by T. Smollett
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
HE IS SMITTEN WITH THE CHARMS OF A FEMALE ADVENTURER, WHOSE ALLUREMENTSSUBJECT HIM TO A NEW VICISSITUDE OF FORTUNE.
Among those who were distinguished by his gallantry was the young wife ofan old citizen of London, who had granted her permission to reside at thehot well for the benefit of her health, under the eye and inspection ofhis own sister, who was a maiden of fifty years. The pupil, whose namewas Mrs. Trapwell, though low in stature, was finely shaped, hercountenance engaging, though her complexion was brown, her hair in colourrivalled the raven's back, and her eyes emulated the lustre of thediamond. Fathom had been struck with her first appearance; but found itimpracticable to elude the vigilance of her duenna, so as to make adeclaration of his flame; until she herself, guessing the situation ofhis thoughts, and not displeased with the discovery, thought proper tofurnish him with the opportunity he wanted, by counterfeiting anindisposition, for the cure of which she knew his advice would beimplored. This was the beginning of an acquaintance, which was soonimproved to his wish; and so well did she manage her attractions, as insome measure to fix the inconstancy of his disposition; for, at the endof the season, his passion was not sated; and they concerted the means ofcontinuing their commerce, even after their return to London.
This intercourse effectually answered the purpose of the husband, who hadbeen decoyed into matrimony by the cunning of his spouse, whom he hadprivately kept as a concubine before marriage. Conscious of her ownprecarious situation, she had resolved to impose upon the infirmities ofTrapwell, and, feigning herself pregnant, gave him to understand shecould no longer conceal her condition from the knowledge of her brother,who was an officer in the army, and of such violent passions, that,should he once discover her backsliding, he would undoubtedly wipe awaythe stains of his family dishonour with her own blood, as well as that ofher keeper. The citizen, to prevent such a catastrophe, took her towife; but soon after perceiving the trick which had been played upon him,set his invention at work, and at length contrived a scheme which hethought would enable him, not only to retrieve his liberty, but alsoindemnify himself for the mortification he had undergone.
Far from creating any domestic disturbance, by upbraiding her with herfinesse, he seemed perfectly well pleased with his acquisition; and, ashe knew her void of any principle, and extremely addicted to pleasure, hechose proper occasions to insinuate, that she might gratify her owninclination, and at the same time turn her beauty to good account. Shejoyfully listened to these remonstrances, and, in consequence of theirmutual agreement, she repaired to Bristol Spring, on pretence of an illstate of health, accompanied by her sister-in-law, whom they did notthink proper to intrust with the real motive of her journey. Fathom'sperson was agreeable, and his finances supposed to be in flourishingorder; therefore, she selected him from the herd of gallants, as a propersacrifice to the powers which she adored; and, on her arrival in London,made her husband acquainted with the importance of her conquest.
Trapwell overwhelmed her with caresses and praise for her discreet anddutiful conduct, and faithfully promised that she should pocket in herown privy purse one-half of the spoils that should be gathered from hergallant, whom she therefore undertook to betray, after he had swore, inthe most solemn manner, that his intention was not to bring the affair toa public trial, which would redound to his own disgrace, but to extort around sum of money from the Count, by way of composition. Confiding inthis protestation, she in a few days gave him intelligence of anassignation she had made with our adventurer, at a certain bagnio nearCovent Garden; upon which he secured the assistance of a particularfriend and his own journeyman, with whom, and a constable, he repaired tothe place of rendezvous, where he waited in an adjoining room, accordingto the directions of his virtuous spouse, until she made the preconcertedsignal of hemming three times aloud, when he and his associates rushedinto the chamber and surprised our hero in bed with his inamorata.
The lady on this occasion acted her part to a miracle; she screamed attheir approach; and, after an exclamation of "Ruined and undone!"fainted away in the arms of her spouse, who had by this time seized herby the shoulders, and begun to upbraid her with her infidelity and guilt.As for Fathom, his affliction was unutterable, when he found himselfdiscovered in that situation, and made prisoner by the two assistants,who had pinioned him in such a manner, that he could not stir, much lessaccomplish an escape. All his ingenuity and presence of mind seemed toforsake him in this emergency. The horrors of an English jury overspreadhis imagination; for he at once perceived that the toil into which he hadfallen was laid for the purpose; consequently he took it for granted thatthere would be no deficiency in point of evidence. Soon as herecollected himself, he begged that no violence might be offered to hisperson, and entreated the husband to favour him with a conference, inwhich the affair might be compromised, without prejudice to thereputation of either.
