CHAPTER LXX
Various customers, though for small purchases, had, from time to time,interrupted, but not broken this narration. The Baronet respectfullymade way for whoever came, but resumed his place the instant that it wasvacated; spending the interval in selecting new pieces of ribbon; till,ere the history was finished, not a remnant of that article remainedunsold. It was his purpose, he gallantly said, to present a top-knot,for a twelve-month to come, to every fair syren who, either by face,voice, shape, feature, complexion, size, air, or manner, should affordhim so much pleasure as to remind him, however transiently, of theadorable haberdasher, whose taper fingers had put it into hispossession.
Gabriella interrupted these compliments, to observe, with some anxiety,two strange men, who were sauntering up and down the street, and who,from time to time, peeped in at the window.
'And how can they do any better?' said the Baronet; 'unless you invitethem into your apartments? 'Tis precisely what I shall enact myself, ifyou turn me out of doors! Do you fancy you are to dart yourselves, youand your mischievous partner, into as many hearts as you can findspectators, and then bid your poor wounded gazers go lie down and bleed,in the kennel, like so many puppies; without allowing them even alamenting yell, or friendly barking, to call themselves into noticebefore they give up the ghost? I pity the poor caitiffs with all myheart.
'A fellow-feeling makes one wond'rous kind!'[2]
[Footnote 2: Garrick.]
'Let me, however, hope, that the seductive tale which I have beenquaffing, has not intoxicated all my senses only to my own destruction!that my poor nerves have not been pierced and pinched; that my feelingshave not been twitched and tweaked, and my senses scared and confounded,only to drag my own crazy folly into fuller view!'
He paused a few minutes, during which Gabriella began making out theaccount of her ribbons; and then, with a mild voice, but an arch brow,'Hear me,' he resumed, 'my dulcet frog! for such, you know, is yourdestined classification in this country; hear, and under your auspiceslet me proceed. If this fair marvellous Wanderer,--in her birth nolonger an Incognita, yet an Incognita still in her history; will ventureto put herself under my protection,--honourably I mean; so don't frown!for nothing so spoils the forehead! Besides, who can look at you, andnot mean honourably? With all your sweetness, there is a fire in youreye, that, if I harboured a naughty idea, only for a moment, would, Isee plainly, consume me. Let us, however, talk the matter over withbecoming seriousness. It may, perchance, be less difficult than you mayimagine, to establish your fair journeywoman's rights.'
'O make the attempt, then,' cried Gabriella; 'exert yourself in so noblea trial!'
'A little activity,' he continued, 'and a great deal of menacing,adroitly put in play, will now and then do wonders. A little money, too,dexterously handled, rarely does much harm. When Lord Denmeath sees allthese at work, take my word for it, he will think twice, before he willlet them operate upon the public. We like mighty well to reap the fruitsof our address in the world; but we have a sagacious tendency to keepingour ways and means to ourselves. Lord Denmeath, after all, as a worldlyman, does but his office, in putting to sleep his conscience for thebetter keeping awake his interest. This is simply in the ordinary courseof things: but, when the blood that is youthful is not generous; whenlife is begun with the crafty hardness that years, experience, anddisappointment have given to those who are ending it; when we see evenstriplings, who ought to be made up of wild romance, and credulousenthusiasm, meanly, basely, heartlessly, for a few pitiful thousands,suffer an orphan to be cheated, despoiled of her rank in life, and madean alien to her country, as well as to her family;--then it is, that Icurse Vanity as an imp of darkness, and Pride as a demon of hell! When aboy like Lord Melbury, a young girl such as Lady Aurora--'
'They are innocent, Sir Jaspar! they are noble! they are faultless!'called out Juliet, eagerly returning to the shop; 'they dream not of myclaims; they have not the most distant idea that I have the honour tobelong to their house. Innocent? they are meritorious! Conceiving mesimply a helpless, unpatronized, and indigent Wanderer, they havetreated me with a kindness, a consideration, an heavenly benevolence,that, towards a stranger so forlorn, could have been dictated only bythe most angelic of natures!'
'Astonishing! incredible!' exclaimed Sir Jaspar. 'What! do they not knowyour story? Have you made no appeal to their justice, their affections?'
