Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

ડેટ Surely," said Blanche, "you cannot be so cruel as to widen the breach between my father and brother." "Can't help it, miss," replied Slink, "I am bound."

"I entreat, I implore you," cried Blanche, 66 my dear lord," and she took his hand; "I shall feel eternal gratitude towards you; I shall for ever esteem and regard you, if you will refrain from doing the poor fellow so great an injury.”

Slink was almost out of his senses at his situation-his hand in her's-words so kind, looks so beseeching, he writhed with rapture and exquisite confusion, and could only articulate, "Zooks! dear me, what shall I do? Harkee, miss, I shall lose a sight by this business, and mayhap get lamentably cuffed for it; but if I says one word against your brother, I wish I may die in a coal-hole, with my face to the slack!"

"Thank you, my kind friend," answered Blanche, astonished at his vulgarity; "so, pray, should my father question you respecting him, merely reply, that you must positively decline all participation in the affair."

"Positively decline-all participation-in the affair. Eees, 1 will. I fancies that answers surprisingly, it sounds so deuced statesmanloike and unaccountable."

The girls, as their lovers had suspected, quite neglected them, and gave all their attention to the titles; nor could Wildwood, much as he wished to converse with his sister, extract one syllable from her. At length, Clermont beckoned the noblemen away, and he and Wildwood sat down in their stead. Still not a sentence, save in praise of the marquis and baronet, would these young ladies condescend to communicate.

In the meantime, the groom and valet having met together in the middle of the room; "I say, Prime,"

whispered Slink," how do you get on in that quarter?"

"Odd rabbit it, not quite so swimmingly as at first," answered Prime. "She laughed consumedly; and that would not signify so much, only somehow, I think she was laughing at me. She quite knocked me up by being so cruel genteel. But, I say, how have you managed?"

"Mr Prime," answered Slink, with a woeful physiognomy," it don't argufy talking, I must fly my country."

The devil!" exclaimed Prime; "have you botched it?"

"Such condescension," said Slink, "and she shook my hand so, and she smiled just this way. 'Sblood! I'd give half I'm worth in the world, to be a real lord!"

"What the mischief!" exclaimed Prime, "are you bewitched?" "Oh,

"Too truly," said Slink. Prime, Prime, I bees in love with her, sinner as I am; and, dang me, if I don't think she laikes me hugely."

"Mercy upon the man!" cried Prime, and burst into fits of laughing.

"'Tis no laughing matter, Mr Prime," said Slink, "master will murder me for it. By the mass, such an accident never happened me before; and now nothing remains for me, but to run my country!"

[ocr errors]

His lamentations were interrupted by a servant, who begged that Mr Montalbert, Lord Mushroomstown, and Sir Pompey Daggercrest, would favour Sir Frankley with their company in another room.

Accordingly, they proceeded thither, and found him and Adderape sitting at a table, with a large parchment before them.

"Without any ceremony or circumlocution," said Sir Frankley, "I must inform you, gentlemen, that I have only delayed signing this deed, which makes over a large portion of my property to my stepson Adderape, till I could as

certain the truth of some unpleasant reports respecting my son Harry Wildwood. You, gentlemen, I learn, can acquaint me with the facts; and the very moment you convince me of his unworthiness, I sign, the deed."

"Though we are sorry for your son Harry," said Wildwood," yet we feel no hesitation in exposing his improprietics, for the sake of serving our friend Adderape; a gentleman, whom Sir Pompey, Lord Mushroomstown, and myself, have known intimately these six months."

"Sir Frankley," began Prime, who had taken immense pains with his story, "your son Harry was my friend. I lent him cool hundreds; introduced him to raw gamesters; taught him to cog, pack, brag, play booty, and altogether acted a most noble part towards him."

"Beelzebub himself could not have done more," muttered Sir Frankley. "One night," continued Prime, "there was a party of us met at whist; Lord Newmarket, the Duke of Dandy, young Cobwebpurse, and your humble servant were playing. Midnight Dick, second-hand Bob, Jem the marker, Harry Wildwood and Lord Musroomstown were looking on. An't it so, my lord?"

"Sir," answered Slink, to the astonishment of Wildwood, "I must positively decline all participation in the affair."

"Well," resumed Prime," my game stood, as the French say, in an imposing attitude; but when happening to turn round, I saw Harry Wildwood behind my chair with four fingers and a thumb up to the duke; a damn'd imposing attitude that too. So the duke finessed his knave, and fobbed my thou sand pounds in full grin."

"Well, and then," exclaimed Sir Frankley, breathless with agony.

"Why, then," said Prime, "I milled Harry, fibbed him, sir, endowed him

with a variegated face, and beat it to double the size of the original." "Zounds! and he?" again cried Sir Frankley.

"Thought it became him, I believe : for he took it safe home, kept it in his room a month, and was so busied in cooking it, that he quite forgot to make me the common offer of a shot through the head."

"And you, my Lord Mushroomstown," said Sir Frankley, you witnessed this?"

"Sir," answered Slink, "I must positively decline all participation in the affair."

"'Sdeath! sirrah," whispered Wildwood, "what do you mean? Where did you get that damned flourishing sentence?"

"Can't help saying it, for the soul o' me," returned Slink.

"'Tis all over, and my resolution is fixed," said Sir Frankley, opening the deed. "Were the wretched boy only wild, extravagant, and dissipated, I could forgive him; but a blackleg and a dastard-Give me the pen."

"Wild, extravagant, and dissipated I may be," exclaimed Wildwood, falling at his father's feet," but I am not a blackleg or a dastard—I am your son!"

"You!" exclaimed Sir Frankley.

"Your discarded son," continued Wildwood, "whose base stepbrother has poisoned your ears against me, and joined with me in this plot to ruin me for ever."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Sir Frankley, "a falsehood on the face of it. What! if you were really Harry, would you join in a plot against yourself?"

"Yes, for the purpose of proving my stepbrother's villany," said Wildwood. "But I will explain all in a moment. These, sir, are not a marquis and a baronet, they are a groom and a valet. Speak, Prime, an't you

a valet?"

"You know, sir," whispered Prime, "master charged us not to discover ourselves, till he himself gave us the signal."

"Curse on your precision," cried Wildwood; "speak, Slink, an't you a groom?"

"Sir," answered Slink, "I must positively decline all participation in the affair."

"Go, scoundrels," exclaimed Wildwood, collaring and thrusting them out of the room, 66 go send your master here this instant."

"Sign, sir, sign the deed," said Adderape, who saw through the whole affair, and had become desperate. "You see what a ruffian he is."

"'Slife! the most audacious I ever met," said Sir Frankley, and was just seizing the pen, when the waiter of the inn, Patty, and a parcel of constables entered the room.

"What is the matter?" exclaimed Sir Frankley.

"Thank heaven!" cried Wildwood, "here is evidence! Harkee, waiter, you know my name, don't you?"

"No more than a Turk," answered the waiter. "I only know that you have stolen three silver spoons, and that I am come after you, with constables and a search warrant."

"Fairly caught at last!" cried Sir Frankley, and was about to sign.

"Stop one moment!" exclaimed Wildwood," and hear this girl. Speak, Patty, speak, and establish my character."

"Then if I must speak, fellow," said Patty, "establish my character first. To pass me off for your wife, forsooth, and so get me arrested on suspicion of assisting you in stealing spoons."

"Then you must know him well," said Sir Frankley. "What is his name?"

"Tom Montalbert," said Patty.

"Confusion!" muttered Wildwood. "Sign," cried Adderape.

At this moment old Verity came into the room.

"Huzza!" exclaimed Wildwood, "here he is. Here is the man to settle all. Who am I, Verity? Who am I? Speak, are you deaf? Are you dumb? Why, Verity," and Wildwood shook him by the shoulder, "hollo! stock, stone, post, pillar! Very well, sign away, sign away."

"There is a cunning dog for you," said Sir Frankley; "he knows that poor Verity is crazed, and that his peculiar madness consists in taking the fellow himself for my son."

66

ape.

Sign, I say," vociferated Adder

"This instant," said Sir Frankley, and began to write.

Verity, who by this time had ap proached the table, snatched up the parchment, and then turned to Wildwood.

"What is your opinion of truth now, master? And will you bid me be silent now, master? And am I crazy now, master?"

"Truth is a treasure, your voice is music, and you are by far the most sensible man alive," exclaimed Wildwood.

"There, Sir Frankley," said Verity, "there stands your son, as anxious to confess his relationship now, as he was to deny it this morning."

"I cannot, will not, believe this villain my son," said Sir Frankley; "two persons of rank were here just now, who-"

"Who are here again," interrupted Wildwood, as Prime and Slink, escorted by Clermont, re-entered in their liveries." The servants of my friend Clermont, and the understrappers, whom I, as one Tom Montalbert, hired at the instigation of your stepson, to prove me a blackleg and a coward."

"By heaven!" cried Sir Frankley, "I see through it all. Verity, you never told me a falsehood. What am I to think of Harry?"

"That he is a thoughtless, squandering young cub, like his father before him," answered Verity. "Harkee, sir, I have known you both, since you were a span and a half high, and there never was but one shade of difference between you."

"And what was it?" asked Sir Frankley.

[ocr errors][merged small]

forgive you for being a better man than your father!"

Need we say more? Or are our readers really so ignorant of all such tales, as not to know, that Adderape was turned out of the house; that the spoons were found in the backgammon box; that the coquettes confessed their foibles; that Blanche married Clermont; that Wildwood married Myrtylla; that Patty got the white satin gown, with the border of red roses; that Verity lived to be older than ever, and that Slink was promoted to a coachman's seat, for having positively declined all participation in the af fair.

ACCOUNT

OF A

PEDESTRIAN EXCURSION FROM GENEVA TO THE VALLEY OF CHAMOUNIX,

AND OF

A VISIT TO THE HIGHER REGIONS OF THE
MER DE GLACE

I LEFT Geneva at six in the morning of Thursday, on my way to the celebrated Valley of Chamounix, in company with some old friends whom I had accidentally encountered a few evenings before. The day was dark and cloudy, a thin watery mist hung upon the hills, and the face of nature upon the whole seemed rather unpro. pitious. The weather, however, in all mountainous countries, being so changeable, we did not despair of better times towards the afternoon, and were not disappointed. We proceeded about a mile to Nangy, where we breakfasted, and then advanced to Bonneville, a town of respectable size. Its natural station is beautiful, being close upon the banks of the Arve, which are finely varied by woodland and pasture ground. There are some high and finely wooded hills in the immediate neighbourhood, and in deep crevices among the pines, at no great height, even at this season, there were patches of snow; here we cross

ed the river, and walked along its right bank. Every step we advanced, the scenery increased in grandeur, and the hills in height. Snowy mountains lay directly before us, and the road winded along the base of a richly wooded hill, which shewed the hand of autumn in every imaginable tint. The dark and unvaried pines occupied only the rocky summits; the sides were ornamented with the oak, the birch, and the mountain ash, and here and there a bright and fiery branch of the wild cherry-tree. Fortunately, too, at this time, the mists were dispelled, the clouds ascended from the vallies, and formed fine wreaths on the mountain-tops, and the sun broke forth to complete the glory of the scene,

[ocr errors][merged small]
« PoprzedniaDalej »