CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.
A LONG STORY, WHICH ENDS IN THE OPENING OF THE TIN BOX, WHICH PROVES TOCONTAIN DEEDS MUCH MORE SATISFACTORY TO MR. WHARNCLIFFE THAN THE DEEDSOF HIS UNCLE--BEGIN TO FEEL THE BLESSINGS OF INDEPENDENCE, AND SUSPECTTHAT I HAVE ACTED LIKE A FOOL--AFTER TWO YEARS' CONSIDERATION, I BECOMEQUITE SURE OF IT, AND, AS TOM SAYS, "NO MISTAKE."
"The gentleman who prevented my taking off the young lady is uncle toboth of us. We are, therefore, first cousins. Our family name isWharncliffe. My father was a major in the army. He died when I wasyoung, and my mother is still alive, and is sister to Lady Auburn. Thefather and mother of Cecilia are both dead. He went out to India tojoin his brother, another uncle, of whom I shall speak directly. He hasnow been dead three years, and out of the four brothers there is onlyone left, my uncle; with whom Cecilia is living, and whose Christianname is Henry. He was a lawyer by profession, but he purchased a patentplace, which he still enjoys. My father, whose name was William, diedin very moderate circumstances; but still he left enough for my motherto live upon, and to educate me properly. I was brought up to the lawunder my uncle Henry, with whom, for some years, I resided. Cecilia'sfather, whose name was Edward, left nothing; he had ruined himself inEngland, and had gone out to India at the request of my uncle there,whose name was James, and who had amassed a large fortune. Soon afterthe death of Cecilia's father, my uncle James came home on furlough, forhe held a very high and lucrative situation under the Company. Abachelor from choice, he was still fond of young people; and having butone nephew and one niece to leave his money to, as soon as he arrivedwith Cecilia, whom he brought with him, he was most anxious to see me.He therefore took up his quarters with my uncle Henry, and remained withhim during his sojourn in England; but my uncle James was of a very coldand capricious temper. He liked me best because I was a boy, and oneday declared I should be his heir. The next day he would alter hisintention, and declare that Cecilia, of whom he was very fond, shouldinherit everything. If we affronted him, for at the age of sixteen as aboy, and fourteen as a girl, worldly prospects were little regarded, hewould then declare that we should not be a shilling the better for hismoney. With him money was everything: it was his daily theme ofconversation, his only passion; and he valued and respected people inproportion to what they were supposed to possess. With these feelingshe demanded for himself the greatest deference from Cecilia and me, ashis expectant heirs. This he did not receive; but on the whole he waspleased with us, and after remaining three years in England, he returnedto the East Indies. I had heard him mention to my uncle Henry hisintention of making his will, and leaving it with him before he sailed;but I was not certain whether it had been done or not. At all events,my uncle Henry took care that I should not be in the way; for at thattime my uncle carried on his profession as a lawyer, and I was workingin his office. It was not until after my uncle James returned to Indiathat he gave up business and purchased the patent place which Imentioned. Cecilia was left with my uncle Henry, and as we lived in thesame house, our affections, as we grew up, ripened into love. We oftenused to laugh at the threats of my uncle James, and agreed that whoevermight be the fortunate one to whom he left his property, we would gohalves, and share it equally.
