Cockton_Valentine_Vox.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']

!"

^ then," said , when he and had entered the
parlour, ^^ let us have a glass of wine. are they all at home ?"

" is pretty salubrious," replied , " but the old lady's
no great tiiines. has never been able to get over the fact of the
governor havmg walked into the water. heard of that affair
suppose

* , saw it."

" did !-
happened to be on the bridge at the very time.**
, did he leap off the bridge ? was it ? tell me :
we never could lesm. we know is, that he was picked up at
, dead as but how did it happen

explained, and with so much feeling, that he even drew
tears from the eyes of !

*^ all," said , when paused ; " it's of no use
for a man to go crooked in this world. are sure to come round;
it's sure to come home to him ; he's sure to be served out in some way.
property of uncle's ^you know all about it ? good did it
do us ? it flew like blessed chaff before the hurricane !
shares in this dodge, fifty shares in that, and a hundred shares in the
other : safe to turn up something out and out : safe ! so they
did : they all turned up swindles, the dirtiest swindles, and thus the
money was dodged away. day on which we missed the old
governor, an execution was in the house, and there were we without
the money even to buy a leg of mutton. course every stick was
walked off with the utmost regularity : we hadn't a bed to lie upon,
nor a gridiron to cook a mutton chop. governor was buried by
the parish, because as we didn't happen to hear of it in time, we
couldn't own him, so that expense was spared ; but starvation looked
us right full in the face, and starved we must have been beyond all
dispute, had it not been that the old lady luckily had a whole mob of
pawnbroker's tickets for every thing portable had been pledged
which tickets we gradually sold, and for a week or two, managed to
get a bellyfull of victuals with the proceeds. endeavoured, of course,
to obtain employment, but the fools to whom applied made a point of
setting up a loud laugh, as if they derived the most exalted satisfaction
from the idea ! knocked several of them down, and got fined for the
assault, but that was a luxury was soon obliged to cut, for the fines
walked into the tickets most amazingly ! was willing to do any thing
in the world, but was able to get nothing in the world to do. tried
it on at the wharfs : it was no go there : stronger men were standing
about unemployed. answered a lot of advertisements for clerks : no
character, no recommendation. tried to get a birtli as a grooro

4 k



1S

' long did you lire in your last place?' settled it. told them
all as plainly as a man could speak that 'd do my very utmost and try aU
knew. no, the fools would not have me ! then was to
do? would not come any felonification. made up my mind to that,
come what might ; although it certainly was a very rotten positiim for
a fellow to be placed in without twopence halfpenny in his pocket,
and without a whom he could borrow twopence halfpenny of :
lor all those trumps whom used to meet and treat with brandy-and-
water cut me dead when became a litUe seedy : it was
how suddenly they became short-sighted: they oould not see a bit
beyond their noses : it was quite an epidemic omonsst them, and had
some thoughts of applying to the opticians for emfU03rment, conceiving
that the spectacle trade must of necessity be looking up ; but then what
did know about the spectacle trade or any other tr^e ? what did know
about any thing ? . at the way in which was brought
up ! up a child in the way he should toddle you know the rat,
but what was fit for ? 's where felt it ! coidd do ?
should not have cared if alone had had to grub my way through it :
shouldn't have cared if 'd had no one to look to but myself. 'd have
trotted into the if that had been all, or gone on board a man-of-
war, or walked over to or , or any other uncul-
tivated feature on the face of the earth. 'd have got a crust some-
where for myself; but there were the wcrnien ! what were they to do ?
was the puU ! couldn't leave them ! sufiered enough as it
was, for couldn't earn a penny, nor they couldn't earn a penny.
had strong thoughts at one time of taking in mangling, but we hadn't
enough money to get a machine. hadn't sufficient even to buy
a board *" done here' ^although that might have been adver-
tised in chalk upon the shutter; but the machine was the thing; let
them have tried all they knew, they couldn't have mangled without a
machine. would the washing dodge do, for they hadn't a tub,
while there was not a creature under the canopy of heaVen who would
give them credit for a ha'porth of soap. tried to raise money on my
own personal security ; but that was no go, they wouldn't have it,
although offered them anything per cent. thus we went mud-
dling on week after week and month after month, out from
morning till night to get sufficient for a meal, and they at home more
than half naked, praying for my success. took home a
sixpence, but more frequently nothing. knew the moment en-
tered whether had anything for them or not. had, thdr eyes
brightened up like brilliants as they kissed me ; if not, they kissed me
all the same, and heard no complaint but that involved in a sigh,
which they would have suppressed if they could."

