Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker

by Charles Brockden Brown

  Chapter XIV.

  While sitting alone by the parlour-fire, marking the effects ofmoonlight, I noted one on horseback coming towards the gate. At firstsight, methought his shape and guise were not wholly new to me; but allthat I could discern was merely a resemblance to some one whom I hadbefore seen. Presently he stopped, and, looking towards the house, madeinquiries of a passenger who chanced to be near. Being apparentlysatisfied with the answers he received, he rode with a quick pace intothe court and alighted at the door. I started from my seat, and, goingforth, waited with some impatience to hear his purpose explained.

  He accosted me with the formality of a stranger, and asked if a youngman, by name Edgar Huntly, resided here. Being answered in theaffirmative, and being requested to come in, he entered, and seatedhimself, without hesitation, by the fire. Some doubt and anxiety werevisible in his looks. He seemed desirous of information upon some topic,and yet betrayed terror lest the answers he might receive should subvertsome hope or confirm some foreboding.

  Meanwhile I scrutinized his features with much solicitude. A nearer andmore deliberate view convinced me that the first impression was just;but still I was unable to call up his name or the circumstances of ourformer meeting. The pause was at length ended by his saying, in afaltering voice,--

  "My name is Weymouth. I came hither to obtain information on a subjectin which my happiness is deeply concerned."

  At the mention of his name, I started. It was a name too closelyconnected with the image of thy brother, not to call up affecting andvivid recollections. Weymouth, thou knowest, was thy brother's friend.It is three years since this man left America, during which time notidings had been heard of him,--at least, by thy brother. He had nowreturned, and was probably unacquainted with the fate of his friend.

  After an anxious pause, he continued:--"Since my arrival I have heard ofan event which has, on many accounts, given me the deepest sorrow. Iloved Waldegrave, and know not any person in the world whose life wasdearer to me than his. There were considerations, however, which made itmore precious to me than the life of one whose merits might be greater.With his life, my own existence and property were, I have reason tothink, inseparably united.

  "On my return to my country, after a long absence, I made immediateinquiries after him. I was informed of his untimely death. I hadquestions, of infinite moment to my happiness, to decide with regard tothe state and disposition of his property. I sought out those of hisfriends who had maintained with him the most frequent and confidentialintercourse, but they could not afford me any satisfaction. At length, Iwas informed that a young man of your name, and living in this district,had enjoyed more of his affection and society than any other, hadregulated the property which he left behind, and was best qualified toafford the intelligence which I sought. You, it seems, are this person,and of you I must make inquiries to which I conjure you to returnsincere and explicit answers."

  "That," said I, "I shall find no difficulty in doing. Whatever questionsyou shall think proper to ask, I will answer with readiness and truth."

  "What kind of property, and to what amount, was your friend possessed ofat his death?"

  "It was money, and consisted of deposits at the Bank of North America.The amount was little short of eight thousand dollars."

  "On whom has this property devolved?"

  "His sister was his only kindred, and she is now in possession of it."

  "Did he leave any will by which he directed the disposition of hisproperty?" While thus speaking, Weymouth fixed his eyes upon mycountenance, and seemed anxious to pierce into my inmost soul. I wassomewhat surprised at his questions, but much more at the manner inwhich they were put. I answered him, however, without delay:--"He leftno will, nor was any paper discovered by which we could guess at hisintentions. No doubt, indeed, had he made a will, his sister would havebeen placed precisely in the same condition in which she now is. He wasnot only bound to her by the strongest ties of kindred, but by affectionand gratitude."