"In the meantime I still followed up my profession in another house, inwhich I at present am a partner. Four years after the return of myuncle James to India news came home of his death; but it was also statedthat no will could be found, and it was supposed that he died intestate.Of course my uncle Henry succeeded as heir-at-law to the wholeproperty, and thus were the expectations and hopes of Cecilia and ofmyself dashed to the ground. But this was not the worst of it: myuncle, who had witnessed our feelings for each other, and had made nocomment, as soon as he was in possession of the property, intimated toCecilia that she should be his heiress, provided that she marriedaccording to his wishes; and pointed out to her that a fortune such asshe might expect would warrant the alliance of the first nobleman in thekingdom; and he very plainly told me that he thought it advisable that Ishould find lodgings for myself, and not be any longer an inmate in thesame house as was my cousin, as no good would result from it. Thus,sir, we were not only disappointed in our hopes, but thwarted in ouraffections, which had for some time been exchanged. Maddened at thisintimation, I quitted the house; and at the same time the idea of myuncle James having made a will still pressed upon me, as I called tomind what I had heard him say to my uncle Henry previous to his sailingfor India. There was a box of deeds and papers, the very box now inyour possession, which my uncle invariably kept in his bedroom. I feltconvinced that the will, if not destroyed (and I did not believe myuncle would dare to commit an act of felony), was in that box. Had Iremained in the house I would have found some means to have opened it;but this was no longer possible. I communicated my suspicions toCecilia, and begged her to make the attempt, which would be more easy asmy uncle would not suspect her of being bold enough to venture it, evenif he had the suspicion. Cecilia promised, and one day my unclefortunately left his keys upon his dressing-table when he came down tobreakfast, and went out without missing them. Cecilia discovered them,and opened the box, and amongst other parchments found a documentlabelled outside as the will of our uncle James; but women understandlittle about these things, and she was in such trepidation for fear thatmy uncle should return that she could not examine it very minutely. Asit was, my uncle did return for his keys just as she had locked the boxand placed the keys upon the table. He asked her what she was doingthere, and she made some excuse. He saw the keys on the table, andwhether suspecting her, for she coloured up very much, or afraid thatthe attempt might be made at my suggestion, he removed the box andlocked it up in a closet, the key of which, I believe, he left with hisbanker in town. When Cecilia wrote to me an account of what had passed,I desired her to find the means of opening the closet, that we mightgain possession of the box; and this was easily effected, for the key ofanother closet fitted the lock exactly. I then persuaded her to putherself under my protection, with the determination that we would marryimmediately; and we had so arranged that the tin box was to haveaccompanied us. You are aware, sir, how unfortunately our plan turnedout--at least, so far unfortunately, that I lost, as I thought, not onlyCecilia, but the tin box, containing, as I expect, the will of my uncle,of which I am more than ever convinced from the great anxiety shown bymy uncle Henry to recover it. Since the loss he has been in a state ofagitation, which has worn him to a shadow. He feels that his onlychance is that the waterman employed might have broken open the box,expecting to find money in it, and being disappointed, have destroyedthe papers to avoid detection. If such had been the case, and it mighthave been had it not fallen into such good hands, he then would haveobtained his only wish, that of the destruction of the will although notby his own hands. Now, sir, I have given you a full and honest accountof the affair, and leave you to decide how to act."
"If you leave me to decide, I shall do it very quickly," replied MrTurnbull. "A box has fallen into my hands, and I do not know who is theowner. I shall open it, and take a list of the deeds in contains, andadvertise them in the _Times_ and other newspapers. If your deaduncle's will is in it it will, of course, be advertised with the others,and after such publicity your uncle Henry will not venture, I presume,to say a word, but be too glad not to be exposed."
Mr Turnbull ordered a locksmith to be summoned, and the tin box wasopened. It contained the document of the uncle's purchase of the patentplace in the courts, and some other papers, but it also contained theparchment so much looked after--the last will and testament of JamesWharncliffe, Esquire, dated two months previous to his quitting England."I think," observed Mr Turnbull, "that in case of accident, it may beas well that this will should be read before witnesses. You observe, itis witnessed by Henry Wharncliffe, with two others. Let us take downtheir names."
The will was read by young Wharncliffe, at the request of Mr Turnbull.Strange to say, the deceased bequeathed the wh
ole of his property to hisnephew, William Wharncliffe, and his niece, Cecilia, provided theymarried; if they did not, they were left 20,000 pounds each, and theremainder of the fortune to go to the first male child born after themarriage of either niece or nephew. To his brother the sum of 10,000pounds was bequeathed, with a liberal arrangement, to be paid out of theestate, so long as his niece lived with him. The will was read, andreturned to Mr Turnbull, who shook hands with Mr Wharncliffe, andcongratulated him.
"I am so much indebted to you, sir, that I can hardly express mygratitude, but I am still more indebted to this intelligent lad,Faithful. You must no longer be a waterman, Faithful," and MrWharncliffe shook my hand. I made no answer to the latter observation,for Mr Turnbull had fixed his eye upon me: I merely said that I wasvery happy to have been of use to him.
"You may truly say, Mr Wharncliffe," observed Mr Turnbull, "that yourfuture prosperity will be through his means; and, as it appears by thewill that you have 9000 pounds per annum safe in the Funds, I think youought to give a prize wherry, to be rowed for every year."
