Part 53 (1/2)

”But do you forgive me, Mr Simple? It's not that I have forgiven myself.”

”I do forgive you with all my heart, my good woman. You have been punished enough.”

”I have, indeed,” replied she, sobbing; ”but don't I deserve it all, and more too? G.o.d's blessing, and all the saints' too, upon your head, for your kind forgiveness, anyhow. My heart is lighter.” And she quitted the room.

She had scarcely quitted the hotel, when the waiter came up again.

”Another lady, my lord, wishes to speak with you; but she won't give her name.”

”Really, my lord, you seem to have an extensive female acquaintance,”

said the general.

”At all events, I am not aware of any that I need be ashamed of. Show the lady up, waiter.”

In a moment entered a fat unwieldy little mortal, very warm from walking; she sat down in a chair, threw back her tippet, and then exclaimed, ”Lord bless you, how you have grown! gemini, if I can hardly believe my eyes; and I declare he don't know me.”

”I really cannot exactly recollect were I had the pleasure of seeing you before, madam.”

”Well, that's what I said to Jemima, when I went down in the kitchen, 'Jemima,' says I, 'I wonder if little Peter Simple will know me.' And Jemima says, 'I think he would the parrot, marm.'”

”Mrs Handyc.o.c.k, I believe,” said I, recollecting Jemima and the parrot, although, from a little thin woman, she had grown so fat as not to be recognisable.

”Oh! so you've found me out, Mr Simple--my lord, I ought to say. Well, I need not ask after your grandfather now, for I know he's dead; but as I was coming this way for orders, I thought I would just step in and see how you looked.”

”I trust Mr Handyc.o.c.k is well, ma'am. Pray is he a bull or a bear?”

”Lord bless you, Mr Simple--my lord, I should say--he's been neither bull nor bear for these three years. He was obliged to _waddle_; if I didn't know much about bulls and bears, I know very well what a _lame duck_ is to my cost. We're off the Stock Exchange, and Mr Handyc.o.c.k is set up as a coal merchant.”

”Indeed!”

”Yes; that is, we have no coals, but we take orders, and have half-a-crown a chaldron for our trouble. As Mr Handyc.o.c.k says, it's a very good business, if you only had enough for it. Perhaps your lords.h.i.+p may be able to give us an order. It's nothing out of your pocket, and something into ours.”

”I shall be very happy when I return again to town, Mrs Handyc.o.c.k. I hope the parrot is quite well.”

”Oh! my lord, that's a sore subject; only think of Mr Handyc.o.c.k, when we retired from the 'Change, taking my parrot one day and selling it for five guineas, saying, five guineas was better than a nasty squalling, bird. To be sure, there was nothing for dinner that day; but, as Jemima agreed with me, we'd rather have gone without a dinner for a month, than have parted with Poll. Since we've looked up a little in the world, I saved up five guineas, by hook or by crook, and tried to get Poll back again, but the lady said she wouldn't take fifty guineas for him.”

Mrs Handyc.o.c.k then jumped from her chair, saying, ”Good morning, my lord; I'll leave one of Mr Handyc.o.c.k's cards. Jemima would be so glad to see you.”

As she left the room, Celeste laughingly asked me whether I had any more such acquaintances.

I replied, that I believed not; but I must acknowledge that Mrs Trotter was brought to my recollection, and I was under some alarm lest she should also come and pay me her respects.

The next day I had another unexpected visit. We had just sat down to dinner, when we heard a disturbance below; and, shortly after, the general's French servant came up in great haste, saying that there was a foreigner below, who wished to see me; that he had been caning one of the waiters of the hotel, for not paying him proper respect.

”Who can that be?” thought I: and I went out of the door and looked over the banisters, as the noise still continued.

”You must not come here to beat Englishmen, I can tell you,” roared one of the waiters. ”What do we care for your foreign counts?”

”Sacre, canaille!” cried the other party, in a contemptuous voice, which I well knew.