t^. 
 
 l< 
 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 823 
 
 L796S 
 
 V. I
 
 SIR GOODWIN'S FOLLY 
 
 A STORY OF THE YEAR 1795. 
 
 ARTHUR LOCKER. 
 
 A wizard raised his magic looking-glass, 
 And bade me search there for my lover's face ; 
 
 I saw a shadowy troop before me pass, 
 Some clad in russet, some bedecked with lace : 
 
 Ah ! woe is me ! I scorned the humble part, 
 
 And chose Gentility without a heart. 
 
 The Village Maiden. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1864. 
 
 [The Right of Translation reserved.]
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/sirgoodwinsfolly01lock
 
 ^^3 ■ 
 V, I 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 4 
 
 > 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 rv ^ PAGE 
 
 J Retired from Business 1 
 
 (^ 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 The Gilt-edged Note 17 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 JUted 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Boxiana . . . . . • • • . . 59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Two Substantial Tradesmen 78 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 On the Ice • . . . 97 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The B. C 116 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 A Haunt of Fashion 129 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Prison Visitors 145? 
 
 ^
 
 IV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Asses of Mount Gerizim 164 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Advertisement 181 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 A Visitor in Eastcheap 199 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Out of Jail 218 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 A Missionary Tour 226 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Serafina's Cash-box 236 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 A Sporting Hermit 248 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Outwitting the Redbreasts 257 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Road-book 274 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Ignominy 286 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Crossing Swords 294
 
 SIR GOODWIX'S FOLLY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 
 
 " Puffery, sir, do^^^l^gllt piiffeiy, that*6 what 
 I call it," said ^Ir. Gattrell, a taU, stout, florid old 
 gentleman of threescore, as he laid the Public 
 Advertiser on the table for the purpose of address- 
 ing another old gentleman who sat opposite. 
 
 It was a bitterly cold evening during the memo- 
 rably hard winter of 1794-5, and the two seniors 
 were smoking their pipes in a snug inner sanctum 
 of the AntigaUican Coffee-house, which was situated 
 behind the Eoyal Exchange. 
 
 The old gentlemen (who assisted the digestion of 
 the tobacco by means of a couple of steaming glasses 
 of rum-punch) were e^^dently a brace of True Blue, 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 SIR GOODWIN S FOLLY. 
 
 No Surrender, Church-and-King men. The news- 
 paper which they read, the estabhshment which 
 they patronised, the clothes which they wore, suf- 
 ficiently indicated their political bias. They were 
 both dressed in an old-fashioned style, wearing 
 broad-skirted coats, long waistcoats (well dusted 
 viitb. snuff), buckles at their knees and on their 
 shoes, and full-bottomed powdered wigs on their 
 heads. 
 
 "^Tiafs puffery. Master Gattrell?" demanded 
 the other old gentleman. 
 
 "T\niy this piece of nonsense of James Chig- 
 wood's. It makes me half ashamed of having been 
 in the profession. Listen," said Mr. Gattrell, 
 arranging a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles on his 
 nose with very tremulous fingers, and resuming 
 the newspaper : 
 
 " ' To the Nobility, Gentry, and Others whom 
 it may concern. — James Chigwood, having suc- 
 ceeded to the business of the miich-respected ISIr. 
 Adam Gattrell, Perruquier and Hairdresser, begs 
 to inform Persons of Quality, and the Public gene- 
 rally, that, besides manufacturing every species of 
 Peruke as worn by Royalty, the Dignified Clergy, 
 &c., J. C. imdertakes to dress Ladies' and Gentle- 
 men's Hair in the most elegant modem fashion. To 
 encourage the growth of Natural Hair (by using 
 the only Genuine Restorative extant), J. C has 
 imported, at heavy cost, two Russian Bears from
 
 EETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 3 
 
 Riga, one of which will be slaughtered monthly, 
 and a fresh supply will be constantly forwarded by 
 his agent in those parts. — St. Antholin's-court, 
 Watling-street, January, 1795.' 
 
 " It's enough to murder the best business in 
 London," said Mr. Gattrell, folding the newspaper 
 across his knee, and draining the last drop of his 
 punch. " I kept that shop for years and years, as 
 you know, Mr. Pead." 
 
 Mr. Pead nodded. 
 
 "And I'tc made a tidy bit of money in that 
 shop, han't I, Tyli'. Pead?" 
 
 ^Lr. Pead nodded again. 
 
 "And I never paragraphed in a paper in my 
 life, did I, J\lr. Pead?'' 
 
 "To my knowledge, sir, you never did. But 
 lord. Master Gattrell, the times have changed. 
 When we was young men, a tradesman didn't need- 
 to run about seeking customers. Each man had 
 his family connexion. He kept a good ai'ticle, and 
 he sold it at a fair price. Now-a-days, the man that 
 has the loudest tongue gets the most busmess. In 
 my opinion, Mr. Gattrell, Old England's been 
 going down, down, down, ever since the American 
 war." 
 
 " Ay, you burnt your fingers at that time, ^Ii\ 
 Pead.'' 
 
 " Burnt my fingers ? I was robbed, sir. I sent 
 E 2
 
 4 SIR GOODWIN S FOLLY. 
 
 a venture of ]\Ianchester goods to Virginia just 
 before the war began, and never got a sixpence 
 back. John B. Warren and Co., my consignees, 
 pocketed the money, I suppose. In my beHef , that's 
 all the Yankees ever went to war for — to avoid 
 paying their lawful debts." 
 
 "Well," said Mr. Gattrell, carefully fixing his 
 three-cornered hat upon his head, and grasping his 
 silver-topped cane, "I wish you a good evening, 
 Mr. Pead. William ! " he exclaimed, as he 
 reached the ground-floor landing, " my great-coat 
 and '\;\Tapper." 
 
 Presently the ex-hairdresser emerged into the 
 open air, muffled to the ears, while his rubicund 
 nose, seeming ruddier than usual by contrast with 
 the white comforter which encircled his throat, 
 puffed volumes of steam into the chilly night air. 
 Passing by the Eoyal Exchange and the Mansion 
 House, he turned do^vn Walbrook, and, after 
 threading several tortuous streets, entered St. An- 
 tholin's-court, a quiet little paved square, inac- 
 cessible to carriages, near the church of that name. 
 He paused in front of his late establishment, and 
 peeped in at the window, but being infonned by 
 the sound of numerous voices that an unusual 
 bustle was going on within, he proceeded a few 
 paces farther on, and knocked at the private door. 
 
 To an eye accustomed to the excessive shop- 
 decoration of the present day, Mr. Chigwood's
 
 RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 5 
 
 premises would appear dingy and unattractive. 
 The windows were small and many-paned, while 
 the shop was low-browed, with a projecting upper 
 story. In place of a couple of lovely waxen busts, 
 smiling amid a forest of hair-brushes, ornamental 
 combs, and variegated pots of pomatum, illuminated 
 by brilliant gasaliers, and multiplied indefinitely by 
 sheets of looking-glass; in place of all this, the 
 Avdndow presented a dozen specimens of wigs, sober 
 broAvn, simple flaxen, or powdered white and grey. 
 The ^Tdgar scratch, the plain bob, the more pre- 
 tentious periwig, were all represented, and were 
 mounted on blocks feebly hghted up by a couple of 
 mould candles. Behind these a crimson curtain, 
 drawn the whole length of the A^^ndow, concealed 
 the interior from public gaze. There was one 
 object, however, wliich afforded an unceasbig 
 supply of wonderment to the children of the 
 neighbourhood. This was a bear-cub stuffed, 
 placed on its hind-legs as if soliciting buns, and 
 holding in its fore-paws a flowingly-composed ad- 
 vertisement, which set forth the manifold attrac- 
 tions of ursine grease. 
 
 "Why, Bildad!" exclaimed Mr. Gattrell, as a 
 tall gawky youth, with a pair of goggle eyes and 
 an enormous mouth, opened the door — " "^'hy, Bil- 
 dad ! Turned nursemaid ? "' 
 
 " Yes, ]Mr. Gattrell," replied Bildad, colouring, 
 as he dandled a six months' old baby on his arm.
 
 6 SIR GOODWIN S FOLLY. 
 
 "There are two reasons for my ockipjing such a 
 position, su\ Fh'st of all, Dorothy, that strappmg 
 wench you saw here, went back to Hertfordshire 
 well-nigh broken-hearted. It seems her sweet- 
 heart had just come from the East Indies, when 
 the press-gang caught liim in EatcHff-highway. 
 That's one reason, su' ; the second is, an ugly cut 
 across my right hand, so I'm of no use in the shop. 
 Let me hang up your coat, su'," said the youth, 
 placing a chair by the fire. 
 
 "Ay, do, my boy. I want to have a talk with 
 you, Bildad. You see, when I bound you 'prentice 
 to Jemmy Chigwood, and paid the premium (least- 
 ways the amount is caiiied to my credit in the 
 books), I wanted you to keep your eyes open, eh, 
 Bildad?" 
 
 "You did, sir." 
 
 ^^ You're aware that it's my money which is 
 a- working the business, and that Chigwood hasn't 
 a groat to call his o\^ti ? " 
 
 "lam, sir." 
 
 ^' Well then, first and foremost, how's trade to- 
 night ? " 
 
 Bildad arose, and, by way of answ^er, opened an 
 inner door which led into the passage. 
 
 Two of Mr. Gattrell's senses immediately in- 
 formed his brain that trade was brisk. His nose 
 was gratified by the smell of singed hair, implying 
 that curling was m active operation; while his
 
 RETIKED FKOM BUSINESS. 7 
 
 ears were tickled by the melodious voices of many 
 customers, and ]Mr, Chigwood's sharp perpetual 
 cry of '' Tongs !" repeated every few moments. 
 
 "All ahve oh ! to-night, eh, sir f " said Bildad. 
 
 '^Yes, it sounds well, and,*' said Mr. Gattrell, 
 snuffing the air, "it smells well. Lor bless me!" 
 he exclauned, startinor from his chair in crreat 
 alarm, '* what's that ? " 
 
 A succession of low growls, accompanied by tlie 
 rattling of chains, was heard, apparently proceed- 
 ing from beneath the ex-barber's feet. 
 
 " Only Marco and IMiranza, sir," replied Bildad, 
 with a laugh, and quoting the announcement wliich 
 hung in the shop-window, "now fattening for 
 slaughter." 
 
 " They are real bears, then ? " 
 
 "Yes,sh'." 
 
 "Not from Eooshier?" 
 
 "Xo, from Xew York. Master says the Ame- 
 rican gi'ease is just as good, only the pubhc don't 
 thmk so." 
 
 "' And do you mean to tell me he's going to kill 
 one of them every month ? " 
 
 Bildad laid his fincrer to the side of his nose. 
 
 "Am I to tell you the truth, ]Mr. Gattrell ? " 
 
 " Of course you are. Haven't I paid for your 
 indentures ? " 
 
 " Then, sir. Til tell you how we're going to work 
 it. On the first of Febewary we shall kill, down in
 
 8 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 the cellar. As a great privilege, some of the cus- 
 tomers will see the deed done. That sounds fair 
 enough, don't it, sir ? " 
 
 "Ay,"saidMr. GattreU. 
 
 " But, sir, overnight we shall have a bacon-hog 
 brought in on the sly. We shall kill him in a bear- 
 skin. Do you take, llr. Gattrell ? " 
 
 "I'll tell you what, Bildad," said Mr. Gattrell, 
 " your master's a precious scoundi'el. I wish my 
 money was safe out of his hands. And now, another 
 question. How comes this baby such a queer 
 colour ; it looks as if it had the yellow jaundice ? " 
 
 "They're all three like that," sniggered Bildad. 
 " Born in a hot climate." 
 
 " That wouldn't make 'em black. Why, poor 
 Sir William Jones, who was all his life in the 
 Indies, was as fair a man as I am. Many's the 
 time I've had his head in my hands.- Where's 
 Mrs. Chigwood, Bildad?" 
 
 " Never heard tell of the lady." 
 
 "Well, it's a mysterious affair, and I ^A^isli to 
 goodness my money was " 
 
 Here the door opened, and admitted Mr. Chig- 
 wood, attired in a smart white apron and exemplary 
 jacket. He was a short, dark-complexioned, mry- 
 looking man of five-and-thirty, with sharply-cut 
 knowing features, and a perpetual smile playing 
 about the corners of his mouth. 
 
 "My dear friend and adviser," he exclaimed,
 
 RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 9 
 
 shakincr Mr. Gattrell's hand with a show of ex- 
 treme warmth, " I am delighted to see you. We're 
 doing a roaring trade, sir, and," added Mr. Chig- 
 wood, with a great yawn, "I am as tii'ed as a 
 hackney-coach horse on a rainy Sunday. Bildad, 
 give me the baby ; go into the shop and help the 
 other 'prentice with the tongs. I shall be back 
 directly. I've only left for five minutes' breathing 
 time." 
 
 As soon as Bildad had quitted the room, 'Mx. 
 ChigAvood ch'ew closer to his visitor, and whispered 
 in his ear : 
 
 " Thirty per cent., my dear sir, on the capital 
 advanced by you. That's what I shall have the 
 pleasui'e of handing you on Lady-day." 
 
 "Hum I" murmured ^Ir. Gattrell, rubbing his 
 tremulous hands together with some anxiety. " To 
 tell you the truth, ^Ir. Chigwood, I don't like your 
 way of doing business." 
 
 "No?" 
 
 " No I don't. Look at these bears. There's a 
 mint of money sunk ! " 
 
 " Those bears will yield an excellent return, my 
 dear sh\ Several epicm^es at the Court-end of the 
 town have got theii' names down for the hams, 
 while the grease alone will return the capital in- 
 vested." 
 
 " Then I don't approve of puffing." 
 
 " Not approve of advertising I My dear sir, we
 
 10 SIR GOODWIN'S FOLLY. 
 
 must marcli with tlie times. Look at the chanaes 
 
 o 
 
 abroad. Look at the wonderful spread of ^" 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Mr. Gattrell, in gi-eat 
 wrath, " have you turned Jacobin I By the Lord 
 Harry, if you have, you shall hand over every six- 
 pence of my money before I quit the house." 
 
 "Nonsense, Mr. Gattrell; of course not," said 
 Chigwood, tm-ning slightly pale, " but you know 
 we barbers must be all things to all men. Now, 
 I've been curling the heads of half a dozen 
 patriots, downright Foxites, Crown and Anchor 
 men ; and I suppose I've imbibed a little of their 
 false philosophy." 
 
 " I'm glad to hear you've got the grace to call it 
 so," responded the old Tory, rather sulkily. " Have 
 you mtroduced that new easy shaving-chair you 
 was talking about ? " 
 
 " Yes, my dear sir. Walk into the shop, if you 
 please; the customers are always delighted to see 
 you. There, take my arm. Mind the two steps." 
 
 "Lord love ye, Chigwood," said the ex-barber, 
 "I've kno^\ai these steps for five-and-thirty year. 
 I should know 'em if my head was tied up in a 
 napkui." 
 
 The invitation to enter the shop had restored the 
 old gentleman to good humom* at once. Like the 
 well-known candle-maker, who, after his retirement, 
 could not forbear entering the factory on melting- 
 days, Mr. Gattrell loved to revisit his old place of
 
 RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 11 
 
 business on a bustling night. But be was extremely 
 punctiKous. He would not walk: coolly in on tbe 
 strength of the capital invested in the concern. He 
 required to be in^-ited. When invited, however, he 
 accepted the offer eagerly. 
 
 Mr. Gattrell was very popular with his successor's 
 customers, but for one drawback. He was fond, on 
 a busy night, of offering to lend a hand, and was 
 especially desirous of showing his skill in the use of 
 the razor. But as owing either to a pai'ahi:ic 
 affection, or an undue devotion to that seducing 
 liquor, rum-punch, his hands trembled like aspen- 
 leaves, it may be conceived that nervous persons 
 dreaded his approach. 
 
 "Good evening, gentlemen all," said ^Ir. Gat- 
 trell, as he entered the shop, bowing in a compre- 
 hensive manner, so as to include the whole of Mr. 
 Chigwood's patients. A general chorus of good 
 evenings responded to his salutation. 
 
 Without further parley, !Mi\ Gattrell strode 
 swiftly to^vards the window, selected a razor, and 
 began to strap it vigorously. 
 
 " I say, Chig," murmured a young City dandy, 
 whose face was half covered with latlier, ^4ook at 
 the old 'un." 
 
 ;Mr. Chigwood had scarcely time to look round, 
 when his predecessor advanced, flourishing his 
 weapon. 
 
 ^' Now then, 'Mr. Chigwood," said the old gentle-
 
 12 
 
 man, " let me relieve you. Shaving is only 'prentice 
 work. Do you attend to the higher branches of the 
 art, while I polish off this young gentleman." 
 
 " Not if I know it ! " exclaimed the victim, leap- 
 ing nimbly from his chair, and presenting with his 
 napkined chin and soapy face a very undignified 
 figure. " Hands off, IMr. What's-your-name, if you 
 please." 
 
 A chorus of laughter ran round the shop as Mr. 
 Gattrell presented his razor to everybody in turn, 
 and receiA'ed in each instance the same rebuff. 
 
 The ex-barber laid down the razor, greatly cha- 
 grined, and taking a chair, sat for some moments in 
 silence. 
 
 There was something melancholy in the scene 
 that had just taken place, in spite of its absurdity. 
 The old man, firmly convinced that he still pos- 
 sessed the skill of youth, was rudely awakened to 
 the knowledge of his failing powers, and sat in 
 angiy bitterness, w^ondering why the dexterity, 
 which had been acquired with such pains, had de- 
 serted him. 
 
 " Ah, sir," said a fat-faced personage, who was 
 having his hair curled by the junior apprentice, " at 
 your time of life you should begin to think of your 
 latter end." 
 
 ]Mr. Gattrell arose in great wrath. "Sir, did 
 you address that observation to me ? "
 
 RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 13 
 
 "Yes, sir, I did. No offence, I hope," replied 
 the fat-faced man, rather timidly. 
 
 " A very great offence, sir. How do you know 
 I don't think about my latter end ? " retorted Mr. 
 Gattrell. " Seems to me," said the old gentleman, 
 laying his hand on the culprit's head, which was 
 frizzled on one side into the most approved Brutus 
 curls, w^hile on the other the hair hung in its native 
 lankness — "seems to me you think more about 
 this end." 
 
 This sally created a laugh. 
 
 " 'Tain't his fault, Master Gattrell," observed a 
 waggish-looking man. " He's newly married, and 
 his wife says she can't endure to be reminded of 
 the chandlery business after the shop's shut." 
 
 " Better than that filthy powder, sir, at any rate," 
 said the stout man, snappishly, eyeing the wag's 
 floury head. 
 
 " Come, come, gentlemen," exclaimed Mr. Chig- 
 wood, " don't let's get to loggerheads. All fashions 
 are good. Powder is good. Wigs are good. But 
 curls also are good. When one door shuts another 
 opens, else what we poor hairdressers should do I 
 don't know." 
 
 " Ah ! " sighed Mr. Gattrell, " I can remember 
 when a lady's head was three foot high. Three foot 
 high, sir ! A lady's head was something to see in 
 those days."
 
 14 SIR GOODWIN'S FOLLY. 
 
 "Ay," said the waggish man. "Like a Covent 
 Garden market-cart full of turnips, carrots, and 
 cabbages, of a snoT\y morning. Well, them follies 
 is over. And now Billy Pitt has got a new patent 
 contrivance for turning hair -powder into gun- 
 powder." 
 
 "Sir," exclaimed Mr. Gattrell, "what do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " Wliy I mean, that as he can't tax om* brains, 
 he intends to tax the outside of our skulls. Old- 
 fashioned folks, like you and me, IVIr. Gattrell, will 
 have the pleasure of knowing that om' powdered 
 heads are helping to fight the battles of our 
 country." 
 
 "Yes," said a deep, stern voice, "helping his 
 Eoyal Highness the Duke of York to waste powder 
 and shot, and precious human lives, in the swamps 
 of Holland. Helping to rivet the chains of priest- 
 craft, kingcraft, and tp'anny, just as mankind are 
 endeavouring to tlu:ow them off for ever." 
 
 Mr. Gattrell stood with his mouth open for some 
 seconds. He then exclaimed : " Mr. Chigrv^ood, and 
 gentlemen all, as a loyal subject of our good King 
 George — God bless him ! — I move that that person 
 be expelled from this house." 
 
 " Nay," said Chigwood. " Liberty of speech ^" 
 
 " Sir," shouted jMr. Gattrell," you are a Leveller." 
 
 " Hear, hear," resounded on all sides, combined 
 with one or two cries of " Turn the Jacobin out."
 
 EETIRED FROM BUSINESS. 15 
 
 The assemblage gazed with curiositj at the person 
 who had uttered these treasonous sentiments. He 
 was a shabbilj-dressed man, tall, dark-complexioned, 
 with thia worn featui'es; while l>eneath his high 
 forehead a pair of deep-set grey eyes sparkled like 
 coals. He wore his own hair, long, brushed back 
 from his forehead, and tied in a club behind. 
 
 ^'Friends," he said, with his arms folded, "I 
 shall not give you the trouble of turning me out, I 
 shall withdraw.*' And taking up his hat he quitted 
 the house. 
 
 "There's a dangerous character for you, crentle- 
 men," remarked ^Ii\ Gattrell ; " enough to infect 
 a whole ridgment."' 
 
 While the auchence were murmuring theu' assent 
 to this observation, Bildad entered the shop \^-ith a 
 note ui his hand. 
 
 !Mr. Chigwood read the document attentively, 
 and said : " My most humble duty and profound 
 respects to Sir Goodwin. I shall have the pleasure 
 of waiting at his house at the time appointed." 
 
 No wonder the supple barber paid the utmost 
 deference to Sir Goodwin's message, for Sh' Good- 
 win was a man of consequence, and four heads of 
 hair, artificial or otherwise, were worth cultivating. 
 He was so anxious to keep the appomtment, that 
 he somewhat slurred over the heads of his humbler 
 customers, singed in one or two instances their 
 .ambrosial locks, and finally dehvered them into
 
 16 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 the hands of lMi\ Gattrell and the apprentice. 
 Never smce he left off business had the old gentle- 
 man enjoyed himself so much. He doffed his coat, 
 and put on his barber's apron with the utmost 
 eagerness, and, by way of grand finale after the 
 other customers had all left, wound up the enter- 
 tainment by shaving Bildad. The youth was half 
 pleased, half alarmed at the operation. Luckily 
 he was in the soft dowTiy stage of hobble-de-hoy- 
 hood, and escaped with a couple of trifling cuts.
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 17 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 
 
 Sir Goodwin Axerley was, as we have said, 
 a man of some consequence. He was a shipo^vner, 
 a member of Parliament, and a baronet. No mere 
 City knight, who had been dubbed Sir John or Sir 
 Thomas for presenting an 'address to royalty, but 
 an Enghsh baronet of ancient creation. Seventy 
 years ago, persons holduig such titles were rarely 
 found f ollomng commercial pui'suits, and Sir Good- 
 win was an exceptional combination of the Court 
 and City elements. 
 
 After having been a spendthrift in his youth he 
 had married the widow of a West Lidia planter 
 and merchant, whose fortune consisted of a sugar 
 estate m the island of Barbadoes, and half a dozen 
 stoutly-built vessels ; and, to the surprise of all his 
 fashionable friends, the languid dandy of Saint 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 18 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 James's became a stirring man of business east- 
 ward of Temple-bar. His wife died prematurely- 
 after presenting the Baronet with two daughters, 
 and it was to dress the heads of these young ladies 
 for an impending ball that Mr. Chigwood attri- 
 buted his summons. 
 
 The Misses Anerley were going to the ball 
 under the guardian wing of !Miss Thrupp, their 
 faithful and affectionate governess. Sir Goodwin 
 preferred staying at home in his comfortable 
 library. He was in his sixtieth year, and a trifle 
 gouty. Besides, he wanted to prepare his speech 
 for the ensuing session of Parliament on the great 
 Negro question, in which, as a West India pro- 
 prietor and shipowner, he was natm'ally interested. 
 Moreover, he had received a three-cornered note, 
 written on gilt-edged, rose-coloured, scented paper, 
 which for the time had caused him to forget the 
 gout, and put ^Ir. Wilberforce with all his dreadful 
 revolutionaiy doctrines out of his head. For this 
 silly old man had fallen passionately in love with a 
 lady whom he had seen at the Opera (whither he 
 had gone unknown to Miss Thrupp, for he held 
 his governess in great dread and veneration) ; he 
 had traced this lady to her house ; had addressed 
 her a high-flown sentimental letter ; and had now 
 received an answer couched in vague, but, on the 
 whole, in encouraging language. The postscript 
 concluded with these words : " Should you desire
 
 THE GILT-EDGEB NOTE. 19 
 
 to prosecute this correspondence, ^Ir. Cliig\\-ood, 
 of St. Aiitliolin's-conrt, in the City, "will prove a 
 faithful and tinistworthy ^lercury." 
 
 The baronet rang the bell. As soon as the foot- 
 man entered the room, he said, " 'V^^len the hah- 
 dresser has completed the ladies' toilettes, let him 
 examine the contents of my wig-boxes, and then 
 send him hither." 
 
 Soon after, !Mr. Chigwood made his appearance, 
 bowuig profoundly. 
 
 " I have come in obedience to your honom" s 
 commands." 
 
 " Do you know why I have sent for yon?" 
 
 " I do not. Sir Goodwin, unless it be to report 
 on the condition of your penikes." 
 
 "Do you think I should have sent all the way 
 from Bedford-square into the City for a hah'- 
 dresser, when there are plenty to be found in 
 Oxford-road?" 
 
 " I thought perhaps my advertisement — the fame 
 of the much-respected Mr. Grattrell, my prede- 
 cessor, might have " 
 
 "Hang ^Mr. Gattrell; I never heard of his 
 existence. Look here. Do you recognise that 
 handwriting ? " demanded the Baronet, folding the 
 liUet-doux, so as to allow the barber to see the 
 postscript only. 
 
 " The handwritmg appears familiar, Sir Good- 
 win; but " 
 
 c2
 
 20 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Do you know Mrs. Norland ? " 
 
 " Mrs. Norland ! Certainly I do. The lady 
 has a house in York-street, St. James's-square, 
 your honour." 
 
 " Precisely. Now," said the Baronet, colouring 
 through his wrinkles, " some letters may possibly 
 pass between myself and this lady. We wish you 
 to act as the messenger between us." 
 
 " I shall esteem it a high honour, Sir Goodwin." 
 
 " Remember, close secresy must be observed. 
 You will deliver all letters directly into my hands. 
 Trust no servants." 
 
 " I understand, Sir Goodwin." 
 
 " Now, Mr. Chigwood, sit down, and tell me all 
 you know concerning this lady." 
 
 " All I know you shall hear. Sir Goodwin. I 
 went out to the East Indies with Mr. Halstead, 
 now Sir John Halstead, the member of Parlia- 
 ment, as his body-servant. At Calcutta, Major 
 Norland and his lady came to stay with my master. 
 Well, your honour, ^lajor Norland was fond of 
 play ; most gentlemen are so in that hot, relaxing 
 climate, but the Major was sometliing altogether 
 out of the common. The cards and dice were in 
 his hands morning, noon, and night. He was 
 ready to gamble the very wig off his head." 
 
 " He might have done worse in the hot weather." 
 
 ^' He did a deal worse, Sir Goodwin. He went 
 up the countiT into the Mofussil, as we call it, to
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 21 
 
 Ramguiige, where he was Collector, leaving his 
 ladv at our house in the Presidency. He had not 
 been there many months when a terrible stoiT 
 reached Calcutta. The hill-robbers had come down 
 in the night, had broken into the bungalow, had 
 stolen all the money out of the treasmy, and had 
 murdered Major Xorland.'' 
 
 ^' She is a widow, then I " exclaimed Sir Goodwin, 
 clasping his hands joyfully, and showing an un- 
 becoming indifference to the fate of the gambling 
 Major. '' Dear lovely rosebud I " he murmm'ed, 
 sentimentally ; " then in this bosom you may find 
 a haven from the rude storms of the outer world ! 
 So she is a widow, eh, Chigwood ? " said Sir 
 Goodwin, rubbing his hands briskly together 
 " Well, your honour, she is, and she isn't.' 
 " Sirrah ! what do you mean ? " cried the Baronet, 
 starting up with an expression of alami on his 
 puckered countenance. "You said the ^Major's 
 
 body was found pierced ^A-ith three " 
 
 " Did I, your honom' ? " replied the obsequious 
 hairdresser. ^' Then I must beg your humble 
 pardon for having exceeded the limits of veracity. 
 No, Sir Goodwin. This much is certain. ^Major 
 Norland's cocked-hat was found floating in the 
 river. His body was never discovered." 
 
 " But surely the fish and the alligators " 
 
 "AVould soon gobble liim up, Sir Goodwin. 
 That's true enough. But, unfortunately, people
 
 22 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 at the Presidency ^yo^lldn't believe that he was 
 murdered at all. The tongue of scandal whispered 
 that the hill-robbers were only some of his own 
 servants dressed up for make-beKeve, while a native 
 fisherman swore that he saw the jNIajor's confi- 
 dential bearer paddhng about on the river by moon- 
 light for the purpose of throwing his master's 
 cocked-hat into the water." 
 
 " Then, was any of the money recovered ? " 
 
 " Not a pice, your honoiu' ; or, as we should say 
 here, not a penny. The whole taxation of the 
 Major's district had just been deposited in the 
 treasury in good sohd silver, and every rupee had 
 disappeared." 
 
 " And how did Amanda — I mean," said the old 
 Baronet, blushing, ^' how did I^Irs. Norland endm-e 
 this dreadful shock 1 " 
 
 "At first. Sir Goodwin," replied the hairdresser, 
 gravely, " when she thought the Major was really 
 dead, she bore it with resignation, for — for — it was 
 not a suitable match ; but when all these ugly 
 stories were circulated, and she didn't know whether 
 she were wife or widow, she took it sadly to heart. 
 The climate had already made her delicate, and she 
 fell into such bad health that IMr. Halstead sent 
 her to England." 
 
 " Then ^Mrs. Norland and the Major did not live 
 happily together ? " 
 
 "Mrs. Norland, Sir Goodwin, is a sweet lady,
 
 THE GILT-EDGED XOTE. ^ 23 
 
 with whom any man might hve happilj. The 
 Major was to blame. But it is a delicate subject, 
 for which, mth your honour's pennission, I make 
 bold to refer you to my wife." 
 
 "Your wife?" 
 
 '' Yes, Su' Goodwin ; she is ^Irs. Norland's wait- 
 ing-woman. A monstrous cleyer creatm'e she is, 
 too. Understands mantua-making, hairdressing, 
 inyalid cooking; e^'erything. She has only one 
 fault, yoiu' honoui'." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " Well, 'tis rather a misfortune than a fault. 
 Her colom', yoiu' honour." 
 
 " What I you don't surely tell me she is that 
 black woman I saw peeping from the parlour 
 window of ^Irs. Norland's house ? " 
 
 "The same." 
 
 " I don't admu'e your taste." 
 
 " Sir Goodwin, if you saw her close you would 
 allow that she is a most fascinatincr woman. She 
 has beautiful features and loyely hair. But her 
 temper is queer at times, and when away from her 
 I do not loye her. In her company, however, I 
 am instantly filled with admiration ; she has such 
 charming wheedlinfr ways." 
 
 " How did you come to many her ? " 
 
 " We were privately married for some years 
 before I dared to tell Mr. Halstead. At last he 
 found it out, and approved of it highly. I re-
 
 24 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 member lie said it was the first step towards the 
 fusion of the black and white races. You know, 
 Sir Goodwin, he is an eccentric man. He raised 
 my wages, and I got so uppish that I insisted on 
 having a native bearer to fan me during the hot 
 weather. Mr. Halstead was a close man in some 
 matters, and he declined the proposal. Some words 
 ensued between us; I took a huff and left his 
 sei*vice. I was soon soriy for what 1 had done. It 
 is not eveiybody in India who will be troubled 
 with an English servant ; so I was idling about 
 Calcutta for weeks out of employment, spending 
 all my money in billiards and brandy-pawnee. At 
 last I called on my old master, and found that he 
 was just going to send Mrs. Norland to England. 
 He is one of the kindest of men; told me that 
 idleness in a tropical climate was ruining me body 
 and soul, and then asked me whether I chose to re- 
 turn to his seridce, or whether I would sooner ac- 
 company my wife and her mistress to England. I 
 was half inclined to stay behind, but Serafina 
 insisted on my joining with them ; so here I am. I 
 must tell you. Sir Goodwin, that my wife is not a 
 heathenish Hindoo, bowing down to little ugly 
 images ; she is a Portuguese Christian — a Eoman 
 Catholic." 
 
 "You express yourself vastly well, ^Ir. Chig- 
 wood, for a man of your rank." 
 
 " Rank ! Alas ! Sir Goodwin, I was brought
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 25 
 
 up to better things than hairdressing ; but I have 
 been, like many others, a sad fool in my time. 
 Now, your honom*, }'oli have entrusted me with 
 youi' secret, "will you keep mine inviolate ? " 
 
 "Your secret?" 
 
 " Yes ! that I am married to a — a lady of tawny 
 complexion. It would seriously injure the hair- 
 di'essing business, and expose me to a toiTent of 
 ridicule. I am obliged to invent all manner of 
 cock-and-bull stories about my children." 
 
 " You have children, then ? " 
 
 " Three little yellow boys, your honour. And, 
 in spite of their colom', I love them, which I can- 
 not say that ^Irs. Chigwood does. I keep them at 
 my shop in the City." 
 
 ^' Then your Avif e passes for " 
 
 "For a single woman. Xo fear of anybody 
 making her an offer in this comitiw with so many 
 pretty English lasses going a begging. She calls 
 herself ^liss Serafina da Silva." 
 
 " A charmingly romantic name." 
 
 The barber uttered a dissenting grunt. 
 
 The Baronet added : 
 
 " Well, ChigTN'ood, your secret shall be perfectly 
 safe in my keeping. And now I will wiite a letter, 
 which you will please deliver in York-street, St. 
 James's, and bring me the lady's reply to-morrow." 
 
 The letter was written, and ]\Ir. Chigwood was 
 despatched on his journey. Sir Goodwin then
 
 26 
 
 leaned back in his arm-cliair, aiTanged liis gouty 
 foot comfortably on a stool, and yielded himself up 
 to pleasing reveries for the future. His thoughts 
 assumed somewhat the following shape : 
 
 "Why am I so shamefaced, and unwilling to 
 confess an honourable passion? In my youth 
 I used to boast of my amorous vagaries, whe- 
 ther honourable or otherwise. But now I would 
 not disclose this affair to Mss Tlnrupp or my 
 daughters for the world. ISIiss Thrupp would 
 lecture me severely on my folly, while the girls, 
 or, at any rate, Floretta, would laugh me out of 
 countenance. Yet what is there strancje in the 
 fact of a middle-aged gentleman of good personal 
 appearance" — (here Sir Goodwin raised himself in 
 his chair so as to catch sight of his features in the 
 mirror opposite) — "what is there strange in the 
 fact of my wishing to take a second wife ? I have 
 grown utterly weary" of Miss Thrupp's domination. 
 Besides, the girls mil soon marry, and then I shall 
 be left a lonely man, at the mercy of my house- 
 keeper. Oh, Amanda ! Amanda ! I wonder what 
 thy real name is. I did not ventiu^e to ask the 
 barber, for fear of disenchanting my illusion by 
 the sound of some prosaic Sarah or Betty. Oh, 
 Amanda ! how shall I ascertain whether thou art a 
 'widow indeed! If that abominable Major still 
 lives, my hopes are all put to flight ! ^Yliat a fool," 
 murmured the Baronet, " the feUows on 'Change
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 27 
 
 would think me if they knew of this ! They 
 fancy me a hard, keen, cunning old fox of a man, 
 I know. How they would grin doT^Ti at St. Ste- 
 phen's to discover that the honom^able member for 
 S.tonehenge was in love I Well, no matter. I T\ill 
 win my prize in secret ; but when the irrevocable 
 knot is tied I will proclaim the fact to the world, 
 and let them laugh as they please." 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Chigwood reached York-street, 
 St. James' s-square, in safety, and descending to 
 the area of ^Irs. Norland's house, rang the ser- 
 vants' bell. The door was answered by Serafina 
 herself, who rushed into her husband's arms in a 
 transport of delight, exclaiming, "My darling 
 Jemmy ! " 
 
 Setting aside her complexion, ^Irs. Chigwood 
 was an attractive woman. Her hair was jetty 
 black, bright, silky, and abundant ; her teeth were 
 beautifullv recmlar and w^hite ; her featm'es were 
 small, delicate, and of the Grecian type. But her 
 skin was almost coal-black ; for it is a cmious fact 
 that the descendants of the old Portuguese colonists 
 are far darker in complexion than either ]Moham- 
 medans or Hmdoos. She appeared about thirty 
 years of age, and her buxom but not unwieldy 
 figure was set off by a well-made and fashionable 
 dress. It is true that modem taste would disap- 
 prove of the style, for her waist began immediately 
 below the armpits, from which the di'ess fell in
 
 28 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 loose scanty folds to her feet, which were encased 
 in a pair of high-heeled shoes of scarlet leather. 
 An enormous pair of earrings dangled from her 
 ears, and in her hand she carried a fan ; a most 
 useless appendage on that bitter night, when even 
 in-doors by a blazing fire the temperature stood but 
 a few degrees above the freezing-point. 
 
 " Come up-stairs, my Jemmy," said Mrs. Chig- 
 wood, speaking English with perfect fluency, but 
 with that peculiar accent which distinguishes all the 
 Christian coloured people of India. " Come up- 
 stairs ; I am all alone. My lady has gone to a 
 somewhat second-rate ball in Bloomsbury." 
 
 "]Mi\ Deputy Toker's?" 
 
 " Yes, that is the vulgar creature's name." 
 
 " I dressed three heads for that festivity." 
 
 "Indeed! Whose?" 
 
 " ^liss Thrupp's and the two pretty Miss Aner- 
 leys'." 
 
 "What! the daughters of our charming old 
 beau?" 
 
 " Yes ; I've brought a letter from that worthy 
 gentleman. But, Serafina," said ^Ii'. Chigwood, 
 reproachfully, "don't you care to hear how the 
 children are ? " 
 
 "Indeed I do, the darling cherubs," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Chigwood, vdth an air of sentimental ecstasy. 
 "HowisPlassey?"
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 29 
 
 " Plassey has got forty-nine marks at school this 
 week, and has only been strapped tTN^ice." 
 
 "AndClive?" 
 
 " Clive spoke distinctly for the first time yester- 
 day, so Bildad informs me. On a customer enter- 
 ing, he cried out ^ Shop.' " 
 
 " The Httle duck I " 
 
 "His chilblains are terrible. We've consumed 
 a pint of vinegar, and whitening enough to chalk 
 the clo-s^Ti's face at Drury Lane all through the 
 pantomime season." 
 
 " The angel ! And Warren Hastings — my 
 lovely Warren ? " 
 
 "Warren's teeth are troubling him, and I get 
 verv* httle sleep at night, my dear Serr)\" 
 
 " Poor boy, and does he sleep badly ? " ex- 
 claimed Serafina, embracing her husband ten- 
 derly. 
 
 ^Ir. Chig\N'ood submitted to the hug with be- 
 coming resignation, -and then said, "But, Mrs. C, 
 it is growing late, and I want to speak about this 
 letter." 
 
 " One question more, my dear Jemmy. How 
 are those poor bears ? " 
 
 "They're too well by half, Serafina. Their 
 appetites are outrageous." 
 
 " Then, my love, so much the better when you 
 slaughter them."
 
 30 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Slaughter them ! Good Heavens ! Serr}', are 
 you mad ? Why, they cost me fifty guineas !" 
 
 " How will you contrive to get the bear's-grease, 
 then?" 
 
 "By atmospheric pressure — a discovery of Dr. 
 Priestley's." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! you are a funny Jemmy. Now sit 
 down and drink this hot negus while I read Sir 
 Goodwin's love-letter." 
 
 " You, Serafina ! he has not fallen in love with 
 you ? " The barber added, in an under tone, " I 
 wish to goodness he had." 
 
 " No, Chigwood, but I am my lady's confidential 
 friend and ad^dser, and she has given me full per- 
 mission to read all her billets-doiuj" 
 
 " All her billets-doux, eh ! Then she has more 
 than one string to her bow ! " 
 
 "Pshaw! she has as many strings as a double 
 har]3sichord. Do you fancy, you silly man, she 
 would be satisfied with this gouty old citizen ? " 
 
 " He's a baronet." 
 
 " Yes, but the world of f asliion has dropped him 
 since he took to trade. They call hun a ^shake- 
 bag,' and despise him." 
 
 " Then why does she encom'age liim by sending 
 him these sweet-smelling letters ? Hang it, I only 
 had my nose near one of them for two minutes, 
 and the perfume was charming. I wish somebody 
 would send me such an epistle."
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 31 
 
 " Do you ? " exclaimed Serafina, her voice al- 
 tering strangely, and her eyes flashing fire. '- Do 
 you ? My pretty Jemmy, if any one should offer 
 to do that, I should run a knife into her heart, and 
 into yours too ! But you demand why my lady 
 continues to encourage Sir Goodwin ? " 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Because he may be useful. There, I shall tell 
 you no more. That is enough for you. Do vom- 
 work as a messenger faithfully, and you will be 
 rewarded." 
 
 " I should like a little reward at once. Sir Good- 
 win never offered me a shilling, and I was afraid 
 to ask him, for fear of spoiling a good chance." 
 " But the shop is doing well. Jemmy ? " 
 '' We had a good rmi to-night. But, as a nile, 
 we're very slack. How can it be otherwise ? Look 
 at the war, look at the hard whiter, look at the 
 distress all over the country, look at the change in 
 fashions. People can't afford to spend money on 
 their heads. They want it for their bellies. I 
 shouldn't be astonished if some day they dis- 
 covered they could do without shaving. Then 
 there's that old Gattrell, eternally worrying in and 
 out of the shop. K I don't do better, I shall have 
 to pawn the bears at a wild-beast show to pay him 
 his interest. Can't you let me have a guiaea or 
 two?" 
 
 " Alas ! sweetest dear, I have no money. You
 
 32 
 
 know, Jemmy, fashionable ladies like Mrs. Norland 
 have plenty of ever}^thing excepting hard cash." 
 
 " She used to be good pay enough in Calcutta, 
 Serry." 
 
 " We are not in Calcutta now. Jemmy." 
 " By Jove, we are not, as my fingers and toes 
 tell me. I wish I was back again in that deliorht- 
 ful mild climate." 
 
 " With me, dearest ? " simpered Serafina. 
 ^ii'. Chigwood coughed. " Hem — yes, dearest, 
 with you. But I say, my charming girl, can't you 
 contrive to raise one guinea ? Plassey's shoes are 
 all out at the toes, and I owe for a quarter's 
 schooling." 
 
 " I cannot manage it to-night. Come to-morrow 
 
 for my lady's answer, and you shall get " 
 
 ^'What?" 
 
 " What you shall get. Good night, my dearest 
 spouse; wrap up your throat, and walk in the 
 middle of the road for fear of footpads." 
 
 Mrs. Chigsvood embraced her husband with fer- 
 voui', and showed him out at the back door. 
 
 " I wish," thought Mr. Chigwood, as he trotted 
 along the hard frozen causeway, beating his hands 
 hackney-coachman fashion, to keep them from 
 turning to icicles — " I wish my wife were a little 
 less lavish of her endearments, and a trifle more 
 generous with her guineas. I know she's hoarding 
 money. The perquisites of a lady of ton^ such as
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. 33 
 
 I hear this ]Mrs. Norland has become, are worth 
 picking up. Besides all the cast-off dresses, and 
 feathers, and shoes, there's the faro-bank which 
 my lady keeps. Serafina makes something out of 
 that, I'll warrant. I wonder what she's sa^^ng 
 for? To go back by herself among her beloved 
 black faces? Well, that won't be so bad, unless 
 she insists on taking me with her. But she won't 
 take the children, I know ; with all her talk about 
 angels and chenibs, she don't care a fig for them. 
 Now I do. Yellow boys they are, but they're my 
 boys. Heigho ! I wish I was out of my troubles 
 somehow or other." 
 
 Just as the hauxlresser entered St. Anthohn's- 
 court, the feeble light afforded by the twinkling 
 oil-lamp disclosed to his view the figures of two 
 watchmen, supporting between them a thu'd per- 
 son, who was evidently tipsy. 
 
 " Hollo ! watchman, what's the matter ? " asked 
 Mr. Chigwood. 
 
 "Young genelman," replied one of the watch- 
 men, " a bit tostiticated, giv us sixpence to bring 
 him home." 
 
 ^Ir. Chigwood drew up in front of the party, 
 and examined the featm-es of the inebriated person. 
 
 " Good Heavens ! " he exclaimed, " it's Bildad ! 
 Why, Bildad, how come you in this disgi'aceful 
 state ? I am sm'e your father and mother never 
 brought you up like this." 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 '' Hallo, Mas'r Chigwood, ish at you ? No, my 
 parents varry speckable people ; bror me up Wif- 
 field's Tanaclde, Totnm Cut-road. I sliay, Mas'r 
 Chigwood?" 
 
 " You're a disgrace, sir. There, put him down, 
 watchmen. This is my door." 
 
 " I shay, Charley, di'ink my health, there's good 
 fellows. Got shixpence paid in advance. That's 
 your sort ! " 
 
 Mr. ChigT\^ood dragged Bildad into the house, 
 and then taking up a supple slender cane, began a 
 vigorous onslaught on that young gentleman's back 
 and legs. The barber was not in a passion. He had 
 two distinct motives for inflicting the punishment. 
 He thought it -would do Bildad good, and he knew 
 it would make himself warm. 
 
 Bildad began by roaring and threatening, he 
 ended by blubbering and whining. TVHien he reached 
 the whining stage, Mr. Chigwood — who was natu- 
 rally a good-tempered man, and not himself disin- 
 clined to conviviality — threw the cane into a corner, 
 and again demanded, " How came you in this dis- 
 graceful state, sir ? " 
 
 Bildad replied with a snore. As soon as the 
 corporal punishment ceased, he had fallen fast 
 asleep. Just then the door opened, and ushered 
 in Samuel, the junior apprentice, in his night gar- 
 ments. 
 
 " Hallo, Sam ! " exclaimed Mr. ChigT^'ood, " are
 
 THE GILT-EDGED NOTE. oO 
 
 both my apprentices gone mad together ? Wliat do 
 you want down stairs at this hour of the night ? " 
 
 " Oh, sir — please, sir — ^Ir. Chigwood, su' — I lay 
 awake a purpose to tell you all about Bildad, sir. 
 Mr. Gattrell gave him half-a-crown after he had 
 shaved him, sir." 
 
 "Shaved him I" 
 
 " Yes, su\ Xone of the other customers would 
 let ]Mr. Gattrell tiy it on." 
 
 " What an old lunatic ! So Master Bildad spent 
 the money in getting drmik, like a pig — ugh ! " 
 said Mr. Chig'wood, gi^^ing the prostrate body a 
 kick. 
 
 This treatment caused Bildad to open his eyes. 
 " Sham ! " he murmured, in a sleepy voice, ^' fyt- 
 chew t'moiTer f 'blabbing." '\^Tiich, being trans- 
 lated mto sober English, meant, " Samuel, I chal- 
 lenge you to single combat to-morrow, for telhng 
 tales." 
 
 "Xow, Bildad, how did you spend the half- 
 crown ? " demanded ^Ir. Chig\^'ood. 
 
 " I'll tell you anything, mas'r, cosh you're good 
 f 'ler. Went playhouse — Dooiy Lane — two-shilhng 
 gaiT}^ — half-prishe — shillings worth hot brandy — 
 shixpence to Charley — all accounted for. That's 
 your sort I " 
 
 "There, Sam," said the hairdresser, "take his 
 heels, and I'll take his head, and we'll put him to 
 bed. How are the childi-en ? " 
 d2
 
 36 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 "Please, sir, they're quite well. They were 
 frightened of ghosts, so they all came into my 
 bed, sir." 
 
 " Oh, did they ? Then don't disturb them. I'll 
 have one quiet night, at all events," thought Mr. 
 Chigwood, as he opened his bedroom door, "and 
 dream I'm a bachelor again."
 
 JILTED. 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 JILTED. 
 
 It was morning; dull, gi'ey, fogg}^, uncompro- 
 mising morning, and ^Ir. Deputy Toker's ball had 
 vanished away like a fanciful vision of the night. 
 The lovely young ladies, with their frizzed hair 
 and fascinating cui^ls; the elegant young gentle- 
 men, with their silk stockmgs, then' dancing- 
 pumps, then' Brutus heads, or powdered locks; 
 the wax-lights, the rout-cakes, the hackney-coaches, 
 the link-men, the sedan-chairs, had all disappeared. 
 
 Sir Goodwin Anerley's mansion felt the effects 
 of these noctui'nal festi^dties. At the usual hour 
 of breakfast — eight o'clock — nobody but Miss 
 Thrupp made her appearance. " Ready, aye 
 ready I " should have been that lady's motto. No 
 amomit of dissipation overnight prevented her early 
 rising. She simply curtailed her hours of sleep.
 
 38 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 The wliole of her time for every day in the week 
 was mapped out, with its corresponding duties, 
 on an elaborate sheet, which hung in front of her 
 washing-stand; and her great difficulty was to 
 make the remainder of the world — lazy, careless, 
 and unpunctual — square vrith. her arrangements. 
 
 " Sir Goodwin's compliments, madam," said the 
 footman, entering the breakfast-parlour, " and he 
 will thank you to send him a dish of tea in his own 
 apartment." 
 
 " Humph ! " grunted Miss Thrupp, as she filled 
 the teapot from the urn. " How is the gout ? " 
 
 " Sir Goodwin is suffering a good deal this morn- 
 ing, madam. Flying pains in the toe and knee- 
 joint." 
 
 " Humph ! " murmured Miss Thrupp, as she dis- 
 missed the footman with his tray of tea and toast. 
 She then proceeded to eat her own breakfast, prop- 
 ping the newspaper — of which she was a diligent 
 reader — against the sugar-basin. 
 
 Nine o'clock arrived. In the absence of her 
 pupils, the worthy governess devoted herself to the 
 Italian language for an hour. Ten o'clock ar- 
 rived ; she took up French history. Eleven o'clock 
 arrived ; she practised irregular verbs in German, a 
 language little studied in England seventy years 
 ago. At twelve o'clock she had just opened the 
 pianoforte for the purpose of trying a new air of 
 Storace's, when a visitor was announced.
 
 JILTED. 39 
 
 " Mr. Arthur Taswell/' said the footman. 
 
 " Desire him to walk up-stairs." 
 
 TThen Aliss Thrupp ascended to the drawing- 
 room, she fomid ^Ir. Taswell pacing up and 
 down the room in a state of great agitation. 
 He was a pleasing-looking young man of about 
 three-and-twenty years of age, somewhat below the 
 middle stature, with small, dehcate, and almost 
 effeminate features. His mouth was finely cut, 
 and displayed great sensibihty, while a high square 
 perpendicular forehead proved that he was not 
 wanting in intellectual quahties, and a pau' of 
 bright, sparkling, blue eyes betokened wit, vivacity, 
 and a warm temper. He was dressed in a style 
 that was more in vogue with the younger than the 
 older members of the community. The old '• pig- 
 tails," as they were called, and supporters of tilings 
 as they were, looked with distrust and suspicion on 
 the fashions which had been introduced from 
 France during the heat and struggle of that 
 famous Kevolution. Li tliis costume young Tas- 
 well was attired. He wore a long narrow-skuted 
 coat of green cloth (resembling the Newmarket 
 coat of a later date), ^ith a higli collai' and small 
 cuffs, a waistcoat striped in red and white, tight 
 buckskin breeches buttoned up the thigh, and 
 short top-boots. His cambric cravat was loosely 
 tied, while his fair hau', unstained by powder, was 
 fastened in a knot between his shoulders. In his
 
 40 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 hand he carried a sugar-loaf hat a la Carmagnole^ 
 the precursor of the ugly chimney-pot which fpr 
 the last sixty years has maintained its supremacy 
 as the head-gear of civilised man. The costume 
 we have described was simple and becoming as 
 compared mth the flunkey-like figures of the pre- 
 vious generation, or the pinched and effeminate 
 dandyism of the Regency ; it was far better cal- 
 culated to display a neat figure and a well-turned 
 leg than the loose neglige shooting-coat style of 
 the present day. As good figures and legs are not 
 universal gifts, perhaps it fell into disrepute on 
 this very account, for we know that more fashions 
 have been introduced for the purpose of conceal- 
 ing deformity than to exhibit beauty ; or possibly 
 it is so indissolubly connected with the atrocities 
 of revolutionaiy France as to excite only images 
 of frenzy, terror, and suffering. In just such a 
 hat as young Taswell carried in his hand, Camille 
 Desmoulins, only a few years before, had harangued 
 the populace from a bench in the Tuileries ; Bil- 
 laud Varennes had hunted up victims for pro- 
 scription in such a pair of top-boots ; nay, !Maxi- 
 mihan Eobespierre himself had superintended the 
 Feast of the Supreme Being in such a coat, only 
 his favourite colour was sky-blue. 
 
