by T. Smollett
Peregrine holds a Consultation with his Friends, in consequence ofwhich he bids Adieu to the Fleet--He arrives at his Father's House, andasserts his Right of Inheritance.
Nor did our hero keep the misanthrope in ignorance of this happy turn offortune. Pipes was despatched to the senior, with a message requestinghis immediate presence; and he accordingly appeared, in obedience to thesummons, growling with discontent for having been deprived of severalhours of his natural rest. His mouth was immediately stopped with theletter, at which he "smiled horribly a ghastly grin;" and, after acompliment of gratulation, they entered into close divan, about themeasures to be taken in consequence of this event.
There was no room for much debate. It was unanimously agreed that Pickleshould set out with all possible despatch for the garrison, to whichGauntlet and Hatchway resolved to attend him. Pipes was accordinglyordered to prepare a couple of post-chaises, while Godfrey went toprocure bail for his friend, and provide them with money for the expenseof the expedition; but not before he was desired by Peregrine toconceal this piece of news from his sister, that our youth might havean opportunity to surprise her in a more interesting manner, after heshould have settled his affairs.
All these previous steps being taken, in less than an hour our hero tookhis leave of the Fleet, after he had left twenty guineas with the wardenfor the relief of the poor prisoners, a great number of whom conveyedhim to the gate, pouring forth prayers for his long life and prosperity;and he took the road to the garrison, in the most elevated transports ofjoy, unallayed with the least mixture of grief at the death of a parentwhose paternal tenderness he had never known. His breast was absolutelya stranger to that boasted storm, or instinct of affection, by whichthe charities are supposed to subsist.
Of all the journeys he had ever made, this, sure, was the mostdelightful. He felt all the ecstasy that must naturally be produced in ayoung man of his imagination, from such a sudden transition in point ofcircumstance, he found himself delivered from confinement and disgrace,without being obliged to any person upon earth for his deliverance; hehad it now in his power to retort the contempt of the world in a mannersuited to his most sanguine wish; he was reconciled to his friend, andenabled to gratify his love, even upon his own terms; and saw himselfin possession of a fortune more ample than his first inheritance, witha stock of experience that would steer him clear of all those quicksandsamong which he had been formerly wrecked.
In the middle of their journey, while they halted at an inn for a shortrefreshment and change of horses, a postilion running up to Peregrine inthe yard, fell at his feet, clasped his knees with great eagernessand agitation, and presented to him the individual face of his oldvalet-de-chambre. The youth perceiving him in such an abject garb andattitude, commanded him to rise and tell the cause of such a miserablereverse in his fortune. Upon which Hadgi gave him to understand, that hehad been ruined by his wife, who, having robbed him of all his cashand valuable effects, had eloped from his house with one of his owncustomers, who appeared in the character of a French count, but was inreality no other than an Italian fiddler; that, in consequence of thisretreat, he, the husband, was disabled from paying a considerable sumwhich he had set apart for his wine merchant, who being disappointed inhis expectation, took out an execution against his effects; and therest of his creditors following his example, hunted him out of houseand home. So that, finding his person in danger at London, he had beenobliged to escape into the country, skulking about from one village toanother, till, being quite destitute of all support, he had undertakenhis present office, to save himself from starving.
Peregrine listened with compassion to his lamentable tale, which toowell accounted for his not appearing in the Fleet, with offers ofservice to his master in distress; a circumstance that Pickle had allalong imputed to his avarice and ingratitude. He assured him, that, ashe had been the means of throwing in his way the temptation to whichhe fell a sacrifice, he would charge himself with the retrieval of hisaffairs. In the meantime, he made him taste of his bounty, and desiredhim to continue in his present employment until he should return fromthe garrison, when he would consider his situation, and do something forhis immediate relief.
Hadgi attempted to kiss his shoe, and wept, or affected to weep, withsensibility at this gracious reception; he even made a merit of hisunwillingness to exercise his new occupation, and earnestly begged thathe might be allowed to give immediate attendance upon his dear master,from whom he could not bear the thoughts of a second parting. Hisentreaties were reinforced by the intercession of his two friends, inconsequence of which the Swiss was permitted to follow them at his ownleisure, while they set forward after a slight repast, and reached theplace of their destination before ten o'clock at night.
Peregrine, instead of alighting at the garrison, rode straightway tohis father's house; and no person appearing to receive him, not even aservant to take care of his chaise, he dismounted without assistance.Being followed by his two friends, he advanced into the hall, whereperceiving a bell-rope, he made immediate application to it in such amanner as brought a couple of footmen into his presence. After havingreprimanded them, with a stern look, for their neglect in point ofattendance, he commanded them to show him into an apartment; and as theyseemed unwilling to yield obedience to his orders, asked if they did notbelong to the family?