At first Trapwell breathed nothing but implacable revenge, but, by thepersuasion of his friends, after he had sent home his wife in a chair, hewas prevailed upon to hear the proposals of the delinquent, who havingassured him, by way of apology, that he had always believed the lady wasa widow, made him an offer of five hundred pounds, as an atonement forthe injury he had sustained. This being a sum no ways adequate to theexpectation of the citizen, who looked upon the Count as possessor of animmense estate, he rejected the terms with disdain, and made instantapplication to a judge, from whom he obtained a warrant for securing hisperson till the day of trial. Indeed, in this case, money was but asecondary consideration with Trapwell, whose chief aim was to be legallydivorced from a woman he detested. Therefore there was no remedy for theunhappy Count, who in vain offered to double the sum. He found himselfreduced to the bitter alternative of procuring immediate bail, or goingdirectly to Newgate.
In this dilemma he sent a messenger to his friend Ratchcali, whosecountenance fell when he understood the Count's condition; nor would heopen his mouth in the style of consolation, until he had consulted acertain solicitor of his acquaintance, who assured him the law aboundedwith such resources as would infallibly screen the defendant, had thefact been still more palpable than it was. He said there was greatpresumption to believe the Count had fallen a sacrifice to a conspiracy,which by some means or other would be detected; and, in that case, theplaintiff might obtain one shilling in lieu of damages. If thatdependence should fail, he hinted that, in all probability, the witnesseswere not incorruptible; or, should they prove to be so, one man's oathwas as good as another's; and, thank Heaven, there was no dearth ofevidence, provided money could be found to answer the necessaryoccasions.
Ratchcali, comforted by these insinuations, and dreading the resentmentof our adventurer, who, in his despair, might punish him severely for hiswant of friendship, by some precipitate explanation of the commerce theyhad carried on; moved, I say, by these considerations, and moreovertempted with the prospect of continuing to reap the advantages resultingfrom their conjunction, he and another person of credit with whom helargely dealt in jewels, condescended to become sureties for theappearance of Fathom, who was accordingly admitted to bail. Not but thatthe Tyrolese knew Ferdinand too well to confide in his parole. Hedepended chiefly upon his ideas of self-interest, which, he thought,would persuade him to risk the uncertain issue of a trial, rather thanquit the field before the harvest was half over; and he was resolved tomake his own retreat without ceremony, should our hero be unwise enoughto abandon his bail.
Such an adventure could not long lie concealed from the notice of thepublic, even if both parties had been at pains to suppress thecircumstances. But the plaintiff, far from seeking to cover, affected tocomplain loudly of his misfortune, that he might interest his neighboursin his behalf, and raise a spirit of rancour and animosity, to influencethe jury against this insolent foreigner, who had come over into Englandto debauch our wives and deflower our daughters; while he employed aformidable band of lawyers to support the indictment, which he laid atten thousand p
ounds damages.
Meanwhile, Fathom and his associate did not fail to take all propermeasures for his defence; they retained a powerful bar of counsel, andthe solicitor was supplied with one hundred pounds after another, toanswer the expense of secret service; still assuring his clients thateverything was in an excellent train, and that his adversary would gainnothing but shame and confusion of face. Nevertheless, there was anecessity for postponing the trial, on account of a material evidence,who, though he wavered, was not yet quite brought over; and the attorneyfound means to put off the decision from term to term, until there was noquibble left for further delay. While this suit was depending, our herocontinued to move in his usual sphere; nor did the report of hissituation at all operate to his disadvantage in the polite world; on thecontrary, it added a fresh plume to his character, in the eyes of allthose who were not before acquainted with the triumphs of his gallantry.Notwithstanding this countenance of his friends, he himself consideredthe affair in a very serious light; and perceiving that, at any rate, hemust be a considerable loser, he resolved to double his assiduity intrade, that he might be the more able to afford the extraordinary expenseto which he was subjected.