  Weymouth now withdrew his eyes from my face, and sunk into a mournfulreverie. He sighed often and deeply. This deportment and the strain ofhis inquiries excited much surprise. His interest in the fate ofWaldegrave ought to have made the information he had received a sourceof satisfaction rather than of regret. The property which Waldegraveleft was much greater than his mode of life and his own professions hadgiven us reason to expect, but it was no more than sufficient to insureto thee an adequate subsistence. It ascertained the happiness of thosewho were dearest to Waldegrave, and placed them forever beyond the reachof that poverty which had hitherto beset them. I made no attempt tointerrupt the silence, but prepared to answer any new interrogatory. Atlength, Weymouth resumed:--

  "Waldegrave was a fortunate man to amass so considerable a sum in soshort a time. I remember, when we parted, he was poor. He used to lamentthat his scrupulous integrity precluded him from all the common roads towealth. He did not contemn riches, but he set the highest value uponcompetence, and imagined that he was doomed forever to poverty. Hisreligious duty compelled him to seek his livelihood by teaching a schoolof blacks. The labour was disproportioned to his feeble constitution,and the profit was greatly disproportioned to the labour. It scarcelysupplied the necessities of nature, and was reduced sometimes even belowthat standard by his frequent indisposition. I rejoice to find that hisscruples had somewhat relaxed their force, and that he had betakenhimself to some more profitable occupation. Pray, what was his new wayof business?"

  "Nay," said I, "his scruples continued as rigid, in this respect, asever. He was teacher of the negro freeschool when he died."

  "Indeed! How, then, came he to amass so much money? Could he blend anymore lucrative pursuit with his duty as a schoolmaster?"

  "So it seems."

  "What was his pursuit?"

  "That question, I believe, none of his friends are qualified to answer.I thought myself acquainted with the most secret transactions of hislife, but this had been carefully concealed from me. I was not onlyunapprized of any other employment of his time, but had not theslightest suspicion of his possessing any property besides his clothesand books. Ransacking his papers, with a different view, I lighted onhis bank-book, in which was a regular receipt for seven thousand fivehundred dollars. By what means he acquired this money, and even theacquisition of it, till his death put us in possession of his papers,was wholly unknown to us."

  "Possibly he might have held it in trust for another. In this case somememorandums or letters would be found explaining this affair."

  "True. This supposition could not fail to occur, in consequence of whichthe most diligent search was made among his papers, but no shred orscrap was to be found which countenanced our conjecture."

  "You may reasonably be surprised, and perhaps offended," said Weymouth,"at these inquiries; but it is time to explain my motives for makingthem. Three years ago I was, like Waldegrave, indigent, and earned mybread by daily labour. During seven years' service in a public office, Isaved, from the expenses of subsistence, a few hundred dollars. Idetermined to strike into a new path, and, with this sum, to lay thefoundation of better fortune. I turned it into a bulky commodity,freighted and loaded a small vessel, and went with it to Barcelona inSpain. I was not unsuccessful in my projects, and, changing my abode toEngland, France, and Germany, according as my interest required, Ibecame finally possessed of sufficient for the supply of all my wants. Ithen resolved to return to my native country, and, laying out my moneyin land, to spend the rest of my days in the luxury and quiet of anopulent farmer. For this end I invested the greatest part of my propertyin a cargo of wine from Madeira. The remainder I turned into a bill ofexchange for seven thousand five hundred dollars. I had maintained afriendly correspondence with Waldegrave during my absence. There was noone with whom I had lived on terms of so much intimacy, and hadboundless confidence in his integrity. To him therefore I determined totransmit this bill, requesting him to take the money into safe-keepinguntil my return. In this manner I endea
voured to provide against theaccidents that might befall my person or my cargo in crossing the ocean.

  "It was my fate to encounter the worst of these disasters. We wereovertaken by a storm, my vessel was driven ashore on the coast ofPortugal, my cargo was utterly lost, and the greater part of the crewand passengers were drowned. I was rescued from the same fate by somefishermen. In consequence of the hardships to which I had been exposed,having laboured for several days at the pumps, and spent the greaterpart of a winter night hanging from the rigging of the ship andperpetually beaten by the waves, I contracted a severe disease, whichbereaved me of the use of my limbs. The fishermen who rescued me carriedme to their huts, and there I remained three weeks helpless andmiserable.

