The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Charles James Lever

  CHAPTER XXIII. SOME SAD REVELATIONS

  It was on the fourth day after the memorable debate we have brieflyalluded to, that the Knight of Gwynne was sitting alone in one of thelarge rooms of his Dublin mansion. Although his servants had strictorders to say he had left town, he had not quitted the capital, butpassed each day, from sunrise till late at night, in examining hisvarious accounts, and endeavoring with what slight business knowledgehe possessed, to ascertain the situation in which he stood, and how farGleeson's flight had compromised him. There is no such chaotic confusionto the unaccustomed mind as the entangled web of long-standing moneyedembarrassments, and so Darcy found it. Bills for large sums had beenpassed, to provide for which, renewals had been granted, and this fora succession of years, until the debt accumulating had been met by amortgage or a bond: many of these bills were missing--where were they?was the question, and what liability might yet attach to them?

  Again, loans had been raised more than once to pay off theseencumbrances, the interest on which was duly charged in his account, andyet there was no evidence of these payments having been made; nor amongthe very last sent papers from Gleeson was there any trace of that bond,to release which the enormous sum of seventy thousand pounds hadbeen raised. That the money was handed to Hickman, Bagenal Daly wasconvinced; the memorandum given him by Freney was a corroboration of theprobability at least, but still there was no evidence of the transactionhere. Even this was not the worst, for the Knight now discovered thatthe rental charged in his accounts was more than double the reality,Gleeson having for many years back practised the fraud of grantingleases at a low, sometimes a merely nominal, rent, while he acceptedrenewal fines from the tenants, which he applied to his own purposes. Infact, it at length became manifest to Darcy's reluctant belief that histrusted agent had for years long pursued a systematic course of perfidy,merely providing money sufficient for the exigencies of the time, whilehe was, in reality, selling every acre of his estate.

  The Knight's last hope was in the entail. "I am ruined--I am a beggar,it is true!" muttered he, as each new discovery broke upon him, "butmy boy, my dear Lionel, at my death will have his own again." Thischerished dream was not of long duration, for to his horror hediscovered a sale of a considerable part of the estate in which Lionel'sname was signed as a concurring party. This was the crowning pointof his affliction; the ruin was now utter, without one gleam of hoperemaining.

  The property thus sold was that in the possession of the O'Reillys, andthe sale was dated the very day Lionel came of age. Darcy rememberedwell having signed his name to several papers on that morning. Gleesonhad followed him from place to place, through the crowds of happy andrejoicing people assembled by the event, and at last, half vexed at theimportunity, he actually put his name to several papers as he sat onhorseback on the lawn: this very identical deed was thus signed; thewriting was straggling and irregular as the motion of the horse shookhis hand. So much for his own inconsiderate rashness, but how, or bywhat artifice was Lionel's signature obtained?

  Never had Lionel Darcy practised the slightest deception on his father;never concealed from him any difficulty or any embarrassment, butfrankly confided to him his cares, as he would to one of his own age.How, then, had he been drawn into a step of this magnitude withoutapprising him? There was one explanation, and this was, that Glee-sonpersuaded the young man, that by thus sacrificing his own future rightshe would be assisting his father, who, from motives of delicacy, couldnot admit of any negotiation in the matter, and that by ceding somuch of his own property, he should relieve his father from presentembarrassment.

  Through all the revelation of the agent's guilt now opening before him,not one word of anger, one expression of passion, escaped the Knighttill his eyes fell upon this paper; but then, grasping it in both hands,he shook in every limb with indignant rage, and in accents of bitteresthate invoked a curse upon his betrayer. The very sound of his own voicein that sileut chamber startled him, while a sick tremor crept throughhis frame at the unhallowed wish he uttered. "No, no," said he, withclasped hands, "it is not for one like me, whose sensual carelessnesshas brought my own to ruin, to speak thus of another; may Heaven assistme, and pardon him that injured me!"

  The stunning effects of heavy calamity are destined in all likelihoodto give time to rally against the blow--to permit exhausted Nature tofortify herself by even a brief repose against the harassing influencesof deep sorrow. One who saw far into the human heart tells us that itis not the strongest natures are the first to recover from the shock ofgreat misfortunes, but that "light and frivolous spirits regain theirelasticity sooner than those of loftier character."

  The whole extent of his ruin unfolded itself gradually before Darcy'seyes, until at length the accumulated load became too great to bear, andhe sat in almost total unconsciousness gazing at the mass of lawpapers and accounts before him, only remembering at intervals, and thenfaintly, the nature of the investigation he was engaged in, and byan effort recalling himself again to the task: in this way passed theentire day we speak of. Brief struggles to exert himself in examiningthe various papers and letters on the table were succeeded by longpauses of apparent apathy, until, as evening drew near, these intervalsof indifference grew longer, and he sat for hours in this scarce-wakingcondition.

  It was long past midnight as a loud knocking was heard at the streetdoor, and ere Darcy could sufficiently recall his wandering facultiesfrom their revery, he felt a hand grasp his own--he looked up, and sawBagenal Daly.

  "Well, Darcy," said he, in a low whisper, "how stand matters here?"

