CHAPTER LXXXVII
Mrs Howel received the Admiral, seated, with an air of state, upon herarm-chair; at one side of which stood Mrs Rawlins, and at the otherHilson. The landlord was stationed near the door; and Juliet, indignant,though trembling, placed herself at a window; determining rather, withwhatever mortification, to seek the protection of the Admiral, than toavow who she was thus publicly, thus disgracefully, and thuscompulsorily.
The Admiral entered with the martial air of a man used to command; andwhose mind was made up not to be put out of his way. He bestowed,nevertheless, three low bows, with great formality, to the sex of MrsHowel; to the first of which she arose and courtsied, returning the twoothers by an inclination of the head, and bidding Hilson bring theAdmiral a chair.
The Admiral, having adjusted himself, his hat, and his sword to hisliking, said, 'I wish you good morning, Ma'am. You won't take it amiss,I hope, that I make free to wait upon you myself, for the sake of havinga small matter of discourse with you, about a certain chap that Iunderstand to be one of your domestics; a place whereof, if I may judgeby what I have seen of him, he is not over and above worthy.'
'If any of my people, Sir,' answered Mrs Howel, 'have forgotten what isdue to an officer of your rank, I shall take care to make them sensibleof my displeasure.'
The Admiral, much gratified, made her a low bow, saying, 'A lady, Ma'am,such as I suppose you to be, can't fail having a right way of thinking.But that sort of gentry, as I have taken frequent note, have an uglykind of a knack, of treating people rather short that have got a favourto ask; the which I don't uphold. And this is the main reason that Ithink it right to give you an item of my opinion upon this matter,respecting that lad; who just now, in my proper view, let a younggentlewoman call and squall after him, till she was black in the face,without so much as once veering round, to say, Pray, Ma'am, what do youplease to want?'
Hilson, now, triumphant that he could plead his haste to obey thecommands of his lady, was beginning an affronted self-defence; when theAdmiral, accidentally perceiving Juliet, hastily arose; and in a fit ofunrestrained choler, clinching his double fist at Hilson, cried, 'Whywhat sort of a fellow are you, Sir? to bring me a chair while you see alady standing? Which do you take to be strongest? An old weather beatentar, such as I am; or a poor weak female, that could not lend a hand tothe pump, thof the vessel were going to the bottom?'
Approaching Juliet, then with his own arm-chair, he begged her to beseated; saying, 'The lad will take care to bring another to me, Iwarrant him! A person who has got a scrap of gold-lace sewed upon hisjacket, is seldom overlooked by that kind of gentry; for which reason Imake no great account of complaisance, when I am dizened in my fulldress uniform,--which, by the way, is a greater ceremony-monger thanthis, by thus much (measuring with his finger) more of tinsel!'
Juliet, gratefully thanking him, but declining his offer, thought thisan opportunity not to be missed, to attempt, under his courageousauspice, to escape. She courtsied to him, therefore, and was walkingaway: but Mrs Howel, swelling with ire, already, at such civility to acreature whom she had condemned to scorn, now flamed with passion, andopenly told the landlord, to let that young woman pass at his peril.
Juliet, who saw in the anger which was mixed with the amazement of theAdmiral, that she had a decided defender at hand, collected her utmostpresence of mind, and, advancing to Mrs Howel, said, 'I have offered toyou, Madam, any explanation you may require alone; but in public I offeryou none!'
'If you think yourself still dealing with a novice of the inexperienceof sixteen,' answered Mrs Howel, 'you will find yourself mistaken. Iwill neither trust to the arts of a private recital, nor save your pridefrom a public examination.'
Then, addressing the Admiral, 'All yesterday morning, Sir,' shecontinued, 'I had sundry articles, such as rings, bank-notes, andletters of value, dispersed in my apartment, from a security that it wassacred; but the chambermaid informs me, that she caught this youngwoman entering it, under pretence of waiting upon a young lady, then inthe inner room; and the same chambermaid, an hour after, found that shewas still here; and endeavouring to conceal, in her work-bag somethingthat she had wrapt into a sheet of paper, that was confessedly pilferedfrom my table.'--
The Admiral, observing, in the midst of the disturbance of Juliet atthis attack, an air of offended dignity, which urged him to believe thatshe was innocent, unhesitatingly answered, ''Tis an old saying, Madam,and a wise one, that standers-by see the most of the game; and I havetaken frequent note, that we are all of one mind, till we have heard twosides of the question: for which reason I hold it but fair, that theyoung gentlewoman should be asked what she has to say for herself.'
'Can you suppose, Sir,' said Mrs Howel, the veins of whose face andthroat now looked bursting, 'that I mean to canvass this matter uponterms of equality? that I intend to be my own pleader against a pauperand an impostor?'--
Juliet here held her hand upon her forehead, as if scarcely able tosustain the indignant pain with which she was seized; and the fiercefrown of the Admiral, showed his gauntlet not merely ready to be flungon the ground, but almost in the face of her adversary; Mrs Howel,however, went on.
'I do not pretend to affirm that any thing has been purloined; but thecircumstances of the case are certainly extraordinary; and I should besorry to run the risk of wrongfully suspecting,--should somethinghereafter be missing,--any of my own people. I demand, therefore,immediately, an explanation of this transaction.'
The Admiral, full of angry feelings as he looked at the panting Juliet,replied, himself; 'To my seeming, Madam, the short cut to the truth inthis business, would be for you to cast an eye upon your own affairs;which I doubt not but you will find in very good trim; and if you shouldlike to know what passes in my mind, I must needs make bold to remark,that I think the so doing would be more good natured, by afellow-creature, than putting a young gentlewoman out of countenance bytalking so high: which, moreover, proves no fact.'