"And I will take that," replied I, "for a receipt in full for my sharein the transaction."
"And now," said Mr Turnbull, interrupting Mr Wharncliffe, who wasabout to answer me, "it appears to me that it may be as well to avoidany exposure--the case is too clear. Call upon your uncle--state inwhose hands the documents are--tell him that he must submit to yourterms, which are, that he proves the will, and permits the marriage totake place immediately, and that no more will be said on the subject.He, as a lawyer, knows how severely and disgracefully he might bepunished for what he has done, and will be too happy now to accede toyour terms. In the meantime I keep possession of the papers, for thewill shall never leave my hands until it is lodged in Doctors' Commons."
Mr Wharncliffe could not but approve of this judicious arrangement, andwe separated; and, not to interfere with my narrative, I may as welltell the reader at once that Mr Wharncliffe's uncle bowed tocircumstances, pretended to rejoice at the discovery of the will, nevermentioned the loss of his tin box, put the hand of Cecilia into that ofWilliam, and they were married one month after the meeting at MrTurnbull's, which I have now related.
The evening was so far advanced before this council-of-war was over,that I was obliged to defer the delivery of the cheque to Mr Drummonduntil the next day. I left about eleven o'clock, and arrived at noon;when I knocked at the door the servant did not know me.
"What did you want?"
"I wanted to speak with Mrs or Miss Drummond, and my name is Faithful."
He desired me to sit down in the hall while he went up; "And wipe yourshoes, my lad." I cannot say that I was pleased at this command, as Imay call it, but he returned, desiring me to walk up, and I followedhim.
I found Sarah alone in the drawing-room.
"Jacob, I'm so glad to see you, and I'm sorry that you were made to waitbelow, but--if people who can be otherwise will be watermen, it is notour fault. The servants only judge by appearances."
I felt annoyed for a moment, but it was soon over. I sat down by Sarah,and talked with her for some time.
"The present I had to make you was a purse of my own knitting, to putyour earnings in;" said she, laughing; and then she held up her fingerin mockery, crying, "Boat, sir; boat, sir. Well, Jacob, there's nothinglike independence, after all, and you must not mind my laughing at you."
"I do not heed it, Sarah," replied I; (but I did mind it very much)"there is no disgrace."
"None whatever, I grant; but a want of ambition, which I cannotunderstand. However, let us say no more about it."
Mrs Drummond came into the room and greeted me kindly. "When can youcome and dine with us, Jacob? Will you come on Wednesday?"
"Oh, mamma! He can't come on Wednesday; we have company on that day."
"So we have, my dear; I had forgotten it; but on Thursday we are quitealone: will you come, then on Thursday, Jacob?"
I hesitated, for I felt that it was because I was a waterman that I wasnot admitted to the table where I had been accustomed to dine at onetime, whoever might be invited.
"Yes, Jacob," said Sarah, coming to me, "it must be Thursday, and youmust not deny us; for although we have greater people on Wednesday, theparty that day will not be so agreeable to me as your company onThursday."
The last compliment from Sarah decided me, and I accepted theinvitation. Mr Drummond came in, and I delivered to him Mr Turnbull'scheque. He was very kind, but said little further than that he was gladthat I had promised to dine with them on Thursday. The footman came inand announced the carriage at the door, and this was a signal for me totake my leave. Sarah, as she shook hands with me, laughing, assertedthat it was not considerate in them to detain me any longer, as I musthave lost half-a-dozen good fares already; "So go down to your boat,pull off your jacket, and make up for lost time," continued she; "one ofthese days mamma and I intend to go on the water, just to patroniseyou." I laughed and went away, but I was cruelly mortified. I couldnot be equal to them, because I was a waterman. The sarcasm of Sarahwas not lost upon me; still there was so much kindness mixed with itthat I could not be angry with her. On the Thursday I went there, asagreed; they were quite alone; friendly and attentive; but still therewas a degree of constraint which communicated itself to me. Afterdinner Mr Drummond said very little; there was no renewal of offers totake me into his employ, nor any inquiry as to how I got on in theprofession which I had chosen. On the whole, I found myselfuncomfortable, and was glad to leave early, nor did I feel at allinclined to renew my visit. I ought to remark that Mr Drummond was nowmoving in a very different sphere than when I first knew him. He wasconsignee of several large establishments abroad, and was making a rapidfortune. His establishment was also on a very different scale, everydepartment being appointed with elegance and conducive to luxury. As Ipulled up the river something within my breast told me that theDominie's prophecy would turn out correct, and that I should one dayrepent of my having refused the advances of Mr Drummond--nay, I did notexactly know whether I did not, even at that moment, very much doubt thewisdom of my asserting my independence.