  "Ruined!" said he, in an accent hardly audible, but with a look thatthrilled through the stern heart of Daly.

  "Come, come, there must be a long space between _your_ fortune and ruinyet. Have you seen any legal adviser?"

  "What of Gleeson, Bagenal, has he been heard of?" said the Knight, notattending to Daly's question.

  "He has had the fitting end of a scoundrel. He leaped overboard in theChannel--"

  "Poor fellow!" said Darcy, while he passed his hand across his eyes;"his spirit was not all corrupted, Bagenal; he dared not to face theworld."

  "Face the world! the villain, it was the gallows he had not courage toface. Don't speak one word of compassion about a wretch like him, or you'll drive me mad. There's no iniquity in the greatest crimes to comparewith the slow, dastardly scoundrelism of your fair-faced swindler. Itseems so, at least. The sailors told us that he went below immediatelyon their leaving the river, and, having locked the cabin door, spent histime in writing till they were in sight of the Holyhead light, when asudden splash was heard, and a cry of 'A man overboard!' called everyone to the deck; then it was discovered that the fellow had opened oneof the stern-windows and thrown himself into the sea. They broughtme this open letter, the last, it is said, he ever wrote, and, thoughunaddressed, evidently meant for you. You need not read it; it containsnothing but the whining excuses of a scoundrel who bases his virtue onthe fact that he was more coward than cheat. Strangest thing of all,he had no property with him beyond some few clothes, a watch, and aboutthree hundred guineas in a purse. This was deposited by the skipper withthe authorities in Liverpool; not a paper, not a document of any kind.Don't read that puling scrawl, Darcy; I have no patience with yourpity!"

  "I wish he had escaped with life, Bagenal," said Darcy, feelingly; "itis a sad aggravation of all my sorrow to think of this man's suicide."

  "And so he might, had he had the courage to take his chance. The'Congress' passed us as we went up the river; she had her studding-sailsset, and, with the strong tide in her favor, was cutting throughthe water as fast as ever a runaway scoundrel could wish or ask for.Gleeson's servant contrived to reach her in time, and got away safe, notimprobably with a heavy booty, if the truth were known."

  Daly continued to dwell on the theme, repeating circumstantially thewhole of the examination before the Liverpool Justices, where thedepositions of the case were taken, and the investigation conducted withstrict acc
uracy; but Darcy paid little attention. The sad end of onefor whom through years long he had entertained feelings of respect andfriendship, seemed to obliterate all memory of his crime, and he had noother feelings in his heart than those of sincere grief for the suicide.

  "There is but one circumstance in the whole I cannot understand," saidDaly, "and that is why Gleeson paid off Hickman's bond last week, whenhe had evidently made up his mind to fly,--seventy thousand was such asum to carry away with him, all safe and sound as he had it."

  "But where's the evidence of such a payment?" said Darcy, sorrowfully;"the bond is not to be found, nor is it among the papers discovered atGleeson's house."

  "It may be found yet," said Daly, confidently. "That the money was paidI have not a particle of doubt on my mind; Freney's information, andthe memorandum I showed you, are strong in corroborating the fact; oldHickman dared not deny it, if the bond never were to turn up."

  "Heaven grant it!" said Darcy, fervently; "that will at least save theabbey, and rescue our old house from the pollution I dreaded."

  "All that, however, does not explain the difficulty," said Daly,thoughtfully; "I wish some shrewder head than mine had the matter beforehim. But now that I have told you so much, let me have some supper,Darcy, for we forgot to victual our sloop, and had no sea-store butwhiskey on either voyage."

  Though this was perfectly true, Daly's proposition was made rather toinduce the Knight to take some refreshment, which it was so evident heneeded, than from any personal motive.

  "They carried the second reading by a large majority; I read it inLiverpool," said Daly, as the servant laid the table for supper.

  The Knight nodded an assent, and Daly resumed: "I saw also thatan address was voted by the patriotic members of Daly's to HickmanO'Reilly, Esquire, M.P., for his manly and independent conduct in thedebate, when he taunted the Government with their ineffectual attemptsat corruption, and spurned indignantly every offer of their patronage."

  "Is that the case?" said the Knight, smiling faintly.

  "'All fact; while the mob drew his carriage home, and nearly smoked theentire of Merrion Square into blackness with burning tar-barrels."

  "He has improved on Johnson's definition, Bagenal, and made patriotismthe first as well as the last refuge of a scoundrel."

  "I looked out in the House that evening, but could not see him, for Iwanted him to second a motion for me."

  "Indeed! of what nature?"

  "A most patriotic one, to this effect: that all bribes to members ofeither House should be in money, that we might have at least the benefitof introducing so much capital into Ireland."

  "You forget, Bagenal, how it would spoil old Hickman's market: loanswould then be had for less than ten per cent."

  "So it would, by Jove! That shows the difficulty of legislating forconflicting interests."

  This conversation was destined only to occupy the time the servant wasengaged about the table, but when he had withdrawn, the Knight and hisfriend at once returned to the eventful theme that engaged all theiranxieties, and where the altered tones of their voices and eager looksbetokened the deepest interest.

