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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:36:37 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:36:37 -0700 |
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diff --git a/11323-h/11323-h.htm b/11323-h/11323-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a08da6f --- /dev/null +++ b/11323-h/11323-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13395 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + + <title>Caleb Williams, by William Godwin.</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + + .note, .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + font-size: 0.9em;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; + text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11323 ***</div> + + <h1>CALEB WILLIAMS</h1> + + <h2>OR THINGS AS THEY ARE</h2> + + <h2>BY WILLIAM GODWIN</h2> + + <h3>WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ERNEST A. BAKER, M.A.</h3> + + <h4>LONDON</h4> + + + <h3>1903</h3> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + <ul> + <li><a href="#DRAMATIS_PERSONAE">DRAMATIS PERSONAE</a></li> + <li><a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a></li> + <li><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a></li> + <li><a href="#AUTHORS_LATEST_PREFACE">AUTHOR'S LATEST PREFACE.</a></li> + <li><a href="#PREFACE_TO_THE_FIRST_EDITION">PREFACE TO THE FIRST + EDITION.</a></li> + + <li><a href="#VOLUME_THE_FIRST">VOLUME THE FIRST.</a> + <ul> + <li><a href="#V1_CI">Chapter I.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CII">Chapter II.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CIII">Chapter III.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CIV">Chapter IV.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CV">Chapter V.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CVI">Chapter VI.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CVII">Chapter VII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CVIII">Chapter VIII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CIX">Chapter IX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CX">Chapter X.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CXI">Chapter XI.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V1_CXII">Chapter XII.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + + <li><a href="#VOLUME_THE_SECOND">VOLUME THE SECOND.</a> + <ul> + <li><a href="#V2_CI">Chapter I.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CII">Chapter II.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CIII">Chapter III.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CIV">Chapter IV.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CV">Chapter V.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CVI">Chapter VI.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CVII">Chapter VII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CVIII">Chapter VIII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CIX">Chapter IX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CX">Chapter X.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CXI">Chapter XI.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CXII">Chapter XII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CXIII">Chapter XIII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V2_CXIV">Chapter XIV.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + + <li><a href="#VOLUME_THE_THIRD">VOLUME THE THIRD.</a> + <ul> + <li><a href="#V3_CI">Chapter I.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CII">Chapter II.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CIII">Chapter III.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CIV">Chapter IV.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CV">Chapter V.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CVI">Chapter VI.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CVII">Chapter VII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CVIII">Chapter VIII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CIX">Chapter IX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CX">Chapter X.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CXI">Chapter XI.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CXII">Chapter XII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CXIII">Chapter XIII.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CXIV">Chapter XIV.</a></li> + <li><a href="#V3_CXV">Chapter XV.</a></li> + <li><a href="#POSTSCRIPT">Postscript.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="DRAMATIS_PERSONAE" id="DRAMATIS_PERSONAE"></a> + + <h2>DRAMATIS PERSONAE</h2> + + <blockquote> + <p>MR. FERDINANDO FALKLAND, a high-spirited and highly cultured gentleman, + a country squire in "a remote county of England."</p> + + <p>CALEB WILLIAMS, a youth, his secretary, the discoverer of his secret, + and the supposed narrator of the consequent events.</p> + + <p>MR. COLLINS, Falkland's steward and Caleb's friend.</p> + + <p>THOMAS, a servant of Falkland's.</p> + + <p>MR. FORESTER, Falkland's brother-in-law.</p> + + <p>MR. BARNABAS TYRREL, a brutal and tyrannical squire.</p> + + <p>MISS EMILY MELVILLE, his cousin and dependent, whom he cruelly + maltreats and does to death.</p> + + <p>GRIMES, a brutal rustic, suborned by Tyrrel to abduct Miss + Melville.</p> + + <p>DR. WILSON; MRS. HAMMOND, friends of Miss Melville.</p> + + <p>MR. HAWKINS, farmer; YOUNG HAWKINS, his son, Victims of Tyrrel's + brutality, and wrongfully hanged as his murderers.</p> + + <p>GINES, a robber and thief-taker, instrument of Falkland's vengeance + upon Caleb.</p> + + <p>MR. RAYMOND, an "Arcadian" captain of robbers.</p> + + <p>LARKINS, one of his band.</p> + + <p>AN OLD HAG, housekeeper to the robbers.</p> + + <p>A GAOLER.</p> + + <p>MISS PEGGY, the gaoler's daughter.</p> + + <p>MRS. MARNEY, a poor gentlewoman, Caleb's friend in distress.</p> + + <p>MR. SPURREL, a friend who informs on Caleb.</p> + + <p>MRS. DENISON, a cultivated lady with whom Caleb is for a while on + friendly terms.</p> + </blockquote> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a> + + <h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> + + <p>The reputation of WILLIAM GODWIN as a social philosopher, and the merits + of his famous novel, "Caleb Williams," have been for more than a century the + subject of extreme divergencies of judgment among critics. "The first + systematic anarchist," as he is called by Professor Saintsbury, aroused + bitter contention with his writings during his own lifetime, and his + opponents have remained so prejudiced that even the staid bibliographer + Allibone, in his "Dictionary of English Literature," a place where one would + think the most flagitious author safe from animosity, speaks of Godwin's + private life in terms that are little less than scurrilous. Over against + this persistent acrimony may be put the fine eulogy of Mr. C. Kegan Paul, + his biographer, to represent the favourable judgment of our own time, whilst + I will venture to quote one remarkable passage that voices the opinions of + many among Godwin's most eminent contemporaries.</p> + + <p>In "The Letters of Charles Lamb," Sir T.N. Talfourd says:</p> + + <blockquote> + "Indifferent altogether to the politics of the age, Lamb could not help + being struck with productions of its newborn energies so remarkable as the + works and the character of Godwin. He seemed to realise in himself what + Wordsworth long afterwards described, 'the central calm at the heart of + all agitation.' Through the medium of his mind the stormy convulsions of + society were seen 'silent as in a picture.' Paradoxes the most daring wore + the air of deliberate wisdom as he pronounced them. He foretold the future + happiness of mankind, not with the inspiration of the poet, but with the + grave and passionless voice of the oracle. There was nothing better + calculated at once to feed and to make steady the enthusiasm of youthful + patriots than the high speculations in which he taught them to engage, on + the nature of social evils and the great destiny of his species. No one + would have suspected the author of those wild theories which startled the + wise and shocked the prudent in the calm, gentlemanly person who rarely + said anything above the most gentle commonplace, and took interest in + little beyond the whist-table." + </blockquote> + + <p>WILLIAM GODWIN (1756-1836) was son and grandson of Dissenting ministers, + and was destined for the same profession. In theology he began as a + Calvinist, and for a while was tinctured with the austere doctrines of the + Sandemanians. But his religious views soon took an unorthodox turn, and in + 1782, falling out with his congregation at Stowmarket, he came up to London + to earn his bread henceforward as a man of letters. In 1793 Godwin became + one of the most famous men in England by the publication of his "Political + Justice," a work that his biographer would place side by side with the + "Speech for Unlicensed Printing," the "Essay on Education," and "Emile," as + one of "the unseen levers which have moved the changes of the times." + Although the book came out at what we should call a "prohibitive price," it + had an enormous circulation, and brought its author in something like 1,000 + guineas. In his first novel, "Caleb Williams," which was published the next + year, he illustrated in scenes from real life many of the principles + enunciated in his philosophical work. "Caleb Williams" went through a number + of editions, and was dramatized by Colman the younger under the title of + "The Iron Chest." It has now been out of print for many years. Godwin wrote + several other novels, but one alone is readable now, "St. Leon," which is + philosophical in idea and purpose, and contains some passages of singular + eloquence and beauty.</p> + + <p>Godwin married the authoress of the "Rights of Woman," Mary + Wollstonecraft, in 1797, losing her the same year. Their daughter was the + gifted wife of the poet Shelley. He was a social man, particularly fond of + whist, and was on terms of intimacy and affection with many celebrated men + and women. Tom Paine, Josiah Wedgwood, and Curran were among his closest + male friends, while the story of his friendships with Mrs. Inchbald, Amelia + Opie, with the lady immortalized by Shelley as Maria Gisborne, and with + those literary sisters, Sophia and Harriet Lee, authors of the "Canterbury + Tales," has a certain sentimental interest. Afterwards he became known to + Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Lamb. He married Mrs. Clairmont in 1801. His + later years were clouded by great embarrassments, and not till 1833 was he + put out of reach of the worst privations by the gift of a small sinecure, + that of yeoman usher of the Exchequer. He died in 1836.</p> + + <p>Among the contradictory judgments passed on "Caleb Williams" by Godwin's + contemporaries those of Hazlitt, Sir James Mackintosh, and Sir T. N. + Talfourd were perhaps the most eulogistic, whilst De Quincey and Allan + Cunningham criticized the book with considerable severity. Hazlitt's opinion + is quoted from the "Spirit of the Age":</p> + + <blockquote> + "A masterpiece, both as to invention and execution. The romantic and + chivalrous principle of the love of personal fame is embodied in the + finest possible manner in the character of Falkland; as in Caleb Williams + (who is not the first, but the second character in the piece), we see the + very demon of curiosity personified. Perhaps the art with which these two + characters are contrived to relieve and set off each other has never been + surpassed by any work of fiction, with the exception of the immortal + satire of Cervantes." + </blockquote> + + <p>Sir Leslie Stephen said of it the other day:</p> + + <blockquote> + "It has lived—though in comparative obscurity—for over a + century, and high authorities tell us that vitality prolonged for that + period raises a presumption that a book deserves the title of + classic."—<i>National Review, February</i>, 1902. + </blockquote> + + <p>To understand how the work came to be written, and its aim, it is + advisable to read carefully all three of Godwin's prefaces, more + particularly the last and the most candid, written in 1832. This will, I + think, dispose of the objection that the story was expressly constructed to + illustrate a moral, a moral that, as Sir Leslie Stephen says, "eludes him." + He says:</p> + + <blockquote> + "I formed a conception of a book of fictitious adventure that should in + some way be distinguished by a very powerful interest. Pursuing this idea, + I invented first the third volume of my tale, then the second, and, last + of all, the first. I bent myself to the conception of a series of + adventures of flight and pursuit; the fugitive in perpetual apprehension + of being overwhelmed with the worst calamities, and the pursuer, by his + ingenuity and resources, keeping his victim in a state of the most fearful + alarm. This was the project of my third volume." + </blockquote> + + <p>He goes on to describe in more detail the "dramatic and impressive" + situations and the "fearful events" that were to be evolved, making it + pretty clear that the purpose somewhat vaguely and cautiously outlined in + the earliest preface was rather of the nature of an afterthought. Falkland + is not intended to be a personification of the evils caused by the social + system, nor is he put forward as the inevitable product of that system. The + reader's attention is chiefly absorbed by the extraordinary contest between + Caleb Williams and Falkland, and in the tragic situations that it involves. + Compared with these the denunciation of the social system is a matter of + secondary interest; but it was natural that the author of the "Political + Justice," with his mind preoccupied by the defects of the English social + system, should make those defects the, evil agencies of his plot. As the + essential conditions of the series of events, as the machinery by which + everything is brought about, these defects are of the utmost importance to + the story. It is the accused system that awards to Tyrrel and Falkland their + immense preponderance in society, and enables them to use the power of the + law for the most nefarious ends. Tyrrel does his cousin to death and ruins + his tenant, a man of integrity, by means of the law. This is the occasion of + Falkland's original crime. His more heinous offence, the abandonment of the + innocent Hawkinses to the gallows, is the consequence of what Godwin + expressly denounces, punishment for murder. "I conceived it to be in the + highest degree absurd and iniquitous, to cut off a man qualified for the + most essential and extensive utility, merely out of retrospect to an act + which, whatever were its merits, could not be retrieved." Then a new element + is imported into the train of causation, Caleb's insatiable curiosity, and + the strife begins between these well-matched antagonists, the man of wealth + and station utilizing all the advantages granted him by the state of society + to crush his enemy. Godwin, then, was justified in declaring that his book + comprehended "a general view of the modes of domestic and unrecorded + despotism by which man becomes the destroyer of man." Such were the words of + the original preface, which was suppressed for a short time owing to the + fears caused by the trial of Horne Tooke, Thomas Holcroft and other + revolutionists, with whom Godwin was in profound sympathy. Had he intended + "Caleb Williams," however, from its first inception, to be an imaginative + version of the "Political Justice," he would have had to invent a different + plan and different characters. The arguments of a sociological novel lack + cogency unless the characters are fairly representative of average mankind. + Godwin's principal actors are both, to say the least, exceptional. They are + lofty idealizations of certain virtues and powers of mind. Falkland is like + Jean Valjean, a superhuman creature; and, indeed, "Caleb Williams" may well + be compared on one side with "Les Misérables," for Victor Hugo's avowed + purpose, likewise, was the denunciation of social tyranny. But the + characteristics that would have weakened the implied theorem, had such been + the main object, are the very things that make the novel more powerful as + drama of a grandiose, spiritual kind. The high and concentrated imagination + that created such a being as Falkland, and the intensity of passion with + which Caleb's fatal energy of mind is sustained through that long, + despairing struggle, are of greater artistic value than the mechanical + symmetry by which morals are illustrated.</p> + + <p>E. A. B.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a> + + <h2>PREFACE</h2> + + <h3>BY THE AUTHOR.</h3> + + <p>The following narrative is intended to answer a purpose more general and + important than immediately appears upon the face of it. The question now + afloat in the world respecting THINGS AS THEY ARE is the most interesting + that can be presented to the human mind. While one party pleads for + reformation and change, the other extols in the warmest terms the existing + constitution of society. It seemed as if something would be gained for the + decision of this question if that constitution were faithfully developed in + its practical effects. What is now presented to the public is no refined and + abstract speculation; it is a study and delineation of things passing in the + moral world. It is but of late that the inestimable importance of political + principles has been adequately apprehended. It is now known to philosophers + that the spirit and character of the Government intrudes itself into every + rank of society. But this is a truth highly worthy to be communicated to + persons whom books of philosophy and science are never likely to reach. + Accordingly, it was proposed, in the invention of the following work, to + comprehend, as far as the progressive nature of a single story would allow, + a general review of the modes of domestic and unrecorded despotism by which + man becomes the destroyer of man. If the author shall have taught a valuable + lesson, without subtracting from the interest and passion by which a + performance of this sort ought to be characterised, he will have reason to + congratulate himself upon the vehicle he has chosen.</p> + + <p><i>May</i> 12, 1794.</p> + + <p>This preface was withdrawn in the original edition, in compliance with + the alarms of booksellers. "Caleb Williams" made his first appearance in the + world in the same month in which the sanguinary plot broke out against the + liberties of Englishmen, which was happily terminated by the acquittal of + its first intended victims in the close of that year. Terror was the order + of the day; and it was feared that even the humble novelist might be shown + to be constructively a traitor.</p> + + <p><i>October</i> 29, 1795.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="AUTHORS_LATEST_PREFACE" id="AUTHORS_LATEST_PREFACE"></a> + + <h2>AUTHOR'S LATEST PREFACE.</h2> + + <p>LONDON, <i>November</i> 20, 1832.</p> + + <p>"CALEB WILLIAMS" has always been regarded by the public with an unusual + degree of favour. The proprietor of "THE STANDARD NOVELS" has therefore + imagined that even an account of the concoction and mode of writing of the + work would be viewed with some interest.</p> + + <p>I finished the "Enquiry concerning Political Justice," the first work + which may be considered as written by me in a certain degree in the maturity + of my intellectual powers, and bearing my name, early in January, 1793; and + about the middle of the following month the book was published. It was my + fortune at that time to be obliged to consider my pen as the sole instrument + for supplying my current expenses. By the liberality of my bookseller, Mr. + George Robinson, of Paternoster Row, I was enabled then, and for nearly ten + years before, to meet these expenses, while writing different things of + obscure note, the names of which, though innocent and in some degree useful, + I am rather inclined to suppress. In May, 1791, I projected this, my + favourite work, and from that time gave up every other occupation that might + interfere with it. My agreement with Robinson was that he was to supply my + wants at a specified rate while the book was in the train of composition. + Finally, I was very little beforehand with the world on the day of its + publication, and was therefore obliged to look round and consider to what + species of industry I should next devote myself.</p> + + <p>I had always felt in myself some vocation towards the composition of a + narrative of fictitious adventure; and among the things of obscure note + which I have above referred to were two or three pieces of this nature. It + is not therefore extraordinary that some project of the sort should have + suggested itself on the present occasion.</p> + + <p>But I stood now in a very different situation from that in which I had + been placed at a former period. In past years, and even almost from boyhood, + I was perpetually prone to exclaim with Cowley:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <p>"What shall I do to be for ever known,</p> + + <p>And make the age to come my own?"</p> + </div> + + <p>But I had endeavoured for ten years, and was as far from approaching my + object as ever. Everything I wrote fell dead-born from the press. Very often + I was disposed to quit the enterprise in despair. But still I felt ever and + anon impelled to repeat my effort.</p> + + <p>At length I conceived the plan of Political Justice. I was convinced that + my object of building to myself a name would never be attained by merely + repeating and refining a little upon what other men had said, even though I + should imagine that I delivered things of this sort with a more than usual + point and elegance. The world, I believed, would accept nothing from me with + distinguishing favour that did not bear upon the face of it the undoubted + stamp of originality. Having long ruminated upon the principles of Political + Justice, I persuaded myself that I could offer to the public, in a treatise + on this subject, things at once new, true, and important. In the progress of + the work I became more sanguine and confident. I talked over my ideas with a + few familiar friends during its progress, and they gave me every generous + encouragement. It happened that the fame of my book, in some inconsiderable + degree, got before its publication, and a certain number of persons were + prepared to receive it with favour. It would be false modesty in me to say + that its acceptance, when published, did not nearly come up to everything + that could soberly have been expected by me. In consequence of this, the + tone of my mind, both during the period in which I was engaged in the work + and afterwards, acquired a certain elevation, and made me now unwilling to + stoop to what was insignificant.</p> + + <p>I formed a conception of a book of fictitious adventure that should in + some way be distinguished by a very powerful interest. Pursuing this idea, I + invented first the third volume of my tale, then the second, and last of all + the first. I bent myself to the conception of a series of adventures of + flight and pursuit; the fugitive in perpetual apprehension of being + overwhelmed with the worst calamities, and the pursuer, by his ingenuity and + resources, keeping his victim in a state of the most fearful alarm. This was + the project of my third volume. I was next called upon to conceive a + dramatic and impressive situation adequate to account for the impulse that + the pursuer should feel, incessantly to alarm and harass his victim, with an + inextinguishable resolution never to allow him the least interval of peace + and security. This I apprehended could best be effected by a secret murder, + to the investigation of which the innocent victim should be impelled by an + unconquerable spirit of curiosity. The murderer would thus have a sufficient + motive to persecute the unhappy discoverer, that he might deprive him of + peace, character, and credit, and have him for ever in his power. This + constituted the outline of my second volume.</p> + + <p>The subject of the first volume was still to be invented. To account for + the fearful events of the third, it was necessary that the pursuer should be + invested with every advantage of fortune, with a resolution that nothing + could defeat or baffle, and with extraordinary resources of intellect. Nor + could my purpose of giving an overpowering interest to my tale be answered + without his appearing to have been originally endowed with a mighty store of + amiable dispositions and virtues, so that his being driven to the first act + of murder should be judged worthy of the deepest regret, and should be seen + in some measure to have arisen out of his virtues themselves. It was + necessary to make him, so to speak, the tenant of an atmosphere of romance, + so that every reader should feel prompted almost to worship him for his high + qualities. Here were ample materials for a first volume.</p> + + <p>I felt that I had a great advantage in thus carrying back my invention + from the ultimate conclusion to the first commencement of the train of + adventures upon which I purposed to employ my pen. An entire unity of plot + would be the infallible result; and the unity of spirit and interest in a + tale truly considered gives it a powerful hold on the reader, which can + scarcely be generated with equal success in any other way.</p> + + <p>I devoted about two or three weeks to the imagining and putting down + hints for my story before I engaged seriously and methodically in its + composition. In these hints I began with my third volume, then proceeded to + my second, and last of all grappled with the first. I filled two or three + sheets of demy writing-paper, folded in octavo, with these memorandums. They + were put down with great brevity, yet explicitly enough to secure a perfect + recollection of their meaning, within the time necessary for drawing out the + story at full, in short paragraphs of two, three, four, five, or six lines + each.</p> + + <p>I then sat down to write my story from the beginning. I wrote for the + most part but a short portion in any single day. I wrote only when the + afflatus was upon me. I held it for a maxim that any portion that was + written when I was not fully in the vein told for considerably worse than + nothing. Idleness was a thousand times better in this case than industry + against the grain. Idleness was only time lost; and the next day, it may be, + was as promising as ever. It was merely a day perished from the calendar. + But a passage written feebly, flatly, and in a wrong spirit, constituted an + obstacle that it was next to impossible to correct and set right again. I + wrote therefore by starts; sometimes for a week or ten days not a line. Yet + all came to the same thing in the sequel. On an average, a volume of "Caleb + Williams" cost me four months, neither less nor more.</p> + + <p>It must be admitted, however, that during the whole period, bating a few + intervals, my mind was in a high state of excitement. I said to myself a + thousand times, "I will write a tale that shall constitute an epoch in the + mind of the reader, that no one, after he has read it, shall ever be exactly + the same man that he was before."—I put these things down just as they + happened, and with the most entire frankness. I know that it will sound like + the most pitiable degree of self-conceit. But such perhaps ought to be the + state of mind of an author when he does his best. At any rate, I have said + nothing of my vainglorious impulse for nearly forty years.</p> + + <p>When I had written about seven-tenths of the first volume, I was + prevailed upon by the extreme importunity of an old and intimate friend to + allow him the perusal of my manuscript. On the second day he returned it + with a note to this purpose: "I return you your manuscript, because I + promised to do so. If I had obeyed the impulse of my own mind, I should have + thrust it in the fire. If you persist, the book will infallibly prove the + grave of your literary fame."</p> + + <p>I doubtless felt no implicit deference for the judgment of my friendly + critic. Yet it cost me at least two days of deep anxiety before I recovered + the shock. Let the reader picture to himself my situation. I felt no + implicit deference for the judgment of my friendly critic. But it was all I + had for it. This was my first experiment of an unbiassed decision. It stood + in the place of all the world to me. I could not, and I did not feel + disposed to, appeal any further. If I had, how could I tell that the second + and third judgment would be more favourable than the first? Then what would + have been the result? No; I had nothing for it but to wrap myself in my own + integrity. By dint of resolution I became invulnerable. I resolved to go on + to the end, trusting as I could to my own anticipations of the whole, and + bidding the world wait its time before it should be admitted to the + consult.</p> + + <p>I began my narrative, as is the more usual way, in the third person. But + I speedily became dissatisfied. I then assumed the first person, making the + hero of my tale his own historian; and in this mode I have persisted in all + my subsequent attempts at works of fiction. It was infinitely the best + adapted, at least, to my vein of delineation, where the thing in which my + imagination revelled the most freely was the analysis of the private and + internal operations of the mind, employing my metaphysical dissecting knife + in tracing and laying bare the involutions of motive, and recording the + gradually accumulating impulses which led the personages I had to describe + primarily to adopt the particular way of proceeding in which they afterwards + embarked.</p> + + <p>When I had determined on the main purpose of my story, it was ever my + method to get about me any productions of former authors that seemed to bear + on my subject. I never entertained the fear that in this way of proceeding I + should be in danger of servilely copying my predecessors. I imagined that I + had a vein of thinking that was properly my own, which would always preserve + me from plagiarism. I read other authors, that I might see what they had + done, or, more properly, that I might forcibly hold my mind and occupy my + thoughts in a particular train, I and my predecessors travelling in some + sense to the same goal, at the same time that I struck out a path of my own, + without ultimately heeding the direction they pursued, and disdaining to + inquire whether by any chance it for a few steps coincided or did not + coincide with mine.</p> + + <p>Thus, in the instance of "Caleb Williams," I read over a little old book, + entitled "The Adventures of Mademoiselle de St. Phale," a French Protestant + in the times of the fiercest persecution of the Huguenots, who fled through + France in the utmost terror, in the midst of eternal alarms and hair-breadth + escapes, having her quarters perpetually beaten up, and by scarcely any + chance finding a moment's interval of security. I turned over the pages of a + tremendous compilation, entitled "God's Revenge against Murder," where the + beam of the eye of Omniscience was represented as perpetually pursuing the + guilty, and laying open his most hidden retreats to the light of day. I was + extremely conversant with the "Newgate Calendar" and the "Lives of the + Pirates." In the meantime no works of fiction came amiss to me, provided + they were written with energy. The authors were still employed upon the same + mine as myself, however different was the vein they pursued: we were all of + us engaged in exploring the entrails of mind and motive, and in tracing the + various rencontres and clashes that may occur between man and man in the + diversified scene of human life.</p> + + <p>I rather amused myself with tracing a certain similitude between the + story of Caleb Williams and the tale of Bluebeard, than derived any hints + from that admirable specimen of the terrific. Falkland was my Bluebeard, who + had perpetrated atrocious crimes, which, if discovered, he might expect to + have all the world roused to revenge against him. Caleb Williams was the + wife who, in spite of warning, persisted in his attempts to discover the + forbidden secret; and, when he had succeeded, struggled as fruitlessly to + escape the consequences, as the wife of Bluebeard in washing the key of the + ensanguined chamber, who, as often as she cleared the stain of blood from + the one side, found it showing itself with frightful distinctness on the + other.</p> + + <p>When I had proceeded as far as the early pages of my third volume, I + found myself completely at a stand. I rested on my arms from the 2nd of + January, 1794, to the 1st of April following, without getting forward in the + smallest degree. It has ever been thus with me in works of any continuance. + The bow will not be for ever bent:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <p>"Opere in longo fas est obrepere somnum."</p> + </div> + + <p>I endeavoured, however, to take my repose to myself in security, and not + to inflict a set of crude and incoherent dreams upon my readers. In the + meantime, when I revived, I revived in earnest, and in the course of that + month carried on my work with unabated speed to the end.</p> + + <p>Thus I have endeavoured to give a true history of the concoction and mode + of writing of this mighty trifle. When I had done, I soon became sensible + that I had done in a manner nothing. How many flat and insipid parts does + the book contain! How terribly unequal does it appear to me! From time to + time the author plainly reels to and fro like a drunken man. And, when I had + done all, what had I done? Written a book to amuse boys and girls in their + vacant hours, a story to be hastily gobbled up by them, swallowed in a + pusillanimous and unanimated mood, without chewing and digestion. I was in + this respect greatly impressed with the confession of one of the most + accomplished readers and excellent critics that any author could have fallen + in with (the unfortunate Joseph Gerald). He told me that he had received my + book late one evening, and had read through the three volumes before he + closed his eyes. Thus, what had cost me twelve months' labour, ceaseless + heartaches and industry, now sinking in despair, and now roused and + sustained in unusual energy, he went over in a few hours, shut the book, + laid himself on his pillow, slept, and was refreshed, and cried,</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <p>"To-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new."</p> + </div> + + <p>I had thought to have said something here respecting the concoction of + "St. Leon" and "Fleetwood." But all that occurs to me on the subject seems + to be anticipated in the following</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="PREFACE_TO_THE_FIRST_EDITION" id= + "PREFACE_TO_THE_FIRST_EDITION"></a> + + <h2>PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.</h2> + + <p><i>February 14, 1805.</i></p> + + <p>Yet another novel from the same pen, which has twice before claimed the + patience of the public in this form. The unequivocal indulgence which has + been extended to my two former attempts, renders me doubly solicitous not to + forfeit the kindness I have experienced.</p> + + <p>One caution I have particularly sought to exercise: "not to repeat + myself." Caleb Williams was a story of very surprising and uncommon events, + but which were supposed to be entirely within the laws and established + course of nature, as she operates in the planet we inhabit. The story of St. + Leon is of the miraculous class; and its design, to "mix human feelings and + passions with incredible situations, and thus render them impressive and + interesting."</p> + + <p>Some of those fastidious readers—they may be classed among the best + friends an author has, if their admonitions are judiciously + considered—who are willing to discover those faults which do not offer + themselves to every eye, have remarked that both these tales are in a + vicious style of writing; that Horace has long ago decided that the story we + cannot believe we are by all the laws of criticism called upon to hate; and + that even the adventures of the honest secretary, who was first heard of ten + years ago, are so much out of the usual road that not one reader in a + million can ever fear they will happen to himself.</p> + + <p>Gentlemen critics, I thank you. In the present volumes I have served you + with a dish agreeable to your own receipt, though I cannot say with any + sanguine hope of obtaining your approbation.</p> + + <p>The following story consists of such adventures as for the most part have + occurred to at least one half of the Englishmen now existing who are of the + same rank of life as my hero. Most of them have been at college, and shared + in college excesses; most of them have afterward run a certain gauntlet of + dissipation; most have married, and, I am afraid, there are few of the + married tribe who have not at some time or other had certain small + misunderstandings with their wives.<a name="footnotetag1" id= + "footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a> To be sure, they + have not all of them felt and acted under these trite adventures as my hero + does. In this little work the reader will scarcely find anything to "elevate + and surprise;" and, if it has any merit, it must consist in the liveliness + with which it brings things home to the imagination, and the reality it + gives to the scenes it pourtrays.</p> + + <p>Yes, even in the present narrative, I have aimed at a certain kind of + novelty—a novelty which may be aptly expressed by a parody on a + well-known line of Pope; it relates:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <p>"Things often done, but never yet described."</p> + </div> + + <p>In selecting among common and ordinary adventures, I have endeavoured to + avoid such as a thousand novels before mine have undertaken to develop. + Multitudes of readers have themselves passed through the very incidents I + relate; but, for the most part, no work has hitherto recorded them. If I + have told them truly, I have added somewhat to the stock of books which + should enable a recluse, shut up in his closet, to form an idea of what is + passing in the world. It is inconceivable, meanwhile, how much, by this + choice of a subject, I increased the arduousness of my task. It is so easy + to do, a little better, or a little worse, what twenty authors have done + before! If I had foreseen from the first all the difficulty of my project, + my courage would have failed me to undertake the execution of it.</p> + + <p>Certain persons, who condescend to make my supposed inconsistencies the + favourite object of their research, will perhaps remark with exultation on + the respect expressed in this work for marriage, and exclaim, "It was not + always thus!" referring to the pages in which this subject is treated in the + "Enquiry concerning Political Justice" for the proof of their assertion. The + answer to this remark is exceedingly simple. The production referred to in + it, the first foundation of its author's claim to public distinction and + favour, was a treatise, aiming to ascertain what new institutions in + political society might be found more conducive to general happiness than + those which at present prevail. In the course of this disquisition it was + enquired whether marriage, as it stands described and supported in the laws + of England, might not with advantage admit of certain modifications. Can + anything be more distinct than such a proposition on the one hand and a + recommendation on the other that each man for himself should supersede and + trample upon the institutions of the country in which he lives? A thousand + things might be found excellent and salutary, if brought into general + practice, which would in some cases appear ridiculous, and in others be + attended with tragical consequences, if prematurely acted upon by a solitary + individual. The author of "Political Justice," as appears again and again in + the pages of that work, is the last man in the world to recommend a pitiful + attempt, by scattered examples, to renovate the face of society, instead of + endeavouring, by discussion and reasoning, to effect a grand and + comprehensive improvement in the sentiments of its members.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="VOLUME_THE_FIRST" id="VOLUME_THE_FIRST"></a> + + <h2>VOLUME THE FIRST.</h2> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CI" id="V1_CI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + <p>My life has for several years been a theatre of calamity. I have been a + mark for the vigilance of tyranny, and I could not escape. My fairest + prospects have been blasted. My enemy has shown himself inaccessible to + entreaties, and untired in persecution. My fame, as well as my happiness, + has become his victim. Every one, as far as my story has been known, has + refused to assist me in my distress, and has execrated my name. I have not + deserved this treatment. My own conscience witnesses in behalf of that + innocence, my pretensions to which are regarded in the world as incredible. + There is now, however, little hope that I shall escape from the toils that + universally beset me. I am incited to the penning of these memoirs only by a + desire to divert my mind from the deplorableness of my situation, and a + faint idea that posterity may by their means be induced to render me a + justice which my contemporaries refuse. My story will, at least, appear to + have that consistency which is seldom attendant but upon truth.</p> + + <p>I was born of humble parents, in a remote county of England. Their + occupations were such as usually fall to the lot of peasants, and they had + no portion to give me, but an education free from the usual sources of + depravity, and the inheritance, long since lost by their unfortunate + progeny! of an honest fame. I was taught the rudiments of no science, except + reading, writing, and arithmetic. But I had an inquisitive mind, and + neglected no means of information from conversation or books. My improvement + was greater than my condition in life afforded room to expect.</p> + + <p>There are other circumstances deserving to be mentioned as having + influenced the history of my future life. I was somewhat above the middle + stature. Without being particularly athletic in appearance, or large in my + dimensions, I was uncommonly vigorous and active. My joints were supple, and + I was formed to excel in youthful sports. The habits of my mind, however, + were to a certain degree at war with the dictates of boyish vanity. I had + considerable aversion to the boisterous gaiety of the village gallants, and + contrived to satisfy my love of praise with an unfrequent apparition at + their amusements. My excellence in these respects, however, gave a turn to + my meditations. I delighted to read of feats of activity, and was + particularly interested by tales in which corporeal ingenuity or strength + are the means resorted to for supplying resources and conquering + difficulties. I inured myself to mechanical pursuits, and devoted much of my + time to an endeavour after mechanical invention.</p> + + <p>The spring of action which, perhaps more than any other, characterised + the whole train of my life, was curiosity. It was this that gave me my + mechanical turn; I was desirous of tracing the variety of effects which + might be produced from given causes. It was this that made me a sort of + natural philosopher; I could not rest till I had acquainted myself with the + solutions that had been invented for the phenomena of the universe. In fine, + this produced in me an invincible attachment to books of narrative and + romance. I panted for the unravelling of an adventure with an anxiety, + perhaps almost equal to that of the man whose future happiness or misery + depended on its issue. I read, I devoured compositions of this sort. They + took possession of my soul; and the effects they produced were frequently + discernible in my external appearance and my health. My curiosity, however, + was not entirely ignoble: village anecdotes and scandal had no charms for + me: my imagination must be excited; and when that was not done, my curiosity + was dormant.</p> + + <p>The residence of my parents was within the manor of Ferdinando Falkland, + a country squire of considerable opulence. At an early age I attracted the + favourable notice of Mr. Collins, this gentleman's steward, who used to call + in occasionally at my father's. He observed the particulars of my progress + with approbation, and made a favourable report to his master of my industry + and genius.</p> + + <p>In the summer of the year ----, Mr. Falkland visited his estate in our + county after an absence of several months. This was a period of misfortune + to me. I was then eighteen years of age. My father lay dead in our cottage. + I had lost my mother some years before. In this forlorn situation I was + surprised with a message from the squire, ordering me to repair to the + mansion-house the morning after my father's funeral.</p> + + <p>Though I was not a stranger to books, I had no practical acquaintance + with men. I had never had occasion to address a person of this elevated + rank, and I felt no small uneasiness and awe on the present occasion. I + found Mr. Falkland a man of small stature, with an extreme delicacy of form + and appearance. In place of the hard-favoured and inflexible visages I had + been accustomed to observe, every muscle and petty line of his countenance + seemed to be in an inconceivable degree pregnant with meaning. His manner + was kind, attentive, and humane. His eye was full of animation; but there + was a grave and sad solemnity in his air, which, for want of experience, I + imagined was the inheritance of the great, and the instrument by which the + distance between them and their inferiors was maintained. His look bespoke + the unquietness of his mind, and frequently wandered with an expression of + disconsolateness and anxiety.</p> + + <p>My reception was as gracious and encouraging as I could possibly desire. + Mr. Falkland questioned me respecting my learning, and my conceptions of men + and things, and listened to my answers with condescension and approbation. + This kindness soon restored to me a considerable part of my self-possession, + though I still felt restrained by the graceful, but unaltered dignity of his + carriage. When Mr. Falkland had satisfied his curiosity, he proceeded to + inform me that he was in want of a secretary, that I appeared to him + sufficiently qualified for that office, and that, if, in my present change + of situation, occasioned by the death of my father, I approved of the + employment, he would take me into his family.</p> + + <p>I felt highly flattered by the proposal, and was warm in the expression + of my acknowledgments. I set eagerly about the disposal of the little + property my father had left, in which I was assisted by Mr. Collins. I had + not now a relation in the world, upon whose kindness and interposition I had + any direct claim. But, far from regarding this deserted situation with + terror, I formed golden visions of the station I was about to occupy. I + little suspected that the gaiety and lightness of heart I had hitherto + enjoyed were upon the point of leaving me for ever, and that the rest of my + days were devoted to misery and alarm.</p> + + <p>My employment was easy and agreeable. It consisted partly in the + transcribing and arranging certain papers, and partly in writing from my + master's dictation letters of business, as well as sketches of literary + composition. Many of these latter consisted of an analytical survey of the + plans of different authors and conjectural speculations upon hints they + afforded, tending either to the detection of their errors, or the carrying + forward their discoveries. All of them bore powerful marks of a profound and + elegant mind, well stored with literature, and possessed of an uncommon + share of activity and discrimination.</p> + + <p>My station was in that part of the house which was appropriated for the + reception of books, it being my duty to perform the functions of librarian + as well as secretary. Here my hours would have glided in tranquillity and + peace, had not my situation included in it circumstances totally different + from those which attended me in my father's cottage. In early life my mind + had been much engrossed by reading and reflection: my intercourse with my + fellow mortals was occasional and short. But, in my new residence, I was + excited by every motive of interest and novelty to study my master's + character; and I found in it an ample field for speculation and + conjecture.</p> + + <p>His mode of living was in the utmost degree recluse and solitary. He had + no inclination to scenes of revelry and mirth. He avoided the busy haunts of + men; nor did he seem desirous to compensate for this privation by the + confidence of friendship. He appeared a total stranger to every thing which + usually bears the appellation of pleasure. His features were scarcely ever + relaxed into a smile, nor did that air which spoke the unhappiness of his + mind at any time forsake them: yet his manners were by no means such as + denoted moroseness and misanthropy. He was compassionate and considerate for + others, though the stateliness of his carriage and the reserve of his temper + were at no time interrupted. His appearance and general behaviour might have + strongly interested all persons in his favour; but the coldness of his + address, and the impenetrableness of his sentiments, seemed to forbid those + demonstrations of kindness to which one might otherwise have been + prompted.</p> + + <p>Such was the general appearance of Mr. Falkland: but his disposition was + extremely unequal. The distemper which afflicted him with incessant gloom + had its paroxysms. Sometimes he was hasty, peevish, and tyrannical; but this + proceeded rather from the torment of his mind than an unfeeling disposition; + and when reflection recurred, he appeared willing that the weight of his + misfortune should fall wholly upon himself. Sometimes he entirely lost his + self-possession, and his behaviour was changed into frenzy: he would strike + his forehead, his brows became knit, his features distorted, and his teeth + ground one against the other. When he felt the approach of these symptoms, he + would suddenly rise, and, leaving the occupation, whatever it was, in which + he was engaged, hasten into a solitude upon which no person dared to + intrude.</p> + + <p>It must not be supposed that the whole of what I am describing was + visible to the persons about him; nor, indeed, was I acquainted with it in + the extent here stated but after a considerable time, and in gradual + succession. With respect to the domestics in general, they saw but little of + their master. None of them, except myself, from the nature of my functions, + and Mr. Collins, from the antiquity of his service and the respectableness + of his character, approached Mr. Falkland, but at stated seasons and for a + very short interval. They knew him only by the benevolence of his actions, + and the principles of inflexible integrity by which he was ordinarily + guided; and though they would sometimes indulge their conjectures respecting + his singularities, they regarded him upon the whole with veneration, as a + being of a superior order.</p> + + <p>One day, when I had been about three months in the service of my patron, + I went to a closet, or small apartment, which was separated from the library + by a narrow gallery that was lighted by a small window near the roof. I had + conceived that there was no person in the room, and intended only to put any + thing in order that I might find out of its place. As I opened the door, I + heard at the same instant a deep groan, expressive of intolerable anguish. + The sound of the door in opening seemed to alarm the person within; I heard + the lid of a trunk hastily shut, and the noise as of fastening a lock. I + conceived that Mr. Falkland was there, and was going instantly to retire; + but at that moment a voice, that seemed supernaturally tremendous, + exclaimed, Who is there? The voice was Mr. Falkland's. The sound of it + thrilled my very vitals. I endeavoured to answer, but my speech failed, and + being incapable of any other reply, I instinctively advanced within the door + into the room. Mr. Falkland was just risen from the floor upon which he had + been sitting or kneeling. His face betrayed strong symptoms of confusion. + With a violent effort, however, these symptoms vanished, and instantaneously + gave place to a countenance sparkling with rage.</p> + + <p>"Villain!" cried he, "what has brought you here?" I hesitated a confused + and irresolute answer. "Wretch!" interrupted Mr. Falkland, with + uncontrollable impatience, "you want to ruin me. You set yourself as a spy + upon my actions; but bitterly shall you repent your insolence. Do you think + you shall watch my privacies with impunity?" I attempted to defend myself. + "Begone, devil!" rejoined he. "Quit the room, or I will trample you into + atoms." Saying this, he advanced towards me. But I was already sufficiently + terrified, and vanished in a moment. I heard the door shut after me with + violence; and thus ended this extraordinary scene.</p> + + <p>I saw him again in the evening, and he was then tolerably composed. His + behaviour, which was always kind, was now doubly attentive and soothing. He + seemed to have something of which he wished to disburthen his mind, but to + want words in which to convey it. I looked at him with anxiety and + affection. He made two unsuccessful efforts, shook his head, and then + putting five guineas into my hand, pressed it in a manner that I could feel + proceeded from a mind pregnant with various emotions, though I could not + interpret them. Having done this, he seemed immediately to recollect + himself, and to take refuge in the usual distance and solemnity of his + manner.</p> + + <p>I easily understood that secrecy was one of the things expected from me; + and, indeed, my mind was too much disposed to meditate upon what I had heard + and seen, to make it a topic of indiscriminate communication. Mr. Collins, + however, and myself happened to sup together that evening, which was but + seldom the case, his avocations obliging him to be much abroad. He could not + help observing an uncommon dejection and anxiety in my countenance, and + affectionately enquired into the reason. I endeavoured to evade his + questions, but my youth and ignorance of the world gave me little advantage + for that purpose. Beside this, I had been accustomed to view Mr. Collins + with considerable attachment, and I conceived from the nature of his + situation that there could be small impropriety in making him my confident + in the present instance. I repeated to him minutely every thing that had + passed, and concluded with a solemn declaration that, though treated with + caprice, I was not anxious for myself; no inconvenience or danger should + ever lead me to a pusillanimous behaviour; and I felt only for my patron, + who, with every advantage for happiness, and being in the highest degree + worthy of it, seemed destined to undergo unmerited distress.</p> + + <p>In answer to my communication, Mr. Collins informed me that some + incidents, of a nature similar to that which I related, had fallen under his + own knowledge, and that from the whole he could not help concluding that our + unfortunate patron, was at times disordered in his intellects. "Alas!" + continued he, "it was not always thus! Ferdinando Falkland was once the + gayest of the gay. Not indeed of that frothy sort, who excite contempt + instead of admiration, and whose levity argues thoughtlessness rather than + felicity. His gaiety was always accompanied with dignity. It was the gaiety + of the hero and the scholar. It was chastened with reflection and + sensibility, and never lost sight either of good taste or humanity. Such as + it was however, it denoted a genuine hilarity of heart, imparted an + inconceivable brilliancy to his company and conversation, and rendered him + the perpetual delight of the diversified circles he then willingly + frequented. You see nothing of him, my dear Williams, but the ruin of that + Falkland who was courted by sages, and adored by the fair. His youth, + distinguished in its outset by the most unusual promise, is tarnished. His + sensibility is shrunk up and withered by events the most disgustful to his + feelings. His mind was fraught with all the rhapsodies of visionary honour; + and, in his sense, nothing but the grosser part, the mere shell of Falkland, + was capable of surviving the wound that his pride has sustained."</p> + + <p>These reflections of my friend Collins strongly tended to inflame my + curiosity, and I requested him to enter into a more copious explanation. + With this request he readily complied; as conceiving that whatever delicacy + it became him to exercise in ordinary cases, it would be out of place in my + situation; and thinking it not improbable that Mr. Falkland, but for the + disturbance and inflammation of his mind, would be disposed to a similar + communication. I shall interweave with Mr. Collins's story various + information which I afterwards received from other quarters, that I may give + all possible perspicuity to the series of events. To avoid confusion in my + narrative, I shall drop the person of Collins, and assume to be myself the + historian of our patron. To the reader it may appear at first sight as if + this detail of the preceding life of Mr. Falkland were foreign to my + history. Alas! I know from bitter experience that it is otherwise. My heart + bleeds at the recollection of his misfortunes, as if they were my own. How + can it fail to do so? To his story the whole fortune of my life was linked: + because he was miserable, my happiness, my name, and my existence have been + irretrievably blasted.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CII" id="V1_CII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + <p>Among the favourite authors of his early years were the heroic poets of + Italy. From them he imbibed the love of chivalry and romance. He had too + much good sense to regret the times of Charlemagne and Arthur. But, while + his imagination was purged by a certain infusion of philosophy, he conceived + that there was in the manners depicted by these celebrated poets something + to imitate, as well as something to avoid. He believed that nothing was so + well calculated to make men delicate, gallant, and humane, as a temper + perpetually alive to the sentiments of birth and honour. The opinions he + entertained upon these topics were illustrated in his conduct, which was + assiduously conformed to the model of heroism that his fancy suggested.</p> + + <p>With these sentiments he set out upon his travels, at the age at which + the grand tour is usually made; and they were rather confirmed than shaken + by the adventures that befel him. By inclination he was led to make his + longest stay in Italy; and here he fell into company with several young + noblemen whose studies and principles were congenial to his own. By them he + was assiduously courted, and treated with the most distinguished applause. + They were delighted to meet with a foreigner, who had imbibed all the + peculiarities of the most liberal and honourable among themselves. Nor was + he less favoured and admired by the softer sex. Though his stature was + small, his person had an air of uncommon dignity. His dignity was then + heightened by certain additions which were afterwards obliterated,—an + expression of frankness, ingenuity, and unreserve, and a spirit of the most + ardent enthusiasm. Perhaps no Englishman was ever in an equal degree + idolised by the inhabitants of Italy.</p> + + <p>It was not possible for him to have drunk so deeply of the fountain of + chivalry without being engaged occasionally in affairs of honour, all of + which were terminated in a manner that would not have disgraced the + chevalier Bayard himself. In Italy, the young men of rank divide themselves + into two classes,—those who adhere to the pure principles of ancient + gallantry, and those who, being actuated by the same acute sense of injury + and insult, accustom themselves to the employment of hired bravoes as their + instruments of vengeance. The whole difference, indeed, consists in the + precarious application of a generally received distinction. The most + generous Italian conceives that there are certain persons whom it would be + contamination for him to call into the open field. He nevertheless believes + that an indignity cannot be expiated but with blood, and is persuaded that + the life of a man is a trifling consideration, in comparison of the + indemnification to be made to his injured honour. There is, therefore, + scarcely any Italian that would upon some occasions scruple assassination. + Men of spirit among them, notwithstanding the prejudices of their education, + cannot fail to have a secret conviction of its baseness, and will be + desirous of extending as far as possible the cartel of honour. Real or + affected arrogance teaches others to regard almost the whole species as + their inferiors, and of consequence incites them to gratify their vengeance + without danger to their persons. Mr. Falkland met with some of these. But + his undaunted spirit and resolute temper gave him a decisive advantage even + in such perilous rencounters. One instance, among many, of his manner of + conducting himself among this proud and high-spirited people it may be + proper to relate. Mr. Falkland is the principal agent in my history; and Mr. + Falkland in the autumn and decay of his vigour, such as I found him, cannot + be completely understood without a knowledge of his previous character, as + it was in all the gloss of youth, yet unassailed by adversity, and unbroken + in upon by anguish or remorse.</p> + + <p>At Rome he was received with particular distinction at the house of + marquis Pisani, who had an only daughter, the heir of his immense fortune, + and the admiration of all the young nobility of that metropolis. Lady + Lucretia Pisani was tall, of a dignified form, and uncommonly beautiful. She + was not deficient in amiable qualities, but her soul was haughty, and her + carriage not unfrequently contemptuous. Her pride was nourished by the + consciousness of her charms, by her elevated rank, and the universal + adoration she was accustomed to receive.</p> + + <p>Among her numerous lovers count Malvesi was the individual most favoured + by her father, nor did his addresses seem indifferent to her. The count was + a man of considerable accomplishments, and of great integrity and + benevolence of disposition. But he was too ardent a lover, to be able always + to preserve the affability of his temper. The admirers whose addresses were + a source of gratification to his mistress, were a perpetual uneasiness to + him. Placing his whole happiness in the possession of this imperious beauty, + the most trifling circumstances were capable of alarming him for the + security of his pretensions. But most of all he was jealous of the English + cavalier. Marquis Pisani, who had spent many years in France, was by no + means partial to the suspicious precautions of Italian fathers, and indulged + his daughter in considerable freedoms. His house and his daughter, within + certain judicious restraints, were open to the resort of male visitants. + But, above all, Mr. Falkland, as a foreigner, and a person little likely to + form pretensions to the hand of Lucretia, was received upon a footing of + great familiarity. The lady herself, conscious of innocence, entertained no + scruple about trifles, and acted with the confidence and frankness of one + who is superior to suspicion.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland, after a residence of several weeks at Rome, proceeded to + Naples. Meanwhile certain incidents occurred that delayed the intended + nuptials of the heiress of Pisani. When he returned to Rome Count Malvesi + was absent. Lady Lucretia, who had been considerably amused before with the + conversation of Mr. Falkland, and who had an active and enquiring mind, had + conceived, in the interval between his first and second residence at Rome, a + desire to be acquainted with the English language, inspired by the lively + and ardent encomiums of our best authors that she had heard from their + countryman. She had provided herself with the usual materials for that + purpose, and had made some progress during his absence. But upon his return + she was forward to make use of the opportunity, which, if missed, might + never occur again with equal advantage, of reading select passages of our + poets with an Englishman of uncommon taste and capacity.</p> + + <p>This proposal necessarily led to a more frequent intercourse. When Count + Malvesi returned, he found Mr. Falkland established almost as an inmate of + the Pisani palace. His mind could not fail to be struck with the + criticalness of the situation. He was perhaps secretly conscious that the + qualifications of the Englishman were superior to his own; and he trembled + for the progress that each party might have made in the affection of the + other, even before they were aware of the danger. He believed that the match + was in every respect such as to flatter the ambition of Mr. Falkland; and he + was stung even to madness by the idea of being deprived of the object + dearest to his heart by this tramontane upstart.</p> + + <p>He had, however, sufficient discretion first to demand an explanation of + Lady Lucretia. She, in the gaiety of her heart, trifled with his anxiety. + His patience was already exhausted, and he proceeded in his expostulation, + in language that she was by no means prepared to endure with apathy. Lady + Lucretia had always been accustomed to deference and submission; and, having + got over something like terror, that was at first inspired by the imperious + manner in which she was now catechised, her next feeling was that of the + warmest resentment. She disdained to satisfy so insolent a questioner, and + even indulged herself in certain oblique hints calculated to strengthen his + suspicions. For some time she described his folly and presumption in terms + of the most ludicrous sarcasm, and then, suddenly changing her style, bid + him never let her see him more except upon the footing of the most distant + acquaintance, as she was determined never again to subject herself to so + unworthy a treatment. She was happy that he had at length disclosed to her + his true character, and would know how to profit of her present experience + to avoid a repetition of the same danger. All this passed in the full career + of passion on both sides, and Lady Lucretia had no time to reflect upon what + might be the consequence of thus exasperating her lover.</p> + + <p>Count Malvesi left her in all the torments of frenzy. He believed that + this was a premeditated scene, to find a pretence for breaking off an + engagement that was already all but concluded; or, rather, his mind was + racked with a thousand conjectures: he alternately thought that the + injustice might be hers or his own; and he quarrelled with Lady Lucretia, + himself, and the whole world. In this temper he hastened to the hotel of the + English cavalier. The season of expostulation was now over, and he found + himself irresistibly impelled to justify his precipitation with the lady, by + taking for granted that the subject of his suspicion was beyond the reach of + doubt.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland was at home. The first words of the count were an abrupt + accusation of duplicity in the affair of Lady Lucretia, and a challenge. The + Englishman had an unaffected esteem for Malvesi, who was in reality a man of + considerable merit, and who had been one of Mr. Falkland's earliest Italian + acquaintance, they having originally met at Milan. But more than this, the + possible consequence of a duel in the present instance burst upon his mind. + He had the warmest admiration for Lady Lucretia, though his feelings were + not those of a lover; and he knew that, however her haughtiness might + endeavour to disguise it, she was impressed with a tender regard for Count + Malvesi. He could not bear to think that any misconduct of his should + interrupt the prospects of so deserving a pair. Guided by these sentiments, + he endeavoured to expostulate with the Italian. But his attempts were + ineffectual. His antagonist was drunk with choler, and would not listen to a + word that tended to check the impetuosity of his thoughts. He traversed the + room with perturbed steps, and even foamed with anguish and fury. Mr. + Falkland, finding that all was to no purpose, told the count, that, if he + would return to-morrow at the same hour, he would attend him to any scene of + action he should think proper to select.</p> + + <p>From Count Malvesi Mr. Falkland immediately proceeded to the palace of + Pisani. Here he found considerable difficulty in appeasing the indignation + of Lady Lucretia. His ideas of honour would by no means allow him to win her + to his purpose by disclosing the cartel he had received; otherwise that + disclosure would immediately have operated as the strongest motive that + could have been offered to this disdainful beauty. But, though she dreaded + such an event, the vague apprehension was not strong enough to induce her + instantly to surrender all the stateliness of her resentment. Mr. Falkland, + however, drew so interesting a picture of the disturbance of Count Malvesi's + mind, and accounted in so flattering a manner for the abruptness of his + conduct, that this, together with the arguments he adduced, completed the + conquest of Lady Lucretia's resentment. Having thus far accomplished his + purpose, he proceeded to disclose to her every thing that had passed.</p> + + <p>The next day Count Malvesi appeared, punctual to his appointment, at Mr. + Falkland's hotel. Mr. Falkland came to the door to receive him, but + requested him to enter the house for a moment, as he had still an affair of + three minutes to despatch. They proceeded to a parlour. Here Mr. Falkland + left him, and presently returned leading in Lady Lucretia herself, adorned + in all her charms, and those charms heightened upon the present occasion by + a consciousness of the spirited and generous condescension she was exerting. + Mr. Falkland led her up to the astonished count; and she, gently laying her + hand upon the arm of her lover, exclaimed with the most attractive grace, + "Will you allow me to retract the precipitate haughtiness into which I was + betrayed?" The enraptured count, scarcely able to believe his senses, threw + himself upon his knees before her, and stammered out his reply, signifying + that the precipitation had been all his own, that he only had any + forgiveness to demand, and, though they might pardon, he could never pardon + himself for the sacrilege he had committed against her and this god-like + Englishman. As soon as the first tumults of his joy had subsided, Mr. + Falkland addressed him thus:—</p> + + <p>"Count Malvesi, I feel the utmost pleasure in having thus by peaceful + means disarmed your resentment, and effected your happiness. But I must + confess, you put me to a severe trial. My temper is not less impetuous and + fiery than your own, and it is not at all times that I should have been thus + able to subdue it. But I considered that in reality the original blame was + mine. Though your suspicion was groundless, it was not absurd. We have been + trifling too much in the face of danger. I ought not, under the present + weakness of our nature and forms of society, to have been so assiduous in my + attendance upon this enchanting woman. It would have been little wonder, if, + having so many opportunities, and playing the preceptor with her as I have + done, I had been entangled before I was aware, and harboured a wish which I + might not afterwards have had courage to subdue. I owed you an atonement for + this imprudence.</p> + + <p>"But the laws of honour are in the utmost degree rigid; and there was + reason to fear that, however anxious I were to be your friend, I might be + obliged to be your murderer. Fortunately, the reputation of my courage is + sufficiently established, not to expose it to any impeachment by my + declining your present defiance. It was lucky, however, that in our + interview of yesterday you found me alone, and that accident by that means + threw the management of the affair into my disposal. If the transaction + should become known, the conclusion will now become known along with the + provocation, and I am satisfied. But if the challenge had been public, the + proofs I had formerly given of courage would not have excused my present + moderation; and, though desirous to have avoided the combat, it would not + have been in my power. Let us hence each of us learn to avoid haste and + indiscretion, the consequences of which may be inexpiable but with blood; + and may Heaven bless you in a consort of whom I deem you every way + worthy!"</p> + + <p>I have already said that this was by no means the only instance, in the + course of his travels, in which Mr. Falkland acquitted himself in the most + brilliant manner as a man of gallantry and virtue. He continued abroad + during several years, every one of which brought some fresh accession to the + estimation in which he was held, as well as to his own impatience of stain + or dishonour. At length he thought proper to return to England, with the + intention of spending the rest of his days at the residence of his + ancestors.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CIII" id="V1_CIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + <p>From the moment he entered upon the execution of this purpose, dictated + as it probably was by an unaffected principle of duty, his misfortunes took + their commencement. All I have further to state of his history is the + uninterrupted persecution of a malignant destiny, a series of adventures + that seemed to take their rise in various accidents, but pointing to one + termination. Him they overwhelmed with an anguish he was of all others least + qualified to bear; and these waters of bitterness, extending beyond him, + poured their deadly venom upon others. I being myself the most unfortunate + of their victims.</p> + + <p>The person in whom these calamities originated was Mr. Falkland's nearest + neighbour, a man of estate equal to his own, by name Barnabas Tyrrel. This + man one might at first have supposed of all others least qualified from + instruction, or inclined by the habits of his life, to disturb the + enjoyments of a mind so richly endowed as that of Mr. Falkland. Mr. Tyrrel + might have passed for a true model of the English squire. He was early left + under the tuition of his mother, a woman of narrow capacity, and who had no + other child. The only remaining member of the family it may be necessary to + notice was Miss Emily Melville, the orphan daughter of Mr. Tyrrel's paternal + aunt; who now resided in the family mansion, and was wholly dependent on the + benevolence of its proprietors.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Tyrrel appeared to think that there was nothing in the world so + precious as her hopeful Barnabas. Every thing must give way to his + accommodation and advantage; every one must yield the most servile obedience + to his commands. He must not be teased or restricted by any forms of + instruction; and of consequence his proficiency, even in the arts of writing + and reading, was extremely slender. From his birth he was muscular and + sturdy; and, confined to the <i>ruelle</i> of his mother, he made much such + a figure as the whelp-lion that a barbarian might have given for a lap-dog + to his mistress.</p> + + <p>But he soon broke loose from these trammels, and formed an acquaintance + with the groom and the game-keeper. Under their instruction he proved as + ready a scholar, as he had been indocile and restive to the pedant who held + the office of his tutor. It was now evident that his small proficiency in + literature was by no means to be ascribed to want of capacity. He discovered + no contemptible sagacity and quick-wittedness in the science of horse-flesh, + and was eminently expert in the arts of shooting, fishing, and hunting. Nor + did he confine himself to these, but added the theory and practice of + boxing, cudgel play, and quarter-staff. These exercises added ten-fold + robustness and vigour to his former qualifications.</p> + + <p>His stature, when grown, was somewhat more than five feet ten inches in + height, and his form might have been selected by a painter as a model for + that hero of antiquity, whose prowess consisted in felling an ox with his + fist, and devouring him at a meal. Conscious of his advantage in this + respect, he was insupportably arrogant, tyrannical to his inferiors, and + insolent to his equals. The activity of his mind being diverted from the + genuine field of utility and distinction, showed itself in the rude tricks + of an overgrown lubber. Here, as in all his other qualifications, he rose + above his competitors; and if it had been possible to overlook the callous + and unrelenting disposition which they manifested, one could scarcely have + denied his applause to the invention these freaks displayed, and the rough, + sarcastic wit with which they were accompanied.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel was by no means inclined to permit these extraordinary merits + to rust in oblivion. There was a weekly assembly at the nearest market-town, + the resort of all the rural gentry. Here he had hitherto figured to the + greatest advantage as grand master of the <i>coterie</i>, no one having an + equal share of opulence, and the majority, though still pretending to the + rank of gentry, greatly his inferior in this essential article. The young + men in this circle looked up to this insolent bashaw with timid respect, + conscious of the comparative eminence that unquestionably belonged to the + powers of his mind; and he well knew how to maintain his rank with an + inflexible hand. Frequently indeed he relaxed his features, and assumed a + temporary appearance of affableness and familiarity; but they found by + experience, that if any one, encouraged by his condescension, forgot the + deference which Mr. Tyrrel considered as his due, he was soon taught to + repent his presumption. It was a tiger that thought proper to toy with a + mouse, the little animal every moment in danger of being crushed by the + fangs of his ferocious associate. As Mr. Tyrrel had considerable copiousness + of speech, and a rich, but undisciplined imagination, he was always sure of + an audience. His neighbours crowded round, and joined in the ready laugh, + partly from obsequiousness, and partly from unfeigned admiration. It + frequently happened, however; that, in the midst of his good humour, a + characteristic refinement of tyranny would suggest itself to his mind. When + his subjects, encouraged by his familiarity, had discarded their precaution, + the wayward fit would seize him, a sudden cloud overspread his brow, his + voice transform from the pleasant to the terrible, and a quarrel of a straw + immediately ensue with the first man whose face he did not like. The + pleasure that resulted to others from the exuberant sallies of his + imagination was, therefore, not unalloyed with sudden qualms of apprehension + and terror. It may be believed that this despotism did not gain its final + ascendancy without being contested in the outset. But all opposition was + quelled with a high hand by this rural Antaeus. By the ascendancy of his + fortune, and his character among his neighbours, he always reduced his + adversary to the necessity of encountering him at his own weapons, and did + not dismiss him without making him feel his presumption through every joint + in his frame. The tyranny of Mr. Tyrrel would not have been so patiently + endured, had not his colloquial accomplishments perpetually come in aid of + that authority which his rank and prowess originally obtained.</p> + + <p>The situation of our squire with the fair was still more enviable than + that which he maintained among persons of his own sex. Every mother taught + her daughter to consider the hand of Mr. Tyrrel as the highest object of her + ambition. Every daughter regarded his athletic form and his acknowledged + prowess with a favourable eye. A form eminently athletic is, perhaps, always + well proportioned; and one of the qualifications that women are early taught + to look for in the male sex, is that of a protector. As no man was + adventurous enough to contest his superiority, so scarcely any woman in this + provincial circle would have scrupled to prefer his addresses to those of + any other admirer. His boisterous wit had peculiar charms for them; and + there was no spectacle more flattering to their vanity, than seeing this + Hercules exchange his club for a distaff. It was pleasing to them to + consider, that the fangs of this wild beast, the very idea of which inspired + trepidation into the boldest hearts, might be played with by them with the + utmost security.</p> + + <p>Such was the rival that Fortune, in her caprice, had reserved for the + accomplished Falkland. This untamed, though not undiscerning brute, was + found capable of destroying the prospects of a man the most eminently + qualified to enjoy and to communicate happiness. The feud that sprung up + between them was nourished by concurring circumstances, till it attained a + magnitude difficult to be paralleled; and, because they regarded each other + with a deadly hatred, I have become an object of misery and abhorrence.</p> + + <p>The arrival of Mr. Falkland gave an alarming shock to the authority of + Mr. Tyrrel in the village assembly and in all scenes of indiscriminate + resort. His disposition by no means inclined him to withhold himself from + scenes of fashionable amusement; and he and his competitor were like two + stars fated never to appear at once above the horizon. The advantages Mr. + Falkland possessed in the comparison are palpable; and had it been + otherwise, the subjects of his rural neighbour were sufficiently disposed to + revolt against his merciless dominion. They had hitherto submitted from + fear, and not from love; and, if they had not rebelled, it was only for want + of a leader. Even the ladies regarded Mr. Falkland with particular + complacence. His polished manners were peculiarly in harmony with feminine + delicacy. The sallies of his wit were far beyond those of Mr. Tyrrel in + variety and vigour; in addition to which they had the advantage of having + their spontaneous exuberance guided and restrained by the sagacity of a + cultivated mind. The graces of his person were enhanced by the elegance of + his deportment; and the benevolence and liberality of his temper were upon + all occasions conspicuous. It was common indeed to Mr. Tyrrel, together with + Mr. Falkland, to be little accessible to sentiments of awkwardness and + confusion. But for this Mr. Tyrrel was indebted to a self-satisfied + effrontery, and a boisterous and over-bearing elocution, by which he was + accustomed to discomfit his assailants; while Mr. Falkland, with great + ingenuity and candour of mind, was enabled by his extensive knowledge of the + world, and acquaintance with his own resources, to perceive almost + instantaneously the proceeding it most became him to adopt.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel contemplated the progress of his rival with uneasiness and + aversion. He often commented upon it to his particular confidents as a thing + altogether inconceivable. Mr. Falkland he described as an animal that was + beneath contempt. Diminutive and dwarfish in his form, he wanted to set up a + new standard of human nature, adapted to his miserable condition. He wished + to persuade people that the human species were made to be nailed to a chair, + and to pore over books. He would have them exchange those robust exercises + which make us joyous in the performance, and vigorous in the consequences, + for the wise labour of scratching our heads for a rhyme and counting our + fingers for a verse. Monkeys were as good men as these. A nation of such + animals would have no chance with a single regiment of the old English + votaries of beef and pudding. He never saw any thing come of learning but to + make people foppish and impertinent; and a sensible man would not wish a + worse calamity to the enemies of his nation, than to see them run mad after + such pernicious absurdities. It was impossible that people could seriously + feel any liking for such a ridiculous piece of goods as this outlandish + foreign-made Englishman. But he knew very well how it was: it was a + miserable piece of mummery that was played only in spite of him. But God for + ever blast his soul, if he were not bitterly revenged upon them all!</p> + + <p>If such were the sentiments of Mr. Tyrrel, his patience found ample + exercise in the language which was held by the rest of his neighbours on the + same subject. While he saw nothing in Mr. Falkland but matter of contempt, + they appeared to be never weary of recounting his praises. Such dignity, + such affability, so perpetual an attention to the happiness of others, such + delicacy of sentiment and expression! Learned without ostentation, refined + without foppery, elegant without effeminacy! Perpetually anxious to prevent + his superiority from being painfully felt, it was so much the more certainly + felt to be real, and excited congratulation instead of envy in the + spectator. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the revolution of + sentiment in this rural vicinity belongs to one of the most obvious features + of the human mind. The rudest exhibition of art is at first admired, till a + nobler is presented, and we are taught to wonder at the facility with which + before we had been satisfied. Mr. Tyrrel thought there would be no end to + the commendation; and expected when their common acquaintance would fall + down and adore the intruder. The most inadvertent expression of applause + inflicted upon him the torment of demons. He writhed with agony, his + features became distorted, and his looks inspired terror. Such suffering + would probably have soured the kindest temper; what must have been its + effect upon Mr. Tyrrel's, always fierce, unrelenting, and abrupt?</p> + + <p>The advantages of Mr. Falkland seemed by no means to diminish with their + novelty. Every new sufferer from Mr. Tyrrel's tyranny immediately went over + to the standard of his adversary. The ladies, though treated by their rustic + swain with more gentleness than the men, were occasionally exposed to his + capriciousness and insolence. They could not help remarking the contrast + between these two leaders in the fields of chivalry, the one of whom paid no + attention to any one's pleasure but his own, while the other seemed all + good-humour and benevolence. It was in vain that Mr. Tyrrel endeavoured to + restrain the ruggedness of his character. His motive was impatience, his + thoughts were gloomy, and his courtship was like the pawings of an elephant. + It appeared as if his temper had been more human while he indulged in its + free bent, than now that he sullenly endeavoured to put fetters upon its + excesses.</p> + + <p>Among the ladies of the village-assembly already mentioned, there was + none that seemed to engage more of the kindness of Mr. Tyrrel than Miss + Hardingham. She was also one of the few that had not yet gone over to the + enemy, either because she really preferred the gentleman who was her oldest + acquaintance, or that she conceived from calculation this conduct best + adapted to insure her success in a husband. One day, however, she thought + proper, probably only by way of experiment, to show Mr. Tyrrel that she + could engage in hostilities, if he should at any time give her sufficient + provocation. She so adjusted her manoeuvres as to be engaged by Mr. Falkland + as his partner for the dance of the evening, though without the smallest + intention on the part of that gentleman (who was unpardonably deficient in + the sciences of anecdote and match-making) of giving offence to his country + neighbour. Though the manners of Mr. Falkland were condescending and + attentive, his hours of retirement were principally occupied in + contemplations too dignified for scandal, and too large for the altercations + of a vestry, or the politics of an election-borough.</p> + + <p>A short time before the dances began, Mr. Tyrrel went up to his fair + inamorata, and entered into some trifling conversation with her to fill up + the time, as intending in a few minutes to lead her forward to the field. He + had accustomed himself to neglect the ceremony of soliciting beforehand a + promise in his favour, as not supposing it possible that any one would dare + dispute his behests; and, had it been otherwise, he would have thought the + formality unnecessary in this case, his general preference to Miss + Hardingham being notorious.</p> + + <p>While he was thus engaged, Mr. Falkland came up. Mr. Tyrrel always + regarded him with aversion and loathing. Mr. Falkland, however, slided in a + graceful and unaffected manner into the conversation already begun; and the + animated ingenuousness of his manner was such, as might for the time have + disarmed the devil of his malice. Mr. Tyrrel probably conceived that his + accosting Miss Hardingham was an accidental piece of general ceremony, and + expected every moment when he would withdraw to another part of the + room.</p> + + <p>The company now began to be in motion for the dance, and Mr. Falkland + signified as much to Miss Hardingham. "Sir," interrupted Mr. Tyrrel + abruptly, "that lady is my partner."—"I believe not, sir: that lady + has been so obliging as to accept my invitation."—"I tell you, sir, + no. Sir, I have an interest in that lady's affections; and I will suffer no + man to intrude upon my claims."—"The lady's affections are not the + subject of the present question."—"Sir, it is to no purpose to parley. + Make room, sir!"—Mr. Falkland gently repelled his antagonist. "Mr. + Tyrrel!" returned he, with some firmness, "let us have no altercation in + this business: the master of the ceremonies is the proper person to decide + in a difference of this sort, if we cannot adjust it: we can neither of us + intend to exhibit our valour before the ladies, and shall therefore + cheerfully submit to his verdict."—"Damn me, sir, if I + understand—" "Softly, Mr. Tyrrel; I intended you no offence. But, sir, + no man shall prevent my asserting that to which I have once acquired a + claim!"</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland uttered these words with the most unruffled temper in the + world. The tone in which he spoke had acquired elevation, but neither + roughness nor impatience. There was a fascination in his manner that made + the ferociousness of his antagonist subside into impotence. Miss Hardingham + had begun to repent of her experiment, but her alarm was speedily quieted by + the dignified composure of her new partner. Mr. Tyrrel walked away without + answering a word. He muttered curses as he went, which the laws of honour + did not oblige Mr. Falkland to overhear, and which indeed it would have been + no easy task to have overheard with accuracy. Mr. Tyrrel would not, perhaps, + have so easily given up his point, had not his own good sense presently + taught him, that, however eager he might be for revenge, this was not the + ground he should desire to occupy. But, though he could not openly resent + this rebellion against his authority, he brooded over it in the recesses of + a malignant mind; and it was evident enough that he was accumulating + materials for a bitter account, to which he trusted his adversary should one + day be brought.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CIV" id="V1_CIV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + <p>This was only one out of innumerable instances, that every day seemed to + multiply, of petty mortifications which Mr. Tyrrel was destined to endure on + the part of Mr. Falkland. In all of them Mr. Falkland conducted himself with + such unaffected propriety, as perpetually to add to the stock of his + reputation. The more Mr. Tyrrel struggled with his misfortune, the more + conspicuous and inveterate it became. A thousand times he cursed his stars, + which took, as he apprehended, a malicious pleasure in making Mr. Falkland, + at every turn, the instrument of his humiliation. Smarting under a + succession of untoward events, he appeared to feel, in the most exquisite + manner, the distinctions paid to his adversary, even in those points in + which he had not the slightest pretensions. An instance of this now + occurred.</p> + + <p>Mr. Clare, a poet whose works have done immortal honour to the country + that produced him, had lately retired, after a life spent in the sublimest + efforts of genius, to enjoy the produce of his economy, and the reputation + he had acquired, in this very neighbourhood. Such an inmate was looked up to + by the country gentlemen with a degree of adoration. They felt a conscious + pride in recollecting that the boast of England was a native of their + vicinity; and they were by no means deficient in gratitude when they saw + him, who had left them an adventurer, return into the midst of them, in the + close of his days, crowned with honours and opulence. The reader is + acquainted with his works: he has, probably, dwelt upon them with transport; + and I need not remind him of their excellence: but he is, perhaps, a + stranger to his personal qualifications; he does not know that his + productions were scarcely more admirable than his conversation. In company + he seemed to be the only person ignorant of the greatness of his fame. To + the world his writings will long remain a kind of specimen of what the human + mind is capable of performing; but no man perceived their defects so acutely + as he, or saw so distinctly how much yet remained to be effected: he alone + appeared to look upon his works with superiority and indifference. One of + the features that most eminently distinguished him was a perpetual suavity + of manners, a comprehensiveness of mind, that regarded the errors of others + without a particle of resentment, and made it impossible for any one to be + his enemy. He pointed out to men their mistakes with frankness and + unreserve, his remonstrances produced astonishment and conviction, but + without uneasiness, in the party to whom they were addressed: they felt the + instrument that was employed to correct their irregularities, but it never + mangled what it was intended to heal. Such were the moral qualities that + distinguished him among his acquaintance. The intellectual accomplishments + he exhibited were, principally, a tranquil and mild enthusiasm, and a + richness of conception which dictated spontaneously to his tongue, and + flowed with so much ease, that it was only by retrospect you could be made + aware of the amazing variety of ideas that had been presented.</p> + + <p>Mr. Clare certainly found few men in this remote situation that were + capable of participating in his ideas and amusements. It has been among the + weaknesses of great men to fly to solitude, and converse with woods and + groves, rather than with a circle of strong and comprehensive minds like + their own. From the moment of Mr. Falkland's arrival in the neighbourhood, + Mr. Clare distinguished him in the most flattering manner. To so penetrating + a genius there was no need of long experience and patient observation to + discover the merits and defects of any character that presented itself. The + materials of his judgment had long since been accumulated; and, at the close + of so illustrious a life, he might almost be said to see through nature at a + glance. What wonder that he took some interest in a mind in a certain degree + congenial with his own? But to Mr. Tyrrel's diseased imagination, every + distinction bestowed on his neighbour seemed to be expressly intended as an + insult to him. On the other hand, Mr. Clare, though gentle and benevolent in + his remonstrances to a degree that made the taking offence impossible, was + by no means parsimonious of praise, or slow to make use of the deference + that was paid him, for the purpose of procuring justice to merit.</p> + + <p>It happened at one of those public meetings at which Mr. Falkland and Mr. + Tyrrel were present, that the conversation, in one of the most numerous sets + into which the company was broken, turned upon the poetical talents of the + former. A lady, who was present, and was distinguished for the acuteness of + her understanding, said, she had been favoured with a sight of a poem he had + just written, entitled <i>An Ode to the Genius of Chivalry</i>, which + appeared to her of exquisite merit. The curiosity of the company was + immediately excited, and the lady added, she had a copy in her pocket, which + was much at their service, provided its being thus produced would not be + disagreeable to the author. The whole circle immediately entreated Mr. + Falkland to comply with their wishes, and Mr. Clare, who was one of the + company, enforced their petition. Nothing gave this gentleman so much + pleasure as to have an opportunity of witnessing and doing justice to the + exhibition of intellectual excellence. Mr. Falkland had no false modesty or + affectation, and therefore readily yielded his consent.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel accidentally sat at the extremity of this circle. It cannot be + supposed that the turn the conversation had taken was by any means agreeable + to him. He appeared to wish to withdraw himself, but there seemed to be some + unknown power that, as it were by enchantment, retained him in his place, + and made him consent to drink to the dregs the bitter potion which envy had + prepared for him.</p> + + <p>The poem was read to the rest of the company by Mr. Clare, whose + elocution was scarcely inferior to his other accomplishments. Simplicity, + discrimination, and energy constantly attended him in the act of reading, + and it is not easy to conceive a more refined delight than fell to the lot + of those who had the good fortune to be his auditors. The beauties of Mr. + Falkland's poem were accordingly exhibited with every advantage. The + successive passions of the author were communicated to the hearer. What was + impetuous, and what was solemn, were delivered with a responsive feeling, + and a flowing and unlaboured tone. The pictures conjured up by the creative + fancy of the poet were placed full to view, at one time overwhelming the + soul with superstitious awe, and at another transporting it with luxuriant + beauty.</p> + + <p>The character of the hearers upon this occasion has already been + described. They were, for the most part, plain, unlettered, and of little + refinement. Poetry in general they read, when read at all, from the mere + force of imitation, and with few sensations of pleasure; but this poem had a + peculiar vein of glowing inspiration. This very poem would probably have + been seen by many of them with little effect; but the accents of Mr. Clare + carried it home to the heart. He ended: and, as the countenances of his + auditors had before sympathised with the passions of the composition, so now + they emulated each other in declaring their approbation. Their sensations + were of a sort to which they were little accustomed. One spoke, and another + followed by a sort of uncontrollable impulse; and the rude and broken manner + of their commendations rendered them the more singular and remarkable. But + what was least to be endured was the behaviour of Mr. Clare. He returned the + manuscript to the lady from whom he had received it, and then, addressing + Mr. Falkland, said with emphasis and animation, "Ha! this is as it should + be. It is of the right stamp. I have seen too many hard essays strained from + the labour of a pedant, and pastoral ditties distressed in lack of a + meaning. They are such as you sir, that we want. Do not forget, however, + that the Muse was not given to add refinements to idleness, but for the + highest and most invaluable purposes. Act up to the magnitude of your + destiny."</p> + + <p>A moment after, Mr. Clare quitted his seat, and with Mr. Falkland and two + or three more withdrew. As soon as they were gone, Mr. Tyrrel edged further + into the circle. He had sat silent so long that he seemed ready to burst + with gall and indignation. "Mighty pretty verses!" said he, half talking to + himself, and not addressing any particular person: "why, ay, the verses are + well enough. Damnation! I should like to know what a ship-load of such stuff + is good for."</p> + + <p>"Why, surely," said the lady who had introduced Mr. Falkland's Ode on the + present occasion, "you must allow that poetry is an agreeable and elegant + amusement."</p> + + <p>"Elegant, quotha!--Why, look at this Falkland! A puny bit of a thing! In + the devil's name, madam, do you think he would write poetry if he could do + any thing better?"</p> + + <p>The conversation did not stop here. The lady expostulated. Several other + persons, fresh from the sensation they had felt, contributed their share. + Mr. Tyrrel grew more violent in his invectives, and found ease in uttering + them. The persons who were able in any degree to check his vehemence were + withdrawn. One speaker after another shrunk back into silence, too timid to + oppose, or too indolent to contend with, the fierceness of his passion. He + found the appearance of his old ascendancy; but he felt its deceitfulness + and uncertainty, and was gloomily dissatisfied.</p> + + <p>In his return from this assembly he was accompanied by a young man, whom + similitude of manners had rendered one of his principal confidents, and + whose road home was in part the same as his own. One might have thought that + Mr. Tyrrel had sufficiently vented his spleen in the dialogue he had just + been holding. But he was unable to dismiss from his recollection the anguish + he had endured. "Damn Falkland!" said he. "What a pitiful scoundrel is here + to make all this bustle about! But women and fools always will be fools; + there is no help for that! Those that set them on have most to answer for; + and most of all, Mr. Clare. He is a man that ought to know something of the + world, and past being duped by gewgaws and tinsel. He seemed, too, to have + some notion of things: I should not have suspected him of hallooing to a cry + of mongrels without honesty or reason. But the world is all alike. Those + that seem better than their neighbours, are only more artful. They mean the + same thing, though they take a different road. He deceived me for a while, + but it is all out now. They are the makers of the mischief. Fools might + blunder, but they would not persist, if people that ought to set them right + did not encourage them to go wrong."</p> + + <p>A few days after this adventure Mr. Tyrrel was surprised to receive a + visit from Mr. Falkland. Mr. Falkland proceeded, without ceremony, to + explain the motive of his coming.</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel," said he, "I am come to have an amicable explanation with + you."</p> + + <p>"Explanation! What is my offence?"</p> + + <p>"None in the world, sir; and for that reason I conceive this the fittest + time to come to a right understanding."</p> + + <p>"You are in a devil of a hurry, sir. Are you clear that this haste will + not mar, instead of make an understanding?"</p> + + <p>"I think I am, sir. I have great faith in the purity of my intentions, + and I will not doubt, when you perceive the view with which I come, that you + will willingly co-operate with it."</p> + + <p>"Mayhap, Mr. Falkland, we may not agree about that. One man thinks one + way, and another man thinks another. Mayhap I do not think I have any great + reason to be pleased with you already."</p> + + <p>"It may be so. I cannot, however, charge myself with having given you + reason to be displeased."</p> + + <p>"Well, sir, you have no right to put me out of humour with myself. If you + come to play upon me, and try what sort of a fellow you shall have to deal + with, damn me if you shall have any reason to hug yourself upon the + experiment."</p> + + <p>"Nothing, sir, is more easy for us than to quarrel. If you desire that, + there is no fear that you will find opportunities."</p> + + <p>"Damn me, sir, if I do not believe you are come to bully me."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel! sir—have a care!"</p> + + <p>"Of what, sir!--Do you threaten me? Damn my soul! who are you? what do + you come here for?"</p> + + <p>The fieriness of Mr. Tyrrel brought Mr. Falkland to his recollection.</p> + + <p>"I am wrong," said he. "I confess it. I came for purposes of peace. With + that view I have taken the liberty to visit you. Whatever therefore might be + my feelings upon another occasion, I am bound to suppress them now."</p> + + <p>"Ho!--Well, sir: and what have you further to offer?"</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel," proceeded Mr. Falkland, "you will readily imagine that the + cause that brought me was not a slight one. I would not have troubled you + with a visit, but for important reasons. My coming is a pledge how deeply I am + myself impressed with what I have to communicate.</p> + + <p>"We are in a critical situation. We are upon the brink of a whirlpool + which, if once it get hold of us, will render all further deliberation + impotent. An unfortunate jealousy seems to have insinuated itself between + us, which I would willingly remove; and I come to ask your assistance. We + are both of us nice of temper; we are both apt to kindle, and warm of + resentment. Precaution in this stage can be dishonourable to neither; the + time may come when we shall wish we had employed it, and find it too late. + Why should we be enemies? Our tastes are different; our pursuits need not + interfere. We both of us amply possess the means of happiness; We may be + respected by all, and spend a long life of tranquillity and enjoyment. Will + it be wise in us to exchange this prospect for the fruits of strife? A + strife between persons with our peculiarities and our weaknesses, includes + consequences that I shudder to think of. I fear, sir, that it is pregnant + with death at least to one of us, and with misfortune and remorse to the + survivor."</p> + + <p>"Upon my soul, you are a strange man! Why trouble me with your prophecies + and forebodings?"</p> + + <p>"Because it is necessary to your happiness! Because it becomes me to + tell you of our danger now, rather than wait till my character will allow + this tranquillity no longer!</p> + + <p>"By quarrelling we shall but imitate the great mass of mankind, who could + easily quarrel in our place. Let us do better. Let us show that we have the + magnanimity to contemn petty misunderstandings. By thus judging we shall do + ourselves most substantial honour. By a contrary conduct we shall merely + present a comedy for the amusement of our acquaintance."