 ^'Yes," said Miss Thrupp, between her teeth, 
 " he looks a perfect young Jacobin. Pity that 
 so nice a lad should be so silly. Mr. Taswell,"
 
 JILTED. 41 
 
 she continued aloud, and with an air of the most 
 freezing ceremoniousness, " you are aware that at 
 this hour the young ladies are" (" or should be/' she 
 added under her breath) " engaged in their studies. 
 May I ask to whom the favour of your visit is 
 dii-ected?" 
 
 " Oh, Miss Thrupp," exclaimed the young man, 
 stopping short in his hurried walk, and cnishing 
 his hat between his fingers — " oh. Miss Thrupp, 
 pardon this unwaiTanted intrusion at such an un- 
 seasonable horn*, and allow me to say a few words. 
 Forgive me if I begin at the beginning, and re- 
 mind you of some things which you know full 
 well abeady. You know how, from oiu' earliest 
 childhood, Sir Goodwm and my father respectively 
 destined Floretta and myself for one another. In 
 most cases of this kind, when the children are fidl 
 grown, either constant familianty has tended to 
 produce coolness and indifference, or else the 
 young people fly in direct opposition to their 
 parents' desire, and wilfully fall in love with some 
 one else. Such, you are aware. Miss Thrupp, has 
 not been my case ; year after year, as I have knoT^^l 
 Floretta more intimately, I have loved her more 
 passionately ; her wayward capriciousness, her fits 
 of disdain and chilling neglect, have not been able 
 to erase her image from my heart." 
 
 "Excuse my interrupting you, Mr. Taswell," 
 said Miss Tlu'upp, "but you must speak ^^'ith
 
 42 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 greater brevity ; you have disturbed me in tlie act 
 of preparing a valuable music-lesson." 
 
 " Good God, Miss Thrupp," exclaimed tlie lover, 
 losing all patience, and dashing his hat upon the 
 ground, " and would you not hesitate to sacrifice a 
 miserable music-lesson — an hour of crescendo and 
 diminuendo — for the sake of listening to a story 
 which involves the life-long happiness of a fellow- 
 creatm-e ! You are cruel, selfish, cold-hearted, 
 Miss Thrupp." 
 
 " Mr. Taswell," replied Miss Thrupp, spiritedly, 
 " continue to use such language to me, and I shall 
 ring the bell and request the footman to show you 
 out of the house. Now, sir, say what you have to 
 say, and say it with appropriate brevity." 
 
 Arthur Taswell clenched his fist with vexation, 
 but swallowed his TVTath, and spoke thus : " Owing 
 to my absence in the comitry, I had not seen Miss 
 Floretta for some weeks, till I met her last evening 
 at Deputy Toker's ball. I should not have mingled 
 with such low vulgar people but that " 
 
 " I thought you were a Friend of the People," 
 sneered Miss Thrupp. 
 
 " Yes, of hard-working, honest, labouring men 
 I am, but not of purse-proud gi'ocers and tallow- 
 chandlers, who mispronounce their ^ v's' and ^ w's' 
 like the lowest sculler on the Thames, and yet 
 affect, in their ceremonious magnificence, and 
 tedious formalities, to ape the manners of the
 
 JILTED. 43 
 
 nobility. Let that pass. I -went to Toker's to see 
 Floretta. That was my sole motive. On my re- 
 questing the honour of her hand, she tmiied away 
 without speaking, and whispered something in 
 your ear. Whatever it was that she said, ^liss 
 Thrupp, your countenance expressed approval. 
 She then adcbessed me in a noticeably loud voice 
 as follows : ' Sii', I must dechne to dance mth 
 you. I perceive from the appearance of your hair 
 that your prmciples differ from mine.' A group 
 of powdered dandies, the bucks of St. Marv^-axe 
 and Budge-row, bm'st into a peal of insulting 
 laughter at this speech as I turned on my heel. 
 More than this, such is the passionate quality of 
 my love, that I was unable to tear myself from 
 that detested ball-room ; I must needs wander about 
 gloomily like a ghost, silent and melancholy, cast- 
 ing furtive glances at my cruel tormentress. Did 
 she hold out the olive-branch of reconciliation ? 
 Did she invite me by one soft glance of pity to her 
 side? Not so. On the contrary, whenever our 
 eyes met, she gazed at me with an expression of 
 mahcious triumph, as much as to say, ^Behold, 
 Arthur, your rival, the man to whom I have trans- 
 ferred my affections.' She danced with that man 
 the whole night. They wandered about the cor- 
 ridors arm-in-arm together. I watched them. 
 Now, who is that man. Miss Thrupp ? " 
 "lix, Starlinghurst."
 
 44 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " I know that well enougli ; a jealous lover soon 
 discovers names. I sliould rather have asked, what 
 is he ? to discover if you were aware of his real 
 character. He is one of the greatest rakes in 
 London ; a gambler, a debauchee, a " 
 
 " Hold, Mr. Taswell. I will not permit such 
 insinuations. It is sufficient for me to know 
 that he is a young man of irreproachable prin- 
 ciples. Those who are faithful to their King and 
 their Church are not likely to be stained with other 
 vices." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! Miss Thrupp, excuse my laughter, 
 but your simplicity is beyond belief. So," con- 
 tinued the young man, bitterly, " you will accept a 
 heartless rake because he swears by King George, 
 and vows vengeance against the French ; while 
 you reject an honest, honourable man because he 
 chooses to wear his hair au naturel, as God Almighty 
 designed it." 
 
 "A trifling fashion," said Miss Thrupp, sen- 
 tentiously, " may bear a hidden meaning. A straw 
 will show which way the wind blows. And in 
 your case, Mr. Taswell," she proceeded, rising from 
 her chair, " the wind blows from Jacobinism, sedi- 
 tion, and treason ! " 
 
 " Madam ! " exclaimed Taswell. 
 
 The governess made no reply, but went to an 
 escritoire, which she unlocked, and took out a
 
 JILTED. 45 
 
 Imndle of papers. Selecting a document from 
 these, slie confronted tlie young man. 
 
 " The cut of your hair is not your only sign of 
 defection from the path of loyalty. See here ! 
 When last ^-isiting at this house, you dropped a 
 certain paper from yoiu' pocket. Observing that it 
 was a printed paper, unsealed, I took the liberty of 
 examining it. The words ^ London Corresponding 
 Society' caught my eye. I had often heard of that 
 revolutionary association, so that curiosity tempted 
 me to read further. To my horror, alarm, and 
 regret, on opening the paper, wliich proved to be 
 an address to the people of England, couched in 
 the most inflammatory and seditious terms, I saw 
 your name figuring on the committee list. Now do 
 not use any paltr}^ subterfuge. Can you deny this, 
 ]Mr. TasweU?" 
 
 " Deny it ! I glory in it, madam." 
 " Good Heavens, Mr. Taswell ! how can you use 
 such dreadful language ? Do you wish to see the 
 Church uprooted, the throne overturned, French 
 principles disseminated throughout the countr}^ ? " 
 
 " The King guillotined at Charing-cross, Queen 
 Charlotte shipped to Botany Bay, ^Ir. Pitt put in 
 a cage with the wild beasts at the Tower ; of course 
 we do, madam. That's what the Tories say we 
 
 mean to do " 
 
 " Foohsh, flippant man ! " began ^liss Tlnnipp.
 
 46 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 Here the door was partially opened, and a duet 
 of soft, musical female voices, accompanied by a 
 good deal of giggling, was heard outside. 
 
 " Nonsense, Lucy, you go in first." 
 
 " I'm afraid to, we're so shocldngly late, Flory." 
 
 " She won't scolds you ; she always scold me." 
 
 And apparently impelled by a secret motive 
 power hidden outside the door, a young lady shot 
 suddenly into the room. 
 
 " Oh ! jMiss Thrupp," she began. " We are so 
 
 sorry " She stopped and blushed on observing 
 
 a visitor. " Oh ! Aithur, is it you 1 " she ex- 
 claimed, smiling, and holding out her hand. 
 
 " Stay, Miss Lucy," interrupted the governess, 
 sternly ; "I cannot permit you to shake hands with 
 Mr. Taswell. He has imbibed the most dreadful, 
 anarchical, atheistical " 
 
 "Please may I come in. Miss Thrupp," said 
 Miss Floretta, through the half-opened door, imi- 
 tating the voice of a child of four. 
 
 " Yes, silly girl. Come in at once." 
 
 Floretta opened the door, and advanced with an 
 air of pretty insolence into the room. She likeA\'ise 
 paused, and blushed scarlet on beholding her re- 
 jected lover. 
 
 The two sisters formed a pleasing contrast as 
 they stood side by side. A stranger might have 
 discovered a family hkeness in the contour of their 
 faces or the sound of their voices, but otherwise
 
 JILTED. 47 
 
 there was little resemblance. Floretta was tall, with 
 dark-brown hair approaching to black, and dark 
 eyes. Her nose was straight and well shaped, bnt 
 rather large ; her lips were fnll, pouting, and rosy. 
 An air of scornful malice lurked in her eyes and 
 the comers of her mouth, while a perpendicular 
 line between her eyebrows warned the spectator 
 that she could frown as well as smile. Her figure 
 was fully developed for her age, which was only 
 just nineteen. 
 
 Lucy, who was eighteen months younger than 
 her sister, was below the middle statiu-e. Her face 
 was somewhat long in proportion to its width, and 
 bore an expression of melancholy. The colour of 
 her hair was pale yellow ; her eyes were large, blue, 
 but somewhat inexpressive ; her nose inclmed to be 
 aquihne, her mouth was large, and showed a set of 
 sound, white, but irregular teeth. An obser^'er 
 would have styled Floretta a beauty, Lucy a 
 pleasing-looking, modest girl, whose ex[:)ression 
 would ^^-in more admiration than her features or 
 her figure. 
 
 Although we have described the colour of these 
 young ladies' hair, truth compels us to confess that 
 they both wore powder. Each sister had her hair 
 frizzed, while short curls hung round her neck. 
 
 The quondam lovers respectively exchanged a 
 stiff bow and a ceremonious curtsey. 
 
 " So, Miss Floretta," began the young man, with
 
 48 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 a bitter emphasis in his words, " your conduct of 
 last night has not abated your spirits this morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 " No, indeed," answered the young lady, with a 
 scornful toss of her head. ^'I am not troubled 
 with the vapours. Perhaps some people are." 
 
 " Oh, Floretta ! " exclaimed Taswell. " How can 
 you make such hollow, heartless speeches? Are 
 you so ungrateful as to have forgotten the love and 
 affection of a whole lifetime for the sake of winninc^ 
 the admiration of a worthless stranger ? " 
 
 '' Sir ! to whom do you allude ? " 
 
 " To the man whom you kept by your side the 
 whole of last night — Frederick Starlinghurst — a 
 cold-blooded, calculating, designing rake, a despe- 
 rate gamester, a midnight reveller in the lowest 
 dens ^" 
 
 " Mr. Taswell," interrupted the governess, " you 
 forget yourself. I will not permit such scenes of 
 vice to be even hinted at in the presence of these 
 young ladies." 
 
 ^' Miss Thrupp, I will speak. I say what I know. 
 I allege that you are doing all you can to encourage 
 that young lady, who was my betrothed, to fall into 
 the clutches of a scoundrel." 
 
 The footman entered the room. ^' Mr. Starling- 
 hurst, madam," he announced. 
 
 Mr. Starlinghm^st, a tall, slender, richly-dressed 
 young man, with handsome but haggard features,
 
 JILTED. 49 
 
 advanced with an easy, well-bred manner, bowed 
 formally to the young ladies, and took Miss Thrupp 
 affectionately by the hand. He spoke in an 
 affectedly effeminate tone. 
 
 " Excuse my forcible irruption, dear Miss 
 Thrupp. I know that good girls at this time 
 ought to be at their music ; but I looked in at old 
 Toker's just now to see if I could ascertain the 
 whereabouts of a rather valuable clouded cane 
 which I parted company with last night. Couldn't 
 find my cane ; quite inconsolable about it ; fancy 
 old Toker's run off with it to stir the melted tallow 
 in his vats — faugh ! ha ! ha I — but found something 
 else instead. Please to examine it, dear Miss 
 Thnipp." 
 
 " The drop of an earring I " said that worthy 
 lady. 
 
 " Yes, precisely ; and I conceive the di'op of the 
 identical earring that hangs from the pretty little 
 ear of Miss Floretta. Permit me, fair demoiselles" 
 
 The dandy stepped mincingly up to Floretta, and 
 took her earring between his finger and thumb. 
 He had scarcely ventm-ed on this impudent fami- 
 liarity, when he felt his wiist firmly grasped by a 
 small yet muscular hand. 
 
 " I do not allow these liberties," said Taswell, 
 sternly. 
 
 "Flait-iW demanded Starhnghiirst, with the 
 
 VOL. L E
 
 50 
 
 utmost gravity, laying liis hand to his ear. " I am 
 somewhat hard of hearmg." 
 
 " That lady, sir, is my affianced wife ! " cried 
 Taswell, fiercely. 
 
 " I was not aware of this little arrangement," said 
 the dandy, coolly. " !Miss Thrupp, I presume the 
 case is as this gentleman describes it ? " 
 
 "No, sh'," repUed the govemess, indignantly, 
 "Mr. Taswell has forfeited any claim he may 
 make to !Miss Anerley's hand. Sh' Goodwin, a 
 true lover of liis comitry, will never permit his 
 daughter to marry a preacher of sedition." 
 
 " Floretta, Miss Anerley ! " exclaimed Taswell, 
 advancing and takuig her unwilling hand, " I en- 
 treat you to speak. I care not what your governess 
 may say. She is blinded by her absm'd political 
 prejudices. But you, say, dearest — will you sacri- 
 fice one who has loved you from childhood for 
 the whim of an hour 'l " 
 
 Floretta hmig her head, and seemed somewhat 
 moved by this appeal. At length she said, in a 
 low tone of voice, 
 
 "My father would ^not suffer me to marry a 
 Jacobin." 
 
 " A Jacobin ! Psha ! what folly ! I am no 
 more a Jacobin than Mr. Fox is, or Mr. Pitt was 
 before he caught this war fever. But let that 
 pass. This prattle about political princij^les is a 
 mere excuse, a blind, and comes ill from your
 
 JILTED. 51 
 
 innocent-looking lips. A week ago, Floretta, you 
 scarcely knew a Jacobin from a Jacobite." 
 
 " Mr. Taswell/' exclaimed IMiss Tbnipp, '' in 
 thus reflecting on ]Miss Anerley's supposed defi- 
 ciencies, you insult me as her governess." 
 
 " I care not if I do," retorted Taswell, losing all 
 control over Ms temper; "you deserve to be in- 
 sulted. You, a woman old enough to be her 
 mother." 
 
 Miss Thrupp uttered a shrill scream. 
 
 "Yes, I repeat, old enough to be her mother; 
 you use this palaver about poHtics to serve your 
 own private ends. You have done all you can to 
 poison Floretta's ear against me, in favour of 
 whom ? In favour of a man who, if he offers 
 marriage (which is very doubtful), will never make 
 her happy. If a knowledge of all the mean and 
 petty tricks which disgrace the turf be a recom- 
 mendation for a husband, you are choosing well. 
 If an intimate acquaintance with haunts of iniquity 
 and depraved men and women be a recommenda- 
 tion for a husband, you are choosing well. But if 
 a husband should possess some vestiges of tmth, 
 virtue, and courage, you are choosing ill, for there 
 are none to be found there." 
 
 Taswell pointed his finger at Starlinghiorst, who 
 stood during this tirade with his anns folded, and 
 a quiet smile of scornful amusement on his face. 
 
 " Dearest Arthur," cried Lucy, rushing forward, 
 e2
 
 52 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 "curb your passion. We have always regarded 
 you as a brother. Be like a brother now to us. 
 Forgive Floretta, if she has acted foolishly ; and I 
 am sure this gentleman," said Lucy, indicating 
 Starlinghurst, " will pardon you the rash words 
 you spoke just now." 
 
 " I shall have great pleasure in acceding to the 
 lady's request," replied Starlinghurst, expanding 
 the smile on his face into a grin. 
 
 "And you, Floretta," proceeded Lucy, "pause 
 before you go further. Are you not giving up a 
 well-tried, honourable affection for what is at best 
 but an unknown experiment ? Think. The happi- 
 ness of your future life may depend on the deci- 
 sion of this moment." 
 
 " Your advice is not needed. Miss Lucy," replied 
 Floretta, pertly. " When I want counsel, I shall 
 repair to Miss Thrupp, or papa." 
 
 "Floretta!" exclaimed Taswell, "I have no 
 more to say. I bid you farewell. In spite of your 
 fickle unkindness, I pray to Heaven that you may 
 be happy. Lucy, I thank you for your well-meant 
 intervention ; I shall not forget it." And, without 
 taking any leave of the other persons present, the 
 young man picked up his crushed hat from the 
 floor and quitted the room. 
 
 "A specimen of modern manners!" observed 
 Miss Thrupp, pursing up her lips. 
 
 "As taught at the Jacobin Club — I mean the
 
 JILTED. 53 
 
 London Corresponding Society," simpered Star- 
 linghurst. ^^But I must follow tliis gentleman," 
 said he. 
 
 Floretta seized his arm. 
 
 " You are not going to challenge him ? " 
 
 " Oh ! dear me, no ; merely to give him a little 
 ad\'ice on the subject of controlling his temper. 
 Shall return in ten minutes, ladies." 
 
 " Charming manners, has he not, girls ? " re- 
 marked the governess. 
 
 Floretta assented ; Lucy remained silent. 
 
 " Good manners, my dears, cannot exist without 
 sound principles. Ai'thui' Taswell is a sad example 
 of the truth of this precept. Since he has adopted 
 these dreadful destructive doctrines, he has lost 
 what little pohsh he ever possessed." 
 
 " Oh ! Miss Thrupp," exclaimed Lucy, " I am 
 sure you used to hold hun up to us as a pattern 
 young man." 
 
 '' Li matters of morality, Lucy," replied the 
 governess, " possibly I did, but he never possessed 
 the easy je ne scais quoi which distinguishes the 
 true gentleman." 
 
 " Surely his mode of speech is more real and 
 natural than that affected creature's lisping accent." 
 
 "Lucy!" exclaimed Floretta, darting a look of 
 anger at her sister. 
 
 " Lucy !" said ^liss Thrupp, " I am surprised at 
 you. I fear you have imbibed some of ^Ir. Tas-
 
 54 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 well's atrocious sentiments ; I shall speak to your 
 father, and request him to forbid his entrance to 
 this house." 
 
 "Forbid whose entrance to this house, eh!" de- 
 manded Sir Goodwin, limping into the drawing- 
 room by the aid of a stick. " Ugh ! ugh ! my 
 gout is terrible to-day. Forbid who, Miss Thrupp ? " 
 
 " Arthur TaswelL" 
 
 "Oh, Taswell! I want to talk to you about 
 him, Mss Thrupp. Leave the room, girls." 
 
 Sir Goodwin was not naturally by any means a 
 peremptory man, but he was in a bad temper that 
 morning. The combined influence of sharp bodily 
 pain, and disappointment at the absence of any 
 reply from York-street, St. James's, liad made 
 him unwontedly crabbed. 
 
 " Now, Mss Thrupp," said the Baronet, seating 
 himself, " what's been going on this morning ? 
 Doors banging, people running up and down stairs, 
 voices in loud altei'cation ; I tried to get to sleep 
 again after breakfast, and you have spoilt my 
 attempt most thoroughly." 
 
 Miss Thrupp detailed the events of the morning. 
 Sir Goodwin heard her recital without offering a 
 word of comment, and after she had concluded, re- 
 mained for some minutes in silence, with an ex- 
 pression of deep thought on his handsome, but 
 deeply-lined features. At length he spoke in a 
 bantering tone.
 
 JILTED. 55 
 
 "So, ^iiss Tlirupp, you are a red-hot Pittite. 
 You don't approve of young Taswell's French hat 
 —eh?" 
 
 "Gracious! Sir Goodwin, how can you speak 
 so I You who vote persistently with ^h\ Pitt. 
 Surely, you would not wish to have a Jacobin for 
 a son-m-law ? " 
 
 " I should not object, Miss Thrupp." 
 
 " ^^Tiat ! are you also infected ? Are you basely 
 deserting youi' colours ? Are you ^" 
 
 " Xow just listen to me, Miss Thi'upp. You are 
 a little Quixotic m your pohtics. I am more 
 worldly-^-ise. I support IMr. Pitt because he re- 
 presents the cause of those who have, against those 
 who have not. I have got money, ships, negroes, 
 to lose. For instance. Jacobinism would play the 
 deuce with my sugar estates in Barbadoes. But 
 were I five-and-twenty again, and as poor as a 
 church rat, I should, if only for the e^^citement of 
 the thing, adopt the other side."' 
 
 " I know, Sir Goodwin, you are better than you 
 profess to be, otherwise your sentiments are utterly 
 mean and gi'ovelling. But to return to young Tas- 
 well. He, at least, has not the excuse of poverty. 
 His father left him a good fortune, over wliich he 
 wall obtain full control when he is twenty-five." 
 
 " Shall I tell you a secret, Miss Thrupp ? I 
 only learnt it the other day on 'Change. Old Tas- 
 well, the attorney, the father of this young sprig,
 
 56 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 made liis brother sole executor of his son's fortune, 
 with instructions to nurse the money to the utmost 
 advantage till Arthur was five-and-twenty. Begad, 
 I have discovered that this foolish old uncle, with- 
 out meaning to be dishonest, has been dabbling in 
 canal-shares, lottery-tickets, French assignats, &c, 
 &c., till he has nursed the golden baby out of 
 existence !" 
 
 " Is Mr. Taswell aware of this ? " 
 
 "He is not. But of course it alters my views 
 towards him as a son-in-law. Floretta must not 
 marry a beggar. So that I am not sorry she has 
 flouted him. And regarding young Starlinghurst ? 
 She danced with him all night, did she, the bag- 
 gage?" 
 
 " He appears to be a young man of irreproach- 
 able principles." 
 
 "Irreproachable humbug! Pardon me. Miss 
 Tlunipp, but you are such an ardent politician that 
 you fancy all Tories will go to heaven, and nobody 
 besides. Starlinghurst is a gay gentleman, rather 
 too fond of the Board of Green Cloth. You take 
 me, jMiss Thrupp?" said Sir Goodwin, imitating 
 the dealing of cards. 
 
 The governess nodded. 
 
 "But," continued the Baronet, "old Starling- 
 hurst, of Starling Hall, Kent, is a man after your 
 own heart, a real old true-blue country gentleman,
 
 JILTED. 57 
 
 who believes Mr. Pitt is a heaven-bom Minister, 
 that the French are all Atheists, and wear no '' 
 
 "Sir Goodwin I" 
 
 " In short, a sterling fellow, one of the bulwarks 
 of Old England ; and if his estates are unencum- 
 bered, an excellent father-in-law for Floretta. So, 
 Miss Thrupp, the upshot of my advice is, that for 
 the present we encourage the young Church-and- 
 King man, and let poor Taswell amuse himself 
 with the London Correspondents till he gets tired 
 of them, or till he gets into the Tower." 
 
 " Yery well, Sir Goodwin ; I shall endeavour to 
 obey your suggestions. But I wish, my dear sir, 
 you would not talk so flippantly. At your age ^" 
 
 ":MissTliinipp!" 
 
 " You are nearly sixty, su\ Surely it is time to 
 adopt a tone of greater solemnity." 
 
 " My dear ]Miss Thrupp," said the Baronet, good 
 naturedly, " I admire your plam speaking. My 
 spirit is as young and fresh as ever ; and but for 
 this confounded gout — ugh ! — ugh I — there was a 
 twinge ! " 
 
 " It is sent as a warning, Sir Goodwin." 
 
 " Of what, Mss Thrupp ? That my respected 
 progenitors drank too much port wine ? Exactly. 
 And I have taken the hint, as you know. I have 
 always been a moderate drinker. Compared with 
 your favourite heaven-bom "
 
 58 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Treason, Sir Goodwin — treason ! Yon should 
 not speak e-val of dignities." 
 
 "Well, I won't; I'll leave that to Charley Fox 
 and Lord Stanhope." 
 
 "If you haA^e concluded the conversation, Sir 
 Goodwin, which you desired to have with me, per- 
 haps you will permit me to retire," said the gover- 
 ness, rismg. " The young ladies need my presence." 
 
 " Certainly, Miss Thrupp — certainly. Excuse 
 my getting up to open the door." 
 
 " There goes a good honest soul," miuTiiured the 
 Baronet, as Miss Thrupp left the room. " She has 
 been like a mother to my girls. But she is a 
 thought too prejudiced in favoiu: of rank and 
 position. She never thoroughly relished young 
 Taswell, because his father was an attorney. And 
 now the silly fellow has become a sedition-monger, 
 she reo'ards him with horror. I wish she w^ere a 
 little less strait-laced and respectable. I am afraid 
 of her. I shall never have the courage to let the 
 cat out of the bag, and tell her about Amanda. 
 Hano^ that fickle fair sex! I am on the tenter- 
 hooks of expectation for another billet, and none 
 has arrived. I am longing for the permission (not 
 yet granted) of paying her a visit at her own 
 house."
 
 BOXIANA. 59 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 BOXIAXA. 
 
 With his hat (lra^^^l over his eyes, and his head 
 bent upon his breast, Arthui* Taswell sauntered 
 moodily and slowly towards his chambers in Gray's 
 Inn. He was keeping his terms with the intention 
 of being called to the bar, although the receipt of a 
 liberal quarterly allowance, and tlie expectation in 
 two years' time of a considerable fortune, had 
 hitheito clogged and deadened his energies. He 
 had necrlected the law for the sake of devotino; his 
 time to the acquirement of modern languages, and 
 especially to the study of politics. The pursuit of 
 this latter subject of inquiiy had induced him, in 
 common ^yith most of the young and ardent spirits 
 of the period, to adopt the liberal side. But he was 
 no Jacobin, which was a term of reproach freely 
 bestowed by the party in power on every one Avho
 
 60 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 differed from their own views. He deplored the 
 war with France, and maintained that if England 
 had, from the commencement of the domestic 
 struggle in that country, adopted a bolder policy, 
 and refused to allow Prussia and Austria to inter- 
 fere with the internal concerns of the French 
 people, the Kevolution might have been consum- 
 mated without those horrors which had rendered 
 the name of Frenchman an opprobrium throughout 
 the civilised world. He believed — as Mr. Pitt had 
 believed a few years earlier — that the representative 
 system of England needed amendment, that the 
 House of Commons did not fairly reflect the 
 opinion of the nation, and that jobbery and cor- 
 ruption were rampant in all departments of the 
 public service. 
 
 We should consider these views now-a-days as 
 the sentiments of moderate Conservatism; but in 
 1795, when the majority of the upper classes, the 
 merchants, and everybody who had any property 
 to lose, were panic-stricken at the general overturn 
 in France, and the increasing successes of the re- 
 publican armies, these doctrines were held to be, as 
 Miss Thrupp averred, anarchical, atheistical, and 
 utterly subversive of all good government. 
 
 "Why, Citizen Taswell!" exclaimed a deep 
 voice at his side. " Do you carry your head so 
 low that you pass your friends in the street? " 
 
 The young lawyer raised his eyes, and beheld
 
 BOXIANA. 61 
 
 the tall, dark-complexioned, long-haired man whose 
 seditious sentiments had caused his expulsion from 
 the hairdresser's shop. 
 
 " Is it jou, Loveridge ? " said Taswell, extend- 
 ing his hand, after a moment's hesitation. " My 
 friend, I must beg of you not to address me in the 
 street by the title of citizen. It causes ill-natured 
 comment, and attracts the attention of spies, who, 
 as we know, abound at every comer." 
 
 " And are you, Arthur TasweU, already waxing 
 cold in the cause? Have you been promised a 
 seat in Parliament for some rotten boroucrh, or a 
 nice fat sinecure post, the revenues of which are 
 wi'ung out of the starving people of England ? " 
 
 " Hush, no more of this, I beg, until at least we 
 are safe in my chambers. To tell you the truth, 
 politics have not been in my thoughts. I have 
 been concerned with a bitter private grief." 
 
 " Some injuiy, I warrant, inflicted by a purse- 
 proud aristocrat." 
 
 " You are not altogether wide of the mark there, 
 Loveridge. My beloved Floretta," continued the 
 young man, in a voice choking with emotion, " has 
 discarded me in favom' of another." 
 
 " Ha, ha I " laughed the repubHcan, bitterly. 
 "'Tis the usual custom of the sex." 
 
 " Not so, sh'," exclaimed Taswell, sternly. " You 
 libel the constancy of woman. Floretta has been 
 misled by older and more .cunning heads ; she has
 
 62 
 
 been allured by the glitter of high breeding, and 
 the dignity of superior rank." 
 
 " Alas, poor slave ! " said Loveridge, sneeringly, 
 ^^you seem mightily impressed with this rival's 
 aristocratic pretensions. Would it not be well to 
 kneel and kiss his shoe-buclde, asking humble 
 pardon for your presumption in having ever loved 
 the lady?" 
 
 " It would be well to stand opposite him at six- 
 teen paces in Hyde Park, and try his mettle 
 there." 
 
 " By no means ; you are utterly wrong there. 
 These idle noblemen are crack shots; he w^ould 
 have the sweet pleasure of letting daylight into your 
 carcase, and we should lose an admirable citizen." 
 
 ^^ He is not a nobleman, but the son of a country 
 gentleman." 
 
 "Name?" 
 
 " Frederick Starlinghurst." 
 
 "Wliat!" cried Loveridge, turning pale, and 
 seizing a street-post for support. "What! Say 
 that name agam." 
 
 Taswell repeated it. 
 
 " Mr. Taswell," said Loveridge, in a low, broken 
 voice, forgetting, in his agitation, to use the re- 
 pubHcan form of address — " jSIr. Taswell, that 
 man has made me what I am now, a bitter, discon- 
 tented revolutionist. The stoiy is an old one ; it 
 has been repeated thousands of times since the sun
 
 BOXIANA. 63 
 
 first shed liis light on this miserable planet; the 
 old story of the rich man stealing the poor man's 
 pet lamb. My father was a blacksmith, working 
 on the old Squire's estate at Starling Hall. He 
 was not only a blacksmith, but a self-taught 
 scholar, and he gave me a better education in his 
 own spare time than half the sons of the gentry 
 get at their pubhc schools. Well, I had a pet 
 lamb; a sweet girl, whom I loved with all my 
 heart, soul, and strength. We were betrothed, 
 and were shortly to be mamed. In an e\-il hour, 
 the yomig Squire cast his malignant eyes upon 
 this village rose. You know what women are, Mr. 
 Taswell — ^pleased with a rattle, tickled with a 
 straw.' My suit of homespun looked vile and 
 common by the side of the Squire's laced coat. I 
 had learnt Latin and mathematics, and could re- 
 cite ^ Paradise Lost,' but I could not bow, and smile, 
 and prattle nonsense as he could. He persuaded his 
 father to get me a situation up here in London. 
 Harriet and I wrote to each other — for she was a 
 well-instructed gM, the daughter of the callage 
 schoolmaster. By degrees her letters grew colder 
 and shorter, and then ceased altogether. I was 
 alarmed, more especially as I had had warning 
 dreams ^" 
 
 " Of what natm-e? " asked Taswell. 
 
 " I dreamt I saw her tossing in the water under 
 the centre arch of London-bndge, and that I, who
 
 64 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 stood ready to plunge in and save her, became 
 turned to stone and immovable. But to proceed. 
 I got leave from my employer, shouldered my stick 
 and bundle, and walked down into Kent. I ought 
 to have told you that my father was bedridden at 
 that time, and nobody else dared to write and 
 break the news to me. For what do you suppose 
 the news was ? Harriet had disappeared from the 
 village, no one knew whither ; and it was not till 
 six months ago that I learnt the real truth." 
 
 "You met her?" 
 
 "I did." 
 
 " After how many years' absence ? " 
 
 <^Ten." 
 
 " She was much changed 1 " 
 
 ^'Ha, ha! Yes, of course she was changed. 
 So was I," he added, fiercely. 
 
 " A poor, miserable, degraded creature ? " 
 
 " Ha, ha ! Yes, if you please, a poverty-stricken, 
 gin-drinking, ragged object, all this, if you please. 
 But, supposing ^" 
 
 Here the republican paused, and dropping the 
 tone of bitter irony which he had adopted, resumed 
 his usual stern melancholy voice : 
 
 " The rest of my tale at some more fitting op^ 
 portunity. Citizen Taswell. I am wasting my 
 country's time. See here," he continued, putting 
 his hand in his pocket, " are some addresses that I 
 have drawn up, calculated to awaken the English
 
 BOXIANA. 65 
 
 people to a just appreciation of theii' liglits and 
 liberties at the present crisis." 
 
 He handed to Taswell several handbills, printed 
 in the rudest manner on the coarsest whitj-brown 
 paper. 
 
 " Excuse om- typography, citizen ; they are 
 executed by a worthy master-printer near Long- 
 acre, whose zeal and devotion are as pure as his 
 pnntmg materials are execrable. You know we 
 are deadly poor ; you, as a rich citizen, ^^'ill aid us. 
 Get these reprinted in a better fomi to aid the 
 cause. You will undertake this ser\dce, fellow- 
 citizen "? " 
 
 " The language seems strong, not to say sedi- 
 tious, !Mr. Loveridge," said Taswell, glancing at 
 one of the handbills. ^' I doubt whether the 
 
 Attorney-General " 
 
 " A thousand cui'ses on him and all the rest of 
 the place-hunting crew ! Print a hundred thousand 
 of these handbills ; and in a month London, Man- 
 chester, and Biinningham will bristle with five 
 hundred thousand pikes, and the Attorney-Gene- 
 ral's head will be But I talk treason. Farewell." 
 
 He hurriedly pressed Taswell's hand, and walked 
 rapidly away, disappearing among the crowds of 
 foot-passengers who were pursuing their various 
 routes along High Holborn. 
 
 "So," mused Taswell, as he proceeded slowly 
 onwards, " \Yalter Loveridge is anothei- instance 
 VOL. ]. F
 
 6Q SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 of a man whose private wrongs have converted 
 him into a public desperado, for such most peace- 
 able people would regard him. This is the first 
 time he has ever mentioned his own sorrow since I 
 made his acquaintance. I knew that he had been 
 in America and France, and judged that it was in 
 those countries he had picked up his ultra-re- 
 publican doctrines. I respect the man for his 
 honesty and truthfulness, but I dread his prin- 
 ciples. They are too savage and bloodthirsty for 
 English soil. He is a complete fanatic; every 
 sixpence he can spare from his precarious earnings 
 as a blacksmith's hammerman is devoted to what 
 he calls the furtherance of the sacred cause of 
 liberty, but which our respected rulers would style 
 the spread of the most noxious sedition. To such 
 a pass will the sense of unavenged injury, the 
 sting of bitter poverty, the contemplation of bloated 
 luxury and corruption fattening on the misery of 
 millions, bring a man in this once merry Eng- 
 land!" 
 
 Taswell's meditations were interrupted by a 
 smart tap on the shoulder. 
 
 He turned briskly on his heel, and found him- 
 self confronted by Frederick Starlinghurst, who 
 lifted his hat with a bow of exaggerated politeness. 
 
 "Aw — ^ir. Taswell, can I have a few words 
 with you — in a somewhat less noisy place than 
 this crowded thoroughfare ? " 
 
 " I am at your service, sir," replied Taswell,
 
 BOXIANA. (i7 
 
 bowing gravely in his turn, and leading the way 
 up a quiet side-street. 
 
 " I have been -wishing to speak to you for some 
 time," began the dandy, ^'but was unwilling to 
 inteiTupt the exceedmgly interesting tete-a-tete 
 which you were enjoying with your shabby friend 
 with the long mane, if you will allow me to call 
 him so." 
 
 " Do you know who that man is, Mr. StarKng- 
 hm'st ? " demanded Arthur, looking his interlocutor 
 full in the face. 
 
 " I cannot say I do." 
 
 " That is Walter Loveridge." 
 
 "Indeed!" repHed the other, with the utmost 
 coolness — " indeed ! Pity that I have left my 
 ivory tablets at my lodgings, or I would make a 
 note of this extraorcUnary piece of information. 
 Quite in the old diaiy style. Let me see ! This 
 day did meet a person in High Holbom, who told 
 me m the deepest secresy that a man of plebeian 
 exterior and uncombed elf-locks, with whom he 
 
 did converse, was ycleped 1 beg your pardon, 
 
 Mr. Taswell, I have forgotten the fellow's name ? " 
 
 Taswell had extreme difficulty in maintaining 
 his temper under the calm impudence of the dandy, 
 but at length he repHed, " "Walter Loveridge." 
 
 The name evidently made no impression on Mr. 
 Starlmghm'st. Had these two words recalled the 
 memories which Taswell purposed they should 
 f2
 
 68 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 excite, the most impassible countenance would 
 have displayed some signs of emotion. It sud- 
 denly struck the young lawyer that the name of 
 Loveridge had probably been assumed since the 
 poor fellow had fallen into adversity. 
 
 "Although you know not the name of Walter 
 Loveridge," said he, "you have possibly not for- 
 gotten the young blacksmith who worked on your 
 father's estate at Starling Hall ? " 
 
 Was it Taswell's fancy, or did a slight shade of 
 colour pass over Starlinghurst's usually pallid 
 countenance? However this might be, his reply 
 betrayed no emotion whatever. 
 
 " A blacksmith ? " he replied. " I remember 
 two, a father and a son ; the old man was a re- 
 spectable village patriarch; the son, I think, left 
 home to seek his fortune up in London. Will this 
 information satisfy your curiosity ? " 
 
 Taswell remained silent, for he began to entertain 
 some doubts as to the truthfulness of Loveridge's 
 story. He could not believe that Starlinghurst, if 
 he had really committed the wrongs of which he 
 was accused, would remain so entirely calm and 
 unmoved when the persons he had injmred were 
 summoned to his recollection. 
 
 " As you do not reply," pursued the dandy, " I 
 presume you are satisfied. Perhaps you will now 
 have the kindness to satisfy me in return. We 
 accidentally met this morning at a certain house.
 
 BOXL^NA. 69 
 
 While there, you did the company the favour of 
 describing my character in exceedingly unflattering 
 terms." 
 
 ^- Well, sir?" 
 
 " Well, sir, I have only to request that, in the 
 presence of the same company, you will retract and 
 apologise for the observations you then made." 
 
 " And if not, what then ? " 
 
 " Then I shall be imder the painful necessity of 
 making a stout horsewhip and your body mutually 
 acquainted." 
 
 ''And what do you suppose will happen after 
 that?" 
 
 " I presume that, like any other beaten cur, you 
 will sneak away with your tail (metaphorically 
 speaking) between your legs." 
 
 '• And leave you in undisputed possession of the 
 field?" 
 
 " Precisely so." 
 
 "To work your will on Miss Anerley, to ruin 
 her, as you did the blacksmith's betrothed, 
 Harriet?" 
 
 Starlinghurst's face flushed \'isibly, and his lip 
 trembled. 
 
 '•' He is, then, the villain I suspected," thought 
 Taswell. 
 
 " Now, sir," said Starlinghurst, " I cannot waste 
 my time any longer. '' Are you prepared to 
 apologise in the manner I suggested ? "
 
 70 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 "Mr. Starlinghurst," replied Taswell, calmly, 
 " you are a sad scoundrel, and I would rather leave 
 your own crimes to punish you. Still, in these 
 matters we must follow the customs of the world. 
 This rencontre must necessarily end in a hostile 
 meeting." 
 
 "What! Fight! I confess I never contem- 
 plated such a contingency. The son of a country 
 gentleman fight a vulgar six-and-eightpence ? Im- 
 possible ! " 
 
 "I am a barrister, Mr. Starlinghurst/' said 
 Taswell, who was by no means insensible to social 
 distinctions. 
 
 " Father a six-and-eightpence though, eh ? WeW, 
 I'll consult my friends, and see what can be done. 
 Most happy to oblige you, I am sure. But I fear 
 'tis impossible. Pll tell you what, Mr. Barrister, 
 I can hire a very decent fellow, a retired cracks- 
 man, who for ten guineas do^\Ti will chance a hole 
 in his skin, and meet you anywhere you please. 
 Shall I write to him?" 
 
 " This, perhaps, will arouse youi' cowardly 
 spirit!" exclaimed Taswell, tearing off the thick 
 leather glove which he wore, and throwing it in 
 his opponent's face. Not content with this, he 
 followed up the assault by dealing Starlinghurst a 
 severe blow on the chest. 
 
 The cool, sneering, contemptuous impudence of 
 the dandy had irritated Taswell to such a degree
 
 BOXIANA. 71 
 
 that he had entirely lost control of his temper, and 
 hence attacked Hs enemy in the manner we have 
 described. No man ever gains anything by getting 
 in a passion, as Taswell found to his cost in the 
 present instance. Besides, he was mistaken on 
 several points. He laboured under tbe common 
 delusion that a villain must of necessity lack 
 personal courage. He fancied Starlinghursts ap- 
 parent unwiUingness to fight arose from the basest 
 cowardice, and that a creature who seemed so 
 effeminate would be utterly unable to use the 
 weapons with which Nature had provided him. He 
 was speedily undeceived. 
 
 As soon as StarHnghust had recovered from the 
 surprise of TasweU's sudden onslaught, he drew 
 back, and thi'owing off liis hat and coat, placed 
 them deliberately on the gromid. He then ad- 
 vanced with his elbows squai'ed in true boxing 
 attitude, until he was face to face with his foe. 
 The usual crowd which rises up in London as if 
 by magic at the most trivial occurrence had by this 
 time assembled, and cries were heard on all sides of 
 " A ring I a ring ! ' ' 
 
 Arthur Taswell was a brave little fellow, full of 
 courage and acti^ity, but utterly ignorant of the 
 noble art of self-defence. He rushed blindly upon 
 his adversary, who was fuUy half a head taUer 
 than himself, dealino- out a shower of blows, which 
 the dandy parried with perfect coolness and dex-
 
 72 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 terity. Shouts of "Go it, little 'un!" "That's 
 your sort !" were intermingled with the graver tones' 
 of the connoisseurs, who saw at once where victory 
 lay, and exclaimed, solemnly, "Three to one on 
 the tall fellow! Any gentleman take the bef?" 
 Some enthusiasts took the bet, and the interest 
 became intense. Seventy years ago there were no 
 stalwart policemen, with their meddlesome ways, 
 bursting into the ring, spoiling the fun, and collar- 
 ing the combatants. The parish constables of 
 that era always observed a row from the other 
 side of the street, and never crossed the pavement 
 until it was over. This prudent system saved 
 everybody a vast deal of trouble, and was perhaps 
 quite as effective as the over-zealous activity of our 
 modem street guardians. 
 
 Taswell's superior nimbleness stood him in stead 
 of a good deal of fistianic skill, and, for the first 
 two or three rounds, the advantages were pretty 
 equally balanced on either side. If the dandy had 
 succeeded in establishing what is known as a 
 "mouse" under the barrister's left eye, the bar- 
 rister had had the honour of drawing the "first 
 claret." The connoisseurs had altered their betting. 
 Five to two was now the figure. But it was pre- 
 sently evident that the dandy had hitherto been 
 merely playing with his adversary. He soon grew 
 tired of this amusement, and after allowing the 
 lawyer to plant a pretty severe blow on his chest.
 
 BOXIANA. 73 
 
 rushed in upon liim with resistless force, dealt a 
 series of rapid sledge-hammer blows all over his 
 face, head, and body, and finally knocked him 
 clean into the arras of his supporters. Taswell lay 
 bathed in blood, and insensible. 
 
 "Poor de^dl !" exclaimed Starluighurst, dra^ving 
 a long breath, and coolly putting on his coat. " He 
 wants comfort. Here, some fellow!" he cried, 
 taking half a guinea from his pocket, " fetch some 
 brandy for the invalid, and some beer for oui' 
 noble selves." 
 
 This speech created a round of applause among 
 the bystanders, who were presently hob-nobbing 
 with Starlinghurst in the most familiar manner 
 over Taswell's prostrate body. 
 
 " Lord-a-mercy me, friends ! what have we got 
 here?" exclaimed a tall, stout, red-faced old gen- 
 tleman, forcing his way through the crowd. " A 
 dead man?" 
 
 " Dead — no I" said one of the assemblage, "he's 
 just been and swallowed half a quartern of brandy." 
 . " Your nose looks as if it 'ud hke a drop," cried 
 another. 
 
 " Hush, maybe 'tis the City coroner." 
 " Won't you come and sit on the body, sh' ? " 
 " Shame on you — shame on you all, gentlemen, 
 to let a poor fellow-creature He here in this help- 
 less manner. Who's been ill-using him like this ? 
 Why, he's beaten to a mummy."
 
 74 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 ^^I had tliat honour," said Starlinghui'st, step- 
 ping forward. 
 
 "You! Then, young man — I call you young 
 man, though I don't beheve you'll ever see thirty 
 again — ^you ought to be ashamed of yourseK." 
 
 " Nonsense, old cock " began the dandy. 
 
 " I tell yer. Master Shoe-buckles," said a rough- 
 looking country fellow, " it was as fair a stond up 
 fight as iver I see. 'Twas as good as a main o' 
 cocks. Besides, Httle 'un hit big 'un fust, didn't 
 'ee, neighboiu' ? " 
 
 "Ay, he did," said another, "and got whacked 
 for his pains. That's all." 
 
 By this time the stout old gentleman, by dint of 
 squatting on the pavement, the muscular exertion 
 of which act made his face redder than ever, had 
 got Taswell's head resting on his knee, and was 
 diligently engaged in administering short sips of 
 brandy. 
 
 " He's coming to !" cried one of the mob. " His 
 eyes are a opening, and see, he's rising to liis feet." 
 
 "Hollo!" said another, "what's this dropped 
 out of his pocket ?" 
 
 " Give it me," remarked the old gentleman, with 
 an air of authority. " These papers," he continued, 
 rummaging in his capacious pocket, " may enable 
 us to ascertain where the poor man resides." 
 
 Presently the old gentleman fixed a pair of tor- 
 toiseshell spectacles on his nose, and began the
 
 BOXIANA. 75 
 
 perusal of the documents. After the lapse of a few 
 mmutes, he uttered a loud exclamation, ceased to 
 support Taswell, who was as yet unable to stand 
 without assistance, and waving the papers over 
 his head, sprang into the centre of the crowd. 
 
 " Treason, gentlemen — one and all, treason ! 
 I've been nursing a viper in my bosom ; I've been 
 resting a Jacobin's head upon my knee ! Good 
 Lord I these papers are as full of sedition as an 
 egg's full of meat. His pockets are crammed with 
 inflammatory and explosive sentiments." 
 
 At these words the mob edo-ed awav from Tas- 
 well, who remained sitting on the ground with a 
 scared and puzzled expression of countenance. The 
 bystanders interpreted the old gentleman's rhetoric 
 literally, and thought of squibs and crackers. 
 
 " Listen to this, gentlemen : ^ Tlie national razor 
 the only remedy for the icrongs of England !^ Do 
 you know what the national razor means ? I ought 
 to know, beinix a hairdresser and barber for better 
 nor forty years in the city of London. It means 
 the guillotine — that dreadful ingin which " 
 
 "Pardon my interruption," said Starlinghurst, 
 quietly, " but I tliink the person in whose posses- 
 sion such papers are found should be examined 
 before a magistrate. It is not our province to 
 adjudicate." 
 
 "Hear, hear!" shouted the mob. "Off with 
 Mm ! "
 
 76 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " But, gentlemen, listen," persisted Mr. Gattrell, 
 who was bent on venting his eloquence, " this 
 frightful machine which shaved off the head of 
 King Louis it is proposed to introduce by means of 
 a joint-stock ^" 
 
 " Time, time," cried the bystanders. " The rest 
 of your sarmon next Sunday, old gentleman." 
 
 The severe beating he had received, and the 
 brandy he had involuntarily swallowed, had re- 
 duced Arthur Taswell to- a state of stupid bewilder- 
 ment, from which he did not recover for some 
 time. He recollected being assisted by two men to 
 step into a hackney-coach, the windows of which 
 were immediately darkened by a mass of eager, 
 grinning faces. When he fully regained his senses 
 he fomid himself in a close-smelling, stone-floored 
 cell, lighted by a narrow-barred window from 
 above, and provided with no other furniture than 
 a miserable truckle bed, covered with a filthy 
 coloured quilt, on which he was seated. His cap- 
 tors had had the humanity to furnish him with 
 a jug of water, from which he drank copiously 
 and eagerly, to quench his intolerable thirst. 
 
 The scenes of the past day glided before his 
 mental Aasion like the shadows of some giim phan- 
 tasmagoria, but some time elapsed before he was 
 able to trace the connexion between successive 
 events. He began to recognise that he was im- 
 prisoned on a charge of sedition, but whether his
 
 BOXIANA. 77 
 
 arrest was due to the revengeful malice of Starling- 
 hurst, or to accident, he was unable to determine. 
 In any case, the papers which his fanatical ac- 
 quaintance had entrusted to his care had been 
 abstracted from his pocket. Presently overtasked 
 nature began to visit his eyes with drowsiness. 
 He tlirew himself on the repulsive couch, and fell 
 sound asleep.
 
 78 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TWO SUBSTANTIAL TEADESMEX. 
 
 Mr. Gattrell was, as we have seen, a man of 
 leisure, and was, moreover, possessed hj a spirit of 
 curiosity as mibounded as that which distinguished 
 his famous contemporary, Mr. James Boswell of 
 Auchinleck, so on the morning after the arrest he 
 rose early and proceeded to the lock-up, where the 
 prisoner was confined, for the laudable pm'pose of 
 seeing a Jacobin tiger safely caged in his den. 
 The turnkey was a gentleman of gruff approach, 
 but easily mollified by the gift of what he jocularly 
 termed a pair of silver spectacles — in other words, 
 a couple of shillings. 
 
 "Ay," he rephed, in return to Islr. Gattrell's 
 numerous interrogations, "he ain't a bad-looking 
 fellow now he's w^ashed and cleaned up. It was 
 my missis's doing. She's a deal too soft-hearted
 
 TTTO SUBSTANTIAL TRADESMEX. 79 
 
 for the purfession. She goes into the cell about 
 midaight, and comes out saying, ^Why, with all 
 that crime on his conscience, he's sleeping like an 
 innocent new-bom babe I But he's all over muck 
 and blood!' So she fetches him a basin of hot 
 water, and makes him get up and wash. Then 
 she sends me over to his chambers in Gray's Inn 
 for a change of clothes." 
 
 " Chambers I Grray's Inn I Why lie must be a 
 lawyer." 
 
 " Ay, so he is. Ain't it a rum go ? TSHio ever 
 heard of a la\\yer making such a fool of hisself? 
 But this one's only a young 'un. His claws ain't 
 growed yet." 
 
 "^liatname?" 
 
 " Now, dash my buttons," exclaimed the tui'nkey, 
 angrily, " if you am't too inquisitive, old gentleman ; 
 you're going into his cell, ax him himself. Folks 
 don't always want everybody to know their names. 
 Come on, if you're coming," continued the sulky 
 official, hghting a lantern. 
 
 " He ain't dangerous, ]Mr. Turnkey, is he ? " 
 asked ^Ir. Gattrell, sm-vepng the dark, naiTOw, 
 steep stancase before him mth some apprehension. 
 
 "Well, reg'lar thieves isnt. They know the 
 ways of the place too well. They knows if they're 
 obstropolous they'll have this bunch of keys about 
 then- ears," repHed the turnkey, swinging the in- 
 signia of his office T\-ithin an inch of Mr. Gattrell's
 
 80 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 nose. " But this sort of crack-brained gentry are 
 apt to be queer. I've know'cl them rise the ^Yater- 
 jug at me. I had a cove of that natur' here two 
 year ago, just when the Revolution was going it 
 full swing across the Channel. " 
 
 " How did you manage him ? " asked Mr. Gat- 
 trell, as he groped his way slowly downwards. 
 
