Japhet, In Search Of A Father Part 1 - Frederick Marryat (polar express read aloud .txt) 📗

Started,  Your Object Was To Search After Your

Father,  And I Told You Mine Should Be To Look After My Mother. You Have

Selected High Life As The Expected Sphere In Which He Is To Be Found,

And I Select Low Life As That In Which I Am Most Likely To Discover The

Object Of My Search. So You Perceive," Continued Tim,  Laughing,  "That We

Must Arrange So As To Suit The Views Of Both Without Parting Company. Do

You Hunt Among Bag-Wigs,  Amber-Headed Canes,  Silks And Satins--I Will

Burrow Among Tags And Tassels,  Dimity And Mob Caps; And Probably We

Part 1 Chapter 17 Pg 85

Shall Both Succeed In The Object Of Our Search. I Leave You To Hunt In

The Drawing-Rooms,  While I Ferret In The Kitchen. You May Throw Yourself

On A Sofa And Exclaim--'Who Is My Father?' While I Will Sit In The

Cook'S Lap,  And Ask Her If She May Happen To Be My Mother."

 

This Sally Of Timothy'S Made Even Fleta Laugh; And After A Little More

Remonstrance,  I Consented That He Should Perform The Part Of My Valet.

Indeed,  The More I Reflected Upon It,  The Greater Appeared The

Advantages Which Might Accrue From The Arrangement. By The Time That

This Point Had Been Settled,  We Had Arrived At The Town To Which We

Directed Our Steps,  And Took Up Our Quarters At An Inn Of Moderate

Pretensions,  But Of Very Great External Cleanliness. My First Object Was

To Find Out Some Fitting Asylum For Little Fleta. The Landlady Was A

Buxom,  Good-Tempered Young Woman,  And I Gave The Little Girl Into Her

Charge,  While Timothy And I Went Out On A Survey. I Had Made Up My Mind

To Put Her To Some Good,  But Not Very Expensive,  School,  If Such Were To

Be Found In The Vicinity. I Should Have Preferred Taking Her With Me To

London,  But I Was Aware How Much More Expensive It Would Be To Provide

For Her There; And As The Distance From The Metropolis Was But Twenty

Miles,  I Could Easily Run Down To See Her Occasionally. I Desired The

Little Girl To Call Me Her Brother,  As Such I Intended To Be To Her In

Future,  And Not To Answer Every Question They Might Put To Her. There

Was,  However,  Little Occasion For This Caution; For Fleta Was,  As I

Before Observed,  Very Unlike Children In General. I Then Went Out With

Timothy To Look For A Tailor,  That I Might Order Our Clothes,  As What We

Had On Were Not Either Of The Very Best Taste,  Or In The Very Best

Condition. We Walked Up The Main Street,  And Soon Fell In With A

Tailor'S Shop,  Over Which Was Written In Large Letters--"Feodor

Shneider,  Tailor To His Royal Highness The Prince Of Darmstadt."

 

"Will That Do,  Japhet?" Said Timothy,  Pointing To The Announcement.

 

"Why Yes," Replied I; "But How The Deuce The Prince Of Darmstadt Should

Have Employed A Man In a Small Country Town As His Tailor,  Is To Me

Rather A Puzzle."

 

"Perhaps He Made His Clothes When He Was In Germany," Replied Tim.

 

"Perhaps He Did; But,  However,  He Shall Have The Honour Of Making Mine."

 

We Entered The Shop,  And I Ordered A Suit Of The Most Fashionable

Clothes,  Choosing My Colours,  And Being Very Minute In My Directions To

The Foreman,  Who Measured Me; But As I Was Leaving The Shop The Master,

Judging By My Appearance,  Which Was Certainly Not Exactly That Of A

Gentleman,  Ventured To Observe That It Was Customary With _Gentlemen_,

Whom They Had Not The Honour Of Knowing,  To Leave A Deposit. Although

The Very Proposal Was An Attack Upon My Gentility,  I Made No Reply; But

Pulling Out A Handful Of Guineas,  Laid Down Two On The Counter,  And

Walked Away,  That I Might Find Another Shop At Which We Might Order The

Livery Of Timothy; But This Was Only As A Reconnoitre,  As I Did Not

Intend To Order His Liveries Until I Could Appear In My Own Clothes,

Which Were Promised On The Afternoon Of The Next Day. There Were,

However,  Several Other Articles To Be Purchased,  Such As A Trunk,

Portmanteau,  Hat,  Gloves,  &C.,  All Which We Procured,  And Then Went Back

Part 1 Chapter 17 Pg 86

To The Inn. On My Return I Ordered Dinner. Fleta Was Certainly Clad In

Her Best Frock,  But Bad Was The Best; And The Landlady,  Who Could

Extract Little From The Child,  Could Not Imagine Who We Could Be. I Had,

However,  Allowed Her To See More Than Sufficient Money To Warrant Our

Expenses; And So Far Her Scruples Were,  Although Her Curiosity Was Not,

Removed.

