Part 11 (1/2)
Proper cognisance being thus taken of these contraband effects, and the informer furnished with a certificate, by which he was entitled to a share of the seizure, the coache; the purse and jeere restored to Count Fathom, who thanked the justice, and his lordshi+p in particular, for the candour and hospitality hich he had been treated, and resuratulations of all his fellow-travellers, except the two forlorn sht proper to reate, if possible, the severity of theirthose who felicitated Fatho maiden seemed to express the e of his eyes had raised in her breast certain fluttering emotions, before she knew the value of her conquest; but now that his rank and condition were discovered, these transports were increased by the ideas of vanity and aled with the first seeds of every fe captivated the heart of a nity of a countess, produced such agreeable sensations in her fancy, that her eyes shone with unusual lustre, and a continual smile played in dih not powerful enough to engage the affection, were yet sufficient to inflame the desire of our adventurer, who very honestly marked her chastity for prey to his voluptuous passion Had she been well seasoned with knowledge and experience, and coainst the artifice and villany of ines of such an assailant, considering the dangerous opportunities to which she was necessarily exposed How easy thencountry daer to the ways of life!
While Obadiah, therefore, and his plue incidents which had passed, Fathom acted a very expressive panto with surprising facility, and was at so little pains to conceal the pleasure she took in this kind of intercourse, that several wared between her and her lover, before they arrived at Rochester, where they proposed to dine It was during this period, he learned from the answers she made to the inquisitive quaker, that her sole dependence was upon a relation, to whoer in the great city; circumstances on which he soon formed the project of her ruin
Upon their arrival at the Black Bull, he for the first time found himself alone with his A elsewhere e to lose the precious opportunity, he began to act the part of a very importunate lover, which he conceived to be a proper sequel to the prelude which had been performed in the coach The freedoood-humour, permitted hied him to practise other familiarities upon her fair bosom, which scandalised her virtue so e in his behalf, she rejected his advances with all the er and disdain; and he found it necessary to appease the storm he had raised, by the e his operations, and carry on his attacks, so as to ion or pride Accordingly, when the bill was called after dinner, he took particular notice of her behaviour, and, perceiving her pull out a large leathern purse that contained her money, reconnoitred the pocket in which it was deposited, and, while they sat close to each other in the carriage, conveyed it with admirable dexterity into an hole in the cushi+on Whether the corpulent couple, who sat opposite to these lovers, had entered into an aement at the inn, or were severally induced by other motives, is uncertain; but sure it is, both left the coach on that part of the road which lies nearest to Gravesend, and bade adieu to the other pair, on pretence of having urgent business at that place
Ferdinand, not a little pleased at their departure, renewed hisseveral French songs on that tender subject, which seemed to thrill to the soul of his beauteous Helen While the driver halted at Dartford to water his horses, she was smit with the appearance of some cheesecakes, which were presented by the landlady of the house, and having bargained for two or three, put her hand in her pocket, in order to pay for her purchase; but as her astonishe, she understood her whole fortune was lost! This mishap was, by a loud shriek, announced to our hero, who affected infinite amazement and concern; and no sooner learned the cause of her affliction, than he presented her with his own purse, froed she would indeh this kind proffer was some alleviation of her misfortunes, she did not fail to pour forth athat she had not only lost all herto five pounds, but also her letter of recoether relied for present employment
The vehicle was minutely searched from top to bottom, by herself and our adventurer, assisted by Maurice and the coach their inquiry ineffectual, did not scruple to declare his suspicion of the two fat turtles who had deserted the coach in such an abrupt manner In a word, he rendered this conjecture so plausible, by wresting the circumstances of their behaviour and retreat, that poor Elenor implicitly believed they were the thieves by whom she had suffered; and was prevailed upon to accept the proffered assistance of the generous Count, who, seeing her verya large glass of canary, to quiet the perturbation of her spirits This is a season, which of all others is most propitious to the attempts of an artful lover; and justifies thein troubled waters There is an affinity and short transition betwixt all the violent passions that agitate the huh they nify, yet perplex and render indistinct every object which they represent And flattery is never so successfully administered, as to those who know they stand in need of friendshi+p, assent, and approbation