One of them, who took upon himself the office of spokesman, replied witha sullen air, that they had been in the service of old Mr. Pickle, andnow that he was dead, thought themselves bound to obey nobody but theirlady, and her son Mr. Gamaliel. This declaration had scarce proceededfrom his mouth, when our hero gave them to understand, that sincethey were not disposed to own any other master, they must changetheir quarters immediately. He ordered them to decamp without furtherpreparation; and, as they still continued restive, they were kickedout of doors by the captain and his friend Hatchway. Squire Gam, whooverheard everything that passed, and was now more than ever inflamedwith that rancour which he had sucked with his mother's milk, flew tothe assistance of his adherents, with a pistol in each hand, bellowing"Thieves! Thieves!" with great vociferation, as if he had mistaken thebusiness of the strangers, and actually believed himself in danger ofbeing robbed. Under this pretence he discharged a piece at his brother,who luckily escaped the shot, closed with him in a moment, and, wrestingthe other pistol from his grip, turned him out into the courtyard, tothe consolation of his two dependents.
By this time, Pipes and the two postilions had taken possession ofthe stables, without being opposed by the coachman and his deputy, whoquietly submitted to the authority of their new sovereign. But the noiseof the pistol had alarmed Mrs. Pickle, who, running downstairs, with themost frantic appearance, attended by two maids and the curate, who stillmaintained his place of chaplain and ghostly director in the family,would have assaulted our hero with her nails, had not she beenrestrained by her attendants. Though they prevented her from using herhands, they could not hinder her from exercising her tongue, which shewagged against him with all the virulence of malice. She asked, if hewere come to butcher his brother, to insult his father's corpse,and triumph in her affliction? She bestowed upon him the epithets ofspendthrift, jail-bird, and unnatural ruffian; she begged pardon of Godfor having brought such a monster into the world; accused him of havingbrought his father's grey hairs with sorrow to the grave; and affirmed,that were he to touch the body, it would bleed at his approach.
Without pretending to refute the articles of this ridiculous charge, heallowed her to ring out her alarm; and then calmly replied, that if shedid not quietly retire to her chamber, and behave as became a personin her present situation, he should insist upon her removing to anotherlodging without delay; for he was determined to be master in his ownfamily. The lady, who, in all probability, expected that he wouldendeavour to appease her with all the tenderness of filial submission,was so much exasperated at his cavalier behaviour, that her constitutioncould not support the transports of her spirits; and she was carried offby her
women in a fit, while the officious clergyman was dismissed afterhis pupil, with all the circumstances of disgrace.
Our hero having thus made his quarters good, took possession of the bestapartment in the house, and sent notice of his arrival to Mr. Clover,who, with his wife, visited him in less than an hour, and was not alittle surprised to find him so suddenly settled in his father's house.The meeting of Julia and her brother was extremely pathetic. She hadalways loved him with uncommon tenderness, and looked upon him as theornament of her family; but she had heard of his extravagances withregret, and though she considered the stories that were circulatedat his expense, as the malicious exaggerations of his mother and herdarling son, her apprehension had been grievously alarmed by an accountof his imprisonment and distress, which had been accidentally conveyedto that country by a gentleman from London, who had been formerly of hisacquaintance; she could not, therefore, without the most tender emotionsof joy, see him, as it were, restored to his rightful inheritance, andre-established in that station of life which she thought he could fillwith dignity and importance.
After their mutual expressions of affection, she retired to hermother's chamber, with a view to make a second offer of her serviceand attendance, which had been already rejected with scorn since herfather's death; while Peregrine consulted his brother-in-law about theaffairs of the family, so far as they had fallen within his cognizanceand observation. Mr. Clover told him, that, though he was never favouredwith the confidence of the defunct, he knew some of his intimates, whohad been tampered with by Mrs. Pickle, and even engaged to second theremonstrances by which she had often endeavoured to persuade her husbandto settle his affairs by a formal will; but that he had from timeto time evaded their importunities with surprising excuses ofprocrastination, that plainly appeared to be the result of inventionand design, far above the supposed pitch of his capacity; a circumstancefrom which Mr. Clover concluded, that the old gentleman imagined hislife would not have been secure, had he once taken such a step as wouldhave rendered it unnecessary to the independence of his second son.He moreover observed, that, in consequence of this information, he nosooner heard of Mr. Pickle's death, which happened at the club, than hewent directly with a lawyer to his house, before any cabal or conspiracycould be formed against the rightful heir; and, in presence of witnessesprovided for the purpose, sealed up all the papers of the deceased,after the widow had, in the first transports of her sorrow and vexation,fairly owned, that her husband had died intestate.
Peregrine was extremely well satisfied with this intelligence, by whichall his doubts were dispelled; and, having cheerfully supped with hisfriends on a cold collation, which his brother-in-law had brought in hischariot, they retired to rest, in different chambers, after Julia hadmet with another repulse from her capricious mother, whose overflowingrage had now subsided into the former channel of calm inveteracy. Nextmorning the house was supplied with some servants from the garrison, andpreparations were made for the funeral of the deceased. Gam having takenlodgings in the neighbourhood, came with a chaise and cart to demandhis mother, together with his own clothes, and her personal effects.Our hero, though he would not suffer him to enter the door, allowedhis proposal to be communicated to the widow, who eagerly embraced theopportunity of removing, and was, with her own baggage, and that ofher beloved son, conveyed to the place which he had prepared for herreception. Thither she was followed by her woman, who was desired byPeregrine to assure her mistress, that, until a regular provision couldbe settled upon her, she might command him, in point of money, or anyother accommodation in his power.
CHAPTER CV.