'You will cease, Sir, to wonder, and cease also, I hope, to question me,when I tell you that here, even here, I have not made my situationknown! here, even here,--to the friend of my heart, the confidant of mylife, the loved and honoured descendant of the house by which I havebeen preserved, and from which alone I hope for protection! Judge then,how powerful must be my motives for secresy! And she,--she submits to mysilence! Too high-minded for distrust, too nobly mistress of herself forimpatience; and conscious that even a wish, expressed, would to me havethe force of a command, she waits my time! She knows the most dire andbarbarous obstacles could alone lead me to reserve and concealment,where my softest consolation would be openness and sympathy!'
Gabriella could offer no answer but by wide extended arms, with whichJuliet, gushing into tears, was fondly encircled; while the Baronet,touched, amazed, and enchanted, repeatedly wiped his eyes; whenGabriella, observing, again, at the window, one of the men of whom shehad spoken, whispered Juliet to compose herself, or to retire.
There was not time: Riley, who had seen her, bounced into the shop.
'Ah, ha, I have caught you at last, have I, Demoiselle?' he cried,rubbing his hands with joy. 'I could not devise where the deuce you hadhidden yourself. I only knew you were in some shabby little bit of ashop in this street. And who do you think is my author for thisintelligence?--Won't you guess?--Why Surly! your old friend, Surly!'
Apprehensive of some attack similar to that which she had endured atBrighthelmstone, Juliet ventured not to speak, though she felt tooanxious to withdraw: while Sir Jaspar, extremely curious, repeated, 'OldSurly?' in a tone that invited explanation.
'The same, faith! He's come over o' purpose to hunt you out,Demoiselle.'
'Me?' cried Juliet, changing colour; 'and why?--And who is he?'
'Who is he? Well! that's droll, faith! Why you have not forgotten yourold crony, the pilot?'
Juliet looked down, to conceal the alarm with which she was seized.
'Why, I'll tell you how it all happened,' continued Riley, mounting uponthe counter, as he might have mounted upon his horse; 'I'll tell you howit all happened. About a month ago, in one of my rambles, I met MasterSurly; and, for old acquaintance sake, I was prodigiously glad to seehim: for I like, as a curiosity, to shew John Bull a Mounseer that i'n'ta milk-sop. So we talked over our voyage; but when I told him that I hadmet with the Demoiselle at Brighthelmstone; and that she had cast offher slough, and was grown a beauty; he asked me a hundred questions, andsaid that, most likely, she was a person of whom he was in search; andafter whom there had been a great hue and cry.'
Juliet now opened various small drawers, shutting them almost at thesame moment; but always with her face turned from Riley.
'Well, we parted, and I saw no more of him, and thought no more of himneither, faith! till this very morning, when I popt upon him, all atonce, in Piccadilly. And then, he told me that he was just come fromBrighthelmstone, where he had been looking for you.'
Juliet though in a tremour that shook her whole frame, faintly said,'And why?'
'Because, by my account of you, he was satisfied you must be the veryperson that he was commissioned to find.'
Juliet now seemed scarcely able to sustain herself. Gabriella and SirJaspar saw, with deep concern, her emotion; but Riley, unobservant, wenton.
'At Brighton, he had discovered that you had journied up to town, in thestage. And he came up after you, in the very same carriage, onlyyesterday. And, by means of a boy at the inn, who had called yourhackney-coach, he had just found out coachy; who informed him, that hehad set down a pretty youn
g damsel, that had arrived from Brighton abouta week ago, at a small shop in Frith-street, Soho. Upon that, I offeredto help him in his search; and we jogged on to these quarters together:for I always liked you, Demoiselle, and always had a prodigious mind toknow who you were. But the deuce a bit would you ever tell me. So wehave been sauntering and maundering up and down the street, one on oneside, and t'other on t'other, in search of you; peeping and peering intoevery shop, and lounging and squinting at every window. We have had thedevil of a job of it to find you, Demoiselle; we have, faith!--But mybest sport will be to make Monsieur Surly look you full in the face, asI did myself, without knowing you! though he pretends that that's allone. The French always say that to every thing that they don't like;_c'est egal!_ cries Monsieur, whenever he's put out of his way. However,old Surly stands to it, that he shall discover you in a twinkling; forhe's got your description.'
'My description?' Juliet repeated; in a tone of terrour.
'Ay; and there he is, faith! on t'other side the way! An old owl!' criedRiley; striding to the door, and calling aloud, 'Surly! old Surly! Comeover, Mounseer Surly!'
Juliet was now precipitately gliding into the little room; but SirJaspar, intercepting her flight, warmly entreated, whatever might be herfears or her difficulties, to be accepted as her protector: and, whileshe was struggling, with speechless impatience, to pass him, the pilot,pulled into the shop by Riley, stood full before her; stared hardily inher face; looked at a paper which he held in his hand, and, grinninghorribly a scoffing smile, walked away, without speaking.
Juliet, who seemed nearly fainting, was drawn tenderly into theadjoining room by Gabriella; who was herself in almost equalconsternation.
'A pretty feat you have performed here, Sir! An admirable exploit!' saidSir Jaspar, angrily, to Riley; who, laughing heartily at the savagesatisfaction of the pilot, had re-mounted the counter. 'And what sort ofman must you be to find it so dulcet and recreative, to give chace to atimid, defenceless lamb?'
'What sort of man?' returned Riley; 'faith, I don't know! I don't,faith! But who does? If you can tell me the man who knows himself,you'll do more than has been done yet since the days of old Adam. Inever trouble myself with vain researches, and combinations, anddevelopments, and metaphysical analysings. What do they do for us,beside cracking our skulls? They only leave us where they found us;forced to eat and drink, and sleep and wake, and live and die, just thesame, since all the discoveries of Newton, as we did before we knew asquare from an angle.'
'O ho, you are a philosopher, Sir, then, are you?' said Sir Jaspar; 'aCynic? guided by contempt of mankind?'
'Not a whit! I only follow my humour. If that happens to please myfriends, so much the better; if not, I am but little "of the meltingmood;" I go on all the same. I never stop to weigh opinion in the scaleof my proceedings.'
'And do you never weigh humanity, neither, Sir? the feelings of others?the good or ill of society?'
'No! I never think of all that. I let the world take its own course, asI take mine. I have long had a craving desire to know who this girl is;and she would never tell me. Her obstinacy doubles my curiosity; andwhen my curiosity gets at the helm, it does just what it will with me.It does, faith!'
Gabriella, now returning, demanded of Riley what business detained himin the shop, with an air of dignity that surprised him into makingsomething like an apology; to which he added, that he only stayed tohave a little further parley with the demoiselle.
That young lady was indisposed, and could be spoken to no more.
'Indisposed?' he repeated; 'I am sorry for that! I am, faith! Poordemoiselle! she has been liberal enough of diversion to me, one way oranother. However, I shall soon discover who she is; for I know where tocatch Master Surly; and he says he is promised a thumping reward, if hefinds that she is the right person. He is but an agent, poor Surly: buthe expects his principal, with the cash, over every hour; if he i'n'tlanded already.'
Gabriella, who had returned to the little parlour, perceived, now, thatthe face of Juliet looked convulsed with horrour. She procured her aglass of hartshorn and water; and entreated the Baronet, who seemedtransfixed with concern, to force Riley away; and to be gone, also,himself.
Sir Jaspar could not refuse compliance; but neither could he denyhimself advancing, for an instant, to say, in a low voice, to Juliet,'Bow not down your lovely head, sweet lilly! I have friends who willfind means to succour and protect you, be who will your assaulter!'
Offering Riley, then, a place in his chariot, and dropping, as hepassed, his purse into the till-box, he drove off, with his newacquaintance.
For some minutes, excess of terrour robbed Juliet of speech, and of allpower of exertion; but when, by the cares and soothings of Gabriella,she was, in some degree, restored, 'Oh my beloved friend!' she cried,'we must part again,--immediately part!'
A tear stole down the cheek of Gabriella as she heard thisannunciation; but she offered no remonstrance; she permitted herself noenquiry; her eye alone said, 'Why, why this!'
Juliet saw, but shrunk from this mute eloquence, hastily arrangingherself for going out; making up a packet of linen to carry in her hand,and hanging a loaded work-bag upon her arm.
Casting herself, then, into the arms of her friend, 'Oh my Gabriella,'she cried, 'I must fly,--instantly fly!--or entail a misery upon therest of my existence too horrible for description! Whither,--which wayto go, I know not,--but I must be hidden from all mankind!--To-morrow Iwill write to you;--constantly I will write to you,--dear, generous,noblest of friends, farewell, farewell!'
They embraced, mingled their tears, embraced again, and separated.