</p> + + <p>"Do you think so? there may be something in that. Damn me, if I consent + to be the jest of any man living."</p> + + <p>"You are right, Mr. Tyrrel. Let us each act in the manner best calculated + to excite respect. We neither of us wish to change roads; let us each suffer + the other to pursue his own track unmolested. Be this our compact; and by + mutual forbearance let us preserve mutual peace."</p> + + <p>Saying this, Mr. Falkland offered his hand to Mr. Tyrrel in token of + fellowship. But the gesture was too significant. The wayward rustic, who + seemed to have been somewhat impressed by what had preceded, taken as he now + was by surprise, shrunk back. Mr. Falkland was again ready to take fire upon + this new slight, but he checked himself.</p> + + <p>"All this is very unaccountable," cried Mr. Tyrrel. "What the devil can + have made you so forward, if you had not some sly purpose to answer, by + which I am to be overreached?"</p> + + <p>"My purpose," replied Mr. Falkland, "is a manly and an honest purpose. + Why should you refuse a proposition dictated by reason, and an equal regard + to the interest of each?"</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel had had an opportunity for pause, and fell back into his + habitual character.</p> + + <p>"Well, sir, in all this I must own there is some frankness. Now I will + return you like for like. It is no matter how I came by it, my temper is + rough, and will not be controlled. Mayhap you may think it is a weakness, + but I do not desire to see it altered. Till you came, I found myself very + well: I liked my neighbours, and my neighbours humoured me. But now the case + is entirely altered; and, as long as I cannot stir abroad without meeting + with some mortification in which you are directly or remotely concerned, I + am determined to hate you. Now, sir, if you will only go out of the county + or the kingdom, to the devil if you please, so as I may never hear of you + any more, I will promise never to quarrel with you as long as I live. Your + rhymes and your rebusses, your quirks and your conundrums, may then be every + thing that is grand for what I care."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel, be reasonable! Might not I as well desire you to leave the + county, as you desire me? I come to you, not as to a master, but an equal. + In the society of men we must have something to endure, as well as to enjoy. + No man must think that the world was made for him. Let us take things as we + find them; and accommodate ourselves as we can to unavoidable + circumstances."</p> + + <p>"True, sir; all this is fine talking. But I return to my text: we are as + God made us. I am neither a philosopher nor a poet, to set out upon a + wild-goose chase of making myself a different man from what you find me. As + for consequences, what must be must be. As we brew we must bake. And so, do + you see? I shall not trouble myself about what is to be, but stand up to it + with a stout heart when it comes. Only this I can tell you, that as long as + I find you thrust into my dish every day I shall hate you as bad as senna + and valerian. And damn me, if I do not think I hate you the more for coming + to-day in this pragmatical way, when nobody sent for you, on purpose to show + how much wiser you are than all the world besides."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel, I have done. I foresaw consequences, and came as a friend. I + had hoped that, by mutual explanation, we should have come to a better + understanding. I am disappointed; but, perhaps, when you coolly reflect on + what has passed, you will give me credit for my intentions, and think that + my proposal was not an unreasonable one."</p> + + <p>Having said this, Mr. Falkland departed. Through the interview he, no + doubt, conducted himself in a way that did him peculiar credit. Yet the + warmth of his temper could not be entirely suppressed: and even when he was + most exemplary, there was an apparent loftiness in his manner that was + calculated to irritate; and the very grandeur with which he suppressed his + passions, operated indirectly as a taunt to his opponent. The interview was + prompted by the noblest sentiments; but it unquestionably served to widen + the breach it was intended to heal.</p> + + <p>For Mr. Tyrrel, he had recourse to his old expedient, and unburthened the + tumult of his thoughts to his confidential friend. "This," cried he, "is a + new artifice of the fellow, to prove his imagined superiority. We knew well + enough that he had the gift of the gab. To be sure, if the world were to be + governed by words, he would be in the right box. Oh, yes, he had it all + hollow! But what signifies prating? Business must be done in another guess + way than that. I wonder what possessed me that I did not kick him! But that + is all to come. This is only a new debt added to the score, which he shall + one day richly pay. This Falkland haunts me like a demon. I cannot wake but + I think of him. I cannot sleep but I see him. He poisons all my pleasures. I + should be glad to see him torn with tenter-hooks, and to grind his + heart-strings with my teeth. I shall know no joy till I see him ruined. + There may be some things right about him; but he is my perpetual torment. + The thought of him hangs like a dead weight upon my heart, and I have a + right to shake it off. Does he think I will feel all that I endure for + nothing?"</p> + + <p>In spite of the acerbity of Mr. Tyrrel's feelings, it is probable, + however, he did some justice to his rival. He regarded him, indeed, with + added dislike; but he no longer regarded him as a despicable foe. He avoided + his encounter; he forbore to treat him with random hostility; he seemed to + lie in wait for his victim, and to collect his venom for a mortal + assault.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CV" id="V1_CV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + <p>It was not long after that a malignant distemper broke out in the + neighbourhood, which proved fatal to many of the inhabitants, and was of + unexampled rapidity in its effects. One of the first persons that was seized + with it was Mr. Clare. It may be conceived, what grief and alarm this + incident spread through the vicinity. Mr. Clare was considered by them as + something more than mortal. The equanimity of his behaviour, his unassuming + carriage, his exuberant benevolence and goodness of heart, joined with his + talents, his inoffensive wit, and the comprehensiveness of his intelligence, + made him the idol of all that knew him. In the scene of his rural retreat, + at least, he had no enemy. All mourned the danger that now threatened him. + He appeared to have had the prospect of long life, and of going down to his + grave full of years and of honour. Perhaps these appearances were deceitful. + Perhaps the intellectual efforts he had made, which were occasionally more + sudden, violent, and unintermitted, than a strict regard to health would + have dictated, had laid the seed of future disease. But a sanguine observer + would infallibly have predicted, that his temperate habits, activity of + mind, and unabated cheerfulness, would be able even to keep death at bay for + a time, and baffle the attacks of distemper, provided their approach were + not uncommonly rapid and violent. The general affliction, therefore, was + doubly pungent upon the present occasion.</p> + + <p>But no one was so much affected as Mr. Falkland. Perhaps no man so well + understood the value of the life that was now at stake. He immediately + hastened to the spot; but he found some difficulty in gaining admission. Mr. + Clare, aware of the infectious nature of his disease, had given directions + that as few persons as possible should approach him. Mr. Falkland sent up + his name. He was told that he was included in the general orders. He was + not, however, of a temper to be easily repulsed; he persisted with + obstinacy, and at length carried his point, being only reminded in the first + instance to employ those precautions which experience has proved most + effectual for counteracting infection.</p> + + <p>He found Mr. Clare in his bed-chamber, but not in bed. He was sitting in + his night-gown at a bureau near the window. His appearance was composed and + cheerful, but death was in his countenance. "I had a great inclination, + Falkland," said he, "not to have suffered you to come in; and yet there is + not a person in the world it could give me more pleasure to see. But, upon + second thoughts, I believe there are few people that could run into a danger + of this kind with a better prospect of escaping. In your case, at least, the + garrison will not, I trust, be taken through the treachery of the commander. + I cannot tell how it is that I, who can preach wisdom to you, have myself + been caught. But do not be discouraged by my example. I had no notice of my + danger, or I would have acquitted myself better."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland having once established himself in the apartment of his + friend, would upon no terms consent to retire. Mr. Clare considered that + there was perhaps less danger in this choice, than in the frequent change + from the extremes of a pure to a tainted air, and desisted from + expostulation. "Falkland," said he, "when you came in, I had just finished + making my will. I was not pleased with what I had formerly drawn up upon + that subject, and I did not choose in my present situation to call in an + attorney. In fact, it would be strange if a man of sense, with pure and + direct intentions, should not be able to perform such a function for + himself."</p> + + <p>Mr. Clare continued to act in the same easy and disengaged manner as in + perfect health. To judge from the cheerfulness of his tone and the firmness + of his manner, the thought would never once have occurred that he was dying. + He walked, he reasoned, he jested, in a way that argued the most perfect + self-possession. But his appearance changed perceptibly for the worse every + quarter of an hour. Mr. Falkland kept his eye perpetually fixed upon him, + with mingled sentiments of anxiety and admiration.</p> + + <p>"Falkland," said he, after having appeared for a short period absorbed in + thought, "I feel that I am dying. This is a strange distemper of mine. + Yesterday I seemed in perfect health, and to-morrow I shall be an insensible + corpse. How curious is the line that separates life and death to mortal men! + To be at one moment active, gay, penetrating, with stores of knowledge at + one's command, capable of delighting, instructing, and animating mankind, + and the next, lifeless and loathsome, an incumbrance upon the face of the + earth! Such is the history of many men, and such will be mine.</p> + + <p>"I feel as if I had yet much to do in the world; but it will not be. I + must be contented with what is past. It is in vain that I muster all my + spirits to my heart. The enemy is too mighty and too merciless for me; he + will not give me time so much as to breathe. These things are not yet at + least in our power: they are parts of a great series that is perpetually + flowing. The general welfare, the great business of the universe, will go + on, though I bear no further share in promoting it. That task is reserved + for younger strengths, for you, Falkland, and such as you. We should be + contemptible indeed if the prospect of human improvement did not yield us a + pure and perfect delight, independently of the question of our existing to + partake of it. Mankind would have little to envy to future ages, if they had + all enjoyed a serenity as perfect as mine has been for the latter half of my + existence."</p> + + <p>Mr. Clare sat up through the whole day, indulging himself in easy and + cheerful exertions, which were perhaps better calculated to refresh and + invigorate the frame, than if he had sought repose in its direct form. Now + and then he was visited with a sudden pang; but it was no sooner felt, than + he seemed to rise above it, and smiled at the impotence of these attacks. + They might destroy him, but they could not disturb. Three or four times he + was bedewed with profuse sweats; and these again were succeeded by an + extreme dryness and burning heat of the skin. He was next covered with small + livid spots: symptoms of shivering followed, but these he drove away with a + determined resolution. He then became tranquil and composed, and, after some + time, decided to go to bed, it being already night. "Falkland," said he, + pressing his hand, "the task of dying is not so difficult as some imagine. + When one looks back from the brink of it, one wonders that so total a + subversion can take place at so easy a price."</p> + + <p>He had now been some time in bed, and, as every thing was still, Mr. + Falkland hoped that he slept; but in that he was mistaken. Presently Mr. + Clare threw back the curtain, and looked in the countenance of his friend. + "I cannot sleep," said he. "No, if I could sleep, it would be the same thing + as to recover; and I am destined to have the worst in this battle.</p> + + <p>"Falkland, I have been thinking about you. I do not know any one whose + future usefulness I contemplate with greater hope. Take care of yourself. Do + not let the world be defrauded of your virtues. I am acquainted with your + weakness as well as your strength. You have an impetuosity, and an + impatience of imagined dishonour, that, if once set wrong, may make you as + eminently mischievous as you will otherwise be useful. Think seriously of + exterminating this error!</p> + + <p>"But if I cannot, in the brief expostulation my present situation will + allow, produce this desirable change in you, there is at least one thing I + can do. I can put you upon your guard against a mischief I foresee to be + imminent. Beware of Mr. Tyrrel. Do not commit the mistake of despising him + as an unequal opponent. Petty causes may produce great mischiefs. Mr. Tyrrel + is boisterous, rugged, and unfeeling; and you are too passionate, too + acutely sensible of injury. It would be truly to be lamented, if a man so + inferior, so utterly unworthy to be compared with you, should be capable of + changing your whole history into misery and guilt. I have a painful + presentiment upon my heart, as if something dreadful would reach you from + that quarter. Think of this. I exact no promise from you. I would not + shackle you with the fetters of superstition; I would have you governed by + justice and reason."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland was deeply affected with this expostulation. His sense of + the generous attention of Mr. Clare at such a moment, was so great as almost + to deprive him of utterance. He spoke in short sentences, and with visible + effort. "I will behave better," replied he. "Never fear me! Your admonitions + shall not be thrown away upon me."</p> + + <p>Mr. Clare adverted to another subject. "I have made you my executor; you + will not refuse me this last office of friendship. It is but a short time + that I have had the happiness of knowing you; but in that short time I have + examined you well, and seen you thoroughly. Do not disappoint the sanguine + hope I have entertained!</p> + + <p>"I have left some legacies. My former connections, while I lived amidst + the busy haunts of men, as many of them as were intimate, are all of them + dear to me. I have not had time to summon them about me upon the present + occasion, nor did I desire it. The remembrances of me will, I hope, answer a + better purpose than such as are usually thought of on similar + occasions."</p> + + <p>Mr. Clare, having thus unburthened his mind, spoke no more for several + hours. Towards morning Mr. Falkland quietly withdrew the curtain, and looked + at the dying man. His eyes were open, and were now gently turned towards his + young friend. His countenance was sunk, and of a death-like appearance. "I + hope you are better," said Falkland in a half whisper, as if afraid of + disturbing him. Mr. Clare drew his hand from the bed-clothes, and stretched + it forward; Mr. Falkland advanced, and took hold of it. "Much better," said + Mr. Clare, in a voice inward and hardly articulate; "the struggle is now + over; I have finished my part; farewell! remember!" These were his last + words. He lived still a few hours; his lips were sometimes seen to move; he + expired without a groan.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland had witnessed the scene with much anxiety. His hopes of a + favourable crisis, and his fear of disturbing the last moments of his + friend, had held him dumb. For the last half hour he had stood up, with his + eyes intently fixed upon Mr. Clare. He witnessed the last gasp, the last + little convulsive motion of the frame. He continued to look; he sometimes + imagined that he saw life renewed. At length he could deceive himself no + longer, and exclaimed with a distracted accent, "And is this all?" He would + have thrown himself upon the body of his friend; the attendants withheld, + and would have forced him into another apartment. But he struggled from + them, and hung fondly over the bed. "Is this the end of genius, virtue, and + excellence? Is the luminary of the world thus for ever gone? Oh, yesterday! + yesterday! Clare, why could not I have died in your stead? Dreadful moment! + Irreparable loss! Lost in the very maturity and vigour of his mind! Cut off + from a usefulness ten thousand times greater than any he had already + exhibited! Oh, his was a mind to have instructed sages, and guided the moral + world! This is all we have left of him! The eloquence of those lips is gone! + The incessant activity of that heart is still! The best and wisest of men is + gone, and the world is insensible of its loss!"</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel heard the intelligence of Mr. Clare's death with emotion, but + of a different kind. He avowed that he had not forgiven him his partial + attachment to Mr. Falkland, and therefore could not recall his remembrance + with kindness. But if he could have overlooked his past injustice, + sufficient care, it seems, was taken to keep alive his resentment. + "Falkland, forsooth, attended him on his death-bed, as if nobody else were + worthy of his confidential communications." But what was worst of all was + this executorship. "In every thing this pragmatical rascal throws me behind. + Contemptible wretch, that has nothing of the man about him! Must he + perpetually trample upon his betters? Is every body incapable of saying what + kind of stuff a man is made of? caught with mere outside? choosing the + flimsy before the substantial? And upon his death-bed too? [Mr. Tyrrel with + his uncultivated brutality mixed, as usually happens, certain rude notions + of religion.] Sure the sense of his situation might have shamed him. Poor + wretch! his soul has a great deal to answer for. He has made my pillow + uneasy; and, whatever may be the consequences, it is he we have to thank for + them."</p> + + <p>The death of Mr. Clare removed the person who could most effectually have + moderated the animosities of the contending parties, and took away the great + operative check upon the excesses of Mr. Tyrrel. This rustic tyrant had been + held in involuntary restraint by the intellectual ascendancy of his + celebrated neighbour: and, notwithstanding the general ferocity of his + temper, he did not appear till lately to have entertained a hatred against + him. In the short time that had elapsed from the period in which Mr. Clare + had fixed his residence in the neighbourhood, to that of the arrival of Mr. + Falkland from the Continent, the conduct of Mr. Tyrrel had even shown tokens + of improvement. He would indeed have been better satisfied not to have had + even this intruder into a circle where he had been accustomed to reign. But + with Mr. Clare he could have no rivalship; the venerable character of Mr. + Clare disposed him to submission: this great man seemed to have survived all + the acrimony of contention, and all the jealous subtleties of a mistaken + honour.</p> + + <p>The effects of Mr. Clare's suavity however, so far as related to Mr. + Tyrrel, had been in a certain degree suspended by considerations of + rivalship between this gentleman and Mr. Falkland. And, now that the + influence of Mr. Clare's presence and virtues was entirely removed, Mr. + Tyrrel's temper broke out into more criminal excesses than ever. The added + gloom which Mr. Falkland's neighbourhood inspired, overflowed upon all his + connections; and the new examples of his sullenness and tyranny which every + day afforded, reflected back upon this accumulated and portentous feud.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CVI" id="V1_CVI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + <p>The consequences of all this speedily manifested themselves. The very + next incident in the story was in some degree decisive of the catastrophe. + Hitherto I have spoken only of preliminary matters, seemingly unconnected + with each other, though leading to that state of mind in both parties which + had such fatal effects. But all that remains is rapid and tremendous. The + death-dealing mischief advances with an accelerated motion, appearing to + defy human wisdom and strength to obstruct its operation.</p> + + <p>The vices of Mr. Tyrrel, in their present state of augmentation, were + peculiarly exercised upon his domestics and dependents. But the principal + sufferer was the young lady mentioned on a former occasion, the orphan + daughter of his father's sister. Miss Melville's mother had married + imprudently, or rather unfortunately, against the consent of her relations, + all of whom had agreed to withdraw their countenance from her in consequence + of that precipitate step. Her husband had turned out to be no better than an + adventurer; had spent her fortune, which in consequence of the + irreconcilableness of her family was less than he expected, and had broken + her heart. Her infant daughter was left without any resource. In this + situation the representations of the people with whom she happened to be + placed, prevailed upon Mrs. Tyrrel, the mother of the squire, to receive her + into her family. In equity, perhaps, she was entitled to that portion of + fortune which her mother had forfeited by her imprudence, and which had gone + to swell the property of the male representative. But this idea had never + entered into the conceptions of either mother or son. Mrs. Tyrrel conceived + that she performed an act of the most exalted benevolence in admitting Miss + Emily into a sort of equivocal situation, which was neither precisely that + of a domestic, nor yet marked with the treatment that might seem due to one + of the family.</p> + + <p>She had not, however, at first been sensible of all the mortifications + that might have been expected from her condition. Mrs. Tyrrel, though proud + and imperious, was not ill-natured. The female, who lived in the family in + the capacity of housekeeper, was a person who had seen better days, and + whose disposition was extremely upright and amiable. She early contracted a + friendship for the little Emily, who was indeed for the most part committed + to her care. Emily, on her side, fully repaid the affection of her + instructress, and learned with great docility the few accomplishments Mrs. + Jakeman was able to communicate. But most of all she imbibed her cheerful + and artless temper, that extracted the agreeable and encouraging from all + events, and prompted her to communicate her sentiments, which were never of + the cynical cast, without modification or disguise. Besides the advantages + Emily derived from Mrs. Jakeman, she was permitted to take lessons from the + masters who were employed at Tyrrel Place for the instruction of her cousin; + and indeed, as the young gentleman was most frequently indisposed to attend + to them, they would commonly have had nothing to do, had it not been for the + fortunate presence of Miss Melville. Mrs. Tyrrel therefore encouraged the + studies of Emily on that score; in addition to which she imagined that this + living exhibition of instruction might operate as an indirect allurement to + her darling Barnabas, the only species of motive she would suffer to be + presented. Force she absolutely forbade; and of the intrinsic allurements of + literature and knowledge she had no conception.</p> + + <p>Emily, as she grew up, displayed an uncommon degree of sensibility, which + under her circumstances would have been a source of perpetual + dissatisfaction, had it not been qualified with an extreme sweetness and + easiness of temper. She was far from being entitled to the appellation of a + beauty. Her person was <i>petite</i> and trivial; her complexion savoured of + the <i>brunette</i>; and her face was marked with the small-pox, + sufficiently to destroy its evenness and polish, though not enough to + destroy its expression. But, though her appearance was not beautiful, it did + not fail to be in a high degree engaging. Her complexion was at once + healthful and delicate; her long dark eye-brows adapted themselves with + facility to the various conceptions of her mind; and her looks bore the + united impression of an active discernment and a good-humoured frankness. + The instruction she had received, as it was entirely of a casual nature, + exempted her from the evils of untutored ignorance, but not from a sort of + native wildness, arguing a mind incapable of guile itself, or of suspecting + it in others. She amused, without seeming conscious of the refined sense + which her observations contained; or rather, having never been debauched + with applause, she set light by her own qualifications, and talked from the + pure gaiety of a youthful heart acting upon the stores of a just + understanding, and not with any expectation of being distinguished and + admired.</p> + + <p>The death of her aunt made very little change in her situation. This + prudent lady, who would have thought it little less than sacrilege to have + considered Miss Melville as a branch of the stock of the Tyrrels, took no + more notice of her in her will than barely putting her down for one hundred + pounds in a catalogue of legacies to her servants. She had never been + admitted into the intimacy and confidence of Mrs. Tyrrel; and the young + squire, now that she was left under his sole protection, seemed inclined to + treat her with even more liberality than his mother had done. He had seen + her grow up under his eye, and therefore, though there were but six years + difference in their ages, he felt a kind of paternal interest in her + welfare. Habit had rendered her in a manner necessary to him, and, in every + recess from the occupations of the field and the pleasures of the table, he + found himself solitary and forlorn without the society of Miss Melville. + Nearness of kindred, and Emily's want of personal beauty, prevented him from + ever looking on her with the eyes of desire. Her accomplishments were + chiefly of the customary and superficial kind, dancing and music. Her skill + in the first led him sometimes to indulge her with a vacant corner in his + carriage, when he went to the neighbouring assembly; and, in whatever light + he might himself think proper to regard her, he would have imagined his + chambermaid, introduced by him, entitled to an undoubted place in the most + splendid circle. Her musical talents were frequently employed for his + amusement. She had the honour occasionally of playing him to sleep after the + fatigues of the chase; and, as he had some relish for harmonious sounds, she + was frequently able to soothe him by their means from the perturbations of + which his gloomy disposition was so eminently a slave. Upon the whole, she + might be considered as in some sort his favourite. She was the mediator to + whom his tenants and domestics, when they had incurred his displeasure, were + accustomed to apply; the privileged companion, that could approach this lion + with impunity in the midst of his roarings. She spoke to him without fear; + her solicitations were always good-natured and disinterested; and when he + repulsed her, he disarmed himself of half his terrors, and was contented to + smile at her presumption.</p> + + <p>Such had been for some years the situation of Miss Melville. Its + precariousness had been beguiled by the uncommon forbearance with which she + was treated by her savage protector. But his disposition, always brutal, had + acquired a gradual accession of ferocity since the settlement of Mr. + Falkland in his neighbourhood. He now frequently forgot the gentleness with + which he had been accustomed to treat his good-natured cousin. Her little + playful arts were not always successful in softening his rage; and he would + sometimes turn upon her blandishments with an impatient sternness that made + her tremble. The careless ease of her disposition, however, soon effaced + these impressions, and she fell without variation into her old habits.</p> + + <p>A circumstance occurred about this time which gave peculiar strength to + the acrimony of Mr. Tyrrel, and ultimately brought to its close the felicity + that Miss Melville, in spite of the frowns of fortune, had hitherto enjoyed. + Emily was exactly seventeen when Mr. Falkland returned from the continent. + At this age she was peculiarly susceptible of the charms of beauty, grace, + and moral excellence, when united in a person of the other sex. She was + imprudent, precisely because her own heart was incapable of guile. She had + never yet felt the sting of the poverty to which she was condemned, and had + not reflected on the insuperable distance that custom has placed between the + opulent and the poorer classes of the community. She beheld Mr. Falkland, + whenever he was thrown in her way at any of the public meetings, with + admiration; and, without having precisely explained to herself the + sentiments she indulged, her eyes followed him through all the changes of + the scene, with eagerness and impatience. She did not see him, as the rest + of the assembly did, born to one of the amplest estates in the county, and + qualified to assert his title to the richest heiress. She thought only of + Falkland, with those advantages which were most intimately his own, and of + which no persecution of adverse fortune had the ability to deprive him. In a + word, she was transported when he was present; he was the perpetual subject + of her reveries and her dreams; but his image excited no sentiment in her + mind beyond that of the immediate pleasure she took in his idea.</p> + + <p>The notice Mr. Falkland bestowed on her in return, appeared sufficiently + encouraging to a mind so full of prepossession as that of Emily. There was a + particular complacency in his looks when directed towards her. He had said + in a company, of which one of the persons present repeated his remarks to + Miss Melville, that she appeared to him amiable and interesting; that he + felt for her unprovided and destitute situation; and that he should have + been glad to be more particular in his attention to her, had he not been + apprehensive of doing her a prejudice in the suspicious mind of Mr. Tyrrel. + All this she considered as the ravishing condescension of a superior nature; + for, if she did not recollect with sufficient assiduity his gifts of + fortune, she was, on the other hand, filled with reverence for his + unrivalled accomplishments. But, while she thus seemingly disclaimed all + comparison between Mr. Falkland and herself, she probably cherished a + confused feeling as if some event, that was yet in the womb of fate, might + reconcile things apparently the most incompatible. Fraught with these + prepossessions, the civilities that had once or twice occurred in the bustle + of a public circle, the restoring her fan which she had dropped, or the + disembarrassing her of an empty tea-cup, made her heart palpitate, and gave + birth to the wildest chimeras in her deluded imagination.</p> + + <p>About this time an event happened, that helped to give a precise + determination to the fluctuations of Miss Melville's mind. One evening, a + short time after the death of Mr. Clare, Mr. Falkland had been at the house + of his deceased friend in his quality of executor, and, by some accidents of + little intrinsic importance, had been detained three or four hours later + than he expected. He did not set out upon his return till two o'clock in the + morning. At this time, in a situation so remote from the metropolis, every + thing is as silent as it would be in a region wholly uninhabited. The moon + shone bright; and the objects around being marked with strong variations of + light and shade, gave a kind of sacred solemnity to the scene. Mr. Falkland + had taken Collins with him, the business to be settled at Mr. Clare's being + in some respects similar to that to which this faithful domestic had been + accustomed in the routine of his ordinary service. They had entered into + some conversation, for Mr. Falkland was not then in the habit of obliging + the persons about him by formality and reserve to recollect who he was. The + attractive solemnity of the scene made him break off the talk somewhat + abruptly, that he might enjoy it without interruption. They had not ridden + far, before a hollow wind seemed to rise at a distance, and they could hear + the hoarse roarings of the sea. Presently the sky on one side assumed the + appearance of a reddish brown, and a sudden angle in the road placed this + phenomenon directly before them. As they proceeded, it became more distinct, + and it was at length sufficiently visible that it was occasioned by a fire. + Mr. Falkland put spurs to his horse; and, as they approached, the object + presented every instant a more alarming appearance. The flames ascended with + fierceness; they embraced a large portion of the horizon; and, as they + carried up with them numerous little fragments of the materials that fed + them, impregnated with fire, and of an extremely bright and luminous colour, + they presented some feeble image of the tremendous eruption of a + volcano.</p> + + <p>The flames proceeded from a village directly in their road. There were + eight or ten houses already on fire, and the whole seemed to be threatened + with immediate destruction. The inhabitants were in the utmost + consternation, having had no previous experience of a similar calamity. They + conveyed with haste their moveables and furniture into the adjoining fields. + When any of them had effected this as far as it could be attempted with + safety, they were unable to conceive any further remedy, but stood wringing + their hands, and contemplating the ravages of the fire in an agony of + powerless despair. The water that could be procured, in any mode practised + in that place, was but as a drop contending with an element in arms. The + wind in the mean time was rising, and the flames spread with more and more + rapidity.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland contemplated this scene for a few moments, as if ruminating + with himself as to what could be done. He then directed some of the country + people about him to pull down a house, next to one that was wholly on fire, + but which itself was yet untouched. They seemed astonished at a direction + which implied a voluntary destruction of property, and considered the task + as too much in the heart of the danger to be undertaken. Observing that they + were motionless, he dismounted from his horse, and called upon them in an + authoritative voice to follow him. He ascended the house in an instant, and + presently appeared upon the top of it, as if in the midst of the flames. + Having, with the assistance of two or three of the persons that followed him + most closely, and who by this time had supplied themselves with whatever + tools came next to hand, loosened the support of a stack of chimneys, he + pushed them headlong into the midst of the fire. He passed and repassed + along the roof; and, having set people to work in all parts, descended in + order to see what could be done in any other quarter. At this moment an + elderly woman burst from the midst of a house in flames: the utmost + consternation was painted in her looks; and, as soon as she could recollect + herself enough to have a proper idea of her situation, the subject of her + anxiety seemed, in an instant, to be totally changed. "Where is my child?" + cried she, and cast an anxious and piercing look among the surrounding + crowd. "Oh, she is lost! she is in the midst of flames! Save her! save her! + my child!" She filled the air with heart-rending shrieks. She turned towards + the house. The people that were near endeavoured to prevent her, but she + shook them off in a moment. She entered the passage; viewed the hideous + ruin; and was then going to plunge into the blazing staircase. Mr. Falkland + saw, pursued, and seized her by the arm; it was Mrs. Jakeman. "Stop!" he + cried, with a voice of grand, yet benevolent authority. "Remain you in the + street! I will seek, and will save her!" Mrs. Jakeman obeyed. He charged the + persons who were near to detain her; he enquired which was the apartment of + Emily. Mrs. Jakeman was upon a visit to a sister who lived in the village, + and had brought Emily along with her. Mr. Falkland ascended a neighbouring + house, and entered that in which Emily was, by a window in the roof.</p> + + <p>He found her already awaked from her sleep; and, becoming sensible of her + danger, she had that instant wrapped a loose gown round her. Such is the + almost irresistible result of feminine habits; but, having done this, she + examined the surrounding objects with the wildness of despair. Mr. Falkland + entered the chamber. She flew into his arms with the rapidity of lightning. + She embraced and clung to him, with an impulse that did not wait to consult + the dictates of her understanding. Her emotions were indescribable. In a few + short moments she had lived an age in love. In two minutes Mr. Falkland was + again in the street with his lovely, half-naked burthen in his arms. Having + restored her to her affectionate protector, snatched from the immediate + grasp of death, from which, if he had not, none would have delivered her, he + returned to his former task. By his presence of mind, by his indefatigable + humanity and incessant exertions, he saved three fourths of the village from + destruction.</p> + + <p>The conflagration being at length abated, he sought again Mrs. Jakeman + and Emily, who by this time had obtained a substitute for the garments she + had lost in the fire. He displayed the tenderest solicitude for the young + lady's safety, and directed Collins to go with as much speed as he could, + and send his chariot to attend her. More than an hour elapsed in this + interval. Miss Melville had never seen so much of Mr. Falkland upon any + former occasion; and the spectacle of such humanity, delicacy, firmness, and + justice in the form of man, as he crowded into this small space, was + altogether new to her, and in the highest degree fascinating. She had a + confused feeling as if there had been something indecorous in her behaviour + or appearance, when Mr. Falkland had appeared to her relief; and this + combined with her other emotions to render the whole critical and + intoxicating.</p> + + <p>Emily no sooner arrived at the family mansion, than Mr. Tyrrel ran out to + receive her. He had just heard of the melancholy accident that had taken + place at the village, and was terrified for the safety of his good-humoured + cousin. He displayed those unpremeditated emotions which are common to + almost every individual of the human race. He was greatly shocked at the + suspicion that Emily might possibly have become the victim of a catastrophe + which had thus broken out in the dead of night. His sensations were of the + most pleasing sort when he folded her in his arms, and fearful apprehension + was instantaneously converted into joyous certainty. Emily no sooner entered + under the well known roof than her spirits were brisk, and her tongue + incessant in describing her danger and her deliverance. Mr. Tyrrel had + formerly been tortured with the innocent eulogiums she pronounced of Mr. + Falkland. But these were lameness itself, compared with the rich and various + eloquence that now flowed from her lips. Love had not the same effect upon + her, especially at the present moment, which it would have had upon a person + instructed to feign a blush, and inured to a consciousness of wrong. She + described his activity and resources, the promptitude with which every thing + was conceived, and the cautious but daring wisdom with which it was + executed. All was fairy-land and enchantment in the tenour of her artless + tale; you saw a beneficent genius surveying and controlling the whole, but + could have no notion of any human means by which his purposes were + effected.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel listened for a while to these innocent effusions with + patience; he could even bear to hear the man applauded, by whom he had just + obtained so considerable a benefit. But the theme by amplification became + nauseous, and he at length with some roughness put an end to the tale. + Probably, upon recollection, it appeared still more insolent and intolerable + than while it was passing; the sensation of gratitude wore off, but the + hyperbolical praise that had been bestowed still haunted his memory, and + sounded in his ear;—Emily had entered into the confederacy that + disturbed his repose. For herself, she was wholly unconscious of offence, + and upon every occasion quoted Mr. Falkland as the model of elegant manners + and true wisdom. She was a total stranger to dissimulation; and she could + not conceive that any one beheld the subject of her admiration with less + partiality than herself. Her artless love became more fervent than ever. She + flattered herself that nothing less than a reciprocal passion could have + prompted Mr. Falkland to the desperate attempt of saving her from the + flames; and she trusted that this passion would speedily declare itself, as + well as induce the object of her adoration to overlook her comparative + unworthiness.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel endeavoured at first with some moderation to check Miss + Melville in her applauses, and to convince her by various tokens that the + subject was disagreeable to him. He was accustomed to treat her with + kindness. Emily, on her part, was disposed to yield an unreluctant + obedience, and therefore it was not difficult to restrain her. But upon the + very next occasion her favourite topic would force its way to her lips. Her + obedience was the acquiescence of a frank and benevolent heart; but it was + the most difficult thing in the world to inspire her with fear. Conscious + herself that she would not hurt a worm, she could not conceive that any one + would harbour cruelty and rancour against her. Her temper had preserved her + from obstinate contention with the persons under whose protection she was + placed; and, as her compliance was unhesitating, she had no experience of a + severe and rigorous treatment. As Mr. Tyrrel's objection to the very name of + Falkland became more palpable and uniform, Miss Melville increased in her + precaution. She would stop herself in the half-pronounced sentences that + were meant to his praise. This circumstance had necessarily an ungracious + effect; it was a cutting satire upon the imbecility of her kinsman. Upon + these occasions she would sometimes venture upon a good-humoured + expostulation:—"Dear sir! well, I wonder how you can be so + ill-natured! I am sure Mr. Falkland would do you any good office in the + world:"—till she was checked by some gesture of impatience and + fierceness.</p> + + <p>At length she wholly conquered her heedlessness and inattention. But it + was too late. Mr. Tyrrel already suspected the existence of that passion + which she had thoughtlessly imbibed. His imagination, ingenious in torment, + suggested to him all the different openings in conversation, in which she + would have introduced the praise of Mr. Falkland, had she not been placed + under this unnatural restraint. Her present reserve upon the subject was + even more insufferable than her former loquacity. All his kindness for this + unhappy orphan gradually subsided. Her partiality for the man who was the + object of his unbounded abhorrence, appeared to him as the last persecution + of a malicious destiny. He figured himself as about to be deserted by every + creature in human form; all men, under the influence of a fatal enchantment, + approving only what was sophisticated and artificial, and holding the rude + and genuine offspring of nature in mortal antipathy. Impressed with these + gloomy presages, he saw Miss Melville with no sentiments but those of + rancorous aversion; and, accustomed as he was to the uncontrolled indulgence + of his propensities, he determined to wreak upon her a signal revenge.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CVII" id="V1_CVII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel consulted his old confident respecting the plan he should + pursue; who, sympathising as he did in the brutality and insolence of his + friend, had no idea that an insignificant girl, without either wealth or + beauty, ought to be allowed for a moment to stand in the way of the + gratifications of a man of Mr. Tyrrel's importance. The first idea of her + now unrelenting kinsman was to thrust her from his doors, and leave her to + seek her bread as she could. But he was conscious that this proceeding would + involve him in considerable obloquy; and he at length fixed upon a scheme + which, at the same time that he believed it would sufficiently shelter his + reputation, would much more certainly secure her mortification and + punishment.</p> + + <p>For this purpose he fixed upon a young man of twenty, the son of one + Grimes, who occupied a small farm, the property of his confident. This + fellow he resolved to impose as a husband on Miss Melville, who, he shrewdly + suspected, guided by the tender sentiments she had unfortunately conceived + for Mr. Falkland, would listen with reluctance to any matrimonial proposal. + Grimes he selected as being in all respects the diametrical reverse of Mr. + Falkland. He was not precisely a lad of vicious propensities, but in an + inconceivable degree boorish and uncouth. His complexion was scarcely human; + his features were coarse, and strangely discordant and disjointed from each + other. His lips were thick, and the tone of his voice broad and unmodulated. + His legs were of equal size from one end to the other, and his feet + misshapen and clumsy. He had nothing spiteful or malicious in his + disposition, but he was a total stranger to tenderness; he could not feel + for those refinements in others, of which he had no experience in himself. + He was an expert boxer: his inclination led him to such amusements as were + most boisterous; and he delighted in a sort of manual sarcasm, which he + could not conceive to be very injurious, as it left no traces behind it. His + general manners were noisy and obstreperous; inattentive to others; and + obstinate and unyielding, not from any cruelty and ruggedness of temper, but + from an incapacity to conceive those finer feelings, that make so large a + part of the history of persons who are cast in a gentler mould.</p> + + <p>Such was the uncouth and half-civilised animal, which the industrious + malice of Mr. Tyrrel fixed upon as most happily adapted to his purpose. + Emily had hitherto been in an unusual degree exempted from the oppression of + despotism. Her happy insignificance had served her as a protection. No one + thought it worth his while to fetter her with those numerous petty + restrictions with which the daughters of opulence are commonly tormented. + She had the wildness, as well as the delicate frame, of the bird that + warbles unmolested in its native groves.</p> + + <p>When therefore she heard from her kinsman the proposal of Mr. Grimes for + a husband, she was for a moment silent with astonishment at so unexpected a + suggestion. But as soon as she recovered her speech, she replied, "No, sir, + I do not want a husband."</p> + + <p>"You do! Are not you always hankering after the men? It is high time you + should be settled."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Grimes! No, indeed! when I do have a husband, it shall not be such a + man as Mr. Grimes neither."</p> + + <p>"Be silent! How dare you give yourself such unaccountable liberties?"</p> + + <p>"Lord, I wonder what I should do with him. You might as well give me your + great rough water-dog, and bid me make him a silk cushion to lie in my + dressing-room. Besides, sir, Grimes is a common labouring man, and I am sure + I have always heard my aunt say that ours is a very great family."</p> + + <p>"It is a lie! Our family! have you the impudence to think yourself one of + our family?"</p> + + <p>"Why, sir, was not your grandpapa my grandpapa? How then can we be of a + different family?"</p> + + <p>"From the strongest reason in the world. You are the daughter of a + rascally Scotchman, who spent every shilling of my aunt Lucy's fortune, and + left you a beggar. You have got an hundred pounds, and Grimes's father + promises to give him as much. How dare you look down upon your equals?"</p> + + <p>"Indeed, sir, I am not proud. But, indeed and indeed, I can never love + Mr. Grimes. I am very happy as I am: why should I be married?"</p> + + <p>"Silence your prating! Grimes will be here this afternoon. Look that you + behave well to him. If you do not, he will remember and repay, when you + least like it."</p> + + <p>"Nay, I am sure, sir—you are not in earnest?"</p> + + <p>"Not in earnest! Damn me, but we will see that. I can tell what you would + be at. You had rather be Mr. Falkland's miss, than the wife of a plain + downright yeoman. But I shall take care of you.—Ay, this comes of + indulgence. You must be taken down, miss. You must be taught the difference + between high-flown notions and realities. Mayhap you may take it a little in + dudgeon or so; but never mind that. Pride always wants a little smarting. If + you should be brought to shame, it is I that shall bear the blame of + it."</p> + + <p>The tone in which Mr. Tyrrel spoke was so different from any thing to + which Miss Melville had been accustomed, that she felt herself wholly unable + to determine what construction to put upon it. Sometimes she thought he had + really formed a plan for imposing upon her a condition that she could not + bear so much as to think of. But presently she rejected this idea as an + unworthy imputation upon her kinsman, and concluded that it was only his + way, and that all he meant was to try her. To be resolved however, she + determined to consult her constant adviser, Mrs. Jakeman, and accordingly + repeated to her what had passed. Mrs. Jakeman saw the whole in a very + different light from that in which Emily had conceived it, and trembled for + the future peace of her beloved ward.</p> + + <p>"Lord bless me, my dear mamma!" cried Emily, (this was the appellation + she delighted to bestow upon the good housekeeper,) "you cannot think so? + But I do not care. I will never marry Grimes, happen what will."</p> + + <p>"But how will you help yourself? My master will oblige you."</p> + + <p>"Nay, now you think you are talking to a child indeed. It is I am to have + the man, not Mr. Tyrrel. Do you think I will let any body else choose a + husband for me? I am not such a fool as that neither."</p> + + <p>"Ah, Emily! you little know the disadvantages of your situation. Your + cousin is a violent man, and perhaps will turn you out of doors, if you + oppose him."</p> + + <p>"Oh, mamma! it is very wicked of you to say so. I am sure Mr. Tyrrel is a + very good man, though he be a little cross now and then. He knows very well + that I am right to have a will of my own in such a thing as this, and nobody + is punished for doing what is right."</p> + + <p>"Nobody ought, my dear child. But there are very wicked and tyrannical + men in the world."</p> + + <p>"Well, well, I will never believe my cousin is one of these."</p> + + <p>"I hope he is not."</p> + + <p>"And if he were, what then? To be sure I should he very sorry to make him + angry."</p> + + <p>"What then! Why then my poor Emily would be a beggar. Do you think I + could bear to see that?"</p> + + <p>"No, no. Mr. Tyrrel has just told me that I have a hundred pounds. But if + I had no fortune, is not that the case with a thousand other folks? Why + should I grieve, for what they bear and are merry? Do not make yourself + uneasy, mamma. I am determined that I will do any thing rather than marry + Grimes; that is what I will."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Jakeman could not bear the uneasy state of suspense in which this + conversation left her mind, and went immediately to the squire to have her + doubts resolved. The manner in which she proposed the question, sufficiently + indicated the judgment she had formed of the match.</p> + + <p>"That is true," said Mr. Tyrrel, "I wanted to speak to you about this + affair. The girl has got unaccountable notions in her head, that will be the + ruin of her. You perhaps can tell where she had them. But, be that as it + will, it is high time something should be done. The shortest way is the + best, and to keep things well while they are well. In short, I am determined + she shall marry this lad: you do not know any harm of him, do you? You have + a good deal of influence with her, and I desire, do you see, that you will + employ it to lead her to her good: you had best, I can tell you. She is a + pert vixen! By and by she would be a whore, and at last no better than a + common trull, and rot upon a dunghill, if I were not at all these pains to + save her from destruction. I would make her an honest farmer's wife, and my + pretty miss cannot bear the thoughts of it!"</p> + + <p>In the afternoon Grimes came according to appointment, and was left alone + with the young lady.</p> + + <p>"Well, miss," said he, "it seems the squire has a mind to make us man and + wife. For my part, I cannot say I should have thought of it. But, being as + how the squire has broke the ice, if so be as you like of the match, why I + am your man. Speak the word; a nod is as good as a wink to a blind + horse."</p> + + <p>Emily was already sufficiently mortified at the unexpected proposal of + Mr. Tyrrel. She was confounded at the novelty of the situation, and still + more at the uncultivated rudeness of her lover, which even exceeded her + expectation. This confusion was interpreted by Grimes into diffidence.</p> + + <p>"Come, come, never be cast down. Put a good face upon it. What though? My + first sweetheart was Bet Butterfield, but what of that? What must be must + be; grief will never fill the belly. She was a fine strapping wench, that is + the truth of it! five foot ten inches, and as stout as a trooper. Oh, she + would do a power of work! Up early and down late; milked ten cows with her + own hands; on with her cardinal, rode to market between her panniers, fair + weather and foul, hail, blow, or snow. It would have done your heart good to + have seen her frost-bitten cheeks, as red as a beefen from her own orchard! + Ah! she was a maid of mettle; would romp with the harvestmen, slap one upon + the back, wrestle with another, and had a rogue's trick and a joke for all + round. Poor girl! she broke her neck down stairs at a christening. To be + sure I shall never meet with her fellow! But never you mind that; I do not + doubt that I shall find more in you upon further acquaintance. As coy and + bashful as you seem, I dare say you are rogue enough at bottom. When I have + touzled and rumpled you a little, we shall see. I am no chicken, miss, + whatever you may think. I know what is what, and can see as far into a + millstone as another. Ay, ay; you will come to. The fish will snap at the + bait, never doubt it. Yes, yes, we shall rub on main well together."</p> + + <p>Emily by this time had in some degree mustered up her spirits, and began, + though with hesitation, to thank Mr. Grimes for his good opinion, but to + confess that she could never be brought to favour his addresses. She + therefore entreated him to desist from all further application. This + remonstrance on her part would have become more intelligible, had it not + been for his boisterous manners and extravagant cheerfulness, which + indisposed him to silence, and made him suppose that at half a word he had + sufficient intimation of another's meaning. Mr. Tyrrel, in the mean time, + was too impatient not to interrupt the scene before they could have time to + proceed far in explanation; and he was studious in the sequel to prevent the + young folks from being too intimately acquainted with each other's + inclinations. Grimes, of consequence, attributed the reluctance of Miss + Melville to maiden coyness, and the skittish shyness of an unbroken filly. + Indeed, had it been otherwise, it is not probable that it would have made + any effectual impression upon him; as he was always accustomed to consider + women as made for the recreation of the men, and to exclaim against the + weakness of people who taught them to imagine they were to judge for + themselves.</p> + + <p>As the suit proceeded, and Miss Melville saw more of her new admirer, her + antipathy increased. But, though her character was unspoiled by those false + wants, which frequently make people of family miserable while they have + every thing that nature requires within their reach, yet she had been little + used to opposition, and was terrified at the growing sternness of her + kinsman. Sometimes she thought of flying from a house which was now become + her dungeon; but the habits of her youth, and her ignorance of the world, + made her shrink from this project, when she contemplated it more nearly, + Mrs. Jakeman, indeed, could not think with patience of young Grimes as a + husband for her darling Emily; but her prudence determined her to resist + with all her might the idea on the part of the young lady of proceeding to + extremities. She could not believe that Mr. Tyrrel would persist in such an + unaccountable persecution, and she exhorted Miss Melville to forget for a + moment the unaffected independence of her character, and pathetically to + deprecate her cousin's obstinacy. She had great confidence in the ingenuous + eloquence of her ward. Mrs. Jakeman did not know what was passing in the + breast of the tyrant.</p> + + <p>Miss Melville complied with the suggestion of her mamma. One morning + immediately after breakfast, she went to her harpsichord, and played one + after another several of those airs that were most the favourites of Mr. + Tyrrel. Mrs. Jakeman had retired; the servants were gone to their respective + employments. Mr. Tyrrel would have gone also; his mind was untuned, and he + did not take the pleasure he had been accustomed to take in the musical + performances of Emily. But her finger was now more tasteful than common. Her + mind was probably wrought up to a firmer and bolder tone, by the + recollection of the cause she was going to plead; at the same time that it + was exempt from those incapacitating tremors which would have been felt by + one that dared not look poverty in the face. Mr. Tyrrel was unable to leave + the apartment. Sometimes he traversed it with impatient steps; then he hung + over the poor innocent whose powers were exerted to please him; at length he + threw himself in a chair opposite, with his eyes turned towards Emily. It + was easy to trace the progress of his emotions. The furrows into which his + countenance was contracted were gradually relaxed; his features were + brightened into a smile; the kindness with which he had upon former + occasions contemplated Emily seemed to revive in his heart.</p> + + <p>Emily watched her opportunity. As soon as she had finished one of the + pieces, she rose and went to Mr. Tyrrel.</p> + + <p>"Now, have not I done it nicely? and after this will not you give me a + reward?"</p> + + <p>"A reward! Ay, come here, and I will give you a kiss."</p> + + <p>"No, that is not it. And yet you have not kissed me this many a day. + Formerly you said you loved me, and called me your Emily. I am sure you did + not love me better than I loved you. You have not forgot all the kindness + you once had for me?" added she anxiously.</p> + + <p>"Forgot? No, no. How can you ask such a question? You shall be my dear + Emily still!"</p> + + <p>"Ah, those were happy times!" she replied, a little mournfully. "Do you + know, cousin, I wish I could wake, and find that the last month—only + about a month—was a dream?"</p> + + <p>"What do you mean by that?" said Mr. Tyrrel with an altered voice. "Have + a care! Do not put me out of humour. Do not come with your romantic notions + now."</p> + + <p>"No, no: I have no romantic notions in my head. I speak of something upon + which the happiness of my life depends."</p> + + <p>"I see what you would be at. Be silent. You know it is to no purpose to + plague me with your stubbornness. You will not let me be in good humour with + you for a moment. What my mind is determined upon about Grimes, all the + world shall not move me to give up."</p> + + <p>"Dear, dear cousin! why, but consider now. Grimes is a rough rustic lout, + like Orson in the story-book. He wants a wife like himself. He would be as + uneasy and as much at a loss with me, as I with him. Why should we both of + us be forced to do what neither of us is inclined to? I cannot think what + could ever have put it into your head. But now, for goodness' sake, give it + up! Marriage is a serious thing. You should not think of joining two people + for a whim, who are neither of them fit for one another in any respect in + the world. We should feel mortified and disappointed all our lives. Month + would go after month, and year after year, and I could never hope to be my + own, but by the death of a person I ought to love. I am sure, sir, you + cannot mean me all this harm. What have I done, that I should deserve to + have you for an enemy?"</p> + + <p>"I am not your enemy. I tell you that it is necessary to put you out of + harm's way. But, if I were your enemy, I could not be a worse torment to you + than you are to me. Are not you continually singing the praises of Falkland? + Are not you in love with Falkland? That man is a legion of devils to me! I + might as well have been a beggar! I might as well have been a dwarf or a + monster! Time was when I was thought entitled to respect. But now, debauched + by this Frenchified rascal, they call me rude, surly, a tyrant! It is true + that I cannot talk in finical phrases, flatter people with hypocritical + praise, or suppress the real feelings of my mind. The scoundrel knows his + pitiful advantages, and insults me upon them without ceasing. He is my rival + and my persecutor; and, at last, as if all this were not enough, he has + found means to spread the pestilence in my own family. You, whom we took up + out of charity, the chance-born brat of a stolen marriage! you must turn + upon your benefactor, and wound me in the point that of all others I could + least bear. If I were your enemy, should not I have reason? Could I ever + inflict upon you such injuries as you have made me suffer? And who are you? + The lives of fifty such cannot atone for an hour of my uneasiness. If you + were to linger for twenty years upon the rack, you would never feel what I + have felt. But I am your friend. I see which way you are going; and I am + determined to save you from this thief, this hypocritical destroyer of us + all. Every moment that the mischief is left to itself, it does but make bad + worse; and I am determined to save you out of hand."</p> + + <p>The angry expostulations of Mr. Tyrrel suggested new ideas to the tender + mind of Miss Melville. He had never confessed the emotions of his soul so + explicitly before; but the tempest of his thoughts suffered him to be no + longer master of himself. She saw with astonishment that he was the + irreconcilable foe of Mr. Falkland, whom she had fondly imagined it was the + same thing to know and admire; and that he harboured a deep and rooted + resentment against herself. She recoiled, without well knowing why, before + the ferocious passions of her kinsman, and was convinced that she had + nothing to hope from his implacable temper. But her alarm was the prelude of + firmness, and not of cowardice.</p> + + <p>"No, sir," replied she, "indeed I will not be driven any way that you + happen to like. I have been used to obey you, and, in all that is + reasonable, I will obey you still. But you urge me too far. What do you tell + me of Mr. Falkland? Have I ever done any thing to deserve your unkind + suspicions? I am innocent, and will continue innocent. Mr. Grimes is well + enough, and will no doubt find women that like him; but he is not fit for + me, and torture shall not force me to be his wife."</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel was not a little astonished at the spirit which Emily + displayed upon this occasion. He had calculated too securely upon the + general mildness and suavity of her disposition. He now endeavoured to + qualify the harshness of his former sentiments.</p> + + <p>"God damn my soul! And so you can scold, can you? You expect every body + to turn out of his way, and fetch and carry, just as you please? I could + find in my heart—But you know my mind. I insist upon it that you let + Grimes court you, and that you lay aside your sulks, and give him a fair + hearing. Will you do that? If then you persist in your wilfulness, why + there, I suppose, is an end of the matter. Do not think that any body is + going to marry you, whether you will or no. You are no such mighty prize, I + assure you. If you knew your own interest, you would be glad to take the + young fellow while he is willing."</p> + + <p>Miss Melville rejoiced in the prospect, which the last words of her + kinsman afforded her, of a termination at no great distance to her present + persecutions. Mrs. Jakeman, to whom she communicated them, congratulated + Emily on the returning moderation and good sense of the squire, and herself + on her prudence in having urged the young lady to this happy expostulation. + But their mutual felicitations lasted not long. Mr. Tyrrel informed Mrs. + Jakeman of the necessity in which he found himself of sending her to a + distance, upon a business which would not fail to detain her several weeks; + and, though the errand by no means wore an artificial or ambiguous face, the + two friends drew a melancholy presage from this ill-timed separation. Mrs. + Jakeman, in the mean time, exhorted her ward to persevere, reminded her of + the compunction which had already been manifested by her kinsman, and + encouraged her to hope every thing from her courage and good temper. Emily, + on her part, though grieved at the absence of her protector and counsellor + at so interesting a crisis, was unable to suspect Mr. Tyrrel of such a degree + either of malice or duplicity as could afford ground for serious alarm. She + congratulated herself upon her delivery from so alarming a persecution, and + drew a prognostic of future success from this happy termination of the first + serious affair of her life. She exchanged a state of fortitude and alarm for + her former pleasing dreams respecting Mr. Falkland. These she bore without + impatience. She was even taught by the uncertainty of the event to desire to + prolong, rather than abridge, a situation which might be delusive, but which + was not without its pleasures.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CVIII" id="V1_CVIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + + <p>Nothing could be further from Mr. Tyrrel's intention than to suffer his + project to be thus terminated. No sooner was he freed from the fear of his + housekeeper's interference, than he changed the whole system of his conduct. + He ordered Miss Melville to be closely confined to her apartment, and + deprived of all means of communicating her situation to any one out of his + own house. He placed over her a female servant, in whose discretion he could + confide, and who, having formerly been honoured with the amorous notices of + the squire, considered the distinctions that were paid to Emily at Tyrrel + Place as an usurpation upon her more reasonable claims. The squire himself + did every thing in his power to blast the young lady's reputation, and + represented to his attendants these precautions as necessary, to prevent her + from eloping to his neighbour, and plunging herself in total ruin.</p> + + <p>As soon as Miss Melville had been twenty-four hours in durance, and there + was some reason to suppose that her spirit might be subdued to the emergency + of her situation, Mr. Tyrrel thought proper to go to her, to explain the + grounds of her present treatment, and acquaint her with the only means by + which she could hope for a change. Emily no sooner saw him, than she turned + towards him with an air of greater firmness than perhaps she had ever + assumed in her life, and accosted him thus:—</p> + + <p>"Well, sir, is it you? I wanted to see you. It seems I am shut up here by + your orders. What does this mean? What right have you to make a prisoner of + me? What do I owe you? Your mother left me a hundred pounds: have you ever + offered to make any addition to my fortune? But, if you had, I do not want + it. I do not pretend to be better than the children of other poor parents; I + can maintain myself as they do. I prefer liberty to wealth. I see you are + surprised at the resolution I exert. But ought I not to turn again, when I + am trampled upon? I should have left you before now, if Mrs. Jakeman had not + over-persuaded me, and if I had not thought better of you than by your + present behaviour I find you deserve. But now, sir, I intend to leave your + house this moment, and insist upon it, that you do not endeavour to prevent + me."</p> + + <p>Thus saying, she rose, and went towards the door, while Mr. Tyrrel stood + thunderstruck at her magnanimity. Seeing, however, that she was upon the + point of being out of the reach of his power, he recovered himself and + pulled her back.</p> + + <p>"What is in the wind now? Do you think, strumpet; that you shall get the + better of me by sheer impudence? Sit down! rest you satisfied!--So you want + to know by what right you are here, do you? By the right of possession. This + house is mine, and you are in my power. There is no Mrs. Jakeman now to + spirit you away; no, nor no Falkland to bully for you. I have countermined + you, damn me! and blown up your schemes. Do you think I will be contradicted + and opposed for nothing? When did you ever know any body resist my will + without being made to repent? And shall I now be browbeaten by a + chitty-faced girl?—I have not given you a fortune! Damn you! who + brought you up? I will make you a bill for clothing and lodging. Do not you + know that every creditor has a right to stop his runaway debtor. You may + think as you please; but here you are till you marry Grimes. Heaven and + earth shall not prevent but I will get the better of your obstinacy!"</p> + + <p>"Ungenerous, unmerciful man! and so it is enough for you that I have + nobody to defend me! But I am not so helpless as you may imagine. You may + imprison my body, but you cannot conquer my mind. Marry Mr. Grimes! And is + this the way to bring me to your purpose? Every hardship I suffer puts still + further distant the end for which I am thus unjustly treated. You are not + used to have your will contradicted! When did I ever contradict it? And, in + a concern that is so completely my own, shall my will go for nothing? Would + you lay down this rule for yourself, and suffer no other creature to take + the benefit of it? I want nothing of you: how dare you refuse me the + privilege of a reasonable being, to live unmolested in poverty and + innocence? What sort of a man do you show yourself, you that lay claim to + the respect and applause of every one that knows you?"</p> + + <p>The spirited reproaches of Emily had at first the effect to fill Mr. + Tyrrel with astonishment, and make him feel abashed and overawed in the + presence of this unprotected innocent. But his confusion was the result of + surprise. When the first emotion wore off, he cursed himself for being moved + by her expostulations; and was ten times more exasperated against her, for + daring to defy his resentment at a time when she had every thing to fear. + His despotic and unforgiving propensities stimulated him to a degree little + short of madness. At the same time his habits, which were pensive and + gloomy, led him to meditate a variety of schemes to punish her obstinacy. He + began to suspect that there was little hope of succeeding by open force, and + therefore determined to have recourse to treachery.</p> + + <p>He found in Grimes an instrument sufficiently adapted to his purpose. + This fellow, without an atom of intentional malice, was fitted, by the mere + coarseness of his perceptions, for the perpetration of the greatest + injuries. He regarded both injury and advantage merely as they related to + the gratifications of appetite; and considered it an essential in true + wisdom, to treat with insult the effeminacy of those who suffer themselves + to be tormented with ideal misfortunes. He believed that no happier destiny + could befal a young woman than to be his wife; and he conceived that that + termination would amply compensate for any calamities she might suppose + herself to undergo in the interval. He was therefore easily prevailed upon, + by certain temptations which Mr. Tyrrel knew how to employ, to take part in + the plot into which Miss Melville was meant to be betrayed.</p> + + <p>Matters being thus prepared, Mr. Tyrrel proceeded, through the means of + the gaoler (for the experience he already had of personal discussion did not + incline him to repeat his visits), to play upon the fears of his prisoner. + This woman, sometimes under the pretence of friendship, and sometimes with + open malice, informed Emily, from time to time, of the preparations that + were making for her marriage. One day, "the squire had rode over to look at + a neat little farm which was destined for the habitation of the new-married + couple;" and at another, "a quantity of live stock and household furniture + was procured, that every thing might be ready for their reception." She then + told her "of a licence that was bought, a parson in readiness, and a day + fixed for the nuptials." When Emily endeavoured, though with increased + misgivings, to ridicule these proceedings as absolutely nugatory without her + consent, her artful gouvernante related several stories of forced marriages, + and assured her that neither protestations, nor silence, nor fainting, would + be of any avail, either to suspend the ceremony, or to set it aside when + performed.</p> + + <p>The situation of Miss Melville was in an eminent degree pitiable. She had + no intercourse but with her persecutors. She had not a human being with whom + to consult, who might afford her the smallest degree of consolation and + encouragement. She had fortitude; but it was neither confirmed nor directed + by the dictates of experience. It could not therefore be expected to be so + inflexible, as with better information it would, no doubt, have been found. + She had a clear and noble spirit; but she had some of her sex's errors. Her + mind sunk under the uniform terrors with which she was assailed, and her + health became visibly impaired.</p> + + <p>Her firmness being thus far undermined, Grimes, in pursuance of his + instructions, took care, in his next interview, to throw out an insinuation + that, for his own part, he had never cared for the match, and since she was + so averse to it, would be better pleased that it should never take place. + Between one and the other however, he was got into a scrape, and now he + supposed he must marry, will he, nill he. The two squires would infallibly + ruin him upon the least appearance of backwardness on his part, as they were + accustomed to do every inferior that resisted their will. Emily was rejoiced + to find her admirer in so favourable a disposition; and earnestly pressed + him to give effect to this humane declaration. Her representations were full + of eloquence and energy. Grimes appeared to be moved at the fervency of her + manner; but objected the resentment of Mr. Tyrrel and his landlord. At + length, however, he suggested a project, in consequence of which he might + assist her in her escape, without its ever coming to their knowledge, as, + indeed, there was no likelihood that their suspicions would fix upon him. + "To be sure," said he, "you have refused me in a disdainful sort of a way, + as a man may say. Mayhap you thought I was no better 'an a brute: but I bear + you no malice, and I will show you that I am more kind-hearted 'an you have + been willing to think. It is a strange sort of a vagary you have taken, to + stand in your own light, and disoblige all your friends. But if you are + resolute, do you see? I scorn to be the husband of a lass that is not every + bit as willing as I; and so I will even help to put you in a condition to + follow your own inclinations."</p> + + <p>Emily listened to these suggestions at first with eagerness and + approbation. But her fervency somewhat abated, when they came to discuss the + minute parts of the undertaking. It was necessary, as Grimes informed her, + that her escape should be effected in the dead of the night. He would + conceal himself for that purpose in the garden, and be provided with false + keys, by which to deliver her from her prison. These circumstances were by + no means adapted to calm her perturbed imagination. To throw herself into + the arms of the man whose intercourse she was employing every method to + avoid, and whom, under the idea of a partner for life, she could least of + all men endure, was, no doubt, an extraordinary proceeding. The attendant + circumstances of darkness and solitude aggravated the picture. The situation + of Tyrrel Place was uncommonly lonely; it was three miles from the nearest + village, and not less than seven from that in which Mrs. Jakeman's sister + resided, under whose protection Miss Melville was desirous of placing + herself. The ingenuous character of Emily did not allow her once to suspect + Grimes of intending to make an ungenerous and brutal advantage of these + circumstances; but her mind involuntarily revolted against the idea of + committing herself, alone, to the disposal of a man, whom she had lately + been accustomed to consider as the instrument of her treacherous + relation.</p> + + <p>After having for some time revolved these considerations, she thought of + the expedient of desiring Grimes to engage Mrs. Jakeman's sister to wait for + her at the outside of the garden. But this Grimes peremptorily refused. He + even flew into a passion at the proposal. It showed very little gratitude, + to desire him to disclose to other people his concern in this dangerous + affair. For his part, he was determined, in consideration of his own safety, + never to appear in it to any living soul. If Miss did not believe him, when + he made this proposal out of pure good-nature, and would not trust him a + single inch, she might even see to the consequences herself. He was resolved + to condescend no further to the whims of a person who, in her treatment of + him, had shown herself as proud as Lucifer himself.</p> + + <p>Emily exerted herself to appease his resentment; but all the eloquence of + her new confederate could not prevail upon her instantly to give up her + objection. She desired till the next day to consider of it. The day after + was fixed by Mr. Tyrrel for the marriage ceremony. In the mean time she was + pestered with intimations, in a thousand forms, of the fate that so nearly + awaited her. The preparations were so continued, methodical, and regular, as + to produce in her the most painful and aching anxiety. If her heart attained + a moment's intermission upon the subject, her female attendant was sure, by + some sly hint or sarcastical remark, to put a speedy termination to her + tranquillity. She felt herself, as she afterwards remarked, alone, + uninstructed, just broken loose, as it were, from the trammels of infancy, + without one single creature to concern himself in her fate. She, who till + then never knew an enemy, had now, for three weeks, not seen the glimpse of + a human countenance, that she had not good reason to consider as wholly + estranged to her at least, if not unrelentingly bent on her destruction. She + now, for the first time, experienced the anguish of never having known her + parents, and being cast upon the charity of people with whom she had too + little equality, to hope to receive from them the offices of friendship.</p> + + <p>The succeeding night was filled with the most anxious thoughts. When a + momentary oblivion stole upon her senses, her distempered imagination + conjured up a thousand images of violence and falsehood; she saw herself in + the hands of her determined enemies, who did not hesitate by the most daring + treachery to complete her ruin. Her waking thoughts were not more consoling. + The struggle was too great for her constitution. As morning approached, she + resolved, at all hazards, to put herself into the hands of Grimes. This + determination was no sooner made, than she felt her heart sensibly + lightened. She could not conceive any evil which could result from this + proceeding, that deserved to be put in the balance against those which, + under the roof of her kinsman, appeared unavoidable.</p> + + <p>When she communicated her determination to Grimes, it was not possible to + say whether he received pleasure or pain from the intimation. He smiled + indeed; but his smile was accompanied by a certain abrupt ruggedness of + countenance, so that it might equally well be the smile of sarcasm or of + congratulation. He, however, renewed his assurances of fidelity to his + engagements and punctuality of execution. Meanwhile the day was interspersed + with nuptial presents and preparations, all indicating the firmness as well + as security of the directors of the scene. Emily had hoped that, as the + crisis approached, they might have remitted something of their usual + diligence. She was resolved, in that case, if a fair opportunity had + offered, to give the slip both to her jailors, and to her new and + reluctantly chosen confederate. But, though extremely vigilant for that + purpose, she found the execution of the idea impracticable.</p> + + <p>At length the night, so critical to her happiness, approached. The mind + of Emily could not fail, on this occasion, to be extremely agitated. She had + first exerted all her perspicacity to elude the vigilance of her attendant. + This insolent and unfeeling tyrant, instead of any relentings, had only + sought to make sport of her anxiety. Accordingly, in one instance she hid + herself, and, suffering Emily to suppose that the coast was clear, met her + at the end of the gallery, near the top of the staircase. "How do you do, my + dear?" said she, with an insulting tone. "And so the little dear thought + itself cunning enough to outwit me, did it? Oh, it was a sly little gipsy! + Go, go back, love; troop!" Emily felt deeply the trick that was played upon + her. She sighed, but disdained to return any answer to this low vulgarity. + Being once more in her chamber, she sat down in a chair, and remained buried + in reverie for more than two hours. After this she went to her drawers, and + turned over, in a hurrying confused way, her linen and clothes, having in + her mind the provision it would be necessary to make for her elopement. Her + jailor officiously followed her from place to place, and observed what she + did for the present in silence. It was now the hour of rest. "Good night, + child," said this saucy girl, in the act of retiring. "It is time to lock + up. For the few next hours, the time is your own. Make the best use of it! + Do'ee think ee can creep out at the key-hole, lovey? At eight o'clock you + see me again. And then, and then," added she, clapping her hands, "it is all + over. The sun is not surer to rise, than you and your honest man to be made + one."</p> + + <p>There was something in the tone with which this slut uttered her + farewell, that suggested the question to Emily, "What does she mean? Is it + possible that she should know what has been planned for the few next + hours?"—This was the first moment that suspicion had offered itself, + and its continuance was short. With an aching heart she folded up the few + necessaries she intended to take with her. She instinctively listened, with + an anxiety that would almost have enabled her to hear the stirring of a + leaf. From time to time she thought her ear was struck with the sound of + feet; but the treading, if treading it were, was so soft, that she could + never ascertain whether it were a real sound, or the mere creature of the + fancy. Then all was still, as if the universal motion had been at rest. By + and by she conceived she overheard a noise as of buzzing and low-muttered + speech. Her heart palpitated; for a second time she began to doubt the + honesty of Grimes. The suggestion was now more anxious than before; but it + was too late. Presently she heard the sound of a key in her chamber-door, + and the rustic made his appearance. She started, and cried, "Are we + discovered? did not I hear you speak?" Grimes advanced on tiptoe with his + finger to his lip. "No, no," replied he, "all is safe!" He took her by the + hand, led her in silence out of the house, and then across the garden. Emily + examined with her eye the doors and passages as they proceeded, and looked + on all sides with fearful suspicion; but every thing was as vacant and still + as she herself could have wished. Grimes opened a back-door of the garden + already unlocked, that led into an unfrequented lane. There stood two horses + ready equipped for the journey, and fastened by their bridles to a post not + six yards distant from the garden. Grimes pushed the door after them.</p> + + <p>"By Gemini," said he, "my heart was in my mouth. As I comed along to you, + I saw Mun, coachey, pop along from the back-door to the stables. He was + within a hop, step, and jump of me. But he had a lanthorn in his hand, and + he did not see me, being as I was darkling." Saying this, he assisted Miss + Melville to mount. He troubled her little during the route; on the contrary, + he was remarkably silent and contemplative, a circumstance by no means + disagreeable to Emily, to whom his conversation had never been + acceptable.</p> + + <p>After having proceeded about two miles, they turned into a wood, through + which the road led to the place of their destination. The night was + extremely dark, at the same time that the air was soft and mild, it being + now the middle of summer. Under pretence of exploring the way, Grimes + contrived, when they had already penetrated into the midst of this gloomy + solitude, to get his horse abreast with that of Miss Melville, and then, + suddenly reaching out his hand, seized hold of her bridle. "I think we may + as well stop here a bit," said he.</p> + + <p>"Stop!" exclaimed Emily with surprise; "why should we stop? Mr. Grimes, + what do you mean?"</p> + + <p>"Come, come," said he, "never trouble yourself to wonder. Did you think I + were such a goose, to take all this trouble merely to gratify your whim? I' + faith, nobody shall find me a pack-horse, to go of other folks' errands, + without knowing a reason why. I cannot say that I much minded to have you at + first; but your ways are enough to stir the blood of my grand-dad. + Far-fetched and dear-bought is always relishing. Your consent was so hard to + gain, that squire thought it was surest asking in the dark. A' said however, + a' would have no such doings in his house, and so, do ye see, we are comed + here."</p> + + <p>"For God's sake, Mr. Grimes, think what you are about! You cannot be base + enough to ruin a poor creature who has put herself under your + protection!</p> + + <p>"Ruin! No, no, I will make an honest woman of you, when all is done. Nay, + none of your airs; no tricks upon travellers! I have you here as safe AS a + horse in a pound; there is not a house nor a shed within a mile of us; and, + if I miss the opportunity, call me spade. Faith, you are a delicate morsel, + and there is no time to be lost!"</p> + + <p>Miss Melville had but an instant in which to collect her thoughts. She + felt that there was little hope of softening the obstinate and insensible + brute in whose power she was placed. But the presence of mind and + intrepidity annexed to her character did not now desert her. Grimes had + scarcely finished his harangue, when, with a strong and unexpected jerk, she + disengaged the bridle from his grasp, and at the same time put her horse + upon full speed. She had scarcely advanced twice the length of her horse, + when Grimes recovered from his surprise, and pursued her, inexpressibly + mortified at being so easily overreached. The sound of his horse behind + served but to rouse more completely the mettle of that of Emily; whether by + accident or sagacity, the animal pursued without a fault the narrow and + winding way; and the chase continued the whole length of the wood.</p> + + <p>At the extremity of this wood there was a gate. The recollection of this + softened a little the cutting disappointment of Grimes, as he thought + himself secure of putting an end, by its assistance, to the career of Emily; + nor was it very probable that any body would appear to interrupt his + designs, in such a place, and in the dead and silence of the night. By the + most extraordinary accident, however, they found a man on horseback in wait + at this gate. "Help, help!" exclaimed the affrighted Emily; "thieves! + murder! help!" The man was Mr. Falkland. Grimes knew his voice; and + therefore, though he attempted a sort of sullen resistance, it was feebly + made. Two other men, whom, by reason of the darkness, he had not at first + seen, and who were Mr. Falkland's servants, hearing the bustle of the + rencounter, and alarmed for the safety of their master, rode up; and then + Grimes, disappointed at the loss of his gratification, and admonished by + conscious guilt, shrunk from farther parley, and rode off in silence.</p> + + <p>It may seem strange that Mr. Falkland should thus a second time have been + the saviour of Miss Melville, and that under circumstances the most + unexpected and singular. But in this instance it is easily to be accounted + for. He had heard of a man who lurked about this wood for robbery or some + other bad design, and that it was conjectured this man was Hawkins, another + of the victims of Mr. Tyrrel's rural tyranny, whom I shall immediately have + occasion to introduce. Mr. Falkland's compassion had already been strongly + excited in favour of Hawkins; he had in vain endeavoured to find him, and do + him good; and he easily conceived that, if the conjecture which had been + made in this instance proved true, he might have it in his power not only to + do what he had always intended, but further, to save from a perilous offence + against the laws and society a man who appeared to have strongly imbibed the + principles of justice and virtue. He took with him two servants, because, + going with the express design of encountering robbers, if robbers should be + found, he believed he should be inexcusable if he did not go provided + against possible accidents. But he had directed them, at the same time that + they kept within call, to be out of the reach of being seen; and it was only + the eagerness of their zeal that had brought them up thus early in the + present encounter.</p> + + <p>This new adventure promised something extraordinary. Mr. Falkland did not + immediately recognise Miss Melville; and the person of Grimes was that of a + total stranger, whom he did not recollect to have ever seen. But it was easy + to understand the merits of the case, and the propriety of interfering. The + resolute manner of Mr. Falkland, conjoined with the dread which Grimes, + oppressed with a sense of wrong, entertained of the opposition of so + elevated a personage, speedily put the ravisher to flight. Emily was left + alone with her deliverer. He found her much more collected and calm, than + could reasonably have been expected from a person who had been, a moment + before, in the most alarming situation. She told him of the place to which + she desired to be conveyed, and he immediately undertook to escort her. As + they went along, she recovered that state of mind which inclined her to make + a person to whom she had such repeated obligations, and who was so eminently + the object of her admiration, acquainted with the events that had recently + befallen her. Mr. Falkland listened with eagerness and surprise. Though he + had already known various instances of Mr. Tyrrel's mean jealousy and + unfeeling tyranny, this surpassed them all; and he could scarcely credit his + ears while he heard the tale. His brutal neighbour seemed to realise all + that has been told of the passions of fiends. Miss Melville was obliged to + repeat, in the course of her tale, her kinsman's rude accusation against + her, of entertaining a passion for Mr. Falkland; and this she did with the + most bewitching simplicity and charming confusion. Though this part of the + tale was a source of real pain to her deliverer, yet it is not to be + supposed but that the flattering partiality of this unhappy girl increased + the interest he felt in her welfare, and the indignation he conceived + against her infernal kinsman.</p> + + <p>They arrived without accident at the house of the good lady under whose + protection Emily desired to place herself. Here Mr. Falkland willingly left + her as in a place of security. Such conspiracies as that of which she was + intended to have been the victim, depend for their success upon the person + against whom they are formed being out of the reach of help; and the moment + they are detected, they are annihilated. Such reasoning will, no doubt, be + generally found sufficiently solid; and it appeared to Mr. Falkland + perfectly applicable to the present case. But he was mistaken.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CIX" id="V1_CIX"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + + <p>Mr. Falkland had experienced the nullity of all expostulation with Mr. + Tyrrel, and was therefore content in the present case with confining his + attention to the intended victim. The indignation with which he thought of + his neighbour's character was now grown to such a height, as to fill him + with reluctance to the idea of a voluntary interview. There was indeed + another affair which had been contemporary with this, that had once more + brought these mortal enemies into a state of contest, and had contributed to + raise into a temper little short of madness, the already inflamed and + corrosive bitterness of Mr. Tyrrel.</p> + + <p>There was a tenant of Mr. Tyrrel, one Hawkins;—I cannot mention his + name without recollecting the painful tragedies that are annexed to it! This + Hawkins had originally been taken up by Mr. Tyrrel, with a view of + protecting him from the arbitrary proceedings of a neighbouring squire, + though he had now in his turn become an object of persecution to Mr. Tyrrel + himself. The first ground of their connection was this:—Hawkins, + beside a farm which he rented under the above-mentioned squire, had a small + freehold estate that he inherited from his father. This of course entitled + him to a vote in the county elections; and, a warmly contested election + having occurred, he was required by his landlord to vote for the candidate + in whose favour he had himself engaged. Hawkins refused to obey the mandate, + and soon after received notice to quit the farm he at that time rented.</p> + + <p>It happened that Mr. Tyrrel had interested himself strongly in behalf of + the opposite candidate; and, as Mr. Tyrrel's estate bordered upon the seat + of Hawkins's present residence, the ejected countryman could think of no + better expedient than that of riding over to this gentleman's mansion, and + relating the case to him. Mr. Tyrrel heard him through with attention. + "Well, friend," said he, "it is very true that I wished Mr. Jackman to carry + his election; but you know it is usual in these cases for tenants to vote + just as their landlords please. I do not think proper to encourage + rebellion."—"All that is very right, and please you," replied Hawkins, + "and I would have voted at my landlord's bidding for any other man in the + kingdom but Squire Marlow. You must know one day his huntsman rode over my + fence, and so through my best field of standing corn. It was not above a + dozen yards about if he had kept the cart-road. The fellow had served me the + same sauce, an it please your honour, three or four times before. So I only + asked him what he did that for, and whether he had not more conscience than + to spoil people's crops o' that fashion? Presently the squire came up. He is + but a poor, weazen-face chicken of a gentleman, saving your honour's + reverence. And so he flew into a woundy passion, and threatened to horsewhip + me. I will do as much in reason to pleasure my landlord as arr a tenant he + has; but I will not give my vote to a man that threatens to horsewhip me. + And so, your honour, I and my wife and three children are to be turned out + of house and home, and what I am to do to maintain them God knows. I have + been a hard-working man, and have always lived well, and I do think the case + is main hard. Squire Underwood turns me out of my farm; and if your honour + do not take me in, I know none of the neighbouring gentry will, for fear, as + they say, of encouraging their own tenants to run rusty too."</p> + + <p>This representation was not without its effect upon Mr. Tyrrel. "Well, + well, man," replied he, "we will see what can be done. Order and + subordination are very good things; but people should know how much to + require. As you tell the story, I cannot see that you are greatly to blame. + Marlow is a coxcombical prig, that is the truth on't; and if a man will + expose himself, why, he must even take what follows. I do hate a Frenchified + fop with all my soul: and I cannot say that I am much pleased with my + neighbour Underwood for taking the part of such a rascal. Hawkins, I think, + is your name? You may call on Barnes, my steward, to-morrow, and he shall + speak to you."</p> + + <p>While Mr. Tyrrel was speaking, he recollected that he had a farm vacant, + of nearly the same value as that which Hawkins at present rented under Mr. + Underwood. He immediately consulted his steward, and, finding the thing + suitable in every respect, Hawkins was installed out of hand in the + catalogue of Mr. Tyrrel's tenants. Mr. Underwood extremely resented this + proceeding, which indeed, as being contrary to the understood conventions of + the country gentlemen, few people but Mr. Tyrrel would have ventured upon. + There was an end, said Mr. Underwood, to all regulation, if tenants were to + be encouraged in such disobedience. It was not a question of this or that + candidate, seeing that any gentleman, who was a true friend to his country, + would rather lose his election than do a thing which, if once established + into a practice, would deprive them for ever of the power of managing any + election. The labouring people were sturdy and resolute enough of their own + accord; it became every day more difficult to keep them under any + subordination; and, if the gentlemen were so ill advised as to neglect the + public good, and encourage them in their insolence, there was no foreseeing + where it would end.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel was not of a stamp to be influenced by these remonstrances. + Their general spirit was sufficiently conformable to the sentiments he + himself entertained; but he was of too vehement a temper to maintain the + character of a consistent politician; and, however wrong his conduct might + be, he would by no means admit of its being set right by the suggestions of + others. The more his patronage of Hawkins was criticised, the more + inflexibly he adhered to it; and he was at no loss in clubs and other + assemblies to overbear and silence, if not to confute, his censurers. Beside + which, Hawkins had certain accomplishments which qualified him to be a + favourite with Mr. Tyrrel. The bluntness of his manner and the ruggedness of + his temper gave him some resemblance to his landord; and, as these qualities + were likely to be more frequently exercised on such persons as had incurred + Mr. Tyrrel's displeasure, than upon Mr. Tyrrel himself, they were not + observed without some degree of complacency. In a word, he every day + received new marks of distinction from his patron, and after some time was + appointed coadjutor to Mr. Barnes under the denomination of bailiff. It was + about the same period that he obtained a lease of the farm of which he was + tenant.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel determined, as occasion offered, to promote every part of the + family of this favoured dependent. Hawkins had a son, a lad of seventeen, of + an agreeable person, a ruddy complexion, and of quick and lively parts. This + lad was in an uncommon degree the favourite of his father, who seemed to + have nothing so much at heart as the future welfare of his son. Mr. Tyrrel + had noticed him two or three times with approbation; and the boy, being fond + of the sports of the field, had occasionally followed the hounds, and + displayed various instances, both of agility and sagacity, in presence of + the squire. One day in particular he exhibited himself with uncommon + advantage; and Mr. Tyrrel without further delay proposed to his father, to + take him into his family, and make him whipper-in to his hounds, till he + could provide him with some more lucrative appointment in his service.</p> + + <p>This proposal was received by Hawkins with various marks of + mortification. He excused himself with hesitation for not accepting the + offered favour; said the lad was in many ways useful to him; and hoped his + honour would not insist upon depriving him of his assistance. This apology + might perhaps have been sufficient with any other man than Mr. Tyrrel; but + it was frequently observed of this gentleman that, when he had once formed a + determination, however slight, in favour of any measure, he was never + afterwards known to give it up, and that the only effect of opposition was + to make him eager and inflexible, in pursuit of that to which he had before + been nearly indifferent. At first he seemed to receive the apology of + Hawkins with good humour, and to see nothing in it but what was reasonable; + but afterwards, every time he saw the boy, his desire of retaining him in + his service was increased, and he more than once repeated to his father the + good disposition in which he felt himself towards him. At length he observed + that the lad was no more to be seen mingling in his favourite sports, and he + began to suspect that this originated in a determination to thwart him in + his projects.</p> + + <p>Roused by this suspicion, which, to a man of Mr. Tyrrel's character, was + not of a nature to brook delay, he sent for Hawkins to confer with him. + "Hawkins," said he, in a tone of displeasure, "I am not satisfied with you. + I have spoken to you two or three times about this lad of yours, whom I am + desirous of taking into favour. What is the reason, sir, that you seem + unthankful and averse to my kindness? You ought to know that I am not to be + trifled with. I shall not be contented, when I offer my favours, to have + them rejected by such fellows as you. I made you what you are; and, if I + please, can make you more helpless and miserable than you were when I found + you. Have a care!"</p> + + <p>"An it please your honour," said Hawkins, "you have been a very good + master to me, and I will tell you the whole truth. I hope you will na be + angry. This lad is my favourite, my comfort, and the stay of my age."</p> + + <p>"Well, and what then? Is that a reason you should hinder his + preferment?"</p> + + <p>"Nay, pray your honour, hear me. I may be very weak for aught I know in + this case, but I cannot help it. My father was a clergyman. We have all of + us lived in a creditable way; and I cannot bear to think that this poor lad + of mine should go to service. For my part, I do not see any good that comes + by servants. I do not know, your honour, but, I think, I should not like my + Leonard to be such as they. God forgive me, if I wrong them! But this is a + very dear case, and I cannot bear to risk my poor boy's welfare, when I can + so easily, if you please, keep him out or harm's way. At present he is sober + and industrious, and, without being pert or surly, knows what is due to him. + I know, your honour, that it is main foolish of me to talk to you thus; but + your honour has been a good master to me, and I cannot bear to tell you a + lie."</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel had heard the whole of this harangue in silence, because he + was too much astonished to open his mouth. If a thunderbolt had fallen at + his feet, he could not have testified greater surprise. He had thought that + Hawkins was so foolishly fond of his son, that he could not bear to trust + him out of his presence; but had never in the slightest degree suspected + what he now found to be the truth.</p> + + <p>"Oh, ho, you are a gentleman, are you? A pretty gentleman truly! your + father was a clergyman! Your family is too good to enter into my service! + Why you impudent rascal! was it for this that I took you up, when Mr. + Underwood dismissed you for your insolence to him? Have I been nursing a + viper in my bosom? Pretty master's manners will be contaminated truly? He + will not know what is due to him, but will be accustomed to obey orders! You + insufferable villain! Get out of my sight! Depend upon it, I will have no + gentlemen on my estate! I will off with them, root and branch, bag and + baggage! So do you hear, sir? come to me to-morrow morning, bring your son, + and ask my pardon; or, take my word for it, I will make you so miserable, + you shall wish you had never been born."</p> + + <p>This treatment was too much for Hawkins's patience. "There is no need, + your honour, that I should come to you again about this affair. I have taken + up my determination, and no time can make any change in it. I am main sorry + to displease your worship, and I know that you can do me a great deal of + mischief. But I hope you will not be so hardhearted as to ruin a father only + for being fond of his child, even if so be that his fondness should make him + do a foolish thing. But I cannot help it, your honour: you must do as you + please. The poorest neger, as a man may say, has some point that he will not + part with. I will lose all that I have, and go to day-labour, and my son + too, if needs must; but I will not make a gentleman's servant of him."