He receives a Letter from his Aunt, breaks with the Commodore, anddisobliges the Lieutenant, who, nevertheless, undertakes his Cause.
Meanwhile he quitted the youth in high dudgeon, and that same eveningdespatched a letter for Mrs. Trunnion, which was dictated by thefirst transports of his passion, and of course replete with severeanimadversions on the misconduct of his pupil. In consequence of thiscomplaint, it was not long before Peregrine received an epistle from hisaunt, wherein she commemorated all the circumstances of the commodore'sbenevolence towards him, when he was helpless and forlorn, deserted andabandoned by his own parents; upbraided him for his misbehaviour, andneglect of his tutor's advice; and insisted upon his breaking off anintercourse with that girl who had seduced his youth, as he valued thecontinuance of her affection and her husband's regard.
As our lover's own ideas of generosity were extremely refined, he wasshocked at the indelicate insinuations of Mrs. Trunnion, and felt allthe pangs of an ingenuous mind that labours under obligations to aperson whom it contemns. Far from obeying her injunction, or humblinghimself by a submissive answer to her reprehension, his resentmentbuoyed him up above every selfish consideration: he resolved to attachhimself to Emilia, if possible, more than ever; and although he wastempted to punish the officiousness of Jolter, by recriminating uponhis life and conversation, he generously withstood the impulse of hispassion, because he knew that his governor had no other dependence thanthe good opinion of the commodore. He could not, however, digest insilence the severe expostulations of his aunt; to which he replied bythe following letter, addressed to her husband:--
"Sir,--Though my temper could never stoop to offer nor, I believe, your disposition deign to receive, that gross incense which the illiberal only expect, and none but the base-minded condescend to pay; my sentiments have always done justice to your generosity, and my intention scrupulously adhered to the dictates of my duty. Conscious of this integrity of heart, I cannot but severely feel your lady's unkind (I will not call it ungenerous) recapitulation of the favours I have received; and, as I take it for granted that you knew and approved of her letter, I must beg leave to assure you, that, far from being swayed by menaces and reproach, I am determined to embrace the most abject extremity of fortune, rather than submit to such dishonourable compulsion. When I am treated in a more delicate and respectful manner, I hope I shall behave as becomes,--Sir, your obliged "P. Pickle."
The commodore, who did not understand those nice distinctions ofbehaviour, and dreaded the consequence of Peregrine's amour, againstwhich he was strangely prepossessed, seemed exasperated at the insolenceand obstinacy of this adopted son; to whose epistle he wrote thefollowing answer, which was transmitted by the hands of Hatchway, whohad orders to bring the delinquent along with him to the garrison:--
"Hark ye, child,--You need not bring your fine speeches to bear upon me: you only expend your ammunition to no purpose. Your aunt told you nothing but truth; for it is always fair and honest to be above-board, d'ye see. I am informed as how you are in chase of a painted galley, which will decoy you upon the flats of destruction, unless you keep a better look-out and a surer reckoning than you have hitherto done; and I have sent Jack Hatchway to see how the land lies, and warn you of your danger: if so be as you will put about ship, and let him steer you into this harbour, you shall meet with a safe berth and friendly reception; but if you refuse to alter your course you cannot expect any farther assistance from yours as you behave, "Hawser Trunnion."
Peregrine was equally piqued and disconcerted at the receipt of thisletter, which was quite different from what he had expected; anddeclared in a resolute tone to the lieutenant, who brought it, that hemight return as soon as he pleased, for he was determined to consult hisown inclination, and remain for some time longer where he was.
Hatchway endeavoured to persuade him, by all the arguments which hissagacity and friendship could supply, to show a little more deferencefor the old man, who was by this time rendered fretful and peevish bythe gout, which now hindered him from enjoying himself as usual, whomight, in his passion, take some step very much to the detriment of theyoung gentleman, whom he had hitherto considered as his own son. Amongother remonstrances, Jack observed that mayhap Peregrine had got underEmilia's hatches, and did not choose to set her adrift; and that if thatwas the case, he himself would take charge of the vessel, and see hercargo safely delivered; for he had a respect for the young woman, andhis needle pointed towards matrimony; and as, in all probability, shecould not be much the worse for the wear, he would make shift to scudthrough life with her under an easy sail.
Our lover was deaf to all his admonitions, and, having thanked himfor this last instance of his complaisance, repeated his resolution ofadhering to his first purpose. Hatchway, having profited so little bymild exhortations: assumed a more peremptory aspect, and plainly toldhim that he neither could nor would go home without him; so he had bestmake immediate preparation for the voyage.
Peregrine made no other reply to this declaration than by a contemptuoussmile, and rose from his seat in order to retire; upon which thelieutenant started up, and, posting himself by the door, protested,with some menacing gestures, that he would not suffer him to run a-headneither. The other, incensed at his presumption in attempting to detainhim by force, tripped up his wooden leg, and laid him on his back in amoment; then walked deliberately towards the park, in order to indulgehis reflection, which at that time teemed with disagreeable thoughts. Hehad not proceeded two hundred steps when he heard something blowing andstamping behind him; and, looking back, perceived the lieutenant at hisheels, with rage and indignation in his countenance. This exasperatedseaman, impatient of the affront he had received, and forgetting all thecircumstances of their former intimacy, advanced with great eagernessto his old friend, saying, "Look ye, brother, you're a saucy boy, and ifyou was at sea, I would have your backside brought to the davit for yourdisobedience; but as we are on shore, you and I must crack a pistol atone another: here is a brace; you shall take which you please."
