the above general statement of what took place before the court. As scon 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 Wid- drington. "On all the grounds I have men- tioned, mj'- Lord? " "Yes— ^on all of them. They are certainly worth considering — Mr So- licitor-general, do you move ? " Up rose, thereupon, the Solicitor- general. " I shall discharge your rule," whis- pered Mr Subtle to the Attorney-gen- eral. " I'm not excessively sanguine," — whispered the latter, leaning his head close to Mr Subtle, and with his hand before his mouth. Then his clerk re- moved 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 In- surance case, in which he was going to move, when next it came to his turn. Thus the court had granted a " rule 260 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. NISI," as it is called (i. e., it command- ed a particular thing to be done), "unless" sufficient " caiwe " could be thereafter shown to the court why it should not- be done), for either enter- ing 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 im- mense and perhaps unavoidable arrear of business, before the other side could have been heard in answer to it. Had such been the state of business at the time when the Rule in Doe d. Xit- mouse V. Jolter was moved for, see the practical effect of it : had Mr Aubrey, instead of the high-minded and con- scientious man he undoubtedly was, been a rogue, he might have had the opportunity of getting in nearly twen- ty 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 possibil- ity that, at the end of some two yeai-s, 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, po'or Mr Titmouse, heart-sick with hope deferred, might have taken to liquor, as a solace under his misery, and drunk himself to death before tfie rule was discharged — or brought his valuable life to a more sudden and abrupt conclusion : which affecting event would have relieved the com't 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 writ- ing, it was otherwise.* Shall I be be- lieved, when I inform the reader that ■within ten or twelve days after the rule nisi, in the present case, had been *A.D. 1838-9.— Seo Appbhdh. 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 Eegen- eration of Mankind, on the basis of Pure Reason.) The Attorney-general exerted himself to the utmost in sup- port of his rule. He felt that the court — ^though scarcely at all interfering during his address — was against him ; yet he delivered, perhaps, as masterly an argument as had ever been heard in the place where he was speaking. Mr Sterling and Mr Crystal, wisely avoiding the ground so admirably oc- cupied by the Attorney-general, con- tented themselves with strenthening 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 difficult}' 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-gene- ral, a slight expression of chligrin 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 de- livered. At length arrived the last day of the term. Soon after the" sit- ting 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 ' i>oe V. Jolter.' About two o'clock he made his appearance ; and shortly after- wards, Lord Widdrington, after dis- posing of the matter then before the court, said in a dry matter-of-fact way, — " There was a case of Doe on the demise of Titmouse against Jolter, ia TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 261 ^hich, early in the term, a rule was obtained by the Attorney-general, call- ing 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 sub- mitted to the court had arisen, and of those questions themselves, was lis- tened to by Mr Aubrey in breathless snspense, before he could obtain the faintest intimation of the judgment which the court was about to pro- nounce. Lord Widdrington went on to dispose, one by one, with painful deliberation and precision, of the sev- eral points presented for the decision of the court. One or two were decided in favour of the defendant ; but his Lordship added, that it had become un- necessary 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 do- cumentary evidence, subsequently put in, got rid of another difficulty in the early part of the plaintiff's case, arid rendered immaterial a question put by his 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 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 * — through infan- cy, coverture, and absence beyond seas, of the various parties through whom the lessor of the plaintiff claim- ed. Finally, as to the question con- cerning the EKASUEE, the court was of opinion, that the deed in which it oc- curred had been properly rejected ; in- asmuch as the erasure was in a clear- ly material part of the deed, and there were no recitals in it, by which the erasure could be helped. That it was incumbent upon those proffering the deed in evidence, to account for its altered appearance, although the deed * See AppESDrx. ; 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 dU; and, consequently, had been properly rejected.f "For all these reasons, therefore," concluded Lord Widdring- ton, " we are clearly of opinion, that the verdict ought not to be disturbed, and the rule will consequently be dis- CHAKGED. "i As thcso last words were pronounced, a mist seemed for a mo- ment 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 sate a man of exquisite sen- sibility, pure and high-minded, whose feelings were for a while paralysed 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 feel- ings which he had so long and success- fully struggled to maintain, he rose, and quitted the court. It was a heavy, + See the interesting and important law relating to Erasures and Estoppels, explain- ed at length in Appendix. t See Appendix, 262 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. lowering afternoon — one which seem- ed to harmonise with the gloomy and desolate mood in which he slowly walked homeward. He encountered many of his friends, on foot, on horse- back, and in carriages, on their way down to the Houses of Parliament ; and the sight of them, in his morbid state of feeling,' gave him a pang that was indescribable. With tliem 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 tlie end of their career ; but Tie had been forced, suddenly and for ever, to quit the scene of high ex- citement and proud aspirations ! — He ■ heaved mauy deep sighs, as he ex- changed nod after nod with those whom he met, as he approached Char- ing Cross. There he encountered Lord C , the brilliant Foreign Se- cretary, arm-in-arm with two eloquent and leading members of the Govern- ment — all 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 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 — 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 al- most 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," ruplied Mr Aubrey, in a tone and manner which at once ar- rested the attention of those whom he was addressing, and suddenly re- minded them of what, in their poli- tical eagerness, they had for a moment lost sight of — namely, the perilous po- sition of his private affairs. " My dear Aubrey, I beg a thousand pardons for intruding such matters upon you," said Lord C with sud- den earnestness ; " but shall we haVe an opportunity of meeting before you leave town ? " " I fear — not ; — I set ofi' 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 deter- mination not to yield to a morbid sen- sibility, 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 s6 emiuentljf to distinguish himself— but from which he seemed now to be for ever excluded. He, therefore, pur- sued 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 recognise 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 en- tertained familiarly at dinner; that there seemed suddenly to exist, as it were, a great and impassable gulf be- tween 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 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 263 repaired to his library. The only let- ter which had arrived since he had left in the morning, bore the Grilston post-mark, and was in the handwrit- ing of Mrs Aubrey. He opened it with trembling eagerness. It was crossed — the dear familiar handwrit- ing !— 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. " Chaeles Aubhet. " P.S. — Agnes sends her love ; she cannot write because she is so little. Please to come home directly. " Chableb 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 you will answer his letter immediately." 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. Bain poured down inces- santly. He was the only person in that spacious and elegant house, ex- cept 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 Rost, he sat down to write home — {home! his heart sank within him at the thought) — and in- formed Mrs Aubrey and his sister of the event for which his previous let- ters 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 lai-ge printed characters, by way of answer to his little corres- pondent, his son, towards whom — ah ! — ^how his heart yearned ! and having despatched his packet, probably the last he should ever frank, he partook little more than nomiiially of dinner, and then resigned himself to deep meditation upon his critical circum- stances. He was perfectly aware of his precise position, in point of law, namely, that he was safe in the pos- session 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, favourable terms for the payment of tbe dreadful iirrear;of mesne profits, in which he stood indebted to his suc- cessor. , To this effect he had received .several intimations from Mr Bunning- ton, as upright and conscientious an adviser as was to be found in the pro- fession. 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, therfefore, to waste no time — to fritter away no energy in feeble dalliance with trouble ; but to face her boldly. He determined to instruct Mr Eunnington, on the morrow, to write to his opponent's solicitors, informing them that within three weeks' time, the estates at Yatton would be deli- vered up to their client, Mr Titmouse, and also to arrange for the quickest possible disposal of his house in Gros- venor Street, and his wines and his furniture, both there and at Yatton. He resolved, moreover, to take forth- with 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 expe- rienced the momentary relief and sa- ' 264 TEN THOUSAKD A-TEAE. tisfaotion of the seaman who has com- pletely prepared his vessel for the approaching stoi-m. He felt, indeed, relieved, for a -while, from a dreadful pressure. " And what, now, have I really to coiiiplain of?" said he to himself; "v*hy murmur presumptuously and vainly against the dispensations of Prcjvidence ? I thank God that I am still able to recognise His hand in what has befallen me, and to believe that Be hath done all things well ; that pro3j)erity 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 righleousness, and that He has de- clared that He will protect and bless those who sincerely endeavour to dis- cover, and conform to His will con- cerning 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 endeavouring to steel his heart against the sense of suffering, and to look with cheerless indifference upon the vicis- situdes of life, shall 1, a Christian, shrink with impatience and terror from the first glimpse of adversity? Even at the worst, how favoured is my situation in comparison of that of millions of my fellow-creatures? Shall I — may I not — lessen my own suffer- ings, by the contemplation of those which the Almighty has thought fit to inflict upon my brethi-en ? What if I, and those whom I love, were the subjects of direful disease — of vice — of dishonour? 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 ines- timable 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 con- stancy? There hath no temptation taken you, say the Scriptures written for our instruction, hvt sucfi as is com- mon to mam;* hvt God is faithful, who will not suffer you to he tempted above what ye are cMe, hut will with the temptation, also make a way to es- cape, that ye may he able to hear it." This consolatory passage led Aubrey, in a calm and exalted mood of mind, to meditate upon that picture of sub- mission 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 solemnise, to strengthen, and elevate the heart and character of man ; and which is to be found in the first and second chapters of the Booh 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 labours now for a moment occupy your attention, reverently to refer you again and yet again, to that memor- able passage of holy writ! With danger surrounding him, with utter ruin staring him in the face, Mr Aubrey read this passage of Scrip- ture ; his shaken spirit gathered from it calmness and consolation ; and after a while, retiring early to bed, he en- joyeA a night of comparatively tran- quil repose. '* " 'Av^^isrivost" signifies in tMs place (1st Corinth, x. 13), says a commeptator on this memorable passage of Scripture, " such as is suited to the nature and circumstances of man; such as every man may reasonably ex- pect, if he consider the nature of his body and soul, and his situation in the present world." TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 265 CHAPTER III. A qtiixote; and a fkiekdlt statesman, but with an ete to business. " These wretches are determined not to let the grass grow underneath their feet, Mr Aubrey," said, with a har- assed air, 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 after- noon, I received the following com- munication." He handed to Mr Au- brey this letter : — "Saffrm Em, 2BtA AprU 18—. " Gentlemen : Doe d. Titmouse v. JoUer. "The rule for a new trial herein having been this day discharged, and the unanimous judgment of the court delivered in favour of the claims to the Ya^ton estate, of the lessor of the plaintiff, in the present action, we shall feel obUged by an intimation from yon, 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 Yattpn, at pre- sent 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 favour of our client. It is now in our power greatly to st/rengthen the evidence adduced at the late trial : and we beg to be informed whether it is yoiir client's intention to put Mr Titmouse to the enormous expense, and delay, of a second trial, the is- sue of which cannot be doubtful ; or, with the promptitude and candour which are to be expected from a gen- tleman of the station and character of your client, at once yield to our client the substantial fruits of his verdict. " If his reasonable wishes and ex- pectations in this matter should be disregarded and frustrated, we would merely intimate that it will be for your client seriously to weigh the consequences ; to see whether such a line of conduct may not greatly preju- dice his interests, and place him in a worse position than, perhaps, he would otherwise have occupied. As we un-> derstand your client to be in town, we trust you will forgive us for re- questing you immediately to com- municate with him ; and that at your earliest convenience you will enable us to announce the result to our client. — We are, gentlemen, your obe- dient servants, " QuntK, 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. " Bather quick work, too — is it not, Mr Aubrey ? — within an hour or two after judgment pronounced in their favour : — but, to be sure, it's very ex- cusable, 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, ot course, that is quite clear! " said Mr Eunnington, pouring out his coffee — " we shall stand another shot, and see if they've ammunition enough left for the purpose : and we'll tender TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 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 Eunnington," 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 ! " ex- claimed Mr Eunnington, 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 i — 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 de- tecting against the next trial? Ah, Mr Aubrey, you don't know the char- acter 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 Eun- nington! Besides, had we not the advantage bt eminent, acute, and ex- perienced counsel? How could it es- cape them f " "I would only venture to remind you," said Mr Eunnington, firmly but respectfiilly, " of the observations of the Attorney-general, at our last con- sultation." " I thought I was unanswered, Mr Eunnington, though I did not feel at liberty to press the matter," replied Mr Aubrey with a melancholy smile. " Excuse me, but we mvsi take the chance of a second trial," said Mr Eunnington. " I have decided upon the course I shall adopt," replied Mr Aubrey calm- ly. " I beg you, Mr Eunnington, to write this day to the gentlemen upon the other side, and inform them that within three weeks I shall be pre- pared to deliver up possession of Yatton." " My dear sir ! — ^Do I hear aright ? " exclaimed Mr Eunnington, vrith 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 Eunnington," replied Mr Aubrey rather peremptorily. " I give you my honour, Mr Aubrey, that in the whole course of my prac- tice I never heard of such a pro- cedure ! " said Mr Eunnington with a half-desperate air. " And I shall further request yon to state that the last quarter's rents are in my banker's hands, and will be palid over to the order of Mr Tit- mouse " " Mr Aubrey ! Mr Aubrey ! " inter- rupted Mr Eunnington, with an air of deep concern. " I have well considered the posi- tion in which I am placed," said Mr Aubrey, seriously. " It is extremely painful for me to mention the subject, Mr Aubrey, but have you adverted to the meme pro- fits?" "I have. It is, indeed, a 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," re- plied Mr Eunnington, with a dis- mayed air. " Whatever honourable 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 colour, but spoke with firm- ness — " I must own this to be a mat- ter which has occasioned me inex- pressible anxiety, Mr Eunnington. I TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 267 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 Kunnington, 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 Tit- mouse ; 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 Eunnington, see on what principle such an interference could be supported ! * 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 settle- ment ? No, no ! I feel myself bound hand and foot" At this moment a thundering ap- peal to the knocker qf the door an- nounced 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 Eunnington, 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 handsome and intellectual countenance, and winning address ; he was a thorough politician, and possessed of eloquence, immense practical knowledge, and a command- ing intellect. He was made for emi- nent 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 con- sidered to be perhaps the most rising man in the House of Commons, and to have rendered him, on several occa- * See Appendix. sions, 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 poli- tician could be. "I am really shocked beyond ex- pression to hear^ all this," said he, after Aubrey had, at his earnest re- quest, explained the position in which he was placed; the dreadful loss he had sustained, the still more dreadful liabilities to which he was subject. "Eeally, " exclaimed his Lordship, "who can be safe? It might have happened to me — to any of us ! For- give me, my dear Aubrey," he con- tinued earnestly, " if I venture to ex- press a hope that at all events Mrs Aubrey and your family are provided for, and your lovely sister ; they, I trust, are out of the reach of incon- venience?" Mr Aubrey's lips quiver- ed, and he remained silent. " Allow me a friend's freedom, Au- brey, and let me repeat my question; are your family provided for?" " I will be frank, Lord C ," re- plied 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 forti- tude ; but they are, alas, involved in my ruin ! My wife had nothing when I married her ; and of course the set- tlements I made on her were out of the Yatton property ; as also was the little income left my poor 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 talk- ing about these matters last night ; we wish we could serve you. What is the sort of foreign service you would prefer, Aubrey?" TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. "Foreign service?" echoed Mr Au- brey significantly. " Yes ; an entire change of scene ■would be highly serviceable in divert- ing your thoughts from the distressing subjects which here occupy, and must continue to occupy them, for some time to come. Can there be a doubt of it?" "It is 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 exaetly ; I de- cidedly think you ought to do so ; that you mtM<," 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 un- principled 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 honour, 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 favour 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 looking very pale ; " but you do not convince my judgment. Every dictate of conscience and honour com- bines to assure me that I should not listen to your proposal." " 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 belong- ing to your successor " " The statute of limitationsprevents more than six years' arrears being re- coverable." "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 honour and conscience ?" "I really don't exactly Understand your drift. Lord C ," said Mr Au- brey, colouring visibly. " Well — I will explain. Your sove- reign 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 ex- torting a vast sum of money not equitably due : I protest I see no dif- ference 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 ? Tit- tlemouse, 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 mentioned professes, T 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? Wliat has made him take up with Liberal principles ? By tak- ing 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, TEN THOUSAND A-YEAK. 269 if you like, a new writ may be moved fpi' 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 dur- ing the interview. "The numbers will run very close ; they are stirring heaven and earth! — Good heavens! my dear Aubrey, ■■• vote's invaluable to-night ;— Nay — you shan't have the Chiltern Hundreds ;* 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 tonight'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 ob- taining Mr Aubrey's vote that even- ing; and rose to go. * It is by no means a matter of course to apply for and obtain this nominal appoint- ment, which occaaions ipso facto the vacating a seat in parliament. It is a matter of dis- cretion with the Chancellor of the Exche- quer ; and he has refused it during the pre- sent session [1844] to several applicants. " Then 1 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 de- parture, and left poor Aubrey much depressed. He quickly, however, roused himself, and occupied the prin- cipal part of the day in making the necessary and melancholy arrange- ments for breaking up his establish- ment in Grosvenor Street, and dispos- ing of his wines, books, and furniture at Yatton. He also instructed a house- agent to look out for two or three re- spectable but small houses in the out- skirts 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 IV, ME AUBEEY 8DEBENDEES AT DISOKETION ; AND THE OPPOSING GENEHALS HOLD A CODNCIL OP WAK. The result of a long consultation be- tween Mr Bunnington and his part- ners, held on the day after his last in- terview with Mr Aubrey, was, that he drew up the following draft of a let- ter, addressed to Messrs Quirk, Gam- mon, and Snap : — " Lincoln's Jtvh, 26(A A^rU 18 — * " Gentlemen : Doe d. Titmoitse v. Jolter. " In answer to your letter of yester- day (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 TitmouSBi to take possession of all the property at Yatton, at present in 270 TEN THOUSAND A'-YEAE. the possession of Mr A-jbrey. 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 examina- tion and settlement. " We cannot forbear adding, while thus implicitly following th'e insti-uc- tions of our client, our extreme sur- prise and regret at the course which he has thought fit to adopt ; since we have the strongest reasons for believ- ing, that had he been disposed to con- test your client's claim further, in ac- cordance with advice received from a high quarter, his case would have been materially strengthened, and your difficulties greatly increased, and rendered, in fact, absolutely insuper- able. We feel confident that the mag- nanimity displayed by our client, will be duly appreciated by yows. "We are. Gentlemen, " Your obedient servants, " RuNNiNGTON & Co. ''Messrs Quire, Gammoit, & Shap." "Eeally," 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 ticklish subject, especially with such gentry as these —eh ? " One partner shook his head and the other looked thoughtful. " We must not compromise Mr Au- brey," 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 thiiik we have a discretion to exercise on behalf of himself and familyy which I must say, he seems quite incapable of exercising himself Nay, upon my honour, I thinlc we are bound not to forego the slightest opportunity of securing an advantage for our client in this un- righteous claim ! " His partners seemed struck with this observation; and Mr Running- ton, after a few moments' considera- tion, added the following postscript : — " P.S. — ^As to the mesTie profas, by the way, of course we anticipate no difficulty in effecting an amicable arrangement satisfactory to both par- ties, 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 ad- vised you, must have contemplated " (here Mr Runnington paused for a considerable time) — " being met in a similarly 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 suggestionof Messrs Run- nington, 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 in the name of the firm, and forthwith despatched to Saffron Hill. " Struck, by Jove, Gammon ! " ex- claimed Mr Quirk, as, with the above letter open in his hands, he hm-ried, the instant after he had read it, into the room of his wily partner, and threw it down exultinglj^before him. Gammon read it with apparent calm- ness, 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 nre- cious hard battle together"— and he shook his partner's hand with vehe- ment 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 Tatton for a dozen yeai-s to come — ah, ha ! " TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. 