</p> + + <p>"Very well, friend; very well!" replied Mr. Tyrrel, foaming with rage. + "Depend upon it, I will remember you! Your pride shall have a downfal! God + damn it! is it come to this? Shall a rascal that farms his forty acres, + pretend to beard the lord of the manor? I will tread you into paste! Let me + advise you, scoundrel, to shut up your house and fly, as if the devil was + behind you! You may think yourself happy, if I be not too quick for you yet, + if you escape in a whole skin! I would not suffer such a villain to remain + upon my land a day longer, if I could gain the Indies by it!"</p> + + <p>"Not so fast, your honour," answered Hawkins, sturdily. "I hope you will + think better of it, and see that I have not been to blame. But if you should + not, there is some harm that you can do me, and some harm that you cannot. + Though I am a plain, working man, your honour, do you see? yet I am a man + still. No; I have got a lease of my farm, and I shall not quit it o' thaten. + I hope there is some law for poor folk, as well as for rich."</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel, unused to contradiction, was provoked beyond bearing at the + courage and independent spirit of his retainer. There was not a tenant upon + his estate, or at least not one of Hawkins's mediocrity of fortune, whom the + general policy of landowners, and still more the arbitrary and + uncontrollable temper of Mr. Tyrrel, did not effectually restrain from acts + of open defiance.</p> + + <p>"Excellent, upon my soul! God damn my blood! but you are a rare fellow. + You have a lease, have you? You will not quit, not you! a pretty pass things + are come to, if a lease can protect such fellows as you against the lord of + a manor! But you are for a trial of skill? Oh, very well, friend, very well! + With all my soul! Since it is come to that, we will show you some pretty + sport before we have done! But get out of my sight, you rascal! I have not + another word to say to you! Never darken my doors again."</p> + + <p>Hawkins (to borrow the language of the world) was guilty in this affair + of a double imprudence. He talked to his landlord in a more peremptory + manner than the constitution and practices of this country allow a dependent + to assume. But above all, having been thus hurried away by his resentment, + he ought to have foreseen the consequences. It was mere madness in him to + think of contesting with a man of Mr. Tyrrel's eminence and fortune. It was + a fawn contending with a lion. Nothing could have been more easy to predict, + than that it was of no avail for him to have right on his side, when his + adversary had influence and wealth, and therefore could so victoriously + justify any extravagancies that he might think proper to commit. This maxim + was completely illustrated in the sequel. Wealth and despotism easily know + how to engage those laws as the coadjutors of their oppression, which were + perhaps at first intended [witless and miserable precaution!] for the + safeguards of the poor.</p> + + <p>From this moment Mr. Tyrrel was bent upon Hawkins's destruction; and he + left no means unemployed that could either harass or injure the object of + his persecution. He deprived him of his appointment of bailiff, and directed + Barnes and his other dependents to do him ill offices upon all occasions. + Mr. Tyrrel, by the tenure of his manor, was impropriator of the great + tithes, and this circumstance afforded him frequent opportunities of petty + altercation. The land of one part of Hawkins's farm, though covered with + corn, was lower than the rest; and consequently exposed to occasional + inundations from a river by which it was bounded. Mr. Tyrrel had a dam + belonging to this river privately cut, about a fortnight before the season + of harvest, and laid the whole under water. He ordered his servants to pull + away the fences of the higher ground during the night, and to turn in his + cattle, to the utter destruction of the crop. These expedients, however, + applied to only one part of the property of this unfortunate man. But Mr. + Tyrrel did not stop here. A sudden mortality took place among Hawkins's live + stock, attended with very suspicious circumstances. Hawkins's vigilance was + strongly excited by this event, and he at length succeeded in tracing the + matter so accurately, that he conceived he could bring it home to Mr. Tyrrel + himself.</p> + + <p>Hawkins had hitherto carefully avoided, notwithstanding the injuries he + had suffered, the attempting to right himself by legal process; being of + opinion that law was better adapted for a weapon of tyranny in the hands of + the rich, than for a shield to protect the humbler part of the community + against their usurpations. In this last instance however he conceived that + the offence was so atrocious, as to make it impossible that any rank could + protect the culprit against the severity of justice. In the sequel, he saw + reason to applaud himself for his former inactivity in this respect, and to + repent that any motive had been strong enough to persuade him into a + contrary system.</p> + + <p>This was the very point to which Mr. Tyrrel wanted to bring him, and he + could scarcely credit his good fortune, when he was told that Hawkins had + entered an action. His congratulation upon this occasion was immoderate, as + he now conceived that the ruin of his late favourite was irretrievable. He + consulted his attorney, and urged him by every motive he could devise, to + employ the whole series of his subterfuges in the present affair. The direct + repelling of the charge exhibited against him was the least part of his + care; the business was, by affidavits, motions, pleas, demurrers, flaws, and + appeals, to protract the question from term to term, and from court to + court. It would, as Mr. Tyrrel argued, be the disgrace of a civilized + country, if a gentleman, when insolently attacked in law by the scum of the + earth, could not convert the cause into a question of the longest purse, and + stick in the skirts of his adversary till he had reduced him to beggary.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel, however, was by no means so far engrossed by his law-suit, as + to neglect other methods of proceeding offensively against his tenant. Among + the various expedients that suggested themselves, there was one, which, + though it tended rather to torment than irreparably injure the sufferer, was + not rejected. This was derived from the particular situation of Hawkins's + house, barns, stacks, and outhouses. They were placed at the extremity of a + slip of land connecting them with the rest of the farm, and were surrounded + on three sides by fields, in the occupation of one of Mr. Tyrrel's tenants + most devoted to the pleasures of his landlord. The road to the market-town + ran at the bottom of the largest of these fields, and was directly in view + of the front of the house. No inconvenience had yet arisen from that + circumstance, as there had always been a broad path, that intersected this + field, and led directly from Hawkins's house to the road. This path, or + private road, was now, by concert of Mr. Tyrrel and his obliging tenant, + shut up, so as to make Hawkins a sort of prisoner in his own domains, and + oblige him to go near a mile about for the purposes of his traffic.</p> + + <p>Young Hawkins, the lad who had been the original subject of dispute + between his father and the squire, had much of his father's spirit, and felt + an uncontrollable indignation against the successive acts of despotism of + which he was a witness. His resentment was the greater, because the + sufferings to which his parent was exposed, all of them flowed from + affection to him, at the same time that he could not propose removing the + ground of dispute, as by so doing he would seem to fly in the face of his + father's paternal kindness. Upon the present occasion, without asking any + counsel but of his own impatient resentment, he went in the middle of the + night, and removed all the obstructions that had been placed in the way of + the old path, broke the padlocks that had been fixed, and threw open the + gates.</p> + + <p>In these operations he did not proceed unobserved, and the next day a + warrant was issued for apprehending him. He was accordingly carried before a + meeting of justices, and by them committed to the county gaol, to take his + trial for the felony at the next assizes. Mr. Tyrrel was determined to + prosecute the offence with the greatest severity; and his attorney, having + made the proper enquiries for that purpose, undertook to bring it under that + clause of the act 9 Geo. I. commonly called the Black Act, which declares + that "any person, armed with a sword, or other offensive weapon, and having + his face blackened, or being otherwise disguised, appearing in any warren or + place where hares or conies have been or shall be usually kept, and being + thereof duly convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall suffer + death, as in cases of felony, without benefit of clergy." Young Hawkins, it + seemed, had buttoned the cape of his great coat over his face, as soon as he + perceived himself to be observed, and he was furnished with a wrenching-iron + for the purpose of breaking the padlocks. The attorney further undertook to + prove, by sufficient witnesses, that the field in question was a warren in + which hares were regularly fed. Mr. Tyrrel seized upon these pretences with + inexpressible satisfaction. He prevailed upon the justices, by the picture + he drew of the obstinacy and insolence of the Hawkinses, fully to commit the + lad upon this miserable charge; and it was by no means so certain as + paternal affection would have desired, that the same overpowering influence + would not cause in the sequel the penal clause to be executed in all its + strictness.</p> + + <p>This was the finishing stroke to Hawkins's miseries: as he was not + deficient in courage, he had stood up against his other persecutions without + flinching. He was not unaware of the advantages which our laws and customs + give to the rich over the poor, in contentions of this kind. But, being once + involved, there was a stubbornness in his nature that would not allow him to + retract, and he suffered himself to hope, rather than expect, a favourable + issue. But in this last event he was wounded in the point that was nearest + his heart. He had feared to have his son contaminated and debased by a + servile station, and he now saw him transferred to the seminary of a gaol. + He was even uncertain as to the issue of his imprisonment, and trembled to + think what the tyranny of wealth might effect to blast his hopes for + ever.</p> + + <p>From this moment his heart died within him. He had trusted to persevering + industry and skill, to save the wreck of his little property from the vulgar + spite of his landlord. But he had now no longer any spirit to exert those + efforts which his situation more than ever required. Mr. Tyrrel proceeded + without remission in his machinations; Hawkins's affairs every day grew more + desperate, and the squire, watching the occasion, took the earliest + opportunity of seizing upon his remaining property in the mode of a distress + for rent.</p> + + <p>It was precisely in this stage of the affair, that Mr. Falkland and Mr. + Tyrrel accidentally met, in a private road near the habitation of the + latter. They were on horseback, and Mr. Falkland was going to the house of + the unfortunate tenant, who seemed upon the point of perishing under his + landlord's malice. He had been just made acquainted with the tale of this + persecution. It had indeed been an additional aggravation of Hawkins's + calamity, that Mr. Falkland, whose interference might otherwise have saved + him, had been absent from the neighbourhood for a considerable time. He had + been three months in London, and from thence had gone to visit his estates + in another part of the island. The proud and self-confident spirit of this + poor fellow always disposed him to depend, as long as possible, upon his own + exertions. He had avoided applying to Mr. Falkland, or indeed indulging + himself in any manner in communicating and bewailing his hard hap, in the + beginning of the contention, and, when the extremity grew more urgent, and + he would have been willing to recede in some degree from the stubbornness of + his measures, he found it no longer in his power. After an absence of + considerable duration, Mr. Falkland at length returned somewhat + unexpectedly; and having learned, among the first articles of country + intelligence, the distresses of this unfortunate yeoman, he resolved to ride + over to his house the next morning, and surprise him with all the relief it + was in his power to bestow.</p> + + <p>At sight of Mr. Tyrrel in this unexpected rencounter, his face reddened + with indignation. His first feeling, as he afterwards said, was to avoid + him; but finding that he must pass him, he conceived that it would be want + of spirit not to acquaint him with his feelings on the present occasion.</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel," said he, somewhat abruptly, "I am sorry for a piece of news + which I have just heard."</p> + + <p>"And pray, sir, what is your sorrow to me?"</p> + + <p>"A great deal, sir: it is caused by the distresses of a poor tenant of + yours, Hawkins. If your steward have proceeded without your authority, I + think it right to inform you what he has done; and, if he have had your + authority, I would gladly persuade you to think better of it."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Falkland, it would be quite as well if you would mind your own + business, and leave me to mind mine. I want no monitor, and I will have + none."</p> + + <p>"You mistake, Mr. Tyrrel; I am minding my own business. If I see you fall + into a pit, it is my business to draw you out and save your life. If I see + you pursuing a wrong mode of conduct, it is my business to set you right and + save your honour."</p> + + <p>"Zounds, sir, do not think to put your conundrums upon me! Is not the man + my tenant? Is not my estate my own? What signifies calling it mine, if I am + not to have the direction of it? Sir, I pay for what I have: I owe no man a + penny; and I will not put my estate to nurse to you, nor the best he that + wears a head."</p> + + <p>"It is very true," said Mr. Falkland, avoiding any direct notice of the + last words of Mr. Tyrrel, "that there is a distinction of ranks. I believe + that distinction is a good thing, and necessary to the peace of mankind. + But, however necessary it may be, we must acknowledge that it puts some + hardship upon the lower orders of society. It makes one's heart ache to + think, that one man is born to the inheritance of every superfluity, while + the whole share of another, without any demerit of his, is drudgery and + starving; and that all this is indispensable. We that are rich, Mr. Tyrrel, + must do every thing in our power to lighten the yoke of these unfortunate + people. We must not use the advantage that accident has given us with an + unmerciful hand. Poor wretches! they are pressed almost beyond bearing as it + is; and, if we unfeelingly give another turn to the machine, they will be + crushed into atoms."</p> + + <p>This picture was not without its effect, even upon the obdurate mind of + Mr. Tyrrel.—"Well, sir, I am no tyrant. I know very well that tyranny + is a bad thing. But you do not infer from thence that these people are to do + as they please, and never meet with their deserts?"</p> + + <p>"Mr. Tyrrel, I see that you are shaken in your animosity. Suffer me to + hail the new-born benevolence of your nature. Go with me to Hawkins. Do not + let us talk of his deserts! Poor fellow! he has suffered almost all that + human nature can endure. Let your forgiveness upon this occasion be the + earnest of good neighbourhood and friendship between you and me."</p> + + <p>"No, sir, I will not go. I own there is something in what you say. I + always knew you had the wit to make good your own story, and tell a + plausible tale. But I will not be come over thus. It has been my character, + when I had once conceived a scheme of vengeance, never to forego it; and I + will not change that character. I took up Hawkins when every body forsook + him, and made a man of him; and the ungrateful rascal has only insulted me + for my pains. Curse me, if I ever forgive him! It would be a good jest + indeed, if I were to forgive the insolence of my own creature at the desire + of a man like you that has been my perpetual plague."</p> + + <p>"For God's sake, Mr. Tyrrel, have some reason in your resentment! Let us + suppose that Hawkins has behaved unjustifiably, and insulted you: is that an + offence that never can be expiated? Must the father be ruined, and the son + hanged, to glut your resentment?"</p> + + <p>"Damn me, sir, but you may talk your heart out; you shall get nothing of + me. I shall never forgive myself for having listened to you for a moment. I + will suffer nobody to stop the stream of my resentment; if I ever were to + forgive him, it should be at nobody's, entreaty but my own. But, sir, I + never will. If he and all his family were at my feet, I would order them all + to be hanged the next minute, if my power were as good as my will."</p> + + <p>"And this is your decision, is it? Mr. Tyrrel, I am ashamed of you! + Almighty God! to hear you talk gives one a loathing for the institutions and + regulations of society, and would induce one to fly the very face of man! + But, no! society casts you out; man abominates you. No wealth, no rank, can + buy out your stain. You will live deserted in the midst of your species; you + will go into crowded societies, and no one will deign so much as to salute + you. They will fly from your glance as they would from the gaze of a + basilisk. Where do you expect to find the hearts of flint that shall + sympathise with yours? You have the stamp of misery, incessant, undivided, + unpitied misery!"</p> + + <p>Thus saying, Mr. Falkland gave spurs to his horse, rudely pushed beside + Mr. Tyrrel, and was presently out of sight. Flaming indignation annihilated + even his favourite sense of honour, and he regarded his neighbour as a + wretch, with whom it was impossible even to enter into contention. For the + latter, he remained for the present motionless and petrified. The glowing + enthusiasm of Mr. Falkland was such as might well have unnerved the stoutest + foe. Mr. Tyrrel, in spite of himself, was blasted with the compunctions of + guilt, and unable to string himself for the contest. The picture Mr. + Falkland had drawn was prophetic. It described what Mr. Tyrrel chiefly + feared; and what in its commencements he thought he already felt. It was + responsive to the whispering of his own meditations; it simply gave body and + voice to the spectre that haunted him, and to the terrors of which he was an + hourly prey.</p> + + <p>By and by, however, he recovered. The more he had been temporarily + confounded, the fiercer was his resentment when he came to himself. Such + hatred never existed in a human bosom without marking its progress with + violence and death. Mr. Tyrrel, however, felt no inclination to have + recourse to personal defiance. He was the furthest in the world from a + coward; but his genius sunk before the genius of Falkland. He left his + vengeance to the disposal of circumstances. He was secure that his animosity + would never be forgotten nor diminished by the interposition of any time or + events. Vengeance was his nightly dream, and the uppermost of his waking + thoughts.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland had departed from this conference with a confirmed + disapprobation of the conduct of his neighbour, and an unalterable + resolution to do every thing in his power to relieve the distresses of + Hawkins. But he was too late. When he arrived, he found the house already + evacuated by its master. The family was removed nobody knew whither; Hawkins + had absconded, and, what was still more extraordinary, the boy Hawkins had + escaped on the very same day from the county gaol. The enquiries Mr. + Falkland set on foot after them were fruitless; no traces could be found of + the catastrophe of these unhappy people. That catastrophe I shall shortly + have occasion to relate, and it will be found pregnant with horror, beyond + what the blackest misanthropy could readily have suggested.</p> + + <p>I go on with my tale. I go on to relate those incidents in which my own + fate was so mysteriously involved. I lift the curtain, and bring forward the + last act of the tragedy.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CX" id="V1_CX"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> + + <p>It may easily be supposed, that the ill temper cherished by Mr. Tyrrel in + his contention with Hawkins, and the increasing animosity between him and + Mr. Falkland, added to the impatience with which he thought of the escape of + Emily.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel heard with astonishment of the miscarriage of an expedient, of + the success of which he had not previously entertained the slightest + suspicion. He became frantic with vexation. Grimes had not dared to signify + the event of his expedition in person, and the footman whom he desired to + announce to his master that Miss Melville was lost, the moment after fled + from his presence with the most dreadful apprehensions. Presently he + bellowed for Grimes, and the young man at last appeared before him, more + dead than alive. Grimes he compelled to repeat the particulars of the tale; + which he had no sooner done, than he once again slunk away, shocked at the + execrations with which Mr. Tyrrel overwhelmed him. Grimes was no coward; but + he reverenced the inborn divinity that attends upon rank, as Indians worship + the devil. Nor was this all. The rage of Mr. Tyrrel was so ungovernable and + fierce, that few hearts could have been found so stout, as not to have + trembled before it with a sort of unconquerable inferiority.</p> + + <p>He no sooner obtained a moment's pause than he began to recall to his + tempestuous mind the various circumstances of the case. His complaints were + bitter; and, in a tranquil observer, might have produced the united feeling + of pity for his sufferings, and horror at his depravity. He recollected all + the precautions he had used; he could scarcely find a flaw in the process; + and he cursed that blind and malicious power which delighted to cross his + most deep-laid schemes. "Of this malice he was beyond all other human beings + the object. He was mocked with the shadow of power; and when he lifted his + hand to smite, it was struck with sudden palsy. [In the bitterness of his + anguish, he forgot his recent triumph over Hawkins, or perhaps he regarded + it less as a triumph, than an overthrow, because it had failed of coming up + to the extent of his malice.] To what purpose had Heaven given him a feeling + of injury, and an instinct to resent, while he could in no case make his + resentment felt! It was only necessary for him to be the enemy of any + person, to insure that person's being safe against the reach of misfortune. + What insults, the most shocking and repeated, had he received from this + paltry girl! And by whom was she now torn from his indignation? By that + devil that haunted him at every moment, that crossed him at every step, that + fixed at pleasure his arrows in his heart, and made mows and mockery at his + insufferable tortures."</p> + + <p>There was one other reflection that increased his anguish, and made him + careless and desperate as to his future conduct. It was in vain to conceal + from himself that his reputation would be cruelly wounded by this event. He + had imagined that, while Emily was forced into this odious marriage, she + would be obliged by decorum, as soon as the event was decided, to draw a + veil over the compulsion she had suffered. But this security was now lost, + and Mr. Falkland would take a pride in publishing his dishonour. Though the + provocations he had received from Miss Melville would, in his own opinion, + have justified him in any treatment he should have thought proper to + inflict, he was sensible the world would see the matter in a different + light. This reflection augmented the violence of his resolutions, and + determined him to refuse no means by which he could transfer the anguish + that now preyed upon his own mind to that of another.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, the composure and magnanimity of Emily had considerably + subsided, the moment she believed herself in a place of safety. While danger + and injustice assailed her with their menaces, she found in herself a + courage that disdained to yield. The succeeding appearance of calm was more + fatal to her. There was nothing now, powerfully to foster her courage or + excite her energy. She looked back at the trials she had passed, and her + soul sickened at the recollection of that, which, while it was in act, she + had had the fortitude to endure. Till the period at which Mr. Tyrrel had + been inspired with this cruel antipathy, she had been in all instances a + stranger to anxiety and fear. Uninured to misfortune, she had suddenly and + without preparation been made the subject of the most infernal malignity. + When a man of robust and vigorous constitution has a fit of sickness, it + produces a more powerful effect, than the same indisposition upon a delicate + valetudinarian. Such was the case with Miss Melville. She passed the + succeeding night sleepless and uneasy, and was found in the morning with a + high fever. Her distemper resisted for the present all attempts to assuage + it, though there was reason to hope that the goodness of her constitution, + assisted by tranquillity and the kindness of those about her, would + ultimately surmount it. On the second day she was delirious. On the night of + that day she was arrested at the suit of Mr. Tyrrel, for a debt contracted + for board and necessaries for the last fourteen years.</p> + + <p>The idea of this arrest, as the reader will perhaps recollect, first + occurred, in the conversation between Mr. Tyrrel and Miss Melville, soon + after he had thought proper to confine her to her chamber. But at that time + he had probably no serious conception of ever being induced to carry it into + execution. It had merely been mentioned by way of threat, and as the + suggestion of a mind, whose habits had long been accustomed to contemplate + every possible instrument of tyranny and revenge. But now, that the + unlooked-for rescue and escape of his poor kinswoman had wrought up his + thoughts to a degree of insanity, and that he revolved in the gloomy + recesses of his mind, how he might best shake off the load of disappointment + which oppressed him, the idea recurred with double force. He was not long in + forming his resolution; and, calling for Barnes his steward, immediately + gave him directions in what manner to proceed.</p> + + <p>Barnes had been for several years the instrument of Mr. Tyrrel's + injustice. His mind was hardened by use, and he could, without remorse, + officiate as the spectator, or even as the author and director, of a scene + of vulgar distress. But even he was somewhat startled upon the present + occasion. The character and conduct of Emily in Mr. Tyrrel's family had been + without a blot. She had not a single enemy; and it was impossible to + contemplate her youth, her vivacity, and her guileless innocence, without + emotions of sympathy and compassion.</p> + + <p>"Your worship?—I do not understand you!--Arrest Miss—Miss + Emily!"</p> + + <p>"Yes,—I tell you!--What is the matter with you?—Go instantly + to Swineard, the lawyer, and bid him finish the business out of hand!"</p> + + <p>"Lord love your honour! Arrest her! Why she does not owe you a brass + farthing: she always lived upon your charity!"</p> + + <p>"Ass! Scoundrel! I tell you she does owe me,—owes me eleven hundred + pounds.—The law justifies it.—What do you think laws were made + for? I do nothing but right, and right I will have."</p> + + <p>"Your honour, I never questioned your orders in my life; but I must now. + I cannot see you ruin Miss Emily, poor girl! nay, and yourself too, for the + matter of that, and not say which way you are going. I hope you will bear + with me. Why, if she owed you ever so much, she cannot be arrested. She is + not of age."</p> + + <p>"Will you have done?—Do not tell me of—It cannot, and It can. + It has been done before,—and it shall be done again. Let him dispute + it that dares! I will do it now and stand to it afterwards. Tell + Swineard,—if he make the least boggling, it is as much as his life is + worth;—he shall starve by inches."</p> + + <p>"Pray, your honour, think better of it. Upon my life, the whole country + will cry shame of it."</p> + + <p>"Barnes!--What do you mean? I am not used to be talked to, and I cannot + hear it! You have been a good fellow to me upon many occasions—But, if + I find you out for making one with them that dispute my authority, damn my + soul, if I do not make you sick of your life!"</p> + + <p>"I have done, your honour. I will not say another word except + this,—I have heard as how that Miss Emily is sick a-bed. You are + determined, you say, to put her in jail. You do not mean to kill her, I take + it."</p> + + <p>"Let her die! I will not spare her for an hour—I will not always be + insulted. She had no consideration for me, and I have no mercy for + her.—I am in for it! They have provoked me past bearing,—and + they shall feel me! Tell Swineard, in bed or up, day or night, I will not + hear of an instant's delay."</p> + + <p>Such were the directions of Mr. Tyrrel, and in strict conformity to his + directions were the proceedings of that respectable limb of the law he + employed upon the present occasion. Miss Melville had been delirious, + through a considerable part of the day on the evening of which the bailiff + and his follower arrived. By the direction of the physician whom Mr. + Falkland had ordered to attend her, a composing draught was administered; + and, exhausted as she was by the wild and distracted images that for several + hours had haunted her fancy, she was now sunk into a refreshing slumber. + Mrs. Hammond, the sister of Mrs. Jakeman, was sitting by her bed-side, full + of compassion for the lovely sufferer, and rejoicing in the calm + tranquillity that had just taken possession of her, when a little girl, the + only child of Mrs. Hammond, opened the street-door to the rap of the bailiff + He said he wanted to speak with Miss Melville, and the child answered that + she would go tell her mother. So saying, she advanced to the door of the + back-room upon the ground-floor, in which Emily lay; but the moment it was + opened, instead of waiting for the appearance of the mother, the bailiff + entered along with the girl.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Hammond looked up. "Who are you?" said she. "Why do you come in + here? Hush! be quiet!'</p> + + <p>"I must speak with Miss Melville."</p> + + <p>"Indeed, but you must not. Tell me your business. The poor child has been + light-headed all day. She has just fallen asleep, and must not be + disturbed."</p> + + <p>"That is no business of mine. I must obey orders."</p> + + <p>"Orders? Whose orders? What is it you mean?"</p> + + <p>At this moment Emily opened her eyes. "What noise is that? Pray let me be + quiet."</p> + + <p>"Miss, I want to speak with you. I have got a writ against you for eleven + hundred pounds at the suit of squire Tyrrel."</p> + + <p>At these words both Mrs. Hammond and Emily were dumb. The latter was + scarcely able to annex any meaning to the intelligence; and, though Mrs. + Hammond was somewhat better acquainted with the sort of language that was + employed, yet in this strange and unexpected connection it was almost as + mysterious to her as to poor Emily herself.</p> + + <p>"A writ? How can she be in Mr. Tyrrel's debt? A writ against a + child!"</p> + + <p>"It is no signification putting your questions to us. We only do as we + are directed. There is our authority. Look at it."</p> + + <p>"Lord Almighty!" exclaimed Mrs. Hammond, "what does this mean? It is + impossible Mr. Tyrrel should have sent you."</p> + + <p>"Good woman, none of your jabber to us! Cannot you read?"</p> + + <p>"This is all a trick! The paper is forged! It is a vile contrivance to + get the poor orphan out of the hands of those with whom only she can be + safe. Proceed upon it at your peril!"</p> + + <p>"Rest you content; that is exactly what we mean to do. Take my word, we + know very well what we are about."</p> + + <p>"Why, you would not tear her from her bed? I tell you, she is in a high + fever; she is light-headed; it would be death to remove her! You are + bailiffs, are not you? You are not murderers?"</p> + + <p>"The law says nothing about that. We have orders to take her sick or + well. We will do her no harm except so far as we must perform our office, be + it how it will."</p> + + <p>"Where would you take her? What is it you mean to do?"</p> + + <p>"To the county jail. Bullock, go, order a post-chaise from the + Griffin!"</p> + + <p>"Stay, I say! Give no such orders! Wait only three hours; I will send off + a messenger express to squire Falkland, and I am sure he will satisfy you as + to any harm that can come to you, without its being necessary to take the + poor child to jail."</p> + + <p>"We have particular directions against that. We are not at liberty to + lose a minute. Why are not you gone? Order the horses to be put to + immediately!"</p> + + <p>Emily had listened to the course of this conversation, which had + sufficiently explained to her whatever was enigmatical in the first + appearance of the bailiffs. The painful and incredible reality that was thus + presented effectually dissipated the illusions of frenzy to which she had + just been a prey. "My dear Madam," said she to Mrs. Hammond, "do not harass + yourself with useless efforts. I am very sorry for all the trouble I have + given you. But my misfortune is inevitable. Sir, if you will step into the + next room, I will dress myself, and attend you immediately."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Hammond began to be equally aware that her struggles were to no + purpose; but she could not be equally patient. At one moment she raved upon + the brutality of Mr. Tyrrel, whom she affirmed to be a devil incarnate, and + not a man. At another she expostulated, with bitter invective, against the + hardheartedness of the bailiff, and exhorted him to mix some humanity and + moderation with the discharge of his function; but he was impenetrable to + all she could urge. In the mean while Emily yielded with the sweetest + resignation to an inevitable evil. Mrs. Hammond insisted that, at least, + they should permit her to attend her young lady in the chaise; and the + bailiff, though the orders he had received were so peremptory that he dared + not exercise his discretion as to the execution of the writ, began to have + some apprehensions of danger, and was willing to admit of any precaution + that was not in direct hostility to his functions. For the rest he + understood, that it was in all cases dangerous to allow sickness, or + apparent unfitness for removal, as a sufficient cause to interrupt a direct + process; and that, accordingly, in all doubtful questions and presumptive + murders, the practice of the law inclined, with a laudable partiality, to + the vindication of its own officers. In addition to these general rules, he + was influenced by the positive injunctions and assurances of Swineard, and + the terror which, through a circle of many miles, was annexed to the name of + Tyrrel. Before they departed, Mrs. Hammond despatched a messenger with a + letter of three lines to Mr. Falkland, informing him of this extraordinary + event. Mr. Falkland was from home when the messenger arrived, and not + expected to return till the second day; accident seemed in this instance to + favour the vengeance of Mr. Tyrrel, for he had himself been too much under + the dominion of an uncontrollable fury, to take a circumstance of this sort + into his estimate.</p> + + <p>The forlorn state of these poor women, who were conducted, the one by + compulsion, the other a volunteer, to a scene so little adapted to their + accommodation as that of a common jail, may easily be imagined. Mrs. Hammond, + however, was endowed with a masculine courage and impetuosity of spirit, + eminently necessary in the difficulties they had to encounter. She was in + some degree fitted by a sanguine temper, and an impassioned sense of + injustice, for the discharge of those very offices which sobriety and calm + reflection might have prescribed. The health of Miss Melville was materially + affected by the surprise and removal she had undergone at the very time that + repose was most necessary for her preservation. Her fever became more + violent; her delirium was stronger; and the tortures of her imagination were + proportioned to the unfavourableness of the state in which the removal had + been effected. It was highly improbable that she could recover.</p> + + <p>In the moments of suspended reason she was perpetually calling on the + name of Falkland. Mr. Falkland, she said, was her first and only love, and + he should be her husband. A moment after she exclaimed upon him in a + disconsolate, yet reproachful tone, for his unworthy deference to the + prejudices of the world. It was very cruel of him to show himself so proud, + and tell her that he would never consent to marry a beggar. But, if he were + proud, she was determined to be proud too. He should see that she would not + conduct herself like a slighted maiden, and that, though he could reject + her, it was not in his power to break her heart. At another time she + imagined she saw Mr. Tyrrel and his engine Grimes, their hands and garments + dropping with blood: and the pathetic reproaches she vented against them + might have affected a heart of stone. Then the figure of Falkland presented + itself to her distracted fancy, deformed with wounds, and of a deadly + paleness, and she shrieked with agony, while she exclaimed that such was the + general hardheartedness, that no one would make the smallest exertion for + his rescue. In such vicissitudes of pain, perpetually imagining to her self + unkindness, insult, conspiracy, and murder, she passed a considerable part + of two days.</p> + + <p>On the evening of the second Mr. Falkland arrived, accompanied by Doctor + Wilson, the physician by whom she had previously been attended. The scene he + was called upon to witness was such as to be most exquisitely agonising to a + man of his acute sensibility. The news of the arrest had given him an + inexpressible shock; he was transported out of himself at the unexampled + malignity of its author. But, when he saw the figure of Miss Melville, + haggard, and a warrant of death written in her countenance, a victim to the + diabolical passions of her kinsman, it seemed too much to be endured. When + he entered, she was in the midst of one of her fits of delirium, and + immediately mistook her visitors for two assassins. She asked, where they + had hid her Falkland, her lord, her life, her husband! and demanded that + they should restore to her his mangled corpse, that she might embrace him + with her dying arms, breathe her last upon his lips, and be buried in the + same grave. She reproached them with the sordidness of their conduct in + becoming the tools of her vile cousin, who had deprived her of her reason, + and would never be contented till he had murdered her. Mr. Falkland tore + himself away from this painful scene, and, leaving Doctor Wilson with his + patient, desired him, when he had given the necessary directions, to follow + him to his inn.</p> + + <p>The perpetual hurry of spirits in which Miss Melville had been kept for + several days, by the nature of her indisposition, was extremely exhausting + to her; and, in about an hour from the visit of Mr. Falkland, her delirium + subsided, and left her in so low a state as to render it difficult to + perceive any signs of life. Doctor Wilson, who had withdrawn, to soothe, if + possible, the disturbed and impatient thoughts of Mr. Falkland, was summoned + afresh upon this change of symptoms, and sat by the bed-side during the + remainder of the night. The situation of his patient was such, as to keep + him in momentary apprehension of her decease. While Miss Melville lay in + this feeble and exhausted condition, Mrs. Hammond betrayed every token of + the tenderest anxiety. Her sensibility was habitually of the acutest sort, + and the qualities of Emily were such as powerfully to fix her affection. She + loved her like a mother. Upon the present occasion, every sound, every + motion, made her tremble. Doctor Wilson had introduced another nurse, in + consideration of the incessant fatigue Mrs. Hammond had undergone; and he + endeavoured, by representations, and even by authority, to compel her to + quit the apartment of the patient. But she was uncontrollable; and he at + length found that he should probably do her more injury, by the violence + that would be necessary to separate her from the suffering innocent, than by + allowing her to follow her inclination. Her eye was a thousand times turned, + with the most eager curiosity, upon the countenance of Doctor Wilson, + without her daring to breathe a question respecting his opinion, lest he + should answer her by a communication of the most fatal tidings. In the mean + time she listened with the deepest attention to every thing that dropped + either from the physician or the nurse, hoping to collect as it were from + some oblique hint, the intelligence which she had not courage expressly to + require.</p> + + <p>Towards morning the state of the patient seemed to take a favourable + turn. She dozed for near two hours, and, when she awoke, appeared perfectly + calm and sensible. Understanding that Mr. Falkland had brought the physician + to attend her, and was himself in her neighbourhood, she requested to see + him. Mr. Falkland had gone in the mean time, with one of his tenants, to + bail the debt, and now entered the prison to enquire whether the young lady + might be safely removed, from her present miserable residence, to a more + airy and commodious apartment. When he appeared, the sight of him revived in + the mind of Miss Melville an imperfect recollection of the wanderings of her + delirium. She covered her face with her fingers, and betrayed the most + expressive confusion, while she thanked him, with her usual unaffected + simplicity, for the trouble he had taken. She hoped she should not give him + much more; she thought she should get better. It was a shame, she said, if a + young and lively girl, as she was, could not contrive to outlive the + trifling misfortunes to which she had been subjected. But, while she said + this, she was still extremely weak. She tried to assume a cheerful + countenance; but it was a faint effort, which the feeble state of her frame + did not seem sufficient to support. Mr. Falkland and the doctor joined to + request her to keep herself quiet, and avoid for the present all occasions + of exertion.</p> + + <p>Encouraged by these appearances, Mrs. Hammond ventured to follow the two + gentlemen out of the room, in order to learn from the physician what hopes + he entertained. Doctor Wilson acknowledged, that he found his patient at + first in a very unfavourable situation, that the symptoms were changed for + the better, and that he was not without some expectation of her recovery. He + added, however, that he could answer for nothing, that the next twelve hours + would be exceedingly critical, but that if she did not grow worse before + morning, he would then undertake for her life. Mrs. Hammond, who had + hitherto seen nothing but despair, now became frantic with joy. She burst + into tears of transport, blessed the physician in the most emphatic and + impassioned terms, and uttered a thousand extravagancies. Doctor Wilson + seized this opportunity to press her to give herself a little repose, to + which she consented, a bed being first procured for her in the room next to + Miss Melville's, she having charged the nurse to give her notice of any + alteration in the state of the patient.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Hammond enjoyed an uninterrupted sleep of several hours. It was + already night, when she was awaked by an unusual bustle in the next room. + She listened for a few moments, and then determined to go and discover the + occasion of it. As she opened her door for that purpose, she met the nurse + coming to her. The countenance of the messenger told her what it was she had + to communicate, without the use of words. She hurried to the bed-side, and + found Miss Melville expiring. The appearances that had at first been so + encouraging were of short duration. The calm of the morning proved to be + only a sort of lightening before death. In a few hours the patient grew + worse. The bloom of her countenance faded; she drew her breath with + difficulty; and her eyes became fixed. Doctor Wilson came in at this period, + and immediately perceived that all was over. She was for some time in + convulsions; but, these subsiding, she addressed the physician with a + composed, though feeble voice. She thanked him for his attention; and + expressed the most lively sense of her obligations to Mr. Falkland. She + sincerely forgave her cousin, and hoped he might never be visited by too + acute a recollection of his barbarity to her. She would have been contented + to live. Few persons had a sincerer relish of the pleasures of life; but she + was well pleased to die, rather than have become the wife of Grimes. As Mrs. + Hammond entered, she turned her countenance towards her, and with an + affectionate expression repeated her name. This was her last word; in less + than two hours from that time she breathed her last in the arms of this + faithful friend.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CXI" id="V1_CXI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + + <p>Such was the fate of Miss Emily Melville. Perhaps tyranny never exhibited + a more painful memorial of the detestation in which it deserves to be held. + The idea irresistibly excited in every spectator of the scene, was that of + regarding Mr. Tyrrel as the most diabolical wretch that had ever dishonoured + the human form. The very attendants upon this house of oppression, for the + scene was acted upon too public a stage not to be generally understood, + expressed their astonishment and disgust at his unparalleled cruelty.</p> + + <p>If such were the feelings of men bred to the commission of injustice, it + is difficult to say what must have been those of Mr. Falkland. He raved, he + swore, he beat his head, he rent up his hair. He was unable to continue in + one posture, and to remain in one place. He burst away from the spot with + vehemence, as if he sought to leave behind him his recollection and his + existence. He seemed to tear up the ground with fierceness and rage. He + returned soon again. He approached the sad remains of what had been Emily, + and gazed on them with such intentness, that his eyes appeared, ready to + burst from their sockets. Acute and exquisite as were his notions of virtue + and honour, he could not prevent himself from reproaching the system of + nature, for having given birth to such a monster as Tyrrel. He was ashamed + of himself for wearing the same form. He could not think of the human + species with patience. He foamed with indignation against the laws of the + universe, that did not permit him to crush such reptiles at a blow, as we + would crush so many noxious insects. It was necessary to guard him like a + madman.</p> + + <p>The whole office of judging what was proper to be done under the present + circumstances devolved upon Doctor Wilson. The doctor was a man of cool and + methodical habits of acting. One of the first ideas that suggested itself to + him was, that Miss Melvile was a branch of the family of Tyrrel. He did not + doubt of the willingness of Mr. Falkland to discharge every expense that + might be further incident to the melancholy remains of this unfortunate + victim; but he conceived that the laws of fashion and decorum required some + notification of the event to be made to the head of the family. Perhaps, + too, he had an eye to his interest in his profession, and was reluctant to + expose himself to the resentment of a person of Mr. Tyrrel's consideration + in the neighbourhood. But, with this weakness, he had nevertheless some + feelings in common with the rest of the world, and must have suffered + considerable violence, before he could have persuaded himself to be the + messenger; beside which, he did not think it right in the present situation + to leave Mr. Falkland.</p> + + <p>Doctor Wilson no sooner mentioned these ideas, than they seemed to make a + sudden impression on Mrs. Hammond, and she earnestly requested that she + might be permitted to carry the intelligence. The proposal was unexpected; + but the doctor did not very obstinately refuse his assent. She was + determined, she said, to see what sort of impression the catastrophe would + make upon the author of it; and she promised to comport herself with + moderation and civility. The journey was soon performed.</p> + + <p>"I am come, sir," said she to Mr. Tyrrel, "to inform you that your + cousin, Miss Melville, died this afternoon."</p> + + <p>"Died?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, sir. I saw her die. She died in these arms."</p> + + <p>"Died? Who killed her? What do you mean?"</p> + + <p>"Who? Is it for you to ask that question? Your cruelty and malice killed + her!"</p> + + <p>"Me?—my?—Poh! she is not dead—it cannot be—it is + not a week since she left this house."</p> + + <p>"Do not you believe me? I say she is dead!"</p> + + <p>"Have a care, woman! this is no matter for jesting. No: though she used + me ill, I would not believe her dead for all the world!"</p> + + <p>Mrs. Hammond shook her head in a manner expressive at once of grief and + indignation.</p> + + <p>"No, no, no, no! I will never believe that!--No, never!"</p> + + <p>"Will you come with me, and convince your eyes? It is a sight worthy of + you; and will be a feast to such a heart as yours!"—Saying this, Mrs. + Hammond offered her hand, as if to conduct him to the spot.</p> + + <p>Mr. Tyrrel shrunk back.</p> + + <p>"If she be dead, what is that to me? Am I to answer for every thing that + goes wrong in the world?—What do you come here for? Why bring your + messages to me?"</p> + + <p>"To whom should I bring them but to her kinsman,—and her + murderer."</p> + + <p>"Murderer?—Did I employ knives or pistols? Did I give her poison? I + did nothing but what the law allows. If she be dead, nobody can say that I + am to blame!"</p> + + <p>"To blame?—All the world will abhor and curse you. Were you such a + fool as to think, because men pay respect to wealth and rank, this would + extend to such a deed? They will laugh at so barefaced a cheat. The meanest + beggar will spurn and spit at you. Ay, you may well stand confounded at what + you have done. I will proclaim you to the whole world, and you will be + obliged to fly the very face of a human creature!"</p> + + <p>"Good woman," said Mr. Tyrrel, extremely humbled, "talk no more in this + strain!--Emmy is not dead! I am sure—I hope—she is not + dead!--Tell me that you have only been deceiving me, and I will forgive you + every thing—I will forgive her—I will take her into + favour—I will do any thing you please!--I never meant her any + harm!"</p> + + <p>"I tell you she is dead! You have murdered the sweetest innocent that + lived! Can you bring her back to life, as you have driven her out of it? If + you could, I would kneel to you twenty times a day! What is it you have + done?—Miserable wretch! did you think you could do and undo, and + change things this way and that, as you pleased?"</p> + + <p>The reproaches of Mrs. Hammond were the first instance in which Mr. + Tyrrel was made to drink the full cup of retribution. This was, however, + only a specimen of a long series of contempt, abhorrence, and insult, that + was reserved for him. The words of Mrs. Hammond were prophetic. It evidently + appeared, that though wealth and hereditary elevation operate as an apology + for many delinquencies, there are some which so irresistibly address + themselves to the indignation of mankind, that, like death, they level all + distinctions, and reduce their perpetrator to an equality with the most + indigent and squalid of his species. Against Mr. Tyrrel, as the tyrannical + and unmanly murderer of Emily, those who dared not venture the unreserved + avowal of their sentiments muttered curses, deep, not loud; while the rest + joined in an universal cry of abhorrence and execration. He stood astonished + at the novelty of his situation. Accustomed as he had been to the obedience + and trembling homage of mankind, he had imagined they would be perpetual, + and that no excess on his part would ever be potent enough to break the + enchantment. Now he looked round, and saw sullen detestation in every face, + which with difficulty restrained itself, and upon the slightest provocation + broke forth with an impetuous tide, and swept away the mounds of + subordination and fear. His large estate could not purchase civility from + the gentry, the peasantry, scarcely from his own servants. In the + indignation of all around him he found a ghost that haunted him with every + change of place, and a remorse that stung his conscience, and exterminated + his peace. The neighbourhood appeared more and more every day to be growing + too hot for him to endure, and it became evident that he would ultimately be + obliged to quit the country. Urged by the flagitiousness of this last + example, people learned to recollect every other instance of his excesses, + and it was, no doubt, a fearful catalogue that rose up in judgment against + him. It seemed as if the sense of public resentment had long been gathering + strength unperceived, and now burst forth into insuppressible violence.</p> + + <p>There was scarcely a human being upon whom this sort of retribution could + have sat more painfully than upon Mr. Tyrrel. Though he had not a + consciousness of innocence prompting him continually to recoil from the + detestation of mankind as a thing totally unallied to his character, yet the + imperiousness of his temper and the constant experience he had had of the + pliability of other men, prepared him to feel the general and undisguised + condemnation into which he was sunk with uncommon emotions of anger and + impatience. That he, at the beam of whose eye every countenance fell, and to + whom in the fierceness of his wrath no one was daring enough to reply, + should now be regarded with avowed dislike, and treated with unceremonious + censure, was a thing he could not endure to recollect or believe. Symptoms + of the universal disgust smote him at every instant, and at every blow he + writhed with intolerable anguish. His rage was unbounded and raving. He + repelled every attack with the fiercest indignation; while the more he + struggled, the more desperate his situation appeared to become. At length he + determined to collect his strength for a decisive effort, and to meet the + whole tide of public opinion in a single scene.</p> + + <p>In pursuance of these thoughts he resolved to repair, without delay, to + the rural assembly which I have already mentioned in the course of my story. + Miss Melville had now been dead one month. Mr. Falkland had been absent the + last week in a distant part of the country, and was not expected to return + for a week longer. Mr. Tyrrel willingly embraced the opportunity, trusting, + if he could now effect his re-establishment, that he should easily preserve + the ground he had gained, even in the face of his formidable rival. Mr. + Tyrrel was not deficient in courage; but he conceived the present to be too + important an epoch in his life to allow him to make any unnecessary risk in + his chance for future ease and importance.</p> + + <p>There was a sort of bustle that took place at his entrance into the + assembly, it having been agreed by the gentlemen of the assembly, that Mr. + Tyrrel was to be refused admittance, as a person with whom they did not + choose to associate. This vote had already been notified to him by letter by + the master of the ceremonies, but the intelligence was rather calculated, + with a man of Mr. Tyrrel's disposition, to excite defiance than to overawe. + At the door of the assembly he was personally met by the master of the + ceremonies, who had perceived the arrival of an equipage, and who now + endeavoured to repeat his prohibition: but he was thrust aside by Mr. Tyrrel + with an air of native authority and ineffable contempt. As he entered; every + eye was turned upon him. Presently all the gentlemen in the room assembled + round him. Some endeavoured to hustle him, and others began to expostulate. + But he found the secret effectually to silence the one set, and to shake off + the other. His muscular form, the well-known eminence of his intellectual + powers, the long habits to which every man was formed of acknowledging his + ascendancy, were all in his favour. He considered himself as playing a + desperate stake, and had roused all the energies he possessed, to enable him + to do justice to so interesting a transaction. Disengaged from the insects + that at first pestered him, he paced up and down the room with a magisterial + stride, and flashed an angry glance on every side. He then broke silence. + "If any one had any thing to say to him, he should know where and how to + answer him. He would advise any such person, however, to consider well what + he was about. If any man imagined he had any thing personally to complain + of, it was very well. But he did expect that nobody there would be ignorant + and raw enough to meddle with what was no business of theirs, and intrude + into the concerns of any man's private family."</p> + + <p>This being a sort of defiance, one and another gentleman advanced to + answer it. He that was first began to speak; but Mr. Tyrrel, by the + expression of his countenance and a peremptory tone, by well-timed + interruptions and pertinent insinuations, caused him first to hesitate, and + then to be silent. He seemed to be fast advancing to the triumph he had + promised himself. The whole company were astonished. They felt the same + abhorrence and condemnation of his character; but they could not help + admiring the courage and resources he displayed upon the present occasion. + They could without difficulty have concentred afresh their indignant + feelings, but they seemed to want a leader.</p> + + <p>At this critical moment Mr. Falkland entered the room. Mere accident had + enabled him to return sooner than he expected.</p> + + <p>Both he and Mr. Tyrrel reddened at sight of each other. He advanced + towards Mr. Tyrrel without a moment's pause, and in a peremptory voice asked + him what he did there?</p> + + <p>"Here? What do you mean by that? This place is as free to me as you, and + you are the last person to whom I shall deign to give an account of + myself."</p> + + <p>"Sir, the place is not free to you. Do not you know, you have been voted + out? Whatever were your rights, your infamous conduct has forfeited + them."</p> + + <p>"Mr. what do you call yourself, if you have anything to say to me, choose + a proper time and place. Do not think to put on your bullying airs under + shelter of this company! I will not endure it."</p> + + <p>"You are mistaken, sir. This public scene is the only place where I can + have any thing to say to you. If you would not hear the universal + indignation of mankind, you must not come into the society of + men.—Miss Melville!--Shame upon you, inhuman, unrelenting tyrant! Can + you hear her name, and not sink into the earth? Can you retire into + solitude, and not see her pale and patient ghost rising to reproach you? Can + you recollect her virtues, her innocence, her spotless manners, her + unresentful temper, and not run distracted with remorse? Have you not killed + her in the first bloom of her youth? Can you bear to think that she now lies + mouldering in the grave through your cursed contrivance, that deserved a + crown, ten thousand times more than you deserve to live? And do you expect + that mankind will ever forget, or forgive such a deed? Go, miserable wretch; + think yourself too happy that you are permitted to fly the face of man! Why, + what a pitiful figure do you make at this moment! Do you think that any + thing could bring so hardened a wretch as you are to shrink from reproach, + if your conscience were not in confederacy with them that reproached you? + And were you fool enough to believe that any obstinacy, however determined, + could enable you to despise the keen rebuke of justice? Go, shrink into your + miserable self! Begone, and let me never be blasted with your sight + again!"</p> + + <p>And here, incredible as it may appear, Mr. Tyrrel began to obey his + imperious censurer. His looks were full of wildness and horror; his limbs + trembled; and his tongue refused its office. He felt no power of resisting + the impetuous torrent of reproach that was poured upon him. He hesitated; he + was ashamed of his own defeat; he seemed to wish to deny it. But his + struggles were ineffectual; every attempt perished in the moment it was + made. The general voice was eager to abash him. As his confusion became more + visible, the outcry increased. It swelled gradually to hootings, tumult, and + a deafening noise of indignation. At length he willingly retired from the + public scene, unable any longer to endure the sensations it inflicted.</p> + + <p>In about an hour and a half he returned. No precaution had been taken + against this incident, for nothing could be more unexpected. In the interval + he had intoxicated himself with large draughts of brandy. In a moment he was + in a part of the room where Mr. Falkland was standing, and with one blow of + his muscular arm levelled him with the earth. The blow however was not + stunning, and Mr. Falkland rose again immediately. It is obvious to perceive + how unequal he must have been in this species of contest. He was scarcely + risen before Mr. Tyrrel repeated his blow. Mr. Falkland was now upon his + guard, and did not fall. But the blows of his adversary were redoubled with + a rapidity difficult to conceive, and Mr. Falkland was once again brought to + the earth. In this situation Mr. Tyrrel kicked his prostrate enemy, and + stooped apparently with the intention of dragging him along the floor. All + this passed in a moment, and the gentlemen present had not time to recover + their surprise. They now interfered, and Mr. Tyrrel once more quitted the + apartment.</p> + + <p>It is difficult to conceive any event more terrible to the individual + upon whom it fell, than the treatment which Mr. Falkland in this instance + experienced. Every passion of his life was calculated to make him feel it + more acutely. He had repeatedly exerted an uncommon energy and prudence, to + prevent the misunderstanding between Mr. Tyrrel and himself from proceeding + to extremities; but in vain! It was closed with a catastrophe, exceeding all + that he had feared, or that the most penetrating foresight could have + suggested. To Mr. Falkland disgrace was worse than death. The slightest + breath of dishonour would have stung him to the very soul. What must it have + been with this complication of ignominy, base, humiliating, and public? + Could Mr. Tyrrel have understood the evil he inflicted, even he, under all + his circumstances of provocation, could scarcely have perpetrated it. Mr. + Falkland's mind was full of uproar like the war of contending elements, and + of such suffering as casts contempt on the refinements of inventive cruelty. + He wished for annihilation, to lie down in eternal oblivion, in an + insensibility, which, compared with what he experienced, was scarcely less + enviable than beatitude itself. Horror, detestation, revenge, inexpressible + longings to shake off the evil, and a persuasion that in this case all + effort was powerless, filled his soul even to bursting.</p> + + <p>One other event closed the transactions of this memorable evening. Mr. + Falkland was baffled of the vengeance that yet remained to him. Mr. Tyrrel + was found by some of the company dead in the street, having been murdered at + the distance of a few yards from the assembly house.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V1_CXII" id="V1_CXII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + + <p>I shall endeavour to state the remainder of this narrative in the words + of Mr. Collins. The reader has already had occasion to perceive that Mr. + Collins was a man of no vulgar order; and his reflections on the subject + were uncommonly judicious.</p> + + <p>"This day was the crisis of Mr. Falkland's history. From hence took its + beginning that gloomy and unsociable melancholy, of which he has since been + the victim. No two characters can be in certain respects more strongly + contrasted, than the Mr. Falkland of a date prior and subsequent to these + events. Hitherto he had been attended by a fortune perpetually prosperous. + His mind was sanguine; full of that undoubting confidence in its own powers + which prosperity is qualified to produce. Though the habits of his life were + those of a serious and sublime visionary they were nevertheless full of + cheerfulness and tranquillity. But from this moment, his pride, and the + lofty adventurousness of his spirit, were effectually subdued. From an + object of envy he was changed into an object of compassion. Life, which + hitherto no one had more exquisitely enjoyed, became a burden to him. No + more self-complacency, no more rapture, no more self-approving and + heart-transporting benevolence! He who had lived beyond any man upon the + grand and animating reveries of the imagination, seemed now to have no + visions but of anguish and despair. His case was peculiarly worthy of + sympathy, since, no doubt, if rectitude and purity of disposition could give + a title to happiness, few men could exhibit a more consistent and powerful + claim than Mr. Falkland.</p> + + <p>"He was too deeply pervaded with the idle and groundless romances of + chivalry, ever to forget the situation, humiliating and dishonourable + according to his ideas, in which he had been placed upon this occasion. + There is a mysterious sort of divinity annexed to the person of a true + knight, that makes any species of brute violence committed upon it indelible + and immortal. To be knocked down, cuffed, kicked, dragged along the floor! + Sacred heaven, the memory of such a treatment was not to be endured! No + future lustration could ever remove the stain: and, what was perhaps still + worse in the present case, the offender having ceased to exist, the + lustration which the laws of knight-errantry prescribe was rendered + impossible.</p> + + <p>"In some future period of human improvement, it is probable, that that + calamity will be in a manner unintelligible, which in the present instance + contributed to tarnish and wither the excellence of one of the most elevated + and amiable of human minds. If Mr. Falkland had reflected with perfect + accuracy upon the case, he would probably have been able to look down with + indifference upon a wound, which, as it was, pierced to his very vitals. How + much more dignity, than in the modern duellist, do we find in Themistocles, + the most gallant of the Greeks; who, when Eurybiades, his commander in + chief, in answer to some of his remonstrances, lifted his cane over him with + a menacing air, accosted him in that noble apostrophe, 'Strike, but + hear!'</p> + + <p>"How would a man of true discernment in such a case reply to his brutal + assailant? 'I make it my boast that I can endure calamity and pain: shall I + not be able to endure the trifling inconvenience that your folly can inflict + upon me? Perhaps a human being would be more accomplished, if he understood + the science of personal defence; but how few would be the occasions upon + which he would be called to exert it? How few persons would he encounter so + unjust and injurious as you, if his own conduct were directed by the + principles of reason and benevolence? Beside, how narrow would be the use of + this science when acquired? It will scarcely put the man of delicate make + and petty stature upon a level with the athletic pugilist; and, if it did in + some measure secure me against the malice of a single adversary, still my + person and my life, so far as mere force is concerned, would always be at + the mercy of two. Further than immediate defence against actual violence, it + could never be of use to me. The man who can deliberately meet his adversary + for the purpose of exposing the person of one or both of them to injury, + tramples upon every principle of reason and equity. Duelling is the vilest + of all egotism, treating the public, who has a claim to all my powers and + exertions, as if it were nothing, and myself, or rather an unintelligible + chimera I annex to myself, as if it were entitled to my exclusive attention. + I am unable to cope with you: what then? Can that circumstance dishonour me? + No; I can only be dishonoured by perpetrating an unjust action. My honour is + in my own keeping, beyond the reach of all mankind. Strike! I am passive. No + injury that you can inflict, shall provoke me to expose you or myself to + unnecessary evil. I refuse that; but I am not therefore pusillanimous: when + I refuse any danger or suffering by which the general good may be promoted, + then brand me for a coward!</p> + + <p>"These reasonings, however simple and irresistible they must be found by + a dispassionate enquirer, are little reflected on by the world at large, and + were most of all uncongenial to the prejudices of Mr. Falkland.</p> + + <p>"But the public disgrace and chastisement that had been imposed upon him, + intolerable as they were to be recollected, were not the whole of the + mischief that redounded to our unfortunate patron from the transactions of + that day. It was presently whispered that he was no other than the murderer + of his antagonist. This rumour was of too much importance to the very + continuance of his life, to justify its being concealed from him. He heard + it with inexpressible astonishment and horror; it formed a dreadful addition + to the load of intellectual anguish that already oppressed him. No man had + ever held his reputation more dear than Mr. Falkland; and now, in one day, + he was fallen under the most exquisite calamities, a complicated personal + insult, and the imputation of the foulest of crimes. He might have fled; for + no one was forward to proceed against a man so adored as Mr. Falkland, or in + revenge of one so universally execrated as Mr. Tyrrel. But flight he + disdained. In the mean time the affair was of the most serious magnitude, + and the rumour unchecked seemed daily to increase in strength. Mr. Falkland + appeared sometimes inclined to adopt such steps as might have been best + calculated to bring the imputation to a speedy trial. But he probably + feared, by too direct an appeal to judicature, to render more precise an + imputation, the memory of which he deprecated; at the same time that he was + sufficiently willing to meet the severest scrutiny, and, if he could not + hope to have it forgotten that he had ever been accused, to prove in the + most satisfactory manner that the accusation was unjust.</p> + + <p>"The neighbouring magistrates at length conceived it necessary to take + some steps upon the subject. Without causing Mr. Falkland to be apprehended, + they sent to desire he would appear before them at one of their meetings. + The proceeding being thus opened, Mr. Falkland expressed his hope that, if + the business were likely to stop there, their investigation might at least + be rendered as solemn as possible. The meeting was numerous; every person of + a respectable class in society was admitted to be an auditor; the whole + town, one of the most considerable in the county, was apprised of the nature + of the business. Few trials, invested with all the forms of judgment, have + excited so general an interest. A trial, under the present circumstances, + was scarcely attainable; and it seemed to be the wish both of principal and + umpires, to give to this transaction all the momentary notoriety and + decisiveness of a trial.</p> + + <p>"The magistrates investigated the particulars of the story. Mr. Falkland, + it appeared, had left the rooms immediately after his assailant; and though + he had been attended by one or two of the gentlemen to his inn, it was + proved that he had left them upon some slight occasion, as soon as he + arrived at it, and that, when they enquired for him of the waiters, he had + already mounted his horse and ridden home.</p> + + <p>"By the nature of the case, no particular facts could be stated in + balance against these. As soon as they had been sufficiently detailed, Mr. + Falkland therefore proceeded to his defence. Several copies of his defence + were-made, and Mr. Falkland seemed, for a short time, to have had the idea + of sending it to the press, though, for some reason or other, he afterwards + suppressed it. I have one of the copies in my possession, and I will read it + to you."</p> + + <p>Saying this, Mr. Collins rose, and took it from a private drawer in his + escritoire. During this action he appeared to recollect himself. He did not, + in the strict sense of the word, hesitate; but he was prompted to make some + apology for what he was doing.</p> + + <p>"You seem never to have heard of this memorable transaction; and, indeed, + that is little to be wondered at, since the good nature of the world is + interested in suppressing it, and it is deemed a disgrace to a man to have + defended himself from a criminal imputation, though with circumstances the + most satisfactory and honourable. It may be supposed that this suppression + is particularly acceptable to Mr. Falkland; and I should not have acted in + contradiction to his modes of thinking in communicating the story to you, + had there not been circumstances of peculiar urgency, that seemed to render + the communication desirable." Saying this, he proceeded to read from the + paper in his hand.</p> + + <p>"Gentlemen,</p> + + <p>"I stand here accused of a crime, the most black that any human creature + is capable of perpetrating. I am innocent. I have no fear that I shall fail + to make every person in this company acknowledge my innocence. In the mean + time, what must be my feelings? Conscious as I am of deserving approbation + and not censure, of having passed my life in acts of justice and + philanthropy, can any thing be more deplorable than for me to answer to a + charge of murder? So wretched is my situation, that I cannot accept your + gratuitous acquittal, if you should be disposed to bestow it. I must answer + to an imputation, the very thought of which is ten thousand times worse to + me than death. I must exert the whole energy of my mind, to prevent my being + ranked with the vilest of men.</p> + + <p>"Gentlemen, this is a situation in which a man may be allowed to boast. + Accursed situation! No man need envy me the vile and polluted triumph I am + now to gain! I have called no witnesses to my character. Great God! what + sort of character is that which must be supported by witnesses? But, if I + must speak, look round the company, ask of every one present, enquire of + your own hearts! Not one word of reproach was ever whispered against me. I + do not hesitate to call upon those who have known me most, to afford me the + most honourable testimony.</p> + + <p>"My life has been spent in the keenest and most unintermitted sensibility + to reputation. I am almost indifferent as to what shall be the event of this + day. I would not open my mouth upon the occasion, if my life were the only + thing that was at stake. It is not in the power of your decision to restore + to me my unblemished reputation, to obliterate the disgrace I have suffered, + or to prevent it from being remembered that I have been brought to + examination upon a charge of murder. Your decision can never have the + efficacy to prevent the miserable remains of my existence from being the + most intolerable of all burthens.</p> + + <p>"I am accused of having committed murder upon the body of Barnabas + Tyrrel. I would most joyfully have given every farthing I possess, and + devoted myself to perpetual beggary, to have preserved his life. His life + was precious to me, beyond that of all mankind. In my opinion, the greatest + injustice committed by his unknown assassin was that of defrauding me of my + just revenge. I confess that I would have called him out to the field, and + that our encounter should not have been terminated but by the death of one + or both of us. This would have been a pitiful and inadequate compensation + for his unparalleled insult, but it was all that remained.</p> + + <p>"I ask for no pity, but I must openly declare that never was any + misfortune so horrible as mine. I would willingly have taken refuge from the + recollection of that night in a voluntary death. Life was now stripped of + all those recommendations, for the sake of which it was dear to me. But even + this consolation is denied me. I am compelled to drag for ever the + intolerable load of existence, upon penalty, if at any period, however + remote, I shake it off, of having that impatience regarded as confirming a + charge of murder. Gentlemen, if by your decision you could take away my + life, without that act being connected with my disgrace, I would bless the + cord that stopped the breath of my existence for ever.</p> + + <p>"You all know how easily I might have fled from this purgation. If I had + been guilty, should I not have embraced the opportunity? But, as it was, I + could not. Reputation has been the idol, the jewel of my life. I could never + have borne to think that a human creature, in the remotest part of the + globe, should believe that I was a criminal. Alas! what a deity it is that I + have chosen for my worship! I have entailed upon myself everlasting agony + and despair!</p> + + <p>"I have but one word to add. Gentlemen, I charge you to do me the + imperfect justice that is in your power! My life is a worthless thing. But + my honour, the empty remains of honour I have now to boast, is in your + judgment, and you will each of you, from this day, have imposed upon + yourselves the task of its vindicators. It is little that you can do for me; + but it is not less your duty to do that little. May that God who is the + fountain of honour and good prosper and protect you! The man who now stands + before you is devoted to perpetual barrenness and blast! He has nothing to + hope for beyond the feeble consolation of this day!"</p> + + <p>"You will easily imagine that Mr. Falkland was discharged with every + circumstance of credit. Nothing is more to be deplored in human + institutions, than that the ideas of mankind should have annexed a sentiment + of disgrace to a purgation thus satisfactory and decisive. No one + entertained the shadow of a doubt upon the subject, and yet a mere + concurrence of circumstances made it necessary that the best of men should + be publicly put on his defence, as if really under suspicion of an atrocious + crime. It may be granted indeed that Mr. Falkland had his faults, but those + very faults placed him at a still further distance from the criminality in + question. He was the fool of honour and fame: a man whom, in the pursuit of + reputation, nothing could divert; who would have purchased the character of + a true, gallant, and undaunted hero, at the expense of worlds, and who + thought every calamity nominal but a stain upon his honour. How atrociously + absurd to suppose any motive capable of inducing such a man to play the part + of a lurking assassin? How unfeeling to oblige him to defend himself from + such an imputation? Did any man, and, least of all, a man of the purest + honour, ever pass in a moment, from a life unstained by a single act of + injury, to the consummation of human depravity?</p> + + <p>"When the decision of the magistrates was declared, a general murmur of + applause and involuntary transport burst forth from every one present. It + was at first low, and gradually became louder. As it was the expression of + rapturous delight, and an emotion disinterested and divine, so there was an + indescribable something in the very sound, that carried it home to the + heart, and convinced every spectator that there was no merely personal + pleasure which ever existed, that would not be foolish and feeble in the + comparison. Every one strove who should most express his esteem of the + amiable accused. Mr. Falkland was no sooner withdrawn than the gentlemen + present determined to give a still further sanction to the business, by + their congratulations. They immediately named a deputation to wait upon him + for that purpose. Every one concurred to assist the general sentiment. It + was a sort of sympathetic feeling that took hold upon all ranks and degrees. + The multitude received him with huzzas, they took his horses from his + carriage, dragged him along in triumph, and attended him many miles on his + return to his own habitation. It seemed as if a public examination upon a + criminal charge, which had hitherto been considered in every event as a + brand of disgrace, was converted, in the present instance, into an occasion + of enthusiastic adoration and unexampled honour.</p> + + <p>"Nothing could reach the heart of Mr. Falkland. He was not insensible to + the general kindness and exertions; but it was too evident that the + melancholy that had taken hold of his mind was invincible.</p> + + <p>"It was only a few weeks after this memorable scene that the real + murderer was discovered. Every part of this story was extraordinary. The + real murderer was Hawkins. He was found with his son, under a feigned name, + at a village about thirty miles distant, in want of all the necessaries of + life. He had lived there, from the period of his flight, in so private a + manner, that all the enquiries that had been set on foot, by the benevolence + of Mr. Falkland, or the insatiable malice of Mr. Tyrrel, had been + insufficient to discover him. The first thing that had led to the detection + was a parcel of clothes covered with blood, that were found in a ditch, and + that, when drawn out, were known by the people of the village to belong to + this man. The murder of Mr. Tyrrel was not a circumstance that could be + unknown, and suspicion was immediately roused. A diligent search being made, + the rusty handle, with part of the blade of a knife, was found thrown in a + corner of his lodging, which, being applied to a piece of the point of a + knife that had been broken in the wound, appeared exactly to correspond. + Upon further enquiry two rustics, who had been accidentally on the spot, + remembered to have seen Hawkins and his son in the town that very evening + and to have called after them, and received no answer, though they were sure + of their persons. Upon this accumulated evidence both Hawkins and his son + were tried, condemned, and afterwards executed. In the interval between the + sentence and execution Hawkins confessed his guilt with many marks of + compunction; though there are persons by whom this is denied; but I have + taken some pains to enquire into the fact, and am persuaded that their + disbelief is precipitate and groundless.</p> + + <p>"The cruel injustice that this man had suffered from his village-tyrant + was not forgotten upon the present occasion. It was by a strange fatality + that the barbarous proceedings of Mr. Tyrrel seemed never to fall short of + their completion; and even his death served eventually to consummate the + ruin of a man he hated; a circumstance which, if it could have come to his + knowledge, would perhaps have in some measure consoled him for his untimely + end. This poor Hawkins was surely entitled to some pity, since his being + finally urged to desperation, and brought, together with his son, to an + ignominious fate, was originally owing to the sturdiness of his virtue and + independence. But the compassion of the public was in a great measure shut + against him, as they thought it a piece of barbarous and unpardonable + selfishness, that he had not rather come boldly forward to meet the + consequences of his own conduct, than suffer a man of so much public worth + as Mr. Falkland, and who had been so desirous of doing him good, to be + exposed to the risk of being tried for a murder that he had committed.</p> + + <p>"From this time to the present Mr. Falkland has been nearly such as you + at present see him. Though it be several years since these transactions, the + impression they made is for ever fresh in the mind of our unfortunate + patron. From thenceforward his habits became totally different. He had + before been fond of public scenes, and acting a part in the midst of the + people among whom he immediately resided. He now made himself a rigid + recluse. He had no associates, no friends. Inconsolable himself, he yet + wished to treat others with kindness. There was a solemn sadness in his + manner, attended with the most perfect gentleness and humanity. Every body + respects him, for his benevolence is unalterable; but there is a stately + coldness and reserve in his behaviour, which makes it difficult for those + about him to regard him with the familiarity of affection. These symptoms + are uninterrupted, except at certain times when his sufferings become + intolerable, and he displays the marks of a furious insanity. At those times + his language is fearful and mysterious, and he seems to figure to himself by + turns every sort of persecution and alarm, which may be supposed to attend + upon an accusation of murder. But, sensible of his own weakness, he is + anxious at such times to withdraw into solitude: and his domestics in + general know nothing of him, but the uncommunicative and haughty, but mild, + dejection that accompanies every thing he does."</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="VOLUME_THE_SECOND" id="VOLUME_THE_SECOND"></a> + + <h2>VOLUME THE SECOND.</h2> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CI" id="V2_CI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + <p>I have stated the narrative of Mr. Collins, interspersed with such other + information as I was able to collect, with all the exactness that my memory, + assisted by certain memorandums I made at the time, will afford. I do not + pretend to warrant the authenticity of any part of these memoirs, except so + much as fell under my own knowledge, and that part shall be given with the + same simplicity and accuracy, that I would observe towards a court which was + to decide in the last resort upon every thing dear to me. The same + scrupulous fidelity restrains me from altering the manner of Mr. Collins's + narrative to adapt it to the precepts of my own taste; and it will soon be + perceived how essential that narrative is to the elucidation of my + history.</p> + + <p>The intention of my friend in this communication was to give me ease; but + he in reality added to my embarrassment. Hitherto I had had no intercourse + with the world and its passions; and, though I was not totally unacquainted + with them as they appear in books, this proved of little service to me when + I came to witness them myself. The case seemed entirely altered, when the + subject of those passions was continually before my eyes, and the events had + happened but the other day as it were, in the very neighbourhood where I + lived. There was a connection and progress in this narrative, which made it + altogether unlike the little village incidents I had hitherto known. My + feelings were successively interested for the different persons that were + brought upon the scene. My veneration was excited for Mr. Clare, and my + applause for the intrepidity of Mrs. Hammond. I was astonished that any + human creature should be so shockingly perverted as Mr. Tyrrel. I paid the + tribute of my tears to the memory of the artless Miss Melville. I found a + thousand fresh reasons to admire and love Mr. Falkland.</p> + + <p>At present I was satisfied with thus considering every incident in its + obvious sense. But the story I had heard was for ever in my thoughts, and I + was peculiarly interested to comprehend its full import. I turned it a + thousand ways, and examined it in every point of view. In the original + communication it appeared sufficiently distinct and satisfactory; but as I + brooded over it, it gradually became mysterious. There was something strange + in the character of Hawkins. So firm, so sturdily honest and just, as he + appeared at first; all at once to become a murderer! His first behaviour + under the prosecution, how accurately was it calculated to prepossess one in + his favour! To be sure, if he were guilty, it was unpardonable in him to + permit a man of so much dignity and worth as Mr. Falkland to suffer under + the imputation of his crime! And yet I could not help bitterly + compassionating the honest fellow, brought to the gallows, as he was, + strictly speaking, by the machinations of that devil incarnate, Mr. Tyrrel. + His son, too, that son for whom he voluntarily sacrificed his all, to die + with him at the same tree; surely never was a story more affecting!</p> + + <p>Was it possible, after all, that Mr. Falkland should be the murderer? The + reader will scarcely believe, that the idea suggested itself to my mind that + I would ask him. It was but a passing thought; but it serves to mark the + simplicity of my character. Then I recollected the virtues of my master, + almost too sublime for human nature; I thought of his sufferings so + unexampled, so unmerited; and chid myself for the suspicion. The dying + confession of Hawkins recurred to my mind; and I felt that there was no + longer a possibility of doubting. And yet what was the meaning of all Mr. + Falkland's agonies and terrors? In fine, the idea having once occurred to my + mind, it was fixed there for ever. My thoughts fluctuated from conjecture to + conjecture, but this was the centre about which they revolved. I determined + to place myself as a watch upon my patron.</p> + + <p>The instant I had chosen this employment for myself, I found a strange + sort of pleasure in it. To do what is forbidden always has its charms, + because we have an indistinct apprehension of something arbitrary and + tyrannical in the prohibition. To be a spy upon Mr. Falkland! That there was + danger in the employment, served to give an alluring pungency to the choice. + I remembered the stern reprimand I had received, and his terrible looks; and + the recollection gave a kind of tingling sensation, not altogether unallied + to enjoyment. The further I advanced, the more the sensation was + irresistible. I seemed to myself perpetually upon the brink of being + countermined, and perpetually roused to guard my designs. The more + impenetrable Mr. Falkland was determined to be, the more uncontrollable was + my curiosity. Through the whole, my alarm and apprehension of personal + danger had a large mixture of frankness and simplicity, conscious of meaning + no ill, that made me continually ready to say every thing that was upon my + mind, and would not suffer me to believe that, when things were brought to + the test, any one could be seriously angry with me.</p> + + <p>These reflections led gradually to a new state of my mind. When I had + first removed into Mr. Falkland's family, the novelty of the scene rendered + me cautious and reserved. The distant and solemn manners of my master seemed + to have annihilated my constitutional gaiety. But the novelty by degrees + wore off, and my constraint in the same degree diminished. The story I had + now heard, and the curiosity it excited, restored to me activity, eagerness, + and courage. I had always had a propensity to communicate my thoughts; my + age was, of course, inclined to talkativeness; and I ventured occasionally + in a sort of hesitating way, as if questioning whether such a conduct might + be allowed, to express my sentiments as they arose, in the presence of Mr. + Falkland.</p> + + <p>The first time I did so, he looked at me with an air of surprise, made me + no answer, and presently took occasion to leave me. The experiment was soon + after repeated. My master seemed half inclined to encourage me, and yet + doubtful whether he might venture.</p> + + <p>He had long been a stranger to pleasure of every sort, and my artless and + untaught remarks appeared to promise him some amusement. Could an amusement + of this sort be dangerous?</p> + + <p>In this uncertainty he could not probably find it in his heart to treat + with severity my innocent effusions. I needed but little encouragement; for + the perturbation of my mind stood in want of this relief. My simplicity, + arising from my being a total stranger to the intercourse of the world, was + accompanied with a mind in some degree cultivated with reading, and perhaps + not altogether destitute of observation and talent. My remarks were + therefore perpetually unexpected, at one time implying extreme ignorance, + and at another some portion of acuteness, but at all times having an air of + innocence, frankness, and courage. There was still an apparent want of + design in the manner, even after I was excited accurately to compare my + observations, and study the inferences to which they led; for the effect of + old habit was more visible than that of a recently conceived purpose which + was yet scarcely mature.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland's situation was like that of a fish that plays with the bait + employed to entrap him. By my manner he was in a certain degree encouraged + to lay aside his usual reserve, and relax his stateliness; till some abrupt + observation or interrogatory stung him into recollection, and brought back + his alarm. Still it was evident that he bore about him a secret wound. + Whenever the cause of his sorrows was touched, though in a manner the most + indirect and remote, his countenance altered, his distemper returned, and it + was with difficulty that he could suppress his emotions, sometimes + conquering himself with painful effort, and sometimes bursting into a sort + of paroxysm of insanity, and hastening to bury himself in solitude.</p> + + <p>These appearances I too frequently interpreted into grounds of suspicion, + though I might with equal probability and more liberality have ascribed them + to the cruel mortifications he had encountered in the objects of his darling + ambition. Mr. Collins had strongly urged me to secrecy; and Mr. Falkland, + whenever my gesture or his consciousness impressed him with the idea of my + knowing more than I expressed, looked at me with wistful earnestness, as + questioning what was the degree of information I possessed, and how it was + obtained. But again at our next interview the simple vivacity of my manner + restored his tranquillity, obliterated the emotion of which I had been the + cause, and placed things afresh in their former situation.</p> + + <p>The longer this humble familiarity on my part had continued, the more + effort it would require to suppress it; and Mr. Falkland was neither willing + to mortify me by a severe prohibition of speech, nor even perhaps to make me + of so much consequence, as that prohibition might seem to imply. Though I + was curious, it must not be supposed that I had the object of my enquiry for + ever in my mind, or that my questions and innuendoes were perpetually + regulated with the cunning of a grey-headed inquisitor. The secret wound of + Mr. Falkland's mind was much more uniformly present to his recollection than + to mine; and a thousand times he applied the remarks that occurred in + conversation; when I had not the remotest idea of such an application, till + some singularity in his manner brought it back to my thoughts. The + consciousness of this morbid sensibility, and the imagination that its + influence might perhaps constitute the whole of the case, served probably to + spur Mr. Falkland again to the charge, and connect a sentiment of shame, + with every project that suggested itself for interrupting the freedom of our + intercourse.</p> + + <p>I will give a specimen of the conversations to which I allude; and, as it + shall be selected from those which began upon topics the most general and + remote, the reader will easily imagine the disturbance that was almost daily + endured by a mind so tremblingly alive as that of my patron.</p> + + <p>"Pray, sir," said I, one day as I was assisting Mr. Falkland in arranging + some papers, previously to their being transcribed into his collection, "how + came Alexander of Macedon to be surnamed the Great?"</p> + + <p>"How came it? Did you never read his history?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, sir."</p> + + <p>"Well, Williams, and could you find no reasons there?"</p> + + <p>"Why, I do not know, sir. I could find reasons why he should be so + famous; but every man that is talked of is not admired. Judges differ about + the merits of Alexander. Doctor Prideaux says in his Connection, that he + deserves only to be called the Great Cut-throat; and the author of Tom Jones + has written a volume, to prove that he and all other conquerors ought to be + classed with Jonathan Wild."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland reddened at these citations.</p> + + <p>"Accursed blasphemy! Did these authors think that, by the coarseness of + their ribaldry, they could destroy his well-earned fame? Are learning, + sensibility, and taste, no securities to exempt their possessor from this + vulgar abuse? Did you ever read, Williams, of a man more gallant, generous, + and free? Was ever mortal so completely the reverse of every thing + engrossing and selfish? He formed to himself a sublime image of excellence, + and his only ambition was to realise it in his own story. Remember his + giving away every thing when he set out upon his grand expedition, + professedly reserving for himself nothing but hope. Recollect his heroic + confidence in Philip the physician, and his entire and unalterable + friendship for Ephestion. He treated the captive family of Darius with the + most cordial urbanity, and the venerable Sysigambis with all the tenderness + and attention of a son to his mother. Never take the judgment, Williams, + upon such a subject, of a clerical pedant or a Westminster justice. Examine + for yourself, and you will find in Alexander a model of honour, generosity, + and disinterestedness,—a man who, for the cultivated liberality of his + mind, and the unparalleled grandeur of his projects, must stand alone the + spectacle and admiration of all ages of the world."</p> + + <p>"Ah, sir! it is a fine thing for us to sit here and compose his + panegyric. But shall I forget what a vast expense was bestowed in erecting + the monument of his fame? Was not he the common disturber of mankind? Did + not he over-run nations that would never have heard of him but for his + devastations? How many hundred thousands of lives did he sacrifice in his + career? What must I think of his cruelties; a whole tribe massacred for a + crime committed by their ancestors one hundred and fifty years before; fifty + thousand sold into slavery; two thousand crucified for their gallant defence + of their country? Man is surely a strange sort of creature, who never + praises any one more heartily than him who has spread destruction and ruin + over the face of nations!"</p> + + <p>"The way of thinking you express, Williams, is natural enough, and I + cannot blame you for it. But let me hope that you will become more liberal. + The death of a hundred thousand men is at first sight very shocking; but + what in reality are a hundred thousand such men, more than a hundred + thousand sheep? It is mind, Williams, the generation of knowledge and + virtue, that we ought to love. This was the project of Alexander; he set out + in a great undertaking to civilise mankind; he delivered the vast continent + of Asia from the stupidity and degradation of the Persian monarchy: and, + though he was cut off in the midst of his career, we may easily perceive the + vast effects of his project. Grecian literature and cultivation, the + Seleucidae, the Antiochuses, and the Ptolemies followed, in nations which + before had been sunk to the condition of brutes. Alexander was the builder, + as notoriously as the destroyer, of cities."</p> + + <p>"And yet, sir, I am afraid that the pike and the battle-axe are not the + right instruments for making men wise. Suppose it were admitted that the + lives of men were to be sacrificed without remorse if a paramount good were + to result, it seems to me as if murder and massacre were but a very + left-handed way of producing civilisation and love. But pray, do not you + think this great hero was a sort of a madman? What now will you say to his + firing the palace of Persepolis, his weeping for other worlds to conquer, + and his marching his whole army over the burning sands of Libya, merely to + visit a temple, and persuade mankind that he was the son of Jupiter + Ammon?"</p> + + <p>"Alexander, my boy, has been much misunderstood. Mankind have revenged + themselves upon him by misrepresentation, for having so far eclipsed the + rest of his species. It was necessary to the realising his project, that he + should pass for a god. It was the only way by which he could get a firm hold + upon the veneration of the stupid and bigoted Persians. It was this, and not + a mad vanity, that was the source of his proceeding. And how much had he to + struggle with in this respect, in the unapprehending obstinacy of some of + his Macedonians?"</p> + + <p>"Why then, sir, at last Alexander did but employ means that all + politicians profess to use, as well as he. He dragooned men into wisdom, and + cheated them into the pursuit of their own happiness. But what is worse, + sir, this Alexander, in the paroxysm of his headlong rage, spared neither + friend nor foe. You will not pretend to justify the excesses of his + ungovernable passion. It is impossible, sure, that a word can be said for a + man whom a momentary provocation can hurry into the commission of + murders—"</p> + + <p>The instant I had uttered these words, I felt what it was that I had + done. There was a magnetical sympathy between me and my patron, so that + their effect was not sooner produced upon him, than my own mind reproached + me with the inhumanity of the allusion. Our confusion was mutual. The blood + forsook at once the transparent complexion of Mr. Falkland, and then rushed + back again with rapidity and fierceness. I dared not utter a word, lest I + should commit a new error, worse than that into which I had just fallen. + After a short, but severe, struggle to continue the conversation, Mr. + Falkland began with trepidation, but afterwards became calmer:—</p> + + <p>"You are not candid—Alexander—You must learn more + clemency—Alexander, I say, does not deserve this rigour. Do you + remember his tears, his remorse, his determined abstinence from food, which + he could scarcely be persuaded to relinquish? Did not that prove acute + feeling and a rooted principle of equity?—Well, well, Alexander was a + true and judicious lover of mankind, and his real merits have been little + comprehended."</p> + + <p>I know not how to make the state of my mind at that moment accurately + understood. When one idea has got possession of the soul, it is scarcely + possible to keep it from finding its way to the lips. Error, once committed, + has a fascinating power, like that ascribed to the eyes of the rattlesnake, + to draw us into a second error. It deprives us of that proud confidence in + our own strength, to which we are indebted for so much of our virtue. + Curiosity is a restless propensity, and often does but hurry us forward the + more irresistibly, the greater is the danger that attends its + indulgence.</p> + + <p>"Clitus," said I, "was a man of very coarse and provoking manners, was he + not?"</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland felt the full force of this appeal. He gave me a penetrating + look, as if he would see my very soul. His eyes were then in an instant + withdrawn. I could perceive him seized with a convulsive shuddering which, + though strongly counteracted, and therefore scarcely visible, had I know not + what of terrible in it. He left his employment, strode about the room in + anger, his visage gradually assumed an expression as of supernatural + barbarity, he quitted the apartment abruptly, and flung the door with a + violence that seemed to shake the house.</p> + + <p>"Is this," said I, "the fruit of conscious guilt, or of the disgust that + a man of honour conceives at guilt undeservedly imputed?"</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CII" id="V2_CII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + <p>The reader will feel how rapidly I was advancing to the brink of the + precipice. I had a confused apprehension of what I was doing, but I could + not stop myself. "Is it possible," said I, "that Mr. Falkland, who is thus + overwhelmed with a sense of the unmerited dishonour that has been fastened + upon him in the face of the world, will long endure the presence of a raw + and unfriended youth, who is perpetually bringing back that dishonour to his + recollection, and who seems himself the most forward to entertain the + accusation?"</p> + + <p>I felt indeed that Mr. Falkland would not hastily incline to dismiss me, + for the same reason that restrained him from many other actions, which might + seem to savour of a too tender and ambiguous sensibility. But this + reflection was little adapted to comfort me. That he should cherish in his + heart a growing hatred against me, and that he should think himself obliged + to retain me a continual thorn in his side, was an idea by no means of + favourable augury to my future peace.</p> + + <p>It was some time after this that, in clearing out a case of drawers, I + found a paper that, by some accident, had slipped behind one of the drawers, + and been overlooked. At another time perhaps my curiosity might have given + way to the laws of decorum, and I should have restored it unopened to my + master, its owner. But my eagerness for information had been too much + stimulated by the preceding incidents, to allow me at present to neglect any + occasion of obtaining it. The paper proved to be a letter written by the + elder Hawkins, and from its contents seemed to have been penned when he had + first been upon the point of absconding from the persecutions of Mr. Tyrrel. + It was as follows:—</p> + + <p>"Honourable Sir,</p> + + <p>"I have waited some time in daily hope of your honour's return into these + parts. Old Warnes and his dame, who are left to take care of your house, + tell me they cannot say when that will be, nor justly in what part of + England you are at present. For my share, misfortune comes so thick upon me, + that I must determine upon something (that is for certain), and out of hand. + Our squire, who I must own at first used me kindly enough, though I am + afraid that was partly out of spite to squire Underwood, has since + determined to be the ruin of me. Sir, I have been no craven; I fought it up + stoutly; for after all, you know, God bless your honour! it is but a man to + a man; but he has been too much for me.