Peregrine, upon recollection, was sorry for having been laid under thenecessity of disobliging honest Jack, and very frankly asked his pardonfor what he had done. But this condescension was misinterpreted by theother, who refused any other satisfaction but that which an officerought to claim; and, with some irreverent expressions, asked if Perrywas afraid of his bacon? The youth, inflamed at this unjust insinuation,darted a ferocious look at the challenger, told him he had paid but toomuch regard to his infirmities, and bid him walk forward to the park,where he would soon convince him of his error, if he thought hisconcession proceeded from fear.
About this time, they were overtaken by Pipes, who, having heard thelieutenant's fall and seen him pocket his pistols, suspected there wasa quarrel in the case, and followed him with a view of protectinghis master. Peregrine, seeing him arrive, and guessing his intention,assumed an air of serenity; and pretending that he had left hishandkerchief at the inn, ordered his man to go thither and fetch it tohim in the park, where he would find them at his return. This commandwas twice repeated before Tom would take any other notice of themessage, except by shaking his head; but being urged with many threatsand curses to obedience, he gave them to understand that he knew theirdrift too well to trust them by themselves. "As for you, LieutenantHatchway," said he, "I have been your shipmate, and know you to be asailor, that's enough; and as for master, I know him to be as good a manas ever stept betwixt stem and stern, whereby, if you have anything tosay to him, I am your man, as the saying is. Here's my sapling, and Idon't value your crackers of a rope's end." This oration, the longestthat ever Pipes was known to make, he concluded with a flourish of hiscudgel, and enforced with such determined refusals to leave them, thatthey found it impossible to bring the cause to mortal arbitrement atthat time, and strolled about the park in profound silence; duringwhich, H
atchway's indignation subsiding, he, all of a sudden, thrust outhis hand as an advance to reconciliation, which being cordially shakenby Peregrine, a general pacification ensued; and was followed by aconsultation about the means of extricating the youth from his presentperplexity. Had his disposition been like that of most other young men,it would have been no difficult task to overcome his difficulties; butsuch was the obstinacy of his pride, that he deemed himself bound inhonour to resent the letters he had received; and instead of submittingto the pleasure of the commodore, expected an acknowledgment from him,without which he would listen to no terms of accommodation. "Had I beenhis own son," said he, "I should have borne his reproof, and sued forforgiveness; but knowing myself to be on the footing of an orphan, whodepends entirely upon his benevolence, I am jealous of everything thatcan be construed into disrespect, and insist upon being treated with themost punctual regard. I shall now make application to my father, who isobliged to provide for me by the ties of nature, as well as the lawsof the land; and if he shall refuse to do me justice, I can never wantemployment while men are required for his Majesty's service."
The lieutenant, alarmed at this intimation, begged he would take no newstep until he should hear from him; and that very evening set out forthe garrison, where he gave Trunnion an account of the miscarriageof his negotiation, told him how highly Peregrine was offended at theletter, communicated the young gentleman's sentiments and resolution,and finally assured him that unless he should think proper to ask pardonfor the offence he had committed, he would, in all appearance, nevermore behold the face of his godson.
The old commodore was utterly confounded at this piece of intelligence:he had expected all the humility of obedience and contrition from theyoung man; and, instead of that, received nothing but the most indignantopposition, and even found himself in the circumstances of an offender,obliged to make atonement, or forfeit all correspondence with hisfavourite. These insolent conditions at first threw him into an agony ofwrath; and he vented execrations with such rapidity that he left himselfno time to breathe, and had almost been suffocated with his choler.He inveighed bitterly against the ingratitude of Peregrine, whom hementioned with many opprobrious epithets, and swore that he ought to bekeelhauled for his presumption; but when he began to reflect more coollyupon the spirit of the young gentleman, which had already manifesteditself on many occasions, and listened to the suggestions of Hatchway,whom he had always considered as an oracle in his way, his resentmentabated, and he determined to take Perry into favour again; thisplacability being not a little facilitated by Jack's narrative of ourhero's intrepid behaviour at the assembly, as well as the contest withhim in the park. But still this plaguy amour occurred like a bugbear tohis imagination; for he held it as an infallible maxim, that woman wasan eternal source of misery to man. Indeed, this apophthegm he seldomrepeated since his marriage, except in the company of a very fewintimates, to whose secrecy and discretion he could trust. FindingJack himself at a nonplus in the affair of Emilia, he consulted Mrs.Trunnion, who was equally surprised and offended when she understoodthat her letter did not produce the desired effect; and after havingimputed the youth's obstinacy to his uncle's unseasonable indulgence,had recourse to the advice of the parson, who, still with an eye to hisfriend's advantage, counselled them to send the young gentleman on histravels, in the course of which he would, in all probability, forgetthe amusements of his greener years. The proposal was judicious, andimmediately approved; when Trunnion, going into his closet, after diversefforts, produced the following billet, with which Jack departed forWindsor that same afternoon:--
"My good lad,--If I gave offence in my last letter I'm sorry for't, d'ye see: I thought it was the likeliest way to bring you up; but, in time to come, you shall have a larger swing of cable. When you can spare time, I should be glad if you will make a short trip and see your aunt, and him who is--Your loving godfather and humble servant, "Hawser Trunnion.
P.S. If you want money, you may draw upon me payable at sight."
CHAPTER XXVI.