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

The

Portico Of The Hotel--He Was In His Carriage,  And The Porter Was Then

Shutting The Door. I Looked At Him. He Was,  As Timothy Said,  _Very Like_

Me Indeed,  The _Nose_ Exact. I Was Breathless,  And I Continued To Gaze.

 

"All Right," Cried The Ostler.

 

"I Beg Your Pardon,  Sir,--" Said I,  Addressing The Gentleman In The

Carriage,  Who Perceiving A Napkin In My Hand,  Probably Took Me For One

Of The Waiters,  For He Replied Very Abruptly,  'I Have Remembered You;'

And Pulling Up The Glass,  Away Whirled The Chariot,  The Nave Of The Hind

Wheel Striking Me A Blow On The Thigh Which Numbed It So,  That It Was

With Difficulty I Could Limp Up To Our Apartments,  When I Threw Myself

On The Sofa In a State Of Madness And Despair.

 

"Good Heavens,  Newland,  What Is The Matter?" Cried The Major.

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"Matter," Replied I,  Faintly. "I Have Seen My Father."

 

"Your Father,  Newland? You Must Be Mad. He Was Dead Before You Could

Recollect Him--At Least So You Told Me. How Then,  Even If It Were His

Ghost,  Could You Have Recognised Him?"

 

The Major'S Remarks Reminded Me Of The Imprudence I Had Been Guilty Of.

 

"Major," Replied I,  "I Believe I Am Very Absurd; But He Was So Like Me,

And I Have So Often Longed After My Father,  So Long Wished To See Him

Face To Face--That--That--I'M A Great Fool,  That'S The Fact."

 

"You Must Go To The Next World,  My Good Fellow,  To Meet Him Face To

Face,  That'S Clear; And I Presume,  Upon A Little Consideration,  You Will

Feel Inclined To Postpone Your Journey. Very Often In Your Sleep I Have

Heard You Talk About Your Father,  And Wondered Why You Should Think So

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

Person,  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 123

     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

Melancholy 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

Part 1 Chapter 26 Pg 124

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

Picked--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

Part 1 Chapter 26 Pg 125

Major,  Who Perceived What Was The Cause Of My Strange Behaviour,  Told

Him That Somebody Had Insulted Me,  And