271 " Yes, I'm 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," i-eplied he, with a triumphant chuckle — " but now to come to business. By next quarter- day Titmouse will have £5000 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 knowingljf. " 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 Tit- mouse's ! — Off-hand, I should say we ought to be content with^-say — ^twen- ty thousand down, and the rest with- in two years, so as to give him time to look about him a little " "That will be quite an after con- sideration," said Mr Gammon, who, for the last few minutes, had appeared lost in thought. " Egad — an after consideration ? Hang me if J think so. Gammon! There's a certain bond — eh? you re- collect " "I assure you, Mr Quirk, that my eye is fixed quite as steadily and anx- iously on that point as yours," said Gammon gravely. " Thank you — thank you, Gam- mon ! " replied Quirk with the air of a man suddenly relieved from appre- hension — "it couldn't possibly be in better hands. Lud — to go wrongtltere! 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 apd 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 ? " " Great caution, undoubtedly, is ne- cessary, Mr Quirk, just now " " Why, 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," re- plied Gammon, gravely and pointed- ly. Quirk's colour chailged a little, as he felt the keen grey eye of Gam- mon fixed upon him, and he invol- untarily shrunk 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 mys- terious humours ; and you always look so pal-ticularly strange whenever we get on this subject! What can you know that I don't — or ought not to know?" 272 TEN THOtrSAND A-TEAE. " Nothing — nothing, I assure you," replied Gammon with a gay smile, alnrays at his command. " 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 quar- ter-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 sup- posing 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 im- mediate want, since we have reason to believe be has got no other re- sources than Yatton ? " " Not got 'em — not got 'em ? T> — 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 Au- brey's fairly got out of Yatton, must produce money, or security — he must know quantities of people of rank and substance that wotild rush forward, if they once heard him squeal " " Ah, you're for putting the thumb- screws on at once — eh?" inquired Gammon with subdued energy, and a strange sort of equivocal smile. "Ay — capital — that's jvst what I meant ! " quoth Quirk. "Eugh— you heartless old repro- bate " — 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 heavy outlays, Mr Quirk." " Well, that's honourable. Gammon. — Oh, Gammon, how I wish you would let me make a friend of yon ! " sud- denly added Mr Quirk, eyeing wist- fully his surprised companion. "If you have one sincere disin- terested friend in the world, Mr Quirk, I am he," said Mr Gammon, throwing great warmth into his manner, per- ceiving that Mr Quirk was labouring with some communication of which he wished to deliver himself. " Gammon, Gammon ! how I wish I could think so ! " replied Quirk, look- ing earnestly, yet half distrustinglj-, at Gammon, and fumbling about in his pockets. The mild and friendly ex- pression 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," com- menced Mr Quii-k, 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 ? Per- haps it's premature to mention so small a matter; but at a certain sil- versmith'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 to suppose that Gammon believes you!] — "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 ear- nestly at Mr Gammon. "My dear Mr Quirk, you have taken me," said his bland partner, apparently TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 273 ■with great emotion, "quite by siir-i— Well! there is no accounting for prise. Value it? I -will preserve it tastes, is there ?— especially among ""* "" —'"'- the women? Poor Dora's quite lost to the latest moment of my life, as a memorial of one whom the more I inow of, the more I respect and ad- mire ! " "You, Gammon, are in your prime •j-scaroe even that — but I am grow- ing old " tears appeared to glisten in the old gentleman s eyes ; Gammon, looking much moved, shook him cor- dially by the hand in silence, wonder- ing what upon earth was coming next. " Yes ; — old Caleb Quirk's day is draw- ing 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 re- spectful sympathy; — "Dora: I don't think you can have known Dora so long. Gammon, without feeling a, leetle interest in her ! " Here Gammon's colour mounted rapidly, and he looked with feelings of a novel description at his senior partner. Why, could it be possible that old Quirk wished to bring about a match between his daughter and Mr Gammon? That excellent 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, — " iu 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, sud- denly and infinitely relieved.] " Ah, my dear sir, is that all ? " he exclaimed, and shook Mr Quirk cor- dially 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 y oui' lynx's eyes ! her heart— quite— she has— so help me Heaven!" continued Mr Quirk, energetically. " Well, my dear sir, and why this surprise 1 " inquired Gammon ear- nestly. " I consider Titmouse to be a handsome young fellow ; and that he is already rapidly acquiring gentle- manly 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, forinstance, at Tag-rag." "Eugh! " exclaimed Mr Quirk, with a sudden motion of sickening disgust — " the old beast ! I smoked him long ago ! Now, tJiat I call villany, Gammon; infernal villany! Don't you?" " Indeed, indeed, Mr Quirk, I do ; I quite agree with you! Upon my honour, I think it is a part of even my duty towards our confiding and inex- perienced client, if possible, to protect him against such infamous designs." " Eight— right. Gammon ; by Jove, you're entirely 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 delicate and diifioult game to play with old Tag-rag. He's cer- tainly 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 daugh- ter 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, Gam- mon, what do we want of this wretch Tag-rag, now that Titmouse has actu. ally got the property? " TEN THOUSAND X-YEA'S,. , " Want of him ? Money— Security, my dear sir ! — ^money ! " " But, curse me ! (excuse me, Gam- mon), 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 se- curity as he can now give ! " " Very possibly — ^prbbably " "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 Gam- mon calmly, but with a serious air, and a slight change of colour, which did not happen to attract the notice of his eager companion, " there are reasons why I should dissuade you fi'om doing so ; upon my word there are ; further 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 Yat- ton estates, I should at all events require a substantial collccteral se- curity." " Mystery again ! " exclaimed Mr Quirk, a sigh of vexation escaping him. " YoiTU excuse me. Gammon, but you'd puzzle an angel, to say nothing of the devil! May I pre- sume 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 ar- ticles ! " "It is; 5a« t 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 tql the conclusion that there was no real ground for apprehending so grievoua a misfortune as the huddling together ^ hereafter of the great and small into one miscellaneous and ill-assorted as- semblage ; but that the rules of pre- cedence, 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 Dreddling- ton would have, in fact, as soon sup- posed, with the deluded Indian, that in his voyage to the next world — "His iaithfiil dog should hear him com- pany ; " 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 ffispensation, it should form an ingredient in their cup of hap- piness in the next world, there to per- form those offices — or analogous ones —for their old masters, which they had performed upon earth. As the earl grew older, these just, rational, and Scriptural views became clearer, and his faith firmer. Indeed, it might be said that he was in a manner rip- ening 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 suf- ferings, in this inferior stage of exist- ence, would be richly recompensed: for sufferings indeed he had, though secret, arising fi-om 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. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 289 been designed by Providence as a trial of his constancy, and from which he would, in due time, issue like thrice- xefined gold. Then also would doubt- less be remembered in his favour the innumerable instances of his conde- scension 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 endeavouring to advance the in- terests, and, as far as influence and example went, polish and refine the manners, of the lower orders of so- ciety. 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 Leopold- ina 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 expres- sion 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-proportion- ed 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 disdain- ful 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 £5000 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 veil. i. 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 charac- ter, than the most anxious and labour- ed description of mine. Ever since the first Earl of Dred- dlington had, through a bitter pique conceived against his eldest son, the second earl, diverted the principal fa- mily revenues to the younger branch, leaving the title to be supported by only £5000 a-year, there had been a complete estrangement between the elder and the younger — the titled and the monied — ^branches of the family. On Mr Aubrey's attaining his majority, however, the present Earl sanctioned overtures bein|; made towards a re- conciliation, bemg of opinion that Mr Aubrey and Lady Cecilia might, by intermarriage, effect a happy reunion of family interests; an object, thisj which had long Iain 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 earths— but, 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 unflinch- ing Tories, till the distinguished fa- ther of the present Earl quietly walk- ed over, one day, to the other side of the House of Lords, completely fasci- nated by a bit of ribbon which the min- ister smilingly held up before him : and ere he bad sate 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, pa- triot: and he stuck to that version till it transformed him into a giold STICK, in which capacity he died, to the great grief and discomfiture of the nation ; having repeatedly and so- lemnly impressed upon his son the X 290 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. necessity and advantage of taking the same view of public aflairs, that so he might, please Heaven, arrive at similar results. And in the way in which he had been trained iip, 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 suf- fering 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 clenched 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 hap- pened to meet, the Earl greeted him with an elaborate bow, and a petrify- ing smile; but for the last seven years not one syllable had passed be- tween 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. Tliis was a thorn in the poor Earl's flesh; a source of constant worry to him, sleep- ing 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 mar- ried — and with a prospect of perpe- tuating upon the earth the sublime race of the Dreddlingtons. Such being the relative position of Mr Aubi-ey and the Earl of Dreddling- ton, at the time when this history opens, it is easy for the reader to ima- gine 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 pro- gress 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 un- fortunate kinsman, his lordship studi- ously concealed the interest he felt in so important a family question as the succession to the Yatton property^ TheEarland his daughter were exceed- ingly anxious to see the claimant ; and when he heard that that claim- ant was a gentleman of "decided Whig principles "^^the Earl was near setting it down as a sort of special in- terference of Providence in his favour, and one that, in the natural order of things, would lead to the accomplish- ment 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, amongst other incidents, the Earl would be invested with the virtual pa- tronage 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 irresist- ible ? He had gone to the Continent shortly before the trial of the eject- ment at York ; and did not return till a day or two after the Court of King's Bench had; solemnly declared the va^ lidity of the plaintiff's title to the Yat- ton property, and consequently estab- lished his contingent right of succes- sion to the barony of Drelincourt. Of this event a lengthenedaccount 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 fol- lowing paragraph : — " In consequence of the above de- cision, Mr Aubrey, we are able to state on the best authority, has given for- mal notice of his intention to surrender the entire of the Yatton property with- out further litigation; thus making TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 291 the promptest amends in his power to those whom he has — we cannot doubt unwittingly— injured. He has also accepted the Chilteru Hundreds, and has consequently retired from Parlia- ment ; 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— ^foi the enemy is vigilant and crafty. Men of Yatton ! To the res- cue ! ! ! — Mr Titmoase is now, we be- lieve, in London. This fortunate gen- tleman is not only at this moment in possession of the fine property at Yat- ton, 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 Dred- dlington 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 uncom- promising 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 excite- ment. 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 Ox- ford Street, on their return from some livery-stables, where they had been looking at a horse which Titmouse was thinking of pm-ohasing, when an incident occurred, that ruffled him not a little. He had been recognised 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 Gam- mon. " Ah, Titty ! — Titmouse ! " ex- claimed Huckaback, loudly and eager- ly — " 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. Huck- aback'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 yanrd-measure, every bit the same as me, now "- " 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 perti- nacity of Huckaback's disposition. " My eyes ! Give me in charge ? " quoth Huckaback furiously, — " 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 got white as death. The little crowd that was collecting round them began to sus- pect, from Titmouse's agitated ap- pearance, 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 gen- tleman — 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 292 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. noisy; no constable was at hand; so, to escape the intolerable interrup- tion and nuisance. Gammon beckoned a coach off the stand, which was close by; and. Titmouse and he stepjjing into it, they were soon out of sight and hearing of Mr Huckaback. Hav- ing 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 Gam- mon; "it's an earl's coronet on the panel ; and a white-haired old gentle- man 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 an- swer for it, some of 'em's as poor as a church mouse," replied Titmouse as they entered the hotel. At that mo- ment the waiter, with a 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 EAEL OF DKEDDIIHGTON. OBOarBMOB 8QUABB. and there was written on it, in pencil, in rather a feeble and hurried charac- ter—" For Mr Titmouse." " My stars, Mr Gammon ! " ex- claimed Titmouse excitedly, address- ing 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 trepida^ tion, 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 Tit- mouse — opened the ample envelope, and, unfolding its thick gilt-edged and slightly-scented enclosure, read as follows : — "The Earl of Dreddlington has the honour of waiting upon Mr Titmouse, in whom he is happy to have, though unexpectedly, discovered so near a kinsman. On the event which has brought this to pass, the Earl con- gratulates 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 honour of Mr Titmouse s company to dinner, at six o'clock. He may depend upon its being strictly a family reunion ; the only per- son 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 appre- hension and delight. Of the existence, indeed, of the magnificent personage who had just introduced himself. Tit- mouse 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 splendour, 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, he began to chatter volubly; but Gammon, after reading over the note once or twice, seemed not much inclined for conversation : and, had Titmouse been accustomed to observa- tion, he might have gathered, from the eye and brow of Gammon, that that gentleman's mind was deeply occupied by some matter or other, iprobably suggested by the incident which had just taken place. Tit- mouse, by -and -by, called for pens, ink, and paper — " the very best gilt- edged paper, mind" — and prepared to reply to Lord Dreddlington s in- vitation. 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 I with capital letters, the numerous TEN THOUSAOT) A -YEAR. 293 flourishes with which it was gar- nished, and its more than question- able orthography, he prevailed on Titmouse, after some little difficulty, to allow him to transcribe the note which was to be sent to Lord Dred- dlington. Here is a copy of that courteous document : — " Mr Titmouse begs to present his compliments to the Earl of Dreddling- tou, 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 cir- cumstances connected with Mr Tit- mouse's recent success, is the dis- tinguished alliance which his Lordship has been so prompt and courteous in recognising. Mr Titmouse will feel the greatest pleasure in availing him- self of the Earl of Dreddlington's in- vitation to dinner for Monday next. " Cabbage-Stalk Hotel, Thursday. "The Right Houble. the "BAEL of DBEDDUNOTOIf, SlC. & Mark- away Botgvt WUdfire.'' "Beligious Liberty," (to which Mr Mudflint re- sponded in a very eloquent speech). " The Liberty of the Press ; " " Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, the enter- prising, skilful, and learned profes- sionti advisers of Mr Titmouse." Dancing was now loudly called for; and the hall was speedily prepared for it. By this time, however, it was past eleven o'clock : the free pota- tions of all the gentlemen, and in- deed (to be candid) of more than one of the ladies, were beginning to teU, and the' noise and confusion were great. Fierce confused sounds issued from the servants' hall, where it proved that a great fight was going on be- tween Pumpkin the gardener, and a man who insisted on shouting " Tit- mouse for ever — down with Aubrey! " Pumpkin, I am not sorry to say, had much the best of it, and beat his op- ponent, after a severe encounter, into silence and submission. Then there were songs sung in all the rooms at once — speeches made, half si-dozen at the same time ; in short, never before had such doings been witnessed, or such uproar heard, within the deco- rous, dignified, and venerable pre- cincts of Yatton. Scenes ensued which really baffle description. Mr 334 TEN THOUSAND A-YBAE. Titmouse, of course, dranlc prodigi- ously, although Mr Gammon never left his side, and checked him twenty times when he was about to fill his glass. The excitement thus produced by wine will, I trust, in some mea- sure, mitigate the reader's indigna- tion, at hearing of a little incident which occurred, in which Titmouse was concerned, and which, about half- past three or four o'clock in the morn- ing, served to bring that brilliant en- tertainment to a somewhat abrupt and rather unpleasant termination. Scarce- ly knowing where he was, or what he was about, I am sorry to say, that while standing, as well as he could, beside Miss Wildfire, to dance for the fifth time with her — a plump, fair- faced, good-natured girl of about nine- teen or twen ty — he suddenly threw his arms round her, and imprinted half-a- dozen kisses on her forehead, lips,che?k, and neck, before she could recover from the confusion into which this mon- strous outrage had thrown her. Her faint shriek reached her father's ears, while he was, in a distant part of the room, persecuting poor Miss Quirk with drunken and profligate impjrtin- euce. Hastily approaching the quar- ter whence his daughter's voice had issued, he beheld her just extricated from the insolent embrace of the half- uuoonsoious Titmouse, and greatly agitated. With flaming eye and out- stretched arm, he approached his un- fortunate little host, and seizing hold of his right ear, almost wrung it out of his head. Titmouse actually yelling with the pain which he experienced. Still retaining his hold, uttei-ing the while fearful imprecations— Sir Hark- away gave him three violent kicks upon theseat of honour, the last of them send- ing him spinning into the arras of old Mr Quirk, who was hurrying up to his relief, and who fell flat on the floor with the violent concussion. Then Miss Quirk rushed forward and screamed ; a scene of dreadful confu- sion ensued; and at length the in- furiated and half-drunken baronet, forced away by his wife and his daughter, aided by several of the company, quitted the hall, and stag- gered into his carriage, uttering fear- ful threats and curses all the way _ home ; without once adverting to the circumstance, of which also Lady Wildfire and her daughter were not aware, that he had been himself en- gaged in perpetrating nearly the same sort of misconduct which he had so severely and justly punished in poor Titmouse. As for Mr Yahoo and Mr Fitz-Snooks, they had been in quest of similar sport the whole night ; and had, in pursuing their, adventures in the servants' hall, narrowly escaped much more serious indignities and injuries than had fallen to the lot of the hospitable owner of the mansion. About half-past four o'clock, the sun was shining in cloudless splendour, the air cleared, and ringing with the music of the lark, and all nature seem- ing freshened after the storm of the preceding day ; but what a scene was presented at Yatton! Two or three persons, one with his hat off, asleep ; another grasping a half-empty bottle ; and a third in a state of desperate in- disposition, were to be seen, at con- siderable distances from each other, by the side ol the carriage-road leading down to the park-gates. Four or five horses, ready saddled and bridled, but neglected, and apparently foigotteu by both senrants and masters, were wan- dering about the fine green old court opposite the Hall door, eating thegrass, and crushing with their hoofs the beautiful beds of flowers and shrubs which surrounded it. Mr Glister's gig had got its wheels entangled with the old sun-dial — having been drawn thi- ther by the horse, which had been put into it at least two hours before ; op- posite the Hall door stood the post- chaise which had brought Mr and Mrs Mudflint and their daughter. 