Japhet In Search Of A Father Part 1 - Frederick Marryat (best summer reads of all time .txt) 📗
- Author: Frederick Marryat
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Much About Him."
"I Cannot Help It," Replied I. "From My Earliest Days My Father Has Ever
Been In My Thoughts."
"I Can Only Say, That Very Few Sons Are Half So Dutiful To Their
Fathers' Memories--But Finish Your Breakfast, And Then We Start For
London."
I Complied With His Request As Well As I Could, And We Were Soon On Our
Road. I Fell Into A Reverie--My Object Was To Again Find Out This
Part 1 Chapter 25 Pg 131Person, And I Quietly Directed Timothy To Ascertain From The Post-Boys
The Directions He Gave At The Last Stage. The Major Perceiving Me Not
Inclined To Talk, Made But Few Observations; One, However Struck Me.
"Windermear," Said He, "I Recollect One Day, When I Was Praising You,
Said Carelessly, 'That You Were A Fine Young Man, But A _Little Tete
Montee_ Upon One Point.' I See Now It Must Have Been Upon This." I Made
No Reply, But It Certainly Was A Strange Circumstance That The Major
Never Had Any Suspicions On This Point--Yet He Certainly Never Had. We
Had Once Or Twice Talked Over My Affairs. I Had Led Him To Suppose That
My Father And Mother Died In My Infancy, And That I Should Have Had A
Large Fortune When I Came Of Age; But This Had Been Entirely By Indirect
Replies, Not By Positive Assertions; The Fact Was, That The Major, Who
Was An Adept In all Deceit, Never Had An Idea That He Could Have Been
Deceived By One So Young, So Prepossessing, And Apparently So Ingenuous
As Myself. He Had, In Fact, Deceived Himself. His Ideas Of My Fortune
Arose Entirely From My Asking Him, Whether He Would Have Refused The
Name Of _Japhet_ For Ten Thousand Pounds Per Annum. Lord Windermear,
After Having Introduced Me, Did Not Consider It At All Necessary To
Acquaint The Major With My Real History, As It Was Imparted To Him In
Confidence. He Allowed Matters To Take Their Course, And Me To Work My
Own Way In The World. Thus Do The Most Cunning Overreach Themselves, And
With Their Eyes Open To Any Deceit On The Part Of Others, Prove Quite
Blind When They Deceive Themselves.
Timothy Could Not Obtain Any Intelligence From The People Of The Inn At
The Last Stage, Except That The Chariot Had Proceeded To London. We
Arrived Late At Night, And, Much Exhausted, I Was Glad To Go To Bed.
Part 1 Chapter 26 Pg 132
In Following My Nose, I Narrowly Escaped Being _Nosed_ By A Beak.
And As I Lay In My Bed, Thinking That I Was Now Nearly Twenty Years Old,
And Had Not Yet Made Any Discovery, My Heart Sank Within Me. My
Monomania Returned With Redoubled Force, And I Resolved To Renew My
Search With Vigour. So I Told Timothy The Next Morning, When He Came
Into My Room, But From Him I Received Little Consolation; He Advised Me
To Look Out For A Good Match In a Rich Wife, And Leave Time To Develop
The Mystery Of My Birth; Pointing Out The Little Chance I Ever Had Of
Success.
Town Was Not Full, The Season Had Hardly Commenced, And We Had Few
Invitations Or Visits To Distract My Thoughts From Their Object. My Leg
Became So Painful, That For A Week I Was On The Sofa, Timothy Every Day
Going Out To Ascertain If He Could Find The Person Whom We Had Seen
Resembling Me, And Every Evening Returning Without Success, I Became
Part 1 Chapter 26 Pg 133Melancholy And Nervous. Carbonnell Could Not Imagine What Was The Matter
With Me. At Last I Was Able To Walk, And I Sallied Forth, Perambulating,
Or Rather Running Through Street After Street, Looking Into Every
Carriage, So As To Occasion Surprise To The Occupants, Who Believed Me
Mad; My Dress And Person Were Disordered, For I Had Become Indifferent
To It, And Timothy Himself Believed That I Was Going Out Of My Senses.
At Last, After We Had Been In Town About Five Weeks, I Saw The Very
Object Of My Search, Seated In a Carriage, Of A Dark Brown Colour, Arms
Painted In Shades, So As Not To Be Distinguishable But At A Near
Approach; His Hat Was Off, And He Sat Upright And Formally. "That Is
He!" Ejaculated I, And Away I Ran After The Carriage. "It Is The Nose,"
Cried I, As I Ran Down The Street, Knocking Every One To The Right And
Left. I Lost My Hat, But Fearful Of Losing Sight Of The Carriage, I
Hastened On, When I Heard A Cry Of "Stop Him, Stop Him!" "Stop Him,"
Cried I, Also, Referring To The Gentleman In black In The Carriage.
