Japhet In Search Of A Father Part 1 by Frederick Marryat (unputdownable books TXT) 📕

"Very Odd--Very Strange--Take No Money--Queen Of The Gipsies," Was

Echoed From All Sides.

The Landlady And The Barmaid Listened With Wonder,  When Who Should Come

In,  As Previously Agreed,  But Timothy. I Pretended Not To See Him,  But

He Came Up To Me,  Seizing Me By The Hand,  And Shaking It With Apparent

Delight,  And Crying,  "Wilson,  Have You Forgot Smith?"

"Smith!" Cried I,  Looking Earnestly In His Face. "Why,  So It Is. How

Came You Here?"

"I Left Dublin Three Days Ago," Replied He,  "But How I Came Here Into

This House,  Is One Of The Strangest Things That Ever Occurred. I Was

Walking Over The Common,  When A Tall Handsome Woman Looked At Me,  And

Said,  'Young Man,  If You Will Go Into The Third Public-House You Pass,

You Will Meet An Old Friend,  Who Expects You.' I Thought She Was

Laughing At Me,  But As It Mattered Very Little In Which House I Passed

The Night,  I Thought,  For The Fun Of The Thing I Might As Well Take Her

Advice."

"How Strange!" Cried Melchior,  "And She Told Him The Same--That Is,  He

Would Meet A Friend."

"Strange--Very Strange--Wonderful--Astonishing!" Was Echoed From All

Quarters,  And The Fame Of The Gipsy Was Already Established.

Timothy And I Sat Down Together,  Conversing As Old Friends,  And Melchior

Went About From One To The Other,  Narrating The Wonderful Occurrence

Till Past Midnight,  When We All Three Took Beds At The Inn,  As If We

Were Travellers.

The Report Which We Had Circulated That Evening Induced Many People To

Go Out To See Nattee,  Who Appeared To Take No Notice Of Them; And When

Asked To Tell Fortunes,  Waved Them Away With Her Hand. But,  Although

This Plan Of Melchior'S Was,  For The First Two Or Three Days Very

Expedient,  Yet,  As It Was Not Intended To Last,  Timothy,  Who Remained

With Me At The Inn,  Became Very Intimate With The Barmaid,  And Obtained

From Her Most Of The Particulars Of Her Life. I,  Also,  From Repeated

Conversations With The Landlady,  Received Information Very Important,

Relative To Herself,  And Many Of The Families In The Town,  But As The

Employment Of Nattee Was For An Ulterior Object,  We Contented Ourselves

With Gaining All The Information We Could Before We Proceeded Further.

After We Had Been There A Week,  And The Fame Of The Gipsy Woman Had Been

Marvellously Increased--Many Things Having Been Asserted Of Her Which

Were Indeed Truly Improbable--Melchior Agreed That Timothy Should

Persuade The Barmaid To Try If The Gipsy Woman Would Tell Her Fortune:

The Girl,  With Some Trepidation,  Agreed,  But At The Same Time,  Expecting

To Be Refused,  Consented To Walk With Him Over The Common. Timothy

Advised Her To Pretend To Pick Up A Sixpence When Near To Nattee,  And

Ask Her If It Did Not Belong To Her,  And The Barmaid Acted Upon His

Suggestions,  Having Just Before That Quitted The Arm Of Timothy,  Who Had

Conducted Her.

"Did You Drop A Sixpence? I Have Picked Up One," Said The Girl,

Trembling With Fear As She Addressed Nattee.

"Child," Replied Nattee,  Who Was Prepared,  "I Have Neither Dropped A

Sixpence Nor Have You Found One--But Never Mind That,  I Know That Which

You Wish,  And I Know Who You Are. Now What Would You With Me? Is It To

Inquire Whether The Landlord And Landlady Of The Golden Lion Intend To

Keep You In Their Service?"

"No," Replied The Girl,  Frightened At What She Heard; "Not To Inquire

That,  But To Ask What My Fortune Will Be?"

"Open Your Palm,  Pretty Maid,  And I Will Tell You. Hah! I See That You

Were Born In The West--Your Father Is Dead--Your Mother Is In

Service--And Let Me See,--You Have A Brother At Sea--Now In The West

Indies."

At This Intelligence,  All Of Which,  As May Be Supposed,  Had Been

Gathered By Us,  The Poor Girl Was So Frightened That She Fell Down In a

Swoon,  And Timothy Carried Her Off. When She Was Taken Home To The Inn,

She Was So Ill That She Was Put Into Bed,  And What She Did Say Was So

Incoherent,  That,  Added To Timothy'S Narrative,  The Astonishment Of The

Landlady And Others Was Beyond All Bounds. I Tried Very Hard To Bring

The Landlady,  But She Would Not Consent; And Now Nattee Was Pestered By

People Of Higher Condition,  Who Wished To Hear What She Would Say. Here

Nattee'S Powers Were Brought Into Play. She Would Not Refuse To See

Them,  But Would Not Give Answers Till She Had Asked Questions,  And,  As

From Us She Had Gleaned Much General Information,  So By Making This

Knowledge Appear In Her Questions To Them,  She Made Them Believe She

Knew More. If A Young Person Came To Her,  She Would Immediately Ask The

Name--Of That Name She Had All The References Acquired From Us,  As To

Family And Connections. Bearing Upon Them,  She Would Ask A Few More,  And

Then Give Them An Abrupt Dismissal.