  "That part of the coast on which I was thrown was, in the highestdegree, sterile and rude. Its few inhabitants subsisted precariously onthe produce of the ocean. Their dwellings were of mud,--low, filthy,dark, and comfortless. Their fuel was the stalks of shrubs sparinglyscattered over a sandy desert. Their poverty scarcely allowed them saltand black bread with their fish, which was obtained in unequal andsometimes insufficient quantities, and which they ate with all itsimpurities, and half cooked.

  "My former habits, as well as my present indisposition, required verydifferent treatment from what the ignorance and penury of these peopleobliged them to bestow. I lay upon the moist earth, imperfectlysheltered from the sky, and with neither raiment nor fire to keep mewarm. My hosts had little attention or compassion to spare to the wantsof others. They could not remove me to a more hospitable district; andhere, without doubt, I should have perished, had not a monk chanced tovisit their hovels. He belonged to a convent of St. Jago, some leaguesfarther from the shore, which used to send one of its members annuallyto inspect the religious concerns of those outcasts. Happily, this wasthe period of their visitations.

  "My abode in Spain had made me somewhat conversant with its language.The dialect of this monk did not so much differ from Castilian but that,with the assistance of Latin, we were able to converse. The jargon ofthe fishermen was unintelligible, and they had vainly endeavoured tokeep up my spirits by informing me of this expected visit.

  "This monk was touched with compassion at my calamity, and speedilyprovided the means of my removal to his convent. Here I was charitablyentertained, and the aid of a physician was procured for me. He was butpoorly skilled in his profession, and rather confirmed than alleviatedmy disease. The Portuguese of his trade, especially in remoterdistricts, are little more than dealers in talismans and nostrums. For along time I was unable to leave my pallet, and had no prospect before mebut that of consuming my days in the gloom of this cloister.

  "All the members of this convent but he who had been my firstbenefactor, and whose name was Chaledro, were bigoted and sordid. Theirchief motive for treating me with kindness was the hope of obtaining aconvert from heresy. They spared no pains to subdue my errors, and werewilling to prolong my imprisonment, in the hope of finally gaining theirend. Had my fate been governed by those, I should have been immured inthis convent, and compelled either to adopt their fanatical creed or toput an end to my own life, in order to escape their well-meantpersecutions. Chaledro, however, though no less sincere in his faith andurgent in his entreaties, yet finding me invincible, exerted hisinfluence to obtain my liberty.

  "After many delays, and strenuous exertions of my friend, they consentedto remove me to Oporto. The journey was to be performed in an open cart,over a mountainous country, in the heats of summer. The monksendeavoured to dissuade me from the enterprise, for my own sake, itbeing scarcely possible that one in my feeble state should survive ajourney like this; but I despaired of improving my condition by othermeans. I preferred death to the imprisonment of a Portuguese monastery,and knew that I could hope for no alleviation of my disease but from theskill of Scottish or French physicians, whom I expected to meet with inthat city. I adhered to my purpose with so much vehemence and obstinacy,that they finally yielded to my wishes.

  "My road lay through the wildest and most rugged districts. It did notexceed ninety miles, but seven days were consumed on the way. The motionof the vehicle racked me with the keenest pangs, and my attendantsconcluded that every stage would be my last. They had been selectedwithout due regard to their characters. They were knavish and inhuman,and omitted nothing but actual violence to hasten my death. Theypurposely retarded the journey, and protracted to seven what might havebeen readily performed in four days. They neglected to execute theorders which they had received respecting my lodging and provisions; andfrom them, as well as from the peasants, who were sure to be informedthat I was a heretic, I suffered every species of insult and injury. Myconstitution, as well as my frame, possessed a fund of strength of whichI had no previous conception. In spite of hardship, and exposure, andabstinence, I at last arrived at Oporto.

  "Instead of being carried, agreeably to Chaledro's direction, to aconvent of St. Jago, I was left, late in the evening, in the porch of acommon hospital. My attendants, having laid me on the pavement andloaded me with imprecations, left me to obtain admission by my ownefforts. I passed the livelong night in this spot, and in the morningwas received into the house in a state which left it uncertain whether Iwas alive or dead.

