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

Arrived To Either Verge Of The Common,  We Waved Our Hands As A Last

Farewell,  And Resumed Our Paths Again. Fleta Burst Into Tears As She

Turned Away From Her Former Guardians.

     A Cabinet Council--I Resolve To Set Up As A Gentleman,  Having As

     Legitimate Pretensions To The Rank Of One As Many Others.

I Led The Little Sobbing Girl By The Hand,  And We Proceeded For Some

Time In Silence. It Was Not Until We Gained The High Road That Timothy

Interrupted My Reverie,  By Observing,  "Japhet,  Have You At All Made Up

Your Mind What You Shall Do?"

"I Have Been Reflecting,  Timothy. We Have Lost A Great Deal Of Time. The

Original Intention With Which I Left London Has Been Almost Forgotten;

But It Must Be So No Longer. I Now Have Resolved That As Soon As I Have

Placed This Poor Little Girl In Safety,  That I Will Prosecute My Search,

And Never Be Diverted From It."

"I Cannot Agree With You That We Have Lost Time,  Japhet; We Had Very

Little Money When We Started Upon Our Expedition,  And Now We Have

Sufficient To Enable You To Prosecute Your Plans For A Long Time. The

Question Is,  In What Direction? We Quitted London,  And Travelled West,

In Imitation,  As We Thought,  Of The _Wise Men_. With All Deference,  In

My Opinion,  It Was Like _Two Fools_."

"I Have Been Thinking Upon That Point Also,  Tim,  And I Agree With You. I

Expect,  From Several Causes,  Which You Know As Well As I Do,  To Find My

Father Among The Higher Classes Of Society; And The Path We Took When We

Started Has Led Us Into The Very Lowest. It Appears To Me That We Cannot

Do Better Than Retrace Our Steps. We Have The Means Now To Appear As

Gentlemen,  And To Mix In Good Company,  And London Is The Very Best Place

For Us To Repair To."

"That Is Precisely My Opinion,  Japhet,  With One Single Exception,  Which

I Will Mention To You; But First Tell Me,  Have You Calculated What Our

Joint Purses May Amount To? It Must Be A Very Considerable Sum."

I Had Not Examined The Packet In Which Was The Money Which Melchior Had

Given Me At Parting. I Now Opened It,  And Found,  To My Surprise,  That

There Were Bank Notes To The Amount Of One Hundred Pounds. I Felt That

He Had Given Me This Large Sum That It Might Assist Me In Fleta'S

Expenses. "With This Sum," Said I,  "I Cannot Have Much Less Than Two

Hundred And Fifty Pounds."

"And I Have More Than Sixty," Said Timothy. "Really,  The Profession Was

Not Unprofitable."

"No," Replied I,  Laughing; "But Recollect,  Tim,  That We Had No Outlay.

The Public Provided Us With Food,  Our Lodging Cost Us Nothing. We Have

Had No Taxes To Pay; And At The Same Time Have Taxed Folly And Credulity

To A Great Extent."

"That'S True,  Japhet; And Although I Am Glad To Have The Money,  I Am Not

Sorry That We Have Abandoned The Profession."

"Nor Am I,  Tim; If You Please,  We Will Forget It Altogether. But Tell

Me,  What Was The Exception You Were About To Make?"

"Simply This. Although Upwards Of Three Hundred Pounds May Be A Great

Deal Of Money,  Yet,  If We Are To Support The Character And Appearance Of

Gentlemen,  It Will Not Last For Ever. For Instance,  We Must Have Our

_Valets_. What An Expense That Will Be! Our Clothes Too--We Shall Soon

Lose Our Rank And Station In Society,  Without We Obtain A Situation

Under Government."

"We Must Make It Last As Long As We Can,  Timothy; And Trust To Good

Fortune To Assist Us."

"That'S All Very Well,  Japhet; But I Had Rather Trust To Our Own

Prudence. Now Hear What I Have To Say. You Will Be As Much Assisted By A

_Trusty_ Valet As By Any Other Means. I Shall,  As A Gentleman,  Be Only

An Expense And An Incumbrance; But As A Valet I Shall Be Able To Play

Into Your Hands,  At The Same Time More Than One Half The Expense Will Be

Avoided. With Your Leave,  Therefore,  I Will Take My Proper Situation,

Put On Your Livery,  And Thereby Make Myself Of The Greatest Use."

I Could Not Help Acknowledging The Advantages To Be Derived From This

Proposal Of Timothy'S; But I Did Not Like To Accept It.

"It Is Very Kind Of You,  Timothy," Replied I; "But I Can Only Look Upon

You As A Friend And An Equal."

"There You Are Right And Are Wrong In The Same Breath. You Are Right In

Looking Upon Me As A Friend,  Japhet; And You Would Be Still More Right

In Allowing Me To Prove My Friendship As I Propose; But You Are Wrong In

Looking Upon Me As An Equal,  For I Am Not So Either In Personal

Appearance,  Education,  Or Anything Else. We Are Both Foundlings,  It Is

True; But You Were Christened After Abraham Newland,  And I After The

Workhouse Pump. You Were A Gentleman Foundling,  Presenting Yourself With

A Fifty Pound Note,  And Good Clothes. I Made My Appearance In Rags And

Misery. If You Find Your Parents,  You Will Rise In The World; If I Find

Mine,  I Shall,  In all Probability,  Have No Reason To Be Proud Of Them. I

Therefore Must Insist Upon Having My Own Choice In The Part I Am To Play

In The Drama,  And I Will Prove To You That It Is My Right To Choose. You

Forget That,  When We 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

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