'The latter two were sitting in it, one asleep — the other, Mrs Mudflint, anxiously on the look-out for her husband, from time to time calling to him, but in vain ; for about half an hour before, he had quitted the room where he, Mr Flesh- pot, Mr Going Gone, and Mr Centi- pede, had been playing a rubber at whist, till all of them had nearly fallen asleep with their cards in their hands, TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 335 and made his way to the stables ; where, not finding his chaise in the yard, or his horses in the stalls, he supposed his wife and daughter had gone nome, whither he followed them by the footpath lead- ing through the fields stretching along the high-road to Grilston ; and along which said fields he was, at that mo- ment, staggering, and hiccuping, not clearly understanding where he was, nor where he had last seen his wife and daughter. Candles and lamps were still burning and glimmering in some of the rooms at Yatton ; and in the servants' hall there were some dozen or so of the lower kjnd of guests, who, having awoke from a deep sleep, were calling for more ale, or wine, or what- ever else they could get. Some of the old family servants had fled hours be- fore from scenes of such unwonted riot, to their bedrooms, and locked and barricaded the doors, but were too much shocked to sleep. Mr Grifiiths sat in an old arm-chair in the library, the picture of misery ; he had been re- peatedly abused and insulted during the night, and had gone thither, unable to bear the sight of the disgusting re- velry going forward. In short, at every point that caught the eye, were visible evidences of the villanous debauchery which had prevailed for the last seven hours; and which, under the Titmouse dynasty, was likely to prevail at all times thereafter. As for Mr Titmouse, half-stunned with the treatment which he had experienced at the hands of Sir Harkaway, he had been carried to bed — where his excessive, miscellaneous, and long-continued potations aggra- vating the effect of the serious injuries which he had sustained, he lay sprawl- ing, half undressed, in, a truly deplor- able condition. Mr Glister, who had been summoned to his bedside upwards of an hour before, sat now nodding in his chair beside his patient; and pretty nearly in a state of similar exhaustion were his valet and the housekeeper, who had, from time to time, wiped her eyes and sobbed aloud when thinking of past times, and the horrid change which had come over old Yatton. Mr Yahoo, Mr Fitz-Snooks, Mr Snap, Mr Quu-k, and Miss Quirk, (the last hav- ing retired to her bedroom in the ut- most terror, at the time of Titmouse's mischance), were in their respective chambers, all of them probably asleep. Poor Hector, chained to his kennel, having barked himself hoarse for se- veral hours, lay fast asleep, no one having attended to him, or given him anything to eat since Mr Titmouse's arrival. Gammon had retired from the scene, in disgust and alarm, to his bed- room, some three hours before; but unable to sleep — not, however, with excess of wine, for he had di-unk very little — had arisen about four o'clock, and was at that moment wandering slowly, with folded arms and down- cast countenance, up and down the fine avenue of eln^-trees, where, it may be recollected, Mr Aubrey had spent a portion of the last evening of his stay at Yatton. Such is my account of that memor- able entertainment- — and as fair an account as I laiow how to give of the matter; but it is curious to observe how differently the same thing will strike different people. As soon as the grateful Mr Centipede had recovered from the excitement occasioned by the part which he had borne in the splen- did festival, he set to work, with the pen of a ready writer, and in the next number of the "Yoekshiee Stinbo," there appeared the following interest- ing account of the " FESTiviriES at, Yattoh Hall, on the occasion of possession heing taken by 'TiTtLEBAT Titmouse, Es^ire. "Yesterday this interesting event came off with signal iclat, notwith- standing the very unfavourable state of the weather. About five o'clock in the evening, an imposing cavalcade, comprising many of the leading gentry and yeomanry ofthis part of the county, on foot and on horseback, preceded by an admirable band, and a large and splendid banner, bearing the inscrip- tion — ' Welcome to Yatton,' went out to meet the above distinguished gentle- man, whose coriige, in two carriages, made its appearance in the village about half-past five. The band imme- diately struck up ' See the Conquering- 836 TEN THOUSAND A-YBAK. Hero comes T' which inspiriting air, however, was nearly drowned in the shout which welcomed the new pro- prietor of the noble estate of Yatton. His carriage was of the most tasteful, splendid, and unique description, and attracted universal admiration. Mr Titmouse repeatedly bowed through the carriage windows, in graceful ac- knowledgment of the cordial welcome and congratulations with which he was received. He was dressed in a light blue surtout, with velvet collar, full black stock, and a rich velvet waist- coat of plaid pattern. His countenance is handsome and expressive, his eye penetrating, and his brow strongly in- dicative of thought. He appears to be little more than twenty-five years old ; so that he has before him the prospect of a long and brilliant career of hap- piness and public usefulness. Tables were spread in all the chief apartments, groaning beneath the most costly vi- ands. AH the luxuries of the season were there ; and the wines (which we believe were those of Mr Aubrey) were of the first description. Grace was said by the exemplary vicar of Grilston, the Eev. Mr Fleshpot ; and the Eev. Mr Mudflint returned thanks. Sir Harkaway Eotgut Wildfire (whose amiable lady and accomplished daugh- ter were present) proposed the health of Mr Titmouse m a brief, but manly and cordial address ; and the manner in which Mr Titmouse acknowledged the toast, which was drunk with the greatest possible enthusiasm — the sim- plicity, point, and fervour which cha- ):acterised every word he uttered — were such as to excite lively emotion in all who heard it, and warrant the highest expectations of his success in Parliament. Nothing could be more touching than his brief allusions to the sufferings and privations which he had undergone — nothing more delicate and forbearing than the feeling which per- vaded his momentary allusion to the late occupant of Yatton. When, how- ever, he distinctly avowed his political principles as those of a dauntless cham- pion of civil and religious liberty among all classes of his Majesty's subjects— the applause was long and enthusiastic. After dinner, the great hall was cleared for dancing, which was opened by Mr Titmouse and Miss Wildfire ; Lady Wildfire being led out by the Honourable [!] Mr Yahoo, an intimate friend of Mr Titmouse. We should not omit to mention that Miss Quirk (the only daughter of Caleb Quirk, Esq., the head of the distin- §uished firm of Quirk, Gammon, and nap, of London, to whose untiring and most able exertions is owing the happy change which has taken place in the ownership of the Yatton pro- perty) accompanied her father, at the earnest request of Mr Titmouse, who danced several sets with her; and it is whispered — but we will not anticipate family arrangements. Sir [!] Algernon Fitz-Snooks, a distinguished fashion- able, also accompanied Mr Titmouse, and entered with great spirit into all the gaieties of the evening. The ' light fantastic toe' was kept 'tripping' till a late, or rather early hour in the morning — when the old Hall was once more (for a time) surrendered to the repose and solitude from which it has been so suddenly and joyously aroused." [In another part of the paper was contained an insulting par- agraph, charging Mr Aubrey with being a party to the " flagrant and ini- quitous job," by which Sir Percival Pickering had been returned for the borough, and intimating pretty dis-, tinctly, that Mr Aubrey had not gone without " a consideration" for his share in the nefarious transaction.] A somewhat different account of the affair appeared in the " York Tkdb Blue" of the same day. " Yatton Ham.. — We have received one or two accounts of the orgies of which this venerable mansion was yes- terday the scene, on occasion of Mr Titmouse taking possession. We shall not give publicity to the details which have been furnished us — hoping that the youth and inexperience of the new owner of Yatton (all allowance, also, being made for the natural excitement of such an occasion) will be deemed a palliative in some measure of the con- duct then exhibited. One fact, how- ever, we may mention, that a serious TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. 337 fracas arose between Mr Titmouse and a certain well-knownsporting Baronet, which is expected to give employment to the gentlemen of the long robe at the ensuing assizes. Nor can we re- sist adverting to a circumstance, which our readers will, we trust, credit, on being assured that we witnessed it with our own eyes — ^that Mr Titmouse positively travelled in the cast-off state carriage of the Lord Mayor of Lon- don ! ! ! ! Nothing, by the way, could be more absurd and contemptible than the attempt at a 'Procession' which was got up — of which our accounts are ludicrous in the extreme. Will our readers believe it, that the chief personages figuring on the occasion, were the editor and publisher of a certain low Radical print — ^which will no doubt, this day, favour its readers with a flaming description of this ' memorable affair 1 ' " Titmouse, assisted by his attentive valet, made a desperate attempt to get up, and present himself the next day at dinner. Aided by a glass of pretty strong brandy-and-watev, he at length got through the fatiguing duties of the toilet, and entered the drawing-room, where his travelling companions were awaiting his arrival — dinner being momentarily expected to be announc- ed. He w^s deadly pale ; his knees trembled; his temples throbbed; his eyes could not bear the light; and everything seemed in undulating mo- tion around him, as he sank in silent exhaustion on the sofa. After a few minutes' continuance, he was_ com- pelled to leave the room, leaning on Gammon's arm, who conducted him to his chamber, and left him in charge of his valet, who got him again into bed, and there he lay, enduring much agony, while his friends were enjoying themselves at dinner. Snap had set off the ensuing day for town, by the first coach, pursuant to the arrangements already spoken of; but I think that old Mr Quirk would have made up his mind to continue at Tatton until something definite had been done by Titmouse, in two mat- VOL. I. ters which absorbed all the thoughts of the old gentleman — his daughter, and the Ten ThouaaTid Pounds \>ondi. Miss Quirk, however, intense as was her anxiety to become the affianced bride of Titmouse, and as such the mistress of the delightfiil domain where at pre- sent she dwelt only as a guest, and in a very embarrassing position — was not so blind to all perception of wo- manly delicaoy asto prolong her stay; and at length prevailed upon her fa- ther to take their departure on the day but one after that on which they had arrived. Mr Quirk was perfectly mise- rable. He vehemently distrusted Tit- mouse — and feared and detested Gam- mon. As for the former gentleman, he had not made any definite advances whatever towards Miss Quirk, nor af- forded to any one the slightest evi- dence of a promise of marriage, either express or implied. He chattered to Miss Quirk an infinite deal of vulgar absurdity — but that was all, in spite of the innumerable opportunities af- forded him by the lady and her anxious parent. Was Titmouse acting under the secret advice of that deceitful devil Gammon? — thought Mr Quirk, in an ecstasy of perplexity and appre- hension. Then as to the other matter — ^but there Gammon had almost as deep a stake, in proportion, as Quii-k himself. On the morning of his de- parture, he and Gammon had a long interview, in which they several times came to high words ; but in the end Gammon vanquished his opponent as usual ; allayed all his apprehensions ; and accounted for all Titmouse's con- duct in the most natural way in the world. ' Look at his position just now,' quoth Gammon — ' the excite- ment, the novelty, the bewilderment, the indisposition he is experiencing: surely, surely this is not a moment to bring him to book ! ' In short, Gammon at length brought Quirk, who had received the first intimation of the matter with a sudden grunt of surprise and anger, to acknowledge the propriety" of Gammon's remaining behindj to protect Titmouse from the designing Yahoo that had got hold of 338 TEN THOirSAND A-YEAR. him; and Bc^mnly pledged himself, as in the sight of Heaven, to use his utmost efforts to bring about, as speed- ily as possible, the two grand objects of Mr Quirk's wishes. "With this the old gentleman was fain to be satis- fied ; but entered the chaise which was to convey Miss Quirk and himself to Grilston, with as rueful a counte- nance as he had ever exhibited in his life. Mr Titmouse was sufficiently re- covered to be present at the departure of Miss Quirk, who regarded his inte- resting andlanguid looks with an^eof melting sympathy and affection. With half a smile and half a tear, she slipped into his hand, as he led her to the chaise, a little sprig of heart's ease, which he at once stuck into the button-hole of his coat. " 'Pon my soul — must you go? De- vilish sorry you can't stay to have seen some fun ! — ^The old gent (meaning her father) don't quite seem to like it — he, he ! " said he, in a low tone ; then he handed her into the chaise, she drop- ping her veil to conceal the starting tear of mingled disappointment, de- sire, and disgust, and they drove ofT, Titmouse kissing his hand to her as he stood upon the steps ; and, as soon as they were out of sight, he ex- changed a significant smile with Mr Gammon. The next day, Titmouse rose about ten o'clock, almost entirely recovered from his indisposition. Accompanied by Mr Yahoo and Mr Fitz-Snooks, with whom he was conversing as to the course he should take withreference to Sir Harkaway — whom, however, they advised him to treat with silent contempt, as he, Titmouse, was clearly in the wrong — he took a stroll about noon, down the path leading to the park gates. They all three had cigairs in their mouths. Titmouse walking be- tween them, as odious-looking a little puppy, sure, as man ever saw — puffing out nis smoke slowly, and with half closed eye, his right hand stuck into his coat-pocket, and resting on his hip. These three figures — Heaven save the mark ! — were the new lord of Yatton and his select friends ! " By jingo, surely here comes a par- son," quoth Titmouse; "what the devil can he want here?" — 'Twas Dr Tatham, who slowly approached thetn, dressed in his Sunday suit, and leaning on his old-fashioned wallking- stick, given him many, many years ago by the deceased Mrs Aubrey. " Let's have some sport," said Fitz- Snooks. " We must look devilish seriouB' — no grinning till the proper time," said Yahoo. " Hallo— you sir!" commenced Tit- mouse, who are you?" Dr Tatham took off his hat, bowed, and was pass- ing on. " Devilish cool, upon — ^my — soul — sir ! " said 'Titmouse, stopping and star- ing impudently at the worthy little doctor, who seemed taken quite by surprise. " My worthy old gentleman," said Yahoo, with mock respect, " are you aware who it was that asked you a question?" " I am not, sir," replied Dr Tatham quietly, but resolutely. " My name is Tittlebat Titmouse, at your service — and you are now in my grounds," said Titmouse, approaching him with an impudent air. "Am I really addressed by Mr Tit- mouse ? " inquired Dr Tatham, some- what incredulously. " Why, 'pon my life, I tBink so, un- less I'm changed lately ; and by Jove, sir — now, who are you ? " " I am Dr Tatham, sir, the vicar of Yatton : I had intended calling at the Hall, as a matter of courtesy ; but I fear I am intruding" ■ "Devil a bit — no, 'pon honour, no! you're a good old fellow, I don't doubt ! — Pray — a — is that little church out- side, yours ? " " It is, sir," replied Dr Tatham se- riously and sternly ; his manner com- pletely abashing the presumptuous coxcomb who addressed him. " Oh — well — I — I — 'pon my soul, happy to see you, sir — ^youll find something to eat in the Hall, I dare- say" " Do you preach in that same church of yours next Sunday?" in- quired Mr Yahoo, whose gross coan- TEN THOUSAND A-YBAE. 339 tenance had filled Dr Tatham with unspeakable aversion. " I preach there every Sunday, sir, twice, he replied, gravely and dis- tantly. '■ You see, sir, lisped Pitz-Snooks, " the prayers are so— so — devilish long and tiresome — if yon could— eh? — shorten 'em a little ?" — Dr Tatham slowly turned away from them, and disregarding their calls to him, though their tone of voice was greatly altered, walked back again towards the gate, and quitted the park for the first time in his life, with feel- ings of mortal repugnance. On reach- ing his little study, he sat down in Hs old arm-chair, and fell into a sad reverie, which lasted more than an hour ; and then he rose, and went to see the old blind stag-hound fed — and looked at it, licking his hands, with feelings of unusual tenderness; and the Doctor shed a tear or two as he patted its smooth grey head. On Saturday morning, Mr Titmouse, at Mr Granuuon's instance, had fized to go over the estate, accompanied by that gentleman, and by Mr Waters and Dickons, to give all the informa- tion required of them, and point out the position and extent of the pro- perty. To an eye capable of appre- ciating it, in what admirable order was everything ! but Titmouse quick- ly tired of it, and when about a mile from the Hall, discovered that he had left his cigar case behind him; at which he expressed infinite concern, and, greatly to the annoyance of Gam- mon, atid the contempt of his two bailiffs, insisted on returning home ; so they re-entered the park. How beauti&l it was ! Its gently undulat- ing surface, smooth as if overspread with green velvet; trees great and small, single and in clumps, standing in positions so picturesque and com- manding; the broad, babbliijg, clear trout-stream winding through the park, with here and there a mimic fall, seen faintly flashing and glistening in the distance ; herds of deer suddenly startled amid their green pastures and silent shades, and moving off with graceful ease and rapidity ; here and there a rustic bridge over the stream ; here an old stone bench placed on an elevation commanding an ex- tensive prospect ; there a kind of grotto, or an ivy-covered summer- house ; then the dense, extensive, and gloomy woods, forming a semicircular sweep round the back of the Hall ; all around, nearly as far as the eye could reach, land of every kind in the high- est state of cultivation, plentifully stocked with fine cattle, and inter- spersed with snug and substantial farms. All this, thought Titmouse, might do very well for those who fancied that sort of thing ; but as for him, how the devil could he have thourfit of leaving his cigars behind him ! where, he wondsred, were Yahoo and Fitz- Snooks? and quickened his pace homeward. On Gammon the scene which they had been witnessing had made a pro- found impression ; and as his atten- tion was now and then called off from contemplating it, by some ignorant and puerile remark of the proprietor of the fine domain, he felt a momentary ex- asperation at himself for the part he had taken in the expulsion of the Au- breys, and the introduction iof such a creature as Titmouse. That revived certain other thoughts, which led him into speculations of a description which would have afforded uneasiness even to the little idiot beside him, could he have been made aware of them. But the cloud that had darkened his brow was dispelled by a word or two of Tit- mouse. " Mr Gammon, 'pon my soul you're devilish dull to-day ; " said he, Gammon started ; and with his win- ning smile and cheerful voice, instant- ly replied, " Oh, Mr Titmouse, I was only thinking how happy you are; and that you deserve it ! " " Yes ; 'pon my soul it ought all to have been mine at my birth ! — Don't it tire you, Mr Gammon, to walk in this up-and-down, zigzag, here-and- there sort of way ? It does tne, 'pon my life ! What would I give for a cigar at this moment ! " The next day was the Sabbath, tranquil and beautiful ; and just as 340 TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. the little tinkling bell pfYatton church had ceased, at half-past ten o'clock, Dr Tatham rose, in his reading-desk, and commenced the service. The church was quite full, for every one was naturally anxious to catch a flimp'se of the new tenants of the quire's pew. It was empty, however, till about five minutes after the ser- vice had commenced, when a gentle- man walked slowly up to ■ the church door; and having whispered an in- quiry of the old , pew-opener which was the Squire's pew, she led him in- to it — all eyes settled upon him ; and all were struck with his appearance, his calm keen features, and gentle- manly figure. 'Twas, of course, Gam- mon ; who, with the utmost decorum and solemnity, having stood for half a minute with his hat covering his face, during which time he reflected that Miss Aubrey had sat in that pew on the last occasion of his attendance at the church, turned round, and be- haved with the greatest seriousness and apparent reverence throughout the service, paying marked attention to the sermon. Gammon was a con- temptuous unbeliever, but he thought Dr Tatham an amiable and learned enthusiast, most probably in earnest ; and he felt disposed to admit, as his eye glanced round the attentive and decent congregation, that the sort of thing was not without its advantages. Almost all present took him for Tit- mouse, watching every turn of his countenance with intense interest : and, in their simplicity, they rejoiced that Mr Aubrey's successor was, at all events, so grave and respectable- looking a man ; and they fancied that he frequently thought, with kindness and regret, of those whose seat he was occupying. About the middle of the service, the main-door of the church standing wide open, the congregation beheld three gentlemen, smoking ci- gars, and laughing and talking to- gether, approaching the porch. They were dressed very finely indeed ; and were supposed to be some of the great friends of the new Squire. They stop- ped when within a few yards of the church ; and after whispering together for a moment, one of them, having ex- pelled a mouthful of smoke, stejjped forward to the door, holding his cigar in one hand, and with the other tak- ing off his hat. There was a faint smirk on his face (for he did not catch the stern countenance of Gammon anxiously directed towards him), till he beheld Dr Tatham's solemn eye fixed upon him, while he made a mo- mentary pause. Titmouse blushed scarlet ; made a hesitating but most respectful bow: and, stepping back a few paces, replaced his hat on bis head, and lit his cigar from that of Mr Fitz-Snooks, within view, perhaps un- consciously, of more than half the congregation. Then the three gentle- men, after Mr Titmouse had spoken a word or two to them, burst out into a laugh, and betook themselves to that part of the churchyard which had been the scene of Mr Aubrey's last agony, on quitting the spot where reposed the precious remains of his mother. Lean- ing against the tomb-stone, they smoked oat their cigars, making merry remarks on the quaint inscrip- tions visible on the surrounding grave- stones. Then they retraced their steps to the Hall, to take a turn at billiards. TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 841 CHAPTEE in. < A GENTLEMAN IN BIPFIOULTIES PONDEEINS HIS POSITION AND PKOSPEOTS — NEVER DESPAIR. Aubrey's sudden plunge into the cold and deep stream ,ef trouble, had, the first shock over, served, as it were, to brace his nerves. It is at such a time, and on such an occasion, that the temper and quality of the soul are tried ; whether it be weaJc in seeming strength, or strong in seeming weak- ness. How many are there, walking with smiling complacent confidence along the flowery bank, who, if sud- denly bidden to strip and enter, would turn pale and tremble as they reluc- tantly prepared to obey the stern mandate ; and, after a convulsive shudder, a faint shriek, a brief strug- gle, disappear from the surface, para- lysed, never to be seen again ! In such a point of view, let us hope that the situation of Aubrey, one of deep- ening difSculty and danger — the issue of which, hid in the darkness of the future, no earthly intelligence could predict — will excite in the thoughtful reader an anxiety not unmingled with confidence. The enervating efiects of inacliviiy upon the physical structure and ener- gies of mankind, few can have failed to observe. Eust is more fatal to metal than wear. A thorough-bred racer, if confined in stable or paddock, or a boxer, born of the finest muscular make, if prematurely incarcerated in jail, will, after a few years, become quite unable to compete with those vastly their inferiors in natural en- dowmfents and capabilities ; however they may, with careful training, be restored to the full enjoyment and ex- ercise of their powers. Thus is it with the temper and intellect of man, which, secluded from the scenes of appropri- ate stimulus and exercise, become re- laxed and weakened. What would have become of the glorious spirit and powers of Achilles, if his days had all melted away in the tender, delicate, emasculating inactivity and indul- gence of the court of Lyoomedes? The language of the ancient orator concerning his art may be applied to life, that not only its greatness, but its enjoyment, consists in action — ac- tion — ACTION. The feelings, for in- stance, may become so morbidly sen- sitive, as to give an appearance of weakness to the whole character ; and this is likely to be specially the case of one born with those of superior liveliness and delicacy, if he be des- tined to move only in the realms of silent and profound abstraction and contemplation — in those refined re- gions which may be termed a sort of paradise ; where every conceivable source of enjoyment is cultivated for the fortunate and fastidious occupants, to the very uttermost, and all those innumerable things which fret, worry; a;nd harass the temper, the head, , and the heart of the dwellers in the rude regions of ordinary life — anxiously weeded out ; instead of entering into the throng of life, and taking part in its constant cares and conflicts — scenes which require all his energies always in exercise, to keep his place, and escape being trodden under foot. Eely upon it, that the man who feels a tendency to shrink from collision with his fellows, to run away with dis- taste or apprehension from the great practical business of life, does not 342 TEN THOUSAND A-YBAE. enjoy moral or intellectual health ; -will quickly contract a silly conceit and fastidiousness, or sink into imbecility and misanthropy ; and should devout- ly thank Providence for the occasion, however momentarily startling and irritatingj which stirs him out of his lethargy, his co/mairdXy lethargy, and sends him among his fellows — ^puts him, in a manner, upon a course of training ; upon an experience of com- parative suffering, it may be of sorrow, requiring the exercise of powers of wmch he had before scarcely been conscious, and giving him presently the exhilarating consciousness that he is exhibiting himself — a man. " It is probable," says the late Mr Poster, in his Essay on " Decision of Character " — " that the men most dis- tinguished for decision, have not, in general, possessed a large share of tenderness : and it is easy to imagine that the laws, according to which our nature is formed, will with great diffi- culty allow the combination of the reiined sensibilities, with a hardy, never shrinking, never yielding con- stancy. Is it not almost of the essence of this constancy, to be free from even the ^pereep&on of such impressions as cause a mind, weak through suscep- tibility, to relax, or to waver? — ^No doubt, this firmness consists partly in overcoming feelings — ^but it may con- sist partly, too, in not having them." The case I am contemplating is per- haps the difficult, fchough by no means, 1 am persuaded, uncommon one — of a person possessing these delica/te sen- sibilities, these lively feelings; yet with a native strength of character bsneath, which, when the occasion for its display has arisen — when it is placed in a scene of constant and com- pulsory action, will fully evince and ■vindicate itself It is then " that an- other essential principle of decision of character," to quote from another part of the same essay, "will be displayed; namely, a total incapability of surren- dering to indifference or delay the serious determinations of the mind. A strenuous WILL accompanies the con- clusions of thought, and constantly urges the utmost efforts for their prac- tical accomplishment. The intellect is invested, as it were, with a glow- ing atmosphere of passion, under the influence of which the cold dictates of reason take fire, and spring into active powers." There is, indeed, nothing like throw- ing a man of the description we are considering, upon his own resources, and compelling him to exertion. Lis- ten, ye languid and often gifted vic- tims of indolence and emrni, to the noble language of one blessed vrith as splendid powers as perhaps were ever vouchsafed to man — Edmund Burke ! " Difficulty is a severe instructor, set over us by the Supreme ordinance of a parental guardian and legislator, who knows us better than we know ourselves, as he loves us better, too. Pester ipse colencK, Tiaud fmMem ease viam voluit. He that wrestles with us, strengthens our nerves and sharp- ens our skill ; our antagonist is our helper. This amicable contest with dif- ficulty obliges us to an intimate ac- quaintance with our object, and com- pels us to consider it in all its rela^ tions ; it will not suffer us to be su- perficial." The man, moreover, whose dispo- sition is one of sterling excellence, despite the few foibles which it may- have contracted in comparative soU- tude, and inactivity, when he is com- pelled to mix indiscriminately with the great family of man, oh how pa- tient and tolerant he becomes of the weakness and errors of others, when thus constantly reminded of, and made to feel his own ! Oh, how pitiful ! how very pitiful he is ! — ^How his heart yearns and overflows with love, and mercy, and charity towards his species, indivichmUy — whose eye looks oft on their grievous privations, their often incurable distress and misery! — and who in the spirit of a heavenly philan- thropy penetrates even to those desert- ed quarters — " Wliere hopeless auguisli pours her moan. And lonely want retires to die ! " It may be that some of the preced- ing observations are applicable to many individuals of the" purest and most amiable characters, and power- TEN THOUSAKD A-YEAE. 343 fill and cultivated intellects, in the higher classes of society, whose af- fluence exempts them from the ne- cessity of actively intermingling with the concerns of life, and feeling the conscionsness of individual responsi- bility,— of having a personal necessity for anxious care and exertion. They are assured that a position of real pre- cariousness and danger, is that re- quisite for developing the energies of a man of high moraT and intellectual character; as it will expose to destruc- tion one of a contrary description. I have endeavoured, in previous portions of this history, to delineate faithfully the character of Mr Aubrey —one (how idle and childish would have been the attempt !) by no means perfect, yet with high qualities. He was a man of noble simplicity of cha- racter, — generous, confiding, sincere, affectionate : possessing a profound^ sense of religion, really influencing Ms conduct in life ; an intellect of a superior order, of a practical turn, of a masculine strength — as had been evi- denced by his successful academical career,, his thorough mastery of some of the most important and difficult branches of human knowledge, and by his aptitude for public business. He was at the same time possessed of a sensibility that was certainly exces- sive. He had a. morbid tendencjr to pensiveness, if not melancholy, wnich, with a. feeble physical constitution, was partly derived from his mother, and partly accounted for by the species of life which he had led. Prom his early youth he had been addicted to close and severe study, which had given permanence and strength to his naturally contemplative turn. He had not, moreover, with too many possess- ed of his means and station, entered, just at the dawn and bloom of man- hood, upon that course of dissipation which is a sure and speedy means of destroying " the freshness of thought and of feeling," which " never again can be theirs," and inducing a lower- ed tone of feeling, and a callousness which some seem to consider neces- sary to enable them to pass through life easily and agreeably. He, on the contrary, had stepped out of the gloom and solitude of the cloister, into tiie pure and peaceful region of do- mestic life, with all its h^lowed and unutterable tendernesses, where the af- fections grow luxuriantly ; in the con- stant society of such women as his , mother, his sister, his wife, and latter- ly his lovely chaMren. Then he was possessed, all this while, of a fine for- tune — one which placed him far be- yond the necessity for anxiety or ex- ertion. With such tastes as these, such a temperaiment as his, and lead- ing such a life as his, is it surprising that the tone of his feelings should have become somewhat relaxed ? The three or four years which he had spent in Parliament, when he plunged into its fierce and absorbing excitement with characteristic ardour and deter- mination, though calculated to sharpen the faculties, and draw forth the re- sources of his intellect, subjected him to tiiose alternations of elevation and depression, those extremes of action and reaction, which were not calcu- lated to correct his morbid tendencies. Therefore came there up to him a messenger from Heaven, with trouble and affliction in his countenance, telt ing him to descend from the happy solitude of his high mountain, into the dismal hubbub and conflict in the plain beneath. He came down with humility and awe, and with reverent resignation ; and was — ^instantly sur- rounded ! — A weak man would have been con- fused and stunned, and so sunk heljp- iess into the leaden arms of despair. But it was not so with Aubrey. There was that dormant energy with- in, which, when appealed to, quickly shook off the weakness contracted by inaction, and told him to ie iip and doing; and that, not with the fitful- ness of me;'e impulse, but the constant strength of a well-regulated mind, conscious of its critical position ; and also of a calm inflexible determination to vanquish difficulty, and if possible escape the imminent danger, how- ever long and doubtful might prove the conflict. Above all, he was con- soled and blessed by the conviction, 344 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. that nothing could hefall him that was not the ordination of Providence, "supremely ■wise. Alike in what it gives and what denies ; " that Hi8 was the ordering of the sun- shine and the gloom, the tempest and the calm of life. This was to Aubrey — this is — as the humble writer of these pages, who has had in his time his measure of anxiety and affliction, has in his soul a profound and intimate persuasion and conviction of — the only source of real fortitude and re- signation, amidst the perplexities, afflictions, and dangers of life. De- pend upon it, that a secret and scarce- acknowledged disbelief, or at least doubt and distrust of the very exist- ence of God, and of his government oif the world — his heal presence and iNTEBFEEENOE with the men, and things, of the world — ^lies at the bot- tom of almost all impatience and de- spair under adverse circumstances. How can he be impatient, or despair- ing, who believes not only the exist- ence of God, and his moral govern- ment of the world, but that he has mercifully vouchsafed to reveal and declare expressly that the infliction of suffering and sorrow is directly from himself, and designed solely for the advantage of his creatures ? If ye eadv/re chastening, Ood decdeth with you as with sons ; for what son is he whom the father cKasteneth rwt? We have had fathers of our flesh which cor- rected, us, and we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather he in subjec- tion wnto the Father cf spirits, and live ? For they verily for a fens days chastened us after their own phaswre ; hut he for our profit, that we might he partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to he joyous, hut grievous : nevertheless after- ward it yiddeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are ex- ercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble Imees. While thus benignantly teach- eth the voice of God, thought Aubrey, shall I rather incline mine ear to the blighting whisper of the Evil One — a liar, and the father of a lie, who would fain that I should become a fool, saying within my heart there is no God — or, if I cannot but believe that there is one, provoking me to charge Sim foolishig, to curse Sim and die f Not, so, however, had Aubrey read the Scriptures — not so had he learned the Christian religion. The last time that we caught a glimpse of the ruined family, they had arrived nearly at the end of their long and melancholy journey from Yatton to the metropolis. When before had such been the character of their jour- ney to town? Had they not ever looked forward with pleasure towards the brilliant gaieties of the season ; their re-entrance into an extensive and splendid circle of friends — and he into the delightful excitement of po- litical life — the opening of the par- liamentary campaign? Alas, how changed now all this ! how gloomy and threatening the aspect of the metropolis, whose dusky outskirts they were entering ! With what feelings of oppression — of vague in- definite apprehension — did they now approach it : their spirits heavy, their hearts bleeding with their recent se- verance from Yatton ! Now, distress, desertion, dismay, seemed associated with the formidable name of "Lon- don." They had now no place of their own awaiting, thoroughly pre- pared for them, their welcome arrival — ^but must drive to some quiet and un- expensive family hotel for temporary shelter. As their eyes caught familiar point after point in their route through the suburbs— now passed at a mode- rate pace, with a modest pair of horses ; formerly dashed past by them in their carriage-and-four — there were few words spoken by those within the carriage. Both the children were fast asleep. Poor Kate, as they entered Piccadilly, burst into tears : her pent- up feelings suddenly gave way, and she cried heartily; Mrs Aubrey also wept. Mr Aubrey was calm, but evidently oppressed with profound anxiety. Still he affectionately took their hands, and, in something which w,as designed for a cheerful tone and manner, besought them to restrain TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. 345 their feelings, and thank Heaven that 80 far they had got on safely. "I shaUbehetterpresently, Charles," said MissAubrey passionately, burying her face in her handkerchief, " but I feel quite afraid of London ! " Over the pavement they rattled, meeting carriages rolling in all direc- tions — ^for it was about the dinner hour, and in the height of the season ; and it was the casual but vivid evi- dence thus afforded of their desolate position, this sudden glimpse of old familiar scenes, which had momen- tarily overcome the fortitude of Miss Aubrey. They drove to a qujet family hotel in a retired street running pa- rallel with Piccadilly ; they were all wearied, both in mind and body, and after a slight repast, and much anxious and desponding conversation, they bade each other affectionate adieus, and retired to rest. They rose in the morning refreshed with repose, and in a more tranquil mood of mind than could have been expected. "Now we enter," said Aubrey with a cheerful smile, " upon the real busi- ness of life ; so we must discard senti- ment — ^we must not think of the past, but the future." At their request, they, shortly after breakfast, accompanied him to the house agent who had been commis- sioned by Mr Eunniogton to look out two or three residences from which, on their arrival in town, they might easily select that deemed most suit- able for their purposes. One was particularly recommended to them ; and after due inquiry, within three days after their arrival in town, tliey engaged it. 'Twas a small, but con- venient, airy, and comfortable house, within five minutes' walk of Hyde Park, and situated in Vivian Street — one only recently completed — and as quiet and retired as they could have wished. The rent, too, was moderate — fifty poiinds a-year. Though none of the houses in the street were large, they were all strictly private resi- dences, and had an air of thorough respectability. Mr Aubrey's house had but one window to the dining- room, and two to the drawing-room. The passage and staircase were suffi- ciently commodious, as were the chief apartments. At the back of the house was a small garden, about twenty yards in length, and about ten in width, with several lilacs, laburnums, and shrubs ; and a considerable por- tion of the wall was covered with ivy. Was not this a delightful place for the children to play about in ? The back parlour, a somewhat small one cer- tainly, looked into this garden, and was at once appropriated to be a library for Mr Aubrey. Within a week's time, all their luggage, furni- ture, &o., had arrived in town from Yatton ; and they had quite sufficient to furnish their little residence out of the wreck of the equipments of the old Hall — adapted as it was, under the tasteful superintendence of Mrs and Miss Aubrey, with equal regard to elegance, simplicity, and economy. How busy were they all for a fort- night ! Many and many an irrepres- sible sigh, and rebellious tear, would the sight of these old familiar objects, in their new situation, occasion them ! Some half-dozen family pictures hung upon the wall. Over the mantelpiece was suspended a piece of beautiful embroidery — by poor old Mrs Aubrey, many years before — of the arms of the family. In the dining-room was the old high-backed chair in which she had sat for twenty j'ears and more. In the drawing-room was Miss Aubrey's favourite ebony inlaid cabi- net, and Mrs Aubrey's piano ; and, in short, everywhere might be seen the delicate traces of dear, dear, graceful, and elegant woman — touchingnothing that she adorns not ! What with the silk curtains, and a carpet of simple but tasteM pattern, and the various articles of furniture and ornament, all possessing a kind of old family air — all from Yatton, I declare there was a sort of richness about the general as- pect of the drawing-room ; and when Mrs Aubrey and Kate came to fetch Mr Aubrey out of his little library to witness the completion of their lar hours, he gazed round him for a while, looked at each object, and then at the two dear fond beings standing beside 346 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. him, awaiting his opinion with wo- manly eagerness ; but he could not express his feeBngs. He kissed each of them tenderly and in silence, and then they were a little overcome. His library, also, though small, was as anug and comfortable as a bookworm could have desired. All the_ sides were covered with books, and in the middle were the library-table and arm-chair which he had used in Gros- venor Street, and which were, it must be owned, on too large a scale for the little room to which they had been removed. That this oppressed family were not incessantly, aoad painfully, reminded of the contrast afforded by their pre- sent to their former circumstances, I do not pretend to assert ; but it seldom formed atopic of conversation between any of them. When, however, the bustle and occupation of arranging their house was over, and Mrs Aubrey and Kate were left a good deal to them- selves — Mr Aubrey being either absent from home, or in his library, engaged in matters of the last importance to them all — then- they would talk to- gether with increasing eagerness and excitement about past times, and their recent troubles and bereavements; not displaying then — sweet souls ! — quite that degree of resignation and forti- tude which they strove to exhibit in the presence of Mr Aubrey. "Some natural tears tJiey dropt, but wiped them soon." They passed a good deal of their time ia-doors, in needlework, ^oefieoZ far mily needlework, an art in which they were not particulai-ly accomplished, but which they quickly acquired flrom a sempstress whom they kept engaged constantly in the house for several weeks. Then sometimes they would sit down to the piano; at other times they would read — on all occasions, however, frequently falling into conversation on the all-engrossing topic of their ex- pulsion from Tatton. Now and then, they could scarcely refrain from a mel- ancholy smile, when they remarked npon tiieii: shrunken personal impor- tance. " KeaUy, "Agnes," said one day Miss Aubrey, " I feel just a« one oaa fancy a few poor newly-shorn sheep must feel! So light and cold ! so much less than they were half an hour before ! Surely they must hardly know what to make of themselves ! " " Then, I suppose, mamma," said Charles, who was sitting on a stool beside them — ^making believe to write on a small slate—" I am a little sheep? " They both looked at the child with si- lent tenderness, and presently thought of Him who " tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." Their proximity to the parks was delightful, and many a pleasant hour did they pass there with the children; and then, retvirning home, woiild oc- cupy themselves with writing letters — and long ones they usually were— to early and loved friends, especially to DrTatham, with whom Miss Aubrey kept up a constant correspondence. I ought to have mentioned before, that Mr Aubrey, in bringing his favourite valet up to town with him, had no other design than, with that kind thoughtfulness for which he was re- markable, to have an opportraiity of securing for him a good situation; and that he succeeded in doing, after about a fortnight's interval : but the poor fel- low was quite confounded when he first heard that he was to quit the service of Mr Aubrey, and, almost falling on his knees, begged to be permitted to con- tinue and receive no wages, and he should be a happy man. Mr Aubrey was, however, firm ; and on parting with him, which he did with no little emotion, put two guineas into his hand as a present, and wished him health and happiness. The poor fellow's deep distress at parting with the family sen- sibly affected them all, and reminded them vividly of one of the latest and bitterest scenes at Tatton. On his departure, their little establishment consisted but of three female servants, a cook, a housemaid, and a nursery- maid. It took them some little time to familiarise themselves with the at- tendance of a female servant at dinner! That was one little matter — and an- other was Charles' now and then com- plaining of being tired, and inquiring TEN THOUSAND A-TEAB. 347 why hi3 mamma did not drive in the carriage as she used to do, and how he should like to go with her ! — which brought home to them, in a lively man- ner, their altered oircumBtances — their fallen fortunes. Many, many were the anxious calculations they made to- gether, of the probable amount of their annual expenditure — ^which at length, inexperienced as they were, they fixed at from £300 to £400, including every- thing ; his wife and sister eagerly as- suring Mr Aubrey, and persuading each other, that as for clotJies — their wardrobe would, with care, last them for three or four years to come — so that that was an item which might be almost altogether excluded from the account ; except, by the way, the chil- dren — yes, they should be always well dressed; that all agreed upon. Then there was their education — oh, Kate would see to that ! Could they, in this manner, with rigid and persevering economy, hold on their way for a year or two? was a question they often asked one another, with beating hearts. If they could, then, they said, they should be happy ; for they had health — they had peace of mind ; their con- sciences were not oppressed by a sense of misconduct — and they were able to put their trust in Providence. Mr Aubrey resolved to live in strict privacy ; and they consequently com- municated their residence to but one or two of their numerous friends, and to them only in confidence. To have acted otherwise would have seriously interfered with the arrangements which, long ago contemplated, he had now fixed upon. It would have been perpetually calling their attention to the contrast between former days and scenes, and the present ; opening their wounds afresh ; and moreover, subject- ing them to kind and generous importu- nities and oflTers, which, however deli- cate, would have been exquisitely pain- ful and trying to an honourable pride. But it is time that I should proceed to give a more particular account of the position, the personal feelings, and the purposes and prospects, of Mr Aubrey. From the moment when he received the first intimation of the desperate assault about to be made upon his for- tunes, he felt a conviction — whether arising from weakness, or superstition, or any other cause, it concerns me not here to say — that the issue would be a disastrous one for him ; ;nd, the first alarm and confusion over, he address- ed himself with serious calmness, with deep anxiety, to the determination of his future course of life. A man of his refined taste and feeling would inevi- tably appreciate exquisitely — with, in- deed, a most agonising intensity — the loss af all those superior enjoyments — ^the delimce of life — to which he had been from his birth accustomed. Sem- per enim delicati ac moUiter vixit. I speak not here of the mere exterior "appliances and means" of wealth and station, but of the fastidious and sensitive condition of feeling and tem- per, which such a state of things is calculated to engender in a person of his description. He could part with the one ; but how could he divest him- self of the other ? Even had he been alone in the world, and not surrounded with objects of the tenderest regard, whose safety or ruin was involved in his own, one of the results of his oppo- nent's success — namely, his claim to the mesne profits — was calculated to fetter all his movements, to hang like a millstone round his neck ; and that effect, indeed, it had. Still he played the man — resolved to act promptly, and with the best consideration he could give to his critical position. He had not yet reached the prime of life ; had a fair share of health ; had been blessed with the inestimaljle advan- tages of a first-rate education — and, above all, had followed out his early advantages by laborious and system, atic study. He had not only made accurate, extensive, and valuable ac- quisitions of knowledge, but learned how to use them — to turn them to practical account. What would, he thought, have become of him, had he, or those before him, neglected his edu- cation ? Then he had acquired busi- ness-habits in the House of Commons; and had friends and connections who might be of essential service to him, 348 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. if he could but first succeed in attain- ing such a position as would enable him to avail himself of their good of- fices. Surely all these were cheering considerations ! Had he not even ad- vantages superior to those possessed by many in entering upon some one of the scenes of honourable struggle for a livelihood and distinction ? He surveyed all the professions, vf ith much deliberation. The army and navy were of course out of the question. There was the Ohwreh: but no — his soul re- coiled from the degradation and guilt of entering that holy calling from mer- cenary motives, merely as a means of obtaining a livelihood ; and he would rather have perished than prefer the prayer uttered by the descendants of one whose lamentable case is left on record — who came cmd crouched for a piece of silver, and a morsel of bread, saying. Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priest's offices, that I mm/ eat apiece of bread.