The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle

by T. Smollett

  He is indulged with a second Audience by the Minister, of whoseSincerity he is convinced--His Pride and Ambition revive, and again aremortified.

  If the young gentleman's money had been in other hands, perhaps the peerwould have been at very little pains, either in gratifying his demand,or opposing his revenge; but he knew that the sale of the mortgagecould not be effected without an inquiry, to which he did not wish tobe exposed. He, therefore, employed all his interest in procuring thesolicited audience. This being granted, Peregrine, with great warmth andelocution, expatiated upon the injury his fortune had suffered in theaffair of the borough, for which he had stood candidate; he took noticeof the disappointment he had sustained in the other election, remindedhim of the promises with which he had been amused, and, in conclusion,desired to know what he had to expect from his favour. The ministerhaving patiently heard him to an end, replied with a most graciousaspect, that he was very well informed of his merit and attachment, andvery much disposed to convince him of the regard which he paid toboth; that till of late he did not know the nature of his expectations,neither had he the power of creating posts for those whom he wasinclined to serve; but if Mr. Pickle would chalk out any feasible methodby which he could manifest his sentiments of friendship, he should notbe backward in executing the plan.

  Peregrine, laying hold on this declaration, mentioned several placeswhich he knew to be vacant. But the old evasion was still used; one ofthem was not in his department of business, another had been promised tothe third son of a certain earl before the death of the last possessor,and a third was encumbered with a pension that ate up a good half ofthe appointments. In short, such obstructions were started to all hisproposals as he could not possibly surmount, though he plainly perceivedthey were no other than specious pretexts to cover the mortifying sideof a refusal. Exasperated, therefore, at this lack of sincerity andgratitude, "I can easily foresee," said he, "that such difficulties willnever be wanting, when I have anything to ask; and for that reasonwill save myself the trouble of any further application." So saying, hewithdrew in a very abrupt manner, breathing defiance and revenge. Buthis patron, who did not think proper to drive him to extremities, foundmeans to persuade his honour to do something for the pacification ofthe young man's choler; and that same evening our adventurer received amessage from his lordship, desiring to see him immediately.

  In consequence of this intimation, Pickle went to his house, andappeared before him with a very cloudy aspect, which signified to whomit might concern, that his temper was at present too much galled toendure reproof; and therefore the sagacious peer forbore taking him totask for his behaviour during the audience he had obtained; but gave himto understand, that the minister, in consideration of his services, hadsent him a bank-note of three hundred pounds, with a promise of the likesum yearly, until he could be otherwise provided for. This declarationin some measure appeased the youth, who condescended to accept thepresent; and, next levee day, made his acknowledgment to the donor,who favoured him with a smile of infinite complacency, which entirelydissipated all the remains of his resentment; for, as he could notpossibly divine the true cause of his being temporized with, he lookedupon this condescension as an undoubted proof of Sir Steady's sincerity,and firmly believed that he would settle him in some place with thefirst opportunity, rather than continue to pay this pension out of hisown pocket. In all probability, his prediction would have been verified,had not an unforeseen accident in a moment overwhelmed the barque of hisinterest at court.

  Meanwhile, this short gleam of good fortune recalled the ideas of prideand ambition which he had formerly cherished. His countenance was againlifted up, his good-humour retrieved, and his mien reexalted. Indeed, hebegan to be considered as a rising man by his fellow-dependents, who sawthe particular notice with which he was favoured at the public levee;and some of them, for that reason, were at pains to court his goodgraces. He no longer shunned his former intimates, with whom a goodpart of his fortune had been spent, but made up to them in all places ofpublic resort, with the same ease and familiarity as he had been usedto express, and even re-embarked in some of their excesses, upon thestrength of his sanguine expectation. Cadwallader and he renewedtheir consultations in the court of ridicule; and divers exploits wereachieved, to the confusion of those who had "sailed into the north oftheir displeasure."

  But these enjoyments were soon interrupted by a misfortune equally fataland unexpected. His noble patron was seized with an apoplectic fit, fromwhich he was recovered by the physicians, that they might despatch himaccording to rule, and in two months after they were called, he went theway of all flesh. Peregrine was very much afflicted at this event, notonly on account of his friendship for the deceased, to whom he thoughthimself under many and great obligations, but also because he fearedthat his own interest would suffer a severe shock, by the removal ofthis nobleman, whom he considered as its chief support. He put himselftherefore in mourning, out of regard to the memory of his departedfriend, and exhibited genuine marks of sorrow and concern, though hehad in reality more cause to grieve than he as yet imagined. Whenquarter-day came about, he applied to the steward of his lordship's heirfor the interest of his money, as usual; and the reader will readilyown he had some reason to be surprised, when he was told he had no claimeither to principal or interest. True it is, the manager talked verycivilly as well as sensibly on the subject. "Your appearance, sir," saidhe to Pickle, "screens you from all suspicion of an intended fraud; butthe mortgage upon those lands you mention was granted to another personmany years before you pretend to have lent that sum; and I have, thisvery morning, paid one quarter's interest, as appears from this receipt,which you may peruse for your satisfaction."