"That Won'T Do," Cried A Man, Seizing Me By The Collar; "I Know A Trick
Worth Two Of That."
"Let Me Go," Roared I, Struggling; But He Only Held Me The Faster. I
Tussled With The Man Until My Coat And Shirt Were Torn, But In Vain; The
Crowd Now Assembled, And I Was Fast. The Fact Was, That A Pickpocket Had
Been Exercising His Vocation At The Time That I Was Running Past, And
From My Haste, And Loss Of My Hat, I Was Supposed To Be The Criminal.
The Police Took Charge Of Me--I Pleaded Innocence In Vain, And I Was
Dragged Before The Magistrate, At Marlborough Street. My Appearance, The
Disorder Of My Dress, My Coat And Shirt In Ribbons, With No Hat, Were
Certainly Not At All In My Favour, When I Made My Appearance, Led In by
Two Bow Street Officers.
"Whom Have We Here?" Inquired The Magistrate.
"A Pickpocket, Sir," Replied They.
"Ah! One Of The Swell Mob," Replied He. "Are There Any Witnesses?"
"Yes, Sir," Replied A Young Man, Coming Forward. "I Was Walking Up Bond
Street, When I Felt A Tug At My Pocket, And When I Turned Round, This
Chap Was Running Away."
"Can You Swear To His Person?"
There Were Plenty To Swear That I Was The Person Who Ran Away.
"Now, Sir, Have You Anything To Offer In Your Defence?" Said The
Magistrate.
"Yes, Sir," Replied I; "I Certainly Was Running Down The Street; And It
May Be, For All I Know Or Care, That This Person'S Pocket May Have Been
Part 1 Chapter 26 Pg 134Picked--But I Did Not Pick It. I Am A Gentleman."
"All Your Fraternity Lay Claim To Gentility," Replied The Magistrate;
"Perhaps You Will State Why You Were Running Down The Street."
"I Was Running After A Carriage, Sir, That I Might Speak To The Person
Inside Of It."
"Pray Who Was The Person Inside?"
"I Do Not Know, Sir."
"Why Should You Run After A Person You Do Not Know."
"It Was Because Of His _Nose_."
"His _Nose_?" Replied The Magistrate, Angrily. "Do You Think To Trifle
With Me, Sir? You Shall Now Follow Your Own Nose To Prison. Make Out His
Committal."
"As You Please, Sir," Replied I; "But Still I Have Told You The Truth;
If You Will Allow Any One To Take A Note, I Will Soon Prove My
Respectability. I Ask It In common Justice."
"Be It So," Replied The Magistrate; "Let Him Sit Down Within The Bar
Till The Answer Comes."
In Less Than An Hour, My Note To Major Carbonnell Was Answered By His
Appearance In Person, Followed By Timothy. Carbonnell Walked Up To The
Magistrate, While Timothy Asked The Officers In an Angry Tone, What They
Had Been Doing To His _Master_. This Rather Startled Them, But Both They
And The Magistrate Were Much Surprised When The Major Asserted That I
Was His Most Particular Friend, Mr Newland, Who Possessed Ten Thousand
Pounds Per Annum, And Who Was As Well Known In Fashionable Society, As
Any Young Man Of Fortune About Town. The Magistrate Explained What Had
Passed, And Asked The Major If I Was Not A Little Deranged; But The
Major, Who Perceived What Was The Cause Of My Strange Behaviour, Told
Him That Somebody Had Insulted Me, And That I Was Very Anxious To Lay
Hold Of The Person, Who Had Avoided Me, And Who Must Have Been In That
Carriage.
"I Am Afraid, That After Your Explanation, Major Carbonnell, I Must, As
A Magistrate, Bind Over Your Friend, Mr Newland, To Keep The Peace."
To This I Consented, The Major And Timothy Being Taken As
Recognisances, And Then I Was Permitted To Depart. The Major Sent For A
Hackney Coach, And When We Were Going Home He Pointed Out To Me The
Folly Of My Conduct, And Received My Promise To Be More Careful For The
Future. Thus Did This Affair End, And For A Short Time I Was More
Careful In My Appearance, And Not So Very Anxious To Look Into
Carriages; Still, However, The Idea Haunted Me, And I Was Often Very
Melancholy. It Was About A Month Afterwards, That I Was Sauntering With
Part 1 Chapter 26 Pg 135
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