'I am infinitely indebted to you, Sir, for the honour of yourreprimand,' Mrs Howel, affectedly bowing, answered; 'which I should nothave incurred, had it not appeared to me, that it would be far moretroublesome to my people, to take an exact review of my various andnumerous trinkets and affairs, than for an innocent person to displaythe contents of a small work-bag.'
'Nay, that is but reasonable,' said the Admiral; 'I won't say to thecontrary. And I make small doubt, but that the young gentlewomandesires, in like manner with ourselves, that all should be fair andabove board. The work-bag, I'll bet you all I am worth, has not agimcrack in it that is not her own.'
Juliet, to whom the consciousness was ever uppermost of the suspiciousbank-notes, felt by no means inclined to submit to an examination.Again, therefore, and with firmness, she declined giving anycommunication, but in a private interview with Mrs Howel.
Mrs Howel, now, had not a doubt remaining, that something had beenstolen; and, still more desirous to disgrace the culprit, than torecover her property, she declared, that she was perfectly ready to addto the number of witnesses, but resolutely fixed not to diminish it;public shame being the best antidote that could be offered, againstthose arts by which youth and credulity had been duped.
Juliet now looked down; embarrassed, distressed, yet colouring withresentment. The Admiral, not conceiving her situation; nor being able tocomprehend the difficulty of displaying the contents of a work-bag,approached her, and strove to give her courage.
'Come!' he cried, 'young gentlewoman! don't be faint-hearted. Let thelady have her way. I always like to have my own, which makes me speak upfor others. Besides which, I have no great opinion of quarrelling forstraws. We are none of us the nearer the mark for falling tologgerheads: for which reason I make it a rule never to lose my tempermyself; except when I am provoked; so untie your work-bag, younggentlewoman. I'll engage that it will do you no discredit, by the veryturn of your eye; for I don't know that, to my seeming, I ever saw amodester look of a face.'
This harangue was u
ttered in a tone of good-humoured benevolence, thatseemed seeking to raise her spirits; yet with an expression ofcompassion, that indicated a tender feeling for her disturbance; whilethe marked integrity, and honest frankness of his own character, with ahigh sense of honour, and a sincere love of virtue, beamed benignly, ashe looked at her, in every feature of his kind, though furrowed face.
Juliet was sensibly touched by his goodness and liberality, whichsurprized from her all precaution; and the concession which she hadrefused to arrogant menace, she spontaneously granted, to secure thegood will of her ancient, though unconscious friend. Raising, therefore,her eyes, in which an expression of gratitude took place of that ofsadness, 'I will not, Sir,' she said, 'resist your counsel; though Ihave in nothing forfeited my inherent right to the inviolability of myproperty.'
She then put her work-bag into his own hands.
He received it with a bow down to the ground; while joy almost caperedin his old eyes; and, exultingly turning to Mrs Howel, 'To my seeming,Madam,' he said, 'this young gentlewoman is as well-behaved a girl, as aman might wish to meet with, from one side the globe to the t'other; andI respect her accordingly. And, if I were to do so unhandsome a thing,as to poke and peer into her baggage, after seeing her comport herselfso genteelly, I won't deny but I should merit a cat-o'-nine tails,better than many an honest tar that receives them. And, therefore, Ihope, now, Madam, you will give back to the young gentlewoman your goodopinion, in like manner as I, here, give her back her work-bag.'
And then, with another profound bow, and a flourish of his hand, thatshewed his pleasure in the part which he was taking, he was returning toJuliet her property; when he was startled by an ungovernable gust ofwrath, from the utterly enraged Mrs Howel, who exclaimed, 'If you daretake it, young woman, unexamined, 'tis to a justice of the peace, andnot to a sea-officer, that you will deliver it another time!'
Juliet, certain, whatever might be her ultimate fate, that her birth andfamily must, inevitably, be soon discovered, revolted from this menace;and determined, rather than submit to any further indignity, to riskcasting herself, at once, upon the gentleman-like humanity of theAdmiral. Unintimidated, therefore, by the alarming threat, which,heretofore, had appalled her, she steadily held out her hand, andreceived, from the old officer, in graceful silence, the profferedwork-bag.
There is nothing which so effectually oversets an accusing adversary, asself-possession; self-possession, which, if unaffected, is the highestattribute of fearless innocence; if assumed, the most consummate addressof skilful art. Called, therefore, from rage to shame, by the calmnessof Juliet, Mrs Howel constrained herself to resume her air of solemnimportance; and, perceiving the piqued look of the Admiral, at herslighting manner of naming sea-officers, she courteously said, 'Permitme, Sir, as you are so good as to enter into this affair, to state toyou that this young woman comes from abroad; and has no ostensiblemethod of living in this country: will it not, then, be more consonantto prudence and decorum, that she should hasten to return whence shecame?'
'Madam,' answered the Admiral, coldly, 'I never give advice upon theonset of a question; that is to say, never till I see that one thing hadbetter be done than another. I have no great taste for groping in thedark; wherefore, when I don't rightly make out what a person would beat, I think the best mode to keep clear of a dispute, is to sheer off;whereby one avoids, in like manner, either to give or take an affront:two things not much more to my mind the one than the t'other. And so,Madam, I wish you good day.'
He then, with a formal bow, left the room, Juliet gliding out by hisside; while Mrs Howel, powerless to detain her, wreaked her pent-upwrath upon the bell, which she rang, till every waiter in the house cameto hear, that she was now ready to set off for Chudleigh-park.