</p> + + <p>"Perhaps if I were to ride over to the market-town and enquire of Munsle, + your lawyer, he could tell me how to direct to you. But having hoped and + waited o' this fashion, and all in vain, has put me upon other thoughts. I + was in no hurry, sir, to apply to you; for I do not love to be a trouble to + any body. I kept that for my last stake. Well, sir, and now that has failed + me like, I am ashamed, as it were, to have thought of it. Have not I, thinks + I, arms and legs as well as other people? I am driven out of house and home. + Well, and what then? Sure I arn't a cabbage, that if you pull it out of the + ground it must die. I am pennyless. True; and how many hundreds are there + that live from hand to mouth all the days of their life? (Begging your + honour's pardon) thinks I, if we little folks had but the wit to do for + ourselves, the great folks would not be such maggotty changelings as they + are. They would begin to look about them.</p> + + <p>"But there is another thing that has swayed with me more than all the + rest. I do not know how to tell you, sir,—My poor boy, my Leonard, the + pride of my life, has been three weeks in the county jail. It is true + indeed, sir. Squire Tyrrel put him there. Now, sir, every time that I lay my + head upon my pillow under my own little roof, my heart smites me with the + situation of my Leonard. I do not mean so much for the hardship; I do not so + much matter that. I do not expect him to go through the world upon velvet! I + am not such a fool. But who can tell what may hap in a jail! I have been + three times to see him; and there is one man in the same quarter of the + prison that looks so wicked! I do not much fancy the looks of the rest. To + be sure, Leonard is as good a lad as ever lived. I think he will not give + his mind to such. But come what will, I am determined he shall not stay + among them twelve hours longer. I am an obstinate old fool perhaps; but I + have taken it into my head, and I will do it. Do not ask me what. But, if I + were to write to your honour, and wait for your answer, it might take a week + or ten days more. I must not think of it!</p> + + <p>"Squire Tyrrel is very headstrong, and you, your honour, might be a + little hottish, or so. No, I would not have any body quarrel for me. There + has been mischief enough done already; and I will get myself out of the way. + So I write this, your honour, merely to unload my mind. I feel myself + equally as much bound to respect and love you, as if you had done every + thing for me, that I believe you would have done if things had chanced + differently. It is most likely you will never hear of me any more. If it + should be so, set your worthy heart at rest. I know myself too well, ever to + be tempted to do any thing that is really bad. I have now my fortune to seek + in the world. I have been used ill enough, God knows. But I bear no malice; + my heart is at peace with all mankind; and I forgive every body. It is like + enough that poor Leonard and I may have hardship enough to undergo, among + strangers, and being obliged to hide ourselves like housebreakers or + highwaymen. But I defy all the malice of fortune to make us do an ill thing. + That consolation we will always keep against all the crosses of a + heart-breaking world.</p> + + <p>"God bless you!<br /> + So prays,<br /> + Your honour's humble servant to command,<br /> + BENJAMIN HAWKINS."</p> + + <p>I read this letter with considerable attention, and it occasioned me many + reflections. To my way of thinking it contained a very interesting picture + of a blunt, downright, honest mind. "It is a melancholy consideration," said + I to myself; "but such is man! To have judged from appearances one would + have said, this is a fellow to have taken fortune's buffets and rewards with + an incorruptible mind. And yet see where it all ends! This man was capable + of afterwards becoming a murderer, and finished his life at the gallows. O + poverty! thou art indeed omnipotent! Thou grindest us into desperation; thou + confoundest all our boasted and most deep-rooted principles; thou fillest us + to the very brim with malice and revenge, and renderest us capable of acts + of unknown horror! May I never be visited by thee in the fulness of thy + power!"</p> + + <p>Having satisfied my curiosity with respect to this paper, I took care to + dispose of it in such a manner as that it should be found by Mr. Falkland; + at the same time that, in obedience to the principle which at present + governed me with absolute dominion, I was willing that the way in which it + offered itself to his attention should suggest to him the idea that it had + possibly passed through my hands. The next morning I saw him, and I exerted + myself to lead the conversation, which by this time I well knew how to + introduce, by insensible degrees to the point I desired. After several + previous questions, remarks, and rejoinders, I continued:—</p> + + <p>"Well, sir, after all, I cannot help feeling very uncomfortably as to my + ideas of human nature, when I find that there is no dependence to be placed + upon its perseverance, and that, at least among the illiterate, the most + promising appearances may end in the foulest disgrace."</p> + + <p>"You think, then, that literature and a cultivated mind are the only + assurance for the constancy of our principles!"</p> + + <p>"Humph!--why do you suppose, sir, that learning and ingenuity do not + often serve people rather to hide their crimes than to restrain them from + committing them? History tells us strange things in that respect."</p> + + <p>"Williams," said Mr. Falkland, a little disturbed, "you are extremely + given to censure and severity."</p> + + <p>"I hope not. I am sure I am most fond of looking on the other side of the + picture, and considering how many men have been aspersed, and even at some + time or other almost torn to pieces by their fellow-creatures, whom, when + properly understood, we find worthy of our reverence and love."</p> + + <p>"Indeed," replied Mr. Falkland, with a sigh, "when I consider these + things I do not wonder at the dying exclamation of Brutus, 'O Virtue, I + sought thee as a substance, but I find thee an empty name!' I am too much + inclined to be of his opinion."</p> + + <p>"Why, to be sure, sir, innocence and guilt are too much confounded in + human life. I remember an affecting story of a poor man in the reign of + Queen Elizabeth, who would have infallibly been hanged for murder upon the + strength of circumstantial evidence, if the person really concerned had not + been himself upon the jury and prevented it."</p> + + <p>In saying this I touched the spring that wakened madness in his mind. He + came up to me with a ferocious countenance, as if determined to force me + into a confession of my thoughts. A sudden pang however seemed to change his + design! he drew back with trepidation, and exclaimed, "Detested be the + universe, and the laws that govern it! Honour, justice, virtue, are all the + juggle of knaves! If it were in my power I would instantly crush the whole + system into nothing!"</p> + + <p>I replied; "Oh, sir! things are not so bad as you imagine. The world was + made for men of sense to do what they will with. Its affairs cannot be + better than in the direction of the genuine heroes; and as in the end they + will be found the truest friends of the whole, so the multitude have nothing + to do but to look on, be fashioned, and admire."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland made a powerful effort to recover his tranquillity. + "Williams," said he, "you instruct me well. You have a right notion of + things, and I have great hopes of you. I will be more of a man; I will + forget the past, and do better for the time to come. The future, the future + is always our own."</p> + + <p>"I am sorry, sir, that I have given you pain. I am afraid to say all that + I think. But it is my opinion that mistakes will ultimately be cleared up, + justice done, and the true state of things come to light, in spite of the + false colours that may for a time obscure it."</p> + + <p>The idea I suggested did not give Mr. Falkland the proper degree of + delight. He suffered a temporary relapse. "Justice!"—he muttered. "I + do not know what is justice. My case is not within the reach of common + remedies; perhaps of none. I only know that I am miserable. I began life + with the best intentions and the most fervid philanthropy; and here I + am—miserable—miserable beyond expression or endurance."</p> + + <p>Having said this, he seemed suddenly to recollect himself, and re-assumed + his accustomed dignity and command. "How came this conversation?" cried he. + "Who gave you a right to be my confidant? Base, artful wretch that you are! + learn to be more respectful! Are my passions to be wound and unwound by an + insolent domestic? Do you think I will be an instrument to be played on at + your pleasure, till you have extorted all the treasures of my soul? Begone, + and fear lest you be made to pay for the temerity you have already + committed!"</p> + + <p>There was an energy and determination in the gestures with which these + words were accompanied, that did not admit of their being disputed. My mouth + was closed; I felt as if deprived of all share of activity, and was only + able silently and passively to quit the apartment.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CIII" id="V2_CIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + <p>Two days subsequent to this conversation, Mr. Falkland ordered me to be + called to him. [I shall continue to speak in my narrative of the silent, as + well as the articulate part of the intercourse between us. His countenance + was habitually animated and expressive, much beyond that of any other man I + have seen. The curiosity which, as I have said, constituted my ruling + passion, stimulated me to make it my perpetual study. It will also most + probably happen, while I am thus employed in collecting the scattered + incidents of my history, that I shall upon some occasions annex to + appearances an explanation which I was far from possessing at the time, and + was only suggested to me through the medium of subsequent events.]</p> + + <p>When I entered the apartment, I remarked in Mr. Falkland's countenance an + unwonted composure. This composure however did not seem to result from + internal ease, but from an effort which, while he prepared himself for an + interesting scene, was exerted to prevent his presence of mind, and power of + voluntary action, from suffering any diminution.</p> + + <p>"Williams," said he, "I am determined, whatever it may cost me, to have + an explanation with you. You are a rash and inconsiderate boy, and have + given me much disturbance. You ought to have known that, though I allow you + to talk with me upon indifferent subjects, it is very improper in you to + lead the conversation to any thing that relates to my personal concerns. You + have said many things lately in a very mysterious way, and appear to know + something more than I am aware of. I am equally at a loss to guess how you + came by your knowledge, as of what it consists. But I think I perceive too + much inclination on your part to trifle with my peace of mind. That ought + not to be, nor have I deserved any such treatment from you. But, be that as + it will, the guesses in which you oblige me to employ myself are too + painful. It is a sort of sporting with my feelings, which, as a man of + resolution, I am determined to bring to an end. I expect you therefore to + lay aside all mystery and equivocation, and inform me explicitly what it is + upon which your allusions are built. What is it you know? What is it you + want? I have been too much exposed already to unparalleled mortification and + hardship, and my wounds will not bear this perpetual tampering."</p> + + <p>"I feel, sir," answered I, "how wrong I have been, and am ashamed that + such a one as I should have given you all this trouble and displeasure. I + felt it at the time; but I have been hurried along, I do not know how. I + have always tried to stop myself, but the demon that possessed me was too + strong for me. I know nothing, sir, but what Mr. Collins told me. He told me + the story of Mr. Tyrrel and Miss Melville and Hawkins. I am sure, sir, he + said nothing but what was to your honour, and proved you to be more an angel + than a man."</p> + + <p>"Well, sir: I found a letter written by that Hawkins the other day; did + not that letter fall into your hands? Did not you read it?"</p> + + <p>"For God's sake, sir, turn me out of your house. Punish me in some way or + other, that I may forgive myself. I am a foolish, wicked, despicable wretch. + I confess, sir, I did read the letter."</p> + + <p>"And how dared you read it? It was indeed very wrong of you. But we will + talk of that by and by. Well, and what did you say to the letter? You know + it seems, that Hawkins was hanged."</p> + + <p>"I say, sir? why it went to my heart to read it. I say, as I said the day + before yesterday, that when I see a man of so much principle afterwards + deliberately proceeding to the very worst of crimes, I can scarcely bear to + think of it."</p> + + <p>"That is what you say? It seems too you know—accursed + remembrance!--that I was accused of this crime?"</p> + + <p>I was silent.</p> + + <p>"Well, sir. You know too, perhaps, that from the hour the crime was + committed—yes, sir, that was the date [and as he said this, there was + somewhat frightful, I had almost said diabolical, in his + countenance]—I have not had an hour's peace; I became changed from the + happiest to the most miserable thing that lives; sleep has fled from my + eyes; joy has been a stranger to my thoughts; and annihilation I should + prefer a thousand times to the being that I am. As soon as I was capable of + a choice, I chose honour and the esteem of mankind as a good I preferred to + all others. You know, it seems, in how many ways my ambition has been + disappointed,—I do not thank Collins for having been the historian of + my disgrace,—would to God that night could be blotted from the memory + of man!--But the scene of that night, instead of perishing, has been a + source of ever new calamity to me, which must flow for ever! Am I then, thus + miserable and ruined, a proper subject upon which for you to exercise your + ingenuity, and improve your power of tormenting? Was it not enough that I + was publicly dishonoured? that I was deprived, by the pestilential influence + of some demon, of the opportunity of avenging my dishonour? No: in addition + to this, I have been charged with having in this critical moment intercepted + my own vengeance by the foulest of crimes. That trial is past. Misery itself + has nothing worse in store for me, except what you have inflicted: the + seeming to doubt of my innocence, which, after the fullest and most solemn + examination, has been completely established. You have forced me to this + explanation. You have extorted from me a confidence which I had no + inclination to make. But it is a part of the misery of my situation, that I + am at the mercy of every creature, however little, who feels himself + inclined to sport with my distress. Be content. You have brought me low + enough."</p> + + <p>"Oh, sir, I am not content; I cannot be content! I cannot bear to think + what I have done. I shall never again be able to look in the face of the + best of masters and the best of men. I beg of you, sir, to turn me out of + your service. Let me go and hide myself where I may never see you more."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland's countenance had indicated great severity through the whole + of this conversation; but now it became more harsh and tempestuous than + ever. "How now, rascal!" cried he. "You want to leave me, do you? Who told + you that I wished to part with you? But you cannot bear to live with such a + miserable wretch as I am! You are not disposed to put up with the caprices + of a man so dissatisfied and unjust!"</p> + + <p>"Oh, sir! do not talk to me thus! Do with me any thing you will. Kill me + if you please."</p> + + <p>"Kill you!" [Volumes could not describe the emotions with which this echo + of my words was given and received.]</p> + + <p>"Sir, I could die to serve you! I love you more than I can express. I + worship you as a being of a superior nature. I am foolish, raw, + inexperienced,—worse than any of these;—but never did a thought + of disloyalty to your service enter into my heart."</p> + + <p>Here our conversation ended; and the impression it made upon my youthful + mind it is impossible to describe. I thought with astonishment, even with + rapture, of the attention and kindness towards me I discovered in Mr. + Falkland, through all the roughness of his manner. I could never enough + wonder at finding myself, humble as I was by my birth, obscure as I had + hitherto been, thus suddenly become of so much importance to the happiness + of one of the most enlightened and accomplished men in England. But this + consciousness attached me to my patron more eagerly than ever, and made me + swear a thousand times, as I meditated upon my situation, that I would never + prove unworthy of so generous a protector.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CIV" id="V2_CIV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + <p>Is it not unaccountable that, in the midst of all my increased veneration + for my patron, the first tumult of my emotion was scarcely subsided, before + the old question that had excited my conjectures recurred to my mind, Was he + the murderer? It was a kind of fatal impulse, that seemed destined to hurry + me to my destruction. I did not wonder at the disturbance that was given to + Mr. Falkland by any allusion, however distant, to this fatal affair. That + was as completely accounted for from the consideration of his excessive + sensibility in matters of honour, as it would have been upon the supposition + of the most atrocious guilt. Knowing, as he did, that such a charge had once + been connected with his name, he would of course be perpetually uneasy, and + suspect some latent insinuation at every possible opportunity. He would + doubt and fear, lest every man with whom he conversed harboured the foulest + suspicion against him. In my case he found that I was in possession of some + information, more than he was aware of, without its being possible for him + to decide to what it amounted, whether I had heard a just or unjust, a + candid or calumniatory tale. He had also reason to suppose that I gave + entertainment to thoughts derogatory to his honour, and that I did not form + that favourable judgment, which the exquisite refinement of his ruling + passion made indispensable to his peace. All these considerations would of + course maintain in him a state of perpetual uneasiness. But, though I could + find nothing that I could consider as justifying me in persisting in the + shadow of a doubt, yet, as I have said, the uncertainty and restlessness of + my contemplations would by no means depart from me.</p> + + <p>The fluctuating state of my mind produced a contention of opposite + principles, that by turns usurped dominion over my conduct. Sometimes I was + influenced by the most complete veneration for my master; I placed an + unreserved confidence in his integrity and his virtue, and implicitly + surrendered my understanding for him to set it to what point he pleased. At + other times the confidence, which had before flowed with the most plenteous + tide, began to ebb; I was, as I had already been, watchful, inquisitive, + suspicious, full of a thousand conjectures as to the meaning of the most + indifferent actions. Mr. Falkland, who was most painfully alive to every + thing that related to his honour, saw these variations, and betrayed his + consciousness of them now in one manner, and now in another, frequently + before I was myself aware, sometimes almost before they existed. The + situation of both was distressing; we were each of us a plague to the other; + and I often wondered, that the forbearance and benignity of my master was + not at length exhausted, and that he did not determine to thrust from him + for ever so incessant an observer. There was indeed one eminent difference + between his share in the transaction and mine. I had some consolation in the + midst of my restlessness. Curiosity is a principle that carries its + pleasures, as well as its pains, along with it. The mind is urged by a + perpetual stimulus; it seems as if it were continually approaching to the + end of its race; and as the insatiable desire of satisfaction is its + principle of conduct, so it promises itself in that satisfaction an unknown + gratification, which seems as if it were capable of fully compensating any + injuries that may be suffered in the career. But to Mr. Falkland there was + no consolation. What he endured in the intercourse between us appeared to be + gratuitous evil. He had only to wish that there was no such person as myself + in the world, and to curse the hour when his humanity led him to rescue me + from my obscurity, and place me in his service.</p> + + <p>A consequence produced upon me by the extraordinary nature of my + situation it is necessary to mention. The constant state of vigilance and + suspicion in which my mind was retained, worked a very rapid change in my + character. It seemed to have all the effect that might have been expected + from years of observation and experience. The strictness with which I + endeavoured to remark what passed in the mind of one man, and the variety of + conjectures into which I was led, appeared, as it were, to render me a + competent adept in the different modes in which the human intellect displays + its secret workings. I no longer said to myself, as I had done in the + beginning, "I will ask Mr. Falkland whether he were the murderer." On the + contrary, after having carefully examined the different kinds of evidence of + which the subject was susceptible, and recollecting all that had already + passed upon the subject, it was not without considerable pain, that I felt + myself unable to discover any way in which I could be perfectly and + unalterably satisfied of my patron's innocence. As to his guilt, I could + scarcely bring myself to doubt that in some way or other, sooner or later, I + should arrive at the knowledge of that, if it really existed. But I could + not endure to think, almost for a moment, of that side of the alternative as + true; and with all my ungovernable suspicion arising from the mysteriousness + of the circumstances, and all the delight which a young and unfledged mind + receives from ideas that give scope to all that imagination can picture of + terrible or sublime, I could not yet bring myself to consider Mr. Falkland's + guilt as a supposition attended with the remotest probability.</p> + + <p>I hope the reader will forgive me for dwelling thus long on preliminary + circumstances. I shall come soon enough to the story of my own misery. I + have already said, that one of the motives which induced me to the penning + of this narrative, was to console myself in my insupportable distress. I + derive a melancholy pleasure from dwelling upon the circumstances which + imperceptibly paved the way to my ruin. While I recollect or describe past + scenes, which occurred in a more favourable period of my life, my attention + is called off for a short interval, from the hopeless misfortune in which I + am at present involved. The man must indeed possess an uncommon portion of + hardness of heart, who can envy me so slight a relief.—To proceed.</p> + + <p>For some time after the explanation which had thus taken place between me + and Mr. Falkland, his melancholy, instead of being in the slightest degree + diminished by the lenient hand of time, went on perpetually to increase. His + fits of insanity—for such I must denominate them for want of a + distinct appellation, though it is possible they might not fall under the + definition that either the faculty or the court of chancery appropriate to + the term—became stronger and more durable than ever. It was no longer + practicable wholly to conceal them from the family, and even from the + neighbourhood. He would sometimes, without any previous notice, absent + himself from his house for two or three days, unaccompanied by servant or + attendant. This was the more extraordinary, as it was well known that he + paid no visits, nor kept up any sort of intercourse with the gentlemen of + the vicinity. But it was impossible that a man of Mr. Falkland's distinction + and fortune should long continue in such a practice, without its being + discovered what was become of him; though a considerable part of our county + was among the wildest and most desolate districts that are to be found in + South Britain. Mr. Falkland was sometimes seen climbing among the rocks, + reclining motionless for hours together upon the edge of a precipice, or + lulled into a kind of nameless lethargy of despair by the dashing of the + torrents. He would remain for whole nights together under the naked cope of + heaven, inattentive to the consideration either of place or time; insensible + to the variations of the weather, or rather seeming to be delighted with + that uproar of the elements, which partially called off his attention from + the discord and dejection that occupied his own mind.</p> + + <p>At first, when we received intelligence at any time of the place to which + Mr. Falkland had withdrawn himself, some person of his household, Mr. + Collins or myself, but most generally myself, as I was always at home, and + always, in the received sense of the word, at leisure, went to him to + persuade him to return. But, after a few experiments, we thought it + advisable to desist, and leave him to prolong his absence, or to terminate + it, as might happen to suit his own inclination. Mr. Collins, whose grey + hairs and long services seemed to give him a sort of right to be + importunate, sometimes succeeded; though even in that case there was nothing + that could sit more uneasily upon Mr. Falkland than this insinuation as if + he wanted a guardian to take care of him, or as if he were in, or in danger + of falling into, a state in which he would be incapable of deliberately + controlling his own words and actions. At one time he would suddenly yield + to his humble, venerable friend, murmuring grievously at the constraint that + was put upon him, but without spirit enough even to complain of it with + energy. At another time, even though complying, he would suddenly burst out + in a paroxysm of resentment. Upon these occasions there was something + inconceivably, savagely terrible in his anger, that gave to the person + against whom it was directed the most humiliating and insupportable + sensations. Me he always treated, at these times, with fierceness, and drove + me from him with a vehemence lofty, emphatical, and sustained, beyond any + thing of which I should have thought human nature to be capable. These + sallies seemed always to constitute a sort of crisis in his indisposition; + and, whenever he was induced to such a premature return, he would fall + immediately after into a state of the most melancholy inactivity, in which + he usually continued for two or three days. It was by an obstinate fatality + that, whenever I saw Mr. Falkland in these deplorable situations, and + particularly when I lighted upon him after having sought him among the rocks + and precipices, pale, emaciated, solitary, and haggard, the suggestion would + continually recur to me, in spite of inclination, in spite of persuasion, + and in spite of evidence, Surely this man is a murderer!</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CV" id="V2_CV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + <p>It was in one of the lucid intervals, as I may term them, that occurred + during this period, that a peasant was brought before him, in his character + of a justice of peace, upon an accusation of having murdered his fellow. As + Mr. Falkland had by this time acquired the repute of a melancholy + valetudinarian, it is probable he would not have been called upon to act in + his official character upon the present occasion, had it not been that two + or three of the neighbouring justices were all of them from home at once, so + that he was the only one to be found in a circuit of many miles. The reader + however must not imagine, though I have employed the word insanity in + describing Mr. Falkland's symptoms, that he was by any means reckoned for a + madman by the generality of those who had occasion to observe him. It is + true that his behaviour, at certain times, was singular and unaccountable; + but then, at other times, there was in it so much dignity, regularity, and + economy; he knew so well how to command and make himself respected; his + actions and carriage were so condescending, considerate, and benevolent, + that, far from having forfeited the esteem of the unfortunate or the many, + they were loud and earnest in his praises.</p> + + <p>I was present at the examination of this peasant. The moment I heard of + the errand which had brought this rabble of visitors, a sudden thought + struck me. I conceived the possibility of rendering the incident subordinate + to the great enquiry which drank up all the currents of my soul. I said, + this man is arraigned of murder, and murder is the master-key that wakes + distemper in the mind of Mr. Falkland. I will watch him without remission. I + will trace all the mazes of his thought. Surely at such a time his secret + anguish must betray itself. Surely, if it be not my own fault, I shall now + be able to discover the state of his plea before the tribunal of unerring + justice.</p> + + <p>I took my station in a manner most favourable to the object upon which my + mind was intent. I could perceive in Mr. Falkland's features, as he entered, + a strong reluctance to the business in which he was engaged; but there was + no possibility of retreating. His countenance was embarrassed and anxious; + he scarcely saw any body. The examination had not proceeded far, before he + chanced to turn his eye to the part of the room where I was. It happened in + this as in some preceding instances—we exchanged a silent look, by + which we told volumes to each other. Mr. Falkland's complexion turned from + red to pale, and from pale to red. I perfectly understood his feelings, and + would willingly have withdrawn myself. But it was impossible; my passions + were too deeply engaged; I was rooted to the spot; though my own life, that + of my master, or almost of a whole nation had been at stake, I had no power + to change my position.</p> + + <p>The first surprise however having subsided, Mr. Falkland assumed a look + of determined constancy, and even seemed to increase in self-possession much + beyond what could have been expected from his first entrance. This he could + probably have maintained, had it not been that the scene, instead of being + permanent, was in some sort perpetually changing. The man who was brought + before him was vehemently accused by the brother of the deceased as having + acted from the most rooted malice. He swore that there had been an old + grudge between the parties, and related several instances of it. He affirmed + that the murderer had sought the earliest opportunity of wreaking his + revenge; had struck the first blow; and, though the contest was in + appearance only a common boxing match, had watched the occasion of giving a + fatal stroke, which was followed by the instant death of his antagonist.</p> + + <p>While the accuser was giving in his evidence, the accused discovered + every token of the most poignant sensibility. At one time his features were + convulsed with anguish; tears unbidden trickled down his manly cheeks; and + at another he started with apparent astonishment at the unfavourable turn + that was given to the narrative, though without betraying any impatience to + interrupt. I never saw a man less ferocious in his appearance. He was tall, + well made, and comely. His countenance was ingenuous and benevolent, without + folly. By his side stood a young woman, his sweetheart, extremely agreeable + in her person, and her looks testifying how deeply she interested herself in + the fate of her lover. The accidental spectators were divided, between + indignation against the enormity of the supposed criminal, and compassion + for the poor girl that accompanied him. They seemed to take little notice of + the favourable appearances visible in the person of the accused, till, in + the sequel, those appearances were more forcibly suggested to their + attention. For Mr. Falkland, he was at one moment engrossed by curiosity and + earnestness to investigate the tale, while at another he betrayed a sort of + revulsion of sentiment, which made the investigation too painful for him to + support.</p> + + <p>When the accused was called upon for his defence, he readily owned the + misunderstanding that had existed, and that the deceased was the worst enemy + he had in the world. Indeed he was his only enemy, and he could not tell the + reason that had made him so. He had employed every effort to overcome his + animosity, but in vain. The deceased had upon all occasions sought to + mortify him, and do him an ill turn; but he had resolved never to be engaged + in a broil with him, and till this day he had succeeded. If he had met with + a misfortune with any other man, people at least might have thought it + accident; but now it would always be believed that he had acted from secret + malice and a bad heart.</p> + + <p>The fact was, that he and his sweetheart had gone to a neighbouring fair, + where this man had met them. The man had often tried to affront him; and his + passiveness, interpreted into cowardice, had perhaps encouraged the other to + additional rudeness. Finding that he had endured trivial insults to himself + with an even temper, the deceased now thought proper to turn his brutality + upon the young woman that accompanied him. He pursued them; he endeavoured + in various manners to harass and vex them; they had sought in vain to shake + him off. The young woman was considerably terrified. The accused + expostulated with their persecutor, and asked him how he could be so + barbarous as to persist in frightening a woman? He replied with an insulting + tone, "Then the woman should find some one able to protect her; people that + encouraged and trusted to such a thief as that, deserved no better!" The + accused tried every expedient he could invent; at length he could endure it + no longer; he became exasperated, and challenged the assailant. The + challenge was accepted; a ring was formed; he confided the care of his + sweetheart to a bystander; and unfortunately the first blow he struck proved + fatal.</p> + + <p>The accused added, that he did not care what became of him. He had been + anxious to go through the world in an inoffensive manner, and now he had the + guilt of blood upon him. He did not know but it would be kindness in them to + hang him out of the way; for his conscience would reproach him as long as he + lived, and the figure of the deceased, as he had lain senseless and without + motion at his feet, would perpetually haunt him. The thought of this man, at + one moment full of life and vigour, and the next lifted a helpless corpse + from the ground, and all owing to him, was a thought too dreadful to be + endured. He had loved the poor maiden, who had been the innocent occasion of + this, with all his heart; but from this time he should never support the + sight of her. The sight would bring a tribe of fiends in its rear. One + unlucky minute had poisoned all his hopes, and made life a burden to him. + Saying this, his countenance fell, the muscles of his face trembled with + agony, and he looked the statue of despair.</p> + + <p>This was the story of which Mr. Falkland was called upon to be the + auditor. Though the incidents were, for the most part, wide of those which + belonged to the adventures of the preceding volume, and there had been much + less policy and skill displayed on either part in this rustic encounter, yet + there were many points which, to a man who bore the former strongly in his + recollection, suggested a sufficient resemblance. In each case it was a + human brute persisting in a course of hostility to a man of benevolent + character, and suddenly and terribly cut off in the midst of his career. + These points perpetually smote upon the heart of Mr. Falkland. He at one + time started with astonishment, and at another shifted his posture, like a + man who is unable longer to endure the sensations that press upon him. Then + he new strung his nerves to stubborn patience. I could see, while his + muscles preserved an inflexible steadiness, tears of anguish roll down his + cheeks. He dared not trust his eyes to glance towards the side of the room + where I stood; and this gave an air of embarrassment to his whole figure. + But when the accused came to speak of his feelings, to describe the depth of + his compunction for an involuntary fault, he could endure it no longer. He + suddenly rose, and with every mark of horror and despair rushed out of the + room.</p> + + <p>This circumstance made no material difference in the affair of the + accused. The parties were detained about half an hour. Mr. Falkland had + already heard the material parts of the evidence in person. At the + expiration of that interval, he sent for Mr. Collins out of the room. The + story of the culprit was confirmed by many witnesses who had seen the + transaction. Word was brought that my master was indisposed; and, at the + same time, the accused was ordered to be discharged. The vengeance of the + brother however, as I afterwards found, did not rest here, and he met with a + magistrate, more scrupulous or more despotic, by whom the culprit was + committed for trial.</p> + + <p>This affair was no sooner concluded, than I hastened into the garden, and + plunged into the deepest of its thickets. My mind was full, almost to + bursting. I no sooner conceived myself sufficiently removed from all + observation, than my thoughts forced their way spontaneously to my tongue, + and I exclaimed, in a fit of uncontrollable enthusiasm, "This is the + murderer; the Hawkinses were innocent! I am sure of it! I will pledge my + life for it! It is out! It is discovered! Guilty, upon my soul!"</p> + + <p>While I thus proceeded with hasty steps along the most secret paths of + the garden, and from time to time gave vent to the tumult of my thoughts in + involuntary exclamations, I felt as if my animal system had undergone a + total revolution. My blood boiled within me. I was conscious to a kind of + rapture for which I could not account. I was solemn, yet full of rapid + emotion, burning with indignation and energy. In the very tempest and + hurricane of the passions, I seemed to enjoy the most soul-ravishing calm. I + cannot better express the then state of my mind than by saying, I was never + so perfectly alive as at that moment.</p> + + <p>This state of mental elevation continued for several hours, but at length + subsided, and gave place to more deliberate reflection. One of the first + questions that then occurred was, what shall I do with the knowledge I have + been so eager to acquire? I had no inclination to turn informer. I felt what + I had had no previous conception of, that it was possible to love a + murderer, and, as I then understood it, the worst of murderers. I conceived + it to be in the highest degree absurd and iniquitous, to cut off a man + qualified for the most essential and extensive utility, merely out of + retrospect to an act which, whatever were its merits, could not be + retrieved.</p> + + <p>This thought led me to another, which had at first passed unnoticed. If I + had been disposed to turn informer, what had occurred amounted to no + evidence that was admissible in a court of justice. Well then, added I, if + it be such as would not be admitted at a criminal tribunal, am I sure it is + such as I ought to admit? There were twenty persons besides myself present + at the scene from which I pretend to derive such entire conviction. Not one + of them saw it in the light that I did. It either appeared to them a casual + and unimportant circumstance, or they thought it sufficiently accounted for + by Mr. Falkland's infirmity and misfortunes. Did it really contain such an + extent of arguments and application, that nobody but I was discerning enough + to see?</p> + + <p>But all this reasoning produced no alteration in my way of thinking. For + this time I could not get it out of my mind for a moment: "Mr. Falkland is + the murderer! He is guilty! I see it! I feel it! I am sure of it!" Thus was + I hurried along by an uncontrollable destiny. The state of my passions in + their progressive career, the inquisitiveness and impatience of my thoughts, + appeared to make this determination unavoidable.</p> + + <p>An incident occurred while I was in the garden, that seemed to make no + impression upon me at the time, but which I recollected when my thoughts + were got into somewhat of a slower motion. In the midst of one of my + paroxysms of exclamation, and when I thought myself most alone, the shadow + of a man as avoiding me passed transiently by me at a small distance. Though + I had scarcely caught a faint glimpse of his person, there was something in + the occurrence that persuaded me it was Mr. Falkland. I shuddered at the + possibility of his having overheard the words of my soliloquy. But this + idea, alarming as it was, had not power immediately to suspend the career of + my reflections. Subsequent circumstances however brought back the + apprehension to my mind. I had scarcely a doubt of its reality, when + dinner-time came, and Mr. Falkland was not to be found. Supper and bed-time + passed in the same manner. The only conclusion made by his servants upon + this circumstance was, that he was gone upon one of his accustomed + melancholy rambles.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CVI" id="V2_CVI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + <p>The period at which my story is now arrived seemed as if it were the very + crisis of the fortune of Mr. Falkland. Incident followed upon incident, in a + kind of breathless succession. About nine o'clock the next morning an alarm + was given, that one of the chimneys of the house was on fire. No accident + could be apparently more trivial; but presently it blazed with such fury, as + to make it clear that some beam of the house, which in the first building + had been improperly placed, had been reached by the flames. Some danger was + apprehended for the whole edifice. The confusion was the greater, in + consequence of the absence of the master, as well as of Mr. Collins, the + steward. While some of the domestics were employed in endeavouring to + extinguish the flames, it was thought proper that others should busy + themselves in removing the most valuable moveables to a lawn in the garden. + I took some command in the affair, to which indeed my station in the family + seemed to entitle me, and for which I was judged qualified by my + understanding and mental resources.</p> + + <p>Having given some general directions, I conceived, that it was not enough + to stand by and superintend, but that I should contribute my personal labour + in the public concern. I set out for that purpose; and my steps, by some + mysterious fatality, were directed to the private apartment at the end of + the library. Here, as I looked round, my eye was suddenly caught by the + trunk mentioned in the first pages of my narrative.</p> + + <p>My mind was already raised to its utmost pitch. In a window-seat of the + room lay a number of chisels and other carpenter's tools. I know not what + infatuation instantaneously seized me. The idea was too powerful to be + resisted. I forgot the business upon which I came, the employment of the + servants, and the urgency of general danger. I should have done the same if + the flames that seemed to extend as they proceeded, and already surmounted + the house, had reached this very apartment. I snatched a tool suitable for + the purpose, threw myself upon the ground, and applied with eagerness to a + magazine which inclosed all for which my heart panted. After two or three + efforts, in which the energy of uncontrollable passion was added to my + bodily strength, the fastenings gave way, the trunk opened, and all that I + sought was at once within my reach.</p> + + <p>I was in the act of lifting up the lid, when Mr. Falkland entered, wild, + breathless, distracted in his looks! He had been brought home from a + considerable distance by the sight of the flames. At the moment of his + appearance the lid dropped down from my hand. He no sooner saw me than his + eyes emitted sparks of rage. He ran with eagerness to a brace of loaded + pistols which hung in the room, and, seizing one, presented it to my head. I + saw his design, and sprang to avoid it; but, with the same rapidity with + which he had formed his resolution, he changed it, and instantly went to the + window, and flung the pistol into the court below. He bade me begone with + his usual irresistible energy; and, overcome as I was already by the horror + of the detection, I eagerly complied.</p> + + <p>A moment after, a considerable part of the chimney tumbled with noise + into the court below, and a voice exclaimed that the fire was more violent + than ever. These circumstances seemed to produce a mechanical effect upon my + patron, who, having first locked the closet, appeared on the outside of the + house, ascended the roof, and was in a moment in every place where his + presence was required. The flames were at length extinguished.</p> + + <p>The reader can with difficulty form a conception of the state to which I + was now reduced. My act was in some sort an act of insanity; but how + undescribable are the feelings with which I looked back upon it! It was an + instantaneous impulse, a short-lived and passing alienation of mind; but + what must Mr. Falkland think of that alienation? To any man a person who had + once shown himself capable of so wild a flight of the mind, must appear + dangerous: how must he appear to a man under Mr. Falkland's circumstances? I + had just had a pistol held to my head, by a man resolved to put a period to + my existence. That indeed was past; but what was it that fate had yet in + reserve for me! The insatiable vengeance of a Falkland, of a man whose hands + were, to my apprehension, red with blood, and his thoughts familiar with + cruelty and murder. How great were the resources of his mind, resources + henceforth to be confederated for my destruction! This was the termination + of an ungoverned curiosity, an impulse that I had represented to myself as + so innocent or so venial.</p> + + <p>In the high tide of boiling passion I had overlooked all consequences. It + now appeared to me like a dream. Is it in man to leap from the high-raised + precipice, or rush unconcerned into the midst of flames? Was it possible I + could have forgotten for a moment the awe-creating manners of Falkland, and + the inexorable fury I should awake in his soul? No thought of future + security had reached my mind. I had acted upon no plan. I had conceived no + means of concealing my deed, after it had once been effected. But it was + over now. One short minute had effected a reverse in my situation, the + suddenness of which the history of man, perhaps is unable to surpass.</p> + + <p>I have always been at a loss to account for my having plunged thus + headlong into an act so monstrous. There is something in it of unexplained + and involuntary sympathy. One sentiment flows, by necessity of nature, into + another sentiment of the same general character. This was the first instance + in which I had witnessed a danger by fire. All was confusion around me, and + all changed into hurricane within. The general situation, to my unpractised + apprehension, appeared desperate, and I by contagion became alike desperate. + At first I had been in some degree calm and collected, but that too was a + desperate effort; and when it gave way, a kind of instant insanity became + its successor.</p> + + <p>I had now every thing to fear. And yet what was my fault? It proceeded + from none of those errors which are justly held up to the aversion of + mankind; my object had been neither wealth, nor the means of indulgence, nor + the usurpation of power. No spark of malignity had harboured in my soul. I + had always reverenced the sublime mind of Mr. Falkland; I reverenced it + still. My offence had merely been a mistaken thirst of knowledge. Such + however it was, as to admit neither of forgiveness nor remission. This epoch + was the crisis of my fate, dividing what may be called the offensive part + from the defensive, which has been the sole business of my remaining years. + Alas! my offence was short, not aggravated by any sinister intention: but + the reprisals I was to suffer are long, and can terminate only with my + life!</p> + + <p>In the state in which I found myself, when the recollection of what I had + done flowed back upon my mind, I was incapable of any resolution. All was + chaos and uncertainty within me. My thoughts were too full of horror to be + susceptible of activity. I felt deserted of my intellectual powers, palsied + in mind, and compelled to sit in speechless expectation of the misery to + which I was destined. To my own conception I was like a man, who, though + blasted with lightning, and deprived for ever of the power of motion, should + yet retain the consciousness of his situation. Death-dealing despair was the + only idea of which I was sensible.</p> + + <p>I was still in this situation of mind when Mr. Falkland sent for me. His + message roused me from my trance. In recovering, I felt those sickening and + loathsome sensations, which a man may be supposed at first to endure who + should return from the sleep of death. Gradually I recovered the power of + arranging my ideas and directing my steps. I understood, that the minute the + affair of the fire was over Mr. Falkland had retired to his own room. It was + evening before he ordered me to be called.</p> + + <p>I found in him every token of extreme distress, except that there was an + air of solemn and sad composure that crowned the whole. For the present, all + appearance of gloom, stateliness, and austerity was gone. As I entered he + looked up, and, seeing who it was, ordered me to bolt the door. I obeyed. He + went round the room, and examined its other avenues. He then returned to + where I stood. I trembled in every joint of my frame. I exclaimed within + myself, "What scene of death has Roscius now to act?"</p> + + <p>"Williams!" said he, in a tone which had more in it of sorrow than + resentment, "I have attempted your life! I am a wretch devoted to the scorn + and execration of mankind!" There he stopped.</p> + + <p>"If there be one being on the whole earth that feels the scorn and + execration due to such a wretch more strongly than another, it is myself. I + have been kept in a state of perpetual torture and madness. But I can put an + end to it and its consequences; and, so far at least as relates to you, I am + determined to do it. I know the price, and—I will make the + purchase.</p> + + <p>"You must swear," said he. "You must attest every sacrament, divine and + human, never to disclose what I am now to tell you."—He dictated the + oath, and I repeated it with an aching heart. I had no power to offer a word + of remark.</p> + + <p>"This confidence," said he, "is of your seeking, not of mine. It is + odious to me, and is dangerous to you."</p> + + <p>Having thus prefaced the disclosure he had to make, he paused. He seemed + to collect himself as for an effort of magnitude. He wiped his face with his + handkerchief. The moisture that incommoded him appeared not to be tears, but + sweat.</p> + + <p>"Look at me. Observe me. Is it not strange that such a one as I should + retain lineaments of a human creature? I am the blackest of villains. I am + the murderer of Tyrrel. I am the assassin of the Hawkinses."</p> + + <p>I started with terror, and was silent.</p> + + <p>"What a story is mine! Insulted, disgraced, polluted in the face of + hundreds, I was capable of any act of desperation. I watched my opportunity, + followed Mr. Tyrrel from the rooms, seized a sharp-pointed knife that fell + in my way, came behind him, and stabbed him to the heart. My gigantic + oppressor rolled at my feet.</p> + + <p>"All are but links of one chain. A blow! A murder! My next business was + to defend myself, to tell so well-digested a lie as that all mankind should + believe it true. Never was a task so harrowing and intolerable!</p> + + <p>"Well, thus far fortune favoured me; she favoured me beyond my desire. + The guilt was removed from me, and cast upon another; but this I was to + endure. Whence came the circumstantial evidence against him, the broken + knife and the blood, I am unable to tell. I suppose, by some miraculous + accident, Hawkins was passing by, and endeavoured to assist his oppressor in + the agonies of death. You have heard his story; you have read one of his + letters. But you do not know the thousandth part of the proofs of his simple + and unalterable rectitude that I have known. His son suffered with him; that + son, for the sake of whose happiness and virtue he ruined himself, and would + have died a hundred times.—I have had feelings, but I cannot describe + them.</p> + + <p>"This it is to be a gentleman! a man of honour! I was the fool of fame. + My virtue, my honesty, my everlasting peace of mind, were cheap sacrifices + to be made at the shrine of this divinity. But, what is worse, there is + nothing that has happened that has in any degree contributed to my cure. I + am as much the fool of fame as ever. I cling to it to my last breath. Though + I be the blackest of villains, I will leave behind me a spotless and + illustrious name. There is no crime so malignant, no scene of blood so + horrible, in which that object cannot engage me. It is no matter that I + regard these things at a distance with aversion;—I am sure of it; + bring me to the test, and I shall yield. I despise myself, but thus I am; + things are gone too far to be recalled.</p> + + <p>"Why is it that I am compelled to this confidence? From the love of fame. + I should tremble at the sight of every pistol or instrument of death that + offered itself to my hands; and perhaps my next murder may not be so + fortunate as those I have already committed. I had no alternative but to + make you my confidant or my victim. It was better to trust you with the + whole truth under every seal of secrecy, than to live in perpetual fear of + your penetration or your rashness.</p> + + <p>"Do you know what it is you have done? To gratify a foolishly inquisitive + humour, you have sold yourself. You shall continue in my service, but can + never share my affection. I will benefit you in respect of fortune, but I + shall always hate you. If ever an unguarded word escape from your lips, if + ever you excite my jealousy or suspicion, expect to pay for it by your death + or worse. It is a dear bargain you have made. But it is too late to look + back. I charge and adjure you by every thing that is sacred, and that is + tremendous, preserve your faith!</p> + + <p>"My tongue has now for the first time for several years spoken the + language of my heart; and the intercourse from this hour shall be shut for + ever. I want no pity. I desire no consolation. Surrounded as I am with + horrors, I will at least preserve my fortitude to the last. If I had been + reserved to a different destiny, I have qualities in that respect worthy of + a better cause. I can be mad, miserable, and frantic; but even in frenzy I + can preserve my presence of mind and discretion."</p> + + <p>Such was the story I had been so desirous to know. Though my mind had + brooded upon the subject for months, there was not a syllable of it that did + not come to my ear with the most perfect sense of novelty. "Mr. Falkland is + a murderer!" said I, as I retired from the conference. This dreadful + appellative, "a murderer," made my very blood run cold within me. "He killed + Mr. Tyrrel, for he could not control his resentment and anger: he sacrificed + Hawkins the elder and Hawkins the younger, because he could upon no terms + endure the public loss of honour: how can I expect that a man thus + passionate and unrelenting will not sooner or later make me his victim?"</p> + + <p>But, notwithstanding this terrible application of the story, an + application to which perhaps in some form or other, mankind are indebted for + nine tenths of their abhorrence against vice, I could not help occasionally + recurring to reflections of an opposite nature. "Mr. Falkland is a + murderer!" resumed I. "He might yet be a most excellent man, if he did but + think so." It is the thinking ourselves vicious then, that principally + contributes to make us vicious.</p> + + <p>Amidst the shock I received from finding, what I had never suffered + myself constantly to believe, that my suspicions were true, I still + discovered new cause of admiration for my master. His menaces indeed were + terrible. But, when I recollected the offence I had given, so contrary to + every received principle of civilised society, so insolent and rude, so + intolerable to a man of Mr. Falkland's elevation, and in Mr. Falkland's + peculiarity of circumstances, I was astonished at his forbearance. There + were indeed sufficiently obvious reasons why he might not choose to proceed + to extremities with me. But how different from the fearful expectations I + had conceived were the calmness of his behaviour, and the regulated mildness + of his language! In this respect, I for a short time imagined that I was + emancipated from the mischiefs which had appalled me; and that, in having to + do with a man of Mr. Falkland's liberality, I had nothing rigorous to + apprehend.</p> + + <p>"It is a miserable prospect," said I, "that he holds up to me. He + imagines that I am restrained by no principles, and deaf to the claims of + personal excellence. But he shall find himself mistaken. I will never become + an informer. I will never injure my patron; and therefore he will not be my + enemy. With all his misfortunes and all his errors, I feel that my soul + yearns for his welfare. If he have been criminal, that is owing to + circumstances; the same qualities under other circumstances would have been, + or rather were, sublimely beneficent."</p> + + <p>My reasonings were, no doubt, infinitely more favourable to Mr. Falkland, + than those which human beings are accustomed to make in the case of such as + they style great criminals. This will not be wondered at, when it is + considered that I had myself just been trampling on the established + boundaries of obligation, and therefore might well have a fellow-feeling for + other offenders. Add to which, I had known Mr. Falkland from the first as a + beneficent divinity. I had observed at leisure, and with a minuteness which + could not deceive me, the excellent qualities of his heart; and I found him + possessed of a mind beyond comparison the most fertile and accomplished I + had ever known.</p> + + <p>But though the terrors which had impressed me were considerably + alleviated, my situation was notwithstanding sufficiently miserable. The + ease and light-heartedness of my youth were for ever gone. The voice of an + irresistible necessity had commanded me to "sleep no more." I was tormented + with a secret, of which I must never disburthen myself; and this + consciousness was, at my age, a source of perpetual melancholy. I had made + myself a prisoner, in the most intolerable sense of that term, for + years—perhaps for the rest of my life. Though my prudence and + discretion should be invariable, I must remember that I should have an + overseer, vigilant from conscious guilt, full of resentment at the + unjustifiable means by which I had extorted from him a confession, and whose + lightest caprice might at any time decide upon every thing that was dear to + me. The vigilance even of a public and systematical despotism is poor, + compared with a vigilance which is thus goaded by the most anxious passions + of the soul. Against this species of persecution I knew not how to invent a + refuge. I dared neither fly from the observation of Mr. Falkland, nor + continue exposed to its operation. I was at first indeed lulled in a certain + degree to security upon the verge of the precipice. But it was not long + before I found a thousand circumstances perpetually reminding me of my true + situation. Those I am now to relate are among the most memorable.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CVII" id="V2_CVII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + <p>In no long time after the disclosure Mr. Falkland had made, Mr. Forester, + his elder brother by the mother's side, came to reside for a short period in + our family. This was a circumstance peculiarly adverse to my patron's habits + and inclinations. He had broken off, as I have already said, all intercourse + of visiting with his neighbours. He debarred himself every kind of amusement + and relaxation. He shrunk from the society of his fellows, and thought he + could never be sufficiently buried in obscurity and solitude. This principle + was, in most cases, of no difficult execution to a man of firmness. But Mr. + Falkland knew not how to avoid the visit of Mr. Forester. This gentleman was + just returned from a residence of several years upon the continent; and his + demand of an apartment in the house of his half-brother, till his own house + at the distance of thirty miles should be prepared for his reception, was + made with an air of confidence that scarcely admitted of a refusal. Mr. + Falkland could only allege, that the state of his health and spirits was + such, that he feared a residence at his house would be little agreeable to + his kinsman; and Mr. Forester conceived that this was a disqualification + which would always augment in proportion as it was tolerated, and hoped that + his society, by inducing Mr. Falkland to suspend his habits of seclusion, + would be the means of essential benefit. Mr. Falkland opposed him no + further. He would have been sorry to be thought unkind to a kinsman for whom + he had a particular esteem; and the consciousness of not daring to assign + the true reason, made him cautious of adhering to his objection.</p> + + <p>The character of Mr. Forester was, in many respects, the reverse of that + of my master. His very appearance indicated the singularity of his + disposition. His figure was short and angular. His eyes were sunk far into + his head, and were overhung with eye-brows, black, thick, and bushy. His + complexion was swarthy, and his lineaments hard. He had seen much of the + world; but, to judge of him from his appearance and manners, one would have + thought that he had never moved from his fire-side.</p> + + <p>His temper was acid, petulant, and harsh. He was easily offended by + trifles, respecting which, previously to the offence, the persons with whom + he had intercourse could have no suspicion of such a result. When offended, + his customary behaviour was exceedingly rugged. He thought only of setting + the delinquent right, and humbling him for his error; and, in his eagerness + to do this, overlooked the sensibility of the sufferer, and the pains he + inflicted. Remonstrance in such a case he regarded as the offspring of + cowardice, which was to be extirpated with a steady and unshrinking hand, + and not soothed with misjudging kindness and indulgence. As is usual in + human character, he had formed a system of thinking to suit the current of + his feelings. He held that the kindness we entertain for a man should be + veiled and concealed, exerted in substantial benefits, but not disclosed, + lest an undue advantage should be taken of it by its object.</p> + + <p>With this rugged outside, Mr. Forester had a warm and generous heart. At + first sight all men were deterred by his manner, and excited to give him an + ill character. But the longer any one knew him, the more they approved him. + His harshness was then only considered as habit; and strong sense and active + benevolence were uppermost in the recollection of his familiar acquaintance. + His conversation, when he condescended to lay aside his snappish, rude, and + abrupt half-sentences, became flowing in diction, and uncommonly amusing + with regard to its substance. He combined, with weightiness of expression, a + dryness of characteristic humour, that demonstrated at once the vividness of + his observation, and the force of his understanding. The peculiarities of + this gentleman's character were not undisplayed in the scene to which he was + now introduced. Having much kindness in his disposition, he soon became + deeply interested in the unhappiness of his relation. He did every thing in + his power to remove it; but his attempts were rude and unskilful. With a + mind so accomplished and a spirit so susceptible as that of Mr. Falkland, + Mr. Forester did not venture to let loose his usual violence of manner; but, + if he carefully abstained from harshness, he was however wholly incapable of + that sweet and liquid eloquence of the soul, which would perhaps have stood + the fairest chance of seducing Mr. Falkland for a moment to forget his + anguish. He exhorted his host to rouse up his spirit, and defy the foul + fiend; but the tone of his exhortations found no sympathetic chord in the + mind of my patron. He had not the skill to carry conviction to an + understanding so well fortified in error. In a word, after a thousand + efforts of kindness to his entertainer, he drew off his forces, growling and + dissatisfied with his own impotence, rather than angry at the obstinacy of + Mr. Falkland. He felt no diminution of his affection for him, and was + sincerely grieved to find that he was so little capable of serving him. Both + parties in this case did justice to the merits of the other; at the same + time that the disparity of their humours was such, as to prevent the + stranger from being in any degree a dangerous companion to the master of the + house. They had scarcely one point of contact in their characters. Mr. + Forester was incapable of giving Mr. Falkland that degree either of pain or + pleasure, which can raise the soul into a tumult, and deprive it for a while + of tranquillity and self-command.</p> + + <p>Our visitor was a man, notwithstanding appearances, of a peculiarly + sociable disposition, and, where he was neither interrupted nor + contradicted, considerably loquacious. He began to feel himself painfully + out of his element upon the present occasion. Mr. Falkland was devoted to + contemplation and solitude. He put upon himself some degree of restraint + upon the arrival of his kinsman, though even then his darling habits would + break out. But when they had seen each other a certain number of times, and + it was sufficiently evident that the society of either would be a burthen + rather than a pleasure to the other, they consented, by a sort of silent + compact, that each should be at liberty to follow his own inclination. Mr. + Falkland was, in a sense, the greatest gainer by this. He returned to the + habits of his choice, and acted, as nearly as possible, just as he would + have done if Mr. Forester had not been in existence. But the latter was + wholly at a loss. He had all the disadvantages of retirement, without being + able, as he might have done at his house, to bring his own associates or his + own amusements about him.</p> + + <p>In this situation he cast his eyes upon me. It was his principle to do + every thing that his thoughts suggested, without caring for the forms of the + world. He saw no reason why a peasant, with certain advantages of education + and opportunity, might not be as eligible a companion as a lord; at the same + time that he was deeply impressed with the venerableness of old + institutions. Reduced as he was to a kind of last resort, he found me better + qualified for his purpose than any other of Mr. Falkland's household.</p> + + <p>The manner in which he began this sort of correspondence was sufficiently + characteristical. It was abrupt; but it was strongly stamped with essential + benevolence. It was blunt and humorous; but there was attractiveness, + especially in a case of unequal intercourse, in that very rusticity by which + he levelled himself with the mass of his species. He had to reconcile + himself as well as to invite me; not to reconcile himself to the postponing + an aristocratical vanity, for of that he had a very slender portion, but to + the trouble of invitation, for he loved his ease. All this produced some + irregularity and indecision in his own mind, and gave a whimsical impression + to his behaviour.</p> + + <p>On my part, I was by no means ungrateful for the distinction that was + paid me. My mind had been relaxed into temporary dejection, but my reserve + had no alloy of moroseness or insensibility. It did not long hold out + against the condescending attentions of Mr. Forester. I became gradually + heedful, encouraged, confiding. I had a most eager thirst for the knowledge + of mankind; and though no person perhaps ever purchased so dearly the + instructions he received in that school, the inclination was in no degree + diminished. Mr. Forester was the second man I had seen uncommonly worthy of + my analysis, and who seemed to my thoughts, arrived as I was at the end of + my first essay, almost as much deserving to be studied as Mr. Falkland + himself. I was glad to escape from the uneasiness of my reflections; and, + while engaged with this new friend, I forgot the criticalness of the evils + with which I was hourly menaced.</p> + + <p>Stimulated by these feelings, I was what Mr. Forester wanted, a diligent + and zealous hearer, I was strongly susceptible of impression; and the + alternate impressions my mind received, visibly displayed themselves in my + countenance and gestures. The observations Mr. Forester had made in his + travels, the set of opinions he had formed, all amused and interested me. + His manner of telling a story, or explaining his thoughts, was forcible, + perspicuous, and original: his style in conversation had an uncommon zest. + Every thing he had to relate delighted me; while, in return, my sympathy, my + eager curiosity, and my unsophisticated passions, rendered me to Mr. + Forester a most desirable hearer. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, + that every day rendered our intercourse more intimate and cordial.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland was destined to be for ever unhappy; and it seemed as if no + new incident could occur, from which he was not able to extract food for + this imperious propensity. He was wearied with a perpetual repetition of + similar impressions; and entertained an invincible disgust against all that + was new. The visit of Mr. Forester he regarded with antipathy. He was + scarcely able to look at him without shuddering; an emotion which his guest + perceived, and pitied as the result of habit and disease, rather than of + judgment. None of his actions passed unremarked; the most indifferent + excited uneasiness and apprehension. The first overtures of intimacy between + me and Mr. Forester probably gave birth to sentiments of jealousy in the + mind of my master. The irregular, variable character of his visitor tended + to heighten them, by producing an appearance of inexplicableness and + mystery. At this time he intimated to me that it was not agreeable to him, + that there should be much intercourse between me and this gentleman.</p> + + <p>What could I do? Young as I was, could it be expected that I should play + the philosopher, and put a perpetual curb upon my inclinations? Imprudent + though I had been, could I voluntarily subject myself to an eternal penance, + and estrangement from human society? Could I discourage a frankness so + perfectly in consonance with my wishes, and receive in an ungracious way a + kindness that stole away my heart?</p> + + <p>Besides this, I was but ill prepared for the servile submission Mr. + Falkland demanded. In early life I had been accustomed to be much my own + master. When I first entered into Mr. Falkland's service, my personal habits + were checked by the novelty of my situation, and my affections were gained + by the high accomplishments of my patron. To novelty and its influence, + curiosity had succeeded: curiosity, so long as it lasted, was a principle + stronger in my bosom than even the love of independence. To that I would + have sacrificed my liberty or my life; to gratify it, I would have submitted + to the condition of a West Indian negro, or to the tortures inflicted by + North American savages. But the turbulence of curiosity had now + subsided.</p> + + <p>As long as the threats of Mr. Falkland had been confined to generals, I + endured it. I was conscious of the unbecoming action I had committed, and + this rendered me humble. But, when he went further, and undertook to + prescribe to every article of my conduct, my patience was at an end. My + mind, before sufficiently sensible to the unfortunate situation to which my + imprudence had reduced me, now took a nearer and a more alarming view of the + circumstances of the case. Mr. Falkland was not an old man; he had in him + the principles of vigour, however they might seem to be shaken; he might + live as long as I should. I was his prisoner; and what a prisoner! All my + actions observed; all my gestures marked. I could move neither to the right + nor the left, but the eye of my keeper was upon me. He watched me; and his + vigilance was a sickness to my heart. For me there was no more freedom, no + more of hilarity, of thoughtlessness, or of youth. Was this the life upon + which I had entered with such warm and sanguine expectation? Were my days to + be wasted in this cheerless gloom; a galley-slave in the hands of the system + of nature, whom death only, the death of myself or my inexorable superior, + could free?</p> + + <p>I had been adventurous in the gratification of an infantine and + unreasonable curiosity; and I resolved not to be less adventurous, if need + were, in the defence of every thing that can make life a blessing. I was + prepared for an amicable adjustment of interests: I would undertake that Mr. + Falkland should never sustain injury through my means; but I expected in + return that I should suffer no encroachment, but be left to the direction of + my own understanding.</p> + + <p>I went on, then, to seek Mr. Forester's society with eagerness; and it is + the nature of an intimacy that does not decline, progressively to increase. + Mr. Falkland observed these symptoms with visible perturbation. Whenever I + was conscious of their being perceived by him, I betrayed tokens of + confusion: this did not tend to allay his uneasiness. One day he spoke to me + alone; and, with a look of mysterious but terrible import, expressed himself + thus:—</p> + + <p>"Young man, take warning! Perhaps this is the last time you shall have an + opportunity to take it! I will not always be the butt of your simplicity and + inexperience, nor suffer your weakness to triumph over my strength! Why do + you trifle with me? You little suspect the extent of my power. At this + moment you are enclosed with the snares of my vengeance unseen by you, and, + at the instant that you flatter yourself you are already beyond their reach, + they will close upon you. You might as well think of escaping from the power + of the omnipresent God, as from mine! If you could touch so much as my + finger, you should expiate it in hours and months and years of a torment, of + which as yet you have not the remotest idea. Remember! I am not talking at + random! I do not utter a word, that, if you provoke me, shall not be + executed to the severest letter!"</p> + + <p>It may be supposed that these menaces were not without their effect. I + withdrew in silence. My whole soul revolted against the treatment I endured, + and yet I could not utter a word. Why could not I speak the expostulations + of my heart, or propose the compromise I meditated? It was inexperience, and + not want of strength, that awed me. Every act of Mr. Falkland contained + something new, and I was unprepared to meet it. Perhaps it will be found + that the greatest hero owes the propriety of his conduct to the habit of + encountering difficulties, and calling out with promptness the energies of + his mind.</p> + + <p>I contemplated the proceedings of my patron with the deepest + astonishment. Humanity and general kindness were fundamental parts of his + character; but in relation to me they were sterile and inactive. His own + interest required that he should purchase my kindness; but he preferred to + govern me by terror, and watch me with unceasing anxiety. I ruminated with + the most mournful sensations upon the nature of my calamity. I believed that + no human being was ever placed in a situation so pitiable as mine. Every + atom of my frame seemed to have a several existence, and to crawl within me. + I had but too much reason to believe that Mr. Falkland's threats were not + empty words. I knew his ability; I felt his ascendancy. If I encountered + him, what chance had I of victory? If I were defeated, what was the penalty + I had to suffer? Well then, the rest of my life must be devoted to slavish + subjection. Miserable sentence! And, if it were, what security had I against + the injustice of a man, vigilant, capricious, and criminal? I envied the + condemned wretch upon the scaffold; I envied the victim of the inquisition + in the midst of his torture. They know what they have to suffer. I had only + to imagine every thing terrible, and then say, "The fate reserved for me is + worse than this!"</p> + + <p>It was well for me that these sensations were transient: human nature + could not long support itself under what I then felt. By degrees my mind + shook off its burthen. Indignation succeeded to emotions of terror. The + hostility of Mr. Falkland excited hostility in me. I determined I would + never calumniate him in matters of the most trivial import, much less betray + the grand secret upon which every thing dear to him depended. But, totally + abjuring the offensive, I resolved to stand firmly upon the defensive. The + liberty of acting as I pleased I would preserve, whatever might be the risk. + If I were worsted in the contest, I would at least have the consolation of + reflecting that I had exerted myself with energy. In proportion as I thus + determined, I drew off my forces from petty incursions, and felt the + propriety of acting with premeditation and system. I ruminated incessantly + upon plans of deliverance, but I was anxious that my choice should not be + precipitately made.</p> + + <p>It was during this period of my deliberation and uncertainty that Mr. + Forester terminated his visit. He observed a strange distance in my + behaviour, and, in his good-natured, rough way, reproached me for it. I + could only answer with a gloomy look of mysterious import, and a mournful + and expressive silence. He sought me for an explanation, but I was now as + ingenious in avoiding as I had before been ardent to seek him; and he + quitted our house, as he afterwards told me, with an impression, that there + was some ill destiny that hung over it, which seemed fated to make all its + inhabitants miserable, without its being possible for a bystander to + penetrate the reason.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CVIII" id="V2_CVIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + + <p>Mr. Forester had left us about three weeks, when Mr. Falkland sent me + upon some business to an estate he possessed in a neighbouring county, about + fifty miles from his principal residence. The road led in a direction wholly + wide of the habitation of our late visitor. I was upon my return from the + place to which I had been sent, when I began in fancy to take a survey of + the various circumstances of my condition, and by degrees lost, in the + profoundness of my contemplation, all attention to the surrounding objects. + The first determination of my mind was to escape from the lynx-eyed jealousy + and despotism of Mr. Falkland; the second to provide, by every effort of + prudence and deliberation I could devise, against the danger with which I + well knew my attempt must be accompanied.</p> + + <p>Occupied with these meditations, I rode many miles before I perceived + that I had totally deviated from the right path. At length I roused myself, + and surveyed the horizon round me; but I could observe nothing with which my + organ was previously acquainted. On three sides, the heath stretched as far + as the eye could reach; on the fourth, I discovered at some distance a wood + of no ordinary dimensions. Before me, scarcely a single track could be + found, to mark that any human being had ever visited the spot. As the best + expedient I could devise, I bent my course towards the wood I have + mentioned, and then pursued, as well as I was able, the windings of the + inclosure. This led me, after some time, to the end of the heath; but I was + still as much at a loss as ever respecting the road I should pursue. The sun + was hid from me by a grey and cloudy atmosphere; I was induced to continue + along the skirts of the wood, and surmounted with some difficulty the hedges + and other obstacles that from time to time presented themselves. My thoughts + were gloomy and disconsolate; the dreariness of the day, and the solitude + which surrounded me, seemed to communicate a sadness to my soul. I had + proceeded a considerable way, and was overcome with hunger and fatigue, when + I discovered a road and a little inn at no great distance. I made up to + them, and upon enquiry found that, instead of pursuing the proper direction, + I had taken one that led to Mr. Forester's rather than to my own habitation. + I alighted, and was entering the house, when the appearance of that + gentleman struck my eyes.</p> + + <p>Mr. Forester accosted me with kindness, invited me into the room where he + had been sitting, and enquired what accident had brought me to that + place.</p> + + <p>While he was speaking, I could not help recollecting the extraordinary + manner in which we were thus once more brought together, and a train of + ideas was by this means suggested to my mind. Some refreshment was, by Mr. + Forester's order, prepared for me; I sat down, and partook of it. Still this + thought dwelt upon my recollection:—"Mr. Falkland will never be made + acquainted with our meeting; I have an opportunity thrown in my way, which + if I do not improve, I shall deserve all the consequences that may result. I + can now converse with a friend, and a powerful friend, without fear of being + watched and overlooked." What wonder that I was tempted to disclose, not Mr. + Falkland's secret, but my own situation, and receive the advice of a man of + worth and experience, which might perhaps be adequately done without + entering into any detail injurious to my patron?</p> + + <p>Mr. Forester, on his part, expressed a desire to learn why it was I + thought myself unhappy, and why I had avoided him during the latter part of + his residence under the same roof, as evidently as I had before taken + pleasure in his communications. I replied, that I could give him but an + imperfect satisfaction upon these points; but what I could, I would + willingly explain. The fact, I proceeded, was, that there were reasons which + rendered it impossible for me to have a tranquil moment under the roof of + Mr. Falkland. I had revolved the matter again and again in my mind, and was + finally convinced that I owed it to myself to withdraw from his service. I + added, that I was sensible, by this half-confidence, I might rather seem to + merit the disapprobation of Mr. Forester than his countenance; but I + declared my persuasion that, if he could be acquainted with the whole + affair, however strange my behaviour might at present appear, he would + applaud my reserve.</p> + + <p>He appeared to muse for a moment upon what I had said, and then asked + what reason I could have to complain of Mr. Falkland? I replied, that I + entertained the deepest reverence for my patron; I admired his abilities, + and considered him as formed for the benefit of his species. I should in my + own opinion be the vilest of miscreants, if I uttered a whisper to his + disadvantage. But this did not avail: I was not fit for him; perhaps I was + not good enough for him; at all events, I must be perpetually miserable so + long as I continued to live with him.</p> + + <p>I observed Mr. Forester gaze upon me eagerly with curiosity and surprise; + but this circumstance I did not think proper to notice. Having recovered + himself, he enquired, why then, that being the case, I did not quit his + service? I answered, what he now touched upon was that which most of all + contributed to my misfortune. Mr. Falkland was not ignorant of my dislike to + my present situation; perhaps he thought it unreasonable, unjust; but I knew + that he would never be brought to consent to my giving way to it.</p> + + <p>Here Mr. Forester interrupted me, and, smiling, said, I magnified + obstacles, and over-rated my own importance; adding, that he would undertake + to remove that difficulty, as well as to provide me with a more agreeable + appointment. This suggestion produced in me a serious alarm. I replied, that + I must entreat him upon no account to think of applying to Mr. Falkland upon + the subject. I added, that perhaps I was only betraying my imbecility; but + in reality, unacquainted as I was with experience and the world, I was + afraid, though disgusted with my present residence, to expose myself upon a + mere project of my own, to the resentment of so considerable a man as Mr. + Falkland. If he would favour me with his advice upon the subject, or if he + would only give me leave to hope for his protection in case of any + unforeseen accident, this was all I presumed to request; and, thus + encouraged. I would venture to obey the dictates of my inclination, and fly + in pursuit of my lost tranquillity.</p> + + <p>Having thus opened myself to this generous friend, as far as I could do + it with propriety and safety, he sat for some time silent, with an air of + deep reflection. At length, with a countenance of unusual severity, and a + characteristic fierceness of manner and voice, he thus addressed me: "Young + man, perhaps you are ignorant of the nature of the conduct you at present + hold. May be, you do not know that where there is mystery, there is always + something at bottom that will not bear the telling. Is this the way to + obtain the favour of a man of consequence and respectability? To pretend to + make a confidence, and then tell him a disjointed story that has not common + sense in it!"</p> + + <p>I answered, that, whatever were the amount of that prejudice, I must + submit. I placed my hope of a candid construction, in the present instance, + in the rectitude of his nature.</p> + + <p>He went on: "You do so; do you? I tell you, sir, the rectitude of my + nature is an enemy to disguise. Come, boy, you must know that I understand + these things better than you. Tell all, or expect nothing from me but + censure and contempt."</p> + + <p>"Sir," replied I, "I have spoken from deliberation; I have told you my + choice, and, whatever be the result, I must abide by it. If in this + misfortune you refuse me your assistance, here I must end, having gained by + the communication only your ill opinion and displeasure."</p> + + <p>He looked hard at me, as if he would see me through. At length he relaxed + his features, and softened his manner. "You are a foolish, headstrong boy," + said he, "and I shall have an eye upon you. I shall never place in you the + confidence I have done. But—I will not desert you. At present, the + balance between approbation and dislike is in your favour. How long it will + last, I cannot tell; I engage for nothing. But it is my rule to act as I + feel. I will for this time do as you require;—and, pray God, it may + answer. I will receive you, either now or hereafter, under my roof, trusting + that I shall have no reason to repent, and that appearances will terminate + as favourably as I wish, though I scarcely know how to hope it."</p> + + <p>We were engaged in the earnest discussion of subjects thus interesting to + my peace, when we were interrupted by an event the most earnestly to have + been deprecated. Without the smallest notice, and as if he had dropped upon + us from the clouds, Mr. Falkland burst into the room. I found afterwards + that Mr. Forester had come thus far upon an appointment to meet Mr. + Falkland, and that the place of their intended rendezvous was at the next + stage. Mr. Forester was detained at the inn where we now were by our + accidental rencounter, and in reality had for the moment forgotten his + appointment; while Mr. Falkland, not finding him where he expected, + proceeded thus far towards the house of his kinsman. To me the meeting was + most unaccountable in the world.</p> + + <p>I instantly foresaw the dreadful complication of misfortune that was + included in this event. To Mr. Falkland, the meeting between me and his + relation must appear not accidental, but, on my part at least, the result of + design. I was totally out of the road I had been travelling by his + direction; I was in a road that led directly to the house of Mr. Forester. + What must he think of this? How must he suppose I came to that place? The + truth, if told, that I came there without design, and purely in consequence + of having lost my way, must appear to be the most palpable lie that ever was + devised.</p> + + <p>Here then I stood detected in the fact of that intercourse which had been + so severely forbidden. But in this instance it was infinitely worse than in + those which had already given so much disturbance to Mr. Falkland. It was + then frank and unconcealed; and therefore the presumption was, that it was + for purposes that required no concealment. But the present interview, if + concerted, was in the most emphatical degree clandestine. Nor was it less + perilous than it was clandestine: it had been forbidden with the most + dreadful menaces; and Mr. Falkland was not ignorant how deep an impression + those menaces had made upon my imagination. Such a meeting therefore could + not have been concerted under such circumstances, for a trivial purpose, or + for any purpose that his heart did not ache to think of. Such was the amount + of my crime, such was the agony my appearance was calculated to inspire; and + it was reasonable to suppose that the penalty I had to expect would be + proportionable. The threats of Mr. Falkland still sounded in my ears, and I + was in a transport of terror.</p> + + <p>The conduct of the same man in different circumstances, is often so + various as to render it very difficult to be accounted for. Mr. Falkland, in + this to him, terrible crisis, did not seem to be in any degree hurried away + by passion. For a moment he was dumb; his eyes glared with astonishment; and + the next moment, as it were, he had the most perfect calmness and + self-command. Had it been otherwise, I have no doubt that I should instantly + have entered into an explanation of the manner in which I came there, the + ingenuousness and consistency of which could not but have been in some + degree attended with a favourable event. But, as it was, I suffered myself + to be overcome; I yielded, as in a former instance, to the discomfiting + influence of surprise. I dared scarcely breathe; I observed the appearances + with equal anxiety and surprise. Mr. Falkland quietly ordered me to return + home, and take along with me the groom he had brought with him. I obeyed in + silence.</p> + + <p>I afterwards understood, that he enquired minutely of Mr. Forester the + circumstances of our meeting; and that that gentleman, perceiving that the + meeting itself was discovered, and guided by habits of frankness, which, + when once rooted in a character, it is difficult to counteract, told Mr. + Falkland every thing that had passed, together with the remarks it had + suggested to his own mind. Mr. Falkland received the communication with an + ambiguous and studied silence, which by no means operated to my advantage in + the already poisoned mind of Mr. Forester. His silence was partly the direct + consequence of a mind watchful, inquisitive, and doubting; and partly + perhaps was adopted for the sake of the effect it was calculated to produce, + Mr. Falkland not being unwilling to encourage prejudices against a character + which might one day come in competition with his own.</p> + + <p>As to me, I went home indeed, for this was not a moment to resist. Mr. + Falkland, with a premeditation to which he had given the appearance of + accident, had taken care to send with me a guard to attend upon his + prisoner. I seemed as if conducting to one of those fortresses, famed in the + history of despotism, from which the wretched victim is never known to come + forth alive; and when I entered my chamber, I felt as if I were entering a + dungeon. I reflected that I was at the mercy of a man, exasperated at my + disobedience, and who was already formed to cruelty by successive murders. + My prospects were now closed; I was cut off for ever from pursuits that I + had meditated with ineffable delight; my death might be the event of a few + hours. I was a victim at the shrine of conscious guilt, that knew neither + rest nor satiety; I should be blotted from the catalogue of the living, and + my fate remain eternally a secret; the man who added my murder to his former + crimes, would show himself the next morning, and be hailed with the + admiration and applause of his species.</p> + + <p>In the midst of these terrible imaginations, one idea presented itself + that alleviated my feelings. This was the recollection of the strange and + unaccountable tranquillity which Mr. Falkland had manifested, when he + discovered me in company with Mr. Forester. I was not deceived by this. I + knew that the calm was temporary, and would be succeeded by a tumult and + whirlwind of the most dreadful sort. But a man under the power of such + terrors as now occupied me catches at every reed. I said to myself, "This + tranquillity is a period it is incumbent upon me to improve; the shorter its + duration may be found, the more speedy am I obliged to be in the use of it." + In a word, I took the resolution, because I already stood in fear of the + vengeance of Mr. Falkland, to risk the possibility of provoking it in a + degree still more inexpiable, and terminate at once my present state of + uncertainty. I had now opened my case to Mr. Forester, and he had given me + positive assurances of his protection. I determined immediately to address + the following letter to Mr. Falkland. The consideration that, if he + meditated any thing tragical, such a letter would only tend to confirm him, + did not enter into the present feelings of my mind.</p> + + <p>"Sir,</p> + + <p>"I have conceived the intention of quitting your service. This is a + measure we ought both of us to desire. I shall then be, what it is my duty + to be, master of my own actions. You will be delivered from the presence of + a person, whom you cannot prevail upon yourself to behold without unpleasing + emotions.</p> + + <p>"Why should you subject me to an eternal penance? Why should you consign + my youthful hopes to suffering and despair? Consult the principles of + humanity that have marked the general course of your proceedings, and do not + let me, I entreat you, be made the subject of a useless severity. My heart + is impressed with gratitude for your favours. I sincerely ask your + forgiveness for the many errors of my conduct. I consider the treatment I + have received under your roof, as one almost uninterrupted scene of kindness + and generosity. I shall never forget my obligations to you, and will never + betray them.</p> + + <p>"I remain, Sir,</p> + + <p>"Your most grateful, respectful,</p> + + <p>"and dutiful servant,</p> + + <p>"CALEB WILLIAMS."</p> + + <p>Such was my employment of the evening of a day which will be ever + memorable in the history of my life. Mr. Falkland not being yet returned, + though expected every hour, I was induced to make use of the pretence of + fatigue to avoid an interview. I went to bed. It may be imagined that my + slumbers were neither deep nor refreshing.</p> + + <p>The next morning I was informed that my patron did not come home till + late; that he had enquired for me, and, being told that I was in bed, had + said nothing further upon the subject. Satisfied in this respect, I went to + the breakfasting parlour, and, though full of anxiety and trepidation, + endeavoured to busy myself in arranging the books, and a few other little + occupations, till Mr. Falkland should come down. After a short time I heard + his step, which I perfectly well knew how to distinguish, in the passage. + Presently he stopped, and, speaking to some one in a sort of deliberate, but + smothered voice, I overheard him repeat my name as enquiring for me. In + conformity to the plan I had persuaded myself to adopt, I now laid the + letter I had written upon the table at which he usually sat, and made my + exit at one door as Mr. Falkland entered at the other. This done, I + withdrew, with flutterings and palpitation, to a private apartment, a sort + of light closet at the end of the library, where I was accustomed not + unfrequently to sit.</p> + + <p>I had not been here three minutes, when I heard the voice of Mr. Falkland + calling me. I went to him in the library. His manner was that of a man + labouring with some dreadful thought, and endeavouring to give an air of + carelessness and insensibility to his behaviour. Perhaps no carriage of any + other sort could have produced a sensation of such inexplicable horror, or + have excited, in the person who was its object, such anxious uncertainty + about the event.—"That is your letter," said he, throwing it.</p> + + <p>"My lad," continued he, "I believe now you have played all your tricks, + and the farce is nearly at an end! With your apishness and absurdity however + you have taught me one thing; and, whereas before I have winced at them with + torture, I am now as tough as an elephant. I shall crush you in the end with + the same indifference, that I would any other little insect that disturbed + my serenity.</p> + + <p>"I am unable to tell what brought about your meeting with Mr. Forester + yesterday. It might be design; it might be accident. But, I shall not forget + it. You write me here, that you are desirous to quit my service. To that I + have a short answer: You never shall quit it with life. If you attempt it, + you shall never cease to rue your folly as long as you exist. That is my + will; and I will not have it resisted. The very next time you disobey me in + that or any other article, there is an end of your vagaries for ever. + Perhaps your situation may be a pitiable one; it is for you to look to that. + I only know that it is in your power to prevent its growing worse; no time + nor chance shall ever make it better.</p> + + <p>"Do not imagine I am afraid of you! I wear an armour, against which all + your weapons are impotent. I have dug a pit for you; and, whichever way you + move, backward or forward, to the right or the left, it is ready to swallow + you. Be still! If once you fall, call as loud as you will, no man on earth + shall hear your cries; prepare a tale however plausible, or however true, + the whole world shall execrate you for an impostor. Your innocence shall be + of no service to you; I laugh at so feeble a defence. It is I that say it; + you may believe what I tell you—Do you not know, miserable wretch!" + added he, suddenly altering his tone, and stamping upon the ground with + fury, "that I have sworn to preserve my reputation, whatever be the expense; + that I love it more than the whole world and its inhabitants taken together? + And do you think that you shall wound it? Begone, miscreant! reptile! and + cease to contend with insurmountable power!"</p> + + <p>The part of my history which I am now relating is that which I reflect + upon with the least complacency. Why was it, that I was once more totally + overcome by the imperious carriage of Mr. Falkland, and unable to utter a + word? The reader will be presented with many occasions in the sequel, in + which I wanted neither facility in the invention of expedients, nor + fortitude in entering upon my justification. Persecution at length gave + firmness to my character, and taught me the better part of manhood. But in + the present instance I was irresolute, overawed, and abashed.</p> + + <p>The speech I had heard was the dictate of frenzy, and it created in me a + similar frenzy. It determined me to do the very thing against which I was + thus solemnly warned, and fly from my patron's house. I could not enter into + parley with him; I could no longer endure the vile subjugation he imposed on + me. It was in vain that my reason warned me of the rashness of a measure, to + be taken without concert or preparation. I seemed to be in a state in which + reason had no power. I felt as if I could coolly survey the several + arguments of the case, perceive that they had prudence, truth, and common + sense on their side; and then answer, I am under the guidance of a director + more energetic than you.</p> + + <p>I was not long in executing what I had thus rapidly determined. I fixed + on the evening of that very day as the period of my evasion. Even in this + short interval I had perhaps sufficient time for deliberation. But all + opportunity was useless to me; my mind was fixed, and each succeeding moment + only increased the unspeakable eagerness with which I meditated my escape. + The hours usually observed by our family in this country residence were + regular; and one in the morning was the time I selected for my + undertaking.</p> + + <p>In searching the apartment where I slept, I had formerly discovered a + concealed door, which led to a small apartment of the most secret nature, + not uncommon in houses so old as that of Mr. Falkland, and which had perhaps + served as a refuge from persecution, or a security from the inveterate + hostilities of a barbarous age. I believed no person was acquainted with + this hiding-place but myself. I felt unaccountably impelled to remove into + it the different articles of my personal property. I could not at present + take them away with me. If I were never to recover them, I felt that it + would be a gratification to my sentiment, that no trace of my existence + should be found after my departure. Having completed their removal, and + waited till the hour I had previously chosen, I stole down quietly from my + chamber with a lamp in my hand. I went along a passage that led to a small + door opening into the garden, and then crossed the garden, to a gate that + intersected an elm-walk and a private horse-path on the outside.</p> + + <p>I could scarcely believe my good fortune in having thus far executed my + design without interruption. The terrible images Mr. Falkland's menaces had + suggested to my mind, made me expect impediment and detection at every step; + though the impassioned state of my mind impelled me to advance with + desperate resolution. He probably however counted too securely upon the + ascendancy of his sentiments, when imperiously pronounced, to think it + necessary to take precautions against a sinister event. For myself, I drew a + favourable omen as to the final result of my project, from the smoothness of + success that attended it in the outset.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CIX" id="V2_CIX"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + + <p>The first plan that had suggested itself to me was, to go to the nearest + public road, and take the earliest stage for London. There I believed I + should be most safe from discovery, if the vengeance of Mr. Falkland should + prompt him to pursue me; and I did not doubt, among the multiplied resources + of the metropolis, to find something which should suggest to me an eligible + mode of disposing of my person and industry. I reserved Mr. Forester in my + arrangement, as a last resource, not to be called forth unless for immediate + protection from the hand of persecution and power. I was destitute of that + experience of the world, which can alone render us fertile in resources, or + enable us to institute a just comparison between the resources that offer + themselves. I was like the fascinated animal, that is seized with the most + terrible apprehensions, at the same time that he is incapable of adequately + considering for his own safety.</p> + + <p>The mode of my proceeding being digested, I traced, with a cheerful + heart, the unfrequented path it was now necessary for me to pursue. The + night was gloomy, and it drizzled with rain. But these were circumstances I + had scarcely the power to perceive; all was sunshine and joy within me. I + hardly felt the ground; I repeated to myself a thousand times, "I am free. + What concern have I with danger and alarm? I feel that I am free; I feel + that I will continue so. What power is able to hold in chains a mind ardent + and determined? What power can cause that man to die, whose whole soul + commands him to continue to live?" I looked back with abhorrence to the + subjection in which I had been held. I did not hate the author of my + misfortunes—truth and justice acquit me of that; I rather pitied the + hard destiny to which he seemed condemned. But I thought with unspeakable + loathing of those errors, in consequence of which every man is fated to be, + more or less, the tyrant or the slave. I was astonished at the folly of my + species, that they did not rise up as one man, and shake off chains so + ignominious, and misery so insupportable. So far as related to myself, I + resolved—and this resolution has never been entirely forgotten by + me—to hold myself disengaged from this odious scene, and never fill + the part either of the oppressor or the sufferer. My mind continued in this + enthusiastical state, full of confidence, and accessible only to such a + portion of fear as served rather to keep up a state of pleasurable emotion + than to generate anguish and distress, during the whole of this nocturnal + expedition. After a walk of three hours, I arrived, without accident, at the + village from which I hoped to have taken my passage for the metropolis. At + this early hour every thing was quiet; no sound of any thing human saluted + my ear. It was with difficulty that I gained admittance into the yard of the + inn, where I found a single ostler taking care of some horses. From him I + received the unwelcome tidings, that the coach was not expected till six + o'clock in the morning of the day after to-morrow, its route through that + town recurring only three times a week.