The cordial she sed, far frohts, and produced an intoxication; during which, she talked in an incoherent strain, laughed and wept by turns, and acted other extravagances, which are known to be syh an utter stranger to the sentiments of honour, pity, and reh favoured by the deliriu maiden; because his appetite demanded a more perfect sacrifice than that which she could yield in her present deplorable situation, when her will ether unconcerned in his success Determined, therefore, to make a conquest of her virtue, before he would take possession of her person, he mimicked that compassion and benevolence which his heart had never felt, and, when the coach arrived at London, not only discharged what she owed for her place, but likewise procured for her an apartment in the house to which he his, and even hired a nurse to attend her during a severe fever, which was the consequence of her disappointment and despondence Indeed, she was supplied with all necessaries by the generosity of this noble Count, who, for the interest of his passion, and the honour of his na of her own h to secure for this purpose
Her youth soon got the better of her disteations to the Count, who did not fail to attend her in person with great tenderness, her heart, which had been before prepossessed in his favour, noith all the warratitude, esteee place, destitute of all resource but in his generosity She loved his person, she was dazzled by his rank; and he kneell how to ies he derived froradually proceeded in sapping froree of intimacy to another, until all the bulwarks of her chastity were undermined, and she submitted to his desire; not with the reluctance of a vanquished people, but with all the transports of a joyful city, that opens its gates to receive a darling prince returned from conquest For by this time he had artfully concentred and kindled up all the inflaredients of her constitution; and she now looked back upon the virtuous principles of her education, as upon a disagreeable and tedious drea joy
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
HE BY ACCIDENT ENCOUNTERS HIS OLD FRIEND, WITH WHOM HE HOLDS A CONFERENCE, AND RENEWS A TREATY
Our hero, having thus provided hiht it was now high tiround which he had pitched upon for the scene of his exploits, and with that view made several excursions to different parts of the tohere there was aught of entertainment or instruction to be found Yet he always, on these occasions, appeared in an obscure ordinary dress, in order to avoid singularity, and never went twice to the saht not be afterwards known, in case he should shi+ne forth to the public in a superior sphere On his return froh Ludgate, his eyes were suddenly encountered by the apparition of his old friend the Tyrolese, who, perceiving hiht in the toil,up to our adventurer with an aspect of eagerness and joy, clasped him in his arms, as some dear friend, whoreeable separation
Fathoencies, far fro these advances with the threats and reproaches which the other had deserved at his hands, returned the salute with equal warht one way or other make amends for the perfidy of his former conduct The Tyrolese, whose name was Ratchcali, pleased with his reception, proposed they should adjourn to the next tavern, in which they had no sooner taken possession of an apartment, than he addressed himself to his old companion in these words:--
”Mr Fatho a , I aacity, which I have often considered with ady for ; but only assure you that this e, ifre-enter into an unreserved union, the ties of which ill soon find it our interest and inclination to preserve For ed since our last association I have seen many a rich harvest lost, for want of a fellow-labourer in the vineyard; and I have more than once fallen a sacrifice to a combination, which I could have resisted with the help of one able auxiliary Indeed, I e by mathematical demonstration; and I believe nobody will pretend to deny, that two heads are better than one, in all cases that require discern the sanity of his observations, and forthwith acquiesced in his proposal of the new alliance; desiring to know the character in which he acted on the English stage, and the scheme he would offer for their mutual emolument At the same time he resolved within himself to keep such a strict eye over his future actions, as would frustrate any design hethe prank he had so successfully played upon hi quitted you at Bar-le-duc,” resu, until I arrived at Frankfort upon the Maine, where I assumed the character of a French chevalier, and struck some masterly strokes, which you yourself would not have deereeable, as ainst the ene duration Seeing they could not foil me at my oeapons, they formed a damned conspiracy, by which I not only lost all the fruits of my industry, but likewise ran the most imminent hazard of my life I had ordered soood friend Fathom to be new set in a fashi+onable taste, and soon after had an opportunity to sell one of these, at a great advantage, to one of the fraternity, who offered an extraordinary price for the stone, on purpose to effect ain, I was arrested by the officers of justice upon the oath of the purchaser, who undertook to provea Saxon pebble for a real diae had been artfully put upon ed in the conspiracy