 " Well, I got a cobbler to make a leather bottle 
 to hold his drink, and then I riglarly knocked him 
 down every time I went into the cell. By the time 
 he come up before the Judges he was as tame as a 
 linnet. Here's the door." 
 
 While the turnkey was selecting the proper key 
 from his massy bmich, Mr. Gattrell drew a long 
 breath, and modestly retired behind that func- 
 tionary's ample body. 
 
 " Genelman to see you, sir," said the turnkey, 
 civilly. " Come in, man," he continued, turning to 
 the hairdresser ; " he won't bite yer." 
 
 Mr. Gattrell beheld a young man of slender 
 figure and somewhat small stature seated on the 
 truckle bed before him. His features were pleas- 
 ing and regular, though rather disfigured by the 
 punishment of the preceding day. 
 
 " He don't look much hke a tiger," murmured 
 llx. Gattrell. 
 
 As the young man raised his head, the turnkey's 
 lantern shed its lurid light on his features. 
 
 The ex-hairdresser started backwards in amaze-
 
 TWO SUBSTANTIAL TRADESMEN. 81 
 
 ment. " Can I believe my eyes ? " he exclaimed. 
 " Why, it's young Mr. Taswell ! Lawk, sir, who'd 
 ha' thought to see you in a dungeon ? Set do^vn 
 the lantern, my friend," he added, slipping half-a- 
 crovvTi into the turnkey's readily-extended palm, 
 " and leave us." 
 
 That official retired in silence, shooting the bolts 
 from the outside of the door. 
 
 " I say," exclaimed Mr. Gattrell, in some terror, 
 as the turnkey's retiring steps echoed along the 
 passage — "I say, I don't like the looks of that. 
 Pr'aps he takes us for feller-conspirators." 
 
 TaswelFs lips expanded into a melancholy smile 
 as he said, " No fear of that. It is simply a pre- 
 caution to ensure my safe custody. May I ask 
 your name, sir, and to what I owe the pleasure of 
 this -sHisit ; for I presmne you come from motives of 
 kindness ? " 
 
 '• Kindness ! what else should I come for to the 
 son of my oldest customer ? !Many a year have I 
 dressed your father's wigs, and powdered your 
 mamma's head when she had company." 
 
 The young man shaded his eyes with his hand. 
 " Are you Adam Gattrell ? I did not at first " 
 
 ^•Recognise me. No, of course not. Haven't 
 you always been accustomed to see me in my jacket 
 and apron ? But now, sir, what brings you here ? " 
 
 Taswell related, as far as his confused memory 
 of events would permit him, how he had fought 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 with Starlinghurst, and how some papers, which 
 had been entrusted to him by a friend, had, he be- 
 lieved, led to his incarceration. 
 
 " And to think I'd got your head on my knee, 
 and didn't know it, Master Arthur ! You'll excuse 
 my familiarity, but I knew you when you was 
 better acquainted with the pap-boat than with 
 French politics." 
 
 Mr. Gattrell then detailed in return, with ex- 
 treme prolixity, how he had accidentally been 
 present at the street-combat, and had rescued his 
 old customer's son (although unbeknown to him) 
 from the clutches of a barbarous and unfeeling 
 body of spectators. 
 
 " It's an awkward affair. Master Arthur ; but 
 money you have, and money '11 bring you through. 
 Besides, if you give up the name of the bloody- 
 minded villain who put those poisonous papers in 
 your pocket, the magistrate will dismiss the case at 
 once." 
 
 "That I must not do." 
 
 "^Yhatl Master Arthur, would you screen a 
 wretch like the man who concocted those papers ? 
 You don't believe in the National Kazor as the re- 
 generator of the English nation ? " 
 
 " I scarcely looked at the papers, and what little 
 I saw of them I highly disapproved ; still honour 
 forbids me to inform against the unfortunate person 
 who entrusted them to my care."
 
 TWO SUBSTANTIAL TRADESMEN. 83 
 
 " Take my axlvice, Master Arthur/' said the old 
 man, " when your own neck's in peril don't be too 
 particular in looking after other people s. Well, 
 sir, I will wish you good morning. Myself and a 
 friend will be in court, and shall do whatever we 
 can to help you." 
 
 " D'ye thmk he'll be hanged ? " asked ]VIr. Gat- 
 trell of the turnkey, as they reached the regions of 
 daylight. 
 
 " Can't say," responded that gentleman. " As 
 the song says : 
 
 If a poor man, they'll scrag him, 
 
 A tradesman, they'll lag him, 
 
 A rich man, they'll let him go free." 
 
 " Why, you talk Hke a Repubhcan ! " observed 
 Mr. Gattrell, in some astonishment. 
 
 "Republican be d — d," replied the turnkey. 
 " Nothin of the sort. But I hate the Pitt ministry 
 like pison or water-gruel. Dundas, and the whole 
 pack of them, are good for nothing. Charley Fox 
 is the boy for me. I know his butler — a rare good 
 sort he is, too. If Charley comes in, my friend 
 will get me a snug keeper's place in the New 
 Clerkenwell Prison." 
 
 Saying which, the disinterested patriot, a httle 
 sulky at recei\^ng no further fee — although he had 
 already pocketed four shiUiugs and sixpence of ^Ir. 
 Gattrell's money — showed the ex-hairdresser out. 
 
 The old gentleman immediately proceeded to 
 G 2 ^
 
 84 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 St. Antholin's-court, where he found Mr. Chig- 
 wood, the three children, and the two apprentices, 
 seated at breakfast. Bread-and-milk formed the 
 staple of the repast. 
 
 "Good morning, my dear sir," exclaimed Mr. 
 Chigwood, greeting the former proprietor with ex- 
 treme politeness. " Permit me to help you off with 
 your coat, sir. You're an early bird, sir, and early 
 birds ^" 
 
 " Picks up the wums," exclaimed Plassey, with 
 preternatural acuteness. 
 
 "Plassey," said his father, "hold yom- tongue 
 till you're asked to speak. Have you finished your 
 bread-and-milk ? " 
 
 "Yes, pa." 
 
 "Then get ready for school, my dear. Here, 
 Bildad, finish feeding baby." 
 
 "What's the matter with Bildad's eye?" asked 
 Mr. Gattrell. 
 
 " Run up agen a lamp-post," answered Bildad. 
 
 " And what's the matter with Sam's eye ? " 
 
 " Run up agen a lamp-post," answered Bildad, 
 making the most frightfully threatening grimaces 
 at Sam in case he should dare to tell the truth. 
 
 "Sing'ler," remarked Mr. Gattrell. "Should 
 have thought the boys had been fighting. Talking 
 of fighting, ]VIr. Chigwood, I saw a fight yesterday 
 in Featherstone-buildings, High Holborn, that's
 
 TWO SUBST^VXTIAL TRADESMEN. * 85 
 
 ended in the most melancholy manner. I've been 
 to prison this morning." 
 
 " To prison, my dear sir? " 
 
 "Ay." 
 
 ^Ir. Gattrell then related the circumstances of 
 Arthur Taswell's arrest. 
 
 " Now I want you and me to go to court and 
 bail him out." 
 
 " My dear ^Mr. Gattrell, I fear that in the pre- 
 sent state of business I shall not be able " 
 
 " Can't meet the bail in case of its forfeiture, 
 eh ? But I will be answerable for both. I only 
 want your name. There must be two parties to a 
 bail besides the prisoner. Xow, how's trade ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, we mustn't complain. Two com- 
 mon-councillor's heads came in last night, and I've 
 the promise of an alderman's on Thursday. Owing 
 to the severity of the weather, shaving is very 
 dull." 
 
 "And the bears?" 
 
 " As healthy as if in then' native forests. Con- 
 fomid them," added ^Ir. Chigwood, aside. "Bil- 
 dad, go and clean their cages, and give 'em their 
 breakfast ; and you, Sam, sweep up the shop, and 
 get the brushes washed. Plassey, be off to school, 
 sir?" 
 
 " What a strange colour your children are, to be 
 sure, Mr. Chigwood ! "
 
 S6 * SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " My children, Mr. Gattrell? They're not my 
 cliildren. They are entrusted to me by a Bengalee 
 princess, for the sake of English education." 
 
 "Please, pa," said Plassey, returning with his 
 satchel on his arm, "you said the next time you 
 went to St. James's you'd ask ma to buy me a 
 new pair of boots." 
 
 " Go to school, sir," thundered Mr. Chigwood. 
 " The child doesn't know what he's talking about," 
 he remarked to his visitor. 
 
 Mr. Gattrell smiled slyly. " ]Mr. Chigwood," 
 he said, " the sooner you're ready the better. Sit- 
 ting magistrates wait for no man." And having 
 delivered this dictmn, the old gentleman strolled 
 into the shop, and by way of pastime began to 
 strop a razor. 
 
 Meanwhile ]\ir. Chigwood retired to complete 
 his toilette, and presently emerged from the house 
 arrayed in a complete suit of snuff-colour. His 
 scanty hair was carefully powdered, but he wore a 
 round hat, and his shoes were tied with string. In 
 truth, as befitted a tradesman who had to live by 
 the public, he wished to please everybody, and con- 
 bined, as much as possible, the costumes of the old 
 and new regimes in his own person. ISh. Gattrell 
 received him with a gi'unt of qualified approval, 
 and taking him by the arm, marched him off to 
 the court. 
 
 " Sam ! " cried Bildad, depositing Warren Hast-
 
 TWO SUBSTAXTIAL TEADESMEX. 8 < 
 
 ings upon the floor as soon as tlie two seniors liad 
 taken their departure. " Sam ! " 
 
 " Yes, Bildad," responded Sam, meekly. 
 
 " Keep an eye on this young blackamoor/' said 
 the elder apprentice, consequentially, cocking his 
 hat, and trying the effect in the shop-mirror. 
 " I'm going out." 
 
 " Please, Bildad, I thought master said we was 
 both to stay at home." 
 
 " You thought ! Do vou want another hidinoj ? " 
 exclaimed Bildad, ferociously advancing with 
 clenched fists. " TeU yer I'm going out. I've got 
 busmess in Bucklersbur}', business in Barbican, 
 business in Thames-street. "^Miere's Clive ? "' 
 
 " Pretending to shave himself in the bedroom." 
 
 " Xot with a razor ? " 
 
 " Xo ; master's pocket-comb." 
 
 " He'n do, then. If Chig comes in before I do, 
 say Comicillor Jones sent for me to dress his head 
 for the Dowgate WarcUnote." And Bildad, having 
 arranged his hat to his taste, saOied foith with his 
 hands thrust into the skirt-pockets of his coat, hum- 
 ming a popular ah' : 
 
 " I'm the knowing lad, that's not to be had, 
 
 So keep the game alive, oh ! 
 You had me, you see, in ninety-three, 
 
 But you -won't in ninety-five, oh I" * 
 
 About an hour after his departure, a hackney- 
 
 * From " The Modem Apollo,'' published 1796.
 
 88 
 
 coacli drew up at the end of the court, from which 
 an elderly gentleman, wrapped in a voluminous 
 roquelaure, and muffled up to the ears, descended 
 by the aid of the driver. Leaning on the coach- 
 man's arm, and supported by a stick, he entered 
 the hairdresser's shop, and having seated himself 
 in Mr. Chigwood's patent easy-shaving chair, dis- 
 missed the driver, with instructions to await his 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Shave, your honour ? " began Sam, advancing 
 with a baby on either arm. 
 
 "Why no, my boy," said the gentleman, with 
 an amused smile. " You seem tolerably well occu- 
 pied already. But nursery-maids should not in- 
 dulge in black eyes. How do you account for 
 this?" he added, pointing to Sam's discoloured 
 optic. 
 
 " Please, your honour, Bildad did it. He's always 
 a-whacking of me." 
 
 " And who may Bildad be ? " 
 
 " He's the big 'prentice." 
 
 "And you're the little 'prentice. Well, well. 
 Such is human nature. And where's Mi\ Chig- 
 wood?" 
 
 " Gone to court, your honour." 
 
 " What ! the Bankruptcy Court ? " 
 
 " I don't know, your honour. He's gone along 
 with Mr. Gattrell to get a gentleman out of 
 prison."
 
 TWO SUBSTANTIAL TRADESMEN. 8^ 
 
 " A highly charitable proceeding. And who is 
 this unlucky wight in pnsori ? " 
 
 " I heard Mr. Gattrell say it was Mr. Taswell, 
 that he was going to cut off King George's head, 
 so they put him in the watch-house." 
 
 " Vastly proper to do so, upon my word. This 
 is interesting intelligence," said the gentleman 
 to himself. " I must await Chigwood's return. 
 Boy!" 
 
 " Yes, your honour." 
 
 " Take this half-croTNii, and run out and buy me 
 three or four newspapers — the Times, Post, Chro- 
 nicle, and Oracle. I must amuse myself till this 
 worthy barber returns. And look shai-p, for I 
 don't miderstand babies, and I won't waiTant these 
 copper-coloured youngsters safe from the fire." 
 
 Sam departed on his errand with feelings of 
 awe. "This," he argued, "must be a person of 
 quahty. I never heard of anybody reading three 
 newspapers at once in my life ! " 
 
 " So Master Taswell's hot-brained political folly 
 has brought liim witliin the grasp of the law," said 
 Sir Goodwin Anerley, musing. " The event 
 could not happen at a better opportunity. It will 
 reheve me from any danger of Floretta reverting 
 to her old love. I wonder whether the young 
 gentleman is aware of his altered prospects. For 
 the boideversement has taken place; old Tobias 
 Taswell has stopped payment, and the Exchange
 
 90 
 
 gossip says his estate won't pay threepence in the 
 pound. Consequently young Taswell is a beggar." 
 Sir Goodwin skimmed over his newspapers with 
 a contemptuous indifferent air, to the astonishment 
 of Sam, who had been accustomed to see Mr. 
 Gattrell read slowly and methodically from the 
 theatrical announcements in the first column, to 
 the printer's name at the end of the fourth page. 
 After an hour or two of this amusement, voices 
 were heard outside the door. 
 
 " Stupid piece of obstinacy, I call it," said Mr. 
 Gattrell. " ' Give up the party's name that printed 
 this,' said their worships, ' and we are willmg to 
 accept bail.' They could see I looked hke a sub- 
 stantial tradesman, couldn't they, Mr. Chig- 
 wood?" 
 
 "No doubt of it, sir," replied that gentleman. 
 " Well, ;Mr. Gattrell, won't you step in and taste a 
 drop of Schiedam this bitter cold morning ? " 
 
 " I don't care if I do, sir," said the ex-proprietor, 
 smacking his lips as they entered the shop. 
 
 " So, Chigwood, ]\ir. Taswell is still in custody ? " 
 asked Sir Goodwin, leaning back languidly in his 
 chair. 
 
 " Lord, Sir Goodwin ! " exclaimed Mi\ Chig- 
 wood, whipping off his hat, and making a profound 
 bow, " who'd have thought of seeing your honour ? 
 Take off your hat, Gattrell. This is Sir Goodvmi 
 Anerley, Baronet."
 
 TWO SUBSTA^'TIAL TRADESMEN. 91 
 
 ^Ir. Gattrell paid his homage accordingly, and 
 remained standing. 
 
 " Now, my friends," said the Baronet, '' take this 
 glass of Hollands I overheard you proposing, and 
 give me a glass as well. Then sit down, and tell 
 me all about this affair.'' 
 
 Sir Goodwin listened to the detail in silence. 
 When it was concluded, he said, " So, ]Mr. Gattrell, 
 you went prepared to bail out this voung gentle- 
 man ? ■' 
 
 " Certainly, your honoiu-. He is the son of one 
 of my oldest and most respected customers. I 
 could not endure to see him in jail."' 
 
 " The sentiment does your heart credit. He is 
 a wealthy young man, too, is he not ? " 
 
 ^' Old 'Mr, Taswell died worth ten thousand 
 pound, your honour, and if Mr. Tobias han't made it 
 twenty thousand by the time this yomig gentleman 
 is five-and-twenty, I shall be astonished." 
 
 "Had his nephew been penniless, you would 
 btill have offered to bail him ? " 
 
 " I should, your honour ; his father was a good 
 friend to me, and has paid me many a guinea." 
 
 '• Well, youll have an opportunity of chspiaying 
 your disinterestedness at the next appeai'ance of 
 the prisoner. Read this," said Sir Goodwin, hand- 
 ing ^Ir. Gattrell the newspaper. 
 
 " Mercy upon us I " exclaimed the old hair- 
 dresser, turning white almost to the tip of his
 
 92 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 nose. "What a wicked world this is! Stopped 
 payment ! ruined ! gambling speculations ! Oh 
 dear, dear, dear ! What a providential escape ! " 
 
 "T\Tiat do you think now?" demanded Sir 
 Goodwin. 
 
 " Think, your honour ! " replied the worthy per- 
 niquier ; " I think he's a pestilent young Jacobin, 
 who deserves all he's got. Like uncle, like nephew. 
 And I wasted f our-and-sixpence on him this blessed 
 morning! I wish your honour good day," con- 
 cluded Mr. Gattrell, taking his hat, and quitting 
 the house with a low bow. 
 
 " Human nature, friend Chigwood — human 
 nature," said the Baronet, quietly. "And now, 
 sir, how is it you have no intelligence from St. 
 James's?" 
 
 " I ask your honour's humble pardon. I have a 
 letter in my pocket." 
 
 " Give it me," exclaimed the elderly lover, 
 eagerly. " So, sir, you preferred dancing attend- 
 ance on this Tulgar tradesman to executing my 
 commissions ? " 
 
 " Again I ask pardon. Sir Goodwin. But I am 
 at the mercy of this man. I owe him money. 
 Besides, I conceived, on hearing the name of 
 Taswell, that your honour would natm'ally be inte- 
 rested ^" 
 
 "Why so?"
 
 TWO SUBSTANTL^L TRADESMEN. 93 
 
 " With all deference, Sir Goodwin, was lie not 
 betrothed to ]Miss Floretta ? " 
 
 " Idiot I Do you suppose my girl should marry 
 a beggar ? " 
 
 " Oh ! of course, your honour, the case is altered 
 now. But " 
 
 " Say no more ! Show me into a quiet room, if 
 you have one, and provide me with pen, ink, and 
 paper." 
 
 The obsequious barber bustled about, hastily 
 arranged the parlour, thrust Sam and the children 
 into the attic, and then reverently ushered Sir 
 Goodwin into the apartment prepared for liim. 
 
 The Baronet seated himself, and opened the 
 letter with tremulous anxiety. It was short, but 
 by no means discouraging. 
 
 "Amanda has received Sir Goodwin's epistle. 
 Happy would she be could she beheve that the im- 
 passioned utterances it contains were dictated by a 
 heart conscious of its o^^^l truth and purity. But 
 she has had sad experience of the fickleness and 
 falsity of man's love. Yet she will once more 
 entrust herself to the enchanting dream of a high, 
 noble, mutually-reciprocated affection. If such be 
 Sir Goodwin's sentiments, she ^vill be at home on 
 Thursday evening next, at seven o'clock." 
 
 The Baronet composed a suitable reply, in 
 similarly high-floT\Ti language, which he delivered
 
 94 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 to !Mr. Ghigwood, aud then departed iii his hackney- 
 coach to the counting-house. 
 
 After many hours' absence, Bildad returned to 
 the shop with an air of easy assurance. He was 
 confronted by his master. 
 
 " Well, sir," he began, " you are a pretty feUow 
 for an apprentice. Where have you been ? " 
 
 " To dress Councillor Jones's head." 
 
 "That is a lie. Sam has told me that tale 
 already. Liars should have good memories. Per- 
 haps you don't recollect that Councillor Jones went 
 into curls after Christmas." 
 
 Mr. Cliigwood took up his cane, and seized 
 Bildad by the collar. 
 
 "You won't thrash me, master," said Bildad, 
 coolly. 
 
 "Won't thrash you, you young villain!" ex- 
 claimed ;Mr. Chigwood. " You'll soon see if I 
 won't." 
 
 " No you won't ; or if you do, you'll repent it." 
 
 " What do you mean, sirrah ! " 
 
 " Do you know the fourteenth of July, master ? " 
 
 Mr. Cliigwood changed colour slightly. " What 
 of that?" he asked. 
 
 " It's the anniwersary of the Feast of Pikes, ain't 
 it, over there '^ " continued Bildad, extending his 
 arm towards Hampstead for the purpose of indi- 
 cating France. " It's the anniwersary of the capti- 
 vating of the Bastille, ain't it, master ? "
 
 TWO SUBSTANTIAL TRADESMEN. 95 
 
 Mr. Cliigwood released the cidprit's collar. 
 
 " Young scoundrel, what are you driving at ? " 
 
 "You'll soon see. Do you know the B. C/? 
 I'm a member, so are you I " 
 
 " Good Heavens I And have they admitted a 
 young stripling like you ? " 
 
 "StripUng or not, I'm the boy as will stick at 
 nothing. They will find me useful. If there's 
 any work to be done as wants a stem heart, a 
 strong hand, and a hunrelenting temper, Pm the 
 cove for their money. And here's a notice," con- 
 tinued Bildad, taking from his pocket a dirty, 
 ill-folded paper. " Youre to be there at nine 
 o'clock to-nicrht." 
 
 Mr. Chigwood read the document and heaved a 
 deep sigh. "Well, Bildad," he said, humbly, "I 
 suppose you'll do your work as usual ? " 
 
 " Citizen Chigwood, I shall. But whether 
 nursing babies is an occupation worthy of an 
 enlightened repubhcan, I am doubtful. I should 
 Hke to bring it before the committee. However, 
 here goes." And Bildad took up Warren Hastings, 
 who was rather fractious, and began to soothe him 
 with the Marseillaise Hymn. 
 
 ^Ir. Chigwood retired to his inner chamber, and 
 apphed for consolation to a certain square, green 
 bottle, which had been in requisition once ah-eady 
 that morning. He smacked his lips and sighed 
 again.
 
 96 SIR Goodwin's folly. ' 
 
 " Tm in a peck of troubles," he said to himself. 
 " There are these abominable bears eating me out 
 of house and home ; there's old Gattrell everlast- 
 ingly prying into the business ; there's my precious 
 black wife as stingy as Daniel Dancer, and as 
 ferocious as one of her native tigresses; there's 
 Sir Goodwin's love affair; and now this young 
 cockatrice, Bildad, has contrived to discover that I 
 belong to a secret society. What made me enter 
 it I know not, for I believe in my heart these re- 
 pubHcan gentry are as bad as anybody else. Just 
 as fond of money and power, and a precious sight 
 more sanguinary. Vanity is the secret of my 
 membership. I love to hear my tongue wag, and 
 I flatter myself I can hold forth as well as Thel- 
 wall or Home Tooke."
 
 ON THE ICE. 97 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ON THE ICE. 
 
 As soon as he had sii£jp;estecl to the mob that 
 Arthur TasAvell shoukl be given mto custody, 
 ^Ir. Starhnghurst glided unperceived through the 
 rapidly increasing crowd, and returned to his own 
 lodgings. Pie had no wish to be further mixed up 
 with the affair, of which he felt altogether some- 
 what ashamed. In the first place, the whole thing 
 was tinged with absurdity. There was no disgrace 
 in the fact of a gentleman who, to use the phrase 
 of the day, " had been to school," in other words, 
 who had studied boxing, making use of his fists, 
 provided he did so at the proper time and with the 
 proper people. According to the stern laws of 
 fashion, the correct time for fighting was between 
 midnight and four o'clock in the morning, and the 
 correct people to fight with were " Charleys," 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 
 
 hackney-coachmen, chairmen, and bargees. But 
 there was something supremely ridiculous in the 
 idea of a bout at fisticuffs in broad daylight, close 
 to High Holborn, between a man of fashion and a 
 person only slightly inferior in rank to himself, 
 concerning the right to make love to a young lady. 
 " Why," said Starlinghm'st to himself, " when I 
 reflect calmly over the matter, it was a piece of 
 grossierete worthy of the Seven Dials, where Paddy 
 and PheHm settle their right to Norah in this sum- 
 mary fashion." 
 
 " Pui'kess," said the dandy to his valet, as he 
 entered his lodgings, " a piece of raw beefsteak for 
 my eye." 
 
 The servant bowed, and departed in silence. He 
 presently returned with the required remedy, bowed 
 again without speaking, and quitted the room. 
 
 Mr. Purkess was a character in his way. He 
 had been a waiter at an obscure country inn, where 
 Starlmghui-st saw him, and noted his singularly 
 reserved manner. The dandy had got weary of 
 a succession of chattering, scandal-retailing valets, 
 who all proved useless when any real work was to 
 be done, so he made an offer to Mi\ Purkess, which 
 that gentleman accepted, after due deliberation, in 
 as few words as possible. He possessed the in- 
 valuable gift of never being deprived of his pre- 
 sence of mind by any event whatever, and he 
 seldom asked questions. Instead of sa;ydng " Shall
 
 ON THE ICE. 99 
 
 I bring up your honour's hot water now ? '' he 
 brouorht the hot water unasked, ha\dncr accurately 
 studied his master's habits. As for beincr oruiltv 
 
 CO ./ 
 
 of such an enormity as sjonpathising ^vitii his 
 employer on his optical contusion, ^Ir. Purkess 
 would sooner have sacrificed his situation on the 
 spot. There were times, especially if he were poorly 
 or low-spirited, when Mr. Starlinghurst wished his 
 worthy yalet was somewhat more communicative. 
 He was so silent, so noiseless, so automaton-like, 
 that Starhnghurst half shuddered, and felt inchned 
 to pinch him m order to learn whether he were 
 real flesh and blood, or a cunnincp system of wires, 
 like Von Kempelen's chess-player. 
 
 "If his Royal Highness the Heir Apparent," 
 murmured Starhnghurst, as he rechned on the sofa, 
 "knew the origiii of this contused eye of mine 
 (I hope to Heaven it won t be black I), he would 
 di'ess up such a story about it that the whole town 
 would ring Avith laughter inextinguishable, and I 
 should have to Kide my head for three months at 
 some such delightfully retired spot as Brighthelm- 
 stone. Luckily, the Prince is too busy preparing 
 for married life — ahem ! " 
 
 Let us take the opportunity, while the dandy is 
 seated thus, of sketching as biiefly as possible his 
 earher career, for the pm-pose of ascertaining whe- 
 ther he was the scomidrel whom Loveridge de- 
 scribed him, and whom Taswell beHeved him to be. 
 h2
 
 100 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 In the usual narratives of woman's sad declen- 
 sion from the paths of ^-irtue we are apt to depict 
 on the one side a simple, loving, affectionate girl ; 
 on the other, a cold-blooded, hypocritical, plotting 
 -villain, who purposes beforehand to desert his vic- 
 tim as soon as he has robbed her of her greatest trea- 
 sure. Such characters as these are rarely met with 
 in real life. The culpability is usually more evenly 
 distributed. But the pnnishment, as we know, 
 generally falls almost exclusively on the weaker 
 and more helpless partner in the transaction. 
 
 Frederick Starliiighurst was tlie only child of 
 ^Mr. Starlinghm'st, of Starling Hall, in the parish 
 of Fessenden, Kent. Like many only children, 
 he was too carefully brought up, if such an ex- 
 pression may be used. His mother overdosed him 
 with moral instruction, though, at the same time, 
 she indulged his faintest whim. His father, on 
 the contrary, believing in the divine right of 
 parents, and the wisdom of King Solomon's edu- 
 cational maxims, treated him with a stern, repres- 
 sive severity, seldom seen now-a-daj^s. The un- 
 lucky boy was the cause of many an unpleasant 
 wrangle between his father and mother, who each 
 clung fondly to then* own system, for their beliefs 
 were as far apart as those of courtier and patriot, 
 who, as Cowper tells us, " cannot mix their hete- 
 rogeneous politics without an effervescence." The 
 effect was, that the youth grew up to manhood,
 
 ox THE ICE. 101 
 
 hating study and hating control ; dreading his 
 father, and not loving his mother with any parti- 
 cular ardour. When he was eighteen, which was 
 in the year 1783, just after the Peace of Paris, his 
 father sent him abroad for a couple of years, whence 
 he returned with a fine coating of French polish 
 over his other superficial acquirements, and a com- 
 plete disregard for scruples (acquired in the atmo- 
 sphere of the Palais Eoyal) where the honour of 
 women was concerned. An apparently trivial cii- 
 cumstance led to the story we are about to narrate. 
 The poor of the parish had an ancient right to cut 
 furze on certain days of the year on Fessenden 
 Heath. Young Starlinghurst had just returned 
 from the Continent, and was idly strolHng about 
 well-remembered scenes of his earlier days. Crossing 
 one of the loneliest portions of the heath, he came 
 upon an elderly man, who was seated on the ground 
 in great distress. In attempting to cut fm'ze he 
 had womided his foot severely with a bill-hook, and 
 had nearly fainted from loss of blood. There was 
 no other person at hand, but the young squii'e was 
 not devoid of common kindness, he removed the 
 sufferer's shoe, bound up the wound with his 
 cambric handkerchief, and helped him to limp 
 homewards. They soon met other labourers, who 
 rendered more efficient aid by carr\'ing Mr. Pet- 
 worth home on what is called ^'a Scotch chair.'' 
 On reachin^r the Hall, the voun^ man natm'alh"
 
 102 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 related the circumstance, and inquired who !Mr. 
 Petworth might be. He learnt that he was the 
 village schoolmaster recently appointed, a clever, 
 well educated, but miserly old fellow, who deserved 
 his maimed foot for poaching on the poor man's 
 preserve. Had this been all, probably the young 
 squire would never have gone near the school- 
 master again, but he found that he had a daughter 
 famed for her beauty. French fashion prescribed 
 that he should visit the girl and report on her good 
 looks. He went accordingly, and came back, not 
 only astonished but enraptured. He had seen the 
 beauties of Versailles, but he had only seen one 
 person who could be compared with Hamet Pet- 
 worth. That was the Princess de Lamballe ; but 
 even she was past her bloom. Here was her image 
 in the Enghsh style at the age of nineteen. This 
 young village rose had a lover by the name of 
 William Lancefield ; in fact, they were betrothed. 
 Young Starlinghurst, who frequently visited the 
 cottage, and delighted the old man by presenting 
 him with a packet of snuff (the same as inhaled 
 by the celebrated Monsieur Calonne, the French 
 Finance Minister), soon discovered that Hamet 
 did not really love Lancefield, but that the match 
 had been eagerly encouraged by her father, who 
 was impressed with a belief that old Lancefield, 
 the blacksmith, had plenty of guineas stowed away 
 in various secret comers of his rickety dwelling.
 
 ox THE ICE. 103 
 
 The young squire also discovered that Harriet did 
 love himself^ strongly and passionately. Besides, 
 she was dazzled by his superior rank. She had 
 dreamt, and gipsies had told her, that she should 
 be a lady. " Alas I for poor WilUam," she said, in 
 confidence to Starhnghurst ; " how sadly he ^vill 
 take it to heart should I break with him I He is a 
 good, worthy creature, but I cannot love him. 
 You, Frederick, are not half so worthy as he (nay, 
 you need not smile and shake your head), but I 
 love you." What youthful heart is so cold but 
 that it would inflame at words like these ? The 
 young squire had only contemplated a few weeks 
 of dalliance, nothing more; and he was rapidly 
 falling in love. Then another circumstance added 
 fuel to the flame. Old Lancefield's health began 
 to fail; a rival blacksmith started in the ^'illage 
 with an improved method of shoeing horses, and 
 obtained the bulk of the farmers' business. The 
 old man's hoarded guineas proved to be a delusion ; 
 he had spent all his savings in buying a parcel of 
 useless book-reading (so village gossip discovered), 
 and it was rumoured that he would have to apply 
 for parish relief. " You, Frederick," whispered 
 Harriet, " know everybody, and can do anjrthing. 
 Could you not get poor William a place in London ? 
 He would earn more money to support his father, 
 and," she added, '- 1 could break it to him more 
 easily." " It" Is a small word, but it purported a
 
 104- SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 great deal in this instance. "It" meant the 
 transfer of her heart from one man to another. So 
 William went to London, and wrote cheerful, 
 hopeful letters home. But old Petworth grumbled 
 at the correspondence. "He's not fit for thee, 
 lass ; I'll not have the gold I've scraped together 
 spent in feeding that old silly scholar of a black- 
 smith." So the correspondence languished, and 
 finally ceased. Before it had ceased, matters had 
 reached a crisis. The young squire and Harriet 
 had eloped in a post-chaise. He was so fond of 
 her, and so proud of her, that he meant to marry 
 her. Unluckily, that accursed pride of family in- 
 tervened to prevent him. His father wrote a brief 
 stern letter, warning him that, if he married the 
 girl, he would disown him for ever. He was en- 
 tirely at his father's mercy. The estate was un- 
 entailed, and his father could if he chose leave all 
 his property to found a hospital. He could not 
 endure the prospect of sordid, pinching poverty, 
 so Harriet and he ac^reed to defer the marriage 
 ceremony for the present. Plis father might die, 
 or fifty things might happen. They went to France, 
 and lived a careless, merry life. The Duke of 
 Orleans proved the kindest friend possible. He 
 was not particular about the precise status of his 
 lady-acquaintances. He lent the young couple 
 money, and, in short, did everything he could to 
 make things pleasant. At this point we will for
 
 ox THE ICE. 105 
 
 the present quit the history of Harriet Petworth ; 
 we will leap over ten years, returning to 1795, and 
 to the dandified gentleman, who is reclining on the 
 sofa with a green shade covenng his left eve. 
 
 It would be quite a mistake to fancy that Mr. 
 Stai'linghm'st was inspired vrith a dreadful feeling 
 of animosity against Arthur Taswell. The state 
 of affaii's was simply this. His father was so hale 
 and vigorous, so unconscionably bent on remaining 
 above ground, that the young man saw no prospect 
 of obtaining money to pay his debts, and enable 
 him to live comfortablv but bv man-^-ino;. Floretta 
 
 .' ». I/O 
 
 Anerley was just the girl to suit liim. She was 
 pretty and \dvacious ; her father was not a mere 
 City money-spinner, misplacing his v's and w's, but 
 a baronet of ancient creation, a gentleman, a man 
 of the world, and a sympathiser with gay young 
 men. Taswell stood in his path; but he would 
 have removed him by other and milder methods, 
 excepting for the gi'oss insults he had received at 
 his hands under Sir Goodwin's roof. Even when 
 he followed the young lawyer along the street, he 
 regarded him as a low-born, spiritless fellow, whom 
 the mere threat of a challenge would probably 
 frighten away from Bedford-square for ever. Thus, 
 as we have shown, both the young men formed a 
 false estimate of each other s courage, and both 
 were rudely undeceived. As for Starlinghurst's 
 share in promoting Taswell's arrest, he had some
 
 106 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 excuse to offer. The discovery of the seditious 
 documents was purely accidental, and had he not 
 raised his voice in favour of his detention, there 
 were plenty of other persons present who were 
 ready to do so. Besides, it must he recollected 
 that Starlinghurst had been educated in the strictest 
 principles of Toryism, and, in spite of his loose 
 morality, and impatience of personal control, he 
 had retained his political prepossessions in favour 
 of loyalty. Consequently he regarded Taswell's 
 supposed \'iews not merely as detestable, but as 
 something utterly low, vulgar, and unworthy of a 
 gentleman. 
 
 His feelings, as he reclined on the sofa, were of 
 a mixed character. He could not help being pleased 
 that his rival was put out of the way for the present, 
 and that, moreover, his seditious folly would bar his 
 admission for the future to Sir Good^vin's family ; 
 but he was somewhat ashamed of his own part in 
 the transaction. When an Englishman gives another 
 man a severe drubbing in a fair stand-up fight, he 
 is apt to feel kindly-disposed towards his defeated 
 antagonist. Such were Starlinghurst' s sentiments 
 on the present occasion. " Poor devil I " he mut- 
 tered. " I thrashed him soundly, and he deserved 
 all he got ; but I ought to have stopped there. I 
 had no business to hound on the mob against him." 
 
 Several days elapsed, and the envuons of Star- 
 linghurst's eye had passed tlu'ough all the orthodox
 
 ox THE ICE. 107 
 
 gradations of blue, green, and yellow, until the 
 colour faded into the normal paleness of the rest of 
 his complexion. He was once more presentable in 
 society, and took advantage of his recovered good 
 looks to repair to St. James's Park, followed by 
 Purkess, bearing a pair of skates; for the bitter 
 hard winter, if it deepened and aggravated the 
 misery of the ill-fed, ill-clothed poor, opened up a 
 new source of pleasure for the rich and idle. Not 
 even the card-tables and private gambling saloons 
 were proof against the attractions of Jack Frost. 
 They were comparatively deserted ; while the Parks, 
 especially from the hours of six to nine p.^r., were 
 crowded. As soon as they anived on the margin 
 of the lake — which at that time was straight and 
 formal, like a piece cut out of a canal, far inferior 
 in beauty to the island-studded ornamental water 
 it has since become — as soon as they reached tliis 
 spot, Mr. Pm'kess held up his finger, and beckoned 
 one of the numerous proprietors of chairs to ap- 
 proach. Having handed this functionary the skates, 
 he folded his arms, and took up his position with 
 calm dignity behind his master. The scene before 
 him was striking and pictui'esque. Even in the 
 daytime there are few more exhilarating sights 
 than a sheet of ice crowded with skaters. Tlie 
 variety of graceful posture, the rapidity of motion, 
 the bright dresses of the ladies, the broad comic 
 effect of tumbles and collisions, make up a very
 
 108 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 interesting and lively picture. Add to this the 
 mysterious cliarm lent by the darkness of night, 
 the gay and variegated costume of seventy years 
 ago, the glare of hundreds of blazing torches, the 
 martial sounds of music, the shrill cries of the fruit 
 and cake vendors, the bursts of laughter, the shouts 
 of surprise, the continuous hum of conversation; 
 let us conceive a mental pictiu*e of this, and set it 
 in a background of gnm, weird- looking trees, with 
 their leafless boughs powdered with snow, and we 
 obtain an effect such as few other sights can pro- 
 duce. Behind, the deceptive gloom of night enabled 
 one to imagine a silent, unpeopled North American 
 forest ; before, the apparently preternatural swift- 
 ness of the moving figures flying about with torches 
 in their hands, recalled such a witches' frolic as 
 Tarn O'Shanter beheld with shuddering curiosity. 
 The man of fashion had just risen from his 
 chair, and was about to limp across the few yards 
 of crisp frozen turf which divided his skates from 
 their natural element, when a hand clad in a fur 
 mitten w^as laid lightly on his shoulder, and a 
 musical voice, somewhat foreign in its accent, 
 whispered in his ear, '^ Mr. Starlinghurst, can I 
 have a few words with you ? " 
 
 The dandy reseated himself in his chair with 
 commendable prudence, feeling that a skater on 
 terra firma is as ungraceful in his movements as a 
 swan on a turnpike road, and then wheeled round
 
 ox THE ICE. 100 
 
 for the purpose of seeing the person who spoke 
 to him. 
 
 The figure was that of a member of the softer 
 sex, but she was so closely veiled, and so well 
 wTapped up, that both her face and the contour of 
 her person were concealed from view. 
 
 "Your voice appears familiar to me, madam," 
 said Starlinghurst ; "may I have the pleasui'e of 
 asking your name ? " 
 "DaSHva." 
 
 " Oh, is it you. Donna Serafina ? " said the 
 dandy, gaily. " But why attack me in this melo- 
 dramatic fashion ? " 
 
 "Because, sir, I could not gain admittance to 
 your lodging."' 
 
 " Hollo, Purkess, how is this ? " asked Starling- 
 hurst. 
 
 Mr. Purkess inclined his head, and placed his 
 hand significantly over his left eye. 
 
 " Oh ! I understand. Donna, I was suffering 
 from the effects of a sUght accident, and our worthy 
 friend here would not permit me to be visible until 
 my beauty was fully restored. And how do you 
 like our Enghsh climate this winter, fan- lady ? " 
 
 " It is truly shocking. In spite of these warm 
 wrappings I am perished with cold." 
 
 "I should think so. And now for this con- 
 versation." 
 
 " Surely, Mr. Starlinghurst, you would not keep
 
 110 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 me freezing here, with the glass below zero? I 
 simply watched you from your house in order to 
 have a word with you — to make an appointment, 
 in short.'' 
 
 " How truly tigerish and Asiatic she is in her ar- 
 rangements ! " muttered the dandy. " Well, Donna, 
 shall you be afraid to trust yourself in my poor 
 lodgings ? You will have for protectors my friend 
 Purkess and the housekeeper, who is old and ugly 
 enough to watch the gardens of the Hesperides." 
 
 "When shall I come?" 
 
 " One horn' hence. Till then, allow me to warm 
 my chilled blood." 
 
 And stepping carefully on to the ice, the dandy 
 raised his left foot and shot gracefully away amid 
 the crowd of skaters. 
 
 At the appointed time, Serafina da Silva, other- 
 wise Mrs. Chigwood, and Mr. Starlinghurst were 
 seated opposite each other. Now that her outer 
 wrappings were removed, she appeared handsomely 
 and becomingly dressed, and but for her tawny 
 complexion would have been exceedingly at- 
 tractive. 
 
 " What a pity she is black !" thought the dandy, 
 as he examined her delicately-formed arm with the 
 eye of a connoisseur. " She is like the Yenus de 
 Medici dipped in a tar-barrel." Indeed, the ex- 
 ceeding darkness of her skin was intensified by 
 contrast with the light-coloured dress she wore.
 
 ox THE ICE. Ill 
 
 and the elaborately - fittiDg straw - tinted gloves 
 which, now that her fur mittens were removed, 
 ornamented her taper fingers. 
 
 " Xow, then, Donna," said Starlinghurst, lean- 
 ing back in his chair, and crossing his legs, " having 
 brought my circulation up to comfort-point, I ^^ill 
 give you my best attention."' 
 
 " Very well, sir ; then I ^Hl begin. You wish 
 to marry ]Miss Floretta Anerley "? " 
 
 " Such is my humble aspiration." 
 
 " She loves you ? " 
 
 "I scarcely know yet. I flatter myself there is 
 a tendresse in my direction." 
 
 " Sir GoodAvin approves of your attentions ? " 
 
 " I trust so : in fact, I may say I think so." 
 
 "IVIissThrupp?" 
 
 " That guardian angel does me the honour of 
 esteeming me as a yomig man of the highest prin- 
 ciples." 
 
 " Then the path of love is smooth ? " 
 
 " Smooth as a billiard-table, but for one thing." 
 
 "^Miatisthat?" 
 
 " Your mistress — companion — what shall I call 
 her?" 
 
 ^']Mistress. I am only 3Irs. Norland's poor 
 faithful ser\'ant." 
 
 " She may act the part of Madame Yeto." 
 
 " I don't understand." 
 
 "Merely an historical allusion to the late un-
 
 112 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 fortunate Queen of France. In plain English, she 
 may object." 
 
 " Mrs. Norland loves you ? " 
 
 " Possibly she does." 
 
 "" Nay, I know it. She has confided it to me." 
 
 " She is very obliging." 
 
 " Why do you not marry her ? " 
 
 '^ For several reasons ; among others, the danger 
 of bigamy. If that dreadful Major's head had 
 been in the cocked-hat which was picked up in the 
 Ganges, it would be otherwise." 
 
 "Supposing I was to prove to you that Major 
 Norland was dead ? " 
 
 " I should be glad to hear it, for he was a worth- 
 less fellow." 
 
 " Supposing I w^as to prove to you that Major 
 Norland was alive ? " 
 
 Starlinghurst's eyes sparkled, and a flush of ex- 
 citement passed over his pale face. The crafty 
 Oriental noted the change. 
 
 "I should be pleased," he said, in a tone of 
 languid indifference. " Provided always Sir Good- 
 win was ignorant of it. But you would have 
 to admit ^Irs. Norland to your confidence. Then 
 she would withdraw her objection to my marriage 
 with Floretta ; nay, possibly she would many Sir 
 Goodwin, and I should obtain a vastly fine woman 
 for a mother-in-law. Can you prove this fact, 
 Serafina?"
 
 ox THE ICE. 113 
 
 " I shall not inform you, sir, at present." 
 
 " \Yliat a creature of mystery thou art ! And 
 whither does your own ambition point ? " 
 
 '' I abhor your detestable fogs and frosts. I wish 
 to return to Calcutta." 
 
 '* As a dependent ? '' 
 
 " No, sir," said Serafina, proudly ; ^' as a lady 
 with money enough to Hve handsomely in my native 
 Bengal." 
 
 '' Then further my interests, and I will further 
 yours. I know Sir Goodwin, that amorous old 
 baronet, will pay you a round sum the day he puts 
 the weddincr-rincr on his charmincr Amanda's finorer. 
 
 o o o o 
 
 I also shall reward you liberally when you prove to 
 the satisfaction of myself and the said Amanda 
 (who won't be particularly pleased to hear it) that 
 her respectable Major has come back to life, cocked- 
 hat and all." 
 
 " I understand," repHed Serafina. "■ ^Vith your 
 permission, sir, I will now withdraw." 
 
 " Fair countenances often hide evil dispositions," 
 said Starlinghurst, after her departure, '* but there 
 goes a woman whose heart is as black as her face. 
 Money is her god ; her evangel, the Gospel accord- 
 ing to St. Rupee. I should have fancied she would 
 prefer keeping ^Irs. Norland in her present posi- 
 tion, as a woman whose fascinating manners and 
 pretty face draw a large concourse of silly people 
 to her house, where they lose their money at the 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 ll-t SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 faro-table. Bat I suppose she would rather gain a 
 large sum at one grand coup, take passage for the 
 Indies, and marry some gentleman of her own 
 creed and colour. As for Mrs. Norland, it would 
 reallj be a charity to marry her to Sir Goodwin. 
 She would stand as his wife in a far more respect- 
 able position than she does now, the handsome 
 decoy to a fashionable gambling saloon. 'Tis true, 
 ladies of high rank do the same thing, and think no 
 shame of it ; but then she is not a lady of high 
 rank. What a strange constancy there is in 
 woman's love ! We men rove like butterflies from 
 flower to flower; woman, like the bee, drains one 
 cup of affection to the dregs. What a charming 
 sentiment I have uttered ! If I have not plagiarised 
 it from the !Mhierva Press, I will repeat it to the 
 first pretty woman I see. Not to Floretta. Oh 
 no ! She must beheve in the profound depth of 
 male attachment, indissoluble union of two hearts, 
 and so on. Well, she is a fascinating little baggage, 
 and will answer my purpose, at any rate, till my 
 father drops off, which event will take place, I 
 expect, about the year 1830. To return to the 
 subject of woman's constancy. Confound Hamet 
 — Mrs. Norland I mean — for being so enduringly 
 faithful in her love. It was a case of necessity 
 when Norland married her. He had the money, 
 while I was cleaned out. But my darhng and 
 myself exchanged solemn vows tliat, if ever Nor-
 
 ox THE ICE. 115 
 
 land departed tliis life, I should take her to the 
 altar, and make up for past neglect m that par- 
 ticular. Queer, f ooHsh vow, wasn't it ? Had I not 
 been a fool, I should have married long ago, when 
 they were in India. But here I am, a gay bachelor 
 still, and she says she is patiently waiting for me. 
 Hang it, we must bring Norland to Hfe, and per- 
 suade her to take Sir Good^^in. Now then, I shall 
 go and rattle the ^bones' for an houi' or two. 
 'Purkess, a chair !' " 
 
 i2
 
 116 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE B. C. 
 
 As the chimes of St. Antholin s Chui'ch struck 
 three-quarters past eight, Mr. Chigwood drained 
 the contents of his glass, and rose from his com- 
 fortable seat by the fire with a groan of discontent. 
 The house was quiet; Bildad sat on the opposite 
 side of the hearth, nodding over the biography of 
 one of England's worthies — namely, Dick Turpin ; 
 while good-natured Sam had gone to bed an hour 
 earlier than usual, for the purpose of telling Plassey 
 a wonderful story, the history of twelve brothers. 
 His audience had gone to sleep at the seventh 
 brother's adventures, so Sam had ceased abniptly, 
 and was now snoring with considerable vigour. 
 
 Commending the stock and premises to the care 
 of the elder apprentice, the hau'dresser A^Tapped 
 himself in an ample cloak, and quitted the house.
 
 THE B. C. 117 
 
 He directed his steps towards a nan-ow thoroughfare 
 leading to the Thames, between St. Paul's Cathedral 
 and the river, called Trig-lane. In this street 
 there was situated a quiet, old-fashioned pubHc- 
 house, standing somewhat back from the roadway, 
 built with a comfortable bow-window both on the 
 ground and first floor. The windows were case- 
 mented with small chamond-shaped panes; the 
 entrance to the bar was down a flight of three 
 steps ; in short, the w^hole place looked like a road- 
 side inn that had been dropped by accident into a 
 vacant space m the heart of the city of London. 
 The landlord of such an ancient-looking edifice 
 should have been a bigoted old Tory, believuig in 
 roast beef, shoe-buckles, and full-bottomed wigs ; 
 abhon'ing Frenqh frogs, wooden shoes, and kick- 
 shaws. But such was not the case. A smartly 
 pamted sign creaked above the portal, bearing the 
 image of a mihtary gentleman in blue and buff 
 miiform. This was the effigy of ^Ir. George 
 Washington, then President of the United States 
 of America ; and the landlord of the house (which 
 was entitled the Xew York Tavern) was, as may 
 be supposed, a Friend of Liberty. Though an 
 Encrlishman, he had fouo-ht in the American war — 
 so 'twas whispered — on the Continental side, and 
 had been rewarded by some obscm-e post under 
 Congress ; but having got his accounts into a state 
 of perplexity, he thought it advisable to quit the
 
 118 SIR Goodwin's FOLLY. 
 
 land of freedom and return to his native isle. He 
 was a quiet, cautious fellow, who had imbibed a 
 good deal of the Yankee shrewdness; he never 
 disclosed his opinions unless he was pretty sure of 
 his company, and he prided himself on his ability 
 to scent out a Government spy on the shortest 
 notice. 
 
 " John T. BarKng, licensed to retail Wine, To- 
 bacco, and British Spirits," was painted in small 
 characters over the door, which Mr. Chigwood 
 pushed open. He descended the steps into a nar- 
 row passage, at the end of which the bar was 
 situated, while on one side appeared the taproom 
 for the commonalty, on the other the parlour for 
 the bettermost folks who patronised the house. 
 
 ^' Good evenin' tu ye, ^Ii\ .Chigwood," ex- 
 claimed ^Ii's. Barhng, a stout buxom lady of 
 middle age, with a strong Devonshire sing-song 
 accent, overlaid with the nasal drawl of Massa- 
 chusetts. " Guess you'll find my old man in the 
 parlour." 
 
 The hairdresser entered the parlour accordingly, 
 where Avere seated the landlord, who was a tall, 
 thin, shrewd-looking personage of forty-five, and 
 several other customers, amicably discussing the 
 news of the day. Some were members of the 
 B. C, some were ignorant of its existence. 
 
 "What's the bill of fare for this evening?" 
 asked Mr. Chigwood.
 
 THE B. C. 119 
 
 " Wal, sir/' replied the landlord, ^' we shall 
 commence with the National Anthem, in course ; 
 then a gentleman will read a paper on the advan- 
 tages of Wet Docks." 
 
 " AATiat societ}' is this ? " asked an elderly man, 
 with some interest. 
 
 " Merely a little ])rivate club of gentlemen who 
 wish to improve one another's minds." 
 
 '^ An excellent idea ; I should like to join 
 them." 
 
 ''•' Wal, sir, they're kinder shy and timid. They 
 don't care to increase the number of mem- 
 bers. At present they're just like a snug little 
 family party. Tune's up, ]Mr. ChigT^-ood," said the 
 landlord, looking at his watch. 
 
 The hau'dresser and several other persons rose, 
 and quitting the parloui', were escorted by !Mr. 
 Barling along a passage which led behind the bar 
 to a flio-ht of back-stairs. Haviuo- ascended to the 
 second story, they were stopped at a half-open 
 door by a man who whispered somethmg to each 
 person in succession, and tendered his ear to re- 
 ceive their murmiu'ed reply. '' Who was on Lon- 
 don-bridge ? " he asked. The answer was, •* The 
 Great Mogul." The club-room was a tolerably 
 large apartment, but with a low, sloping roof, 
 which rendered the atmosphere, notwithstanding a 
 blazing fire, somewhat close and disagi'eeable be- 
 fore the proceedings terminated. In a few minutes
 
 120 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 about thirty persons had assembled, and the pro- 
 ceedings began. Mr. Barling was called to the 
 chair, and immediately proposed that they should 
 commence by singing the National Anthem. The 
 words ran thus : 
 
 Whence all this dire debate, 
 Why shakes the British state, 
 
 From shore to shore ? 
 Oppression's iron hand 
 Too long hath scourged the land, 
 By ministerial brand, 
 
 God help the poor ! 
 