* A personage of high dis- tinction in the Church, of eminent piety and learning, aware of the mis- » i Samuel, ii. 36. " fortunes of Aubrey, and well acquaint- ed with his pure and exemplary cha- racter, his learning, acquirements, and fitness for the ministerial office, wrote to him, ofifering every facility for tak- ing orders, with an assurance that he need not wait long before being placed in a situation of public usefulness. Though he assured Mr Aubrey that he believed himself consulting the best interests, both of Mr Aubrey and of the Church— the scruples of Mr Au- brey were not to be overcome; and he wrote to the kind and venerable prelate, a letter declining his offers, and assigning reasons which filled him with profound respect for Mr Aubrey. Then literature, for which — for real substantial literature — he possessed superior qualifications, was proverb- ially precarious. As for teaching — he felt quite unfit for it ; he had not the least in- clination for it ; 'twas a cheerless scene of exertion, in which, as it were, he felt his energies perishing in the usinp. The Bae was the profession to which his tastes and incUnations, and, he hoped, his qualifications, pointed him. CHAPTER IV. THE ATTOBSEY-GENEEAI,, AHD MK WEASEL, SrECIAL PLEADEK. One of the first things Mr Aubrey did, on reaching London, was to apply for information to one consummately quar lified to guide him in the matter. He wrote to the Attorney-general, soli- citing an interview at his chambers upon the subject of entering the pro- fession; and received an immediate answer, appointing ten o'clock on Sa- turday, on which day the Attorney- general expected to be partially free from public engagements. Precisely at that hour, Mr Aubrey entered the chambers of that distinguished per- son, whose arrival he had anticipated. Poor Aubrey felt a little nervous and depressed as the fussy clerk showed him into the room — as he fancied, and only fancied — with an air of patronis- ing civility, as if aware of his di- minished personal consequence. He stood for a minute or two close to Mr Aubrey, with a, sort of confidence in his manner, as he rubbed his hands, and glibly observed on the iimume- rable engagements of the Attorney- general, which slightly — ^very slightly — displeased Mr Aubrey, suggesting the idea of undue familiarity. He answered the voluble clerk therefore courteously, but with an evident dist- inclination to prolong the converse- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 349 tion, and was quickly left alone. Poor Aubrey's pride had taken the alarm. Was it possible that the man had been presuming to give him a hint not to occupy much of the Attorney-gene- ral's time ? Nay, further, had it been done in consequence of an intimation from the Attorney-general himself ? Oh, no — his own good sense came presently to his assistance, and ban- ished so absurd a notion. 'There were three tables in the room, and each was laden with briefs, some of them of prodigious bulk. Seven or eight re- cent ones were placed on the table opposite to which his vacant chair was standing ; the very sight of all this oppressed Aubrey : how could one man's head manage so much? He was ruminating on such matters — and especially upon the powerful, versa- tile, and practised intellect which was requisite successfully to cope, as the Attorney-general coped, with such per- petually accumulating difficulties, iu- dejiendently of the harassing respon- sibilities and occupations of political office, when that personage entered. He was a tall and handsome man, about forty-iive, with an extremely gracefiil and gentlemanlike carriage. There was a slight dash of negligence in it ; while his manner was fraught with cheerful composure. He looked quite a man of the world : you would have thought that he could have nothing to do but lounge at his club ; ride round the Park ; saunter into the House of Lords for an hour or two : and then surrender himself to the pleasures of society. There was not a trace of anxiety or exhaustion about him ; yet had he been engaged during the whole of the preceding day conducting a great political cause, one of high treason, not having concluded his re- ply tni nine o'clock at night ! There was a playful smile about his mouth ; his ample forehead seemed uufurrowed by a wrinkle; and his bright pene- trating hazel eyes seemed never the worse for wear with all the tens of thousands of brief sheets on which they had travelled for the last twenty years. " Ha— Aubrey— I'm a few minutes behind time, I'm afraid! — How are you?" said he, with a cheerful air, grasping his saddened visitor cordially by the hand. "Good morning, Mr Attorney-^ Ctore tot sustmeas, el tarita negotia eohis" — commenced poor Aubrey, pointing to the piles of briefs. " Pho, my dear Aubrey ; nonsense ! They've enough of my time, surely, without grudging me half an hour's conversation with a friend — ah, ha ! " They were both quickly seated — and within a minute or two's time the At- torney-general, more suo, had got to himnesa — the business of the visit. Aubrey perceived the rapidity of the movement ; but nothing could be kinder than the manner of his com- panion, however distinct and decisive his intimation that time was precious. He approved entirely of Mr Aubrey's coming to the bar, and strongly re- commended him not to lose a day in entering upon the serious practical study of it ; informing him that, as a university man, within three years' time he would be eligible to be called to the bar. " I'll call you myself, Au- brey, if you will allow me," said he ; but before that period had arrived, he had taken his seat upon the Woolsack as Lord High Chancellor of England ! " Undoubtedly," said he, amongst other things, when pressed by Aubrey about the difficulties to be encountered in adopting the legal profession — " the acquisition of technical knowledge will be for some little time rather troublesome ; but a twelvemonth's steady study, by a man in earnest, and accustomed to real vmrh, will make a vast inroad on it. Everything you mas- ter, you see, helps to master so much more. Three years' seoous applica- tion to the law, by a man like you, my dear Aubrey, will place you far a-head of the mob of men at the bar. Besides, 'tis not the study but the practice of the law that teaches law most effec- tually. * * Always have an eye to principle, referring everything to it. Eesolve thoroughly to understand the smallest details ; and it will be a won- derful assistance in fixing them for practical use in your mind, to learn as 350 TEN THOUSAND A-YBAE. much as you can, of the reasons tod policyin which theyoriginated. You'll find Beeves' History of the English Law of great service to you ; I should study ,it in the evenings ; 'tis full of interest and value in every point of view. I read it, very carefully, soon after I left college ; and, by the way, I'U tell you another hook, by which I did the same — the State Trials : ay, you could hardly believe me, if I were to tell you how much I have read of them — speeches, examinations, cross-examination of witnesses, reply, and summing up. That's where I first learned how to examine and cross-ex- amine a witness ! Consider, the coun- sel employed were, you know, gene- rally first-rate men, and exerted them- selVes on such occasions, to the ut- most, and the records of their pro- cedure show you the best possible style of doing business. And there you also learn a great deal of constitutional laV. * * You ask me how I get tlu'ough so much ? To be sure, one has enough to do, and I'm afraid I ne- glect a good deal; but the great secret is, — attention, and to one thing at a time. The sun's rays scattered are comparatively powerless ; condense them, they are irresistible : — but all this, you know, Aubrey, as weU as, or better than I do. * * Certainly, law is difficult ; but its difficulty is often greatly overrated, especially by imperfectly educated, and iU-disci- plined, quick, sharp men. You will find it a different matter. What is wanted is a clear head ; a good me- mory ; strong common sense ; fixity of purpose ; an aptitude for analysis and arrangement : before these com- bined, the difficulties of law fly like the morning mist before the sun. — Tact with the court, and a jury, is ac- quired by practice, to a considerable extent, in the absence even of natural endowments. And as for you, Au- brey — upon my honour, I've 'often listened with great satisfaction to you in the House ; few ever made clearer statements of facts, or reasoned more closely and cogently than you did; ■with practice, you would have be- come — and you soon will become— a formidable debater. In your new pro- fession you will find lacts become quite different things from what they have ever hitherto appeared ; flexible, elastic, accommodatmg — you may do anything with them — ^twist, and turn, and combine ; ha ! ha ! Aubrey ! " [Here the Atttomey-general lau^d m the plenitude of his own conscions power.] " In a word, Aubrey, if yon determine to get on at the ba*, you will ; and if you can but get a bit of a start at the beginning ; now, for in- stance, there's Bunningtons' house — why if they would push you — ^your fortune's made. But you must make up your mind to wait a little : you can't get into a great business by a hop, step,' and a jump, believe me. Certainly I have no cause to be dis» satisfied ; I've done pretty well ; but I can tell you that eight years passed over me before I earned enough a-year to pay my laundress. With me, acci- dent supplied the place of connection : but only suppose how I must have worked in the mean time to be able to do business when it came to me ! I know it's said that I was always an idle man ; but people were a good deal mistdcen about that matter, I can promise them! What idiots, in- deed, to suppose such a thing ! Why, my very first start lifted me into a business of a thousand a-year ; and, in the name of common sense, how could I have got through it, if I hadn't worked beforehand? Bah! — ^Now, if Bunningtons' — one of the first firms in the profession — will stand by you, I'll guarantee your making £300 your first year ! and if they won't, which is inconceivable, wfaVj don't despair ; you'll have to wait a little longer ; but it will come at last, depend on it, if you continue on the look-out ! Be- sides, you can help me a little bit, eh ? It will be a sort of introduction, you know ; but we've timp enough to see about that. — ^I recommend you to get at once into the chambers of some hard-working main, with a good deal of general business, particularly Plead- ing — ^let me see" — Here the Attomey- general'paused, and stroked his chin for a moment or two in a musing TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 351 manner, "Ah, yes, there's Weasel, Oie very man for your purpose. He's agood pleader, and a neat draftsman ; gets through his work cleanly — ah! Weasel's a clear-teaded painstaking little fellow — all for law; and he's got a good deal of it He's not a po- lished person, little Weasel, ha ! ha ! but he s an honourable, right-minded man — shall I introduce you? Well, by-and-by, I'll walk over with you. — As to hooks? oh I why — I suppose you've looked into Blackstone ? I^'s a fine fellow, Blackstone, and deserves all that has been said in his praise. Many think that he's only to be glanced at, at the beginning of their studies ; never believe it ! He's good to the end of the chapter ! I've a pro- found respect for Blackstone ; it's the only book I've read four or five times through — ay, from cover to cover ; he maizes law lovely! Stick to Black- stone by all means ! Beeves — oh ! I mentioned him, you know. Then I should go, I think, to Coke on Little- ton ; but we shall have several oppor- tunities of talking over these matters. I really believe, Aubrey, that you are doing a wise thing in coming to the bar. If you've health, and the ave- rage opportunities, though I think you will have more, I'll undertake to say that in a few years' time you will realise an income — which may be a great one — but which, whatever it may be, you'll earn, as you did not the one you've lost ; and you'll enjoy it, my dear Aubrey, ten thousand times more ! All that I can do for you, I will — command me ! By the way," he added, assuming a somewhat anxious expression of countenance, and a manner different from that free, buoyant, off-hand one in which, for the last twenty minutes, he had laeen speaking, (Aubrey feeling all the while the easy commanding power and sim- plicity of the resplendent intellect with which he was communing), "I'm almost afraid to ask; but how do you come on, about the ^Mesne Profits ?" "I have heard nothing whatever about them, as yet," replied Aubrey, sighing ; his face suddenly over- shadowed with gloom. A ^moment's pause ensued ; which was interrupted by the Attorney-general saying, in an earnest and feeling manner, " I hope to heaven you'll be able to get, some favourable arrangement made ! You've not seen anything of Mr Titmouse's attorneys, I suppose ? " " Oh, no ! " replied Aubrey, sighing, " nor heard anything from them ! " " I've had little to do with them ; Quirk, Gammon, and Snap — these are the people, eh ? " Mr Aubrey nodded. " Quirk is a stubborn wooden-headed fellow-ran old hedgehog ! Egad ! that man's compounded more felonies, the old scamp, than any man in Engr land ! I should like to have him in the witness-bpx for a couple of hours, or so ! I think I'd tickle him a little," said the Attorney-general with a bit- ter smile. " They say he's a confi- dential adviser to a sort of Thieves' Association ! But there's Gammon : I've had several things to do with him. He is a superior man, that Gammon, a decidedly superior man. A keen dog! I recollect him being principal witness in a cause when I was for the plaintiff; and he complete- ly baffled Subtle — ah, ha, how well I recollect it !— Subtle lost his temper at last, because he couldn't make Gam- mon lose his ! Ah, how cleverly the fellow twisted and turned with Subtle for nearly an hour ! ah, ha — Subtle looked BO chagrined ! — Have you seen Mr Gammon ? " "No, I've had no occasion." " He has a pleasing, gentlemanlike appearance ; rather a striking face. Se's the man you'll have to deal with in any negotiations on the subject I named. You must mind what you're about with him — for he's a dangerous man, if what I've heard of him be true. You mustn't think me intrusive, Au- brey, but, have they sent in their bill yet?" Mr Aubrey involuntarily shuddered, as he answered in the negative. "I'd give a trifle to know how the plague such people ever came to be concerned in such a case. 'Tis quite out of their way — which is in the criminal line of business! — ^They'll 352 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAE. make their client pay for it through the nose* I warrant him : — "By the way, what an inconceivably ridicu- lous little ass that Titmouse is — I saw him in court at York. If he'd only fo on the stage, and act naturally, e'd make his fortune as a fool ! " — Mr Aubrey faintly smiled at this sally; but the topics which the Attorney- feneral had just before touched upon, ad not a little oppressed his spirits. " As this is comparatively an idle day with me," said the Attorney- general, "and I've got ten minutes more at your service — suppose I go with you at once — nothing like the present moment — to Mr Weasel's? " "I am greatly obliged to you," re- plied Aubrey — and both rose to go. " Say I shall be back in a few min- utes," said the Attorney-general, in answer to his clerk, who reminded him as he passed, that Mr Sergeant Squelch and Mr Putty would be there in a moment or two's time. As they crossed the court — " How do you do, MrPutty?" said the Attorney-general, with lofty civility, to a grinning little confident personage who met him, exclaiming with flippant familiarity, "How do you do, Mr Attorney?— Coming to your chambers — you don't forget ? — Consultation — eh ? " I perfectly recollect it, Mr Putty, I shall return presently. Perhaps, if convenient, you will have the good- ness to wait for a few minutes " — ^re- plied the Attorney-general, somewhat stiffly, and passed on, arm-in-arm with Mr Aubrey. "Now, that forward little imp's name, Aubrey, is PuTry," whispered the Attorney-general. "He was a glazier by trade ; but just as he fin- ished his apprenticeship, an uncle left him a few hundred pounds, with which — would you believe it? — nothing would suit him but decking himself in a wig and gown, and coming to the bar— ah, ha !— The fellow's creep- ing, however, into a little business, positively ! T'hey say he has a cousin who is one of the officers to the Sheriff of Middlesex, and puts a good many little things in his way! He's my junior in an action of libel against a newspaper, for charging his father-in- law — a baker who supplies some work- house with bread — ^with making it of only one-third flour, one-third rye, and the remainder saw-duM — ah, ha, ha! — I dared hardly look at the judges while I moved the Rule for a New Trial, for fear of laughing ! This is the case in which we're going to have the consultation he spoke of— but here's Mr Weasel's." They mounted ■ a narrow dingy-looking, well-worn staircase — and on the flrst floor be- held " Mb Weasel " painted over the door. On the Attorney-general's knock- ing, as soon as his clear silvery voice was heard asking for Mr Weasel, and his dignified figure had been recog- nised by the clerk, who had one pen in his mouth, and another behind his ear — thathumblefunctionary suddenly bent himself almost double three or four times ; and with flustered obse- quiousness assured the great man that Mr Weasel was quite at liberty. The next moment the Attorney-general and Mr Aubrey were introduced into Mr Weasel's room — a small dusky apartment wretchedly furnished, but the walls lined with book-shelves well filled — and the table at which he was writing, and a chair on each Side of him, strewed with draft paper, which he was covering at a prodigious rate. He was, in fact, drawing a " Declara- tion " in an action for a Breach of promise of Mairriase (taking a hasty pinch of fiery Welsh snuff every three minutes) ; and his task seemed to be rendered very difficult, by the strange conduct of the defendant — surely the most fickle of mankind — who, with an extraordinary inconsistency, notknow- ing his own mind for a day together, had promised to marry Miss M'Squint, the heart-broken plaintiff, firstly, with- in a reasonable time ; secondly, on a given day ; thirdly, on the defendant's return from the Continent ; fourthly, on the death of his father (both of which events were averred to have taken place); fifthly, when the de- fendant should have cut his wise teeth (which it was averred he had) ; and lastly, on " being requested " by the lady — which it was averred she had TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 353 done, and in the most precise and positive manner, that she had heen ready and willing, and then [what will the ladies say?] "tendered and offered herself to marry the said de- fendant," who had then wholly ne- glected and refused to do any such thing. One notable peculiarity of the case was, that all these promises had been made, and all these events ap- peared to have come to pass in one particular place — and that rather an odd one, viz. in "the parish of St Mary Le Bow, in the ward of Cheap, in the city of London."* If you had been better aoqpainted with Mr Weasel's associations and mode of doing business, you would have dis- covered that, in his imagination, al- most all the occurrences of life took place at the same spot ! But to return — thus was that astute little pleader engaged when they entered. He was a bachelor, upwards of forty ; of s^are make, of low stature, with a thin, sharp, saUow face, and short stiff black hair ; there was an appearance about the eyes as if they were half- bUnded with being incessantly direct- ed to white paper ; he had a furrowed forehead, a small pursed-up mouth — one hardly knew why, but really there was something about his look that in- stantly suggested to you the image of the creature whose name he bore. He was a ravenous lawyer, darting at the point and pith of eveir case he was concerned in, and sticking to it — just as would his bloodthirsty name- sake at the neck of a rabbit. In law he lived, moved, and had his being. In his dreams he was everlastingly spinning out pleadings which he never could understand, and hunting for cases which he could not discover. In the daytime, however, he was more successful. In fact, everything he saw, heard, or read of — wherever he was, whatever he was doing, suggest- * It may be as well to apprise the reader, tliat this stiauge mode of pleading has been lately superseded by one more reasonable and intelhgible. — Since this note was Vritten, most of the destructive nonsense of pleading has been got rid of (1853). VOL. I. ed to him questions of law, that might arise out of it. At his sister's wed- ding, whither he had not gone with- out reluctance, he got into a wrangle with the bridegroom, on a question started by Weasel himself, whether an infavt was liable for goods supplied to his wife, before marriage. At his grandmother's funeral he got into an intricate discussion with a puzzled proctor about hona notdbilia, with re- ference to a pair of horn spectacles, which the venerable deceased had left behind her in Scotland, and a pooiSe in the Isle of Man ; and at church, the reading of the parable of the Unjiut Steward, set his devout, ingenious, and fertile mind at work for the re- mainder of the service, as to the modes- of stating the case, nowadays, against the offender, and whether it would be more advisable to proceed civilly or criminally ; and if the former, at law, or in equity. He was a hard-headed man ; clear, acute, and accurate in his legal knowledge; every other sort he despised, if, indeed, he had more than the faintest notion, from hearsay, of its existence. He was a Cambridge man ; and there had read nothing but mathematics, in which he had made a decent figure. As soon as he had taken his degree, he migrated to the Temple, where he had ever since con- tinued engaged in the study, and then the successful practice of the law, as a special pleader under the bar.f He had a large business, which he got through ably and rapidly. He scarce- ly ever went into society ; early want of opportunity for doing so, had at length abated his desire for it — ^to say nothing of his want of time. When, as was seldom the case, he ventured out for a walk, he went, muttering to himself, at a postman's pace, to get the greatest quantity of exercise in the smallest space of time, He was not a bad-tempered man, but, from the absorbing and harassing nature of his employments, had become nervous, fidgety, and irritable. His tone of t This ingenious and industrious race of beings is now nearly extinct (18S3). Z 354 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. voice was feeble, his utterance hesi- tating, his manner hurried. What a laughable contrast between him and his visitor! The Attorney-general coming to Mr Weasel's cnarabers, suggested the idea of a magnificent mastiff suddenly poking his head into the little kennel of a querulous pup- dog ; and I suppose Mr Aubrey might be likened to a greyhound accompany- ing the aforesaid mastiff ! On seeing his visitors, Mr Weasel instantly got up with a blush of surprise, ?ind a little hurry and embarrassment of manner. His clerk put out a couple of rickety chairs, and down they sat. The Attorney-general came to the point in about half a minute,, and the . matter was quickly settled ; it being arranged that within a day or two's time, as soon as the forms necessary for admitting Mr Aubrey to an Inn of Court could have been completed, he should commence his attendance at Mr Weasel's, from ten o'clock till five daily. "It's a comical-looking little ani- mal, isn't it?" quoth the Attorney- general, with a laugh, as soon as they had got out of hearing. " Certainly, I don't feel particularly prepossessed " " Oh, pho ! He's exactly the man for you — the very man. There's no nonsense with Weasel ; you may learn an infinite deal of law from him, and that is all you require. He's a perfectly inoffensive fellow; and I've no doubt you'll soon like his chambers greatly, u you're in earnest in studying the law. You go or not, from day to day to his rooms, of course, as you choose ; whatever you do is per- fectly voluntary; pay himhis hundred guineas, and then, if you like, you may get many thousand pounds' worth out of him in the twelvemonth. Now, I must bid you good morning — I've really not another moment to spare. God bless you, my dear Au- brey ; and," he added with great kind- ness, and very pointedly, " whenever you may think it worth your while to talk over your affairs with me, come without notice or ceremony — wherever I may be, I shall be delighted to see you!" Then they parted. Mr Au- brey was not aware of a certain stroke of delicacy and generosity on the part of the Attorney-general; viz. that immediately on the Bvle for a new trial being discharged, he had sent for Mr Kunnington, and insisted on returning every sixpence of his fees — upwards of six hundred guineas — de- siring that Mr Aubrey should not be made acquainted with it, if by any means Messrs Kunnington could con- ceal it from him ! A little fatigued and harassed by several important matters, which kept him engaged till a late hour in the afternoon, he reached Vivian Street in a depressed and desponding mood. Just as he turned the corner, he be- held, at about twenty yards' distance, Mrs Aubrey and Miss Aubrey slowly walking homeward, on their return from the Park. Mrs Aubrey held Charles by the hand, who was dancing and frisking wildly about, and Miss Aubrey's beautiful little Cato she was leading along by a slender chain. They were in half-mourning. What an air of elegant simplicity was about them — their figures, their carriage, how easy and graceful ! Aubrey, as he approached, gazed at them with mingled feelings of pride and tender- ness. " Oh, my papa ! my ^apa ! " sud- denly exclaimed Charles, who, hap- pening to turn round, had caught sight of his father, and ran eagerly down to him : with what a thrill of love did he take in his arms the beautiful breathless boy, and how his heart yearned towards his wife and sister, as they also turned quickly round to meet him, after a long day's absence ! How inexpressibly dear were they to him — ^how, that day, he enjoyed their quiet little dinner-table — the romp with his children after- wards — and a long evening of eager and interesting conversation, after the little ones had gone to bed, Mrs Au- brey and Kate busy, the while, with their needles 1 Tliey had received several letters from Yorkshire, which they read to him. One was from poor Dr Tatham, who, though he con- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 355 cealed much that would have occa- sioned needless pain, yet gave them a melancholy notion of the altered state of things at the HalL Though it was rather late before they retired to rest on the evening of the ensuing Sunday, Mr Aubrey was to be found seated in his study by half-past four on Monday morning, perusing, with profound attention, stimulated by the strong observation of the Attorney- general, the second volume of Black- stone's Commentaries — a work with which he had already some acquain- tance. 