This Behaviour Was Put Up With From One Of Her Commanding Presence,  Who

Refused Money,  And Treated Those Who Accosted Her,  As If She Was Their

Superior. Many Came Again And Again,  Telling Her All They Knew,  And

Acquainting Her With Every Transaction Of Their Life,  To Induce Her To

Prophesy,  For Such,  She Informed Them,  Was The Surest Way To Call The

Spirit Upon Her. By These Means We Obtained The Secret History Of The

Major Part,  That Is,  The Wealthier Part Of The Town Of ----; And Although

The Predictions Of Nattee Were Seldom Given,  Yet When Given,  They Were

Given With Such Perfect And Apparent Knowledge Of The Parties,  That When

She Left,  Which She Did About Six Weeks After Her First Appearance,  The

Whole Town Rang With Accounts Of Her Wonderful Powers.

It Will Appear Strange That Melchior Would Not Permit Nattee To Reap A

Harvest,  Which Might Have Been Great; But The Fact Was,  That He Only

Allowed The Seed To Be Sown That A Greater Harvest Might Be Gathered

Hereafter. Nattee Disappeared,  The Gipsie'S Tent Was No Longer On The

Common,  And The Grass,  Which Had Been Beaten Down Into A Road By The

Feet Of The Frequent Applicants To Her,  Was Again Permitted To Spring

Up. We Also Took Our Departure,  And Rejoined The Camp With Nattee,  Where

We Remained For A Fortnight,  To Permit The Remembrance Of Her To Subside

A Little--Knowing That The Appetite Was Alive,  And Would Not Be

Satisfied Until It Was Appeased.

After That Time,  Melchior,  Timothy,  And I,  Again Set Off For The Town

Of ----,  And Stopping At A Superior Inn In another Part Of The Town,

Dressed As Travellers,  That Is,  People Who Go About The Country For

Orders From The Manufacturers,  Ordered Our Beds And Supper In The

Coffee-Room. The Conversation Was Soon Turned Upon The Wonderful Powers

Of Nattee,  The Gipsy. "Nonsense," Said Melchior,  "She Knows Nothing. I

Have Heard Of Her. But There Is A Man Coming This Way (Should He Happen

To Pass Through This Town) Who Will Surprise And Frighten You. No One

Knows Who He Is. He Is Named The Great Aristodemus. He Knows The Past,

The Present,  And The Future. He Never Looks At People'S Hands--He Only

Looks You In The Face,  And _Woe Be To Them Who Tell Him A Lie_.

Otherwise,  He Is Good-Tempered And Obliging,  And Will Tell What Will

Come To Pass,  And His Predictions Never Have Been Known To Fail. They

Say That He Is Hundreds Of Years Old,  And His Hair Is White As Silver."

At This Information Many Expressed Their Doubts,  And Many Others Vaunted

The Powers Of The Gipsy. Melchior Replied,  "That All He Knew Was,  That

For The Sum Of Two Guineas Paid Down,  He Had Told Him Of A Legacy Left

Him Of Six Hundred Pounds,  Which Otherwise He Would Never Have Known Of

Or Received." All The Town Of ---- Being Quite Alive For Fortune-Telling,

This New Report Gained Wind,  And After A Week'S Sojourn,  Melchior

Thought That The Attempt Should Be Made.

     The Seed Having Been Carefully Sown,  We Now Reap A Golden

     Harvest--We Tell Every Body What They Knew Before,  And We Are

     Looked Upon As Most Marvellous By Most Marvellous Fools.

We Accordingly Packed Up,  And Departed To Another Market Town. Timothy,

Dressed In a Sombre Suit Of Black,  Very Much Like An Undertaker,  Was

Provided With A Horse,  With The Following Directions: To Proceed

Leisurely Until He Was Within Half A Mile Of The Town Of ----,  And Then

To Gallop In as Fast As He Could,  Stop At The Best Inn In The Place,  And

Order Apartments For The Great Aristodemus,  Who Might Be Expected In

Half An Hour. Every Thing In This World Depends Upon Appearances,  That

Is,  When You Intend To Gull It; And As Every One In The Town Had Heard

Of The Great Aristodemus,  So Every One Was Anxious To Know Something

About Him,  And Timothy Was Pestered With All Manner Of Questions; But He

Declared That He Was Only His Courier,  And Could Only Tell What Other

People Said; But Then What Other People