" was very sad, very sad indeed," observed .

^ !" echoed , ^^ thete, if you'll believe roe, was some-
times ready to go and crib a mutton-chop! was indeed!
should have done it frequently, when saw them at home starving ;
know should ; but that had firmly resolved that as an act of dish
honesty had brought us to that, would never, while lived, be
engaged in another."



. 6*19

** to that lesolation jovl adhered ?"

^^ did, and ever will. cannot have greater temptations than
have had, and know now that can resist them."
" why did yon not apply to me ?"

'^ was the first cause, inability the second. was too proud
to do so till everything was gone, and by that time you had left
the house in which yon used to live, and suppose they thought you
didn't want to be troubled with me at all, for couldn't persuade them
to give me your address."

" was wrong of them ; very, very wrong."
'^ , however, soon after (, which was not till every
other hope was witliered to a stalk, managed to pick up a few six-
pences by assisting the grooms to rub their horses down, and so on,
which carried me for a long time over the ground, indeed until one of
the grooms turned livery-staUe keeper, when, fanncying that knew,
perhaps, somethine about a horse, and flatter mysdf do, he did
the handsome, and put me on a cab, which suits me very well, and
have been at it ever nnee, and the women are of course gatlierine toge-
ther a littile flesh again, although douH suppose that the old lady will
ever get over the governor's death. he could dream of
cutting out of the world in that way can't for the lifd of me
imagine."

^^ of course you believe him to have been insane at the time
** , to tell you the truth, and it's useless now to disguise it,
he was never in his right senses after that unblest kidnapping afiair.
mind vras always diseased, always wandering. imagination
was always on the rack. v^as continually conjuring up some
spectral nonsense, continually fancying that hia brother stood before
him. that which hurt him more than all was the fact of his bro-
ther having left him the whole of his property precisely as if nothing
had occurred. was the thing; that was his real death-blow.
that he took to brandy, of which he drank enormous quantities,
sufficient, should say, in a week, to sew up a whole regiment of
soldiers. it never made him drunk ! was the most remark-
able point of the compass. made him mad, doubtless, and desperate
in his speculations, for of all the* extraordinary there, do firmly
believe that if a company had been started for the restoration of rotten
eggs, he would have taken a hundred shares at a premium. ,
he is gone, and perhaps the less that is said of his errors the better."

** ," said , " touching your present position : you
must be doing something better for yourself than driving a cab.
the thing over in your mind, and let me in a day or two see you again.
there be any kind of business into which you would like to enter, let
me know, and if see the slightest prospect of your being successful,
'll lend you sufficient money to commence with, and you shall under-
take to return it to me when you grow rjph. the mean time," he
continued, vnriting a cheque for a hundred pounds, ^' give this to your
wife, and tell her to hope for better days."

some time looked as if unable to believe what he heard ;
but wh.en shook hands with him, and gave him the cheque



.

at tbe same time, hia feelings of gratitude overcame him, and he buist
into tears.

'' don't know what to say !" he cried at length.

^^ nothing," returned . ^^ me see you ag^n soon."

wiped his eyes with the bow of his cravat, and prepared to
depart ; but oefore he left the room, he grasped 's hand, and
with the most intense earnestness and fi^ng, said, ^' the names of
my poor wife and mother thank you."

frequently saw him after this. assisted him in every
posable way, and lost no opportunity of evincing his gratitude.
purchased for him the lease of some liveiy-stables, which were a
source of considerable emolument, and had the gratification of sedng
him prosper by virtue of indefatigable zeal. to who
gloried in acts of benevolence it was a high gratification indeed.
exceedingly wealthy, he had the power at his command to do an
inunense amount of good, and he never permitted an opportonity for
the exercise of that power to escape him. more happiness he im-
parted to others, the more happy he felt. was esteemed by all who
knew him : he was honoured, beloved. his beautiful, devoted
, his sweet children, his good mother, and who was
always in a state of rapture, and seldom, indeed, whether at home or
abroad, without a child upon his knee he continued to live in the
purest enjojrment of health, wealth, honour, and peace.