</p> + + <p>This intelligence gave the first check to the rapturous inebriation by + which my mind had been possessed from the moment I quitted the habitation of + Mr. Falkland. The whole of my fortune in ready cash consisted of about + eleven guineas. I had about fifty more, that had fallen to me from the + disposal of my property at the death of my father; but that was so vested as + to preclude it from immediate use, and I even doubted whether it would not + be found better ultimately to resign it, than, by claiming it, to risk the + furnishing a clew to what I most of all dreaded, the persecution of Mr. + Falkland. There was nothing I so ardently desired as the annihilation of all + future intercourse between us, that he should not know there was such a + person on the earth as myself, and that I should never more hear the + repetition of a name which had been so fatal to my peace.</p> + + <p>Thus circumstanced, I conceived frugality to be an object by no means + unworthy of my attention, unable as I was to prognosticate what + discouragements and delays might present themselves to the accomplishment of + my wishes, after my arrival in London. For this and other reasons, I + determined to adhere to my design of travelling by the stage; it only + remaining for me to consider in what manner I should prevent the eventful + delay of twenty-four hours from becoming, by any untoward event, a source of + new calamity. It was by no means advisable to remain in the village where I + now was during this interval; nor did I even think proper to employ it, in + proceeding on foot along the great road. I therefore decided upon making a + circuit, the direction of which should seem at first extremely wide of my + intended route, and then, suddenly taking a different inclination, should + enable me to arrive by the close of day at a market-town twelve miles nearer + to the metropolis.</p> + + <p>Having fixed the economy of the day, and persuaded myself that it was the + best which, under the circumstances, could be adopted, I dismissed, for the + most part, all further anxieties from my mind, and eagerly yielded myself up + to the different amusements that arose. I rested and went forward at the + impulse of the moment. At one time I reclined upon a bank immersed in + contemplation, and at another exerted myself to analyse the prospects which + succeeded each other. The haziness of the morning was followed by a + spirit-stirring and beautiful day. With the ductility so characteristic of a + youthful mind, I forgot the anguish which had lately been my continual + guest, and occupied myself entirely in dreams of future novelty and + felicity. I scarcely ever, in the whole course of my existence, spent a day + of more various or exquisite gratification. It furnished a strong, and + perhaps not an unsalutary contrast, to the terrors which had preceded, and + the dreadful scenes that awaited me.</p> + + <p>In the evening I arrived at the place of my destination, and enquired for + the inn at which the coach was accustomed to call. A circumstance however + had previously excited my attention, and reproduced in me a state of + alarm.</p> + + <p>Though it was already dark before I reached the town, my observation had + been attracted by a man, who passed me on horseback in the opposite + direction, about half a mile on the other side of the town. There was an + inquisitiveness in his gesture that I did not like; and, as far as I could + discern his figure, I pronounced him an ill-looking man. He had not passed + me more than two minutes before I heard the sound of a horse advancing + slowly behind me. These circumstances impressed some degree of uneasy + sensation upon my mind. I first mended my pace; and, this not appearing to + answer the purpose, I afterwards loitered, that the horseman might pass me. + He did so; and, as I glanced at him, I thought I saw that it was the same + man. He now put his horse into a trot, and entered the town. I followed; and + it was not long before I perceived him at the door of an alehouse, drinking + a mug of beer. This however the darkness prevented me from discovering, till + I was in a manner upon him. I pushed forward, and saw him no more, till, as + I entered the yard of the inn where I intended to sleep, the same man + suddenly rode up to me, and asked if my name were Williams.</p> + + <p>This adventure, <i>while it had been passing</i>, expelled the gaiety of + my mind, and filled me with anxiety. The apprehension however that I felt, + appeared to me groundless: if I were pursued, I took it for granted it would + be by some of Mr. Falkland's people, and not by a stranger. The darkness + took from me some of the simplest expedients of precaution. I determined at + least to proceed to the inn, and make the necessary enquiries.</p> + + <p>I no sooner heard the sound of the horse as I entered the yard, and the + question proposed to me by the rider, than the dreadful certainty of what I + feared instantly took possession of my mind. Every incident connected with + my late abhorred situation was calculated to impress me with the deepest + alarm. My first thought was, to betake myself to the fields, and trust to + the swiftness of my flight for safety. But this was scarcely practicable: I + remarked that my enemy was alone; and I believed that, man to man, I might + reasonably hope to get the better of him, either by the firmness of my + determination, or the subtlety of my invention.</p> + + <p>Thus resolved, I replied in an impetuous and peremptory tone, that I was + the man he took me for; adding, "I guess your errand; but it is to no + purpose. You come to conduct me back to Falkland House; but no force shall + ever drag me to that place alive. I have not taken my resolution without + strong reasons; and all the world shall not persuade me to alter it. I am an + Englishman, and it is the privilege of an Englishman to be sole judge and + master of his own actions."</p> + + <p>"You are in the devil of a hurry," replied the man, "to guess my + intentions, and tell your own. But your guess is right; and mayhap you may + have reason to be thankful that my errand is not something worse. Sure + enough the squire expects you;—but I have a letter, and when you have + read that, I suppose you will come off a little of your stoutness. If that + does not answer, it will then be time to think what is to be done next."</p> + + <p>Thus saying, he gave me his letter, which was from Mr. Forester, whom, as + he told me, he had left at Mr. Falkland's house. I went into a room of the + inn for the purpose of reading it, and was followed by the bearer. The + letter was as follows:—</p> + + <p>WILLIAMS,</p> + + <p>"My brother Falkland has sent the bearer in pursuit of you. He expects + that, if found, you will return with him: I expect it too. It is of the + utmost consequence to your future honour and character. After reading these + lines, if you are a villain and a rascal, you will perhaps endeavour to fly; + if your conscience tells you, you are innocent, you will, out of all doubt, + come back. Show me then whether I have been your dupe: and, while I was won + over by your seeming ingenuousness, have suffered myself to be made the tool + of a designing knave. If you come, I pledge myself that, if you clear your + reputation, you shall not only be free to go wherever you please, but shall + receive every assistance in my power to give. Remember, I engage for nothing + further than that.</p> + + <p>"VALENTINE FORESTER."</p> + + <p>What a letter was this! To a mind like mine, glowing with the love of + virtue, such an address was strong enough to draw the person to whom it was + addressed from one end of the earth to the other. My mind was full of + confidence and energy. I felt my own innocence, and was determined to assert + it. I was willing to be driven out a fugitive; I even rejoiced in my escape, + and cheerfully went out into the world destitute of every provision, and + depending for my future prospects upon my own ingenuity.</p> + + <p>Thus much, said I, Falkland! you may do. Dispose of me as you please with + respect to the goods of fortune; but you shall neither make prize of my + liberty, nor sully the whiteness of my name. I repassed in my thoughts every + memorable incident that had happened to me under his roof. I could recollect + nothing, except the affair of the mysterious trunk, out of which the shadow + of a criminal accusation could be extorted. In that instance my conduct had + been highly reprehensible, and I had never looked back upon it without + remorse and self-condemnation. But I did not believe that it was of the + nature of those actions which can be brought under legal censure. I could + still less persuade myself that Mr. Falkland, who shuddered at the very + possibility of detection, and who considered himself as completely in my + power, would dare to bring forward a subject so closely connected with the + internal agony of his soul. In a word, the more I reflected on the phrases + of Mr. Forester's billet, the less could I imagine the nature of those + scenes to which they were to serve as a prelude.</p> + + <p>The inscrutableness however of the mystery they contained, did not + suffice to overwhelm my courage. My mind seemed to undergo an entire + revolution. Timid and embarrassed as I had felt myself, when I regarded Mr. + Falkland as my clandestine and domestic foe, I now conceived that the case + was entirely altered. "Meet me," said I, "as an open accuser: if we must + contend, let us contend in the face of day; and then, unparalleled as your + resources may be, I will not fear you." Innocence and guilt were, in my + apprehension, the things in the whole world the most opposite to each other. + I would not suffer myself to believe, that the former could be confounded + with the latter, unless the innocent man first allowed himself to be subdued + in mind, before he was defrauded of the good opinion of mankind. Virtue + rising superior to every calamity, defeating by a plain unvarnished tale all + the stratagems of Vice, and throwing back upon her adversary the confusion + with which he had hoped to overwhelm her, was one of the favourite subjects + of my youthful reveries. I determined never to prove an instrument of + destruction to Mr. Falkland; but I was not less resolute to obtain justice + to myself.</p> + + <p>The issue of all these confident hopes I shall immediately have occasion + to relate. It was thus, with the most generous and undoubting spirit, that I + rushed upon irretrievable ruin.</p> + + <p>"Friend," said I to the bearer, after a considerable interval of silence, + "you are right. This is, indeed, an extraordinary letter you have brought + me; but it answers its purpose. I will certainly go with you now, whatever + be the consequence. No person shall ever impute blame to me, so long as I + have it in my power to clear myself."</p> + + <p>I felt, in the circumstances in which I was placed by Mr. Forester's + letter, not merely a willingness, but an alacrity and impatience, to return. + We procured a second horse. We proceeded on our journey in silence. My mind + was occupied again in endeavouring to account for Mr. Forester's letter. I + knew the inflexibility and sternness of Mr. Falkland's mind in accomplishing + the purposes he had at heart; but I also knew that every virtuous and + magnanimous principle was congenial to his character.</p> + + <p>When we arrived, midnight was already past, and we were obliged to waken + one of the servants to give us admittance. I found that Mr. Forester had + left a message for me, in consideration of the possibility of my arrival + during the night, directing me immediately to go to bed, and to take care + that I did not come weary and exhausted to the business of the following + day. I endeavoured to take his advice; but my slumbers were unrefreshing and + disturbed. I suffered however no reduction of courage: the singularity of my + situation, my conjectures with respect to the present, my eagerness for the + future, did not allow me to sink into a languid and inactive state.</p> + + <p>Next morning the first person I saw was Mr. Forester. He told me that he + did not yet know what Mr. Falkland had to allege against me, for that he had + refused to know. He had arrived at the house of his brother by appointment + on the preceding day to settle some indispensable business, his intention + having been to depart the moment the business was finished, as he knew that + conduct on his part would be most agreeable to Mr. Falkland. But he was no + sooner come, than he found the whole house in confusion, the alarm of my + elopement having been given a few hours before. Mr. Falkland had despatched + servants in all directions in pursuit of me; and the servant from the + market-town arrived at the same moment with Mr. Forester, with intelligence + that a person answering the description he gave, had been there very early + in the morning enquiring respecting the stage to London.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland seemed extremely disturbed at this information, and + exclaimed on me with acrimony, as an unthankful and unnatural villain.</p> + + <p>Mr. Forester replied, "Have more command of yourself, sir! Villain is a + serious appellation, and must not be trifled with. Englishmen are free; and + no man is to be charged with villainy, because he changes one source of + subsistence for another."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland shook his head, and with a smile, expressive of acute + sensibility, said, "Brother, brother, you are the dupe of his art. I always + considered him with an eye of suspicion, and was aware of his depravity. But + I have just discovered—"</p> + + <p>"Stop, sir!" interrupted Mr. Forester. "I own I thought that, in a moment + of acrimony, you might be employing harsh epithets in a sort of random + style. But if you have a serious accusation to state, we must not be told of + that, till it is known whether the lad is within reach of a hearing. I am + indifferent myself about the good opinion of others. It is what the world + bestows and retracts with so little thought, that I can make no account of + its decision. But that does not authorise me lightly to entertain an ill + opinion of another. The slenderest allowance I think I can make to such as I + consign to be the example and terror of their species, is that of being + heard in their own defence. It is a wise principle that requires the judge + to come into court uninformed of the merits of the cause he is to try; and + to that principle I am determined to conform as an individual. I shall + always think it right to be severe and inflexible in my treatment of + offenders; but the severity I exercise in the sequel, must be accompanied + with impartiality and caution in what is preliminary."</p> + + <p>While Mr. Forester related to me these particulars, he observed me ready + to break out into some of the expressions which the narrative suggested; but + he would not suffer me to speak. "No," said he; "I would not hear Mr. + Falkland against you; and I cannot hear you in your defence. I come to you + at present to speak, and not to hear. I thought it right to warn you of your + danger, but I have nothing more to do now. Reserve what you have to say to + the proper time. Make the best story you can for yourself—true, if + truth, as I hope, will serve your purpose; but, if not, the most plausible + and ingenious you can invent. That is what self-defence requires from every + man, where, as it always happens to a man upon his trial, he has the whole + world against him, and has his own battle to fight against the world. + Farewell; and God send you a good deliverance! If Mr. Falkland's accusation, + whatever it be, shall appear premature, depend upon having me more zealously + your friend than ever. If not, this is the last act of friendship you will + ever receive from me!"</p> + + <p>It may be believed that this address, so singular, so solemn, so big with + conditional menace, did not greatly tend to encourage me. I was totally + ignorant of the charge to be advanced against me; and not a little + astonished, when it was in my power to be in the most formidable degree the + accuser of Mr. Falkland, to find the principles of equity so completely + reversed, as for the innocent but instructed individual to be the party + accused and suffering, instead of having, as was natural, the real criminal + at his mercy. I was still more astonished at the superhuman power Mr. + Falkland seemed to possess, of bringing the object of his persecution within + the sphere of his authority; a reflection attended with some check to that + eagerness and boldness of spirit, which now constituted the ruling passion + of my mind.</p> + + <p>But this was no time for meditation. To the sufferer the course of events + is taken out of his direction, and he is hurried along with an irresistible + force, without finding it within the compass of his efforts to check their + rapidity. I was allowed only a short time to recollect myself, when my trial + commenced. I was conducted to the library, where I had passed so many happy + and so many contemplative hours, and found there Mr. Forester and three or + four of the servants already assembled, in expectation of me and my accuser. + Every thing was calculated to suggest to me that I must trust only in the + justice of the parties concerned, and had nothing to hope from their + indulgence. Mr. Falkland entered at one door, almost as soon as I entered at + the other.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CX" id="V2_CX"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> + + <p>He began: "It has been the principle of my life, never to inflict a + wilful injury upon any thing that lives; I need not express my regret, when + I find myself obliged to be the promulgator of a criminal charge. How gladly + would I pass unnoticed the evil I have sustained; but I owe it to society to + detect an offender, and prevent other men from being imposed upon, as I have + been, by an appearance of integrity."</p> + + <p>"It would be better," interrupted Mr. Forester "to speak directly to the + point. We ought not, though unwarily, by apologising for ourselves, to + create at such a time a prejudice against an individual, against whom a + criminal accusation will always be prejudice enough."</p> + + <p>"I strongly suspect," continued Mr. Falkland, "this young man, who has + been peculiarly the object of my kindness, of having robbed me to a + considerable amount."</p> + + <p>"What," replied Mr. Forester, "are the grounds of your suspicion?"</p> + + <p>"The first of them is the actual loss I have sustained, in notes, jewels, + and plate. I have missed bank-notes to the amount of nine hundred pounds, + three gold repeaters of considerable value, a complete set of diamonds, the + property of my late mother, and several other articles."</p> + + <p>"And why," continued my arbitrator, astonishment grief, and a desire to + retain his self-possession, strong contending in his countenance and voice, + "do you fix on this young man as the instrument of the depredation?"</p> + + <p>"I found him, on my coming home, upon the day when every thing was in + disorder from the alarm of fire, in the very act of quitting the private + apartment where these articles were deposited. He was confounded at seeing + me, and hastened to withdraw as soon as he possibly could."</p> + + <p>"Did you say nothing to him—take no notice of the confusion your + sudden appearance produced?"</p> + + <p>"I asked what was his errand in that place. He was at first so terrified + and overcome, that he could not answer me. Afterwards, with a good deal of + faltering, he said that, when all the servants were engaged in endeavouring + to save the most valuable part of my property, he had come hither with the + same view; but that he had as yet removed nothing."</p> + + <p>"Did you immediately examine to see that every thing was safe?"</p> + + <p>"No. I was accustomed to confide in his honesty, and I was suddenly + called away, in the present instance, to attend to the increasing progress + of the flames. I therefore only took out the key from the door of the + apartment, having first locked it, and, putting it in my pocket, hastened to + go where my presence seemed indispensably necessary."</p> + + <p>"How long was it before you missed your property?"</p> + + <p>"The same evening. The hurry of the scene had driven the circumstance + entirely out of my mind, till, going by accident near the apartment, the + whole affair, together with the singular and equivocal behaviour of + Williams, rushed at once upon my recollection. I immediately entered, + examined the trunk in which these things were contained, and, to my + astonishment, found the locks broken, and the property gone."</p> + + <p>"What steps did you take upon this discovery?"</p> + + <p>"I sent for Williams, and talked to him very seriously upon the subject. + But he had now perfectly recovered his self-command, and calmly and stoutly + denied all knowledge of the matter. I urged him with the enormousness of the + offence, but I made no impression. He did not discover either the surprise + and indignation one would have expected from a person entirely innocent, or + the uneasiness that generally attends upon guilt. He was rather silent and + reserved. I then informed him, that I should proceed in a manner different + from what he might perhaps expect. I would not, as is too frequent in such + cases, make a general search; for I had rather lose my property for ever + without redress, than expose a multitude of innocent persons to anxiety and + injustice. My suspicion, for the present, unavoidably fixed upon him. But, + in a matter of so great consequence, I was determined not to act upon + suspicion. I would neither incur the possibility of ruining him, being + innocent, nor be the instrument of exposing others to his depredations, if + guilty. I should therefore merely insist upon his continuing in my service. + He might depend upon it he should be well watched, and I trusted the whole + truth would eventually appear. Since he avoided confession now, I advised + him to consider how far it was likely he would come off with impunity at + last. This I determined on, that the moment he attempted an escape, I would + consider that as an indication of guilt, and proceed accordingly."</p> + + <p>"What circumstances have occurred from that time to the present?"</p> + + <p>"None upon which I can infer a certainty of guilt; several that agree to + favour a suspicion. From that time Williams was perpetually uneasy in his + situation, always desirous, as it now appears, to escape, but afraid to + adopt such a measure without certain precautions. It was not long after, + that you, Mr. Forester, became my visitor. I observed, with dissatisfaction, + the growing intercourse between you, reflecting on the equivocalness of his + character, and the attempt he would probably make to render you the dupe of + his hypocrisy. I accordingly threatened him severely; and I believe you + observed the change that presently after occurred in his behaviour with + relation to you."</p> + + <p>"I did, and it appeared at that time mysterious and extraordinary."</p> + + <p>"Some time after, as you well know, a rencounter took place between you, + whether accidental or intentional on his part I am not able to say, when he + confessed to you the uneasiness of his mind, without discovering the cause, + and openly proposed to you to assist him in his flight, and stand, in case + of necessity, between him and my resentment. You offered, it seems, to take + him into your service; but nothing, as he acknowledged, would answer his + purpose, that did not place his retreat wholly out of my power to + discover."</p> + + <p>"Did it not appear extraordinary to you, that he should hope for any + effectual protection from me, while it remained perpetually in your power to + satisfy me of his unworthiness?"</p> + + <p>"Perhaps he had hopes that I should not proceed to that step, at least so + long as the place of his retreat should be unknown to me, and of consequence + the event of my proceeding dubious. Perhaps he confided in his own powers, + which are far from contemptible, to construct a plausible tale, especially + as he had taken care to have the first impression in his favour. After all, + this protection, on your part, was merely reserved in case all other + expedients failed. He does not appear to have had any other sentiment upon + the subject, than that, if he were defeated in his projects for placing + himself beyond the reach of justice, it was better to have bespoken a place + in your patronage than to be destitute of every resource."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland having thus finished his evidence, called upon Robert, the + valet, to confirm the part of it which related to the day of the fire.</p> + + <p>Robert stated, that he happened to be coming through the library that + day, a few minutes after Mr. Falkland's being brought home by the sight of + the fire; that he had found me standing there with every mark of + perturbation and fright; that he could not help stopping to notice it; that + he had spoken to me two or three times before he could obtain an answer; and + that all he could get from me at last was, that I was the most miserable + creature alive.</p> + + <p>He further said, that in the evening of the same day Mr. Falkland called + him into the private apartment adjoining to the library, and bid him bring a + hammer and some nails. He then showed him a trunk standing in the apartment + with its locks and fastening broken, and ordered him to observe and remember + what he saw, but not to mention it to any one. Robert did not at that time + know what Mr. Falkland intended by these directions, which were given in a + manner uncommonly solemn and significant; but he entertained no doubt, that + the fastenings were broken and wrenched by the application of a chisel or + such-like instrument, with the intention of forcibly opening the trunk.</p> + + <p>Mr. Forester observed upon this evidence, that as much of it as related + to the day of the fire seemed indeed to afford powerful reasons for + suspicion; and that the circumstances that had occurred since strangely + concurred to fortify that suspicion. Meantime, that nothing proper to be + done might be omitted, he asked whether in my flight I had removed my boxes, + to see whether by that means any trace could be discovered to confirm the + imputation. Mr. Falkland treated this suggestion slightly, saying, that if I + were the thief, I had no doubt taken the precaution to obviate so palpable a + means of detection. To this Mr. Forester only replied, that conjecture, + however skilfully formed, was not always realised in the actions and + behaviour of mankind; and ordered that my boxes and trunks, if found, should + be brought into the library. I listened to this suggestion with pleasure; + and, uneasy and confounded as I was at the appearances combined against me, + I trusted in this appeal to give a new face to my cause. I was eager to + declare the place where my property was deposited; and the servants, guided + by my direction, presently produced what was enquired for.</p> + + <p>The two boxes that were first opened, contained nothing to confirm the + accusation against me; in the third were found a watch and several jewels, + that were immediately known to be the property of Mr. Falkland. The + production of this seemingly decisive evidence excited emotions of + astonishment and concern; but no person's astonishment appeared to be + greater than that of Mr. Falkland. That I should have left the stolen goods + behind me, would of itself have appeared incredible; but when it was + considered what a secure place of concealment I had found for them, the + wonder diminished; and Mr. Forester observed, that it was by no means + impossible I might conceive it easier to obtain possession of them + afterwards, than to remove them at the period of my precipitate flight.</p> + + <p>Here however I thought it necessary to interfere. I fervently urged my + right to a fair and impartial construction. I asked Mr. Forester, whether it + were probable, if I had stolen these things, that I should not have + contrived, at least to remove them along with me? And again, whether, if I + had been conscious they would he found among my property, I should myself + have indicated the place where I had concealed it?</p> + + <p>The insinuation I conveyed against Mr. Forester's impartiality overspread + his whole countenance, for an instant, with the flush of anger.</p> + + <p>"Impartiality, young man! Yes, be sure, from me you shall experience an + impartial treatment! God send that may answer your purpose! Presently you + shall be heard at full in your own defence.</p> + + <p>"You expect us to believe you innocent, because you did not remove these + things along with you. The money is removed. Where, sir, is that? We cannot + answer for the inconsistences and oversights of any human mind, and, least + of all, if that mind should appear to be disturbed with the consciousness of + guilt.</p> + + <p>"You observe that it was by your own direction these boxes and trunks + have been found: that is indeed extraordinary. It appears little less than + infatuation. But to what purpose appeal to probabilities and conjecture, in + the face of incontestable facts? There, sir, are the boxes: you alone knew + where they were to be found; you alone had the keys: tell us then how this + watch and these jewels came to be contained in them?"</p> + + <p>I was silent.</p> + + <p>To the rest of the persons present I seemed to be merely the subject of + detection; but in reality I was, of all the spectators, that individual who + was most at a loss to conceive, through every stage of the scene, what, + would come next, and who listened to every word that was uttered with the + most uncontrollable amazement. Amazement however alternately yielded to + indignation and horror. At first I could not refrain from repeatedly + attempting to interrupt; but I was checked in these attempts by Mr. + Forester; and I presently felt how necessary it was to my future peace, that + I should collect the whole energy of my mind to repel the charge, and assert + my innocence.</p> + + <p>Every thing being now produced that could be produced against me, Mr. + Forester turned to me with a look of concern and pity, and told me that now + was the time, if I chose to allege any thing in my defence. In reply to this + invitation, I spoke nearly as follows:—</p> + + <p>"I am innocent. It is in vain that circumstances are accumulated against + me; there is not a person upon earth less capable than I of the things of + which I am accused. I appeal to my heart—I appeal to my looks—I + appeal to every sentiment my tongue ever uttered."</p> + + <p>I could perceive that the fervour with which I spoke made some impression + upon every one that heard me. But in a moment their eyes were turned upon + the property that lay before them, and their countenances changed. I + proceeded:—</p> + + <p>"One thing more I must aver;—Mr. Falkland is not deceived; he + perfectly knows that I am innocent."</p> + + <p>I had no sooner uttered these words, than an involuntary cry of + indignation burst from every person in the room. Mr. Forester turned to me + with a look of extreme severity, and said—</p> + + <p>"Young man, consider well what you are doing! It is the privilege of the + party accused to say whatever he thinks proper; and I will take care that + you shall enjoy that privilege in its utmost extent. But do you think it + will conduce in any respect to your benefit, to throw out such insolent and + intolerable insinuations?"</p> + + <p>"I thank you most sincerely," replied I, "for your caution; but I well + know what it is I am doing. I make this declaration, not merely because it + is solemnly true, but because it is inseparably connected with my + vindication. I am the party accused, and I shall be told that I am not to be + believed in my own defence. I can produce no other witnesses of my + innocence; I therefore call upon Mr. Falkland to be my evidence. I ask + him—</p> + + <p>"Did you never boast to me in private of your power to ruin me? Did you + never say that, if once I brought on myself the weight of your displeasure, + my fall should be irreparable? Did you not tell me that, though I should + prepare in that case a tale however plausible or however true, you would + take care that the whole world should execrate me as an impostor? Were not + those your very words? Did you not add, that my innocence should be of no + service to me, and that you laughed at so feeble a defence? I ask you + further,—Did you not receive a letter from me the morning of the day + on which I departed, requesting your consent to my departure? Should I have + done that if my flight had been that of a thief? I challenge any man to + reconcile the expressions of that letter with this accusation. Should I have + begun with stating that I had conceived a desire to quit your service, if my + desire and the reasons for it, had been of the nature that is now alleged? + Should I have dared to ask for what reason I was thus subjected to an + eternal penance?"</p> + + <p>Saying this, I took out a copy of my letter, and laid it open upon the + table.</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland returned no immediate answer to my interrogations. Mr. + Forester turned to him, and said.</p> + + <p>"Well, sir, what is your reply to this challenge of your servant?"</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland answered, "Such a mode of defence scarcely calls for a + reply. But I answer, I held no such conversation; I never used such words; I + received no such letter. Surely it is no sufficient refutation of a criminal + charge, that the criminal repels what is alleged against him with volubility + of speech, and intrepidity of manner."</p> + + <p>Mr. Forester then turned to me: "If," said he, "you trust your + vindication to the plausibility of your tale, you must take care to render + it consistent and complete. You have not told us what was the cause of the + confusion and anxiety in which Robert professes to have found you, why you + were so impatient to quit the service of Mr. Falkland, or how you account + for certain articles of his property being found in your possession."</p> + + <p>"All that, sir," answered I, "is true. There are certain parts of my + story that I have not told. If they were told, they would not conduce to my + disadvantage, and they would make the present accusation appear still more + astonishing. But I cannot, as yet at least, prevail upon myself to tell + them. Is it necessary to give any particular and precise reasons why I + should wish to change the place of my residence? You all of you know the + unfortunate state of Mr. Falkland's mind. You know the sternness, + reservedness, and distance of his manners. If I had no other reasons, surely + it would afford small presumption of criminality that I should wish to + change his service for another.</p> + + <p>"The question of how these articles of Mr. Falkland's property came to be + found in my possession, is more material. It is a question I am wholly + unable to answer. Their being found there, was at least as unexpected to me + as to any one of the persons now present. I only know that, as I have the + most perfect assurance of Mr. Falkland's being conscious of my + innocence—for, observe! I do not shrink from that assertion; I + reiterate it with new confidence—I therefore firmly and from my soul + believe, that their being there is of Mr. Falkland's contrivance."</p> + + <p>I no sooner said this, than I was again interrupted by an involuntary + exclamation from every one present. They looked at me with furious glances, + as if they could have torn me to pieces. I proceeded:—</p> + + <p>"I have now answered every thing that is alleged against me.</p> + + <p>"Mr. Forester, you are a lover of justice; I conjure you not to violate + it in my person. You are a man of penetration; look at me! do you see any of + the marks of guilt? Recollect all that has ever passed under your + observation; is it compatible with a mind capable of what is now alleged + against me? Could a real criminal have shown himself so unabashed, composed, + and firm as I have now done?</p> + + <p>"Fellow-servants! Mr. Falkland is a man of rank and fortune; he is your + master. I am a poor country lad, without a friend in the world. That is a + ground of real difference to a certain extent; but it is not a sufficient + ground for the subversion of justice. Remember, that I am in a situation + that is not to be trifled with; that a decision given against me now, in a + case in which I solemnly assure you I am innocent, will for ever deprive me + of reputation and peace of mind, combine the whole world in a league against + me, and determine perhaps upon my liberty and my life. If you + believe—if you see—if you know, that I am innocent, speak for + me. Do not suffer a pusillanimous timidity to prevent you from saving a + fellow-creature from destruction, who does not deserve to have a human being + for his enemy. Why have we the power of speech, but to communicate our + thoughts? I will never believe that a man, conscious of innocence, cannot + make other men perceive that he has that thought. Do not you feel that my + whole heart tells me. I am not guilty of what is imputed to me?</p> + + <p>"To you, Mr. Falkland, I have nothing to say: I know you, and know that + you are impenetrable. At the very moment that you are urging such odious + charges against me, you admire my resolution and forbearance. But I have + nothing to hope from you. You can look upon my ruin without pity or remorse. + I am most unfortunate indeed in having to do with such an adversary. You + oblige me to say ill things of you; but I appeal to your own heart, whether + my language is that of exaggeration or revenge."</p> + + <p>Every thing that could be alleged on either side being now concluded, Mr. + Forester undertook to make some remarks upon the whole.</p> + + <p>"Williams," said he, "the charge against you is heavy; the direct + evidence strong; the corroborating circumstances numerous and striking. I + grant that you have shown considerable dexterity in your answers; but you + will learn, young man, to your cost, that dexterity, however powerful it may + be in certain cases, will avail little against the stubbornness of truth. It + is fortunate for mankind that the empire of talents has its limitations, and + that it is not in the power of ingenuity to subvert the distinctions of + right and wrong. Take my word for it, that the true merits of the case + against you will be too strong for sophistry to overturn; that justice will + prevail, and impotent malice be defeated.</p> + + <p>"To you, Mr. Falkland, society is obliged for having placed this black + affair in its true light. Do not suffer the malignant aspersions of the + criminal to give you uneasiness. Depend upon it that they will be found of + no weight I have no doubt that your character, in the judgment of every + person that has heard them, stands higher than ever. We feel for your + misfortune, in being obliged to hear such calumnies from a person who has + injured you so grossly. But you must be considered in that respect as a + martyr in the public cause. The purity of your motives and dispositions is + beyond the reach of malice; and truth and equity will not fail to award, to + your calumniator infamy, and to you the love and approbation of mankind.</p> + + <p>"I have now told you, Williams, what I think of your case. But I have no + right to assume to be your ultimate judge. Desperate as it appears to me, I + will give you one piece of advice, as if I were retained as a counsel to + assist you. Leave out of it whatever tends to the disadvantage of Mr. + Falkland. Defend yourself as well as you can, but do not attack your master. + It is your business to create in those who hear you a prepossession in your + favour. But the recrimination you have been now practising, will always + create indignation. Dishonesty will admit of some palliation. The deliberate + malice you have now been showing is a thousand times more atrocious. It + proves you to have the mind of a demon, rather than of a felon. Wherever you + shall repeat it, those who hear you will pronounce you guilty upon that, + even if the proper evidence against you were glaringly defective. If + therefore you would consult your interest, which seems to be your only + consideration, it is incumbent upon you by all means immediately to retract + that. If you desire to be believed honest, you must in the first place show + that you have a due sense of merit in others. You cannot better serve your + cause than by begging pardon of your master, and doing homage to rectitude + and worth, even when they are employed in vengeance against you."</p> + + <p>It is easy to conceive that my mind sustained an extreme shock from the + decision of Mr. Forester; but his call upon me to retract and humble myself + before my accuser penetrated my whole soul with indignation. I + answered:—</p> + + <p>"I have already told you I am innocent. I believe that I could not endure + the effort of inventing a plausible defence, if it were otherwise. You have + just affirmed that it is not in the power of ingenuity to subvert the + distinctions of right and wrong, and in that very instant I find them + subverted. This is indeed to me a very awful moment. New to the world, I + know nothing of its affairs but what has reached me by rumour, or is + recorded in books. I have come into it with all the ardour and confidence + inseparable from my years. In every fellow-being I expected to find a + friend. I am unpractised in its wiles, and have even no acquaintance with + its injustice. I have done nothing to deserve the animosity of mankind; but, + if I may judge from the present scene, I am henceforth to be deprived of the + benefits of integrity and honour. I am to forfeit the friendship of every + one I have hitherto known, and to be precluded from the power of acquiring + that of others. I must therefore be reduced to derive my satisfaction from + myself. Depend upon it, I will not begin that career by dishonourable + concessions. If I am to despair of the good-will of other men, I will at + least maintain the independence of my own mind. Mr. Falkland is my + implacable enemy. Whatever may be his merits in other respects, he is acting + towards me without humanity, without remorse, and without principle. Do you + think I will ever make submissions to a man by whom I am thus treated, that + I will fall down at the feet of one who is to me a devil, or kiss the hand + that is red with my blood?"</p> + + <p>"In that respect," answered Mr. Forester, "do as you shall think proper. + I must confess that your firmness and consistency astonish me. They add + something to what I had conceived of human powers. Perhaps you have chosen + the part which, all things considered, may serve your purpose best; though I + think more moderation would be more conciliating. The exterior of innocence + will, I grant, stagger the persons who may have the direction of your fate, + but it will never be able to prevail against plain and incontrovertible + facts. But I have done with you. I see in you a new instance of that abuse + which is so generally made of talents, the admiration of an undiscerning + public. I regard you with horror. All that remains is, that I should + discharge my duty, in consigning you, as a monster of depravity, to the + justice of your country."</p> + + <p>"No," rejoined Mr. Falkland, "to that I can never consent. I have put a + restraint upon myself thus far, because it was right that evidence and + enquiry should take their course. I have suppressed all my habits and + sentiments, because it seemed due to the public that hypocrisy should be + unmasked. But I can suffer this violence no longer. I have through my whole + life interfered to protect, not overbear, the sufferer; and I must do so + now. I feel not the smallest resentment of his impotent attacks upon my + character; I smile at their malice; and they make no diminution in my + benevolence to their author. Let him say what he pleases; he cannot hurt me. + It was proper that he should be brought to public shame, that other people + might not be deceived by him as we have been. But there is no necessity for + proceeding further; and I must insist upon it that he be permitted to depart + wherever he pleases. I am sorry that public interest affords so gloomy a + prospect for his future happiness."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Falkland," answered Mr. Forester, "these sentiments do honour to + your humanity; but I must not give way to them. They only serve to set in a + stronger light the venom of this serpent, this monster of ingratitude, who + first robs his benefactor, and then reviles him. Wretch that you are, will + nothing move you? Are you inaccessible to remorse? Are you not struck to the + heart with the unmerited goodness of your master? Vile calumniator! you are + the abhorrence of nature, the opprobrium of the human species, and the earth + can only be freed from an insupportable burthen by your being exterminated! + Recollect, sir, that this monster, at the very moment that you are + exercising such unexampled forbearance in his behalf, has the presumption to + charge you with prosecuting a crime of which you know him to be innocent, + nay, with having conveyed the pretended stolen goods among his property, for + the express purpose of ruining him. By this unexampled villainy, he makes it + your duty to free the world from such a pest, and your interest to admit no + relaxing in your pursuit of him, lest the world should be persuaded by your + clemency to credit his vile insinuations."</p> + + <p>"I care not for the consequences," replied Mr. Falkland; "I will obey the + dictates of my own mind. I will never lend my assistance to the reforming + mankind by axes and gibbets. I am sure things will never be as they ought, + till honour, and not law, be the dictator of mankind, till vice be taught to + shrink before the resistless might of inborn dignity, and not before the + cold formality of statutes. If my calumniator were worthy of my resentment, + I would chastise him with my own sword, and not that of the magistrate; but + in the present case I smile at his malice, and resolve to spare him, as the + generous lord of the forest spares the insect that would disturb his + repose."</p> + + <p>"The language you now hold," said Mr. Forester, "is that of romance, and + not of reason. Yet I cannot but be struck with the contrast exhibited before + me, of the magnanimity of virtue, and the obstinate impenetrable injustice + of guilt. While your mind overflows with goodness, nothing can touch the + heart of this thrice-refined villain. I shall never forgive myself for + having once been entrapped by his detestable arts. This is no time for us to + settle the question between chivalry and law. I shall therefore simply + insist as a magistrate, having taken the evidence in this felony, upon my + right and duty of following the course of justice, and committing the + accused to the county jail."</p> + + <p>After some further contest Mr. Falkland, finding Mr. Forester obstinate + and impracticable, withdrew his opposition. Accordingly a proper officer was + summoned from the neighbouring village, a mittimus made out, and one of Mr. + Falkland's carriages prepared to conduct me to the place of custody. It will + easily be imagined that this sudden reverse was very painfully felt by me. I + looked round on the servants who had been the spectators of my examination, + but not one of them, either by word or gesture, expressed compassion for my + calamity. The robbery of which I was accused appeared to them atrocious from + its magnitude; and whatever sparks of compassion might otherwise have sprung + up in their ingenuous and undisciplined minds, were totally obliterated by + indignation at my supposed profligacy in recriminating upon their worthy and + excellent master. My fate being already determined, and one of the servants + despatched for the officer, Mr. Forester and Mr. Falkland withdrew, and left + me in the custody of two others.</p> + + <p>One of these was the son of a farmer at no great distance, who had been + in habits of long-established intimacy with my late father. I was willing + accurately to discover the state of mind of those who had been witnesses of + this scene, and who had had some previous opportunity of observing my + character and manners. I, therefore, endeavoured to open a conversation with + him. "Well, my good Thomas," said I, in a querulous tone, and with a + hesitating manner, "am I not a most miserable creature?"</p> + + <p>"Do not speak to me, Master Williams! You have given me a shock that I + shall not get the better of for one while. You were hatched by a hen, as the + saying is, but you came of the spawn of a cockatrice. I am glad to my heart + that honest farmer Williams is dead; your villainy would else have made him + curse the day that ever he was born."</p> + + <p>"Thomas, I am innocent! I swear by the great God that shall judge me + another day, I am innocent!"</p> + + <p>"Pray, do not swear! for goodness' sake, do not swear! your poor soul is + damned enough without that. For your sake, lad, I will never take any body's + word, nor trust to appearances, tho' it should be an angel. Lord bless us! + how smoothly you palavered it over, for all the world, as if you had been as + fair as a new-born babe! But it will not do; you will never be able to + persuade people that black is white. For my own part, I have done with you. + I loved you yesterday, all one as if you had been my own brother. To-day I + love you so well, that I would go ten miles with all the pleasure in life to + see you hanged."</p> + + <p>"Good God, Thomas! have you the heart? What a change! I call God to + witness, I have done nothing to deserve it! What a world do we live in!"</p> + + <p>"Hold your tongue, boy! It makes my very heart sick to hear you! I would + not lie a night under the same roof with you for all the world! I should + expect the house to fall and crush such wickedness! I admire that the earth + does not open and swallow you alive! It is poison so much as to look at you! + If you go on at this hardened rate, I believe from my soul that the people + you talk to will tear you to pieces, and you will never live to come to the + gallows. Oh, yes, you do well to pity yourself; poor tender thing! that spit + venom all round you like a toad, and leave the very ground upon which you + crawl infected with your slime."</p> + + <p>Finding the person with whom I talked thus impenetrable to all I could + say, and considering that the advantage to be gained was small, even if I + could overcome his prepossession, I took his advice, and was silent. It was + not much longer before every thing was prepared for my departure, and I was + conducted to the same prison which had so lately enclosed the wretched and + innocent Hawkinses. They too had been the victims of Mr. Falkland. He + exhibited, upon a contracted scale indeed, but in which the truth of + delineation was faithfully sustained, a copy of what monarchs are, who + reckon among the instruments of their power prisons of state.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CXI" id="V2_CXI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + + <p>For my own part, I had never seen a prison, and, like the majority of my + brethren, had given myself little concern to enquire what was the condition + of those who committed offence against, or became obnoxious to suspicion + from, the community. Oh, how enviable is the most tottering shed under which + the labourer retires to rest, compared with the residence of these + walls!</p> + + <p>To me every thing was new,—the massy doors, the resounding locks, + the gloomy passages, the grated windows, and the characteristic looks of the + keepers, accustomed to reject every petition, and to steel their hearts + against feeling and pity. Curiosity, and a sense of my situation, induced me + to fix my eyes on the faces of these men; but in a few minutes I drew them + away with unconquerable loathing. It is impossible to describe the sort of + squalidness and filth with which these mansions are distinguished. I have + seen dirty faces in dirty apartments, which have nevertheless borne the + impression of health, and spoke carelessness and levity rather than + distress. But the dirt of a prison speaks sadness to the heart, and appears + to be already in a state of putridity and infection.</p> + + <p>I was detained for more than an hour in the apartment of the keeper, one + turnkey after another coming in, that they might make themselves familiar + with my person. As I was already considered as guilty of felony to a + considerable amount, I underwent a rigorous search, and they took from me a + penknife, a pair of scissars, and that part of my money which was in gold. + It was debated whether or not these should be sealed up, to be returned to + me, as they said, as soon as I should be acquitted; and had I not displayed + an unexpected firmness of manner and vigour of expostulation, such was + probably the conduct that would have been pursued. Having undergone these + ceremonies, I was thrust into a day-room, in which all the persons then + under confinement for felony were assembled, to the number of eleven. Each + of them was too much engaged in his own reflections, to take notice of me. + Of these, two were imprisoned for horse-stealing, and three for having + stolen a sheep, one for shop-lifting, one for coining, two for + highway-robbery, and two for burglary.</p> + + <p>The horse-stealers were engaged in a game at cards, which was presently + interrupted by a difference of opinion, attended with great + vociferation,—they calling upon one and another to decide it, to no + purpose; one paying no attention to their summons, and another leaving them + in the midst of their story, being no longer able to endure his own internal + anguish, in the midst of their mummery.</p> + + <p>It is a custom among thieves to constitute a sort of mock tribunal of + their own body, from whose decision every one is informed whether he shall + be acquitted, respited, or pardoned, as well as respecting the supposed most + skilful way of conducting his defence. One of the housebreakers, who had + already passed this ordeal, and was stalking up and down the room with a + forced bravery, exclaimed to his companion, that he was as rich as the Duke + of Bedford himself. He had five guineas and a half, which was as much as he + could possibly spend in the course of the ensuing month; and what happened + after that, it was Jack Ketch's business to see to, not his. As he uttered + these words, he threw himself abruptly upon a bench that was near him, and + seemed to be asleep in a moment. But his sleep was uneasy and disturbed, his + breathing was hard, and, at intervals, had rather the nature of a groan. A + young fellow from the other side of the room came softly to the place where + he lay, with a large knife in his hand: and pressed the back of it with such + violence upon his neck, the head hanging over the side of the bench, that it + was not till after several efforts that he was able to rise. "Oh, Jack!" + cried this manual jester, "I had almost done your business for you!" The + other expressed no marks of resentment, but sullenly answered, "Damn you, + why did not you take the edge? It would have been the best thing you have + done this many a day!"<a name="footnotetag2" id="footnotetag2"></a><a href= + "#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a></p> + + <p>The case of one of the persons committed for highway-robbery was not a + little extraordinary. He was a common soldier of a most engaging + physiognomy, and two-and-twenty years of age. The prosecutor, who had been + robbed one evening, as he returned late from the alehouse, of the sum of + three shillings, swore positively to his person. The character of the + prisoner was such as has seldom been equalled. He had been ardent in the + pursuit of intellectual cultivation, and was accustomed to draw his + favourite amusement from the works of Virgil and Horace. The humbleness of + his situation, combined with his ardour for literature, only served to give + an inexpressible heightening to the interestingness of his character. He was + plain and unaffected; he assumed nothing; he was capable, when occasion + demanded, of firmness, but, in his ordinary deportment, he seemed unarmed + and unresisting, unsuspicious of guile in others, as he was totally free + from guile in himself. His integrity was proverbially great. In one instance + he had been intrusted by a lady to convey a sum of a thousand pounds to a + person at some miles distance: in another, he was employed by a gentleman, + during his absence, in the care of his house and furniture, to the value of + at least five times that sum. His habits of thinking were strictly his own, + full of justice, simplicity, and wisdom. He from time to time earned money + of his officers, by his peculiar excellence in furbishing arms; but he + declined offers that had been made him to become a Serjeant or a corporal, + saying that he did not want money, and that in a new situation he should + have less leisure for study. He was equally constant in refusing presents + that were offered him by persons who had been struck with his merit; not + that he was under the influence of false delicacy and pride, but that he had + no inclination to accept that, the want of which he did not feel to be an + evil. This man died while I was in prison. I received his last + breath.<a name="footnotetag3" id="footnotetag3"></a><a href= + "#footnote3"><sup>3</sup></a></p> + + <p>The whole day I was obliged to spend in the company of these men, some of + them having really committed the actions laid to their charge, others whom + their ill fortune had rendered the victims of suspicion. The whole was a + scene of misery, such as nothing short of actual observation can suggest to + the mind. Some were noisy and obstreperous, endeavouring by a false bravery + to keep at bay the remembrance of their condition; while others, incapable + even of this effort, had the torment of their thoughts aggravated by the + perpetual noise and confusion that prevailed around them. In the faces of + those who assumed the most courage, you might trace the furrows of anxious + care and in the midst of their laboured hilarity dreadful ideas would ever + and anon intrude, convulsing their features, and working every line into an + expression of the keenest agony. To these men the sun brought no return of + joy. Day after day rolled on, but their state was immutable. Existence was + to them a scene of invariable melancholy; every moment was a moment of + anguish; yet did they wish to prolong that moment, fearful that the coming + period would bring a severer fate. They thought of the past with + insupportable repentance, each man contented to give his right hand to have + again the choice of that peace and liberty, which he had unthinkingly + bartered away. We talk of instruments of torture; Englishmen take credit to + themselves for having banished the use of them from their happy shore! Alas! + he that has observed the secrets of a prison, well knows that there is more + torture in the lingering existence of a criminal, in the silent intolerable + minutes that he spends, than in the tangible misery of whips and racks!</p> + + <p>Such were our days. At sunset our jailors appeared, and ordered each man + to come away, and be locked into his dungeon. It was a bitter aggravation of + our fate, to be under the arbitrary control of these fellows. They felt no + man's sorrow; they were of all men least capable of any sort of feeling. + They had a barbarous and sullen pleasure in issuing their detested mandates, + and observing the mournful reluctance with which they were obeyed. Whatever + they directed, it was in vain to expostulate; fetters, and bread and water, + were the sure consequences of resistance. Their tyranny had no other limit + than their own caprice. To whom shall the unfortunate felon appeal? To what + purpose complain, when his complaints are sure to be received with + incredulity? A tale of mutiny and necessary precaution is the unfailing + refuge of the keeper, and this tale is an everlasting bar against + redress.</p> + + <p>Our dungeons were cells, 7-1/2 feet by 6-1/2, below the surface of the + ground, damp, without window, light, or air, except from a few holes worked + for that purpose in the door. In some of these miserable receptacles three + persons were put to sleep together.<a name="footnotetag4" id= + "footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4"><sup>4</sup></a> I was fortunate + enough to have one to myself. It was now the approach of winter. We were not + allowed to have candles, and, as I have already said, were thrust in here at + sunset, and not liberated till the returning day. This was our situation for + fourteen or fifteen hours out of the four-and-twenty. I had never been + accustomed to sleep more than six or seven hours, and my inclination to + sleep was now less than ever. Thus was I reduced to spend half my day in + this dreary abode, and in complete darkness. This was no trifling + aggravation of my lot.</p> + + <p>Among my melancholy reflections I tasked my memory, and counted over the + doors, the locks, the bolts, the chains, the massy walls, and grated + windows, that were between me and liberty. "These," said I, "are the engines + that tyranny sits down in cold and serious meditation to invent. This is the + empire that man exercises over man. Thus is a being, formed to expatiate, to + act, to smile, and enjoy, restricted and benumbed. How great must be his + depravity or heedlessness, who vindicates this scheme for changing health + and gaiety and serenity, into the wanness of a dungeon, and the deep furrows + of agony and despair!"</p> + + <p>"Thank God," exclaims the Englishman, "we have no Bastile! Thank God, + with us no man can be punished without a crime!" Unthinking wretch! Is that + a country of liberty, where thousands languish in dungeons and fetters? Go, + go, ignorant fool! and visit the scenes of our prisons! witness their + unwholesomeness, their filth, the tyranny of their governors, the misery of + their inmates! After that, show me the man shameless enough to triumph, and + say, England has no Bastile! Is there any charge so frivolous, upon which + men are not consigned to those detested abodes? Is there any villainy that + is not practised by justices and prosecutors? But against all this perhaps + you have been told there is redress. Yes; a redress, that it is the + consummation of insult so much as to name! Where shall the poor wretch + reduced to the last despair, to whom acquittal perhaps comes just time + enough to save him from perishing,—where shall this man find leisure, + and much less money, to fee counsel and officers, and purchase the tedious + dear-bought remedy of the law? No; he is too happy to leave his dungeon, and + the memory of his dungeon, behind him; and the same tyranny and wanton + oppression become the inheritance of his successor.</p> + + <p>For myself, I looked round upon my walls, and forward upon the premature + death I had too much reason to expect: I consulted my own heart, that + whispered nothing but innocence; and I said, "This is society. This is the + object, the distribution of justice, which is the end of human reason. For + this sages have toiled, and midnight oil has been wasted. This!"</p> + + <p>The reader will forgive this digression from the immediate subject of my + story. If it should be said these are general remarks, let it be remembered + that they are the dear-bought, result of experience. It is from the fulness + of a bursting heart that reproach thus flows to my pen. These are not the + declamations of a man desirous to be eloquent. I have felt the iron of + slavery grating upon my soul.</p> + + <p>I believed that misery, more pure than that which I now endured, had + never fallen to the lot of a human being. I recollected with astonishment my + puerile eagerness to be brought to the test, and have my innocence examined. + I execrated it, as the vilest and most insufferable pedantry. I exclaimed, + in the bitterness of my heart, "Of what value is a fair fame? It is the + jewel of men formed to be amused with baubles. Without it, I might have had + serenity of heart and cheerfulness of occupation, peace, and liberty; why + should I consign my happiness to other men's arbitration? But, if a fair + fame were of the most inexpressible value, is this the method which common + sense would prescribe to retrieve it? The language which these institutions + hold out to the unfortunate is, 'Come, and be shut out from the light of + day; be the associate of those whom society has marked out for her + abhorrence, be the slave of jailers, be loaded with fetters; thus shall you + be cleared from every unworthy aspersion, and restored to reputation and + honour!' This is the consolation she affords to those whom malignity or + folly, private pique or unfounded positiveness, have, without the smallest + foundation, loaded with calumny." For myself, I felt my own innocence; and I + soon found, upon enquiry, that three fourths of those who are regularly + subjected to a similar treatment, are persons whom, even with all the + superciliousness and precipitation of our courts of justice, no evidence can + be found sufficient to convict. How slender then must be that man's portion + of information and discernment, who is willing to commit his character and + welfare to such guardianship!</p> + + <p>But my case was even worse than this. I intimately felt that a trial, + such as our institutions have hitherto been able to make it, is only the + worthy sequel of such a beginning. What chance was there after the purgation + I was now suffering, that I should come out acquitted at last? What + probability was there that the trial I had endured in the house of Mr. + Falkland was not just as fair as any that might be expected to follow? No; I + anticipated my own condemnation.</p> + + <p>Thus was I cut off, for ever, from all that existence has to + bestow—from all the high hopes I had so often conceived—from all + the future excellence my soul so much delighted to imagine,—to spend a + few weeks in a miserable prison, and then to perish by the hand of the + public executioner. No language can do justice to the indignant and + soul-sickening loathing that these ideas excited. My resentment was not + restricted to my prosecutor, but extended itself to the whole machine of + society. I could never believe that all this was the fair result of + institutions inseparable from the general good. I regarded the whole human + species as so many hangmen and torturers; I considered them as confederated + to tear me to pieces; and this wide scene of inexorable persecution + inflicted upon me inexpressible agony. I looked on this side and on that: I + was innocent; I had a right to expect assistance; but every heart was + steeled against me; every hand was ready to lend its force to make my ruin + secure. No man that has not felt, in his own most momentous concerns, + justice, eternal truth, unalterable equity engaged in his behalf, and on the + other side brute force, impenetrable obstinacy, and unfeeling insolence, can + imagine the sensations that then passed through my mind. I saw treachery + triumphant and enthroned; I saw the sinews of innocence crumbled into dust + by the gripe of almighty guilt.</p> + + <p>What relief had I from these sensations? Was it relief, that I spent the + day in the midst of profligacy and execrations—that I saw reflected + from every countenance agonies only inferior to my own? He that would form a + lively idea of the regions of the damned, need only to witness, for six + hours, a scene to which I was confined for many months. Not for one hour + could I withdraw myself from this complexity of horrors, or take refuge in + the calmness of meditation. Air, exercise, series, contrast, those grand + enliveners of the human frame, I was for ever debarred from, by the + inexorable tyranny under which I was fallen. Nor did I find the solitude of + my nightly dungeon less insupportable. Its only furniture was the straw that + served me for my repose. It was narrow, damp, and unwholesome. The slumbers + of a mind, wearied, like mine, with the most detestable uniformity, to whom + neither amusement nor occupation ever offered themselves to beguile the + painful hours, were short, disturbed, and unrefreshing. My sleeping, still + more than my waking thoughts, were full of perplexity, deformity, and + disorder. To these slumbers succeeded the hours which, by the regulations of + our prison, I was obliged, though awake, to spend in solitary and cheerless + darkness. Here I had neither books nor pens, nor any thing upon which to + engage my attention; all was a sightless blank. How was a mind, active and + indefatigable like mine, to endure this misery? I could not sink it in + lethargy; I could nor forget my woes: they haunted me with unintermitted and + demoniac malice. Cruel, inexorable policy of human affairs, that condemns a + man to torture like this; that sanctions it, and knows not what is done + under its sanction; that is too supine and unfeeling to enquire into these + petty details; that calls this the ordeal of innocence, and the protector of + freedom! A thousand times I could have dashed my brains against the walls of + my dungeon; a thousand times I longed for death, and wished, with + inexpressible ardour, for an end to what I suffered; a thousand times I + meditated suicide, and ruminated, in the bitterness of my soul, upon the + different means of escaping from the load of existence. What had I to do + with life? I had seen enough to make me regard it with detestation. Why + should I wait the lingering process of legal despotism, and not dare so much + as to die, but when and how its instruments decreed? Still some inexplicable + suggestion withheld my hand. I clung with desperate fondness to this shadow + of existence, its mysterious attractions, and its hopeless prospects.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CXII" id="V2_CXII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + + <p>Such were the reflections that haunted the first days of my imprisonment, + in consequence of which they were spent in perpetual anguish. But, after a + time, nature, wearied with distress, would no longer stoop to the burthen; + thought, which is incessantly varying, introduced a series of reflections + totally different.</p> + + <p>My fortitude revived. I had always been accustomed to cheerfulness, good + humour, and serenity; and this habit now returned to visit me at the bottom + of my dungeon. No sooner did my contemplations take this turn, than I saw + the reasonableness and possibility of tranquillity and peace; and my mind + whispered to me the propriety of showing, in this forlorn condition, that I + was superior to all my persecutors. Blessed state of innocence and + self-approbation! The sunshine of conscious integrity pierced through all + the barriers of my cell, and spoke ten thousand times more joy to my heart, + than the accumulated splendours of nature and art can communicate to the + slaves of vice.</p> + + <p>I found out the secret of employing my mind. I said, "I am shut up for + half the day in total darkness, without any external source of amusement; + the other half I spend in the midst of noise, turbulence, and, confusion. + What then? Can I not draw amusement from the stores of my own mind? Is it + not freighted with various knowledge? Have I not been employed from my + infancy in gratifying an insatiable curiosity? When should I derive benefit + from these superior advantages, if not at present?" Accordingly I tasked the + stores of my memory, and my powers of invention. I amused myself with + recollecting the history of my life. By degrees I called to mind a number of + minute circumstances, which, but for this exercise, would have been for ever + forgotten. I repassed in my thoughts whole conversations, I recollected + their subjects, their arrangement, their incidents, frequently their very + words. I mused upon these ideas, till I was totally absorbed in thought. I + repeated them, till my mind glowed with enthusiasm. I had my different + employments, fitted for the solitude of the night, in which I could give + full scope to the impulses of my mind; and for the uproar of the day, in + which my chief object was, to be insensible to the disorder with which I was + surrounded.</p> + + <p>By degrees I quitted my own story, and employed myself in imaginary + adventures. I figured to myself every situation in which I could be placed, + and conceived the conduct to be observed in each. Thus scenes of insult and + danger, of tenderness and oppression, became familiar to me. In fancy I + often passed the awful hour of dissolving nature. In some of my reveries I + boiled with impetuous indignation, and in others patiently collected the + whole force of my mind for some fearful encounter. I cultivated the powers + of oratory suited to these different states, and improved more in eloquence + in the solitude of my dungeon, than perhaps I should have done in the + busiest and most crowded scenes.</p> + + <p>At length I proceeded to as regular a disposition of my time, as the man + in his study, who passes from mathematics to poetry, and from poetry to the + law of nations, in the different parts of each single day; and I as seldom + infringed upon my plan. Nor were my subjects of disquisition less numerous + than his. I went over, by the assistance of memory only, a considerable part + of Euclid during my confinement, and revived, day after day, the series of + facts and incidents in some of the most celebrated historians. I became + myself a poet; and, while I described the sentiments cherished by the view + of natural objects, recorded the characters and passions of men, and partook + with a burning zeal in the generosity of their determinations, I eluded the + squalid solitude of my dungeon, and wandered in idea through all the + varieties of human society. I easily found expedients, such as the mind + seems always to require, and which books and pens supply to the man at + large, to record from time to time the progress that had been made.</p> + + <p>While I was thus employed, I reflected with exultation upon the degree in + which man is independent of the smiles and frowns of fortune. I was beyond + her reach, for I could fall no lower. To an ordinary eye I might seem + destitute and miserable, but in reality I wanted for nothing. My fare was + coarse; but I was in health. My dungeon was noisome; but I felt no + inconvenience. I was shut up from the usual means of exercise and air; but I + found the method of exercising myself even to perspiration in my dungeon. I + had no power of withdrawing my person from a disgustful society, in the most + cheerful and valuable part of the day; but I soon brought to perfection the + art of withdrawing my thoughts, and saw and heard the people about me, for + just as short a time, and as seldom, as I pleased.</p> + + <p>Such is man in himself considered; so simple his nature; so few his + wants. How different from the man of artificial society! Palaces are built + for his reception, a thousand vehicles provided for his exercise, provinces + are ransacked for the gratification of his appetite, and the whole world + traversed to supply him with apparel and furniture. Thus vast is his + expenditure, and the purchase slavery. He is dependent on a thousand + accidents for tranquillity and health, and his body and soul are at the + devotion of whoever will satisfy his imperious cravings.</p> + + <p>In addition to the disadvantages of my present situation, I was reserved + for an ignominious death. What then? Every man must die. No man knows how + soon. It surely is not worse to encounter the king of terrors, in health, + and with every advantage for the collection of fortitude, than to encounter + him, already half subdued by sickness and suffering. I was resolved at least + fully to possess the days I had to live; and this is peculiarly in the power + of the man who preserves his health to the last moment of his existence. Why + should I suffer my mind to be invaded by unavailing regrets? Every sentiment + of vanity, or rather of independence and justice within me, instigated me to + say to my persecutor, "You may cut off my existence, but you cannot disturb + my serenity."</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CXIII" id="V2_CXIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + + <p>In the midst of these reflections, another thought, which had not before + struck me, occurred to my mind. "I exult," said I, "and reasonably, over the + impotence of my persecutor. Is not that impotence greater than I have yet + imagined? I say, he may cut off my existence, but cannot disturb my + serenity. It is true: my mind, the clearness of my spirit, the firmness of + my temper, are beyond his reach; is not my life equally so, if I please? + What are the material obstacles, that man never subdued? What is the + undertaking so arduous, that by some has not been accomplished? And if by + others, why not by me? Had they stronger motives than I? Was existence more + variously endeared to them? or had they more numerous methods by which to + animate and adorn it? Many of those who have exerted most perseverance and + intrepidity, were obviously my inferiors in that respect. Why should not I + be as daring as they? Adamant and steel have a ductility like water, to a + mind sufficiently bold and contemplative. The mind is master of itself; and + is endowed with powers that might enable it to laugh at the tyrant's + vigilance." I passed and repassed these ideas in my mind; and, heated with + the contemplation, I said, "No, I will not die!"</p> + + <p>My reading, in early youth, had been extremely miscellaneous. I had read + of housebreakers, to whom locks and bolts were a jest, and who, vain of + their art, exhibited the experiment of entering a house the most strongly + barricaded, with as little noise, and almost as little trouble, as other men + would lift up a latch. There is nothing so interesting to the juvenile mind, + as the wonderful; there is no power that it so eagerly covets, as that of + astonishing spectators by its miraculous exertions. Mind appeared, to my + untutored reflections, vague, airy, and unfettered, the susceptible + perceiver of reasons, but never intended by nature to be the slave of force. + Why should it be in the power of man to overtake and hold me by violence? + Why, when I choose to withdraw myself, should I not be capable of eluding + the most vigilant search? These limbs, and this trunk, are a cumbrous and + unfortunate load for the power of thinking to drag along with it; but why + should not the power of thinking be able to lighten the load, till it shall + be no longer felt?—These early modes of reflection were by no means + indifferent to my present enquiries.</p> + + <p>Our next-door neighbour at my father's house had been a carpenter. Fresh + from the sort of reading I have mentioned, I was eager to examine his tools, + their powers and their uses. This carpenter was a man of strong and vigorous + mind; and, his faculties having been chiefly confined to the range of his + profession, he was fertile in experiments, and ingenious in reasoning upon + these particular topics. I therefore obtained from him considerable + satisfaction; and, my mind being set in action, I sometimes even improved + upon the hints he furnished. His conversation was particularly agreeable to + me; I at first worked with him sometimes for my amusement, and afterwards + occasionally for a short time as his journeyman. I was constitutionally + vigorous; and, by the experience thus attained, I added to the abstract + possession of power, the skill of applying it, when I pleased, in such a + manner as that no part should be inefficient.</p> + + <p>It is a strange, but no uncommon feature in the human mind, that the very + resource of which we stand in greatest need in a critical situation, though + already accumulated, it may be, by preceding industry, fails to present + itself at the time when it should be called into action. Thus my mind had + passed through two very different stages since my imprisonment, before this + means of liberation suggested itself. My faculties were overwhelmed in the + first instance, and raised to a pitch of enthusiasm in the second; while in + both I took it for granted in a manner, that I must passively submit to the + good pleasure of my persecutors.</p> + + <p>During the period in which my mind had been thus undecided, and when I + had been little more than a month in durance, the assizes, which were held + twice a year in the town in which I was a prisoner, came on. Upon this + occasion my case was not brought forward, but was suffered to stand over six + months longer. It would have been just the same, if I had had as strong + reason to expect acquittal as I had conviction. If I had been apprehended + upon the most frivolous reasons upon which any justice of the peace ever + thought proper to commit a naked beggar for trial, I must still have waited + about two hundred and seventeen days before my innocence could be cleared. + So imperfect are the effects of the boasted laws of a country, whose + legislators hold their assembly from four to six months in every year! I + could never discover with certainty, whether this delay were owing to any + interference on the part of my prosecutor, or whether it fell out in the + regular administration of justice, which is too solemn and dignified to + accommodate itself to the rights or benefit of an insignificant + individual.</p> + + <p>But this was not the only incident that occurred to me during my + confinement, for which I could find no satisfactory solution. It was nearly + at the same time, that the keeper began to alter his behaviour to me. He + sent for me one morning into the part of the building which was appropriated + for his own use, and, after some hesitation, told me he was sorry my + accommodations had been so indifferent, and asked whether I should like to + have a chamber in his family? I was struck with the unexpectedness of this + question, and desired to know whether any body had employed him to ask it. + No, he replied; but, now the assizes were over, he had fewer felons on his + hands, and more time to look about him. He believed I was a good kind of a + young man, and he had taken a sort of a liking to me. I fixed my eye upon + his countenance as he said this. I could discover none of the usual symptoms + of kindness; he appeared to me to be acting a part, unnatural, and that sat + with awkwardness upon him. He went on however to offer me the liberty of + eating at his table; which, if I chose it, he said, would make no difference + to him, and he should not think of charging me any thing for it. He had + always indeed as much upon his hands as one person could see to; but his + wife and his daughter Peggy would be woundily pleased to hear a person of + learning talk, as he understood I was; and perhaps I might not feel myself + unpleasantly circumstanced in their company.</p> + + <p>I reflected on this proposal, and had little doubt, notwithstanding what + the keeper had affirmed to the contrary, that it did not proceed from any + spontaneous humanity in him, but that he had, to speak the language of + persons of his cast, good reasons for what he did. I busied myself in + conjectures as to who could be the author of this sort of indulgence and + attention. The two most likely persons were Mr. Falkland and Mr. Forester. + The latter I knew to be a man austere and inexorable towards those whom he + deemed vicious. He piqued himself upon being insensible to those softer + emotions, which, he believed, answered no other purpose than to seduce us + from our duty. Mr. Falkland, on the contrary, was a man of the acutest + sensibility; hence arose his pleasures and his pains, his virtues and his + vices. Though he were the bitterest enemy to whom I could possibly be + exposed, and though no sentiments of humanity could divert or control the + bent of his mind, I yet persuaded myself, that he was more likely than his + kinsman, to visit in idea the scene of my dungeon, and to feel impelled to + alleviate my sufferings.</p> + + <p>This conjecture was by no means calculated to serve as balm to my mind. + My thoughts were full of irritation against my persecutor. How could I think + kindly of a man, in competition with the gratification of whose ruling + passion my good name or my life was deemed of no consideration? I saw him + crushing the one, and bringing the other into jeopardy, with a quietness and + composure on his part that I could not recollect without horror. I knew not + what were his plans respecting me. I knew not whether he troubled himself so + much as to form a barren wish for the preservation of one whose future + prospects he had so iniquitously tarnished. I had hitherto been silent as to + my principal topic of recrimination. But I was by no means certain, that I + should consent to go out of the world in silence, the victim of this man's + obduracy and art. In every view I felt my heart ulcerated with a sense of + his injustice; and my very soul spurned these pitiful indulgences, at a time + that he was grinding me into dust with the inexorableness of his + vengeance.</p> + + <p>I was influenced by these sentiments in my reply to the jailor; and I + found a secret pleasure in pronouncing them in all their bitterness. I + viewed him with a sarcastic smile, and said, I was glad to find him of a + sudden become so humane: I was not however without some penetration as to + the humanity of a jailor, and could guess at the circumstances by which it + was produced. But he might tell his employer, that his cares were fruitless: + I would accept no favours from a man that held a halter about my neck; and + had courage enough to endure the worst both in time to come and + now.—The jailor looked at me with astonishment, and turning upon his + heel, exclaimed, "Well done, my cock! You have not had your learning for + nothing, I see. You are set upon not dying dunghill. But that is to come, + lad; you had better by half keep your courage till you shall find it + wanted."</p> + + <p>The assizes, which passed over without influence to me, produced a great + revolution among my fellow-prisoners. I lived long enough in the jail to + witness a general mutation of its inhabitants. One of the housebreakers (the + rival of the Duke of Bedford), and the coiner, were hanged. Two more were + cast for transportation, and the rest acquitted. The transports remained + with us; and, though the prison was thus lightened of nine of its + inhabitants, there were, at the next half-yearly period of assizes, as many + persons on the felons' side, within three, as I had found on my first + arrival.</p> + + <p>The soldier, whose story I have already recorded, died on the evening of + the very day on which the judges arrived, of a disease the consequence of + his confinement. Such was the justice, that resulted from the laws of his + country to an individual who would have been the ornament of any age; one + who, of all the men I ever knew, was perhaps the kindest, of the most + feeling heart, of the most engaging and unaffected manners, and the most + unblemished life. The name of this man was Brightwel. Were it possible for + my pen to consecrate him to never-dying fame, I could undertake no task more + grateful to my heart. His judgment was penetrating and manly, totally + unmixed with imbecility and confusion, while at the same time there was such + an uncontending frankness in his countenance, that a superficial observer + would have supposed he must have been the prey of the first plausible + knavery that was practised against him. Great reason have I to remember him + with affection! He was the most ardent, I had almost said the last, of my + friends. Nor did I remain in this respect in his debt. There was indeed a + great congeniality, if I may presume to say so, in our characters, except + that I cannot pretend to rival the originality and self-created vigour of + his mind, or to compare with, what the world has scarcely surpassed, the + correctness and untainted purity of his conduct. He heard my story, as far + as I thought proper to disclose it, with interest; he examined it with + sincere impartiality; and if, at first, any doubt remained upon his mind, a + frequent observation of me in my most unguarded moments taught him in no + long time to place an unreserved confidence in my innocence.</p> + + <p>He talked of the injustice of which we were mutual victims, without + bitterness; and delighted to believe that the time would come, when the + possibility of such intolerable oppression would be extirpated. But this, he + said, was a happiness reserved for posterity; it was too late for us to reap + the benefit of it. It was some consolation to him, that he could not tell + the period in his past life, which the best judgment of which he was capable + would teach him to spend better. He could say, with as much reason as most + men, he had discharged his duty. But he foresaw that he should not survive + his present calamity. This was his prediction, while yet in health. He might + be said, in a certain sense, to have a broken heart. But, if that phrase + were in any way applicable to him, sure never was despair more calm, more + full of resignation and serenity.</p> + + <p>At no time in the whole course of my adventures was I exposed to a shock + more severe, than I received from this man's death. The circumstances of his + fate presented themselves to my mind in their full complication of iniquity. + From him, and the execrations with which I loaded the government that could + be the instrument of his tragedy, I turned to myself. I beheld the + catastrophe of Brightwel with envy. A thousand times I longed that my corse + had lain in death, instead of his. I was only reserved, as I persuaded + myself, for unutterable woe. In a few days he would have been acquitted; his + liberty, his reputation restored; mankind perhaps, struck with the injustice + he had suffered, would have shown themselves eager to balance his + misfortunes, and obliterate his disgrace. But this man died; and I remained + alive! I, who, though not less wrongfully treated than he, had no hope of + reparation, must be marked as long as I lived for a villain, and in my death + probably held up to the scorn and detestation of my species!</p> + + <p>Such were some of the immediate reflections which the fate of this + unfortunate martyr produced in my mind. Yet my intercourse with Brightwel + was not, in the review, without its portion of comfort. I said, "This man + has seen through the veil of calumny that overshades me: he has understood, + and has loved me. Why should I despair? May I not meet hereafter with men + ingenuous like him, who shall do me justice, and sympathise with my + calamity? With that consolation I will be satisfied. I will rest in the arms + of friendship, and forget the malignity of the world. Henceforth I will be + contented with tranquil obscurity, with the cultivation of sentiment and + wisdom, and the exercise of benevolence within a narrow circle." It was thus + that my mind became excited to the project I was about to undertake.</p> + + <p>I had no sooner meditated the idea of an escape, than I determined upon + the following method of facilitating the preparations for it. I undertook to + ingratiate myself with my keeper. In the world I have generally found such + persons as had been acquainted with the outline of my story, regarding me + with a sort of loathing and abhorrence, which made them avoid me with as + much care as if I had been spotted with the plague. The idea of my having + first robbed my patron, and then endeavouring to clear myself by charging + him with subornation against me, placed me in a class distinct from, and + infinitely more guilty than that of common felons. But this man was too good + a master of his profession, to entertain aversion against a fellow-creature + upon that score. He considered the persons committed to his custody, merely + as so many human bodies, for whom he was responsible that they should be + forthcoming in time and place; and the difference of innocence and guilt he + looked down upon as an affair beneath his attention. I had not therefore the + prejudices to encounter in recommending myself to him, that I have found so + peculiarly obstinate in other cases. Add to which, the same motive, whatever + it was, that had made him so profuse in his offers a little before, had + probably its influence on the present occasion.</p> + + <p>I informed him of my skill in the profession of a joiner, and offered to + make him half a dozen handsome chairs, if he would facilitate my obtaining + the tools necessary for carrying on my profession in my present confinement; + for, without his consent previously obtained, it would have been in vain for + me to expect that I could quietly exert an industry of this kind, even if my + existence had depended upon it. He looked at me first, as asking himself + what he was to understand by this novel proposal; and then, his countenance + most graciously relaxing, said, he was glad I was come off a little of my + high notions and my buckram, and he would see what he could do. Two days + after, he signified his compliance. He said that, as to the matter of the + present I had offered him, he thought nothing of that; I might do as I + pleased in it; but I might depend upon every civility from him that he could + show with safety to himself, if so be as, when he was civil, I did not offer + a second time for to snap and take him up short.</p> + + <p>Having thus gained my preliminary, I gradually accumulated tools of + various sorts—gimlets, piercers, chisels, <i>et cetera</i>. I + immediately set myself to work. The nights were long, and the sordid + eagerness of my keeper, notwithstanding his ostentatious generosity, was + great; I therefore petitioned for, and was indulged with, a bit of candle, + that I might amuse myself for an hour or two with my work after I was locked + up in my dungeon. I did not however by any means apply constantly to the + work I had undertaken, and my jailor betrayed various tokens of impatience. + Perhaps he was afraid I should not have finished it, before I was hanged. I + however insisted upon working at my leisure as I pleased; and this he did + not venture expressly to dispute. In addition to the advantages thus + obtained, I procured secretly from Miss Peggy, who now and then came into + the jail to make her observations of the prisoners, and who seemed to have + conceived some partiality for my person, the implement of an iron crow.</p> + + <p>In these proceedings it is easy to trace the vice and duplicity that must + be expected to grow out of injustice. I know not whether my readers will + pardon the sinister advantage I extracted from the mysterious concessions of + my keeper. But I must acknowledge my weakness in that respect; I am writing + my adventures, and not my apology; and I was not prepared to maintain the + unvaried sincerity of my manners, at the expense of a speedy close of my + existence.</p> + + <p>My plan was now digested. I believed that, by means of the crow, I could + easily, and without much noise, force the door of my dungeon from its + hinges, or if not, that I could, in case of necessity, cut away the lock. + This door led into a narrow passage, bounded on one side by the range of + dungeons, and on the other by the jailor's and turnkeys' apartments, through + which was the usual entrance from the street. This outlet I dared not + attempt, for fear of disturbing the persons close to whose very door I + should in that case have found it necessary to pass. I determined therefore + upon another door at the further end of the passage, which was well + barricaded, and which led to a sort of garden in the occupation of the + keeper. This garden I had never entered, but I had had an opportunity of + observing it from the window of the felons' day-room, which looked that way, + the room itself being immediately over the range of dungeons. I perceived + that it was bounded by a wall of considerable height, which I was told by my + fellow-prisoners was the extremity of the jail on that side, and beyond + which was a back-lane of some length, that terminated in the skirts of the + town. Upon an accurate observation, and much reflection upon the subject, I + found I should be able, if once I got into the garden, with my gimlets and + piercers inserted at proper distances to make a sort of ladder, by means of + which I could clear the wall, and once more take possession of the sweets of + liberty. I preferred this wall to that which immediately skirted my dungeon, + on the other side of which was a populous street.</p> + + <p>I suffered about two days to elapse from the period at which I had + thoroughly digested my project, and then in the very middle of the night + began to set about its execution. The first door was attended with + considerable difficulty; but at length this obstacle was happily removed. + The second door was fastened on the inside. I was therefore able with + perfect ease to push back the bolts. But the lock, which of course was + depended upon for the principal security, and was therefore strong, was + double-shot, and the key taken away. I endeavoured with my chisel to force + back the bolt of the lock, but to no purpose. I then unscrewed the box of + the lock; and, that being taken away, the door was no longer opposed to my + wishes.</p> + + <p>Thus far I had proceeded with the happiest success; but close on the + other side of the door there was a kennel with a large mastiff dog, of which + I had not the smallest previous knowledge. Though I stepped along in the + most careful manner, this animal was disturbed, and began to bark. I was + extremely disconcerted, but immediately applied myself to soothe the animal, + in which I presently succeeded. I then returned along the passage to listen + whether any body had been disturbed by the noise of the dog; resolved, if + that had been the case, that I would return to my dungeon, and endeavour to + replace every thing in its former state. But the whole appeared perfectly + quiet, and I was encouraged to proceed in my operation.</p> + + <p>I now got to the wall, and had nearly gained half the ascent, when I + heard a voice at the garden-door, crying, "Holloa! who is there? who opened + the door?" The man received no answer, and the night was too dark for him to + distinguish objects at any distance. He therefore returned, as I judged, + into the house for a light. Meantime the dog, understanding the key in which + these interrogations were uttered, began barking again more violently than + ever. I had now no possibility of retreat, and I was not without hopes that + I might yet accomplish my object, and clear the wall. Meanwhile a second man + came out, while the other was getting his lantern, and by the time I had got + to the top of the wall was able to perceive me. He immediately set up a + shout, and threw a large stone, which grazed me in its flight. Alarmed at my + situation, I was obliged to descend on the other side without taking the + necessary precautions, and in my fall nearly dislocated my ankle.</p> + + <p>There was a door in the wall, of which I was not previously apprised; + and, this being opened, the two men with the lantern were on the other side + in an instant. They had then nothing to do but to run along the lane to the + place from which I had descended. I endeavoured to rise after my fall; but + the pain was so intense, that I was scarcely able to stand, and, after + having limped a few paces, I twisted my foot under me, and fell down again. + I had now no remedy, and quietly suffered myself to be retaken.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V2_CXIV" id="V2_CXIV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + + <p>I was conducted to the keeper's room for that night, and the two men sat + up with me. I was accosted with many interrogatories, to which I gave little + answer, but complained of the hurt in my leg. To this I could obtain no + reply, except "Curse you, my lad! if that be all, we will give you some + ointment for that; we will anoint it with a little cold iron." They were + indeed excessively sulky with me, for having broken their night's rest, and + given them all this trouble. In the morning they were as good as their word, + fixing a pair of fetters upon both my legs, regardless of the ankle which + was now swelled to a considerable size, and then fastening me, with a + padlock, to a staple in the floor of my dungeon. I expostulated with warmth + upon this treatment, and told them, that I was a man upon whom the law as + yet had passed no censure, and who therefore, in the eye of the law, was + innocent. But they bid me keep such fudge for people who knew no better; + they knew what they did, and would answer it to any court in England.</p> + + <p>The pain of the fetter was intolerable. I endeavoured in various ways to + relieve it, and even privily to free my leg; but the more it was swelled, + the more was this rendered impossible. I then resolved to bear it with + patience: still, the longer it continued, the worse it grew. After two days + and two nights, I entreated the turnkey to go and ask the surgeon, who + usually attended the prison, to look at it, for, if it continued longer as + it was, I was convinced it would mortify. But he glared surlily at me, and + said, "Damn my blood! I should like to see that day. To die of a + mortification is too good an end for such a rascal!" At the time that he + thus addressed me, the whole mass of my blood was already fevered by the + anguish I had undergone, my patience was wholly exhausted, and I was silly + enough to be irritated beyond bearing, by his impertinence and vulgarity: + "Look, you, Mr. Turnkey," said I, "there is one thing that such fellows as + you are set over us for, and another thing that you are not. You are to take + care we do not escape; but it is no part of your office to call us names and + abuse us. If I were not chained to the floor, you dare as well eat your + fingers as use such language; and, take my word for it, you shall yet live + to repent of your insolence."</p> + + <p>While I thus spoke, the man stared at me with astonishment. He was so + little accustomed to such retorts, that, at first, he could scarcely believe + his ears; and such was the firmness of my manner, that he seemed to forget + for a moment that I was not at large. But, as soon as he had time to + recollect himself, he did not deign to be angry. His face relaxed into a + smile of contempt; he snapped his fingers at me; and, turning upon his heel, + exclaimed, "Well said, my cock! crow away! Have a care you do not burst!" + and, as he shut the door upon me, mimicked the voice of the animal he + mentioned.</p> + + <p>This rejoinder brought me to myself in a moment, and showed me the + impotence of the resentment I was expressing. But, though he thus put an end + to the violence of my speech, the torture of my body continued as great as + ever. I was determined to change my mode of attack. The same turnkey + returned in a few minutes; and, as he approached me, to put down some food + he had brought, I slipped a shilling into his hand, saying at the same time, + "My good fellow, for God's sake, go to the surgeon; I am sure you do not + wish me to perish for want of assistance." The fellow put the shilling into + his pocket, looked hard at me, and then with one nod of his head, and + without uttering a single word, went away. The surgeon presently after made + his appearance; and, finding the part in a high state of inflammation, + ordered certain applications, and gave peremptory directions that the fetter + should not be replaced upon that leg, till a cure had been effected. It was + a full month before the leg was perfectly healed, and made equally strong + and flexible with the other.</p> + + <p>The condition in which I was now placed, was totally different from that + which had preceded this attempt. I was chained all day in my dungeon, with + no other mitigation, except that the door was regularly opened for a few + hours in an afternoon, at which time some of the prisoners occasionally came + and spoke to me, particularly one, who, though he could ill replace my + benevolent Brightwel, was not deficient in excellent qualities. This was no + other than the individual whom Mr. Falkland had, some months before, + dismissed upon an accusation of murder. His courage was gone, his garb was + squalid, and the comeliness and clearness of his countenance was utterly + obliterated. He also was innocent, worthy, brave, and benevolent. He was, I + believe, afterwards acquitted, and turned loose, to wander a desolate and + perturbed spectre through the world. My manual labours were now at an end; + my dungeon was searched every night, and every kind of tool carefully kept + from me. The straw, which had been hitherto allowed me, was removed, under + pretence that it was adapted for concealment; and the only conveniences with + which I was indulged, were a chair and a blanket.</p> + + <p>A prospect of some alleviation in no long time opened upon me; but this + my usual ill fortune rendered abortive. The keeper once more made his + appearance, and with his former constitutional and ambiguous humanity. He + pretended to be surprised at my want of every accommodation. He reprehended + in strong terms my attempt to escape, and observed, that there must be an + end of civility from people in his situation, if gentlemen, after all, would + not know when they were well. It was necessary, in cases the like of this, + to let the law take its course; and it would be ridiculous in me to + complain, if, after a regular trial, things should go hard with me. He was + desirous of being in every respect my friend, if I would let him. In the + midst of this circumlocution and preamble, he was called away from me, for + something relating to the business of his office. In the mean time I + ruminated upon his overtures; and, detesting as I did the source from which + I conceived them to flow, I could not help reflecting how far it would be + possible to extract from them the means of escape. But my meditations in + this case were vain. The keeper returned no more during the remainder of + that day, and, on the next, an incident occurred which put an end to all + expectations from his kindness.