'Twas really a thing to be thankful for that Mr Aubrey, with so many absorbing anxieties, such dis- tracting apprehensions concerning the future, could command his attention in the way he did. To be sure, he felt that it was plainly life-and-death work with him ; but he might have derived great encouragement from perceiving himself possessed of that faculty of concentrating the atten- tion, which the Attorney-general had spoken of as so essential an attribute of a lawyer. The way in which Mr Aubrey par- celled out his time was this : From the period of entering his study, till breakfast-time, he resolved to read law ; from ten o'clock till four or five, was to be spent at Mr Weasel's chambers ; and the evenings were to be devoted to the society of his children, his wife and sister, and also to certain occasional literary efforts, from which he hoped to derive some little increase to his precarious means. This was severe work ; but it was probably the most fortunate and salu- tary thing in the world for Aubrey, that his energies should be thus oc- cupied, and his mind kept from the corroding effects of constant reflection upon his misfortunes, and dismal ap- prehensions concerning the future. After he had spent a few days in Mr Weasel's chambers, his involuntary prejudice against that gentleman be- gan to wear off. Mr Aubrey found him all that the Attorney-general had described him — acute, able, and inde- fatigable, with a constant ciurent of important, varied, and instructive business, running through his cham- bers, and everjr disposition to render his utmost assistance to Mr Aubrey, whom he quicldy found out to be a man of superior intellect, and serious- ly bent upon acquiring a knowledge of the profession. Mr Weasel was not blessed with the power of formal- ly communicating elementary know- ledge ; Mr Aubrey had, as it were, to extort from him what he wanted, with something like a painful effort. The real advantages of his position were, the innumerable practical hints and suggestions as to the mode of dealing with miscellaneous business, which he derived from a watchful attention to whatever passed in cham- bers — ^to the mode in which Weasel hunted up and applied his law, and reduced the facts involved in litiga- tion into legal shape and language,4n the process of pleading. The pene- trating ej'e of Mr Aubrey, thus closely fixed on everything that came under his notice, quickly began to discover and appreciate the good sense, the practical utility, of most of the posi- tive rules of law which he saw in operation ; and at the end of a fort- night or three weeks, he began to feel interest in the study upon which he had so vigorously entered, and in which he felt himself making real progress. Mr Weasel, during even that time, perceived the decisive su- periority of Mr Aubrey over another pupil, who had nearly completed his second year in Mr Weasel's cham- bers, after a twelvemonth spent in a conveyancer's ; not, of course, in re- spect of legal knowledge, but intel- lectual power and aptitude for busi- ness. Mr Aubrey would return to Vivian Street about six o'clock each even- ing, a little fatigued with a long day's work (for he was never later than five o'clock in entering his study in the morning) ; but he was quickly cheered and refreshed by the sight of the fond and lovely beings whom he there re- joined, and who had been counting the very minutes till he returned. Every day knit that little family to- gether, if possible, in stronger bonds 856 TEN THOUSAND A-THSAB. of love ; for they clung to each other ■with a feeling of having been thrust out of the great gay world together, and sent, as it were, upon a far pil- grimage, amidst scenes of increasing, gloom, difficulty, and danger. Gach; lay that hore them further from that of their expulsion from Yatton, mel- lowed, as it were, their recollections of past scenes, and poured upon their wounded feelings the soothing balm of pious resignation ; and sometimes, also, faint and trembling beams of hope concerning the future, would, steal across the gloomy chambers of their hearts. Thank God; the view of the past presented to them no oc- casion for shame, for remorse, for self- condemnation ! They trusted that, in their day of wealth and distinction, many as had been their shortcomings, they had not been found wilfully ne- glecting the duties imposed upon them. Therefore they derived a just <;onsolation from a view of the past. But the EUTUBB — indeed — ** Shadows, clDuds, and darkness rested on it." Their hearts involuntarily fluttered and shrank within them, when they gazed upon the threatening gloom which hung over it. Their straitened circumstances — an honourable pover- ty — had been a burden light, indeed, to bear. Tliey were happy in one another's company ; their house, though small, was convenient, and even elegantly comfortable ; they had health ; Mr Aubrejr had constant ex- ercise for an active and vigorous mind, in acquiring the learning of a noble profession, the practice of which might possibly hereafter raise all of them to even affluence and distinction -—at all events, might secure them the substantial comforts of life. But he would have his moments of heavi- ness and trepidation. When engaged in his little study, in the pr(^ound solitude and silence of the early morn- ing, while thus straining his faculties to their utmost, on behalf of the sweet innocent beings — his wife — his children — ^his sister — sleeping above, he would sometimes lean back in his chair, with a deep sigh, and sink into a reverie — oh, how said and painful! — deepening occasionally into agony; but he would suddenly arouse him- self, and resume his studies with a powerful effort at abstraction — vrith adffitional intensity of application. — How, indeed, could he be otherwise than momentarily paralysed when he surveyed his tnfly alarming, his tre- mendous pecuniary liabilities ? Bills of costs — Heaven only knew to what amount — due to Messrs Quirk, Gam- mon, and Snap ; to his own attorneys, Messrs Bunnington ; and to Mr Park- inson : and then — sickening and fear- ful object ! — ^the Mesne Profits — ^what was to become of them all? The mind which, in the presence of such disturbing forces as these, could apply its energies so snccessfully as did that of Mr Aubrey, to the acquisition of knowledge, with any degree of calm- ness, must surely nave been of no common order, and undergone no slight discipline ; but, alas ! alas ! what could all this have availed him, unless he had been vouchsafed assist- ance from on high ? When the waiert were come in unto his soul; when he was sinking in deep mire, where there was no stcmding ; when he was come into deep waters, where the floods over- flovjed him — whither was he to look but to one quarter, and that abovb, with earnest, faithful, and constant supplication to the Almighty? TEN THOUSAND A-YEAB. 367 CHAPTER V. SDBPEHSB AKD TKEFmATIOH. The constant apprehension of great evil — suspense — is a state almost as ter- rible and insupportable, especially to those of lively susceptibilities, as that produced by the infliction of the evil. Every morning when Aubrey left home, he dresSed to think of what might happen before his return ; and •when he quitted the Temple, he expe- rienced a sinking of the heart, when imagining what might have occurred in his absence. In fact, they all felt like those whom the ominous silence and repose of surrounding nature — a portentous calm and gloom overhead — ^fiU with trembling apprehension of the coming storm. Their fears are quickened by the ocoa.sional falling of large spreading drops of rain through the sultry sky, not a breath of air stir- ring, tipward is oft turned the pale cheek and apprehensive eye, towards the black accumulating clouds, from which may soon flame the destructive lightning— what, in such a case, is there to rely upon, but the mercy of Him around whose throne are clouds and darkness, and the whirlwind and tempest His ordering? The little family were sittmg one morning at their usual early and simple breakfast, and Mr Aubrey was read- ing aloud, for his -wife and sister's suggestions, a second article which he had commenced over-night, designed for a recently established Eeview — having, some fortnight before, sent off his first effort, about which, however he had as yet heard nothing; and Kate was playfully patting his cheek, and telling him that, for all he might say to the contrary, a particular ex- pression was not, in her opinion, "efe- ganl English ! " " It is, you pert puss," insisted Au- brey with a good-natured laugh ; and then, turning to Mrs Aubrey, " "What do you say, Agnes f " " Oh — why — I really like it very much, as it is." "I sha'n't alter it," said Aubrey . ing. Then I'll alter it when you're gone," quoth Kate jauntily, and bring- ing her beautiful laughing face so near his own, with a kind of air of defiance, that he kissed her forehead, and said it shoiild be as she chose. Just then a knock at the door an- nounced a visitor, who proved to be Mr Eunnington. Why it was they hardly knew ; but all slightly chang- ed colour. He had called so early, he said, to insure seeing Mr Aubrey before he went to the Temple; and, though he had been shown into the study, Mr Aubrey insisted on his joining the breakfast table. " We've very plain fare for you, however," said he, as Mr Eunnington yielded to his wishes. Mr Aubrey perceived, with some uneasiness, that the kind and thought- ful countenance of Mr Eunnington wore rather an anxious expression. And indeed so it was. When he look- ed at those who sat before him — ^love- ly, elegant, yet with a plainly forced cheerfflness — ^reflected on the suffer- ings through which they had passed, and those but too evidently in store for them— and for the first bitter in- stalment of which he had come to prepare Mr Aubrey — could he but feel 358 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. deep sympathy for them? As soon as he had retired with Mr Aubrey to the study, in a low tone he explained his errand, which was to apprise him that, the evening before, Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's bill had come in. " Well, show it me, if you please," said Mr Aubrey calmly, extending his hand. " My dear sir, why do you suppose I have it with me?" inquired Mr Eun- nington with a concerned air. " You are not accustomed to such matters — God forbid you should be ! It is too bulky for me to have brought with me, and lies at our office ! " " "What is the amount of it, then ? " inquired Mr Aubrey, dreading to hear the answer ; while Mr Eunnington took out of his pocket-book a slip of paper, which he handed to Mr Aubrey, and on which the latter read — '£3946, 14s. 6d.' He gazed at it for some mo- ments in silence, and became very pale. Mr Eunnington could hardly bear to look at him, and think of the two lovely women in the adjoining room, who were so fearfully interested in the intelligence so dismaying to Mr Au- brey. "This is a very — large — amount," said the latter at length, with sup- pressed emotion. " It is a serious affair," replied Mr Eunnington, shaking his head and sighing. " Then there is yours — and Mr Parkinson's." " Oh, Mr Aubrey — sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." " Will you oblige me by saying what is the probable amount of your bill ? " inquired Mr Aubrey, with a calmness which seemed lent to him by despair. " Oh ! I assure you we have thought nothing at all about it, nor shall we for some time to come, Mr Aubrey. We have not the slightest intention of troubling ourselves, or you, with the matter till you may be in a posi- tion to attend to it without serious in- convenience. " But do favour me with something like a notion," pressed the unhappy Aubrey. " Why— perhaps I am hardly doing right in mentioning it ; but whenever our bill is sent in, it will be less than it would otherwise have been, by some six hundred and fifty pounds, through the noble generosity of the Attorney- general, who has returned all his fees " " Eeturned all his fees ! " echoed Mr Aubrey starting, while the colour rushed into his cheek, and the ex- pression of his countenance was of pride struggling with astonishment, gratitude, and admiration. He pro- foundly appreciated the conduct of his distinguished friend ; and at the same time felt a totally new and painful sense of pecuniary obligation. "I feel, Mr Aubrey, that I have broken my promise to the Attorney- general, who extracted from me a so- lemn pledge, to endeavour so to ma- nage the matter as that you should never know it. What is it, after all, to the Attorney - general, with his £12,000 or £15,000 a-year?" " Oh — do not talk so, Mr Eunning- ton ; I am overpowered, oppressed. Never in all my life have I experienc- ed feelings like those by which I am now agitated ! " He rose, and stood opposite the window for a few min- utes — neither of them speaking. Then he returned to his seat. "How much does that leave me your debtor? " "Why — really I am quite at sea at the present moment. I should imagine, if you will really force me to speak of such an unpleasant topic, that our ac- count is reduced to some £1500 or £1600— about which " "Then there is Mr Parkinson's," said Aubrey in a low tone, but with a desperate air; presently adding — "Here are some £6000 or £7000 to start with ; and then we come to the mesne profits — merciful God ! " he sudderfy added, with a visible shud- der. He folded his arms convulsive- ly, and gazed, for a second or two, at Mr Eunnington, with an eye, the ex- fression of which was overpowering. n his features Mr Eunnington beheld no longer the melancholy mildness to which he had been accustomed, but TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. 359 a sternness and power he had not imagined them capable of exhibiting. They told of a strong soul thoroughly roused, excited, and in agony. At that moment a knocking was heard at the door, as of tiny fingers, " Come in ! " exclaimed Mr Aubrey, with un- usual quickness and sternness. He was obeyed— and Charles's Uttle face peeped into the room timidly. He was evidently quite startled by the tone in which he had been addressed. " Come in, my child ! " said Mr Au- brey, rather tremulously, when he saw that it was liis son, and observed the apprehensiveness overspreading his sweet features. Charles immediate- ly advanced, with a serious submis- sive air, saying-—" This letter is just come — Mamma sent me with it, dear papa " "Give it me, Charles," said Mr Aubrey, extending his hand for it, while with the other he gently placed the child upon his lap, and kissed him. " I'm not angry with you, Charles," he whispered tenderly. "I've not been naughty, you know, dear papa ! " said he with innocent surprise. "No, no, my love." The ruined FATHER could Say no more ; but put- ting aside the child's flowing cm-ly locks from his temples, as it were mechanically, he gazed on his little face for a moment, and then folded him in his arms with unspeakable tenderness. Mr Bunuington rose, and stood for some moments gazing through the window, unwilling that his own emotion should be observed. When Mr Aubrey opened the letter, it proved to be from the publisher of the Review to which he had sent his article, enclosing a cheque for forty guineas, expressing an earnest desire that he would continue his contribu- tions, and assuring him that the edi- tor considered the article " in, every way admirable." As soon as he had glanced over the letter — "You little messenger of hope and mercy ! " he thought, again kissing his son, who sat passively gazing at the agitated countenance of his fathbr — " I can- not, I will not despair! You have brought me, as it were, a ray of light from heaven, piercing the fearful gloom of my situation ; 'tis a token, surely, that I am not forgotten: I feel, as_ though an angel, momentarily brightening the night of sorrow, had come and whispered in my ear — 'conEAOE ! ' " His features began to resume their natural serenity of ex- pression. " Take it in to your mam- ma," said he, kissing little Charles, and despatching him with the letter. Shortly afterwards, as soon as he had recovered the command of his manner sufficiently to avoid occasioning un- easiness to Mrs and Miss Aubrey, he proposed to Mr Runnington that they should walk towards the Temple ; and bidding adieu to those whom he left behind him, without giving them an opportunity to ask him as to the nature of Mr Runnington's errand, but leaving them in high spirits at the letter which he had sent in to them, he quitted the house arm-in-arm with Mr Runnington. I am persuaded that if that gentleman had had no one to consult, he would, serious as was the amount of his claim, have relieved Mr Aubrey altogether from liability to Mm; but he had four partners ; their own pecuniary outlay had been con- siderable ; the thing, therefore, was practically quite out of the question. As they walked along, in the course of much anxious conversation, Mr Runningtqn told Mr Aubrey that he considered Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's bill to be outrageous and profligate in its charges ; and that it might, on taxation — a process which he explained to Mr Aubrey — ^be re- duced, probably, by at least one-half. But he also reminded Mr Aubrey of the power which they held in their hands, in respect of the mesne profits ; and intimated his opinion, that in all probability they had constructed their account with an eye to such conside- rations — ^namely, that it should be dis- charged without rigorous scrutiny into its constituent items, before they would listen to any terms proposed for the payment of the mesne profits ; and that Mr Aubrey's position, with respect to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, 360 TEN THOUSAOT) A-TEAE. and Snap, was one requiring the great- est deliberation and circnmspection on Iiis part, especially in the matter of the bill which had been just delivered in by them. " I see ! The whole," said Mr Au- brey, " comes to this : they will re- lieve me from liability to Mr Titmouse, for as much of what may be due to him, as they can divert into their own pockets ! " " That certainly seems very much like it," replied Mr Bunnington, shrug- ging his shoulders ; " but you will leave all such considerations and mat- ters to us ; and rely on our vigilance and discretion. At what may appear to us the exact moment for doing so with effect, depend upon our cautious interference. We know, Mr Aubrey, the kind of people we have to deal with. Mr Titmouse is likely to be merely a puppet in their hands — at least in those of Mr Gammon, who is a formidable man to deal with; and with him, I have no doubt, our nego- tiations will have to be carried on. " That is just what the Attorney- general said — and he invited me, more- over, to converse with him whenever I might consider that his advice would be useful." " Could you have a better adviser? He has a penetrating sagacity, long exercised — ^in short, his qualifications are consummate ; and I should not hesitate about consulting him in a fiaendly way, whenever we feel at a loss." " Why should I disguise anything from yon, Mr Eunnington?" — ^SEud Aubrey — " you ought to faiow the exact state of my affairs. I have a little family plate, which I could not bear to part with; my books; and the remnants of the iiimiture at Tatton, which I have saved in order to furnish our present residence. Besides this, the outside of all that I am possessed of — and I have no expectations, nor has my wife nor my poor sister, from any quarter — is a sum of about £3000 in the funds, and £423 at my banker's. Those are my circumstances ; they appal me merely in stating them : — why, I owe double the sum I have named, for lawyers' bills only. I have not enough, without parting wi-th my books and plate, to discharge even Messrs Quirk, Gammon, amd Snap's biH!" "It would be cruel and absurd ia me not to express at once, Mr Aubrey, my conviction that your situation ig fearfully critical ; and that your sole hope is in the moderation which may be noped for &om Messrs Quirk, Gam- mon, and Snap, and their client, Mr Titmouse. Serious as are, at present, your other liabilities — to that one, of the mesne profits, they are but as a bucket of water to the Thames. As we are talking, Mr Aubrey, in this candid and unrestrained manner, I will tell you my chief source of appre- hension on your account, with refer- ence to Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap: namely, that they may possibly speculate on your being able, u placed in real peril, to call around yon, in your extremity, a host of wealthy and powerfid Mends — as security, or other- wise " — "They will find themselves, llien, utterly mistaken," said Mr Aubrey sternly. " If they and their client are really capable of such meanness, and barbarity — such wanton oppressitfn — let them do their worst : I am resign- ed. Providence will discover a shel- ter for my poor wife and children, and my dear, devoted, high-spirited sister; and as for myself, rather than satiate the rapacity of such wretches, by plun- dering good-natured and generous friends, I will spend the remainder of my days in prison ! " _ Mr Aubrey was evidently not a little excited while he said this ; but there was that in his tone of voice, and in his eye, which told Mr Eun- nington that he meant what he said ; and that, as soon as it should have come to the point of oppression and injustice, no man could resist more powerfully, or endure with a more dignified and inflexible resolution. But Mr Eunnington expressed strone hopes that it would not come to Ea(£ an issue. He consoled Mr Aubrey with assurances that, as for their own demand, it might stand over for years : TEN TH0USAM3 A-TEAE. 361 aiid that so, he was sure, would it be with the lesser demand of Mr Pai-kin- son ; and that if, by a great effort, sufficient could be raised to discharge promptly the bill of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, some much more favourable arrangement respecting the amount and mode of payment of the mesne profits might be effected — leaT- ing Mr Aubrey, in the mean time, leisure to apply himself vigorously to his studies for the bar, for which Mr Bunnington assured him that he considered nim peculiarly qualified ; and pledged himself to back him with all the influence he had, or could com- mand. " Oh, Mr Kunnington ! " said Au- brey, with a little excitement, "is it not nearly intolerable that I should pass the prime of my days in thraldom to such people as these, and be encir- cled^by the chains ofsuchaman as this person Titmouse is represented to be? I will not call myself his foe, nor his vic- tim ; but I am the one through whose sudden destitution he has obtained a splendid fortune. I did not hnoiomgly deprive him of it — he must be bereft of all the ordinary feelings of humanity, to place me, whom he has already stripped of all, upon the rack — the ra^ of extortion ! Were I put in his flace, and he in mine — do you think would not have been satisfied with what I had gained ? Would I have alarmed and tortured him by calling for an account of what he had spent with a firm, a reasonable persuasion that it was his own — profoundly un- conscious of its being another's ? Oh, no ! I would not only have forgiven him all, but endeavoured to secure him ftom future want ! " He sighed. " Oh, that I were at this moment a free man ! pauper — sed in meo cere ; that I had but five hundred pounds to keep me and mine for a year or two — with a mind at ease, and fit for study ! Irat here we are at the Temple. When shall we meet again — or shall I hear from you ? " "Very shortly," replied Mr Bun- nington, who for the last few minutes had been listening to Mr Aubrey in respectful and sympathising silence ; and shaking him warmly by the hand, with much cordiality and fervency of manner, he pledged himself to & all in his power to promote his in- terests. When Mr Aubrey arrived at Wea- sel's chambers, heiooked dejected and harassed ; yet, exerting his powers of self-command, he at once addressed himself, calmly and vigorously, to the business of the day. From time to time he peremptorily excluded the distressing thoughts and recollections arising out of his morning's interview with Mr Kunnington ; and succeeded in concentrating his attention upon a case of more than usual intricacy and multifariousness of details, which Sir Weasel, having glanced over, had laid aside for a more leisurely perusal. He handed it, however, to Mr Aubrey soon after his arrival, with something approaching to a secret satisfaction, in the expectation of its " proving too much for him ;" but he was mistaken. Mr Aubrey left a little earlier than usual ; but not before he had sent in the voluminous " case" to Mr Wea- sel's room by the clerk, together with a half-sheet of draft paper, containing a brief summary of the results at which he had arrived ; and which not a little surprised Mr Weasel. The case did not happen to involve much