Japhet, In Search Of A Father Part 1 - Frederick Marryat (polar express read aloud .txt) 📗
- Author: Frederick Marryat
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Follow Up The Agreeable Introduction You Have Given Me To Mr Harcourt."
"My Dear Newland, Say No More; You Will, I Dare Say, Do The Same For Me
If I Require It, When I Give A Dinner. (Harcourt Caught My Eye, As If To
Say, "You May Safely Promise That.") But, Newland, Do You Know That The
Nephew Of Lord Windermear Has Just Arrived? Did You Meet Abroad?"
"No," Replied I, Somewhat Confused; But I Soon Recovered Myself. As For
Tim, He Bolted Out Of The Room. "What Sort Of A Person Is He?"
"That You May Judge For Yourself, My Dear Fellow, For I Asked Him To
Join Us, I Must Say, More Out Of Compliment To Lord Windermear Than
Anything Else; For I Am Afraid That, Even I Could Never Make A Gentleman
Of Him. But Take Harcourt With You To Your Room, And By The Time You
Have Washed Your Hands, I Will Have Dinner On The Table. I Took The
Liberty Of Desiring Your Valet To Show Me In about Ten Minutes Ago. He'S
A Shrewd Fellow That Of Your'S--Where Did You Pick Him Up?"
"By Mere Accident," Replied I; "Come, Mr Harcourt."
On Our Return, We Found The Real Simon Pure, Mr Estcourt, Sitting With
The Major, Who Introduced Us, And Dinner Being Served, We Sat Down To
Table.
Mr Estcourt Was A Young Man, About My Own Age, But Not So Tall By Two
Or Three Inches. His Features Were Prominent, But Harsh; And When I Saw
Him, I Was Not At All Surprised At Lord Windermear'S Expressions Of
Satisfaction, When He Suppossd That I Was His Nephew. His Countenance
Was Dogged And Sullen, And He Spoke Little; He Appeared To Place An
Immense Value Upon Birth, And Hardly Deigned To Listen, Except The
Aristocracy Were The Subject Of Discourse. I Treated Him With Marked
Deference, That I Might Form An Acquaintance, And Found Before We Parted
That Night, That I Had Succeeded. Our Dinner Was Excellent, And We Were
All, Except Mr Estcourt, In High Good Humour. We Sat Late--Too Late To
Go To The Theatre, And Promising To Meet The Next Day At Noon, Harcourt
And The Major Took Their Leave.
Mr Estcourt Had Indulged Rather Too Much, And, After Their Departure,
Became Communicative. I Plied The Bottle And We Sat Up For More Than An
Hour; He Talked Of Nothing But His Family And His Expectations. I Took
This Opportunity Of Discovering What His Feelings Were Likely To Be When
He Was Made Acquainted With The Important Secret Which Was In My
Possession. I Put A Case Somewhat Similar, And Asked Him Whether In Such
Circumstances He Would Waive His Right For A Time, To Save The Honour Of
His Family.
"No, By G--D!" Replied He, "I Never Would. What! Give Up Even For A Day
My Right--Conceal My True Rank For The Sake Of Relatives? Never--Nothing
Would Induce Me."
Part 1 Chapter 22 Pg 106
I Was Satisfied, And Then Casually Asked Him If He Had Written To Lord
Windermear To Inform Him Of His Arrival.
"No," Replied He; "I Shall Write To-Morrow." He Soon After Retired To
His Own Apartment, And I Rang For Timothy.
"Good Heavens, Sir!" Cried Timothy, "What Is All This--And What Are You
About? I Am Frightened Out Of My Wits. Why, Sir, Our Money Will Not Last
Two Months."
"I Do Not Expect It Will Last Much Longer, Tim; But It Cannot Be
Helped. Into Society I Must Get--And To Do So, Must Pay For It."
"But, Sir, Putting The Expense Aside, What Are We To Do About This Mr
Estcourt? All Must Be Found Out."
"I Intend That It Shall Be Found Out, Tim," Replied I; "But Not Yet. He
Will Write To His Uncle To-Morrow; You Must Obtain The Letter, For It
Must Not Go. I Must First Have Time To Establish Myself, And Then Lord
Windermear May Find Out His Error As Soon As He Pleases."
"Upon My Honour, Japhet, You Appear To Be Afraid Of Nothing."
"I Fear Nothing, Tim, When I Am Following Up The Object Of My Wishes. I
Will Allow No Obstacles To Stand In My Way, In My Search After My
Father."
"Really, You Seem To Be Quite Mad On That Point, Japhet."
"Perhaps I May Be, Tim," Replied I, Thoughtfully. "At All Events, Let Us
Go To Bed Now, And I Will Tell You To-Morrow Morning, All The Events Of
This Day."
Mr Estcourt Wrote His Letter, Which Tim Very Officiously Offered To Put
Into The Post, Instead Of Which We Put It Between The Bars Of The Grate.
I Must Now Pass Over About Three Weeks, During Which I Became Very
Intimate With The Major And Mr Harcourt, And Was Introduced By Them To
The Clubs, And Almost Every Person Of Fashion. The Idea Of My Wealth,
And My Very Handsome Person And Figure, Ensured Me A Warm Reception, And
I Soon Became One Of The Stars Of The Day. During This Time, I Also
Gained The Entire Confidence Of Mr Estcourt, Who Put Letter After Letter
Into The Hands Of Timothy, Who Of Course Put Them Into The Usual Place.