</p> + + <p>An active mind, which has once been forced into any particular train, can + scarcely be persuaded to desert it as hopeless. I had studied my chains, + during the extreme anguish that I endured from the pressure of the fetter + upon the ankle which had been sprained; and though, from the swelling and + acute sensibility of the part, I had found all attempts at relief, in that + instance, impracticable, I obtained, from the coolness of my investigation, + another and apparently superior advantage. During the night, my dungeon was + in a complete state of darkness; but, when the door was open, the case was + somewhat different. The passage indeed into which it opened, was so narrow, + and the opposite dead wall so near, that it was but a glimmering and + melancholy light that entered my apartment, even at full noon, and when the + door was at its widest extent. But my eyes, after a practice of two or three + weeks, accommodated themselves to this circumstance, and I learned to + distinguish the minutest object. One day, as I was alternately meditating + and examining the objects around me, I chanced to observe a nail trodden + into the mud-floor at no great distance from me. I immediately conceived the + desire of possessing myself of this implement; but, for fear of surprise, + people passing perpetually to and fro, I contented myself, for the present, + with remarking its situation so accurately, that I might easily find it + again in the dark. Accordingly, as soon as my door was shut, I seized upon + this new treasure, and, having contrived to fashion it to my purpose, found + that I could unlock with it the padlock that fastened me to the staple in + the floor. This I regarded as no inconsiderable advantage, separately from + the use I might derive from it in relation to my principal object. My chain + permitted me to move only about eighteen inches to the right or left; and, + having borne this confinement for several weeks, my very heart leaped at the + pitiful consolation of being able to range, without constraint, the + miserable coop in which I was immured. This incident had occurred several + days previously to the last visit of my keeper.</p> + + <p>From this time it had been my constant practice to liberate myself every + night, and not to replace things in their former situation till I awoke in + the morning, and expected shortly to perceive the entrance of the turnkey. + Security breeds negligence. On the morning succeeding my conference with the + jailor, it so happened, whether I overslept myself, or the turnkey went his + round earlier than usual, that I was roused from my sleep by the noise he + made in opening the cell next to my own; and though I exerted the utmost + diligence, yet having to grope for my materials in the dark, I was unable to + fasten the chain to the staple, before he entered, as usual, with his + lantern. He was extremely surprised to find me disengaged, and immediately + summoned the principal keeper. I was questioned respecting my method of + proceeding; and, as I believed concealment could lead to nothing but a + severer search, and a more accurate watch, I readily acquainted them with + the exact truth. The illustrious personage, whose functions it was to + control the inhabitants of these walls, was, by this last instance, + completely exasperated against me. Artifice and fair speaking were at an + end. His eyes sparkled with fury; he exclaimed, that he was now convinced of + the folly of showing kindness to rascals, the scum of the earth, such as I + was; and, damn him, if any body should catch him at that again towards any + one. I had cured him effectually! He was astonished that the laws had not + provided some terrible retaliation for thieves that attempted to deceive + their jailors. Hanging was a thousand times too good for me!</p> + + <p>Having vented his indignation, he proceeded to give such orders as the + united instigations of anger and alarm suggested to his mind. My apartment + was changed. I was conducted to a room called the strong room, the door of + which opened into the middle cell of the range of dungeons. It was + under-ground, as they were, and had also the day-room for felons, already + described, immediately over it. It was spacious and dreary. The door had not + been opened for years; the air was putrid; and the walls hung round with + damps and mildew. The fetters, the padlock, and the staple, were employed, + as in the former case, in addition to which they put on me a pair of + handcuffs. For my first provision, the keeper sent me nothing but a bit of + bread, mouldy and black, and some dirty and stinking water. I know not + indeed whether this is to be regarded as gratuitous tyranny on the part of + the jailor; the law having providently directed, in certain cases, that the + water to be administered to the prisoners shall be taken from "the next sink + or puddle nearest to the jail."<a name="footnotetag5" id= + "footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5"><sup>5</sup></a> It was further + ordered, that one of the turnkeys should sleep in the cell that formed a + sort of anti-chamber to my apartment. Though every convenience was provided, + to render this chamber fit for the reception of a personage of a dignity so + superior to the felon he was appointed to guard, he expressed much + dissatisfaction at the mandate: but there was no alternative.</p> + + <p>The situation to which I was thus removed was, apparently, the most + undesirable that could be imagined but I was not discouraged; I had for some + time learned not to judge by appearances. The apartment was dark and + unwholesome; but I had acquired the secret of counteracting these + influences. My door was kept continually shut, and the other prisoners were + debarred access to me; but if the intercourse of our fellow-men has its + pleasure, solitude, on the other hand, is not without its advantages. In + solitude we can pursue our own thoughts undisturbed; and I was able to call + up at will the most pleasing avocations. Besides which, to one who meditated + such designs as now filled my mind, solitude had peculiar recommendations. I + was scarcely left to myself, before I tried an experiment, the idea of which + I conceived, while they were fixing my handcuffs; and, with my teeth only, + disengaged myself from this restraint. The hours at which I was visited by + the keepers were regular, and I took care to be provided for them. Add to + which, I had a narrow grated window near the ceiling, about nine inches in + perpendicular, and a foot and a half horizontally, which, though small, + admitted a much stronger light than that to which I had been accustomed for + several weeks. Thus circumstanced, I scarcely ever found myself in total + darkness, and was better provided against surprises than I had been in my + preceding situation. Such were the sentiments which this change of abode + immediately suggested.</p> + + <p>I had been a very little time removed, when I received an unexpected + visit from Thomas, Mr. Falkland's footman, whom I have already mentioned in + the course of my narrative. A servant of Mr. Forester happened to come to + the town where I was imprisoned, a few weeks before, while I was confined + with the hurt in my ankle, and had called in to see me. The account he gave + of what he observed had been the source of many an uneasy sensation to + Thomas. The former visit was a matter of mere curiosity; but Thomas was of + the better order of servants. He was considerably struck at the sight of me. + Though my mind was now serene, and my health sufficiently good, yet the + floridness of my complexion was gone, and there was a rudeness in my + physiognomy, the consequence of hardship and fortitude, extremely unlike the + sleekness of my better days. Thomas looked alternately in my face, at my + hands, and my feet; and then fetched a deep sigh. After a pause,</p> + + <p>"Lord bless us!" said he, in a voice in which commiseration was + sufficiently perceptible, "is this you?"</p> + + <p>"Why not, Thomas? You knew I was sent to prison, did not you?"</p> + + <p>"Prison! and must people in prison be shackled and bound of that + fashion?—and where do you lay of nights?"</p> + + <p>"Here."</p> + + <p>"Here? Why there is no bed!"</p> + + <p>"No, Thomas, I am not allowed a bed. I had straw formerly, but that is + taken away."</p> + + <p>"And do they take off them there things of nights?"</p> + + <p>"No; I am expected to sleep just as you see."</p> + + <p>"Sleep! Why I thought this was a Christian country; but this usage is too + bad for a dog."</p> + + <p>"You must not say so, Thomas; it is what the wisdom of government has + thought fit to provide."</p> + + <p>"Zounds, how I have been deceived! They told me what a fine thing it was + to be an Englishman, and about liberty and property, and all that there; and + I find it is all a flam. Lord, what fools we be! Things are done under our + very noses, and we know nothing of the matter; and a parcel of fellows with + grave faces swear to us, that such things never happen but in France, and + other countries the like of that. Why, you ha'n't been tried, ha' you?"</p> + + <p>"No."</p> + + <p>"And what signifies being tried, when they do worse than hang a man, and + all beforehand? Well, master Williams, you have been very wicked to be sure, + and I thought it would have done me good to see you hanged. But, I do not + know how it is, one's heart melts, and pity comes over one, if we take time + to cool. I know that ought not to be; but, damn it, when I talked of your + being hanged, I did not think of your suffering all this into the + bargain."</p> + + <p>Soon after this conversation Thomas left me. The idea of the long + connection of our families rushed upon his memory, and he felt more for my + sufferings, at the moment, than I did for myself. In the afternoon I was + surprised to see him again. He said that he could not get the thought of me + out of his mind, and therefore he hoped I would not be displeased at his + coming once more to take leave of me. I could perceive that he had something + upon his mind, which he did not know how to discharge. One of the turnkeys + had each time come into the room with him, and continued as long as he + staid. Upon some avocation however—a noise, I believe, in the + passage—the turnkey went as far as the door to satisfy his curiosity; + and Thomas, watching the opportunity, slipped into my hand a chisel, a file, + and a saw, exclaiming at the same time with a sorrowful tone, "I know I am + doing wrong; but, if they hang me too, I cannot help it; I cannot do no + other. For Christ's sake, get out of this place; I cannot bear the thoughts + of it!" I received the implements with great joy, and thrust them into my + bosom; and, as soon as he was gone, concealed them in the rushes of my + chair. For himself he had accomplished the object for which he came, and + presently after bade me farewell.</p> + + <p>The next day, the keepers, I know not for what reason, were more than + usually industrious in their search, saying, though without assigning any + ground for their suspicion, that they were sure I had some tool in my + possession that I ought not; but the depository I had chosen escaped + them.</p> + + <p>I waited from this time the greater part of a week, that I might have the + benefit of a bright moonlight. It was necessary that I should work in the + night; it was necessary that my operations should be performed between the + last visit of the keepers at night and their first in the morning, that is, + between nine in the evening and seven. In my dungeon, as I have already + said, I passed fourteen or sixteen hours of the four-and-twenty undisturbed; + but since I had acquired a character for mechanical ingenuity, a particular + exception with respect to me was made from the general rules of the + prison.</p> + + <p>It was ten o'clock when I entered on my undertaking. The room in which I + was confined was secured with a double door. This was totally superfluous + for the purpose of my detention, since there was a sentinel planted on the + outside. But it was very fortunate for my plan; because these doors + prevented the easy communication of sound, and afforded me tolerable + satisfaction that, with a little care in my mode of proceeding, I might be + secure against the danger of being overheard. I first took off my handcuffs. + I then filed through my fetters; and next performed the same service to + three of the iron bars that secured my window, to which I climbed, partly by + the assistance of my chair, and partly by means of certain irregularities in + the wall. All this was the work of more than two hours. When the bars were + filed through, I easily forced them a little from the perpendicular, and + then drew them, one by one, out of the wall, into which they were sunk about + three inches perfectly straight, and without any precaution to prevent their + being removed. But the space thus obtained was by no means wide enough to + admit the passing of my body. I therefore applied myself, partly with my + chisel, and partly with one of the iron bars, to the loosening the + brick-work; and when I had thus disengaged four or five bricks, I got down + and piled them upon the floor. This operation I repeated three or four times + The space was now sufficient for my purpose: and, having crept through the + opening, I stepped upon a shed on the outside.</p> + + <p>I was now in a kind of rude area between two dead walls, that south of + the felons' day-room (the windows of which were at the east end) and the + wall of the prison. But I had not, as formerly, any instruments to assist me + in scaling the wall, which was of considerable height. There was, of + consequence, no resource for me but that of effecting a practicable breach + in the lower part of the wall, which was of no contemptible strength, being + of stone on the outside, with a facing of brick within. The rooms for the + debtors were at right angles with the building from which I had just + escaped; and, as the night was extremely bright, I was in momentary danger, + particularly in case of the least noise, of being discovered by them, + several of their windows commanding this area. Thus circumstanced, I + determined to make the shed answer the purpose of concealment. It was + locked; but, with the broken link of my fetters, which I had had the + precaution to bring with me, I found no great difficulty in opening the + lock. I had now got a sufficient means of hiding my person while I proceeded + in my work, attended with no other disadvantage than that of being obliged + to leave the door, through which I had thus broken, a little open for the + sake of light. After some time, I had removed a considerable part of the + brick-work of the outer wall; but, when I came to the stone, I found the + undertaking infinitely more difficult. The mortar which bound together the + building was, by length of time, nearly petrified, and appeared to my first + efforts one solid rock of the hardest adamant. I had now been six hours + incessantly engaged in incredible labour: my chisel broke in the first + attempt upon this new obstacle; and between fatigue already endured, and the + seemingly invincible difficulty before me, I concluded that I must remain + where I was, and gave up the idea of further effort as useless. At the same + time the moon, whose light had till now been of the greatest use to me, set, + and I was left in total darkness.</p> + + <p>After a respite of ten minutes however, I returned to the attack with new + vigour. It could not be less than two hours before the first stone was + loosened from the edifice. In one hour more, the space was sufficient to + admit of my escape. The pile of bricks I had left in the strong room was + considerable. But it was a mole-hill compared with the ruins I had forced + from the outer wall. I am fully assured that the work I had thus performed + would have been to a common labourer, with every advantage of tools, the + business of two or three days. But my difficulties, instead of being ended, + seemed to be only begun. The day broke, before I had completed the opening, + and in ten minutes more the keepers would probably enter my apartment, and + perceive the devastation I had left. The lane, which connected the side of + the prison through which I had escaped with the adjacent country, was formed + chiefly by two dead walls, with here and there a stable, a few warehouses, + and some mean habitations, tenanted by the lower order of people. My best + security lay in clearing the town as soon as possible, and depending upon + the open country for protection. My arms were intolerably swelled and + bruised with my labour, and my strength seemed wholly exhausted with + fatigue. Speed I was nearly unable to exert for any continuance; and, if I + could, with the enemy so close at my heels, speed would too probably have + been useless. It appeared as if I were now in almost the same situation as + that in which I had been placed five or six weeks before, in which, after + having completed my escape, I was obliged to yield myself up, without + resistance, to my pursuers. I was not however disabled as then; I was + capable of exertion, to what precise extent I could not ascertain; and I was + well aware, that every instance in which I should fail of my purpose would + contribute to enhance the difficulty of any future attempt. Such were the + considerations that presented themselves in relation to my escape; and, even + if that were effected, I had to reckon among my difficulties, that, at the + time I quitted my prison, I was destitute of every resource, and had not a + shilling remaining in the world.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + <a name="VOLUME_THE_THIRD" id="VOLUME_THE_THIRD"></a> + + <h2>VOLUME THE THIRD.</h2> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CI" id="V3_CI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + <p>I passed along the lane I have described, without perceiving or being + observed by a human being. The doors were shut, the window-shutters closed, + and all was still as night. I reached the extremity of the lane unmolested. + My pursuers, if they immediately followed, would know that the likelihood + was small, of my having in the interval found shelter in this place; and + would proceed without hesitation, as I on my part was obliged to do, from + the end nearest to the prison to its furthest termination.</p> + + <p>The face of the country, in the spot to which I had thus opened myself a + passage, was rude and uncultivated. It was overgrown with brushwood and + furze; the soil was for the most part of a loose sand; and the surface + extremely irregular. I climbed a small eminence, and could perceive, not + very remote in the distance, a few cottages thinly scattered. This prospect + did not altogether please me; I conceived that my safety would, for the + present, be extremely assisted, by keeping myself from the view of any human + being.</p> + + <p>I therefore came down again into the valley, and upon a careful + examination perceived that it was interspersed with cavities, some deeper + than others, but all of them so shallow, as neither to be capable of hiding + a man, nor of exciting suspicion as places of possible concealment. + Meanwhile the day had but just begun to dawn; the morning was lowering and + drizzly; and, though the depth of these caverns was of course well known to + the neighbouring inhabitants, the shadows they cast were so black and + impenetrable, as might well have produced wider expectations in the mind of + a stranger. Poor therefore as was the protection they were able to afford, I + thought it right to have recourse to it for the moment, as the best the + emergency would supply. It was for my life; and, the greater was the + jeopardy to which it was exposed, the more dear did that life seem to become + to my affections. The recess I chose, as most secure, was within little more + than a hundred yards of the end of the lane, and the extreme buildings of + the town.</p> + + <p>I had not stood up in this manner two minutes, before I heard the sound + of feet, and presently saw the ordinary turnkey and another pass the place + of my retreat. They were so close to me that, if I had stretched out my + hand, I believe I could have caught hold of their clothes, without so much + as changing my posture. As no part of the overhanging earth intervened + between me and them, I could see them entire, though the deepness of the + shade rendered me almost completely invisible. I heard them say to each + other, in tones of vehement asperity, "Curse the rascal! which way can he be + gone?" The reply was, "Damn him! I wish we had him but safe once + again!"—"Never fear!" rejoined the first; "he cannot have above half a + mile the start of us." They were presently out of hearing; for, as to sight, + I dared not advance my body, so much as an inch, to look after them, lest I + should be discovered by my pursuers in some other direction. From the very + short time that elapsed, between my escape and the appearance of these men, + I concluded that they had made their way through the same outlet as I had + done, it being impossible that they could have had time to come, from the + gate of the prison, and so round a considerable part of the town, as they + must otherwise have done.</p> + + <p>I was so alarmed at this instance of diligence on the part of the enemy, + that, for some time, I scarcely ventured to proceed an inch from my place of + concealment, or almost to change my posture. The morning, which had been + bleak and drizzly, was succeeded by a day of heavy and incessant rain; and + the gloomy state of the air and surrounding objects, together with the + extreme nearness of my prison, and a total want of food, caused me to pass + the hours in no very agreeable sensations. This inclemency of the weather + however, which generated a feeling of stillness and solitude, encouraged me + by degrees to change my retreat, for another of the same nature, out of + somewhat greater security. I hovered with little variation about a single + spot, as long as the sun continued above the horizon.</p> + + <p>Towards evening, the clouds began to disperse, and the moon shone, as on + the preceding night, in full brightness. I had perceived no human creature + during the whole day, except in the instance already mentioned. This had + perhaps been owing to the nature of the day; at all events I considered it + as too hazardous an experiment, to venture from my hiding-place in so clear + and fine a night. I was therefore obliged to wait for the setting of this + luminary, which was not till near five o'clock in the morning. My only + relief during this interval was to allow myself to sink to the bottom of my + cavern, it being scarcely possible for me to continue any longer on my feet. + Here I fell into an interrupted and unrefreshing doze, the consequence of a + laborious night, and a tedious, melancholy day; though I rather sought to + avoid sleep, which, cooperating with the coldness of the season, would tend + more to injury than advantage.</p> + + <p>The period of darkness, which I had determined to use for the purpose of + removing to a greater distance from my prison, was, in its whole duration, + something less than three hours. When I rose from my seat, I was weak with + hunger and fatigue, and, which was worse, I seemed, between the dampness of + the preceding day and the sharp, clear frost of the night, to have lost the + command of my limbs. I stood up and shook myself; I leaned against the side + of the hill, impelling in different directions the muscles of the + extremities; and at length recovered in some degree the sense of feeling. + This operation was attended with an incredible aching pain, and required no + common share of resolution to encounter and prosecute it. Having quitted my + retreat, I at first advanced with weak and tottering steps; but, as I + proceeded, increased my pace. The barren heath, which reached to the edge of + the town, was, at least on this side, without a path; but the stars shone, + and, guiding myself by them, I determined to steer as far as possible from + the hateful scene where I had been so long confined. The line I pursued was + of irregular surface, sometimes obliging me to climb a steep ascent, and at + others to go down into a dark and impenetrable dell. I was often compelled, + by the dangerousness of the way, to deviate considerably from the direction + I wished to pursue. In the mean time I advanced with as much rapidity as + these and similar obstacles would permit me to do. The swiftness of the + motion, and the thinness of the air, restored to me my alacrity. I forgot + the inconveniences under which I laboured, and my mind became lively, + spirited, and enthusiastic.</p> + + <p>I had now reached the border of the heath, and entered upon what is + usually termed the forest. Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless true, + that, in this conjuncture, exhausted with hunger, destitute of all provision + for the future, and surrounded with the most alarming dangers, my mind + suddenly became glowing, animated, and cheerful. I thought that, by this + time, the most formidable difficulties of my undertaking were surmounted; + and I could not believe that, after having effected so much, I should find + any thing invincible in what remained to be done. I recollected the + confinement I had undergone, and the fate that had impended over me, with + horror. Never did man feel more vividly, than I felt at that moment, the + sweets of liberty. Never did man more strenuously prefer poverty with + independence, to the artificial allurements of a life of slavery. I + stretched forth my arms with rapture; I clapped my hands one upon the other, + and exclaimed, "Ah, this is indeed to be a man! These wrists were lately + galled with fetters; all my motions, whether I rose up or sat down, were + echoed to with the clanking of chains; I was tied down like a wild beast, + and could not move but in a circle of a few feet in circumference. Now I can + run fleet as a greyhound, and leap like a young roe upon the mountains. Oh, + God! (if God there be that condescends to record the lonely beatings of an + anxious heart) thou only canst tell with what delight a prisoner, just broke + forth from his dungeon, hugs the blessings of new-found liberty! Sacred and + indescribable moment, when man regains his rights! But lately I held my life + in jeopardy, because one man was unprincipled enough to assert what he knew + to be false; I was destined to suffer an early and inexorable death from the + hands of others, because none of them had penetration enough to distinguish + from falsehood, what I uttered with the entire conviction of a full-fraught + heart! Strange, that men, from age to age, should consent to hold their + lives at the breath of another, merely that each in his turn may have a + power of acting the tyrant according to law! Oh, God! give me poverty! + shower upon me all the imaginary hardships of human life! I will receive + them all with thankfulness. Turn me a prey to the wild beasts of the desert, + so I be never again the victim of man, dressed in the gore-dripping robes of + authority! Suffer me at least to call life, and the pursuits of life, my + own! Let me hold it at the mercy of the elements, of the hunger of beasts, + or the revenge of barbarians, but not of the cold-blooded prudence of + monopolists and kings!"—How enviable was the enthusiasm which could + thus furnish me with energy, in the midst of hunger, poverty, and universal + desertion!</p> + + <p>I had now walked at least six miles. At first I carefully avoided the + habitations that lay in my way, and feared to be seen by any of the persons + to whom they belonged, lest it should in any degree furnish a clue to the + researches of my pursuers. As I went forward, I conceived it might be proper + to relax a part of my precaution. At this time I perceived several persons + coming out of a thicket close to me. I immediately considered this + circumstance as rather favourable than the contrary. It was necessary for me + to avoid entering any of the towns and villages in the vicinity. It was + however full time that I should procure for myself some species of + refreshment, and by no means improbable that these men might be in some way + assisting to me in that respect. In my situation it appeared to me + indifferent what might be their employment or profession. I had little to + apprehend from thieves, and I believed that they, as well as honest men, + could not fail to have some compassion for a person under my circumstances. + I therefore rather threw myself in their way than avoided them.</p> + + <p>They were thieves. One of the company cried out, "Who goes there? stand!" + I accosted them; "Gentlemen," said I, "I am a poor traveller, + almost"—While I spoke, they came round me; and he that had first + hailed me, said, "Damn me, tip us none of your palaver; we have heard that + story of a poor traveller any time these five years. Come, down with your + dust! let us see what you have got!"—"Sir," I replied, "I have not a + shilling in the world, and am more than half starved beside."—"Not a + shilling!" answered my assailant, "what, I suppose you are as poor as a + thief? But, if you have not money, you have clothes, and those you must + resign."</p> + + <p>"My clothes!" rejoined I with indignation, "you cannot desire such a + thing. Is it not enough that I am pennyless? I have been all night upon the + open heath. It is now the second day that I have not eaten a morsel of + bread. Would you strip me naked to the weather in the midst of this + depopulated forest? No, no, you are men! The same hatred of oppression, that + arms you against the insolence of wealth, will teach you to relieve those + who are perishing like me. For God's sake, give me food! do not strip me of + the comforts I still possess!"</p> + + <p>While I uttered this apostrophe, the unpremeditated eloquence of + sentiment, I could perceive by their gestures, though the day had not yet + begun to dawn, that the feelings of one or two of the company appeared to + take my part. The man, who had already undertaken to be their spokesman, + perceived the same thing; and, excited either by the brutality of his temper + or the love of command, hastened to anticipate the disgrace of a defeat. He + brushed suddenly up to me, and by main force pushed me several feet from the + place where I stood. The shock I received drove me upon a second of the + gang, not one of those who had listened to my expostulation; and he repeated + the brutality. My indignation was strongly excited by this treatment; and, + after being thrust backward and forward two or three times in this manner, I + broke through my assailants, and turned round to defend myself. The first + that advanced within my reach, was my original enemy. In the present moment + I listened to nothing but the dictates of passion, and I laid him at his + length on the earth. I was immediately assailed with sticks and bludgeons on + all sides, and presently received a blow that almost deprived me of my + senses. The man I had knocked down was now upon his feet again, and aimed a + stroke at me with a cutlass as I fell, which took place in a deep wound upon + my neck and shoulder. He was going to repeat his blow. The two who had + seemed to waver at first in their animosity, afterwards appeared to me to + join in the attack, urged either by animal sympathy or the spirit of + imitation. One of them however, as I afterwards, understood seized the arm + of the man who was going to strike me a second time with his cutlass, and + who would otherwise probably have put an end to my existence. I could hear + the words, "Damn it, enough, enough! that is too bad, Gines!"—"How + so?" replied a second voice; "he will but pine here upon the forest, and die + by inches: it will be an act of charity to put him out of his + pain."—It will be imagined that I was not uninterested in this sort of + debate. I made an effort to speak; my voice failed me. I stretched out one + hand with a gesture of entreaty. "You shall not strike, by God!" said one of + the voices; "why should we be murderers?"—The side of forbearance at + length prevailed. They therefore contented themselves with stripping me of + my coat and waistcoat, and rolling me into a dry ditch. They then left me + totally regardless of my distressed condition, and the plentiful effusion of + blood, which streamed from my wound.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CII" id="V3_CII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + <p>In this woeful situation, though extremely weak, I was not deprived of + sense. I tore my shirt from my naked body, and endeavoured, with some + success, to make of it a bandage to staunch the flowing of the blood. I then + exerted myself to crawl up the side of the ditch. I had scarcely effected + the latter, when, with equal surprise and joy, I perceived a man advancing + at no great distance. I called for help as well as I could. The man came + towards me with evident signs of compassion, and the appearance I exhibited + was indeed sufficiently calculated to excite it. I had no hat. My hair was + dishevelled, and the ends of the locks clotted with blood. My shirt was + wrapped about my neck and shoulders, and was plentifully stained with red. + My body, which was naked to my middle, was variegated with streams of blood; + nor had my lower garments, which were white, by any means escaped.</p> + + <p>"For God's sake, my good fellow!" said he, with a tone of the greatest + imaginable kindness, "how came you thus?" and, saying this, he lifted me up, + and set me on my feet. "Can you stand?" added he, doubtfully. "Oh, yes, very + well," I replied. Having received this answer, he quitted me, and began to + take off his own coat, that he might cover me from the cold. I had however + over-rated my strength, and was no sooner left to myself than I reeled, and + fell almost at my length upon the ground. But I broke my fall by stretching + out my sound arm, and again raised myself upon my knees. My benefactor now + covered me, raised me, and, bidding me lean upon him, told me he would + presently conduct me to a place where I should be taken care of. Courage is + a capricious property; and, though while I had no one to depend upon but + myself, I possessed a mine of seemingly inexhaustible fortitude, yet no + sooner did I find this unexpected sympathy on the part of another, than my + resolution appeared to give way, and I felt ready to faint. My charitable + conductor perceived this, and every now and then encouraged me, in a manner + so cheerful, so good humoured and benevolent, equally free from the torture + of droning expostulation, and the weakness of indulgence, that I thought + myself under the conduct of an angel rather than a man. I could perceive + that his behaviour had in it nothing of boorishness, and that he was + thoroughly imbued with the principles of affectionate civility.</p> + + <p>We walked about three quarters of a mile, and that not towards the open, + but the most uncouth and unfrequented part of the forest. We crossed a place + which had once been a moat, but which was now in some parts dry, and in + others contained a little muddy and stagnated water. Within the enclosure of + this moat, I could only discover a pile of ruins, and several walls, the + upper part of which seemed to overhang their foundations, and to totter to + their ruin. After having entered however with my conductor through an + archway, and passed along a winding passage that was perfectly dark, we came + to a stand.</p> + + <p>At the upper end of this passage was a door, which I was unable to + perceive. My conductor knocked at the door, and was answered by a voice from + within, which, for body and force, might have been the voice of a man, but + with a sort of female sharpness and acidity, enquiring, "Who is there?" + Satisfaction was no sooner given on this point, than I heard two bolts + pushed back, and the door unlocked. The apartment opened, and we entered. + The interior of this habitation by no means corresponded with the appearance + of my protector, but, on the contrary, wore the face of discomfort, + carelessness, and dirt. The only person I saw within was a woman, rather + advanced in life, and whose person had I know not what of extraordinary and + loathsome. Her eyes were red and blood-shot; her hair was pendent in matted + and shaggy tresses about her shoulders; her complexion swarthy, and of the + consistency of parchment; her form spare, and her whole body, her arms in + particular, uncommonly vigorous and muscular. Not the milk of human + kindness, but the feverous blood of savage ferocity, seemed to flow from her + heart; and her whole figure suggested an idea of unmitigable energy, and an + appetite gorged in malevolence. This infernal Thalestris had no sooner cast + her eyes upon us as we entered, than she exclaimed in a discordant and + discontented voice, "What have we got here? this is not one of our people!" + My conductor, without answering this apostrophe, bade her push an easy chair + which stood in one corner, and set it directly before the fire. This she did + with apparent reluctance, murmuring, "Ah! you are at your old tricks; I + wonder what such folks as we have to do with charity! It will be the ruin of + us at last, I can see that!"—"Hold your tongue, beldam!" said he, with + a stern significance of manner, "and fetch one of my best shirts, a + waistcoat, and some dressings." Saying this, he at the same time put into + her hand a small bunch of keys. In a word, he treated me with as much + kindness as if he had been my father. He examined my wound, washed and + dressed it; at the same time that the old woman, by his express order, + prepared for me such nourishment as he thought most suitable to my weak and + languid condition.</p> + + <p>These operations were no sooner completed than my benefactor recommended + to me to retire to rest, and preparations were making for that purpose, when + suddenly a trampling of feet was heard, succeeded by a knock at the door. + The old woman opened the door with the same precautions as had been employed + upon our arrival, and immediately six or seven persons tumultuously entered + the apartment. Their appearance was different, some having the air of mere + rustics, and others that of a tarnished sort of gentry. All had a feature of + boldness, inquietude, and disorder, extremely unlike any thing I had before + observed in such a group. But my astonishment was still increased, when upon + a second glance I perceived something in the general air of several of them, + and of one in particular, that persuaded me they were the gang from which I + had just escaped, and this one the antagonist by whose animosity I was so + near having been finally destroyed. I imagined they had entered the hovel + with a hostile intention, that my benefactor was upon the point of being + robbed, and I probably murdered.</p> + + <p>This suspicion however was soon removed. They addressed my conductor with + respect, under the appellation of captain. They were boisterous and noisy in + their remarks and exclamations, but their turbulence was tempered by a + certain deference to his opinion and authority. I could observe in the + person who had been my active opponent some awkwardness and irresolution as + he first perceived me, which he dismissed with a sort of effort, exclaiming, + "Who the devil is here?" There was something in the tone of this apostrophe + that roused the attention of my protector. He looked at the speaker with a + fixed and penetrating glance, and then said, "Nay, Gines, do you know? Did + you ever see the person before?"—"Curse it, Gines!" interrupted a + third, "you are damnably out of luck. They say dead men walk, and you see + there is some truth in it."—"Truce with your impertinence, Jeckols!" + replied my protector: "this is no proper occasion for a joke. Answer me, + Gines, were you the cause of this young man being left naked and wounded + this bitter morning upon the forest?"</p> + + <p>"Mayhap I was. What then?"</p> + + <p>"What provocation could induce you to so cruel a treatment?"</p> + + <p>"Provocation enough. He had no money."</p> + + <p>"What, did you use him thus, without so much as being irritated by any + resistance on his part?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, he did resist. I only hustled him, and he had the impudence to + strike me."</p> + + <p>"Gines! you are an incorrigible fellow."</p> + + <p>"Pooh, what signifies what I am? You, with your compassion, and your fine + feelings, will bring us all to the gallows."</p> + + <p>"I have nothing to say to you; I have no hopes of you! Comrades, it is + for you to decide upon the conduct of this man as you think proper. You know + how repeated his offences have been; you know what pains I have taken to + mend him. Our profession is the profession of justice." [It is thus that the + prejudices of men universally teach them to colour the most desperate cause + to which they have determined to adhere.] "We, who are thieves without a + licence, are at open war with another set of men who are thieves according + to law. With such a cause then to bear us out, shall we stain it with + cruelty, malice, and revenge? A thief is, of course, a man living among his + equals; I do not pretend therefore to assume any authority among you; act as + you think proper; but, so far as relates to myself, I vote that Gines be + expelled from among us as a disgrace to our society."</p> + + <p>This proposition seemed to meet the general sense. It was easy to + perceive that the opinion of the rest coincided with that of their leader; + notwithstanding which a few of them hesitated as to the conduct to be + pursued. In the mean time Gines muttered something in a surly and irresolute + way, about taking care how they provoked him. This insinuation instantly + roused the courage of my protector, and his eyes flashed with contempt.</p> + + <p>"Rascal!" said he, "do you menace us? Do you think we will be your + slaves? No, no, do your worst! Go to the next justice of the peace, and + impeach us; I can easily believe you are capable of it. Sir, when we entered + into this gang, we were not such fools as not to know that we entered upon a + service of danger. One of its dangers consists in the treachery of fellows + like you. But we did not enter at first to flinch now. Did you believe that + we would live in hourly fear of you, tremble at your threats, and + compromise, whenever you should so please, with your insolence? That would + be a blessed life indeed! I would rather see my flesh torn piecemeal from my + bones! Go, sir! I defy you! You dare not do it! You dare not sacrifice these + gallant fellows to your rage, and publish yourself to all the world a + traitor and a scoundrel! If you do, you will punish yourself, not us! + Begone!"</p> + + <p>The intrepidity of the leader communicated itself to the rest of the + company. Gines easily saw that there was no hope of bringing them over to a + contrary sentiment. After a short pause, he answered, "I did not + mean—No, damn it! I will not snivel neither. I was always true to my + principles, and a friend to you all. But since you are resolved to turn me + out, why—good bye to you!"</p> + + <p>The expulsion of this man produced a remarkable improvement in the whole + gang. Those who were before inclined to humanity, assumed new energy in + proportion as they saw such sentiments likely to prevail. They had before + suffered themselves to be overborne by the boisterous insolence of their + antagonist; but now they adopted, and with success, a different conduct. + Those who envied the ascendancy of their comrade, and therefore imitated his + conduct, began to hesitate in their career. Stories were brought forward of + the cruelty and brutality of Gines both to men and animals, which had never + before reached the ear of the leader. The stories I shall not repeat. They + could excite only emotions of abhorrence and disgust; and some of them + argued a mind of such a stretch of depravity, as to many readers would + appear utterly incredible; and yet this man had his virtues. He was + enterprising, persevering, and faithful.</p> + + <p>His removal was a considerable benefit to me. It would have been no small + hardship to have been turned adrift immediately under my unfavourable + circumstances, with the additional disadvantage of the wound I had received; + and yet I could scarcely have ventured to remain under the same roof with a + man, to whom my appearance was as a guilty conscience, perpetually reminding + him of his own offence, and the displeasure of his leader. His profession + accustomed him to a certain degree of indifference to consequences, and + indulgence to the sallies of passion; and he might easily have found his + opportunity to insult or injure me, when I should have had nothing but my + own debilitated exertions to protect me.</p> + + <p>Freed from this danger, I found my situation sufficiently fortunate for a + man under my circumstances. It was attended with all the advantages for + concealment my fondest imagination could have hoped; and it was by no means + destitute of the benefits which arise from kindness and humanity. Nothing + could be more unlike than the thieves I had seen in ---- jail, and the + thieves of my new residence. The latter were generally full of cheerfulness + and merriment. They could expatiate freely wherever they thought proper. + They could form plans and execute them. They consulted their inclinations. + They did not impose upon themselves the task, as is too often the case in + human society, of seeming tacitly to approve that from which they suffered + most; or, which is worst, of persuading themselves that all the wrongs they + suffered were right; but were at open war with their oppressors. On the + contrary, the imprisoned felons I had lately seen were shut up like wild + beasts in a cage, deprived of activity, and palsied with indolence. The + occasional demonstrations that still remained of their former enterprising + life were the starts and convulsions of disease, not the meditated and + consistent exertions of a mind in health. They had no more of hope, of + project, of golden and animated dreams, but were reserved to the most dismal + prospects, and forbidden to think upon any other topic. It is true, that + these two scenes were parts of one whole, the one the consummation, the + hourly to be expected successor of the other. But the men I now saw were + wholly inattentive to this, and in that respect appeared to hold no commerce + with reflection or reason.</p> + + <p>I might in one view, as I have said, congratulate myself upon my present + residence; it answered completely the purposes of concealment. It was the + seat of merriment and hilarity; but the hilarity that characterised it + produced no correspondent feelings in my bosom. The persons who composed + this society had each of them cast off all control from established + principle; their trade was terror, and their constant object to elude the + vigilance of the community. The influence of these circumstances was visible + in their character. I found among them benevolence and kindness: they were + strongly susceptible of emotions of generosity. But, as their situation was + precarious, their dispositions were proportionably fluctuating. Inured to + the animosity of their species, they were irritable and passionate. + Accustomed to exercise harshness towards the subject of their depredations, + they did not always confine their brutality within that scope. They were + habituated to consider wounds and bludgeons and stabbing as the obvious mode + of surmounting every difficulty. Uninvolved in the debilitating routine of + human affairs, they frequently displayed an energy which, from every + impartial observer, would have extorted veneration. Energy is perhaps of all + qualities the most valuable; and a just political system would possess the + means of extracting from it, thus circumstanced, its beneficial qualities, + instead of consigning it, as now, to indiscriminate destruction. We act like + the chemist, who should reject the finest ore, and employ none but what was + sufficiently debased to fit it immediately for the vilest uses. But the + energy of these men, such as I beheld it, was in the highest degree + misapplied, unassisted by liberal and enlightened views, and directed only + to the most narrow and contemptible purposes.</p> + + <p>The residence I have been describing might to many persons have appeared + attended with intolerable inconveniences. But, exclusively of its advantages + as a field for speculation, it was Elysium, compared with that from which I + had just escaped. Displeasing company, incommodious apartments, filthiness, + and riot, lost the circumstance by which they could most effectually + disgust, when I was not compelled to remain with them. All hardships I could + patiently endure, in comparison with the menace of a violent and untimely + death. There was no suffering that I could not persuade myself to consider + as trivial, except that which flowed from the tyranny, the frigid + precaution, or the inhuman revenge of my own species.</p> + + <p>My recovery advanced in the most favourable manner. The attention and + kindness of my protector were incessant, and the rest caught the spirit from + his example. The old woman who superintended the household still retained + her animosity. She considered me as the cause of the expulsion of Gines from + the fraternity. Gines had been the object of her particular partiality; and, + zealous as she was for the public concern, she thought an old and + experienced sinner for a raw probationer but an ill exchange. Add to which, + that her habits inclined her to moroseness and discontent, and that persons + of her complexion seem unable to exist without some object upon which to + pour out the superfluity of their gall. She lost no opportunity, upon the + most trifling occasion, of displaying her animosity; and ever and anon eyed + me with a furious glance of canine hunger for my destruction. Nothing was + more evidently mortifying to her, than the procrastination of her malice; + nor could she bear to think that a fierceness so gigantic and uncontrollable + should show itself in nothing more terrific than the pigmy spite of a + chambermaid. For myself, I had been accustomed to the warfare of formidable + adversaries, and the encounter of alarming dangers; and what I saw of her + spleen had not power sufficient to disturb my tranquillity.</p> + + <p>As I recovered, I told my story, except so far as related to the + detection of Mr. Falkland's eventful secret, to my protector. That + particular I could not, as yet, prevail upon myself to disclose, even in a + situation like this, which seemed to preclude the possibility of its being + made use of to the disadvantage of my persecutor. My present auditor + however, whose habits of thinking were extremely opposite to those of Mr. + Forester, did not, from the obscurity which flowed from this reserve, deduce + any unfavourable conclusion. His penetration was such, as to afford little + room for an impostor to hope to mislead him by a fictitious statement, and + he confided in that penetration. So confiding, the simplicity and integrity + of my manner carried conviction to his mind, and insured his good opinion + and friendship.</p> + + <p>He listened to my story with eagerness, and commented on the several + parts as I related them. He said, that this was only one fresh instance of + the tyranny and perfidiousness exercised by the powerful members of the + community, against those who were less privileged than themselves. Nothing + could be more clear, than their readiness to sacrifice the human species at + large to their meanest interest, or wildest caprice. Who that saw the + situation in its true light would wait till their oppressors thought fit to + decree their destruction, and not take arms in their defence while it was + yet in their power? Which was most meritorious, the unresisting and + dastardly submission of a slave, or the enterprise and gallantry of the man + who dared to assert his claims? Since, by the partial administration of our + laws, innocence, when power was armed against it, had nothing better to hope + for than guilt, what man of true courage would fail to set these laws at + defiance, and, if he must suffer by their injustice, at least take care that + he had first shown his contempt of their yoke? For himself, he should + certainly never have embraced his present calling, had he not been + stimulated to it by these cogent and irresistible reasons; and he hoped, as + experience had so forcibly brought a conviction of this sort to my mind, + that he should for the future have the happiness to associate me to his + pursuits.—It will presently be seen with what event these hopes were + attended.</p> + + <p>Numerous were the precautions exercised by the gang of thieves with whom + I now resided, to elude the vigilance of the satellites of justice. It was + one of their rules to commit no depredations but at a considerable distance + from the place of their residence; and Gines had transgressed this + regulation in the attack to which I was indebted for my present asylum. + After having possessed themselves of any booty, they took care, in the sight + of the persons whom they had robbed, to pursue a route as nearly as possible + opposite to that which led to their true haunts. The appearance of their + place of residence, together with its environs, was peculiarly desolate and + forlorn, and it had the reputation of being haunted. The old woman I have + described had long been its inhabitant, and was commonly supposed to be its + only inhabitant; and her person well accorded with the rural ideas of a + witch. Her lodgers never went out or came in but with the utmost + circumspection, and generally by night. The lights which were occasionally + seen from various parts of her habitation, were, by the country people, + regarded with horror as supernatural; and if the noise of revelry at any + time saluted their ears, it was imagined to proceed from a carnival of + devils. With all these advantages, the thieves did not venture to reside + here but by intervals: they frequently absented themselves for months, and + removed to a different part of the country. The old woman sometimes attended + them in these transportations, and sometimes remained; but in all cases her + decampment took place either sooner or later than theirs, so that the nicest + observer could scarcely have traced any connection between her reappearance, + and the alarms of depredation that were frequently given; and the festival + of demons seemed, to the terrified rustics, indifferently to take place + whether she were present or absent.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CIII" id="V3_CIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + <p>One day, while I continued in this situation, a circumstance occurred + which involuntarily attracted my attention. Two of our people had been sent + to a town at some distance, for the purpose of procuring us the things of + which we were in want. After having delivered these to our landlady, they + retired to one corner of the room; and, one of them pulling a printed paper + from his pocket, they mutually occupied themselves in examining its + contents. I was sitting in an easy chair by the fire, being considerably + better than I had been, though still in a weak and languid state. Having + read for a considerable time, they looked at me, and then at the paper, and + then at me again. They then went out of the room together, as if to consult + without interruption upon something which that paper suggested to them. Some + time after they returned; and my protector, who had been absent upon the + former occasion, entered the room at the same instant.</p> + + <p>"Captain!" said one of them with an air of pleasure, "look here! we have + found a prize! I believe it is as good as a bank-note of a hundred + guineas."</p> + + <p>Mr. Raymond (that was his name) took the paper, and read. He paused for a + moment. He then crushed the paper in his hand; and, turning to the person + from whom he had received it, said, with the tone of a man confident in the + success of his reasons,—</p> + + <p>"What use have you for these hundred guineas? Are you in want? Are you in + distress? Can you be contented to purchase them at the price of + treachery—of violating the laws of hospitality?"</p> + + <p>"Faith, captain, I do not very well know. After having violated other + laws, I do not see why we should be frightened at an old saw. We pretend to + judge for ourselves, and ought to be above shrinking from a bugbear of a + proverb. Beside, this is a good deed, and I should think no more harm of + being the ruin of such a thief than of getting my dinner."</p> + + <p>"A thief! You talk of thieves!"</p> + + <p>"Not so fast, captain. God defend that I should say a word against + thieving as a general occupation! But one man steals in one way, and another + in another. For my part, I go upon the highway, and take from any stranger I + meet what, it is a hundred to one, he can very well spare. I see nothing to + be found fault with in that. But I have as much conscience as another man. + Because I laugh at assizes, and great wigs, and the gallows, and because I + will not be frightened from an innocent action when the lawyers say me nay, + does it follow that I am to have a fellow-feeling for pilferers, and + rascally servants, and people that have neither justice nor principle? No; I + have too much respect for the trade not to be a foe to interlopers, and + people that so much the more deserve my hatred, because the world calls them + by my name."</p> + + <p>"You are wrong, Larkins! You certainly ought not to employ against people + that you hate, supposing your hatred to be reasonable, the instrumentality + of that law which in your practice you defy. Be consistent. Either be the + friend of the law, or its adversary. Depend upon it that, wherever there are + laws at all, there will be laws against such people as you and me. Either + therefore we all of us deserve the vengeance of the law, or law is not the + proper instrument for correcting the misdeeds of mankind. I tell you this, + because I would fain have you aware, that an informer or a king's evidence, + a man who takes advantage of the confidence of another in order to betray + him, who sells the life of his neighbour for money, or, coward-like, upon + any pretence calls in the law to do that for him which he cannot or dares + not do for himself, is the vilest of rascals. But in the present case, if + your reasons were the best in the world, they do not apply."</p> + + <p>While Mr. Raymond was speaking, the rest of the gang came into the room. + He immediately turned to them, and said,—</p> + + <p>"My friends, here is a piece of intelligence that Larkins has just + brought in which, with his leave, I will lay before you."</p> + + <p>Then unfolding the paper he had received, he continued: "This is the + description of a felon, with the offer of a hundred guineas for his + apprehension. Larking picked it up at ----. By the time and other + circumstances, but particularly by the minute description of his person, + there can be no doubt but the object of it is our young friend, whose life I + was a while ago the instrument of saving. He is charged here with having + taken advantage of the confidence of his patron and benefactor to rob him of + property to a large amount. Upon this charge he was committed to the county + jail, from whence he made his escape about a fortnight ago, without + venturing to stand his trial; a circumstance which is stated by the + advertiser as tantamount to a confession of his guilt.</p> + + <p>"My friends, I was acquainted with the particulars of this story some + time before. This lad let me into his history, at a time that he could not + possibly foresee that he should stand in need of that precaution as an + antidote against danger. He is not guilty of what is laid to his charge. + Which of you is so ignorant as to suppose, that his escape is any + confirmation of his guilt? Who ever thinks, when he is apprehended for + trial, of his innocence or guilt as being at all material to the issue? Who + ever was fool enough to volunteer a trial, where those who are to decide + think more of the horror of the thing of which he is accused, than whether + he were the person that did it; and where the nature of our motives is to be + collected from a set of ignorant witnesses, that no wise man would trust for + a fair representation of the most indifferent action of his life?</p> + + <p>"The poor lad's story is a long one, and I will not trouble you with it + now. But from that story it is as clear as the day, that, because he wished + to leave the service of his master, because he had been perhaps a little too + inquisitive in his master's concerns, and because, as I suspect, he had been + trusted with some important secrets, his master conceived an antipathy + against him. The antipathy gradually proceeded to such a length, as to + induce the master to forge this vile accusation. He seemed willing to hang + the lad out of the way, rather than suffer him to go where he pleased, or + get beyond the reach of his power. Williams has told me the story with such + ingenuousness, that I am as sure that he is guiltless of what they lay to + his charge, as that I am so myself. Nevertheless the man's servants who were + called in to hear the accusation, and his relation, who as justice of the + peace made out the mittimus, and who had the folly to think he could be + impartial, gave it on his side with one voice, and thus afforded Williams a + sample of what he had to expect in the sequel.</p> + + <p>"Larkins, who when he received this paper had no previous knowledge of + particulars, was for taking advantage of it for the purpose of earning the + hundred guineas. Are you of that mind now you have heard them? Will you for + so paltry a consideration deliver up the lamb into the jaws of the wolf? + Will you abet the purposes of this sanguinary rascal, who, not contented + with driving his late dependent from house and home, depriving him of + character and all the ordinary means of subsistence, and leaving him almost + without a refuge, still thirsts for his blood? If no other person have the + courage to set limits to the tyranny of courts of justice, shall not we? + Shall we, who earn our livelihood by generous daring, be indebted for a + penny to the vile artifices of the informer? Shall we, against whom the + whole species is in arms, refuse our protection to an individual, more + exposed to, but still less deserving of, their persecution than + ourselves?"</p> + + <p>The representation of the captain produced an instant effect upon the + whole company. They all exclaimed, "Betray him! No, not for worlds! He is + safe. We will protect him at the hazard of our lives. If fidelity and honour + be banished from thieves, where shall they find refuge upon the face of the + earth?"<a name="footnotetag6" id="footnotetag6"></a><a href= + "#footnote6"><sup>6</sup></a> Larkins in particular thanked the captain for + his interference, and swore that he would rather part with his right hand + than injure so worthy a lad or assist such an unheard-of villainy. Saying + this, he took me by the hand and bade me fear nothing. Under their roof no + harm should ever befal me; and, even if the understrappers of the law should + discover my retreat, they would to a man die in my defence, sooner than a + hair of my head should be hurt. I thanked him most sincerely for his + good-will; but I was principally struck with the fervent benevolence of my + benefactor. I told them, I found that my enemies were inexorable, and would + never be appeased but with my blood; and I assured them with the most solemn + and earnest veracity, that I had done nothing to deserve the persecution + which was exercised against me.</p> + + <p>The spirit and energy of Mr. Raymond had been such as to leave no part + for me to perform in repelling this unlooked-for danger. Nevertheless, it + left a very serious impression upon my mind. I had always placed some + confidence in the returning equity of Mr. Falkland. Though he persecuted me + with bitterness, I could not help believing that he did it unwillingly, and + I was persuaded it would not be for ever. A man, whose original principles + had been so full of rectitude and honour, could not fail at some time to + recollect the injustice of his conduct, and to remit his asperity. This idea + had been always present to me, and had in no small degree conspired to + instigate my exertions. I said, "I will convince my persecutor that I am of + more value than that I should be sacrificed purely by way of precaution." + These expectations on my part had been encouraged by Mr. Falkland's + behaviour upon the question of my imprisonment, and by various particulars + which had occurred since.</p> + + <p>But this new incident gave the subject a totally different appearance. I + saw him, not contented with blasting my reputation, confining me for a + period in jail, and reducing me to the situation of a houseless vagabond, + still continuing his pursuit under these forlorn circumstances with + unmitigable cruelty. Indignation and resentment seemed now for the first + time to penetrate my mind. I knew his misery so well, I was so fully + acquainted with its cause, and strongly impressed with the idea of its being + unmerited, that, while I suffered deeply, I still continued to pity, rather + than hate my persecutor. But this incident introduced some change into my + feelings. I said, "Surely he might now believe that he had sufficiently + disarmed me, and might at length suffer me to be at peace. At least, ought + he not to be contented to leave me to my fate, the perilous and uncertain + condition of an escaped felon, instead of thus whetting the animosity and + vigilance of my countrymen against me? Were his interference on my behalf in + opposition to the stern severity of Mr. Forester, and his various acts of + kindness since, a mere part that he played in order to lull me into + patience? Was he perpetually haunted with the fear of an ample retaliation, + and for that purpose did he personate remorse, at the very moment that he + was secretly keeping every engine at play that could secure my destruction?" + The very suspicion of such a fact filled me with inexpressible horror, and + struck a sudden chill through every fibre of my frame.</p> + + <p>My wound was by this time completely healed, and it became absolutely + necessary that I should form some determination respecting the future. My + habits of thinking were such as gave me an uncontrollable repugnance to the + vocation of my hosts. I did not indeed feel that aversion and abhorrence to + the men which are commonly entertained. I saw and respected their good + qualities and their virtues. I was by no means inclined to believe them + worse men, or more hostile in their dispositions to the welfare of their + species, than the generality of those that look down upon them with most + censure. But, though I did not cease to love them as individuals, my eyes + were perfectly open to their mistakes. If I should otherwise have been in + danger of being misled, it was my fortune to have studied felons in a jail + before I studied them in their state of comparative prosperity; and this was + an infallible antidote to the poison. I saw that in this profession were + exerted uncommon energy, ingenuity, and fortitude, and I could not help + recollecting how admirably beneficial such qualities might be made in the + great theatre of human affairs; while, in their present direction, they were + thrown away upon purposes diametrically at war with the first interests of + human society. Nor were their proceedings less injurious to their own + interest than incompatible with the general welfare. The man who risks or + sacrifices his life for the public cause, is rewarded with the testimony of + an approving conscience; but persons who wantonly defy the necessary, though + atrociously exaggerated, precautions of government in the matter of + property, at the same time that they commit an alarming hostility against + the whole, are, as to their own concerns, scarcely less absurd and + self-neglectful than the man who should set himself up as a mark for a file + of musqueteers to shoot at.</p> + + <p>Viewing the subject in this light, I not only determined that I would + have no share in their occupation myself, but thought I could not do less, + in return for the benefits I had received from them, than endeavour to + dissuade them from an employment in which they must themselves be the + greatest sufferers. My expostulation met with a various reception. All the + persons to whom it was addressed had been tolerably successful in persuading + themselves of the innocence of their calling; and what remained of doubt in + their mind was smothered, and, so to speak, laboriously forgotten. Some of + them laughed at my arguments, as a ridiculous piece of missionary quixotism. + Others, and particularly our captain, repelled them with the boldness of a + man that knows he has got the strongest side. But this sentiment of ease and + self-satisfaction did not long remain. They had been used to arguments + derived from religion and the sacredness of law. They had long ago shaken + these from them as so many prejudices. But my view of the subject appealed + to principles which they could not contest, and had by no means the air of + that customary reproof which is for ever dinned in our ears without finding + one responsive chord in our hearts. Urged, as they now were, with objections + unexpected and cogent, some of those to whom I addressed them began to grow + peevish and impatient of the intrusive remonstrance. But this was by no + means the case with Mr. Raymond. He was possessed of a candour that I have + seldom seen equalled. He was surprised to hear objections so powerful to + that which, as a matter of speculation, he believed he had examined on all + sides. He revolved them with impartiality and care. He admitted them slowly, + but he at length fully admitted them. He had now but one rejoinder in + reserve.</p> + + <p>"Alas! Williams," said he, "it would have been fortunate for me if these + views had been presented to me, previously to my embracing my present + profession. It is now too late. Those very laws which, by a perception of + their iniquity, drove me to what I am, preclude my return. God, we are told, + judges of men by what they are at the period of arraignment, and whatever be + their crimes, if they have seen and abjured the folly of those crimes, + receives them to favour. But the institutions of countries that profess to + worship this God admit no such distinctions. They leave no room for + amendment, and seem to have a brutal delight in confounding the demerits of + offenders. It signifies not what is the character of the individual at the + hour of trial. How changed, how spotless, and how useful, avails him + nothing. If they discover at the distance of fourteen<a name="footnotetag7" + id="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7"><sup>7</sup></a> or of forty + years<a name="footnotetag8" id="footnotetag8"></a><a href= + "#footnote8"><sup>8</sup></a> an action for which the law ordains that his + life shall be the forfeit, though the interval should have been spent with + the purity of a saint and the devotedness of a patriot, they disdain to + enquire into it. What then can I do? Am I not compelled to go on in folly, + having once begun?"</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CIV" id="V3_CIV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + <p>I Was extremely affected by this plea. I could only answer, that Mr. + Raymond must himself be the best judge of the course it became him to hold; + I trusted the case was not so desperate as he imagined.</p> + + <p>This subject was pursued no further, and was in some degree driven from + my thoughts by an incident of a very extraordinary nature.</p> + + <p>I have already mentioned the animosity that was entertained against me by + the infernal portress of this solitary mansion. Gines, the expelled member + of the gang, had been her particular favourite. She submitted to his exile + indeed, because her genius felt subdued by the energy and inherent + superiority of Mr. Raymond; but she submitted with murmuring and discontent. + Not daring to resent the conduct of the principal in this affair, she + collected all the bitterness of her spirit against me.</p> + + <p>To the unpardonable offence I had thus committed in the first instance, + were added the reasonings I had lately offered against the profession of + robbery. Robbery was a fundamental article in the creed of this hoary + veteran, and she listened to my objections with the same unaffected + astonishment and horror that an old woman of other habits would listen to + one who objected to the agonies and dissolution of the Creator of the world, + or to the garment of imputed righteousness prepared to envelope the souls of + the elect. Like the religious bigot, she was sufficiently disposed to avenge + a hostility against her opinions with the weapons of sublunary warfare.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile I had smiled at the impotence of her malice, as an object of + contempt rather than alarm. She perceived, as I imagine, the slight + estimation in which I held her, and this did not a little increase the + perturbation of her thoughts.</p> + + <p>One day I was left alone, with no other person in the house than this + swarthy sybil. The thieves had set out upon an expedition about two hours + after sunset on the preceding evening, and had not returned, as they were + accustomed to do, before day-break the next morning. This was a circumstance + that sometimes occurred, and therefore did not produce any extraordinary + alarm. At one time the scent of prey would lead them beyond the bounds they + had prescribed themselves, and at another the fear of pursuit: the life of a + thief is always uncertain. The old woman had been preparing during the night + for the meal to which they would expect to sit down as soon as might be + after their return.</p> + + <p>For myself, I had learned from their habits to be indifferent to the + regular return of the different parts of the day, and in some degree to turn + day into night, and night into day. I had been now several weeks in this + residence, and the season was considerably advanced. I had passed some hours + during the night in ruminating on my situation. The character and manners of + the men among whom I lived were disgusting to me. Their brutal ignorance, + their ferocious habits, and their coarse behaviour, instead of becoming more + tolerable by custom, hourly added force to my original aversion. The + uncommon vigour of their minds, and acuteness of their invention in the + business they pursued, compared with the odiousness of that business and + their habitual depravity, awakened in me sensations too painful to be + endured. Moral disapprobation, at least in a mind unsubdued by philosophy, I + found to be one of the most fertile sources of disquiet and uneasiness. From + this pain the society of Mr. Raymond by no means relieved me. He was indeed + eminently superior to the vices of the rest; but I did not less exquisitely + feel how much he was out of his place, how disproportionably associated, or + how contemptibly employed. I had attempted to counteract the errors under + which he and his companions laboured; but I had found the obstacles that + presented themselves greater than I had imagined.</p> + + <p>What was I to do? Was I to wait the issue of this my missionary + undertaking, or was I to withdraw myself immediately? When I withdrew, ought + that to be done privately, or with an open avowal of my design, and an + endeavour to supply by the force of example what was deficient in my + arguments? It was certainly improper, as I declined all participation in the + pursuits of these men, did not pay my contribution of hazard to the means by + which they subsisted, and had no congeniality with their habits, that I + should continue to reside with them longer than was absolutely necessary. + There was one circumstance that rendered this deliberation particularly + pressing. They intended in a few days removing from their present + habitation, to a haunt to which they were accustomed, in a distant county. + If I did not propose to continue with them, it would perhaps be wrong to + accompany them in this removal. The state of calamity to which my inexorable + prosecutor had reduced me, had made the encounter even of a den of robbers a + fortunate adventure. But the time that had since elapsed, had probably been + sufficient to relax the keenness of the quest that was made after me. I + sighed for that solitude and obscurity, that retreat from the vexations of + the world and the voice even of common fame, which I had proposed to myself + when I broke my prison.</p> + + <p>Such were the meditations which now occupied my mind. At length I grew + fatigued with continual contemplation, and to relieve myself pulled out a + pocket Horace, the legacy of my beloved Brightwel! I read with avidity the + epistle in which he so beautifully describes to Fuscus, the grammarian, the + pleasures of rural tranquillity and independence. By this time the sun rose + from behind the eastern hills, and I opened my casement to contemplate it. + The day commenced with peculiar brilliancy, and was accompanied with all + those charms which the poets of nature, as they have been styled, have so + much delighted to describe. There was something in this scene, particularly + as succeeding to the active exertions of intellect, that soothed the mind to + composure. Insensibly a confused reverie invaded my faculties; I withdrew + from the window, threw myself upon the bed, and fell asleep.</p> + + <p>I do not recollect the precise images which in this situation passed + through my thoughts, but I know that they concluded with the idea of some + person, the agent of Mr. Falkland, approaching to assassinate me. This + thought had probably been suggested by the project I meditated of entering + once again into the world, and throwing myself within the sphere of his + possible vengeance. I imagined that the design of the murderer was to come + upon me by surprise, that I was aware of his design, and yet, by some + fascination, had no thought of evading it. I heard the steps of the murderer + as he cautiously approached. I seemed to listen to his constrained yet + audible breathings. He came up to the corner where I was placed, and then + stopped.</p> + + <p>The idea became too terrible; I started, opened my eyes, and beheld the + execrable hag before mentioned standing over me with a butcher's cleaver. I + shifted my situation with a speed that seemed too swift for volition, and + the blow already aimed at my skull sunk impotent upon the bed. Before she + could wholly recover her posture, I sprung upon her, seized hold of the + weapon, and had nearly wrested it from her. But in a moment she resumed her + strength and her desperate purpose, and we had a furious struggle—she + impelled by inveterate malice, and I resisting for my life. Her vigour was + truly Amazonian, and at no time had I ever occasion to contend with a more + formidable opponent. Her glance was rapid and exact, and the shock with + which from time to time she impelled her whole frame inconceivably vehement. + At length I was victorious, took from her the instrument of death, and threw + her upon the ground. Till now the earnestness of her exertions had curbed + her rage; but now she gnashed with her teeth, her eyes seemed as if starting + from their sockets, and her body heaved with uncontrollable insanity.</p> + + <p>"Rascal! devil!" she exclaimed, "what do you mean to do to me?"</p> + + <p>Till now the scene had passed uninterrupted by a single word.</p> + + <p>"Nothing," I replied: "begone, infernal witch! and leave me to + myself."</p> + + <p>"Leave you! No: I will thrust my fingers through your ribs, and drink + your blood!--You conquer me?—Ha, ha!--Yes, yes; you shall!--I will sit + upon you, and press you to hell! I will roast you with brimstone, and dash + your entrails into your eyes! Ha, ha!--ha!"</p> + + <p>Saying this, she sprung up, and prepared to attack me with redoubled + fury. I seized her hands, and compelled her to sit upon the bed. Thus + restrained, she continued to express the tumult of her thoughts by grinning, + by certain furious motions of her head, and by occasional vehement efforts + to disengage herself from my grasp. These contortions and starts were of the + nature of those fits in which the patients are commonly supposed to need + three or four persons to hold them. But I found by experience that, under + the circumstances in which I was placed, my single strength was sufficient. + The spectacle of her emotions was inconceivably frightful. Her violence at + length however began to abate, and she became convinced of the hopelessness + of the contest.</p> + + <p>"Let me go!" said she. "Why do you hold me? I will not be held."</p> + + <p>"I wanted you gone from the first," replied I.</p> + + <p>"Are you contented to go now?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, I tell you, misbegotten villain! Yes, rascal!"</p> + + <p>I immediately loosed my hold. She flew to the door, and, holding it in + her hand, said, "I will be the death of you yet: you shall not be your own + man twenty-four hours longer!" With these words she shut the door, and + locked it upon me. An action so totally unexpected startled me. Whither was + she gone? What was it she intended? To perish by the machinations of such a + hag as this was a thought not to be endured. Death in any form brought upon + us by surprise, and for which the mind has had no time to prepare, is + inexpressibly terrible. My thoughts wandered in breathless horror and + confusion, and all within was uproar. I endeavoured to break the door, but + in vain. I went round the room in search of some tool to assist me. At + length I rushed against it with a desperate effort, to which it yielded, and + had nearly thrown me from the top of the stairs to the bottom.</p> + + <p>I descended with all possible caution and vigilance, I entered the room + which served us for a kitchen, but it was deserted. I searched every other + apartment in vain. I went out among the ruins; still I discovered nothing of + my late assailant. It was extraordinary: what could be become of her? what + was I to conclude from her disappearance! I reflected on her parting + menace,—"I should not be my own man twenty-four hours longer." It was + mysterious! it did not seem to be the menace of assassination. Suddenly the + recollection of the hand-bill brought to us by Larkins rushed upon my + memory. Was it possible that she alluded to that in her parting words? Would + she set out upon such an expedition by herself? Was it not dangerous to the + whole fraternity if, without the smallest precaution, she should bring the + officers of justice in the midst of them? It was perhaps improbable she + would engage in an undertaking thus desperate. It was not however easy to + answer for the conduct of a person in her state of mind. Should I wait, and + risk the preservation of my liberty upon the issue?</p> + + <p>To this question I returned an immediate negative. I had resolved in a + short time to quit my present situation, and the difference of a little + sooner or a little later could not be very material. It promised to be + neither agreeable nor prudent for me to remain under the same roof with a + person who had manifested such a fierce and inexpiable hostility. But the + consideration which had inexpressibly the most weight with me, belonged to + the ideas of imprisonment, trial, and death. The longer they had formed the + subject of my contemplation, the more forcibly was I impelled to avoid them. + I had entered upon a system of action for that purpose; I had already made + many sacrifices; and I believed that I would never miscarry in this project + through any neglect of mine. The thought of what was reserved for me by my + persecutors sickened my very soul; and the more intimately I was acquainted + with oppression and injustice, the more deeply was I penetrated with the + abhorrence to which they are entitled.</p> + + <p>Such were the reasons that determined me instantly, abruptly, without + leave-taking, or acknowledgment for the peculiar and repeated favours I had + received, to quit a habitation to which, for six weeks, I had apparently + been indebted for protection from trial, conviction, and an ignominious + death. I had come hither pennyless; I quitted my abode with the sum of a few + guineas in my possession, Mr. Raymond having insisted upon my taking a share + at the time that each man received his dividend from the common stock. + Though I had reason to suppose that the heat of the pursuit against me would + be somewhat remitted by the time that had elapsed, the magnitude of the + mischief that, in an unfavourable event, might fall on me, determined me to + neglect no imaginable precaution. I recollected the hand-bill which was the + source of my present alarm, and conceived that one of the principal dangers + which threatened me was the recognition of my person, either by such as had + previously known me, or even by strangers. It seemed prudent therefore to + disguise it as effectually as I could. For this purpose I had recourse to a + parcel of tattered garments, that lay in a neglected corner of our + habitation. The disguise I chose was that of a beggar. Upon this plan, I + threw off my shirt; I tied a handkerchief about my head, with which I took + care to cover one of my eyes; over this I drew a piece of an old woollen + nightcap. I selected the worst apparel I could find; and this I reduced to a + still more deplorable condition, by rents that I purposely made in various + places. Thus equipped, I surveyed myself in a looking-glass. I had rendered + my appearance complete; nor would any one have suspected that I was not one + of the fraternity to which I assumed to belong. I said, "This is the form in + which tyranny and injustice oblige me to seek for refuge: but better, a + thousand times better is it, thus to incur contempt with the dregs of + mankind, than trust to the tender mercies of our superiors!"</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CV" id="V3_CV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + <p>The only rule that I laid down to myself in traversing the forest, was to + take a direction as opposite as possible to that which led to the scene of + my late imprisonment. After about two hours walking I arrived at the + termination of this ruder scene, and reached that part of the country which + is inclosed and cultivated. Here I sat down by the side of a brook, and, + pulling out a crust of bread which I had brought away with me, rested and + refreshed myself. While I continued in this place, I began to ruminate upon + the plan I should lay down for my future proceedings; and my propensity now + led me, as it had done in a former instance, to fix upon the capital, which + I believed, besides its other recommendations, would prove the safest place + for concealment. During these thoughts I saw a couple of peasants passing at + a small distance, and enquired of them respecting the London road. By their + description I understood that the most immediate way would be to repass a + part of the forest, and that it would be necessary to approach considerably + nearer to the county-town than I was at the spot which I had at present + reached. I did not imagine that this could be a circumstance of considerable + importance. My disguise appeared to be a sufficient security against + momentary danger; and I therefore took a path, though not the most direct + one, which led towards the point they suggested.</p> + + <p>Some of the occurrences of the day are deserving to be mentioned. As I + passed along a road which lay in my way for a few miles, I saw a carriage + advancing in the opposite direction. I debated with myself for a moment, + whether I should pass it without notice, or should take this occasion, by + voice or gesture, of making an essay of my trade. This idle disquisition was + however speedily driven from my mind when I perceived that the carriage was + Mr. Falkland's. The suddenness of the encounter struck me with terror, + though perhaps it would have been difficult for calm reflection to have + discovered any considerable danger. I withdrew from the road, and skulked + behind a hedge till it should have completely gone by. I was too much + occupied with my own feelings, to venture to examine whether or no the + terrible adversary of my peace were in the carriage. I persuaded myself that + he was. I looked after the equipage, and exclaimed, "There you may see the + luxurious accommodations and appendages of guilt, and here the forlornness + that awaits upon innocence!"—I was to blame to imagine that my case + was singular in that respect. I only mention it to show how the most + trivial circumstance contributes to embitter the cup to the man of + adversity. The thought however was a transient one. I had learned this + lesson from my sufferings, not to indulge in the luxury of discontent. As my + mind recovered its tranquillity, I began to enquire whether the phenomenon I + had just seen could have any relation to myself. But though my mind was + extremely inquisitive and versatile in this respect, I could discover no + sufficient ground upon which to build a judgment.</p> + + <p>At night I entered a little public-house at the extremity of a village, + and, seating myself in a corner of the kitchen, asked for some bread and + cheese. While I was sitting at my repast, three or four labourers came in + for a little refreshment after their work. Ideas respecting the inequality + of rank pervade every order in society; and, as my appearance was meaner and + more contemptible than theirs, I found it expedient to give way to these + gentry of a village alehouse, and remove to an obscurer station. I was + surprised, and not a little startled, to find them fall almost immediately + into conversation about my history, whom, with a slight variation of + circumstances, they styled the notorious housebreaker, Kit Williams.</p> + + <p>"Damn the fellow," said one of them, "one never hears of any thing else. + O' my life, I think he makes talk for the whole country."</p> + + <p>"That is very true," replied another. "I was at the market-town to-day to + sell some oats for my master, and there was a hue and cry, some of them + thought they had got him, but it was a false alarm."</p> + + <p>"That hundred guineas is a fine thing," rejoined the first. "I should be + glad if so be as how it fell in my way."</p> + + <p>"For the matter of that," said his companion, "I should like a hundred + guineas as well as another. But I cannot be of your mind for all that. I + should never think money would do me any good that had been the means of + bringing a Christian creature to the gallows."</p> + + <p>"Poh, that is all my granny! Some folks must be hanged, to keep the + wheels of our state-folks a-going. Besides, I could forgive the fellow all + his other robberies, but that he should have been so hardened as to break + the house of his own master at last, that is too bad."</p> + + <p>"Lord! lord!" replied the other, "I see you know nothing of the matter! I + will tell you how it was, as I learned it at the town. I question whether he + ever robbed his master at all. But, hark you! you must know as how that + squire Falkland was once tried for murder"—</p> + + <p>"Yes, yes, we know that."</p> + + <p>"Well, he was as innocent as the child unborn. But I supposes as how he + is a little soft or so. And so Kit Williams—Kit is a devilish cunning + fellow, you may judge that from his breaking prison no less than five + times,—so, I say, he threatened to bring his master to trial at 'size + all over again, and so frightened him, and got money from him at divers + times. Till at last one squire Forester, a relation of t'other, found it all + out. And he made the hell of a rumpus, and sent away Kit to prison in a + twinky; and I believe he would have been hanged: for when two squires lay + their heads together, they do not much matter law, you know; or else they + twist the law to their own ends, I cannot exactly say which; but it is much + at one when the poor fellow's breath is out of his body."</p> + + <p>Though this story was very circumstantially told, and with a sufficient + detail of particulars, it did not pass unquestioned. Each man maintained the + justness of his own statement, and the dispute was long and obstinately + pursued. Historians and commentators at length withdrew together. The + terrors with which I was seized when this conversation began, were extreme. + I stole a sidelong glance to one quarter and another, to observe if any + man's attention was turned upon me. I trembled as if in an ague-fit; and, at + first, felt continual impulses to quit the house, and take to my heels. I + drew closer to my corner, held aside my head, and seemed from time to time + to undergo a total revolution of the animal economy.</p> + + <p>At length the tide of ideas turned. Perceiving they paid no attention to + me, the recollection of the full security my disguise afforded recurred + strongly to my thoughts; and I began inwardly to exult, though I did not + venture to obtrude myself to examination. By degrees I began to be amused at + the absurdity of their tales, and the variety of the falsehoods I heard + asserted around me. My soul seemed to expand; I felt a pride in the + self-possession and lightness of heart with which I could listen to the + scene; and I determined to prolong and heighten the enjoyment. Accordingly, + when they were withdrawn, I addressed myself to our hostess, a buxom, bluff, + good-humoured widow, and asked what sort of a man this Kit Williams might + be? She replied that, as she was informed, he was as handsome, likely a lad, + as any in four counties round; and that she loved him for his cleverness, by + which he outwitted all the keepers they could set over him, and made his way + through stone walls as if they were so many cobwebs. I observed, that the + country was so thoroughly alarmed, that I did not think it possible he + should escape the pursuit that was set up after him. This idea excited her + immediate indignation: she said, she hoped he was far enough away by this + time; but if not, she wished the curse of God might light on them that + betrayed so noble a fellow to an ignominious end!--Though she little thought + that the person of whom she spoke was so near her, yet the sincere and + generous warmth with which She interested herself in my behalf gave me + considerable pleasure. With this sensation to sweeten the fatigues of the + day and the calamities of my situation, I retired from the kitchen to a + neighbouring barn, laid myself down upon some straw, and fell into a + profound sleep.</p> + + <p>The next day about noon, as I was pursuing my journey, I was overtaken by + two men on horseback, who stopped me, to enquire respecting a person that + they supposed might have passed along that road. As they proceeded in their + description, I perceived, with astonishment and terror, that I was myself + the person to whom their questions related. They entered into a tolerably + accurate detail of the various characteristics by which my person might best + be distinguished. They said, they had good reason to believe that I had been + seen at a place in that county the very day before. While they were speaking + a third person, who had fallen behind, came up; and my alarm was greatly + increased upon seeing that this person was the servant of Mr. Forester, who + had visited me in prison about a fortnight before my escape. My best + resource in this crisis was composure and apparent indifference. It was + fortunate for me that my disguise was so complete, that the eye of Mr. + Falkland itself could scarcely have penetrated it. I had been aware for some + time before that this was a refuge which events might make necessary, and + had endeavoured to arrange and methodise my ideas upon the subject. From my + youth I had possessed a considerable facility in the art of imitation; and + when I quitted my retreat in the habitation of Mr. Raymond, I adopted, along + with my beggar's attire, a peculiar slouching and clownish gait, to be used + whenever there should appear the least chance of my being observed, together + with an Irish brogue which I had had an opportunity of studying in my + prison. Such are the miserable expedients, and so great the studied + artifice, which man, who never deserves the name of manhood but in + proportion as he is erect and independent, may find it necessary to employ, + for the purpose of eluding the inexorable animosity and unfeeling tyranny of + his fellow man! I had made use of this brogue, though I have not thought it + necessary to write it down in my narrative, in the conversation of the + village alehouse. Mr. Forester's servant, as he came up, observed that his + companions were engaged in conversation with me; and, guessing at the + subject, asked whether they had gained any intelligence. He added to the + information at which they had already hinted, that a resolution was taken to + spare neither diligence nor expense for my discovery and apprehension, and + that they were satisfied, if I were above ground and in the kingdom, it + would be impossible for me to escape them.</p> + + <p>Every new incident that had occurred to me tended to impress upon my mind + the extreme danger to which I was exposed. I could almost have imagined that + I was the sole subject of general attention, and that the whole world was in + arms to exterminate me. The very idea tingled through every fibre of my + frame. But, terrible as it appeared to my imagination, it did but give new + energy to my purpose; and I determined that I would not voluntarily resign + the field, that is, literally speaking, my neck to the cord of the + executioner, notwithstanding the greatest superiority in my assailants. But + the incidents which had befallen me, though they did not change my purpose, + induced me to examine over again the means by which it might be effected. + The consequence of this revisal was, to determine me to bend my course to + the nearest sea-port on the west side of the island, and transport myself to + Ireland. I cannot now tell what it was that inclined me to prefer this + scheme to that which I had originally formed. Perhaps the latter, which had + been for some time present to my imagination, for that reason appeared the + more obvious of the two; and I found an appearance of complexity, which the + mind did not stay to explain, in substituting the other in its stead.</p> + + <p>I arrived without further impediment at the place from which I intended + to sail, enquired for a vessel, which I found ready to put to sea in a few + hours, and agreed with the captain for my passage. Ireland had to me the + disadvantage of being a dependency of the British government, and therefore + a place of less security than most other countries which are divided from it + by the ocean. To judge from the diligence with which I seemed to be pursued + in England, it was not improbable that the zeal of my persecutors might + follow me to the other side of the channel. It was however sufficiently + agreeable to my mind, that I was upon the point of being removed one step + further from the danger which was so grievous to my imagination.</p> + + <p>Could there be any peril in the short interval that was to elapse, before + the vessel was to weigh anchor and quit the English shore? Probably not. A + very short time had intervened between my determination for the sea and my + arrival at this place; and if any new alarm had been given to my + prosecutors, it proceeded from the old woman a very few days before. I hoped + I had anticipated their diligence. Meanwhile, that I might neglect no + reasonable precaution, I went instantly on board, resolved that I would not + unnecessarily, by walking the streets of the town, expose myself to any + untoward accident. This was the first time I had, upon any occasion, taken + leave of my native country.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CVI" id="V3_CVI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + <p>The time was now nearly elapsed that was prescribed for our stay, and + orders for weighing anchor were every moment expected, when we were hailed + by a boat from the shore, with two other men in it besides those that rowed. + They entered our vessel in an instant. They were officers of justice. The + passengers, five persons besides myself, were ordered upon deck for + examination. I was inexpressibly disturbed at the occurrence of such a + circumstance in so unseasonable a moment. I took it for granted that it was + of me they were in search. Was it possible that, by any unaccountable + accident, they should have got an intimation of my disguise? It was + infinitely more distressing to encounter them upon this narrow stage, and + under these pointed circumstances, than, as I had before encountered my + pursuers, under the appearance of an indifferent person. My recollection + however did not forsake me. I confided in my conscious disguise and my Irish + brogue, as a rock of dependence against all accidents.</p> + + <p>No sooner did we appear upon deck than, to my great consternation, I + could observe the attention of our guests principally turned upon me. They + asked a few frivolous questions of such of my fellow passengers as happened + to be nearest to them; and then, turning to me, enquired my name, who I was, + whence I came, and what had brought me there? I had scarcely opened my mouth + to reply, when, with one consent, they laid hold of me, said I was their + prisoner, and declared that my accent, together with the correspondence of + my person, would be sufficient to convict me before any court in England. I + was hurried out of the vessel into the boat in which they came, and seated + between them, as if by way of precaution, lest I should spring overboard, + and by any means escape them.</p> + + <p>I now took it for granted that I was once more in the power of Mr. + Falkland; and the idea was insupportably mortifying and oppressive to my + imagination. Escape from his pursuit, freedom from his tyranny, were objects + upon which my whole soul was bent. Could no human ingenuity and exertion + effect them? Did his power reach through all space, and his eye penetrate + every concealment? Was he like that mysterious being, to protect us from + whose fierce revenge mountains and hills, we are told, might fall on us in + vain? No idea is more heart-sickening and tremendous than this. But, in my + case, it was not a subject of reasoning or of faith; I could derive no + comfort, either directly from the unbelief which, upon religious subjects, + some men avow to their own minds; or secretly from the remoteness and + incomprehensibility of the conception: it was an affair of sense; I felt the + fangs of the tiger striking deep into my heart.</p> + + <p>But though this impression was at first exceedingly strong, and + accompanied with its usual attendants of dejection and pusillanimity, my + mind soon began, as it were mechanically, to turn upon the consideration of + the distance between this sea-port and my county prison, and the various + opportunities of escape that might offer themselves in the interval. My + first duty was to avoid betraying myself, more than it might afterwards + appear I was betrayed already. It was possible that, though apprehended, my + apprehension might have been determined on upon some slight score, and that, + by my dexterity, I might render my dismission as sudden as my arrest had + been. It was even possible that I had been seized through a mistake, and + that the present measure might have no connection with Mr. Falkland's + affair. Upon every supposition, it was my business to gain information. In + my passage from the ship to the town I did not utter a word. My conductors + commented on my sulkiness; but remarked that it would avail me + nothing—I should infallibly swing, as it was never known that any body + got off who was tried for robbing his majesty's mail. It is difficult to + conceive the lightness of heart which was communicated to me by these words: + I persisted however in the silence I had meditated. From the rest of their + conversation, which was sufficiently voluble, I learned that the mail from + Edinburgh to London had been robbed about ten days before by two Irishmen, + that one of them was already secured, and that I was taken up upon suspicion + of being the other. They had a description of his person, which, though, as + I afterwards found, it disagreed from mine in several material articles, + appeared to them to tally to the minutest tittle. The intelligence that the + whole proceeding against me was founded in a mistake, took an oppressive + load from my mind. I believed that I should immediately be able to establish + my innocence, to the satisfaction of any magistrate in the kingdom; and + though crossed in my plans, and thwarted in my design of quitting the + island, even after I was already at sea, this was but a trifling + inconvenience compared with what I had had but too much reason to fear.</p> + + <p>As soon as we came ashore, I was conducted to the house of a justice of + peace, a man who had formerly been the captain of a collier, but who, having + been successful in the world, had quitted this wandering life, and for some + years had had the honour to represent his majesty's person. We were detained + for some time in a sort of anti-room, waiting his reverence's leisure. The + persons by whom I had been taken up were experienced in their trade, and + insisted upon employing this interval in searching me, in presence of two of + his worship's servants. They found upon me fifteen guineas and some silver. + They required me to strip myself perfectly naked, that they might examine + whether I had bank-notes concealed any where about my person. They took up + the detached parcels of my miserable attire as I threw it from me, and felt + them one by one, to discover whether the articles of which they were in + search might by any device be sewn up in them. To all this I submitted + without murmuring. It might probably come to the same thing at last; and + summary justice was sufficiently coincident with my views, my principal + object being to get as soon as possible out of the clutches of the + respectable persons who now had me in custody.</p> + + <p>This operation was scarcely completed, before we were directed to be + ushered into his worship's apartment. My accusers opened the charge, and + told him they had been ordered to this town, upon an intimation that one of + the persons who robbed the Edinburgh mail was to be found here; and that + they had taken me on board a vessel which was by this time under sail for + Ireland. "Well," says his worship, "that is your story; now let us hear what + account the gentleman gives of himself. What is your name—ha, sirrah? + and from what part of Tipperary are you pleased to come?" I had already + taken my determination upon this article; and the moment I learned the + particulars of the charge against me, resolved, for the present at least, to + lay aside my Irish accent, and speak my native tongue. This I had done in + the very few words I had spoken to my conductors in the anti-room: they + started at the metamorphosis; but they had gone too far for it to be + possible they should retract, in consistence with their honour. I now told + the justice that I was no Irishman, nor had ever been in that country: I was + a native of England. This occasioned a consulting of the deposition in which + my person was supposed to be described, and which my conductors had brought + with them for their direction. To be sure, that required that the offender + should be an Irishman.