 Burdens enormous lie 
 On the community, 
 
 Hard to endure. 
 And the poor -workman's pay 
 By tax is ta'en away 
 From his poor family ; 
 
 God help the poor ! 
 
 Great God ! the poor befriend. 
 Let thy right arm defend. 
 
 Thy strength is sure ; 
 Aid us our rights to gain, 
 And in our land maintain 
 Freedom for Englishmen ; 
 
 God help the poor!* 
 
 " Ay, my friends," exclaimed Walter Loveridge, 
 starting to his feet, "God help the poor indeed! 
 1 have this day seen a sorry sight. Thousands of 
 honest labouring men begging for bread in Eatcliff- 
 highway. The Thames is covered with ice, the 
 boats cannot approach the ships, their sole means 
 
 * Written by Daniel Bamford, a Lancashire weaver, 1793.
 
 THE B. C. 121 
 
 of subsistence is cut off. That is one picture. 
 Behold another. Let us go in fancy to the Court- 
 end of the town. What shall we see? Men 
 and women clothed in soft raiment, provided with 
 every- luxury that art can devise to stimulate their 
 palled appetites, to excite then' jaded senses to 
 fresh dissipation, drinking the choicest of wines, 
 eating the richest of meats, gambling, intriguing, 
 cheating, slandering, lying; not content with the 
 superfluity they akeady possess, but clamouring for 
 more ; ready to crawl through the mire to kiss the 
 minister s shoe, in order that they may pension off 
 their sons and daughters, and nephews and nieces, 
 on the stai-A'ing people of England ! Eead this, my 
 friends," he continued, taking a piece of chalk 
 from his pocket, and writing on the mantelpiece : 
 
 "National Debt tnceeases £75 a MI^'LTE, 
 
 SLEEPING AKD WAKING. 
 
 " And now read this : 
 
 " How CAN THE POOE MaN LIVE ? 
 
 " Prices. " Wages. 
 
 Meat, lOd. to Is. per lb. Carpenters, 12s. a wetk. 
 Small beer, 2d. per qt. Shoemakers, 10s. „ 
 Bread, 3s. per peck loaf. Bakers, 9s. „ 
 
 G ardeners, 8s. „ 
 Husbandmen, 7s. „ 
 
 "These are sober facts, which ycu all know
 
 122 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 to be true. How, I ask jou, can a family-man 
 support life with sucli wages and prices? He 
 cannot live ; but he can die — by the most temble 
 of all deaths, slow starvation. And now what is 
 the remedy for this state of tilings? We can 
 petition Pai-Hament, forsooth. Will that august 
 body listen to us, when a majority of the House 
 of Commons are chosen by a few electors, who are 
 bought and sold like a flock of sheep ? Yes, my 
 friends, two hundred and ninety-four members are 
 elected by less than fifteen thousand electors. One 
 hundred and sixty-two members are elected by 
 private patronage without any electors at all. The 
 fee-simple of the borough of Gatton has lately 
 been put up for sale, with the right of electing 
 two members for ever, without the embarrassment 
 of voters. The puffing auctioneer truly calls it 
 ' The only infallible soui'ce of titles, honours, and 
 fortunes in this happy countiy. On this halcyon 
 sea,' he says, ' if any gentleman who has made his 
 fortune in either of the Indies chooses to embark, 
 he may repose in perfect quiet. Xo hunicanes to 
 dread, no tempestuous passions to allay, no tor- 
 menting claims of insolent electors to evade, no 
 tinkers' wives to kiss, but his mind at ease and his 
 conscience clear; vdth. this elegant contingency in 
 his pocket, the honours of the State await his 
 plucking, and with its emoluments his purse will 
 overflow.' Is it before the bar of this corrupt oli-
 
 THE B. C. 123 
 
 garchy, my friendsj that we shall bring our stars'- 
 ing wives and babes, and humbly kneehng, sue for 
 a morsel of bread ? Tliey will give us a stone ; nay, 
 they will chive us forth with their hireling bayonets. 
 What is the remedy, then ? Force. Let us repel 
 violence by violence. Let us not ask for oui' rights, 
 but take them. The Scripture tells us, ' The violent 
 take the kingdom of Heaven by force.' We will 
 use that method to secure our liberties. Let us but 
 once arouse the free spirit of England, and half a 
 milHon pikes will rise at our bidding I " 
 
 This speech was received with mingled applause 
 and disapprobation ; for even in that small assem- 
 blage there were two divisions : a party of the 
 Mountain, and a party of the Plain. The majority, 
 "\^•ith the instinctive regard which Englishmen feel 
 for the law, deprecated violence, and wished to 
 accomphsh then- aim — which was definite and 
 reasonable — by moral force alone. Tliey desired 
 Parhamentary Eeform, and a reduction of State 
 burdens. But the fanatical minority wanted to 
 overturn the Government, and establish a Kepublic, 
 based on French principles, in its place. These men 
 were prepared to go to any lengths, and were too 
 often hounded on and encouraged to speak sedition 
 by the presence of spies, who found their way eveiy- 
 where. Li spite of lMi\ Barling's acuteness, in spite 
 of secret pass-words, there were spies present in this 
 ven' meetincf, and on the following mominor an ex-
 
 124 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 aggerated report of the proceedings would be laid 
 before tlie astute Sir John Scott, the Attorney- 
 General. But that cautious Tory was loth to pro- 
 secute except on the clearest evidence. The Go- 
 vernment had signally failed in their attempts to 
 punish Hardy, Thelwall, and Home Tooke, in the 
 preceding November, and they resolved not to 
 strike another blow until they were certain of 
 their aim. 
 
 Mr. Chigwood rose : " Fellow-citizens," he said, 
 "I agree with much that the honom'able gentle- 
 man " 
 
 He was interrupted by cries of " Order, order ! " 
 
 " Stranger," said the chairman, gravely, " we've 
 no gentlefolks here. I calculate we're all sons of 
 Adam." 
 
 " Citizen Chigwood," exclaimed Loveridge, " rubs 
 shoulders with persons of quality. But I advise him 
 to lay aside his courtly manners with his barber's 
 apron." 
 
 " Sir," said the hairdresser, " you insult me." 
 
 " A fine ! a fine ! " exclaimed a member. " He 
 has used a monarchical form of addi*ess." 
 
 " Glasses round," muttered a red-faced man. 
 
 " I shall be merciful," said Mr. Barling. '' I 
 fine Citizen Chigwood the sum of one shilling." 
 
 The unlucky hairdresser paid the money, which 
 the chairman rang with tradesmanlike precaution 
 on the desk. Mr. Chigwood then proceeded with 
 his address.
 
 THE B. C. 125 
 
 '^ I wish to call the attention of the meeting to a 
 
 c 
 
 private matter " 
 
 " I say, Citizen Chairman," inteiTupted the red- 
 faced man, '^ this chap looks like giving us a long 
 spell ; let's have a drop o' drink." 
 
 ^Ir. Barhng put it solemnly to the meeting : 
 "Friends, shall we hquor up, as they say in New 
 York?" 
 
 The sense of the meeting was decidedly in favour 
 of refreshment. It presently appeared, in the shape 
 of a gallon of gin and a niunber of glasses. 
 
 "Now then," said the red-faced man, "I'll give 
 you a toast : George Guelph, the German hog- 
 butcher, who sells his Hanoverian subjects for 
 thirty pound a head." 
 
 The toast was drunk with only moderate appro- 
 bation. 
 
 " If that's too peppery, I'U give you a song," 
 said the red-faced man. And clearing his throat, 
 he burst into the follo^>'ing parody of a popular au' 
 of the day : 
 
 " Go, George, we can't endure you, 
 We don't know how to cure you, 
 
 So let a better fill your shoes. 
 Are the people for no use meant. 
 But merely your amusement, 
 
 To tax and torture as you choose ? 
 
 There's Grenvilles and Dundases, 
 
 "With other titled asses, 
 
 A rotten, useless pack, 
 
 Who're heap'd upon our back: 
 
 Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go. 
 
 Nor dare again vour face to show."
 
 126 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " One more toast," cried Loveridge. " The 
 B. C. — the Bastile Club, and may it flourish until 
 England's freedom is accomplislied ! " 
 
 When the applause had subsided, Mr. Chigwood 
 rose once more. 
 
 "Fellow-citizens, I wish to speak of a private 
 matter. A Friend of Liberty — though not a member 
 of this association — has been arrested, and is now in 
 prison." 
 
 " Name ? " cried several voices. 
 
 "Arthur Taswell." 
 
 " He is a wealthy man," said the chairman, " and 
 will easily bilk the law." 
 
 " His offence ? " asked Loveridge. 
 
 " Seditious papers " 
 
 " Heh ! " exclaimed the chairman, sternly. " Be- 
 ware ! Another fine " 
 
 " Falsely so called, I was about to say, had you 
 not interrupted me," said the unlucky hairdresser. 
 " The title of one of them— ^ The National Razor.' " 
 
 Loveridge started, turned pale, and rose. 
 
 "My friends," he said, "this is my doing. I 
 entrusted those papers to his care. We must not 
 suffer an innocent man " 
 
 " Hang him ! " cried the red-faced fellow. " Let 
 him sweat for it. The rich for the poor. The poor 
 have sweated centuries for the rich." 
 
 " He is not rich," retorted Chigwood. " He is a 
 beggar. His uncle, Tobias Taswell, has squandered 
 the whole of his property."
 
 THE B. C. 127 
 
 " That alters tlie case/' said the chairman. 
 "Fellow- citizens, I propose a vote of s}TQpathy 
 with this persecuted patriot." 
 
 " Much good that will do liimj!" answered the 
 barber, courageously. " Oh ! I see what you Re- 
 pubKcans are. Great cry and little wool." 
 
 Loud cries of " Turn out the traitor," resounded 
 through the room. ]Mr. Chigwood presently fomid 
 himself impelled by several muscular arms towards 
 the door. 
 
 " Stop ! " exclaimed Loveridge, in a loud voice, 
 which instantly commanded attention. " Stop ! 
 Are you not ashamed. Citizen Barhng," he said, 
 tmiiing to the chairman, ^'to suffer a worthy 
 member of oui' club to be expelled thus ? " 
 
 " The citizen insulted us," said ]Mr. Barhng. 
 
 "Insulted you! You deserved insult. What 
 good would a barren expression of sympathy do to 
 a man rotting in jail ? But this is my o^vn especial 
 business, and I will have no meddling on your part. 
 Citizen Chigwood, let us leave together. I wish to 
 speak with you." 
 
 As soon as they reached the street, Loveridge 
 pointed his finger to the house, and murmured, 
 " A set of feeble fools. Let any man hold a stick 
 for the belwether to leap over, and they will all 
 follow. Are you of a stouter fibre ? " he added, 
 turning to the hau'dresser. 
 
 " I fear not," said Mr. Chig\vood. " I am what 
 the Methodists would call a weak vessel, fonder of
 
 128 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 hearing my own voice than of levelling a pike 
 against our oppressors." 
 
 " I like you none the worse for your sincerity. 
 Better to be a lamb, and look like one, than to 
 wear a lion's skin, and then betray your asinine 
 descent by a senseless bray. Oh ! if I had but ten 
 true men, brave and disinterested, wlio were ready 
 to sacrifice their personal ease and comfort for the 
 common good ! But alas ! I can find none such, 
 and I almost despair of the cause. To return to 
 Citizen Taswell. That young man must not suffer 
 for my fault, if fault it be. He must be rescued 
 from prison." 
 
 " How, Citizen Loveridge ? " 
 
 " By force, by fraud, or by fair and open petition, 
 if possible. We will talk further on this matter. 
 Meanwhile, do what you can for him among your 
 Court friends ; I know you have such."
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHION. 129 
 
 CHAPTER Yin. 
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHION. 
 
 A MERRY party of ladies and gentlemen sat 
 round an oval table covered with green cloth, and 
 pro^-ided with a rim about an inch high. They 
 were not discussing pohtics, nor charitably planning 
 how to relieve the frozen-out poor ; they were not 
 even talking scandal. Yet they contrived to kill a 
 good deal of useless time, and obtained a fair share 
 of languid excitement by risking their guineas at 
 the fashionable game of faro. The banker was a 
 lady, who displayed a pau' of lovely arms and deH- 
 cately-shaped hands as she turned up the cards. 
 Her pretty head was supported by a slender nicely- 
 rounded neck upon a pau' of elegant shoulders. 
 But her face was in\'isible, hidden behind an en- 
 \'ious blue domino. One of her watchful croupiers^ 
 who sat opposite, was not so disguised, although 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 she wore a mask of Nature's o\vn devising ; namely, 
 a black skin, which we have encountered once or 
 twice already. Donna Serafina was attired in 
 Oriental costmne. She wore a short jacket of 
 crimson cloth, well studded with mock jewellery, 
 yellow satin Turkish trousers, fastened at the waist 
 by a green gu'dle, while her head was ornamented 
 with a scarlet fez cap. Mr. Chigwood having once 
 beheld his spouse in this gorgeous array, remarked 
 that she only wanted an asp to look like Cleopatra, 
 and added, in an under tone, that if she had an asp, 
 and that reptile did what he ought to do, he (]\Ir. 
 Chigwood) should not break his heart. 
 
 " What a vast moral and intellectual improvement 
 has taken place in the world since seventy years 
 ago ! " says some active eaniest-minded lady of 
 the present era, who goes thi'ough more hard work 
 during the London season than a charwoman in the 
 sixteen working houi's of her day. She has letters 
 to write, charitable committees to attend, schools to 
 inspect, friends to call upon, new books to read and 
 talk of, parties to give where her fascinations will 
 soften the scruples of her husband's political oppo- 
 nents. But our poor grandmothers in 1795, dear 
 madam, were not so distractingly busy. They 
 found a good deal of idle time hanging on their 
 hands. There was no Mudie's library at that day ; 
 no shoal of new novels. Mr. Walter Scott was an 
 obscure advocate, hobbling about the Parhament-
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHIOX. 131 
 
 close of Edinburgh, probably himself unaware of all 
 the Marmions and Waverleys that were hatcliing 
 in his brain. INIrs. Eadcliffe existed, it is true, and 
 was highly popular, but a mind wrought up to sen- 
 sation pitch by her romances, naturally wanted 
 relief. And faro answered this purpose admirably 
 well. It was a game which anybody could under- 
 stand ; nothing more, in fact, than a slightly com- 
 plicated blind-hookey. You selected a card from 
 the complete suit of thirteen, which you held in 
 your hand, and staked what you pleased on it, 
 subject to the approval of the bank. The banker 
 then turned up a complete pack of cards, lading 
 them alternately to his right hand and to his left. 
 He won the stakes on all cards of equal value 
 tui'ned upon the right, and lost the stakes on all 
 cards of equal value turned upon the left. If, 
 however, a similar card was successiA'ely tm-ned up 
 on the right hand and on the left, it was called a 
 douhletj and the punters lost half their stakes. 
 This constituted the banker s profit. 
 
 AVe will not stop to speak of paix, double j-^aivy 
 parolets, and cocJdng cards. Are not all these 
 things \vritten in Hoyle ? This banker's profit ran 
 up to a YQvj pretty figure at the end of a week or 
 two, and paid for aU ^Irs. Norland's and Serafina's 
 di*esses (Cleopatra did the mantua-making herself). 
 It appeased the butcher, sent the baker away 
 smiling, and kept the general herd of fashionable 
 ^2
 
 132 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 tradespeople in good humour. But tins, you will 
 say, -was a shocking disreputable life — to keep, and 
 be kept by, a gambling-table. Our only answer is, 
 that in 1795 plenty of ladies of rank did so, with- 
 out Mrs. Norland's excuse, which was that of 
 necessity. The play was perfectly fair and honest ; 
 there were no tragical, harrowing scenes, no tear- 
 ing off of wigs, and putting pistols into mouths ; 
 eveiything was carried on in a quiet, well-bred, 
 easy manner, and people swept the guineas into 
 their own pockets, or saw them swept away by that 
 remorseless Bengalee croupiei' with the most per- 
 fect sang froicl. 
 
 And why did Mrs. Norland hide herself behind 
 that blue domino when all the rest of the company 
 showed their faces ? The truth is, she was ashamed 
 of her position, and fancied, like the ostrich with 
 his head in the bush, that with her features dis- 
 guised she was altogether concealed from view. 
 Eveiybody knew perfectly well who she was, and 
 she knew that they did so ; still she drew comfort 
 from this bit of cerulean velvet. The probability 
 is that a happy and contented heart did not beat 
 beneath the kerchief which covered that fair 
 bosom. As the servant entered the room and 
 announced two visitors, her hand trembled visibly. 
 Without speaking, she handed the pack of cards to 
 Serafina, and beckoned to her to take her place. 
 
 "Nay, Sir Goodwin, come in," said Starling-
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHIOX. 133 
 
 liui'st to the old Baronet, who appeared unwillincr 
 to enter. " We shall not altogether con'upt your 
 city morality. ^ladam," he continued, bowing- 
 prof oundly to Mrs. Xorland, " your most humble 
 servant; Donna Serafina," with a nod of famili- 
 arity, " your most obedient." 
 
 ^' Well, my dear boy," replied Sir Good\\^n, " I 
 will for a few minutes. But the fact is we grave 
 citizens are so unaccustomed to tliis sort of thing, 
 that I am quite taken aback. Dear, deai', 'tis more 
 than twenty years since I handled a card. ^Lv 
 poor wife looked upon them as the librar}' of 
 Satan." 
 
 "Sir Goodwin Anerley, will you not risk a 
 groat?" said Serafina, with a fascinating smile 
 which showed a glittering row of white teeth. 
 ^' We thankfully receive the smallest contribu- 
 tions." 
 
 " I'll try a chance or two," replied the Baronet, 
 carelessly depositing a guinea on one of the suits 
 of cards which was placed before him. 
 
 The elderly gentleman was evidently thinkino; of 
 something else, and while the cards were beincr 
 turned up, the following reflections passed through 
 his mind : 
 
 '• I have just received a double smrprise, which has 
 quite staggered me. It arises from my havmg lived 
 for the last score of years so entirely sequestered 
 from the fashionable world. In the fii'st place, I
 
 134 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 was not aware that my lovely Amanda kept a faro- 
 table ; in the second place, I did not know that 
 Starlinghurst had the honour of her acquaintance. 
 He is of coui'se ignorant of my love affair ; I trust 
 not a soul knows that excepting Chigwood and his 
 wife. So Master Frederick, bent upon showing 
 his future father-in-law a specimen of life a la 
 mode, has unwittingly introduced me into the 
 society of the woman whom I adore. Upon my 
 conscience, though," added the Baronet, frowTi- 
 ing, and screwing up his keen little eyes, " they 
 appear very intimate together. Faith, as thick as 
 inkle-weavers. Under pretence of pouring out a 
 glass of claret at the sideboard, they are standing 
 apart from the company, they whisper together, 
 and she presses his hand with a convulsive energy 
 which " 
 
 ^'' Quinze et le va !" exclaimed Serafina. "Alas I 
 Sir Goodwin," she added, with a malicious gleam 
 of triumph, " your good luck has deserted you. 
 Such bold play in a beginner should have com- 
 manded good fortune. See, you have won the 
 first and second parolet, you have now^ cocked your 
 card a third time and lost ; your original stake was 
 two guineas. I am mider the unhappy necessity 
 of troubling you for thirty guineas." 
 
 The Baronet staited, and opened his cunning 
 little eyes wider than he had done for many a day. 
 "Madam!" he began. He then apparently re-
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHION. 135 
 
 strained himself by a strong effort, and said quietly, 
 " I have not so much money about me. But my 
 note of hand will answer your pui-jjose, will it 
 not?" 
 
 Serafina handed the Baronet pen, ink, and paper, 
 whereupon he scribbled an I. O. U. for thirty 
 guineas, which he handed to her. 
 
 Now for the explanation of this unfortunate 
 venture. Sir Goodwin had been a practised card- 
 player in his youth, but years of abstinence had 
 taken away all his taste for the amusement. His 
 thoughts were far from the faro-table ; they were 
 directed to Starlinghurst and Amanda. He was 
 stung with the intense jealousy peculiar to elderly 
 admirers, on seeing their CA-ident mtimacy. AVhile 
 thus agitated, his eyes had mechanically followed 
 the other players, and his fingers had unconsciously 
 imitated their movements. He had seen them 
 turn up the comer of a card (the signal for 
 doubling), and had, automaton-like, done the same. 
 Twice he had won, the third time he had lost. 
 There was nothincr in the world Sir Goodwin 
 dreaded so much as ridicule, so he kept his unin- 
 tentional adventure to himself, and paid the money 
 with a secret groan. 
 
 " My second mitiation into the world of fashion 
 threatens to prove expensive," he muttered. ^^ My 
 youthful crop of wild oats cost me dear enough. 
 Perhaps that is not Amanda after all I Yet it
 
 136 SIR goodtvin's folly. 
 
 must be. She evidently wears a mask, as mistress 
 of the house. Besides, I recognise that swan-like 
 neck, those fair golden tresses." 
 
 " Sir Goodwin," said Starlinghurst, approaching 
 the table, "how does the game please you?" 
 
 " Faith, little enough. I have lost three hogs- 
 heads of sugar." 
 
 "Then come hither, and be introduced to the 
 fascinating Mrs. Norland. Her sweetness will, I 
 am sure, atone for the West India deficiency. 
 Permit me, fair lady," began Starlinghurst, assum- 
 ing a mock heroic tone, "to introduce to your 
 worthy notice the puissant knight — I beg his 
 pardon — baronet, Sir Goodwin Anerley, whose 
 ancestors fought at Flodden Field, but who has 
 now converted his battle-axe into a counting-house 
 niler, wherewith he wields the destinies of the 
 island of Barbadoes." 
 
 " Pardon me, Sir Goodwin," said the lady in the 
 domino, with a gracious inclination of her head, 
 "that I did not address you sooner. A friend of 
 Mr. Starlinghurst's is welcome here. Not merely 
 to play cards ; I am not thinking of that. In a 
 short time," she added, turning to consult the 
 elegant French clock which ornamented the man- 
 telpiece, "our friends will have dispersed, and 
 then if you are willing to devote half an hour to 
 the humble company of myself and my companion.
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHION. 137 
 
 Donna Serafina, we '^^'ill do our best to entertain 
 you." 
 
 "Madam, I am liiglily honoured," replied Sir 
 Goodwin, with a swiftly palpitating heart. "I 
 will await your pleasure." 
 
 The company shortly after began to break up, 
 and the Baronet found himself summoned by Sera- 
 fina to follow her into another apartment. 
 
 "Well, Mrs. Chigwood," he began, TN-ith some 
 asperity, " you've bled me pretty freely this even- 
 ing I " 
 
 " For Heaven's sake. Sir Goodwin, don't call 
 me by that repulsive name ! In this house I am 
 Donna Serafina da Silva. Eegarding your loss, 
 it was simply the fortune of the cards. You might 
 have won thirty guineas." 
 
 " I wish I had, for this is an extravagant begin- 
 ning. And now, how comes this young spark so 
 intimate here ? " 
 
 "Mr. Starlinghurst?" 
 
 "Yes; he is, you know, to many my eldest 
 daughter. I cannot have him making love to his 
 futiu'e mother-in-law." 
 
 " You need not fear that. It is simply a friend- 
 ship of veiy ancient date." 
 
 "I don't admire these ancient friendships. 
 There is an affectionate interest in Mrs. Norland's 
 manner towards him which "
 
 138 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 ^^ Nonsense, Sir Goodwin. She loves you, and 
 you only. This is only your second inter\dew. 
 You cannot expect her to open her wliole heart at 
 once. Hush ! here she comes." 
 
 [Mrs. Norland entered the room. She had laid 
 aside her domino, and displayed all the graces of 
 her person, which were of no common order. Her 
 figure was tall and elegant, but her chief attraction 
 lay in the expression of her face. Her eyes were 
 large, blue, and soft ; her nose was high and deli- 
 cate ; her mouth ^yide but beautifully fonned ; her 
 lips somewhat compressed when in repose, but 
 easily expanding into an enchanting smile. Her 
 eyebrows were remarkably arched, giving to her 
 countenance an air of piquant innocent surprise. 
 Her hair was dressed in a fashion which had 
 become partially obsolete, being brushed back from 
 her forehead over a high cushion, and suiTQounted 
 by a rustic hat coquettishly placed on one side, and 
 ornamented with a wreath of roses. The golden 
 hue of her hair was easily discernible through the 
 slight soup^on of powder which brightened her 
 complexion without disfigiu'ing its beautiful tint. 
 Serafina's tawny colour was an admirable foil to 
 her loveliness. Her arms seemed like alabaster 
 beside those copper-coloured braceleted portions of 
 Mrs. Chigwood's anatomy. Finally, had any of 
 those polite gentlemen who composed the old 
 French court entered the room, they would have
 
 A IIAUXT OF FASHION. 139 
 
 declared that one fair victim at least had escaped 
 the frightful massacres of September, and would 
 have bowed with profound reverence before the 
 restored Princess de Lamballe. 
 
 Such a lovely rose had sprung from tlie thorny 
 stem of old Dick Petworth, late schoolmaster of 
 Fessenden, Kent. The daughter of a common 
 soldier, who had taken in his old age to the horn- 
 book and copy-slip, was an object of emy to many 
 a lady of title, who would willingly have sacrificed 
 half her rank and fortune for the villager's face 
 and beauty. 
 
 "Is not jealousy a sign of tine love, madam ?" 
 demanded Serafina. " Sir Goodwin is frightfully, 
 hideously jealous of his intended son-in-law." 
 
 "Of Frederick — of ^Ir. Starlinghurst?" said 
 Mrs. Norland, with a melancholy smile. "^Tiy 
 so. Sir Goodwin ? " 
 
 " Your own words, madam, this moment uttered, 
 give me grounds for such a sensation. You un- 
 wittmgly called him by his Christian name. 
 T\Tien," sighed the old Baronet, " may I hope to 
 be favoured with such a proof of affection?" 
 
 "He is an old friend. Sir Good\s4n. Pardon 
 me, Serafina, I wish to speak ^vith Sii' Goodwin for 
 a few minutes alone." 
 
 The companion rose somewhat unwiUingly, with 
 a scowl on her dark A*isage, and quitted the room. 
 
 She had scarcely closed the door, when Sir
 
 140 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 Goodwiiij sinking upon one knee and placing his 
 hand upon his heart after the most approved 
 fashion of George the Second's reign, exclaimed, 
 " Sweetest Amanda, this is the first opportunity 1 
 have had of declaring my passion ; permit me to 
 offer to you a heart unalloyed ^" 
 
 "Rise, Sir Goodwin, to your feet," said Mrs. 
 Norland, scarcely repressing a smile as she ex- 
 tended a hand for the charitable purpose of restor- 
 ing the gouty gentleman to an upright position. 
 The elderly lover repudiated assistance. It is true 
 that he seized her hand, but it was for the purpose 
 of covering it with kisses. When the lady had 
 forcibly withdrawn it, he managed to struggle to 
 his feet by the aid of a chair, in Avhich he seated 
 himself considerably out of breath. 
 
 "Cruel beauty!" sighed Sir Goodwin, panting 
 with exertion and vexation combined. 
 
 "Pray be silent, sir, and hear what I have to 
 say. I did not dismiss my companion to listen to 
 your protestations of love." 
 
 " Why then," said the Baronet, who had by this 
 time recovered his usual composure — " why then 
 did you write such encouraging letters ? " 
 
 Mrs. Norland was silent, and turning away, 
 covered her face with her hands. 
 
 " Sir Goodwin," she said at lencrth, standing 
 before the baronet ; " nay, do not trouble yourself
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHIOX. 1'41 
 
 to rise ; at jour age men have a right to remain 
 seated " 
 
 "Madam!" 
 
 " Forgive me if I have hurt your feehngs. But 
 it is as a father with grown-up daughters of your 
 own that I wish to speak to you. You have seen 
 me here, presiding at the faro-table, surrounded by 
 gay company; do you fancy I am content with 
 such a Hf e ? " 
 
 " I hope not. As the wife of a rich merchant 
 in Bedford-square, you woidd have a position of 
 respectabihty which " 
 
 " I care not for such advantages, and yet ahnost 
 any lot would be preferable to that which I endure 
 at present. I am neither vdfe nor widow ; I am 
 dependent on my wits for my livehhood ; I am in 
 the power of a clever unscrupulous woman whom 
 I have taken into my confidence. It was she, Sir 
 Goodwin, who urged me to encourage your admir- 
 ing glances ; who dictated those high-flown letters ; 
 who, in short, to gratify her own cupidity, would 
 induce me to many you when my heart is iiTe- 
 vocably given to another." 
 
 " To StarHnghm'st, I presume, madam," ex- 
 claimed Sir Goodwin. "Why, I have promised 
 him to my daughter. Good God, madam I would 
 you have hun turn Turk, and marry two people at 
 once ? "
 
 142 
 
 " No, Sir Goodwin, but I would have liim repair 
 the injury he did me ten years ago (the greatest 
 injury a woman can suffer) by marrying me now. 
 You are astonished, Sh' Goodwin, and no wonder. 
 You thought, doubtless, that Major Norland, who 
 died in India, was my real husband. In the eyes 
 of the law he is, or was. In the eyes of the Crea- 
 tor, who looks to motives rather than outward acts, 
 Frederick Starlinghurst is my husband, although 
 no priest ever blessed om^ union." 
 
 " May I ask, madam, why he deserted you?" 
 " He did not desert me, but his father refused to 
 allow us to marry. More than that, he refused to 
 allow his son a shilling until he cast me off. What 
 can a youth who has been brought up in habits of 
 luxury and extravagance do to support himself? 
 He was terrified at the miserable prospect before 
 him. Just then Ave became acquainted with Major 
 Norland. He admh'ed me, and I foolishly encou- 
 raged his admiration. He told me he was madly 
 in love with me. I believed him. I consulted 
 Frederick. He advised marriage. He said, ^ Major 
 Norland will place you in a respectable position, 
 which, so long as my father lives, I can never do. 
 But if ever yom' husband dies, I solemnly vow that 
 I will wed you. No other woman shall tempt me, 
 though I wait for years ! ' Well, Su* Goodwin, 
 eight years have passed away, my unfortunate hus-
 
 A HAUXT OF FASHIOX. 143 
 
 band perished in the Ganges, as I fii-mly beheve, 
 and I come to claim my promise." 
 
 " Does Starlinghurst love you ? " 
 
 " Oh, Sir Goodwin, I love liim ^itli such inten- 
 sity, that a small portion of love on his part A\'ill be 
 sufficient. Besides, it is not merely love that I 
 wish to oTatify. I desire him to make me an 
 honom*able woman. For his sake I gave up a far 
 worthier man than himself — a man who has since 
 become a broken-spirited and desperate outlaw." 
 
 " You have had many admirers, ^Irs. Norland ? " 
 
 " Can I help it ? Is it not this ill-starred beauty 
 which causes it ? Possessing beauty, I cannot re- 
 sist doing my best to increase its attractions. It 
 is woman's nature to do so. But I have often 
 thought how far happier I should have been had 
 that hideous disease which has spoilt so many 
 others' lovehness visited me and disfigured my good 
 looks for ever. As a girl, I used to pray earnestly, 
 night and morning, that I might be preserved from 
 the small-pox. I neglected to pray that I might be 
 saved from sin; and see, my prayers have been 
 answered. At twenty-eight years of age I retain 
 my beauty in perfection, but my innocence has 
 perished for ever ! " 
 
 " Then, Mrs. Norland," said Sir Goodwin, " are 
 my entreaties all in vain ? " 
 
 " Your entreaties ! It is of you that I must beg.
 
 144 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 I entreat you not to permit my Frederick to marry 
 your daughter. Sir Good^^'in, will you hear me ? 
 He is my Frederick. He belongs to me and to no 
 one else. Youi' daughter has a worthy, honourable 
 lover, I understand ; let her marry him." 
 
 " Pshaw ! a penniless barrister. That can 
 never be." 
 
 " Why are you so greedy of wealth, Sir Good- 
 win ? You have plenty. Bestow some of it on this 
 young man." 
 
 "Madam," exclaimed Sir Goodwin, thoroughly 
 angry with disappointment, " permit me to regulate 
 my owTi affairs. The person you recommend is not 
 only penniless, but in prison on a charge of sedi- 
 tion. !Madam, I wish you farewell ; I have been 
 thoroughly deceived and mistaken in you." And 
 the baffled merchant hobbled from the room. 
 
 After the lapse of a few minutes, Serafina entered 
 the apartment. Her black eyes sparkled like a 
 cat's, and her teeth were firmly set. 
 
 " So, Harriet," she began. 
 
 " Serafina, I will not permit such liberties. Please 
 to remember that you are my servant." 
 
 " Your servant indeed, madam. Pray who has 
 been the real mistress of this house? ^\Tio has 
 governed the domestics, arrano;ed with the trades- 
 people, averted the creditors, managed the faro- 
 table, but me ? You, you, Harriet ! I only used 
 you as a pretty doll to attract persons to the house
 
 A HAUNT OF FASHION. 145 
 
 who were too silly to be alliu'ed in any other way. 
 But this is what I came to say. You have dared 
 to cU'ive Sir Goodwin from the house, to tell him 
 that his daughter shall not many this popinjay ad- 
 mirer of yours " 
 
 " Silence, Serafina, or ^* 
 
 " Or what, pretty Harriet? Don 1 1 know that 
 you are as helpless as a babe without me ? Now, 
 you shall not be a naughty, obstinate giid any 
 longer ; you shall do exactly what I please. Shall 
 I tell my sweet poppet something ? " 
 
 " I am prepared to listen quietly to any f iu1:her 
 degi'ee of insolence." 
 
 " Thank you, ^listress Pert. You had a hus- 
 band once, who was drowned in the sacred river 
 Ganges." 
 
 " Cruel woman, how can you speak so Hghtly of 
 such a horrible event ? " 
 
 '' Why, you never cared for him, Harriet, you 
 know you did not. While he lived, you dreaded 
 and detested him ; and when he died, the only thing 
 you regretted was " 
 
 " ^Yhat ? •* 
 
 " That you were not sure he was dead. Am 1 
 not right ? " 
 
 " Why do you recal all these sad memories, Se- 
 rafina?" 
 
 " For a reason. Supposing I could prove to you 
 that Major Norland was dead ! " The wily black 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 woman narrowly observed lier unfortunate mis- 
 tress's countenance ; but ^Irs. Norland betrayed no 
 outward emotion. 
 
 " Anytliing," she replied, calmly, " would be pre- 
 ferable to the painful suspense I liave endured for 
 more tlian two years past." 
 
 " Supposing I could prove to you that Major 
 Norland is alive now ? " 
 
 Mrs. Norland started, and her face grew pale. 
 
 " I would sooner know that he was dead, mur- 
 dered by the liill-robbers of Bengal, than that he 
 was ahve ; because, if alive, he must be a disgraced 
 man, a thief, who, to conceal his own villany, falsely 
 represented himself dead.'' 
 
 " A pretty character for the Major to hear of 
 himself ! If you don't take care, I shall tell him 
 the next time I see him." 
 
 " Serafina !" exclaimed Mrs. Norland, seizmgher 
 companion's arm convulsively, "tell me, I pray 
 you, is there any truth in this ? " 
 
 " Be a nice, pretty-behaved girl ; don't give way 
 to the tantrums, and you shall see m a day or two. 
 Good night." 
 
 " Good night," rephed Mrs. Norland, mechani- 
 cally. As soon as she was alone she rose suddenly 
 from her chair, and endeavom'ed to soothe her agi- 
 tation by pacing rapidly up and down the room. 
 
 " Serafina," she said, " has constantly presumed 
 on her position, and taken hberties with me, but
 
 A HAUXT OF FASHION. 147 
 
 she has never before displajecl such open insolence 
 and malignity. Alas ! she knows what influence a 
 clever woman may gain during seven years of 
 almost unlimited confidence. Then I must not 
 forget her good quahties, how assiduously she 
 nursed me through that fever, how carefully she 
 tended me in the long, tedious voyage home. And 
 during that voyage I needed comfort. For I left 
 Lidia in broken health, not a widow in popular 
 estimation, but the wife of a runaway thief, who, 
 after years of cold neglect and actual iU-usage, had 
 termmated his career bv baselv robbincp his em- 
 ployers. But for Sh' John Halstead's kindness 
 I could never have retmiied home. He said, 
 ^ The best thing you can do, my dear child, is 
 to return quietly to your friends.' Alas ! I did 
 not dare teU liim that the few friends I had in 
 England would regard me as an outcast : that my 
 father had quitted Fessenden suddenly, and disap- 
 peared no one knew whithe. So Serafina per- 
 suaded me that my attractions would soon gain me 
 a husband, for in those days she insisted that I was 
 really a widow. Sir John's introductions brought 
 company to the house, cards were mtroduced, and, 
 Httle by Httle, I find myself the keeper of a gam- 
 bling saloon ! T\Tiat a degradation, compared to 
 the happy, innocent life at Fessenden, before I 
 knew Frederick, when I was at work from suniise 
 to sunset, and when WiUiam Lancefield would 
 l2
 
 148 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 drop in and question my father about the heights 
 of Abraham. Alas, alas ! I can scarcely believe 
 that was only eleven years ago ! And now I have 
 contrived to injure or offend everybody connected 
 with me ! William Lancefield has become a sullen 
 desperado, Sir Goodwin is deeply hurt and an- 
 noyed, Serafina is mad with rage and disappoint- 
 ment. Frederick Starlinghurst repents his solemn 
 promise, and would rejoice if I were to accept the 
 Baronet, in order that he may be free to marr}" his 
 dauo'hter. Then, what if Serafina's threat be some- 
 thing more than empty words, and Major Norland 
 is really living ! "
 
 PRISON YISITOPwS. 149 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 P E I S N V 1 S I T R S. 
 
 " Well, mother, I don't know as you could do 
 better than crumpets of a cold night," said the 
 turnkey, taking a large bite as he toasted his feet on 
 the hob, " except you'd ha' got muffins. There's 
 a flabbiness about a crumpet that takes off the 
 hedge of enjyment." 
 
 " You ain't done badly, father ; it's your second 
 plateful," repHed the turnkey's wife. 
 
 The worthy couple were seated in a cozy little 
 apartment comfortably furnished. Evei-j-thing was 
 as clean as a new pin. The six rush-bottomed 
 chairs, the clock in the mahogany case, and the 
 oaken drawers, were all bright with beeswax and 
 rubbing. Four portraits ornamented the walls — 
 Dr. Dodd, author of the " Beauties of Shakespeare ;"
 
 150 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 the Rev. Mr, Hackman, ayIio shot ^liss Eeay ; Dr. 
 Van Butchell, of Mount-street, Grosvenor-square, 
 as he appeared m Hyde Park, ridmg his celebrated 
 pony pamted with aUernate blue and yellow stiipes ; 
 and, lastly, Mr. Charles James Fox, leader of the 
 Opposition. The turnkey was specially interested 
 in all these pictures ; the two first gentlemen had 
 suffered prof ession ally by the hands of Jack Ketch, 
 the quack-doctor had cured his wife, and ^Ir. Fox's 
 butler (when Mr. F. came into power) was going 
 to get him a better situation. 
 
 " La ! how I do pity that poor young man," 
 sighed the mfe. 
 
 " Nonsense," growled her husband ; " he's lodged 
 like a king ; he's got a chair, and a table, and a bit 
 of fire in the grate, and if a prisoner wants more 
 than that he's unreasonable." 
 
 " He wants his freedom." 
 
 " In course he do, and the more fool he not to 
 take it. This is the second time he's been re- 
 manded, and a fortnight he's been mider my lock. 
 The Government don't want to persecute him, they 
 want the name and address of the real offender. 
 And he won't give it." 
 
 " What a noble fellow ! " 
 
 " Noble nincompoop ! I tell yer, mother, if I 
 was " 
 
 " There's a knock at the door, father." 
 
 The toi-nkey got up with a chscontented grunt,
 
 PRISON VISITORS. 151 
 
 shook liimselfj and proceeded to parley with the 
 person or persons outside. 
 
 "Who are ye?" 
 
 " James Chicrwood, and a friend." 
 
 ^* Oh ! its the Httle hah'di'esser that that good- 
 hearted young lady sends here," remarked ]Mi's. 
 Turnkey. " Let him m, father." 
 
 " Good evenmg, sir/' said IMr. Chigwood, as he 
 entered, with bland pohteness. " Shai-p night for 
 noses and toes. Good evening, ]Mrs. Wrench; 
 you're pretty snug here, ma'am." 
 
 " Who's this?" quoth the tm-nkey, indicating with 
 a jerk of his thumb a tall shabbily di'essed person- 
 age, with a shock head of red hair. 
 
 " Ai be a fiiend o' his, fro" the coontra," 
 answered the man, m a strong north-countiy 
 accent. •' Ai've knawn hmi from a bairn." 
 
 "He means a friend of the prisoner's," explained 
 Mr. Chig^^ood. " I suppose it's all right, we 
 can see him," he added, slipping something into 
 'Mr. Wrench's hand. 
 
 " Well, it's after hours," remarked the tmiikey, 
 " but if so be as he's come out of the countiy, 
 why " 
 
 Without saymg more, he marshalled the ^-isitors 
 through a passage, unlocking two massive doors on 
 the way, and then introduced them to a somewhat 
 comfortless, barely-furnished room, which, however, 
 but for the bars at the window, bore no resem-
 
 152 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 blance to a dungeon. Arthur Taswell was seated 
 at a small rickety table, writing. As soon as the 
 turnkey had quitted the apartment, ^Ii\ Chigwood 
 observed : 
 
 " I am pleased to see, Mr. Taswell, that the 
 money has produced a good effect, and that you 
 are in more comfortable quarters than that mise- 
 rable cell." 
 
 " May I ask who is my benefactor?" 
 
 " I am forbidden to tell. Here is a person who 
 wishes to see you." 
 
 The tall man advanced towards the fire. Taswell 
 scanned his features, but was apparently unable to 
 recognise him. Presently, without speaking, the 
 tall man removed his shock wig. 
 
 " Walter Loveridge !" exclaimed Taswell. 
 
 " The same," replied his visitor ; " you may be 
 surprised to see me thus disguised. But the other 
 evening at our club, on your arrest being mentioned, 
 I announced that I w^as the author of those docu- 
 ments which led to your apprehension. We haA^e 
 since discovered that there w^ere traitors present in 
 the room. They have set Bow^-street runners on 
 my track, so that I am in hiding. And now you 
 will naturally ask why I have suffered you, an in- 
 nocent man, to be punished for my offence ? My 
 simple answer is," said the fanatic, " that I cannot 
 be spared. The cause needs my services. Nay, 
 more, it needs yours also. You must be set at 
 liberty."
 
 PRISON VISITORS. 153 
 
 " How do you propose to effect my release ? " 
 asked Taswell. 
 
 " It could be done by open violence, if necessary • 
 it miglit be done by bribing this venal ^^Tetch who 
 holds the key of your prison. But we propose 
 another course. There are persons who, for various 
 reasons, desire your restoration to the outer world.'' 
 
 " I am surprised to hear that," said the yomig 
 man. " Arthiu' Taswell, the heir to twenty thou- 
 sand pounds, would have had many a S}Tnpathising 
 visitor to his cell, many a voice uplifted to release 
 him from custody. Arthur Taswell, a ruined man, 
 with scarcely a shilling in his possession, may ap- 
 parently lie in prison till he is taken out to the 
 convict- ship, or even to the scaffold." 
 
 '* Do not speak so gloomily, IMr. Taswell," said 
 Chigwood ; " you need not fear either fate. Your 
 friends are bestirring themselves, and you will shortly 
 be set at liberty." 
 
 " But, who ai'e these friends?" 
 
 " I will tell you of one of these friends," said 
 Loveridge. " Do you remember on the day of your 
 arrest how I related to you the sad story of my 
 early disappointment '? " 
 
 " I do, I do ; you said you had never seen her 
 since ^" 
 
 " AYill the fm-ther recital weary you?" 
 
 '^ Weary me ! will the sound of a friendly human 
 voice weary a poor lonely captive ? If the tm-nkey 
 would but suffer it, I could hsten contentedlv to
 
 154 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 yom' narrative until daybreak to-morrow. But, 
 possibly, you ayouIcI rather defer it until we are 
 alone." 
 
 " Not at all ; you need not fear Citizen Cliig- 
 wood, lie is a tried friend. Somewliat too fond 
 of moral force, but we shall teach him better 
 things by-and-by, when we put the pike in his 
 fist." 
 
 The hairdresser smiled deprecatingly, as Love- 
 ridge began to speak. " I told you that six months 
 ago, I had encountered Harriet Petworth. You 
 asked me if I had seen a wretched, degraded crea- 
 ture ; I laughed sarcastically, and broke off abruptly 
 in my story. Now you shall hear what I really 
 saw. I had but just returned from France, where, 
 in common with Tom Paine, and many other pure 
 patriots, I had been imprisoned. The ninth of 
 Thermidor saved me from the guillotine." 
 
 ''' Strange ! " interposed Taswell, " that after 
 having suffered at the hands of these sanguinary 
 monsters, you should still worship that blood-stained 
 Moloch, the image of French liberty." 
 
 " Those who imprisoned me were but the blind 
 tools of others. The accursed guineas sown broad- 
 cast in Paris by our heaven-bom Minister, Pitt, the 
 vapourings of the Duke of Brunswick, the in- 
 trigues of the emigrant nobles at Coblentz, were 
 the true cause of all these horrors. These were the 
 men who bribed Danton, who suborned the mise- 
 rable Pere Duchesne, who even tried to sap the
 
 PKISOX YISITOES. lOD 
 
 integrity of the incorruptible Robespierre him- 
 self!" "^ 
 
 Taswell shrugged his shoulders. " There is no 
 arguing Tvith a fanatic/' thought he. " Continue 
 your story, ^Ir. Loveridge." 
 
 " blister again ! Ah I Arthm- Taswell, you are a 
 Monarchist, I fear, at heart. But no matter. I 
 had landed in England penniless. Even my clothing 
 was so threadbare that no blacksmith would admit 
 me to his forge. I was wandering in Hyde Park, 
 chewino^ the cud of bitter reflection, and thinkins; 
 how the empty-pated, chattering occupants of those 
 gilded carnages would look with then* heads in the 
 stem vice of the guillotine, when, gazing before me, 
 I saw an open vehicle, in wliich lolled a haughty 
 beauty alone. I compared om- respective condi- 
 tions. Her face was fan-, dehcate, and well nou- 
 rished ; mine was weather-beaten, haggard, and 
 famine-struck; her dress was modish and gay; 
 mine was only fit to adorn a scarecrow. She was 
 borne onwards in a luxurious carriage, attended by 
 liveried senants ; I limped along Avith my naked 
 flesh showiiio' throucrh mv shoes. Such a sioht was 
 calculated to produce envious feeluigs in the bosom 
 of a stan-ing, homeless, despairing man ; but what 
 think you were my sensations on discovering that 
 this proud dame was no other than my once 
 aflianced bride, stolen from me ten years before by 
 a cunning aristocratic villain ? Madness filled my 
 brain ; I rushed forward, seized the horses' heads.
 
 156 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 and cried ' Stop ! ' to the coachman. His curled 
 wig almost quitted his head in his terror, for he 
 verily believed me a daylight footpad. I then went 
 to the door of the carriage and said : ' Harriet Pet- 
 worth, do you know me ? I am William Lancefield.' 
 She screamed and turned pale with terror. Her 
 lips moved, but she uttered no words. Then, 
 placing her delicately-gloved hand in her reticule 
 (ah ! it was a pretty hand, and many a time have 
 these lips kissed it), she drew out — what think you? 
 Her pui'se, and threw me a guinea. The coachman 
 had by this time recovered his presence of mind, 
 and whipped his horses. I uttered a yell of rage 
 like that of a disappointed wild beast, and taking 
 up the guinea, cast it back to the carriage. It 
 missed its aim, and fell hannlessly on the grass. I 
 watched the carriage pass out through the gates 
 until it disappeared. The rest of my stoiy is de- 
 grading, but true. Shall I go on ? " 
 
 " By all means." 
 
 " I told you I was starving. Except a diy crust 
 a labourer had charitably bestowed upon me, I had 
 not tasted food that day. I regarded the guinea as 
 it lay at my feet. ' Accursed piece of gold ! ' I said, 
 ' thou possessest a mighty power. In that small circle 
 lie food, shelter, warmth — shall I take it up ? No. 
 It may be the wages of her sin. I will leave it for the 
 first poor mortal who comes by. He at least will use 
 it without a guilty knowledge.' I walked away for a
 
 PRISON VISITORS. 157 
 
 hundred yards or more, feeling like a Spartan youth 
 who had done a noble action. But just then, the 
 demon of hunger returned upon me with redoubled 
 violence. I said, ' I will return and deposit the 
 guinea at any rate in a place of safety. Here it 
 may be trodden into the mire, and lost to every 
 one.' I went back, but I had missed the spot, and 
 I could not find it. I hunted for hours, till the 
 dusk of the summer evening came on as I searched 
 and searched in vain ; the greediness of a miser 
 tingled in my fingers ; I vowed I would recover that 
 lost bit of gold. At last I discerned it ; I clutched 
 it in my hand, and, rushing off to a tavern, ate and 
 drank till nature was satisfied. Was not this de- 
 gradation?" 
 
 " 'Tis hard to say," repHed Taswell, evadmg 
 the question. " And is this lady one of my 
 friends?" 
 
 '' For reasons of her ovm, into which I care not 
 to inquire, she wishes to set you at Hberty. It is 
 enough for me that our wishes point in the same 
 direction. But since I last saw you, my heart has 
 been somewhat softened towards this woman. I 
 find that she has lived a miserable life ; that her 
 first lover, after promising her marriage, basely 
 sold her to another man, who wedded her, it is true, 
 but treated her for years with cruelty and neglect, 
 that she knows not whether he is dead or li\'ing, 
 and that, finally, she is nearly as friendless as I am,
 
 158 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 and, in spite of her gay clothes and fine house, not 
 much more weahhy." 
 
 " Her first lover, you say, was Frederick Star- 
 linghurstr' 
 
 " Ay, the gay gentleman who is about to marry 
 Sir Goodwin's eldest daughter." 
 
 Taswell's face flushed, he clenched his fist. 
 " The villain ! " he exclaimed. " Would that I were 
 outside these bars ! I would do my best to hinder 
 his wedding." 
 
 " Wait patiently but a few days, Ai'thm' Taswell, 
 and your deliverance shall come." 
 
 " I think, my country cousin from Lancashire," 
 remarked Mi\ Chigwood, with a significant glance 
 at Loveridge, " we had better be moving. My 
 worthy friend with the bunch of keys may other- 
 wise grow impatient." 
 
 "You will take this letter?" asked Taswell, 
 hastily folding a sheet of paper, and handing it to 
 the hairdresser. " It is for Miss Floretta. Has she 
 shown any sympathy for my adversity, JSir. Chig- 
 wood ?" 
 
 " Little, as I can learn, ^Ir. Taswell. When 
 dressing the young ladies' hau' the other evening, 
 her talk was all concerning wedding favours and 
 orange-blossoms. Miss Thrupp said that the finger 
 of Providence was plainly visible, obscuring yom' 
 micle's usual sagacity, for the purpose of punishing 
 your politics. Mss Lucy sighed and said, ' Alas, 
 for poor Arthur in prison !' "
 
 PRISOX VISITORS. 159 
 
 " One drop of consolation," exclaimed Taswell, 
 '^ in a cup of hateful, selfish ingratitude I " 
 
 " Come," said Loveridge, with a gestui'e of im- 
 patience, " let us he going. Were you planrmig 
 how to overthrow the Government, and how to 
 save jour bleeding country, I would Hsten to you. 
 But I am weary of all this lover's nonsense about 
 a woman. Cut her adrift and get another sweet- 
 heart. You won't lose by the exchange. They 
 are all alike — all equally false and deceitful." And 
 resuming his north-country accent with his shock 
 wig, he knocked on the door-panel, as a signal to 
 the tmiikey, saying to Chigwood, " Coom, lad, 
 beest ready?" 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, how do you find yom' 
 friend ? " asked ^Ir. Wrench, as he s^Miug open 
 the door. 
 
 ^' Eh I lad," answered Loveridge, " aw think he's 
 peart enough. He wants nobbut hberty." 
 
 '- Ha I ha, good agaui I " laughed ]Mi\ Wrench. 
 " So that's your notion, Master Country-cousin, eh? " 
 
 " Now, what is there to prevent our overpower- 
 ing you ? " demanded ^Ii\ Chigwood. " I merely 
 put the question out of curiosity." 
 
 " Overpowering of me," laughed the tm7ikey, 
 tvristing his keys, but prudently keeping his back 
 against the wall. ^* Xothin' whatever. You might 
 knock my brains out with this here bunch of metal, 
 but then you'd have to pass three doors, and over 
 mv wife's bodv. She's a determined woman, and
 
 160 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 keeps a pair of duelling pistols in the corner- 
 cupboard." 
 
 " Dunno prattle a pack o' farce, Chigwood, but 
 coom out/' said Loveridge. The prisoner and his 
 visitors briefly bade each other farewell, and the 
 turnkey conducted the latter along the passage till 
 they arrived at his parlour door. 
 
 On entering the room they found a personage 
 seated by the fire whom they had not seen before. 
 He was a stout, square-built man, with a bull-neck, 
 keen eyes, and closely-shaven face. He was 
 muffled in an ample cloak, and appeared to be 
 intent on imbibing as much, w^armth as he could 
 from the fire. 
 
 Messieurs Chigwood and Loveridge regarded 
 the new comer with an an* of suspicion. The 
 turnkey observed their emotion. " On'y a friend of 
 mine," he remarked, " come to talk over old times. 
 Mr. Chigwood," he added, " you're a hairdresser, 
 ain't you?" 
 
 " I am, sir," replied the barber briskly ; " can I 
 do anything for you in my line?" 
 
 " Why yes. I've got a wig here in this here cup- 
 board, which There, you can take it out your- 
 self." 
 
 As Mr. Chigwood was peering into the darkness 
 of the cupboard, he suddenly received a vigorous 
 thrust from behind. In another moment the door 
 was closed upon him, a key was tm-ned, and he 
 found himself in total obscuritv. At the same
 
 PRISON VISITORS. 161 
 
 instant the bull-necked man rose, and tlirowing off 
 his cloak, thereby disclosing the red facings of the 
 Bow-street runners' uniform, produced a pistol, 
 wliich he dehberately cocked and presented at 
 Loveridge's head. 
 
 " In the king's name," he exclaimed, " Walter 
 Loveridge, otherwise William Lancefield, I arrest 
 you on a charge of sedition I " 
 
 Before Loveridge could recover his surprise, the 
 turnkey had seized his arms from behind, and in 
 a few seconds a pair of handcuffs ^vere attached to 
 his \NTists, and his ancles brought together by a 
 leg-iron. 
 
 ^' Let me out, let me out," cried the barber. '' Mr. 
 Yrrench, dear ^h. Wrench, I assm^e you I am 
 innocent." 
 
 " Any warrant against Mm .? " said the turnkey 
 to the bull-necked man. 
 
 " Him," replied the other with great contempt. 
 " No, he ain't worth bothering about." 
 
 The turnkey unlocked the door, and released 
 ;Mi'. Chigwood, whose face was white with teiTor. 
 
 " Oh ! ]Mi\ Wrench," he exclaimed, clasping his 
 hands. " How you have deceived us !" 
 
 " More than you did me," growled the tm*nkey 
 in reply. " What, you call yourself a perookyear, 
 and disguise a dai'k-complexioned man with a vdg 
 like that ! Why, the take-in was as plain as the 
 Monimint, warn't it, Mr. Yapp ?" 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Ah !" said that gentleman ; " disgraceful. Now, 
 Mr. Barber, we don't want you, so you can go. 
 We know all about you : James Chig^vood, keeps 
 a couple of 'prentices, a couple of bears, and 
 three black boys in St. Antholin's-court ; does 
 shavin', curlin', and hair-dressin', mns arrands for 
 baronets, and young ladies as wants to hear from 
 their sweethearts in chokey ; member of the Bas- 
 tille Club, et sitra, et sitra." 
 
 " Good Heayens !" cried the hairdresser, " how 
 did you learn all this ? " 
 
 " By keeping my eyes and ears open, and using 
 my tongue now and then. My ad^dce to you is, 
 mind your business, and steer clear of politics. 
 Good night to ye." 
 
 And ISlx. Yapp opened the door, and pushed 
 Mr. Chigwood out into the street. 
 
 " Lord," thought the unfortunate barbei', " if 
 old Gattrell gets scent of this, I'm a ruined man. 
 He'll sell me up, bears and all, without mercy." 
 
 " May I inquire," asked Loyeridge, " the exact 
 natiu'e of the charoje ao;ainst me ? " 
 
 " You'll hear all about that to-morrow, my friend, 
 afore the magistrates. You'll most likely haye the 
 honour of paying a yisit to the High Constable of 
 the Tower." 
 
 " We shall lodge you here to-night," said Mr. 
 Wrench, " and if you'ye got such a thing as a
 
 PRISON VISITORS. 163 
 
 crown about von, you can have a liot supper, and 
 enjoy yourself." 
 
 " No, sir," said Loveridge, sternly ; " I neither 
 \vish to pamper my body, nor to increase your ill- 
 gotten gams " 
 
 " All right," rephed the tm-nkey, coolly. ^' Then 
 you may take the straw bed with stone-jug fare, 
 and be d — d to ye for a stingy son of a ^" 
 
 " It is easy to insult a man whose hands and 
 feet are fettered," remarked Loveridge. " But I 
 suppose you are only carrying out the instructions 
 of your superiors. Lead the way to my cell if 
 you please " 
 
 " Well, if you ain't a crack-brained fool I" said 
 the turnkey. " Most men would chlly-dally every 
 minute they could, just for the sake of the wami 
 fire. It's tolerably chilly down below, ain't it, jMr. 
 Yapp?" 
 
 " Ah ! " replied Mr. Yapp, " the rats won't 
 trouble you to-night, thej-'re all snug a-bed." After 
 this remark, the turnkey lighted liis lantern, and 
 conducted the prisoner to his dismal cell. 
 
 m2
 
 164 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUNT GEPJZDl. 
 
 The peaceful regularity and monotonous tran- 
 quillity which had hitherto distinguished Sir Good- 
 \vin Anerley's house in Bedford-square, had been 
 of late much interrupted. The sisterly bond of 
 union between Floretta and Lucy was almost 
 severed ; the latter felt grieved and scandalised at 
 the easy unconcerned manner in which her sister 
 had transferred her affections from her long-tried 
 and faithful lover, to a new and unknown person ; 
 while Floretta was angrily jealous at the intense 
 interest felt by Lucy for Arthur Taswell, since he 
 had fallen into adversity. Sir Goodwin himself, 
 from being an even-tempered, good-humoured 
 man, had become snappish and irritable to a degi'ee 
 which he had never displayed before, during his 
 worst fits of gout ; he had growTi mysterious and
 
 THE ASSES OF M0L3T GEPJZIM. 165 
 
 secretive, receiving letters and holding private 
 interviews with various unknown personages at all 
 kinds of irregular hours. Then ]Mr. Starlinghurst, 
 who now \'iewed himself in the light of an ao 
 cepted lover, was perpetually dropping in. And 
 he seldom came empty handed. One day he would 
 bring a magnificent bouquet from Covent Garden 
 Market (a greater rarity then than now), then 
 an admission card for Lady A.'s rout — where all 
 the emifjre nobihty in London would be gathered 
 together — then a ticket to see the grand balloon at 
 the Pantheon in Oxford-street, shaped like a fish, 
 and di'a^^ii by four live eagles ; another day, an 
 exact copy of a new dress worn by ^ladame 
 Cabarus, at the Bah a la Victime, in Paris. Such 
 a visitor should have been highly popular, but no 
 one excepting Floretta liked him. Sii' Goodwin 
 detested him, for the simple reason that his exist- 
 ence as a bachelor was the chief obstacle to his 
 own success with Mrs. Norland ; but he was pre- 
 pared to like him well enough as soon as he was 
 married to Floretta. Lucy felt for him a calm 
 settled dislike, not unmingled with contempt, and 
 her cold indifferent manner towards him had often 
 caused high words to arise between the sisters. 
 Mss Thrupp regarded him as a rather frivolous 
 young man ; but allowed that his le^'ity of conduct 
 in private affairs was compensated by the sound- 
 ness of his political principles. But the easy un-
 
 166 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 punctuality of his visits, made her despair of ever 
 fulfiUing the duties laid do^^ii in that weekly tahle 
 which hung in her bed-chamber; just as the 
 young ladies had settled do\^'n to " Jerusalem De- 
 livered," he would come begging them to go and 
 hear Handel's music in Westminster Abbey, or he 
 disturbed them from their German exercises by 
 announcing that Boone, the weather prophet, had 
 fixed this as the last day of the great frost, and that 
 if they wished to see the ice crashing against the 
 piers of London-bridge, it would be their final 
 opportunity. 
 
 On one of these occasions, Mr. Starlinghurst 
 proposed a rural walk. The sun was shining 
 warmly and brightly (it was the month of Fe- 
 bruary), although the frost still continued. The 
 ladies accepted his proposal, and presently took 
 their departure. To reach the fields in the present 
 day from Bedford-square, would require a steady 
 brisk walk of more than an hour, and even then 
 we should find ourselves among trim, suburban 
 villas, and not in the real country of hedgerows 
 and corn-fields. But, in 1795, the dimensions of 
 London were more reasonable. Green pasture- 
 land still existed between Bedford-square and the 
 New-road; the Duke of Bedford's property, now 
 represented by Bussell and its tributary squares, 
 was unbuilt upon ; while, north of the New-road, 
 the country stretched almost without interimption
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUXT GEPJZDI. 167 
 
 to Highgate and Hampstead. Somers Town, 
 which has since become a second St. Giles's, was 
 then m course of buikhng, and was regarded as a 
 pleasant suburban retreat, while Cantler's Towti, 
 or Kentish Town, was reckoned a countiy village 
 on the Great North-road. 
 
 As Floretta had expressed a desire to see the 
 process of milldng cows, the party dh'ected their 
 steps towards Hammond's dairy farm, a celebrated 
 estabhshment in those days, situated in the locahty 
 now occupied by the goods-depot of the Xorth- 
 Western Eailway m Camden Town. Let us 
 pictm-e the spot, now crowded with an endless 
 series of trucks and carriages, resounding wdth the 
 screams of numberless locomotive enguies, and 
 blackened with the dust of legions of coal- 
 waggons ; let us picture this spot, as it appeared 
 seventy years ago. We should have seen an old- 
 fashioned, red-brick farm-house, with its yard Ut- 
 tered with manm-e, and tenanted by a host of pigs, 
 poultiy, and ducks, in the tme old-fashioned style ; 
 while the sides of the yard (wliich was unusually 
 extensive) were bounded by two long ranges of 
 tile or thatch-covered cowsheds. 
 
 The short winter day was di'awing to a close as 
 the party arrived at the farm. Miss Thrupp 
 paused to take breath, and to admire the view over 
 London. 
 
 '' See, my dear guis," she observed. " How
 
 168 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 beautifully clear the air is here, and how the 
 smoke rests in a tawny yellow line on the southern 
 horizon. The frost is not likely to break as yet, 
 in spite of your >veather-prophet, ;Mi\ Starhng- 
 hurst." 
 
 "No," replied the dandy, rubbing his hands. 
 " It promises well for lasting." 
 
 " You seem pleased at the prospect." 
 
 "Why, it is a serious affair for me. I have 
 several heavy bets depending on the grand skating 
 match that is to come off on the Seq:)entine to- 
 morrow. I should be ready to hang myself, just 
 now, if the -wind got round to south-west." 
 
 " But think of the poor, Mr. Starlinghurst," 
 said Lucy. " TVTiat relief a thaw would bring to 
 them!" 
 
 " 'Pon my honour. Miss Lucy, I never thought 
 about the poor. All I can say is, it's veiy selfish 
 and unreasonable of them to wish for a thaw to 
 spoil om' spoii;." 
 
 " You do not consider the miseries they suffer 
 during the severe weather. Many persons are 
 without blankets to cover themselves, and without 
 fire to warm their rooms. We go out well-clothed 
 and well-fed, and enjoy the frost by force of con- 
 trast." 
 
 " Sweet Miss Lucy," said Starlinghurst, taking 
 her hand, " I must kiss that pretty little fur mitten, 
 in return for your s^enerous sentiments."
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUNT GEPJZIM. 169 
 
 " Lucy lias become a perfect Jacobiii of late/' 
 said Floretta, sharply, not altogether rehshmg that 
 her lover should bestow his gallantry on her sister. 
 " She had better go about as a female apostle of 
 freedom, and preach to the people from Jean 
 Jacques Eousseau." 
 
 " What I " exclaimed ^liss Thinipp, who had 
 been earnestly watching the changing colour of 
 the smi"s disc, as he sank into the sharply-defined 
 Ime of focr which bounded the south-western 
 horizon, " what do you sav, Floretta ? " 
 
 " We are merely considering the possibihty," 
 simpered the dandy, "of IMiss Lucy attuing her- 
 self as the Goddess of Liberty, with a flowing- 
 classical robe, hon?iet rouge y and pike, for the pm- 
 pose of indoctrinating the canaille.'' 
 
 "Xonsense, Mi'. Starlinghurst," obseiwed ^liss 
 Thrupp. " TThat has Lucy been sapng ? "' 
 
 "' They sneered at me," intei*posed Lucy, indig- 
 nantly, "because I expressed sympathy with the 
 poor.'' 
 
 " It is a dangerous sentiment ui these times. 
 Look at poor Louis XYI. He s^Tiipathised -with 
 the poor, and they murdered hun. His prede- 
 cessors never did a good turn for anybody, and 
 they died peaceably in theii' beds. The severity 
 of the season teaches the poor self-denial. They 
 should be less impro\'ident. You remember the 
 fable of the buttei*fly and the ant."
 
 170 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Oh ! ]Miss Thrupp ! " exclaimed Lucy, " you 
 are not so hard as you profess to be. Have 
 you not devoted two hours every day to making 
 flannel ?" 
 
 "No more of this, child," said the governess, 
 blushing. " Come and look at the prospect, before 
 the sun goes down." 
 
 "Oh! I see the British Museum!" exclaimed 
 Floretta. 
 
 " And I observe that hideous new prison in 
 Coldbath-fields," said Starlinghurst. 
 
 " Alas ! poor Arthur," sighed Lucy. 
 
 " Perhaps he is confined there," remarked !Miss 
 Thrupp. " He is a misguided young man, and I 
 fear a traitor to his king and countiy. Lucy, you 
 must not think of him." 
 
 " Do you note that ? " whispered Floretta to her 
 lover. " She adores him." 
 
 "'Tis woman's glorious privilege," replied the 
 dandy, half in earnest, half sneeringly, "to love 
 the poor, and to succour the wretched." 
 
 Floretta frowned, and bit her lip. " Where are 
 the cows I " she exclaimed, to divert her thoughts. 
 " I see no cows. I thought w^e should see hundreds 
 of cows, attended by their Welsh milkmaidens, 
 coming in slowly from the green pastm'e." 
 
 " The cows will be happy to follow such a pic- 
 turesque occupation in the summer-time, my dear 
 Floretta," replied Starlinghurst ; " at present, your 
 green pastures are as hard and barren as a deal
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUNT GERIZTM. 171 
 
 board. ^ The milky mothers of the herd ' are all 
 safely foddered down in their sheds." 
 
 " We -will go thither, and see them milked/' said 
 Miss ThiTipp. 
 
 The party entered one of the sheds. After ad- 
 miring whole battahons of cows, which were kept 
 as neat and clean as if they had been in Holland, 
 their attention was attracted by a placard which 
 was posted on one of the partitions between the 
 stalls. Starlinghurst read it aloud for the amuse- 
 ment of the others : 
 
 " ' Wonderful Discovery I Genuine Medicinal 
 Asses' Mlk from the Holy Land I Sheikli Beni- 
 Hassan has, after incurring iiiniunerable risks and 
 vast expenses, imported a score of those beautiful 
 animals, the asses of Mount Gerizim, from Pales- 
 tine. They are fed on herbs peculiar to their 
 native countr}', which imparts that extraordinary 
 curative quality to their milk, for which it has so 
 loner been celebrated. Two of the asses are to be 
 seen at Mr. Hammond's Daiiy Farai, St. Pancras. 
 The remamder are at Finchley, where several 
 acres of ground have been sown with the plants 
 requned for their nutriment. Admission : Gentle- 
 folks, Sixpence ; Tradesmen, and Children, Three- 
 pence each. The milk supphed in bottles, sealed 
 with Sheikh Beni-Hassan's seal, at one shilling 
 per quart I ' 
 
 " Delightful ! " said Starlinghurst. " I wonder
 
 172 
 
 what complaints are to be cured by this extraordi- 
 nary beverage. Affections of the heart, think 
 you, dearest ? " he said, gently pressing Floretta's 
 arm. 
 
 "It's done my mistress a wonderful deal of 
 good, sir," said a voice from behind. The dandy 
 tmuied, and beheld a stout old gentleman with a 
 red nose — in fact, Mr. Gattrell. 
 
 " Indeed," quoth Starlinghurst ; " we are dying 
 to hear the particulars." 
 
 " Yv'ell, sir, and so you shall. You see, she's 
 been suffering for a long while from a sort of 
 inward weakness, and seeing this remedy para- 
 graphed in tlie Public Advertiser, I ordered half a 
 dozen bottles. We thouoht the milk alone would 
 sit cold upon the stomach, so she takes it in tlie 
 best Jamaica rum." 
 
 " A capital idea ! And have you visited this 
 Eastern potentate, the Sheikh?" 
 
 " No, sir. Tye come up to day o' pur23ose. I'm 
 an idle man, a retired tradesman, so I like to see 
 anything that's going on in the way of a curosity." 
 
 " Shall we go and see this ^ curosity,' Miss 
 Thrupp ? " asked the dandy. 
 
 " No, Mr. Starlinghurst," replied Miss Thrupp, 
 with severity. " It appears to be a veiy childish 
 affair. These donkeys are probably precisely like 
 English donkeys." 
 
 Mr. Gattrell seemed aggrieved at the imputa-
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUNT GEEIZBI. 173 
 
 tion that, at liis mature age, lie took an interest 
 in infantine matters. He hastened to give an ex- 
 planation. 
 
 " I do it to divert my mind, madam, for I've 
 had a deal of trouble lately. When I retired 
 from business, I set up a man in my shop, supplied 
 him with goods and capital to do the thing in a 
 tip-top style. And what do you think I discover 
 now?" 
 
 " I have no notion,*' said ^liss Thrupp. 
 
 " Why, I've discovered that he's a regular bad 
 fellow, a revolutionist, a member of a secret so- 
 ciety called the Bastille Club. More than that, 
 I've run my eye secretly over his stock, and it ain't 
 worth ten pound, let alone those two confounded 
 bears." 
 
 " Bears I " exclaimed Miss Tlirupp ; '' surely 
 you are speaking of ^Ii\ Chig\\'Ood, our hair- 
 dresser ? " 
 
 " Lord I madam, are you his customers ? " 
 
 " Sh' Goodwin Anerley, my employer, is." 
 
 '^ Dear, dear," cried the old gentleman. " Su' 
 Goodwin I who's a true-blue loyaHst ! oh ! James 
 Chio;wood. James Chifrwood I there's four oood 
 profitable heads gone from you for ever I '" 
 
 " How did you make this shocking discover}' ? " 
 asked the governess. 
 
 '' In this way, madam. Chig^vood went to visit 
 a political prisoner, a yomig gentleman whom I've
 
 174 SIR GOODWIX'S FOLLY. 
 
 kno^Ti from an infant, and never expected to see 
 disgracing his father's name this way. I've dressed 
 his parents' heads for years ; I've curled that boy 
 for Christmas and New Year's parties, and now 
 see what he's come to ! He's in prison on a charge 
 of sedition, his uncle's run through all his pro- 
 pert v, and there he is, in a dungeon with a cold 
 stone floor, and not a shilling to bless himself 
 with." 
 
 Lucy tm^ned pale. "You are speaking of Mr. 
 Taswell ? " she said. 
 
 " I am, Miss. More shame of him to fly like 
 this in the face of his king and country. Well, 
 madam, Chigwood goes to visit him. No wonder, 
 for ^ birds of a feather flock together.' Efe takes 
 mth him a desperate character, a man I once 
 turned by the shoulders out of Chigwood's sliop 
 for talkincp hio;h treason. The Government was 
 hunting after this man, so Chicvwood takes liim 
 into the prison in disguise. But, lawks, what a 
 disguise ! It makes me wild to think of it. Why, 
 a child of five year old that had once set eyes on 
 that man, would have knowed him after Chig- 
 wood's dressing up. Heaven forbid I should abet 
 treason, but if he'd ha' come to me, I'd have altered 
 him so that the Attorney-General, and all the 
 runners in Bow-street, wouldn't have known him ! 
 What's the consequence of Chigwood's disgraceful 
 bungling ? Why, this man walked right into the 
 lion's den, and was took immediate."
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUNT GERIZIM. 175 
 
 '' You seem to regret his capture," observed 
 Starlinghurst. 
 
 " No I don't, young gentleman ; I'm delighted 
 to hear of any Jacobin being in custody. It"s the 
 honour of the profession I feel for. Why, after 
 that, Chigwood isn't fit to di'ess a Guy Fawkes's 
 head for the fifth of Xovember. Where have I 
 had the honour of seeing you before, sir ? — your 
 face is familiar to me — wem't it in Featherstone- 
 buikUngs?" 
 
 Starlinghurst coloured, and Tsinked significantly 
 at lSh\ Gattrell. " Possibly you have," he observed, 
 coolly. " And what is the name of this desperate 
 revolutionist ?" 
 
 " Walter Loveridge, otherwise Wilham Lance- 
 field." 
 
 " Vihj do you start, Frederick ?" asked Flo- 
 retta, as she leant on his arm. 
 
 " A sudden emotion of regret. This man is, I 
 beheve, the son of a blacksmith in my native 
 village. May I inquire your name?" added Star- 
 luicrhurst, addressinoj the old barber. 
 
 " Adam Gattrell, at your service, sir, late of 
 St. Antholin's-court, hau'cbesser ; now of Bunhill- 
 row, St. Luke's, independent," said the reth'ed 
 tradesman, raising his hat. " Then you won't pay 
 a -visit to the Jerusalem ponies, sir ? " 
 
 " Not to-day, thank you, Mr. Gattrell," rephed 
 *Miss Thrupp, graciously. 
 
 " Then I must, madam, if only to divert my mind.
 
 176 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 Besides, I want to make sure my mistress gets 
 the genuine article. There's a deal of roguery 
 about." 
 
 And Mr. Gattrell bowed and retired. The others 
 returned slowly homeward; they conversed but 
 little on the way, for they were all preoccupied 
 with their own thoughts. The name of Lancefield 
 recalled many unpleasant memories to Starling- 
 hurst's mind, and he rejoiced that a man who 
 cherished bitter feelino-s of veno;eance aojainst him- 
 self, was in safe custody. Floretta, wdio was of a 
 jealous, exacting disposition, had not forgotten his 
 sudden emotion at the name. She was shrewd 
 enough to doubt whether her lover's explanation 
 contained the full truth. Lucy trembled to think 
 that the arrest of this man might still further com- 
 promise Arthur Taswell, and implicate him in 
 desperate schemes hitherto unrevealed. Miss 
 Thrupp's feelings were less personal and selfish 
 than those of her three companions ; as a loyalist 
 and patriot she lamented the dreadful and increas- 
 ing spread of sedition; moreover, she was sorry 
 for young Taswell ; now that he was in prison and 
 in adversity, her heart warmed towards him, and 
 she felt remorseful for the severe language she had 
 used to him on the morning of his aiTest. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Gattrell knocked at a common 
 stable-door which was decorated with a placard 
 similar to the one we have already seen. He was
 
 THE ASSES OF MOCXT GEPJZIM. 17 < 
 
 admitted by Beni-Hassau himself, and paid three- 
 pence (imder the tradesman tariff) into that 
 Oriental's willing palm. The Sheikh was dressed 
 in a costume which partook of the pecuharities 
 both of the East and the West. A turban of gaudy 
 Manchester cotton was twisted round his head, 
 while his body was clothed in a long di'essing- 
 gown, gh'dled at his waist ; but his feet were shod 
 with highlows, and a pair of soiled buckskin 
 breeches peeped from beneath the skirts of his 
 garments. His statm'e was short, his complexion 
 was brown, and he wore a stubbly beard and 
 moustache. 
 
 " These are the animals, eh ! " said ^Ir. Gattrell, 
 speaking at the top of his voice, as was his custom 
 when parleying with foreigners. 
 
 '* Iss," replied the Sheikh, pomting out two very 
 handsome specimens of the Spanish breed of that 
 useful creatm-e w^hich climate and ill-usage have so 
 deteriorated in Encfland. 
 
 o 
 
 " How many pints of milk do they give apiece ? " 
 shouted the hairdi'esser. 
 
 The Sheikh appeared disinchned to talk. He 
 held up several dirty fingers by way of answer. 
 
 !Mr. Gattrell went into the stall, and began 
 patting and stroking one of the animals. Presently 
 he proceeded to examine her udder. The lady of 
 Mount Gerizim objected to this hberty ; she wmced, 
 and kicked out smartly with her hind feet, catch- 
 
 TOL. I. X
 
 178 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 ing the Sheikh, who was standing carelessly with 
 his arms folded, and his back to the door, a pretty 
 severe blow on the calf of his leg. 
 
 " D — n you for a skittish jade ! " exclaimed the 
 Oriental, facing about sharply, and stooping down 
 to rub the injured part. "Ass not like touch, 
 sare," he continued. 
 
 Mr. Gattrell's mouth opened with astonishment. 
 " Why, you're an Englishman ! " he said. 
 " No, sare, me Syrian shepherd-man." 
 " Why, you spoke good Enghsli enough just 
 now, when she let fly mtli her hind leg," persisted 
 Mr. Gattrell. "' I'll warrant, if I was to offer you 
 five shillings, you could speak as well as I can." 
 The Oriental remained obstinately silent. 
 " Yery well," continued the old gentleman. " As 
 you please. I beheve the whole thing is an un- 
 postm-e, and in futui'e Ishs. Gattrell shall have her 
 donkey's milk from some other estabhshment." 
 
 " Gattrell ! " exclaimed the Syiian, '' of St. 
 Anthohn's-com-t ? " 
 
 '' Yes, sh', the same. I thought you'd speak 
 Enghsh presently. Where did you know me ?" 
 
 " Oh, ^Jt. Gattrell," said the Syrian, pluckuig 
 off his turban, "don't you know me ? I'm your 
 old 'prentice, Tom Waterlow ! " 
 
 " Lord I " said the hahch'esser, peering into the 
 other's face. " And so I beheve it is. But how 
 came you so swarthy ? "
 
 THE ASSES OF MOUNT GERIZIM. 179 
 
 " Walnut juice." 
 
 "And the beard?" 
 
 " Oh ! that's nature." 
 
 " And what makes you dress up m this heathenish 
 style?" 
 
 " j\fr. Gattrell, sir, you shall hear all. You 
 know I always had a leanuig towai'ds the stage." 
 
 " Ay ! that I do. I remember catching you 
 spouting CoriolaniLS in the back shop, in my best 
 powdering-gown." 
 
 " Well, sn, I deserted our profession and took 
 to the cux'us. I was a horse-rider, sir: not jimip- 
 ing through hoops and riding thi'ee horses abreast — 
 I beo;an too late in life for that sort of thinor — ^but 
 simple straightforward work, such as any groom 
 or ostler could leam. However, I got a bad tumble, 
 and hmi: my loins, so was forced to give it up. 
 Now I'm here, as you perceive, sir. The man that 
 owns these (they come from Giberralter, and be- 
 tween you and me the other eighteen up at 
 Finchley are all a flam), he gives me seven shil- 
 ling a Aveek to mind 'em, and I get what the com- 
 pany please besides. Xow, I'll keep no secrets 
 from you, !Mi\ Gattrell ; the milk is real genuine 
 milk, only flavoured ^\ith. a little sage and mar- 
 joram to give it a sort of foreign taste." 
 
 "Water?" 
 
 " Well, he does use the pmnp-handle a little, 
 otherwise it would be too rich for dehcate stomachs. 
 n2
 
 180 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 Oh ! Mr. G., sii', you don't suppose I like this sort 
 of game. I wish to goodness I was back in the 
 profession again, a flourishing a razor, or a pair of 
 curling-tongs." 
 
 '' Are you married ? " 
 
 " Yes, as nice a little woman as ever you see. 
 Three children, besides number four who arrived 
 last night. She's up in the loft. I should be proud 
 to show her, but under the circumstances of num- 
 ber four having made his appearance, had better 
 defer it. It's a hard struggle, ^Ir. Gattrell, on 
 seven shilling a week, and what the company 
 pleases. They don't please often. They're apt to 
 say ' it's a take in.' " 
 
 There was a knock at the stable-door. The 
 Syrian shepherd paused abruptly in his narrative, 
 readjusted his turban, and admitted three open- 
 mouthed cockneys, who stared as if they expected 
 to see a couple of Kve crocodiles. 
 
 ^* Poor Tom Waterlow ! " murmured ^Ii'. Gat- 
 trell, as he retired. " I've a monstrous great mind 
 to get rid of Chig^vood, bears and all, and put Tom 
 in the shop. He's clever, and knows when a pair 
 of tongs is hot enough; now, Chig^yood don't, 
 and what's the consequence? why, he's burnt his 
 fingers ! "
 
 THE ADYERTISEME^'T. 181 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 It was not to be wondered at that ^Ir. Gattrell 
 desii-ed to get a fresh tenant for his shop, for Chig- 
 wood's busmess had fallen off alarmingly, and the 
 interest promised on Lady-day seemed imHkely to 
 be eyer paid. The discoyers' that the wily hair- 
 dresser was connected ^N^th a seditious society had 
 alienated all the old-fashioned Tory customers, 
 who patronised the shop for ^Ir. Gattrell's sake ; 
 aldermen and common-comiciUors had indignantly 
 T^-ithdrawn their heads; a minor canon of St. 
 Paul's had peremptorily demanded his account, 
 and on papng it had placed in ^Ir. Chigwood's 
 hands a sermon against speaking e^^il of dig- 
 nities ; while the landlord of the Light Horseman 
 tavern, a public-house situated in St. Antholin's- 
 court, and much frequented by yolunteers, had
 
 182 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 solemnly denounced tlie barber, in tlie full con- 
 clave of the parlour, as an emissary of the French 
 Convention. By this last blow twenty heads fell 
 (out of the hau'dresser's books), and speedy ruui 
 seemed impending. Not that ^ii'. Chigwood was 
 without customers. On the contrary, the shop was 
 fuller than ever. But they were what ^Ir. Gattrell 
 emphatically called " the wrong sort.*' Dirty, 
 shabbily-attired " Sons of Freedom" lounged about 
 the premises, congratulating Chigwood on the 
 warmth of his patriotism, shaking hands with him 
 every five minutes, inciting him to deliver inflam- 
 matoiy speeches and administer Schiedam to the 
 assembled company; and, finally, sitting do\^'n 
 coolly in his easy-chair, got themselves shaved, 
 cut, and curled on credit of the most elongated 
 character. Caricatures of an anti-ministerialist 
 natui'e began to line the walls of the shop, such 
 as the "Barber's Eevenge on Chancellor Pitt," 
 " York, you're not wanted," &c. ; in short, as an 
 eloquent supporter of the Government at the 
 Light Horseman had forcibly expressed himself, 
 " Chigwood had torn off the mask, had displayed 
 the cloven foot, and proved himself a regular out- 
 and-outer." 
 
 At this gloomy epoch in the barbers affairs 
 Bildad became master of the situation. He had 
 a double hold over the unfortunate Mr. Chigwood. 
 As a spy in the pay of the di'eaded Gattrell, he
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 183 
 
 kept an eye on the stock, and coukl, if lie cliose, 
 forbid any of it being suiTeptitiously sokl at 
 ruinous prices, for the purpose of raising ready 
 money (a frequent -device of his employer's) ; 
 while, as a member of the Bastille Club, he was 
 prepared to denomice any lukewarmness on the 
 part of Chig^vood towards his fellow- citizens. 
 For instance, if the hairdresser had hesitated to 
 afford professional assistance to any gentleman of 
 shabby exteiior, but midoubted patriotism, he 
 would have been regarded as ^'suspect:" and, 
 though the citizens could neither imprison nor 
 guillotine him, they could play him many unplea- 
 sant tricks. So Bildad reigned supreme. He got 
 up when he pleased, had his boots blacked by Sam 
 (who was a parish apprentice), did as much work 
 as he thought agreeable for his health, and came 
 in at night when he chose. Yet there was no ill- 
 feeling between himself and Chigwood: on the 
 contrar}', a bond of union existed between them. 
 They were both fond of the children. Whatever 
 other faults Bildad possessed (and he had his 
 share), he was uniformly kind and attentive to 
 that triplet of chocolate- coloured boys vrixli whom 
 Donna Serafina had endowed her husband. 
 
 " Yes," said a red-faced man (the same whom 
 we encountered at the Bastille Club), as Mr. Chig- 
 wood wiped the lather from his chin, ^' me and 
 Citizen Barhnc: went to see him. That scoundrel
 
 184 
 
 of a turnkey wouldn't let us in under a cro^vn. 
 We paid him, and he took us to the cell. I never 
 see such a sight in my life. There was that poor 
 feller, handcuffed and leg-ironed, setting on a dirty 
 straw palliasse, Avitli a jug of water and a brown 
 George loaf alongside of him. It was just like the 
 picter of John Bunvan in the Pilgrim's Progress. 
 I was ready to split with rage, but I didn't say a 
 word inside the prison for fear of getting locked up 
 myself." 
 
 " Did you see the other — Taswell ? " 
 " No, curse him ! Loveridge is worth a million 
 such as he. Besides, he's a rich man." 
 
 " He is not," remonstrated the barber. *•• I told 
 you the other night that he was penniless." 
 
 " Well, he's been rich, and that's as bad. I 
 hate all aristocrats. I wish they'd only one neck, 
 or that this razor was as long as the City-road, and 
 in my grip. But never mind that now. I says to 
 the turnkey, as we were coming out, ^ When's he 
 going to be took to the Tower V * Ax no questions,' 
 he answers, ^and you'll hear no lies.' 'You re 
 civil,' I says. ' Pm obligated to be so by the rules 
 of the prison,' he answers, with a grin. ' I should 
 uncommonly like to know,' I says, ' when and how 
 he'll go. Can I speak to you for a minute outside, 
 in the street ? ' I says, making believe to feel for 
 something in my pocket. That devil would sell 
 his neck to Jack Ketch for one of Abraham New-
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 185 
 
 land's tokens; so out lie comes. ^Xow/ says I, 
 looking veiy fierce, and putting my arms akimbo, 
 Arnt you ashamed, ^Ir. Tm-nkey, to keep a 
 fellow-creature huddled up like that on a heap of 
 musty straw ? ' ' "VMiat ? ' he begins. ^ Now hsten 
 to me,' I says ; ' I'm acquainted with a true friend 
 of the people's, and this affair shall reach his ears 
 before you're twenty-four hom's older — that's ]Mr. 
 Charles James Fox.' Lord I he tui'ned as white 
 as a sheet. ^ Do you know iSh. Fox ? ' he stam- 
 mers. ^Intimately,' I says, which was a down- 
 right lie, for I never set eyes on him but once, at 
 the Crown and Anchor meeting, ^and the first 
 Jarvey I see shall di'ive me to his house. ^Tiat's 
 more, I know his butler, and I shall let him know 
 what sort of a chap you'd be for a billet in the 
 New Clerkenwell Prison.' Well, Citizen Chig- 
 wood, I never saw a man so afeard in my life ; he 
 promised that Loveridge should be put into a 
 decent chamber, and his fetters took off, afore he 
 was an hour older. ^ That's not enough,' says I ; 
 ^ I must know exactly how he'll be removed to the 
 Tower ; on that condition I shan't spHt on you to 
 Citizen Fox, and you'll be well paid for yom* 
 trouble.' His cunning eyes sparkled at these last 
 words, and he says, ' Come, or send a trusty friend, 
 three days hence, and you shall know all I do.' " 
 
 " How did you contrive to get such a hold over 
 that A-illain ? " demanded the hairdi'esser. " Con-
 
 186 
 
 found liim ! I can still feel tlie grip of liis knuckles 
 in tlie nape of my neck, when lie shoved me into 
 the cupboard." 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " replied the other, " as Mr. Yapp re- 
 marked to you on that occasion, by keeping my 
 eyes and ears open. I heard that pig-headed Tory 
 of a landlord of yours remark in this very shop, 
 when he was talldng of Taswell's imjmsonment, 
 that the turnkey bragged about Charley Fox's 
 butler, and when I saw the picter of that right 
 honourable gentleman hanging up in the jailer's 
 parlour, I recollected the affair, and made use of 
 it accordingly. Now, Bildad, you've been a listen- 
 ing to what I've been a saying, han't you ? " 
 
 " I have, citizen." 
 
 " Well, turn it over in your head. You're a 
 sharp fellow. Devise a plan for getting Walter 
 Loveridge out of prison, and when I'm president 
 of the British National Convention you shall be 
 my private secretary." 
 
 And the red-faced patriot left the shop. 
 
 " Thank ye for nothing," sneered Bildad, as 
 soon as he had departed. " If I wait till he's at- 
 tained that elewation, I must wait till the thirtieth 
 of February. That game won t suit me, eh, Citizen 
 Chigwoodr' 
 
 The hau'dresser pondered for a few minutes. 
 " Bear it in mind, Bildad," he said at length. " It 
 may bring you in a round sum of money."
 
 THE ADYERTISEMEXT. 187 
 
 There was a knock at the private door. Bilclad 
 answered it, and took a note from a small boy. 
 
 '' What a shop this is for billj-duckses ! " he re- 
 marked. "Here's another, master." 
 
 " From Serafina," murmm'ed Mr. Chigwood, as 
 he opened the letter. " Wants to see me imme- 
 chately. She must be badly off for something ; so 
 am I. Money I must have, and I won't leave 
 York-street under a five-pound note." 
 
 He presently put on his hat and coat, and pro- 
 ceeded to his ^^ife's abode. Ringing humbly at 
 the kitchen bell, he was ushered by the housemaid 
 into Serafina's presence. That worthy lady re- 
 ceived him with even more than her usual warmth. 
 
 " Sweetest Jemmy, you are the best, the most 
 obedient husband I ever knew. You have flo^^ii 
 on the wmgs of the wind." 
 
 "Business is business," replied Jemmy, rather 
 sulkily submitting to the accustomed embrace. 
 " "^^liat do you want ? " 
 
 "' Sit down, dearest love ; sip this glass of Cm'acoa, 
 and you shall hear." 
 
 ]Mi\ Chigwood smacked his lips, mollified by the 
 deHcious beverage, and then composed himself to 
 listen. 
 
 " ^Yhen I first employed you as a messenger 
 between Sir Goodwin and my lady up-stairs, I 
 thought the Baronet merely intended a simple 
 affair of gallantry, and that he would pay me hand-
 
 188 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 somely dui'ing tlie process. In that case, dearest 
 Jemmy, our fortunes would have been made, and 
 you and I Avould have retui-ned to om' beloved 
 Bengal, and purchased a zemindarry of our own." 
 
 Mr. Chigwood shrugged his shoulders at the 
 delightful prospect he had lost, but said nothing. 
 
 " I soon discovered, however, that Sir Goodwin's 
 intentions were strictly honourable, and that he 
 proposed marriage. Now, to this step there were 
 one or two obstacles." 
 
 " The Major's cocked-hat, for instance ? " 
 ^' Exactly. Besides that, Mrs. Norland has got 
 an absurd love affair of her own." 
 "m-. Starlinghurst?" 
 
 " Just so. There is some bond of union between 
 them which I cannot explain." 
 
 " Perhaps I could, if I chose," said her husband 
 aside, calling to mind the story which Loveridge 
 had related in the prison. 
 
 " She loves him passionately,, while he, although 
 assuring me privately that he is weary of her 
 attachment, appears to be attracted to her side by 
 some mysterious influence. "Wliat is the result? 
 Why, she refuses to many Sir Goodwin, and will 
 do all she can to prevent Starlinghurst marrying 
 Sir Goodwin's daughter. Now, on these two 
 weddings, dearest Jemm}', hang all om' hopes of 
 fortune. Both Sir Goodwin and his son-in-law 
 will reward me handsomely on the day the cere-
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 189 
 
 mony is completed. You are my linsband, there- 
 fore all that is mine is yom's. You see what an in- 
 terest you have at stake ? " 
 
 " Does she mean what she says ? " thought Mr. 
 Chigwood. 
 
 " You can now understand my object in Avishing 
 to bring Major Norland on the scene. Were he 
 proved aHve, Starlinghiu'st would rejoice, as it 
 would release him from any engagement he may 
 have formerly made to the supposed T\ddow, and set 
 him free to many Floretta Anerley." 
 
 "But, sm-ely, the reappearance of her husband 
 would at once prevent her o^^^i marriage with Sir 
 Goodmn, which you have so much at heart ? " 
 
 " Not if properly managed. I regard the matter 
 in this way : Starlinghurst is ready to do anytliing 
 to escape from the clutches of a faded woman of 
 thirty A\*ithout a guinea in her pocket, in order 
 that he may wed a well-do^Tied tender IMiss of 
 nineteen. Sir Goodwin is also ready to do any- 
 thing. The foolish old man is so madly entranced 
 with Haniet Norland, that he will risk the possi- 
 bility of a prosecution for bigamy to gain posses- 
 sion of her. The only person who ^^'ill give me 
 any trouble will be Harriet herself. But I can 
 frighten her into compliance. Now, then, you shall 
 hear my plan. In the first place, we do not believe 
 that when the Major's cocked-hat was found in 
 the Ganges his head was in it, do we ? "
 
 190 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " In other words, tlien, it was a sham murder to 
 hide a robbery. So that if he Hves now, he must 
 be a rascal ? " 
 
 " Granted." 
 
 " Well, Jemmy, you may take it as a rule that 
 a rascal is always terribly in want of money, and 
 that he will do anything to get money. Only let me 
 get speech of the Major, and he will be our willing 
 confederate. He shall be introduced to Mrs. Nor- 
 land in such a sudden melodramatic fashion as to 
 excite her terror ; he shall make himself as am'ee- 
 able as he used to do in Calcutta, when between 
 gambhng, brandy-pawTiee, and a hot sun, he went 
 on like a lunatic. As soon as my lady is thoroughly 
 satiated with his attentions, he shall make her two 
 simple propositions. Fust, that she is to allow 
 her beloved Frederick Starlinghurst to marry Flo- 
 retta Anerley, without let or hindrance ; secondly, 
 that she is herself to wed Su Goodwin. On these 
 conditions the gallant Major mil offer to retire 
 once more into obscmity. As, however, he will 
 require substantial payment for his services, I shall 
 have to let Sir Goodwm partially into the secret. 
 But, as I said just now, that old gentleman is so 
 madly in love that he will make no objection. 
 Another advantage in this scheme is, that as long 
 as Norland lives w^e shall hold a sword over the 
 head of the Baronet and his beautiful bride."
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 191 
 
 ^^ You are a vastly clever woman, Serafina," re- 
 marked her husband, with a slight shudder. " But 
 there is one objection to your neatly-contrived 
 plan. I have not been able to discover any trace 
 of the Major." 
 
 " You have advertised ? " 
 
 " I have paragraphed in all the newspapers. I 
 did not venture to give the full name, for fear of 
 attractincp the attention of the East India Com- 
 pany, who must themselves be anxious to appre- 
 hend such a defaulter. I advertised by means of 
 initials, piirposely misnaming places; but I am 
 sure that had the Major read the advertisement he 
 would have contrived to acquaint us with his ex- 
 istence. Here is a specimen of one of them. 
 
 " ' M — j — r X , supposed to be dro^vned at 
 
 the island of Jamaica, AVest Indies, on the 5th of 
 July, 1792. (I give the correct date.) If ahve, 
 show yourself ; no danger now. Your ancient ally 
 with the dark face, S. da S., wishes to teU you of 
 something greatly to yoiu' advantage.' " 
 
 ^* Yes," said Serafina, listening with a critical 
 au'. '' That will do pretty well, and should have 
 brought him to light. But have you made no 
 private inquiries ? " 
 
 "My dear Serry, I have not the honom* of 
 being acquainted with any scomidrels. And except 
 among such cattle, we are not very likely to find 
 this invaluable ofiicer.''
 
 192 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " That is true, and yon mnst go everywhere. 
 Penetrate in disguise into thieves' kitchens, and 
 listen to the conversation of footpads and high- 
 waymen." 
 
 " I am much obhged to you, Mrs. C, but I am 
 a man of peace, and have no desire to get my skull 
 cracked by venturing among such desperadoes. 
 As for dis cruises, I've had enouc^h of them. I dis- 
 guised a friend of mine the other day, and he was 
 found out immediately." 
 
 " Oow^ard ! " sneered Serafina. " Oh that I 
 were a man, or even a woman wdth an ordinaiy 
 pale face ! This accursed tropical tint would foil 
 me everywhere, other^vise I would penetrate into 
 the lowest haunts of St. Giles's, Westminster, and 
 Whitechapel ; I would visit the robbers' house of 
 call in the Five Fields, near Sloane-street ; I would 
 question rogues of every degree till I gained some 
 intelliixence of the man I want. But vou " 
 
 " Well, my dear," replied Chigwood submis- 
 sively, for he did not admire the fiery sparkle of 
 those dark eyes, "I'll see what I can do. But 
 disguises cost money, and there will be a deal of 
 treating to be done, for the light-fingered gentry 
 are usually thirsty souls. Dear Serafina," he said, 
 taking her hand affectionately, " let me have five 
 pounds ? " 
 
 " What ! " cried she. " Why, I have not so much 
 in the house. Hush, here comes her ladyship.
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 193 
 
 Look cautiously at the side of the bHnd, if you 
 wish to see her." 
 
 ^Irs. Norland stepped daintily from a hackney- 
 carriage, and ascended the steps that led to her 
 own door. Her beautiful face wore an unusually 
 pensive expression, and as her eyes unconsciously 
 wandered to the window from which !Mr. Chiorwood 
 was peeping, the full force of her melancholy gaze 
 met liis ovm. The hairdi'esser started. He had 
 not seen Mrs. Norland since she landed from the 
 Indiaman, pale, sickly, and dispirited. He now 
 beheld her renovated by two years' residence in her 
 native chmate. He experienced such an emotion 
 as a devotee may feel when earnestly contemplat- 
 ing a Virgin by Eaffaelle or Murillo — no mere 
 earthly admh'ation, but a sensation of intense and 
 elevated regard. He felt that he could do any- 
 thing for such a woman ; that to win her esteem he 
 would go to the uttermost parts of the earth, and 
 pluck a hair from Prester John's beard. And only 
 a minute before he had been leagued with his un- 
 scrupulous wife in a base cruel plot against that 
 angelic creature 1 He felt ashamed of himself. 
 
 " And vou call her a faded woman of tliirtv, 
 Serry !" he whispered; "why, she's a more lovely 
 creature than when she first visited my old master 
 in Calcutta." 
 
 IMrs. Chigwood's eyes glittered malignantly as she 
 noted the impression which had been made on the 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 SIR GOODWnf S FOLLY. 
 
 susceptible barber's heart. She regretted having 
 allowed him to enact the part of Peeping Tom. 
 
 " Lideed ! " she sneered ; " wait till you know her 
 as well as I do, my pretty Jemmy, and you will 
 learn what a silly, selfish, frivolous heart may beat 
 under that white skin. Do you repent of my plan ? 
 Why, it is all for her good. At present she is a 
 nondescript, neither wife nor ^\ddow ; or, if any- 
 thing, the wife or widow of a pubHc criminal, who 
 could not venture to show his face in Leadenhall- 
 street. By marrying Sir Goodwin, she obtams an 
 agi-eeable husband, of good birth, of engaging 
 manners, with an ample fortune to spend. Why, 
 if she were not a crazy fool, moonstnick with this 
 peacock-feathered dandy, she would jump at the 
 Bai'onet!" 
 
 " Well, it doesn't seem so bad after all," re- 
 marked ^Ir. Chigwood, affected by the cogency of 
 his T\ife's arguments, and chilKng in his regard to 
 the beautiful face, now that it was withdrawn from 
 his view. Besides, he was sorry to learn that the 
 object of his devotion had become silly, selfish, 
 and frivolous. 
 
 " And now my dear, about this five pounds." 
 
 " Five pounds ! Five shillings, you mean. 
 Whence should a poor dependent Hke me obtain 
 such a sum?" 
 
 " Nonsense, Serafina. Do not put me off with
 
 THE ADVERTISEMEXT. 195 
 
 such hollow pretences. I came here to get five 
 pounds, and five pounds I will have." 
 
 " Many come up ! as the nistic folks say, you 
 have learnt a new tune, [Master Jemmy ! Supposing 
 I should say you shall not have it ? " 
 
 " In that case I should have to go home mth- 
 out it. But, Serafina, consider my poverty, and the 
 difficulties that surround me. Consider the tlu'ee 
 chdch'en. They are yours as much as mine, yet I 
 have to be both father and mother to them. For 
 the last time, I ask you, ^\J[l you give me the five 
 pomids ? " 
 
 " For the last time Jemmy, I say, No." 
 
 " Very well then. Good-bye." And kissing his 
 wife's tawny cheek hghtly, he opened the door 
 which led into the passage. 
 
 Just then Mrs. Norland's tall figure passed by, 
 as she entered her own private sitting-room. 
 
 " Good-bye, I say," repeated Mr. Chigwood. 
 " Do you know where I am going ? " 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " To have a little talk with Mi's. Norland — to 
 give her a few hints on the general aspect of 
 affairs." 
 
 " You dare not, sir." 
 
 " I dare anything," repHed the barber courage- 
 ously, " for the sake of five pounds. Poverty has 
 made me desperate." 
 
 o2'
 
 196 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Then come hither, and embrace your Serafina/' 
 said his wife, extending her arms. " You profess 
 to love me, and yet you leave me with a cold un- 
 willing kiss upon my cheek." 
 
 Mr. Chigwood returned. He was not proof 
 against the mingled fear and admu-ation he enter- 
 tained for his wife. Although he would have been 
 dehghted to hear at any moment that she had 
 taken ship for Calcutta, and quitted him for ever, 
 he could not help being fascinated by her actual 
 presence. And as she folded him in her anns, and 
 allowed her glossy cm'ls to rest against his cheek, 
 his resolution began to fail him. 
 
 " Naughty Jemmy, to treat your Serafina so ; 
 you "\vill be a good boy, won't you ? " 
 
 " Ye — es," murmui'ed the conquered husband. 
 
 " Then leave the house quietly, dearest ; and 
 do all you can to discover this Major. Find him, 
 and our fortunes are secured." 
 
 As soon as jMr. Chigwood had departed, his wife 
 drew a small sharp stiletto from the folds of her 
 dress. "In case of emergency," she muttered. 
 " But I should have only used it to frighten him. 
 After all, I managed the affair much better. A 
 loving embrace is far pleasanter to both parties 
 than a dagger scene. If, however, he had remained 
 obstinate and insisted on seeing her, I should have 
 been obHged to bribe him with the five pounds ;
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 197 
 
 now I have saved my money, and kept my little 
 keen-edged persuader for another opportunity. Let 
 me reflect on the state of affairs. These man-iages 
 must be hmiied forward, before I lose all my in- 
 fluence. Since that night when I was so foolish 
 as to give way to my temper, my control over 
 Hamet has become weakened. If I don't take 
 care she will slip from my grasp. The Major ^^ill 
 be an admirable insti-ument to rivet the bonds once 
 more. But suppose he is dead, or that my stupid 
 Jemmy fails in discovering him. He is so neces- 
 sary to my projects, that if he does not exist, I 
 must invent him. I have plenty of letters in his 
 handwriting. I have a clear recollection of his 
 person. We must dress up a Major Norland, if 
 all other means fail. And I can see that such a 
 crisis is coming. Harriet has taken a ^'ili:uous turn. 
 She has conceived a holy horror of green cloth, 
 and absolutely declares that she would sooner earn 
 her bread by honest mantua-making than b}' 
 dealing the cards at faro. I must see Sir Goodwin, 
 and sound him on these subjects. He is a cold- 
 blooded old man in ever}^thing but the passion of 
 love, and will be balked by nothing when his 
 pleasures are to be gratified. Oh I for the day 
 when these wedding-iings are placed on those 
 fingers ! Good-bye to cold, gloomy, dirty London, 
 with its clammy fogs, and biting frosts. Hurrah
 
 198 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 for Bengal ! I left my native land a poor servant, 
 I shall return an independent lady. After all, what 
 hann shall I have done ? The English go and rob 
 the people of India, that they may live in luxury 
 here; I shall simply convey back some of their 
 ill-gotten wealth to my poor oppressed native 
 country ! "
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 199 
 
 CHAPTEH Xn. 
 