I Pacified Him As Long As I Could, By Expressing My Opinion, That His
Lordship Was On A Visit To Some Friends In The Neighbourhood Of His
Seat; But At Last, He Would Remain In Town No Longer. You May Go Now,
Thought I, I Feel Quite Safe.
It Was About Five Days After His Departure, As I Was Sauntering, Arm In
Arm With The Major, Who Generally Dined With Me About Five Days In The
Week, That I Perceived The Carriage Of Lord Windermear, With His
Lordship In It. He Saw Us, And Pulling His Check-String, Alighted, And
Coming Up To Us, With The Colour Mounting To His Forehead With Emotion,
Returned The Salute Of The Major And Me.
Part 1 Chapter 22 Pg 107
"Major," Said He, "You Will Excuse Me, But I Am Anxious To Have Some
Conversation With Mr Newland; Perhaps," Continued His Lordship,
Addressing Me, "You Will Do Me The Favour To Take A Seat In My
Carriage?"
Fully Prepared, I Lost None Of My Self-Possession, But, Thanking His
Lordship, I Bowed To Him, And Stepped In.
His Lordship Followed, And, Saying To The Footman, "Home--Drive Fast,"
Fell Back In The Carriage, And Never Uttered One Word Until We Had
Arrived, And Had Entered The Dining-Parlour. He Then Took A Few Steps Up
And Down, Before He Said, "Mr Newland, Or Whatever Your Name May Be, I
Perceive That You Consider The Possession Of An Important Secret To Be
Your Safeguard. To State My Opinion Of Your Conduct Is Needless; Who You
Are, And What You Are, I Know Not; But," Continued He, No Longer
Controlling His Anger; "You Certainly Can Have No Pretensions To The
Character Of A Gentleman."
"Perhaps Your Lordship," Replied I, Calmly, "Will Inform Me Upon What
You May Ground Your Inference."
"Did You Not, In The First Place, Open A Letter Addressed To Another?"
"My Lord, I Opened A Letter Brought To Me With The Initials Of My Name,
And At The Time I Opened It I Fully Believed That It Was Intended For
Me."
"We Will Grant That, Sir; But After You Had Opened It You Must Have
Known That It Was For Some Other Person."
"I Will Not Deny That, My Lord."
"Notwithstanding Which, You Apply To My Lawyer, Representing Yourself As
Another Person, To Obtain Sealed Papers."
"I Did, My Lord; But Allow Me To Say, That I Never Should Have Done So,
Had I Not Been Warned By A Dream."
"By A Dream?"
"Yes, My Lord. I Had Determined Not To Go For Them, When In a Dream I
Was Ordered So To Do."
"Paltry Excuse! And Then You Break Private Seals."
"Nay, My Lord, Although I Did Go For The Papers, I Could Not, Even With
The Idea Of Supernatural Interposition, Make Up My Mind To Break The
Seals. If Your Lordship Will Recollect, It Was You Who Broke The Seals,
And Insisted Upon My Reading The Papers."
"Yes, Sir, Under Your False Name."
"It Is The Name By Which I Go At Present, Although I Acknowledge It Is
False; But That Is Not My Fault--I Have No Other At Present."
Part 1 Chapter 22 Pg 108
"It Is Very True, Sir, That In all I Have Now Mentioned, The Law Will
Not Reach You; But Recollect, That By Assuming Another Person'S Name--"
"I Never Did, My Lord," Interrupted I.
"Well, I May Say, By Inducing Me To Believe That You Were My Nephew, You
Have Obtained Money Under False Pretences; And For That I Now Have You
In My Power."
"My Lord, I Never Asked You For The Money; You Yourself Paid It Into The
Banker'S Hands To My Credit, And To My Own Name. I Appeal To You Now,
Whether, If You So Deceived Yourself, The Law Can Reach Me?"
"Mr Newland, I Will Say, That Much As I Regret What Has Passed, I Regret
More Than All The Rest, That One So Young, So Prepossessing, So Candid
In Appearance, Should Prove Such An Adept In deceit. Thinking You Were
My Nephew, My Heart Warmed Towards You, And I Must Confess, That Since I
Have Seen My Real Nephew, The Mortification Has Been Very Great."
"My Lord, I Thank You; But Allow Me To Observe, That I Am No Swindler.
Your Thousand Pounds You Will Find Safe In The Bank, For Penury Would
Not Have Induced Me To Touch It. But Now That Your Lordship Appears More
Cool, Will You Do Me The Favour To Listen To Me? When You Have Heard My
Life Up To The Present, And My Motives For What I Have Done, You Will
Then Decide How Far I Am To Blame."
His Lordship Took A Chair, And Motioned To Me To Take Another. I
Narrated What Had Occurred When I Was Left At The Foundling, And Gave
Him A Succinct Account Of My Adventures Subsequently--My Determination
To Find My Father--The Dream Which Induced Me To Go For The Papers--And
All That The Reader Has Already Been Acquainted With. His Lordship
Evidently Perceived The Monomania Which Controlled Me, And Heard Me With
Great Attention.
"You Certainly, Mr Newland, Do Not Stand So Low In My Opinion As You Did
Before This Explanation, And I Must Make Allowances For The Excitement
Under Which I Perceive You To Labour On One Subject; But Now, Sir, Allow
Me To Put One Question, And I Beg That You Will Answer
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