</p> + + <p>Observing his worship hesitate, I thought this was the time to push the + matter a little further. I referred to the paper, and showed that the + description neither tallied as to height nor complexion. But then it did as + to years and the colour of the hair; and it was not this gentleman's habit, + as he informed me, to squabble about trifles, or to let a man's neck out of + the halter for a pretended flaw of a few inches in his stature. "If a man + were too short," he said, "there was no remedy like a little stretching." + The miscalculation in my case happened to be the opposite way, but his + reverence did not think proper to lose his jest. Upon the whole, he was + somewhat at a loss how to proceed.</p> + + <p>My conductors observed this, and began to tremble for the reward, which, + two hours ago, they thought as good as in their own pocket. To retain me in + custody they judged to be a safe speculation; if it turned out a mistake at + last, they felt little apprehension of a suit for false imprisonment from a + poor man, accoutred as I was, in rags. They therefore urged his worship to + comply with their views. They told him that to be sure the evidence against + me did not prove so strong as for their part they heartily wished it had, + but that there were a number of suspicious circumstances respecting me. When + I was brought up to them upon the deck of the vessel, I spoke as fine an + Irish brogue as one shall hear in a summer's day; and now, all at once, + there was not the least particle of it left. In searching me they had found + upon me fifteen guineas, how should a poor beggar lad, such as I appeared, + come honestly by fifteen guineas? Besides, when they had stripped me naked, + though my dress was so shabby my skin had all the sleekness of a gentleman. + In fine, for what purpose could a poor beggar, who had never been in Ireland + in his life, want to transport himself to that country? It was as clear as + the sun that I was no better than I should be. This reasoning, together with + some significant winks and gestures between the justice and the plaintiffs, + brought him over to their way of thinking. He said, I must go to Warwick, + where it seems the other robber was at present in custody, and be confronted + with him; and if then every thing appeared fair and satisfactory, I should + be discharged.</p> + + <p>No intelligence could be more terrible than that which was contained in + these words. That I, who had found the whole country in arms against me, who + was exposed to a pursuit so peculiarly vigilant and penetrating, should now + be dragged to the very centre of the kingdom, without power of accommodating + myself to circumstances, and under the immediate custody of the officers of + justice, seemed to my ears almost the same thing as if he had pronounced + upon me a sentence of death! I strenuously urged the injustice of this + proceeding. I observed to the magistrate, that it was impossible I should be + the person at whom the description pointed. It required an Irishman; I was + no Irishman. It described a person shorter than I; a circumstance of all + others the least capable of being counterfeited. There was not the slightest + reason for detaining me in custody. I had been already disappointed of my + voyage, and lost the money I had paid, down, through the officiousness of + these gentlemen in apprehending me. I assured his worship, that every delay, + under my circumstances, was of the utmost importance to me. It was + impossible to devise a greater injury to be inflicted on me, than the + proposal that, instead of being permitted to proceed upon my voyage, I + should be sent, under arrest, into the heart of the kingdom.</p> + + <p>My remonstrances were vain. The justice was by no means inclined to + digest the being expostulated with in this manner by a person in the + habiliments of a beggar. In the midst of my address he would have silenced + me for my impertinence, but that I spoke with an earnestness with which he + was wholly unable to contend. When I had finished, he told me it was all to + no purpose, and that it might have been better for me, if I had shown myself + less insolent. It was clear that I was a vagabond and a suspicious person. + The more earnest I showed myself to get off, the more reason there was he + should keep me fast. Perhaps, after all, I should turn out to be the felon + in question. But, if I was not that, he had no doubt I was worse; a poacher, + or, for what he knew, a murderer. He had a kind of a notion that he had seen + my face before about some such affair; out of all doubt I was an old + offender. He had it in his choice to send me to hard labour as a vagrant, + upon the strength of my appearance and the contradictions in my story, or to + order me to Warwick; and, out of the spontaneous goodness of his + disposition, he chose the milder side of the alternative. He could assure me + I should not slip through his fingers. It was of more benefit to his + majesty's government to hang one such fellow as he suspected me to be, than, + out of mistaken tenderness, to concern one's self for the good of all the + beggars in the nation.</p> + + <p>Finding it was impossible to work, in the way I desired, on a man so + fully impressed with his own dignity and importance and my utter + insignificance, I claimed that, at least, the money taken from my person + should be restored to me. This was granted. His worship perhaps suspected + that he had stretched a point in what he had already done, and was therefore + the less unwilling to relax in this incidental circumstance. My conductors + did not oppose themselves to this indulgence, for a reason that will appear + in the sequel. The justice however enlarged upon his clemency in this + proceeding. He did not know whether he was not exceeding the spirit of his + commission in complying with my demand. So much money in my possession could + not be honestly come by. But it was his temper to soften, as far as could be + done with propriety, the strict letter of the law.</p> + + <p>There were cogent reasons why the gentlemen who had originally taken me + into custody, chose that I should continue in their custody when my + examination was over. Every man is, in his different mode, susceptible to a + sense of honour; and they did not choose to encounter the disgrace that + would accrue to them, if justice had been done. Every man is in some degree + influenced by the love of power; and they were willing I should owe any + benefit I received, to their sovereign grace and benignity, and not to the + mere reason of the case. It was not however an unsubstantial honour and + barren power that formed the objects of their pursuit: no, their views were + deeper than that. In a word, though they chose that I should retire from the + seat of justice, as I had come before it, a prisoner, yet the tenor of my + examination had obliged them, in spite of themselves, to suspect that I was + innocent of the charge alleged against me. Apprehensive therefore that the + hundred guineas which had been offered as a reward for taking the robber was + completely out of the question in the present business, they were contented + to strike at smaller game. Having conducted me to an inn, and given + directions respecting a vehicle for the journey, they took me aside, while + one of them addressed me in the following manner:—</p> + + <p>"You see, my lad, how the case stands: hey for Warwick is the word I and + when we are got there, what may happen then I will not pretend for to say. + Whether you are innocent or no is no business of mine; but you are not such + a chicken as to suppose, if so be as you are innocent, that that will make + your game altogether sure. You say your business calls you another way, and + as how you are in haste: I scorns to cross any man in his concerns, if I can + help it. If therefore you will give us them there fifteen shiners, why snug + is the word. They are of no use to you; a beggar, you know, is always at + home. For the matter of that, we could have had them in the way of business, + as you saw, at the justice's. But I am a man of principle; I loves to do + things above board, and scorns to extort a shilling from any man."</p> + + <p>He who is tinctured with principles of moral discrimination is apt upon + occasion to be run away with by his feelings in that respect, and to forget + the immediate interest of the moment. I confess, that the first sentiment + excited in my mind by this overture was that of indignation. I was + irresistibly impelled to give utterance to this feeling, and postpone for a + moment the consideration of the future. I replied with the severity which so + base a proceeding appeared to deserve. My bear-leaders were considerably + surprised with my firmness, but seemed to think it beneath them to contest + with me the principles I delivered. He who had made the overture contented + himself with replying, "Well, well, my lad, do as you will; you are not the + first man that has been hanged rather than part with a few guineas." His + words did not pass unheeded by me. They were strikingly applicable to my + situation, and I was determined not to suffer the occasion to escape me + unimproved.</p> + + <p>The pride of these gentlemen however was too great to admit of further + parley for the present. They left me abruptly; having first ordered an old + man, the father of the landlady, to stay in the room with me while they were + absent. The old man they ordered, for security, to lock the door, and put + the key in his pocket; at the same time mentioning below stairs the station + in which they had left me, that the people of the house might have an eye + upon what went forward, and not suffer me to escape. What was the intention + of this manoeuvre I am unable certainly to pronounce. Probably it was a sort + of compromise between their pride and their avarice; being desirous, for + some reason or other, to drop me as soon as convenient, and therefore + determining to wait the result of my private meditations on the proposal + they had made.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CVII" id="V3_CVII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + <p>They were no sooner withdrawn than I cast my eye upon the old man, and + found something extremely venerable and interesting in his appearance. His + form was above the middle size. It indicated that his strength had been once + considerable; nor was it at this time by any means annihilated. His hair was + in considerable quantity, and was as white as the drifted snow. His + complexion was healthful and ruddy, at the same time that his face was + furrowed with wrinkles. In his eye there was remarkable vivacity, and his + whole countenance was strongly expressive of good-nature. The boorishness of + his rank in society was lost in the cultivation his mind had derived from + habits of sensibility and benevolence.</p> + + <p>The view of his figure immediately introduced a train of ideas into my + mind, respecting the advantage to be drawn from the presence of such a + person. The attempt to take any step without his consent was hopeless; for, + though I should succeed with regard to him, he could easily give the alarm + to other persons, who would, no doubt, be within call. Add to which, I could + scarcely have prevailed on myself to offer any offence to a person whose + first appearance so strongly engaged my affection and esteem. In reality my + thoughts were turned into a different channel. I was impressed with an + ardent wish to be able to call this man my benefactor. Pursued by a train of + ill fortune, I could no longer consider myself as a member of society. I was + a solitary being, cut off from the expectation of sympathy, kindness, and + the good-will of mankind. I was strongly impelled, by the situation in which + the present moment placed me, to indulge in a luxury which my destiny seemed + to have denied. I could not conceive the smallest comparison between the + idea of deriving my liberty from the spontaneous kindness of a worthy and + excellent mind, and that of being indebted for it to the selfishness and + baseness of the worst members of society. It was thus that I allowed myself + in the wantonness of refinement, even in the midst of destruction.</p> + + <p>Guided by these sentiments, I requested his attention to the + circumstances by which I had been brought into my present situation. He + immediately signified his assent, and said he would cheerfully listen to any + thing I thought proper to communicate. I told him, the persons who had just + left me in charge with him had come to this town for the purpose of + apprehending some person who had been guilty of robbing the mail; that they + had chosen to take me up under this warrant, and had conducted me before a + justice of the peace; that they had soon detected their mistake, the person + in question being an Irishman, and differing from me both in country and + stature; but that, by collusion between them and the justice, they were + permitted to retain me in custody, and pretended to undertake to conduct me + to Warwick to confront me with my accomplice; that, in searching me at the + justice's, they had found a sum of money in my possession which excited + their cupidity, and that they had just been proposing to me to give me my + liberty upon condition of my surrendering this sum into their hands. Under + these circumstances, I requested him to consider, whether he would wish to + render himself the instrument of their extortion. I put myself into his + hands, and solemnly averred the truth of the facts I had just stated. If he + would assist me in my escape, it could have no other effect than to + disappoint the base passions of my conductors. I would upon no account + expose him to any real inconvenience; but I was well assured that the same + generosity that should prompt him to a good deed, would enable him + effectually to vindicate it when done; and that those who detained me, when + they had lost sight of their prey, would feel covered with confusion, and + not dare to take another step in the affair.</p> + + <p>The old man listened to what I related with curiosity and interest. He + said that he had always felt an abhorrence to the sort of people who had me + in their hands; that he had an aversion to the task they had just imposed + upon him, but that he could not refuse some little disagreeable offices to + oblige his daughter and son-in-law. He had no doubt, from my countenance and + manner, of the truth of what I had asserted to him. It was an extraordinary + request I had made, and he did not know what had induced me to think him the + sort of person to whom, with any prospect of success, it might be made. In + reality however his habits of thinking were uncommon, and he felt more than + half inclined to act as I desired. One thing at least he would ask of me in + return, which was to be faithfully informed in some degree respecting the + person he was desired to oblige. What was my name?</p> + + <p>The question came upon me unprepared. But, whatever might be the + consequence, I could not bear to deceive the person by whom it was put, and + in the circumstances under which it was put. The practice of perpetual + falsehood is too painful a task. I replied, that my name was Williams.</p> + + <p>He paused. His eye was fixed upon me. I saw his complexion alter at the + repetition of that word. He proceeded with visible anxiety.</p> + + <p>My Christian name?</p> + + <p>Caleb.</p> + + <p>Good God! it could not be ----? He conjured me by every thing that was + sacred to answer him faithfully to one question more. I was not—no, it + was impossible—the person who had formerly lived servant with Mr. + Falkland, of ----?</p> + + <p>I told him that, whatever might be the meaning of his question, I would + answer him truly. I was the individual he mentioned.</p> + + <p>As I uttered these words the old man rose from his seat. He was sorry + that fortune had been so unpropitious to him, as for him ever to have set + eyes upon me! I was a monster with whom the very earth groaned!</p> + + <p>I entreated that he would suffer me to explain this new misapprehension, + as he had done in the former instance. I had no doubt that I should do it + equally to his satisfaction.</p> + + <p>No! no! no! he would upon no consideration admit, that his ears should + suffer such contamination. This case and the other were very different. + There was no criminal upon the face of the earth, no murderer, half so + detestable as the person who could prevail upon himself to utter the charges + I had done, by way of recrimination, against so generous a master.—The + old man was in a perfect agony with the recollection.</p> + + <p>At length he calmed himself enough to say, he should never cease to + grieve that he had held a moment's parley with me. He did not know what was + the conduct severe justice required of him; but, since he had come into the + knowledge of who I was only by my own confession, it was irreconcilably + repugnant to his feelings to make use of that knowledge to my injury. Here + therefore all relation between us ceased; as indeed it would be an abuse of + words to consider me in the light of a human creature. He would do me no + mischief; but, on the other hand, he would not, for the world, be in any way + assisting and abetting me.</p> + + <p>I was inexpressibly affected at the abhorrence this good and benevolent + creature expressed against me. I could not be silent; I endeavoured once and + again to prevail upon him to hear me. But his determination was unalterable. + Our contest lasted for some time, and he at length terminated it by ringing + the bell, and calling up the waiter. A very little while after, my + conductors entered, and the other persons withdrew.</p> + + <p>It was a part of the singularity of my fate that it hurried me from one + species of anxiety and distress to another, too rapidly to suffer any one of + them to sink deeply into my mind. I am apt to believe, in the retrospect, + that half the calamities I was destined to endure would infallibly have + overwhelmed and destroyed me. But, as it was, I had no leisure to chew the + cud upon misfortunes as they befel me, but was under the necessity of + forgetting them, to guard against peril that the next moment seemed ready to + crush me.</p> + + <p>The behaviour of this incomparable and amiable old man cut me to the + heart. It was a dreadful prognostic for all my future life. But, as I have + just observed, my conductors entered, and another subject called imperiously + upon my attention. I could have been content, mortified as I was at this + instant, to have been shut up in some impenetrable solitude, and to have + wrapped myself in inconsolable misery. But the grief I endured had not such + power over me as that I could be content to risk the being led to the + gallows. The love of life, and still more a hatred against oppression, + steeled my heart against that species of inertness. In the scene that had + just passed I had indulged, as I have said, in a wantonness and luxury of + refinement. It was time that indulgence should be brought to a period. It + was dangerous to trifle any more upon the brink of fate; and, penetrated as + I was with sadness by the result of my last attempt, I was little disposed + to unnecessary circumambulation.</p> + + <p>I was exactly in the temper in which the gentlemen who had me in their + power would have desired to find me. Accordingly we entered immediately upon + business; and, after some chaffering, they agreed to accept eleven guineas + as the price of my freedom. To preserve however the chariness of their + reputation, they insisted upon conducting me with them for a few miles on + the outside of a stage-coach. They then pretended that the road they had to + travel lay in a cross country direction; and, having quitted the vehicle, + they suffered me, almost as soon as it was out of sight, to shake off this + troublesome association, and follow my own inclinations. It may be worth + remarking by the way, that these fellows outwitted themselves at their own + trade. They had laid hold of me at first under the idea of a prize of a + hundred guineas; they had since been glad to accept a composition of eleven: + but if they had retained me a little longer in their possession, they would + have found the possibility of acquiring the sum that had originally excited + their pursuit, upon a different score.</p> + + <p>The mischances that had befallen me, in my late attempt to escape from my + pursuers by sea, deterred me from the thought of repeating that experiment. + I therefore once more returned to the suggestion of hiding myself, at least + for the present, amongst the crowds of the metropolis. Meanwhile, I by no + means thought proper to venture by the direct route, and the less so, as + that was the course which would be steered by my late conductors; but took + my road along the borders of Wales. The only incident worth relating in this + place occurred in an attempt to cross the Severn in a particular point. The + mode was by a ferry; but, by some strange inadvertence, I lost my way so + completely as to be wholly unable that night to reach the ferry, and arrive + at the town which I had destined for my repose.</p> + + <p>This may seem a petty disappointment, in the midst of the overwhelming + considerations that might have been expected to engross every thought of my + mind. Yet it was borne by me with singular impatience. I was that day + uncommonly fatigued. Previously to the time that I mistook, or at least was + aware of the mistake of the road, the sky had become black and lowring, and + soon after the clouds burst down in sheets of rain. I was in the midst of a + heath, without a tree or covering of any sort to shelter me. I was + thoroughly drenched in a moment. I pushed on with a sort of sullen + determination. By and by the rain gave place to a storm of hail. The + hail-stones were large and frequent. I was ill defended by the miserable + covering I wore, and they seemed to cut me in a thousand directions. The + hail-storm subsided, and was again succeeded by a heavy rain. By this time + it was that I had perceived I was wholly out of my road. I could discover + neither man nor beast, nor habitation of any kind. I walked on, measuring at + every turn the path it would be proper to pursue, but in no instance finding + a sufficient reason to reject one or prefer another. My mind was bursting + with depression and anguish. I muttered imprecations and murmuring as I + passed along. I was full of loathing and abhorrence of life, and all that + life carries in its train. After wandering without any certain direction for + two hours, I was overtaken by the night. The scene was nearly pathless, and + it was vain to think of proceeding any farther.</p> + + <p>Here I was, without comfort, without shelter, and without food. There was + not a particle of my covering that was not as wet as if it had been fished + from the bottom of the ocean. My teeth chattered. I trembled in every limb. + My heart burned with universal fury. At one moment I stumbled and fell over + some unseen obstacle; at another I was turned back by an impediment I could + not overcome.</p> + + <p>There was no strict connection between these casual inconveniences and + the persecution under which I laboured. But my distempered thoughts + confounded them together. I cursed the whole system of human existence. I + said, "Here I am, an outcast, destined to perish with hunger and cold. All + men desert me. All men hate me. I am driven with mortal threats from the + sources of comfort and existence. Accursed world! that hates without a + cause, that overwhelms innocence with calamities which ought to be spared + even to guilt! Accursed world! dead to every manly sympathy; with eyes of + horn, and hearts of steel! Why do I consent to live any longer? Why do I + seek to drag on an existence, which, if protracted, must be protracted + amidst the lairs of these human tigers?"</p> + + <p>This paroxysm at length exhausted itself. Presently after, I discovered a + solitary shed, which I was contented to resort to for shelter. In a corner + of the shed I found some clean straw. I threw off my rags, placed them in a + situation where they would best be dried, and buried myself amidst this + friendly warmth. Here I forgot by degrees the anguish that had racked me. A + wholesome shed and fresh straw may seem but scanty benefits; but they + offered themselves when least expected, and my whole heart was lightened by + the encounter. Through fatigue of mind and body, it happened in this + instance, though in general my repose was remarkably short, that I slept + till almost noon of the next day. When I rose, I found that I was at no + great distance from the ferry, which I crossed, and entered the town where I + intended to have rested the preceding night.</p> + + <p>It was market-day. As I passed near the cross, I observed two people look + at me with great earnestness: after which one of them exclaimed, "I will be + damned if I do not think that this is the very fellow those men were + enquiring for who set off an hour ago by the coach for ----." I was + extremely alarmed at this information; and, quickening my pace, turned sharp + down a narrow lane. The moment I was out of sight I ran with all the speed I + could exert, and did not think myself safe till I was several miles distant + from the place where this information had reached my ears. I have always + believed that the men to whom it related were the very persons who had + apprehended me on board the ship in which I had embarked for Ireland; that, + by some accident, they had met with the description of my person as + published on the part of Mr. Falkland; and that, from putting together the + circumstances, they had been led to believe that this was the very + individual who had lately been in their custody. Indeed it was a piece of + infatuation in me, for which I am now unable to account, that, after the + various indications which had occurred in that affair, proving to them that + I was a man in critical and peculiar circumstances, I should have persisted + in wearing the same disguise without the smallest alteration. My escape in + the present case was eminently fortunate. If I had not lost my way in + consequence of the hail-storm on the preceding night, or if I had not so + greatly overslept myself this very morning, I must almost infallibly have + fallen into the hands of these infernal blood-hunters.</p> + + <p>The town they had chosen for their next stage, the name of which I had + thus caught in the market-place, was the town to which, but for this + intimation, I should have immediately proceeded. As it was, I determined to + take a road as wide of it as possible. In the first place to which I came, + in which it was practicable to do so, I bought a great coat, which I drew + over my beggar's weeds, and a better hat. The hat I slouched over my face, + and covered one of my eyes with a green-silk shade. The handkerchief, which + I had hitherto worn about my head, I now tied about the lower part of my + visage, so as to cover my mouth. By degrees I discarded every part of my + former dress, and wore for my upper garment a kind of carman's frock, which, + being of the better sort, made me look like the son of a reputable farmer of + the lower class. Thus equipped, I proceeded on my journey, and, after a + thousand alarms, precautions, and circuitous deviations from the direct + path, arrived safely in London.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CVIII" id="V3_CVIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + + <p>Here then was the termination of an immense series of labours, upon which + no man could have looked back without astonishment, or forward without a + sentiment bordering on despair. It was at a price which defies estimation + that I had purchased this resting-place; whether we consider the efforts it + had cost me to escape from the walls of my prison, or the dangers and + anxieties to which I had been a prey, from that hour to the present.</p> + + <p>But why do I call the point at which I was now arrived at a + resting-place? Alas, it was diametrically the reverse! It was my first and + immediate business to review all the projects of disguise I had hitherto + conceived, to derive every improvement I could invent from the practice to + which I had been subjected, and to manufacture a veil of concealment more + impenetrable than ever. This was an effort to which I could see no end. In + ordinary cases the hue and cry after a supposed offender is a matter of + temporary operation; but ordinary cases formed no standard for the colossal + intelligence of Mr. Falkland. For the same reason, London, which appears an + inexhaustible reservoir of concealment to the majority of mankind, brought + no such consolatory sentiment to my mind. Whether life were worth accepting + on such terms I cannot pronounce. I only know that I persisted in this + exertion of my faculties, through a sort of parental love that men are + accustomed to entertain for their intellectual offspring; the more thought I + had expended in rearing it to its present perfection, the less did I find + myself disposed to abandon it. Another motive, not less strenuously exciting + me to perseverance, was the ever-growing repugnance I felt to injustice and + arbitrary power.</p> + + <p>The first evening of my arrival in town I slept at an obscure inn in the + borough of Southwark, choosing that side of the metropolis, on account of + its lying entirely wide of the part of England from which I came. I entered + the inn in the evening in my countryman's frock; and, having paid for my + lodging before I went to bed, equipped myself next morning as differently as + my wardrobe would allow, and left the house before day. The frock I made up + into a small packet, and, having carried it to a distance as great as I + thought necessary, I dropped it in the corner of an alley through which I + passed. My next care was to furnish myself with another suit of apparel, + totally different from any to which I had hitherto had recourse. The + exterior which I was now induced to assume was that of a Jew. One of the + gang of thieves upon ---- forest, had been of that race; and by the talent + of mimicry, which I have already stated myself to possess, I could copy + their pronunciation of the English language, sufficiently to answer such + occasions as were likely to present themselves. One of the preliminaries I + adopted, was to repair to a quarter of the town in which great numbers of + this people reside, and study their complexion and countenance. Having made + such provision as my prudence suggested to me, I retired for that night to + an inn in the midway between Mile-end and Wapping. Here I accoutred myself + in my new habiliments; and, having employed the same precautions as before, + retired from my lodging at a time least exposed to observation. It is + unnecessary to describe the particulars of my new equipage; suffice it to + say, that one of my cares was to discolour my complexion, and give it the + dun and sallow hue which is in most instances characteristic of the tribe to + which I assumed to belong; and that when my metamorphosis was finished, I + could not, upon the strictest examination, conceive that any one could have + traced out the person of Caleb Williams in this new disguise.</p> + + <p>Thus far advanced in the execution of my project. I deemed it advisable + to procure a lodging, and change my late wandering life for a stationary + one. In this lodging I constantly secluded myself from the rising to the + setting of the sun; the periods I allowed for exercise and air were few, and + those few by night. I was even cautious of so much as approaching the window + of my apartment, though upon the attic story; a principle I laid down to + myself was, not wantonly and unnecessarily to expose myself to risk, however + slight that risk might appear.</p> + + <p>Here let me pause for a moment, to bring before the reader, in the way in + which it was impressed upon my mind, the nature of my situation. I was born + free: I was born healthy, vigorous, and active, complete in all the + lineaments and members of a human body. I was not born indeed to the + possession of hereditary wealth; but I had a better inheritance, an + enterprising mind, an inquisitive spirit, a liberal ambition. In a word, I + accepted my lot with willingness and content; I did not fear but I should + make my cause good in the lists of existence. I was satisfied to aim at + small things; I was pleased to play at first for a slender stake; I was more + willing to grow than to descend in my individual significance.</p> + + <p>The free spirit and the firm heart with which I commenced, one + circumstance was sufficient to blast. I was ignorant of the power which the + institutions of society give to one man over others; I had fallen unwarily + into the hands of a person who held it as his fondest wish to oppress and + destroy me.</p> + + <p>I found myself subjected, undeservedly on my part, to all the + disadvantages which mankind, if they reflected upon them, would hesitate to + impose on acknowledged guilt. In every human countenance I feared to find + the countenance of an enemy. I shrunk from the vigilance of every human eye. + I dared not open my heart to the best affections of our nature. I was shut + up, a deserted, solitary wretch, in the midst of my species. I dared not + look for the consolations of friendship; but, instead of seeking to identify + myself with the joys and sorrows of others, and exchanging the delicious + gifts of confidence and sympathy, was compelled to centre my thoughts and my + vigilance in myself. My life was all a lie. I had a counterfeit character to + support. I had counterfeit manners to assume. My gait, my gestures, my + accents, were all of them to be studied. I was not free to indulge, no not + one, honest sally of the soul. Attended with these disadvantages, I was to + procure myself a subsistence, a subsistence to be acquired with infinite + precautions, and to be consumed without the hope of enjoyment.</p> + + <p>This, even this, I was determined to endure; to put my shoulder to the + burthen, and support it with unshrinking firmness. Let it not however be + supposed that I endured it without repining and abhorrence. My time was + divided between the terrors of an animal that skulks from its pursuers, the + obstinacy of unshrinking firmness, and that elastic revulsion that from time + to time seems to shrivel the very hearts of the miserable. If at some + moments I fiercely defied all the rigours of my fate, at others, and those + of frequent recurrence, I sunk into helpless despondence. I looked forward + without hope through the series of my existence, tears of anguish rushed + from my eyes, my courage became extinct, and I cursed the conscious life + that was reproduced with every returning day.</p> + + <p>"Why," upon such occasions I was accustomed to exclaim, "why am I + overwhelmed with the load of existence? Why are all these engines at work to + torment me? I am no murderer; yet, if I were, what worse could I be fated to + suffer? How vile, squalid, and disgraceful is the state to which I am + condemned! This is not my place in the roll of existence, the place for + which either my temper or my understanding has prepared me! To what purpose + serve the restless aspirations of my soul, but to make me, like a frighted + bird, beat myself in vain against the enclosure of my cage? Nature, + barbarous nature! to me thou hast proved indeed the worst of step-mothers; + endowed me with wishes insatiate, and sunk me in never-ending + degradation!"</p> + + <p>I might have thought myself more secure if I had been in possession of + money upon which to subsist. The necessity of earning for myself the means + of existence, evidently tended to thwart the plan of secrecy to which I was + condemned. Whatever labour I adopted, or deemed myself qualified to + discharge, it was first to be considered how I was to be provided with + employment, and where I was to find an employer or purchaser for my + commodities. In the mean time I had no alternative. The little money with + which I had escaped from the blood-hunters was almost expended.</p> + + <p>After the minutest consideration I was able to bestow upon this question. + I determined that literature should be the field of my first experiment. I + had read of money being acquired in this way, and of prices given by the + speculators in this sort of ware to its proper manufacturers. My + qualifications I esteemed at a slender valuation. I was not without a + conviction that experience and practice must pave the way to excellent + production. But, though of these I was utterly destitute, my propensities + had always led me in this direction; and my early thirst of knowledge had + conducted me to a more intimate acquaintance with books, than could perhaps + have been expected under my circumstances. If my literary pretensions were + slight, the demand I intended to make upon them was not great. All I asked + was a subsistence; and I was persuaded few persons could subsist upon + slenderer means than myself. I also considered this as a temporary + expedient, and hoped that accident or time might hereafter place me in a + less precarious situation. The reasons that principally determined my choice + were, that this employment called upon me for the least preparation, and + could, as I thought, be exercised with least observation.</p> + + <p>There was a solitary woman, of middle age, who tenanted a chamber in this + house, upon the same floor with my own. I had no sooner determined upon the + destination of my industry than I cast my eye upon her as the possible + instrument for disposing of my productions. Excluded as I was from all + intercourse with my species in general, I found pleasure in the occasional + exchange of a few words with this inoffensive and good-humoured creature, + who was already of an age to preclude scandal. She lived upon a very small + annuity, allowed her by a distant relation, a woman of quality, who, + possessed of thousands herself, had no other anxiety with respect to this + person than that she should not contaminate her alliance by the exertion of + honest industry. This humble creature was of a uniformly cheerful and active + disposition, unacquainted alike with the cares of wealth and the pressure of + misfortune. Though her pretensions were small, and her information slender, + she was by no means deficient in penetration. She remarked the faults and + follies of mankind with no contemptible discernment; but her temper was of + so mild and forgiving a cast, as would have induced most persons to believe + that she perceived nothing of the matter. Her heart overflowed with the milk + of kindness. She was sincere and ardent in her attachments, and never did + she omit a service which she perceived herself able to render to a human + being.</p> + + <p>Had it not been for these qualifications of temper, I should probably + have found that my appearance, that of a deserted, solitary lad, of Jewish + extraction, effectually precluded my demands upon her kindness. But I + speedily perceived, from her manner of receiving and returning civilities of + an indifferent sort, that her heart was too noble to have its effusions + checked by any base and unworthy considerations. Encouraged by these + preliminaries, I determined to select her as my agent. I found her willing + and alert in the business I proposed to her. That I might anticipate + occasions of suspicion, I frankly told her that, for reasons which I wished + to be excused from relating, but which, if related, I was sure would not + deprive me of her good opinion, I found it necessary, for the present, to + keep myself private. With this statement she readily acquiesced, and told me + that she had no desire for any further information than I found it expedient + to give.</p> + + <p>My first productions were of the poetical kind. After having finished two + or three, I directed this generous creature to take them to the office of a + newspaper; but they were rejected with contempt by the Aristarchus of that + place, who, having bestowed on them a superficial glance, told her that such + matters were not in his way. I cannot help mentioning in this place, that + the countenance of Mrs. Marney (this was the name of my ambassadress) was in + all cases a perfect indication of her success, and rendered explanation by + words wholly unnecessary. She interested herself so unreservedly in what she + undertook, that she felt either miscarriage or good fortune much more + exquisitely than I did. I had an unhesitating confidence in my own + resources, and, occupied as I was in meditations more interesting and more + painful, I regarded these matters as altogether trivial.</p> + + <p>I quietly took the pieces back, and laid them upon my table. Upon + revisal, I altered and transcribed one of them, and, joining it with two + others, despatched them together to the editor of a magazine. He desired + they might be left with him till the day after to-morrow. When that day came + he told my friend they should be inserted; but, Mrs. Marney asking + respecting the price, he replied, it was their constant rule to give nothing + for poetical compositions, the letter-box being always full of writings of + that sort; but if the gentleman would try his hand in prose, a short essay + or a tale, he would see what he could do for him.</p> + + <p>With the requisition of my literary dictator I immediately complied. I + attempted a paper in the style of Addison's Spectators, which was accepted. + In a short time I was upon an established footing in this quarter. I however + distrusted my resources in the way of moral disquisition, and soon turned my + thoughts to his other suggestion, a tale. His demands upon me were now + frequent, and, to facilitate my labours, I bethought myself of the resource + of translation. I had scarcely any convenience with respect to the procuring + of books; but, as my memory was retentive, I frequently translated or + modelled my narrative upon a reading of some years before. By a fatality, + for which I did not exactly know how to account, my thoughts frequently led + me to the histories of celebrated robbers; and I related, from time to time, + incidents and anecdotes of Cartouche, Gusman d'Alfarache, and other + memorable worthies, whose career was terminated upon the gallows or the + scaffold.</p> + + <p>In the mean time a retrospect to my own situation rendered a perseverance + even in this industry difficult to be maintained. I often threw down my pen + in an ecstasy of despair. Sometimes for whole days together I was incapable + of action, and sunk into a sort of partial stupor, too wretched to be + described. Youth and health however enabled me, from time to time, to get + the better of my dejection, and to rouse myself to something like a gaiety, + which, if it had been permanent, might have made this interval of my story + tolerable to my reflections.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CIX" id="V3_CIX"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + + <p>While I was thus endeavouring to occupy and provide for the intermediate + period, till the violence of the pursuit after me might be abated, a new + source of danger opened upon me of which I had no previous suspicion.</p> + + <p>Gines, the thief who had been expelled from Captain Raymond's gang, had + fluctuated, during the last years of his life, between the two professions + of a violator of the laws and a retainer to their administration. He had + originally devoted himself to the first; and probably his initiation in the + mysteries of thieving qualified him to be peculiarly expert in the + profession of a thief-taker—a profession he had adopted, not from + choice, but necessity. In this employment his reputation was great, though + perhaps not equal to his merits; for it happens here as in other departments + of human society, that, however the subalterns may furnish wisdom and skill, + the principals exclusively possess the <i>éclat</i>. He was exercising this + art in a very prosperous manner, when it happened, by some accident, that + one or two of his achievements previous to his having shaken off the dregs + of unlicensed depredation were in danger of becoming subjects of public + attention. Having had repeated intimations of this, he thought it prudent to + decamp; and it was during this period of his retreat that he entered into + the ---- gang.</p> + + <p>Such was the history of this man antecedently to his being placed in the + situation in which I had first encountered him. At the time of that + encounter he was a veteran of Captain Raymond's gang; for thieves being a + short-lived race, the character of veteran costs the less time in acquiring. + Upon his expulsion from this community he returned once more to his lawful + profession, and by his old comrades was received with congratulation as a + lost sheep. In the vulgar classes of society no length of time is sufficient + to expiate a crime; but among the honourable fraternity of thief-takers it + is a rule never to bring one of their own brethren to a reckoning when it + can with any decency be avoided. They are probably reluctant to fix an + unnecessary stain upon the ermine of their profession. Another rule observed + by those who have passed through the same gradation as Gines had done, and + which was adopted by Gines himself, is always to reserve such as have been + the accomplices of their depredations to the last, and on no account to + assail them without great necessity or powerful temptation. For this reason, + according to Gines's system of tactics, Captain Raymond and his confederates + were, as he would have termed it, safe from his retaliation.</p> + + <p>But, though Gines was, in this sense of the term, a man of strict honour, + my case unfortunately did not fall within the laws of honour he + acknowledged. Misfortune had overtaken me, and I was on all sides without + protection or shelter. The persecution to which I was exposed was founded + upon the supposition of my having committed felony to an immense amount. But + in this Gines had had no participation; he was careless whether the + supposition were true or false, and hated me as much as if my innocence had + been established beyond the reach of suspicion.</p> + + <p>The blood-hunters who had taken me into custody at ----, related, as + usual among their fraternity, a part of their adventure, and told of the + reason which inclined them to suppose, that the individual who had passed + through their custody, was the very Caleb Williams for whose apprehension a + reward had been offered of a hundred guineas. Gines, whose acuteness was + eminent in the way of his profession, by comparing facts and dates, was + induced to suspect in his own mind, that Caleb Williams was the person he + had hustled and wounded upon ---- forest. Against that person he entertained + the bitterest aversion. I had been the innocent occasion of his being + expelled with disgrace from Captain Raymond's gang; and Gines, as I + afterwards understood, was intimately persuaded that there was no comparison + between the liberal and manly profession of a robber from which I had driven + him, and the sordid and mechanical occupation of a blood-hunter, to which he + was obliged to return. He no sooner received the information I have + mentioned than he vowed revenge. He determined to leave all other objects, + and consecrate every faculty of his mind to the unkennelling me from my + hiding-place. The offered reward, which his vanity made him consider as + assuredly his own, appeared as the complete indemnification of his labour + and expense. Thus I had to encounter the sagacity he possessed in the way of + his profession, whetted and stimulated by a sentiment of vengeance, in a + mind that knew no restraint from conscience or humanity.</p> + + <p>When I drew to myself a picture of my situation soon after having fixed + on my present abode, I foolishly thought, as the unhappy are accustomed to + do, that my calamity would admit of no aggravation. The aggravation which, + unknown to me, at this time occurred was the most fearful that any + imagination could have devised. Nothing could have happened more critically + hostile to my future peace, than my fatal encounter with Gines upon ---- + forest. By this means, as it now appears, I had fastened upon myself a + second enemy, of that singular and dreadful sort that is determined never to + dismiss its animosity as long as life shall endure. While Falkland was the + hungry lion whose roarings astonished and appalled me, Gines was a noxious + insect, scarcely less formidable and tremendous, that hovered about my + goings, and perpetually menaced me with the poison of his sting.</p> + + <p>The first step pursued by him in execution of his project, was to set out + for the sea-port town where I had formerly been apprehended. From thence he + traced me to the banks of the Severn, and from the banks of the Severn to + London. It is scarcely necessary to observe that this is always practicable, + provided the pursuer have motives strong enough to excite him to + perseverance, unless the precautions of the fugitive be, in the highest + degree, both judicious in the conception, and fortunate in the execution. + Gines indeed, in the course of his pursuit, was often obliged to double his + steps; and, like the harrier, whenever he was at a fault, return to the + place where he had last perceived the scent of the animal whose death he had + decreed. He spared neither pains nor time in the gratification of the + passion, which choice had made his ruling one.</p> + + <p>Upon my arrival in town he for a moment lost all trace of me, London + being a place in which, on account of the magnitude of its dimensions, it + might well be supposed that an individual could remain hidden and unknown. + But no difficulty could discourage this new adversary. He went from inn to + inn (reasonably supposing that there was no private house to which I could + immediately repair), till he found, by the description he gave, and the + recollections he excited, that I had slept for one night in the borough of + Southwark. But he could get no further information. The people of the inn + had no knowledge what had become of me the next morning.</p> + + <p>This however did but render him more eager in the pursuit. The describing + me was now more difficult, on account of the partial change of dress I had + made the second day of my being in town. But Gines at length overcame the + obstacle from that quarter.</p> + + <p>Having traced me to my second inn, he was here furnished with a more + copious information. I had been a subject of speculation for the leisure + hours of some of the persons belonging to this inn. An old woman, of a most + curious and loquacious disposition, who lived opposite to it, and who that + morning rose early to her washing, had espied me from her window, by the + light of a large lamp which hung over the inn, as I issued from the gate. + She had but a very imperfect view of me, but she thought there was something + Jewish in my appearance. She was accustomed to hold a conference every + morning with the landlady of the inn, some of the waiters and chambermaids + occasionally assisting at it. In the course of the dialogue of this morning, + she asked some questions about the Jew who had slept there the night before. + No Jew had slept there. The curiosity of the landlady was excited in her + turn. By the time of the morning it could be no other but me. It was very + strange! They compared notes respecting my appearance and dress. No two + things could be more dissimilar. The Jew Christian, upon any dearth of + subjects of intelligence, repeatedly furnished matter for their + discourse.</p> + + <p>The information thus afforded to Gines appeared exceedingly material. But + the performance did not for some time keep pace with the promise. He could + not enter every private house into which lodgers were ever admitted, in the + same manner that he had treated the inns. He walked the streets, and + examined with a curious and inquisitive eye the countenance of every Jew + about my stature; but in vain. He repaired to Duke's Place and the + synagogues. It was not here that in reality he could calculate upon finding + me; but he resorted to those means in despair, and as a last hope. He was + more than once upon the point of giving up the pursuit; but he was recalled + to it by an insatiable and restless appetite for revenge.</p> + + <p>It was during this perturbed and fluctuating state of his mind, that he + chanced to pay a visit to a brother of his, who was the head-workman of a + printing-office. There was little intercourse between these two persons, + their dispositions and habits of life being extremely dissimilar. The + printer was industrious, sober, inclined to methodism, and of a propensity + to accumulation. He was extremely dissatisfied with the character and + pursuits of his brother, and had made some ineffectual attempts to reclaim + him. But, though they by no means agreed in their habits of thinking, they + sometimes saw each other. Gines loved to boast of as many of his + achievements as he dared venture to mention; and his brother was one more + hearer, in addition to the set of his usual associates. The printer was + amused with the blunt sagacity of remark and novelty of incident that + characterised Gines's conversation. He was secretly pleased, in spite of all + his sober and church-going prejudices, that he was brother to a man of so + much ingenuity and fortitude.</p> + + <p>After having listened for some time upon this occasion to the wonderful + stories which Gines, in his rugged way, condescended to tell, the printer + felt an ambition to entertain his brother in his turn. He began to retail + some of my stories of Cartouche and Gusman d'Alfarache. The attention of + Gines was excited. His first emotion was wonder; his second was envy and + aversion. Where did the printer get these stories? This question was + answered. "I will tell you what," said the printer, "we none of us know what + to make of the writer of these articles. He writes poetry, and morality, and + history: I am a printer, and corrector of the press, and may pretend without + vanity to be a tolerably good judge of these matters: he writes them all to + my mind extremely fine; and yet he is no more than a Jew." [To my honest + printer this seemed as strange, as if they had been written by a Cherokee + chieftain at the falls of the Mississippi.]</p> + + <p>"A Jew! How do you know? Did you ever see him?"</p> + + <p>"No; the matter is always brought to us by a woman. But my master hates + mysteries; he likes to see his authors himself. So he plagues and plagues + the old woman; but he can never get any thing out of her, except that one + day she happened to drop that the young gentleman was a Jew."</p> + + <p>A Jew! a young gentleman! a person who did every thing by proxy, and made + a secret of all his motions! Here was abundant matter for the speculations + and suspicions of Gines. He was confirmed in them, without adverting to the + process of his own mind, by the subject of my lucubrations,—men who + died by the hand of the executioner. He said little more to his brother, + except asking, as if casually, what sort of an old woman this was? of what + age she might be? and whether she often brought him materials of this kind? + and soon after took occasion to leave him. It was with vast pleasure that + Gines had listened to this unhoped-for information. Having collected from + his brother sufficient hints relative to the person and appearance of Mrs. + Marney, and understanding that he expected to receive something from me the + next day, Gines took his stand in the street early, that he might not risk + miscarriage by negligence. He waited several hours, but not without success. + Mrs. Marney came; he watched her into the house; and after about twenty + minutes delay, saw her return. He dogged her from street to street; observed + her finally enter the door of a private house; and congratulated himself + upon having at length arrived at the consummation of his labours.</p> + + <p>The house she entered was not her own habitation. By a sort of miraculous + accident she had observed Gines following her in the street. As she went + home she saw a woman who had fallen down in a fainting fit. Moved by the + compassion that was ever alive in her, she approached her, in order to + render her assistance. Presently a crowd collected round them. Mrs. Marney, + having done what she was able, once more proceeded homewards. Observing the + crowd round her, the idea of pickpockets occurred to her mind; she put her + hands to her sides, and at the same time looked round upon the populace. She + had left the circle somewhat abruptly; and Gines, who had been obliged to + come nearer, lest he should lose her in the confusion, was at that moment + standing exactly opposite to her. His visage was of the most extraordinary + kind; habit had written the characters of malignant cunning and dauntless + effrontery in every line of his face; and Mrs. Marney, who was neither + philosopher nor physiognomist, was nevertheless struck. This good woman, + like most persons of her notable character, had a peculiar way of going + home, not through the open streets, but by narrow lanes and alleys, with + intricate insertions and sudden turnings. In one of these, by some accident, + she once again caught a glance of her pursuer. This circumstance, together + with the singularity of his appearance, awakened her conjectures. Could he + be following her? It was the middle of the day, and she could have no fears + for herself. But could this circumstance have any reference to me? She + recollected the precautions and secrecy I practised, and had no doubt that I + had reasons for what I did. She recollected that she had always been upon + her guard respecting me; but had she been sufficiently so? She thought that, + if she should be the means of any mischief to me, she should be miserable + for ever. She determined therefore, by way of precaution in case of the + worst, to call at a friend's house, and send me word of what had occurred. + Having instructed her friend, she went out immediately upon a visit to a + person in the exactly opposite direction, and desired her friend to proceed + upon the errand to me, five minutes after she left the house. By this + prudence she completely extricated me from the present danger.</p> + + <p>Meantime the intelligence that was brought me by no means ascertained the + greatness of the peril. For any thing I could discover in it the + circumstance might be perfectly innocent, and the fear solely proceed from + the over-caution and kindness of this benevolent and excellent woman. Yet, + such was the misery of my situation, I had no choice. For this menace or no + menace, I was obliged to desert my habitation at a minute's warning, taking + with me nothing but what I could carry in my hand; to see my generous + benefactress no more; to quit my little arrangements and provision; and to + seek once again, in some forlorn retreat, new projects, and, if of that I + could have any rational hope, a new friend. I descended into the street with + a heavy, not an irresolute heart. It was broad day. I said, persons are at + this moment supposed to be roaming the street in search of me: I must not + trust to the chance of their pursuing one direction, and I another. I + traversed half a dozen streets, and then dropped into an obscure house of + entertainment for persons of small expense. In this house I took some + refreshment, passed several hours of active but melancholy thinking, and at + last procured a bed. As soon however as it was dark I went out (for this was + indispensable) to purchase the materials of a new disguise. Having adjusted + it as well as I could during the night, I left this asylum, with the same + precautions that I had employed in former instances.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CX" id="V3_CX"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> + + <p>I procured a new lodging. By some bias of the mind, it may be, gratifying + itself with images of peril, I inclined to believe that Mrs. Marney's alarm + had not been without foundation. I was however unable to conjecture through + what means danger had approached me; and had therefore only the + unsatisfactory remedy of redoubling my watch upon all my actions. Still I + had the joint considerations pressing upon me of security and subsistence. I + had some small remains of the produce of my former industry; but this was + but small, for my employer was in arrear with me, and I did not choose in + any method to apply to him for payment. The anxieties of my mind, in spite + of all my struggles, preyed upon my health. I did not consider myself as in + safety for an instant. My appearance was wasted to a shadow; and I started + at every sound that was unexpected. Sometimes I was half tempted to resign + myself into the hands of the law, and brave its worst; but resentment and + indignation at those times speedily flowed back upon my mind, and + re-animated my perseverance.</p> + + <p>I knew no better resource with respect to subsistence than that I had + employed in the former instance, of seeking some third person to stand + between me and the disposal of my industry. I might find an individual ready + to undertake this office in my behalf; but where should I find the + benevolent soul of Mrs. Marney? The person I fixed upon was a Mr. Spurrel, a + man who took in work from the watchmakers, and had an apartment upon our + second floor. I examined him two or three times with irresolute glances, as + we passed upon the stairs, before I would venture to accost him. He observed + this, and at length kindly invited me into his apartment.</p> + + <p>Being seated, he condoled with me upon my seeming bad health, and the + solitary mode of my living, and wished to know whether he could be of any + service to me. "From the first moment he saw me, he had conceived an + affection for me." In my present disguise I appeared twisted and deformed, + and in other respects by no means an object of attraction. But it seemed Mr. + Spurrel had lost an only son about six months before, and I was "the very + picture of him." If I had put off my counterfeited ugliness, I should + probably have lost all hold upon his affections. "He was now an old man," as + he observed, "just dropping into the grave, and his son had been his only + consolation. The poor lad was always ailing, but he had been a nurse to him; + and the more tending he required while he was alive, the more he missed him + now he was dead. Now he had not a friend, nor any body that cared for him, + in the whole world. If I pleased, I should be instead of that son to him, + and he would treat me in all respects with the same attention and + kindness."</p> + + <p>I expressed my sense of these benevolent offers, but told him that I + should be sorry to be in any way burthensome to him. "My ideas at present + led me to a private and solitary life, and my chief difficulty was to + reconcile this with some mode of earning necessary subsistence. If he would + condescend to lend me his assistance in smoothing this difficulty, it would + be the greatest benefit he could confer on me." I added, that "my mind had + always had a mechanical and industrious turn, and that I did not doubt of + soon mastering any craft to which I seriously applied myself. I had not been + brought up to any trade; but, if he would favour me with his instructions, I + would work with him as long as he pleased for a bare subsistence. I knew + that I was asking of him an extraordinary kindness; but I was urged on the + one hand by the most extreme necessity, and encouraged on the other by the + persuasiveness of his friendly professions."</p> + + <p>The old man dropped some tears over my apparent distress, and readily + consented to every thing I proposed. Our agreement was soon made, and I + entered upon my functions accordingly. My new friend was a man of a singular + turn of mind. Love of money, and a charitable officiousness of demeanour, + were his leading characteristics. He lived in the most penurious manner, and + denied himself every indulgence. I entitled myself almost immediately, as he + frankly acknowledged, to some remuneration for my labours, and accordingly + he insisted upon my being paid. He did not however, as some persons would + have done under the circumstance, pay me the whole amount of my earnings, + but professed to subtract from them twenty per cent, as an equitable + consideration for instruction, and commission-money in procuring me a + channel for my industry. Yet he frequently shed tears over me, was uneasy in + every moment of our indispensable separation, and exhibited perpetual tokens + of attachment and fondness. I found him a man of excellent mechanical + contrivance, and received considerable pleasure from his communications. My + own sources of information were various; and he frequently expressed his + wonder and delight in the contemplation of my powers, as well of amusement + as exertion.</p> + + <p>Thus I appeared to have attained a situation not less eligible than in my + connection with Mrs. Marney. I was however still more unhappy. My fits of + despondence were deeper, and of more frequent recurrence. My health every + day grew worse; and Mr. Spurrel was not without apprehensions that he should + lose me, as he before lost his only son.</p> + + <p>I had not been long however in this new situation, before an incident + occurred which filled me with greater alarm and apprehension than ever. I + was walking out one evening, after a long visitation of languor, for an + hour's exercise and air, when my ears were struck with two or three casual + sounds from the mouth of a hawker who was bawling his wares. I stood still + to inform myself more exactly, when, to my utter astonishment and confusion, + I heard him deliver himself nearly in these words: "<i>Here you have the</i> + MOST WONDERFUL AND SURPRISING HISTORY AND MIRACULOUS ADVENTURES OF CALEB + WILLIAMS: <i>you are informed how he first robbed, and then brought false + accusations against his master; as also of his attempting divers times to + break out of prison, till at last he effected his escape in the most + wonderful and uncredible manner; as also of his travelling the kingdom in + various disguises, and the robberies he committed with a most desperate and + daring gang of thieves; and of his coming up to London, where it is supposed + he now lies concealed; with a true and faithful copy of the hue and cry + printed and published by one of his Majesty's most principal secretaries of + state, offering a reward of one hundred guineas for apprehending him. All + for the price of one halfpenny</i>."</p> + + <p>Petrified as I was at these amazing and dreadful sounds, I had the + temerity to go up to the man and purchase one of his papers. I was + desperately resolved to know the exact state of the fact, and what I had to + depend upon. I carried it with me a little way, till, no longer able to + endure the tumult of my impatience, I contrived to make out the chief part + of its contents, by the help of a lamp, at the upper end of a narrow + passage. I found it contain a greater number of circumstances than could + have been expected in this species of publication, I was equalled to the + most notorious housebreaker in the art of penetrating through walls and + doors, and to the most accomplished swindler in plausibleness, duplicity, + and disguise. The hand-bill which Larkins had first brought to us upon the + forest was printed at length. All my disguises, previously to the last alarm + that had been given me by the providence of Mrs. Marney, were faithfully + enumerated; and the public were warned to be upon their watch against a + person of an uncouth and extraordinary appearance, and who lived in a + recluse and solitary manner. I also learned from this paper that my former + lodgings had been searched on the very evening of my escape, and that Mrs. + Marney had been sent to Newgate, upon a charge of misprision of + felony.—This last circumstance affected me deeply. In the midst of my + own sufferings my sympathies flowed undiminished. It was a most cruel and + intolerable idea, if I were not only myself to be an object of unrelenting + persecution, but my very touch were to be infectious, and every one that + succoured me was to be involved in the common ruin. My instant feeling was + that of a willingness to undergo the utmost malice of my enemies, could I by + that means have saved this excellent woman from alarm and peril.—I + afterwards learned that Mrs. Marney was delivered from confinement, by the + interposition of her noble relation.</p> + + <p>My sympathy for Mrs. Marney however was at this moment a transient one. A + more imperious and irresistible consideration demanded to be heard.</p> + + <p>With what sensations did I ruminate upon this paper? Every word of it + carried despair to my heart. The actual apprehension that I dreaded would + perhaps have been less horrible. It would have put an end to that lingering + terror to which I was a prey. Disguise was no longer of use. A numerous + class of individuals, through every department, almost every house of the + metropolis, would be induced to look with a suspicious eye upon every + stranger, especially every solitary stranger, that fell under their + observation. The prize of one hundred guineas was held out to excite their + avarice and sharpen their penetration. It was no longer Bow-street, it was a + million of men in arms against me. Neither had I the refuge, which few men + have been so miserable as to want, of one single individual with whom to + repose my alarms, and who might shelter me from the gaze of indiscriminate + curiosity.</p> + + <p>What could exceed the horrors of this situation? My heart knocked against + my ribs, my bosom heaved, I gasped and panted for breath. "There is no end + then," said I, "to my persecutors! My unwearied and long-continued labours + lead to no termination! Termination! No; the lapse of time, that cures all + other things, makes my case more desperate! Why then," exclaimed I, a new + train of thought suddenly rushing into my mind, "why should I sustain the + contest any longer? I can at least elude my persecutors in death. I can bury + myself and the traces of my existence together in friendly oblivion; and + thus bequeath eternal doubt, and ever new alarm, to those who have no peace + but in pursuing me!"</p> + + <p>In the midst of the horrors with which I was now impressed, this idea + gave me pleasure; and I hastened to the Thames to put it in instant + execution. Such was the paroxysm of my mind that my powers of vision became + partially suspended. I was no longer conscious to the feebleness of disease, + but rushed along with fervent impetuosity. I passed from street to street + without observing what direction I pursued. After wandering I know not how + long, I arrived at London Bridge. I hastened to the stairs, and saw the + river covered with vessels.</p> + + <p>"No human being must see me," said I, "at the instant that I vanish for + ever." This thought required some consideration. A portion of time had + elapsed since my first desperate purpose. My understanding began to return. + The sight of the vessels suggested to me the idea of once more attempting to + leave my native country.</p> + + <p>I enquired, and speedily found that the cheapest passage I could procure + was in a vessel moored near the Tower, and which was to sail in a few days + for Middleburgh in Holland. I would have gone instantly on board, and have + endeavoured to prevail with the captain to let me remain there till he + sailed; but unfortunately I had not money enough in my pocket to defray my + passage.</p> + + <p>It was worse than this. I had not money enough in the world. I however + paid the captain half his demand, and promised to return with the rest. I + knew not in what manner it was to be procured, but I believed that I should + not fail in it. I had some idea of applying to Mr. Spurrel. Surely he would + not refuse me? He appeared to love me with parental affection, and I thought + I might trust myself for a moment in his hands.</p> + + <p>I approached my place of residence with a heavy and foreboding heart. Mr. + Spurrel was not at home; and I was obliged to wait for his return. Worn out + with fatigue, disappointment, and the ill state of my health, I sunk upon a + chair. Speedily however I recollected myself. I had work of Mr. Spurrel's in + my trunk, which had been delivered out to me that very morning, to five + times the amount I wanted. I canvassed for a moment whether I should make + use of this property as if it were my own; but I rejected the idea with + disdain. I had never in the smallest degree merited the reproaches that were + east upon me; and I determined I never would merit them. I sat gasping, + anxious, full of the blackest forebodings. My terrors appeared, even to my + own mind, greater and more importunate than the circumstances + authorised.</p> + + <p>It was extraordinary that Mr. Spurrel should be abroad at this hour; I + had never known it happen before. His bed-time was between nine and ten. Ten + o'clock came, eleven o'clock, but not Mr. Spurrel. At midnight I heard his + knock at the door. Every soul in the house was in bed. Mr. Spurrel, on + account of his regular hours, was unprovided with a key to open for himself. + A gleam, a sickly gleam, of the social spirit came over my heart. I flew + nimbly down stairs, and opened the door.</p> + + <p>I could perceive, by the little taper in my hand, something extraordinary + in his countenance. I had not time to speak, before I saw two other men + follow him. At the first glance I was sufficiently assured what sort of + persons they were. At the second, I perceived that one of them was no other + than Gines himself. I had understood formerly that he had been of this + profession, and I was not surprised to find him in it again. Though I had + for three hours endeavoured, as it were, to prepare myself for the + unavoidable necessity of falling once again into the hands of the officers + of law, the sensation I felt at their entrance was indescribably agonising. + I was besides not a little astonished at the time and manner of their + entrance; and I felt anxious to know whether Mr. Spurrel could be base + enough to have been their introducer.</p> + + <p>I was not long held in perplexity. He no sooner saw his followers within + the door, than he exclaimed, with convulsive eagerness, "There, there, that + is your man! thank God! thank God!" Gines looked eagerly in my face, with a + countenance expressive alternately of hope and doubt, and answered, "By God, + and I do not know whether it be or no! I am afraid we are in the wrong box!" + Then recollecting himself, "We will go into the house, and examine further + however." We all went up stairs into Mr. Spurrel's room; I set down the + candle upon the table. I had hitherto been silent; but I determined not to + desert myself, and was a little encouraged to exertion by the scepticism of + Gines. With a calm and deliberate manner therefore, in my feigned voice, one + of the characteristics of which was lisping, I asked, "Pray, gentlemen, what + may be your pleasure with me?"—"Why," said Gines, "our errand is with + one Caleb Williams, and a precious rascal he is! I ought to know the chap + well enough; but they say he has as many faces as there are days in the + year. So you please to pull off your face; or, if you cannot do that, at + least you can pull off your clothes, and let us see what your hump is made + of."</p> + + <p>I remonstrated, but in vain. I stood detected in part of my artifice; and + Gines, though still uncertain, was every moment more and more confirmed in + his suspicions. Mr. Spurrel perfectly gloated, with eyes that seemed ready + to devour every thing that passed. As my imposture gradually appeared more + palpable, he repeated his exclamation, "Thank God! thank God!" At last, + tired with this scene of mummery, and disgusted beyond measure with the base + and hypocritical figure I seemed to exhibit, I exclaimed, "Well, I am Caleb + Williams; conduct me wherever you please! And now, Mr. Spurrel!"—He + gave a violent start. The instant I declared myself his transport had been + at the highest, and was, to any power he was able to exert, absolutely + uncontrollable. But the unexpectedness of my address, and the tone in which + I spoke, electrified him.—"Is it possible," continued I, "that you + should have been the wretch to betray me? What have I done to deserve this + treatment? Is this the kindness you professed? the affection that was + perpetually in your mouth? to be the death of me!"</p> + + <p>"My poor boy! my dear creature!" cried Spurrel, whimpering, and in a tone + of the humblest expostulation, "indeed I could not help it! I would have + helped it, if I could! I hope they will not hurt my darling! I am sure I + shall die if they do!"</p> + + <p>"Miserable driveller!" interrupted I, with a stern voice, "do you betray + me into the remorseless fangs of the law, and then talk of my not being + hurt? I know my sentence, and am prepared to meet it! You have fixed the + halter upon my neck, and at the same price would have done so to your only + son! Go, count your accursed guineas! My life would have been safer in the + hands of one I had never seen than in yours, whose mouth and whose eyes for + ever ran over with crocodile affection!"</p> + + <p>I have always believed that my sickness, and, as he apprehended, + approaching death, contributed its part to the treachery of Mr. Spurrel. He + predicted to his own mind the time when I should no longer be able to work. + He recollected with agony the expense that attended his son's illness and + death. He determined to afford me no assistance of a similar kind. He feared + however the reproach of deserting me. He feared the tenderness of his + nature. He felt, that I was growing upon his affections, and that in a short + time he could not have deserted me. He was driven by a sort of implicit + impulse, for the sake of avoiding one ungenerous action, to take refuge in + another, the basest and most diabolical. This motive, conjoining with the + prospect of the proffered reward, was an incitement too powerful for him to + resist.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CXI" id="V3_CXI"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + + <p>Having given vent to my resentment, I left Mr. Spurrel motionless, and + unable to utter a word. Gines and his companion attended me. It is + unnecessary to repeat all the insolence of this man. He alternately + triumphed in the completion of his revenge, and regretted the loss of the + reward to the shrivelled old curmudgeon we had just quitted, whom however he + swore he would cheat of it by one means or another. He claimed to himself + the ingenuity of having devised the halfpenny legend, the thought of which + was all his own, and was an expedient that was impossible to fail. There was + neither law nor justice, he said, to be had, if Hunks who had done nothing + were permitted to pocket the cash, and his merit were left undistinguished + and pennyless.</p> + + <p>I paid but little attention to his story. It struck upon my sense, and I + was able to recollect it at my nearest leisure, though I thought not of it + at the time. For the present I was busily employed, reflecting on my new + situation, and the conduct to be observed in it. The thought of suicide had + twice, in moments of uncommon despair, suggested itself to my mind; but it + was far from my habitual meditations. At present, and in all cases where + death was immediately threatened me from the injustice of others, I felt + myself disposed to contend to the last.</p> + + <p>My prospects were indeed sufficiently gloomy and discouraging. How much + labour had I exerted, first to extricate myself from prison, and next to + evade the diligence of my pursuers; and the result of all, to be brought + back to the point from which I began! I had gained fame indeed, the + miserable fame to have my story bawled forth by hawkers and ballad-mongers, + to have my praises as an active and enterprising villain celebrated among + footmen and chambermaids; but I was neither an Erostratus nor an Alexander, + to die contented with that species of eulogium. With respect to all that was + solid, what chance could I find in new exertions of a similar nature? Never + was a human creature pursued by enemies more inventive or envenomed. I could + have small hope that they would ever cease their persecution, or that my + future attempts would be crowned with a more desirable issue.</p> + + <p>They were considerations like these that dictated my resolution. My mind + had been gradually weaning from Mr. Falkland, till its feeling rose to + something like abhorrence. I had long cherished a reverence for him, which + not even animosity and subornation on his part could utterly destroy. But I + now ascribed a character so inhumanly sanguinary to his mind; I saw + something so fiend-like in the thus hunting me round the world, and + determining to be satisfied with nothing less than my blood, while at the + same time he knew my innocence, my indisposition to mischief, nay, I might + add, my virtues; that henceforth I trampled reverence and the recollection + of former esteem under my feet. I lost all regard to his intellectual + greatness, and all pity for the agonies of his soul. I also would abjure + forbearance. I would show myself bitter and inflexible as he had done. Was + it wise in him to drive me into extremity and madness? Had he no fears for + his own secret and atrocious offences?</p> + + <p>I had been obliged to spend the remainder of the night upon which I had + been apprehended, in prison. During the interval I had thrown off every + vestige of disguise, and appeared the next morning in my own person. I was + of course easily identified; and, this being the whole with which the + magistrates before whom I now stood thought themselves concerned, they were + proceeding to make out an order for my being conducted back to my own + county. I suspended the despatch of this measure by observing that I had + something to disclose. This is an overture to which men appointed for the + administration of criminal justice never fail to attend.</p> + + <p>I went before the magistrates, to whose office Gines and his comrade + conducted me, fully determined to publish those astonishing secrets of which + I had hitherto been the faithful depository; and, once for all, to turn the + tables upon my accuser. It was time that the real criminal should be the + sufferer, and not that innocence should for ever labour under the oppression + of guilt.</p> + + <p>I said that "I had always protested my innocence, and must now repeat the + protest."</p> + + <p>"In that case," retorted the senior magistrate abruptly, "what can you + have to disclose? If you are innocent, that is no business of ours! We act + officially."</p> + + <p>"I always declared," continued I, "that I was the perpetrator of no + guilt, but that the guilt wholly belonged to my accuser. He privately + conveyed these effects among my property, and then charged me with the + robbery. I now declare more than that, that this man is a murderer, that I + detected his criminality, and that, for that reason, he is determined to + deprive me of life. I presume, gentlemen, that you do consider it as your + business to take this declaration. I am persuaded you will be by no means + disposed, actively or passively, to contribute to the atrocious injustice + under which I suffer, to the imprisonment and condemnation of an innocent + man, in order that a murderer may go free. I suppressed this story as long + as I could. I was extremely averse to be the author of the unhappiness or + the death of a human being. But all patience and submission have their + limits."</p> + + <p>"Give me leave, sir," rejoined the magistrate, with an air of affected + moderation, "to ask you two questions. Were you any way aiding, abetting, or + contributing to this murder?"</p> + + <p>"No."</p> + + <p>"And pray, sir, who is this Mr. Falkland? and what may have been the + nature of your connection with him?"</p> + + <p>"Mr. Falkland is a gentleman of six thousand per annum. I lived with him + as his secretary."</p> + + <p>"In other words, you were his servant?"</p> + + <p>"As you please."</p> + + <p>"Very well, sir; that is quite enough for me. First, I have to tell you, + as a magistrate, that I can have nothing to do with your declaration. If you + had been concerned in the murder you talk of, that would alter the case. But + it is out of all reasonable rule for a magistrate to take an information + from a felon, except against his accomplices. Next, I think it right to + observe to you, in my own proper person, that you appear to me to be the + most impudent rascal I ever saw. Why, are you such an ass as to suppose, + that the sort of story you have been telling, can be of any service to you, + either here or at the assizes, or any where else? A fine time of it indeed + it would be, if, when gentlemen of six thousand a year take up their + servants for robbing them, those servants could trump up such accusations as + these, and could get any magistrate or court of justice to listen to them! + Whether or no the felony with which you stand charged would have brought you + to the gallows, I will not pretend to say: but I am sure this story will. + There would be a speedy end to all order and good government, if fellows + that trample upon ranks and distinctions in this atrocious sort were upon + any consideration suffered to get off."</p> + + <p>"And do you refuse, sir, to attend to the particulars of the charge I + allege?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, sir, I do.—But, if I did not, pray what witnesses have you of + the murder?"</p> + + <p>This question staggered me.</p> + + <p>"None. But I believe I can make out a circumstantial proof, of a nature + to force attention from the most indifferent hearer."</p> + + <p>"So I thought.—Officers, take him from the bar!"</p> + + <p>Such was the success of this ultimate resort on my part, upon which I had + built with such undoubting confidence. Till now, I had conceived that the + unfavourable situation in which I was placed was prolonged by my own + forbearance; and I had determined to endure all that human nature could + support, rather than have recourse to this extreme recrimination. That idea + secretly consoled me under all my calamities: it was a voluntary sacrifice, + and was cheerfully made. I thought myself allied to the army of martyrs and + confessors; I applauded my fortitude and self-denial; and I pleased myself + with the idea, that I had the power, though I hoped never to employ it, by + an unrelenting display of my resources, to put an end at once to my + sufferings and persecutions.</p> + + <p>And this at last was the justice of mankind! A man, under certain + circumstances, shall not be heard in the detection of a crime, because he + has not been a participator of it! The story of a flagitious murder shall be + listened to with indifference, while an innocent man is hunted, like a wild + beast, to the furthest corners of the earth! Six thousand a year shall + protect a man from accusation; and the validity of an impeachment shall be + superseded, because the author of it is a servant!</p> + + <p>I was conducted back to the very prison from which a few months before I + had made my escape. With a bursting heart I entered those walls, compelled + to feel that all my more than Herculean labours served for my own torture, + and for no other end. Since my escape from prison I had acquired some + knowledge of the world; I had learned by bitter experience, by how many + links society had a hold upon me, and how closely the snares of despotism + beset me. I no longer beheld the world, as my youthful fancy had once + induced me to do, as a scene in which to hide or to appear, and to exhibit + the freaks of a wanton vivacity. I saw my whole species as ready, in one + mode or other, to be made the instruments of the tyrant. Hope died away in + the bottom of my heart. Shut up for the first night in my dungeon, I was + seized at intervals with temporary frenzy. From time to time, I rent the + universal silence with the roarings of unsupportable despair. But this was a + transient distraction. I soon returned to the sober recollection of myself + and my miseries.</p> + + <p>My prospects were more gloomy, and my situation apparently more + irremediable, than ever. I was exposed again, if that were of any account, + to the insolence and tyranny that are uniformly exercised within those + walls. Why should I repeat the loathsome tale of all that was endured by me, + and is endured by every man who is unhappy enough to fall under the + government of these consecrated ministers of national jurisprudence? The + sufferings I had already experienced, my anxieties, my flight, the perpetual + expectation of being discovered, worse than the discovery itself, would + perhaps have been enough to satisfy the most insensible individual, in the + court of his own conscience, if I had even been the felon I was pretended to + be. But the law has neither eyes, nor ears, nor bowels of humanity; and it + turns into marble the hearts of all those that are nursed in its + principles.</p> + + <p>I however once more recovered my spirit of determination. I resolved + that, while I had life, I would never be deserted by this spirit. Oppressed, + annihilated I might be; but, if I died, I would die resisting. What use, + what advantage, what pleasurable sentiment, could arise from a tame + surrender? There is no man that is ignorant, that to humble yourself at the + feet of the law is a bootless task; in her courts there is no room for + amendment and reformation.</p> + + <p>My fortitude may to some persons appear above the standard of human + nature. But if I draw back the veil from my heart they will readily confess + their mistake. My heart bled at every pore. My resolution was not the calm + sentiment of philosophy and reason. It was a gloomy and desperate purpose: + the creature, not of hope, but of a mind austerely held to its design, that + felt, as it were, satisfied with the naked effort, and prepared to give + success or miscarriage to the winds. It was to this miserable condition, + which might awaken sympathy in the most hardened bosom, that Mr. Falkland + had reduced me.</p> + + <p>In the mean time, strange as it may seem, here, in prison, subject to + innumerable hardships, and in the assured expectation of a sentence of + death, I recovered my health. I ascribe this to the state of my mind, which + was now changed, from perpetual anxiety, terror, and alarm, the too frequent + inmates of a prison, but which I upon this occasion did not seem to bring + along with me, to a desperate firmness.</p> + + <p>I anticipated the event of my trial. I determined once more to escape + from my prison; nor did I doubt of my ability to effect at least this first + step towards my future preservation. The assizes however were near, and + there were certain considerations, unnecessary to be detailed, that + persuaded me there might be benefit in waiting till my trial should actually + be terminated, before I made my attempt.</p> + + <p>It stood upon the list as one of the latest to be brought forward. I was + therefore extremely surprised to find it called out of its order, early on + the morning of the second day. But, if this were unexpected, how much + greater was my astonishment, when my prosecutor was called, to find neither + Mr. Falkland, nor Mr. Forester, nor a single individual of any description, + appear against me! The recognizances into which my prosecutors had entered + were declared to be forfeited; and I was dismissed without further + impediment from the bar.</p> + + <p>The effect which this incredible reverse produced upon my mind it is + impossible to express. I, who had come to that bar with the sentence of + death already in idea ringing in my ears, to be told that I was free to + transport myself whithersoever I pleased! Was it for this that I had broken + through so many locks and bolts, and the adamantine walls of my prison; that + I had passed so many anxious days, and sleepless, spectre-haunted nights; + that I had racked my invention for expedients of evasion and concealment; + that my mind had been roused to an energy of which I could scarcely have + believed it capable; that my existence had been enthralled to an ever-living + torment, such as I could scarcely have supposed it in man to endure? Great + God! what is man? Is he thus blind to the future, thus totally unsuspecting + of what is to occur in the next moment of his existence? I have somewhere + read, that heaven in mercy hides from us the future incidents of our life. + My own experience does not well accord with this assertion. In this instance + at least I should have been saved from insupportable labour and + undescribable anguish, could I have foreseen the catastrophe of this most + interesting transaction.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CXII" id="V3_CXII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + + <p>It was not long before I took my everlasting leave of this detested and + miserable scene. My heart was for the present too full of astonishment and + exultation in my unexpected deliverance, to admit of anxiety about the + future. I withdrew from the town; I rambled with a slow and thoughtful pace, + now bursting with exclamation, and now buried in profound and undefinable + reverie. Accident led me towards the very heath which had first sheltered + me, when, upon a former occasion, I broke out of my prison. I wandered among + its cavities and its valleys. It was a forlorn and desolate solitude. I + continued here I know not how long. Night at length overtook me unperceived, + and I prepared to return for the present to the town I had quitted.</p> + + <p>It was now perfectly dark, when two men, whom I had not previously + observed, sprung upon me from behind. They seized me by the arms, and threw + me upon the ground. I had no time for resistance or recollection. I could + however perceive that one of them was the diabolical Gines. They + blindfolded, gagged me, and hurried me I knew not whither. As we passed + along in silence, I endeavoured to conjecture what could be the meaning of + this extraordinary violence. I was strongly impressed with the idea, that, + after the event of this morning, the most severe and painful part of my + history was past; and, strange as it may seem, I could not persuade myself + to regard with alarm this unexpected attack. It might however be some new + project, suggested by the brutal temper and unrelenting animosity of + Gines.</p> + + <p>I presently found that we were returned into the town I had just quitted. + They led me into a house, and, as soon as they had taken possession of a + room freed me from the restraints they had before imposed Here Gines + informed me with a malicious grin that no harm was intended me, and + therefore I should show most sense in keeping myself quiet. I perceived that + we were in an inn; I overheard company in a room at no great distance from + us, and therefore was now as thoroughly aware as he could be, that there was + at present little reason to stand in fear of any species of violence, and + that it would be time enough to resist, when they attempted to conduct me + from the inn in the same manner that they had brought me into it. I was not + without some curiosity to see the conclusion that was to follow upon so + extraordinary a commencement.</p> + + <p>The preliminaries I have described were scarcely completed, before Mr. + Falkland entered the room. I remember Collins, when he first communicated to + me the particulars of our patron's history, observed that he was totally + unlike the man he had once been. I had no means of ascertaining the truth of + that observation. But it was strikingly applicable to the spectacle which + now presented itself to my eyes, though, when I last beheld this unhappy + man, he had been a victim to the same passions, a prey to the same undying + remorse, as now. Misery was at that time inscribed in legible characters + upon his countenance. But now he appeared like nothing that had ever been + visible in human shape. His visage was haggard, emaciated, and fleshless. + His complexion was a dun and tarnished red, the colour uniform through every + region of the face, and suggested the idea of its being burnt and parched by + the eternal fire that burned within him. His eyes were red, quick, + wandering, full of suspicion and rage. His hair was neglected, ragged, and + floating. His whole figure was thin, to a degree that suggested the idea + rather of a skeleton than a person actually alive. Life seemed hardly to be + the capable inhabitant of so woe-begone and ghost-like a figure. The taper + of wholesome life was expired; but passion, and fierceness, and frenzy, were + able for the present to supply its place.</p> + + <p>I was to the utmost degree astonished and shocked at the sight of + him.—He sternly commanded my conductors to leave the room.</p> + + <p>"Well, sir, I have this day successfully exerted myself to save your life + from the gallows. A fortnight ago you did what you were able to bring my + life to that ignominious close.</p> + + <p>"Were you so stupid and undistinguishing as not to know that the + preservation of your life was the uniform object of my exertions? Did not I + maintain you in prison? Did not I endeavour to prevent your being sent + thither? Could you mistake the bigoted and obstinate conduct of Forester, in + offering a hundred guineas for your apprehension, for mine?</p> + + <p>"I had my eye upon you in all your wanderings. You have taken no material + step through their whole course with which I have not been acquainted. I + meditated to do you good. I have spilt no blood but that of Tyrrel: that was + in the moment of passion; and it has been the subject of my uninterrupted + and hourly remorse. I have connived at no man's fate but that of the + Hawkinses: they could no otherwise have been saved, than by my acknowledging + myself a murderer. The rest of my life has been spent in acts of + benevolence.</p> + + <p>"I meditated to do you good. For that reason I was willing to prove you. + You pretended to act towards me with consideration and forbearance. If you + had persisted in that to the end, I would yet have found a way to reward + you. I left you to your own discretion. You might show the impotent + malignity of your own heart; but, in the circumstances in which you were + then placed, I knew you could not hurt me. Your forbearance has proved, as I + all along suspected, empty and treacherous. You have attempted to blast my + reputation. You have sought to disclose the select and eternal secret of my + soul. Because you have done that, I will never forgive you. I will remember + it to my latest breath. The memory shall survive me, when my existence is no + more. Do you think you are out of the reach of my power, because a court of + justice has acquitted you?"</p> + + <p>While Mr. Falkland was speaking a sudden distemper came over his + countenance, his whole frame was shaken by an instantaneous convulsion, and + he staggered to a chair. In about three minutes he recovered.</p> + + <p>"Yes," said he, "I am still alive. I shall live for days, and months, and + years; the power that made me, of whatever kind it be, can only determine + how long. I live the guardian of my reputation. That, and to endure a misery + such as man never endured, are the only ends to which I live. But, when I am + no more, my fame shall still survive. My character shall be revered as + spotless and unimpeachable by all posterity, as long as the name of Falkland + shall be repeated in the most distant regions of the many-peopled + globe."</p> + + <p>Having said this, he returned to the discourse which more immediately + related to my future condition and happiness.</p> + + <p>"There is one condition," said he, "upon which you may obtain some + mitigation of your future calamity. It is for that purpose that I have sent + for you. Listen to my proposal with deliberation and sobriety. Remember, + that the insanity is not less to trifle with the resolved determination of + my soul, than it would be to pull a mountain upon your head that hung + trembling upon the edge of the mighty Apennine!</p> + + <p>"I insist then upon your signing a paper, declaring, in the most solemn + manner, that I am innocent of murder, and that the charge you alleged at the + office in Bow-street is false, malicious, and groundless. Perhaps you may + scruple out of a regard to truth. Is truth then entitled to adoration for + its own sake, and not for the sake of the happiness it is calculated to + produce? Will a reasonable man sacrifice to barren truth, when benevolence, + humanity, and every consideration that is dear to the human heart, require + that it should be superseded? It is probable that I may never make use of + this paper, but I require it, as the only practicable reparation to the + honour you have assailed. This is what I had to propose. I expect your + answer."</p> + + <p>"Sir," answered I, "I have heard you to an end, and I stand in need of no + deliberation to enable me to answer you in the negative. You took me up a + raw and inexperienced boy, capable of being moulded to any form you pleased. + But you have communicated to me volumes of experience in a very short + period. I am no longer irresolute and pliable. What is the power you retain + over my fate I am unable to discover. You may destroy me; but you cannot + make me tremble. I am not concerned to enquire, whether what I have suffered + flowed from you by design or otherwise; whether you were the author of my + miseries, or only connived at them. This I know, that I have suffered too + exquisitely on your account, for me to feel the least remaining claim on + your part to my making any voluntary sacrifice.</p> + + <p>"You say that benevolence and humanity require this sacrifice of me. No; + it would only be a sacrifice to your mad and misguided love of + fame,—to that passion which has been the source of all your miseries, + of the most tragical calamities to others, and of every misfortune that has + happened to me. I have no forbearance to exercise towards that passion. If + you be not yet cured of this tremendous and sanguinary folly, at least I + will do nothing to cherish it. I know not whether from my youth I was + destined for a hero; but I may thank you for having taught me a lesson of + insurmountable fortitude.</p> + + <p>"What is it that you require of me? that I should sign away my own + reputation for the better maintaining of yours. Where is the equality of + that? What is it that casts me at such an immense distance below you, as to + make every thing that relates to me wholly unworthy of consideration? You + have been educated in the prejudice of birth. I abhor that prejudice. You + have made me desperate, and I utter what that desperation suggests.</p> + + <p>"You will tell me perhaps that I have no reputation to lose; that, while + you are esteemed faultless and unblemished, I am universally reputed a + thief, a suborner, and a calumniator. Be it so. I will never do any thing to + countenance those imputations. The more I am destitute of the esteem of + mankind, the more careful I will be to preserve my own. I will never from + fear, or any other mistaken motive, do any thing of which I ought to be + ashamed.</p> + + <p>"You are determined to be for ever my enemy. I have in no degree deserved + this eternal abhorrence. I have always esteemed and pitied you. For a + considerable time I rather chose to expose myself to every kind of + misfortune, than disclose the secret that was so dear to you. I was not + deterred by your menaces—(what could you make me suffer more than I + actually suffered?)—but by the humanity of my own heart; in which, and + not in means of violence, you ought to have reposed your confidence. What is + the mysterious vengeance that you can yet execute against me? You menaced me + before; you can menace no worse now. You are wearing out the springs of + terror. Do with me as you please; you teach me to hear you with an + unshrinking and desperate firmness. Recollect yourself! I did not proceed to + the step with which you reproach me, till I was apparently urged to the very + last extremity. I had suffered as much as human nature can suffer; I had + lived in the midst of eternal alarm and unintermitted watchfulness; I had + twice been driven to purposes of suicide. I am now sorry however, that the + step of which you complain was ever adopted. But, urged to exasperation by + an unintermitted rigour, I had no time to cool or to deliberate. Even at + present I cherish no vengeance against you. All that is reasonable, all that + can really contribute to your security, I will readily concede; but I will + not be driven to an act repugnant to all reason, integrity, and + justice."</p> + + <p>Mr. Falkland listened to me with astonishment and impatience. He had + entertained no previous conception of the firmness I displayed. Several + times he was convulsed with the fury that laboured in his breast. Once and + again he betrayed an intention to interrupt; but he was restrained by the + collectedness of my manner, and perhaps by a desire to be acquainted with + the entire state of my mind. Finding that I had concluded, he paused for a + moment; his passion seemed gradually to enlarge, till it was no longer + capable of control.</p> + + <p>"It is well!" said he, gnashing his teeth, and stamping upon the ground. + "You refuse the composition I offer! I have no power to persuade you to + compliance! You defy me! At least I have a power respecting you, and that + power I will exercise; a power that shall grind you into atoms. I condescend + to no more expostulation. I know what I am, and what I can be. I know what + you are, and what fate is reserved for you!"</p> + + <p>Saying this he quitted the room.</p> + + <p>Such were the particulars of this memorable scene. The impression it has + left upon my understanding is indelible. The figure and appearance of Mr. + Falkland, his death-like weakness and decay, his more than mortal energy and + rage, the words that he spoke, the motives that animated him, produced one + compounded effect upon my mind that nothing of the same nature could ever + parallel. The idea of his misery thrilled through my frame. How weak in + comparison of it is the imaginary hell, which the great enemy of mankind is + represented as carrying every where about with him!</p> + + <p>From this consideration, my mind presently turned to the menaces he had + vented against myself. They were all mysterious and undefined. He had talked + of power, but had given no hint from which I could collect in what he + imagined it to consist. He had talked of misery, but had not dropped a + syllable respecting the nature of the misery to be inflicted.