 

That Evening I Had A Long Conversation With Fleta. I Told Her That We

Were To Part,  That She Must Go To School,  And That I Would Very Often

Come Down To See Her. At First,  She Was Inconsolable At The Idea; But I

Reasoned With Her,  And The Gentle,  Intelligent Creature Acknowledged

That It Was Right. The Next Day My Clothes Came Home,  And I Dressed

Myself. "Without Flattery,  Japhet," Said Timothy,  "You Do Look Very Much

Like A Gentleman." Fleta Smiled,  And Said The Same. I Thought So Too,

But Said Nothing. Putting On My Hat And Gloves,  And Accompanied By

Timothy,  I Descended To Go Out And Order Tim'S Liveries,  As Well As A

Fit-Out For Fleta.

 

After I Was Out In The Street I Discovered That I Had Left My

Handkerchief,  And Returned To Fetch It. The Landlady,  Seeing A Gentleman

About To Enter The Inn,  Made A Very Low Courtesy,  And It Was Not Until I

Looked Hard At Her That She Recognised Me. Then I Was Satisfied; It Was

An Involuntary Tribute To My Appearance,  Worth All The Flattering

Assertions In The World. We Now Proceeded To The Other Tailor'S In The

Main Street. I Entered The Shop With A Flourishing,  Important Air,  And

Was Received With Many Bows. "I Wish," Said I,  "To Have A Suit Of Livery

Made For This Young Man,  Who Is About To Enter Into My Service. I Cannot

Take Him Up To Town This Figure." The Livery Was Chosen,  And As I

Expressed My Wish To Be Off The Next Evening,  It Was Promised To Be

Ready By An Hour Appointed.

 

I Then Went To A Milliner'S,  And Desired That She Would Call At The Inn

To Fit Out A Little Girl For School,  Whose Wardrobe Had Been Left Behind

By Mistake. On The Fourth Day All Was Ready. I Had Made Inquiries,  And

Found Out A Very Respectable School,  Kept By A Widow Lady. I Asked For

References,  Which Were Given,  And I Was Satisfied. The Terms Were

Low--Twenty Pounds Per Annum. I Paid The First Half Year In advance,  And

Lodged Fifty Guineas More In The Hands Of A Banker,  Taking A Receipt For

It,  And Giving Directions That It Was To Be Paid To The Schoolmistress

As It Became Due. I Took This Precaution,  That Should I Be In Poverty

Myself,  At All Events Fleta Might Be Provided In clothes And Schooling

For Three Years At Least. The Poor Child Wept Bitterly At The

Separation,  And I Could With Difficulty Detach Her Little Arms From My

Neck,  And I Felt When I Left Her As If I Had Parted With The Only

Valuable Object To Me On Earth.

 

All Was Now Ready; But Timothy Did Not,  As Yet,  Assume His New Clothes.

It Would Have Appeared Strange That One Who Sat At My Table Should

Afterwards Put On My Livery; And As,  In a Small Town There Is Always

Plenty Of Scandal,  For Fleta'S Sake,  If For No Other Reason,  It Was

Deferred Until Our Arrival In London. Wishing The Landlady Good-Bye,  Who

I Really Believed Would Have Given Up Her Bill To Have Known Who We

Could Possibly Be,  We Got On The Outside Of The Stage-Coach,  And In The

Evening Arrived In The Metropolis. I Have Been Particular In describing

All These Little Circumstances,  As It Proves How Very Awkward It Is To

Part 1 Chapter 17 Pg 87

Jump,  Without Observation,  From One Station In Society To Another.

Part 1 Chapter 18 Pg 88

     I Receive A Letter From My Uncle By Which I Naturally Expect To

     Find Out Who Is My Father--Like Other Outcasts,  I Am Warned By A

     Dream.

 

 

 

 

But I Have Omitted To Mention A Circumstance Of Great Importance,  Which

Occurred At The Inn The Night Before I Placed Fleta At The

Boarding-School. In Looking Over My Portmanteau,  I Perceived The Present

Of Nattee To Fleta,  Which I Had Quite Forgotten. I Took It To Fleta,  And

Told Her From Whom It Came. On Opening The Paper,  It Proved To Contain A

Long Chain Of Round Coral And Gold Beads,  Strung Alternately; The Gold

Beads Were Not So Large As The Coral,  But Still The Number Of Them,  And

The Purity Of The Metal,  Made Them Of Considerable Value. Fleta Passed

The Beads Through Her Fingers,  And Then Threw It Round Her Neck,  And Sat

In Deep Thought For Some Minutes. "Japhet," Said She At Last,  "I Have

Seen This--I Have Worn This Before--I Recollect That I Have; It Rushes

Into My Memory As An Old Friend,  And I Think That Before Morning It Will

Bring To My Mind Something That I Shall Recollect About It."

 

"Try All You Can,  Fleta,  And Let Me Know To-Morrow."

 

"It'S No Use Trying; If I Try,  I Never Can Recollect Anything. I Must

Wear It To-Night,  And Then I Shall Have Something Come Into My Mind All

Of A Sudden; Or Perhaps I May Dream Something. Good-Night."

 

It Immediately Occurred