 A VISITOR IN EASTCHEAP. 
 
 Be so good as to request ^Ir. Foskett to step 
 this way," said Sir Goodwin Anerley, as lie sat in 
 the mner sanctum of his counting-house, to the 
 clerk who answered the bell. 
 
 ^Ir. Foskett presently made his appearance; a 
 little, thin, yeUow-faced, dried-up old gentleman 
 with a powdered head, who bowed respectfully as 
 he entered the merchant's private apartment. ^Ir. 
 Foskett was the chief official of the house, a per- 
 sonage of immense experience in the colonial trade 
 — no mere cockney, who only knew sugar as a 
 manufactured product ; he had resided for years 
 in the West Indies, had managed plantations, su- 
 perintended boiling-houses, and disposed of many 
 a cargo of negroes to the highest bidder.
 
 200 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Sit down, Foskett," said Sir Goodwin, who 
 being a gentleman by birth and education, was re- 
 markably easy and pleasant with all his subordi- 
 nates. Not like Sir John Pigg, the great wax- 
 chandler, who, as Sir Goodwin's clerks remarked, 
 treated his inferiors since majesty had knighted 
 him, as if he were the Czar of Muscovy, and they 
 were serfs. 
 
 " I want your opinion, Foskett, about a private 
 matter." 
 
 " Before going further. Sir Goodwin, permit me 
 to state that, owing to the Government contract for 
 rum now pending, molasses are very firm this morn- 
 ing, and in one instance, sixpence advance has been 
 established." 
 
 " Good," exclaimed the Baronet ; " we won't let 
 Dobbs have that cargo that they've been haggling 
 over for the last three days. Put a shilling on to 
 the price, Foskett, and tell them, in your jocular 
 way, they can take the lot at that rate, or leave it 
 alone." 
 
 " He ! he ! he !" sniggered Mr. Foskett, in con- 
 vulsions of delight; "won't ^ir. Josiah Dobbs 
 swear ? I know they're dead on getting the rum 
 contract. Sir Goodwin, for Mr. Josiah has been 
 seen at the Navy Board every day this week, and 
 the extra shilling will take the gilt off their ginger- 
 bread. He ! he ! he ! And now, with regard to this 
 private matter. Sir Goodwin?"
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 201 
 
 "Wty, it concerns young Taswell, who was to 
 have been my son-m-law, Foskett." 
 
 " Ah, dear, clear ; silly young man, silly young 
 man." 
 
 " Well, Alderman Bromwich has written me a 
 long and energetic letter on the subject. He says 
 that a strong f eeluig of dissatisfaction exists among 
 the citizens of London at the continued detention 
 of this young gentleman ; that the minor charges 
 of seditious conduct brous^ht acpainst him are of the 
 most frivolous character, while the piincipal charge, 
 namely, that of publishing treasonable handbills, 
 has been refuted by the voluntary confession of 
 one Loveridge or Lancefield, who avers that the 
 handbills m question (a fan'ago of the most revo- 
 lutionary trash you ever read, Foskett) were con- 
 cocted entirely by himself. This man stands a 
 good chance, of com'se, of learning what a kan- 
 garoo is like, and botanising at Sir Joseph Banks's 
 dehghtful bay ; but as for Taswell, Brom^^ich and 
 a nimiber of other influential citizens say he should 
 be released at once." 
 
 " T\Tiy don't they send a deputation to Downing- 
 street?" 
 
 " Because they are all Opposition men, and the 
 minister would give them the cold shoidder. So 
 they want me to do it. They argue thus : ' You 
 are a Tory, whose vote Mr. Pitt can depend upon ; 
 he will listen to you.' They also hint that after the
 
 202 
 
 rumours which have been circulated as to Taswell's 
 arrest, namely, that it originated in an act of private 
 vengeance, the act would come with peculiar grace 
 from myself." 
 
 " What do you suppose young Taswell will do 
 when he comes out of prison ? " 
 
 " I can't say. He won't marry Floretta." 
 
 " No, no, of course not, poor lad ; why, he hasn't 
 a shdhng. But might he not prevent somebody 
 else from maiTying IVIiss Floretta ? " 
 
 " Hum ! he might." A curious expression here 
 passed over Sir Good\\T[n's keen puckered face. 
 " As you say, he might ; but in such a case as this, 
 public considerations alone are to be regarded ; 
 and, in my opinion, the boy has had confinement 
 enough to cure him of Jacobinism for the rest of 
 his days." 
 
 " So say I, Su' Goodwin. Release him, and if 
 you could just whisper in Billy Pitt's ear to clap 
 that lunatic Wilberforce in the empty cell, why 
 he'd be doing a good service to the West India 
 proprietors." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! Foskett, you've always an eye to 
 business." 
 
 Here a clerk knocked at the door. 
 
 " Come in," exclaimed Sir Good^vin. 
 
 " A lady -wishes to see your honour." 
 
 " A lady ! What is she hke, and what is her 
 name?"
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 203 
 
 " She was closely veiledj your honoui', and de- 
 clined to give any name. She said something con- 
 cerning an estate in the island of St. Domingo." 
 
 " Some unlucky French refugee," remarked 'Sir. 
 Foskett, " whose black Friends of Liberty have 
 burnt all her sugar. T\^ell, Sii' Goodwin, I \^-ill 
 retire." 
 
 *•■ Ay, if you please," said the Baronet, who sus- 
 pected Donna Serafina to be his visitor ; " and I 
 say, Foskett, ask Dobbs eighteenpence advance. 
 The markets must go up with the present state of 
 things." 
 
 " You may be sui*e I shall get all I can, he ! he ! 
 he I " and the chief clerk quitted the apartment, 
 Just as a tall lady rustled past him. 
 
 Sir Good^^-in rose with some difficulty, owing to 
 his gouty foot, and handed his visitor a chair. 
 
 " May I ask your name, madam ?" he said. 
 
 The lady raised her veil, and discovered the 
 lovely features of Hamet Xorland. 
 
 " Heavens, Mrs. Norland ! " exclaimed Sir Good- 
 win, " to what unlooked-for good fortune do I owe 
 this dehghtful sui-prise? We parted somewhat 
 coldly when last we met. But I forgive and forget. 
 And I trust, dear Amanda, you do the same." 
 
 " I have nothing to forgive you," replied ]Mrs. 
 Norland. 
 
 " And now, touching this mducky St. Domuigo 
 estate?"
 
 204 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 His visitor smiled faintly. 
 
 " Pardon me, Sir Goodwin, it was but an excuse 
 to divert curiosity." 
 
 ^' Then your real object in doing me this honour 
 is '' 
 
 " To ask a favour." 
 
 " Name it, my dear madam ; I shall find it hard 
 to refuse you." 
 
 ^' To use your pohtical influence with the Govern- 
 ment, wdiich I know is great, to procm^e the liberty 
 of ]Mi\ Aithur TasweU." 
 
 " Curiously enough, that was the very subject I 
 was discussing with my chief clerk at the moment 
 of your arrival." 
 
 " And have you decided to apply for his re- 
 lease?" 
 
 " Madam," said the Baronet, assvuning an air of 
 senatorial gravity, " as a champion of the cause of 
 order against the cause of anarchy, I should say, 
 ^ Let that young man await his trial, and let a jury 
 of his f ellow-comitry^men decide the question of his 
 guilt or innocence.' As a private individual, Mrs. 
 Norland, you are aware that I approach this sub- 
 ject with the most painful feelings. But, first, 
 permit me to ask why you interest yom'self in the 
 fate of a man who is, I believe, an utter stranger 
 to you?" 
 
 " One reason is, that I wish to make some shght 
 reparation to a person whom I once deeply injured.
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 205 
 
 That man has requested me to obtam ]Mr. Taswell's 
 freedom. A second reason is — but I fear I shall be 
 too frank, Su- Goodwin ? " 
 
 " Not at aU, my dear madam, I ^\-iU be equally 
 frank with you." 
 
 " Then, Sir Good™i, I viiil tell you the truth. 
 I wish to release the man to whom I consider yom- 
 daughter rightly belongs, that I may retain my 
 own Frederick StarHnghm'st in my sole imdivided 
 possession." 
 
 The same curious expression passed over Sir 
 Goodwin's face which we have noticed before. 
 
 " In good truth, ^Ii's. Norland, you are sincere 
 with a vengeance ! You coolly ask a petition of 
 me which will effect a double pui'pose. In the 
 first place, you hope by the aid of Taswell's rivahy 
 to deprive me of Starhnghurst for a son-in-law ; in 
 the second place, you deliberately tell me that this 
 plan wiU place you in undistm-bed possession of 
 ]Mr. Starlinghurst ; in other words, that my chances 
 of obtaining you as a wife are gone for ever. I 
 repeat, I admire your frankness, madam. How can 
 you expect me to raise a finger to save a man 
 whose poHtical sentiments I detest, and whose first 
 act on coming out of prison would be to deprive 
 me of a worthy son-in-law, and (pardon me for 
 saying the word) of an angel of a vdh, at one 
 blow? Besides, you forget, madam, caged men 
 become desperate. Suppose ^Ir. Taswell should
 
 206 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 use his newlj-acquired liberty to challenge your 
 darling Frederick ; supposing he should kill him — 
 what then ? " 
 
 " Such is my jealous love, that I would sooner 
 see him dead at my feet than the husband of 
 another woman." 
 
 " How can those lovely lips open to deliver such 
 stem sentiments ? You see the difficulties of my 
 position, madam ? " 
 
 " I do, indeed, and should, on that account, were 
 you to accede to my request, hold you in higher 
 esteem than if you wrote me the most impassioned 
 love-letters for a twelvemonth in succession." 
 
 " Then," exclaimed the Baronet, starting up as 
 if with sudden emotion, " the deed shall be done. 
 Your sweet lips, your eloquent beseeching eyes, 
 your tender glances, have unmanned me. Bid me 
 discharge my clerks, sink my ships, bum my plan- 
 tations, free my negroes ; yes, even that I believe 
 I should do at your request. To parody the ex- 
 pression of Coriolanus, I may say, 
 
 my Amanda, 0, 
 
 You have won a happy victory to TasweU : 
 
 But for myself — believe it, believe it, 
 
 Most dangerously you have with me prevailed !" 
 
 " Thanks, dear Sir Goodmn, thanks," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Norland, her eyes filHng with tears. " Now 
 that I know the real kindness of your heart, I feel 
 that I could love you."
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 207 
 
 " Oh I that I could persuade you to do so ! But 
 to descend to prose. Do not conceive that I am 
 all-powerful. On the contrary, my application 
 may be unsuccessful. And such is the terror of 
 anarchy and sedition prevailing tkroughout the 
 country, that I am constantly receiving letters be- 
 seeching me to use all my influence to press the 
 severity of the law to the utmost limits. Here is 
 one," pui'sued the unblushing Baronet, laying his 
 hand on Alderman Bromwich's epistle, "pra}ing 
 me, on behalf of a numerously signed body of 
 Tory citizens, to do what I can to obtain a prose- 
 cution in this very instance.'' 
 
 "So much the more shall I thank you, Sir 
 Goodwin, if you succeed." 
 
 ^Irs. Norland offered her hand, the Baronet 
 kissed it respectfully, and conducted her to the 
 hired carriage which was waiting at his door. As 
 she di*ove away, ]Mr. Foskett entered the comiting- 
 house in an ecstasy of mirth. 
 
 " He ! he ! he ! Sir Goodwin, you should have 
 heard ^Ir. Josiah swear. The army in Flanders 
 was nothing to it. But I nicked him. I knew he 
 must have the molasses. So, after a Kttle parley, 
 I sold at fifteenpence advance. I made a great 
 merit of letting him off the odd threepence." 
 
 " Well done, Foskett. Just tell them to order 
 out the cari'iage. I must go to Do wrong-street 
 about this young Jacobin's release."
 
 208 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " I am glad to hear it, Sir Goodwin. And don't 
 forget to put in a word against the AYill-by-f orce 
 emancipating gentry, he I he ! he ! " 
 
 Sir Goodwin's explanations, backed by the 
 alderman's letter, soon induced the great minister 
 to take a f avom-able view of Arthur Taswell's case, 
 for indeed a more kind-hearted and less vindictive 
 man than William Pitt never held the seals of 
 office. He promised to communicate w^th the 
 magistrates before whom the case had been heard, 
 and hinted that an immediate Hberation would 
 probably follow. 
 
 ^'But, Sir Goodwin," added Mr. Pitt, "I hope 
 you won't ask me to let that other fellow out. 
 What's his name ? Loveridge, alias Lancefield. 
 The comitry gentlemen are in such a state of 
 terror, that they would be ready to impeach me. 
 I am told he is a real fanatic of the Anacharsis 
 Clootz breed, who honestly believes that I am the 
 enemy of the human race, that I contrived the 
 September massacres, raised the negi'oes in St. 
 Domingo, and invented the guillotine to bring 
 opprobrium on a glorious and spotless Revolution. 
 Poor wretch ! For my part, I wish he w^ere out of 
 prison, and on his way to enrol himself under Mr. 
 Washington's star-spangled banner. I would will- 
 ingly pay his passage out of my private pm'se to 
 get rid of him. I abhor these state prosecutions, 
 especially as they usually end in an acquittal."
 
 A VISITOR IN EASTCHEAP. 209 
 
 There was a triumpliant smile on Sir Goodwin s 
 face as his carriage passed through the Strand, on 
 his way back to the Citj. His reflections were of 
 the following nature : 
 
 " I have done a good action apparently against 
 my own interests. But I don't care much about 
 Starhnghurst, and I do care a gi'eat deal about 
 Mi's. Norland. I have made an agreeable impres- 
 sion upon her to-day, there is no doubt about that. 
 Well, what will be the upshot of this young bar- 
 rister's release ? I have no fear of Floretta run- 
 ning away with him. vShe takes after her father, 
 and has too great a respect for pounds, shillings, 
 and pence, to tie herself up to a man without a 
 sixpence, or a prospect of getting a brief. Sup- 
 posing Taswell comes pistol in hand, and challenges 
 Starlinghurst ; that elegant gentleman may pos- 
 sibly show the white feather, retire to Germany, 
 and leave the coast clear for me. Supposing they 
 fight, and one gets killed — well, in either case I 
 shall lose a once-intended son-in-law T^'ith a certain 
 amount of tranquil emotion. The real obstacle 
 to my maniage with Amanda is that abonunable 
 Major ; if we could only prove liim dead, or bribe 
 him into silence if hving, everv'tliing would go 
 weU." 
 
 Sir Goodmn was in excellent spirits that even- 
 ing. His crabbed irritabihty had disappeared, and 
 he made himself so agreeable to ^liss Thnipp and 
 
 VOL. I. P .
 
 210 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 his daughters^ that, on their withdrawal from the 
 dining-rooirij they all began to speculate on the 
 cause which had restored his easy, bantering, 
 placable disposition. The Baronet was no wine- 
 drinker, and shortly joined the ladies up-stairs. 
 
 "Well, my dears," he said, on entering the 
 drawing-room, '^ I have a piece of news for you. 
 Arthur Taswell is to be set at liberty directly." 
 
 While his hearers were uttering various excla- 
 mations of surprise, Sir Goodwin detailed the 
 circumstances which had led to the young man's 
 release. 
 
 Lucy sprang up, and thro^ring her arms round 
 her father's neck, kissed him heartily. 
 
 " Dear papa," she exclaimed, " how much better 
 you are than you profess to be ! Wliile outwardly 
 you appeared so indifferent to Arthm-'s fate, you 
 have in reality been Avorking to effect his free- 
 dom!" 
 
 "Don't praise me too much, my dear Lucy," 
 replied her father, gently disengaging himself 
 from the young lady's enthusiastic caresses. " You 
 know not how much political expediency may 
 have to do mth the step I have taken. And 
 you, my dear Floretta, what think you of this ? " 
 added the Baronet, laying his hand on his elder 
 daughter's fair shoulder. 
 
 Floretta frowned, and bent her eyes on the 
 carpet. At length she said, "Father, you know
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 211 
 
 that Arthur TasweU has forfeited my esteem, and 
 that with youi' consent I have transfeiTed my 
 love to another. I think less of ^Ir. TasweU's re- 
 lease as it concerns himself, than as it may concern 
 Frederick." 
 
 "A^Tiat do you mean, Floretta?" asked Sh 
 Goodwin. 
 
 " I mean that when these men parted in this 
 room, a quarrel was impending between them, 
 which was only prevented by Mr. TasweU's an-est ; 
 what if that quarrel be renewed now he is at 
 Hberty?" 
 
 '' Pooh ! nonsense," said her father. " Poor 
 Taswell has something else to think about* From 
 what I hear of his uncle's affau's, I doubt if he has 
 a shilling to call his own. He is far more hkely 
 to come and beg a situation in my comiting-house, 
 than to challenge your beloved Frederick." 
 
 " How smgularly this young man has been 
 punished for the terrible doctrines he has endea- 
 vom'ed to promulgate," exclaimed jMiss Thrupp. 
 " At the moment of then' dissemination, an 
 avenging Pro^ddence sweeps away his uncle's 
 cai'efully accumulated wealth ! " 
 
 " 'Tis rather hard though, IMiss Thrupp," rephed 
 the bantering Baronet, " to describe Avenging Pro- 
 vidence as a liigh Tory ; if she is, she is admirably 
 impartial, for old Tobias Taswell, who suffers quite 
 as much as his nephew, is one of the real old 
 p2
 
 212 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 fossil pigtails who believes in the divine right of 
 kings, and avers that the Americans will soon get 
 tired of Mr. Washington, and invite George the 
 Third once more to come and reign over them." 
 
 Here the footman entered the room, and silently- 
 handed a letter to Floretta. Lucy watched her 
 face as she read it, and observed by the working 
 of her lips that she was strongly affected. Pre- 
 sently, the elder sister rose and left the room. The 
 younger shortly after followed her, unnoticed by 
 Sir Goodwin and the governess, who were warmly 
 engaged in an animated political discussion. Lucy 
 entered her sister's chamber, and found her seated 
 on the bed, with her head resting on the pillow, 
 weeping silently. 
 
 " Floretta, dearest, what is the matter ? " 
 
 "Spiteful creature that you are, Lucy," ex- 
 claimed her sister, angrily, through her tears, " to 
 follow me thus, that you may triumph over me." 
 
 "This is folly, Floretta; why should I wish to 
 triumph over you? I saw that something had 
 grieved you, and I came, as a sister should, to con- 
 sole you." 
 
 " Much consolation you are likely to administer. 
 You detest Frederick, and love Arthur Taswell." 
 
 " Detest is a strong word, Floretta ; but I won't 
 argue on that subject. As for poor Arthur, you 
 should be much obliged to me for taking an inte- 
 rest in your cast-off lovers. Come, Floretta, dry
 
 A VISITOR IN EASTCHEAP. 213 
 
 your tears, and tell me whom the letter is from. 
 Although I am the younger sister, perhaps I can 
 give you some good advice." 
 
 " There, read it," said Floretta, tossing the note 
 to her sister. 
 
 " From my Cell, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 1795. 
 
 " DeaPwEST Floeetta, — I once more ventm'e to 
 address you by this title, because I hope, ere long, 
 to be reinstated in your favour, by proving the 
 utter unworthiness of yoiu* present lover. Since I 
 parted from you I have heard that of him which 
 justifies all I said in your presence. I pray you, 
 for the sake of your o^\ti future happmess, at least 
 to suspend your judgment concerning liim. At 
 present I am powerless to hurt him, but should I 
 ever regam my freedom I will seek that man, and 
 demand at his hands satisfaction for the injuries 
 he has done me. Possibly this letter will reach 
 his eye ; the coward will natui'ally attempt to pro- 
 long my imprisonment and to ensure my con- 
 demnation, but I do not fear him. There is still 
 some semblance of justice left in England. My 
 detestation for him is as deep as my love for you is 
 sincere. Heaven bless you, my sweet Floretta. 
 " Your unf ortmiate lover, 
 
 " AethuPw T as well." 
 
 " According to the date," said Lucy, " this letter
 
 214 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 was written several clays since. He evidently was 
 unaware of his approaching release." 
 
 "This is what I dreaded," sobbed Floretta. 
 "He will emerge from prison like a raging wild 
 beast, and mil kill my Frederick." 
 
 " We must prevent their meeting. 'Tis fortu- 
 nate that Mr. Starlinghnrst is now at his father^s 
 country-house. Who brought this letter ? " 
 
 " The little hairdresser, Chigwood." 
 
 " Why has he delayed it so long ? " 
 
 " I know not." 
 
 " Let us go down and question him." 
 
 " You go, Lucy." 
 
 " I mil if you'll kiss me, and say you forgive 
 me." 
 
 " I forgive you," murmured Floretta, somewhat 
 mechanically kissing her sister's cheek. 
 ~ Lucy then descended the stairs, and inquiring 
 for Mr. Chigwood, requested him to enter the 
 housekeeper's room. 
 
 " Why did you not deliver this letter sooner ? " 
 she demanded. 
 
 " A thousand pardons, Miss Lucy, I entreat, for 
 my neglect. The truth is. Miss, I was afraid to 
 come near the house. Having the misfortune to 
 be connected mth a little association for amending 
 the constitution of this country, I was infonned 
 that Sir Goodmn had heard of it, and intended 
 kicking me out of the house."
 
 A TISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 215 
 
 "Nonsense, Mr. Chig^Y00cl; my father is far 
 too liberal and enlightened a man to persecute any 
 one for their opinions." 
 
 " I feared that ^^liss Thmpp " 
 
 "Poor lady!" said Lucy, aside, "she is not 
 strong enough, otherwise she is capable of it. But 
 now, mth regard to this letter, INIr. Cliigwood. 
 Are you aware of its contents ? " 
 
 " Not a word. Miss." 
 
 "Then I will inform you. !Mr. Taswell threatens 
 deadly vengeance upon IMr. Frederick Starling- 
 hurst, should he ever be set at liberty. Perhaps 
 you have not heard the news. He is to be re- 
 leased at once." 
 
 " ^Ir. Taswell out of jail ! HuiTah ! " exclaimed 
 the hairdi'esser. Then, suddenly checking him- 
 self, with an air of alanu, as if he thought Miss 
 Thrupp might have heard him, he said, "I beg 
 youi' humble pardon, ^liss." 
 
 "Never mind that now," said Lucy. "Listen 
 to me. You must prevent !Mr. Taswell from en- 
 countering IMr. Starlinghurst until at least he has 
 been long enough at liberty for his passions to have 
 cooled down. ^Ir. Starlinghurst is at present in 
 the countr}'-, but an unemployed desperate man 
 may follow him thither. You must find some 
 work for ^ir. Taswell at once that will keep his 
 energies occupied and his mind actively engaged. 
 Can you accomplish this ? "
 
 216 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 "'Tis a difficult job to find a poor gentleman 
 anything to do, unless he enlists as a soldier." 
 
 " That is not to be thought of," exclaimed Lucy. 
 " You must devise some other plan." 
 
 " I have an idea, but it will require money." 
 
 "How much?" 
 
 " Ten to twenty pounds might do it." 
 
 " Then, see, I have come prepared," said Lucy, 
 displaying several necklaces, brooches, and brace- 
 lets. 
 
 "What! sell aU these. Miss? T^liy, if Sir Good- 
 win discovers it he'll be ready to eat you ! " 
 
 " Can you not raise money upon them ? " 
 
 " Yes, Miss, we could pawn them." 
 
 " Then do so. And how do you propose to 
 employ Mr. Taswell?" 
 
 "As a sort of missionary. Miss. He'll travel 
 about through ^" 
 
 The door opened, and the barber's explanation 
 was cut short by the entrance of Miss Thrupp. 
 
 " Lucy ! " said she, in a tone of surprise, " what 
 are you doing here with this person? Oh ! I per- 
 ceive, it is Chigwood. Chigwood, I was exceed- 
 ingly sorry to hear, from a most respectable person, 
 the late proprietor of your shop, a deplorable ac- 
 count of your political views." 
 
 " I trust I have seen the error of my ways^ 
 madam," answered the hairdresser, hanging down
 
 A VISITOR IX EASTCHEAP. 217 
 
 his head sheepishly. " Chiirch and King shall be 
 my motto for the future." 
 
 " ^Ir. Chigwood has seen Arthur in prison," 
 said Lucy, vivaciously. 
 
 " Oh ! " remarked the governess, drily, " that 
 was when you were yourself taken into custody, 
 Mr. Chigwood?" 
 
 "A case of mistaken identity, madam. They 
 took me for a most desperate character, who has 
 since fled to America. I assure you, madam, my 
 principles are soimd at bottom." The barber 
 fidgeted about for a minute or two. At length 
 he said, in the most mellifluous voice : " Has Sir 
 Goodwin, madam, appointed any other hairdresser 
 yet?" 
 
 " Not permanently," replied Miss Thrupp. 
 
 "Mght I be permitted to resume my func- 
 tions ?" 
 
 " I will consult Sir Goodwin," answered the go- 
 verness.
 
 218 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OUT OF JAIL. 
 
 The sensation of newly-acquired freedom is not 
 always agreeable. Historical examples may be 
 cited of men who shuddered at the sight of day- 
 light, and entreated with tears to be restored to 
 then' cells. And even when the imprisonment has 
 been of short dm'ation, liberty brings "VNith it a 
 weight of care and responsibility from which the 
 captive is free. The discharged thief, welcomed 
 at the prison -gates by his depraved associates, feels 
 his joys diminished by the recollection that he is 
 once more dependent for his daily bread on the 
 skilfulness of his fingers. Let us imagine, then, 
 the feelings of a man who entered his cell respected 
 and wealthy, who quitted it a few weeks later 
 shunned by his former acquaintance, and utterly 
 unpro^dded with the means of subsistence. Such
 
 OUT OF JAIL. 219 
 
 was Arthur Taswell's e^il case. All his friends 
 looked coldly on him. Those who would have ex- 
 cused his poverty took fright at his pohtics ; those 
 who cared httle whether he was a disciple of Pitt 
 or Thelwall, provided his purse was full, shrank 
 from contact with a penniless man just enlarged 
 from jaU. His first step after his release was to caU 
 upon his uncle, Tobias Taswell, and ascertain from 
 his own lips whether the sinister accounts which had 
 reached him in prison might not be, in some mea- 
 sure, exacTD-erated. He derived little consolation 
 from the ^-isit. He found the man whom he had 
 seen a month ago a quiet, precise, methodical old 
 gentleman, sitting with disordered dress, bloodshot 
 eyes, and uncovered head, drinking raw brandy 
 before noonday. In reply to the young man's 
 anxiously-repeated inquiries, he made answer in 
 words of the wildest self-reproach. 
 
 " Gone, gone, all gone, my poor boy ! " he ex- 
 claimed, spreading out his hands, and biu-sting into 
 te.ars. " Yes, Arthm;. you and I are beggars I " 
 
 The young man, who came prepared to admi- 
 nister stern rebuke, was touched at the pitiable 
 semi-lunatic condition to which his uncle was re- 
 duced, especially when he ascertained from his 
 broken exclamations that his aunt and cousins, who 
 were staying in the country, were as yet ignorant 
 of what had occuiTed. 
 
 "Poor Anna!" murmured the old man. "It
 
 220 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 will go near to kill thee, so fond of money as thou 
 art ! Lord have mercy upon me ! " he exclaimed, 
 sinking on his knees, and elevating his trembling 
 hands. "Lord, pardon me for my greediness! 
 But I meant honestly. I had none but daughters 
 of my own, and I wanted the only male descendant 
 to be a man of consequence. For that I toiled and 
 schemed day and night, and this," he added, with a 
 doleful sigh, " is the end of it all ! " 
 
 Taswell presently quitted the house, and re- 
 paired to his chambers in Gray's Inn. He found 
 that the agents of Government had opened his 
 drawers and bureau, ransacking for seditious 
 papers ; while his laundress, probably holding that 
 no Jacobin could possibly want silver spoons, had 
 eloped with his plate and other small valuables. 
 His wardrobe had also been extensively plundered; 
 in short, little remained in his rooms except articles 
 of furniture which were too bulky to be surrep- 
 titiously removed. After a careful examination of 
 the premises, in hopes of discovering the missing 
 property, and a visit to the treasm-er of the Inn, 
 who promised to put the affair in the hands of an 
 active Bow-street officer, Taswell returned to his 
 desolate apartments, made up a small package of 
 clothing, and then summoned a broker, to Avhom 
 he disposed of the whole of his remaining effects. 
 The amount realised by this transaction was little 
 more than sufficient to pay several outstanding
 
 OUT OF JAIL. 221 
 
 accounts. After these had been discharged, Tas- 
 well found hunself a free man, indebted to no- 
 body, and possessed of exactly fifteen shillings and 
 sixpence in current coin of the realm. He was 
 contemplating this sum as it lay in the palm of his 
 hand with melancholy earnestness, the broker was 
 removing the last article of furnitm*e, protesting, 
 as he gasped for breath in the doorway, that, in 
 the name of Moses and all the prophets, he had 
 never made so bad a bargain in his life, when a 
 person reached the landing, narrowly escaping the 
 receipt of one of the bedstead-legs in his eye. 
 
 " Yy don't yer look out vere you're comin' to ? " 
 said the broker, sulkily, as the injured person 
 rubbed his face. 
 
 "You're a pretty fellow," replied the other, 
 good humouredly, "to knock a man down first, 
 and bully him afterwards. Is ]\lr. Taswell in ? " 
 " Yes ; are you going to buy anythink of him ? " 
 "Why?" 
 
 " You'll find him a ^^'uss Jew nor me. S'elp me 
 Abraham I never see such rubbidge in my born 
 days as his fm'nitm'." 
 
 " You won't say that the next time I pass your 
 shop. Good-bye." 
 
 And the ^^isitor entered Taswell's empty cham- 
 bers. The young man was standing in front of 
 the fireplace, mechanically regarding the money 
 in his hand.
 
 222 
 
 " Cliigwood ! " he exclaimed, with a start. 
 " The same, sh-/' replied the barber. Then, 
 waving his hat over his head, he cried, '^ Welcome 
 once more to the air of Liberty ! But I say, ]\Ir. 
 Taswell," continued Mr. Cliigwood, glancmg round 
 the apartment, "you are scudding mider bare 
 poles, as we used to say aboard ship. What does 
 this mean, sir ? " 
 
 " It means poverty," replied the other, bitterly. 
 "It means starvation, when this wi'etched sum 
 which I hold m my hand is expended." 
 
 " Nonsense, Mr. Taswell ; you are full of youth 
 and energy, you will soon find emplopnent." 
 
 " Who will employ a broken-down gentleman, a 
 liberated Jacobin, as they will call me ? See the 
 thousands of poor creatures Avho are shivering at 
 the comers of the streets in this great city, and 
 tell me what is my chance." 
 
 " Your broker says you are a keen hand at a 
 bargain, ]Sh\ Taswell." 
 
 " Does he 1 " remarked the young man, mth a 
 short laugh, which ended in a sigh. " Such is one 
 of the effects of poverty ! A month ago, I should 
 have bidden him name his own price. But now I 
 battled mth him, tooth and nail, and clutched at 
 every sixpence. What news from Bedford-square, 
 Chigwood ? " 
 
 " I deHvered yom- letter to IVIiss Anerley. She 
 has retm-ned no answer. Take my advice and
 
 OUT OF JAIL. 223 
 
 give her up, ^h\ Taswell. The young lady is bent 
 on marrying ^Ir. Starlinghurst." 
 
 "She shall never wed him if I can prevent 
 it/' exclaimed Taswell, fiercely. "And what 
 brings you here, ^Ir. Chigwood? Eemember, I 
 have no means of rewarding your services at pre- 
 sent." 
 
 " Citizen," retorted the barber, proudly di'awing 
 up his small person, " I need no reward. I have 
 come to offer you employment. Read this," he 
 said, handing an official-looking document to his 
 questioner. Taswell read it in silence. 
 
 " The matter," he remarked, at length, "' is more 
 innocent than the beginning and ending would 
 have led me to suppose. A paper that commences 
 with ^Libeity Hall, Liberty Court, thkd year 
 of the Enhghtenment of the People,' and T\-inds 
 up ■v\'ith ' Ca ira.j looks inflammatory enough ; but 
 the purport of the letter is simply a request to me 
 to ^-isit certain districts in Kent, as an accredited 
 delegate of the London Corresponding Society, 
 for the purpose of ascertaining the views of the 
 inhabitants, and stimulating their ardour in the 
 cause of Constitutional Reform. The mission is 
 after my own heart ; a month since I should have 
 embraced it eagerly, but alas ! now I must betake 
 myself to some humble calling, in order to gain the 
 necessaries of Ufe." 
 
 " The Society has considered that point," replied
 
 224 
 
 the hairdresser. " They know your altered posi- 
 tion, and beg, as a token of their sympathy for 
 your sufferings in the cause of hberty, that you 
 will accept funds sufficient for the j ourney ." Mr. 
 Chigwood drew out a leathern purse, and displayed 
 a number of guineas. 
 
 "It goes sorely against the grain with me to 
 accept pa3niient for what should be the unpaid 
 service of a good citizen," said Taswell ; " still more, 
 to take the aggregate pence of half -starved artisa ns 
 for this purpose." 
 
 "I am forbidden to tell you how the fund has 
 been collected ; let it suffice to say, that it is the 
 gift of the rich, not the offering of the poor." 
 
 "In that case, I will accept the employment. 
 Zeal for the cause of true freedom I possessed 
 long since ; discretion I have learnt in prison. I 
 hope by the combination of both to serve my 
 country." 
 
 The hairdresser entered fully into the details of 
 the affair, and eventually quitted Gray's Inn, after 
 extracting a promise from Taswell that he would 
 start for the serene of his labours on the following 
 day, without attempting to gain an interview with 
 any member of the Anerley family. 
 
 " What a thing it is," murmured Mr. Chigwood 
 to himself, as he crossed South-square, " to be an 
 honest man. How my fingers did itch after those
 
 OUT OF JAIL. 225 
 
 guineas I They would have kept me and the 
 chikb-en in comfort for weeks, instead of being 
 wasted on a piece of crazy enthusiasm. But no, I 
 am stnctly honest. ^liss Lucy's gewgaws fetched 
 twenty-one guineas six shilUngs and sixpence, at 
 the pa\Mibroker s. I dehvered eighteen guineas 
 to the young lawyer ; the remainder I consider a 
 fair and honourably-earned commission. Xot a 
 sixpence of it shall old Gattrell get, if I can avoid 
 it. Here is a shoemaker's shop; I will treat 
 Plassey to a pah' of new boots." 
 
 YOL. I.
 
 226 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A M I S S I O X A R Y TOUR. 
 
 We prefer to give the account of Ai'thur Tas- 
 well's tour in his OAvn words, as they appear in his 
 diary, the ink of which is embro^\^led, and the 
 paper yellowed by the lapse of nearly seventy 
 years. Should the reader be inclined to smile at 
 his sentimental reflections, or sneer at his political 
 disquisitions, let him remember the circumstances 
 of the man, and the pecuharities of the time.* 
 
 Open disaffection was, on the whole, less ram- 
 pant than it had been in the preceding year. The 
 atrocities of the later stages of the French Revo- 
 lution had alienated many of its early Enghsh 
 friends, who now mom-nf ully began to acknowledge 
 the truth of ]\Ii'. Burke's predictions ; while the 
 successes of the Republican armies, and their 
 career of conquest in Holland, had aroused the 
 
 * The diary attributed in this chapter to Arthur Taswell is 
 copied almost rerhatim from a genuine record of the period.
 
 A MISSIONAEY TOUR. 227 
 
 ancient national jealousy of France. Moreover, 
 the glorious victory of the first of June had ex- 
 cited much latent patriotism, and proved that 
 England's navy was as gallant and as efficient as 
 in the days of Rodney. On the other hand, the 
 failm-e of the Duke of York in Holland, the in- 
 creasing burdens produced by the war, and the 
 enhanced price of provisions, caused much dis- 
 content ; while the rabid efforts of the Chm-ch and 
 King zealots to crush all freedom of opinion, and 
 to refuse all measures of reasonable reform, 
 reacted in disloyalty. A large and influential 
 party cried for peace. " The bloody Reign of 
 TeiTor," they ai'gued, " has ended in France, a 
 government, humane and moderate by comparison, 
 rules in the place of RobespieiTe, why should we 
 endeavour to force Bourbon royalty on an un- 
 willing people ? " To this the ministers repKed, 
 that they cared not who was king in France, but 
 that so long as she preached sedition and aggran- 
 disement, England's only seciuity lay in war. 
 With this brief political sketch, let us tm*n to 
 Arthur Taswell's humble diary. 
 
 "February ISth, 1795. — I slept last night at the 
 Blossoms Inn, Lawrence-lane, and took my seat 
 in the Rochester coach at nine this morning. The 
 coach had not proceeded above two hundred yards, 
 when it was pursued by a gentleman, shouting 
 and hallooing. He presently took his seat inside, 
 q2
 
 228 
 
 Avliere up to tliis time I had been tlie only pas- 
 senger. The new comer proved to be an opera- 
 dancer, and I soon felt inclined to exclaim with 
 Goldfinch, in the ^Eoad to Ruin,' ^D — n all 
 dancing-masters and tlieir umbrellas ;' for this 
 gentleman insisted on closing every avenue wliereby 
 air could enter the coach, alleging that rheumatism 
 and ruin would be the consequence of admitting a 
 di'aught. We passed over the dreary waste of 
 Blackheath about ten o'clock. I thouo;ht of hiirli- 
 wapnen, and of the lady who, as she was seated 
 in her drawing-room at Westcombe Park, saw a 
 robbery which was being perpetrated on the heath 
 reflected in her mirror. However, no highwaymen 
 appeared, somewhat to my disappointment, having 
 a cm'iosity to see whether the guard would use a 
 pair of pistols which he displayed with great osten- 
 tation. At three in the afternoon, we arrived at 
 Chatham. I put up at the inn to which I had 
 been recommended, and found the landlord a true 
 friend of liberty, though somewhat averse to open 
 display, on account of the number of military men 
 who are his customers, but who would desert him 
 were his principles made public. I had scarcely 
 finished dinner, when two persons, dressed in the 
 garb of gentlemen, were introduced to me by the 
 landlord. I demanded to know their business. 
 They replied, ^ It is not necessary ; we know you 
 and your business, ]\Ir. Taswell, well enough.'
 
 A MISSIONARY TOUR. 229 
 
 ' Indeed/ I said. ^ Yes ; you are come hither to 
 disseminate sedition. Beware I there are plenty of 
 eyes watching you, and your next Government 
 lodoing will be the Tower.' To such heights has 
 the A-ile system of sppng and informing reached 
 in our beloved country, that the ^Tetches are scat- 
 tered everpvhere ! I doubt not but these fellows 
 have tracked me from London. 
 
 " February l^th, Thursday. — Up early, seeking 
 lodgings, for I must be sparing of the resom'ces en- 
 trusted to my charge. Found \qyy clean, cheerful, 
 and reasonable apartments in Love-lane. Ominous 
 title ! Those four letters make a potent word — 
 a word much in my thoughts dming my imprison- 
 ment. Sweet and enchanting, yet false and de- 
 ceitful Floretta ! How vividly do I behold thy 
 image now, as I look up from my paper to the 
 vacancy of that dark comer I My landlady is a 
 charming woman ; she is tall and upright, with 
 cheeks as fair and iTiddy as apples. Her dark hair 
 is turned over a roll before and behind, and con- 
 fined by a mob-cap, white as the driven snow. How 
 different to oiu' trolloping, slipshod, London trading 
 people, with their paltry imitation of persons of 
 quality ! 
 
 '■' A deputation of delegates called on me to-day, 
 and by invitation I am to address a meeting of 
 friends of parliamentiy refoiTn to-moiTow evening. 
 Went to the circulating libraiy to read the London
 
 230 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 papers, which arrive daily at three o'clock. Stinging 
 remarks in the Post and Chronicle on the conduct 
 of the war. 
 
 " Fehriiary 20th, Friday. — To the eye of a Lon- 
 doner accustomed to our noble streets and spacious 
 squares, these towns appear very sorry places. Ro- 
 chester possesses but one street, and that neither 
 paved nor lighted. Chatham is still worse, very 
 dirty, and full of soldiers. I saAV the soldiers on 
 parade to-day. Let the recruiting-sergeants say 
 what they like, when they pin the gay ribbons to 
 the hat of some silly, love-stricken countr\aiian, 
 about a soldier's life being a jolly one. The faces 
 I saw to-day give them the lie direct. Sullen dis- 
 content appeared in every countenance. Is it to 
 be wondered at when the blows with the cane were 
 almost incessant ? Strange ! that treatment which 
 ordinarily would make a free-born Briton's blood 
 boil, must be endured uncomplainingly when he 
 wears a red coat. It made my heart bleed to watch 
 these poor fellows behig tortured into discipline. 
 When disciplined enough, they will be sent as 
 sheep to the slaughter, to keep up (forsooth) the 
 balance of power in Europe. I spoke for an horn* 
 at the meeting to-night, and timst I did good. One 
 man complained that there were more people pre- 
 sent than the room could hold. He was advised to 
 diminish the number by himself quitting the assem- 
 blage.
 
 A MISSIONARY TOUE. 231 
 
 " Fehruary 227idj Sundae/. — Saw the soldiers 
 again on their wav to church. The combined effect 
 of bright uniforms, glittering weapons, gay music, 
 and rapid movement, was most exhilaratmg. Yet, 
 consider the actors who perform in this pleasmg 
 di'ama. They are one and all discontented, and 
 would give all their prospects of gloiy and Chelsea 
 Hospital to be back at the plough, the carpenter's 
 bench, or the forge agam. Heaven forgive me the 
 thought, but I could not help reflecting that should 
 we ever be compelled, as Loveridge vows we shall, 
 to assert our rights by open force, it would be well 
 for the people to accustom themselves to the sight 
 of regular troops. Half their terrors would vanish 
 with familiarity. I went into the chiu'ch and joined 
 in the prayers, which, whatever Tom Paine may say, 
 are among the noblest and most soothing of human 
 compositions. Besides, they recal my mother's sweet 
 mild face, as I used to sit on her knee, with my 
 httle hands joined together, lisping out the Belief. 
 Ah me I I was neither Toiy nor Jacobin in those 
 days, but a happy, innocent child. I could not 
 stand the sermon. The parson was of the old 
 school, with a full-bottomed wig and a red nose, 
 which looked as if it could be tickled with a tithe- 
 pig's tail ; when he gave out the text, " Fear God, 
 and honour the king," and began thundering against 
 anarchy and dissent, I sHpped out of the chm'ch. 
 I wonder what the poor soldiers thought of it. I
 
 232 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 doubt they would sooner be nodding in church, 
 than under that terrible sergeant-major's rattan ! 
 What a mockery of an equality before God is that 
 pew-system, by the way ! And the Dissenters are 
 just as bad. Their green seats are as exclusive as 
 the royal box at Drury Lane Theatre. Spent a 
 pleasant and profitable half-hour strolling about 
 the churchyard. 
 
 " February 25th, Wednesday. — I made the ac- 
 quaintance yesterday of a very pleasant officer of 
 Marines, who is on duty in one of the prison ships. 
 He is secretly a friend of liberty, but dares not, as 
 his Majesty's seiwant (Query? slave) , express his 
 sentiments openly. He has this day kindly taken 
 me aboard the Ville de Paris, one hmidi'ed and ten 
 guns, a ship captured from the French, but now one 
 of our men-of-Avar. The cleanliness and order dis- 
 played in this immense vessel impressed me deeply. 
 I was amused by a one-armed sailor, with whom I 
 had some conversation. Speaking of the loss of his 
 arm, he remarked, ' It's curious the shot never took 
 me off my howls^ meaning his legs. Then, show- 
 ing me the cannon-balls piled on the deck, he said, 
 ^ These are the sugar-plums we give om' enemies.' 
 He told me that during an action the surgeon and 
 chaplain both take their station in the cock-pit; 
 the one to amputate, the other to serve out grog to 
 the wounded. After this Ave visited the piison-ship. 
 It w^as gi'ievous to see all those poor fellows, torn 
 from their homes and their countrs', from nothing
 
 A MISSIOXARY TOUR. 23 3 
 
 but the mutual jealousy and misunderstanding of 
 their rulers. Indi\'idual Frenchmen do not hate in- 
 dividual Englishmen; why, then, should there be 
 such a thing as national hatred ? It is caused by 
 mutual fear, arising from ignorance. I foolishly 
 asked some of the prisoners to dance the Carmagnole. 
 They responded like the Jews of old, 'Monsieur, 
 le musiqiie est en France.^ I told them all the 
 news I could think of. They had actually never 
 heard of the fall of the t}Tant Robespierre, which 
 occmTed more than six months ago. I then be- 
 stowed on them a trifle in money, for which they 
 seemed deeply gi'atefuL One poor creature, who 
 had been confined twenty months, asked earnestly 
 for a shilling. I felt quite ashamed at the low 
 bows they made me. 
 
 '^ February 2Qthj Thursday.— Went to the Chat- 
 ham Assembly, less for the sake of dancing, for 
 which my heart is too heaxj at the present time, 
 than to observe the manners and customs of the 
 people. Party spirit mns higher here than in Lon- 
 don. Opposed politicians will not traffic with each 
 other; they patronise rival inns. The gay scene re- 
 called to my memory Deputy Toker's ball, where 
 my Floretta behaved with such cruelty. Con- 
 versed with a lady who upheld the rights of wo- 
 men. * Sir,' she said, ^ a female legislature would 
 never have passed these horrid Convention bills, 
 or abrogated the dear liberty of speech.' 
 
 '^February 21th, Friday. — The cause of freedom
 
 234 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 advances. Seventeen hundred workmen at the 
 dockyard^ who were brought up to sign an address 
 thanking the Government for passing the Con- 
 vention bills, rushed away en masse to sign the 
 petition against them instead. And the Church is 
 in dano^er ! I have had the honour of seeincr the 
 Bishop of Rochester burnt in a tar-barrel, in effigy 
 be it understood. It seems the bishop uttered the 
 following scandalous language : ' The people have 
 nothing to do with the laws but to obey them.' 
 The most popular member of the Upper House in 
 these parts is Lord Stanhope. 
 
 " February 2Sthy Saturday. — Oppression is the 
 order of the day. A working shoemaker, a most 
 quiet, inoffensive person, informed me this morn- 
 ing that having attended one or two of our meet- 
 ings in favour of annual parliaments and universal 
 suffrage, he was sent for by the commanding officer 
 at the barracks. ' So, sir, you've turned Jacobin and 
 sedition-monger,' shouted the man of war. ' Not 
 another shoe shall you make for the soldiers.' The 
 poor man has no other means of subsistence, and I 
 suspect that dire necessity will compel him to re- 
 visit the colonel, and make a humble recantation of 
 his political opinions. 
 
 " March Istj Sunday. — In place of going to 
 church, I set forth and walked along the banks of 
 the river Medway, until I came to the village of 
 Snodland. Owing to my confinement in jail, I was
 
 A MISSIONARY TOUR. 235 
 
 unused to laborious exercise, and as I sat down in 
 the churchyard which abuts on the river, I became 
 quite faint and exhausted. All the village folks 
 were in the church, save one or two idle boys, who 
 were plapng among the tombstones, and an old 
 man who, with his body bent towards the ground, 
 wandered among the tombs, apparently searching 
 for somethincp. I Hstened for a while to the various 
 sounds around me, which were all of a soothing 
 quality. The gentle ripple of the stream, at last 
 released from its icy barriers, the distant lowing of 
 the cattle, even the monotonous tones of the parson 
 and his clerk, and the noise of clanonet and fiddle, 
 contributed to the general harmony of nature. As I 
 leaned against a tombstone, and gazed across the 
 water at the high grounds of Burham opposite, my 
 eyes became gradually dim, I sank gently down on 
 the greensward, and fell asleep. I dreamed strange 
 vi\'id dreams. I thought I beheld Floretta ad- 
 vancing and holding out her arms as a token of 
 reconciliation. As she approached me, her featiu*es 
 changed into those of her sister Lucy. Then I 
 saw Walter Loveridge on a platform, surrounded 
 by a countless number of people. I was presently 
 aroused from these visions to the realities of Hfe 
 by a hand which shook my coat-collar briskly."
 
 2?S SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 serafixa's cash-box. 
 
 The tliree guineas which Mr. Chigwood had 
 appropriated as a lawful charge on Miss Lucy 
 Anerley's bounty proved highly serviceable, but 
 under the combined appetites of the bears, the ap- 
 prentices, and the children, to say nothing of the 
 spirituous liquors consumed by the vu'tuous re- 
 publicans who visited his shop, they soon dwindled 
 away. Business had not improved ; it had become 
 worse than ever. The grandiloquent advertisement 
 in the columns of the Public Advertiser had 
 ceased to appear for a twofold reason. First, the 
 proprietors of the jom-nal demanded cash down 
 for the insertion of any further announcements, 
 w^hich did not suit the hairdresser's financial aiTange- 
 ments ; secondly, the public had, to use a phrase 
 of the dav, becjun to smohe the bears. A traitorous
 
 SERAFIXA* S CASH-BOX. 237 
 
 individual, a butcher by trade, had deposed before 
 a rapturous assemblage in the parlour of the Light 
 Horseman, that the bear slain on the first of Fe- 
 bruary was a hoax, and that every pot of grease 
 since sold by Mr. Chigwood had been obtained 
 from a hog slaughtered by his own (the butcher's) 
 hands. Why then did not Mr. Chig^^^ood get rid 
 of these costly and unprofitable animals ? He 
 had a reason for not doing so. It was a secret at 
 present, kno^vn only to himself and Bildad. For 
 Bildad, alhu'ed by the prospect of seeing life to any 
 extent under the guardian wing of ^Ir. Chigwood, 
 had gone over to the enemy's camp, and was even 
 now plotting mischief against the unsuspecting 
 Mr. Gattrell. 
 
 To accomplish his designs, a sum of ready money 
 was m-gently needed by the hairdresser. AVTiere 
 was this money to come from? He dared not 
 apply to ]Miss Lucy Anerley. As for Donna Sera- 
 fina, she was so inflexible, that he might as well 
 ask the statue of King Charles the First, at Charing 
 Cross, for a loan. He resolved upon laying siege 
 to another person, and after carefully watching 
 the house in York-street, St. James's, for several 
 days, attamed the opportunity he desu'ed. He saw 
 his fascinating vdie quit the premises alone, and 
 as soon as she had tmiied the comer of the street 
 he boldly knocked at the door. ^L-s. Norland 
 received him with warmth, for she had not seen
 
 2B8 
 
 him since tliey landed from Calcutta, owing to 
 Serafina's jealous machinations ; and now that she 
 had openly quarrelled mth her overbearing hand- 
 maiden, she felt that the little hau'dresser might 
 be a friend worth having. The followhig dialogue 
 will be sufficient to show the nature of the con- 
 versation that took place between them. 
 
 " He appeals then to me," said ^Irs. Norland, 
 " to gain him his liberty ? " 
 
 " Yes, madam," replied the hairdresser. "]Mr. 
 Loveridge said when I last visited his dungeon, 
 ^ Tiiat fan' lady who has rescued Taswell, an utter 
 stranger to her, will not see me suffer ! ' " 
 
 " Did he," exclaimed Mrs. Norland, speaking 
 rapidly and colouring — " did he give you any reason 
 why I should befriend him ?" 
 
 " He gave none, madam," repHed the miblush- 
 ing barber. 
 
 The whole of ]\Ii'. Chigwood's statement was 
 false. In the first place, Loveridge had disclosed 
 in his hearing the story of liis love for Hamet 
 Pet worth ; in the second place, he had not sought 
 release at her hands, or those of any other person. 
 He remained in jail calmly and sternly awaiting 
 the day of his trial. 
 