</p> + + <p>I sat still for some time, ruminating on these thoughts. Neither Mr. + Falkland nor any other person appeared to disturb my meditations. I rose, + went out of the room, and from the inn into the street. No one offered to + molest me. It was strange! What was the nature of this power, from which I + was to apprehend so much, yet which seemed to leave me at perfect liberty? I + began to imagine that all I had heard from this dreadful adversary was mere + madness and extravagance, and that he was at length deprived of the use of + reason, which had long served him only as a medium of torment. Yet was it + likely in that case that he should be able to employ Gines and his + associate, who had just been his instruments of violence upon my person?</p> + + <p>I proceeded along the streets with considerable caution. I looked before + me and behind me, as well as the darkness would allow me to do, that I might + not again be hunted in sight by some men of stratagem and violence without + my perceiving it. I went not, as before, beyond the limits of the town, but + considered the streets, the houses, and the inhabitants, as affording some + degree of security. I was still walking with my mind thus full of suspicion + and forecast, when I discovered Thomas, that servant of Mr. Falkland whom I + have already more than once had occasion to mention. He advanced towards me + with an air so blunt and direct, as instantly to remove from me the idea of + any thing insidious in his purpose; besides that I had always felt the + character of Thomas, rustic and uncultivated as it was, to be entitled to a + more than common portion of esteem.</p> + + <p>"Thomas," said I, as he advanced, "I hope you are willing to give me joy, + that I am at length delivered from the dreadful danger which for many months + haunted me so unmercifully."</p> + + <p>"No," rejoined Thomas, roughly; "I be not at all willing. I do not know + what to make of myself in this affair. While you were in prison in that + miserable fashion, I felt all at one almost as if I loved you: and now that + that is over, and you are turned out loose in the world to do your worst, my + blood rises at the very sight of you. To look at you, you are almost that + very lad Williams for whom I could with pleasure, as it were, have laid down + my life; and yet, behind that smiling face there lie robbery, and lying, and + every thing that is ungrateful and murderous. Your last action was worse + than all the rest. How could you find in your heart to revive that cruel + story about Mr. Tyrrel, which every body had agreed, out of regard to the + squire, never to mention again, and of which I know, and you know, he is as + innocent as the child unborn? There are causes and reasons, or else I could + have wished from the bottom of my soul never to have set eyes on you + again."</p> + + <p>"And you still persist in your hard thoughts of me?"</p> + + <p>"Worse! I think worse of you than ever! Before, I thought you as bad as + man could be. I wonder from my soul what you are to do next. But you make + good the old saying, 'Needs must go, that the devil drives.'"</p> + + <p>"And so there is never to be an end of my misfortunes! What can Mr. + Falkland contrive for me worse than the ill opinion and enmity of all + mankind?"</p> + + <p>"Mr. Falkland contrive! He is the best friend you have in the world, + though you are the basest traitor to him. Poor man! it makes one's heart + ache to look at him; he is the very image of grief. And it is not clear to + me that it is not all owing to you. At least you have given the finishing + lift to the misfortune that was already destroying him. There have been the + devil and all to pay between him and squire Forester. The squire is right + raving mad with my master, for having outwitted him in the matter of the + trial, and saved your life. He swears that you shall be taken up and tried + all over again at the next assizes; but my master is resolute, and I believe + will carry it his own way. He says indeed that the law will not allow squire + Forester to have his will in this. To see him ordering every thing for your + benefit, and taking all your maliciousness as mild and innocent as a lamb, + and to think of your vile proceedings against him, is a sight one shall not + see again, go all the world over. For God's sake, repent of your reprobate + doings, and make what little reparation is in your power! Think of your poor + soul, before you awake, as to be sure one of these days you will, in fire + and brimstone everlasting!"</p> + + <p>Saying this, he held out his hand and took hold of mine. The action + seemed strange; but I at first thought it the unpremeditated result of his + solemn and well-intended adjuration. I felt however that he put something + into my hand. The next moment he quitted his hold, and hastened from me with + the swiftness of an arrow. What he had thus given me was a bank-note of + twenty pounds. I had no doubt that he had been charged to deliver it to me + from Mr. Falkland.</p> + + <p>What was I to infer? what light did it throw upon the intentions of my + inexorable persecutor? his animosity against me was as great as ever; that I + had just had confirmed to me from his own mouth. Yet his animosity appeared + to be still tempered with the remains of humanity. He prescribed to it a + line, wide enough to embrace the gratification of his views, and within the + boundaries of that line it stopped. But this discovery carried no + consolation to my mind. I knew not what portion of calamity I was fated to + endure, before his jealousy of dishonour, and inordinate thirst of fame + would deem themselves satisfied.</p> + + <p>Another question offered itself. Was I to receive the money which had + just been put into my hands? the money of a man who had inflicted upon me + injuries, less than those which he had entailed upon himself, but the + greatest that one man can inflict upon another? who had blasted my youth, + who had destroyed my peace, who had held me up to the abhorrence of mankind, + and rendered me an outcast upon the face of the earth? who had forced the + basest and most atrocious falsehoods, and urged them with a seriousness and + perseverance which produced universal belief? who, an hour before, had vowed + against me inexorable enmity, and sworn to entail upon me misery without + end? Would not this conduct on my part betray a base and abject spirit, that + crouched under tyranny, and kissed the hands that were imbrued in my + blood?</p> + + <p>If these reasons appeared strong, neither was the other side without + reasons in reply. I wanted the money: not for any purpose of vice or + superfluity, but for those purposes without which life cannot subsist. Man + ought to be able, wherever placed, to find for himself the means of + existence; but I was to open a new scene of life, to remove to some distant + spot, to be prepared against all the ill-will of mankind, and the unexplored + projects of hostility of a most accomplished foe. The actual means of + existence are the property of all. What should hinder me from taking that of + which I was really in want, when, in taking it, I risked no vengeance, and + perpetrated no violence? The property in question will be beneficial to me, + and the voluntary surrender of it is accompanied with no injury to its late + proprietor; what other condition can be necessary to render the use of it on + my part a duty? He that lately possessed it has injured me; does that alter + its value as a medium of exchange? He will boast, perhaps of the imaginary + obligation he has conferred on me: surely to shrink from a thing in itself + right from any such apprehension, can be the result only of pusillanimity + and cowardice!</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CXIII" id="V3_CXIII"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + + <p>Influenced by these reasonings, I determined to retain what had thus been + put into my hands. My next care was in regard to the scene I should choose, + as the retreat of that life which I had just saved from the grasp of the + executioner. The danger to which I was exposed of forcible interruption in + my pursuits, was probably, in some respects, less now than it had been + previously to this crisis. Besides, that I was considerably influenced in + this deliberation by the strong loathing I conceived for the situations in + which I had lately been engaged. I knew not in what mode Mr. Falkland + intended to exercise his vengeance against me; but I was seized with so + unconquerable an aversion to disguise, and the idea of spending my life in + personating a fictitious character, that I could not, for the present at + least, reconcile my mind to any thing of that nature. The same kind of + disgust I had conceived for the metropolis, where I had spent so many hours + of artifice, sadness, and terror. I therefore decided in favour of the + project which had formerly proved amusing to my imagination, of withdrawing + to some distant, rural scene, a scene of calmness and obscurity, where for a + few years at least, perhaps during the life of Mr. Falkland, I might be + hidden from the world, recover the wounds my mind had received in this fatal + connection, methodise and improve the experience which had been accumulated, + cultivate the faculties I in any degree possessed, and employ the intervals + of these occupations in simple industry, and the intercourse of guileless, + uneducated, kind-intentioned minds. The menaces of my persecutor seemed to + forebode the inevitable interruption of this system. But I deemed it wise to + put these menaces out of my consideration I compared them to death, which + must infallibly overtake us we know not when; but the possibility of whose + arrival next year, next week, to-morrow, must be left out of the calculation + of him who would enter upon any important or well-concerted undertaking.</p> + + <p>Such were the ideas that determined my choice. Thus did my youthful mind + delineate the system of distant years, even when the threats of instant + calamity still sounded in my ears. I was inured to the apprehension of + mischief, till at last the hoarse roarings of the beginning tempest had lost + their power of annihilating my peace. I however thought it necessary, while + I was most palpably within the sphere of the enemy, to exert every + practicable degree of vigilance. I was careful not to incur the hazards of + darkness and solitude. When I left the town it was with the stage-coach, an + obvious source of protection against glaring and enormous violence. + Meanwhile I found myself no more exposed to molestation in my progress, than + the man in the world who should have had the least reason for apprehensions + of this nature. As the distance increased, I relaxed something in my + precaution, though still awake to a sense of danger, and constantly pursued + with the image of my foe. I fixed upon an obscure market-town in Wales as + the chosen seat of my operations. This place recommended itself to my + observation as I was wandering in quest of an abode. It was clean, cheerful, + and of great simplicity of appearance. It was at a distance from any public + and frequented road, and had nothing which could deserve the name of trade. + The face of nature around it was agreeably diversified, being partly wild + and romantic, and partly rich and abundant in production.</p> + + <p>Here I solicited employment in two professions; the first, that of a + watchmaker, in which though the instructions I had received were few, they + were eked out and assisted by a mind fruitful in mechanical invention; the + other, that of an instructor in mathematics and its practical application, + geography, astronomy, land-surveying, and navigation. Neither of these was a + very copious source of emolument in the obscure retreat I had chosen for + myself; but, if my receipts were slender, my disbursements were still fewer. + In this little town I became acquainted with the vicar, the apothecary, the + lawyer, and the rest of the persons who, time out of mind, had been regarded + as the top gentry of the place. Each of these centred in himself a variety + of occupations. There was little in the appearance of the vicar that + reminded you of his profession, except on the recurring Sunday. At other + times he condescended, with his evangelical hand to guide the plough, or to + drive the cows from the field to the farm-yard for the milking. The + apothecary occasionally officiated as a barber, and the lawyer was the + village schoolmaster.</p> + + <p>By all these persons I was received with kindness and hospitality. Among + people thus remote from the bustle of human life there is an open spirit of + confidence, by means of which a stranger easily finds access to their + benevolence and good-will. My manners had never been greatly debauched from + the simplicity of rural life by the scenes through which I had passed; and + the hardships I had endured had given additional mildness to my character. + In the theatre upon which I was now placed I had no rival. My mechanical + occupation had hitherto been a non-resident; and the schoolmaster, who did + not aspire to the sublime heights of science I professed to communicate, was + willing to admit me as a partner in the task of civilising the unpolished + manners of the inhabitants. For the parson, civilisation was no part of his + trade; his business was with the things of a better life, not with the + carnal concerns of this material scene; in truth, his thoughts were + principally occupied with his oatmeal and his cows.</p> + + <p>These however were not the only companions which this remote retirement + afforded me. There was a family of a very different description, of which I + gradually became the chosen intimate. The father was a shrewd, sensible, + rational man, but who had turned his principal attention to subjects of + agriculture. His wife was a truly admirable and extraordinary woman. She was + the daughter of a Neapolitan nobleman, who, after having visited, and made a + considerable figure, in every country in Europe, had at length received the + blow of fate in this village. He had been banished his country upon + suspicion of religious and political heresy, and his estates confiscated. + With this only child, like Prospero in the Tempest, he had withdrawn himself + to one of the most obscure and uncultivated regions of the world. Very soon + however after his arrival in Wales he had been seized with a malignant + fever, which carried him off in three days. He died possessed of no other + property than a few jewels, and a bill of credit, to no considerable amount, + upon an English banker.</p> + + <p>Here then was the infant Laura, left in a foreign country, and without a + single friend. The father of her present husband was led by motives of pure + humanity to seek to mitigate the misfortunes of the dying Italian. Though a + plain uninstructed man, with no extraordinary refinement of intellect, there + was something in his countenance that determined the stranger in his present + forlorn and melancholy situation, to make him his executor, and the guardian + of his daughter. The Neapolitan understood enough of English to explain his + wishes to this friendly attendant of his death-bed. As his circumstances + were narrow, the servants of the stranger, two Italians, a male and a + female, were sent back to their own country soon after the death of their + master.</p> + + <p>Laura was at this time eight years of age. At these tender years she had + been susceptible of little direct instruction; and, as she grew up, even the + memory of her father became, from year to year, more vague and indistinct in + her mind. But there was something she derived from her father, whether along + with the life he bestowed, or as the consequence of his instruction and + manners, which no time could efface. Every added year of her life + contributed to develop the fund of her accomplishments. She read, she + observed, she reflected. Without instructors, she taught herself to draw, to + sing, and to understand the more polite European languages. As she had no + society in this remote situation but that of peasants, she had no idea of + honour or superiority to be derived from her acquisitions; but pursued them + from a secret taste, and as the sources of personal enjoyment.</p> + + <p>A mutual attachment gradually arose between her and the only son of her + guardian. His father led him, from early youth, to the labours and the + sports of the field, and there was little congeniality between his pursuits + and those of Laura. But this was a defect that she was slow to discover. She + had never been accustomed to society in her chosen amusements, and habit at + that time even made her conceive, that they were indebted to solitude for an + additional relish. The youthful rustic had great integrity, great kindness + of heart, and was a lad of excellent sense. He was florid, + well-proportioned, and the goodness of his disposition made his manners + amiable. Accomplishments greater than these she had never seen in human + form, since the death of her father. In fact, she is scarcely to be + considered as a sufferer in this instance; since, in her forlorn and + destitute condition, it is little probable, when we consider the habits and + notions that now prevail, that her accomplishments, unassisted by fortune, + would have procured her an equal alliance in marriage.</p> + + <p>When she became a mother her heart opened to a new affection. The idea + now presented itself, which had never occurred before, that in her children + at least she might find the partners and companions of her favourite + employments. She was, at the time of my arrival, mother of four, the eldest + of which was a son. To all of them she had been a most assiduous instructor. + It was well for her perhaps that she obtained this sphere for the exercise + of her mind. It came just at the period when the charm which human life + derives from novelty is beginning to wear off. It gave her new activity and + animation. It is perhaps impossible that the refinements of which human + nature is capable should not, after a time, subside into sluggishness, if + they be not aided by the influence of society and affection.</p> + + <p>The son of the Welch farmer by this admirable woman was about seventeen + years of age at the time of my settlement in their neighbourhood. His eldest + sister was one year younger than himself. The whole family composed a group, + with which a lover of tranquillity and virtue would have delighted to + associate in any situation. It is easy therefore to conceive how much I + rejoiced in their friendship, in this distant retirement, and suffering, as + I felt myself, from the maltreatment and desertion of my species. The + amiable Laura had a wonderful quickness of eye, and rapidity of + apprehension; but this feature in her countenance was subdued by a sweetness + of disposition, such as I never in any other instance saw expressed in the + looks of a human being. She soon distinguished me by her kindness and + friendship; for, living as she had done, though familiar with the written + productions of a cultivated intellect, she had never seen the thing itself + realised in a living being, except in the person of her father. She + delighted to converse with me upon subjects of literature and taste, and she + eagerly invited my assistance in the education of her children. The son, + though young, had been so happily improved and instructed by his mother, + that I found in him nearly all the most essential qualities we require in a + friend. Engagement and inclination equally led me to pass a considerable + part of every day in this agreeable society. Laura treated me as if I had + been one of the family; and I sometimes flattered myself that I might one + day become such in reality. What an enviable resting-place for me, who had + known nothing but calamity, and had scarcely dared to look for sympathy and + kindness in the countenance of a human being!</p> + + <p>The sentiments of friendship which early disclosed themselves between me + and the member of this amiable family daily became stronger. At every + interview, the confidence reposed in me by the mother increased. While our + familiarity gained in duration, it equally gained in that subtlety of + communication by which it seemed to shoot forth its roots in every + direction. There are a thousand little evanescent touches in the development + of a growing friendship, that are neither thought of, nor would be + understood, between common acquaintances. I honoured and esteemed the + respectable Laura like a mother; for, though the difference of our ages was + by no means sufficient to authorise the sentiment, it was irresistibly + suggested to me by the fact of her always being presented to my observation + under the maternal character. Her son was a lad of great understanding, + generosity, and feeling, and of no contemptible acquirements; while his + tender years, and the uncommon excellence of his mother, subtracted + something from the independence of his judgment, and impressed him with a + sort of religious deference for her will. In the eldest daughter I beheld + the image of Laura; for that I felt attached to her for the present; and I + sometimes conceived it probable that hereafter I might learn to love her for + her own sake.—Alas, it was thus that I amused myself with the visions + of distant years, while I stood in reality on the brink of the + precipice!</p> + + <p>It will perhaps be thought strange that I never once communicated the + particulars of my story to this amiable matron, or to my young friend, for + such I may also venture to call him, her son. But in truth I abhorred the + memory of this story; I placed all my hopes of happiness in the prospect of + its being consigned to oblivion. I fondly flattered myself that such would + be the event: in the midst of my unlooked-for happiness, I scarcely + recollected, or, recollecting, was disposed to yield but a small degree of + credit to, the menaces of Mr. Falkland.</p> + + <p>One day, that I was sitting alone with the accomplished Laura, she + repeated his all-dreadful name. I started with astonishment, amazed that a + woman like this, who knew nobody, who lived as it were alone in a corner of + the universe, who had never in a single instance entered into any + fashionable circle, this admirable and fascinating hermit, should, by some + unaccountable accident, have become acquainted with this fatal and + tremendous name. Astonishment however was not my only sensation. I became + pale with terror; I rose from my seat; I attempted to sit down again; I + reeled out of the room, and hastened to bury myself in solitude. The + unexpectedness of the incident took from me all precaution, and overwhelmed + my faculties. The penetrating Laura observed my behaviour; but nothing + further occurred to excite her attention to it at that time; and, concluding + from my manner that enquiry would be painful to me, she humanely suppressed + her curiosity.</p> + + <p>I afterwards found that Mr. Falkland had been known to the father of + Laura; that he had been acquainted with the story of Count Malvesi, and with + a number of other transactions redounding in the highest degree to the + credit of the gallant Englishman. The Neapolitan had left letters in which + these transactions were recorded, and which spoke of Mr. Falkland in the + highest terms of panegyric. Laura had been used to regard every little relic + of her father with a sort of religious veneration; and, by this accident, + the name of Mr. Falkland was connected in her mind with the sentiments of + unbounded esteem.</p> + + <p>The scene by which I was surrounded was perhaps more grateful to me, than + it would have been to most other persons with my degree of intellectual + cultivation. Sore with persecution and distress, and bleeding at almost + every vein, there was nothing I so much coveted as rest and tranquillity. It + seemed as if my faculties were, at least for the time, exhausted by the late + preternatural intensity of their exertions, and that they stood + indispensably in need of a period of comparative suspension.</p> + + <p>This was however but a temporary feeling. My mind had always been active, + and I was probably indebted to the sufferings I had endured, and the + exquisite and increased susceptibility they produced, for new energies. I + soon felt the desire of some additional and vigorous pursuit. In this state + of mind, I met by accident, in a neglected corner of the house of one of my + neighbours, with a general dictionary of four of the northern languages. + This incident gave a direction to my thoughts. In my youth I had not been + inattentive to languages. I determined to attempt, at least for my own use, + an etymological analysis of the English language. I easily perceived, that + this pursuit had one advantage to a person in my situation, and that a small + number of books, consulted with this view, would afford employment for a + considerable time. I procured other dictionaries. In my incidental reading, + I noted the manner in which words were used, and applied these remarks to + the illustration of my general enquiry. I was unintermitted in my assiduity, + and my collections promised to accumulate. Thus I was provided with sources + both of industry and recreation, the more completely to divert my thoughts + from the recollection of my past misfortunes.</p> + + <p>In this state, so grateful to my feelings, week after week glided away + without interruption and alarm. The situation in which I was now placed had + some resemblance to that in which I had spent my earlier years, with the + advantage of a more attractive society, and a riper judgment. I began to + look back upon the intervening period as upon a distempered and tormenting + dream; or rather perhaps my feelings were like those of a man recovered from + an interval of raging delirium, from ideas of horror, confusion, flight, + persecution, agony, and despair! When I recollected what I had undergone, it + was not without satisfaction, as the recollection of a thing that was past; + every day augmented my hope that it was never to return. Surely the dark and + terrific menaces of Mr. Falkland were rather the perturbed suggestions of + his angry mind, than the final result of a deliberate and digested system! + How happy should I feel, beyond the ordinary lot of man, if, after the + terrors I had undergone, I should now find myself unexpectedly restored to + the immunities of a human being!</p> + + <p>While I was thus soothing my mind with fond imaginations, it happened + that a few bricklayers and their labourers came over from a distance of five + or six miles, to work upon some additions to one of the better sort of + houses in the town, which had changed its tenant. No incident could be more + trivial than this, had it not been for a strange coincidence of time between + this circumstance, and a change which introduced itself into my situation. + This first manifested itself in a sort of shyness with which I was treated, + first by one person, and then another, of my new-formed acquaintance. They + were backward to enter into conversation with me, and answered my enquiries + with an awkward and embarrassed air. When they met me in the street or the + field, their countenances contracted a cloud, and they endeavoured to shun + me. My scholars quitted me one after another; and I had no longer any + employment in my mechanical profession. It is impossible to describe the + sensations, which the gradual but uninterrupted progress of this revolution + produced in my mind. It seemed as if I had some contagious disease, from + which every man shrunk with alarm, and left me to perish unassisted and + alone. I asked one man and another to explain to me the meaning of these + appearances; but every one avoided the task, and answered in an evasive and + ambiguous manner. I sometimes supposed that it was all a delusion of the + imagination; till the repetition of the sensation brought the reality too + painfully home to my apprehension. There are few things that give a greater + shock to the mind, than a phenomenon in the conduct of our fellow men, of + great importance to our concerns, and for which we are unable to assign any + plausible reason. At times I was half inclined to believe that the change + was not in other men, but that some alienation of my own understanding + generated the horrid vision. I endeavoured to awaken from my dream, and + return to my former state of enjoyment and happiness; but in vain. To the + same consideration it may be ascribed, that, unacquainted with the source of + the evil, observing its perpetual increase, and finding it, so far as I + could perceive, entirely arbitrary in its nature, I was unable to ascertain + its limits, or the degree in which it would finally overwhelm me.</p> + + <p>In the midst however of the wonderful and seemingly inexplicable nature + of this scene, there was one idea that instantly obtruded itself, and that I + could never after banish from my mind. It is Falkland! In vain I struggled + against the seeming improbability of the supposition. In vain I said, "Mr. + Falkland, wise as he is, and pregnant in resources, acts by human, not by + supernatural means. He may overtake me by surprise, and in a manner of which + I had no previous expectation; but he cannot produce a great and notorious + effect without some visible agency, however difficult it may be to trace + that agency to its absolute author. He cannot, like those invisible + personages who are supposed from time to time to interfere in human affairs, + ride in the whirlwind, shroud himself in clouds and impenetrable darkness, + and scatter destruction upon the earth from his secret habitation." Thus it + was that I bribed my imagination, and endeavoured to persuade myself that my + present unhappiness originated in a different source from my former. All + evils appeared trivial to me, in comparison with the recollection and + perpetuation of my parent misfortune. I felt like a man distracted, by the + incoherence of my ideas to my present situation, excluding from it the + machinations of Mr. Falkland, on the one hand; and on the other, by the + horror I conceived at the bare possibility of again encountering his + animosity, after a suspension of many weeks, a suspension as I had hoped for + ever. An interval like this was an age to a person in the calamitous + situation I had so long experienced. But, in spite of my efforts, I could + not banish from my mind the dreadful idea. My original conceptions of the + genius and perseverance of Mr. Falkland had been such, that I could with + difficulty think any thing impossible to him. I knew not how to set up my + own opinions of material causes and the powers of the human mind, as the + limits of existence. Mr. Falkland had always been to my imagination an + object of wonder, and that which excites our wonder we scarcely suppose + ourselves competent to analyse.</p> + + <p>It may well be conceived, that one of the first persons to whom I thought + of applying for an explanation of this dreadful mystery was the accomplished + Laura. My disappointment here cut me to the heart. I was not prepared for + it. I recollected the ingenuousness of her nature, the frankness of her + manners, the partiality with which she had honoured me. If I were mortified + with the coldness, the ruggedness, and the cruel mistake of principles with + which the village inhabitants repelled my enquiries, the mortification I + suffered, only drove me more impetuously to seek the cure of my griefs from + this object of my admiration. "In Laura," said I, "I am secure from these + vulgar prejudices. I confide in her justice. I am sure she will not cast me + off unheard, nor without strictly examining a question on all sides, in + which every thing that is valuable to a person she once esteemed, may be + involved."</p> + + <p>Thus encouraging myself, I turned my steps to the place of her residence. + As I passed along I called up all my recollection, I summoned my faculties. + "I may be made miserable," said I, "but it shall not be for want of any + exertion of mine, that promises to lead to happiness. I will be clear, + collected, simple in narrative, ingenuous in communication. I will leave + nothing unsaid that the case may require. I will not volunteer any thing + that relates to my former transactions with Mr. Falkland; but, if I find + that my present calamity is connected with those transactions, I will not + fear but that by an honest explanation I shall remove it."</p> + + <p>I knocked at the door. A servant appeared, and told me that her mistress + hoped I would excuse her; she must really beg to dispense with my visit.</p> + + <p>I was thunderstruck. I was rooted to the spot. I had been carefully + preparing my mind for every thing that I supposed likely to happen, but this + event had not entered into my calculations. I roused myself in a partial + degree, and walked away without uttering a word.</p> + + <p>I had not gone far before I perceived one of the workmen following me, + who put into my hands a billet. The contents were these:—</p> + + <p>"MR. WILLIAMS,</p> + + <p>"Let me see you no more. I have a right at least to expect your + compliance with this requisition; and, upon that condition, I pardon the + enormous impropriety and guilt with which you have conducted yourself to me + and my family.</p> + + <p>"LAURA DENISON."</p> + + <p>The sensations with which I read these few lines are indescribable. I + found in them a dreadful confirmation of the calamity that on all sides + invaded me. But what I felt most was the unmoved coldness with which they + appeared to be written. This coldness from Laura, my comforter, my friend, + my mother! To dismiss, to cast me off for ever, without one thought of + compunction!</p> + + <p>I determined however, in spite of her requisition, and in spite of her + coldness, to have an explanation with her. I did not despair of conquering + the antipathy she harboured. I did not fear that I should rouse her from the + vulgar and unworthy conception, of condemning a man, in points the most + material to his happiness, without stating the accusations that are urged + against him, and without hearing him in reply.</p> + + <p>Though I had no doubt, by means of resolution, of gaining access to her + in her house, yet I preferred taking her unprepared, and not warmed against + me by any previous contention. Accordingly, the next morning, at the time + she usually devoted to half an hour's air and exercise, I hastened to her + garden, leaped the paling, and concealed myself in an arbour. Presently I + saw, from my retreat, the younger part of the family strolling through the + garden, and from thence into the fields; but it was not my business to be + seen by them. I looked after them however with earnestness, unobserved; and + I could not help asking myself, with a deep and heartfelt sigh, whether it + were possible that I saw them now for the last time?</p> + + <p>They had not advanced far into the fields, before their mother made her + appearance. I observed in her her usual serenity and sweetness of + countenance. I could feel my heart knocking against my ribs. My whole frame + was in a tumult. I stole out of the arbour; and, as I advanced nearer, my + pace became quickened.</p> + + <p>"For God's sake, madam," exclaimed I, "give me a hearing! Do not avoid + me!"</p> + + <p>She stood still. "No, sir," she replied, "I shall not avoid you. I wished + you to dispense with this meeting; but since I cannot obtain that—I am + conscious of no wrong; and therefore, though the meeting gives me pain, it + inspires me with no fear."</p> + + <p>"Oh, madam," answered I, "my friend! the object of all my reverence! whom + I once ventured to call my mother! can you wish not to hear me? Can you have + no anxiety for my justification, whatever may be the unfavourable impression + you may have received against me?"</p> + + <p>"Not an atom. I have neither wish nor inclination to hear you. That tale + which, in its plain and unadorned state, is destructive of the character of + him to whom it relates, no colouring can make an honest one."</p> + + <p>"Good God! Can you think of condemning a man when you have heard only one + side of his story?"</p> + + <p>"Indeed I can," replied she with dignity. "The maxim of hearing both + sides may be very well in some cases; but it would be ridiculous to suppose + that there are not cases, that, at the first mention, are too clear to admit + the shadow of a doubt. By a well-concerted defence you may give me new + reasons to admire your abilities; but I am acquainted with them already. I + can admire your abilities, without tolerating your character."</p> + + <p>"Madam! Amiable, exemplary Laura! whom, in the midst of all your + harshness and inflexibility, I honour! I conjure you, by every thing that is + sacred, to tell me what it is that has filled you with this sudden aversion + to me."</p> + + <p>"No, sir; that you shall never obtain from me. I have nothing to say to + you. I stand still and hear you; because virtue disdains to appear abashed + and confounded in the presence of vice. Your conduct even at this moment, in + my opinion, condemns you. True virtue refuses the drudgery of explanation + and apology. True virtue shines by its own light, and needs no art to set it + off. You have the first principles of morality as yet to learn."</p> + + <p>"And can you imagine, that the most upright conduct is always superior to + the danger of ambiguity?"</p> + + <p>"Exactly so. Virtue, sir, consists in actions, and not in words. The good + man and the bad are characters precisely opposite, not characters + distinguished from each other by imperceptible shades. The Providence that + rules us all, has not permitted us to be left without a clew in the most + important of all questions. Eloquence may seek to confound it; but it shall + be my care to avoid its deceptive influence. I do not wish to have my + understanding perverted, and all the differences of things concealed from my + apprehension."</p> + + <p>"Madam, madam! it would be impossible for you to hold this language, if + you had not always lived in this obscure retreat, if you had ever been + conversant with the passions and institutions of men."</p> + + <p>"It may be so. And, if that be the case, I have great reason to be + thankful to my God, who has thus enabled me to preserve the innocence of my + heart, and the integrity of my understanding."</p> + + <p>"Can you believe then that ignorance is the only, or the safest, + preservative of integrity?"</p> + + <p>"Sir, I told you at first, and I repeat to you again, that all your + declamation is in vain. I wish you would have saved me and yourself that + pain which is the only thing that can possibly result from it. But let us + suppose that virtue could ever be the equivocal thing you would have me + believe. Is it possible, if you had been honest, that you would not have + acquainted me with your story? Is it possible, that you would have left me + to have been informed of it by a mere accident, and with all the shocking + aggravations you well knew that accident would give it? Is it possible you + should have violated the most sacred of all trusts, and have led me + unknowingly to admit to the intercourse of my children a character, which + if, as you pretend, it is substantially honest, you cannot deny to be + blasted and branded in the face of the whole world? Go, sir; I despise you. + You are a monster and not a man. I cannot tell whether my personal situation + misleads me; but, to my thinking, this last action of yours is worse than + all the rest. Nature has constituted me the protector of my children. I + shall always remember and resent the indelible injury you have done them. + You have wounded me to the very heart, and have taught me to what a pitch + the villainy of man can extend."</p> + + <p>"Madam, I can be silent no longer. I see that you have by some means come + to a hearing of the story of Mr. Falkland."</p> + + <p>"I have. I am astonished you have the effrontery to pronounce his name. + That name has been a denomination, as far back as my memory can reach, for + the most exalted of mortals, the wisest and most generous of men."</p> + + <p>"Madam, I owe it to myself to set you right on this subject. Mr. + Falkland—"</p> + + <p>"Mr. Williams, I see my children returning from the fields, and coming + this way. The basest action you ever did was the obtruding yourself upon + them as an instructor. I insist that you see them no more. I command you to + be silent. I command you to withdraw. If you persist in your absurd + resolution of expostulating with me, you must take some other time."</p> + + <p>I could continue no longer. I was in a manner heart-broken through the + whole of this dialogue. I could not think of protracting the pain of this + admirable woman, upon whom, though I was innocent of the crimes she imputed + to me, I had inflicted so much pain already. I yielded to the imperiousness + of her commands, and withdrew.</p> + + <p>I hastened, without knowing why, from the presence of Laura to my own + habitation. Upon entering the house, an apartment of which I occupied, I + found it totally deserted of its usual inhabitants. The woman and her + children were gone to enjoy the freshness of the breeze. The husband was + engaged in his usual out-door occupations. The doors of persons of the lower + order in this part of the country are secured, in the day-time, only with a + latch. I entered, and went into the kitchen of the family. Here, as I looked + round, my eyes accidentally glanced upon a paper lying in one corner, which, + by some association I was unable to explain, roused in me a strong sensation + of suspicion and curiosity. I eagerly went towards it, caught it up, and + found it to be the very paper of the WONDERFUL AND SURPRISING HISTORY OF + CALEB WILLIAMS, the discovery of which, towards the close of my residence in + London, had produced in me such inexpressible anguish.</p> + + <p>This encounter at once cleared up all the mystery that hung upon my late + transactions. Abhorred and intolerable certainty succeeded to the doubts + which had haunted my mind. It struck me with the rapidity of lightning. I + felt a sudden torpor and sickness that pervaded every fibre of my frame.</p> + + <p>Was there no hope that remained for me? Was acquittal useless? Was there + no period, past or in prospect, that could give relief to my sufferings? Was + the odious and atrocious falsehood that had been invented against me, to + follow me wherever I went, to strip me of character, to deprive me of the + sympathy and good-will of mankind, to wrest from me the very bread by which + life must be sustained?</p> + + <p>For the space perhaps of half an hour the agony I felt from this + termination to my tranquillity, and the expectation it excited of the enmity + which would follow me through every retreat, was such as to bereave me of + all consistent thinking, much more of the power of coming to any resolution. + As soon as this giddiness and horror of the mind subsided, and the deadly + calm that invaded my faculties was no more, one stiff and master gale gained + the ascendancy, and drove me to an instant desertion of this late cherished + retreat. I had no patience to enter into further remonstrance and + explanation with the inhabitants of my present residence. I believed that it + was in vain to hope to recover the favourable prepossession and tranquillity + I had lately enjoyed. In encountering the prejudices that were thus armed + against me, I should have to deal with a variety of dispositions, and, + though I might succeed with some, I could not expect to succeed with all. I + had seen too much of the reign of triumphant falsehood, to have that + sanguine confidence in the effects of my innocence, which would have + suggested itself to the mind of any other person of my propensities and my + age. The recent instance which had occurred in my conversation with Laura + might well contribute to discourage me. I could not endure the thought of + opposing the venom that was thus scattered against me, in detail and through + its minuter particles. If ever it should be necessary to encounter it, if I + were pursued like a wild beast, till I could no longer avoid turning upon my + hunters, I would then turn upon the true author of this unprincipled attack; + I would encounter the calumny in its strong hold; I would rouse myself to an + exertion hitherto unessayed; and, by the firmness, intrepidity, and + unalterable constancy I should display, would yet compel mankind to believe + Mr. Falkland a suborner and a murderer!</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CXIV" id="V3_CXIV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + + <p>I hasten to the conclusion of my melancholy story. I began to write soon + after the period to which I have now conducted it. This was another resource + that my mind, ever eager in inventing means to escape from my misery, + suggested. In my haste to withdraw myself from the retreat in Wales, where + first the certainty of Mr. Falkland's menaces was confirmed to me, I left + behind me the apparatus of my etymological enquiries, and the papers I had + written upon the subject. I have never been able to persuade myself to + resume this pursuit. It is always discouraging, to begin over again a + laborious task, and exert one's self to recover a position we had already + occupied. I knew not how soon or how abruptly I might be driven from any new + situation; the appendages of the study in which I had engaged were too + cumbrous for this state of dependence and uncertainty; they only served to + give new sharpness to the enmity of my foe, and new poignancy to my + hourly-renewing distress.</p> + + <p>But what was of greatest importance, and made the deepest impression upon + my mind, was my separation from the family of Laura. Fool that I was, to + imagine that there was any room for me in the abodes of friendship and + tranquillity! It was now first, that I felt, with the most intolerable + acuteness, how completely I was cut off from the whole human species. Other + connections I had gained, comparatively without interest; and I saw them + dissolved without the consummation of agony. I had never experienced the + purest refinements of friendship, but in two instances, that of Collins, and + this of the family of Laura. Solitude, separation, banishment! These are + words often in the mouths of human beings; but few men except myself have + felt the full latitude of their meaning. The pride of philosophy has taught + us to treat man as an individual. He is no such thing. He holds necessarily, + indispensably, to his species. He is like those twin-births, that have two + heads indeed, and four hands; but, if you attempt to detach them from each + other, they are inevitably subjected to miserable and lingering + destruction.</p> + + <p>It was this circumstance, more than all the rest, that gradually gorged + my heart with abhorrence of Mr. Falkland. I could not think of his name but + with a sickness and a loathing that seemed more than human. It was by his + means that I suffered the loss of one consolation after another, of every + thing that was happiness, or that had the resemblance of happiness.</p> + + <p>The writing of these memoirs served me as a source of avocation for + several years. For some time I had a melancholy satisfaction in it. I was + better pleased to retrace the particulars of calamities that had formerly + afflicted me, than to look forward, as at other times I was too apt to do, + to those by which I might hereafter be overtaken. I conceived that my story, + faithfully digested, would carry in it an impression of truth that few men + would be able to resist; or, at worst, that, by leaving it behind me when I + should no longer continue to exist, posterity might be induced to do me + justice; and, seeing in my example what sort of evils are entailed upon + mankind by society as it is at present constituted, might be inclined to + turn their attention upon the fountain from which such bitter waters have + been accustomed to flow. But these motives have diminished in their + influence. I have contracted a disgust for life and all its appendages. + Writing, which was at first a pleasure, is changed into a burthen. I shall + compress into a small compass what remains to be told.</p> + + <p>I discovered, not long after the period of which I am speaking, the + precise cause of the reverse I had experienced in my residence in Wales, + and, included in that cause, what it was I had to look for in my future + adventures. Mr. Falkland had taken the infernal Gines into his pay, a man + critically qualified for the service in which he was now engaged, by the + unfeeling brutality of his temper, by his habits of mind at once audacious + and artful, and by the peculiar animosity and vengeance he had conceived + against me. The employment to which this man was hired, was that of + following me from place to place, blasting my reputation, and preventing me + from the chance, by continuing long in one residence, of acquiring a + character for integrity, that should give new weight to any accusation I + might at a future time be induced to prefer. He had come to the seat of my + residence with the bricklayers and labourers I have mentioned; and, while he + took care to keep out of sight so far as related to me, was industrious in + disseminating that which, in the eye of the world, seemed to amount to a + demonstration of the profligacy and detestableness of my character. It was + no doubt from him that the detested scroll had been procured, which I had + found in my habitation immediately prior to my quitting it. In all this Mr. + Falkland, reasoning upon his principles, was only employing a necessary + precaution. There was something in the temper of his mind, that impressed + him with aversion to the idea of violently putting an end to my existence; + at the same time that unfortunately he could never deem himself sufficiently + secured against my recrimination, so long as I remained alive. As to the + fact of Gines being retained by him for this tremendous purpose, he by no + means desired that it should become generally known; but neither did he look + upon the possibility of its being known with terror. It was already too + notorious for his wishes, that I had advanced the most odious charges + against him. If he regarded me with abhorrence as the adversary of his fame, + those persons who had had occasion to be in any degree acquainted with our + history, did not entertain less abhorrence against me for my own sake. If + they should at any time know the pains he exerted in causing my evil + reputation to follow me, they would consider it as an act of impartial + justice, perhaps as a generous anxiety to prevent other men from being + imposed upon and injured, as he had been.</p> + + <p>What expedient was I to employ for the purpose of counteracting the + meditated and barbarous prudence, which was thus destined, in all changes of + scene, to deprive me of the benefits and consolations of human society? + There was one expedient against which I was absolutely + determined—disguise. I had experienced so many mortifications, and + such intolerable restraint, when I formerly had recourse to it; it was + associated in my memory with sensations of such acute anguish, that my mind + was thus far entirely convinced: life was not worth purchasing at so high a + price! But, though in this respect I was wholly resolved, there was another + point that did not appear so material, and in which therefore I was willing + to accommodate myself to circumstances. I was contented, if that would + insure my peace, to submit to the otherwise unmanly expedient of passing by + a different name.</p> + + <p>But the change of my name, the abruptness with which I removed from place + to place, the remoteness and the obscurity which I proposed to myself in the + choice of my abode, were all insufficient to elude the sagacity of Gines, or + the unrelenting constancy with which Mr. Falkland incited my tormentor to + pursue me. Whithersoever I removed myself it was not long before I had + occasion to perceive this detested adversary in my rear. No words can enable + me to do justice to the sensations which this circumstance produced in me. + It was like what has been described of the eye of Omniscience, pursuing the + guilty sinner, and darting a ray that awakens him to new sensibility, at the + very moment that, otherwise, exhausted nature would lull him into a + temporary oblivion of the reproaches of his conscience. Sleep fled from my + eyes. No walls could hide me from the discernment of this hated foe. Every + where his industry was unwearied to create for me new distress. Rest I had + none; relief I had none: never could I count upon an instant's security; + never could I wrap myself in the shroud of oblivion. The minutes in which I + did not actually perceive him, were contaminated and blasted with the + certain expectation of his speedy interference. In my first retreat I had + passed a few weeks of delusive tranquillity, but never after was I happy + enough to attain to so much as that shadowy gratification. I spent some + years in this dreadful vicissitude of pain. My sensations at certain periods + amounted to insanity.</p> + + <p>I pursued in every succeeding instance the conduct I had adopted at + first. I determined never to enter into a contest of accusation and defence + with the execrable Gines. If I could have submitted to it in other respects, + what purpose would it answer? I should have but an imperfect and mutilated + story to tell. This story had succeeded with persons already prepossessed in + my favour by personal intercourse; but could it succeed with strangers? It + had succeeded so long as I was able to hide myself from my pursuers; but + could it succeed now, that this appeared impracticable, and that they + proceeded by arming against me a whole vicinity at once?</p> + + <p>It is inconceivable the mischiefs that this kind of existence included. + Why should I insist upon such aggravations as hunger, beggary, and external + wretchedness? These were an inevitable consequence. It was by the desertion + of mankind that, in each successive instance, I was made acquainted with my + fate. Delay in such a moment served but to increase the evil; and when I + fled, meagreness and penury were the ordinary attendants of my course. But + this was a small consideration. Indignation at one time, and unconquerable + perseverance at another, sustained me, where humanity, left to itself, would + probably have sunk.</p> + + <p>It has already appeared that I was not of a temper to endure calamity, + without endeavouring, by every means I could devise, to elude and disarm it. + Recollecting, as I was habituated to do, the various projects by which my + situation could be meliorated, the question occurred to me, "Why should I be + harassed by the pursuits of this Gines? Why, man to man, may I not, by the + powers of my mind, attain the ascendancy over him? At present he appears to + be the persecutor, and I the persecuted: is not this difference the mere + creature of the imagination? May I not employ my ingenuity to vex him with + difficulties, and laugh at the endless labour to which he will be + condemned?"</p> + + <p>Alas, this is a speculation for a mind at ease! It is not the + persecution, but the catastrophe which is annexed to it, that makes the + difference between the tyrant and the sufferer! In mere corporal exertion + the hunter perhaps is upon a level with the miserable animal he pursues! But + could it be forgotten by either of us, that at every stage Gines was to + gratify his malignant passions, by disseminating charges of the most + infamous nature, and exciting against me the abhorrence of every honest + bosom, while I was to sustain the still-repeated annihilation of my peace, + my character, and my bread? Could I, by any refinement of reason, convert + this dreadful series into sport? I had no philosophy that qualified me for + so extraordinary an effort. If, under other circumstances, I could even have + entertained so strange an imagination, I was restrained in the present + instance by the necessity of providing for myself the means of subsistence, + and the fetters which, through that necessity, the forms of human society + imposed upon my exertions.</p> + + <p>In one of those changes of residence, to which my miserable fate + repeatedly compelled me, I met, upon a road which I was obliged to traverse, + the friend of my youth, my earliest and best beloved friend, the venerable + Collins. It was one of those misfortunes which served to accumulate my + distress, that this man had quitted the island of Great Britain only a very + few weeks before that fatal reverse of fortune which had ever since pursued + me with unrelenting eagerness. Mr. Falkland, in addition to the large estate + he possessed in England, had a very valuable plantation in the West Indies. + This property had been greatly mismanaged by the person who had the + direction of it on the spot; and, after various promises and evasions on his + part, which, however they might serve to beguile the patience of Mr. + Falkland, had been attended with no salutary fruits, it was resolved that + Mr. Collins should go over in person, to rectify the abuses which had so + long prevailed. There had even been some idea of his residing several years, + if not settling finally, upon the plantation. From that hour to the present + I had never received the smallest intelligence respecting him.</p> + + <p>I had always considered the circumstance of his critical absence as one + of my severest misfortunes. Mr. Collins had been one of the first persons, + even in the period of my infancy, to conceive hopes of me, as of something + above the common standard; and had contributed more than any other to + encourage and assist my juvenile studies. He had been the executor of the + little property of my father, who had fixed upon him for that purpose in + consideration of the mutual affection that existed between us; and I seemed, + on every account, to have more claim upon his protection than upon that of + any other human being. I had always believed that, had he been present in + the crisis of my fortune, he would have felt a conviction of my innocence; + and, convinced himself, would, by means of the venerableness and energy of + his character, have interposed so effectually, as to have saved me the + greater part of my subsequent misfortunes.</p> + + <p>There was yet another idea in my mind relative to this subject, which had + more weight with me, than even the substantial exertions of friendship I + should have expected from him. The greatest aggravation of my present lot + was, that I was cut off from the friendship of mankind. I can safely affirm, + that poverty and hunger, that endless wanderings, that a blasted character + and the curses that clung to my name, were all of them slight misfortunes + compared to this. I endeavoured to sustain myself by the sense of my + integrity, but the voice of no man upon earth echoed to the voice of my + conscience. "I called aloud; but there was none to answer; there was none + that regarded." To me the whole world was unhearing as the tempest, and as + cold as the torpedo. Sympathy, the magnetic virtue, the hidden essence of + our life, was extinct. Nor was this the sum of my misery. This food, so + essential to an intelligent existence, seemed perpetually renewing before me + in its fairest colours, only the more effectually to elude my grasp, and to + mock my hunger. From time to time I was prompted to unfold the affections of + my soul, only to be repelled with the greater anguish, and to be baffled in + a way the most intolerably mortifying.</p> + + <p>No sight therefore could give me a purer delight than that which now + presented itself to my eyes. It was some time however, before either of us + recognised the person of the other. Ten years had elapsed since our last + interview. Mr. Collins looked much older than he had done at that period; in + addition to which, he was, in his present appearance, pale, sickly, and + thin. These unfavourable effects had been produced by the change of climate, + particularly trying to persons in an advanced period of life. Add to which, + I supposed him to be at that moment in the West Indies. I was probably as + much altered in the period that had elapsed as he had been. I was the first + to recollect him. He was on horseback; I on foot. I had suffered him to pass + me. In a moment the full idea of who he was rushed upon my mind; I ran; I + called with an impetuous voice; I was unable to restrain the vehemence of my + emotions.</p> + + <p>The ardour of my feelings disguised my usual tone of speaking, which + otherwise Mr. Collins would infallibly have recognised. His sight was + already dim; he pulled up his horse till I should overtake him; and then + said, "Who are you? I do not know you."</p> + + <p>"My father!" exclaimed I, embracing one of his knees with fervour and + delight, "I am your son; once your little Caleb, whom you a thousand times + loaded with your kindness!"</p> + + <p>The unexpected repetition of my name gave a kind of shuddering emotion to + my friend, which was however checked by his age, and the calm and benevolent + philosophy that formed one of his most conspicuous habits.</p> + + <p>"I did not expect to see you!" replied he: "I did not wish it!"</p> + + <p>"My best, my oldest friend!" answered I, respect blending itself with my + impatience, "do not say so! I have not a friend any where in the whole world + but you! In you at least let me find sympathy and reciprocal affection! If + you knew how anxiously I have thought of you during the whole period of your + absence, you would not thus grievously disappoint me in your return!"</p> + + <p>"How is it," said Mr. Collins, gravely, "that you have been reduced to + this forlorn condition? Was it not the inevitable consequence of your own + actions?"</p> + + <p>"The actions of others, not mine! Does not your heart tell you that I am + innocent?"</p> + + <p>"No. My observation of your early character taught me that you would be + extraordinary; but, unhappily, all extraordinary men are not good men: that + seems to be a lottery, dependent on circumstances apparently the most + trivial."</p> + + <p>"Will you hear my justification? I am as sure as I am of my existence, + that I can convince you of my purity."</p> + + <p>"Certainly, if you require it, I will hear you. But that must not be just + now. I could have been glad to decline it wholly. At my age I am not fit for + the storm; and I am not so sanguine as you in my expectation of the result. + Of what would you convince me? That Mr. Falkland is a suborner and + murderer?"</p> + + <p>I made no answer. My silence was an affirmative to the question.</p> + + <p>"And what benefit will result from this conviction? I have known you a + promising boy, whose character might turn to one side or the other as events + should decide. I have known Mr. Falkland in his maturer years, and have + always admired him, as the living model of liberality and goodness. If you + could change all my ideas, and show me that there was no criterion by which + vice might be prevented from being mistaken for virtue, what benefit would + arise from that? I must part with all my interior consolation, and all my + external connections. And for what? What is it you propose? The death of Mr. + Falkland by the hands of the hangman."</p> + + <p>"No; I will not hurt a hair of his head, unless compelled to it by a + principle of defence. But surely you owe me justice?"</p> + + <p>"What justice? The justice of proclaiming your innocence? You know what + consequences are annexed to that. But I do not believe I shall find you + innocent. If you even succeed in perplexing my understanding, you will not + succeed in enlightening it. Such is the state of mankind, that innocence, + when involved in circumstances of suspicion, can scarcely ever make out a + demonstration of its purity; and guilt can often make us feel an + insurmountable reluctance to the pronouncing it guilt. Meanwhile, for the + purchase of this uncertainty, I must sacrifice all the remaining comforts of + my life. I believe Mr. Falkland to be virtuous; but I know him to be + prejudiced. He would never forgive me even this accidental parley, if by any + means he should come to be acquainted with it."</p> + + <p>"Oh, argue not the consequences that are possible to result!" answered I, + impatiently, "I have a right to your kindness; I have a right to your + assistance!"</p> + + <p>"You have them. You have them to a certain degree; and it is not likely + that, by any process of examination, you can have them entire. You know my + habits of thinking. I regard you as vicious; but I do not consider the + vicious as proper objects of indignation and scorn. I consider you as a + machine; you are not constituted, I am afraid, to be greatly useful to your + fellow men: but you did not make yourself; you are just what circumstances + irresistibly compelled you to be. I am sorry for your ill properties; but I + entertain no enmity against you, nothing but benevolence. Considering you in + the light in which I at present consider you, I am ready to contribute every + thing in my power to your real advantage, and would gladly assist you, if I + knew how, in detecting and extirpating the errors that have misled you. You + have disappointed me, but I have no reproaches to utter: it is more + necessary for me to feel compassion for you, than that I should accumulate + your misfortune by my censures."</p> + + <p>What could I say to such a man as this? Amiable, incomparable man! Never + was my mind more painfully divided than at that moment. The more he excited + my admiration, the more imperiously did my heart command me, whatever were + the price it should cost, to extort his friendship. I was persuaded that + severe duty required of him, that he should reject all personal + considerations, that he should proceed resolutely to the investigation of + the truth, and that, if he found the result terminating in my favour, he + should resign all his advantages, and, deserted as I was by the world, make + a common cause, and endeavour to compensate the general injustice. But was + it for me to force this conduct upon him, if, now in his declining years, + his own fortitude shrank from it? Alas, neither he nor I foresaw the + dreadful catastrophe that was so closely impending! Otherwise, I am well + assured that no tenderness for his remaining tranquillity would have + withheld him from a compliance with my wishes! On the other hand, could I + pretend to know what evils might result to him from his declaring himself my + advocate? Might not his integrity be browbeaten and defeated, as mine had + been? Did the imbecility of his grey hairs afford no advantage to my + terrible adversary in the contest? Might not Mr. Falkland reduce him to a + condition as wretched and low as mine? After all, was it not vice in me to + desire to involve another man in my sufferings? If I regarded them as + intolerable, this was still an additional reason why I should bear them + alone.</p> + + <p>Influenced by these considerations, I assented to his views. I assented + to be thought hardly of by the man in the world whose esteem I most ardently + desired, rather than involve him in possible calamity. I assented to the + resigning what appeared to me at that moment as the last practicable comfort + of my life; a comfort, upon the thought of which, while I surrendered it, my + mind dwelt with undescribable longings. Mr. Collins was deeply affected with + the apparent ingenuousness with which I expressed my feelings. The secret + struggle of his mind was, "Can this be hypocrisy? The individual with whom I + am conferring, if virtuous, is one of the most disinterestedly virtuous + persons in the world." We tore ourselves from each other. Mr. Collins + promised, as far as he was able, to have an eye upon my vicissitudes, and to + assist me, in every respect that was consistent with a just recollection of + consequences. Thus I parted as it were with the last expiring hope of my + mind; and voluntarily consented, thus maimed and forlorn, to encounter all + the evils that were yet in store for me.</p> + + <p>This is the latest event which at present I think it necessary to record. + I shall doubtless hereafter have further occasion to take up the pen. Great + and unprecedented as my sufferings have been, I feel intimately persuaded + that there are worse sufferings that await me. What mysterious cause is it + that enables me to write this, and not to perish under the horrible + apprehension!</p> + <hr /> + <a name="V3_CXV" id="V3_CXV"></a> + + <h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + + <p>It is as I foreboded. The presage with which I was visited was prophetic. + I am now to record a new and terrible revolution of my fortune and my + mind.</p> + + <p>Having made experiment of various situations with one uniform result, I + at length determined to remove myself, if possible, from the reach of my + persecutor, by going into voluntary banishment from my native soil. This was + my last resource for tranquillity, for honest fame, for those privileges to + which human life is indebted for the whole of its value. "In some distant + climate," said I, "surely I may find that security which is necessary to + persevering pursuit; surely I may lift my head erect, associate with men + upon the footing of a man, acquire connections, and preserve them!" It is + inconceivable with what ardent Teachings of the soul I aspired to this + termination.</p> + + <p>This last consolation was denied me by the inexorable Falkland.</p> + + <p>At the time the project was formed I was at no great distance from the + east coast of the island, and I resolved to take ship at Harwich, and pass + immediately into Holland. I accordingly repaired to that place, and went, + almost as soon as I arrived, to the port. But there was no vessel perfectly + ready to sail. I left the port, and withdrew to an inn, where, after some + time, I retired to a chamber. I was scarcely there before the door of the + room was opened, and the man whose countenance was the most hateful to my + eyes, Gines, entered the apartment. He shut the door as soon as he + entered.</p> + + <p>"Youngster," said he, "I have a little private intelligence to + communicate to you. I come as a friend, and that I may save you a + labour-in-vain trouble. If you consider what I have to say in that light, it + will be the better for you. It is my business now, do you see, for want of a + better, to see that you do not break out of bounds. Not that I much matter + having one man for my employer, or dancing attendance after another's heels; + but I have special kindness for you, for some good turns that you wot of, + and therefore I do not stand upon ceremonies! You have led me a very pretty + round already; and, out of the love I bear you, you shall lead me as much + further, if you will. But beware the salt seas! They are out of my orders. + You are a prisoner at present, and I believe all your life will remain so. + Thanks to the milk-and-water softness of your former master! If I had the + ordering of these things, it should go with you in another fashion. As long + as you think proper, you are a prisoner within the rules; and the rules with + which the soft-hearted squire indulges you, are all England, Scotland, and + Wales. But you are not to go out of these climates. The squire is determined + you shall never pass the reach of his disposal. He has therefore given + orders that, whenever you attempt so to do, you shall be converted from a + prisoner at large to a prisoner in good earnest. A friend of mine followed + you just now to the harbour; I was within call; and, if there had been any + appearance of your setting your foot from land, we should have been with you + in a trice, and laid you fast by the heels. I would advise you, for the + future, to keep at a proper distance from the sea, for fear of the worst. + You see I tell you all this for your good. For my part, I should be better + satisfied if you were in limbo, with a rope about your neck, and a + comfortable bird's eye prospect to the gallows: but I do as I am directed; + and so good night to you!"</p> + + <p>The intelligence thus conveyed to me occasioned an instantaneous + revolution in both my intellectual and animal system. I disdained to answer, + or take the smallest notice of the fiend by whom it was delivered. It is now + three days since I received it, and from that moment to the present my blood + has been in a perpetual ferment. My thoughts wander from one idea of horror + to another, with incredible rapidity. I have had no sleep. I have scarcely + remained in one posture for a minute together. It has been with the utmost + difficulty that I have been able to command myself far enough to add a few + pages to my story. But, uncertain as I am of the events of each succeeding + hour, I determined to force myself to the performance of this task. All is + not right within me. How it will terminate, God knows. I sometimes fear that + I shall be wholly deserted of my reason.</p> + + <p>What—dark, mysterious, unfeeling, unrelenting tyrant!--is it come + to this? When Nero and Caligula swayed the Roman sceptre, it was a fearful + thing to offend these bloody rulers. The empire had already spread itself + from climate to climate, and from sea to sea. If their unhappy victim fled + to the rising of the sun, where the luminary of day seems to us first to + ascend from the waves of the ocean, the power of the tyrant was still behind + him. If he withdrew to the west, to Hesperian darkness, and the shores of + barbarian Thule, still he was not safe from his gore-drenched + foe.—Falkland! art thou the offspring, in whom the lineaments of these + tyrants are faithfully preserved? Was the world, with all its climates, made + in vain for thy helpless unoffending victim?</p> + + <p>Tremble!</p> + + <p>Tyrants have trembled, surrounded with whole armies of their Janissaries! + What should make thee inaccessible to my fury? No, I will use no daggers! I + will unfold a tale!--I will show thee to the world for what thou art; and + all the men that live, shall confess my truth!--Didst thou imagine that I + was altogether passive, a mere worm, organised to feel sensations of pain, + but no emotion of resentment? Didst thou imagine that there was no danger in + inflicting on me pains however great, miseries however dreadful? Didst thou + believe me impotent, imbecile, and idiot-like, with no understanding to + contrive thy ruin, and no energy to perpetrate it?</p> + + <p>I will tell a tale—! The justice of the country shall hear me! The + elements of nature in universal uproar shall not interrupt me! I will speak + with a voice more fearful than thunder!--Why should I be supposed to speak + from any dishonourable motive? I am under no prosecution now! I shall not + now appear to be endeavouring to remove a criminal indictment from myself, + by throwing it back on its author!--Shall I regret the ruin that will + overwhelm thee? Too long have I been tender-hearted and forbearing! What + benefit has ever resulted from my mistaken clemency? There is no evil thou + hast scrupled to accumulate upon me! Neither will I be more scrupulous! Thou + hast shown no mercy; and thou shalt receive none!--I must be calm! bold as a + lion, yet collected!</p> + + <p>This is a moment pregnant with fate. I know—I think I + know—that I will be triumphant, and crush my seemingly omnipotent foe. + But, should it be otherwise, at least he shall not be every way successful. + His fame shall not be immortal as he thinks. These papers shall preserve the + truth; they shall one day be published, and then the world shall do justice + on us both. Recollecting that, I shall not die wholly without consolation. + It is not to be endured that falsehood and tyranny should reign for + ever.</p> + + <p>How impotent are the precautions of man against the eternally existing + laws of the intellectual world! This Falkland has invented against me every + species of foul accusation. He has hunted me from city to city. He has drawn + his lines of circumvallation round me that I may not escape. He has kept his + scenters of human prey for ever at my heels. He may hunt me out of the + world.—In vain! With this engine, this little pen, I defeat all his + machinations; I stab him in the very point he was most solicitous to + defend!</p> + + <p>Collins! I now address myself to you. I have consented that you should + yield me no assistance in my present terrible situation. I am content to die + rather than do any thing injurious to your tranquillity. But remember, you + are my father still! I conjure you, by all the love you ever bore me, by the + benefits you have conferred on me, by the forbearance and kindness towards + you that now penetrates my soul, by my innocence—for, if these be the + last words I shall ever write, I die protesting my innocence!--by all these, + or whatever tie more sacred has influence on your soul, I conjure you, + listen to my last request! Preserve these papers from destruction, and + preserve them from Falkland! It is all I ask! I have taken care to provide a + safe mode of conveying them into your possession: and I have a firm + confidence, which I will not suffer to depart from me, that they will one + day find their way to the public!</p> + + <p>The pen lingers in my trembling fingers! Is there any thing I have left + unsaid?—The contents of the fatal trunk, from which all my misfortunes + originated, I have never been able to ascertain. I once thought it contained + some murderous instrument or relic connected with the fate of the unhappy + Tyrrel. I am now persuaded that the secret it encloses, is a faithful + narrative of that and its concomitant transactions, written by Mr. Falkland, + and reserved in case of the worst, that, if by any unforeseen event his + guilt should come to be fully disclosed, it might contribute to redeem the + wreck of his reputation. But the truth or the falsehood of this conjecture + is of little moment. If Falkland shall never be detected to the satisfaction + of the world, such a narrative will probably never see the light. In that + case this story of mine may amply, severely perhaps, supply its place.</p> + + <p>I know not what it is that renders me thus solemn. I have a secret + foreboding, as if I should never again be master of myself. If I succeed in + what I now meditate respecting Falkland, my precaution in the disposal of + these papers will have been unnecessary; I shall no longer be reduced to + artifice and evasion. If I fail, the precaution will appear to have been + wisely chosen.</p> + <hr /> + <a name="POSTSCRIPT" id="POSTSCRIPT"></a> + + <h2>POSTSCRIPT.</h2> + + <p>All is over. I have carried into execution my meditated attempt. My + situation is totally changed; I now sit down to give an account of it. For + several weeks after the completion of this dreadful business, my mind was in + too tumultuous a state to permit me to write. I think I shall now be able to + arrange my thoughts sufficiently for that purpose. Great God! how wondrous, + how terrible are the events that have intervened since I was last employed + in a similar manner! It is no wonder that my thoughts were solemn, and my + mind filled with horrible forebodings!</p> + + <p>Having formed my resolution, I set out from Harwich, for the metropolitan + town of the county in which Mr. Falkland resided. Gines, I well knew, was in + my rear. That was of no consequence to me. He might wonder at the direction + I pursued, but he could not tell with what purpose I pursued it. My design + was a secret, carefully locked up in my own breast. It was not without a + sentiment of terror that I entered a town which had been the scene of my + long imprisonment. I proceeded to the house of the chief magistrate the + instant I arrived, that I might give no time to my adversary to counterwork + my proceeding.</p> + + <p>I told him who I was, and that I was come from a distant part of the + kingdom, for the purpose of rendering him the medium of a charge of murder + against my former patron. My name was already familiar to him. He answered, + that he could not take cognizance of my deposition; that I was an object of + universal execration in that part of the world; and he was determined upon + no account to be the vehicle of my depravity.</p> + + <p>I warned him to consider well what he was doing. I called upon him for no + favour; I only applied to him in the regular exercise of his function. Would + he take upon him to say that he had a right, at his pleasure, to suppress a + charge of this complicated nature? I had to accuse Mr. Falkland of repeated + murders. The perpetrator knew that I was in possession of the truth upon the + subject; and, knowing that, I went perpetually in danger of my life from his + malice and revenge. I was resolved to go through with the business, if + justice were to be obtained from any court in England. Upon what pretence + did he refuse my deposition? I was in every respect a competent witness. I + was of age to understand the nature of an oath; I was in my perfect senses; + I was untarnished by the verdict of any jury, or the sentence of any judge. + His private opinion of my character could not alter the law of the land. I + demanded to be confronted with Mr. Falkland, and I was well assured I should + substantiate the charge to the satisfaction of the whole world. If he did + not think proper to apprehend him upon my single testimony, I should be + satisfied if he only sent him notice of the charge, and summoned him to + appear.</p> + + <p>The magistrate, finding me thus resolute, thought proper a little to + lower his tone. He no longer absolutely refused to comply with my + requisition, but condescended to expostulate with me. He represented to me + Mr. Falkland's health, which had for some years been exceedingly + indifferent; his having been once already brought to the most solemn + examination upon this charge; the diabolical malice in which alone my + proceeding must have originated; and the ten-fold ruin it would bring down + upon my head. To all these representations my answer was short. "I was + determined to go on, and would abide the consequences." A summons was at + length granted, and notice sent to Mr. Falkland of the charge preferred + against him.</p> + + <p>Three days elapsed before any further step could be taken in this + business. This interval in no degree contributed to tranquillise my mind. + The thought of preferring a capital accusation against, and hastening the + death of, such a man as Mr. Falkland, was by no means an opiate to + reflection. At one time I commended the action, either as just revenge (for + the benevolence of my nature was in a great degree turned to gall), or as + necessary self-defence, or as that which, in an impartial and + philanthropical estimate, included the smallest evil. At another time I was + haunted with doubts. But, in spite of these variations of sentiment, I + uniformly determined to persist! I felt as if impelled by a tide of + unconquerable impulse. The consequences were such as might well appal the + stoutest heart. Either the ignominious execution of a man whom I had once so + deeply venerated, and whom now I sometimes suspected not to be without his + claims to veneration; or a confirmation, perhaps an increase, of the + calamities I had so long endured. Yet these I preferred to a state of + uncertainty. I desired to know the worst; to put an end to the hope, however + faint, which had been so long my torment; and, above all, to exhaust and + finish the catalogue of expedients that were at my disposition. My mind was + worked up to a state little short of frenzy. My body was in a burning fever + with the agitation of my thoughts. When I laid my hand upon my bosom or my + head, it seemed to scorch them with the fervency of its heat. I could not + sit still for a moment. I panted with incessant desire that the dreadful + crisis I had so eagerly invoked, were come, and were over.</p> + + <p>After an interval of three days, I met Mr. Falkland in the presence of + the magistrate to whom I had applied upon the subject. I had only two hours' + notice to prepare myself; Mr. Falkland seeming as eager as I to have the + question brought to a crisis, and laid at rest for ever. I had an + opportunity, before the examination, to learn that Mr. Forester was drawn by + some business on an excursion on the continent; and that Collins, whose + health when I saw him was in a very precarious state, was at this time + confined with an alarming illness. His constitution had been wholly broken + by his West Indian expedition. The audience I met at the house of the + magistrate consisted of several gentlemen and others selected for the + purpose; the plan being, in some respects, as in the former instance, to + find a medium between the suspicious air of a private examination, and the + indelicacy, as it was styled, of an examination exposed to the remark of + every casual spectator.</p> + + <p>I can conceive of no shock greater than that I received from the sight of + Mr. Falkland. His appearance on the last occasion on which we met had been + haggard, ghost-like, and wild, energy in his gestures, and frenzy in his + aspect. It was now the appearance of a corpse. He was brought in in a chair, + unable to stand, fatigued and almost destroyed by the journey he had just + taken. His visage was colourless; his limbs destitute of motion, almost of + life. His head reclined upon his bosom, except that now and then he lifted + it up, and opened his eyes with a languid glance; immediately after which he + sunk back into his former apparent insensibility. He seemed not to have + three hours to live. He had kept his chamber for several weeks; but the + summons of the magistrate had been delivered to him at his bed-side, his + orders respecting letters and written papers being so peremptory that no one + dared to disobey them. Upon reading the paper he was seized with a very + dangerous fit; but, as soon as he recovered, he insisted upon being + conveyed, with all practicable expedition, to the place of appointment. + Falkland, in the most helpless state, was still Falkland, firm in command, + and capable to extort obedience from every one that approached him.</p> + + <p>What a sight was this to me! Till the moment that Falkland was presented + to my view, my breast was steeled to pity. I thought that I had coolly + entered into the reason of the case (passion, in a state of solemn and + omnipotent vehemence, always appears to be coolness to him in whom it + domineers), and that I had determined impartially and justly. I believed + that, if Mr. Falkland were permitted to persist in his schemes, we must both + of us be completely wretched. I believed that it was in my power, by the + resolution I had formed, to throw my share of this wretchedness from me, and + that his could scarcely be increased. It appeared therefore to my mind, to + be a mere piece of equity and justice, such as an impartial spectator would + desire, that one person should be miserable in preference to two; that one + person rather than two should be incapacitated from acting his part, and + contributing his share to the general welfare. I thought that in this + business I had risen superior to personal considerations, and judged with a + total neglect of the suggestions of self-regard. It is true, Mr. Falkland + was mortal, but, notwithstanding his apparent decay, he might live long. + Ought I to submit to waste the best years of my life in my present wretched + situation? He had declared that his reputation should be for ever inviolate; + this was his ruling passion, the thought that worked his soul to madness. He + would probably therefore leave a legacy of persecution to be received by me + from the hands of Gines, or some other villain equally atrocious, when he + should himself be no more. Now or never was the time for me to redeem my + future life from endless woe.</p> + + <p>But all these fine-spun reasonings vanished before the object that was + now presented to me. "Shall I trample upon a man thus dreadfully reduced? + Shall I point my animosity against one, whom the system of nature has + brought down to the grave? Shall I poison, with sounds the most intolerable + to his ears, the last moments of a man like Falkland? It is impossible. + There must have been some dreadful mistake in the train of argument that + persuaded me to be the author of this hateful scene. There must have been a + better and more magnanimous remedy to the evils under which I groaned."</p> + + <p>It was too late: the mistake I had committed was now gone past all power + of recall. Here was Falkland, solemnly brought before a magistrate to answer + to a charge of murder. Here I stood, having already declared myself the + author of the charge, gravely and sacredly pledged to support it. This was + my situation; and, thus situated, I was called upon immediately to act. My + whole frame shook. I would eagerly have consented that that moment should + have been the last of my existence. I however believed, that the conduct now + most indispensably incumbent on me was to lay the emotions of my soul naked + before my hearers. I looked first at Mr. Falkland, and then at the + magistrate and attendants, and then at Mr. Falkland again. My voice was + suffocated with agony. I began:—</p> + + <p>"Why cannot I recall the last four days of my life? How was it possible + for me to be so eager, so obstinate, in a purpose so diabolical? Oh, that I + had listened to the expostulations of the magistrate that hears me, or + submitted to the well-meant despotism of his authority! Hitherto I have been + only miserable; henceforth I shall account myself base! Hitherto, though + hardly treated by mankind, I stood acquitted at the bar of my own + conscience. I had not filled up the measure of my wretchedness!</p> + + <p>"Would to God it were possible for me to retire from this scene without + uttering another word! I would brave the consequences—I would submit + to any imputation of cowardice, falsehood, and profligacy, rather than add + to the weight of misfortune with which Mr. Falkland is overwhelmed. But the + situation, and the demands of Mr. Falkland himself, forbid me. He, in + compassion for whose fallen state I would willingly forget every interest of + my own, would compel me to accuse, that he might enter upon his + justification. I will confess every sentiment of my heart.</p> + + <p>"No penitence, no anguish, can expiate the folly and the cruelty of this + last act I have perpetrated. But Mr. Falkland well knows—I affirm it + in his presence—how unwillingly I have proceeded to this extremity. I + have reverenced him; he was worthy of reverence: I have loved him; he was + endowed with qualities that partook of divine.</p> + + <p>"From the first moment I saw him, I conceived the most ardent admiration. + He condescended to encourage me; I attached myself to him with the fulness + of my affection. He was unhappy; I exerted myself with youthful curiosity to + discover the secret of his woe. This was the beginning of misfortune.</p> + + <p>"What shall I say?—He was indeed the murderer of Tyrrel; he + suffered the Hawkinses to be executed, knowing that they were innocent, and + that he alone was guilty. After successive surmises, after various + indiscretions on my part, and indications on his, he at length confided to + me at full the fatal tale!</p> + + <p>"Mr. Falkland! I most solemnly conjure you to recollect yourself! Did I + ever prove myself unworthy of your confidence? The secret was a most painful + burthen to me; it was the extremest folly that led me unthinkingly to gain + possession of it; but I would have died a thousand deaths rather than betray + it. It was the jealousy of your own thoughts, and the weight that hung upon + your mind, that led you to watch my motions, and to conceive alarm from + every particle of my conduct.</p> + + <p>"You began in confidence; why did you not continue in confidence? The + evil that resulted from my original imprudence would then have been + comparatively little. You threatened me: did I then betray you? A word from + my lips at that time would have freed me from your threats for ever. I bore + them for a considerable period, and at last quitted your service, and threw + myself a fugitive upon the world, in silence. Why did you not suffer me to + depart? You brought me back by stratagem and violence, and wantonly accused + me of an enormous felony! Did I then mention a syllable of the murder, the + secret of which was in my possession?</p> + + <p>"Where is the man that has suffered more from the injustice of society + than I have done? I was accused of a villainy that my heart abhorred. I was + sent to jail. I will not enumerate the horrors of my prison, the lightest of + which would make the heart of humanity shudder. I looked forward to the + gallows! Young, ambitious, fond of life, innocent as the child unborn, I + looked forward to the gallows! I believed that one word of resolute + accusation against my patron would deliver me; yet I was silent, I armed + myself with patience, uncertain whether it were better to accuse or to die. + Did this show me a man unworthy to be trusted?</p> + + <p>"I determined to break out of prison. With infinite difficulty, and + repeated miscarriages, I at length effected my purpose. Instantly a + proclamation, with a hundred guineas reward, was issued for apprehending me. + I was obliged to take shelter among the refuse of mankind, in the midst of a + gang of thieves. I encountered the most imminent peril of my life when I + entered this retreat, and when I quitted it. Immediately after, I travelled + almost the whole length of the kingdom, in poverty and distress, in hourly + danger of being retaken and manacled like a felon. I would have fled my + country; I was prevented. I had recourse to various disguises; I was + innocent, and yet was compelled to as many arts and subterfuges as could + have been entailed on the worst of villains. In London I was as much + harassed and as repeatedly alarmed as I had been in my flight through the + country. Did all these persecutions persuade me to put an end to my silence? + No: I suffered them with patience and submission; I did not make one attempt + to retort them upon their author.</p> + + <p>"I fell at last into the hands of the miscreants that are nourished with + human blood. In this terrible situation I, for the first time, attempted, by + turning informer, to throw the weight from myself. Happily for me, the + London magistrate listened to my tale with insolent contempt.</p> + + <p>"I soon, and long, repented of my rashness, and rejoiced in my + miscarriage.</p> + + <p>"I acknowledge that, in various ways, Mr. Falkland showed humanity + towards me during this period. He would have prevented my going to prison at + first; he contributed towards my subsistence during my detention; he had no + share in the pursuit that had been set on foot against me; he at length + procured my discharge, when brought forward for trial. But a great part of + his forbearance was unknown to me; I supposed him to be my unrelenting + pursuer. I could not forget that, whoever heaped calamities on me in the + sequel, they all originated in his forged accusation.</p> + + <p>"The prosecution against me for felony was now at an end. Why were not my + sufferings permitted to terminate then, and I allowed to hide my weary head + in some obscure yet tranquil retreat? Had I not sufficiently proved my + constancy and fidelity? Would not a compromise in this situation have been + most wise and most secure? But the restless and jealous anxiety of Mr. + Falkland would not permit him to repose the least atom of confidence. The + only compromise that he proposed was that, with my own hand, I should sign + myself a villain. I refused this proposal, and have ever since been driven + from place to place, deprived of peace, of honest fame, even of bread. For a + long time I persisted in the resolution that no emergency should convert me + into the assailant. In an evil hour I at last listened to my resentment and + impatience, and the hateful mistake into which I fell has produced the + present scene.</p> + + <p>"I now see that mistake in all its enormity. I am sure that if I had + opened my heart to Mr. Falkland, if I had told to him privately the tale + that I have now been telling, he could not have resisted my reasonable + demand. After all his precautions, he must ultimately have depended upon my + forbearance. Could he be sure that, if I were at last worked up to disclose + every thing I knew, and to enforce it with all the energy I could exert, I + should obtain no credit? If he must in every case be at my mercy, in which + mode ought he to have sought his safety, in conciliation, or in inexorable + cruelty?</p> + + <p>"Mr. Falkland is of a noble nature. Yes; in spite of the catastrophe of + Tyrrel, of the miserable end of the Hawkinses, and of all that I have myself + suffered, I affirm that he has qualities of the most admirable kind. It is + therefore impossible that he could have resisted a frank and fervent + expostulation, the frankness and the fervour in which the whole soul is + poured out. I despaired, while it was yet time to have made the just + experiment; but my despair was criminal, was treason against the sovereignty + of truth.</p> + + <p>"I have told a plain and unadulterated tale. I came hither to curse, but + I remain to bless. I came to accuse, but am compelled to applaud. I proclaim + to all the world, that Mr. Falkland is a man worthy of affection and + kindness, and that I am myself the basest and most odious of mankind! Never + will I forgive myself the iniquity of this day. The memory will always haunt + me, and embitter every hour of my existence. In thus acting I have been a + murderer—a cool, deliberate, unfeeling murderer.—I have said + what my accursed precipitation has obliged me to say. Do with me as you + please! I ask no favour. Death would be a kindness, compared to what I + feel!"</p> + + <p>Such were the accents dictated by my remorse. I poured them out with + uncontrollable impetuosity; for my heart was pierced, and I was compelled to + give vent to its anguish. Every one that heard me, was petrified with + astonishment. Every one that heard me, was melted into tears. They could not + resist the ardour with which I praised the great qualities of Falkland; they + manifested their sympathy in the tokens of my penitence.</p> + + <p>How shall I describe the feelings of this unfortunate man? Before I + began, he seemed sunk and debilitated, incapable of any strenuous + impression. When I mentioned the murder, I could perceive in him an + involuntary shuddering, though it was counteracted partly by the feebleness + of his frame, and partly by the energy of his mind. This was an allegation + he expected, and he had endeavoured to prepare himself for it. But there was + much of what I said, of which he had had no previous conception. When I + expressed the anguish of my mind, he seemed at first startled and alarmed, + lest this should be a new expedient to gain credit to my tale. His + indignation against me was great for having retained all my resentment + towards him, thus, as it might be, to the last hour of his existence. It was + increased when he discovered me, as he supposed, using a pretence of + liberality and sentiment to give new edge to my hostility. But as I went on + he could no longer resist. He saw my sincerity; he was penetrated with my + grief and compunction. He rose from his seat, supported by the attendants, + and—to my infinite astonishment—threw himself into my arms!</p> + + <p>"Williams," said he, "you have conquered! I see too late the greatness + and elevation of your mind. I confess that it is to my fault and not yours, + that it is to the excess of jealousy that was ever burning in my bosom, that + I owe my ruin. I could have resisted any plan of malicious accusation you + might have brought against me. But I see that the artless and manly story + you have told, has carried conviction to every hearer. All my prospects are + concluded. All that I most ardently desired, is for ever frustrated. I have + spent a life of the basest cruelty, to cover one act of momentary vice, and + to protect myself against the prejudices of my species. I stand now + completely detected. My name will be consecrated to infamy, while your + heroism, your patience, and your virtues will be for ever admired. You have + inflicted on me the most fatal of all mischiefs; but I bless the hand that + wounds me. And now,"—turning to the magistrate—"and now, do with + me as you please. I am prepared to suffer all the vengeance of the law. You + cannot inflict on me more than I deserve. You cannot hate me, more than I + hate myself. I am the most execrable of all villains. I have for many years + (I know not how long) dragged on a miserable existence in insupportable + pain. I am at last, in recompense for all my labours and my crimes, + dismissed from it with the disappointment of my only remaining hope, the + destruction of that for the sake of which alone I consented to exist. It was + worthy of such a life, that it should continue just long enough to witness + this final overthrow. If however you wish to punish me, you must be speedy + in your justice; for, as reputation was the blood that warmed my heart, so I + feel that death and infamy must seize me together."</p> + + <p>I record the praises bestowed on me by Falkland, not because I deserved + them, but because they serve to aggravate the baseness of my cruelty. He + survived this dreadful scene but three days. I have been his murderer. It + was fit that he should praise my patience, who has fallen a victim, life and + fame, to my precipitation! It would have been merciful in comparison, if I + had planted a dagger in his heart. He would have thanked me for my kindness. + But, atrocious, execrable wretch that I have been! I wantonly inflicted on + him an anguish a thousand times worse than death. Meanwhile I endure the + penalty of my crime. His figure is ever in imagination before me. Waking or + sleeping, I still behold him. He seems mildly to expostulate with me for my + unfeeling behaviour. I live the devoted victim of conscious reproach. Alas! + I am the same Caleb Williams that, so short a time ago, boasted that, + however great were the calamities I endured, I was still innocent.</p> + + <p>Such has been the result of a project I formed, for delivering myself + from the evil that had so long attended me. I thought that, if Falkland were + dead, I should return once again to all that makes life worth possessing. I + thought that, if the guilt of Falkland were established, fortune and the + world would smile upon my efforts. Both these events are accomplished; and + it is now only that I am truly miserable.</p> + + <p>Why should my reflections perpetually centre upon myself?—self, an + overweening regard to which has been the source of my errors! Falkland, I + will think only of thee, and from that thought will draw ever-fresh + nourishment for my sorrows! One generous, one disinterested tear I will + consecrate to thy ashes! A nobler spirit lived not among the sons of men. + Thy intellectual powers were truly sublime, and thy bosom burned with a + god-like ambition. But of what use are talents and sentiments in the corrupt + wilderness of human society? It is a rank and rotten soil, from which every + finer shrub draws poison as it grows. All that, in a happier field and a + purer air, would expand into virtue and germinate into usefulness, is thus + concerted into henbane and deadly nightshade.</p> + + <p>Falkland! thou enteredst upon thy career with the purest and most + laudable intentions. But thou imbibedst the poison of chivalry with thy + earliest youth; and the base and low-minded envy that met thee on thy return + to thy native seats, operated with this poison to hurry thee into madness. + Soon, too soon, by this fatal coincidence, were the blooming hopes of thy + youth blasted for ever. From that moment thou only continuedst to live to + the phantom of departed honour. From that moment thy benevolence was, in a + great part, turned into rankling jealousy and inexorable precaution. Year + after year didst thou spend in this miserable project of imposture; and only + at last continuedst to live, long enough to see, by my misjudging and + abhorred intervention, thy closing hope disappointed, and thy death + accompanied with the foulest disgrace!</p> + + <p>I began these memoirs with the idea of vindicating my character. I have + now no character that I wish to vindicate: but I will finish them that thy + story may be fully understood; and that, if those errors of thy life be + known which thou so ardently desiredst to conceal, the world may at least + not hear and repeat a half-told and mangled tale.</p> + + <h3>THE END.</h3> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>FOOTNOTES</h2> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a> <b>Footnote 1</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag1">(return)</a> + + <p>I confess, however, the inability I found to weave a catastrophe, such + as I desired, out of these ordinary incidents. What I have here said, + therefore, must not be interpreted as applicable to the concluding sheets + of my work.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a> <b>Footnote 2</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag2">(return)</a> + + <p>An incident exactly similar to this was witnessed by a friend of the + author, a few years since, in a visit to the prison of Newgate.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote3" name="footnote3"></a> <b>Footnote 3</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag3">(return)</a> + + <p>A story extremely similar to this is to be found in the Newgate + Calendar, vol. i. p. 382.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote4" name="footnote4"></a> <b>Footnote 4</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag4">(return)</a> + + <p>See Howard on Prisons.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote5" name="footnote5"></a> <b>Footnote 5</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag5">(return)</a> + + <p>In the case of the <i>peine forte et dure</i>. See State Trials, Vol. + I. <i>anno</i> 1615.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote6" name="footnote6"></a> <b>Footnote 6</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag6">(return)</a> + + <p>This seems to be the parody of a celebrated saying of John King of + France, who was taken prisoner by the Black Prince at the battle of + Poitiers.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote7" name="footnote7"></a> <b>Footnote 7</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag7">(return)</a> + + <p>Eugene Aram. See Annual Register for 1759.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote8" name="footnote8"></a> <b>Footnote 8</b>: <a href= + "#footnotetag8">(return)</a> + + <p>William Andrew Home. Ibid.</p> + </blockquote> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11323 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |