by T. Smollett
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
FATHOM BEING SAFELY HOUSED, THE READER IS ENTERTAINED WITH A RETROSPECT.
But now it is high time to leave our adventurer to chew the cud ofreflection and remorse in this solitary mansion, that we may traceRenaldo in the several steps he took to assert his right, and do justiceto his family. Never man indulged a more melancholy train of ideas thanthat which accompanied him in his journey to the Imperial court. For,notwithstanding the manifold reasons he had to expect a happy issue tohis aim, his imagination was incessantly infected with something thatchilled his nerves and saddened his heart, recurring, with quicksuccession, like the unwearied wave that beats upon the bleak,inhospitable Greenland shore. This, the reader will easily suppose, wasno other than the remembrance of the forlorn Monimia, whose imageappeared to his fancy in different attitudes, according to the prevalenceof the passions which raged in his bosom. Sometimes he viewed her in thelight of apostasy, and then his soul was maddened with indignation anddespair. But these transitory blasts were not able to efface theimpressions she had formerly made upon his heart; impressions which hehad so often and so long contemplated with inconceivable rapture. Thesepictures still remained, representing her fair as the most perfect ideaof beauty, soft and tender as an angel of mercy and compassion, warmedwith every virtue of the heart, and adorned with every accomplishment ofhuman nature. Yet the alarming contrast came still in the rear of thisrecollection; so that his soul was by turns agitated by the tempests ofhorror, and overwhelmed by the floods of grief.
He recalled the moment on which he first beheld her, with that pleasingregret which attends the memory of a dear deceased friend. Then hebitterly cursed it, as the source of all his misfortunes and affliction.He thanked Heaven for having blessed him with a friend to detect herperfidy and ingratitude; and then ardently wished he had still continuedunder the influence of her delusion. In a word, the loneliness of hissituation aggravated every horror of his reflection; for, as he foundhimself without company, his imagination was never solicited, or hisattention diverted from these subjects of woe; and he travelled toBrussels in a reverie, fraught with such torments as must have entirelywrecked his reason, had not Providence interposed in his behalf. He was,by his postillion, conducted to one of the best inns of the place, wherehe understood the cloth was already laid for supper; and as the ordinaryis open to strangers in all these houses of entertainment, he introducedhimself into the company, with a view to alleviate, in some measure, hissorrow and chagrin, by the conversation of his fellow-guests. Yet he wasso ill prepared to obtain the relief which he courted, that he enteredthe apartment, and sat down to table, without distinguishing either thenumber or countenances of those who were present, though he himself didnot long remain so unregarded. His mien and deportment produced aprepossession in his favour; and the air of affliction, so remarkable inhis visage, did not fail to attract their sympathy and observation.
Among the rest, was an Irish officer in the Austrian service, who havingeyed Renaldo attentively, "Sir," said he, rising, "if my eyes and memorydo not deceive me, you are the Count de Melvil, with whom I had thehonour to serve upon the Rhine during the last war." The youth, hearinghis own name mentioned, lifted up his eyes, and at once recognising theother to be a gentleman who had been a captain in his father's regiment,ran forwards, and embraced him with great affection.
This was, in divers respects, a fortunate rencontre for young Melvil; asthe officer was not only perfectly well acquainted with the situation ofthe Count's family, but also resolved, in a few days, to set out forVienna, whither he promised to accompany Renaldo, as soon as heunderstood his route lay the same way. Before the day fixed for theirdeparture arrived, this gentleman found means to insinuate himself so farinto the confidence of the Count, as to learn the cause of that distresswhich he had observed in his features at their first meeting; and being agentleman of uncommon vivacity, as well as sincerely attached to thefamily of Melvil, to which he had owed his promotion, he exerted all hisgood-humour and good sense in amusing the fancy, and reasoning down themortification of the afflicted Hungarian. He in particular endeavouredto wean his attention from the lost Monimia, by engaging it upon hisdomestic affairs, and upon the wrongs of his mother and sister, who, hegave him to understand, were languishing under the tyranny of hisfather-in-law.
This was a note that effectually roused him from the lethargy of hissorrow; and the desire of taking vengeance on the oppressor, who hadruined his fortune, and made his nearest relations miserable, so entirelyengrossed his thoughts, as to leave no room for other considerations.During their journey to Austria, Major Farrel, (that was the name of hisfellow-traveller,) informed him of many circumstances touching hisfather's house, to which himself was an utter stranger.
"The conduct of your mother," said he, "in marrying Count Trebasi, wasnot at all agreeable either to the friends of the Count de Melvil, or toher own relations, who knew her second husband to be a man of a violenttemper, and rapacious disposition, which the nature of his education andemployment had served rather to inflame than allay; for you well know hewas a partisan during the whole course of the late war. They were,moreover, equally surprised and chagrined, when they found she took nostep to prevent his seizing upon that inheritance which of right belongedto you, and which, by the laws of Hungary, is unalienable from the heirof blood. Nevertheless, they are now fully convinced, that she hath morethan sufficiently atoned for her indiscretion, by the barbarity of herhusband, who hath not only secluded her from all communication with herfriends and acquaintance, but even confined her to the west tower of yourfather's house, where she is said to be kept close prisoner, andsubjected to all sorts of inconvenience and mortification. This severityshe is believed to have incurred in consequence of having expostulated tohim upon his unjust behaviour to you and Mademoiselle, whom he hathactually shut up in some convent in Vienna, which your relations have notas yet been able to discover. But the memory of your noble father is sodear to all those who were favoured with his friendship, and thesufferings of the Countess and Mademoiselle have raised such a spirit ofresentment against her cruel jailor, that nothing is wanted but yourpresence to begin the prosecution, and give a sanction to the measures ofyour friends, which will in a little time restore your family to thefruition of its rights and fortune. For my own part, my dear Count, Iconsider myself as one wholly indebted to your house for the rank andexpectation I now enjoy; and my finances, interest, and person, such asthey are, I dedicate to your service."
Renaldo was not slow in making his acknowledgments to this generousHibernian, whom he informed of his scheme, recounting to him his uncommontransaction with the benevolent Jew, and communicating the letters ofrecommendation he had received by his means to some of the first noblemenat the Imperial court. Meanwhile, he burned with impatience to chastiseCount Trebasi for his perfidious conduct to the widow and the fatherless,and would have taken the road to Presburg, without touching at Vienna, inorder to call him to a severe account, had not he been strenuouslyopposed by Major Farrel, who represented the imprudence of taking such astep before he had secured a proper protection from the consequences withwhich it might be attended.
"It is not," said he, "your own life and fortune only which depend uponyour behaviour in this emergency, but also the quiet and happiness ofthose who are most dear to your affection. Not you alone, but likewiseyour mother and sister, would infallibly suffer by your temerity andprecipitation. First of all, deliver your credentials at court, and letus join our endeavours to raise an interest strong enough tocounterbalance that of Trebasi. If we succeed, there will be nonecessity for having recourse to personal measures. He will be compelledto yield up your inheritance which he unjustly detains, and to restoreyour sister to your arms; and if he afterwards refuses to do justice tothe Countess, you will always have it in your power to evince yourselfthe son of the brave Count de Melvil."
These just and salutary representations had a due effect upon Renaldo,who no sooner
arrived at the capital of Austria, than he waited upon acertain prince of distinction, to whose patronage he was commended; andfrom whom he met with a very cordial reception, not only on account ofhis credentials, but also for the sake of his father, who was well knownto his highness. He heard his complaints with great patience andaffability, assured him of his assistance and protection, and evenundertook to introduce him to the empress-queen, who would not suffer theweakest of her subjects to be oppressed, much less disregard the cause ofan injured young nobleman, who, by his own services, and those of hisfamily, was peculiarly entitled to her favour.
Nor was he the only person whose countenance and patronage Melvilsolicited upon this occasion; he visited all the friends of his father,and all his mother's relations, who were easily interested in his behalf;while Major Farrel contributed all his efforts in strengthening theassociation. So that a lawsuit was immediately commenced against CountTrebasi, who on his side was not idle, but prepared with incredibleindustry for the assault, resolving to maintain with his whole power theacquisition he had made.
The laws of Hungary, like those of some other countries I could name,afford so many subterfuges for the purposes of perfidy and fraud, that itis no wonder our youth began to complain of the slow progress of hisaffair; especially as he glowed with the most eager desire of redressingthe grievances of his parent and sister, whose sufferings he did notdoubt were doubled since the institution of his process against theirtormentor. He imparted his sentiments on this head to his friend; and,as his apprehensions every moment increased, plainly told him he could nolonger live without making some effort to see those with whom he was sonearly connected in point of blood and affection. He therefore resolvedto repair immediately to Presburg; and, according to the intelligence heshould procure, essay to see and converse with his mother, though at thehazard of his life.