 Mrs. Norland seemed reheved at the barber's 
 negative reply ; she said, '' I fear such poor influ- 
 ence as I could use would avail nothing. This 
 man is a different being to Mr. Taswell. He is a
 
 serafina's cash-box. 239 
 
 desperate fanatical revolutionist, and the Govern- 
 ment are, I understand, resolved to bring him to 
 trial. No," she continued, clasping her hands, " I 
 see no prospect of aiding him, though I should 
 rejoice to see him once more at liberty." 
 
 "Is there no other way, ^Ii's. Norland ?" de- 
 manded the barber. 
 
 '• I can discover none," rephed the lady, T\'ith 
 a sigh. 
 
 " Then I can, madam. It is simply a question 
 of money. The turnkey in whose care ^Ii'. Love- 
 ridge is placed is open to a bribe." 
 
 "' But he will require an immense sum to in- 
 duce him to risk his liberty, and possibly his life, 
 in allo^ving so important a prisoner to escape." 
 
 " That is not my plan, madam. The tm'nkey 
 vrHl merely supply us with some valuable infor- 
 mation." 
 
 " Of what nature?" 
 
 " You shall hear, madam. I have got a certain 
 hold over him. By exposing his villanies and mal- 
 -practices to the Right Honourable Mr. Fox, he 
 would stand a good chance of losing his place. He 
 knows this. He also knows that he vnR be well 
 paid if he agrees to what I require. And his 
 share in the affair gives him no risk whatever. 
 He simply undertakes, as soon as he receives the 
 order for ^Ir. Loveridge's removal to the Tower, 
 to tell us of it. The transfer "will take place by
 
 240 
 
 night, secretly and without j^arade, for the Govern- 
 ment don't want to raise a mob, or have to call 
 out a regiment of soldiers. As soon as we get the 
 news, we shall prepare for action." 
 
 '^ Is there no way of gaining this information 
 beforehand ? " 
 
 " I fear not, madam. I understand the warrant 
 will be acted on as soon as issued." 
 
 ^' But surely the delay that will occur while he 
 sends to inform you, will be fatal to your enter- 
 prise. Before you are ready to execute your plans, 
 the prisoner will be securely lodged within the 
 Tower-gates." 
 
 " I think not, IVIrs. Norland. The tm-nkey will 
 play into om* hands, and officers are but men. He 
 will contrive some plausible reason for delay which 
 will ensm'e oui' arriving in time." 
 
 " Supposing the tm'nkey should after all play 
 you false ? " 
 
 " His avarice will prevent his doing so. My 
 agreement with him is this. Ten guineas down, 
 forty guineas payable by a responsible person as 
 soon as the prisoner is at liberty. We shall require 
 altogether a hundred guineas, madam. If you will 
 advance sixty guineas noAV, and give your note of 
 hand to the tm-nkey to pay the other forty as soon 
 as the job is done, I will ensure you ^Ii\ Love- 
 ridge's freedom." 
 
 [Mrs. Norland remained for some moments in
 
 serafina's cash-box. 241 
 
 silent meditation ; her beautiful eyes were bent to 
 the ground, her hands were pressed firmly together. 
 At lencrth she rose from her seat, and advancinsj 
 towards the hairdresser, spoke thus : 
 
 " Mr. Chigwood, our acquaintance began several 
 years ago. I knew you in India, where if not 
 more happy than now, I at least possessed some 
 station and influence. You will not take ach'an- 
 tage of my present loneliness and weakness to 
 deceive me ? I once possessed, or thought I pos- 
 sessed, wealth. A hundred guineas then appeared 
 a sum of Kttle consequence, but affairs are changed 
 now. If I can procure you this money, will you 
 assure me that it shall be faithfully used in effect- 
 ing the end for which I give it ?*' 
 
 "Madam," exclaimed the hairdresser, with im- 
 passioned earnestness, raising his hands as he spoke, 
 " I swear solemnly by Heaven that on receipt of 
 this money I will use my utmost endeavours to set 
 Loveridge at Uberty, and I believe, by the mercy 
 of Pro-vidence, that I shall succeed." 
 
 Was the barber, when he spoke these words, a 
 dehberate cold-blooded hypocrite ? Not at all. He 
 honestly wished to rescue Loveridge, and pur- 
 posed to effect his release ; he also TN^ished to 
 gather a round sum of money for a certain enter- 
 prise of his own. But he persuaded his sluggish 
 conscience to keep this latter motive in the back- 
 ground, so that when he appealed to Heaven to 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 24.2 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 confirm his oath, he swore with perfect sincerity, 
 and was so genuinely affected, that his hands 
 trembled, and honest tears gathered in his eyes. 
 
 " JVIi's. Norland," he said, " I would go all round 
 the world to serve you. Loveridge is a friend of 
 my own, a man whose opinions I respect, though I 
 do not share them, therefore I earnestly desire his 
 release ; but, were he my greatest enemy, whose 
 freedom would be the signal of my own downfal, 
 still I would do your bidding." 
 
 Here Mr. Chigwood, it must be confessed, spoke 
 hj-perbolically, for such was the worthy gentle- 
 man's regard for his own person, that if, on coming 
 out of jail, Loveridge had promised him a thrash- 
 ing, he would have allowed the stern republican 
 (so far as his own will went) to lie in durance vile 
 for the remainder of his days. 
 
 " I believe you," said Mi's. Norland, calmly. 
 "And now concerning this money. You know 
 how your mfe and I have supported existence 
 since our coming to England ? " 
 
 Mr. Chigwood smiled significantly, and dealt an 
 imaginary pack of cards. 
 
 " Yes," she continued, emphatically, " such has 
 been our vile, our disgraceful means of gaining a 
 subsistence. Do not fancy that now I have got 
 all I want, I am going to tm-n saint, and, having 
 feathered my own nest, intend to preach to others
 
 serafina's cash-box. 243 
 
 on tlie evils of gaming. Xot so. From fii'st to 
 last I hated tlie abominable trade ; but the pressure 
 
 of necessity and Serafina's persuasive tongue " 
 
 "Ah! she knows how to wheedle,'' remarked 
 the barber, reflecting on his last inter\'iew T\-ith 
 !Mrs. Chigwood. 
 
 " Nor have om- gains been large. Yonder httle 
 oaken box," said ^Irs. Norland, pointing with a 
 taper finger as she spoke, "contains all our pos- 
 sessions, I believe." 
 
 " Our possessions!" exclaimed Chigwood. 
 " Surely yours, madam, only ! Serafina is but 
 a servant." 
 
 " In name she may be, but not in reahty. She 
 is the true mistress of this house. In proof of 
 what I say," pursued ^Irs. Norland, proceeding to 
 the table whereon the coffer stood, " I cannot gain 
 admittance to this box until Serafina retm-ns. She 
 keeps the key." 
 
 A pang of intense disappointment shot through 
 the barber's heart. He tm'ned pale mth vexation. 
 To be so near the goal, to have the prize almost 
 within his grasp, and then, like Tantalus, to see it 
 whisked out of his sight. He summoned up all 
 the courage he could muster for the important 
 emergency. 
 
 " Madam," he began, solemnly, ".do you wish to 
 release ^Yilliam Lancefield ? " 
 r2
 
 244 
 
 "Lancefield!" replied the lady, starting back 
 mth a look of fear. " Who told yon that was his 
 name ? " 
 
 Mr. Chigwood lost his presence of mind for a 
 moment ; at length he said, " The pubhc prints, 
 madam. Walter Loveridge, alias AYilliam Lance- 
 field." 
 
 " True, true," murmured Mrs. Norland. " How 
 foolishly nerv^ous I am ! " Yet she could not help 
 thinkino; that the barber knew more concernincj 
 Loveridge's history than he cared to tell. 
 
 " If, madam, you wish to release this poor, suf- 
 fering man, who, in all human probability, mil go 
 from the dock of the Old Bailey to exile for life 
 among the savages of New Holland, you must act 
 at once." 
 
 "What mean you?" 
 
 " You must give me the sixty guineas I ask for. 
 If you wait till my wife returns, and ask her 
 permission, she will not let a shilling escape her 
 clutches. ^Irs. Norland, you ought to know Sera- 
 fina by this time ; I know her also. I married her 
 because she wearied me with her passionate love ; 
 she mamed me that she might brag among her 
 tawny kinsfolk of her white husband. But, since 
 we came to England, and she has, by using your 
 loveliness (pardon the expression, Mrs. Norland), 
 as a magnet of attraction, contrived to ^mggle into 
 fashionable life, she has treated me with scorn,
 
 245 
 
 neglect, and contempt. We have three children, 
 as you know. She looks upon them as a nuisance 
 and an encmnbrance. I have to act the part of 
 both father and mother towards them; and, in 
 spite of all my entreaties, she has refused to 
 advance a sixpence towards then- support. Think 
 you this woman, ]Mrs. Norland, will open her 
 strong-box to allow you to gratify the sentimental 
 whim, as she will mockingly call it, of releasing a 
 fellow-creature from fetters and darkness to restore 
 him to Hght and hberty ? Never, madam. Await 
 her retm-n, ask her beseechingly for the key, and 
 William Lancefield, who still worships the memory 
 of a certain fair maid of Kent, will, for aught I 
 can do, perish on the scaffold, or linger out his 
 days in chains and slavery at the other side of the 
 world!" 
 
 " Heavens ! " exclaimed Mrs. Norland, becoming 
 deadly pale, " then you know my secret ? " 
 
 " I do, madam ; but I shall keep it inviolate. 
 jMrs. Norland, though you have kno\NTi me merely 
 as a valet and a hairdi'esser, I am a gentleman 
 bom. Though vulgarised and degraded from t\ hat 
 I once was, I can keep my word." 
 
 " You have pleaded his cause eloquently," said 
 Mrs. Norland. " What would you have me do ? " 
 
 " Burst the lock of this coffer, and take the 
 money," replied the barber. 
 
 " I shall be committing a felony."
 
 246 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " A felony ! By no means. You are mistress of 
 this house. It is your property." 
 
 " But Serafina considers she has a joint share." 
 
 " Then I am her laT\^ully wedded husband, and 
 what belongs to her belongs to me. Let her 
 choose which horn of the dilemma she pleases, as 
 we used to say at Oxford. If the money be yours, 
 do you break open the coffer. If the money be 
 hers, I am prepared to do so. Do you agree, Mrs. 
 Norland ? Time is precious. At any moment she 
 may retm'n, and then the chance of success may be 
 gone for ever." 
 
 " I agree," said ^Irs. Norland, faintly. 
 
 The hairdresser seized the coffer, and pressing 
 his hands horizontally in opposite directions, one 
 against the lid, the other against the lower portion 
 of the box, in a few seconds forced it open. 
 
 " It is but a common lock," he remarked. 
 "There, madam," he said, handing the coffer to 
 Mrs. Norland. " You can now give me Avhat you 
 will." 
 
 The lady counted the contents. "A hundred 
 and twenty guineas," she said. "The losings of 
 idle men and women of fashion at the faro-table. 
 It is Satan's money. I sometimes wonder that 
 the bread I eat derived from such an unhallowed 
 som'ce does not choke me. Better to bestow it in 
 doing good to others. And yet," she miuTiiured, 
 shudderingly, " perhaps this vile money may cany
 
 sekafixa's cash-box. 247 
 
 its contamination wherever it reaches. It may 
 release him from prison, and he may hve to rue 
 the day when it gave him Hberty." 
 
 " You need not fear that, madam. He is weaiy 
 of pohtics, and as soon as he gains his freedom vnR 
 return to America, where he has a repubhc ready 
 made to his hands.*' 
 
 " You think so ? Then take the money, and God 
 speed you in your endeavours to rescue him." She 
 counted the golden pieces as she said this into the 
 barber's ^^illing pahn. " And, ^Ii'. Chigwood, one 
 word before you leave. There is already ill-^\'ill 
 between myself and Serafina. This deed," she 
 said, laying her hand on the open coffer, ^^vdW 
 cause open hatred, and possibly separation. Be it 
 so. I am prepared for the worst." 
 
 As the barber limiied from the house, he saw a 
 veiled figure coming along the street, which he 
 knew to be that of his fascinatino^ wife. He fled 
 with the utmost precipitation.
 
 248 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTEK XVI. 
 
 A SPORTING HERMIT. 
 
 " Do yon want to catch the rheumaticSj lameness 
 of the hip-joint, or a stoppage in the lungs, young 
 gentleman, that you lie here on the damp turf after 
 a February thaw ? " 
 
 Arthur Taswell rubbed his eyes sleepily, and 
 languidly raised himself to his feet. He beheld 
 before him a hale old man of sixty, whose bronzed 
 features, wiry figure, and upright bearing, be- 
 tokened one who had in his day worn weapons 
 and served in the wars. He canied a wallet in his 
 hand, from the mouth of which protruded the 
 leaves and roots of smidry plants. 
 
 " Pardon me if I have done wrong," replied the 
 young man, calmly; "but I have walked from 
 Rochester, and being unused of late to such ex- 
 cursions, I felt languid and weary."
 
 A SPOETI^'G HERMIT. 241) 
 
 " You are a Londoner ? " 
 
 " How do you guess that ? " 
 
 " 'Tis easily discovered. The cut of your dress, 
 the elegance of your boots, the deKcacy of your 
 complexion prove it. I have been among the 
 North American Lidians, and am accustomed to 
 look keenly at these outward tokens. But I per- 
 ceive you are still wear)'," continued the old man, 
 observing that Taswell flagged and halted in his 
 pace. " Come and rest in my cottage. It is but 
 a poor place, and I have httle to set before you, 
 but to that little you are welcome." 
 
 " Are you wont to entertain strangers unawares 
 in this way, sir ? " asked Taswell. 
 
 " Seldom enough, as the Snodland folks ^^ill tell 
 you, an you ask them. They call me a gi^iping, 
 miserly hmiks. But I took a fancy to your face as 
 you lay under the tombstone, and as I but rarel}' 
 speak to a human bemg, I thought I would give 
 my tongue a bit of recreation." 
 
 The old man led the way down a countiy lane, 
 covered -vNith ruts of such a magnitude as no parish 
 in England can show in these degenerate days; 
 rats three and four feet deep, filled to the brim 
 with liquid mud. Some feeble attempts had been 
 made to improve the road by heaps of large stones 
 cast in pell-mell, but these repairs frequently caused 
 more injmy than advantage, as a broken cart over- 
 turned by one of these artificial precipices testified.
 
 250 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Li America," observed the old soldier, " we use 
 the forest to make the road, and would fill up these 
 quagmires with good sound logs of hickory and 
 maple. But in England they are charj of their 
 wood. Yonder landlord would be loth to give his 
 elms and oaks for the pm'pose. Now let us cross 
 this piece of swamp land, and we shall soon reach 
 my mansion." 
 
 The marshy soil did not improve the appearance 
 of Taswell's top-boots, and he was not sorry when 
 they amved in front of a primitive-looking hut, 
 built of wattle and dab. They were received with 
 a loud chorus of barkings, and presently a pointer, 
 a large water-spaniel, and a bull-mastiff suiTounded 
 them. 
 
 " Down, Wolfe — dow^i ! " shouted the old man, 
 as the dogs gambolled aromid their master, or 
 smelt growlingly and suspiciously at Taswell's 
 person. " Back to yom- kennel, Montcalm. Lie 
 there, Abraham." 
 
 " Quite a reminiscence of the old French war in 
 Canada," remarked the young lawyer, as they 
 entered the house. 
 
 " Why, yes ; I like to keep up the memoiy of 
 those days. I was in the battle myself, and saw 
 the General not an horn' before he got his death- 
 wound." 
 
 The interior of the hut coiTesponded mth the 
 outside, being furnished in the rudest possible style.
 
 A SPORXrS'G HERMIT. 251 
 
 A rough table, a couple of stools, a blanket, care- 
 fully rolled up military fashion, in a comer, a 
 saucepan and a fr}^ing-pan, with a tin mug and 
 plate, comprised the whole apparatus. A shelf, 
 however, displayed an array of books such as few 
 farmers possessed in those days, while on the wall 
 hung a couple of guns : a light piece for field 
 sports, and a heavy weapon for water-fowl. 
 
 " Ah ! YOU may well look at the guns," said the 
 old man, as he set before his guest some of the 
 contents of the saucepan, which emitted a savour}^ 
 odour, and, in truth, contained a skilfully con- 
 cocted stew of wild duck and vegetables. " Tliey 
 earn the best part of my living. I pay the Squire 
 six gumeas a year for this useless bit of marsh, but 
 then there's an understandmcr between us that I am 
 to shoot what I please and where I please, provided 
 I sell nothing. Besides that, I spend many a night 
 on the Thames marshes in the T\-inter, duck-shoot- 
 ing. This bit of ground behind the hut, which 
 you obsene is higher than the rest, and therefore 
 tolerably dr\', finds me in vegetables; and as for 
 bread, why, I change the fish I catch with the 
 fanners' Avives for flour. Then there's my pro- 
 fession. I am a herb doctor, and cure more of the 
 countr}^ folks with my simples than one of your 
 London physicians could kill if he tried." 
 
 '^ AMiere do you sleep ? " asked Taswell, gazing 
 round the hut.
 
 252 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! " laughed the old man. " You don't 
 see any bed. I haven't slept in a bed for many a 
 year. I just roll myself m my blanket. When it 
 begins to get chilly, I know the day's dawning, and 
 that it's time to rise." 
 
 " You have no friends ? " 
 
 "Friends? That I have; well-tried, faithful 
 friends. There they are on that shelf. John 
 Milton, a blind man, but a wonderful eloquent 
 talker; William Shakespeare, a fellow who can 
 make you weep and laugh within half an hour ; 
 Joseph Addison and Eichard Steele, who tell me 
 all about London fashionable ways. Plenty more 
 besides them. And now, young gentleman, I want 
 to hear about yom'self. I'm an inquisitive old 
 fellow when I choose. You are neither an army 
 nor a navy man. What do you do down in 
 Chatham?" 
 
 " Perhaps I have come for change of air," 
 answered the young lawyer, blinking the question. 
 " I have been much confined of late.*' 
 
 " Wait till you have been in prison before you 
 talk of confinement. I was once ^" 
 
 " Excuse my interruption," said Taswell. " I 
 am but just released from jail." 
 
 " You don't look Hke a thief ! " exclaimed the 
 old man, starting up, and eyeing his visitor sus- 
 piciously. 
 
 " No, not so bad as that," replied Taswell, with 
 a smile. " I was falsely accused of sedition."
 
 A SPOETIXG HERMIT. 253 
 
 "By whom?" 
 
 " Nay, I 'Nvill not disclose his name. But before 
 long my vengeance shall fall upon his head." 
 
 " You mean to murder him ? " 
 
 " No ; to challenge him to fair and open combat." 
 
 " Come, that is manly and soldierlike. And why 
 this spite on his part ? " 
 
 " He and I love the same woman ; and, alas ! 
 she prefers him to me." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! the old story. And who got you out 
 of prison ? " 
 
 " A lady made influence with the Government. 
 Her name I \\'ill tell, for she did a good action. It 
 is Norland." 
 
 "'Humph I" said the old man. "Some fashion- 
 able, high-bom dame, I judge, who can make the 
 ministers shake in their shoes." 
 
 " I know not the extent of her power, but she is, 
 I understand, of humble origin. Her first lover, 
 who is an ardent republican, came to see me in mv 
 cell, and was himself aiTested." 
 
 " And what will become of him ? " 
 
 " Alas ! I fear he will be sent to Botany Bay." 
 
 " Never whimper over that, young man. Many 
 an honest fellow's been sent there before him. 
 Besides, 'tis a fine country. I have read !Mr. 
 Watkin Tench's account. There "he stands on 
 my shelf. Plenty of kangaroos and wild ducks. 
 And is ther^ no fine lady to get this poor fellow 
 out of prison ? "
 
 254 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " I fear not. The Government think him too 
 important a captive." 
 
 "But sm-e this ^Irs. Norland would do some- 
 thing to save her first lover ? " 
 
 " 'Tis hard to say. I hear she passionately loves 
 another, the very man whom I hope to have the 
 pleasm-e of challenging." 
 
 " Well, 'tis a strange mixed up affau\ A. loves 
 B., and B. doesn't love A., but loves C, who 
 doesn't love B., but loves D. Mercy on us I I 
 wouldn't give up my guns and dogs and books for 
 all the women in Christendom. — Yes, there is one 
 woman whom I should like to see again if she 
 lives ; that's my d^vn dear child, my only daughter. 
 Ten years ago she ran away mth a villain, and 
 nearly broke my tough old heart." 
 
 The old man sighed, and drew his rugged hand 
 across his eyes. 
 
 " May I ask his name ? " 
 
 " Ay, that may you, though I care httle whether 
 te be dead or alive. Squire Frederick Starling- 
 hurst." 
 
 Arthur Taswell sprang from the stool on which 
 he was sitting with such sudden violence as to 
 alarm the old soldier. 
 
 " Are ye going mad ? " shouted the old man, 
 rapping out . a military oath as he righted the 
 fallen seat. 
 
 The young la^vyer panted with, excitement. 
 " You are her father ? " he cried.
 
 A SPORTING HERMIT. 255 
 
 " Her father ? TVliose father ? " growled the 
 old soldier. "A., B., C, or D.'s father? Hang 
 me, there's such a heap of 'em, my brams ai'e 
 fairly puzzled." 
 
 " Harriet Norland's father.'' 
 
 " Harriet ? That ^yas her name, sm*e enough ; 
 but how came she by the name of Norland ? " 
 
 '^ I know the stor}' but imperfectly, as I had it 
 from Walter Loveridge's lips.'' 
 
 " Loveridge ! Who is he ? I know no Love- 
 ridge." 
 
 '' I beg pai'don. Lancefield — Wilham Lance- 
 field." 
 
 " Ay, now you are niglier the mark," said the 
 old man. " And do you tell me," he continued, 
 becoming excited in his tm'n, " that Wilham 
 Lancefield is in jail ? " 
 
 " He is." 
 
 " And that my HaiTiet is still H^ing ? " 
 
 '' Listen ; you shall hear all I know." 
 
 Taswell then related all the circumstances of 
 which he was aware, and gradually couAinced the 
 incredulous old man that ^L:s. Norland was his 
 own daughter, Harriet Pet worth. 
 
 He displayed in his rough eccentric fashion 
 great emotion. " Heaven forgive me ! It was my 
 doing. I encom-aged the yoimg Squire, thinking 
 that he was really bent on honom'ably maiTpng 
 such a handsome well-taught wench as my Hariy 
 was; and I scorned William, because his father
 
 256 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 was a poor broken-cloTvn old bankrupt. I never 
 thought to hear of her again. Wlien she ran off 
 with the young Squire, I gave up schoolmastering, 
 and wandered about the country Hke an old 
 cadger, along with gipsies and such like. Then I 
 happened on this place ; I Hked the lonely looks 
 of it. Squire Marsden and I came to terms, and 
 here I've lived, ever since, the life of a hermit. 
 So Harriet still lives, and looks handsome ? I had 
 thought her end, like most of the rest, would have 
 been rags, beggary, sickness, and the hospital. To 
 that pass most of these fine young gentlemen bring 
 then' villao-e sweethearts. Youncp man, I must see 
 my girl again before I die ! "
 
 OUTWITTING THE KEDBEEASTS. 25" 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 OUTWITTING THE REDBREASTS.* 
 
 It was past ten o'clock, and a cloudy night : so 
 the watchman said. Most of the inhabitants of 
 St. Anthohn's-couii: were preparing for bed; the 
 landlord of the Light Horseman extinoTiished his 
 new argand lamps, which were the admiration of 
 his parlour-customers, and bade a leash of gallant 
 volunteers, who had sung patriotic ballads till they 
 were hoarse, good night. In ^Ir. Chigwood's esta- 
 blishment Plassey and Clive were fast asleep, locked 
 m each other's dusky arms, but the rest of the 
 family were wide awake. ^Yarren Hastings, with 
 the pertmacity peculiar to babies, was especially 
 lively, persisting in crowing and pulling Bildad's 
 hair, as that youth vamly endeavoured to hush him 
 to sleep with the " Reveil du Peuple," the new 
 repubhcan air just imported from France. Bil- 
 
 * Cant term applied to the Botv- -street runners, on account of the 
 colour of their uniform. 
 
 VOL. I. S
 
 258- SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 dad's attitude was picturesque. Seated carelessly 
 on tlie table, with his hat cocked on one side, his 
 legs danghng before him, and the baby in his arms, 
 he was having his boots blacked by the humble- 
 minded Sam. He expected to be up all night, and 
 wished to look as genteel as possible. Mr. Chig- 
 wood sat by the fire, sucking unconsciously at an 
 empty pipe. His brow was bent, and his bearing 
 nervous and disturbed as he kept glancing eagerly 
 at the door. Presently Bildad examined his boots, 
 and appro^dng of their brilliancy, graciously per- 
 mitted his brother-apprentice to retire to bed. 
 
 " He don't know nothing about it ? " remarked 
 Bildad, interrogatively, as soon as Sam had re- 
 tired. 
 
 " Who ? " exclaimed ^Ir. Chigvvood, starting as 
 if from a reverie. 
 
 " Sam." 
 
 " Certainly not. When the time for action 
 comes, I shall send him out on a message, unless 
 we do it by night." 
 
 " The properiator of the carawan says he's ready 
 at ten minutes' notice, night and day." 
 
 " How shall we get up the bears ? " 
 
 "Slmg 'em up, cage and all, with a tackle. 
 That's what the properiator adwises." 
 
 "I shan't leave a stick m the house for old 
 Gattrell. If we can manage it, bedsteads and all 
 shall go."
 
 OUTWITTI^Ti THE EEDBREASTS. 259 
 
 " Aj, let's make a clean sweep," answered Bil- 
 dad. "If you slioot the moon at all, hit her 
 right in the bull's-eye." 
 
 " All now depends on the turnkey. As soon as 
 he gives us notice, and we get Loveridge out of 
 trouble, we'll set about our own departure. They're 
 sure to remove him by night." 
 
 "About the small hours, ^Ir. Wrench hinted," 
 observ^ed the apprentice. " Hush ! there's a knock 
 at the door. There they are." 
 
 Bildad unlocked the street-door, and admitted, 
 to his astonislmient, ^Ir. Gattrell and another old 
 gentleman. The second old gentleman was short, 
 stout, and Dutch-built. 
 
 " Come along, jMt. Pead," shouted ^h\ Gattrell. 
 " Don't be afraid. They won't eat you. Come 
 along, sir. So, James Chigwood," he contmued, 
 confronting liis tenant, "you're surprised to see 
 me at this time of night, ain't you ? " 
 
 The old gentleman's manner was extremely 
 excited ; his face, especially his nose, was preter- 
 naturally red ; his utterance was unusually thick. 
 The fact was, he had been imbibing glass after 
 glass at the Antigallican, dilating on hi? wrongs to 
 !Mr. Pead, till nature could bear it no longer ; so he 
 had resolved to bm'st upon his debtor like a clap 
 of thunder, and have the matter settled there and 
 then. 
 
 "Sm-prised, ^h\ Gattrell?" repUed Chigwood.
 
 260 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 '^ Not at all. I'm an old traveller, you know, an 
 nothing surprises me. Charmed to see you and 
 your friend. Take a seat, gentlemen." The wily 
 hairdresser winked significantly at Bildad, who 
 immediately placed a square green bottle of 
 Schiedam and clean glasses on the table. 
 
 " I'm come to put an end to this, James Chig- 
 wood," exclaimed Mr. Gattrell, "now and for 
 ever. You've deceived me right and left. You've 
 sold my goods under cost price. You've lost all 
 my old customers. You've turned my respectable 
 shop into a den of sedition, han't he, Mr. Pead ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, so it appears," observed Mr. Pead, 
 quietly. 
 
 " And now I've come to have satisfaction, han't 
 I, Mr. Pead?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," remarked Mr. Pead, sinking into a 
 chair. 
 
 " I therefore demand a bill of sale of everything 
 on the premises, bears and all," said Mr. Grattrell, 
 "with stem solemnity. 
 
 "You shall have it with pleasure, sir," replied 
 Mr. Chigwood, calmly. " Bildad, fetch the pen 
 and ink, and a sheet of foolscap. And sit down, 
 Mr. Gattrell, mix a glass, and make yourself com- 
 fortable." 
 
 " I'll sit down, sir," returned the old gentleman, 
 severely, "because I'm an elderly man, but I'll 
 drink nothing in your house."
 
 OUTWITTING THE REDBREASTS. 261 
 
 " You won't refuse a drop of Hollands, ^Mr. 
 Pead, I hope ? " said [Mr. Chigwood, pleasantly. 
 
 " Well, sir," murmured ^Ir. Pead, coquettishly, 
 with a timid look at his friend. 
 
 "I won't stand in your hght, sir," remarked 
 Mr. Gattrell, magnanimously. "He han't done 
 you the injury he has me, ]Mi'. Pead." 
 
 In a few seconds a steaming glass, well sugared, 
 and delicately flavom-ed with a shce of lemon, 
 stood at ^Ir. Pead's elbow. 
 
 "Excuse me a few moments, ]Mr. Gattrell," 
 said the hairdresser. '-I must go and prepare 
 this document. Bildad, I shall want yom- assist- 
 ance." 
 
 The two confederates retired from the room. 
 After the lapse of twenty mmutes, Mr. Chigwood 
 whispered to his apprentice : 
 
 " Bildad, peep through the keyhole again, and 
 tell me what you see." 
 
 Bildad took an accurate sur^-ey of the scene, 
 and repUed : 
 
 "Little Fatty's mixing his third tumbler; old 
 Nosev has begun his second." 
 
 " He'll do," remarked the hairdresser, rubbing 
 his hands. He presently re-entered the room. 
 Mr. Gattrell held out his hand, and spoke thus, 
 articulating with extreme difficulty : 
 
 "Jemmy, shake hands. I've been too hard 
 upon you. Never mind billshale. Put bUlshale
 
 262 
 
 back of fire. Here's success to trade ! " And he 
 drained his glass. 
 
 " Ah ! that's how things should be/' chimed in 
 Mr. Pead. " Peace and quietness is my motto." 
 
 " Pm delighted to make your acquaintance, sir," 
 said Chigwood, grasping his hand. 
 
 " And I'm pleased to have effected a reconcilia- 
 tion," retiu-ned Mr. Pead. 
 
 " You'll take care of him, won't you ; he ain't fit 
 to travel ? " said the little old gentleman, pointing 
 to Mr. Gattrell, who, after his last effort of eloquence, 
 had fallen fast asleep with his mouth open. 
 
 '^ If he was my own wife, I could not take greater 
 care of him," responded Chigwood, enigmatically. 
 
 " Then I'll wish you a good night, sir. I go 
 past Bunhill-row, and I'll let his mistress know he's 
 in good hands." 
 
 ]Mi\ Pead departed, and Warren Hastings, to 
 the joy of his father and his nurse, w^ent to sleep. 
 Mr. Gattrell continued to slumber peacefully, and 
 Bildad, anxious to promote the old gentleman's com- 
 fort, placed his legs on a second chair. There was 
 another knock at the door. 
 
 " Mrs. Wrench," said Bildad. 
 
 " Take her into the front shop." 
 
 "I've had such a run," said that lady, as she 
 undid her cloak, and unfastened the strings of her 
 hat, disclosing thereby a buxom face and figure, 
 "and it's lonely at this time in the streets; but I
 
 OUTWITTING THE REDBREASTS. 263 
 
 woiild do aii}i;liing to save that poor man. He 
 ain't such a pretty little fellow as Mr. Taswell. 
 Wrench and me was nearly having words over 
 him; but he's so quiet, so sad, and so stem, just 
 like a picter m ^ Fox's Book of Maiiyrs.' Well, 
 they've come to fetch him." 
 
 "^Tio?" asked Chig^'ood. 
 
 "^Ir. Yapp and ]Mr. Bletcher, the Bow-street 
 gentlemen." 
 
 " How soon do they mean to start ? " 
 
 f " Not afore one in the morning. They want to 
 have the town all a-bed." 
 
 ^'We shall have two powerful determined men 
 to master," said ^Ir. Chigw^ood, meditatively. " I 
 don't like the looks of the job." 
 
 "Let alone the hackney- coachman," added 
 Eildad. 
 
 " Hes all right," said Mrs. Wrench. " Yapp and 
 the t'other officer don't know it, but he's a friend of 
 mine." 
 
 " How did you manage that ? " 
 
 " Soon after they arrived I slipped out, and said 
 to the coachman, ^If it's all the same to you, a 
 friend of mine wants to drive, and here's five 
 shiUings over and above your fare.' He knew I 
 was the jailer's wife, so he took the hint and my 
 money. I ex^jlained to Mr. Yapp that the coach- 
 man was took bad m liis throat with a sort of 
 quinsy. He growled a bit, and bade me get
 
 264 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 another driver. He's got my brother-in-law now, 
 Ned Rodgers, with his mare Black Nelly in the 
 shafts." 
 
 " And how will Black Nelly serve us ? " 
 
 "Like a good 'un, Mr. Chigwood. You see, 
 Ned bought her cheap, out of a gentleman's pheaton ; 
 she was such a kicker. She's all right so long as 
 she don't feel the whip. Touch her with that, and 
 she'll stand still and kick till somebody jumps down 
 and goes to her head." 
 
 The company sat silent for some minutes ; Bildad 
 and Mr. Chigwood were evidently immersed in deep 
 cogitation. At last Bildad arose and whispered to 
 his master. 
 
 " Ay, if it could be done," replied he. " I abhor 
 bloodshed and violence." 
 
 " It 'ud be a rare game, wouldn't it ? " grinned 
 Bildad. " And serve him right too, for bothering 
 us at this time of night." 
 
 " What sort of humour are the officers in, IMis. 
 Wrench ? " asked Chigwood. 
 
 " Very grumpy at first," returned the lady. " I 
 mixed a glass of sperrits for my master, and offered 
 them some. They swore they wouldn't touch a 
 drop. Then Bletcher — he likes his glass as well 
 as any man — he gets his nose to the tumbler. ' It 
 smells good. Yapp,' says he, ^ don't it ? ' ' Quite 
 flagrant,' says Mr. Yapp ; ^ but you don't have 
 me.' ' Well, I'll take a thimble-full for luck,' says 
 Bletcher. ^ Law, Mrs. Wrench,' says he, when he'd
 
 OUTWITTING THE REDBREASTS. 265 
 
 drunk it, ' liow you do mix it. My old woman 
 can't come nigli you.' So I mixed him another. 
 ' Dash my \vig,' says Yapp, ' if I can sit by scenting 
 two other f olks's liquor, and stay dry-lipped myself.' 
 So he had one. And now they're as jolly as sand- 
 boys ^" 
 
 " Drunk ? " asked Mr. Chigwood. 
 
 "Why, no. They're seasoned vessels. I don't 
 suppose them two was ever drmik in their lives. 
 See the lot of liquor they has to swallow in the way 
 of business when they're thief-catching, and such 
 like. But they're comfortable. And talkative. 
 They let out something." 
 
 "\^^lat was that?" 
 
 " Why, that Mr. Pitt had been heard to say that 
 he wished Loveridge was off his hands, and safe on 
 his way to Amerikey. ' It makes an officer,' said 
 Mr. Yapp, ^ unsartain how to act. Still, we've got 
 to do our dooty. We've got to deliver a prisoner 
 to the High Constable of the Tower, and deliver 
 him we shall.' " 
 
 Mr. Chicnvood now disclosed to ^Irs. Wrench the 
 plan of action suggested by Bildad. The lady 
 listened and approved, amid much laughter. 
 
 " They won't refuse, if you ask 'em, Mrs. Wrench, 
 to call here for a change of clothes for the prisoner 
 — eh ? " demanded Mr. Chigwood. 
 
 " They're in such good-humoiu:," said the turn- 
 key's wife, " that I beheve they'll do anything I ask 
 them."
 
 2QQ SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " You'll instruct Loveridge how to act. Of course 
 you'll see him ? " 
 
 " In course. I shall slip up to wish him good-bye." 
 
 " And bid him be silent in the coach." 
 
 " Ay, ay. Now I must be going. Yapp thinks 
 I'm gone to see a friend who's just expecting her 
 fom'th. Dear, dear, I wish it was my case," re- 
 marked Mrs. Wrench, with a sigh. 
 
 "I thought you had a family," observed Chig- 
 wood. " I remarked when I was at the prison that 
 you and your husband called each other father and 
 mother." 
 
 " Ah ! we had one once, and got into the habit 
 then. She died at eighteen months old, and Wrench 
 and me keeps up that way of talking in hopes of 
 another." 
 
 With this little piece of sentiment, Mrs. Wrench 
 took her departure. 
 
 In two hours' time the rattle of wheels, so 
 anxiously expected, was heard, and a hackney- 
 coach drew up at the end of the court. 
 
 " Now then, my lad, out with you," exclaimed 
 Mr. Yapp, opening the door, and letting down the 
 steps, " if you want to see Chigwood again, and get 
 your clothes." 
 
 " Quick's the word, and sharp's the action," said 
 Mr. Bletcher, briskly. "He's a silent cove," he 
 muttered. " Never spoke a word all the way." 
 
 The officers each took an arm of the prisoner's, 
 and escorted him to the barber's private door.
 
 OUTWITTING THE REDBREASTS. 267 
 
 They had pHed the knocker several times Avithout 
 attractmg any attention, when at length the fasten- 
 ings of the shop-door were slowly nudone, and a 
 nightcapped head was cautiously protruded. A 
 sleepy voice demanded what in the name of 
 patience people wanted at that hour of the night. 
 
 " Friend of yours/' said !Mr. Yapp, " called f o 
 some clean Hnen." 
 
 " Name ? " demanded Chio-wood. 
 
 "Loveridge, alias Lancefield." 
 
 "Bless me!" exclaimed the barber, throwing 
 open the door. " Is he set at liberty ? " 
 
 " Not exactly, Master Soapsuds,'' said ]Mi\ Blet- 
 cher, who was inclined to be jocose, " seeing as he's 
 between two Bow-street officers." 
 
 " He's come to say good-bye, that's the long and 
 short of it," growled ]\Ii\ Yapp, sulkily, irritated at 
 the barber's delay. 
 
 " I wish he'd come at a more seasonable hour," 
 muttered ISLr. Chigwood, with a great yawn, as he 
 ushered the officers and their prisoner into the shop. 
 He then took Loveridge by the hand, and asked 
 him a few common-place questions, to which the 
 repubHcan answered with the utmost brevity. 
 
 Meanwhile the two officers confeiTed apart. 
 
 " He don't seem over glad to see him." 
 
 "No wonder. There's no likeness between 'em. 
 This one's a regular game cock, t' other's a cowardly 
 devil, as would give in if you cried ^ Bo ' in his ear." 
 
 " No fear of a rescue, is there ? "
 
 268 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 '' I should say not. Besides, we've got our barkers. 
 And not a soul knew when the warrant would be 
 executed, until it was put in my hand." 
 
 '' Bildad ! hey, Bildad ! " called the barber, open- 
 ing the inner door. 
 
 A voice, apparently smothered by blankets, 
 answered, " Yes, master ? " 
 
 '' Get up at once, and find Mr. Loveridge's 
 clothes ; I'm sure I don't know where they are." 
 
 !Mi\ Chigwood then went to a cupboard, and 
 producing his bottle of Hollands, placed it on the 
 table. 
 
 " You'll take a parting glass, IVIr. Loveridge 1 " 
 he said. 
 
 The prisoner shook his head. 
 
 " Nonsense, man ; you'll want comfort where 
 you're going." 
 
 "I have bound myself by an oath to abstain 
 from strong drink." 
 
 "Well I never! Did ye hear that, Yapp?" 
 demanded Mr. Bletcher. 
 
 . " Ay," replied Mr. Yapp, contemptuously ; " he's 
 more fit for Bedlam than the Tower." 
 
 " You never ask us to have a drop, jNIi'. Shaver," 
 observed ^ir. Bletcher, glancing tenderly at the 
 square bottle. 
 
 "Didn't I, gentlemen? I beg youi' pardon," 
 said the hairdresser, starting as if from a reverie, 
 and passing the bottle across the table.
 
 OUTWITTING THE REDBREASTS. 269 
 
 " I jest want a taste out of curosity," said ^Ii\ 
 Bletcher, " to see if it's the same Hollands as my old 
 micle used to brino; over from Flushing. Xo it 
 ain't," he continued, smacking his Hps, and pouring 
 out a second glass. " It's more sugary and more 
 smoky." 
 
 " Curse me, Bletcher," exclaimed ^Ii'. Yapp, " if 
 you han't always got some mealy-mouthed excuse 
 for your drink. Now I'm downright and upstraight, 
 and I'll have a glass because I hke it." 
 
 ^Ii\ ChigvN'ood had by this time made the kettle 
 boil, so that Mr. Bletcher took a third glass in 
 honour of the hot water. 
 
 "Excuse me a few minutes, ^Mr. Officer," said 
 the hau'dresser to ^Ii\ Yapp, " but I must go and 
 look after that boy." He quitted the room, leaving 
 the two officers seated at the table merrily enjoying 
 their liquor, while Loveridge sat silently by the 
 fire, apparently bm-ied in the deepest thought. 
 
 " That sounded like the street-door," exclaimed 
 ]Mi\ Yapp, putting his hand to his ear. 
 
 " Street-door be d d," replied ^Ir. Bletcher, 
 
 stretching his legs luxuriously. " I tell you what. 
 Yapp," he continued, being irritated at his brother 
 officer's sarcasm, " it's my opinion you're getting 
 deaf." 
 
 "What?" shouted Yapp. 
 
 "There — there's a proof of what I say. You 
 don't know what I said then. Iv'e remarked it
 
 270 SIR Goodwin's folly 
 
 often lately afore their worsliips. If it gets worse, 
 Yapp, you'll be supperannivated." 
 
 " You go to Batli and cry brooms ! " replied ^Ir. 
 Yapp. " Come, let's be off out of this. You won't 
 be able to stand presently." 
 
 Here Mr. Cbigwood returned, accompanied by 
 Bildad carr\dng a small parcel. Although small, it 
 must have been packed pretematurally tight, for 
 both the hairdresser and his apprentice were out of 
 breath mth the exertion. 
 
 "Well, good-bye, my friend," said Mr. Cliig- 
 wood, solemnly shaking Loveridge's hand. " If 
 we are not permitted to meet again in this world, 
 I trust we may meet in " 
 
 "Botany Bay," quoth Mr. Yapp, brutally. 
 " There, come along ; we've wasted too much time 
 already." 
 
 " Poor gentleman," murmured Bildad, bursting 
 into a sham fit of weeping ; " maybe the next time 
 I sees him will be on the scaffold, without e'er a 
 head!" 
 
 The officers proceeded arm in arm with the 
 prisoner to the entrance of St. Antholin's-court, 
 where the hackney-coach was ready waiting. 
 
 "There's one of the evils of diUy-dalljang," 
 grumbled ^ii'. Yapp. " That street-lamp h^ gone 
 out. Cuss the contractors." 
 
 "They only finds ile for half the night. All 
 honest folks is supposed to be a-bed by two in the
 
 OUTWITTIXG THE REDBREASTS. 271 
 
 morning," returned ^Nfr. Bletcher. " ^^Tiy, coachy, 
 where are ye ? It's dark enough to make Old Nick 
 tread upon his own tail if he's abroad. T^Tiere 
 are ye?" 
 
 " Here, sir," rephed Ned Eodgers. 
 
 "TMiy ain't your lamps Ht, sir?" demanded 
 Mr. Yapp, sternly. 
 
 " I thought it better not, your honour," replied 
 the coachman, leanmg over from his box, and 
 speaking in a low, confidential voice. "Lamps 
 draws attention. Wlien I removed a polMtical 
 prisoner last year, your honour, I was instmcted to 
 douse my glims." 
 
 " AYell, maybe you're right," said ^Ir. Yapp, 
 molhfied by the driver's obsequious tone. " Now, 
 Bletcher, you go to t'other side of the coach for 
 fear of accidents, just as I open the door." 
 
 Mr. Bletcher did as he was ordered, while his 
 brother officer let down the steps and assisted 
 Loveridge, who was fettered hand and foot, into 
 the vehicle. He had just got liis own foot on the 
 step, when Black Nelly began kicking in the most 
 furious manner. 
 
 "Run to her head, for God's sake!" shouted 
 Ned Rodgers, " or she'll kick the coach to splinters." 
 The suddenness of the shock had thrown Mr. Yapp 
 off his balance as he stood upon the step. He 
 measured his length on the ground, and narrowly 
 missed having the wheels across his ancle. ^lean-
 
 272 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 while, Bletclier ran to the mare and seized her by 
 the head. 
 
 " Who opened that other door ? " exclaimed Mr. 
 Yapp, as he staggered to his feet. " I heard it as 
 plain as " 
 
 Here the mare, which had ceased kicking as soon 
 as Bletclier took her head, began to plunge again. 
 Ned Rodgers had perhaps accidentally touched 
 her with the whip. After some minutes she be- 
 came quiet. The two officers returned, and took 
 up their positions at opposite windows of the coach. 
 
 " What's that you said about open doors ? " asked 
 Mr. Bletclier, speaking across the inside of the 
 vehicle. 
 
 '^ I heard that door open." 
 
 ^'Well, it is open, but the kicking done that. 
 These crazy old doors fly open at a touch. Here 
 he is, at any rate, all right enough, eh, Mr. 
 Loveridge ? " said Mr. Bletclier, touching the oc- 
 cupant of the coach on the shoulder. 
 
 The prisoner replied with a sound which re- 
 sembled a snore and a groan combined together. 
 
 " Blest if he ben't asleep," said ^li\ Bletcher. " I 
 dare say he flnds it soft lying after Wrench's straw 
 mattresses, hey, Yapp ? " 
 
 " Hold yom^ jaw, and jump in," quoth Mr. 
 Yapp. "Now, coachman, drive along, and stop 
 for nothing till you reach the Tower gates. Here 
 we are at last," cried Mr. Yapp, with a sigh of
 
 OUTWITTIXG THE BEDBREASTS. 273 
 
 relief, as the vehicle, after rattling over draw- 
 bridges and threading gateways, drew up at the 
 buildings destined for poHtical delinquents. 
 
 " I never see such a man to sleep," observed ^Ir. 
 Bletcher. " And ain't he heavy when he sleeps ! 
 Lor, he feels quite cushiony." 
 
 " What officers are these in charge ? " said a 
 sharp, brisk voice. 
 
 " That's our inspector," remarked Mr. Yapp. 
 " Yapp and Bletcher, sir." 
 
 ^' Jump down at once ; hand me your warrant. 
 I want you both for a matter at the other end of 
 the town. Plenty of us here to look after the 
 prisoner." 
 
 The inspector took the officers aside, and con- 
 ferred with them for some minutes in the guard- 
 room. Meanwhile, the other officials present re- 
 moved the prisoner from the hackney-coach. 
 
 "Xever mind the coach," said the inspector. 
 " Go at once by water. Take a boat at the Tower 
 stairs. You'll have a strong tide up " 
 
 In a few moments the officers hiuTied away on 
 their fi-esh errand. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 274 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 
 
 Some days previous to the events just narrated, 
 another interview had taken place between Donna 
 Serafina da Silva and Sir Goodwin Anerley, 
 during which she had mformed the credulous 
 Baronet that Mrs. Norland was still, by proper 
 management, to be wooed and won ; that she had 
 grown tired of the gaming-table, and longed to be 
 placed in such a position of dignity and respecta- 
 bihty as she would gain by becoming Sir Good- 
 win's bride. There were two obstacles to encounter. 
 There was the possibility of Major Norland appear- 
 ing to claim his deserted wife. This difficulty 
 Serafina promised to overcome. She pointed out 
 that the Major, if living, was a needy man, who 
 had lost his character, and was even now under the 
 ban of the law. His voice could be easily silenced 
 by the application of a bribe. The second obstacle
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 275 
 
 was ^Irs. Norland's extraor dinar}' preference for 
 Frederick Starlingliiu'st. Serafina doubted whether 
 his marriage vnth. Floretta would cureher mistress's 
 infatuated passion. She feared that it would rather 
 tend to estrange her entirely from Sir Goodwin. 
 The question, then, for the Baronet to decide was, 
 " which marriage he would prefer giving up ; his 
 own or his daughter's ? " 
 
 " Mj girl's, most decidedly," replied Sir Good- 
 win. " She is yomig, and may have plenty of 
 offers from better men than Frederick Starling- 
 hurst. I cannot afford to wait. But what do you 
 propose to do ? " 
 
 " Poor Miss Floretta I " observed Serafina. " She 
 will have lost two possible husbands. By the way, 
 I hear that her first lover is released from prison." 
 
 "He is." 
 
 "What do you suppose are his sentiments to- 
 wards ^Ir. Starlinghurst ? " 
 
 "Anything but friendly. My daughters fear 
 they will fight if they come in contact." 
 
 " Supposing they did fight ? " 
 
 " I should feel deeply grieved." 
 
 " Really and truly, Sir Goodwin ?" 
 
 " Certainly. One of them might be killed.'* 
 
 " ^Ir. Taswell, for example ? " 
 
 " Ah ! I should not cai-e much for him." 
 
 " :Mi\ Starhnghurst ? " 
 
 " That would be a sad blow." 
 t2
 
 276 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Not if it paved the way for your marriage with 
 Amanda ? " 
 
 "Good God! Mrs. Chigwood," exclaimed the 
 Baronet, " with what horrible coolness you talk ! 
 Do you suppose I could be happy in a mamage 
 cemented with the blood of my own intended son- 
 in-law?" 
 
 "Certainly not, if you had premeditated and 
 arranged the whole affair. But supposing this 
 hostile meeting happens, whether you will or 
 no ? Mr. Taswell is smarting under the disap- 
 pointment of seeing his lady-love appropriated by 
 another. Mr. Stai'linghm'st is a man of high 
 courage, a gentleman, who will not brook an insult. 
 Supposing you cannot hinder their fighting ? " 
 
 " I must then resign the event to the decrees of 
 Providence, as my respected friend Miss Thrupp 
 would say." 
 
 " And if Proi-idence should decree that the duel 
 resulted in your wedding Amanda ? " 
 
 "I should accept the decision with becoming 
 resignation. But what are you dri\dng at in this 
 cross-examination, Serafina ? " 
 
 " I have a little plot in my head. Mr. Starling- 
 hurst is a skilful swordsman. The other is a mere 
 cit, utterly unacquainted, as I have heard you say, 
 with the science of carte and tierce" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Supposing they were to meet, and your in- 
 tended son-in-law were to give this young law^'er
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 277 
 
 a nice little wound (I don't desire to put anybody 
 to death, Sir Goodwin), could we not make Mr. 
 Starlingliurst believe that he had killed his adver- 
 sary, and terrify him into quitting the country^ for 
 a few months ? I could easily persuade ^Irs. 
 Norland that he was banished for ever, and she 
 would be only too glad to take refuge from her 
 grief in your arms." 
 
 " Vice is a creature of such hideous mien, &c. 
 &c." murmured Sir Goodwin, as he gazed askance 
 at the dark but handsome face of his visitor. " But 
 seen too oft," he continued, " we pity and embrace. 
 Mrs. Chig^vood, as they say at the playhouse, 
 * Temptress, I bid thee avaimt I ' I don't like this 
 scheme. It is too tortuous and Asiatic for plain 
 English folks." 
 
 "Then we will say no more of it," rejoined 
 Serafina, carelessly. "Besides, even if I \^'ished, 
 I could not execute it. Taswell has disappeared 
 from view since he came out of prison, and 
 although my husband knows whither he has gone, 
 he refuses to tell me. He hinted that your 
 daughter, !Miss Lucy, desued his place of abode to 
 be kept secret." 
 
 " Did she ? " exclaimed the Baronet, " the minx ! 
 We shall presently have her f alHng in love 's^4th 
 this poverty-ridden JacobiQ. Do not leave the 
 room, Serafina ; I shall return presently." 
 
 Sir Goodwin quitted the apartment for the pur- 
 pose of questioning his daughter. On the stairs
 
 278 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 he encountered the footman, bearing a letter on 
 his tray. 
 
 ^'For me?" he asked. 
 
 " No, your honour ; for Miss Lucy." 
 
 The Baronet examined the letter, and recog- 
 nised Taswell's handwriting. 
 
 "I will give Miss Lucy this letter," he said, 
 quietly. 
 
 As soon as the footman had retired he looked at 
 the post-mark. 
 
 *' Rochester," he muttered. " There's a divinity 
 or a devilry (which is it?) that shapes our ends. 
 Shall I disclose this to yonder black temptress, or 
 not?" 
 