technical knowledge ; but, as well in respect of the imperfect manner in which it was drawn up, as of the con- fusion worse confounded of the trans- actions themselves, out of which the questions arose, there were requited persevering attention, strength of me- mory, and clear-headedness. In siioit. Weasel owned to himself that Mr Au- brey had taken a masterly view of the case ; and ho* would his estimate of his pupil's ability have been enhanced, by a knowledge of the situation in which he was placed — one so calcu- lated to distract his attention, and prevent that hearty and complete de- votion to legal studies, without which Mr Weasel well knew how vain was the attempt to master them ? " Have you read Aubrey's opinion on that troublesome case — I mean the one relating to the Cornish Bank ? " 362 TEN THOUSAKD A-YEAE. inquired Weasel, taking a pinch of snuif, of Mr Thoroughpace, another pupil who had just sate down beside Mr Weasel, to see him "settle" [i. e. score out, interline, and alter] a plead- ing drawn by the aforesaid Tnorough- pace. That gentleman replied in the negative. " He's got a headpiece of his own, I can tell you ! — ^Egad, some- how or another, he always contrives to hit the nail on the head ! " " I'd a sort of notion, the first day he came, that he was a superior man," replied Thoroughpaoe. " He makes few notes — seems to trust entirely to his head" " Ah ! a man may carry that too far," interrupted Mr Weasel, taking, somewhat energetically, another pinch of snuff.' " Then I wish I could," replied Thoroughpaoe. "Isn't there such a thing as making the hand engross the business of the head ? " Mr Weasel — recollecting that in his library stood twelve thick folio volumes of manu- script " precedents," which he had been fool enough to copy out with his own hand during his pupilage, and the first year or two of his setting up in business — hemmed, and again applied to his snuff-box. " How do you get on with Aubrey in the pupils' room ? " he inquired. " Why, I didn't like him at first. Reserved, and is not without hauteur. Even now, though courteous, he says little, and appears entii-ely absorbed by his studies; and yet he seems to have something or other pressing on his mind." "Ah! I daresay! Law's no trifle, I warrant him ! No doubt it's teasing him ! " replied Weasel, rather com- placently. " Do you know, I should doubt it ! I never saw a man to whom it seemed to yield so easily. — He's a particu- larly gentlemanlike person, by the way; and there's something attrac- tive in his countenance. — ^He seems a man highly connected. "Oh — why, you've heard of the great cause of i>oe d. JKimouse-v.Jolter, a Yorkshire ejectment case, tried only last Spring assizes? — That case you know, about the effect of an erasure. — ^Well, he's the defendant, and has, I hear, lost everything." " Tou astonish me I By Jove, then, he had need work ! " " Shall we set to work, Mr Tho- roughpace?" said Weasel suddenly, looking at his watch lying on his desk. " I've promised to let them have these pleas by six o'clock — for, if not delivered to-night, the other side will be signing judgment ;" and plung- ing his pen into the inkstand, to work he went, more suo, as if such a man as his pupil, Mr Aubrey, had never ex- isted. Weasel was not at all a hard- hearted man ; but I verily believe that if a cc^ias ad satisfacienSu/m (i. e. final process to take the body into custody to satisfy debt and costs) against Charles Aubrey, Esquire, had come into Mr Weasel's chambers to J)e "settled" as requiring special care to secure the bird within the snare — after humming and hawing a bit — and taking an extra pinch of snuff, he would have done his duty by the do- cument faithfully, marked his seven- and-sixpence in the corner, and sent it out indifferently with other papers, consoling himself with this just re- flection, that the thing must be done by somebody! and he might as well have the fee as any one else. TEN THOUSAND A- TEAR. 363 OHAPTEE VI ME ACBEEr S INTEHVIEW WITH MK GAMMOK ; POLLOWED BT SOME PHILOSOPHICAI. • BEFLECTIONS ON LIFE. On Mr Aubrey's return home, to din- ner, he found that his sister had re- ceived another long letter from Dr Tatham, to which was appended a postscript mentioning Mr Gammon in such terms as suggested to Mr Aubrey a little scheme which he resolved to carry into effect on the morrow — namely, to call himself at the offlce of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, and seek an interview with Mr Gam- mon, who, Dr Tatham stated, had quitted Yatton for town only the day before the Doctor had written to Miss Aubrey. After a restless and unhappy night, during which he was tormented by all kinds of dismal dreams, Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap figuring in each as the stern and myste- rious arbiters of his earthly destiny, he resolved to put an end to his pre- sent insupportable suspense — to learn at once the extent of what he had either to hope or to fear — ^by calling that afternoon at Saffron Hill. For that purpose, he quitted Mr Weasel's at the early hour of three o'clock ; and straightway bent his steps towards those delectable localities — through Fetter Lane to Hatton Garden, thence inquiring hig way to Saffron Hill. He was not long in finding the house of which he was in quest, his eye being soon attracted by the great, gleaming brass-plate with the words, " Quirk, Gammon, and Snap," as prominent and threatening as ever those names had appeared to Titmouse, in the day of hit agony and suspense. He had stood gazing at them with idiot long- ing and vulgar apprehension, as the reader has seen. How different a per- son now looked at them with feelings of intense interest and overmastering anxiety, as at the names of those who had him completely in their power — his fortunes, his liberty, his liveli- hood, and that of the dear beings whose interests, whose all on earth, whose personal safety — were bound up in his ! Mr Aubrey, with a jaded air, dressed in a buttoned black sur- tout, and with an umbrella under his arm, entered the hall, where were sitting and standing several strange- looking people — one or two suffering evidently great agitation ; in fact, rela- tives of prisoners whose trials for ca- pital offences were coming on the next day at Newgate — and made his way into a room, on the door of which he read " Clerks' Office." " Now, sir, your name and busi- ness ? " said a showily-dressed Jewish- looking youth, with copious curls, lolling at a desk from which he did not move, and speaking in a tone of disagreeable assurance. " Is Mr Gammon within ? my name is Aubrey," he added, taking off his hat ; and there was a certain some- thing in his voice, countenance, and bearing — a courtly superiority — which induced the personage whom he had addressed to slip off his stool, and ex- hibit as polite an air as he could pos- sibly assume. "Mr Gammon is in his room, sir, and alone. I believe he is rather busy," said the youth, going towards Mr Gammon's room — " but I've no doubt you can see him." The fact was, that at that moment Mr Gammon was engaged drawing up 364 TSif THOUSAND A-YEAE. " Instructions to prepare Declaration" in an action for mesne profits against Mr Aubrey ! He had only the day be- fore returned from Yattou, where cir- cumstances had occurred which had quickened their intended proceeding against that unfortunate gentleman — the mesne profits being the first quar- ter to which, at Mr Titmouse's sugges- tion, they were to loolc for a consider- able supply of ready money. That morning, in the very room into which Mr Aubrey was to be presently shown, had taken place a long discussion be- tween Mr Quirk and Mr Gammon, on the subject which had now brought to their office Mr Aubrey. Mr Quirk was for making short work of it — for " going straight ahead" — and getting the whole £60,000, or security for the greater portion, and £20,000 down ! Gammon, however, was of opinion that that was mere madness ; that by attempting to proceed to extremities against so unfortunate a sufferer as Mr Aubrey, they could not fail of drawing down on themselves and their client universal execration — (at that, Quirk only grunted and grinned); and, moreover, of driving Mr Aubrey desperate, and forcing him .either to cpit the country, or accept the protec- tion of the insolvent laws — at this Mr Quirk looked serious enough. Gammon had, in the end, satisfied his senior partner tliat their only chance was in gentleness and moderation ; and the old gentleman had, as usual, agreed to adopt the plan of operations suggested by Qapmon. The latter personage had quite as keen a desire and firm determination as the former, to wring out of their wretched victim the last farthing which there was the slightest probability of obtaining ; for Titmouse had pointed to that quarter for the discharge of his ten thousand pound bond, and bill of costs ; then twenty — or at least fifteen — thousand pounds, were to be handed over to himself. Titmouse ; and all the rest that could be got, Mr Gammon might appropriate to his own use. Such was the prospective partition of the spoil ! — ^Mr Gammon^ inquiries into Mr Aubrey's circumstances had com- pletely convinced him, however, that it would be impossible to extract any considerable sum from'that unfortunate gentleman ; and that if they could contrive to get payment of their bill against him — perhaps substantial se- curity for a portion — say four or five thousand pounds — of the mesne pro- fits ; and his own personal responsi- bility for the payment of any portion of the remainder, hereafter — they had better rest satisfied — and look for li- quidation of their own hea*^y claim, to a mortgage upon the Yatton estates. Mr Gammon had also proposed to himself certain other objects, in deal- ing with Mr Aubrey, than the mere extraction of money from him ; and, in short, prompted by considerations such as those above intimated, he had come to the determination, an hour or so before Mr Aubrey's unexpected visit, to be at once prepared with the necessary means for setting in motion legal proceedings for the recovery of the mesne profits. But we are keeping Mr Aubrey waiting, all this while, in the outer ofiice. " Have I the honour to address Mr Gammon?" commenced Mr Aubrey courteously, on being shown into the room — not announced by name, but only as "a gendetnan" — where Gam- mon sat busily engaged writing out the " Instructions " for framing the rack on which it was designed to extend his unconscious visitor ! " Sir, my name is Gammon," he re- plied, colouring a little — and rising, with an expression of great surprise — " I believe 1 have the honour of seeing Mr Aubrey? — ^I begyou willallowmeto offer you a chair" — he continued with forced calmness of manner,plaoingone as far distant as was possible from the table, and, to make assurance doubly sure, seating himself between Mr Au- brey and the table, to prevent his eye catching his own name, expecting to hear his visitor at once open the sub- ject of their bill, which they had so recently sent in. " Will you suffer me, Mr Aubrey," commenced Gammon with a bland and subdued air, not fulsome, but extremely deferential, " before entering on any TEN THOUSAND A- YEAR. 365 business which may liave brought you here, to express deep sympathy with your sufferings, and my personal re- gret at the share we have had in the proceedings which have ended so ad- versely for your interests? But our duty las professional men, Mr Aubrey, is often as plain, as painful!" " I feel obliged, sir," said Mr Aubrey with a sigh, "for your kind expres- sions of sympathy — but I cannot for a moment conceive any apology ne- cessary. Neither I, nor my advisers, that I am aware of, have ever had cause to complain of harsh or un- OTofessional treatment on your part. Your proceedings certainly came upon me — upon all of us — like a thunder- stroke," said Mr Aubrey with a little emotion. " I trust that you have given me credit, Mr Gammon, for of- fering no vexatious or unconscientious obstacles." "Oh, Mr Aubrey! on the contrary, I am at a loss for words to express my sense of your straightforward and high-minded conduct ; and have seve- ral times intimated my sentiments on that *ubject to Messrs Kunnington" — Mr Aubrey bowed — "and again I anxiously beg that you will give me credit for feeling the profoundest sym- pathy" — he paused, as if from emo- tion : and such might well have been excited, in any person of ordinary feel- ing, by the appearance of Mr Aubrey ■ — calm and melancholy — his features full of anxiety and exhaustion, and his figure, naturally slender, evidently somewhat emaciated. [" I wonder, by the way," thought Gammon, " whether he has any insur- ances on his life! — He certainly has rather a consumptive look — I should like to ascertain the fact — and in what office^and to what extent."] " I trust sincerely, Mr Aubrey, that the mental sufferings which you must have undergone have not affected youi health?" inquired Ga,mmon, with an air of infinite concern. " A little, certainly, sir, but, thank God, I believe not materially ; I never was very robust," he replied, with a j faint sad smile. I" Sow like his msfe?-/"— thought I Gammon, watching his visitor's coun- tenance with real interest.] " I am not quite sure, Mr Gammon," continued Aubrey, " that I am observ- ing etiquette in thus coming to you, on a matter which you may consider ought to have been left to my solici- tors, and who know nothing of my present visit — ^but " " An honourable mind like yours, Mr Aubrey, may surely act according to its own impulses with safety ! As for etiquette, I know of no professional rule which I break, in entering into a discussion with you of any topic con- nected with the action which has re- cently been determined," said Gam- raon cautiously, and particularly on his guard, as soon as his penetrating eye had detected the acuteness min- gled with the sincerity and simplicity of character visible in the oppressed countenance of Mr Aubrey. " I daresay you can guess the oc- casion of my visit, Mr Gammon?" [" Here comes our hili I — whew ! — What now?" thought Gammon.] Mr Gammon bowed, with an anxious, expectant air. " I allude to the question yet re- maining between your client, Mr Tit- mouse, and me — the mesne pro- fits" " I feared — I expected as much ! It gave me infinite anxiety, as soon as I found you were approaching the sub- ject!" - " To me it is really a matter of life and death, Mr Gammon. It is one pressing me on almost to the verge of despair!" " Do nijt, Mr Aubrey," said Gam- mon, in a tone and with a look which touched the heart of his a^tated com- panion, " magnify the mischief. Don't — ^I beg — imagine your position to be one so hopeless! What is there to stand in the way of an amicable ad- justment of these claims? If 1 had my own way, Mr Aubrey — and if I thought I should not be acting the part of the unjust steward in Scrip- ture — I would write sixty thousand fai-things for sixty thousand pounds." " Tou have named the sum for which I believe I am legally liable to Mr Tit- 366 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. mouse," gaid Mr Aubrey with forced composure ; " it is, however, a sum as completely out of my power to pay, or secure — or even a quarter of it — as to give him one of the stars." " I am aware, Mr Aubrey, that you must have had many calls upon yon, which doubtless have temporarily crip- pled your resources " " Temporarily ! " echoed Mr Aubrey with a sickening smile; " Well, I devoutly trust that it is only temporary ! For your own and family's sake, he added quickly, ob- serving the watchfulness with which his every look and word was regarded by his companion. " Any proposal, Mr Aubrey," he continued with the same apparent kindness of manner, but with serious deliberation, " which you may think proper to make, I am ready — eager — ^to receive and consider in a liberal spirit. I repeat — If I only had to be consulted — you would leave this room with a lightened heart ; but to be plain and candid, our client, Mr Titmouse, is a difficult person to deal with ! I pledge my word of honour to you — [Oh Gammon! Oamnum! Gam- mon I] — that I have repeatedly urged upon him to release you frOm aU the rents which had been received by you previously to your having legal notice of the late proceedings." I suppose Gammon felt that this declaration was not received as implicitly as he de- sired and had expected; for with a slight stiffness, he added, " I assure you, sir, that it is a fact. I have always been of opinion that the law is harsh, and even faulty in principle, which, in such a case as yours — where the possessor of an estate, to which he be- lieved himself born, is ousted by a title of which he had no previous know- ledge, nor MEANS of knowledge" — Gammon uttered this very pointedly, and with his eye fixed searchingly upon that of Mr Aubrey — "requires him to make good the rents which he had so innocently, or, at all events, with such venial negligence, appro- priated to his own use. That is my opinion, though it may be wrong. I am hound to say, however, that as the law now stands — if Mr Titmouse should, contrary io my advice, deter- mine to stand upon his strict rights" Gammon paused, shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and looked with melancholy significance at Mr Aubrey. " I am entirely at his mercy! that I perfectly understand : but I do trust that, for the sake of our common hu- manity, he will have some considera- tion for the helpless — the miserable situation in which I am so unexpec- tedly placed," said Aubrey, with mournful energy. " Never having imagined it necessary to save mo- ney"' '■ " Oh no — nor, with such an income as yours was, to resort, I fear, to any of the ordinary modes of providing against emergencies — by insurance of your life, for instance — interposed Gammon, sighing. "No, sir! nothing of the sort" — ["Ah! — the deuce you have not!" thought Gammon] — " and I confess — I now bitterly feel— how improvident I have been! My situation is so de- plorable and desperate, that di^uise would be absurd, even could I stoop to it; and I declare, in the presence of Heaven, Mr Gammon, that without giving up the little remnant of plate I have preserved, and my books, I am unable to liquidate even the amount of your bill sent in the day before yes- terday" — Gammon gazed at Aubrey mournfully, but in silence — "and if my miserable remnant of means must be so appropriated, we are literally beggars " — ^he paused, and his voice faltered. " Indeed — indeed, you distress me be- yond measure, Mr Aubrey," said Gam- mon in a low tone : and he was dis- tressed — but on the account of himself and firm ! "If you can but secure me, sir-;- and that is the object of this intrusion upon you — a merciful interval, to pre- pare myself for the profession which I have entered — the Bar — whatever earnings I might obtain, after leaving a bare maintenance for myself and family, shall be devoted faithfully to Uquidate the heavy claims upon me ! For myself, Mr Gammon, I do not care about living upon bread and water TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 367 for the next ten years; but there are others " — ^his voice trembled. " Sir," he suddenly added, with passionate energy, "by every consideration which can influence a gentleman, I conjure you to interfere between me and utter immediate ruin ! " This was the real thrilling language of the heart ; but it failed to produce the least impres- sion upon Gammon, in whom it ex- cited only intense chagrin and disap- pointment. " Oh, that it were but in my power," said he, however, with great energy, " to send you out of this room a free man ! If I alone were to be consulted," he continued, with vivacity, "I would instantly absolve you from all demands — or at least give you your own time, and take no other security than your word and honour !" " Oh ! what a happy — happy man ! what a happy family should we be if only " he could not finish the sen- tence, for he was greatly moved. ['■'Here's au infernal business!" thought Gammon to him self, and, bend- ing down his head, he covered his eyes with his hands; — "worse, far worse than I had suspected. I would take five pounds for all my residuary in- terest in the sixty thousand pounds ! ! I've not the least doubt that he's speak- ing the truth. But the bill part of the business is highly unsatisfactory ! I should like my friend Quirk to be here just now ! Surely, however, Mr Au- brey must be able to get security! With such friends and connections as his ! — If one could only get one or two of them to join him in a bond for ten thousand pounds — stay — that won't exactly do either — by the way — I must keep my own thumb upon him ! "] "I am so profoundly affected by the situation in which you are placed, Mr Aubrey," said Gammon, at length_ ap- pearing to have subdued his emotion, and feeling it necessary to say some- thing, " that I think I may take u{)on myself to say the instructions which we have received shall not be acted upon, come what may. Those must be really monsters, not men, Mr Au- brey, who could press upon one in your position; and that such should be attempted by one who has suc- ceeded to your former splendid advan- tages, is inconceivably shocking. Mr Aubrey, you shall not be crushed — indeed you shall not, so long as I am a member — possibly not the least in- fluential one — of this firm, and have any weight- with your formidable creditor, Mr Titmouse. I cannot do justice to my desire to shelter yon and yours, Mr Aubrey, from the storm of which you are so justly apprehensive. But set your trust in a gracious Pro- vidence ! " There was a warmth, an energy in Gammon's manner, while saying all this, which cheered the drooping heart of his wretched visitor. " What I am about to say, Mr Aubrey, is in complete confidence," continued Gammon in a low tone. Mr Aubrey bowed, with a little anxious excite- ment in his manner. " May I rely implicitly upon your honour and se- cresy ? " " Implicitly, sir. What you desire me to keep within my own breast, I will neither directly nor indirectly communicate to any one upon earth." " There are serious difficulties in the way of serving you. Mr Titmouse is a weak and inexperienced young man, naturally excited to a great pitch by his present elevation, and already em- barrassed for want of ready money. You may imagine, sir, that his liabili- ties to us are of considerable magni- tude. You would hardly credit, Mr Aubrey, the amount of mere money out of pocket for which he stands in- debted to us; our outlay during the last two years having considerably crippled our own pecuniary resource, in an extensive practice like ours, and driven us to incur responsibilities which are beginning to occasion us personally considerable anxiety. Of course, Mr Aubrey, we must look to Mr Titmouse to be speedily reim- bursed : he insists upon our immedi- ately calling upon you ; and I have reason to suspect that he has at his elbow one or two heartless advisers, [Oh, Gammon ! Gammon !] who have suggested this to him ; for he follows it most pertinaciously. That he can- not meet the liabilities I have alluded to out of his annual income, without 368 TEN THOUSAND A -YEAR. swallowing it up entirely for eighteen months or two years, is certain. I regret to say — ^in sacred confidence, I repeat — that Mr Quirk and Mr Snap encourage his disposition to press yon; —do not be alarmed, my dear sir ! " te continued, observing the deadly paleness of Mr Aubrey, whose eye was riveted upon that of Gammon; "for I declare that I wiU stand between you and them ; and it is enough for me to say, moreover, that I have the power of doing so. I am — but this is committed specially and sacredly to your confidence— the only person liv- ing who happens to possess the means of controlling Mr Titmouse ; and since you have entered this room, I have resolved to exercise my powers. Now, bearing in mind that I have no legal authority from him, and am, at the same time, only one of a firm, and as- suring you that I am entailing a seri- ous personal responsibility upon my- self in what I am doing, let me throw out for your consideration my general notion of what I think ought to be d$ne — ^merely my off-hand notion." " I perfectly understand you, sir — and am_penetra(ed by a sense of grati- tude 1 I listen to you with inexpres- sible anxiety," said Mr Aubrey. " Had I been consulted," continued Mr Gammon, "we should have pro- posed to you, with reference to our wM, which I frankly acknowledge con- tains a much more liberal entry than would probably be allowed on taxa^ tion, but with equal truth I declare that it is none of my doing," — :Gam- mon knew the credit for candour which this apknowledgment of a fact, of which Messrs Eunnington would quickly apprise Mr Aubrey after ex- amining the bill, was likely to obtain for him with Mr Aubrey — " I say, I should have proposed to you, in the first instance, the payment of our bill by easy instalments, during the next three or four years, provided you could have obtained partial security. But I. am only one of three, and I know the determination of Mr Quirk and Mr Snap not to listen to any proposal with reference to the mesne profits which is not based upon — in short, they sarf, the bill must be paid at once without being looked into — ^I mean," he added qoicikly, "without its being subjected to the harassing and protracted scrutmy which a dia- trustfol, an ungrateful client, or un- reasonable opponent, has it too fre- quently in his power to inflict upon even the most honourable and scrupn- lous practitioners. Oh, let me disguise nothing from you, my dear sir, in a conversation of this kind between two gentlemen ! "oontinuedGammon, with an admirable air of frankness, for he perceived -that Mr Aubrey looked slightly staggered. "I am ashamed to acknowledge that our bill does con- tain exorbitant entries — entries which have led to frequent and fierce disputes between me and my partners. But what is to be done ? Mr Quirk is — ^to be completely candid with you — ^ths monied man of the firm ; and if you were but to glance at the articles of our partnership " — Gammon shrugged his shoulders and sighed — " you would see the tyrannical extent of power over us which he has thereW secured ! You observe how candid I am — per- haps foolishly so." ['I've not quite mastered him — I can tell it by his eye ' — ^thought Gam- mon — ' is tms a game of chess between us? I wonder whether, after all, Messrs Bunnington are aware of his being here — ^knowing, and trusting to his ability — and have put him tho- roughly on his guard? He is check- ing strong feelings incessantly, and evidently weighing every word I utter. Misery has sharpened faculties natu- rally acute.'] "Pray do not say so, Mr Gammon ; I fuHy appreciate your motives. I am devoured with anxiety for an intima- tion of the nature of the terms which you were about, so kindly, to specify." "Specify, Mr Aubrey, is perhaps rather too strong a term — but to pro- ceed. Supposing the preliminary matter which I have alluded to satis- factorily arranged, I am disposed to sajjr,'.that if you could find security for the payment of the sum of ten thoa- sand pounds within a year, or a year and a half "—[Mr Aubrey's teeth al- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. 369 most chattered at the mention of it] — " I — I — that is, my impression is — but — I repeat-^it is only mine " — ad- ded Gammon earnestly — "that the rest should be left to your own hon- our, giving at the same time a per- sonal undertaking to pay at a future — a distant day — in the manner most convenient to yourself— the sum of ten thousand pounds more — making in all only one-third 6f the sum due from you ; and receiving an absolute release from Mr Titmouse in respect of the remaining two thirds, namely, forty thousand pounds." Mr Aubrey listeijed to all this with his feelings and faculties strung to the utmost pitch of intensity ; and when Gammon had ceased, experienced a transient sense, as if the fearful mountain which had pressed so long on his heart were moving. " Have I made myself intelligible, Mr Aubrey ?" inquired Gammon kindly, but gravely. " Perfectly — but I feel so oppressed and overwhelmed with the magnitude of the topics we are discussing, that I scarcely at present appreciate the fosition in which you would place me. must throw myself, Mr Gammon, entirely upon your indulgence ! ■ ' Gammonlookeda little disappointed. "I can imagine your feelings, sir," said he, as, thrusting into a heap the papers lying on the table, he threw them into a drawer, and then took a sheet of paper and a pencil ; and while he made a few memoranda of the arrangement which he had been men- tioning, he continued — " You see — the grand result of what I have been hastily sketching off is— to give you ample time to pay the amount which I have named, and to relieve you, at once, absolutely from no less a sum than FoETY Thousand Pounds," said he, with emphasis and deliberation, "for which — and with interest — you will otherwise remain liable to the day of your death ; — there can be no escape," he continued, with pointed significance of manner — "except, per- haps, into banishment, which, with your feelings, would be worse than death — ^for it would — of course— be a dishonourable exile — to avoid just liabilities : — and those who bear your name would, in such an" "Pray, sir, be silent!" exclaimed Mr Aubrey, in a tone and manner which electrified Gammon, who start- ed in his chair. Mr Aubrey's face was whitened ; his eye glanced light- ning at his companion. Dagon-like, Gammon had put forth his hand and touched the ark of Aubrey's honour. Gammon lost his colour, and for, per- haps, the first time in his life, quailed before the majesty of man ; 'twas also the majesty of suffering : for he had been torturing a noble nature. Neither of them spoke for some time — Mr Aubrey continuing highly excited — Gammon gazing at him with unfeign- ed amazement. The paper which he held in his hand i^stled, and he was obliged to lay it down on his lap, lest Mr Aubrey should notice this evidence of hip agitation. "I am guilty of great weakness, sir," said at length Mr Aubrey — his excitement only a little abated. He stood erect, and spoke with stern pre- cision ; "but you, perhaps unconscious- ly, provoked the display of it. Sir, I am ruined ; I am a beggar : we are all ruined ; we are all beggars : it is the ordering of God, and I bow to it. But do you presume, sir, to think that at last my hohouk is in danger ? and con- sider it necessary, as if you were warn- ing one whom you saw about to be- come a criminal, to expatiate on the nature of the meditated act by which I am to disgrace myself and my family?" Here that family seemed suddenly standing around him : his lip quivered ; his eyes filled ; he ceas- ed speaking ; and trembled with exces- sive emotion. " This is a sally equally unexpected, Mr Aubrey, and, permit me to add, unwarrantable," said Gammon calmly, having recovered his self-possession. "You have entirely misunderstood me, my character, sir, and what I have been saying — or I have ill explained myself. Your evident emotion and distress touch my soul, Mr Aubrey." Gammon's voice trembled. "Suffer me to tell you — unmoved by your 2 a 370 TEN THOUSAND A- YEAR. violent rebuke — that I feel an inex- pressible respect and admiration for you, and am miserable at the thought of one word of mine having occasioned you an instant's uneasiness." When a generous nature is thus treated, it is apt to feel an excessive contrition for any fault or extravagance which it may deem itself to have committed — an excessive appreciation of the pain whichit may have inflicted on another. Thus it was, that by the time Gammon had done speaking, Mr Aubrey felt mortified, and ashamed of himself, and conceived an admiration of the digni- fied forbearance of Gammon, which quickly heightened into respect for his general character, as it appeared to Aubrey, and fervent gratitude for the disposition which his companion had evinced, from first to last, so disinte- restedly to serve a ruined man. He seemed now to view all that Gammon had proposed in quite a new light — tbrough another medium ; and his ex- cited feelings were in some danger of disturbing his judgment. " As I am a man of business, Mi Aubrey," said Gammon shortly after- wards, with a captivating smile — ^how frank and forgiving seeming his tem- per, to Aubrey ! — " and this is a place for business, shall we resume our con- versation? With reference to the first ten thousand pounds, it can be a matter of future arrangement as to the mode of securing its payment ; and as for the remaining ten thousand, if I were not afraid of rendering my- self personally liable to Mr Titmouse for neglecting my professional duty to him, I should be content with your verbal promise — your mere word of honour, to pay it, as, and when, you conveniently could. But, in justice to myself, I really must take a show of security from you. Say, for in- stance, two promissory notes, for £5000 each, payable to Mr Titmouse. You may really regard them as matters of mere form ; for, when you shall have given them to me, they will be deposited there," pointing to an iron safe, " and not again be heard of until you may have thought proper to in- quire for them. The innuenoe which I happen to have obtained over Mr Titmouse, you may rely upon my exercising with energy, if ever he should be disposed to press you for payment of either of the instruments I have mentioned. I tell you candid- ly that they must be negotiable in point of form ; but I assure you, as sincerely, that I will not permit them to be negotiated. Now, may I venture to hope that we understand each other?" added Gammon with a cheer- ful air ; " and that this arrangement, if I shall be only able to carry it into effect, is a sufiioient evidence of my desire to serve you, and will relieve you from an immense load of anxiety and liability?" "An immense — a crushing load, in- deed, sir, if Providence shall in any manner, to me at present undiscover- able, enable me to perform my part of the arrangement, and if you have but power to carry your views into effect," replied Mr Aubrey, sighing heavily, but with a look of gratitude. " Leave that to me, Mr Aubrey ; I will undertake to do it ; I will move heaven and earth to do it — and the more eagerly, that I may thereby hope to establish akindofset-off against the misery, and loss which my professional exertions have unfortunately contri- buted to occasion you — and your hon- oured and distinguished family !" " I feel deeply sensible of your great — your unexpected kindness, Mr Gam- mon ; but still, the arrangement sug- gested is one occasioning me dreadful anxiety as to my being ever able to carry out my part of it." "Never, never despair, Mr Aubrey ! Heaven helps those who help them- selves ; and I really imagine I see your powerful energies already begin- ning to surmount yom- prodigious mffi- culties ! When you shall have slept over the matter, you will feel the full relief which this proposed arrange- ment is so calculated to afford your spirits. Of course, too, you will lose no time in communicating to Messrs Eunnington the nature of the proposal. I can predict that they will be not a little disposed to urge upon you its completion. I cannot, however, help TEN THOUSAND A.-TEAE. 371 once more reminding you, in justice to myself, Mr Aubrey, that it is but a proposition, in making which, I hope it will not prove that I have been carried away by my feelings much further than my duty to my client or his interests" Mr Aubrey was afraid to hear him finish the sentence, lest the faint dawn of hope should disappear from the dark and rough surface of the sea of trouble upon which he was being tossed. " I will consult, as you suggest, sir," said he, gravely, "my experienced and honourable professional advisers ; and am strongly inclined to believe that they will feel as you predict. I am of course bound to defer to them" " Oh, certainly ! certainly ! I am strict in the observance of professional etiquette, Mr Aubrey, I assure you ; and should not think of going on with this arrangement, except with their concurrence, acting on your behalf. One thing I have to beg, Mr Aubrey, that either you or they will communi- cate the result of your deliberations to me personally. I am desirous that the suggested compromise should, if it be entertained by you and Messrs Eunnington, be broken to my partners and our client, by myself.— By the way, if you will favour me with your address, I will make a point of call- ing at your house, either late in the evening or early in the morning. FAs if Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap had not kept eagle eyes upon his every movement since quitting Yatton, with a view to any sudden application for a writ of Ne 'JSxeas, which a sus- picious approach of his towards the sea coast might render necessary ! J " I am infinitely obliged to you, sir —but it would be far more convenient for both of us, if you could drop me a line, or favour me with a call at Mr Weasel's, in Pomegranate Court in the Temple." , . , ■, Gammon blushed scarlet ! happily unobserved, however, in his excite- ment and anxiety by Mr_ Aubrey. But for this accidental mention of the name of Mr Weasel, who was one of the pleaders occasionally employed by Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap in heavy matters— in all probability Mr Aubrey might, within a day or two's time, have had to exercise his facul- ties, if so disposed, upon a declaration of Trespass for Mesne Profits, in a cause of " Titmouse v. Acbeet ! " " As you choose, Mr Aubrey," re- plied Gammon, with difficulty con- cealing his feelings of pique and dis- appointment at loosing the opportuni- ty of a personal introduction by Mr Aubrey to his family. After a few words of general conversation, Gam- mon inquiring how Mr Aubrey liked his new profession, and assuring him, in an emphatic manner, that he might rely upon being supported, from the moment of his being called to the bar, by all the important common-law busi- ness of the firm of " Quirk, Gammon, and Snap" — they parted. It had been to Mr Aubrey a memorable interview — and to Gammon a somewhat arduous affair, taxing to an unusual extent his powers of self command and dissimula- tion. As soon as he was left alone, his thoughts instantly recurred to Au- brey's singular burst of hauteur and indignation. Gammonretained a sting- ing sense of submission to superior energy^and felt indignant with him- self for not having at the moment re- sented it. Setting aside this source of exquisite irritation to the feelings of a proud man, he felt a depressing consciousness t^at he had not met with his usual success, in his re- cent encounter with Mr Aubrey ; who had been throughout cautious, watch- ful, and courteously distrustful. He had afforded occasional glimpses of the unapproachable pride of his nature — and Gammon had consciously suc- cumbed. Had there been anything in their interview — thought he, walking thoughtfully to and fro in his room— which, when Aubrejr came to reflect upon it, would excite his suspicion and displeasure? For instance, had Gammon disclosed too much concern- ing the extent of his influence over Titmouse ? His cheek slightly flush- ed ; a sigh of fatigue and excitement escaped him ; and gathering together his papers, he began to prepare for quitting the office for the day. 372 TEN THOUSAND A-YEAE. Mr Aubrey left Messrs Quirk, Gam- mon, and Snap's ofiSoe, with feelings of mingled exhaustion and despon- dency. As he walked down Saffron Hill — a dismal neighbourhood ! — what scenes did he witness ! Poverty and profligacy revelling, in all their wild and revolting excesses ! Here, was an Irishman, half-stupified with liquor and bathed in blood, just rescued from a savage fight, in a low under- ground public-house cellar, by , his squalid wife, with dishevelled hair and a filthy infant in her arms^who walked beside him cursing, pinching, and striking him — reproaching him with the knowledge that she and her seven children were lying starving at home. Presently he stumbled; she with her wretched babe falling down with him : and she lay striking, and scratching, and abusing him till some one interfered. There, was a woman — as it were, a bloated mass of filth steeped in gin — standing with a drunken smile at an old-clothes stall, pawning a dirty little shirt, which she had a few minutes before stripped from the back of one of her four half-naked children ! A little further on, was a noisy ex- cited crowd round two men carrying a shutter, on which was stiapped the bleeding body (a handkerchief spread over the face) of a poor bricklayer, who had fallen a few minutes before from the top of some scaffolding in the neighbourhood, and was at that instant in the agonies of death — ^leav- ing behind him a wife and nine chil- dren, for whom the poor fellow had long slaved from morning to night, and who were now ignorant of the frightful fate which had befallen him, and that they were left — the widow and fatherless — utterly destitute. There, was a skinny little terrified urchin, about eight years old, with nothing to conceal his dirty, half- starved body, but a tattered man's coat, pinned round him ; dying with hunger, he had stolen a villanous- looking bare bone — ^having scarce a halfpenny worth of meat upon it ; and a brawny constable, his knuckles fiercely dug into the poor little offen- der's neck, with his tight grasp, was dragging him off, followed bjr his shrieking mother, to the police-office, whence he would be committed to Newgate ; and thence, after two or three months' imprisonment, and be- ing flogged — miserable little wretch ! — -by the common hangman, who had hanged the child's father some six months before, he would be discharged — to return probably several times and undergo a similar process ; then to be transported ; and finally be hanged, as had been his father before him. These startling scenes passed before Mr Aubrey, in the course of a five minutes' walk down Saffron Hill — during which period he now and then paused, and gazed around him with feelings of pity, of astonishment, of disgust, which presently blended and deepened into a dark sense of horror. These scenes, to some so fatally fa- miliar — fatally, I mean, on account of the INDIPFEEENOE which familiarity is apt to induce — to Mr Aubrey, had on them all the frightful glare of novelty. He had never witnessed anything of the sort before ; and had no notion of its existence. The people residing on each side of the Hill, however, seemed accustomed to such scenes ; which they appeared to view with the same dreadful indifference with which a lamb led to the slaugMer is beheld by one who has spent his life next door to the slaughter-house. The Jew clothesman, before whose shop window, arrested by the horrifying spectacle of the bleeding wretch borne alon^ to the hospital, Mr Aubrey had remained standing for a second or two, took the opportunity to assail him, with pertinacious importunities to purchase some articles of clothing ! A fat baker, and a greasy eating- house keeper, stood each at his door, one with folded arms, the other with his hands thrust into his pockets — both of them gazilig with a grin at two curs fighting in the middle of the street— oh, how utterly insensible to the ravenous want around them ! The pallid spectres haunting the gin- shop — a large splendid structure at the corner— gazed with sunken lack- TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR. 373 lustre eye, and drunken apathy, at the shattered man who washeing borne by. Ah, God ! what scenes were these ! And of what other hidden wretched- ness and horror did they not indicate the existence ! ' Gracious mercy ! ' thought Aubrey, 'what a worldhave 1 been living in ! And this dismal aspect of it exposed to me just when I have lost all power of relieving its wretchedness ! ' — ^here a thrill of an- guish passed through his heart — ' but, ■woe, woe is me ! if at this moment I had a thousand times ten thousand a-year, how far would it go amidst the scenes similar to this, abounding in this one city ? Oh God ! what un- utterable horror must be in store for those who, intrusted by Thee with an overflowing abundance, disregard the misery around them in guilty selfish- ness and indolence, or ' — he shudder- ed — ' expend it in sensuality and pro- fligacy ! Will Dives become sensible of his misconduct, only when he shall have entered upon his next stage of existence, and of punishment? Oh, merciful Creator! how is my heart wrung by the sight of horrors such as these ? Awful and mysterious Author of our existence, Father of the spirits of all flesh, are these states of being which Thou hast ordained? Are these thy children? Are these my fellow-creatures ? Oh, help me ! help me ! my weak heart faints ; my clouded understanding is confounded! I cannot— insect that I am !— discern the scope and end of thy economy, of thy dread government of the world ; yet blessed be the name of my God ! — I KNOW that thou reignestl though clouds amd darkness are around thee 1 righteousness and jiidgment are the habi- tation of thy throne I with righteousness shalt tfum judge the world, ahd the PEOPLE WITH EQUITY ! * Like as the lesser light is lost in the greater, so, in Aubrey's case, was the lesser misery he suffered merged in the sense of the greater misery he witnessed. What, after all, was his position, in comparison with that of those now before and around him? What cause of thankfulness had he not, for even the merciful mildness of the dispensations of Providence to- wards him ? — Such were his thoughts and feelings, as he stood gazing at the objects which had called them forth, when his eye lit on the figure of Mr Gammon, approaching him. He was threading his way, apparently lost in thought, through the scenes which had so powerfully affected Mr Aubrey ; who stood eyeing him with a sort of unconscious intensity, as if secure from his observation, till he was actually addressed by him. " Mr Aubrey ! " exclaimedGammon, courteously saluting him. Each took off his hat to the other. Though Au- brey hardly intended it, he found him- self engaged in conversation with Gammon, who, in a remarkably feel- ing tone, and with a happy flattering deference of manner, intimated that he could guess the subject of Mr Au- brey's thoughts, namely, the absorb- ing matters which they had been dis- cussing together. " No, it is not so," said Mr Aubrey, with a sigh, as he walked on — Gam- mon keeping easily beside him — " I have been profoundly affected by scenes which I have witnessed in the immediate neighbourhood of your office, since quitting it ! what misery ! what horror ! " " Ah, Mr Aubrey ! " — exclaimed Gammon, echoing the sigh of his companion, as they slowly ascended Holbom Hill, separate, but side by side — " what a checkered scene is life ! Guilt and innocence — happiness and misery — wealth and poverty — disease and health — ^wisdom and folly — sensu- ality and refinement — piety aud irre- iigion — how strangely intermingled we behold them, wherever we look on life — and how difficult, to the philoso- pher, to detect the principle" " Difficult ? — Impossible ! Impos- sible! God alone can do so!" — ex- claimed Mr Aubrey thoughtfully, and reverently. " Comparison, I have often thought," said Gammon, after a pause — " ofone's own troubles with the greater misfor- tunes endured by others, is beneficial or prejudicial — consolatory or disheart- ening — according as the mind of him 374 TEN THOUSAND A-TEAK. who makes the comparison is well, or ill, regulated — possessedj or destitute, of moral and religious principle ! " " It is so, indeed," said Mr Aubrey. Though not particularly inclined to enter into or prolong conversation, he was pleased with the tone of his com- panion's remark. "As for me" — proceeded Gammon with a slight sigh— r" the absorbing anxieties of professional life ; and, that, too, in a line which, infinitely to my distaste, brings me constantly into scenes such as you have been ob- serving — have contributed to render me, I fear, less sensible of their real character ; yet can I vividly conceive the effect they must, when fii-st seen, produce upon the mind and heart of a compassionate, an observant, a re- flecting man, Mr Aubrey, like your- self!" Gammon looked a gentleman ; his address was easy and insinuating, full of delicate deference, without the slightest tendency to cant or syco- phancy ; his conversation that of an educated and thinking man. He was dping his utmost to produce a favour- able impression on Mr Aubrey ; and, as is little to be wondered at, he suc- ceeded. By the time that they had got about twenty yards beyond Fetter Lane, they might have been seen walking together, arm-in-arm. As they approached Oxford Street, they suddenly encountered MrEunnington. " God bless me, Mr Aubrey ! " said he surprisedly — " and Mr Gammon ? How do you do, Mr Gammon ! " — ^he! continued, taking off his hat with a little formality, and speaking in a cor- responding tone ; but he was encoun- tered by Gammon with greatly supe- rior ease and distance, and was not a little nettled at it ; for he was so pal- pably foiled with his own weapons. " Well — I shall now resign you to your legitimate adviser, Mr Aubrey," said Gammon with a smile : then, ad- dressing Mr Eunnington, in whose countenance pique and pride were abundantly visible — " Mr Aubrey has favoured me with a call to-day, and we have had some little discussion on a matter which he will explain to you. As for me, Mr Aubrey, I ought to have turned off two streets ago — so I wish you good evening." Mr Aubrey and he shook hands as they exchanged adieus : Mr Eunning- ton and he simply raised each his hat, and bowed to the other with cold po- liteness. As Mr Eunnington and Mr Aubrey walked westward together, the former, who was a remarkably cautious man, did not think fit to ex- press the uneasiness he felt at Mr Aubrey's having entered into any- thing like confidential intercourse with one whom he believed to be so subtle and dangerous a person as Mr Gammon. He was, however, greatly surprised when he came to hear of the proposal which had been made by Mr Gammon, concerning the mesne profits ; which, he said, was so unac- countably reasonable and liberal, con- sidering the parties by whom it was made, that he feared Mr Aubrey must be labouring under some mistake. He would, however, turn it anxiously over in his mind, and consult with his partners ; and, in short, do whatever they conceived best for Mr Aubrey — that he might depend upon. " And, in the mean time, my dear sir," added Mr Eunnington, with a smile designed to disguise considerable anxiety, " it may be as well for you not to have any further personal communication with these parties, whom you do not know as well as we do ; but let us negotiate with them in everything, even the least 1 " Thus they parted ; and Mr Aubrey entered Vivian Street with a considerably lighter heart than he had ever before carried into it. A vivid recollection of the scenes which he had witnessed at Saffron Hill, caused him exquisitely to appreciate the comforts of his little home, and to return the welcomes and caresses which he received, with a kind of trembling tenderness and energy. As he folded his still blooming but some- what anxious wife fondly to his bosom, kissed his high-spirited and lovely sister, and fondled the prattling inno- cents who clambered uponhis knees, he forgot, for a while, the difficulties, but remembered the lessons of the day. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I.