  Peregrine was so thunderstruck at this information, which stripped himof his all, that he could not utter one word; a circumstance that didno great honour to his character in the opinion of the steward, who,in good earnest, began to entertain some doubts of his integrity. For,among the papers of the deceased, which he had examined, there was nowriting, memorandum, or receipt relating to this encumbrance. After along pause of stupefaction, Peregrine recollected himself so far as toobserve, that either he was egregiously mistaken, or the predecessor ofhis lord the greatest villain upon earth. "But, Mr. Whatd'ycallum," saidhe, "you must give me leave to tell you, that your bare assertion inthis affair will by no means induce me to put up quietly with the lossof ten thousand pounds."

  Having thus expressed himself, he retired from the house so discontentedat this demur, that he scarce knew whether he moved upon his head orheels; and the park chancing to be in his way, he sauntered about,giving vent to a soliloquy in praise of his departed friend, the burdenof which was a string of incoherent curses imprecated upon himself; tillhis transports by degrees giving way to his reflection, he deliberatedseriously and sorrowfully upon his misfortune, and resolved to consultlawyers without loss of time. But, first of all, he proposed to makepersonal application to the heir, who, by a candid representation ofthe case, might be inclined to do him justice. In consequence of thisdetermination, he next morning put his writings in his pocket, and wentin a chair to the house of the young nobleman, to whom, being admittedby virtue of his appearance, and a small gratification to the porter, heexplained the whole affair, corroborating his assertions with the paperswhich he produced, and describing the disgrace that would be entailedupon the memory of the deceased, should he be obliged to seek redress ina public court of justice.

  The executor, who was a person of good breeding, condoled him upon hisloss with great good-nature, though he did not seem much surprised athis account of the matter; but wished, that, since the fraud must havebeen committed, the damage had fallen upon the first mortgager, who,he said, was a thievish usurer, grown rich by the distresses of hisfellow-creatures. In answer to our hero's remonstrances, he observed,that he did not look upon himself as obliged to pay the least regard tothe character of his predecessor, who had used him with great barbarityand injustice, not only in excluding hi
m from his countenance andassistance, but also in prejudicing his inheritance as much as lay inhis power; so that it could not be reasonably expected that he wouldpay ten thousand pounds of his debt, for which he had received novalue. Peregrine, in spite of his chagrin, could not help owning withinhimself, that there was a good deal of reason in this refusal. Afterhaving given loose to his indignation in the most violent invectivesagainst the defunct, he took his leave of the complaisant heir, and hadimmediate recourse to the advice of counsel, who assured him that he hadan excellent plea, and was accordingly retained in the cause.

  All these measures were taken in the first vigour of his exertion,during which his spirits were so fluttered with the diversity ofpassions produced by his mischance, that he mistook for equanimity thatwhich was no other than intoxication; and two whole days elapsed beforehe attained a due sense of his misfortune. Then, indeed, he underwent awoeful self-examination; every circumstance of the inquiry added freshpangs to his reflection; and the result of the whole was a discovery,that his fortune was totally consumed, and himself reduced to a stateof the most deplorable dependence. This suggestion alone might, in theanguish of his despondency, have driven him to some desperate course,had it not been in some measure qualified by the confidence of hislawyers, and the assurance of the minister, which, slender as the worldhath generally found them, were the only bulwarks between misery andhim.

  The mind is naturally pliable, and, provided it has the least hope tolean upon, adapts itself wonderfully to the emergencies of fortune,especially when the imagination is gay and luxuriant. This was the casewith our adventurer; instead of indulging the melancholy ideas whichhis loss inspired, he had recourse to the flattering delusions of hope,soothing himself with unsubstantial plans of future greatness, andendeavouring to cover what was past with the veil of oblivion. Aftersome hesitation, he resolved to make Crabtree acquainted with hismisfortune, that once for all he might pass the ordeal of his satire,without subjecting himself to a long series of sarcastic hints anddoubtful allusions, which he could not endure. He accordingly took thefirst opportunity of telling him that he was absolutely ruined by theperfidy of his patron, and desired that he would not aggravate hisaffliction by those cynical remarks which were peculiar to men of hismisanthropical disposition. Cadwallader listened to this declarationwith internal surprise, which, however, produced no alteration in hiscountenance; and, after some pause, observed, that our hero had noreason to look for any new observation from him upon this event, whichhe had long foreseen, and daily expected, and exhorted him, with anironical sneer, to console himself with the promise of the minister, whowould doubtless discharge the debts of his deceased bosom friend.

  CHAPTER XCIII.