 Meanwhile Serafina was engaged in anxious 
 meditation. 
 
 " Sir Goodwin has given me a bond for five 
 thousand pounds, payable the day he marries Har- 
 riet Norland. That is a prize worth striving for. 
 What if I do tread down one or two people in my 
 path ? I must discover Taswell, and bring about a 
 meeting between him and Starlinghurst. Well, Sir 
 Goodwin, any news ? " she said, carelessly, as the 
 Baronet re-entered the room. " Your countenance 
 beams mth an expression of satisfaction." 
 
 " I have discovered where this young scapegrace 
 has hidden himself." 
 
 " Indeed ! " remarked Serafina, indifferently. 
 
 " Are you not burning to know ? "
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 279 
 
 "I, Sir Goodwin? Xot at all. I thought to 
 do you a service ; you disapproved of my plau ; that 
 is sufficient. I presume I may now retire, miless 
 yom' honom* has any further commands ? " 
 
 " Stay one moment. Here is a letter from liim. 
 Would you not like to see the post-mark 1 " 
 
 "Not I, Sir Good^Yin." 
 
 " It begins and ends with the letter R." 
 
 " I care not, sir. I will wish you a good day, 
 Sir Goodwin." And, ^^•ith a fonnal curtsey, Donna 
 Serafina gathered up her skirts and left the house. 
 
 " She is offended," said Sh* Goodwm, musing. 
 " I was in a terrible strait — I knew not what to do. 
 I could not bid her go and foment a quaiTel be- 
 tween these two men. The death of one of them 
 might lie at my door. Yet I was sorely tempted. 
 If Frederick could but be removed ^^-ithout injury 
 to himself for a season, and the nuptial bond bind- 
 ing myself and that beloved woman tied mean- 
 
 whUe : " 
 
 Serafina hurried home, and spent an horn' poring 
 over the pages of a road-book. She then proceeded 
 to St. AnthoHn's-court, and dispensing three- 
 pennworth of bulls'-eyes among her children (an 
 unwonted treat, which nearly softened her hus- 
 band to tears), said : 
 
 "Why, what a fuss you made, dear Jemmy, 
 about keeping Taswell's abode a secret. He has 
 gone down into Kent."
 
 280 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 Mr. Chigwood started and turned pale. "The 
 Government are not after him, I hope ? " he asked. 
 
 " On a political mission, I suppose ? " remarked 
 Serafina, divining her husband's reasons for alarm. 
 
 "Why, yes." 
 
 "ToEochester?" 
 
 "Who told you?" 
 
 " A little bird. But no matter, I only wanted 
 to show you you could not keep a secret from me. 
 Kiss the three darlings for me ; I must be away to 
 York-street again." 
 
 Mrs. Chigwood did not go back to York-street. 
 She took a seat in the coach for Rochester, and 
 arrived there after nine hom's' travelling, for the 
 Dover-road was in good condition compared to 
 many other highways. She soon discovered Love- 
 lane, and presented herself at the door just as 
 Arthur Taswell was about to refresh himself with 
 a cup of tea after his political labours. 
 
 "There is a lady below, elegantly dressed and 
 closely veiled, who wishes to see you, sir," said his 
 buxom hostess as she entered the room. 
 
 " Did she tell you her name ? " asked the young 
 man. 
 
 " No ; she only said she wished to see Mr. Tas- 
 well on important business." 
 
 "Bid her walk up," said Arthm', whose heart 
 beat swiftly at the unwonted announcement. " TMio 
 could she be?" he thought. "Possibly a mes-
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 281 
 
 senger from Floretta, beseeching forgiveness and 
 reconciliation ? " 
 
 ^^ You are Mi\ Arthur Taswell/' said his "vdsitor 
 in a musical voice, slightly foreign in its accent. 
 
 "I am," replied Arthur, handing the lady a 
 chair. •' May I, in return, ask your name, and the 
 natui'e of your business ? " 
 
 "Excuse my disclosing the former, or even 
 raising my veil. I ^^ish to remain incognito. My 
 business you shall hear at once. You are a disap- 
 pointed man. You have lost your fortune and 
 your sweetheart." 
 
 "Alas, 'tis too true." 
 
 " TMio is to blam e for these misfortunes ? " 
 
 "For the one, a foolish old imcle; for the other, 
 a heartless man of fashion." 
 
 " In another month he will many your Floretta. 
 His father has agreed to the match, and he has just 
 returned to London in triumph." 
 
 " 'Tis hard to control one's passions under such 
 an injury," said Taswell, setting his teeth together, 
 "and yet I would sooner leave Heaven to punish 
 his iniquities. A few days since I had thought to 
 challenge him to fight me, but I have changed my 
 intentions. It would be, after all, but a baiTen 
 revenge to kill him. Floretta would not accept me 
 with the blood of her lover on my hands. But 
 pardon me, madam, you have not yet disclosed the 
 object of your ^dsit ? "
 
 282 SIR goodavin's folly. 
 
 " Eevenge ! " exclaimed tlie lady, rising from her 
 seat, and using the most impassioned gestures. " I 
 come to you, a fellow-sufferer from this man's 
 villany, to entreat you to stop liis career of pros- 
 perous wickedness. I," continued the lady, dropping 
 her voice, and speaking in a tone of iieart-broken 
 grief — " I hstened to his honeyed words, and I be- 
 came his victim." 
 
 Serafina played her part in this scene with great 
 prudence and dexterity. She took good care that 
 no portion of her dark skin should be visible, for 
 she was not sure but that Taswell might have heard 
 of her existence, through her gossiping husband, or 
 some other source; nor did she think her colour 
 would add to the force of her pleading. She wished 
 to play the role of some unkno^ATi lady who had 
 fallen into Starlinghurst's snare, and she judged 
 that her supposed beauty, rendered more 2'>iquaiit by 
 its entire concealment, would induce Taswell — a 
 susceptible and sentimental youth — to enter the 
 lists in her favour. But the young man's reply 
 disclosed a secret which she had often longed to 
 unravel, but which her usually-confiding mistress 
 had hitherto kept locked in her own bosom. This 
 discover}^ gave a new direction to her unhallowed 
 schemes. 
 
 "You are ^Irs. Norland," he said. "I know 
 your sad story welL I know liow this villain lured 
 you from the path of innocence, and then basely
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 283 
 
 deserted you. And it is to your benevolent heart, 
 madam, that I owe my present liberty. Permit 
 me to kiss your hand." 
 
 Serafina was so astounded at these words, that 
 for some moments she was unable to speak. She 
 mechanically surrendered her hand to the young 
 man, who httle knew the tint of the skin beneath 
 the delicate glove which he kissed A\ith such en- 
 thusiasm. 
 
 "Who disclosed to you my sad story? " she said, 
 at lenorth. 
 
 " Your first lover, William Lancefield, otherwise 
 Walter Loveridge. I have also, madam, lately dis- 
 covered your father." 
 
 " My father ! " exclaimed Serafina. " "V^Tio is he, 
 I wonder ? " she muttered aside. '' Tell me, oh tell 
 me, where he is to be found ! " 
 
 The unsuspecting young man narrated his ad- 
 ventures at the village of Snodland. His visitor 
 listened with the utmost attention, and made mental 
 notes of every point in his story. 
 
 "But pardon me, Mrs. Norland, I liave heard 
 that you still love this Mr. Starlinghurst pas- 
 sionately. Is it true, or do you actually desire to 
 be revenged on him ? " 
 
 Serafina paused for some minutes, and remained 
 in deep reflection. She was uncertain how to act. 
 The discovery of the real cause of Haniet iSTorland's 
 attachment to Starhnghurst had diverted the stream
 
 284 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 of her tortuous contrivances into a fresh channel. 
 What if this father, whose miserlj and eccentric 
 character she had eHcited from Taswell, could be 
 persuaded to use his paternal influence, and urge 
 his daughter's marriage with Sir Goodwin ? Yet, 
 on the other hand, his power might be utterly un- 
 availing. Was it likely that a woman of nearly 
 thirty, who had for ten years been independent of 
 his control, who had during that interval mixed in 
 the society of ladies and gentlemen, would submit 
 to dictation from a low-born repulsive old man, who 
 lived the hfe of a hermit? Her best plan, she 
 thought, would be to try both schemes. To allow 
 the duel to take place, but at the same time to have 
 an interview with the recluse of Snodland. Con- 
 sequently, she replied in these terms : 
 
 "Passionate love and intense hatred, j\Ir. Tas- 
 well, are closely allied together. ^Ii\ Starlinghurst 
 can make but one recompense for all the evil he 
 has done me. He can marry me. That he has 
 hitherto steadfastly refused to do; and now, for 
 the sake of fortune, and fortune alone, he is about 
 to ally himself with Miss Anerley. The match will 
 ensure her a life of unhappiness, while you and I 
 will drink the cup of bitterness to the dregs. Can 
 you do nothing to save three human bemgs — your- 
 self, yom- sweetheart, and me — from misery ? You 
 profess gratitude, Mr. Taswell, for the humble ser- 
 vice I have rendered you. Will you not repay it by
 
 THE ROAD-BOOK. 285 
 
 seeking Frederick Starlinghurstj and compelling 
 him to render me the justice which it is my right 
 to claim ? " 
 
 "Madam, I will do your bidding. Pardon me 
 the hberty I am about to take. May I ask for one 
 sight of that face, of whose loveliness I have so 
 often heard ? It will inspire me "^rith fresh enthu- 
 siasm for the enterprise." 
 
 " Another time, dear ^Ir. Taswell," repHed Sera- 
 fina, in some alarm. " At present permit me to re- 
 tain my incognito. Farewell," she said, extending 
 her hand. 
 
 The young man once more kissed her glove with 
 respectful enthusiasm, and accompanied his visitor 
 to the door. She refused any further escort, and 
 soon disappeared from his ^-iew.
 
 286 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 IGNOMINY. 
 
 Me. Frederick Starlinghurst was going 
 through a veiy delicate operation — an operation 
 scarcely to be named to ears polite. Aided by 
 Purkess his faithful valet, and a couple of zealous 
 tailors, he was engaged in the arduous task of 
 tryuig on sundry nether integuments. And this 
 was a far more difficult process seventy years ago 
 than it is now. In the present day, a gentleman 
 slips as easily into those necessary garments as into 
 a sack. But at the epoch when buckskins were 
 worn, it was far otherwise. The slightest appear- 
 ance of bagging, the faintest trace of crease, was 
 fatal to the reputation of a dandy. And when does 
 a man wish to look weU, if not when he is going to 
 be married? Mr. Starlinghurst was essaying the 
 fit of his hymeneal clothing, and his anxiety was
 
 IGNOMINY. "287 
 
 naturally great. Several pairs of buckskins lay 
 ignominiously on the floor. He had actually been 
 able to enter them unassisted. They were accord- 
 ingly rejected Tvith contempt. He liad now got 
 into a pah' which had cost him some trouble. By 
 the aid of an apparatus of straps suspended from 
 the ceiHng, and the united exertions of his trio of 
 attendants, he had slowly but sm-ely fomid his way 
 downwards. We may conceive his sensations in 
 these degenerate easy-fittmg times, by imaguimg 
 that our whole body was a hand, and that we had 
 just succeeded in buttoning a most accui'ately tight 
 kid glove. 
 
 The tailors gave vent to their feelings in exj^res- 
 sions of subdued and respectful admiration. ^Ir. 
 Purkess, according to his wont, remained silent; 
 but as liis eye met his master's, he looked ap- 
 provingly. This was sulBcient; the tradespeople 
 were dismissed, and Mr. Starhnghurst resumed his 
 normal attire. 
 
 The dandy was in tolerable spirits, and inchned, 
 with a few exceptions, to be good-humom'ed -with 
 all mankind. He had paid a successful visit to 
 Starling Hall; his father had approved of the 
 match with Floretta; his creditors, foreseeing a 
 speedy hquidation of all theh claims, no longer 
 pestered him A^dth bills delivered, but rather sought 
 obsequiously to solicit further custom. In a month's 
 time he hoped to be united to Floretta Anerley.
 
 SIR GOODWIN S FOLLY. 
 
 She was a pretty and vivacious girl ; and though 
 he did not love her much, she loved him, which 
 would answer the purpose quite as well. In any 
 case, he should have great pleasure in paying his 
 debts with a portion of Sir Goodwin's dowry ; the 
 balance, he calculated, might keep himself and 
 bride in tolerable comfort until the old squire 
 thought fit to depart from a world in which lie 
 had spent an undue portion of time. He longed 
 to get the marriage ceremony over. The family 
 in Bedford-square were not remarkably cordial in 
 their manner to him ; Lucy was positively uncivil. 
 Then there was Harriet Norland, perpetually worry- 
 ing him with her sad, beseeching looks ; a species 
 of mute eloquence far more annojdng than angry, 
 reproachful words. He had latterly di'opped her 
 acquaintance. On his return from the country he 
 found that she had become disagreeably proper and 
 virtuous ; she had closed the faro-table, and shut 
 the door almost rudely in the faces of her fashion- 
 able acquaintance. Donna Serafina had tried to 
 console him with the idea that it was only a passing 
 whim, which would soon vanish away, and that 
 after his marriage he would find the lady as of 
 yore, presiding at the Boai'd of Green Cloth, and 
 amiably willing to win his or anybody else's money ; 
 but he was not to be so easily comforted. He began 
 to think Harriet would give him serious annoyance, 
 and he fervently wished that Serafina would fulfil
 
 IGXOMIXT. 289 
 
 her oft-repeated promises, and either marry her off 
 to somebody, or restore the long-lost Major to 
 life. 
 
 As a parti-coloured web of reflection, in which 
 cheerfulness and despondency were equally inter- 
 mingled, was thus being woven in his brain, Mr. 
 Pm'kess entered the room and handed to liis master 
 a scrap of paper, on which the following words were 
 hastily pencilled : " ]Mi'. Arthur Taswell desires to 
 see ^Ir. Starlinghurst on a matter of the utmost im- 
 portance." 
 
 " Is he waiting below ? " 
 Mr. Purkess bowed assentingly. 
 " Show him up." 
 
 The valet bowed a second time, and retired. 
 " TThat can this low fellow want ? " thought 
 Starlinghurst. " Nothing that is likely to be agree- 
 able to me, I fear. Xot a second lesson in the 
 noble art of self-defence, I judge. Perhaps to 
 borrow money. I understand he is left without a 
 sou. In that case, I shall ci^dUy refer him to my 
 tailor. Here he comes." 
 
 Arthur Taswell came into the room with a 
 formal bow. His face was extremely pale, his 
 features were firmly set, his hand trembled. A 
 man may be possessed of an average amount of 
 personal courage, and yet feel nervous when about 
 to commence an interview which he knows will 
 almost certainly terminate in an appeal to arms. 
 
 VOL. I. U
 
 290 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 " Excuse the piece of paper, sir, on which I sent 
 up my name. I have no cards with me." 
 
 StarHnghurst bowed, and, as he observed that 
 the dress worn by his former opponent was shabby 
 and discoloured, began to feel almost a sensation of 
 compassion for him. 
 
 " Take a seat, sir," he said, " and please to favour 
 me with the nature of your business." 
 
 Taswell was silent for some moments, and then 
 began thus : 
 
 " You have, perhaps, not forgotten oiu' rencontre 
 in the public street ? " 
 
 The dandy's slender stream of pity was imme- 
 diately frozen up by this exordium ; he assumed his 
 usual air of insouciance, and rephed : 
 
 " In which you got the worst of it ? No, I have 
 not." 
 
 " I got the worst, indeed," said Taswell, bitterly. 
 " Weeks of confinement in a common jail." 
 
 " Was I responsible for that ? Did I fill your 
 pockets with seditious papers ? " 
 
 " You hounded on the mob against me ; but let 
 that pass. For my own injuries I am willing to 
 forgive you. I come on behalf of another person 
 who has suffered far deeper wrongs at your 
 hands." 
 
 " Your plebeian friend mth the long hair, I pre- 
 sume?" 
 
 " William Lancefield ? No. He is a man, able 
 when at liberty from prison to redi'ess his own
 
 IGNOMINY. 291 
 
 injuries if he pleases. No, sir, I come on the part 
 of a woman — a defenceless, helpless woman, who 
 visited me unasked, and besought me to obtain 
 justice from you. The woman I speak of should 
 have been the mfe of Wilham Lancefield, but for 
 yoiu' villany. You know now whom I mean — 
 Harriet Petworth." 
 
 " Excuse the remark I am about to make," said 
 the dandy, coolly. " I don't beheve you." 
 
 " You call me a bar ! That is sufficient insult 
 to warrant a challenge." 
 
 " I simply repeat that I don't beheve you. I have 
 known ^Irs. Norland for many years, and I am 
 certam that she would not entnist the guardianship 
 of her so-called rio;hts and wi'ono-s to a stranger 
 
 o o o 
 
 such as you. Come, I see how the case stands. 
 Pm'kess ! " said the dandy, ringing a small hand- 
 bell. 
 
 The valet appeared. 
 
 " Purkess, take this person into another apart- 
 ment, and see how^ much money he wants. You 
 can arrange it vrith. my tailor. I should have 
 thought more highly of your gentihty, Mr. Taswell, 
 if you had frankly asked me for a loan, for, upon 
 my soul, I pity any poor de\'il who is hard run ; 
 but to come and extort it in this manner is beyond 
 bearing." 
 
 " Take your hand off me, sir ! " exclaimed 
 Taswell, throwing the valet's hand, which had been 
 laid hghtly on his shoulder, rudely aside. '^ And 
 u2
 
 292 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 now, sir," lie continued, confronting Starlinghurst, 
 " will you fight me now ? Not with fists ; I don't 
 profess to understand that polite art — but with 
 cold steel, or with powder and ball ? " 
 
 " Purkess, leave the room. You must be a 
 lunatic, Mr. Taswell." 
 
 " A lunatic, am I ? Is she a lunatic who sends 
 me now to extort that justice which, if you had 
 possessed the lowest feelings of humanity, you 
 would have freely yielded her years ago? You 
 are about to marry, and leave the victim of your 
 early sin to misery and despair." 
 
 "Mr. Taswell, this much I will condescend to 
 answer you. If Mrs. Norland, or Harriet Pet- 
 worth, as you choose to call her, has any favour to 
 ask of me, let her do it in person. I will brook no 
 interference on the part of others." 
 
 " Very well, sir ; then I demand satisfaction for 
 all the injuries and insults you have heaped on her 
 and on me." 
 
 "I shall give you none. Go about your busi- 
 ness ^" 
 
 " Coward ! you dare not face cold steel." 
 "I dare anything when I choose, but I don't 
 choose now. My present occupation is not fight- 
 ing, but marrying. Some years hence, when my 
 bride and I grow tired of each other, and life be- 
 comes a burden, I may be able to accommodate 
 you. At present, life is too full of enjoyment for 
 me to risk ending it in so absurd a fashion."
 
 IGNOMINY. 293 
 
 " Villain ! " exclaimed Taswell, doubling liis 
 fist, and shaking it in the face of his adversan', 
 " you shall never maiT}^ that beloved girl. One of 
 us shall die first ! '' 
 
 Mr. Starlinghui'st rang his bell the second time. 
 
 As Pui'kess appeared, he said ; 
 
 " Here, turn this infernal scoundrel out of the 
 house. Should he resist, hand him over to the 
 watch. He rants worse than any play-actor at 
 Goodman's Fields." 
 
 Mr. Purkess, who was a person of powerful 
 build, and a man of prompt action, immediately 
 screwed his knuckles into Arthur Taswell's neck, 
 and by main force thrust him doTNTi stairs, opened 
 the street-door, and banged it in his face as he 
 thrust him out. 
 
 Such Avas the ignominious termination of Arthur 
 Taswell's second interview with Starlinghui'st. It 
 is a mistake to suppose that in a quarrel the man 
 who has right on his side must always assert that 
 right in the most becoming manner. Frederick 
 Starlinghurst was a cold-blooded, selfish, worthless 
 fellow, while Taswell was kind, warm-hearted, and 
 generous ; but certainly any unprejudiced spectator 
 of their colloquy, who had Hstened to the melo- 
 dramatic, passionate taunts of the one, and the 
 calm, dignified replies of the other, would have 
 been inchned to think that right lay with the 
 latter.
 
 294 SIR Goodwin's folly, 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 
 
 Arthur Taswell wandered away from the 
 house with heedless footsteps, caring little w^hither 
 he went, so absorbed was he in the contemplation 
 of the numerous misfortunes which had befallen 
 him during the last few wrecks. Like the patriarch 
 of old, calamity after calamity had smitten him 
 down, the Chaldeans and Sabeans had harried his 
 wealth, while a mighty wind, smiting the castle of 
 happiness which he had built, had buried all his 
 fondest hopes beneath the ruins. Even to speak 
 in plain prose, he had suffered not a httle. On 
 Christmas-day, 1794, he was rich in worldly goods, 
 respected by his friends and acquaintances, be- 
 trothed in marriage to a girl whom he had known 
 and loved tenderly from childliood. By the end of 
 the succeeding Febniary, his wealth had been 
 melted in a sea of speculation, his sweetheart had
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 295 
 
 rejected him for a worthless fop, at whose hands he 
 had twice received ignominious punishment, he had 
 suffered unprisonment, and, on quitting jail, had 
 discovered that poverty and politics had combmed 
 to alienate all his old friends. 
 
 Unlike the patriarch Job, his adversities had not 
 taught him resignation. His spirit burned with a 
 desire for vengeance. He could have forgiven 
 Starhnghm'st for having injured him, but he could 
 not forgive him for injm'ies which made the 
 aggrieved person appear ridiculous. He was bent 
 on revenge. But no base scheme of hidden mis- 
 chief occupied his brain, nor did he dream of assassi- 
 nation. He resolved that Starhnghm'st should 
 fight him in fan- combat. He determined to pro- 
 vide the necessaiy weapons and watch his oppor- 
 tmiity. But before doing so he judged it advisable 
 to ascertain ^irs. Norland's place of abode, in order 
 to hear from her o^^^l Hps a reiterated demand for 
 justice or revenge. He reckoned that by this time 
 she had probably visited the old recluse of Snod- 
 land marshes, and retmiied to London. To gain 
 this information, it was necessaiy to visit Chig- 
 wood's shop, whither, accordingly, he repaired. It 
 was the day preceding the night of Loveridge's in- 
 tended rescue and Chigwood's premeditated flight. 
 Taswell found the barber silent and preoccupied. 
 
 " What, back already ? " exclaimed that gentle- 
 man.
 
 296 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 ^^ Yes. I returned on private business." 
 
 " Humph. I fear you're but a lukewarm dele- 
 gate. The Corresponding Society won't be over 
 well pleased." 
 
 "Dillygates didn't ought to have no private 
 affairs," observed the red-faced patriot, who was 
 being lathered preparatory to shaving. " If you 
 takes the People's money, you ought to do the 
 People's work, young gentleman." 
 
 " I did not come here to argue the point with 
 you," said Taswell. "I have kept a faithful 
 join-nal of my labours, which, with the unexpended 
 balance of cash, I have forwarded to the secretary. 
 Two guineas I have reserved for myself to support 
 me until I find some other means of subsistence." 
 
 Mr. Chigwood sighed at the thought of a num- 
 ber of good serviceable guineas having gone into 
 the hands of any one excepting himself, and said, 
 " You should have handed the money back to 
 me." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the red-faced man, " Chig- 
 wood 'ud ha' done a sight more good with it (you 
 needn't put the brush in my mouth, Jemmy) than 
 the London Correspondents. They're a parcel of 
 jabbering, scribbling fools. The B. C. for my 
 money. They'd have inwested the cash in pikes, 
 or treated the thirsty throats of good patriots to a 
 drop of gin, eh. Jemmy ? " 
 
 The hairdresser made no reply to this remark 
 but said, rather drily :
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 297 
 
 " And what do you want with me, Citizen Tas- 
 weUr' 
 
 " I wish to ascertain ^Irs. Norland's direction." 
 
 " For what puq^ose ? " 
 
 " Sunply to thank her for her kindness, and 
 have a few words with her in private." 
 
 "Humph," muttered jNIr. Chig^vood. "You 
 won't do much good there. However, here it is." 
 The barber gave the required address to Taswell, 
 who immediately turned on his heel for the pui'pose 
 of lea^'ing the shop. 
 
 "What's to be done with all this rubbidcre?" 
 asked Bildad, appearing at the door which led into 
 the inner room, and holding up a ding}' white 
 garment. " It looks like a nightgo^vn." 
 
 " Most valuable," replied ^Ir. Chigvvood. " A 
 Roman costume, which one of Gattrell's old ap- 
 prentices made years ago. Pack it up ; it will just 
 suit oiu' purpose." 
 
 " Here's a pair of swords, too," continued Bil- 
 dad, holding up two old-fashioned weapons, the 
 rusty blades of which were ^asible through the 
 worm-eaten scabbards. 
 
 Taswell's curiosity had been excited, and he lin- 
 gered to hear the above conversation. At the 
 sight of the swords his eyes glistened. 
 
 "Mr. Chigwood," he said, "I will give you a 
 guinea for them." 
 
 The barber examined the articles in question. 
 " Very well, Mr. Taswell," he repHed, " I'll accom-
 
 298 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 modate you. But mind, I consider I'm only taking 
 back money that should rightfully have been re- 
 turned to me." 
 
 The young man paid the money, and wrapped 
 the swords, in order to conceal them, in a sheet of 
 paper. 
 
 "That's the ticket," remarked the red-faced 
 man, as he surveyed his shaven chin in the mirror. 
 " I allers likes to see a good citizen with arms in 
 his fist. Twenty thousand of them 'ere in patriot 
 hands, and Georgy-Porgy with all his cussed crew 
 might take ship for Hanover. Good morning, 
 citizens all." 
 
 " Are you going to fight anybody ? " asked Mr. 
 Chigwood. 
 
 " No," replied Taswell, coloiiring ; " I am think- 
 ing of trying the theatrical profession, and they 
 may be of use to me." 
 
 With a parting salutation he quitted the shoj:), 
 and du^ected his steps westward. 
 
 Meanwhile Starlinghm'st was engaged in earnest 
 conversation with his former mistress at her house 
 in York-street, St. James's. 
 
 " Well, Harry, how is the w^orld using you ? " he 
 asked, as he seated himself with careless fami- 
 liarity. 
 
 " Oh, Frederick, how pleased I am to see you ! 
 I thought you had deserted me for ever." 
 
 " Nonsense, child ; of course I shall come to see
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 299 
 
 you as usual, unless my charming Floretta takes it 
 into her head to be jealous." 
 
 " Frederick, it makes my heart ache to hear you 
 speak thus. I cannot endure to think that your 
 affections, which belong to me alone, should be 
 bestowed on another." 
 
 "My affections ^^all still be with you, dearest 
 Hany. I marry Miss Anerley simply as a matter 
 of convenience, ^^^at more can you want ? " 
 
 "Much more. I want to be yom' wife. I want 
 you to recollect your ancient promise. Eemember, 
 you vowed solemnly that if ever that man into 
 whose hands you sold me — pardon the expression, 
 but it is the truth — that if ever that man died you 
 would become my husband. Will you not redeem 
 your promise now ? " 
 
 " It is impossible. You have no certain proof 
 of Norland's death. I have no desire to add 
 bigamy to my other idrtues." 
 
 Mrs. Norland covered her face with her hands, 
 and exclaimed, " Oh, how I am punished for my 
 evil doing ! I cast oft' my first lover, and was de- 
 serted by my second. Not content with selling 
 me once, Frederick, to a worthless unfeeHng man, 
 with whom I passed a life of miser^^, you would 
 now make merchandise of me again." 
 
 "You are a sentimental fool, Harry," said the 
 dandy, rudely. " At your age, and with your ex- 
 perience, you should be ashamed to pule and w^hine
 
 300 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 like a school-girl. It is for your interest that I 
 wonld have you marry Sir Goo(l^vin. He is rich, 
 good-tempered, and a perfect gentleman. TVTiat 
 more would you have ? He is sixty, I allow, and 
 suffers from the gout. So much the better. In 
 ten years you may reckon on being a wealthy widow, 
 still young and handsome." 
 
 " You do not fear lest Sir Goodvvan should com- 
 mit bigamy," said Mrs. Norland, bitterly. 
 
 " Not I, in truth. He adores you, and is willing 
 to take the risk, which is, after all, slight enough. 
 I tell you the truth ; I don't adore you. I think 
 you a very fascinating woman, when you are gay 
 and good-tempered ; but when you begin pining and 
 bewailing your fate, you are simply intolerable." 
 
 " Thank you, ^ir. Starlinghurst, for your frank- 
 ness." 
 
 " And where is that Bengalee attendant of 
 yours, Harry ? " 
 
 " She has been absent for several days. She 
 left a slip of paj^er on the table merely telHng me 
 of her departure." 
 
 " So much the better ; we shall be undisturbed. 
 Harriet, I have what is vulgarly called a crow to 
 pluck with you." 
 
 ^' With me?" 
 
 "Yes, madam. Your professions of ardent 
 affection and desii'es for marriage are all hollow 
 and hypocritical. You have been telling the story
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. oOl 
 
 of your grievances, and urging on your new ad- 
 mirer to wreak his vengeance on my unlucky 
 person." 
 
 "Never, Frederick, never. You shall hear the 
 truth. I related to Sir Good^vin the history of 
 our early loves in hope it would put an end to his 
 tiresome entreaties, and induce him to persuade 
 you to give your hand to me rather than to his 
 daughter." 
 
 " Truly, madam, I mav now in turn confiratulate 
 you for yoiu- exceeding sincerity. So you tried to 
 do me all the harm you could ^^^th Sir Goodwin ? " 
 
 " Harm, Frederick ? Was it harm to appeal to 
 his feelings as a father ? " 
 
 "Xever mind; you failed. The Baronet was 
 far too good a judge to sacrifice at one blow an 
 elegant son-in-law, and (don't be angr}', Harriet) a 
 lovely but exceedingly shre^N-ish and ejcigeant wife. 
 But, madam, I have not finished yet. You have 
 told me what I did not know before, that you have 
 made Su' Goodwin a confidant of your son-ows ; 
 permit me to add that you have admitted another 
 person to the knowledge of these mysteries." 
 
 " Frederick, it is false. Not even Serafina, for 
 years the recipient of all my griefs, has ever heard 
 of om' early attachment." 
 
 " AVell, I trust it is so. I told the gentleman he 
 was a liar, upon which he challenged me to fight 
 him."
 
 302 SIR GOODWIN S FOLLY. 
 
 ^^ You have accepted tlie challenge ? " 
 
 " Why no. He is a vulgar plebeian, so I ordered 
 my man to turn him out of the house, which opera- 
 tion Purkess executed with his usual fidelity." 
 
 Here the servant entered the room, and said, 
 " Mr. Taswell is below, madam, and earnestly de- 
 sires to see you." 
 
 " Oh, ho ! now I understand ! " exclaimed Star- 
 linghurst, before Mrs. Norland was able to reply. 
 " Come to report progress, of course ? By Heaven, 
 this treachery is enough to make even an expectant 
 bridegroom's blood boil. Harriet, your sex screens 
 you from personal injury otherwise," he said, 
 savagely, doubling his fist, " I should like to crush 
 out the beauty that still remains in your false face 
 now and for ever! No, madam! I will punish 
 you by another means, through the person of your 
 faithful adorer below stairs. I shall have the 
 pleasure of spitting this hired bravo of yours like 
 a woodcock. He has felt the weight of my fist 
 before, he shall now learn the skill of my sword- 
 arm." 
 
 During this outburst, Mrs. Norland and her ser- 
 vant remained speechless with astonishment and 
 terror. At length the former said : 
 
 " Frederick, believe me, I never saw this man in 
 my life ! " 
 
 " You he ! " he shouted. " What else can I ex- 
 pect but lies from the progeny of a common soldier
 
 CROSSIXG SWORDS. 303 
 
 and some camp-following trull ? Let me pass ! " 
 he exclaimed, throwing the women, who were 
 clinging to his skirts, rudely aside, and snatching 
 up his hat and cane. " Good-hye, [Mrs. Norland." 
 And he darted rapidly down the stairs. 
 
 In all her experience of him, ]\Irs. Norland had 
 never seen her former lover so excited. The usually 
 calm, sneering, impassible dandy, had been trans- 
 formed in a few moments into a coarse, \TJo*ar, 
 shouting bully. Starlinghurst had some excuse for 
 his ^Tath. He verily believed that the pretty crea- 
 ture, who had just been endeavouring to melt him 
 with pathetic words, and looks of the tenderest 
 affection, was all the while engaged in a cowardly 
 plot against his life. He tore open the front door 
 with such violence that Taswell, who was leanino- 
 imthinkingly against it, stumbled inwards, and as 
 he caught at the panels to save himself from fallincr^ 
 let the parcel which he earned in his hand drop 
 upon the floor. 
 
 "Villanous wretch!" exclaimed Starhno-hurst, 
 as his eye perceived the swords which the fall had 
 disengaged from then' paper covering, "so you 
 meant murder, after all I " 
 
 "There are two," answered Taswell, sternly; 
 " one for each of us. Draw and defend yourself." 
 
 As he spoke, he closed the door with liis foot. 
 The murky rays of a foggy March evening strug- 
 gled through the fanlight, just illuminating the
 
 304 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 hall, in which the combatants stood, sufficiently to 
 enable them to distinguish each other's movements. 
 At the unwonted sound of clashing swords, the ter- 
 rified women, who at first had stood at the top of 
 the stairs, descended several steps. 
 
 " Frederick, I implore you to forbear," cried Mrs. 
 Norland. 
 
 "Thank you, madam," replied the dandy, to 
 whom the excitement of action had restored his 
 usual coolness. "And allow myself to be quietly 
 finished off by your bravo? Vastly obliged to 
 you." 
 
 "Martha," she said to the servant, clasping her 
 hands, " what can we do ? " 
 
 "Oh! mistress!" answered the frightened girl, 
 " let us hide ourselves in the garret !" 
 
 The clash of swords continued. Starlinghurst 
 was a practised swordsman, and having discovered 
 after a few passes that his antagonist was totally 
 ignorant of the art, he contented himself with 
 parr;yT[ng his desperate thrusts. He was even be- 
 ginning to enjoy his adversary's purposeless rage 
 and blind onsets; he was reflecting whereabouts 
 would be the prettiest place to pmk him, for he de- 
 termined that such a villain, as he believed Taswell 
 to be, should not go unscathed, when the latter 
 suddenly drew back into the farther corner of the 
 hall, and then rushed forward with the leap of a 
 tiger. The movement threw Starlinghurst for an
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 305 
 
 instant off his guard, and he felt the point of his 
 opponent's rusty weapon enter his arm. The dandy 
 could no longer remain cool and unconcerned ; the 
 shai-p pain angered him; besides, he saw that he 
 had to deal -syith a furious adversar}'^, whose head- 
 long violence almost sufficed in place of skill. He 
 accordingly set his teeth firmly, and once more 
 stood upon his guard. Again Taswell repeated his 
 backward movement and his forward spring. But 
 this time his sword was sent flying out of his hand, 
 while Starlinghm'st's weapon pierced his shoulder. 
 He uttered a loud cry, and fell, apparently hfeless,. 
 on the floor. 
 
 Starlinghurst flung the sword away with a shud- 
 dering movement of disgust, and exclaiming, '' Har- 
 riet, you are my witness that he brought his punish- 
 ment on himself," hastily quitted the house. 
 
 For many minutes the two women, who had smik 
 down speechless with horror, remained seated on the 
 stairs, gazing on the hideous spectacle before them,, 
 which the approaching darkness of night was rapidly 
 rendering more shadowy and ternble. They felt as 
 we are apt to feel when excited by extraordinary 
 emotions, that they were looking dreamily at the 
 scene of a mimic phantasmagoria, which possessed 
 no real existence. 
 
 The more coarsely-moulded nature of the maid- 
 servant was the first to awake from this leihaigy. 
 
 " Mistress," she whispered, clutching 'Mis. Xor- 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 306 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 land's anil, " tliink yon lie is dead ? I dare not 
 venture in the dark to touch him. By this time 
 his hand will be groAving stiff and cold. I will 
 make shift to step over him and rouse the neigh- 
 bours." 
 
 "Not so!" exclaimed Mrs. Norland. "Oh, 
 Martha ! you know not the force of woman's love ; 
 I would not for worlds have a hair of my Frede- 
 rick's head injured. Admit the neighbours, and 
 they would say that he murdered this man. Rather 
 let us discover if he still Ua^cs. Do you go to the 
 kitchen, and strike a light." 
 
 Martha presently returned, bearing a candle in 
 her hand. The two women cautiously approached 
 the body. Mrs. Norland opened his shirt, which 
 was saturated with blood, and placed her hand upon 
 his breast. 
 
 "His heart still beats," she said, "gently, and 
 you can hear his breathing. He is not dead. See, 
 here is the wound. Oh ! what a little passage it is 
 through which life may ebb away! Martha, we 
 vriR put out all our strength, and cany him up- 
 stairs. I think his wound is not mortal. I have 
 often heard my father speak of these matters. This 
 is too high, too near the shoulder, to ])ierce the 
 heart." 
 
 The united exertions of the two women easily 
 sufficed to carry Arthur Taswell up-stairs, and to 
 deposit him on a bed.
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 307 
 
 " 1 Avill now fetch a surgeon,'' said ^Martha. 
 
 " A surgeon ! Oh, Martha ! I know none whom 
 I can trust to keep a secret I The surgeon will 
 disclose the adventure, and Frederick will be ruined. 
 Stay ; I have it, ^lartha ; you shall hasten in a coach 
 to St. Anthohn's-court, and bring ^Ir. Chigwood, 
 the hairdresser. He has studied surger}'. I have 
 seen him cm-e the natives in Bengal when their 
 own doctors were in despair. Say nothing of your 
 errand, but silently hand him this note." 
 
 Mrs. Norland hurriedly ^Tote a few hues, and 
 having despatched Martha, took up her station by 
 the wounded man's bedside. The oiifice of the 
 injury had been bound up, and had ceased to 
 bleed, but !Mi's. Norland feared lest the inward 
 flow of blood should suffocate her patient. She 
 poured several spoonfuls of wuie into his mouth, 
 and was rejoiced to find that he was able to 
 swallow. Presently his eyes opened slightly, his 
 lips trembled, and he mm-mm-ed, " Floretta, is that 
 
 you?" 
 
 " Poor youth I " sighed Mv<. Norland, tmTimg 
 away to suppress a tear, " he is stiU f aithf id to his 
 faithless love. No," she rephed, gently, "it is not 
 Floretta." 
 
 " Lucv, then ? " he said, ch'eamily. " But these 
 are not Lucy's yellow locks. The tmt on these is 
 more golden. Am I in heaven, and are you an 
 angel tending me ? "
 
 308 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 '^ Alas, no ! I am but a poor sinful woman. My 
 name is Harriet Norland." 
 
 "^Irs. Norland? No, that are you not. Your 
 voice is far sweeter and gentler than hers. And 
 her hair is " 
 
 " Of what colour ? " asked Mrs. Norland, ea- 
 gerly, unable to restrain her cui-iosity, in spite of 
 her patient's exhausted condition. 
 
 "Black and glossy — blacker than my beloved 
 Flor " 
 
 He sank back, uttered a sigh of weariness, and 
 ceased speaking. For a few moments his nurse 
 feared that he was dead. She administered more 
 wine, and presently had the satisfaction of hearing 
 his deep regular breathing. She did not ventui'e 
 to disturb him with further questioning, but sat 
 patiently at his side with her eyes fixed upon his 
 pale face. 
 
 " As he lies thus," she munnured, " his delicate, 
 finely-cut features, and clear complexion, seem 
 almost womanly. I can scarcely believe that this 
 calm tranquil face was an hour ago agitated by 
 such fui'ious passions. Poor boy ! he has suffered 
 much. He has lost his fortune, his reputation, his 
 love. The last is, I think, the worst loss of all. 
 Oh I what miseries we make our fellow-creatures 
 suffer through om- follies and our crimes ! This 
 poor young man might have been Floretta's happy
 
 CROSSING SWOEDS. 309 
 
 livLsband. VThy should lier wealthy father demand 
 more wealth? Then, perhaps, Frederick might 
 have been persuaded to ^-ield me the nghts he 
 owes to me. But what could have induced this 
 youth to have asserted that I had instructed him 
 to seek reparation at Frederick's hands ? There is 
 some mysteiy here. Some woman has, for e^-il 
 puii:)Oses of her o^ti, assumed my name. Who 
 can it be ? " 
 
 Here the lips of the wounded man moved 
 slightly. !Mi's. Norland bent dovm in order to 
 catch the faintest soimd. 
 
 " How could she know I was at Rochester ? '' he 
 murmured. 
 
 At these words ^Irs. Xorland started slightly, 
 and, taking the candle, softly quitted the room. 
 Entering the dining-room, she proceeded to the 
 bookcase. 
 
 ^'Can my suspicions be correct?" she said. 
 " Serafina is usually no reader, and the manner in 
 which the other day she came in hm-riedly and 
 took a book from the shelf excited my curiosity. 
 AVhen I found it was merely a road-book I was 
 satisfied, and her departure directly aftenvards 
 seemed to explain the matter. I will tm'n to 
 Kent. Ah I " she exclaimed, " it is as I thought. 
 A thumb-nail has distinctly scored a Ime both 
 above and below the word ' Rochester.' Oh,
 
 310 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 Heaven ! " she said, as she laid the book aside, 
 "I seem to be siuTOunded by foes on all sides* 
 Wliat horrible treachery is this that Serafina has 
 been guilty of ? Did she desire, for her own pm- 
 poses, to excite this poor misguided youth to as- 
 sassinate my Fredei:ick '? It seems but too hkely. 
 Yet her face — I never thought of that. Her black 
 face would surely have betrayed her. This youth, 
 however much blinded by angry passions, would 
 have hesitated to believe in a Harriet Norland 
 with a chocolate skin." 
 
 She returned to the bed-chamber, and said aloud, 
 as if in soliloquy, "My complexion is at least as 
 fair as Mrs. Norland's." 
 
 Presently the wounded man replied, in a feeble 
 voice, " I know not. She refused to raise her 
 veil. But I kissed her hand " 
 
 " Her pretty white hand ? " interposed ^Irs. 
 Norland. 
 
 " It was gloved. A liiac glove. I kissed it 
 twice." 
 
 Mrs. Norland clasped her hands together, and 
 murmured, " My doubts are now resolved. Sera- 
 fina is not a woman ; she is a fiend. And what is 
 worse, I fear her as a child dreads a severe teacher. 
 She will soon return, and can I brave her wrath 
 when she discovers that the ill-gotten guineas in 
 yonder oaken coffer have vanished away ? Did I
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. oil 
 
 but know whither to fly, I would fly this very 
 night. I would be content to dwell anpvhere, so 
 that I might honestly earn bread enough to eat. 
 Ah me ! I wonder what has become of my poor 
 old spinning-wheel in Fessenden ^-illage ? How 
 joyfully I could sit down to it again ! " 
 
 While she was soliloquising thus, the rattle of a 
 hackney-coach was heard in the street outside, and 
 in a few moments Martha re-entered the house 
 accompanied by ]Mr. Chigwood. 
 
 The hairdi'esser was a man of the world. He 
 had stated on a former occasion that he was an 
 old traveller and surprised at nothing. Conse- 
 quently he traversed the hall ^dth the most un- 
 questioning coolness, although the two swords still 
 lay there, a chair which had been overset in the 
 contest remained prostrate, and a deep stain of 
 blood marked where the wounded man had lain. 
 He silently followed !Mrs. Norland up-stah's, and 
 proceeded at once to examine Taswell's injuiy. 
 The young man was awake, and tossed restlessly 
 from side to side, while the flush on his cheek 
 showed that fever had set in. 
 
 '^ The wound in itself is tmaal," said the l^arber- 
 surgeon. "The point of the sword has been 
 stopped by the shoulder-blade, or more mischief 
 might have ensued. He has bled freely, which is 
 all the better ; but the bluntness of the weapon
 
 312 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 lias made a jagged instead of a clean cut, while 
 the rust mil help to keep it from healing kindly." 
 
 " Citizen Chig^vood ! " mmnnured Arthur Tas- 
 well. 
 
 " Hush ! my dear sir," interposed the hairdresser. 
 " We are here at the Court end of the town, where 
 there are nothing but lords and ladies ; besides, I 
 must forbid talking." 
 
 " Is Starhnghurst killed ? " continued the young 
 man. 
 
 " You wounded him .slightly, I believe," said 
 Mrs. Norland. 
 
 "Not killed? Thank God, thank God ! " mur- 
 mured Taswell. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Chigwood had completed his 
 surgical duties, and had administered a quieting 
 draught to his patient, he was beckoned out of the 
 room by ^Ii's. Norland, who detailed to him the 
 story of the combat, and told him plainly that she 
 believed Serafina to be the author of all the mis- 
 chief. 
 
 The cautious barber listened in silence, and then 
 said, " Excuse my hmTj^ng away, madam, but this 
 is an important night at St. Antholin's-com't. We 
 hope to effect Mr. Loveridge's release ; I also pm- 
 pose removing my household gods — bears, boys, 
 and all — to some more genial locality. Owing to 
 the jealousy of my landlord, Mr. Gattrell, this last 
 is an operation best conducted at dead of night."
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 313 
 
 " Oh I Ml'. Chigwood, are you going to quit 
 London ? '' exclaimed ^Irs. Norland. " I shall 
 not have a single friend left. TTould that Martha 
 and I could accompany you ? But then there is 
 that poor wounded man :" 
 
 ^•We A\'ill take him also; the countrv' air will 
 cure him man-eUously quick. Mrs. Norland," said 
 the hau'di'esser, speaking excitedly, *• I have a lofty 
 ambition, a high pm'}:)Ose to fulfil. The beginning 
 "will be poor and hmnble ; the culmination Aviil be 
 magnificent. Listen, madam. I am not going to 
 detail the nature of my plans. For the present, 
 they must be locked in my own bosom. Let us 
 speak of practical matters. You wish to escape 
 from this frivolous artificial life i *' 
 
 " I do — I do, most earnestly." 
 
 " You dread Serafina's wrath ? *' continued Mr. 
 Chigsvood, pointing to the oaken coffer. 
 
 " I am ashamed to say that the prospect of her 
 retm-n fills me with terror."' 
 
 " No shame at all. I fear her myself. She is 
 a dcA-il incarnate ; and one of my reasons for 
 quitting London in this mysterious manner is to 
 give her the slip. I will now propose a plan of 
 operations. Should Loveridge be removed to the 
 Tower to-night, it will probably be after twelve 
 o'clock. It is now half-past seven. We shall not 
 be able to start until Loveridge's release has been 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 314 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 effected. But you had better quit this house at 
 once. Pack your boxes and other necessaries, 
 empty the oaken coffer (not forgetting the forty 
 guineas due to the turnkey, which I will find 
 means of forwarding to him), then let you, Martha, 
 and ^Ir. Taswell take a coach (or a couple of 
 coaches, if one is insufficient) for Maze Pond, in 
 the Borough. Here is the address. You will find 
 the proprietor of the caravan there, a very civil 
 person. He has strict orders to keep his vehicle 
 readv at five minutes' notice. At a given signal 
 from my apprentice, Bildad Flack, he will drive to 
 St. Antholin's-comi;, and load up my goods and 
 live stock. We shall return to Maze Pond for 
 you, madam, and shall liope, if all goes well, to be 
 fairly on the Dover-road by daybreak. One word 
 of caution before I leave. Do not distui'b the sad 
 mementoes of this unfortunate duel. Let the floor 
 remain unsecured, let the chair stay as it is, overset ; 
 let the weapons lie where they are at present. 'Tis 
 almost a pity to leave the swords," quoth ]\Ir. 
 ChigTN^ood to himself ; " they are good useful 
 tools, and worth at least half-a-guinea apiece, but, 
 after what has occoiTed, their possession might get 
 me into trouble." 
 
 ^' Your plan sounds admirable," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Norland. " At the very idea of quitting this house 
 and this hateful life my heart leaps with excite-
 
 CROSSING SWORDS. 315 
 
 ment. Martha will be well pleased to go. She is 
 a simple countiy girl, and dislikes London ways 
 and London houi's. I have but one pang in 
 leaving. I shall leave behind the rightful owner 
 of my affections." 
 
 " Forget him, madam, I beseech you," said 
 Chigwood. '' He is not worthy of you. I must 
 now take my departure." 
 
 " Take, then, the forty guineas for the turnkey," 
 said ^Irs. Norland. ^' I shall still have nearly twenty 
 left, besides di'esses and articles of jewelleiy." 
 
 The hairdresser clutched the gold with respect- 
 ful aA-idity, sighed deeply at the thought that it was 
 not his own, and then quitted the house. 
 
 As soon as he was gone, Martha and her mistress 
 set to work with the utmost activits^ to pack up 
 their clothing. ^Irs. Norland was scrupulously 
 careful to remove nothing from the house but her 
 o^Aii personal wearing apparel and trinkets. The 
 whole of the furnitm'e and other utensds she left 
 for Serafina's benefit, full}' explaining her intentions 
 in a note, which she placed in the comer of the 
 mirror in Serafina's bedroom. She pointed out 
 that the sale of the fumitm^e, after papng rent, 
 taxes, and all outstanding expenses (including her 
 own nominal wages), would far more than repay 
 her for the contents of the oaken box; in short, 
 that for the hundred and twenty guineas taken
 
 316 SIR Goodwin's folly. 
 
 by lier mistress she would receive nearly four 
 hundred. 
 
 As she paused occasionally from her labours, 
 Mrs. Norland could not help reflecting that she 
 was embarldng on a very rash enterprise. Equi-. 
 vocal as her position was in London, still it gave 
 her a certain status in society ; she was now about 
 to abandon this and plunge into an unknown sea of 
 adventure. But this very notion of adventure 
 pleased her. She longed to break through the 
 weary trammels of the sham fashionable life she 
 had lately led, and begin existence, as it were, 
 anew. Besides, when she heard that Mr. Chigwood 
 was about to take the Dover-road, she remembered 
 that in the comity of Kent she had one kind friend 
 who was in some measure acquainted with her past 
 career, and who could even excuse her having set 
 up a gaming-table, being well aware of Serafina's 
 persuasive wiles and extraordinary influence. This 
 friend we shall probably meet at a later stage of 
 our history. 
 
 On the whole, therefore, though her heart 
 fluttered with anxiety, Harriet Norland rejoiced at 
 the prospect of her journey. 
 
 In less than two hours all the arrangements were 
 completed; a coach was brought to the door, to 
 which, assisted by the driver, Martha conveyed 
 Arthur Taswell. A mattress was placed in the
 
 CROSSIXG SWORDS. 317 
 
 coacli, on wliicli the wounded man was laid, and, 
 owing to the opiate potion which ^Ir. Chigwood 
 had administered, his sleep was unbroken during 
 the jom-ney. Five-and-f orty minutes of joking over 
 Westminster Bridge brought the whole party safely 
 to their destination. On crossing the Borough 
 High-street they met the Chatham coach, which 
 had been seriously delayed by the breaking of an 
 axletree. Little did Serafina tliink as she sat 
 inside, ^-ith her thick veil down to keep out the 
 chill night air of the river, that her tiTiant mistress 
 was passing withm a few yards at her side. Had 
 she known it, she would have opened the door and 
 sprung from her seat at the risk of her neck. For 
 the person who was thus running away was a 
 valuable slave, highly useful as a decoy to the 
 gentlemen of fashion, who risked their guineas at 
 faro ; and worth five thousand pomids any day in 
 the Bedford-square market. Little did Sir Good- 
 mn know who was running away that night as he 
 nursed his gouty foot, pored over the account-sales 
 of his sugar, or kissed the gilt-edged note which six 
 weeks before he had received from his coy Amanda. 
 And now Amanda is flpng away. Like a bu'd of 
 the woods, lonor cacred and confined, fed -^"ith 
 artificial food, taught to sing unnatural songs for 
 the amusement of her captors, she has watched the 
 opportmiity when the door of her prison was left 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 318 SIR GOODWIN S FOLLY. 
 
 open, and has escaped into the fresh air and the 
 green fields. She wonld fain return to her native 
 nest, but the hand of the spoiler has been there, 
 and, in place of mirth and contentment, she would 
 find silent desolation. Her wings are weak from 
 imprisonment, she is unused to liberty, she is apt 
 to miss her way, hawks and other birds of prey 
 hover round, ready to devour her. Will she at last 
 reach a place of refuge for her weary soul ? 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 C. WHITING, BKACFOET HOUSE, STKAND.