  It would have been difficult to find two men more generally wellinformed, and less capable of comprehending or unravelling thecomplicated tissue of a business matter. At the same time, by dint ofmuch mutual inquiry and discussion, they attained to that first andgreatest of discoveries, namely, their own insufficiency to conduct theinvestigation, and the urgent necessity of employing some able manof law to go through all Gleeson's accounts, and ascertain the realcondition of Darcy's fortune. With this prudent resolve, they parted:Darcy to his room, where he sat with unclosed eyes till morning; whileDaly, who had disciplined his temperament more rigidly, soon fell fastasleep, and never awoke till roused by the voice of his servant Sandy.

  "You must find out the fellow that brought the note from Freney," saidDaly, the moment he opened his eyes.

  "I was thinking so," said Sandy, sententiously.

  "You'd know him again?"

  "I 'd ken his twa eyes amang a thousand."

  "Very well, then, set off after breakfast and search for him; you usedto know where devils of this kind were to be found."

  "Maybe I havna quite forgot it yet," replied he, dryly; "but it winna doto gae there before nightfall."

  "Lose no more time than you can help about it," said Daly; "bring himhere if you can find him."

  We have not the necessity, and more certainly it is far from ourinclination, to dwell upon the accumulated calamities of the Knight, norrecount more particularly the sad disclosures which the few succeedingdays made regarding his fortunes. His own words were correct; he wasutterly ruined. Every species of iniquity which perfidy could practiseupon unbounded confidence had been effected. His property subdividedand leased at nominal rents, debts long supposed to have been paid yetoutstanding; mortgages alleged to have been redeemed still impending;while of the large sums raised to meet these encumbrances not oneshilling had been paid by Gleeson, save perhaps the bond for seventythousand; but even of this there was no evidence, except the vagueassertion of one whose testimony the law would reject.

  Such, in brief, were the sad results of that investigation to which theKnight's affairs were submitted, nor could all the practised subtletyof the lawyer suggest one reasonable chance of extrication from thedifficulty.

  "Your friend is a ruined man, sir," said he to Daly, as they both aroseafter a seven hours' examination of the various documents; "there is astrong presumption that many of these signatures are forged, and thatthe Knight of Gwynne never even saw the papers; but he appears to havewritten his name so carelessly, and in so many ways, as to have no clearrecollection of what he did sign, and what he did not. It would be verydifficult to submit a good case for a jury."

  That the payment of the seventy thousand had been made he regarded asmore than doubtful, coupling the fact of Gleeson's immediate flight withthe temptation of so large a sum, while nothing could be less accuratethan the robber's testimony. "We must watch the enemy closely on thispoint," said he; "we must exhibit not the slightest apparent doubt uponit. They must not be led to suspect that we have not the bond in ourpossession. This question will admit of a long contest, and does notpress like the others. As to young Darcy's concurrence in the sale--"

  "Ay, that is the great matter in my friend's eyes."

  "He must be written to at once,--let him come over here without loss oftime, and if it can be shown that this signature is a forgery, we mightmake it the ground of a compromise with the O'Reillys, who, to obtain agood title, would be glad to admit us to liberal terms."

  "Darcy will never listen to that, depend upon it," said Daly; "hisgreatest affliction is for his son's ruin."

  "We 'll see, we 'll see--the game shall open its own combinations aswe go on; for the present, all the task of your friend the Knight is tocarry a bold face to the world, let no rumor get abroad that matters arein their real condition. Our chance of extrication lies in the front wecan show to the enemy."

  "You are making a heavier demand than you are aware of,--Darcy detestsanything like concealment. I don't believe he would practise theslightest mystery that would involve insincerity for twelve hours tofree the whole estate."

  "Very honorable indeed; but at this moment we must waive a punctilio."

  "Don't give it that name to him,--that's all," said Daly, sternly. "Iam as little for subterfuge as any man, and yet I did my best to preventhim resigning his seat in the House; this morning he would send arequest to Lord Castlereagh, begging he might be permitted to accept anescheatorship; I need not say how willingly the proposal was accepted,and his name will appear in the 'Gazette' to-morrow morning."

  "This conduct, if persisted in, will ruin our case," said the lawyer,despondingly. "I cannot comprehend his reasons for it."

  "They are simple enough: his own words were, 'I can never continue to bea member of the legislature when the only privilege it would confer isfreedom from arrest.'"<
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  "A very valuable one at this crisis, if he knew but all," muttered theother. "You will write to young Darcy at once."

  "That he has done already, and to Lady Eleanor also; and as he expectsme at seven, I 'll take my leave of you till to-morrow."

  "Well, Daly," said the Knight, as his friend entered the drawing-roombefore dinner, "how do you like the lawyer?"

  "He's a shrewd fellow, and I suppose, for his calling, an honest one;but the habit of making the wrong seem right leads to a very greatinclination to reverse the theorem, and make the right seem wrong."

  "He thinks badly of our case, is n't that so?"

  "He 'd think much better of it, and of us too, I believe, if both wereworse."

  "I am just as well pleased that it is not so," said Darcy, smiling; "abad case is far more endurable than a bad conscience. But here comesdinner, and I have got my appetite back again."