And now, reader, that I may not surfeit you with an uninterestingdetail, you may allow nearly two years to pass away before I recommencemy narrative. The events of that time I shall sum up in one or twopages. The Dominie continued the even tenor of his way--blew his noseand handled his rod with as much effect as ever. I seldom passed aSunday without paying him a visit, and benefiting by his counsel. MrTurnbull was always kind and considerate, but gradually declining inhealth, having never recovered from the effects of his submersion underthe ice. Of the Drummonds I saw but little; when we did meet, I waskindly received, but I never volunteered a call, and it was usually froma message through Tom that I went to pay my respects. Sarah had grown avery beautiful girl, and the well-known fact of Mr Drummond's wealth,and her being an only daughter, was an introduction to a circle muchhigher than they had been formerly accustomed to. Every day, therefore,the disparity increased, and I felt less inclined to make my appearanceat their house.
Stapleton, as usual, continued to smoke his pipe and descant upon _humannatur'_. Mary had grown into a splendid woman, but coquettish as ever.Poor Tom Beazeley was fairly entrapped by her charms, and was a constantattendant upon her, but she played him fast and loose--one timeencouraging and smiling on him, at another rejecting and flouting him.Still Tom persevered, for he was fascinated, and having returned me themoney advanced for his wherry, he expended all his earnings on dressinghimself smartly, and making presents to her. She had completely grownout of any control from me, and appeared to have a pleasure in doingeverything she knew I disapproved; still, we were on fair friendly termsas inmates of the same house.
Old Tom Beazeley's board was up, and he had met with great success; andall day he might be seen hammering at the bottom of boats of everydescription, and heard, at the same time, lightening his labour with hisvariety of song. I often called there
on my way up and down the river,and occasionally passed a few hours listening to his yarns, which, likehis songs, appeared to be inexhaustible.
With respect to myself, it would be more a narrative of feelings than ofaction. My life glided on as did my wherry--silently and rapidly. Oneday was but the forerunner of another, with slight variety of incidentand customers. My acquaintance, as the reader knows, were but few, andmy visits occasional. I again turned to my books during the long summerevenings, in which Mary would walk out, accompanied by Tom and otheradmirers. Mr Turnbull's library was at my service, and I profitedmuch. After a time reading became almost a passion, and I was seldomwithout a book in my hand. But although I improved my mind, I did notrender myself happier. On the contrary, I felt more and more that I hadcommitted an act of egregious folly in thus asserting my independence.I felt that I was superior to my station in life, and that I had livedwith those who were not companions--that I had thrown away, by foolishpride, those prospects of advancement which had offered themselves, andthat I was passing my youth unprofitably. All this crowded upon me moreand more every day, and I bitterly repented, as the Dominie told me thatI should, my spirit of independence--now that it was too late. Theoffers of Mr Drummond were never renewed, and Mr Turnbull, who hadformed the idea that I was still of the same opinion, and who, at thesame time, in his afflicted state--for he was a martyr to therheumatism--naturally thought more of himself and less of others, neveragain proposed that I should quit my employment. I was still too proudto mention my wishes, and thus did I continue plying on the river,apathetic almost as to gain, and only happy when, in the pages ofhistory or among the flowers of poetry, I could dwell upon times thatwere past, or revel in imagination. Thus did reading, like the snakewhich is said to contain in its body a remedy for the poison of itsfangs, become, as it enlarged my mind, a source of discontent at myhumble situation; but, at the same time, the only solace in myunhappiness, by diverting my thoughts from the present. Pass, then,nearly two years, reader, taking the above remarks as an outline, andfilling up the picture from the colours of your imagination, withincidents of no peculiar value, and I again resume my narrative.