  "After recovering my sensibility, I made various efforts to procure avisit from some English merchant. This was no easy undertaking for onein my deplorable condition. I was too weak to articulate my wordsdistinctly, and these words were rendered, by my foreign accent,scarcely intelligible. The likelihood of my speedy death made the peopleabout me more indifferent to my wants and petitions.

  "I will not dwell upon my repeated disappointments, but content myselfwith mentioning that I gained the attention of a French gentleman whosecuriosity brought him to view the hospital. Through him I obtained avisit from an English merchant, and finally gained the notice of aperson who formerly resided in America, and of whom I had imperfectknowledge. By their kindness I was removed from the hospital to aprivate house. A Scottish surgeon was summoned to my assistance, and inseven months I was restored to my present state of health.

  "At Oporto, I embarked, in an American ship, for New York. I wasdestitute of all property, and relied, for the payment of the debtswhich I was obliged to contract, as well as for my future subsistence,on my remittance to Waldegrave. I hastened to Philadelphia, and was sooninformed that my friend was dead. His death had taken place a long timesince my remittance to him: hence this disaster was a subject of regretchiefly on his own account. I entertained no doubt but that my propertyhad been secured, and that either some testamentary directions or somepapers had been left behind respecting this affair.

  "I sought out those who were formerly our mutual acquaintance. I foundthat they were wholly strangers to his affairs. They could merely relatesome particulars of his singular death, and point out the lodgings whichhe formerly occupied. Hither I forthwith repaired, and discovered thathe lived in this house with his sister, disconnected with its otherinhabitants. They described his mode of life in terms that showed themto be very imperfectly acquainted with it. It was easy indeed to infer,from their aspect and manners, that little sympathy or union could havesubsisted between them and their co-tenants; and this inference wasconfirmed by their insinuations, the growth of prejudice and envy. Theytold me that Waldegrave's sister had gone to live in the country, butwhither, or for how long, she had not condescended to inform them, andthey did not care to ask. She was a topping dame, whose notions weremuch too high for her station; who was more nice than wise, and yet wasone who could stoop when it most became her to stand upright. It was nobusiness of theirs; but they could not but mention their suspicions thatshe had good reasons for leaving the city and for concealing the placeof her retreat. Some things were hard to be disguised. They spoke forthemselves, and the only way to hinder disagreeable discoveries was tokeep out of sight.

  "I was wholly a stranger to Waldegrave's sister. I knew merely that hehad such a relation. There was nothing, therefore, to outb
alance thisunfavourable report, but the apparent malignity and grossness of thosewho gave it. It was not, however, her character about which I wassolicitous, but merely the place where she might be found and thesuitable inquiries respecting her deceased brother be answered. On thishead, these people professed utter ignorance, and were either unable orunwilling to direct me to any person in the city who knew more thanthemselves. After much discourse, they, at length, let fall anintimation that, if any one knew her place of retreat, it was probably acountry-lad, by name Huntly, who lived near the _Forks_ ofDelaware. After Waldegrave's death this lad had paid his sister a visit,and seemed to be admitted on a very confidential footing. She left thehouse, for the last time, in his company, and he, therefore, was mostlikely to know what had become of her.

  "The name of Huntly was not totally unknown to me. I myself was born andbrought up in the neighbouring township of Chetasco. I had someknowledge of your family, and your name used often to be mentioned byWaldegrave as that of one who, at a maturer age, would prove himselfuseful to his country. I determined, therefore, to apply to you for whatinformation you could give. I designed to visit my father, who lives inChetasco, and relieve him from that disquiet which his ignorance of myfate could not fail to have inspired, and both these ends could be thus,at the same time, accomplished.

  "Before I left the city, I thought it proper to apply to the merchant onwhom my bill had been drawn. If this bill had been presented and paid,he had doubtless preserved some record of it, and hence a clue might beafforded, though every other expedient should fail. My usual ill fortunepursued me upon this occasion; for the merchant had lately becomeinsolvent, and, to avoid the rage of his creditors, had fled, withoutleaving any vestige of this or similar transactions behind him. He had,some years since, been an adventurer from Holland, and was suspected tohave returned thither."