”Had my conscience been clear of any other impeachment, perhaps I should have rested my cause upon the equity and protection of the law; but I foresaw that the trial would introduce an inquiry, to which I was not at all a, and therefore was fain to compromise the affair, at the price of almost my whole fortune Yet this accommodation was not made so secretly, but that my character was blasted, and my credit overthrown; so that I was fain to relinquish e, and hire myself as journeyman to a lapidary, an employment which I had exercised in reat assiduity, until I e of stones, as well as in the different , by dint of industry and address, got possession of a sdoo; and surely England is the paradise of artists of our profession
”One would iine that nature had created the inhabitants for the support and enjoyment of adventurers like you and me Not that these islanders open the arners without distinction On the contrary, they inherit froainst all nations under the sun; and when an Englisher, the first teronist's country, characterised by so French, and a beastly Dutchainst those people hoovernainst their fellow-subjects, in the expressions of a beggarly Scot, and an i-trotter Yet this very prejudice will never fail to turn to the account of every stranger possessed of ordinary talents; for he will always find opportunities of conversing with them in coffee-houses and places of public resort, in spite of their professed reserve, which, by the bye, is so extraordinary, that I know some people who have lived twenty years in the sahbours; yet, provided he can talk sensibly, and preserve the deportentleman, in those occasional conversations, his behaviour will be the reeably disappoint the expectation of the person who had entertained notions to his prejudice When a foreigner has once crossed this bar, which perpetually occurs, he sails without further difficulty into the harbour of an Englishoodwill; for the pique is neither personal nor rancorous, but rather contemptuous and national; so that, while he despises a people in the lump, an individual of that very colish are in general upright and honest, therefore unsuspecting and credulous They are too rossed with their own business to pry into the conduct of their neighbours, and too indifferent, in point of disposition, to interest then to their own concerns They are wealthy and mercantile, of consequence liberal and adventurous, and so well disposed to take a man's oord for his importance, that they suffer the set of impostors, as would starve for lack of address in any other country under the sun This being a true sketch of the British character, so far as I have been able to observe and learn, you will easily comprehend the profits that may be extracted from it, by virtue of those arts by which you so ereat, the unbounded prospect lies before dom as a wide and fertile coe for prey, without let or molestation For so jealous are the natives of their liberties, that they will not bear the restraint of necessary police, and an able artistany risk of attracting thethe least penalty of the law
”In a word, this eer of detection There is a variety of shapes in which we the knights of industry lides into a nobleman's house in the capacity of a valet-de-chambre, and in a few months leads the whole family by the nose Another exhibits himself to the public, as an empiric or operator for the teeth; and by dint of assurance and affidavits, bearing testimony to wonderful cures that never were performed, whirls himself into his chariot, and lays the town under contribution A third professes the composition of music, as well as the performance, and by means of a few capriciosos on the violin, properly introduced, wriggles hiement of private and public concerts And a fourth breaks forth at once in all the splendour of a gay equipage, under the title and denon count Not to mention those inferior projectors, who assu-ion, seek to obtain a provision for life
”Either of these parts will turn to the account of an able actor; and, as you are equally qualified for all, you may choose that which is h, in reat world, which, after all, is the a, for the norant, indolent, vain, and capricious, than their inferiors, are of consequence enerally so loose about theentleman of our fraternity is discovered in the exercise of his profession, their conterace he incurs”
Our hero was so well pleased with this picture, that he longed to peruse the original, and, before these two friends parted, they settled all the operations of the caings for Count Fathom, in the court end of the town, and furnished his wardrobe and liveries from the spoils of Monmouth Street; he likewise enlisted another footman and valet-de-chae trunks, supposed to be filled with the baggage of this foreign nobleh, in reality, they contained little else than common lumber
Next day, our adventurer took possession of his new habitation, after having left to his friend and associate the task of dis the unfortunate Elenor, as so shocked at the unexpected e, that she fainted away; and when she recovered the use of her senses so well as to reflect upon her forlorn condition, she was seized with the rief and disree, that she grew furious and distracted, and was, by the advice and assistance of the Tyrolese, conveyed into the hospital of Bethlem; where we shall leave her for the present, happily bereft of her reason
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO